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Hunter Biden is one private citizen who committed a crime that is usually not even prosecuted. The ONLY reason it came to this is his last name. It is a private thing.

Trump's conviction was for election tampering in the 2016 national election. And the other trials are for trying to overturn the 2020 election by force when fraud failed, and for stealing and no doubt selling our national secrets.

I hope everyone can see the difference.

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And Jared Kushner got away with doing business, while in office!, to refinance his company's troubled office building in New York into a $1 billion 100 year lease, using Qatar money. But there is no accountability there! Otherwise Kushner Companies would be bankrupt!

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Glad to see someone bring this up. But it's worse than that. Kushner was the White House point person for the Middle East. After the $1.3B check cleared, the crippling blockade against Qatar was magically lifted. Now that's somma corruption.

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Thanks for bringing that to light. I wasn't aware of the other side of it!

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Quod pro what???

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It's no accident drumpf refers to the "Biden crime family". If anyone doesn't understand the psychological concept of projection, the trump crime enterprise is it.

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All he ever does is project ALL OF HIS CRIMES onto everyone else. Good grief they all need to go away!

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Joanne, I say this to the TV every day. As for death star, I have several places i wish to send him.

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I'm not sure the devil will have him. Too much competition.

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Lucifer will put the Tangarine Traitor in the hottest flames of Hades.......where all his idols......Adolf......Benito......Charles.........Jim Jones.....etc....are frying forever.

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All of those proven to have committed pre-meditatated crimes should be put away for a while.

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J.L. I agree that they should be "put away" but who is going to do it? Trump and Kump already have so many of our judges and 6 of our SC justices wrapped up. They love the power of being able to overturn anything that will actually help people. I heard in that tape made in secret that Justice Roberts wouldn't push his religious values because that's not what a justice does, but he, like the rest of the Republican party and most evangelical white christians and Catholics lies through his teeth to make himself look squeaky clean in all the corruption on the SC and the rest of what is going on in the lower courts is just fine, it's god's will, of course even if he does not say it out loud. Lying and cheating when one can get away with it are hallmarks of the Republican party these days, well, actually for decades. We didn't notice it before too much because there were other issues. We should have been paying attention back then!

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Truth teller, the other issues fall away as the squeeze tightens. Then the Handmaid’s Tale is a reality, or worse.

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Yes, Jen. If death star says anything negative about others, you can be sure he is doing it. One of my other names for him, is mafia don.

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And the fact that he is aware of the illegality of his actions when he accuses others of them.

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Exactly. They are embracing mass sociopathy, the "Mr. Hyde", the "Dark Side of the Force" that has bedeviled humanity throughout recorded history. Seriously.

Even though it has not grown septic enough to extinguish all of our rights in this county, it is not for want of trying. It is already produced increased racism, war, a deadly climate trajectory, a worsened pandemic death toll, and many other forms of needless suffering, including "The Great Recession". The engine of that misfortune is untempered greed and hubris, and the cure is it's societal rejection.

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Mary Ellen, I think that's part of the problem. I am not sure just how much Trump understands and believes. It is hard to tell whether he thinks what he is saying is true or is just mouthing what his handlers are passing on or even just making it up. He was never very bright, but now, he is definitely deficient in cognitive abilities. One thing for certain, except for his claims of what he plans to do if re-elected, most of whatever he says is a lie. He mixes them up well so his cult won't even question them, assuming that they are all true. They just don't hear what is real like that he doesn't care about them, just their votes. That was a truth stuck in and just as Trump hoped, his cult didn't hear it at all.

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I don't think his words matter during his rally speeches; it's all in his delivery. He talks like he's chatting with friends as part of the art of the scam. If his words don't make any sense it doesn't matter because it's all in the tone.

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So true, sounds like he is just blathering a script that has been his go to all his life. He is truly the least educated man (dumb) that we have seen in the public square in my adulthood. And we have seen some doozies. The professor who was quoted as saying that he was the dumbest student that he had ever seen was right on. He sure was able to match wits with those who became his cult.

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I call him " OiD" - the Orange il Duce.

