Once the hearings conclude, or at least after Garland issues the indictment, I have one additional plea as a retired servicemember: President Biden: please order that Michael Flynn be brought back on active duty, and tried under Article 94 (Mutiny and Sedition).
I want Flynn and possibly his brother, stripped of any medals and their pensions taken away. He (maybe his bro too) deceived the country he was supposedly in charge of protecting.
Lynn From the increased deliveries of ratatouille to Mar a Lago, I presume that the number of Mafioso rats gathering there is accelerating. I gather that at the Pardon Bar folks are now taking the Fifth.
SPW Trump makes much about not drinking after his brother's experience. What about drugs? He could be a poster boy with the catch phrase THINGS GO BETTER WITH COKE.
That’s interesting Lynn . There is the potential ability for the State to try to condemn the property for public use.😎 I think that would make a good movie plot. Maybe just move for condemnation of TFP and DeSantis.
If Trump flees the country to escape prosecution, maybe there is some legal justification? Or to pay his back taxes? It would be a better use for the property.
I am still convinced, and now more than ever, that TFG and his family are going to flee the country to a place that doesn't have an extradition agreement in place with the USA. I don't think that Russia would take them, but it's possible that Saudi Arabia would. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the conversations that Biden will have with MBS in the upcoming meeting is that he cautions the Saudi leader from giving TFG and his entourage asylum?
Hungary's another possible landing spot, or another country under authoritarian rule. The only issue anyone will have, however, is that TFG will decide that he, rather than the despot in charge, should run the country, and foment revolt.
No matter what, he needs to be held accountable for what he did, and so do his enablers and aides. I almost vomited when I saw Stephen ("I Am Not a White Supremacist") Miller with his newly shaved bald head testifying to the J6 Committee -- and being identified as TFG's "speech writer." In other words, the person who fed TFG the words and music.
. . . including a school for training activists to defend democracy, run for office, etc. Like the Highlander school that was so important for training leaders, both Black and white, of the civil rights movement.
I know you’d love that! The Bermuda Triangle would be just the perfect place. Perhaps a large whirlpool would gobble them up…never to be seen or heard of ever again.
I’m wondering when he and the gang will make a run to get out of the USA ? Don’t think even Putin would have him now. Meanwhile what do we do with the Trumpsters who will never face the truth ??
Steven Ayers, the trump supporter who testified and had attended the break-in of our Capital, stated that he had to turn off all his social media when he realized he was being lied to about the big steal. THAT right there is the issue. As long as the trumpeters are being mind-controlled, they will not be able to think for themselves. This is the tactic of all cult leaders. Orange flambé, fox, qanon, oan and any of the other talk show crazies (bannon, breitbart, alex jones, etc.) all need to be shut down and indicted for aiding and abetting the coup against the USA as propaganda machines with dangerous lies and brainwashing). Murdoch needs to be arrested, stripped of his citizenship, and along with all the other players pay huge fines for the costs we taxpayers are burdened with due to their treason. Sell everything they own and pay back our government and the costs of the J6 Committee and everyone's time, pain, deaths, and job losses due to disability during the violent coup.
And, it is time to deal with homegrown militias and assault weapons used against our own people. We have had enough of this. Crazies is correct and it is time to deal with them. Why did the FBI not know about all of this and the plans online? We could see it coming ...where were they?
Yes. Why did no one stop this plan before it happened? Was it because Trump installed people loyal only to him at the Defense Department and elsewhere? And why did none of these people speak out after the J6 attack, and during Trump’s second impeachment?
Good question about the FBI. What the hell is going on? Where are the arrests? How can groups like these be broken apart? Yes, Murdoch needs to go. Are there any laws forbidding propaganda?
Yes, bro has escaped deep scrutiny and by my thinking deserves quite a bit more (guessing most people don't even know he exists). I know quite a few Army folks who loathe the Flynns. Deeply. Unfortunately, quite a few Old Army cronies would seem to still support their existence. Secretary Austin--now's the time get a little bold...
Yes, I agree. Austin has been quiet, of late, but I imagine he is up to his eyeballs in Putin and Ukraine. I do hope that he and other high-ranking officers insist upon court-martial or anything else to throw them into the brig for a very very long time.
Well, I'm certain if it comes up to the president's level, he'll talk to Austin and the Chairman about it. Agree--it's not a hot topic, but my guess is, it won't be left to twist too long once civilian indictments are issued.
Pardons are an admission of guilt. How many retired generals commit felonies without recourse or reprimand? Not doing so then, emboldened Flynn for more. Austin and Milly need to send a message.
Bro Flynn was not granted a pardon. What knowledge did he have of the General's plans and seditious actions? As an officer does his oath require that he report acts of other service members in violation of their shared oath and required honesty as an officer and member of the armed services? May he be compelled to share knowledge of plotting expected or observed by a brother?
Flynn's wacky-gonzo past goes back to his tenure as Head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) when Obama fired him in 2014 much to the approval of his fellow DIA Officers.
We don't know who the unnamed witness is that Trump texted in order to interfere with his/her testimony. No chance it's Flynn's brother that ran to his lawyer?
Meadows is most likely to flip. He strikes me as a weak man. I doubt he wants to become a martyr for the right by going to prison for years. Or maybe DOJ doesn't need him.
Do you suppose that Flynn thought he would end up as the leader of a military takeover if the coup was successful? In his delusion and conspiracy dreams?
Perhaps. Flynn's never exactly been "right" in the head since his firing as DIA Director. However, I DO know (a bit insidery) that when he made his sedition-y comments last year, an Army lawyer spoke up that he'd like Flynn brought back on AC and court martialed as I outlined above. Hilariously, Flynn WAS UNAWARE THIS COULD BE DONE, and immediately walked back his comments the next day. President Biden--and pretty much ONLY he--has the authority to do this. Otherwise, he'd have to be tried as a civilian.
Robert I believe that one of Flynn’s military look alikes was the crazy AF general in Dr. Strangelove who knew that communists were taking over the country through the water system. As least this weirdo believed that he was being patriotic. Flynn simply took a bushel bag of $$$$ from Putin-assuaged folks—and Turkey. That Flynn is still highlighted in the Trump cult underscores the stupid venality of that group.
Could you elaborate on the rules that make it possible to force retired officers back to active duty? It’s very appealing in the Flynn case, but it sounds like the Hotel California. I’m astonished that it’s possible.
Robert, “[o]nce the hearings conclude, or at least after Garland issues the indictment, I have one additional plea” to add as a naturalized citizen of retirement age (who is still working full time because of financial issues): President Biden, Congress, DOJ, please remove the 3 INjustices who lied to the Senate and were placed on SCOTUS by a rogue and criminal president. PLEASE!
Well, of course, another matter entirely--I'm much less expert (well, I'm none) in judicial affairs, but my intuition tells me it's more likely we'd see a move to pack the court before we'd see judicial impeachment. Like it or not, such things ARE political and often matters of timing and momentum...
Yes. An Airman or young Sergeant would be sitting 'in the brig' for such treasonous behavior. Anyone remember Bradley Manning? He/she did more to point the spotlight on the disgusting behavior of our diplomats (and Generals) than causing damage to our Country anywhere near the scale of M.Flynn.
While my prediction that the Committee would provide evidence showing Flynn (during the Dec 18th meeting) or Stone (by encrypted communication immediately after that meeting) informed Trump that "his" militias (Proud Boys and Oath Keepers) were ready to lead the Jan 6th attack on Congress. I still believe that's why Trump tweeted “Big protest in D.C. on January 6. Be there, will be wild!” But, alas, the Committee has done an exemplary job demonstrating intent and foreknowledge even without such evidence (to date).
This leads to Merrick Garland and the DOJ. DOJ should be issuing subpoenas to the entire cast of seditionists. It is time to force these insurrectionists to spill their guts or face years in prison. DOJ and FBI: Do your job!
The big question for me: Does Garland even have the spine and stones to indict? There are many, myself included, who suspect Garland will opt to simply look the other way. If true, then he will have been one more nail in the coffin of our constitutional democracy. The United States is fragmented, those fragments having been created by Trump & Co. Many pundits are saying that Garland is "afraid". If so, then he definitely is not the man for the job he has been assigned.
I view him as thorough and a person who does not allow leaks. We don't want some half hasty indictment that death star can weasel out of. The DOJ has indicted Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for serious seditious charges and they didn't announce it before hand. The DOJ also had a hand in Steve Bannon's failed attempt to postpone his trial.
People have gotten so used to gotcha tv, headlines and 24 hour coverage as well as either a scandal-ridden or leaky Departments of Justice, that we get nervous not hearing anything. We won’t know if Merrick Garland has the stones to prosecute a former seditious president and his bunch of traitorous thugs until he actually does it; or not. The man has been on the job all of 16 months. He walked into a department riddled with 4 yrs of trump rot and yesterday we heard that the Secret Service somehow managed to delete messages that the J-6 Committee wanted access to. So why are we making Garland’s job any more difficult than it already is, is beyond me.
He made clear he and his prosecutors were watching the hearings. They also have been able to charge Proud Boy and Oath Keeper leadership with seditious conspiracy, which they did not announce to surprise them, and everyone seems to forget. These groups did pre-riot training and planning and led the charge, so they are not letting people get off. They are also the reason that Bannon has not been successful in putting off his trial.
I pay no attention to these pundits. They don't know how important cases are built. Prosecuting attorneys have a much better idea of how it works. I see lots of people on threads faulting Garland, and I don't let that go by.
Great idea, I don't know what his pension is but he should lose it all. I am also a retired Vet and he makes me sick to my stomach. He has completely ignored the oath he took.
Will Garland do anything in time? Even Robert Mueller, who tied his own thumbs together and kept his mouth shut, says Garland could be doing more. Getting nervous…
Heather, your work assembling and displaying the multi-faceted and far spread details of this sordid attempt to undermine American democracy is always brilliant, always illuminating. This is one of your best Letters yet, and they're all terrific.
Thank you for your tireless labors. I'm one of a large number of people who have come to depend on your near daily commentary and have found it consistently accurate and fair. I only wish your readership were ten fold what it is, so more of our American friends and neighbors would be able to see as clearly as you spell it out.
I will redouble my efforts to get more folks to read you.
I agree. I've been sending the letters to a cousin (a T supporter) so she really knows what's going on. Others I know wouldn't even read it if I sent it to them. Baby steps.
