I am presently in Krakow, where my wife and I live for part of each year. I have always been glad that I traveled to Eastern Europe before the fall of Communism. I got a good look at totalitarianism in practice. That’s exactly what Orban is attempting to tweak and re-impose, as is Poland’s would-be autocrat Jarasław Kaczynski and our own Republican Party. It’s not pretty.
Read an interesting opinion piece a few weeks ago about Trumps next move. Based on past actions, Trump will go on the offense. He’s not just going to sit back calmly.
Declare for the 2024 presidency this summer. That puts Bidens DOJ in the position of having to charge Biden’s announced political opponent with a crime. That will be sold to America as a clear case of political persecution (Putin/ Navanly) . Sue to have the proceedings stayed until the election is over. A Republican House will obviously stop any further investigations and proceed to impeach Biden.
A Republican win in ‘24 and all charges are dropped.
HH I assure you that Trump won’t be running for anything. He is so fat that he even takes his golf cart onto the putting green.He will be crawling away from numerous civil and criminal suits.He is getting so ensnarled in the BIG Lie and 1/6 coup conspiracy that he hasn’t even had time to throw his lunch against the wall for weeks.
He will NOT rpt NOT be a serious presidential candidate in 2024. Out of ego, he may tease us with a semi-hat-in-the-ring and, perhaps solicit more money from his cultists, but he’s a coward and won’t risk being a public has been in 2024.
I agree that it is unlikely he will be a candidate in 2024, which unfortunately doesn't end the trajectory we are on. There are more dangerous people gunning to take his place.
I'd like to ask you to keep his weight out of the criticism of him, however. As someone involved in the fat acceptance movement, I know that comments like that do not hurt Trump; they hurt other fat people who already have to live with enormous systemic bias against them and regular threats to their safety.
Thank YOU. I steel myself to write comments like this. When I used to do it on Twitter (not on Twitter anymore), there was always unpleasant backlash. I think here it might be more understood, but you never know.
Being fat won't stop an aggrieved autocrat like Trump from seeking revenge. Look at the man's history. Let's hope he will be embroiled in major criminal and civil lawsuits. That won't stop him. He will declare himself persecuted and figure out how to discredit the rule of law. The man is monstrous and unbending. Even if he can't touch his toes.
I agree. Between his narcissism and the criminality of the republican party, I'm not taking anything off the table. As far as I am concerned 2016 is the second election they fixed. I don't see them changing their mindset anytime soon.
Exactly, but nobody wants me to start again about the Electoral College. With the Reps' iron grasp on State governments, the Electoral College, and the corrupt Supreme Court, I continue to feel helpless about this country's future.
Nancy Ditto about Trump in 2016–and in 2020. Trump ain’t going to risk it in 2024, as his star is falling and some of his Mafiosos are beginning to squeal like stuck pigs.
So, Keith, do you see the next year as one of political detente with Trump and Biden promoting the idea (myth, ploy) the 2024 will repeat 2020 to keep a lid on speculations and agressive pre-campaigning before real candidates come out of from under a rock or the woodwork?
Fred Though an historian should stick to analyzing the past, I’ll venture a guess that neither Trump nor Biden will be 2024 candidates. There will be younger candidates—with DeSantis a scary prospect—a more intelligent Trumpist.
Trump may announce White House bid this fall, despite GOP fears of disrupting midterm elections
Some Republicans fear that Trump announcing he will run in 2024 could undercut them at a time when they have a strong chance of retaking the House and Senate. But as possible rivals become more aggressive, an increasing number of allies are urging the former president to launch his campaign now as a way to shore up his standing in the party and drive turnout in November's midterms.
See my comment up-thread quoting Dan Pfeiffer on why it's not in TFG's interest to declare early. "News" stories that start with "may announce" and source "some Republicans" aren't especially good for buttressing arguments.
I think any announcement now by Trump will only galvanize voters to support Democrat candidates - at least those Republican & Independent voters who are following the Jan. 6 committee public hearings. Perhaps an announcement by Trump now will be as effective as his admonitions in Georgia before the 2020 elections.
Dan Pfeiffer in his most recent Substack doesn't believe TFG will declare this summer, and he has a fairly compelling reason focusing on campaign finance: "Launching a presidential campaign is not just a rhetorical matter. It requires filing a statement of candidacy with the FEC, which immediately triggers a series of fundraising limits and disclosure requirements. To put those strictures in perspective, Trump’s current political activities (travel, ads for candidates, state, polling, etc) are funded by Super PACS with no limits on contributions from any individual. Peter Thiel could write a billion-dollar check if he so desired. Once Trump announces, Thiel could give a total of $2900 to Trump’s campaign from the day Trump announces until the day he officially assumes the nomination at the 2024 Republican Convention. Announcing now would be an act of abject idiocy (so it’s possible Trump will do it after all)."
Yes, but this is DJT. He does not care about rules and nobody holds him accountable. That is what really gets me, not a single indictment over J6, except for the small time players.
Holy Sh_t batman. What a terrifying scenario. I had not thought through the idea of TFG throwing his hat in the ring for 2024 at such an early stage. It throws a political wrench into the workings of DOJ. If I know Trump (and I think I do) - one can predict what he will or won't do based solely on what is in it for him. This seems like a possible way out of his big predicament (at least he will think so). To the rest of the world though, I would hope such a move is taken exactly for what it is.
I continue to wonder/ponder WHO is coaching Trump. Seriously. He is not even close to being smart enough or creative enough to orchestrate such a plan.
This is an excellent question. He's not close to smart enough, and I don't think "the crazies" are grounded enough in reality to pull it off, although Flynn might well have connections to the paramilitary groups. One part that surprised me was the extent to which *someone* -- maybe Eastman? -- dug up constitutional ways to undermine the election, specifically the Electoral Count Act of 1887. I also wonder how much of it was orchestrated and how much it was improvised. Trump was/is quite capable of tossing a match into a heaping pile of gasoline-doused kindling, and that heaping pile was a-building all through his so-called administration. He knew that because he'd been working hard to build it, and he was very aware of the "stand back and stand by" crowd. Was there a mastermind? I don't know, but if I had to come up with three top suspects, Mark Meadows would be one of them.
As much as I despise Flynn, he does have the Military background to create strategy and tactics. As to Trump gaslighting, that IS the one thing he is good at. And he is manipulative enough to deflect it onto someone else. Reminds me of Sgt. Schultz from "Hogan's Heroes": I know nothing!
Good point about Flynn's background, and gaslighting is instinctive with Trump. Whether he's capable of telling the truth, or even figuring it out, is open to question.
What if BIDEN doesn't run? AND, if Trump can ran for president as an indicted or incarcerated felon, then justice and the office of the president are two separate entities and any crimes he's involved in shouldn't impact his candidacy - he admitted to sexual abuse in 2016, no problem!
Hmmm. A very possible scenario. Will Trump be indicted? I think so. Incarcerated? I think not - the lawsuits and the ponderous process might take years. Trump will die of natural causes before that happens, I suspect. So that means Trump has to win his primaries as an indicted criminal. I would not put anything past that electorate, so that is indeed a possibility. Will Biden run? Gosh I don't know. If he stays healthy and maintains his mind and doesn't succumb to dementia like Reagan did, probably so. And if so I doubt the Democratic party would fight it. If not, then who? VP Harris is just not popular and has not been the shining star many had hoped for. I do think there is a pretty good list of stellar candidates who could do well. Whitmer comes to mind but there are others. I like our chances in 2024 for popular vote, but not necessarily the electoral vote.
Sandy, you have been around long enough to know that cutting off the head of the monster is not enough - the monster will regrow another head. I've always believed that focusing on Trump as the evil-doer is a mistake. If you lock him up and no other Republican, Trump will only serve as a martyr for the cause.
This is far greater a problem than one man. This is a massive failure in our government because we have essentially installed foxes in the hen house with no security protections or guardrails in place to prevent or stop a coup. Clearly, the one agency of the government that should be the country's firewall is the Department of Justice, but they are not demonstrably engaged in doing everything possible to preserve the Republic and uphold the Constitution.
May I suggest this would not be happening in any other democratically formed country? There would be a relentless investigation and indictments following a coup attempt. I also firmly believe the vast majority would demand and expect every effort be made to bring the treasonous seditionists to justice ASAP!
There are other democratically formed governments which quickly desolve into illiberal democracies. We do have Poland and Hungary eating at that table. Ours has just taken baby steps to get there......or has been until tfg's coup. The cult Republicans have tried to " capture the referees" and have missed a few but I suspect there are still many in the administration and institutions wearing the striped shirts of the GOP.
Some of us are demanding justice, but at least 70 million prefer kleptocratic autocracy to a democracy that doesn’t do everything it can to preserve systemic white advantages. Even if by an Abrams-level miracle we retain control of the legislature the 70 million will still be living among us, and most of them like to brandish guns with large magazines.
While "we" are, clearly not enough people in any positions of power are. And the Democrat party does not seem to be doing a whole bunch.
We continue to have an egregiously corrupt and stacked court. Yet the Democrats have not made one move to pack that court and rectify the situation.
Are we really to be saddled with this knife in the back to our Supreme Court? For a lifetime?
No announcement has been made to move on the results of the Mueller investigation, and no move has been made to address the false constraints with which that investigation was saddled.
Now we're having this 1/6 hearing. But all I hear are rumblings that it has no teeth, and that it will be going nowhere. And quite honestly, if that is what happens, what power do any of us have to do anything about it?
"We" is not just you and me and a million other people. You may disagree, but I think there's a reason for calling the silent majority, silent. Since January 6th, the outrage has decreased and there clearly is not an overt nor overwhelming public demand for justice. People should be outraged and alarmed for how the Republican Party has betrayed this country in their willingness to stop at nothing to establish authoritarianism in the U.S. I fear most people have lost faith in government and the justice system.
I also think that Biden's low poll numbers and why Democrats aren't favored in the midterms is because they have not lead the charge against the traitorous Republicans. The propaganda wars are being won by the Republicans who lie with impunity. i.e. Democrats never have learned to give as good as you get. Taking the high road means getting undercut at every turn. Biden is the wrong man for the job in these times - the country needs a fighter who believes their number one priority is preserving majority rule in a democratically formed government. A radical minority is oppressing and suppressing the majority. How is that possible in a country that holds itself out as the best democratically formed government.
Finally, I think most people in the world who are paying attention to what is happening in the U.S. are completely baffled at our timidity in pushing back against a seditious and corrosive anti-democratic party. I've noticed a difference in coverage about politics in the US between the Washington Post and the Guardian. HCR recently had one of her letters published in the Guardian and the comment section was illuminating.
Observing the demeanors of the members of the Jan 6 Committee, I am feeling increasingly confident that Trump will be charged, convicted and jailed, even though it's not the Committee will be doing that. No longer does it seem to be "wishful thinking" or "I feel hopeful." Hope can be a debilitating attitude. Definitely Justice and the AG are in charge!
At his current pace, MG will be ready to indict the inner circle, including TFG, in about 3 more years. I am not waiting for DOJ to rescue us, my hopes are on GA, or maybe Manhattan if they get rid of their current prosecutor, who dropped the case.
Because Trump has lifetime Secret Service protection, putting him in prison would represent too much risk for the lives of the agents. That doesn't preclude him being sentenced to home confinement. My dream is that he's remanded to his golden palace in NYC, prohibited from playing golf and is as limited in his ability to communicate with the outside world as if he were in prison.
Unless he could be convicted for the deaths that occurred on Jan 6, the types of felonies he might be convicted for wouldn't lead to a federal maximum security prison. I know that these fantasies are satisfying but I fear that when they are crushed by reality there will be an unwarranted distrust of the judicial system. YMMV
Judiciary has zero say on where prisoners are housed, all a sentencing judge can do is 'suggest' to Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). Length of sentence plays into level of security where prisoners are housed, but other factors such as risk of break out and security of both inmate and society and others are also factors. FBOP can assign inmate to any facility in their system, it is their discretion.
Treason is the only crime that is mentioned in the US Constitution, and the maximum penalty is death. The trick is getting a conviction for treason because these are different times. i.e., there is hardly a more serious crime than treason and the penalty can most certainly be put to death.
I think there is a consensus among legal scholars that the crime of treason cannot go unpunished even if it was committed by a former president and elected officials - all of whom have violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution.
I'm thinking it is inaccurate to call this a fantasy. There is a reality here that is all too real and must be addressed!
Thank you for this, Steve. And yes, you’re absolutely correct, “[i]t’s not pretty” at all. In such regimes, as in ours, if the Republicans have their way,
“[n]o cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
I will be saying that when I have the opportunity during my campaign for Clay County Indiana Treasurer! Only vote for Democrats and do not vote for a Republican. It is okay to leave one blank. Our problem in our county is that we have a button to push that is for the whole slate...either D or R. Most can't read and don't do research so they just push the R button!
Yes, I had a somewhat similar experience at age 18, visiting friends of my father in Posnan during my college foreign study program in Austria,1968. I spent only 3 days behind the 'Iron Curtain' on a tourist transit visa, but I saw and experienced some sobering stuff there. The dark pall of political repression was everywhere, including speaking in a whisper about the States shortcomings in privacy of their own living room!
Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism have another thing in common. When their economies are failing, when the regime’s popularity is waning for what ever reason. That’s when these country’s dictators start the next ‘Patriotic War’.
I too got to see behind the Iron Curtain, back in the spring (March) of 1989. I was part of a mammoth tour of Bach's B Minor Mass, with full orchestra, chorus and choir. Our tour took us first to East Berlin, then to Moscow, then to Budapest, then to Warsaw, and then to Lisbon. I could write a long description of what all we saw and encountered, and it was pretty amazing (we were the first such authentic instrument group to tour there), but being in Warsaw at what, it turned out, was the cusp of the wall coming down was incredible. You could almost feel it in the air that change was coming--I remember in particular seeing, in the midst of all the countless grey, colourless, depressing cement buildings, one person had displayed on their balcony a small "Solidarność" flag. That little swatch of red stood out like a little beacon of hope against all the drab surroundings. I'll never forget it. Our performance in Warsaw was electric, with an incredibly packed hall as the Polish people were starved to hear Bach's immaculate setting of the mass. It was one of the most incredible performances I have ever been a part of in my life. It has pained me no end to see the populist right wing (the Law and Justice Party, among others) rising so prominently in Poland, with undoubted support of the Catholic church. It's like the pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. Kaczyński did step down from the government recently to concentrate on organising his party for elections in the autumn--and he has gone on the record as being against Orbán's stance on the Ukraine invasion--but he is by no means going away. As you said, Kaczyński represents yet another authoritarian version of government that Poland would be foolish to adopt. It could also run contra to many precepts shared by EU member states. No, potentially quite ugly.
Sadly, I am reminded of the comment that one observer made that with the fall of Communism, Poland was free to resume its natural inclination, toward fascism.
All totalitarians have used the method of accusing their freedom and democracy-loving opponents of being totalitarians. But the people see the exact truth now having lived though the pandemic and experiencing the real actions of the authoritarians.
That's true. Its called 'projecting'. Accusing opponents of the very thing they are trying to do and then gaslighting the same. Its a technique made famous by Sen. Joe McCarthy and then by one of his aids, Lawyer Roy Cohn.
Steve, I read your comment with interest. I have read a lot of Anne Applebaum's excellent writing on Poland and its trajectory from an optimistic fledgling democracy into a populist driven, increasingly conservative narrow minded nation. The influence of a conservative Catholic Church is one factor but also the proximity to power by Poles who felt they had a right and entitlement to shape the society in ill-liberal ways. The response to Eukrainian refugees has been admirable but behind that the Polish experiment with Democracy looks pretty shaky. And what a shame... people certainly remember the autocratic excesses of Russia in Polish life. Totalitarianism is totalitarianism.
“The silence from Republicans over what we have been hearing from the January 6th committee is deafening.”
Not only that, but this week McCarthy has cranked up the volume on inflation, gas prices, government size and spending…anything to distract. I encourage any of you on twitter to flood his posts with salient January 6 clips.
It is the most irrational thing is it not? Republicans, who espouse Capitalism as the correct diety to worship in "Democracy", propose that the government is responsible for the price of gas and food.
How does that make any logicial sense?
Capitalism is designed to maximize profits and, in fact, if you look at any quarterly report, as I have done recently since I own Exxon Mobil stock, corporate profits are at an all time high.
So, having looked at a quarterly report, and having seen all time high profits, a reasonable question is: What fraction of inflation is associated with corporate profits or "Capitalism"??