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D4N, I have decided that Trump is "Baby Donnie." I know that is potentially an insult to babies, but he has the reasoning of a 3-year-old but with none of the empathy or ability to learn. I refer to his cult as Trump and Kump or Trump's Kiddies Kindergarten Klub because they are all as whiney, tantrumy, and in need of a long nap as he is, but unlike actual first-time children, he and they are evil!

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Less than projection, I think It is a calculated attempt to distract from the truly criminal nature of their actions and enterprise. It is no exaggeration to say that the entire leadership of the "GOP" has become a "racket", dedicated to the furtherance of their patrons' utterly obsessive "love" of money and unaccountable power. That's a formula for tyranny in any era. The crooks are saying "If you think we're bad, those who stand for rule of law are so much worse."

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Formula for tyranny, that’s the goal

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You forgot to mention the $2 billion they pumped into his startup investment company after the convicted felon was voted out of office.

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Daniel, are you referring to one point something billion gifted to tfg's son in law, Jared Kushner by Qatar ? It's referenced above by Miss T Blue.

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Matt, yes and there is no other crime family which has been in politics quite like the death star crime family. I think they even beat out the Bushes which took some doing. I shouldn't be, but I am still amazed at the blatant hypocrisy and projection by the Rs.

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There’s a reason that Trump is his father-in-law, two crime families connected by marriage.

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I prefer the slap stick pokes at Trump. I claim that The Donald secretly wears a sagging man bra and hires drag queens to apply orange makeup before he meets the public every day. Now I know there is nothing wrong with hiring drag queens but those sagging man bras are another matter. And God knows that blond mop on his head isn’t his own (which is why he wouldn’t go out in a drizzle in 2018 to pay respect to WWII soldiers who lost their lives defending the rights for this shit ass to even exist. This toupee needs to be glued on with dabs of gorilla glue.

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I sure as hell can see the difference. Trump and his lying, loyal sycophants cannot, or will not.

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"So long as supporters send him money, he claims, they will be able to defend the country against dark forces."

A message the Republican religious extremist base has heard from their religious leaders for decades - in their megachurches and their media. In shows of support as cash donations. When I moved from NYC to the midwest, I saw my first televangelicals. The faithful were told to kneel before their TVs and put their foreheads against the screen to receive blessings ... while how to send donations flashed on the screen. And as many of those leaders were arrested and convicted of crimes which are also sins they rant against (often of a sexual or financial nature) they urged their flocks to see them as sinners whom their supporters can redeem. For whom amongst us hasn't sinned, who wouldn't follow Christ's divine charity of dying for our sins. Trump, Sam Alito, and Mike Johnson didn't introduce this trash talk to American political discourse. I've heard it on CSpan - from the House and Senate floor. All three branches.

Steve Martin did a great turn in Leap of Faith (1992):

"You need a real Sinner."

https://youtu.be/NgEOTc2qgVg?si=0HXCnxPV8oZJhsA6

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WOW!! This clip explains a lot. My former sister-in-law, an intelligent and caring person, is a “born again Christian” and deep in the MAGA cult. I’ve never understood how she could support a “man” like tRump until seeing this video. It’s brainwashing, pure and simple.

We no longer speak to each other.

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I’m so sorry.

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Cathy, I'm sorry you've lost your sister to a cult. That hurts.

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I suggest that you ask your ex-sister-in-law (if you speak to her) this: If Donald Trump saw you get hit by a car, do you think he’d rush over to help you, or even call 911?

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Or set upon by bandits and left for dead?

I am not a church-goer nor do I believe in the divinity of Jesus but very much admire his counsel on compassion. That said, over the years I have attended many traditional Christian church services over the years for social and other reasons and while I am aware that my own experience proves nothing statistically, it seems to me that the dominant message of compassion that I heard in my youth has shifted toward a hard sell about the personal benefits of unwavering belief. That's just an impression, but the message seemed to have shifted away from love. More like a sales pitch.

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J.L. it is too bad you attended the services that do not focus on love. There are many that do and encourage the congregation to live lives of love. Of course it is not possible 100% of the time but the effort and results are apparent. It's too bad the christians with the loudest mouths and the most coverage are not among them.

