“DONALD TRUMP UNDER ARREST, IN FEDERAL CUSTODY.” It was quite a chyron from CNN, marking the first time in the history of the United States that a former president has been charged with federal crimes. And in this case, what crimes they are: the willful retention, sharing, and hiding of classified documents that compromise our national security. Trump’s own national security advisor John Bolton said, “This is material that in the hands of America’s adversaries would do incalculable damage to the United States. This is a very serious case and it’s not financial fraud, it’s not hush money to porn stars, this is the national security of the United States at stake. I think we’ve got to take the politics out of this business when national security is at stake.”
“In the end, between President Andrew Johnson’s pardons and Congress’s granting of amnesty to Confederates, no one was convicted for their participation in the attempt to destroy the country…. The ideology of the Confederacy never became odious, and it has lived on.”
Thanks to HCR to bringing this all back to what I have come to believe is THE key tragedy and failure of the Civil War. MAGAs are the ideological heirs of the slave powers and the poorer Southern whites they duped. The US government’s abysmal decision not merely to pardon the slaveowners but to allow them right back into office to rule the Southern states set up the Civil War we’re presently fighting —against the same vicious agenda of oppression.
Not prosecuting and punishing Confederate leaders and Nixon helps explain the rampant lawlessness of GOP leaders today. That said, the prison sentences given to hundreds of J6 insurrectionists appear to be a deterrent. Same will hold true for Trump.
Trump may not have looked at Jack Smith, but he told his droolers tonight that Smith was "obviously scared to death of me." It must have come to him from the psychic declassification power he has.
“WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.” -- That news agencies can publish or televise such blatantly inflammatory and baseless statements without legal consequences remains a serious issue. Free speech is one thing when there are facts to support what is said. Without the supporting evidence, statements like these are libel and should be prosecuted as such.
Sometimes the Universe gives you a huge gift and you feel on the right path.
Yesterday I was walking by the bar in the former Trump Hotel in DC and read the CNN chyron HCR quoted above.
"DONALD TRUMP UNDER ARREST...."
I just had to sit down, order a beer and toast the moment, in that place. People farther back in the beautiful sun drenched lobby-atrium applauded and cheered. There was a huge American flag hanging just above our heads.
4-5 days ago I had no intention or need to be there. A friend who produces shows called and asked if I could work a lunch gig there yesterday. It was a small event, but he needed camera help. I was available and agreed to do it...not knowing where it was in DC or who would be there.
It turned out to be in Trumps former Old Post Office Hotel with folks like former US Senator Barbara Mikulski & Congresswoman & Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Republican Ambassador and former Congresswoman Connie Morella who I had done some work with years ago . (She can quote Shakespeare accurately...along with a lot of other worthy people)
I was honored to be there and loved the extreme irony of it all. For more on that, check out my page.
"Federal officials permitting politics to trump the rule of law in our past have brought us to this moment." And then starting with our well-intentioned-and-exploited-ever-since resolution to the Civil War: EXACTLY. No one executed in 1865 (we took part in Nuremburg and were more than happy to execute Nazis--so long as they weren't our own racist-fascists. Similarly, we now LOVE to make holocaust museums and monuments about the horrors of OTHER nations/places. Slavery museum? Not so much) or even imprisoned. A few years later, we had Reconstruction flailing, Jubal Early rewriting history, and half our country, once again, zombiiing a renewed course to where we are today. It's a simplification, but at its core--this Christian-nationalist-fascist-phony conservative values freakazoid coalition--along with still TONS of less-fervant, more ordinary folks who haven't figured out that someone who claims to be "conservative" and wants to overthrow the government, commit espionage, commit wanton violence AND reneg the Constitution itself might just be more dangerous than a "liberal" who's trying to, basically, do ordinary government kinds of things--the number of people who still ascribe to this...but hey, at least they're staying home. Seriously though, the number of fairly UNzealous Americans who STILL obtusely cling to this (the "I know Trump is a terrible guy and did all those things, but it's still better than Biden" crowd. WHAT?) is stunning.