I’ve come to the conclusion that radicalization is much like addiction. Deradicalization is nearly impossible, as long as there are other radicals to keep community with. Every addiction has a spectrum and Maga is like crack or Meth to these ‘true believers’. It is as if they are untreatable.
You are absolutely correct that "radicalization is much like addiction" and that as long as there is a forum that fosters that hate and anger that provides the "high", treatment is dang near impossible. Factor in the difficulty in deprogramming cult survivors, and it is a double edged sword.
The dopamine, it takes them down the rabbit hole of delusion. The further they go, this response pathway in the brain makes it harder and harder to find the way back.
Good analogy. And like any addiction, some people eventually "get clean." Sometimes it's an internal awakening. Sometimes it's an external force like we heard that yesterday from Stephen Ayers.
I disagree. While most addicts never get clean, enough of them do to make it a goal worth working toward. So too with Trump's cultists. Enough of them are waking out of their trance to not give up hope.
Sure, it can be a nice goal for the idealist, but its foolish to believe that conversion could be accomplished before the midterms. Talk to anyone in counseling or psychology. There are not enough professional counselors to correct the misguided Maga worldviews of those drawn towards and then become addicted to tfg's demagoguery. And even if there was enough counselors that run 'MAGA addictive services", the timeframe for recovery is different for each individual, and no person is "cured"...ever. Addicts live in 'recovery'. There are only a handful of Jan 6th's that realize what they did were wrong. These are Unicorns that gained awareness only after charged with serious crimes, put in jail, paid fins, lost their jobs, lost loved ones because of their behavior ( kind of like hitting rock bottom for an addict).
Time is of the essence. Put all energy and effort into the independents, the unaffiliated voters, and register new 1st time voters. Understand that most of us do not have the time nor training to de-radicalize folks. Attempts to deradicalize are interpreted as psychological violence that we are 'forcing' upon them. Identity politics has made it so. People would rather die physically than be ostracized from their identity group ( there are many studies on this over decades since WW2). People never want to admit they were fooled in the first place, so they go along with the Con to avoid reconciling their cognitive dissonance. They invest further into tfg's political Ponzi scheme.
Social media new friends & likes validating hate, bad logic, and bad ideas= dopamine
Demagogues appeals to passion and prejudice= dopamine
Overtime, repeated dopamine release after release overwhelms the balance of brain chemistry and reset ability, more and more dopamine is needed to ‘feel’ it, and at the same time permanently damage this pathway, creating a negative feedback loop. Maga’s brains have been irreversibly hacked.
I suspect you're accurate in this theory. Sounds like the same path that meth follows with destroying all of the usual pleasure sensors and replacing them with meth. Hatred is as bad as meth, especially in this kind of feedback loop.
Don't waste waste your time. To do so with the radicalized is akin to psychological violence to them. It is futile. Put that energy and love of discourse, logic, love for democracy into people who are unregistered, independents.
you are spot on. My local township & county Democratic group has dramatically raised the rate of Democrats registered and voting (and now in office!) in the past ~8 or so years. Lots of one-on-one contact, great candidates.... that's where my money is.
I have family members with whom I NEVER discuss politics. They are willfully blind. My dad (God rest his soul) and I often argued over politics, but our discussions did not deteriorate into maliciousness. Oh different today is.
Today's letter is remarkable. I watched the hearings live. Read and listened to commentary into the night. And I wake up to not just the best overview but a riveting narrative that left me feeling I was there for these shocking, unprecedented events. Take a bow, professor!
Ditto to everything you stated. It is all much clearer reading todays account of the hearing. I was a little confused watching it yesterday. Thank You Heather and thank you Richard for your comments.
Does anyone else come away from these hearings with a gaping question the media leaves unasked? Namely, are the FBI and DOJ compromised institutions? I mean, it's kind of ridiculous to learn today that a Twitter employee found it obvious that far-right groups were coordinating violence for Jan. 6, yet the FBI either didn't, or just refused to act on it and protect our Capitol. Nor did it arrest the instigators and plotters afterwards. We the public now learn about an avalanche of evidence from over a year and a half ago that points clearly to treason. Yet the FBI does nothing to protect us even now. I don't remember the same wait-and-see approach with 9-11. Comical to imagine the FBI letting terrorists stay free for a couple of years until the DOJ could build an airtight case.
I suppose this question goes hand in hand with another conclusion that no one dares to speak at the hearings: the Republican Party itself is indistinguishable from a terrorist organization in its tactics, strategies, and goals. It is no longer a part of the Constitutional conversation. And we Democrats don't really have a clue what to do about that.
It is not so much that DOJ or FBI are corrupt. It is more that the entire culture of the United States gives a pass to rich white men who break the law. Ask yourself how many rich white men can you remember in your life have broken laws (dumping slag in creeks illegally, selling fake mortgage bonds to idiots, running various criminal enterprises, lying about weapons of mass destruction to grant Haliburton no bid contracts), and then have actually gone to jail. Almost none. AND, then, jail time only if they fleeced other rich white Americans.
Trump is a man who did whatever he wanted while living in NY City, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
And so he does. Whatever he wants, whenever he wants however he wants.
And.......his punishment?? Exile to Mara Lago. i.e. NO punishment.
And.....Russell, that is not NEW or NOVEL. That is America: Working As Designed.
I beg to differ. There are quite a few people in prison for just that kind of behavior. What remains to be seen is if T**** can escape the same fate. I'd give odds that he cannot. At some point, money will no longer be enough to insulate him from the justice system.
James, as you note, it is possible to find a very small number of rich white men in prison. Very small number. But, relative to the number of crimes they commit and relative to the overall prison population that number is so small as to be, actually, statistically insignificant.
Remember, in the not too distant American past, it was completely OK both culturally and legally for a rich plantation owner (white male) to whip a man to death on Sunday while inviting his neighbors over for Sunday celebration to watch. Not only was that not a crime. It served as societal entertainment.
America. Working as designed where Trump is concerned.
Here is one example of a rich white man, who, for generations, committed various crimes including suspected murder. Only recently, after, apparently, gunning down both his wife and son, has he been charged.
This one outlines the dynasty of criminals embedded in the legal system for three generations.
search on Alex Murdaugh and spend a few hours reading about a criminal dynasty embedded in the legal system in the south.....from great grandfather to today.
Finally! Like the whole world didn't see that writing on the wall?!?! Anyway, how long before he offs himself, like another rich white guy who did go to prison, eventually - Jeffrey Epstein.
Roy Cohn trained Trump to act like a mob boss, never leaving records or speaking directly. I blame the NY Bar Association for not defenestrating him much sooner than they did.
Mike, your point of view is one that hit me in the gut with the not guilty verdict in the OJ Simpson trial now many years ago. I heard people say that verdict was revenge for all the time wealthy white criminals were never brought to justice. And it was a wake up call. That said, I think we're in something quite different now. The Republican Party is challenging the entire concept of democracy, and that affects everyone. Further, their strategy reveals operations more alike Al Qaeda than Ku Klux Klan. If they were a fringe group, they would be just extremely dangerous. But they are over a third of our population. And I imagine that's why the FBI and DOJ are paralyzed from acting.
Yes, the evidence points to treason. But the treason had not taken place. We don't have thought police. I do not consider either of these organizations to be compromised; they have their own standards of conduct, and both have several 'watchers of the watchers' (the Inspectors General in each) who jealously guard against compromise.
The case(s) do have to be absolutely airtight, especially the one against T****. The question remains as to when he will be indicted and tried, not if. That is a settled issue, given the preponderance of evidence against him. The DOJ knows what has to be done, and I have confidence they will be up to the task.
Are there still chump loyalist in both organizations??? Well, that was the goal from day one, plant supporters everywhere….and target the chump enemies at the same time. Don’t even doubt that they lurk everywhere
This is not the “Minority Report” no thought police involved. These folks actively planned, organized and communicated illegal intent. Conspiracy to commit a crime is illegal.
The problem with this argument—waiting for an "airtight" case before charging Trump and the Jan. 6 plotters with a crime— is that the criminals continue their crime with very real attacks on the legitimacy of our democratic vote. It's not outlandish to imagine they will succeed destroying our Constitution before DOJ makes a move to protect it. And that seems crazy.
I’m going out on the limb of “practicing without a license”, but it seems to me that with all of the questionable attorney work on the radical right’s side, it might be that an “air-tight” case might take a lot of care and time to be air tight.
That appears to be the "elephant in the room" (double/triple entendre intended). A Twitter employee knew; this retired cop watching the woefully inadequate police response to the events scheduled on January 6th suspected either intentional (in)action or an utter command and control failure.
Russell, I was thinking the same thing. FBI and DOJ must be infiltrated by T loyalists or else this could/should have been stopped. I wish this were all a bad dream but this is our reality.
The rank and file of the FBI and DOJ are civil servants. While T**** did serious damage to the reputation of both by the appointments he made to the leadership (Bill Barr, for one), his actions had little effect on the organizations' backbone: the people who do the work. I trust them, and know that they strive to be apolitical. They work with a different administration every four years, but they serve the people, not the president.
As I understand it, that was to be the whole purpose of “drain the swamp” - put destroyers at the top of all government agencies and then get rid of the civil servants who had experience and dedication to their jobs.and their country - not to a president.
And the heads that were appointed by Trump could really only affect other appointees: not the civil servants. While it's difficult to get a good civil service job, it's also difficult to fire those who have made the grade. That's not a drawback: civil servants need to have some sort of job security. Not so for the appointees: they serve 'at the pleasure of...' So while T**** had a bad effect on most all government agencies, for the main it was because he didn't hire enough people to fully staff them. That problem is being addressed by the current administration.
However, if my memory is correct, while civil servants weren’t literally fired, in some cases their working conditions were made intolerable - as in moving headquarters to distant states or locations.
There are definitely comprised FBI rank & file. Remember back before the 2016 election when Rudy let slip about his conversations w FBI agents in NYC (tho he tried to change his story to retired agents)? There was, apparently, a big issue w politics entering into the NYC office at that time. Many believe it’s want promoted Comey to testify before congress in 10/2016: to stop an internal uprising by the HRC haters. There are ALWAYS bad apples, & often they rise to power, civil servants notwithstanding.