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@ Cathy. Try "trump hates dogs" or "Do you support stealing from kids with cancer?"

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"I don't care about you. I just want your vote. I don't care," -DJT

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Many have lost family and friends to this. My closest friend started sending me Alex jones nonsense on LinkedIn of all things.

And was thrilled with the Russian immigrant who set up her network in her new house. I miss the old Mari. She's also found fundamentalism.

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They seem to go hand in hand, the "nonsense" and fundamentalism....but then I repeat myself.

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It's called "fundamentalism" but I am not sure what is fundamental about it, other than being taught that their ideology trumps everything else. I think that wisdom must surely be an eye to identify what is both empirically and experencially fundamental, and prioritizing from there. It's about not going for the fool's gold, and not trading away your "soul"; whether one is religious or not.

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I know people who are clever and educated and who I previously experienced as reasonable and amiable enough who have become hostile and fanatical about Trump. I have no doubt that some of these sort would be willing to die to protect Trump, even though it is clear that Trump just uses people like they were toys. It's as if they are possessed by a mental virus, which I think is a fit analogy for cult dynamics.

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Cathy, how sad for you, but alas, some people stop caring about the truth when they think someone will give them whatever they want for only money and total loyalty. If they stopped to think about it they could see it is a kind of robbery, but thinking might mean they would have to do something and they would rather not. When their life does not improve, they can then blame all those people the evangelist tells them are causing their pain rather than seeing that they are often causing their own pain by choosing an addiction that not only does harm to themselves but to a whole lot of other people too.

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You read my mind

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You have nailed them to the cross. And boy, do they have real sinners (include the Moms for Liberty cretins in FL). I blame Rove and W for making the churches arms of the Republican Party in 2004. It was deliberate and as evil as anything the churches have bought from the dark side. But for repubs, just do what it takes to “win.”

BTW, Steve Martin looks so much more real than chump. Great performance, chump just looks like a carnival barker. Thanks

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Floridans are fighting back ! Jennifer Jenkins is the school board member who ousted Moms for (NOT) Liberty founder, Tina Descovich, from her seat.

Jennifer is one of my sheros !

A Florida Democrat who unseated a Moms for Liberty co-founder in a contentious school board race is now leading an organization aiming to combat the influence conservatives have wielded on local education policies.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/16/florida-education-pac-launch-00158244

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Thank you for this.

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Awesome !

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Rove helped, but it goes back further than that. The GOP has been using the churches -- both the Catholic Church and the white evangelicals -- to build its coalition at least since Roe v. Wade (January 1973). They helped elect Reagan, from whose administration nearly all bad things have flowed ever since.

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If you want to know when the seed was planted, I suggest the day in 1951 that God and Man at Yale, by William F. Buckley Jr., was published. His theme? Some small number of people are more important (I think Justice Sam agrees), and everyone else is less important. In lieu of the original sin (because the term has already been taken) I think we can call that the original conspiracy theory.

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I just read Jacob Heilbrunn's AMERICA LAST: The Right's Century-Long Romance with Foreign Dictators, which gives Buckley his due but also puts him in context going back to Mencken and others. It syncs nicely with Rachel Maddow's PREQUEL and the ULTRA podcasts, though those focus more specifically on Nazis.

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Weird, because Jesus, so far as I can tell, was dismissive of riches and political power, and was a champion of what Leona Helmsley called "the little people".

As religion is a part of American life, and many individual's value systems, it can be a valid component of the "public sentiment" that shapes our society; but in matters of law, so-called "blind" justice is meant not to put a thumb on the scale either way for those who do or don't proclaim religion. Liberty and Justice for All.

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Buckley was picky about that small number of people. He would be appalled by chump’s cult.

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It's ironic to remember the Republicans were the ones that tried to gin up fears that Kennedy would take orders from Rome.

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Well, anti-Catholicism has a l-o-n-g history in the U.S. so it didn't take much to get that tinder burning. And you can trace today's GOP back to the GOP of 1960, but you can also trace today's Democratic Party back to the Democratic Party of 1960, which was the party of the Jim Crow South. IOW, evolution happens.

