I’m not pretending to be nauseous. History will not be kind to our country for tolerating this madness. Nor, should it be. We have created the biggest mess the modern world has ever witnessed.
Where I come from, the term mess means just that. It’s a real mess. We will spend years to get our country back. It cannot be a return to status quo, but a wholesale re-start based on FDR’s 4 Freedoms. We cannot sweep any of this graft, corruption, incompetence and cruelty under the rug. The whole world has witnessed this mess and the world will be watching how we respond to the challenge.
You’ll do FINE. It’s just a matter of creating a ‘failsafe’ BETTER version of the Constitution’s safeguards - which 🤯 God knows why? - did not prevent the GOP from working VERY HARD to re-elect Donald Trump. 😖
Now, they have their hands full, because he is misinterpreting “Executive Privilege” to mean ‘carte BLANCHE’ (NPI) 👀!
So, a Parliamentary ‘procedure’ similar to that of the Canadian ‘Non-Confidence Motion’, which can swiftly OUST a recalcitrant RED-NECK PM and his lapdogs too! 😉 We have done it - in short order - more than once!!
The POTUS has waaaay too much power and should be made to EARN the respect…not DEMAND IT!
Concentrating as much power in their chosen president has always been the republicans’ goal. I’m hoping it will severely backfire on them with this ridiculous piece of orange swamp muck
It is our duty to make sure that everyone knows how bad things truly are.
The MSM controls the narrative on many of the major newspapers as well as the network and cable news. And many other outlets are afraid to report anything negative about the Trump regime.
It was reported this week that Senator Cornyn voted with Trump 99.3% of the time. It wasn't enough for Trump to endorse him.
“They’ll discover my weaknesses if I allow them time to think about how to respond. I need to keep them 100% focused on something else, something I control. I control my behavior. I am the matador, they are the bull, my behavior is my cape, and I need to keep them 100% focused on the cape. Olé!”
Inside the mind of Honest Abe:
“We the people will discover our enemy’s weaknesses if we have time to think about how to respond. The enemy wants us 100% focused on something else, something they control. They control their behavior. They are the matador, we are the bull, their behavior is the cape, and they want us 100% focused on the cape. We the people need to carve out some time to answer a question. Do we agree whether our horns are pointing at the cape or the matador? If not, then creating public sentiment is the task at hand.”
Very nice James. Many of the mainstream media outlets are complicit with Trump and the Republicans in controlling our behavior. The NY Times reports on several different Trump activities every day starting with the page 1 story above the fold. And they are just one of many. Most of these stories are assumed to be "news stories" when they are actually "opinion pieces." They want us to focus on the horns.
But many of the contributors to Substack, YouTube, TikTok, MSNOW, The Atlantic and others are mostly focused on the cape, but self preservation has many of us focusing on the horns.
Thanks for your analogy. Defintely worth thinking about.
The Founders of this country never considered that the Congress would be groveling sycophants, who refused to do their jobs and hold a criminal president accountable.
Not really, they did. They put safeguards in place which were dismantled over time in the name of democracy. From Aristotle to Publius to Montesquieu to Madison they understood a more direct democracy would lead to populism and the rise of an ideologue. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were instructed to go forth and warn of the dangers of democracy and stress the importance of a republic. They were reconstituting a democratic confederacy, a more democratic form of government.
Caesar has his gladiators, (first, the J6ers, and now his "big tough powerful men", the UFC fighters on "his" birthday lawn). It is hard to tell whether the majority congress goes to bed at night with consternation at what they have wrought, or whether they are too giddily sleepless with lucrative stock trades to notice.
Bob, can you name the Democratic president who conducted himself as Trump has, renaming buildings after himself, placing his image on passports and money, dealings with such overt corrupt self-enriching policies, being the play toy of dictators, hanging portraits of himself from building and more.
I can't actually believe you said that. Have you ever even seen the show?
While the Clampett Family didn't fit into 'the neighborhood'. They were good people who cared about those around them. That was the point. They had "strange customs" but when push came to shove they were always the first people to help. They wanted to help because they felt that was what made a community. And that community was important to them. Their idea of 'help' was sometime comical and certainly that show would not be made today because of the classist stereotypes. But the show was about the Clampett's because they were the heroes teaching their rich neighbors that people were more important than designer clothing and marble swimming pools.