If 35% of our country identify as Republicans, then I imagine 35% of the FBI and DOJ do as well. I imagine they reconcile taking their oath to defend the Constitution even while they believe they are serving an illegitimately elected President using the same twisted-pretzel logic as the Republicans in Congress who did not vote to certify the election. Namely, they lie.
I'm reading Kurt Andersen's Evil Geniuses. It goes into great detail about all the organizations Kochs and the Mercers created to radicalize the Republican Party. It was a patient, comprehensive, and strategic process. Democrats don't have anything like it.
And none of the organizations you mention are government agencies made up (mostly) of civil servants. SCOTUS is appointed and, therefore, political. As is the RNC. The rest are private companies, no?
And today we found out the Secret Service is compromised as well. When you start to trace out all the conservative foundations and donors, and how they coordinate their messages and tactics, it really is a vast conspiracy. We need big white boards like the detectives have in all the crime TV shows to understand how they all interconnect. :(
The name Steve Bannon never fails to remind me that in 2016 he told a reporter for The Daily Beast: “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Makes his January 5 comments all the more haunting.
Disgusting, deplorable piece of crap, Bannon is. Take away his toy, his radio show. Let’s wipe that cheshire cat know-it-all grin off of his pot-marked face.
Yet the media still refer to him as a "firebrand" and treats him like he's just your garden variety "campaign strategist". He doesn't hide who he is or what his motives are but they still court him.
Thank you for this clear summary of the hearing and of the attempted coup. So many White House insiders knew about the plans to overturn the election, and yet not one of them alerted the FBI or DOJ or even the NY Times, even when they knew Trump and his accomplices were planning violence for January 6. What a nasty bunch of takers.
Like it or not, we are dealing with A President, not a Mayor or Chief of Police or Codes Enforcement person. This guy has many minions in many places.., call them "allies". Some you may think you know others you may not. Some provide lip-service and keep 'lists'. Reading Gulag Archipelago helps one get a grip on what we are dealing with here. Namely, a president and his party (allies!)out of control.
I read Gulag Archipelago in 1997. During the winter "reading season" up north here.
"Gulag" was the most depressing and eye opening bit of writing I have ever read and it took me half the summer to shake it off. Who knew anyone could be so sustainably evil, and so well supported, as Stalin.
Even the NY Times, in the mid 1930's, while Stalin was in the process of starving millions of Kulaks on his "collective farms" was singing Stalin's praises.
A dark book outlining a truly dark time in human history.
My Father, an early aviator, was born in Moscow 1890. As a young Son, he explained things to me first hand. Later, around 2005/6/7, I acquired three books.. which I would say, corroborated things I recall he spoke of. My Mother, from Detroit (1912), so kindly bestowed upon my innocent early-mind the benign scribblings of Hans C. Anderson, James W. Riley, Winnie the Pooh... Sam L. Clements, etc, complete with digestive words.
Mike..., I am running toward 79 in December and consider myself so gotttdammned fortunate to have had these parents.
I'm not sure how much "support" Stalin really had. People were terrified of him. During the 1930s, he had millions of people executed for so-called "crimes against the state," including one of my relatives.
It’s an eye opening book, Mad, that’s for sure! & one certainly sees parallels to today & our own media & what they choose to pay attention to. & I’m certain that way too many of the crazy members of the gop would love to put all Democrats & “RINOS” in gulags.
'Van Tatenhove warned that the danger is ongoing.'
This committee is more important than any of us ever knew.
Heather, we all has such respect and gratitude for your ability to distill and share what has been and is being done to our precious country. There is not a strong enough expression for 'Thank you'.
Since Professor Richardson seems reticent to toot her own horn, I'll toot it for her. The latest Now and Then hosted by her and Joanne Freeman, had Carol Anderson, noted historian, on board. Though one could argue it is only tangential to the narrow moment we are in, I would argue it is exactly on point. You decide.
Regarding what else needs to be said, we need to convince Ms. Cheney also about the need to follow the science of global warming and climate change, in case she runs in 2024 and wins election.
Liz Cheney, Joe Manchin and about 31% of American voters. The Fairness Doctrine, manipulated by Big Oil, has done incredible damage with the whole, “but not all scientists agree l” campaign. Bull. 98% do. Even Mitt Romney admits the climate is changing. We have very little time to start reversing course. As usual, time to help get out the vote, right?
Yes, Kathy. Quite the sidebar anecdote from that past Oathkeepers witness. Imagine having “kill cards” with Pelosi as queen of hearts in your campaign paraphernalia. I gasped. Quite disturbing. What a paramilitary crew for a defeated president’s transition team.
Why are these gangsters not in prison? Anyone else, would be. The evidence is so clear regarding the subversion and treason of 45, Bannon, Flynn, Guiliani, Stone, Powell, Pillow Guy, Overstock Guy, I just don’t understand why they have not been arrested, awaiting trial. Low-level criminals get treatment that locks them up. These high-level conspirators should be in prison. Even the Oathkeepers’ INSIDER Van Tothaven says there is ongoing danger. This is just the beginning. God help us!
What the committee’s revealing is terrifyingly evil. Rather than get swept up in it, I’m writing Vote Forward letters to get out the Democratic leaning vote in swing states. Despite the usual headwinds of mid-term elections, even a majority of Republicans don’t want tfg to run again.* The January 6 Select Committee hearings are taking their toll. Voters are energized to vote against Trump Republicans.
Clearly your opinion isn’t shared by everyone, Jeri. Tens of millions voted for trump.
Republicans are within two years of total political dominance at the federal level. The guys that call the shots like the Koch Brothers and many others, are not going to let Trump get in their way.
To be a Trumpist, IMO, you have to have a personality disorder. Their view of the world is insane. Take Bannon. He may just be insane anyway, but I believe to think and talk the way he does requires a serious personality disorder. DeSantis is a Trumpist; therefore I think he has a personality disorder. Some insane view of reality. And a shrewd one at that. I am a very very scared of him.
I want to know they are maintaining and increasing their energy levels. Being skewered by the acclaimed Ruler of all the Russias is more than enough to have to cope with (and cope with it we have to).
I am suggesting getting some distance from what others do and making positive efforts toward the outcome you want. That outcome may or may not be achieved, but I don’t let that stop me from trying and knowing that I did my small part, as I am doing here.
I wrote for them in 2020. I have hesitated to rejoin as I have a form of writer's block. I can no longer ~ concisely ~ express why it's important to vote. I paraphrased words from retired Col. Alexander Vindman's impeachment testimony.
What are you writing, specifically? I don't know what to say.
Guilty as charged, if he ever gets charged. Todays hearing was the crown for me. Everything came together and there’s no doubt that tfg is and was not only unhinged but surrounded by enablers and criminals even before the election. This country, this Democracy is so so lucky that we survived the post election months and even the entire four years of this presidency. Barely. From Charlottesville on we knew we had the beginning of Trump’s American Carnage. And he isn’t the only elected official guilty. How long before he escapes to safely?
I fear that too. Irenie. Garland has to get him and get him good! We had a mafia boss in charge of our country but really he was/is a petulant 76 year old child. That’s where I disagree with Cheney although, I laughed when she made that comment.
Marlene, Trump is not a petulant child. He actually is a grown man.
A grown man who did whatever he wanted in NY, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
A severe case of arrested development, but what you get when one is NEVER called to account. Can’t wait to see the result of a malignant narcissist facing retribution at last - pin in a balloon, melt into a puddle, or a supernova…
“We” did not give him our country for four years. More than 3 million MORE of us voted for HRC than for 45. We have got to get the popular vote to replace the racist electoral college.
Yes, Elizabeth, you’re right. “We” didn’t “give” tfg our country. It is a real possibility he “stole” that election. Language really matters. And the electoral vote v the popular vote is another challenge. We need to “shut down “ the electoral college.
I laughed too, Marlene. Cheney didn't quite get it right.... "Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child. " He is a 5 year old dressed ad a 76 year old buffoon.
Never underestimate five-year-olds! Children have innocence and devotion, neither of which tfg is even remotely. capable. He IS petulant and an egomaniac who abused our nation like a really, really bad stepfather!
IMO. Ms Cheney's comment today holds an important lesson about followership. Because we can explain something or can build the case for how something horrible came about does not give the act a pass or make it ok, unless you are a believer. For followers, Trump will be the maligned hero to them, the J6 evidence inconclusive or unfair exactly as the indictable tranches were in the Mueller Report. The explanations will be enough and the guilt will be unproven or not all that important as, afterall, he is a great man and what he did for us outweighs any misdeeds others might claim were shown by the J6 Hearings. The fault, if there is any, will be that of the crazies he listened to and that the normals really didn't do the job of protecting his legacy. He would have won after J6 if everyone would have stayed at the barriers and kept the message clear. And, Mike Pence will get the Medal of Freedom from Biden because he betrayed his fealty to the President, not because he was doing his job. With that settled, the only 1uestion is who becomes the anointed carrier of the flag of the New Confederacy?
Fred, I have been hearing exactly that kind of garbage from Trumpers. He was so great and did so much for our country. WHAT did he do? Other than enrich himself, his family, cheated his followers to the tune of $250 million and greased Meadow’s palm with a $2 million donation to Meadows’ “foundation” from that grift. A criminal before and during and after his so-called presidency. I was always ashamed with my friends from abroad about tfg. Pence should get zero. He was also a creep as governor of Indiana and as VP. He and his Mother. And let’s not forget the slimy grifter son-in-law Kushner with his $ 2 BILLION in cash from the Saudi criminals. Oh and don’t forget the $660 MILLION made by Javanka during 45’s tenure in the WH. Disgusting beyond words. I think DeSantis, another monster, will carry the mantle of the New Confederacy. We have quite a cast of characters these days in the United States. OMG.
Trump “is a great man and what he did for us outweighs any misdeeds . . .” What do they list as his accomplishments? All I can figure is that he gave them reassurance that their nastiest impulses were justified and could be acted upon. And he defended the right of the wealthy to ignore their living countrymen and future generations who have to depend on this planet.