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I remember, lots of wailing from them.

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You're absolutely more correct here Susanna. My dear departed father, an Eisenhower republican most usually, took hook, line, and sinker when the supposed 'Moral majority' with white evangelicals more or less began carrying water for the gop, they could no longer err in his eyes. It always made me deeply sad.

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It *is* sad. Being a New Englander, I like to think that the malaise took longer to infect New England Republicans, maybe because New England hasn't encouraged people to wear their religion on their sleeves (like maybe we learned something from the Salem witch craze?). But it got here eventually.

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A 1985 article in St-Louis Post Dispatch by Louis Lehrman laid it all out. Demostic, foreign, social, financial, and all in between. Didn’t get much traction then, but knocked my socks off when somebody posted it on Twitter years ago.

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A really sleazy carnival barker & looking sleazier every single day.

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And crazier.

How can anybody find a trace of a positive quality in him.

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Who said they did??

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It was Reagan before that. And probably Goldwater although I don't have any real knowledge of him other than he was a racist.

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Yeah,, Ron & Nancy (ughh). Giving "Actors" a bad name. They had "the pulpit" and their handlers ($$$$) had us by the nuts. Things are not boding so well for that crew.., not so much at least. We've made some strides with this administration. Calmly. No shotgun blasts or bloviating rhetoric. And that's hard to do, but "great spirits always encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds'... (A. Einstein, if I got that correct).

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While I saw reason to think that Reagan was authentically a right wing believer, I was never sure how much of what issued from his mouth was coached by by more cunning plutocrats. He seemed more like a fool that thought he was smart because he "made it" on TV. He was never a very good actor, but seemed to thrive as a salesman. The media ate out of his hand.

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Goldwater may well have been racist, although, while I thought he had some terrible ideas, he gave me a far greater impression of personal integrity than Reagan. Certainly Reagan was more than a usual racist; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/31/ronald-reagan-racist-recordings-nixon

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It was Goldwater also.

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He was also a devoted Cold Warrior -- and even though the Cold War was mainstream at the time, his devotion scared a lot of people. Ads at the time (I was a young teenager but remember some of them) implied that he'd instigate a nuclear war. In the early '60s, plenty of schools still had nuclear-attack drills, where kids were taught to hide under their desks to protect themselves. (Good luck with that . . .)

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I argued with a friend about Goldwater, but came to have some respect for him.

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repubs, just do what it takes to “win” absolute power.

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Absolutely

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As a kid circa 1950s, I found Ronald Reagan off-putting. Somehow didn't like his "vibe" (and never did.) It worked for most of the public though, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4631421.stm and until fairly lately I would encounter liberals who cited him as as the last decent Republican president.

No,no,no,no,no.

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No X infinity. Nothing more disgusting than “reality tv.” Human behavior at its most ridiculous. Wouldn’t watch if it were all that was on the tube.

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Many or most of us perhaps, receive daily calls soliciting money for PACS like crippled children PAC, firefighters PAC, Breast Cancer PAC. During their spiel they read some BS about how they are non-partisan and give to candidates that support their cause.

While, I cannot prove it, they are very likely raising money for Convicted Felon Donald J Trump. At the end of the call, I ALWAYS say, "I don't give to PACs, I never have and I never will." And they almost always reply they will put you on their DNC list, which I assume means Democrat National Committee, not Do NOT Call.

And then within a few hours to a few days the same PACs call again.

This is the definition of insanity but we are the ones they are driving insane.

The Hateful, Angry, Resentful, Trump Propaganda machine will stop at nothing to grift a few bucks from us all.

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Yes.., insanity. But where do they get all those 'phone numbers' that come up on Caller ID? Those numbers come out of no-where. Sometimes they seem like local calls from nearby town, or familiar area codes, to suck you into picking-up. Again.., my question, where do they get all of them from? To me, somebody is complicit in this aggravation and the 'phone companies' have to be profiting from our misery. How do we shut them off. The DNC list does not work. The only thing that works is: Hello..(split-second pause)..and, No Thank you (no pause) CLICK!!