Where do we start? Look at the damage DOGE has caused and the data they have stolen. And the damage SCOTUS continues to do under the guise of the shadow docket.
Not to mention the destruction of our lands. What is happening in Texas with Musk. What is happening with our Forest Service and the protection of ground water. Yes, where do we start? What can be repared and what is irreparable? Lost forever.
Where do we start? We the people started by creating public sentiment in real time after the attack on Fort Sumter, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 911 attack, and the attack on Minneapolis.
Jonathan Haidt calls it the “hive switch.” We don’t throw the switch. We realize the switch was thrown and the enemy realizes they’ve summoned a thundercloud.
H.Res.1155: Introduced in April 2026, this resolution sets forth 13 articles of impeachment regarding war powers, detentions, abuse of pardon power, and contempt of Congress.
H.Res.939: Introduced in December 2025, this resolution contains two articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abusing power by threatening Members of Congress and federal judges.
H.Res.353: Introduced in 2025, this resolution outlines seven articles of impeachment covering obstruction of justice, bribery, and usurpation of Congress's power of the purse.
all a bit of a waste of time and energy when a 2/3 vote of the Senate is not conceivable.
Better to draw up detailed items for prosecution of Trump and his cronies and enablers and accomplices after he and they are out of office. A credible prospect of prosecution is more likely to dissuade them from criminal actions than a neverland impeachment process.
Let's start by pulling down the tarp in front of the Kennedy centre, then let's go into our house and take down the negative asinine gold color plaques he put under distinguished leaders portraits - including Joe Biden's auto pen picture.
Now let's restore SNAP benefits and health care to the people he robbed. Then we can send the troops to let legal residents out of concentration camps.
We shouldn't sweep it under the rug. It should stand as a lesson to not allow a traitor to run for president ever again. And a lesson to what happens when those elected to speak for us speak only for their own benefit and not ours. Many good lessons can come out of this mess.
I am watching a fellow who has quite a following who prides himself on being independent and a follower of Christ. (He's a former local newsguy who decided to run for Secretary of State in Oregon in the mid 00's and got slapped with a campaign violation when he (on air) announced he was resigning and running for office and had his co-anchor interview him.
He turned himself into a videographer and did Oregon based stories for a while, and when Facebook became what it is now, he started several pages and has become a "social media influencer". He has (in my mind) gone off the deep end as far as politics and religion goes, and now has a very rabid MAGAt following.
He has, of late, written some stuff critical of this administration, and his followers are castigating him for "going libtard" (yes, that is the quality of their thought processes) and not "supporting our great president."
This is perhaps 30% of our population, based upon the various national polling numbers.
It's not a "mess" though. It's a highly organized attack on US democracy, based on an ideology that was developed over decades, inside the GOP, and that the GOP shares with people such as Putin, Xi and even the Iranian fundamentalists or Venezuelan dictator.
Well, don't forget Barry Goldwater and his pal William Rehnquist, mentor to John Roberts. Not to mention Richard Nixon, Mitch McConnell, and Dick Cheney. Or Jesse Helms, Grover Norquist, and Rush Limbaugh The list is very long. But, yeah, Reagan gave them all the permission they needed to put their crime spree on steroids culminating with a trillion dollar genius who wants to live on mars, but only after he kills us all first. You can be sure this isn't going to end quietly. Neither did the Third Reich.
You left out Bork; Yale law prof and his acolytes, students, etc. in his circle. Recall when Reagan tried to put him in SCOTUS, but failed. Paleoconservatism survived none the less, then married up with the "Moral Majority." Before them, there was Powell - advanced by Nixon, and his manifesto addressed to the U.S. Chambers of Commerce. Yes, at Reagan the movement accelerated.
Samuel Alito, Steve Bannon, Amy Coney Barrett, Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Katie Britt, Mo Brooks, Aileen Cannon, Andrew Clyde, James Comer, Tom Cotton, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Neil Gorsuch, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Josh Hawley, Clay Higgins, Robert Hur, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Brett Kavanaugh, Barry Loudermilk, Anna Luna, Nancy Mace, Mark Martin, Mitch McConnell, Chip Roy, Steve Scalise, Elise Stefanik, Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump, Tommy Tuberville, J.D. Vance.