A total mystery to me. I once engaged with a very nice man who was willing to take the time to answer that question. He directed me to the Whitehouse website that recorded every success of Trump in real time. This was their holy grail. The 200+ items were a mixture of things he actually did (signed an executive order or 24 of them), had a marvelous meeting with with Kim, got us out of the Paris Accords, stuck it to Nato nations, and took credit for numerous things like the stock market, ginormous crowds at his rally, successes in combating boarder problems, etc. I editorialize. All of these were (well, almost all), talking points with almost never any verifiable facts. But, the sheer volume impressed this list of activities, which was actually no longer than a similar list during Bush or Obama or Clinton. But he's doing soo much for us? I asked, what he'd done for you. I got a tax cut, my 401k is growing, and we aren't beholden to China or Mexico. I feel safe. He knows business and doesn't take guff from anyone. Our conversation on FB ended. I suspect he might be more cautious about trying to convince someone like me now, but still thinks that his record is greater because he told him so and why would he lie on the Whitehouse website?
I am coming to believe (a dangerous sign for sure) that it all comes down to "trusted source." And, possibly for most of us on days when we are intellectually lazy or just fatigued. Easier to believe what the source implies than take the time to check, including checking ones own bank of incredulousness. Cocktail hour soon.
We were just talking about the Russians last night, and why their role is absent. It's quite likely these hearings are purposefully structured to 'stay to home' and that existing security operations are digging into the foreign connections. The timing of Browder's latest book dropped a puzzle piece in place. Magnitsky is killing Putin's baby, driving what's happening here, probably Brexit, and the war in Ukraine.
Over and over I’ve thought “Okay, this *has* to be the straw that finally breaks the 🐪’s back” …and it hasn’t been. 🤞🏼🤞🏼for this time, but….still worried.
On the other hand, oh how I long for that worry to be proven mistaken!
Been there so many times, the widespread hatred and evil of the cult is like an oil spill, oozing everywhere. And can seem innocuous, like the old, entitled bitches at my residence, spewing Fox bull Schitt.
Trump is a man who did whatever he wanted while living in NY City, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
And so he does. Whatever he wants, whenever he wants however he wants.
And.......his punishment?? Exile to Mara Lago. i.e. NO punishment.
While you may be right in your prediction, Mike, I have this fantasy that would really stick in his craw, and that is for Liz Cheney to win the presidency in 2024. Not something I would like to see, mind you, but even so...
Please don’t say that! What about Gretchen Witmer from Michigan? An incredible woman and politician. Let’s start stirring the pot for the next Democratic candidate. We MUST win 2024, our lives DO depend on it!
Let’s see…I grew up in NYC during the “Trump Years” and know of his toxic and horrendous history of ripping off the city, conning everyone in sight, etc. I think this IS different. Merrick Garland has prosecuted many homeland terrorists. Tfg is just another one, on a much bigger canvas. Let’s see…
One could almost see the impatient scurry of the media after Liz Cheney’s pointed warning of the unannounced, already harassed upcoming witness. Incoming call from president refused, not recorded, but reported to DOJ? What? Did Trump leave a voicemail? On, hmmmmm, possibly Ginni’s phone? One does wonder.
Yes, JustJanice! Shame on me, especially since it irks me to no end when I don't see the word "former" in a news story or hear it on a video or the news.
Not Ginni. She's on his side and not about to tattle on the boss. My guess is some WH upper echelon staffer who has already given a deposition. BTW, morning, Christine.
Afternoon, Fab Pam. I think I thought of her because Gin-it-up is (or at least was at some time) good friends with Liz Cheney. Liz just looked like she was busting out a personal scoop. I know that look in the eye.
I won’t be surprised at anyone crawling out of their t-rump bunker and suddenly wanting to tell all. Or more likely some. Their gig is up.
I do love guessing games, particularly when ya know the answer is forthcoming, Christine. But I think it’s one of the secret service guys (?). Mayhap even Meadows? I highly doubt it’s Ginni, but I could be wrong.
Once the hearings conclude, or at least after Garland issues the indictment, I have one additional plea as a retired servicemember: President Biden: please order that Michael Flynn be brought back on active duty, and tried under Article 94 (Mutiny and Sedition).
I want Flynn and possibly his brother, stripped of any medals and their pensions taken away. He (maybe his bro too) deceived the country he was supposedly in charge of protecting.
May I add that they and Mar-a-Lago be moved out of Florida? As in offshore to maybe Bermuda Triangle?
Mar a Lago needs to be seized and turned into housing for immigrants.
What a great idea Lynn!
It will be under water soon enough.
Lynn From the increased deliveries of ratatouille to Mar a Lago, I presume that the number of Mafioso rats gathering there is accelerating. I gather that at the Pardon Bar folks are now taking the Fifth.
or drinking a fifth
LOL! Good one.
They could be drinking a fifth or two as well. Oh I know. Not trump. He’s already drunk on his own EGO label.
SPW Trump makes much about not drinking after his brother's experience. What about drugs? He could be a poster boy with the catch phrase THINGS GO BETTER WITH COKE.
Is it unreasonable to think that the people that work there should just walk and leave them to clean up their own filth?
Make the Dry Tortugas a prison again. Move the Lardo there or Guantanamo.
That’s interesting Lynn . There is the potential ability for the State to try to condemn the property for public use.😎 I think that would make a good movie plot. Maybe just move for condemnation of TFP and DeSantis.
If Trump flees the country to escape prosecution, maybe there is some legal justification? Or to pay his back taxes? It would be a better use for the property.
I am still convinced, and now more than ever, that TFG and his family are going to flee the country to a place that doesn't have an extradition agreement in place with the USA. I don't think that Russia would take them, but it's possible that Saudi Arabia would. Wouldn't it be interesting if one of the conversations that Biden will have with MBS in the upcoming meeting is that he cautions the Saudi leader from giving TFG and his entourage asylum?
Hungary's another possible landing spot, or another country under authoritarian rule. The only issue anyone will have, however, is that TFG will decide that he, rather than the despot in charge, should run the country, and foment revolt.
No matter what, he needs to be held accountable for what he did, and so do his enablers and aides. I almost vomited when I saw Stephen ("I Am Not a White Supremacist") Miller with his newly shaved bald head testifying to the J6 Committee -- and being identified as TFG's "speech writer." In other words, the person who fed TFG the words and music.
Perfect!
And for all that are scrambling to get housing after rents jacked up. “Affordable Housing”. Alien language in Florida.
Ghristine ‘Affordable housing’ is relative. Ivanka bought land for $32 million down near poppa bear—I guess the house might cost a few millions.
Turn it into a center for the study of democracy …
. . . including a school for training activists to defend democracy, run for office, etc. Like the Highlander school that was so important for training leaders, both Black and white, of the civil rights movement.
I know you’d love that! The Bermuda Triangle would be just the perfect place. Perhaps a large whirlpool would gobble them up…never to be seen or heard of ever again.
Hey! what did Bermuda do to us? Just send him adrift.
Brilliant idea! If only we could pinpoint it accurately! 😈
I’m wondering when he and the gang will make a run to get out of the USA ? Don’t think even Putin would have him now. Meanwhile what do we do with the Trumpsters who will never face the truth ??
Steven Ayers, the trump supporter who testified and had attended the break-in of our Capital, stated that he had to turn off all his social media when he realized he was being lied to about the big steal. THAT right there is the issue. As long as the trumpeters are being mind-controlled, they will not be able to think for themselves. This is the tactic of all cult leaders. Orange flambé, fox, qanon, oan and any of the other talk show crazies (bannon, breitbart, alex jones, etc.) all need to be shut down and indicted for aiding and abetting the coup against the USA as propaganda machines with dangerous lies and brainwashing). Murdoch needs to be arrested, stripped of his citizenship, and along with all the other players pay huge fines for the costs we taxpayers are burdened with due to their treason. Sell everything they own and pay back our government and the costs of the J6 Committee and everyone's time, pain, deaths, and job losses due to disability during the violent coup.
And, it is time to deal with homegrown militias and assault weapons used against our own people. We have had enough of this. Crazies is correct and it is time to deal with them. Why did the FBI not know about all of this and the plans online? We could see it coming ...where were they?
Yes. Why did no one stop this plan before it happened? Was it because Trump installed people loyal only to him at the Defense Department and elsewhere? And why did none of these people speak out after the J6 attack, and during Trump’s second impeachment?
FBI stood down at the Bundy Ranch in 2014. That was a mistake and lead to Charlottesville etc.
Love it, strip Murdoch, what a vision. He is the mouthpiece for evil, repubs would do it in a nanosecond.
Good question about the FBI. What the hell is going on? Where are the arrests? How can groups like these be broken apart? Yes, Murdoch needs to go. Are there any laws forbidding propaganda?
What indeed???
maybe Gitmo?
No matter how this all plays out , the fat orange sociopath will, as he predicted, be king. King of the losers.
He is already that. I am hoping he becomes the Queen of his cell block
Yes, bro has escaped deep scrutiny and by my thinking deserves quite a bit more (guessing most people don't even know he exists). I know quite a few Army folks who loathe the Flynns. Deeply. Unfortunately, quite a few Old Army cronies would seem to still support their existence. Secretary Austin--now's the time get a little bold...
Yes, I agree. Austin has been quiet, of late, but I imagine he is up to his eyeballs in Putin and Ukraine. I do hope that he and other high-ranking officers insist upon court-martial or anything else to throw them into the brig for a very very long time.
Well, I'm certain if it comes up to the president's level, he'll talk to Austin and the Chairman about it. Agree--it's not a hot topic, but my guess is, it won't be left to twist too long once civilian indictments are issued.
Twin traitors wearing the USA uniform. Enough
Pardons are an admission of guilt. How many retired generals commit felonies without recourse or reprimand? Not doing so then, emboldened Flynn for more. Austin and Milly need to send a message.
Bro Flynn was not granted a pardon. What knowledge did he have of the General's plans and seditious actions? As an officer does his oath require that he report acts of other service members in violation of their shared oath and required honesty as an officer and member of the armed services? May he be compelled to share knowledge of plotting expected or observed by a brother?
His oath requires action against all enimies foreign and domestic. Even family.
❤️
Flynn's wacky-gonzo past goes back to his tenure as Head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) when Obama fired him in 2014 much to the approval of his fellow DIA Officers.
Yes. Who exactly was in the communications at the Pentagon, and chain of command delaying support requested by Capital Police?
Supposedly and just coincidentally, (cough cough) Flynn’s brother. It was perhaps, shall we say, a “family affair”.
Will the committee not look into the lack of response to the violence? It's maddening. Clearly it was part of the seditious plan.