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MadRussian, once we received a call from our own number.

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Yes! I have received calls from my own number and emails from my own address.

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Do you scroll websites on your phone? Do you sign on to protest movements? Do you donate money to candidates? Doing all of these things on your phone is how they get your phone number

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I made a mistake by giving to the ACLU about 6 months ago. Obviously they sell their list.

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I am oh so lucky. My phone screens spam calls!!!

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My wife's does as well, but I get a lot of local calls that I need to answer so I don't want those to go the voicemail.

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Oh, my goodness, lin. What a great clip. He had me believing...almost!

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And I would imagine the "Christian evangelistic pastors" are almost as good an actor as Steve Martin is! Otherwise - how would they fill these huge arenas?

I say almost because he is absolutely terrific!

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“We’ve got trouble in River City!” Robert Preston and Steve Martin - two wonders in depicting the great grifters.

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I have thought of that one. "The Music Man" was a small-time crook and of course there was a happy ending; but the same "sky is falling" message is being used by the "GOP" for far more sinister motives.

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Love that the revival took place in a tent!!!

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Yes, and revivalism is nothing new. What they have now is the technology to bring their dreck directly into people's homes. In the 19th century there was an area in New York state called the burnt over district and in other places in the midwest. And men loved taking their ladies to these revivals for the same reason that people liked to attend public executions.

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Mark Twain in Huckleberry Finn wrote about revival meetings. And also about carrying your guns to church in case you had a chance to shoot someone whose family had a feud with yours.

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Yeah, Maggie "we" gotta keep donations coming, we'll build that Crystal Cathedral.. Have faith and praise The Lord.. In God We Tru$t, all other$ pay ca$h..., by all mean$... err ahh ..make that "pay by any means$.

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That is the same dynamic at play with trump and his cult base. He told people the same thing basically. Vote for me because I know where the bodies are buried.

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Barry Goldwater got this right.

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Kind of sounds like Rasputin.

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Same mo

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Wow... "that golden elevator to gods own penthouse in the sky".

And then there The Advocate, where the murderer's scenes are shot in dumptys gaudy tawdry NY not-really -30,000 square foot apartment.

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How funny that you should mention 'Leap of Faith,' lin. I just re-watched it the other night. The turning point of the movie, and maybe its point, is when a crippled boy recovers his mobility, presumably because of his faith in Jesus. That faith can work miracles is a stunning blow to the grifter/preacher Martin plays, and he ultimately leaves his band of con artists for a new start. I have not taken that leap personally, and I am certain no one in the convicted felon's tribe will. They believe fervently that everyone is a cynic on the take, projecting onto the world the truth about them.

It's painfully obvious to those of us who stay away from sugary powdered drinks.

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Right on point. Thank you

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I never watched any TV evangelicals and now I am gagging....head against the screen.

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Thanks "lin (with the dot)". I've certainly seen it just as you described.., with my own two eyes. The hypocrisy is six feet deep blanketed by a an ever-so shallow mindset, some well-intentioned, some evil. It all comes down to two words: Have Faith. Yeah.. Apply Literally! Talks cheap.

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Mad Russian, I found where the "dot" lives on my laptop (not on my phone yet, however). It is with the emojis in a department called "symbols".

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Great clip! Thank you. 👍

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Lin, don't you find it interesting that the Trumpers and Trumpettes claim to LOVE the 10 Commandments while they watch their "leader" break every one of them, well except maybe "Thou Shalt not kill," but he has incited an insurrection where 5 people died and many many were injured. I think that counts. Hypocrisy is strong with Trump and Kump!

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His loyal sycophants get or live in the expectation of getting well-paid. It is also a reflection of his “money above all things as long as it goes in My pocket” mentality.

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Will not

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Looking for a "Deep Throat" on Trumps mishandling of classified documents thing. Clearly there was a coverup and clearly national security was put at risk. The only remaining question was by how much?

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JL, the threat remains. And Cannon is undermining both justice as well as national security to protect one person: the guy who put her in her post just before he left office.