Well, folks have sort of taken up that question and guess what? Surprise, it is not JOE BIDEN that has raised prices, because, he is as powerless to raise prices as the squirrel living in the tree in my backyard.
CORPORATIONS are raising prices! How could that be a surprise to the Republican Party who LOVES Capitalism??
I mean, I have never seen so much irrational, illogical talk in my entire life.
First, Capitalism is good and Socialism is bad say the Republicans...all day every day on AM radio and Tucker Carlson and Fox News.
Then, those same Republicans say Joe Biden should bring down gas prices?? THAT is advocating for Socialism is it not?
Completely beyond irrational stuff.
And?? Americans are lapping up all this convoluted, irrational talk like kittens lap up warm milk.
Even one of my fairly bright friends mentioned Joe Biden and inflation in the same sentence last week. This was not easy on him or me because, I mentioned that I own Exxon Mobil stock and that their quarterly profits are at an all time high, and, that I don't mind a bit because I am a CAPITALIST that owns their stock. I thought he would like to hear that but he got angry. Amazingly crazy stuff. He BELIEVES Joe Biden has caused high gas prices because AM radio SAYS that is true while simultaneously glorifying Capitalism.
Unbelievable, except, not really. Nobody reads anything anymore. And, Americans feed their dogs more food in dollars than they contribute to charity.
We can choose to learn enough information, through critical reading and learning, to decide for ourselves what the facts are.
We do not have to rely on Tucker Carlson or the local preacher to tell us what to believe. We can read a corporate quarterly report ourselves. And, we can read the Bible ourselves.
We do not need some nutty white dude at the front of the church, or nutty Tucker Carlson, to tell us what to Believe and then blindly Believe it.
As we know Republicans are adept at picking the right trigger to get people whipped up on an issue. Americans love of their cars rivals their love of guns. And having been sold those bigger and bigger gas guzzling, SUV's and F150's they are personally insulted when gas is not dirt cheap. In my affluent neck of the woods there appears to be a contest to see who can drive the biggest SUV or truck. And I have a feeling their politics goes right along with their choice of vehicle.
Note, I went with the sticker on the window for gas mileage for the American car which is always high.
And, yes, Americans have been trained to believe that gas is not a finite resource, no need to conserve it, and that it will last forever and that Americans have a divine right to waste as much oil as they want to waste.
But, once oil runs out, it will be ugly because, diesel which runs all of our tractors will also be gone.
Imagine the average American behind a plow horse and that will tell you the death rate following the last bit of oil being extracted.
I moved from California to Texas. I never saw some of the humungous vehicles on the road in S Cal as I do in Texas. Didn’t even know they existed! Now these owners are all complaining about the cost of gas, not the gas guzzling car!
Yep. That huge SUV you posted is the norm where I live. I drive a 2007 Ford Focus and get aggressed on by the mega vehicle drivers on a daily basis.
If Fascists take over this Country there will be disruptions of the so called American way of life like no one can imagine. We got a good taste of it under trump where we were actually hiding in our homes desperately searching for face masks, toilet paper, bleach, Clorox wipes, and food essentials. The domino effect of the destruction of economic and societal norms will resemble a nuclear holocaust.
Americans and big cars. Another reason I have no love of Americans. (I am an American - with a Prius and a Fit BTW, and thinking about trading one in for a Tesla). Global Warming and Climate Science is a big thing anymore. It's in the news alot more than just a few years ago, and mitigating it in a serious manner is in the Democratic Party platform finally. Denial arguments are increasingly insane sounding. The out look is really bad - if I were in my twenties I'd be terrified, especially if I had a family. How is it that we continue to purchase (uh - lease or borrow to purchase) huge expensive vehicles? How stupid is that?
As I canvass my neighborhoods, I have noticed (profiled) the houses that are not on my list: the ones with huge black trucks in the driveway! Of course, the Trump flags and let's go Brandon flags in the yard also tip me off to stay away.
Or "support you police" - a dog whistle for "black lives do not matter". Yet another reason I am so unimpressed with American people for the most part. I live in western TN - my wife and I went to Maine for a short summer vacation last year. For every "support your police" sign I see where I live, in Maine we saw a "black lives matter" sign. The difference was palpable. I'm afraid the attitude in Maine is in the minority in the good ole USA, or at least not in a powerful position.
One of my great nieces has gone down the fundamentalist rabbit hole. She complained during the pandemic about grocery stores being open, but she couldn't go to church. If God is omnipresent, why can't people worship and pray anywhere. Then she posted begging for help for some problem the pastor had. That's when I decided that the family item I was going to will to her would not happen. Anyone can hang out their shingle and be a minister from the internet. What a golden opportunity for controlling patriarchal types to tell everyone what to do and control their thoughts while they pass the collection plate. One can throw Bible verses around and not know or understand what Jesus actually taught.
As a former physician, I learned that people who believe passionately in a demonstrably false belief - i.e., a delusion - cannot be dissuaded from that delusion by rational discussion. The belief itself is irrational, and no amount of evidence-based debate is going to sway them. Indeed, the mere fact that you are willing to discuss it with them validates, in their minds, the belief.
And it strikes me that the same dynamic applies equally well to Q-anon conspiracy theories and fervent religious belief. And God help the individual who subscribes to both.
I haven't read it, but have seen the movie. I also like The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I hope I am remembering the latter author correctly. It starts here, but goes to Africa and is spot on about what missionaries think and what Africans are actually doing. I spent three and half years in Sierra Leone and had ample opportunity to see this in action. The kids were Catholics when they were at our school, but followed the local beliefs at home. I don't know about the Islamic areas. I once asked them to write about a ghost that they had seen and not one said they hadn't seen one. I was told not to whistle by one our African staff members (junior staff of course) because I would attract evil spirits. The kids celebrated all holidays both Christian and Islamic by dressing up like "devils" and coming by singing and dancing for a dash...a money gift. Another book on the destruction caused by missionaries in 19th century Nigeria is Things Fall Apart. Then there is At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Once again I hope I am remembering correctly. I think there is a scene where one of the missionary wives goes crazy when overwhelmed by the eroticism of nature in the tropics. It's been a while since I read it, so I hope this is accurate. Right now I am reading a book about how Victorians made modern Britain and religion played a large role including those who experienced religious doubt.
I agree Mike but there seem to be less and less of the people I know that are willing to do the critical reading in order to fully understand the whole picture. It's very frustrating. They seem to be more comfortable just listening to a bunch of crap and accepting that that's the truth. Putting out the least amount of effort to understand.
And thus Mike's statement. The problem with America is Americans. As long as the The silent majority keeps it's collective head up it's collective ass we are doomed.
It is tragic that newspapers died. Everyone would sit and read the paper copy of their paper. A 30 second or 60 second screaming sound bite on their phone is not a good replacement.
History will trace the downfall of society by the advent of smart phones.
Lots of local newspapers still exist in digital format. Sometimes they still have good stories. But, you are right, many are gone and, also, Social Media has taken the place of reading the newspaper for many.
I still read the NY Times, a local newspaper, and the Wall Street Journal most early mornings.
Amazingly, the WSJ wrote a lengthy article this week on how Republicans should abandon Trump because he is a loser. Not because he attacked the government, but, because in polls, Joe Biden still beats him.
I will try to find it and post it. But, even Rupert's WSJ is against Trump now.
I sometimes suspect that these were the people who did not do especially well at school and now have the chance, thanks to the dreck on the internet and the air waves, to be "experts" in everything. Given what I see from locals, I would think that Salem is a major research hub in science, medicine, economics, history, etc. intend of being the heavily state bureaucracy town that comes with being the state capital. The fun begins when you ask for a cite to something that they have declared is the absolute truth. Our street is closed in front of the house for major sewer work, but it has saved us from the roar of large trucks, souped up cars, and motorcycles going by. Close by someone roars out every night to rip down the street that needs a major paving job. I suspect it is the same house of Oregunians who also pop off fireworks for many days and nights. Not only are some of these trucks huge but they have jacked up the body as well. All I see is lots of very poor gas mileage.
People are the problem vs propaganda is the problem. Well - propaganda is a giant problem these days especially with 24 hour news cycles and social media on the internet. Giant. It is people however that create that propaganda. And I am definitely not in the camp of forgiving American people for gobbling up right wing propaganda. No sirree. I take myself as an example. I do not look upon myself as an excellent ore overly bright human being - I try to be a decent person and usually succeed; that's about it. I'm no dummy either. Sometime in my twenties I converted from an apolitical conservative white guy who went to church every other Sunday to a progressive with a number of "aha" moments. All it took was a 2-year gift subscription to Scientific American to get my distracted brain going and to realize that magical thinking is just that, and start to embrace the scientific method more, and start thinking more rationally about things that are important. The rest was just a logical progression. That's all it took. Anyone can do that, even if they go about it differently than I did. To roll one's eyes and say "get a life" or "god's in control" or something akin to that, like so many do, is to be willingly ignorant, and to fall prey to one's fears and prejudices (or greed). It isn't hard to do, to get rational and skeptical, even if intellect is a bit lacking. Nope - the embrace of right wing ideology in this "exceptional" country of ours is decidedly unexceptional, and is a terrible reflection on a powerful part of this country's make-up. I am not impressed with the American people by and large, it saddens me to say. The awful scary political state we are in right now happened because the American people allowed it.
"All it took was a 2-year gift subscription to Scientific American to get my distracted brain going and to realize that magical thinking is just that, and start to embrace the scientific method more"
In my case it was a Fellowship from A&M to UT Austin for a completely paid for PhD. During that time I read the NY Times and hundreds of books in the massive UT library.
I went from being an A&M far right Republican to a newborn progressive.
Then, I had the pleasure to work in industry where I noticed, over my entire career, HUNDREDS of white engineers and exactly TWO black engineers.
About half the white engineers were hired by their parents, but, those same folks would whine and cry about "affirmative action" if they hired even ONE black guy.
I came to understand that REAL affirmative action in America is for white people.
When a black person is hired they ALWAYs have a very good GPA and resume. ALWAYS.
When a parent hires a white kid who is related to them they usually nearly flunked out by drinking beer all day every day in college.
Then, those same former and current drunks whine about affirmative action for blacks.
THAT fully converted me to what would accurately be called "eyes wide open".
Mike, yes IMO "BELIEVING" is a huge problem. "Believing" anything -- propaganda, opinions (especially our own!), even the existence of god. We must do our own vetting to reach certainty.
Propaganda is a tool that has been widely and routinely used by factions since the beginning of civilization. For example, every war that has been fought contained a powerful proponent of propaganda to sustain each side and further the cause. It is in full view in the Russia - Ukraine war.
Republicans have become the masters of propaganda which stands in stark contrast to the Democrats feckless and impotent use of propaganda to counter the Republicans and promote their ostensibly liberal/socialist/progressive world view.
I have recognized for decades that Democrats lack of success is not because of their progressive ideals but because they fail to promote those ideals in contrast to the Republicans not very hidden agenda to serve only the wealthy. Take any topic and Democrats are subjectively on the side of the majority but when it comes to execution they have faltered and failed. I think universal healthcare is a prime example. We should recognize that too many Democrats are engaged in triangulation trying to salve the demands of their constituents while at the same time keep their donors in play.
In short, Democrats don't have a cohesive propaganda playbook because they are forever trying to play both sides to the middle. That doesn't help their constituents and polling data has reflected that over the last 40+ years.
No. The problem with America is that 60% of it’s white citizens have as their top political priority the preservation of systemic white advantages. That’s why Republicans need only say one word, namely “woke,” to remind their voters why they vote R.
You need to read up on Charles Koch, father of the “libertarian” movement. Starting with “the Great Communicator,” Reagan, the Repugs set into motion a propaganda machine, cynical and twisted, as it fed ideas like, “peace keepers,” “trickle down economics,” “illegal aliens,” and linked “conservative” with emotional qualities of “patriotism,” “family values,” and Christianity. “Libertarian” is just another way of declaring that one’s “liberties” ENTITLED them to the freedom of never paying taxes, never contributing to the common good, never having to face consequences, never assuming that “Rights” come with RESPONSIBILITIES. Hence, the recruitment of Rupert Murdoch and Fox, despite warnings from Murdoch’s country of origin. “Fox” is the original propaganda outlet. (Later, players like the Mercers (Cambridge Analytica, now know as Emeradata, would weaponize propaganda through social media outlets.)
Charles KKKoch and his pal, Mitch McConnell, rammed “Citizens United” (another twisted euphemism) through the Supreme Court. CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE; they are a tool to shelter corporate leaders from personal liability and wrongdoing. KKKoch now heads the Billionaire Gang that pulls the strings of the RNC. Essentially, the RNC is run like a crime syndicate. Hillary Clinton was right: There Is a vast, right-wing conspiracy against this democracy.
I will do. I have some time coming up, which, I always fill with reading, so, I will look him up. I think he is a former Nazi movie to the states correct?
Mike, read Dark Money by Jane Mayer. You’ll learn all about the Kochs. This book remains my “ go to” for the clearest presentation of our current situation.
I've been saying corporate greed was the reason behind the high gas prices all along but most people I speak with choose to blame it on Biden. I don't even have the energy to debate them anymore. I do have a copy of a blog entry that someone posted here a while back explaining the reason and offer it out but no one is interested in learning the truth.
I liken Republican adherence to propaganda to trying to have a conversation with a Christian about the possibility that Mary Magdalene (perhaps the smartest woman who ever lived) fabricated the story of Jesus resurrection and found a stand in for him that, initially, the disciples did not even recognize.
But, try having that conversation with a Christian sometime. The above hypothesis is very consistent with every Bible passage, as consistent as the Resurrection itself.
btw: either way, fabricated or real, the Resurrection story serves the useful purpose of getting Jesus story of acceptance and valuing diversity out there to the world. This is what Mary Magdalene wanted to keep alive really.
However, the vast majority of Christians will raise their cross like they have been approached by a vampire if you raise this hypothesis to them.
anyway......choosing what we believe requires courage and a willingness to challenge our own selves. Not very easy. I know this because I was once one of the folks that would look away before looking right at the data.
But, now? I don't feel pain when, say, HCR writes the truth. I just read it and learn.
The way I’ve come to see it, Jesus the man didn’t die for “our” sins, he died because of them. It was all political. Then they make up the story that he died for us, to save us from our sins to cover their asses. Jesus was a human sacrifice, just like all the victims of mass shootings and the like. That’s an interesting idea about Mary Magdalene. I haven’t heard it but I do believe that her true story has corrupted and kept under wraps from the beginning.
Mike There are diverse accounts of the resurrection written in the Gospels decades, even generations, after the purported event. Joseph Campbell, in the Power of Myth, explained to Bill Moyers (a Baptist minister) that Jesus’s resurrection was an allegory familiar in ancient mythology. Some Biblical scholars have written that the resurrection story was necessary to the ‘Jesus movement’. As for Mary Magdalene, she seemed important to Jesus and was reduced to a ‘prostitute’ in the Catholic Church’s account hundreds of years later.
Mike I don’t recall how the Joseph Campbell/Bill Moyers exchange on Jesus’s resurrection was portrayed in The Power of Myth book. In the video, when Campbell spoke of the resurrection as a familiar ancient allegory, Moyers, as a Baptist minister, looked like he was sucking on a sour lemon.
I think Jesus was just a child who went all in for his story, to save his mother from getting stoned; and I don't think that is anything less, because the same sort of thing is done by children all the time. But I never tried to convince anybody else of this.
Love this analysis of Mary Magdalene and I agree. But gosh, she's a woman and so that alone will put a wall up to understanding her role. And of course, it's all Eve's fault too.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans have no idea how gas prices work, and are unwilling to learn. It's just too convenient to blame them on the current President, and then to credit that President when prices go back down.
Same is true of inflation. Despite all the reporting about supply chain issues that begin in Asia and reverberate throughout the entire world, coupled with record corporate profits and price gouging, most Americans, even Democrats, blame Biden. Many think the solution is to abandon Ukraine, end the sanctions on Russia, and let Putin wage his ego-driven world domination wars all over Europe.
We are a country that reveres ignorance, despises knowledge, and rejects expertise. A perfect recipe for an authoritarian takeover.
“We have seen the enemy and he is us.” Pogo, Walt Kelly.
Too many Americans think that their democracy is unbreakable. They could not be more wrong. Most Germans thought the same thing in 1930. As always, then and now, language revealed itself to be the deadliest of all technologies and the least understood by most people. Nuclear weapons can murder millions and destroy us all. Words can convince you to murder your children, invade a country and torture your neighbour or a stranger.