And funders:
Miriam Adelson, Robin Arkley II (purveyor of hidden, untaxed bribes to Alito), Jeff Bezos, George Birnbaum, Harlan Crow (a Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Larry Ellison, Wayne Huizenga (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, Bernie Little (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Omeed Malik, Timothy Mellon, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Paul “Tony” Novelly (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Dennis Prager, David Rivkin (defender of Alito medieval corruption and his contemporary corruption, too), Pilgrim’s Pride chief executive officer Fabio Sandri (who gave record-setting $5 million to 2025 Trump inaugural, in exchange for Trump loosening of U.S. food poisoning regulations), Steve Schwartzman, Paul Singer, David Sokol (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Peter Thiel, Pilgrim’s Pride quality assurance Kendra Waldbusser (who gave record-setting $5 million to 2025 Trump inaugural, in exchange for Trump loosening of U.S. food poisoning regulations), Anthony Welters (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer) Jeffrey Yass, Jeff Zuckerberg and families DeVos, Kushner, Mercer, Sackler, Uihlein.
And Newt Gingrich. Until the 1990's Congresscritters and their families spent much more time together in Washington. Newt changed the calendar so that Congressmen could be in Washington 3 days a week and 4ish at home depending on travel schedules. This meant their families no longer socialized together and their kids no longer spent much time in DC. Many of the Senators and Congressmen commuted to Washington together, but Newt ordered his caucus not to fraternize with the Democrats and their families. And Trump's little Johnson has taken it even further ordering the Republican Congresscritters not to hold town halls.
William F. Buckley, Jr. who wrapped his racism and law of the jungle philosophy in an intellectual, phony accent and convinced the media he was actually a "conservative". His contribution to legitimizing the bigotry and cruelty of "the movement" can't be overstated. His intellectual prowess and searing wit was a nuclear weapon. And he was hard core evil. In his mind, you were lucky enough to be born well or not. Elitist POS.
Our version of Der Alte hasn't emerged. Adenauer's role was the reconstruction of German democracy out of the ruins of the Nazi fascism. Our fascism hasn't been rubbed out yet.
Racism, sexism, corruption, etc, go way back, Democrats included, but when Nixon misused his powers, there were enough Republicans who acknowledged it. With scripted TV razzle-dazzle and a B-movie actor as its public face, the party-wide campaign of big lies and pretense seemed to really gel with Reagan. The wholesale abandonment of playing by mutually established rules.
Only yesterday I was debating whether Reagan or Trump was worse for this country. To me, Reagan edged out Trump because he started the destruction of the social safety net and expedited the transfer of wealth. Trump just stood on his shoulders, though there’s a lot about his policies, actions, and character that made it a very close choice.
Republicans want to kill all social programs. Biden tried as much as any have since LBJ to reinstate the safety net.
We still have, among others, SSI, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and for some low earners:
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): A massive refundable credit for workers. Incomes must be below $19,104 (single, no children) or up to $68,675 (married with three or more children).
Child Tax Credit (CTC): Provides partial or full refunds for families, even with little to no earned income.
In education Chapter1 is still standing. Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It provides billions in grants to school districts to fund remedial instruction, close achievement gaps, and support disadvantaged students in reading and math.
If a legal resident is 65 or older and is destitute, SSI is availble. The maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment is $994 for an individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple. However, an exact payout will be lower if there are other sources of income, receive free shelter, or live in a state that adds a local supplement.
Roughly 20% of the population needs a hand up, primarily because of an inability to be able to take care of themselves.....
"primarily because of an inability to be able to take care of themselves"
Seriously?
What is wrong with you people this morning?
Got MLM going the class war route.
Now you are going after disabled people and the disadvantaged.
And who the heck can live on $994 a month in America? Unless you have family who is supporting you... no one. You can't get an apartment for that. You can't even get a room in someone else's apartment for that. And that doesn't include food, transportation and utilities.