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Don’t overlook the high probability she is also disorganized, afraid to make a mistake, overwhelmed because of lack of (her own) action, inexperienced and possibly being coached by people to whom she feels indebted.

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I think undermining justice comes ways before those things, she has been consistent, and efficient in her actions for the perp.

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I certainly wonder why , but who is a better question, would call that out . Does anyone doubt she’s been improperly managing this whole Trump thing? Is she above reproach?

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Been waiting for some brave soul to call her out.

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There was never much praise for her competence.

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I will agree with “possibly disorganized” and “being coached.” Must protect the Chieftain. (See Timothy Snyder’s post today, linking revenge culture and the Alitos.)

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It certainly appears to me with all the stop gaps undone that the powers involved , the richest backers don’t have this 2024 election wrapped up for a win throughly..they’ve bought it.

By how much does the popular vote have to win, the Blue Tsunami have to complete the message you’re done Trump? I don’t doubt they won’t accept it.

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" the guy who put her in her post just before he left office."

For all too obvious reasons.

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If convicted felon DJT is reelected, on day 1 of his dictatorship, if not before, he will send a list of all of our intelligence operatives to Putin. Rumor has it that he did this before, and he will most likely do it again.

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Despicable. But then I repeat myself!

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In any case, Quisling comes to mind.

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Aileen Cannon wants to make sure we never find out

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Agreed--it IS a distraction. And it is a distraction produced by the MAGA Mafia "party."

Given their record of non-achievement, supporting an insurrection to overturn government, and their concerted efforts to reorganize Americans into citizens of a resurrected Confederate States of America, there probably has never been a political organization in this nation's history so desperately in need of a distraction. Otherwise, voters recognizing the insanity of the concocted antics of governance that American citizens have already been forced to live with might land the "party" operatives in prison rather than just being deposed from office.

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"Economists estimate that the supply-side economics of the past 40 years had shifted $50 trillion dollars from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%, hollowing out the middle class."

Pay no attention to the not so Invisible Hand that just lifted your wallet. Now that's what I call distraction.

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Not so sure of your use of the word "citizens," Ed.

Likely, yes, those of us who may be white and male may be considered citizens. But, once the Project 2025 is up and running, there may also be additional steps to certify racial purity.

A record of financial contributions to MAGA campaigns may qualify (a few) others. Documented possession of MAGA regalia may also count. But the vast majority will likely go the way of the doodoo bird and the former American middle class working classes.

Women? Ask Alito (who will have to check with his wife, and Clarence's).

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Those of white and male and paying subscribers to this site are probably already marked for roundup to the concentration camps.

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The Declaration says all men are created equal.

I think they mean it literally. Welcome the originalists.

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Lincoln remembered that, Jen, in his address at Gettysburg.

Except he still held it as aspirational. As if it included women, browns, blacks, yellows, reds, and all the funny variations among them, in-between.

"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our poor powers to add or detract."

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Certainly Lincoln was an early, effective advocate for inclusion. He fought for legal rights for black people, but seemed phobic of them. He still was ahead of American culture. Abolitionists and Women's suffragists were often allied in the 1800s. Often the same people.

I think I was in 7th grade when i asked my teacher why we used the male gender when we meant both. She just said that was the nature of our language. I don't think I was quite aware of it as bias, but it bothered me that it seemed illogical, it muddled rather than clarified the case. Nineteen fifties TV was full of or racial and sexual bias, but that seemed "normal", as I am sure slavery did to most kids growing up with it. That sense of "normalcy" that accompanies entrenched injustices is often the principle barrier to great truths and reform. That and the entrenched investments of the powerful.

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Exactly so, J L.

"Normalcy" indeed "accompanies entrenched injustices" -- and, as you well, in your next sentence also say, "That and the entrenched investments of the powerful."

Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" noted how neutered, bland, desensitizing language always accounts for this blinding normalcy. Diane Ravitch went into fuller specifics in her 2003 book, "The Language Police."

There, she examined how the corporate textbook committees and the standardized testers all seek to rid texts and tests of any humanly or regionally specific diction. Under guise of seeking fairness, they anesthetize, homogenize, abstract all life into wonk. All need stick to the causal, the linear, the categorical.