My parents were Holocaust victims. I never got to have the pleasure of having grandparents as they were gassed in 1942 at the camp called Chelmno. Others, killed in fields in Poland. That is the reality
I will have to try this tack with some of my RWNJ friends. Well, the next time I decide I need to give them free space in my head, which is at a premium these days.
Of course, because Republicans have no platform, no constructive proposals. They stoke fear and discontent to win voters and power. Solutions, however, are not their goal, rather the dismantling of democracy.
Yes but a lot of them surely don't understand what's happening. They think they do because they're still believing the big lie. It's like a mass hypnosis of a cult.
"...silence from Republicans", 1 very silent Senator is "Chuck" Grassley, Iowa, who has been uncovered in ligation over John Eastman's emails to have been ready to lead the House on J6 in Pence's "absence". Need a DOJ Grand Jury Subpoena served on the Senator.
Note Grassley looks & acts befuddled but, he is dangerous to our democracy.
“McCarthy has cranked up the volume on inflation, gas prices, government size and spending…”
And for good reason. These are the issues that directly impact voters. The politically engaged Democrats are focused on the events of 01/06. By and large, others are not. On most days, the local and national news has a major story on the impact of inflation on ordinary citizens. Nothing on 01/06.
Most polls about upcoming midterms indicate that neither Roe nor 01/06 will be topmost in the decision making of most voters. The economy , and how it impacts them personally, will.
Someone wrote this on this comment section this morning:
"Capitalism is designed to maximize profits and, in fact, if you look at any quarterly report, as I have done recently since I own Exxon Mobil stock, corporate profits are at an all time high.
So, having looked at a quarterly report, and having seen all time high profits, a reasonable question is: What fraction of inflation is associated with corporate profits or "Capitalism"??
Well, folks have sort of taken up that question and guess what? Surprise, it is not JOE BIDEN that has raised prices, because, he is as powerless to raise prices as the squirrel living in the tree in my backyard.
CORPORATIONS are raising prices! How could that be a surprise to the Republican Party who LOVES Capitalism??
Thanks Pensa, I just wrote down a story that happened to me this week in the context of my own reality. I own Exxon Mobil stock and it tanked during the pandemic when oil prices went negative.
Now? I do wish that Americans had planned better for the fact that oil is a finite resource. Like I have.
I do wish Americans were all driving small European size cars. Like I do.
I do wish Americans were responsible with oil as a natural resource to be shared with others on earth.
But, since they are not? I don't mind one bit the fact that my Mobil stock has risen by a factor of two in a year due to historically high profits.
Oh! It was you, Mike! I am sorry I did not attribute it on fox news postings. But your message got out there about 15 times till my stomach couldn't take it anymore.
The profits are incredible...glad someone good is making money from their coup.
Climate change also takes a back seat to inflation.
“A new poll commissioned by a conservationist group found Colorado voters think Washington, D.C., politicians don't pay enough attention to western wildfires, drought and climate change -- but that inflation will be top of mind for many when they cast their ballots this fall.”
VermontGirl57 -- I thought the D Post is “a left wing rag, not to be believed by any real American”
Overall, the Denver Post produces well-sourced journalism with a Left-Center Bias through editorial positions. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to a clean fact check record and a solid reputation for fact-based journalism.
Am afraid you are right. Americans vote with their pocket books and that's about it. If they vote at all. I don't like inflation either. But I know enough to read up on the why's and place any blame where it belongs. Dem's must show however that they are doing all they can, and crow about it.
I wonder sometimes that the Republican party which knows all about "It's the economy, stupid," might poke its oligarchical friends in petroleum and shipping to keep the prices high. To me, there's a bit too much of a coincidence. Then, they can blame the Democratic administration for failures. (Honestly, I accept that supply shortages and the Ukraine war are the culprits, but I still wonder.)
Mitch McConnell is ramping up his tweets hammering that Biden is responsible for both inflation and a tax plan that will hurt middle class Americans. Steve Schmidt tweeted that President Biden needs to step away for the 2024 election because he will not be remembered well. President Biden's poll numbers are low because the media is not giving all that he is doing for this country any support. We must hold all of these criminals accountable and at the same time do everything we can to support our President and Democrats. That Graham's subpoena is being held up enrages me. That t is not in jail enrages me. That Carlson can continue to spew enrages me. That all of these criminals can continue to hold office enrages me. That there are so many deliberately ignorant Americans enrages me.
"President Biden's poll numbers are low because the media is not giving all that he is doing for this country any support"
I see NO evidence of Democrats and aligned special interest groups creating their own storyline about Biden and liberal efforts. Liberals have NO concept about maintaining the headlines and the FRAMING of events. Sen Angus King and my Democratic Congresswoman have not been speaking to the successes of the Biden Administration. None of the special interest groups have. MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the NAACP, Sierra Club, etc ONLY know how to ask for money, along with running onlline petition drives - as a ruse to raise money.
WHERE is the House Progressive Caucus? Do you even know there is such a thing!? Who is the Chairperson of this group of more than 100 Democratic Congresspeople? ? ?
Well, I fell into my "political depression" immediately after the successful rescue of some 110,000 people from Afghanistan, during the successful departure from that war torn country.
Not a peep from ANY liberal or progressive leader, writer, commentator, organization or liberal political operation stressed this herculean effort! We hear NOT a word FROM US about this ....
Throughout the years of Clinton, Obama, and now Biden, 30 years!!, liberals have been totally inept at maintaining a frame - ANY frame - let alone KNOW what comprises a frame.
So, while phone banking for Beto, Fetterman in Pennsylvania, door knocking in my home area, and walking with Dems in our July 4th parade - in NONE of these efforts have I seen anything that comprises a dynamic, winning frame of government and our capitalist economy.
Tis no wonder I've lost my hair - and I also wonder what an authoritarian America will look like ....
Don’t wonder or give one second of life to it, Frederick. Send only an affirmation of freedom to the Universe and hold in mind one of the beautiful Webb telescope pics or that of a beautiful child bounding happily to public school or a gorgeous dark skinned adult person signing a fair mortgage agreement with a white male agent and being the first of her/his/their skin color moving into the neighborhood and the welcome wagon cheering.
Even The Guardian this week featured the low poll ratings news. I find the Wash Post does a better job (than NYT, but that's a low bar) celebrating Biden's achievements ( ie latest job numbers) but agree, there is a lack of vitality or will to pull together as a party and create positive, constructive, -oh- and true soundbites that drown out the propaganda. I just signed up for voter reg retraining. After two Covid years that prevented in-person work, that's where I can make a difference, in libraries, high schools and nursing homes.
YES! YES! YES! It drives me nuts. We've long needed a Frank Luntz to streamline our messaging. We've long needed leaders who don't give a shirt about playing well with others. This doesn't mean going full-blown Jim Jordan, but does mean stopping with the moldy, "my good friend, Republican X." For some weird reason I'm on the RNC mailing list. It's been by turns hilarious, horrifying and awe-inspiring. The latter because they are relentlessly consistent about labeling Democrats as the Evil Incarnate.
Fredrick, The CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS is easy to find, as is knowing what it is about, what it stands for, its key priorities and who they are. See links below.
Is there any chance that you are not listening? Have you gone to the Congressional Progressive Caucus website? I provided links last time you complained that I am aware of.
I'm with you, Gailee. There is so much to be angry about that I hardly know where to begin. So, I often just walk away from the news so that I can better control y blood pressure.
May I add - That there are so many people that can register to vote and don’t enrages me. That there are so many people registered to vote and don’t enrages me.
Did you hear/see Missouri Rep Cori Bush on MSNBC last night. The topic was the ten year old girl who was raped and how Fox and state governor where the girl resides, debunked the rape as a left wing, Joe Biden/democrat fabrication. She started talking slow and deliberate, even toned, ramping up slowly until she was fired! We need more Cori Bush’s!
Missed that last night (preparing for husband’s 87th birthday today) but just saw headline on morning news that her rapist has been arrested. Wonder if FOX will mention it.
Thank you, Professor, for continuing to keep us informed about the Jan 6 Committee findings plus the everyday policies and decisions that move our country. Right now I’m reading “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them” by Jason Stanley and USA is one of his examples of Democracies adopting fascist policies and tactics. Your comments about Viktor Orbán, Hungary and CPAC, are right out of the Fascist playbook. We should all, including the repubs, be paying close attention. Why does CPAC want to destroy Democracy and replace it with a Fascist “illiberal democracy”? We are already losing rights and reversing laws. All in plain sight. If there are still repubs who believe in Democracy, they (along with all of us) better speak up and stop the March to Fascism.
It baffles me too. The media doesn't seems to realize the following: ..." and he has pushed his vision by eliminating the independent press," As we well know trump was working to eliminate his enemies in the press and those news organizations he hated. He wanted State controlled media.
The only thing I can think of is that is is "wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross" which appeals to their very souls. They lack the capacity to see that "they" (the true believers) are no different than "us" (fill in whatever fits for you) when it comes to the fascist, kleptocratic autocrats that will be in charge.
Self-preservation is a hard-wired primal instinct, or so I was taught. For some on the far right it seems that they have suffered brain damage as that instinct seems to have been numbed or destroyed. Look no further than the response of many on the far right to public health guidelines. How many people who got seriously ill or died from COVID thought of themselves as heroes for "owning the libs."
That is easy to explain. It is their kind that benefit. White, supposedly Christian, well to do mostly. I believe even in Nazi Germany, if one kept in line, they did just fine.
THE AXIOM, THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN WALL STREET... APPLIES TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TRUMP ...
WE CAN SAFELY ADD, THERE ARE NO SECRETS, ONLY THE SECRETIVE..
MARK TWAIN SAID, I TRUST EVERYONE, BUT CUT THE CARDS...
THOSE THAT HAD READ DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL BY ANNE FRANK, WERE CLEAR WITH ME....
AS BRUNO BETTELHEIM SAID IN 1955, SANDY, IN YOUR LIFETIME, I WAS THEN 16,
OVER HALF THE PEOPLE YOU WILL KNOW WILL BEHAVE AS THE NAXIS DID, GIVEN THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES... HE WAS REFERRING TO AUSCHWITZ, DACHAU, BUCHENWALD, BERGEN BELSON AND 200 MORE CAMPS... THAT ISOLATED AND KILLED JEWS... AMONG OTHERS.
I WAS STUNNED BY ANNE FRANK... BUT BETTELHEIM AND OTHER SURVIVORS ON CAMPUS WERE CLEAR: WHAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED WOULD RETURN..
WELL...
FASCISM HAS RETURNED WITH FORCE... IN THE GOP AND FOX NEWS... ON SILENT CAMPUSES TODAY, AND IN MANY COUNTRIES...
PUTIN REFERS TO DENAZIFICATION IN UKRAINE AND IS HIMSELF A FASCIST AND HE TRUCKS MILLIONS OFF TO SIBERIA AND ELSEWHERE IN RUSSIA... WITH 200,000 CHILDREN SHIPPED FROM UKRAINE TO BE HIDDEN AND BRAINWASHED -
GEORGE ORWELL WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED..
TUCKER CARLSON AND HIS PALS AT FOX ARE CLEAR THEY SEE AND SUPPORT THE END OF DEMOCRACY... AND SOME 70 MILLION SUPPORTED TRUMP AND SAY THEY BELIEVE THE BIG LIE...
A REPUBLIC IF YOU CAN KEEP IT, SAID BEN FRANKLIN...
WELL, WE ARE LOSING IT... AND WE SEE CASSIE HUTCHINSON TESTIFYING AS HER BOSS COWARS ALONG WITH ALL OTHER REPUBLICANS IN GOVERNMENT...
EXCEPT JAN SIX VICE CHAIR, REPRESENTATIVE LIZ CHENEY ... THE GLACIAL ANOMALY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,,, WILLING TO GIVE UP HER CAREER IN A PARTY NO LONGER SANE.. A ROGUE FACTIOUS MINORITY - SEE FEDERALIST 10... THAT SEEMS TO BE RUNNING THE SHOW...
IF YOU ARE NOT FRIGHTENED, YOU ARE NUMB... OR STUPID...
THIS IS SHOW TIME, DRESS REHEARSAL AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE...
JANUARY 6 WAS FOREPLAY: PRESIDENT TRUMP MUST BE CHARGED AND CONVICTED... AND JAILED...
AND ALL REPUBLICANS IN THE CONGRESS THAT ARE COMPLICIT MUST BE REMOVED... AT THE POLLS...
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A SECOND CIVIL WAR... AND THE BLOODSHED BEGAN ON JANUARY 6TH, FULL BLAST.
Turns out there ARE secrets in the Trumpist party (they are no longer recognizable as Republicans), and I'm sure more will be revealed soon. They have been telegraphing their intent for several years now, however. It reminds me of what Winston Churchill said of breaking the Nazi codes: "Knowing what the Nazis intended to do was one thing. Stopping them was quite another". We have A LOT of work to do. Still, I truly believe that THEY are the ones in trouble, not us.
Thanks Sandy, I believe it will soon be evident that it will be easier to list the few frigging Republicans that were mot complicit than the ever expanding list of treasonous scum.
I agree with you completely, Sandy, with one small addition. EVERYONE complicit in aiding and abetting the overthrow needs to be on trial and imprisoned if found guilty. This will be the equivalent of our own softer version of the Nuremberg trials, before the total annihilation of many of our people. With the exception of our own holocaust, the pandemic, which they used to kill off many of us by their propaganda. I truly wonder about the real source of this pandemic now.
What a terrific letter, Heather. My head is swimming. It got my attention on many levels, especially about Overstock Guy and his relationship with the Russian gun enthusiast. That she serves in the Kremlin’s Duma as a “reward” for her “work” with the NRA and Republican politicians was a shock. Will he be called to testify? I was amazed to hear Mr. Cipollone comment that Overstock was at the meeting he rushed to in the wee hours of December 19 I believe. Ciplollone asked him “Who are you?” This was the mob level Trump used in his flaunting of public trust, inviting unknown people to meet about the election, without consulting your White House lawyer, in the late hours of the night is John Le Carre worthy.
Just think if TFG had been convicted in the impeachment. Oh, impeachments. We have wasted so much of this country’s critical energy on this person masquerading as a president.
Actually, I do not think it was wasted. The dark side of the republican's belly has been revealed. We needed to see all of this treachery they imposed. It is so deep and connected with hostile foreign support. Just keep your seatbelts on. Our country needs massive change and we are in it... first we must be willing to shed light of our statue of Liberty (a large, strong female no less!!!) ....with RESPONSIBILITY and alongside Lady Justice...another female. Our people need to participate in our democracy and stand up for our Laws when they are abused. Women and good men will stand up for All the People.
Find your last 4 paragraphs very telling. The GOP is hiding in plain sight what they see in the future. This is not the way I want to spend my remaining years in fear of what we may become. Please , please may people take off the blinders and vote to put a stop to this before it is to late.
It's getting boring to keep saying Harry Truman was right back in 1948, but he was. And that was with the "sane" Republican Party - or at least in comparison to what we have today, since that party had Joe McCarthy as one of its representatives and the China Lobby as one of its major components.
They're always been the "pseudo conservatives" Hofstadter described them as 70 years ago.
As Truman said, "the only 'good Republicans' are pushing up daisies."
Likely he knew about the attempted coup of 1933. Gen. Smedley Butler had been approached by wealthy republicans (more than a few familiar names) to oust FDR. Also, many admired Hitler, until Japan sort of messed that up. And, of course Hoover was the original “trickle down king.” Seems that Ronnie just continued a long tradition of screwing the country with the dregs left over from the original Tricky Dick. All this while spewing platitudes of patriotism and religiosity. Fascism will come to America wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible, said by many, including me.
Get ready - Margaret Attwood's books are very prescient - Handmaid's tale and (once you have read that) Testaments. I'm sure de Santis (and maybe Abbot) would love to follow that concept.
I've never been a hateful person...until trump was elected. At that time, he was the only one I hated. Jokingly, at least halfway, I'd get up every morning, kiss my husband who got up earlier and ask if anyone killed trump yet. Now, I'm not sure I have enough paper to write down all the names I'd like to see vaporized. I don't like feeling this way. Actually, I hate feeling this way. I don't want to be around people that still support trump. I don't respect them at all. How can anyone support what the republicans are trying to do. I hate being a hateful person, but I am now.
I wish they were pushing up daisies….but “they” are getting elected all over the country, the altright extremists. This is the real danger…taking over the “grass roots” literally and demolishing our democracy.