I think he should be brought out in public view like Benito Mussolini and have his pants pulled down in front of everyone just for starters.
🤣
We don't know who the unnamed witness is that Trump texted in order to interfere with his/her testimony. No chance it's Flynn's brother that ran to his lawyer?
I think, given that Meadow’s is likely tfg’s fall guy - that he is the unnamed witness
Meadows is most likely to flip. He strikes me as a weak man. I doubt he wants to become a martyr for the right by going to prison for years. Or maybe DOJ doesn't need him.
if he’s going to be the fall boy, it might look good for him [maybe give him some bargaining points] if he reports Trump for interference.
As you said Meadows is weak, and in my opinion a hater, and lives his life lusting after money and power. I consider him sleazy.
Hmmm, could it be Hope Hicks?
Good guess. Likely a "close" go-between. tfg is now radioactive-glows orange in the dark.
Absolutely
Do you suppose that Flynn thought he would end up as the leader of a military takeover if the coup was successful? In his delusion and conspiracy dreams?
Perhaps. Flynn's never exactly been "right" in the head since his firing as DIA Director. However, I DO know (a bit insidery) that when he made his sedition-y comments last year, an Army lawyer spoke up that he'd like Flynn brought back on AC and court martialed as I outlined above. Hilariously, Flynn WAS UNAWARE THIS COULD BE DONE, and immediately walked back his comments the next day. President Biden--and pretty much ONLY he--has the authority to do this. Otherwise, he'd have to be tried as a civilian.
Do it Joe
Flynn is a disgrace to his uniform and all who have served honorably.
This goes without saying. Guessing most who've served, aside from additional disgraces like Mastriano, agree.
Mastriano…big UGH!
Robert I believe that one of Flynn’s military look alikes was the crazy AF general in Dr. Strangelove who knew that communists were taking over the country through the water system. As least this weirdo believed that he was being patriotic. Flynn simply took a bushel bag of $$$$ from Putin-assuaged folks—and Turkey. That Flynn is still highlighted in the Trump cult underscores the stupid venality of that group.
Could you elaborate on the rules that make it possible to force retired officers back to active duty? It’s very appealing in the Flynn case, but it sounds like the Hotel California. I’m astonished that it’s possible.
❤️
❤️
Yes
He would have had to wrangle Stewart Rhodes for that.
Stewart would lose, Flynn is Machiavellian master
Yes.
Robert, “[o]nce the hearings conclude, or at least after Garland issues the indictment, I have one additional plea” to add as a naturalized citizen of retirement age (who is still working full time because of financial issues): President Biden, Congress, DOJ, please remove the 3 INjustices who lied to the Senate and were placed on SCOTUS by a rogue and criminal president. PLEASE!
Well, of course, another matter entirely--I'm much less expert (well, I'm none) in judicial affairs, but my intuition tells me it's more likely we'd see a move to pack the court before we'd see judicial impeachment. Like it or not, such things ARE political and often matters of timing and momentum...
Plus we know only "two" well that impeachments don't necessarily result in convictions.
Each Senator signs an agreement to be an impartial juror. Then leaves the room and tells everyone how they will vote. Both Dems and Reps.
“Balance” the court! Not “pack”. 😉🥰
At this point it seems like trying to unscramble an egg. It would seem this cancer has metastasized.
It did, probably before the tea party, but they cemented the insanity. Such a horror, a half black president
Yes. An Airman or young Sergeant would be sitting 'in the brig' for such treasonous behavior. Anyone remember Bradley Manning? He/she did more to point the spotlight on the disgusting behavior of our diplomats (and Generals) than causing damage to our Country anywhere near the scale of M.Flynn.
Chelsea Manning is comparatively and maybe just objectively a patriot compared to the Flynns.
He went from general to weasel. He even resembles one now.
Salud, Robert. 🗽
Look at Rudy!!! Mayor of the year in everyone’s eyes after 9/11. What a fall from grace.
While my prediction that the Committee would provide evidence showing Flynn (during the Dec 18th meeting) or Stone (by encrypted communication immediately after that meeting) informed Trump that "his" militias (Proud Boys and Oath Keepers) were ready to lead the Jan 6th attack on Congress. I still believe that's why Trump tweeted “Big protest in D.C. on January 6. Be there, will be wild!” But, alas, the Committee has done an exemplary job demonstrating intent and foreknowledge even without such evidence (to date).
This leads to Merrick Garland and the DOJ. DOJ should be issuing subpoenas to the entire cast of seditionists. It is time to force these insurrectionists to spill their guts or face years in prison. DOJ and FBI: Do your job!
Can it be a petition we can sign as well?
Agree! Also, they should stop using his title from the military when speaking of him.
As a Veteran whose family has served this country since the American Revolutionary War, I agree 100%. Flynn is an absolute disgrace and a traitor.
The big question for me: Does Garland even have the spine and stones to indict? There are many, myself included, who suspect Garland will opt to simply look the other way. If true, then he will have been one more nail in the coffin of our constitutional democracy. The United States is fragmented, those fragments having been created by Trump & Co. Many pundits are saying that Garland is "afraid". If so, then he definitely is not the man for the job he has been assigned.
I view him as thorough and a person who does not allow leaks. We don't want some half hasty indictment that death star can weasel out of. The DOJ has indicted Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for serious seditious charges and they didn't announce it before hand. The DOJ also had a hand in Steve Bannon's failed attempt to postpone his trial.
Fingers crossed.
People have gotten so used to gotcha tv, headlines and 24 hour coverage as well as either a scandal-ridden or leaky Departments of Justice, that we get nervous not hearing anything. We won’t know if Merrick Garland has the stones to prosecute a former seditious president and his bunch of traitorous thugs until he actually does it; or not. The man has been on the job all of 16 months. He walked into a department riddled with 4 yrs of trump rot and yesterday we heard that the Secret Service somehow managed to delete messages that the J-6 Committee wanted access to. So why are we making Garland’s job any more difficult than it already is, is beyond me.
He made clear he and his prosecutors were watching the hearings. They also have been able to charge Proud Boy and Oath Keeper leadership with seditious conspiracy, which they did not announce to surprise them, and everyone seems to forget. These groups did pre-riot training and planning and led the charge, so they are not letting people get off. They are also the reason that Bannon has not been successful in putting off his trial.
I know. That’s why I get so aggravated when all the talking heads cut Garland down. It serves no useful purpose except to make the DOJ look bad.
I pay no attention to these pundits. They don't know how important cases are built. Prosecuting attorneys have a much better idea of how it works. I see lots of people on threads faulting Garland, and I don't let that go by.
Pshaw. He is not afraid. What do those pundits base that on? Certainly cannot be his career as a judge.
Salud, KWarrior. 🗽
I hope you are correct.
Watch "Rattled" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/uUHab0fZc4M
Great idea, I don't know what his pension is but he should lose it all. I am also a retired Vet and he makes me sick to my stomach. He has completely ignored the oath he took.
Will Garland do anything in time? Even Robert Mueller, who tied his own thumbs together and kept his mouth shut, says Garland could be doing more. Getting nervous…
I suspect Mueller was threatened.
As someone who was never permitted to serve, I heartily endorse this message.
Agreed, he deserves to be in prison!
YES!
Whitehouse.gov has a 'contact us' link on the web page. You can tell him yourself. I've done it.
Thank you for this and your service Sir, Navy family.
Heather, your work assembling and displaying the multi-faceted and far spread details of this sordid attempt to undermine American democracy is always brilliant, always illuminating. This is one of your best Letters yet, and they're all terrific.
Thank you for your tireless labors. I'm one of a large number of people who have come to depend on your near daily commentary and have found it consistently accurate and fair. I only wish your readership were ten fold what it is, so more of our American friends and neighbors would be able to see as clearly as you spell it out.
I will redouble my efforts to get more folks to read you.
LFAA has a big following on Facebook.
Richard, you’re spot on! The details in this letter of Heather’s tie everything together brilliantly!
THANK YOU, Heather!
I agree. I've been sending the letters to a cousin (a T supporter) so she really knows what's going on. Others I know wouldn't even read it if I sent it to them. Baby steps.
I’ve come to the conclusion that radicalization is much like addiction. Deradicalization is nearly impossible, as long as there are other radicals to keep community with. Every addiction has a spectrum and Maga is like crack or Meth to these ‘true believers’. It is as if they are untreatable.
Third try at posting this...
You are absolutely correct that "radicalization is much like addiction" and that as long as there is a forum that fosters that hate and anger that provides the "high", treatment is dang near impossible. Factor in the difficulty in deprogramming cult survivors, and it is a double edged sword.
The dopamine, it takes them down the rabbit hole of delusion. The further they go, this response pathway in the brain makes it harder and harder to find the way back.
In the FYI department, these posts took at least 30 minutes to post.
You're spot on in this assessment. It is harder to treat in some ways than deprogramming a cult.
Good analogy. And like any addiction, some people eventually "get clean." Sometimes it's an internal awakening. Sometimes it's an external force like we heard that yesterday from Stephen Ayers.
Ayers, like a recovering meth addict is a Unicorn.
I disagree. While most addicts never get clean, enough of them do to make it a goal worth working toward. So too with Trump's cultists. Enough of them are waking out of their trance to not give up hope.
Sure, it can be a nice goal for the idealist, but its foolish to believe that conversion could be accomplished before the midterms. Talk to anyone in counseling or psychology. There are not enough professional counselors to correct the misguided Maga worldviews of those drawn towards and then become addicted to tfg's demagoguery. And even if there was enough counselors that run 'MAGA addictive services", the timeframe for recovery is different for each individual, and no person is "cured"...ever. Addicts live in 'recovery'. There are only a handful of Jan 6th's that realize what they did were wrong. These are Unicorns that gained awareness only after charged with serious crimes, put in jail, paid fins, lost their jobs, lost loved ones because of their behavior ( kind of like hitting rock bottom for an addict).
Time is of the essence. Put all energy and effort into the independents, the unaffiliated voters, and register new 1st time voters. Understand that most of us do not have the time nor training to de-radicalize folks. Attempts to deradicalize are interpreted as psychological violence that we are 'forcing' upon them. Identity politics has made it so. People would rather die physically than be ostracized from their identity group ( there are many studies on this over decades since WW2). People never want to admit they were fooled in the first place, so they go along with the Con to avoid reconciling their cognitive dissonance. They invest further into tfg's political Ponzi scheme.