Thus we have "justices" on the Clarence court who all perjured themselves as to fidelity to the Constitution, when in fact they serve only the mega rich -- the billionaires who have bribed the most flagrantly corrupt on that court. This is normal for our blinded. They have no language to catch themselves in their self-deceptions.

They can't even read the Constitution where it explicitly, deliberately, wisely separates church from state. Cannot read Article 14, section three. Cannot imagine any language correcting the damages from their fellow abstracted comfortable.

Thanks for continuing to ponder these things, J L.

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maybe we need an Anti-mafia movement

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They keep complaining about Antifa, and I've been trying to find it to join for years. I'm afraid it's fiction. Like all their other crap.

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Jen, if you find a way to join-other than being a decent American-please let me know. I’ll join with you!! I’m proudly Antifa-without the membership card or secret decoder ring.

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I think that trying to be a decent anybody is the worthiest of goals, is it not? Or at least approaching it. Some go so much further than the call of duty.

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The history of Antifa is from about 2017, right around the time of the Charlottesville protests, and up through the protests in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis PD. They have been corrupted by the anarchist movement, which came to life in the WTO demonstrations from 1999 and forward that were mostly against corporate capitalism. I can tell you that in the law enforcement community, there was no difference between the Occupy Movement, Antifa, and anarchy.

A couple links:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-is-antifa-a-look-at-the-movement-trump-is-blaming-for-violence-at-protests

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement

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Some people got hassled here and there for being the Anatifa of right wing lore, when they were nothing of the kind, but mostly (it seemed to me) Antifa was for the most part, more talk than actual membership. Occupy seemed a vocal objection to the dominance of plutocracy, but it seemed to lack a clear focus and eventually sputtered out. My strongest memory of Occupy was a photo of someone holding a sign which read "Wall St. Got Bailed out. Main St. Got Sold Out.". My wife knows a particularly egregious example from the "Great Recession" in which a family with a blind dependent (my wife worked with the blind) in which the principle earner lost his job, and found another, albeit at lower pay. The bank agreed to adjust the terms of their loan, which they met, but secretly sold their house from under them anyway. No one in authority gave a damn. That's anecdotal, but consistently Obama did a good job of averting a 1930's style depression, but shied from holding banks accountable to any standard of decency, which was the problem underneath. Dick Durbin complained that even after their catastrophically irresponsible behavior, the banks still "owned" Congress.

And anyone who does not know of her, look up "Brooksley Born".

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JL, we had a strong Antifa connection in the Willamette Valley, but they got infiltrated with anarchists and drifted away.

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Giuliani is not available…

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Ha!!! Great snark, Jeri!

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Truth I think. Weird that chump doesn’t want him as his “Roy Cohn.” ha

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Roy Cohn's only virtue is as an effective emetic.

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Sad!

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Seems he had been a competent man somewhere along the way.

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Anti-Mafia, anti-corruption, anti-bullying, anti-authoritarian. It is all about opposing seeking to gain by causing harm to others.

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Maybe a new law should be created called the Hunter Law. From now on all gun owners must pass a drug test.

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Absolutely no booze. How many firearm incidents have been aggravated by alcohol.

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Yes, you are right.Hunter Biden was tried for a crime that is rarely prosecuted.He owned the gun for 11 days.My friend said she was curious as to whether Don Jr. owns a firearm?

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Of course. He shoots lions and elephants and poses with them.

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Convicted Felon DJT signed an EO to allow elephant remains (carcasas) into the US in 2017 I believe it was. Of course, it was never an above the fold on page 1, in any of the major papers. CFDT did everything he could to neuter the endangered species act, one of the dozens of heinous things he did that gets virtually no press.

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I remember, was that ever undone…

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Good question. I never saw anything about it being reversed. How many people have a house where you could display and elephant head?

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Hope it gets on the radar somewhere. BTW, a CPA that I used several years ago, had all kinds of “trophies” in his office. Unf**kingbelievable

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It would be the one's that do that would want to do so. I'm so powerful I can kill an elephant with a gun.