And what were the Dems doing while the Trumpsters were taking over the "grass roots" and setting up a different and corrupt voting system for 2024? A system that will allow state legislators, not voters, to determine who the electoral votes go to. One that Thomas has more than hinted he will have the court give their blessings to in the Fall? We can't just blame "them" and not own our part or this mess or we, Democracy and this nation is doomed. We sucked at message. Still do. And Biden's optics frankly have been bad and getting worse. But I've been watching Gavin Newsom, good at message and optics who looks like he warming up to make a run for it .The Great Democrat Hope possibly?
Diane, I agree. I am also looking at Gretchen Whitmer. Maybe they could be a dream team. We need fresh, new leadership. If Biden is put up again, with all the downsides you mention, we are truly doomed. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Read today’s NYTimes article on Whitmer and abortion battles in Michigan. She has two young daughters and is fighting for them. I like her more and more.
Yes, Diane. I've been watching Newsom, too. Unfortunately, he'll have to overcome (again) the fact that the state tried a recall on his election. I agree with others below that there needs to be a woman on the ticket....Amy Klobuchar?
I think he is too. There are many in CA who despise him, but he has my vote. I am now receiving emails from the Attorney General sharing all that they are working to accomplish.
That is because their "message" is appealing to enough people that with their gerrymandering and statehouse control, they will have the means in place to topple democracy as we have known it.
I know that this is so very off topic, but I just received an email from a gallery here who is currently showing Shania's work regarding this. If any of you can possibly do anything to support her at this moment, here is the article in English from the States. Gracias a todos. I was just visiting this gallery last week and took photos of her work. Gailee
It isn’t entirely off topic, Gailee. As the article you link states, “this week in Aitkin County [Minnesota] civil court, a non-Native cultural organizer, artist and mother of two young children, Shanai Matteson, goes forward with a jury trial for Gross Misdemeanor ‘conspiring, aiding, and abetting criminal trespass on [Enbridge Energy’s] critical public infrastructure pipeline.’” As Matteson explained in a recent interview, the charges stem from a video where she “spoke about the importance of standing together in solidarity with our waters and with Anishinaabe people who are struggling for their treaty rights to be recognized." https://www.kaxe.org/news/2022-07-11/jury-trial-of-artist-and-cultural-organizer-shanai-matteson-begins-wednesday-in-aitkin-county?_amp=true
It is appalling that Matteson is being tried for her activist work to protect the environment at this critical time when human-generated climate change is in line to destroy humanity, AND for defending the rights of indigenous people to THEIR land, while, as Heather points out in today’s letter, “a number of our lawmakers [who] were complicit in overturning our democracy” on January 6 have yet to suffer any consequences for breaking the law they were elected to uphold. Unfortunately, Matteson’s trial (along with 800 other people similarly accused) signals that the scales of Lady Justice are weighted in favor of an elite class of Americans willing to sell the soul of our nation to foreign oligarchs and U.S. corporations.
Mother Nature, the Arts and the rights of Indigenous People are worthy of everyone’s concern. Without them, we’ll lose our nation’s identity. Matteson embodies all three. Impossible not to be siding with her!
I have long been of the belief that tRump will never go to prison. Ever. Now I think I am going to try putting into the universe what I want to see and I am going to be in concert with the comment Sandy has been posting repeatedly:
TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
It seems that all the drivel and crap that Tucker and the other miscreants put out becomes truth in this universe we are cycling in. I encourage everyone who uses social media to follow Sandy's lead and post daily: TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
What would be delightful to see today (at least for me, and I can sure use a daily jolt of good with all the ugly meanness out there) is for all those who read comments to reply to Sandy "I'm with you" and/or to post TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
Gailee, thank you for sharing. I have a friend, not a native, but an ally, who has been at the pipeline demonstrations and each time he goes he expects to be arrested. I’m so sorry your friend is now in this predicament. And was not even there in person to be arrested. From surveillance of her FB posts? This is outrageous. It must be a free speech violation. Even if not convicted she will have been detained, harassed and threatened. And has to be represented in court. And has a family. Much of the time, when at the site, if not arrested, protesters are harassed and denied simple and necessary things. Where is a sense of connection, compassion, empathy? Has there ever been? This continuing struggle for their land shows that the native people and their land will not be protected. We think about meaningful reparations not token, but there is a sizable number of citizens who don’t believe they have to apologize. Same group not believing African slaves were transported against their will? And How many of the violent protesters were arrested on J6? “The video is being used as evidence that Matteson conspired, aided, and abetted people who trespassed on the pipeline corridor in a separate incident. Matteson was not present at the incident in question.” Why is this trespassing and why is either being there or not a crime?
Information about our out of balance (bought and paid for) "justice" system is welcome. I wish I was in MN, I would love to attend trial and lend support. This is what corporate authoritarianism looks like.
What we've seen in the House Select Committee hearings is that the real conservatives are calling out the reactionaries who have taken over their party. The vast majority of witnesses who testified so far have been real conservatives. Liz Cheney is a real conservative, not a reactionary.
There is a split in the GOP, and splits can be exploited if we call the participants the names that properly apply to them. To do otherwise is a misnomer. Using the wrong term makes the message blurry and confused. The very definition of reactionary is "opposed to liberalism." You can see this opposition playing out in the refusal of the reactionary Republicans to work on -- or much less pass -- a party platform. Their purpose is to "own the libs," and also to expel and purge those they derisively call the "Rinos" -- Republicans in Name Only -- from the Republican Party. So please, liberals, don't call reactionaries "conservative." Show some discipline and respect for the English language You have nothing to lose but elections.
Seems that there was no shortage of insurrectionists ready to forget our founding fathers’s Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution. Power rules the fools. And yet, the MSM and rank and file republicans still consider them legitimate political actors. Anyone doubt that propaganda works and that a majority of our citizenry are primed to embrace fascism. Article in Dallas Morning News suggested that the Texas republican platform is gaining support. The end of our way of life may be closer than most suspect…. Although the Jan 6 committee is fighting with all it’s might. Wish HCR missives had the reach of Fox
The problem with America is, of course, not Trump, but, Americans.
You are right.
Years of drinking beer while sitting on arse, watching Survivor, The Apprentice, football, stupid movies, and, well, watching TV and wasting time posting pictures of their dog on facebook has left Americans without even a hint of the trappings of critical thought necessary to support the Democracy John Adams granted us after reading a MOUNTAIN of stuff including the entire works of Edward Coke.
Who, in America today, even knows who Edward Coke is??
Get ready - Margaret Attwood's books are very prescient - Handmaid's tale and (once you have read that) Testaments. I'm sure de Santis (and maybe Abbot) would love to follow that concept.
I heard Atwood interviewed in Saint Paul, MN, after "Oryx and Crake" came out (which I highly recommend along with the other dystopian novels Hugh names). She talked about the research she did for that and other books, especially involving looking at what happens to nations that, like the US with 9/11, experience a grave shock. She said nations tended to respond to that kind of shock by moving toward authoritarianism. She looked at the audience that night with the intensity of her light blue eyes and said, "Watch out." I am haunted by that moment. Here we are.
As far as MSM goes, fascism sells advertising space. And advertising space and eyeball engagement are the factors in The Perfect Equation for the greedy. Who’s narrative sells more ad space? Who’s willing to lie and misinform to sell ad space? It turns out, ,most of the sites we get our “News” from could care less about an informed public, rather than the $$$$ from advertising space. Remember that when you wonder why the Truth can’t seem to break through.
I would love to see Patrick Byrne charged with committing seditious conspiracy, or at least taken into custody as a material witness against Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn. Because Byrne was present at the White House meeting with the other two Looney Tunes, Powell and Flynn, shows him to be at least in general agreement with their seditious objectives. It doesn't really matter whether the plan they were promoting had any likelihood of succeeding, the fact that they were in the Oval Office looking to get President Trump's approval for their harebrained scheme is the overt act necessary to lay out the elements of the crime for which they can be indicted. The fact that all of these actors, from the president on down, behaved in a manner that would qualify as a Marx Brothers farce is legally irrelevant. Regardless of the absurdity of their proposal to the president, it took the combined efforts of the president's senior staff, including the lawyers from the Office of the White House Counsel to get the president to back off. Some two hours later, President Trump tweeted his summons to his supporters to rally in Washington DC on January 6. Patrick Byrne should be held fully accountable for his participation in the plot to overthrow the Constitution.
After the last J6 hearing, we need to publicly demand that all lawmakers in our employ, who aided and abetted the overthrow of our government are to step down immediately and go on public trial for conspiracy and attempt to overthrow our government. Of course, all the others who helped that are not in our employ, such as Eric Byrnes, Rudy, and past employees such as Flynn, Miller, Meadows, etc. all go down the same path.
I would like to hire Vindman and his brother to help to work in high levels of our Defense systems. We need leaders who are true patriots for democracy.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."
So one of the things that has passed through my FB feed in the last 24 hours is the fact that Hobby Lobby placed a bunch of ads in major newspapers all over the USA on July 4th that called for the establishment of a theocracy--a "Christian" government. And here it is ten days later and this has not shown up on any major news feed I read or listen to (NPR, NYTimes, Guardian). https://www.businessinsider.com/hobby-lobby-advocates-for-religious-government-in-july-4-ads-2021-7
If you want a textbook example of news media's selectivity in action, this is it. There is a mild backlash against Hobby Lobby, which is really one of the most revolting companies around. But no national outcry. At the same time all the breathless nonsense about the reasons for inflation, which is not REALLY about stuff like supply chain issues--although the Russians trying to starve Africa and Asia by preventing grain from Ukraine to be shipped out is certainly a real thing--but is rather the greed of corporations and companies to convert the pain of normal people into windfall profits for their investors and executives, is designed to demoralize all of us and to throw dirt over the real issues in this sh*thole country: guns, misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
The high-intensity dog and pony show that is the Jan 6 hearings are great theater but it will not amount to a hill of beans unless there is an overwhelming rejection of everything the Rethuglicans stand for on election day. And that is exactly what the Ghastly Oligarch Party is working so hard to prevent. And it is working because of a compliant populace and a corrupted Fifth Estate.
Corrupted? Bought (sold out) and paid for to do the oligarch's bidding Fourth Estate and a Fifth Estate that has taken over the information distribution.
I despise Hobby Lobby! I protested when they wouldn’t cover their female employees rights to oral contraceptives nor abortions. Evangelicals still making/taking money from unsuspecting and ignorant people. A pox on all of them!
I am presently in Krakow, where my wife and I live for part of each year. I have always been glad that I traveled to Eastern Europe before the fall of Communism. I got a good look at totalitarianism in practice. That’s exactly what Orban is attempting to tweak and re-impose, as is Poland’s would-be autocrat Jarasław Kaczynski and our own Republican Party. It’s not pretty.
All will depend on the justice department and on the Attorney General. I share your belief. I believe Trump will be charged convicted and jailed.
Let's hope so Sandy. This has to stop and a clear message like that might have his enablers thinking twice about their next move.
Read an interesting opinion piece a few weeks ago about Trumps next move. Based on past actions, Trump will go on the offense. He’s not just going to sit back calmly.
Declare for the 2024 presidency this summer. That puts Bidens DOJ in the position of having to charge Biden’s announced political opponent with a crime. That will be sold to America as a clear case of political persecution (Putin/ Navanly) . Sue to have the proceedings stayed until the election is over. A Republican House will obviously stop any further investigations and proceed to impeach Biden.
A Republican win in ‘24 and all charges are dropped.
Looks to be a very interesting summer.
HH I assure you that Trump won’t be running for anything. He is so fat that he even takes his golf cart onto the putting green.He will be crawling away from numerous civil and criminal suits.He is getting so ensnarled in the BIG Lie and 1/6 coup conspiracy that he hasn’t even had time to throw his lunch against the wall for weeks.
He will NOT rpt NOT be a serious presidential candidate in 2024. Out of ego, he may tease us with a semi-hat-in-the-ring and, perhaps solicit more money from his cultists, but he’s a coward and won’t risk being a public has been in 2024.
I agree that it is unlikely he will be a candidate in 2024, which unfortunately doesn't end the trajectory we are on. There are more dangerous people gunning to take his place.
I'd like to ask you to keep his weight out of the criticism of him, however. As someone involved in the fat acceptance movement, I know that comments like that do not hurt Trump; they hurt other fat people who already have to live with enormous systemic bias against them and regular threats to their safety.
I agree Nomi. Thanks.
Thank YOU. I steel myself to write comments like this. When I used to do it on Twitter (not on Twitter anymore), there was always unpleasant backlash. I think here it might be more understood, but you never know.
Also agree.
Being fat won't stop an aggrieved autocrat like Trump from seeking revenge. Look at the man's history. Let's hope he will be embroiled in major criminal and civil lawsuits. That won't stop him. He will declare himself persecuted and figure out how to discredit the rule of law. The man is monstrous and unbending. Even if he can't touch his toes.
I agree. Between his narcissism and the criminality of the republican party, I'm not taking anything off the table. As far as I am concerned 2016 is the second election they fixed. I don't see them changing their mindset anytime soon.
Keith, I truly hope you are correct that being said if we don't proceed in charging tfg soon he will strike back and again be in the race.
Bill, are you Mary Carter's brother?
That's my take, also, Keith. On the other hand, I totally rejected the possibility that he'd win in '16.
Actually, you were right. He lost the popular vote, but the electoral college played whack-a-mole again.
Exactly, but nobody wants me to start again about the Electoral College. With the Reps' iron grasp on State governments, the Electoral College, and the corrupt Supreme Court, I continue to feel helpless about this country's future.
Nancy Ditto about Trump in 2016–and in 2020. Trump ain’t going to risk it in 2024, as his star is falling and some of his Mafiosos are beginning to squeal like stuck pigs.
I really hope you are right.
I sincerely hope you are right.
So, Keith, do you see the next year as one of political detente with Trump and Biden promoting the idea (myth, ploy) the 2024 will repeat 2020 to keep a lid on speculations and agressive pre-campaigning before real candidates come out of from under a rock or the woodwork?
Fred Though an historian should stick to analyzing the past, I’ll venture a guess that neither Trump nor Biden will be 2024 candidates. There will be younger candidates—with DeSantis a scary prospect—a more intelligent Trumpist.
A WaPo News Alert.
Trump may announce White House bid this fall, despite GOP fears of disrupting midterm elections
Some Republicans fear that Trump announcing he will run in 2024 could undercut them at a time when they have a strong chance of retaking the House and Senate. But as possible rivals become more aggressive, an increasing number of allies are urging the former president to launch his campaign now as a way to shore up his standing in the party and drive turnout in November's midterms.
See my comment up-thread quoting Dan Pfeiffer on why it's not in TFG's interest to declare early. "News" stories that start with "may announce" and source "some Republicans" aren't especially good for buttressing arguments.
I think any announcement now by Trump will only galvanize voters to support Democrat candidates - at least those Republican & Independent voters who are following the Jan. 6 committee public hearings. Perhaps an announcement by Trump now will be as effective as his admonitions in Georgia before the 2020 elections.
Dan Pfeiffer in his most recent Substack doesn't believe TFG will declare this summer, and he has a fairly compelling reason focusing on campaign finance: "Launching a presidential campaign is not just a rhetorical matter. It requires filing a statement of candidacy with the FEC, which immediately triggers a series of fundraising limits and disclosure requirements. To put those strictures in perspective, Trump’s current political activities (travel, ads for candidates, state, polling, etc) are funded by Super PACS with no limits on contributions from any individual. Peter Thiel could write a billion-dollar check if he so desired. Once Trump announces, Thiel could give a total of $2900 to Trump’s campaign from the day Trump announces until the day he officially assumes the nomination at the 2024 Republican Convention. Announcing now would be an act of abject idiocy (so it’s possible Trump will do it after all)."
Yes, but this is DJT. He does not care about rules and nobody holds him accountable. That is what really gets me, not a single indictment over J6, except for the small time players.
Holy Sh_t batman. What a terrifying scenario. I had not thought through the idea of TFG throwing his hat in the ring for 2024 at such an early stage. It throws a political wrench into the workings of DOJ. If I know Trump (and I think I do) - one can predict what he will or won't do based solely on what is in it for him. This seems like a possible way out of his big predicament (at least he will think so). To the rest of the world though, I would hope such a move is taken exactly for what it is.
I continue to wonder/ponder WHO is coaching Trump. Seriously. He is not even close to being smart enough or creative enough to orchestrate such a plan.