How dare we think that their should be a better way?
"Now you are going after disabled people and the disadvantaged." You are confused. Millions are lucky to receive these benefits. The Republicans want to take it away.
Also get housing benefits with it. Food stamps. Lots more. Location, location. First lesson of economics, allocation of resources.
If it were up to the Republicans, needy people would have gotten NOTHING all these years.
Democrats offer more programs but we don't control Congress. In essence Biden's child tax credit eliminated childhood povery, but the Republicans took it away.
You bet! Trickle down, abolishing the Fairness Doctrine, and so much more…the GOP has played the long game-dems have been too slow to act-and here we are.
I could say the same about Lincoln who let Southerners off the hook as the traitors that they were. It allowed the Lost Cause to take root and flourish.
Actually Ronald Regan was just the fulfillment of the Lewis Powell Memo published on August 23, 1971. To see how completely the Republican Party has and taken over our economic system and our "government by the people," look up Greenpeace's article publishing the complete document from Lewis Powell: The Lewis Powell Memo: A Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy.
Reagan belittled the sort of Government Lincoln hoped would not perish from the earth and pumped the very rich as our saviors and benefactors. But when was that ever true? Republicans took down a lot of the safeguards and benefits erected since the Gilded Age, and yes, now aim to topple the republic itself. The Declaration of Independence was never anti-government, as it's text makes plain, it was opposed to autocratic government. A government controlled by men, not by publicly advised laws, with the consent of the governed.
Current Status of State controlled November 2025 election:
"Courts are actively assessing challenges to the administration's expansion of the SAVE program citizenship verification tool. For more on how state attorneys general are contesting these election policies, visit the Brennan Center for Justice to track the ongoing litigation."
Good News Democracy Docket & Norm Eisen's litigators are on it. ⚖️
More good news ... for a small payment of a fee I was kicked up stairs.
No one wants to read my two words “Joe Biden” but he is the one to blame for this rotten stinking mess. The selfish man wanted the 250th birthday on his watch. And when ever I will think of the slob that beat him, I think of him.
No, the voters who actually voted for this evil "man" are to blame. The voters who couldn't bring themselves to vote for a woman in both 2016 and 2024 are to blame. It's far past time to hold THEM accountable. They voted for him THREE times! No excuses. They know better. They are complicit in their continual support of this vile, vicious and evil regime.
Let’s me more specific. The women didn’t come out oki doki smokie?
The absolutely best thing that could happen today is for Trump to grab at his chest as he encounters a fatal heart attack. That would be the best since then I would realize my dream to poop on or beside his mausoleum.
No, Bill. The people who voted for Trump are the ones to blame. joe Biden had some real successes in hisPresidency ! The infrastructure bill, that helped improve our roads and bridges and airports in both Blue and Red states - the Chips and Science Act, that encouraged chip manufacturing in many Red and Blue states. ( No, i don't mean Frito Lay chips).
Bill! This horse is dead. Beating it over and over won't get us anywhere. So, that being said, what public figure do you like right now? Who is showing some serious leadership chops? Who would you like to see in the WH? Forward ho!
NO IT IS NOT DEAD AND NEVER WILL BE DEAD. SHAME ON YOU FOR TELLING ME WHAT I CAN SAY. AS TO YOUR QUESTION , SHERWOOD BROWN WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT PRESIDENT. Wise. Articulates well. From the Midwest. He almost ran in 2016. He is Christian that would find support in those dense Christian families. I want a winner.
Oh… almost forgot to mention that if Joe Biden didn’t toss Anita Hill under that proverbial bus once upon a time, we wouldn’t have Uncle Tom at Court. Ok now you got my horse out of the barn. He also refused permission to allow Ukraine to attack deep inside Russia. Why was he afraid that Putin might drop bombs on civilians? He put an AG in place who was so old and infirm and unable to prosecute Donald J. Trump who would have then been ineligible to run for office. Pa-lease, you are giving me heartburn so early in the morning.
There is always going to be a pack of idiots in the electorate. This particular group will become the modern Lost Cause. We have to provide a democracy that the remaining 70% can support and defend.