That Faux Noise all-caps "Wannabe Dictator" chyron got me chuckling in my PJs. Truly, every accusation is a confession. Apparently, President Brandon is both a senile puppet *and* a dictatorial mafia-esque mastermind. Such range; he contains multitudes! Meanwhile, TFG remains MAGA's Magnificent Mastermind, even though still hasn't figured out after almost 80 years that a shower is not the most hospitable environment for paperwork.
Concocted drama? Of course! Yet, like most drama, how revealing it is about the audience who chooses to view it. The folks who eagerly invite this saga of paranoia and projection into their homes on the daily... how sadly stunted their view must be, to find any validation or sense of truth in these malicious fictions. Their worldview is so authoritarian that they seem unable to countenance that a political leader might *not* be a ruthless dictator-in-waiting, so anti-intellectual that the idea of a civil servant acting impartially reeks of impossibility, so tribal they seem unable to see anyone of differing beliefs as worthy citizens. For, or against. Rule, or be destroyed. US inside the castle, THEM outside the moat. Over the side with the boiling oil!
Constantly biblical, colorfully unhinged, and utterly exhausting.
I don't wish ill on any of these misguided folks, I really don't. It's just that every time their fears come true, I sleep a little easier.
Sick and tired of hearing about there being “one law for everyone”. No mugshot, digital fingerprints, no bail, no restrictions on travel and no restrictions regarding firearms. This is not the same treatment given thousands of people daily by a system that is designed to humiliate and frighten ordinary citizens who are supposedly “innocent until proven guilty”. Don’t tell me there are not different laws for the rich and powerful.
Question... if a convicted felon (free or otherwise) cannot vote in many states in the US, how can a president be allowed to fulfill his duties from jail?
I sense a real similarity here to the 2008 uber-bank bailout that has turned a high-but-reasonable national debt into an oh-my-god-what-will-we-do national debt. It's the same argument: "Those silly, rich fools who (crashed the economy, defrauded millions, attempted a coup, etc.) have been humiliated enough on social media. A few of them actually got fired! (gasp!) Actually taking them to court to find out exactly what they did and to punish them is just too, too, traumatic for...well...somebody!" Crooked politicians aren't the only ones accustomed to a free pass.
It is years past due for yes, even Presidents, to be accountable before the laws of this land. Mr. Trump will finally be prosecuted in a court of law and will learn “consequences” of his actions as he should have done as a child who was coddled by a crook for a father and has exhibited nothing short of outrageous, careless, sadistic and narcissistic behavior for a long lifetime of offenses. May the judge be worthy of the challenge or recuse herself as she likely should given her previous deference to Trump in these crimes.
Historians rarely call a spade a spade. With Fascist Trump, NOW, this may be changing. American must stare down racism, fascism, prejudice and what-aboutism NOW.
Read all about it! It started with a most spirited and capable but uneducated WOMAN. She was terrific before her time, hated and denigrated by Fascist Criminal Tricky Dick running for congress. She was loved and elected. Her instincts were ahead of het time.
Fascism started before Sens. Jos. McCarthy, and Richard M. Nixon, and was not truly resisted by IKE. Gen. Eisenhower’s fear of GOP fascism, Rep. Jos. McCarthy and guys like Trump cratered resolve in the post war GOP. That’s lasted.
Weak decent heavy drinker President Jerry Ford blinked. Snotty antisemitic Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush blocked Gov. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller because he was divorced and liberal.
This insidious aspect of our present must be outed NOW with Trump as a catalyst ..
Things are falling apart for Trump and his GOP competitors know it. However, given the desire to win over Trump’s 25% base, a successful GOP competitor (say, DeSantis), would likely pardon Trump assuming a criminal conviction follows after the 2024 election. Such an outcome would assure Trump political tactics for another decade-plus instead of a likely reform and moderation of the GOP from within. All the more reason for Never-Trump & former Trump Republicans & independent voters to vote Democratic.