This is an excellent question. He's not close to smart enough, and I don't think "the crazies" are grounded enough in reality to pull it off, although Flynn might well have connections to the paramilitary groups. One part that surprised me was the extent to which *someone* -- maybe Eastman? -- dug up constitutional ways to undermine the election, specifically the Electoral Count Act of 1887. I also wonder how much of it was orchestrated and how much it was improvised. Trump was/is quite capable of tossing a match into a heaping pile of gasoline-doused kindling, and that heaping pile was a-building all through his so-called administration. He knew that because he'd been working hard to build it, and he was very aware of the "stand back and stand by" crowd. Was there a mastermind? I don't know, but if I had to come up with three top suspects, Mark Meadows would be one of them.
As much as I despise Flynn, he does have the Military background to create strategy and tactics. As to Trump gaslighting, that IS the one thing he is good at. And he is manipulative enough to deflect it onto someone else. Reminds me of Sgt. Schultz from "Hogan's Heroes": I know nothing!
Good point about Flynn's background, and gaslighting is instinctive with Trump. Whether he's capable of telling the truth, or even figuring it out, is open to question.
The Federalist Society? I read that he was given a list of recommendations with regard to Supreme Court.
Okay, I am at a loss. I do not see a reference to The Federalist Society. What am I missing?
Washington Post reporting he'll likely announce after Labor Day, which conceivably could help Democrats in the midterm elections.
But the wind could suddenly change direction, and Trump will change his mind — what's left of it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/14/trump-2024-announcement-fall/
wow that would suck
There isn't much of this summer left! Are you talking about next summer?
The last day of summer is September 22.
Lots of time.
How awful. I could never such a crime and it's not over.
What if BIDEN doesn't run? AND, if Trump can ran for president as an indicted or incarcerated felon, then justice and the office of the president are two separate entities and any crimes he's involved in shouldn't impact his candidacy - he admitted to sexual abuse in 2016, no problem!
Hmmm. A very possible scenario. Will Trump be indicted? I think so. Incarcerated? I think not - the lawsuits and the ponderous process might take years. Trump will die of natural causes before that happens, I suspect. So that means Trump has to win his primaries as an indicted criminal. I would not put anything past that electorate, so that is indeed a possibility. Will Biden run? Gosh I don't know. If he stays healthy and maintains his mind and doesn't succumb to dementia like Reagan did, probably so. And if so I doubt the Democratic party would fight it. If not, then who? VP Harris is just not popular and has not been the shining star many had hoped for. I do think there is a pretty good list of stellar candidates who could do well. Whitmer comes to mind but there are others. I like our chances in 2024 for popular vote, but not necessarily the electoral vote.
Sandy, you have been around long enough to know that cutting off the head of the monster is not enough - the monster will regrow another head. I've always believed that focusing on Trump as the evil-doer is a mistake. If you lock him up and no other Republican, Trump will only serve as a martyr for the cause.
This is far greater a problem than one man. This is a massive failure in our government because we have essentially installed foxes in the hen house with no security protections or guardrails in place to prevent or stop a coup. Clearly, the one agency of the government that should be the country's firewall is the Department of Justice, but they are not demonstrably engaged in doing everything possible to preserve the Republic and uphold the Constitution.
May I suggest this would not be happening in any other democratically formed country? There would be a relentless investigation and indictments following a coup attempt. I also firmly believe the vast majority would demand and expect every effort be made to bring the treasonous seditionists to justice ASAP!
My hope and expectation:
All will depend on the justice department and on the Attorney General. I share your belief. I believe Trump will be charged, convicted and jailed.
The question is when. Not if.
Timing? When a national frustration and awareness rise with a force that renders the indictment of a president decision long, long overdue.
Cassidy Hutchinson’s youthful conscience should do it. She’s addicted to the truth. Never lies. Never denies.
Our Republican women will shame the ossified old white males that have simply lost it.
We will be led by Rep. Liz Cheney and Cassidy Hutchinson.. or we will fail as a world leader.
There are other democratically formed governments which quickly desolve into illiberal democracies. We do have Poland and Hungary eating at that table. Ours has just taken baby steps to get there......or has been until tfg's coup. The cult Republicans have tried to " capture the referees" and have missed a few but I suspect there are still many in the administration and institutions wearing the striped shirts of the GOP.
What on Earth makes you think we are not demanding justice?
Some of us are demanding justice, but at least 70 million prefer kleptocratic autocracy to a democracy that doesn’t do everything it can to preserve systemic white advantages. Even if by an Abrams-level miracle we retain control of the legislature the 70 million will still be living among us, and most of them like to brandish guns with large magazines.
While "we" are, clearly not enough people in any positions of power are. And the Democrat party does not seem to be doing a whole bunch.
We continue to have an egregiously corrupt and stacked court. Yet the Democrats have not made one move to pack that court and rectify the situation.
Are we really to be saddled with this knife in the back to our Supreme Court? For a lifetime?
No announcement has been made to move on the results of the Mueller investigation, and no move has been made to address the false constraints with which that investigation was saddled.
Now we're having this 1/6 hearing. But all I hear are rumblings that it has no teeth, and that it will be going nowhere. And quite honestly, if that is what happens, what power do any of us have to do anything about it?
My sentiments too. The democrats need to fight harder and show up.
"We" is not just you and me and a million other people. You may disagree, but I think there's a reason for calling the silent majority, silent. Since January 6th, the outrage has decreased and there clearly is not an overt nor overwhelming public demand for justice. People should be outraged and alarmed for how the Republican Party has betrayed this country in their willingness to stop at nothing to establish authoritarianism in the U.S. I fear most people have lost faith in government and the justice system.
I also think that Biden's low poll numbers and why Democrats aren't favored in the midterms is because they have not lead the charge against the traitorous Republicans. The propaganda wars are being won by the Republicans who lie with impunity. i.e. Democrats never have learned to give as good as you get. Taking the high road means getting undercut at every turn. Biden is the wrong man for the job in these times - the country needs a fighter who believes their number one priority is preserving majority rule in a democratically formed government. A radical minority is oppressing and suppressing the majority. How is that possible in a country that holds itself out as the best democratically formed government.
Finally, I think most people in the world who are paying attention to what is happening in the U.S. are completely baffled at our timidity in pushing back against a seditious and corrosive anti-democratic party. I've noticed a difference in coverage about politics in the US between the Washington Post and the Guardian. HCR recently had one of her letters published in the Guardian and the comment section was illuminating.
I hope I answered your question.
Observing the demeanors of the members of the Jan 6 Committee, I am feeling increasingly confident that Trump will be charged, convicted and jailed, even though it's not the Committee will be doing that. No longer does it seem to be "wishful thinking" or "I feel hopeful." Hope can be a debilitating attitude. Definitely Justice and the AG are in charge!
God, I hope you are correct Sandy!
I pray!
All will depend on the justice department and on the Attorney General. I share your belief. I believe Trump will be charged, convicted and jailed.
At his current pace, MG will be ready to indict the inner circle, including TFG, in about 3 more years. I am not waiting for DOJ to rescue us, my hopes are on GA, or maybe Manhattan if they get rid of their current prosecutor, who dropped the case.
Because Trump has lifetime Secret Service protection, putting him in prison would represent too much risk for the lives of the agents. That doesn't preclude him being sentenced to home confinement. My dream is that he's remanded to his golden palace in NYC, prohibited from playing golf and is as limited in his ability to communicate with the outside world as if he were in prison.
When he is a convicted felon his Secret Service protection must be rescinded. This guy needs real prison…..death Row would be an extra bonus.
Maximum security prison, solitary confinement separated from other inmates. Super safe. One Secret Service person just sits outside the cell.
Unless he could be convicted for the deaths that occurred on Jan 6, the types of felonies he might be convicted for wouldn't lead to a federal maximum security prison. I know that these fantasies are satisfying but I fear that when they are crushed by reality there will be an unwarranted distrust of the judicial system. YMMV
Judiciary has zero say on where prisoners are housed, all a sentencing judge can do is 'suggest' to Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). Length of sentence plays into level of security where prisoners are housed, but other factors such as risk of break out and security of both inmate and society and others are also factors. FBOP can assign inmate to any facility in their system, it is their discretion.
Treason is the only crime that is mentioned in the US Constitution, and the maximum penalty is death. The trick is getting a conviction for treason because these are different times. i.e., there is hardly a more serious crime than treason and the penalty can most certainly be put to death.
I think there is a consensus among legal scholars that the crime of treason cannot go unpunished even if it was committed by a former president and elected officials - all of whom have violated their oath of office to uphold the Constitution.
I'm thinking it is inaccurate to call this a fantasy. There is a reality here that is all too real and must be addressed!
I agree about rescinding his protection but it would take Congress to do so and realistically that's not going to happen.
Unless being a convicted felon takes away his Secret Service protection.
I wish I could share your optimism.
As an aspiring curmudgeon and a constitutional enthusiast I'm almost praying that you are on the mark Mr. Lewis.
Thank you for this, Steve. And yes, you’re absolutely correct, “[i]t’s not pretty” at all. In such regimes, as in ours, if the Republicans have their way,
“[n]o cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
Hannah Arendt
Thank you for that, too, Rowshan. Arendt would surely recognize what’s happening in the US.
She would, indeed!, Steve.
I’ve said it for months, and I’m afraid I’ll have to say it right up to November 8th: Democracy is on the ballot. I urge you to say it too.
Vote for the country you want to live in or live in the country you didn’t vote for.
This one statement is perfect, Dick! This should be broadcasted by your friends in the Lincoln Project.
I will be saying that when I have the opportunity during my campaign for Clay County Indiana Treasurer! Only vote for Democrats and do not vote for a Republican. It is okay to leave one blank. Our problem in our county is that we have a button to push that is for the whole slate...either D or R. Most can't read and don't do research so they just push the R button!
Sharon, thank you for running. Yes, democracy is on the ballot of every race from local to national. Thank you again.
Glad to know that one of us is running for office in Indiana.
Wow! So no paper ballots? Good luck in your campaign!
Democracy on the ballot or similar is the key message.
He’s absolutely right, Liz. Words matter.
Yes, I had a somewhat similar experience at age 18, visiting friends of my father in Posnan during my college foreign study program in Austria,1968. I spent only 3 days behind the 'Iron Curtain' on a tourist transit visa, but I saw and experienced some sobering stuff there. The dark pall of political repression was everywhere, including speaking in a whisper about the States shortcomings in privacy of their own living room!
Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism have another thing in common. When their economies are failing, when the regime’s popularity is waning for what ever reason. That’s when these country’s dictators start the next ‘Patriotic War’.
I too got to see behind the Iron Curtain, back in the spring (March) of 1989. I was part of a mammoth tour of Bach's B Minor Mass, with full orchestra, chorus and choir. Our tour took us first to East Berlin, then to Moscow, then to Budapest, then to Warsaw, and then to Lisbon. I could write a long description of what all we saw and encountered, and it was pretty amazing (we were the first such authentic instrument group to tour there), but being in Warsaw at what, it turned out, was the cusp of the wall coming down was incredible. You could almost feel it in the air that change was coming--I remember in particular seeing, in the midst of all the countless grey, colourless, depressing cement buildings, one person had displayed on their balcony a small "Solidarność" flag. That little swatch of red stood out like a little beacon of hope against all the drab surroundings. I'll never forget it. Our performance in Warsaw was electric, with an incredibly packed hall as the Polish people were starved to hear Bach's immaculate setting of the mass. It was one of the most incredible performances I have ever been a part of in my life. It has pained me no end to see the populist right wing (the Law and Justice Party, among others) rising so prominently in Poland, with undoubted support of the Catholic church. It's like the pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other. Kaczyński did step down from the government recently to concentrate on organising his party for elections in the autumn--and he has gone on the record as being against Orbán's stance on the Ukraine invasion--but he is by no means going away. As you said, Kaczyński represents yet another authoritarian version of government that Poland would be foolish to adopt. It could also run contra to many precepts shared by EU member states. No, potentially quite ugly.
Sadly, I am reminded of the comment that one observer made that with the fall of Communism, Poland was free to resume its natural inclination, toward fascism.
And Putin.
All totalitarians have used the method of accusing their freedom and democracy-loving opponents of being totalitarians. But the people see the exact truth now having lived though the pandemic and experiencing the real actions of the authoritarians.
That's true. Its called 'projecting'. Accusing opponents of the very thing they are trying to do and then gaslighting the same. Its a technique made famous by Sen. Joe McCarthy and then by one of his aids, Lawyer Roy Cohn.
Steve, I read your comment with interest. I have read a lot of Anne Applebaum's excellent writing on Poland and its trajectory from an optimistic fledgling democracy into a populist driven, increasingly conservative narrow minded nation. The influence of a conservative Catholic Church is one factor but also the proximity to power by Poles who felt they had a right and entitlement to shape the society in ill-liberal ways. The response to Eukrainian refugees has been admirable but behind that the Polish experiment with Democracy looks pretty shaky. And what a shame... people certainly remember the autocratic excesses of Russia in Polish life. Totalitarianism is totalitarianism.
“The silence from Republicans over what we have been hearing from the January 6th committee is deafening.”
Not only that, but this week McCarthy has cranked up the volume on inflation, gas prices, government size and spending…anything to distract. I encourage any of you on twitter to flood his posts with salient January 6 clips.
Matt,
It is the most irrational thing is it not? Republicans, who espouse Capitalism as the correct diety to worship in "Democracy", propose that the government is responsible for the price of gas and food.
How does that make any logicial sense?
Capitalism is designed to maximize profits and, in fact, if you look at any quarterly report, as I have done recently since I own Exxon Mobil stock, corporate profits are at an all time high.
So, having looked at a quarterly report, and having seen all time high profits, a reasonable question is: What fraction of inflation is associated with corporate profits or "Capitalism"??
Well, folks have sort of taken up that question and guess what? Surprise, it is not JOE BIDEN that has raised prices, because, he is as powerless to raise prices as the squirrel living in the tree in my backyard.
CORPORATIONS are raising prices! How could that be a surprise to the Republican Party who LOVES Capitalism??
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097820864/are-corporations-using-inflationary-times-to-raise-prices-and-up-their-profits
I mean, I have never seen so much irrational, illogical talk in my entire life.
First, Capitalism is good and Socialism is bad say the Republicans...all day every day on AM radio and Tucker Carlson and Fox News.
Then, those same Republicans say Joe Biden should bring down gas prices?? THAT is advocating for Socialism is it not?
Completely beyond irrational stuff.
And?? Americans are lapping up all this convoluted, irrational talk like kittens lap up warm milk.
Even one of my fairly bright friends mentioned Joe Biden and inflation in the same sentence last week. This was not easy on him or me because, I mentioned that I own Exxon Mobil stock and that their quarterly profits are at an all time high, and, that I don't mind a bit because I am a CAPITALIST that owns their stock. I thought he would like to hear that but he got angry. Amazingly crazy stuff. He BELIEVES Joe Biden has caused high gas prices because AM radio SAYS that is true while simultaneously glorifying Capitalism.
Unbelievable, except, not really. Nobody reads anything anymore. And, Americans feed their dogs more food in dollars than they contribute to charity.
Americans are the problem with America.
Propaganda is the problem with America.
Lynn,
Thanks. Yes. Agree. I would only add:
BELIEVING propaganda is the problem.
And what we choose to believe is? Our choice.
We can choose to learn enough information, through critical reading and learning, to decide for ourselves what the facts are.
We do not have to rely on Tucker Carlson or the local preacher to tell us what to believe. We can read a corporate quarterly report ourselves. And, we can read the Bible ourselves.
We do not need some nutty white dude at the front of the church, or nutty Tucker Carlson, to tell us what to Believe and then blindly Believe it.
As we know Republicans are adept at picking the right trigger to get people whipped up on an issue. Americans love of their cars rivals their love of guns. And having been sold those bigger and bigger gas guzzling, SUV's and F150's they are personally insulted when gas is not dirt cheap. In my affluent neck of the woods there appears to be a contest to see who can drive the biggest SUV or truck. And I have a feeling their politics goes right along with their choice of vehicle.
Yes, here is a comparison of the average American car compared to the average European car.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/T3szgyPasLQuGD9H8
Note, I went with the sticker on the window for gas mileage for the American car which is always high.
And, yes, Americans have been trained to believe that gas is not a finite resource, no need to conserve it, and that it will last forever and that Americans have a divine right to waste as much oil as they want to waste.
But, once oil runs out, it will be ugly because, diesel which runs all of our tractors will also be gone.
Imagine the average American behind a plow horse and that will tell you the death rate following the last bit of oil being extracted.