I believe you have touched on something we all need to remember… we ARE the majority. They, ARE the minority. This is the tail wagging the dog. The 70% of us need to ensure we get out and vote - overwhelmingly! Come November, it can’t be some of us at the ballot box. It must be all of us. Look forward to seeing all of you there! 🇺🇸
About 30% of any given population is willing to subject themselves and the country to an authoritarian regime, and in the US, that is mainly comprised of #Evangelical White Supremacists (EWS) who are misogynistic, racist bigots. Read Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum.
Some people have been so abused as children, they don't have that sense of right and wrong that you have. They see the abuser as the one who has power, their strongman, the one they have to please. When I look at it like that, I can understand why these people worship him.
Hello Kasey... Musk is a Trillionaire on Paper... Expert Analysis of the Space-X Prospectus reveals alot of Wishful Thinking... Elon Musk, and DJT are both Carnival Barkers...
Space X is now three companies. Only one makes any money - Starlink. The rocket division is dependent on the good fortune of government funding and the luck of not exploding on the launch pad. Both can change easily. The AI portion is just as much a Ponzi scheme as all the other AI projects that suck the life out of the planet with the promise of huge profits that may never materialize.
AI is certainly an integral part of the social fabric now, but don't be surprised when some tech analyst at Chase or GS says - "we've waited a bit too long for some ROI, we're changing from over weight..."
Morningstar rates SpaceX's "fair value" at about one half its current market value. Companies that issue stock are expected to show a profit - not just a promise.
Now, I have some rare tulips and several bridges you can choose from. But I don't accept crypto.
Yes. This definitely did not start with Reagan. There have always been security holes in human nature, typically related to stressors that men or stronger beasts have been uninformed of but which they attributed to some form of divine expression. That has always led to someone taking advantage of others, realizing causality was never provable. And the interpreter (priest/spiritual leader) was always the one that suffered less or not at all because they either assumed leadership or worked for someone else that did. Trump is just a deranged, aging narcissistic asshole. Hegseth and Vance and Musk and Thiel and others of his ilk are the most dangerous to the world.
Ricardo, I think it reflects the percentage of the population that believes that the "American Way" is that of a white, male dominated, Christian, heteronormative, cisgendered culture. No room for any alphabet people except as chattel, servants, or second class citizens. (Alphabet people = BIPOC and LGBTQ+)
Ally, your analysis is correct and in a way, confirm my assumption of how many millions of stupid people are determined to decide the future of this country and the world. Thanks for your comment 👍
Hello Frau... DJT will be having DJT's Birthday Party at Our WH... Meanwhile the Iranian's per CNN have announced that they will not be signing anything... The Iran War Will Go On...
Jay Leno in his time (not so long ago) did "Jay-walking," interviewing the fools.
Jimmy Kimmel regularly has had Hollywood passers-by interviewed on topics which disturbingly always show the lowest nadir possible of our fellow citizens.
I remember Jay Leno's Jay-Walking. It was my first glimpse into how "uninformed" people could be; and at the beginning I thought it was all staged! Until a friend told me it was indeed real which mortified me for all the ignorance being shown to the world.
Let's not just call it a mess, Rosemary. Think of the tarp trying to make it invisible.
George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison in 2024 released “The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism,” on how our economic elites set us all to invisibility and silence on their rape of the whole country.
“Silence” from where I am in the mountains of Kyushu, Japan, brings up Shusaku Endo.
He’s the writer who wrote the 1966 novel, “Silence,” on the Christians in 17th-century Japan. And the novel also brings up the Martin Scorsese film version of exactly 50 years later.
But I’m thinking about silence more now as after the literal rape of 1200 underage girls and young women by U.S. and other rich and powerful.
I’m thinking of the silence the victims for years sank to from their damages. Though Monbiot and Hutchison wrote their book (slightly) before the Epstein saga broke, I’m thinking the literal rapes as long invisible to us along with what their book terms the figurative rapes we still scarcely see, and willy-nilly condone.
Monbiot and Hutchison say the rich and powerful regularly funded all the conspiracy theories (they call conspiracy fictions) so culture wars have distracted instead.