That is a great analogy, Ted. It is the same with cults, and the intensive deprogramming that is really the only way to help them recover.
American diet = addded sugar= dopamine
Social media new friends & likes validating hate, bad logic, and bad ideas= dopamine
Demagogues appeals to passion and prejudice= dopamine
Overtime, repeated dopamine release after release overwhelms the balance of brain chemistry and reset ability, more and more dopamine is needed to ‘feel’ it, and at the same time permanently damage this pathway, creating a negative feedback loop. Maga’s brains have been irreversibly hacked.
I suspect you're accurate in this theory. Sounds like the same path that meth follows with destroying all of the usual pleasure sensors and replacing them with meth. Hatred is as bad as meth, especially in this kind of feedback loop.
Baby steps spell progress!
I'm wondering hoe your cousin has taken the essays. My drumpish brother has unfriended me on FB. I can't go near politics with him
So far, no complaints. I'm hesitant to dig into it with her just yet. But I do ask if she's read what I send her and her answer is yes.
Don't waste waste your time. To do so with the radicalized is akin to psychological violence to them. It is futile. Put that energy and love of discourse, logic, love for democracy into people who are unregistered, independents.
you are spot on. My local township & county Democratic group has dramatically raised the rate of Democrats registered and voting (and now in office!) in the past ~8 or so years. Lots of one-on-one contact, great candidates.... that's where my money is.
I have family members with whom I NEVER discuss politics. They are willfully blind. My dad (God rest his soul) and I often argued over politics, but our discussions did not deteriorate into maliciousness. Oh different today is.
I was the same way with my f-i-l until the dementia took him over.
Hard to <3 THAT!!! But I'm beginning to wonder about my bro.
Today's letter is remarkable. I watched the hearings live. Read and listened to commentary into the night. And I wake up to not just the best overview but a riveting narrative that left me feeling I was there for these shocking, unprecedented events. Take a bow, professor!
I couldn't agree more! Heather, you are just amazing in your diligence and clarity. Thank you.
Adding one more to the chorus, Heather, I salute you and so appreciate your efforts to deliver such succinct, lucid, and well-researched missives.
Ditto to everything you stated. It is all much clearer reading todays account of the hearing. I was a little confused watching it yesterday. Thank You Heather and thank you Richard for your comments.
Thank you, Doctor Bearman, for articulating my thoughts.
You're overly kind - I live in Maryland, hence the MD. I did found and direct a mental health clinic, but my éducation just got to the MA level.
Does anyone else come away from these hearings with a gaping question the media leaves unasked? Namely, are the FBI and DOJ compromised institutions? I mean, it's kind of ridiculous to learn today that a Twitter employee found it obvious that far-right groups were coordinating violence for Jan. 6, yet the FBI either didn't, or just refused to act on it and protect our Capitol. Nor did it arrest the instigators and plotters afterwards. We the public now learn about an avalanche of evidence from over a year and a half ago that points clearly to treason. Yet the FBI does nothing to protect us even now. I don't remember the same wait-and-see approach with 9-11. Comical to imagine the FBI letting terrorists stay free for a couple of years until the DOJ could build an airtight case.
I suppose this question goes hand in hand with another conclusion that no one dares to speak at the hearings: the Republican Party itself is indistinguishable from a terrorist organization in its tactics, strategies, and goals. It is no longer a part of the Constitutional conversation. And we Democrats don't really have a clue what to do about that.
Russell,
It is not so much that DOJ or FBI are corrupt. It is more that the entire culture of the United States gives a pass to rich white men who break the law. Ask yourself how many rich white men can you remember in your life have broken laws (dumping slag in creeks illegally, selling fake mortgage bonds to idiots, running various criminal enterprises, lying about weapons of mass destruction to grant Haliburton no bid contracts), and then have actually gone to jail. Almost none. AND, then, jail time only if they fleeced other rich white Americans.
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/rich-get-richer-and-poor-get-prison-ideology-crime-and-criminal
Trump is a man who did whatever he wanted while living in NY City, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
And so he does. Whatever he wants, whenever he wants however he wants.
And.......his punishment?? Exile to Mara Lago. i.e. NO punishment.
And.....Russell, that is not NEW or NOVEL. That is America: Working As Designed.
And our DOJ and FBI are confirming your view. Protect rich, white men at all costs. It appears that “Cost” is Democracy itself.
I beg to differ. There are quite a few people in prison for just that kind of behavior. What remains to be seen is if T**** can escape the same fate. I'd give odds that he cannot. At some point, money will no longer be enough to insulate him from the justice system.
James, as you note, it is possible to find a very small number of rich white men in prison. Very small number. But, relative to the number of crimes they commit and relative to the overall prison population that number is so small as to be, actually, statistically insignificant.
https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/rich-get-richer-and-poor-get-prison-ideology-crime-and-criminal
Remember, in the not too distant American past, it was completely OK both culturally and legally for a rich plantation owner (white male) to whip a man to death on Sunday while inviting his neighbors over for Sunday celebration to watch. Not only was that not a crime. It served as societal entertainment.
America. Working as designed where Trump is concerned.
That was in a different era. (the whippings)
Indeed, it is an extreme example of what was once legal for rich white men.
Yes, since then, such open, blatant acts of violence are no longer supported by the legal system.
But, the support for all manner of transgressions by white men remains firmly intact. One need only look back to 2008 and ask: Who was arrested.
Martha Stewart. LOL
❤️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I surely hope so, James. Unfortunately even if T.... goes to prision, he has done inestimable damage and his supporters remain.
Here is one example of a rich white man, who, for generations, committed various crimes including suspected murder. Only recently, after, apparently, gunning down both his wife and son, has he been charged.
Three generations of crooks. One arrest.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/12/us/alex-murdaugh-south-carolina-murder/index.html
Yeah, talk about a crazed white guy! Sure took their sweet time in arresting and charging him…
Three generations? The article only mentions one man who is being charged... if I'm reading the one you point to.
https://www.greenvilleonline.com/in-depth/news/2022/01/26/alex-murdaugh-family-murders-sc-south-carolina-case-news-updates/9187069002/
This one outlines the dynasty of criminals embedded in the legal system for three generations.
search on Alex Murdaugh and spend a few hours reading about a criminal dynasty embedded in the legal system in the south.....from great grandfather to today.
Appropriating the final line from "Chinatown"... "C'mon, Mike, it's South Carolina."
Finally! Like the whole world didn't see that writing on the wall?!?! Anyway, how long before he offs himself, like another rich white guy who did go to prison, eventually - Jeffrey Epstein.
As has been said, from your lips to G*d's ears...
Roy Cohn trained Trump to act like a mob boss, never leaving records or speaking directly. I blame the NY Bar Association for not defenestrating him much sooner than they did.
I asked a family member many years ago why he thought he could do what he wanted. His answer: “I am FREE, WHITE, and OVER 21. “ I had no words.
Jenn,
Yep. I have watched it my whole life. Fortunately, there are many folks in the white community with (some) ethics.
But, if you want to find real ethics you have to step into Latino or Black culture and away from white culture.
I remember hearing that in rural NC
🤬🤬🤬🤬
Mike, your point of view is one that hit me in the gut with the not guilty verdict in the OJ Simpson trial now many years ago. I heard people say that verdict was revenge for all the time wealthy white criminals were never brought to justice. And it was a wake up call. That said, I think we're in something quite different now. The Republican Party is challenging the entire concept of democracy, and that affects everyone. Further, their strategy reveals operations more alike Al Qaeda than Ku Klux Klan. If they were a fringe group, they would be just extremely dangerous. But they are over a third of our population. And I imagine that's why the FBI and DOJ are paralyzed from acting.
Russell,
We, the USA, were not paralyzed from killing hundreds of thousands of brown people in search of "Al Qaeda".
But, had Al Qaeda been a British upperclass organization? Probably would be running the show here now.
:-)
Precisely. Every system works exactly as it was designed. I believe that was a paraphrase from Edward Demming of 'Quality Circle' fame.
Commonly used in software engineering when something goes wrong.
True that. Tapper out there saying USA cannot handle a Trump indictment.
Yes, the evidence points to treason. But the treason had not taken place. We don't have thought police. I do not consider either of these organizations to be compromised; they have their own standards of conduct, and both have several 'watchers of the watchers' (the Inspectors General in each) who jealously guard against compromise.
The case(s) do have to be absolutely airtight, especially the one against T****. The question remains as to when he will be indicted and tried, not if. That is a settled issue, given the preponderance of evidence against him. The DOJ knows what has to be done, and I have confidence they will be up to the task.
Are there still chump loyalist in both organizations??? Well, that was the goal from day one, plant supporters everywhere….and target the chump enemies at the same time. Don’t even doubt that they lurk everywhere
This is not the “Minority Report” no thought police involved. These folks actively planned, organized and communicated illegal intent. Conspiracy to commit a crime is illegal.
From your lips to....
The problem with this argument—waiting for an "airtight" case before charging Trump and the Jan. 6 plotters with a crime— is that the criminals continue their crime with very real attacks on the legitimacy of our democratic vote. It's not outlandish to imagine they will succeed destroying our Constitution before DOJ makes a move to protect it. And that seems crazy.
I’m going out on the limb of “practicing without a license”, but it seems to me that with all of the questionable attorney work on the radical right’s side, it might be that an “air-tight” case might take a lot of care and time to be air tight.
That appears to be the "elephant in the room" (double/triple entendre intended). A Twitter employee knew; this retired cop watching the woefully inadequate police response to the events scheduled on January 6th suspected either intentional (in)action or an utter command and control failure.
Russell, I was thinking the same thing. FBI and DOJ must be infiltrated by T loyalists or else this could/should have been stopped. I wish this were all a bad dream but this is our reality.
The rank and file of the FBI and DOJ are civil servants. While T**** did serious damage to the reputation of both by the appointments he made to the leadership (Bill Barr, for one), his actions had little effect on the organizations' backbone: the people who do the work. I trust them, and know that they strive to be apolitical. They work with a different administration every four years, but they serve the people, not the president.
As I understand it, that was to be the whole purpose of “drain the swamp” - put destroyers at the top of all government agencies and then get rid of the civil servants who had experience and dedication to their jobs.and their country - not to a president.