I moved from California to Texas. I never saw some of the humungous vehicles on the road in S Cal as I do in Texas. Didn’t even know they existed! Now these owners are all complaining about the cost of gas, not the gas guzzling car!
Yep. That huge SUV you posted is the norm where I live. I drive a 2007 Ford Focus and get aggressed on by the mega vehicle drivers on a daily basis.
If Fascists take over this Country there will be disruptions of the so called American way of life like no one can imagine. We got a good taste of it under trump where we were actually hiding in our homes desperately searching for face masks, toilet paper, bleach, Clorox wipes, and food essentials. The domino effect of the destruction of economic and societal norms will resemble a nuclear holocaust.
Americans and big cars. Another reason I have no love of Americans. (I am an American - with a Prius and a Fit BTW, and thinking about trading one in for a Tesla). Global Warming and Climate Science is a big thing anymore. It's in the news alot more than just a few years ago, and mitigating it in a serious manner is in the Democratic Party platform finally. Denial arguments are increasingly insane sounding. The out look is really bad - if I were in my twenties I'd be terrified, especially if I had a family. How is it that we continue to purchase (uh - lease or borrow to purchase) huge expensive vehicles? How stupid is that?
As I canvass my neighborhoods, I have noticed (profiled) the houses that are not on my list: the ones with huge black trucks in the driveway! Of course, the Trump flags and let's go Brandon flags in the yard also tip me off to stay away.
Or "support you police" - a dog whistle for "black lives do not matter". Yet another reason I am so unimpressed with American people for the most part. I live in western TN - my wife and I went to Maine for a short summer vacation last year. For every "support your police" sign I see where I live, in Maine we saw a "black lives matter" sign. The difference was palpable. I'm afraid the attitude in Maine is in the minority in the good ole USA, or at least not in a powerful position.
One of my great nieces has gone down the fundamentalist rabbit hole. She complained during the pandemic about grocery stores being open, but she couldn't go to church. If God is omnipresent, why can't people worship and pray anywhere. Then she posted begging for help for some problem the pastor had. That's when I decided that the family item I was going to will to her would not happen. Anyone can hang out their shingle and be a minister from the internet. What a golden opportunity for controlling patriarchal types to tell everyone what to do and control their thoughts while they pass the collection plate. One can throw Bible verses around and not know or understand what Jesus actually taught.
As a former physician, I learned that people who believe passionately in a demonstrably false belief - i.e., a delusion - cannot be dissuaded from that delusion by rational discussion. The belief itself is irrational, and no amount of evidence-based debate is going to sway them. Indeed, the mere fact that you are willing to discuss it with them validates, in their minds, the belief.
And it strikes me that the same dynamic applies equally well to Q-anon conspiracy theories and fervent religious belief. And God help the individual who subscribes to both.
This is why I am so pessimistic about our future.
I am pessimistic also and glad that I am as old as i am. I try to take joy in small things.
Michele,
You have to read "Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis.
Best book of all time about religion. Best book BY FAR.
I haven't read it, but have seen the movie. I also like The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I hope I am remembering the latter author correctly. It starts here, but goes to Africa and is spot on about what missionaries think and what Africans are actually doing. I spent three and half years in Sierra Leone and had ample opportunity to see this in action. The kids were Catholics when they were at our school, but followed the local beliefs at home. I don't know about the Islamic areas. I once asked them to write about a ghost that they had seen and not one said they hadn't seen one. I was told not to whistle by one our African staff members (junior staff of course) because I would attract evil spirits. The kids celebrated all holidays both Christian and Islamic by dressing up like "devils" and coming by singing and dancing for a dash...a money gift. Another book on the destruction caused by missionaries in 19th century Nigeria is Things Fall Apart. Then there is At Play in the Fields of the Lord. Once again I hope I am remembering correctly. I think there is a scene where one of the missionary wives goes crazy when overwhelmed by the eroticism of nature in the tropics. It's been a while since I read it, so I hope this is accurate. Right now I am reading a book about how Victorians made modern Britain and religion played a large role including those who experienced religious doubt.
I agree Mike but there seem to be less and less of the people I know that are willing to do the critical reading in order to fully understand the whole picture. It's very frustrating. They seem to be more comfortable just listening to a bunch of crap and accepting that that's the truth. Putting out the least amount of effort to understand.
And thus Mike's statement. The problem with America is Americans. As long as the The silent majority keeps it's collective head up it's collective ass we are doomed.
Wonderful word picture there Lynn. I plan to use it again!!!
It is tragic that newspapers died. Everyone would sit and read the paper copy of their paper. A 30 second or 60 second screaming sound bite on their phone is not a good replacement.
History will trace the downfall of society by the advent of smart phones.
And everybody accepting to call them 'smart'! If you read smart backwards, 'trams' in Swedish means bullsh*t.
Barbara,
Lots of local newspapers still exist in digital format. Sometimes they still have good stories. But, you are right, many are gone and, also, Social Media has taken the place of reading the newspaper for many.
I still read the NY Times, a local newspaper, and the Wall Street Journal most early mornings.
Amazingly, the WSJ wrote a lengthy article this week on how Republicans should abandon Trump because he is a loser. Not because he attacked the government, but, because in polls, Joe Biden still beats him.
I will try to find it and post it. But, even Rupert's WSJ is against Trump now.
I sometimes suspect that these were the people who did not do especially well at school and now have the chance, thanks to the dreck on the internet and the air waves, to be "experts" in everything. Given what I see from locals, I would think that Salem is a major research hub in science, medicine, economics, history, etc. intend of being the heavily state bureaucracy town that comes with being the state capital. The fun begins when you ask for a cite to something that they have declared is the absolute truth. Our street is closed in front of the house for major sewer work, but it has saved us from the roar of large trucks, souped up cars, and motorcycles going by. Close by someone roars out every night to rip down the street that needs a major paving job. I suspect it is the same house of Oregunians who also pop off fireworks for many days and nights. Not only are some of these trucks huge but they have jacked up the body as well. All I see is lots of very poor gas mileage.
People are the problem vs propaganda is the problem. Well - propaganda is a giant problem these days especially with 24 hour news cycles and social media on the internet. Giant. It is people however that create that propaganda. And I am definitely not in the camp of forgiving American people for gobbling up right wing propaganda. No sirree. I take myself as an example. I do not look upon myself as an excellent ore overly bright human being - I try to be a decent person and usually succeed; that's about it. I'm no dummy either. Sometime in my twenties I converted from an apolitical conservative white guy who went to church every other Sunday to a progressive with a number of "aha" moments. All it took was a 2-year gift subscription to Scientific American to get my distracted brain going and to realize that magical thinking is just that, and start to embrace the scientific method more, and start thinking more rationally about things that are important. The rest was just a logical progression. That's all it took. Anyone can do that, even if they go about it differently than I did. To roll one's eyes and say "get a life" or "god's in control" or something akin to that, like so many do, is to be willingly ignorant, and to fall prey to one's fears and prejudices (or greed). It isn't hard to do, to get rational and skeptical, even if intellect is a bit lacking. Nope - the embrace of right wing ideology in this "exceptional" country of ours is decidedly unexceptional, and is a terrible reflection on a powerful part of this country's make-up. I am not impressed with the American people by and large, it saddens me to say. The awful scary political state we are in right now happened because the American people allowed it.
"All it took was a 2-year gift subscription to Scientific American to get my distracted brain going and to realize that magical thinking is just that, and start to embrace the scientific method more"
In my case it was a Fellowship from A&M to UT Austin for a completely paid for PhD. During that time I read the NY Times and hundreds of books in the massive UT library.
I went from being an A&M far right Republican to a newborn progressive.
Then, I had the pleasure to work in industry where I noticed, over my entire career, HUNDREDS of white engineers and exactly TWO black engineers.
About half the white engineers were hired by their parents, but, those same folks would whine and cry about "affirmative action" if they hired even ONE black guy.
I came to understand that REAL affirmative action in America is for white people.
When a black person is hired they ALWAYs have a very good GPA and resume. ALWAYS.
When a parent hires a white kid who is related to them they usually nearly flunked out by drinking beer all day every day in college.
Then, those same former and current drunks whine about affirmative action for blacks.
THAT fully converted me to what would accurately be called "eyes wide open".
Well said. Thank You.
WE don’t, but I’ve sure come across lots of people who do.
Yes.
In fact, all Republicans do run toward AM radio and Fox News much like cow flies swarm to day old dung.
Great analogy.
Mike, yes IMO "BELIEVING" is a huge problem. "Believing" anything -- propaganda, opinions (especially our own!), even the existence of god. We must do our own vetting to reach certainty.
Point taken. And, yes.
:-)
Propaganda is a tool that has been widely and routinely used by factions since the beginning of civilization. For example, every war that has been fought contained a powerful proponent of propaganda to sustain each side and further the cause. It is in full view in the Russia - Ukraine war.
Republicans have become the masters of propaganda which stands in stark contrast to the Democrats feckless and impotent use of propaganda to counter the Republicans and promote their ostensibly liberal/socialist/progressive world view.
I have recognized for decades that Democrats lack of success is not because of their progressive ideals but because they fail to promote those ideals in contrast to the Republicans not very hidden agenda to serve only the wealthy. Take any topic and Democrats are subjectively on the side of the majority but when it comes to execution they have faltered and failed. I think universal healthcare is a prime example. We should recognize that too many Democrats are engaged in triangulation trying to salve the demands of their constituents while at the same time keep their donors in play.
In short, Democrats don't have a cohesive propaganda playbook because they are forever trying to play both sides to the middle. That doesn't help their constituents and polling data has reflected that over the last 40+ years.
No. The problem with America is that 60% of it’s white citizens have as their top political priority the preservation of systemic white advantages. That’s why Republicans need only say one word, namely “woke,” to remind their voters why they vote R.
You need to read up on Charles Koch, father of the “libertarian” movement. Starting with “the Great Communicator,” Reagan, the Repugs set into motion a propaganda machine, cynical and twisted, as it fed ideas like, “peace keepers,” “trickle down economics,” “illegal aliens,” and linked “conservative” with emotional qualities of “patriotism,” “family values,” and Christianity. “Libertarian” is just another way of declaring that one’s “liberties” ENTITLED them to the freedom of never paying taxes, never contributing to the common good, never having to face consequences, never assuming that “Rights” come with RESPONSIBILITIES. Hence, the recruitment of Rupert Murdoch and Fox, despite warnings from Murdoch’s country of origin. “Fox” is the original propaganda outlet. (Later, players like the Mercers (Cambridge Analytica, now know as Emeradata, would weaponize propaganda through social media outlets.)
Charles KKKoch and his pal, Mitch McConnell, rammed “Citizens United” (another twisted euphemism) through the Supreme Court. CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE; they are a tool to shelter corporate leaders from personal liability and wrongdoing. KKKoch now heads the Billionaire Gang that pulls the strings of the RNC. Essentially, the RNC is run like a crime syndicate. Hillary Clinton was right: There Is a vast, right-wing conspiracy against this democracy.
I will do. I have some time coming up, which, I always fill with reading, so, I will look him up. I think he is a former Nazi movie to the states correct?
Mike, read Dark Money by Jane Mayer. You’ll learn all about the Kochs. This book remains my “ go to” for the clearest presentation of our current situation.
His father was certainly a Nazi sympathizer; the boys were raised this way…they grew up in Kansas.
I've been saying corporate greed was the reason behind the high gas prices all along but most people I speak with choose to blame it on Biden. I don't even have the energy to debate them anymore. I do have a copy of a blog entry that someone posted here a while back explaining the reason and offer it out but no one is interested in learning the truth.
Jeanne,
I liken Republican adherence to propaganda to trying to have a conversation with a Christian about the possibility that Mary Magdalene (perhaps the smartest woman who ever lived) fabricated the story of Jesus resurrection and found a stand in for him that, initially, the disciples did not even recognize.
But, try having that conversation with a Christian sometime. The above hypothesis is very consistent with every Bible passage, as consistent as the Resurrection itself.
btw: either way, fabricated or real, the Resurrection story serves the useful purpose of getting Jesus story of acceptance and valuing diversity out there to the world. This is what Mary Magdalene wanted to keep alive really.
However, the vast majority of Christians will raise their cross like they have been approached by a vampire if you raise this hypothesis to them.
anyway......choosing what we believe requires courage and a willingness to challenge our own selves. Not very easy. I know this because I was once one of the folks that would look away before looking right at the data.
But, now? I don't feel pain when, say, HCR writes the truth. I just read it and learn.
The way I’ve come to see it, Jesus the man didn’t die for “our” sins, he died because of them. It was all political. Then they make up the story that he died for us, to save us from our sins to cover their asses. Jesus was a human sacrifice, just like all the victims of mass shootings and the like. That’s an interesting idea about Mary Magdalene. I haven’t heard it but I do believe that her true story has corrupted and kept under wraps from the beginning.
I think her true story is that she is, historically, the absolutely most brilliant woman ever to be in the right place at the right time.
The sermon on the mount has influenced, although not many Republicans, millions of people to look a bit kinder on their neighbors.
Mary Magdalene gave that story life, which, is the real ressurrection story.
Mike There are diverse accounts of the resurrection written in the Gospels decades, even generations, after the purported event. Joseph Campbell, in the Power of Myth, explained to Bill Moyers (a Baptist minister) that Jesus’s resurrection was an allegory familiar in ancient mythology. Some Biblical scholars have written that the resurrection story was necessary to the ‘Jesus movement’. As for Mary Magdalene, she seemed important to Jesus and was reduced to a ‘prostitute’ in the Catholic Church’s account hundreds of years later.
Keith. Thanks. I will look up the Power of Myth.
And yes. Mary Magdalene, relative to her impact, has been minimized.
Mike I don’t recall how the Joseph Campbell/Bill Moyers exchange on Jesus’s resurrection was portrayed in The Power of Myth book. In the video, when Campbell spoke of the resurrection as a familiar ancient allegory, Moyers, as a Baptist minister, looked like he was sucking on a sour lemon.
I think Jesus was just a child who went all in for his story, to save his mother from getting stoned; and I don't think that is anything less, because the same sort of thing is done by children all the time. But I never tried to convince anybody else of this.
Jesus prediction of his resurrection and his claim to be son of God may very well have kept his mother alive.
Good point.
Love this analysis of Mary Magdalene and I agree. But gosh, she's a woman and so that alone will put a wall up to understanding her role. And of course, it's all Eve's fault too.
Yep. 😊
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans have no idea how gas prices work, and are unwilling to learn. It's just too convenient to blame them on the current President, and then to credit that President when prices go back down.
Same is true of inflation. Despite all the reporting about supply chain issues that begin in Asia and reverberate throughout the entire world, coupled with record corporate profits and price gouging, most Americans, even Democrats, blame Biden. Many think the solution is to abandon Ukraine, end the sanctions on Russia, and let Putin wage his ego-driven world domination wars all over Europe.
We are a country that reveres ignorance, despises knowledge, and rejects expertise. A perfect recipe for an authoritarian takeover.
❤️
“We have seen the enemy and he is us.” Pogo, Walt Kelly.
Too many Americans think that their democracy is unbreakable. They could not be more wrong. Most Germans thought the same thing in 1930. As always, then and now, language revealed itself to be the deadliest of all technologies and the least understood by most people. Nuclear weapons can murder millions and destroy us all. Words can convince you to murder your children, invade a country and torture your neighbour or a stranger.
My parents were Holocaust victims. I never got to have the pleasure of having grandparents as they were gassed in 1942 at the camp called Chelmno. Others, killed in fields in Poland. That is the reality
I will have to try this tack with some of my RWNJ friends. Well, the next time I decide I need to give them free space in my head, which is at a premium these days.
I tweeted the NPR clip to Rep. McCarthy six times, slightly varying what I said in the tweet. Easy to do.
Thanks Mike S.
Of course, because Republicans have no platform, no constructive proposals. They stoke fear and discontent to win voters and power. Solutions, however, are not their goal, rather the dismantling of democracy.
Yes but a lot of them surely don't understand what's happening. They think they do because they're still believing the big lie. It's like a mass hypnosis of a cult.
The “Jim Jones” syndrome.
"...silence from Republicans", 1 very silent Senator is "Chuck" Grassley, Iowa, who has been uncovered in ligation over John Eastman's emails to have been ready to lead the House on J6 in Pence's "absence". Need a DOJ Grand Jury Subpoena served on the Senator.
Note Grassley looks & acts befuddled but, he is dangerous to our democracy.
Just goes to show you are never too old to be a traitor.