But has something, or sets of things so deeply ruled that the women sank to silence as we to invisibility for the perpetrators? Or does it suffice that we know criminal Donald and his accomplices cover up, in contempt of the girls, in contempt of us?
Please stop using the phrase underage girls. When boys are raped we don't refer to them as underage boys! They are all children. Young women confers adulthood. Young men confers adulthood. When you are yet an adult you are a child.
My operative word, ICTT, was "just" -- "let's not just."
That is, let's expand from seeing the obvious mess to recalling, connecting also to the 1200 female human beings raped, to seeing further, into the greater ranges of damages on which Monbiot and Hutchison dwell.
Remember, Russell, the Monbiot & Hutchison book came out before Epstein broke.
Their case in their book urges paying attention to actual corruptions of those following neoliberal schemes and tactics -- so getting bogged down in diversions have meant to keep us blind to seeing their damages.
Criminal Donald relies heavily on distractions and diversions -- and blatantly illegal diversions at that -- to keep us from seeing how the predators have been and what they actually have done and still do.
Other parts of our status quo practice other habits and distractions to keep us from seeing these predators or the dimensions of their predations. Monbiot and Hutchison show their research on this, and suggest how more research may fit.
Of course, we'll never get close to accountability if we satisfy ourselves simply by self-satisfactory conclusions such as "the biggest mess the modern world has ever witnessed."
I read Monbiots book last year. Excellent. Perfect explanation of the philosophy and cruelty and greed that dooms our civilization if not our species. Share with everyone.
With respect. Any historian will look at the elections, protests, and sacrifices people are making in order to stand up to this regime and will not condemn us. It is simply not accurate that "Our Country" will be vilified. Do you blame all the people in America for the KKK or the tragedy at the Pettis Bridge. Let's keep our perspective and our heads up. We have work to do.
The Emperor’s Sweat: A Birthday Colosseum on the South Lawn
Tonight the White House South Lawn has been repurposed into what officials are calling “a patriotic sporting experience,” and what everyone else recognizes as a man-made Roman fever dream with catering.
For President Trump’s birthday, the lawn now hosts a fenced octagon stamped with gold decals that read “LIBERTY COMBAT SERIES,” flanked by giant screens looping slow-motion highlight reels and flag graphics that appear to have been designed by someone who thinks Latin is still spoken in Congress.
Guests arrive through metal detectors and snack stands selling “Founding Father Funnel Cakes” and “Second Amendment Energy Drinks.” A small brass band plays while someone in a tricorne hat announces weigh-ins like it is 1791 and ESPN somehow got involved.
Inside the cage, two athletes warm up under bright lights while staff hose down the canvas to deal with what officials are calling “historic humidity” and what others are calling “June in Washington plus bad decisions.” The President reportedly enters to a remix of patriotic rock and a pyrotechnic display that briefly alarms a nearby Secret Service agent who has not been fully briefed on the concept of “party atmosphere.”
In the VIP section, lawmakers and donors sit beneath heat lamps labeled “EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE SUITE,” fanning themselves while pretending this is a normal extension of American civic tradition. One aide is seen adjusting a clipboard that reads, “Schedule: democracy adjacent entertainment, 7:30 to collapse of reason.”
Historians, if consulted, are said to be unavailable due to prolonged sighing.
As the first bell rings, thunder rolls in the distance, or possibly that is just the sound of the republic asking for clarification on what exactly it has become.
Either way, the spectacle continues, gleaming, sweating, and loudly insisting it is very normal, very American, and definitely not a coliseum with better branding.
Rosemary, It is sickening. I have mostly been paying attention to the Indivisible counter programming. It starts at 1 am CEST, where I am but should be at 7 pm EST.
However, after reading this piece I looked up the fighters and see that they all have brown skin, the ones I could see. This is like watching slaves fight each other on the plantation. I see the White House as being turned into a big Plantation for a racist master.
Unless you donated to, authored or implemented Project 2025 or DOGE and voted for felon Trump, I think you should not use the word we, nor should you blame yourself for your beautiful countries woes.
I am not a historian. I read historical fiction for decades and then as in my mind sci fi, fiction and history began to blur in my mind about 20-30 years ago I focused on reading history starting with Thomas Cahill and then Jarad Diamond and Jeremy Lent who are “ integrators”.