“In the end, between President Andrew Johnson’s pardons and Congress’s granting of amnesty to Confederates, no one was convicted for their participation in the attempt to destroy the country…. The ideology of the Confederacy never became odious, and it has lived on.”
Thanks to HCR to bringing this all back to what I have come to believe is THE key tragedy and failure of the Civil War. MAGAs are the ideological heirs of the slave powers and the poorer Southern whites they duped. The US government’s abysmal decision not merely to pardon the slaveowners but to allow them right back into office to rule the Southern states set up the Civil War we’re presently fighting —against the same vicious agenda of oppression.
Not prosecuting and punishing Confederate leaders and Nixon helps explain the rampant lawlessness of GOP leaders today. That said, the prison sentences given to hundreds of J6 insurrectionists appear to be a deterrent. Same will hold true for Trump.
Trump may not have looked at Jack Smith, but he told his droolers tonight that Smith was "obviously scared to death of me." It must have come to him from the psychic declassification power he has.
“WANNABE DICTATOR SPEAKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE AFTER HAVING HIS POLITICAL RIVAL ARRESTED.” -- That news agencies can publish or televise such blatantly inflammatory and baseless statements without legal consequences remains a serious issue. Free speech is one thing when there are facts to support what is said. Without the supporting evidence, statements like these are libel and should be prosecuted as such.
High time indeed. Cheers to that Professor.
Sometimes the Universe gives you a huge gift and you feel on the right path.
Yesterday I was walking by the bar in the former Trump Hotel in DC and read the CNN chyron HCR quoted above.
"DONALD TRUMP UNDER ARREST...."
I just had to sit down, order a beer and toast the moment, in that place. People farther back in the beautiful sun drenched lobby-atrium applauded and cheered. There was a huge American flag hanging just above our heads.
4-5 days ago I had no intention or need to be there. A friend who produces shows called and asked if I could work a lunch gig there yesterday. It was a small event, but he needed camera help. I was available and agreed to do it...not knowing where it was in DC or who would be there.
It turned out to be in Trumps former Old Post Office Hotel with folks like former US Senator Barbara Mikulski & Congresswoman & Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Republican Ambassador and former Congresswoman Connie Morella who I had done some work with years ago . (She can quote Shakespeare accurately...along with a lot of other worthy people)
I was honored to be there and loved the extreme irony of it all. For more on that, check out my page.
CHEERS and Peace to all
"Federal officials permitting politics to trump the rule of law in our past have brought us to this moment." And then starting with our well-intentioned-and-exploited-ever-since resolution to the Civil War: EXACTLY. No one executed in 1865 (we took part in Nuremburg and were more than happy to execute Nazis--so long as they weren't our own racist-fascists. Similarly, we now LOVE to make holocaust museums and monuments about the horrors of OTHER nations/places. Slavery museum? Not so much) or even imprisoned. A few years later, we had Reconstruction flailing, Jubal Early rewriting history, and half our country, once again, zombiiing a renewed course to where we are today. It's a simplification, but at its core--this Christian-nationalist-fascist-phony conservative values freakazoid coalition--along with still TONS of less-fervant, more ordinary folks who haven't figured out that someone who claims to be "conservative" and wants to overthrow the government, commit espionage, commit wanton violence AND reneg the Constitution itself might just be more dangerous than a "liberal" who's trying to, basically, do ordinary government kinds of things--the number of people who still ascribe to this...but hey, at least they're staying home. Seriously though, the number of fairly UNzealous Americans who STILL obtusely cling to this (the "I know Trump is a terrible guy and did all those things, but it's still better than Biden" crowd. WHAT?) is stunning.
That Faux Noise all-caps "Wannabe Dictator" chyron got me chuckling in my PJs. Truly, every accusation is a confession. Apparently, President Brandon is both a senile puppet *and* a dictatorial mafia-esque mastermind. Such range; he contains multitudes! Meanwhile, TFG remains MAGA's Magnificent Mastermind, even though still hasn't figured out after almost 80 years that a shower is not the most hospitable environment for paperwork.