“McCarthy has cranked up the volume on inflation, gas prices, government size and spending…”
And for good reason. These are the issues that directly impact voters. The politically engaged Democrats are focused on the events of 01/06. By and large, others are not. On most days, the local and national news has a major story on the impact of inflation on ordinary citizens. Nothing on 01/06.
Most polls about upcoming midterms indicate that neither Roe nor 01/06 will be topmost in the decision making of most voters. The economy , and how it impacts them personally, will.
Someone wrote this on this comment section this morning:
"Capitalism is designed to maximize profits and, in fact, if you look at any quarterly report, as I have done recently since I own Exxon Mobil stock, corporate profits are at an all time high.
So, having looked at a quarterly report, and having seen all time high profits, a reasonable question is: What fraction of inflation is associated with corporate profits or "Capitalism"??
Well, folks have sort of taken up that question and guess what? Surprise, it is not JOE BIDEN that has raised prices, because, he is as powerless to raise prices as the squirrel living in the tree in my backyard.
CORPORATIONS are raising prices! How could that be a surprise to the Republican Party who LOVES Capitalism??
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/10/1097820864/are-corporations-using-inflationary-times-to-raise-prices-and-up-their-profits
I mean, I have never seen so much irrational, illogical talk in my entire life.
First, Capitalism is good and Socialism is bad say the Republicans...all day every day on AM radio and Tucker Carlson and Fox News.
Then, those same Republicans say Joe Biden should bring down gas prices?? THAT is advocating for Socialism is it not?
Completely beyond irrational stuff."
And this, to me is Truth that needs to be spread all over faux news.
Thanks Pensa, I just wrote down a story that happened to me this week in the context of my own reality. I own Exxon Mobil stock and it tanked during the pandemic when oil prices went negative.
Now? I do wish that Americans had planned better for the fact that oil is a finite resource. Like I have.
I do wish Americans were all driving small European size cars. Like I do.
I do wish Americans were responsible with oil as a natural resource to be shared with others on earth.
But, since they are not? I don't mind one bit the fact that my Mobil stock has risen by a factor of two in a year due to historically high profits.
not a bit.
Oh! It was you, Mike! I am sorry I did not attribute it on fox news postings. But your message got out there about 15 times till my stomach couldn't take it anymore.
The profits are incredible...glad someone good is making money from their coup.
Pensa. No worries. Everything we write here is copyright free to all.
A snip from todays Denver Post.
Climate change also takes a back seat to inflation.
“A new poll commissioned by a conservationist group found Colorado voters think Washington, D.C., politicians don't pay enough attention to western wildfires, drought and climate change -- but that inflation will be top of mind for many when they cast their ballots this fall.”
I thought the D Post is “a left wing rag, not to be believed by any real American”
/s
VermontGirl57 -- I thought the D Post is “a left wing rag, not to be believed by any real American”
Overall, the Denver Post produces well-sourced journalism with a Left-Center Bias through editorial positions. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to a clean fact check record and a solid reputation for fact-based journalism.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: LEFT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: HIGH
Country: USA (44/180 Press Freedom)
Media Type: Newspaper
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/denver-post/
Am afraid you are right. Americans vote with their pocket books and that's about it. If they vote at all. I don't like inflation either. But I know enough to read up on the why's and place any blame where it belongs. Dem's must show however that they are doing all they can, and crow about it.
That sentence got me, too. Deafening silence or the tossing of memes on Facebook is what I am seeing. The cult is in full swing.
I wonder sometimes that the Republican party which knows all about "It's the economy, stupid," might poke its oligarchical friends in petroleum and shipping to keep the prices high. To me, there's a bit too much of a coincidence. Then, they can blame the Democratic administration for failures. (Honestly, I accept that supply shortages and the Ukraine war are the culprits, but I still wonder.)
Hope. I have had the same thought. Republican corporations shafting Americans to return Pubs to power.
Right, and grow those immense, burgeoning profits even more. Why would they want regulation now?
Ha! I've already been doing this like it's a part-time job. I'm hardly alone, too.
Mitch McConnell is ramping up his tweets hammering that Biden is responsible for both inflation and a tax plan that will hurt middle class Americans. Steve Schmidt tweeted that President Biden needs to step away for the 2024 election because he will not be remembered well. President Biden's poll numbers are low because the media is not giving all that he is doing for this country any support. We must hold all of these criminals accountable and at the same time do everything we can to support our President and Democrats. That Graham's subpoena is being held up enrages me. That t is not in jail enrages me. That Carlson can continue to spew enrages me. That all of these criminals can continue to hold office enrages me. That there are so many deliberately ignorant Americans enrages me.
"President Biden's poll numbers are low because the media is not giving all that he is doing for this country any support"
I see NO evidence of Democrats and aligned special interest groups creating their own storyline about Biden and liberal efforts. Liberals have NO concept about maintaining the headlines and the FRAMING of events. Sen Angus King and my Democratic Congresswoman have not been speaking to the successes of the Biden Administration. None of the special interest groups have. MoveOn, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, the NAACP, Sierra Club, etc ONLY know how to ask for money, along with running onlline petition drives - as a ruse to raise money.
WHERE is the House Progressive Caucus? Do you even know there is such a thing!? Who is the Chairperson of this group of more than 100 Democratic Congresspeople? ? ?
Well, I fell into my "political depression" immediately after the successful rescue of some 110,000 people from Afghanistan, during the successful departure from that war torn country.
Not a peep from ANY liberal or progressive leader, writer, commentator, organization or liberal political operation stressed this herculean effort! We hear NOT a word FROM US about this ....
Throughout the years of Clinton, Obama, and now Biden, 30 years!!, liberals have been totally inept at maintaining a frame - ANY frame - let alone KNOW what comprises a frame.
So, while phone banking for Beto, Fetterman in Pennsylvania, door knocking in my home area, and walking with Dems in our July 4th parade - in NONE of these efforts have I seen anything that comprises a dynamic, winning frame of government and our capitalist economy.
Tis no wonder I've lost my hair - and I also wonder what an authoritarian America will look like ....
Don’t wonder or give one second of life to it, Frederick. Send only an affirmation of freedom to the Universe and hold in mind one of the beautiful Webb telescope pics or that of a beautiful child bounding happily to public school or a gorgeous dark skinned adult person signing a fair mortgage agreement with a white male agent and being the first of her/his/their skin color moving into the neighborhood and the welcome wagon cheering.
Give no power to tyranny with word or deed.
Salud! 🗽
Even The Guardian this week featured the low poll ratings news. I find the Wash Post does a better job (than NYT, but that's a low bar) celebrating Biden's achievements ( ie latest job numbers) but agree, there is a lack of vitality or will to pull together as a party and create positive, constructive, -oh- and true soundbites that drown out the propaganda. I just signed up for voter reg retraining. After two Covid years that prevented in-person work, that's where I can make a difference, in libraries, high schools and nursing homes.
Thank you.
Absolutely agree.
YES! YES! YES! It drives me nuts. We've long needed a Frank Luntz to streamline our messaging. We've long needed leaders who don't give a shirt about playing well with others. This doesn't mean going full-blown Jim Jordan, but does mean stopping with the moldy, "my good friend, Republican X." For some weird reason I'm on the RNC mailing list. It's been by turns hilarious, horrifying and awe-inspiring. The latter because they are relentlessly consistent about labeling Democrats as the Evil Incarnate.
Fredrick, The CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS is easy to find, as is knowing what it is about, what it stands for, its key priorities and who they are. See links below.
https://progressives.house.gov/
https://progressives.house.gov/what-we-stand-for
https://progressives.house.gov/about-the-cpc
https://progressives.house.gov/news
We NEED to finally have leadership, nationwide, on a Progressive Democratic Economy, day in and day out
I NEVER hear a consistent vision from these "progressives"
Is there any chance that you are not listening? Have you gone to the Congressional Progressive Caucus website? I provided links last time you complained that I am aware of.
https://progressives.house.gov/
I'm with you, Gailee. There is so much to be angry about that I hardly know where to begin. So, I often just walk away from the news so that I can better control y blood pressure.
Me, too.
❤️
I spend more time in nature so it helps. I allow the moments of rage then step away from the madness.
May I add - That there are so many people that can register to vote and don’t enrages me. That there are so many people registered to vote and don’t enrages me.
Thank you, Gailee, for highlighting the tipping point many of us balance on precariously. Rage.
Salud, Sister. 🗽
Did you hear/see Missouri Rep Cori Bush on MSNBC last night. The topic was the ten year old girl who was raped and how Fox and state governor where the girl resides, debunked the rape as a left wing, Joe Biden/democrat fabrication. She started talking slow and deliberate, even toned, ramping up slowly until she was fired! We need more Cori Bush’s!
Cori Bush always has a lot to say and she always hits you between your eyes!
Cori was so moving in her presentation.
Missed that last night (preparing for husband’s 87th birthday today) but just saw headline on morning news that her rapist has been arrested. Wonder if FOX will mention it.
Yes, ignorance by choice makes my blood boil.
Right with you, Gailee!!
Thank you, Professor, for continuing to keep us informed about the Jan 6 Committee findings plus the everyday policies and decisions that move our country. Right now I’m reading “How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them” by Jason Stanley and USA is one of his examples of Democracies adopting fascist policies and tactics. Your comments about Viktor Orbán, Hungary and CPAC, are right out of the Fascist playbook. We should all, including the repubs, be paying close attention. Why does CPAC want to destroy Democracy and replace it with a Fascist “illiberal democracy”? We are already losing rights and reversing laws. All in plain sight. If there are still repubs who believe in Democracy, they (along with all of us) better speak up and stop the March to Fascism.
Why do they? They would have to live under fascism too…what’s in it for them day to day? I have not been able to get this.
It baffles me too. The media doesn't seems to realize the following: ..." and he has pushed his vision by eliminating the independent press," As we well know trump was working to eliminate his enemies in the press and those news organizations he hated. He wanted State controlled media.
The only thing I can think of is that is is "wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross" which appeals to their very souls. They lack the capacity to see that "they" (the true believers) are no different than "us" (fill in whatever fits for you) when it comes to the fascist, kleptocratic autocrats that will be in charge.
Self-preservation is a hard-wired primal instinct, or so I was taught. For some on the far right it seems that they have suffered brain damage as that instinct seems to have been numbed or destroyed. Look no further than the response of many on the far right to public health guidelines. How many people who got seriously ill or died from COVID thought of themselves as heroes for "owning the libs."
Because ignorance is bliss. It hasn’t ever happened to “them”, just others.
That is easy to explain. It is their kind that benefit. White, supposedly Christian, well to do mostly. I believe even in Nazi Germany, if one kept in line, they did just fine.
Unless they were Jewish.
Yes!!! Don't they get it?
THE AXIOM, THERE ARE NO SECRETS IN WALL STREET... APPLIES TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF TRUMP ...
WE CAN SAFELY ADD, THERE ARE NO SECRETS, ONLY THE SECRETIVE..
MARK TWAIN SAID, I TRUST EVERYONE, BUT CUT THE CARDS...
THOSE THAT HAD READ DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL BY ANNE FRANK, WERE CLEAR WITH ME....
AS BRUNO BETTELHEIM SAID IN 1955, SANDY, IN YOUR LIFETIME, I WAS THEN 16,
OVER HALF THE PEOPLE YOU WILL KNOW WILL BEHAVE AS THE NAXIS DID, GIVEN THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES... HE WAS REFERRING TO AUSCHWITZ, DACHAU, BUCHENWALD, BERGEN BELSON AND 200 MORE CAMPS... THAT ISOLATED AND KILLED JEWS... AMONG OTHERS.
I WAS STUNNED BY ANNE FRANK... BUT BETTELHEIM AND OTHER SURVIVORS ON CAMPUS WERE CLEAR: WHAT THEY HAD EXPERIENCED WOULD RETURN..
WELL...
FASCISM HAS RETURNED WITH FORCE... IN THE GOP AND FOX NEWS... ON SILENT CAMPUSES TODAY, AND IN MANY COUNTRIES...
PUTIN REFERS TO DENAZIFICATION IN UKRAINE AND IS HIMSELF A FASCIST AND HE TRUCKS MILLIONS OFF TO SIBERIA AND ELSEWHERE IN RUSSIA... WITH 200,000 CHILDREN SHIPPED FROM UKRAINE TO BE HIDDEN AND BRAINWASHED -
GEORGE ORWELL WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED..
TUCKER CARLSON AND HIS PALS AT FOX ARE CLEAR THEY SEE AND SUPPORT THE END OF DEMOCRACY... AND SOME 70 MILLION SUPPORTED TRUMP AND SAY THEY BELIEVE THE BIG LIE...
A REPUBLIC IF YOU CAN KEEP IT, SAID BEN FRANKLIN...
WELL, WE ARE LOSING IT... AND WE SEE CASSIE HUTCHINSON TESTIFYING AS HER BOSS COWARS ALONG WITH ALL OTHER REPUBLICANS IN GOVERNMENT...
EXCEPT JAN SIX VICE CHAIR, REPRESENTATIVE LIZ CHENEY ... THE GLACIAL ANOMALY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,,, WILLING TO GIVE UP HER CAREER IN A PARTY NO LONGER SANE.. A ROGUE FACTIOUS MINORITY - SEE FEDERALIST 10... THAT SEEMS TO BE RUNNING THE SHOW...
IF YOU ARE NOT FRIGHTENED, YOU ARE NUMB... OR STUPID...
THIS IS SHOW TIME, DRESS REHEARSAL AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IS IN TROUBLE...
JANUARY 6 WAS FOREPLAY: PRESIDENT TRUMP MUST BE CHARGED AND CONVICTED... AND JAILED...
AND ALL REPUBLICANS IN THE CONGRESS THAT ARE COMPLICIT MUST BE REMOVED... AT THE POLLS...
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A SECOND CIVIL WAR... AND THE BLOODSHED BEGAN ON JANUARY 6TH, FULL BLAST.
THEY SAID, NEVER AGAIN... AND HERE WE ARE.
Turns out there ARE secrets in the Trumpist party (they are no longer recognizable as Republicans), and I'm sure more will be revealed soon. They have been telegraphing their intent for several years now, however. It reminds me of what Winston Churchill said of breaking the Nazi codes: "Knowing what the Nazis intended to do was one thing. Stopping them was quite another". We have A LOT of work to do. Still, I truly believe that THEY are the ones in trouble, not us.
This will depend on the justice department and on the Attorney General. I share your belief. I believe Trump will be charged convicted and jailed.
Well said. Well written.
I try. Exhausted.
You do well. Take care of yourself. We can't sit this out.
IF YOU ARE NOT FRIGHTENED, YOU ARE NUMB... OR STUPID...
Yes, I am frightened.
Thanks Sandy, I believe it will soon be evident that it will be easier to list the few frigging Republicans that were mot complicit than the ever expanding list of treasonous scum.
I agree with you completely, Sandy, with one small addition. EVERYONE complicit in aiding and abetting the overthrow needs to be on trial and imprisoned if found guilty. This will be the equivalent of our own softer version of the Nuremberg trials, before the total annihilation of many of our people. With the exception of our own holocaust, the pandemic, which they used to kill off many of us by their propaganda. I truly wonder about the real source of this pandemic now.
“IF YOU ARE NOT FRIGHTENED, YOU ARE NUMB... OR STUPID...”
👍🏼
EXACTLY SANDY!!
What a terrific letter, Heather. My head is swimming. It got my attention on many levels, especially about Overstock Guy and his relationship with the Russian gun enthusiast. That she serves in the Kremlin’s Duma as a “reward” for her “work” with the NRA and Republican politicians was a shock. Will he be called to testify? I was amazed to hear Mr. Cipollone comment that Overstock was at the meeting he rushed to in the wee hours of December 19 I believe. Ciplollone asked him “Who are you?” This was the mob level Trump used in his flaunting of public trust, inviting unknown people to meet about the election, without consulting your White House lawyer, in the late hours of the night is John Le Carre worthy.
Looks more and more that 1/6 was an open secret. The Committee needs someone to flip. Hopefully DOJ has some talkers among the “ little people”.
Just think if TFG had been convicted in the impeachment. Oh, impeachments. We have wasted so much of this country’s critical energy on this person masquerading as a president.
Actually, I do not think it was wasted. The dark side of the republican's belly has been revealed. We needed to see all of this treachery they imposed. It is so deep and connected with hostile foreign support. Just keep your seatbelts on. Our country needs massive change and we are in it... first we must be willing to shed light of our statue of Liberty (a large, strong female no less!!!) ....with RESPONSIBILITY and alongside Lady Justice...another female. Our people need to participate in our democracy and stand up for our Laws when they are abused. Women and good men will stand up for All the People.