My professional training was in academic clinical Hematology . There I became familiar with how most basic scientists from every corner of our planet are passionate about their hypotheses and research and many can react negatively to clashing hypotheses and explanations. Cutting edge academia is demanding and high stakes and careers and reputations and funding are at stake. However on the many occasions prior to 2020 when I had the privilege of attending an American Society of Hematology meeting , I was impressed by how well truly diverse people could come together.
I was amazed at how many diverse people were interested in solving complex problems by understanding different perspectives and creating new solutions. As one example in the 1990s when the Hepatitis C virus was first identified this horrible virus was a major cause of long term illness and death often due to liver failure or cancer globally.
Since then all kinds of incredible people addressed this human tragedy using approaches from public health and bench to bedside research and this virus was on the way to being eradicated globally,
The hard women and men who support abuse , brutality , coercive control, cruelty, discrimination, domination , enslavement, murder , mutilation, pedophilia, rape, torture, vengeance and violence have always lived among us.
In 2016 I discovered the research around the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. As a well trained former paediatrician and pediatric oncologist and then an academic clinical Hematologist I was amazed to learn about this research from a CBC interview with Dr.Felitti one of the original investigators with Dr.Dada.
Since then I discovered there is now a science of altruism. To summarize a massive scientific debate . There is a growing consensus that once a truly antisocial person gains power in a relationship, family, business, organization or governance structure they are impossible to overcome.
This is why all long lived human cultures put enormous effort into making sure psychopaths or truly antisocial people never gain power.
Many milennias ago some of our human ancestors decided that choosing rule by a tiny elite of truly antisocial brutal psychopaths or malignant narcissists works. Ever since as Riane Eisler brilliantly shares we all float along between domination and partnership.
The founding fathers of the US created a constitution to protect against rule by a psychopathic elite. However as Professor Heather teaches so wisely there have always been people who want rule by a brutal ruthless leader who enjoys cage fighting and no doubt every kind of brutal cruelty.
Until we moderns accept that some people are psychopaths and that they should never gain power and that we all benefit from Merciful Wise leaders democracies will be at risk.
Also in my opinion the most dangerous men alive today are Elon Musk and Peter Thiele and ironically both are migrants. They both came to the US from South Africa.
I hate them passionately because they are so brutal, callous, cruel and entitled and because only Elizabeth Warren seems to have the courage to call them out since 2016.
They both have a connection to Canada so as a Canadian CFA I feel the need to call them out.
As someone who grew up in Ireland with relatives in England I hate Thiel for Brexit and Musk for lighting the flame of bloodlust yet again in Belfast the city where I was born.
I am now getting ready to attend mass. I pray constantly that Musk, Thiel, Trump and everyone who donated to , authored and implemented Project 2025 and DOGE be tried for corruption and crimes against humanity and for hurting and harming so many babies, children and people of all ages
Beannachtai libh,
Blessings to all those who work for the Common Good.
I love what you wrote and then wonder that you go from this to catholic mass. If there is a better organization that typifies the dichotomy of cruelty and kindness, I can't imagine it.
The belief in some or another version of god has also plagued humanity for its entire existence.
And that rosemary i wrote over a year now - have thirteen states declare their independence and form a new union and country. Modernize and improve our constitution. Separate church from state. Focus on Education, Healthcare, and Peoples rights.
We did it in 1776. We stopped the bondage of human beings in 1860. We watched afar the soviet inion doing it in 1991.
Halfway through this post my stomach was unwell. He knows how offensive this is and I believe that’s absolutely the point. As far back as I can remember hearing about him in the media (in the 80s), he’s had a chip on his shoulder. He’s a crook. He’s an insecure bully. You can be loyal to him but he is loyal to no one, including his base.
Hey, can I weigh in for a moment: is anyone writing about the big UFC fight or the ballroom, or the reflecting pond, or the arch, or any other erections in celebration of his power. It's the biggest "erection" trump will ever have....