Concocted drama? Of course! Yet, like most drama, how revealing it is about the audience who chooses to view it. The folks who eagerly invite this saga of paranoia and projection into their homes on the daily... how sadly stunted their view must be, to find any validation or sense of truth in these malicious fictions. Their worldview is so authoritarian that they seem unable to countenance that a political leader might *not* be a ruthless dictator-in-waiting, so anti-intellectual that the idea of a civil servant acting impartially reeks of impossibility, so tribal they seem unable to see anyone of differing beliefs as worthy citizens. For, or against. Rule, or be destroyed. US inside the castle, THEM outside the moat. Over the side with the boiling oil!
Constantly biblical, colorfully unhinged, and utterly exhausting.
I don't wish ill on any of these misguided folks, I really don't. It's just that every time their fears come true, I sleep a little easier.
Sick and tired of hearing about there being “one law for everyone”. No mugshot, digital fingerprints, no bail, no restrictions on travel and no restrictions regarding firearms. This is not the same treatment given thousands of people daily by a system that is designed to humiliate and frighten ordinary citizens who are supposedly “innocent until proven guilty”. Don’t tell me there are not different laws for the rich and powerful.
Question... if a convicted felon (free or otherwise) cannot vote in many states in the US, how can a president be allowed to fulfill his duties from jail?
I sense a real similarity here to the 2008 uber-bank bailout that has turned a high-but-reasonable national debt into an oh-my-god-what-will-we-do national debt. It's the same argument: "Those silly, rich fools who (crashed the economy, defrauded millions, attempted a coup, etc.) have been humiliated enough on social media. A few of them actually got fired! (gasp!) Actually taking them to court to find out exactly what they did and to punish them is just too, too, traumatic for...well...somebody!" Crooked politicians aren't the only ones accustomed to a free pass.
Heather, so well said (as usual) and digging down to the foundation. Thank you!!
Wowza !!
I remember when you started these Letters From an American to document when Trump withheld military money from Zelensky in Ukraine.
Trump has certainly kept you busy!
It is ‘high time’ he is held accountable for his crimes!
On a separate note, Why the filming of & the large motorcade to & from court when he (TFG) is now a "citizen"?
It is years past due for yes, even Presidents, to be accountable before the laws of this land. Mr. Trump will finally be prosecuted in a court of law and will learn “consequences” of his actions as he should have done as a child who was coddled by a crook for a father and has exhibited nothing short of outrageous, careless, sadistic and narcissistic behavior for a long lifetime of offenses. May the judge be worthy of the challenge or recuse herself as she likely should given her previous deference to Trump in these crimes.
Historians rarely call a spade a spade. With Fascist Trump, NOW, this may be changing. American must stare down racism, fascism, prejudice and what-aboutism NOW.
Read all about it! It started with a most spirited and capable but uneducated WOMAN. She was terrific before her time, hated and denigrated by Fascist Criminal Tricky Dick running for congress. She was loved and elected. Her instincts were ahead of het time.
Fascism started before Sens. Jos. McCarthy, and Richard M. Nixon, and was not truly resisted by IKE. Gen. Eisenhower’s fear of GOP fascism, Rep. Jos. McCarthy and guys like Trump cratered resolve in the post war GOP. That’s lasted.
Weak decent heavy drinker President Jerry Ford blinked. Snotty antisemitic Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush blocked Gov. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller because he was divorced and liberal.
This insidious aspect of our present must be outed NOW with Trump as a catalyst ..
https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/cold-war-beginnings/helen-gahagan-douglas/
Things are falling apart for Trump and his GOP competitors know it. However, given the desire to win over Trump’s 25% base, a successful GOP competitor (say, DeSantis), would likely pardon Trump assuming a criminal conviction follows after the 2024 election. Such an outcome would assure Trump political tactics for another decade-plus instead of a likely reform and moderation of the GOP from within. All the more reason for Never-Trump & former Trump Republicans & independent voters to vote Democratic.