I don't think it was wasted either. It was necessary and continues to be.
Or some reluctant but now loud whisperers among the “big people”.
Unita, Gail. 🗽
Find your last 4 paragraphs very telling. The GOP is hiding in plain sight what they see in the future. This is not the way I want to spend my remaining years in fear of what we may become. Please , please may people take off the blinders and vote to put a stop to this before it is to late.
It's getting boring to keep saying Harry Truman was right back in 1948, but he was. And that was with the "sane" Republican Party - or at least in comparison to what we have today, since that party had Joe McCarthy as one of its representatives and the China Lobby as one of its major components.
They're always been the "pseudo conservatives" Hofstadter described them as 70 years ago.
As Truman said, "the only 'good Republicans' are pushing up daisies."
Likely he knew about the attempted coup of 1933. Gen. Smedley Butler had been approached by wealthy republicans (more than a few familiar names) to oust FDR. Also, many admired Hitler, until Japan sort of messed that up. And, of course Hoover was the original “trickle down king.” Seems that Ronnie just continued a long tradition of screwing the country with the dregs left over from the original Tricky Dick. All this while spewing platitudes of patriotism and religiosity. Fascism will come to America wrapped in a flag and carrying a Bible, said by many, including me.
I'll post this again....
Get ready - Margaret Attwood's books are very prescient - Handmaid's tale and (once you have read that) Testaments. I'm sure de Santis (and maybe Abbot) would love to follow that concept.
I've never been a hateful person...until trump was elected. At that time, he was the only one I hated. Jokingly, at least halfway, I'd get up every morning, kiss my husband who got up earlier and ask if anyone killed trump yet. Now, I'm not sure I have enough paper to write down all the names I'd like to see vaporized. I don't like feeling this way. Actually, I hate feeling this way. I don't want to be around people that still support trump. I don't respect them at all. How can anyone support what the republicans are trying to do. I hate being a hateful person, but I am now.
My wife is right along side you. It saddens me, and I completely understand why people are feeling this way.
Me too!
Me 3!
I wish they were pushing up daisies….but “they” are getting elected all over the country, the altright extremists. This is the real danger…taking over the “grass roots” literally and demolishing our democracy.
And what were the Dems doing while the Trumpsters were taking over the "grass roots" and setting up a different and corrupt voting system for 2024? A system that will allow state legislators, not voters, to determine who the electoral votes go to. One that Thomas has more than hinted he will have the court give their blessings to in the Fall? We can't just blame "them" and not own our part or this mess or we, Democracy and this nation is doomed. We sucked at message. Still do. And Biden's optics frankly have been bad and getting worse. But I've been watching Gavin Newsom, good at message and optics who looks like he warming up to make a run for it .The Great Democrat Hope possibly?
Diane, I agree. I am also looking at Gretchen Whitmer. Maybe they could be a dream team. We need fresh, new leadership. If Biden is put up again, with all the downsides you mention, we are truly doomed. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Not doomed because it’s an “if” at this point. Let’s support fully his next 2+ years in office.
Elizabeth I like Gretchen too. Also Tammy Duckworth has lots to offer. MUST be a woman on the ticket. Thanks for your response.
Amy Klobuchar
I want her to take Schumer’s place! Right now, would be good...
Read today’s NYTimes article on Whitmer and abortion battles in Michigan. She has two young daughters and is fighting for them. I like her more and more.
Yes, Diane. I've been watching Newsom, too. Unfortunately, he'll have to overcome (again) the fact that the state tried a recall on his election. I agree with others below that there needs to be a woman on the ticket....Amy Klobuchar?
I would support Amy Klobuchar. Yes.
But he beat the recall. We, in CA, made damn sure he did!
Yes we did! So proud of all who stepped up.
I think he is too. There are many in CA who despise him, but he has my vote. I am now receiving emails from the Attorney General sharing all that they are working to accomplish.
That is because their "message" is appealing to enough people that with their gerrymandering and statehouse control, they will have the means in place to topple democracy as we have known it.
I know that this is so very off topic, but I just received an email from a gallery here who is currently showing Shania's work regarding this. If any of you can possibly do anything to support her at this moment, here is the article in English from the States. Gracias a todos. I was just visiting this gallery last week and took photos of her work. Gailee
https://indiancountrytoday.com/the-press-pool/indigenous-ally-and-stopline3-water-protector-shanai-mattesons-trial-to-begin-today
It isn’t entirely off topic, Gailee. As the article you link states, “this week in Aitkin County [Minnesota] civil court, a non-Native cultural organizer, artist and mother of two young children, Shanai Matteson, goes forward with a jury trial for Gross Misdemeanor ‘conspiring, aiding, and abetting criminal trespass on [Enbridge Energy’s] critical public infrastructure pipeline.’” As Matteson explained in a recent interview, the charges stem from a video where she “spoke about the importance of standing together in solidarity with our waters and with Anishinaabe people who are struggling for their treaty rights to be recognized." https://www.kaxe.org/news/2022-07-11/jury-trial-of-artist-and-cultural-organizer-shanai-matteson-begins-wednesday-in-aitkin-county?_amp=true
It is appalling that Matteson is being tried for her activist work to protect the environment at this critical time when human-generated climate change is in line to destroy humanity, AND for defending the rights of indigenous people to THEIR land, while, as Heather points out in today’s letter, “a number of our lawmakers [who] were complicit in overturning our democracy” on January 6 have yet to suffer any consequences for breaking the law they were elected to uphold. Unfortunately, Matteson’s trial (along with 800 other people similarly accused) signals that the scales of Lady Justice are weighted in favor of an elite class of Americans willing to sell the soul of our nation to foreign oligarchs and U.S. corporations.
A mournful landmark in our nation’s history…
💕💕💕 You gave me tears of gratitude. Thank you for caring.
Mother Nature, the Arts and the rights of Indigenous People are worthy of everyone’s concern. Without them, we’ll lose our nation’s identity. Matteson embodies all three. Impossible not to be siding with her!
She is what more of us need to become. Unafraid. Vocal champions for all we are in danger of losing in every manner possible.
?? There is no Aitkin County in Michigan.
Thanks for pointing this, Ann. Been battling a head cold. It’s in Minnesota. I’ll edit right away.
You be da best.
Back to you, Gailee!
Gailee, a more relevant post there could not be!!
Your Contrast is Clear:
--> Trump goes free after spending a lifetime embedded in crime including attempting to overthrow the entire government of the United States.
--> A (female) water rights activist for native lands goes to jail for making a speech.
A more true and clear picture of American justice could not be presented.
Thank you. Very much.
This will depend on the justice department and on the Attorney General. I share your belief. I believe Trump will be charged convicted and jailed.
I'm with you, Sandy!!
I'm with you Sandy, TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
I have long been of the belief that tRump will never go to prison. Ever. Now I think I am going to try putting into the universe what I want to see and I am going to be in concert with the comment Sandy has been posting repeatedly:
TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
It seems that all the drivel and crap that Tucker and the other miscreants put out becomes truth in this universe we are cycling in. I encourage everyone who uses social media to follow Sandy's lead and post daily: TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
What would be delightful to see today (at least for me, and I can sure use a daily jolt of good with all the ugly meanness out there) is for all those who read comments to reply to Sandy "I'm with you" and/or to post TRUMP WILL BE CHARGED, CONVICTED AND JAILED.
Thank you Mike
Gailee, thank you for sharing. I have a friend, not a native, but an ally, who has been at the pipeline demonstrations and each time he goes he expects to be arrested. I’m so sorry your friend is now in this predicament. And was not even there in person to be arrested. From surveillance of her FB posts? This is outrageous. It must be a free speech violation. Even if not convicted she will have been detained, harassed and threatened. And has to be represented in court. And has a family. Much of the time, when at the site, if not arrested, protesters are harassed and denied simple and necessary things. Where is a sense of connection, compassion, empathy? Has there ever been? This continuing struggle for their land shows that the native people and their land will not be protected. We think about meaningful reparations not token, but there is a sizable number of citizens who don’t believe they have to apologize. Same group not believing African slaves were transported against their will? And How many of the violent protesters were arrested on J6? “The video is being used as evidence that Matteson conspired, aided, and abetted people who trespassed on the pipeline corridor in a separate incident. Matteson was not present at the incident in question.” Why is this trespassing and why is either being there or not a crime?
Yes! From a FB post. Thank you for your questions Irenie. I hope that she has a strong attorney asking the same.
Information about our out of balance (bought and paid for) "justice" system is welcome. I wish I was in MN, I would love to attend trial and lend support. This is what corporate authoritarianism looks like.
Here's a news story about line 3 which hopefully orients us a bit.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-fc-2212&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-2212&hspart=fc¶m1=7¶m2=eJw1i80OgjAQBl9lj5qQZbctVcJjeDLEQ4WKDYUSfoLx6V0Tvc3Mt9uFtq5ulysTaW10nd1GcbFS8DuRIVZKpBFRRiBMQgXy%2BYysNCptJXY%2BSd0Wwc0JDekdYnR5gQSHPYxt2hcYV2BCqkCCNRW8rDmCm6bod3%2Fvw5oX%2BoTawqF%2FrkPMIIbeQ%2BebPh2hec5p8DmTRsKCLCGzgcU93Bz%2Bf77tfgesrEFTfgBPcD%2Fa&p=Line+3+minnesota&type=fc_A30C76C6185_s58_g_e_d040122_n1009_c24#id=4&vid=c2c2c3282f440da42efd857a2afa2f05&action=click
Heard to "heart" this, but this is not "off topic" as it is all about suppressing protests against the actions of planet killing "business".
What we've seen in the House Select Committee hearings is that the real conservatives are calling out the reactionaries who have taken over their party. The vast majority of witnesses who testified so far have been real conservatives. Liz Cheney is a real conservative, not a reactionary.
There is a split in the GOP, and splits can be exploited if we call the participants the names that properly apply to them. To do otherwise is a misnomer. Using the wrong term makes the message blurry and confused. The very definition of reactionary is "opposed to liberalism." You can see this opposition playing out in the refusal of the reactionary Republicans to work on -- or much less pass -- a party platform. Their purpose is to "own the libs," and also to expel and purge those they derisively call the "Rinos" -- Republicans in Name Only -- from the Republican Party. So please, liberals, don't call reactionaries "conservative." Show some discipline and respect for the English language You have nothing to lose but elections.
Seems that there was no shortage of insurrectionists ready to forget our founding fathers’s Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution. Power rules the fools. And yet, the MSM and rank and file republicans still consider them legitimate political actors. Anyone doubt that propaganda works and that a majority of our citizenry are primed to embrace fascism. Article in Dallas Morning News suggested that the Texas republican platform is gaining support. The end of our way of life may be closer than most suspect…. Although the Jan 6 committee is fighting with all it’s might. Wish HCR missives had the reach of Fox
Jeri,
The problem with America is, of course, not Trump, but, Americans.
You are right.
Years of drinking beer while sitting on arse, watching Survivor, The Apprentice, football, stupid movies, and, well, watching TV and wasting time posting pictures of their dog on facebook has left Americans without even a hint of the trappings of critical thought necessary to support the Democracy John Adams granted us after reading a MOUNTAIN of stuff including the entire works of Edward Coke.
Who, in America today, even knows who Edward Coke is??
Aren’t you an American, Mike? I know plenty of beer drinking Americans that enjoy Survivor and their dogs and their guns that voted for Biden.
The “problem” with America is that the rule of law and precedent is being trashed. That alone undermines authority greatly and allows tyranny to rule.
Salud 🗽
Good point Christine.
I did not know who Coke was until you mentioned him! Now I know who he was but have not read him. Another ignorant American?
Yep. 😊😊
Get ready - Margaret Attwood's books are very prescient - Handmaid's tale and (once you have read that) Testaments. I'm sure de Santis (and maybe Abbot) would love to follow that concept.
I heard Atwood interviewed in Saint Paul, MN, after "Oryx and Crake" came out (which I highly recommend along with the other dystopian novels Hugh names). She talked about the research she did for that and other books, especially involving looking at what happens to nations that, like the US with 9/11, experience a grave shock. She said nations tended to respond to that kind of shock by moving toward authoritarianism. She looked at the audience that night with the intensity of her light blue eyes and said, "Watch out." I am haunted by that moment. Here we are.
Really dark stuff to be sure Hugh. Let's hope not.
As far as MSM goes, fascism sells advertising space. And advertising space and eyeball engagement are the factors in The Perfect Equation for the greedy. Who’s narrative sells more ad space? Who’s willing to lie and misinform to sell ad space? It turns out, ,most of the sites we get our “News” from could care less about an informed public, rather than the $$$$ from advertising space. Remember that when you wonder why the Truth can’t seem to break through.
I would love to see Patrick Byrne charged with committing seditious conspiracy, or at least taken into custody as a material witness against Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn. Because Byrne was present at the White House meeting with the other two Looney Tunes, Powell and Flynn, shows him to be at least in general agreement with their seditious objectives. It doesn't really matter whether the plan they were promoting had any likelihood of succeeding, the fact that they were in the Oval Office looking to get President Trump's approval for their harebrained scheme is the overt act necessary to lay out the elements of the crime for which they can be indicted. The fact that all of these actors, from the president on down, behaved in a manner that would qualify as a Marx Brothers farce is legally irrelevant. Regardless of the absurdity of their proposal to the president, it took the combined efforts of the president's senior staff, including the lawyers from the Office of the White House Counsel to get the president to back off. Some two hours later, President Trump tweeted his summons to his supporters to rally in Washington DC on January 6. Patrick Byrne should be held fully accountable for his participation in the plot to overthrow the Constitution.
Wonder where he was on 6th? Willard Hotel?
What, if anything, is going to happen to the at least 10 congresspeople who went along with this coup attempt? They surely do not belong there.
I go with tar and feathers. And then the woodshed and a can of whoopass.
Salud, MLMIN.
After the last J6 hearing, we need to publicly demand that all lawmakers in our employ, who aided and abetted the overthrow of our government are to step down immediately and go on public trial for conspiracy and attempt to overthrow our government. Of course, all the others who helped that are not in our employ, such as Eric Byrnes, Rudy, and past employees such as Flynn, Miller, Meadows, etc. all go down the same path.
I would like to hire Vindman and his brother to help to work in high levels of our Defense systems. We need leaders who are true patriots for democracy.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😂😂
14th Amendment, Section 3.
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."
By a vote of two-thirds of each House. You think it will happen?
Not likely.
Thanks, for every letter. I really appreciate your work.
So one of the things that has passed through my FB feed in the last 24 hours is the fact that Hobby Lobby placed a bunch of ads in major newspapers all over the USA on July 4th that called for the establishment of a theocracy--a "Christian" government. And here it is ten days later and this has not shown up on any major news feed I read or listen to (NPR, NYTimes, Guardian). https://www.businessinsider.com/hobby-lobby-advocates-for-religious-government-in-july-4-ads-2021-7
If you want a textbook example of news media's selectivity in action, this is it. There is a mild backlash against Hobby Lobby, which is really one of the most revolting companies around. But no national outcry. At the same time all the breathless nonsense about the reasons for inflation, which is not REALLY about stuff like supply chain issues--although the Russians trying to starve Africa and Asia by preventing grain from Ukraine to be shipped out is certainly a real thing--but is rather the greed of corporations and companies to convert the pain of normal people into windfall profits for their investors and executives, is designed to demoralize all of us and to throw dirt over the real issues in this sh*thole country: guns, misogyny, racism, and homophobia.
The high-intensity dog and pony show that is the Jan 6 hearings are great theater but it will not amount to a hill of beans unless there is an overwhelming rejection of everything the Rethuglicans stand for on election day. And that is exactly what the Ghastly Oligarch Party is working so hard to prevent. And it is working because of a compliant populace and a corrupted Fifth Estate.
With voices such as yours, Linda, democracy will prevail. Thank you, always, for your comments.
Unita. 🗽
Corrupted? Bought (sold out) and paid for to do the oligarch's bidding Fourth Estate and a Fifth Estate that has taken over the information distribution.
We are a corporatocracy. And we need to change their power.
I despise Hobby Lobby! I protested when they wouldn’t cover their female employees rights to oral contraceptives nor abortions. Evangelicals still making/taking money from unsuspecting and ignorant people. A pox on all of them!
" it is working because of a compliant populace and a corrupted Fifth Estate."
...and because of the sophisticated psyop propaganda campaigns funded by the Koch Kleptocrats, with billions of dollars
Not just the Koch’s money. The Mercers are heavily involved too.