And the heads that were appointed by Trump could really only affect other appointees: not the civil servants. While it's difficult to get a good civil service job, it's also difficult to fire those who have made the grade. That's not a drawback: civil servants need to have some sort of job security. Not so for the appointees: they serve 'at the pleasure of...' So while T**** had a bad effect on most all government agencies, for the main it was because he didn't hire enough people to fully staff them. That problem is being addressed by the current administration.
However, if my memory is correct, while civil servants weren’t literally fired, in some cases their working conditions were made intolerable - as in moving headquarters to distant states or locations.
I remember all that, punishment was the purpose
There are definitely comprised FBI rank & file. Remember back before the 2016 election when Rudy let slip about his conversations w FBI agents in NYC (tho he tried to change his story to retired agents)? There was, apparently, a big issue w politics entering into the NYC office at that time. Many believe it’s want promoted Comey to testify before congress in 10/2016: to stop an internal uprising by the HRC haters. There are ALWAYS bad apples, & often they rise to power, civil servants notwithstanding.
If 35% of our country identify as Republicans, then I imagine 35% of the FBI and DOJ do as well. I imagine they reconcile taking their oath to defend the Constitution even while they believe they are serving an illegitimately elected President using the same twisted-pretzel logic as the Republicans in Congress who did not vote to certify the election. Namely, they lie.
Yes, this is where it points and no one wants to talk about it.
Russell speaks for me.
Hear,here!
And the DeVos family, owners of Amway, continue to rake in the dough. Plus, don’t forget good ole Rupert Murdoch who should be deported!
Erik Prince is Betsy DeVos’s brother....
Family insanity, nah, just greed and power
Yes, I know. They are both an evil set.
I'm reading Kurt Andersen's Evil Geniuses. It goes into great detail about all the organizations Kochs and the Mercers created to radicalize the Republican Party. It was a patient, comprehensive, and strategic process. Democrats don't have anything like it.
And none of the organizations you mention are government agencies made up (mostly) of civil servants. SCOTUS is appointed and, therefore, political. As is the RNC. The rest are private companies, no?
And today we found out the Secret Service is compromised as well. When you start to trace out all the conservative foundations and donors, and how they coordinate their messages and tactics, it really is a vast conspiracy. We need big white boards like the detectives have in all the crime TV shows to understand how they all interconnect. :(
The name Steve Bannon never fails to remind me that in 2016 he told a reporter for The Daily Beast: “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Makes his January 5 comments all the more haunting.
Disgusting, deplorable piece of crap, Bannon is. Take away his toy, his radio show. Let’s wipe that cheshire cat know-it-all grin off of his pot-marked face.
Yet the media still refer to him as a "firebrand" and treats him like he's just your garden variety "campaign strategist". He doesn't hide who he is or what his motives are but they still court him.
A filthy evil toad, thru and thru
An orc
Good description, Jeri!
I remember that. I was listening to NPR and that came up.
He didn’t stutter, laid it all out with glee. Then set about doing just that. Even went international, as we see the results of today.
Also his remarks in October 2020. He seemed impressed rather than dismayed that Trump would not need to worry about voters ever again.
Thank you for this clear summary of the hearing and of the attempted coup. So many White House insiders knew about the plans to overturn the election, and yet not one of them alerted the FBI or DOJ or even the NY Times, even when they knew Trump and his accomplices were planning violence for January 6. What a nasty bunch of takers.
Or after, during the 2nd impeachment. All of these so-called "good guys" kept their mouths shut for that.
Like it or not, we are dealing with A President, not a Mayor or Chief of Police or Codes Enforcement person. This guy has many minions in many places.., call them "allies". Some you may think you know others you may not. Some provide lip-service and keep 'lists'. Reading Gulag Archipelago helps one get a grip on what we are dealing with here. Namely, a president and his party (allies!)out of control.
Mad,
I read Gulag Archipelago in 1997. During the winter "reading season" up north here.
"Gulag" was the most depressing and eye opening bit of writing I have ever read and it took me half the summer to shake it off. Who knew anyone could be so sustainably evil, and so well supported, as Stalin.
Even the NY Times, in the mid 1930's, while Stalin was in the process of starving millions of Kulaks on his "collective farms" was singing Stalin's praises.
A dark book outlining a truly dark time in human history.
Yes Mike. Good for you. And, if I may add:
My Father, an early aviator, was born in Moscow 1890. As a young Son, he explained things to me first hand. Later, around 2005/6/7, I acquired three books.. which I would say, corroborated things I recall he spoke of. My Mother, from Detroit (1912), so kindly bestowed upon my innocent early-mind the benign scribblings of Hans C. Anderson, James W. Riley, Winnie the Pooh... Sam L. Clements, etc, complete with digestive words.
Mike..., I am running toward 79 in December and consider myself so gotttdammned fortunate to have had these parents.
Mad,
Reading Rocks! I agree. But, there are fewer and fewer of us. Everyone wants to watch Utube now.
I'm not sure how much "support" Stalin really had. People were terrified of him. During the 1930s, he had millions of people executed for so-called "crimes against the state," including one of my relatives.
It's one of the major sins of some American communists that they clung to their admiration for Stalin for years.
Both of my parents were Holocaust victims. My father spoke of Stalin with great disdain.
It’s an eye opening book, Mad, that’s for sure! & one certainly sees parallels to today & our own media & what they choose to pay attention to. & I’m certain that way too many of the crazy members of the gop would love to put all Democrats & “RINOS” in gulags.
'Van Tatenhove warned that the danger is ongoing.'
This committee is more important than any of us ever knew.
Heather, we all has such respect and gratitude for your ability to distill and share what has been and is being done to our precious country. There is not a strong enough expression for 'Thank you'.
Since Professor Richardson seems reticent to toot her own horn, I'll toot it for her. The latest Now and Then hosted by her and Joanne Freeman, had Carol Anderson, noted historian, on board. Though one could argue it is only tangential to the narrow moment we are in, I would argue it is exactly on point. You decide.
https://cafe.com/now-and-then/racism-and-the-second-amendment-with-carol-anderson/
I go with “exactly on point”, Lynell. I listened so I could ground myself after flying off the handle a few times with the Jan 6th hearing today.
Unita, friend. 🗽
Morning, Christine!
That episode was the answer to a question that's been nagging at me. Thank you for posting the link.
Thanks for the link Lynell.
Can we start a Go Fund Me to just air that Bannon tape incessantly until the election?
What else needs to be said?
Liz Cheney? LOL
Regarding what else needs to be said, we need to convince Ms. Cheney also about the need to follow the science of global warming and climate change, in case she runs in 2024 and wins election.
She is still Dick’s daughter. But damn, she is what I wish Dems had, at times
Yes. She has integrity and a backbone of steel. I have so much respect for her
Liz Cheney, Joe Manchin and about 31% of American voters. The Fairness Doctrine, manipulated by Big Oil, has done incredible damage with the whole, “but not all scientists agree l” campaign. Bull. 98% do. Even Mitt Romney admits the climate is changing. We have very little time to start reversing course. As usual, time to help get out the vote, right?
I'm in...
Me too
Would give my last dime
The deck of cards.......
Yes, Kathy. Quite the sidebar anecdote from that past Oathkeepers witness. Imagine having “kill cards” with Pelosi as queen of hearts in your campaign paraphernalia. I gasped. Quite disturbing. What a paramilitary crew for a defeated president’s transition team.
I thought that was Hillary
It was.
Shocking to the nth degree, but shouldn’t have been.
It’s just as bad as we knew it would be.
Indeed, it is. I thought there would be more than TWO republicans with a conscience
Why are these gangsters not in prison? Anyone else, would be. The evidence is so clear regarding the subversion and treason of 45, Bannon, Flynn, Guiliani, Stone, Powell, Pillow Guy, Overstock Guy, I just don’t understand why they have not been arrested, awaiting trial. Low-level criminals get treatment that locks them up. These high-level conspirators should be in prison. Even the Oathkeepers’ INSIDER Van Tothaven says there is ongoing danger. This is just the beginning. God help us!
What the committee’s revealing is terrifyingly evil. Rather than get swept up in it, I’m writing Vote Forward letters to get out the Democratic leaning vote in swing states. Despite the usual headwinds of mid-term elections, even a majority of Republicans don’t want tfg to run again.* The January 6 Select Committee hearings are taking their toll. Voters are energized to vote against Trump Republicans.
* https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/us/politics/trump-approval-polling-2024.html
I think that Trump personally is finished politically. Trumpism is certainly not. A Trump sycophant like DeSantis, will run in ‘24.
Most current polls show that even Biden , with all the baggage he carries, would beat Trump in ‘24.
The RNC isn’t going to give up all the progress Republicans have made over the last 50 years just to please Trump.
Progress made by every dirty trick in the book. The RNC has adopted and magnified every one. They are still evil by any measure
Clearly your opinion isn’t shared by everyone, Jeri. Tens of millions voted for trump.
Republicans are within two years of total political dominance at the federal level. The guys that call the shots like the Koch Brothers and many others, are not going to let Trump get in their way.
Not when total victory is within their grasp.
I am surrounded by MAGAts, sad to say
Although my husband disagrees, I think DeSantis is just as bad -- although, as far as I can tell, DeSantis doesn't have a personality disorder.
To be a Trumpist, IMO, you have to have a personality disorder. Their view of the world is insane. Take Bannon. He may just be insane anyway, but I believe to think and talk the way he does requires a serious personality disorder. DeSantis is a Trumpist; therefore I think he has a personality disorder. Some insane view of reality. And a shrewd one at that. I am a very very scared of him.
Power hungry can warp any positive
I want to know they are maintaining and increasing their energy levels. Being skewered by the acclaimed Ruler of all the Russias is more than enough to have to cope with (and cope with it we have to).
I am suggesting getting some distance from what others do and making positive efforts toward the outcome you want. That outcome may or may not be achieved, but I don’t let that stop me from trying and knowing that I did my small part, as I am doing here.
https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/
I wrote for them in 2020. I have hesitated to rejoin as I have a form of writer's block. I can no longer ~ concisely ~ express why it's important to vote. I paraphrased words from retired Col. Alexander Vindman's impeachment testimony.
What are you writing, specifically? I don't know what to say.
I vote because “ I want to elect public servants who are practical and rational and who care about everyone they represent.
If I don’t vote, others will choose for me. My vote is my voice.”