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😠

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Eric, too.

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Puke

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Apparently felon Donald Trump does, and that’s another felony, as felons aren’t allowed to possess firearms. He turned in two guns that he had in NY, but there’s another one in Florida. That’s a scary thought - he had a concealed carry license.

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Like button is not functioning. Is it just my phone or are others on Substack having the same problem?

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I just liked some comments all the way from Italy. Little red hearts, one after the other....

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It's on and off, temporary "glitches" in the system if you come back later it'll work again.

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I've had it, but not lately. The technological sophistication of Substack seems to me adequate, but a little sketchy.

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I've been having the same problem for a few weeks

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.....but only on my computer. On phone it works fine.

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I do nothing on my phone other than make and answer calls and take a picture now and then, so I am of little help. My "likes" are made on a computer.

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I'm on a computer also, cannot like, seems there is no one to help with this problem.

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Same here. The only way I can like any comment now is if it is a reply to mine. Then I go into my activity history on the substack menu and I am still allowed to like their reply.

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I'm a Luddite who hates cell phones, although I have one, reminiscent of a fancy Swiss Army knife that I used used constantly in my youth. Seems to me the phone is (admirably) like the Swiss Army knife (in my teens i bought the fanciest one) but a laptop is like a well equipped machine shop, and this one (bought used) has got cell broadband built in, plus WiFi access, so why "rough it"? At least when the laptop acts up, there are usually work arounds the phone does not know about.

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I have been having it for weeks. Sent numerous requests for help and nothing. Very frustrating.

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Do you have AT&T? It's had some big problems lately. Our internet has been spotty for more than a week.

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Works for me

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My partner's isn't either. Mine is.

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Annabel. Hunter Biden went to trial, got convicted by a jury for illegal acts and the President has not intervened with the process

The judicial system works as designed

Of course, there’s a difference between Hunter and Trump. The same MAGATrumpers that wail about his conviction will be dancing over Hunter’s. The air is thick with irony and hypocrisy

Oh that the system that brought Hunter to trial could work as swiftly for Trump, but there’s the difference in a nut shell; in a Trump administration, Dear Leader will protect his Trumplicans and squash those that oppose him. Pardons for his criminal friends and oppression for the rest

The difference is clear

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Now do Don Jr.

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Well, Annnabel. Not "everyone" will. That is clear. Sad, isn't it how things are so quickly twisted. The hate. The labeling. Will deciency and competency win out? I don't know. We hope so, don't we?

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Don't worry. They can't (see the difference). Presumably Josh Shapiro's comments were not reported on Fox (I won't say "news").

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"...a crime that is usually not even prosecuted."

Just to make the correct point that this is quite misleading. The crime is prosecuted very often, it just rarely goes to trial. Most cases like this are settled pre-trial with guilty verdicts and relatively light sentences.

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I agree with you Annabel!!!👍👍👍!!!

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What in the hell are you talking about?

Trump wasn't convicted of a tampering with an election? No one knows what he was convicted.

If you believe that Hunter was convicted of a crime never prosecuted, even liberals agree the NY charges against TRump were a joke.

1) A DA who campaigned to prosecute TRump

2) A Judge who contributed to Biden's campaign

3) Judges daughter works for Biden and the DNC fund raising

4) Lead Prosecutor Coleango worked for Biden DOJ

5) Trialed in a city that 90-10 for Biden

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Stop lying. Hunter Biden was the subject of criminal probes on money laundering, FARA violations, and income evasion.

BIDEN's DOJ let the statue of limitations expire on the major charges. The only reason he had to face the music on the gun charge was the judge in Delaware laughed out of court a sweetheart deal that NO ONE would ever get including immunity on any charges going forward.

As for Trump, no one can still explain the charges in NY? It will be reversed on appeal.

Nice try.

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Start with a conclusion, look for confirming evidence, and ignore refuting evidence. I used to be really good at that myself, but one day I said to myself, "This is really immature. I'm ten-years-old now. It's time to grow up."

Nice try.

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Stop lying.

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Fox will never tell

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