(The message needs to be nonpartisan.)
Guilty as charged, if he ever gets charged. Todays hearing was the crown for me. Everything came together and there’s no doubt that tfg is and was not only unhinged but surrounded by enablers and criminals even before the election. This country, this Democracy is so so lucky that we survived the post election months and even the entire four years of this presidency. Barely. From Charlottesville on we knew we had the beginning of Trump’s American Carnage. And he isn’t the only elected official guilty. How long before he escapes to safely?
I liked the way they were named, with Marjorie Three-names tacked on at the end.
Anne-Louise, finally! And some are still in office. Or free to commit more crimes. A conspiracy charge could sweep the house clean.
And some are running for re-election! Do the citizens of those states want a treasonous representative speaking for them?
Not to put too fine a point on it, yes they do want those "fighters" to represent them.
They may not all know the difference.
I fear that too. Irenie. Garland has to get him and get him good! We had a mafia boss in charge of our country but really he was/is a petulant 76 year old child. That’s where I disagree with Cheney although, I laughed when she made that comment.
Her comment was spot-on. And made at just the right moment. We all laughed at it; it's intent was to enrage T**** and I expect it hit the mark.
Love Liz when she is on our side.
❤️❤️
Marlene, Trump is not a petulant child. He actually is a grown man.
A grown man who did whatever he wanted in NY, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
I know that Mike. I know…
I wish it were different.
To whoever he wants!
A severe case of arrested development, but what you get when one is NEVER called to account. Can’t wait to see the result of a malignant narcissist facing retribution at last - pin in a balloon, melt into a puddle, or a supernova…
Yes, Marlene, a very dangerous, petulant child. Play acting a role
that would not have lasted a season in Hollywood. But we gave him our country for four years.
“We” did not give him our country for four years. More than 3 million MORE of us voted for HRC than for 45. We have got to get the popular vote to replace the racist electoral college.
Yes, Elizabeth, you’re right. “We” didn’t “give” tfg our country. It is a real possibility he “stole” that election. Language really matters. And the electoral vote v the popular vote is another challenge. We need to “shut down “ the electoral college.
❤️ Amen!
We almost gave it away…
I laughed too, Marlene. Cheney didn't quite get it right.... "Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child. " He is a 5 year old dressed ad a 76 year old buffoon.
I just bet she wanted to say exactly that, Pam. :)
Never underestimate five-year-olds! Children have innocence and devotion, neither of which tfg is even remotely. capable. He IS petulant and an egomaniac who abused our nation like a really, really bad stepfather!
IMO. Ms Cheney's comment today holds an important lesson about followership. Because we can explain something or can build the case for how something horrible came about does not give the act a pass or make it ok, unless you are a believer. For followers, Trump will be the maligned hero to them, the J6 evidence inconclusive or unfair exactly as the indictable tranches were in the Mueller Report. The explanations will be enough and the guilt will be unproven or not all that important as, afterall, he is a great man and what he did for us outweighs any misdeeds others might claim were shown by the J6 Hearings. The fault, if there is any, will be that of the crazies he listened to and that the normals really didn't do the job of protecting his legacy. He would have won after J6 if everyone would have stayed at the barriers and kept the message clear. And, Mike Pence will get the Medal of Freedom from Biden because he betrayed his fealty to the President, not because he was doing his job. With that settled, the only 1uestion is who becomes the anointed carrier of the flag of the New Confederacy?
Fred, I have been hearing exactly that kind of garbage from Trumpers. He was so great and did so much for our country. WHAT did he do? Other than enrich himself, his family, cheated his followers to the tune of $250 million and greased Meadow’s palm with a $2 million donation to Meadows’ “foundation” from that grift. A criminal before and during and after his so-called presidency. I was always ashamed with my friends from abroad about tfg. Pence should get zero. He was also a creep as governor of Indiana and as VP. He and his Mother. And let’s not forget the slimy grifter son-in-law Kushner with his $ 2 BILLION in cash from the Saudi criminals. Oh and don’t forget the $660 MILLION made by Javanka during 45’s tenure in the WH. Disgusting beyond words. I think DeSantis, another monster, will carry the mantle of the New Confederacy. We have quite a cast of characters these days in the United States. OMG.
Trump “is a great man and what he did for us outweighs any misdeeds . . .” What do they list as his accomplishments? All I can figure is that he gave them reassurance that their nastiest impulses were justified and could be acted upon. And he defended the right of the wealthy to ignore their living countrymen and future generations who have to depend on this planet.
A total mystery to me. I once engaged with a very nice man who was willing to take the time to answer that question. He directed me to the Whitehouse website that recorded every success of Trump in real time. This was their holy grail. The 200+ items were a mixture of things he actually did (signed an executive order or 24 of them), had a marvelous meeting with with Kim, got us out of the Paris Accords, stuck it to Nato nations, and took credit for numerous things like the stock market, ginormous crowds at his rally, successes in combating boarder problems, etc. I editorialize. All of these were (well, almost all), talking points with almost never any verifiable facts. But, the sheer volume impressed this list of activities, which was actually no longer than a similar list during Bush or Obama or Clinton. But he's doing soo much for us? I asked, what he'd done for you. I got a tax cut, my 401k is growing, and we aren't beholden to China or Mexico. I feel safe. He knows business and doesn't take guff from anyone. Our conversation on FB ended. I suspect he might be more cautious about trying to convince someone like me now, but still thinks that his record is greater because he told him so and why would he lie on the Whitehouse website?
Denial is not a river in Egypt….
Also a mystery why people think Republicans are better stewards of the economy. Because Republicans say so? And of course Fox, etc.
Every recession for 100 years happened under Republicans, every one
I am coming to believe (a dangerous sign for sure) that it all comes down to "trusted source." And, possibly for most of us on days when we are intellectually lazy or just fatigued. Easier to believe what the source implies than take the time to check, including checking ones own bank of incredulousness. Cocktail hour soon.
Rupert told them what to think, propaganda works
Great snark! You should be a comedy writer.
Am. One man show with an audience of one in my mirror. Be well in these times especially. We'll need witnesses to what once was and how it got lost.
They have not even touched the Russian connections...and interference in our democracy. But that will come with the indictments, I suppose...
We were just talking about the Russians last night, and why their role is absent. It's quite likely these hearings are purposefully structured to 'stay to home' and that existing security operations are digging into the foreign connections. The timing of Browder's latest book dropped a puzzle piece in place. Magnitsky is killing Putin's baby, driving what's happening here, probably Brexit, and the war in Ukraine.
I dream, I think Helsinki gave us much of the hell we deal with today. Whistleblower, where are you??
Julian Assange is in prison in Great Britain, with the Americans breathing down his neck….
I am speechless. One thing I can say, though, is how much I appreciate Liz Cheney's manner -- her directness, clarity, and steadiness.
Pay attention Dems
I agree. However, I can never forget she is a hard-core anti-abortionist….beware.
Robert Reich suggests that the country could do far worse than have her for our next president, and I follow his argument here, but I'm wary. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/liz-cheney-for-president
Over and over I’ve thought “Okay, this *has* to be the straw that finally breaks the 🐪’s back” …and it hasn’t been. 🤞🏼🤞🏼for this time, but….still worried.
On the other hand, oh how I long for that worry to be proven mistaken!
Been there so many times, the widespread hatred and evil of the cult is like an oil spill, oozing everywhere. And can seem innocuous, like the old, entitled bitches at my residence, spewing Fox bull Schitt.
Trump is a man who did whatever he wanted while living in NY City, legal or illegal, and paid off various politicians and cops to ensure he never was charged with a crime. NY gave birth to Trump and then trained him in methods of crime.
Trump lived his whole life insulated from the law by money. He knows, as a full grown adult, that being rich and white and male means - he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants.
And so he does. Whatever he wants, whenever he wants however he wants.
And.......his punishment?? Exile to Mara Lago. i.e. NO punishment.
While you may be right in your prediction, Mike, I have this fantasy that would really stick in his craw, and that is for Liz Cheney to win the presidency in 2024. Not something I would like to see, mind you, but even so...
Please don’t say that! What about Gretchen Witmer from Michigan? An incredible woman and politician. Let’s start stirring the pot for the next Democratic candidate. We MUST win 2024, our lives DO depend on it!
I would vote for Cheney (Liz). No doubt!!
Now THAT would be funny!
Yes indeed.
Let’s see…I grew up in NYC during the “Trump Years” and know of his toxic and horrendous history of ripping off the city, conning everyone in sight, etc. I think this IS different. Merrick Garland has prosecuted many homeland terrorists. Tfg is just another one, on a much bigger canvas. Let’s see…
One could almost see the impatient scurry of the media after Liz Cheney’s pointed warning of the unannounced, already harassed upcoming witness. Incoming call from president refused, not recorded, but reported to DOJ? What? Did Trump leave a voicemail? On, hmmmmm, possibly Ginni’s phone? One does wonder.
Salud. 🗽
LOL, Christine! I'll think of you when I read the news story that surely will lead with "Incoming call from president refused..."
*the former
🤣
Yes, JustJanice! Shame on me, especially since it irks me to no end when I don't see the word "former" in a news story or hear it on a video or the news.
Me too
Ginni thinks he still is president. She and Clarence just haven’t had him over for dinner lately. Or picked up his calls.
Morning, Janice in CA. 🗽
In our defense, we were "quoting" from a yet-to-be media headline...
Not Ginni. She's on his side and not about to tattle on the boss. My guess is some WH upper echelon staffer who has already given a deposition. BTW, morning, Christine.
Afternoon, Fab Pam. I think I thought of her because Gin-it-up is (or at least was at some time) good friends with Liz Cheney. Liz just looked like she was busting out a personal scoop. I know that look in the eye.
I won’t be surprised at anyone crawling out of their t-rump bunker and suddenly wanting to tell all. Or more likely some. Their gig is up.
Unita. 🗽
Pence. I hope it was Mike Pence.
Ooooooo…yes!
🎼Dum da dum dum🎼…can’t wait for the big reveal!
Chuckle Chuckle, Marlene!
😁
I do love guessing games, particularly when ya know the answer is forthcoming, Christine. But I think it’s one of the secret service guys (?). Mayhap even Meadows? I highly doubt it’s Ginni, but I could be wrong.
Not a snowball’s chance in hell that it’s Ginni