My concern is not WHEN we take back our democracy, BUT all the fallout that will tumble out of that maga circus tent. The hypnotised maga, still uneducated, refusing to admit they were used as pawns to reignite racism, refusing to believe science saves lives and the long list of their ills. Their roots are deep. They’ve had a spotlight for their rage. What happens when their voices are squelched? How do we “reprogram” this cult so that we can work at rebuilding a more civil way of dealing with our differences? Unfortunately, I see a continuation of their support of blatant lies and corruption they’ve been spoon fed. This could be an even uglier 5-10-50? years to come. Sigh.
Which seems to be the point. Trump pisses on everything sacred in US tradition to claim it as his personal territory alone. George III looks good by comparison.
The sheer vulgarity of the occasion defies description. And to require that the Army Herald Trumpets and the Armed Services Full Honor Guard participate in it sullies them, as well. What a travesty. Let's hope the grotesque cage gets struck by lightning.
I think our military has been deeply, deeply sullied by their participation in all that is #47. It no longer appears that our military can honestly say that their oath is to the Constitution and not an individual. Hegseth has destroyed what so many in this country were once proud of…individually and collectively. To listen to Adm Cooper along side Hegseth in Pentagon briefings is a sad state of affairs.
This vet agrees with you. I have trouble believing the regime could change the military culture to the degree that seems to have happened, but there is it. The only ones publicly speaking out, and admirably so, are retired, and some of them have been attacked for upholding the Constitution.
It does entertain me to see a video of Pete trying to bench maybe 140 pounds and using his legs to lever what he hasn't the strength in his upper body to lift.
It's not the vulgarity that's most troublesome. Trump owns stock in UFC's parent company; he is profiting off this event. That makes this an extreme Emoluments Clause violation. Once this regime is out of power, a full investigation needs to be done on the finances involved in this event.
What Trump cannot destroy he desecrates, gleefully. Americans must demand full reparations from his family to restore Washington DC to its former self. I’m sure we’re keeping a tab on that. Praying hard for a storm tonight for his late night MAGA fight might turn me into a religious man.
Mike, I’m praying for torrents of rain, lightning, thunder, hurricane force winds and an biblical invasion of insects. The PedoFelon’s desecration of monuments and disregard of laws is abhorrent and unforgivable. Thank you, Heather.
Is there still a south lawn? Is there still a white house, for that matter? I know the athletes' dressing room is in the part labelled "Oval Office", but I wonder if all the amenities are prepared?
Terry, a friend who also lives in DC called after reading what I wrote and said agh! Keep your vision to the south lawn and other precise areas that clan is focused on!!!
Seems like we're coming up with a coalition! And now I really needed to be focused, because I just got invited to a watch party for the concert tonight, and I really don't want to get stuck in the rainstorm!!!
Indeed, most grateful for reports on these things. The only thing I tried to do in real time was watch his name come off the Kennedy Center. I guess we should be grateful that the tarp doesn’t have one of those smarmy pictures of Tuhrump on it.
The running chat border started to get very funny as everyone tried out different ways of using "tarp" e.g. The silence of the tarps, a tarp in the night, may the tarp be with you, and so on. There was so much loud banging going on during the morning shift that I suspect the damage to the marble wall may have made it necessary to secure the tarp very tightly.
I’m really fixated on (almost said hung up on) the tarp and the Kennedy center’s response to the judges order. They are basically saying “you can’t catch me” and “oh yah, watch me” with a side of “you’ll be sorry.” It wouldn’t surprise me if they eventually do just what you said about the tarp by replacing it with one that features that mugshot he loves so much. There’s a touch of the sadistic in this particular retribution and it reveals more than it covers.
That’s the kicker. So many won’t do that, which is just another way of smearing lipstick on the pig. All that does is enable the fright-wing foozballs and voidoids to claim it can not only walk and chew gum at the same time, but play five-dimensional chess while singing Puccini and waging 4 wars at once.
On the contrary, the honest reporting of every nauseous outburst, degradation fantasy and obsession with feces, dirt, Barack Obama, gold and Ti-D-Bowl toilet-blue water keeps everyone honest and provides great background for asking your local Repulsican Congresscritter what they think of that.
True to form, Trump shafted the people who actually repaired the Wollman Rink in NYC, and hogged all the credit for himself. He prides himself on his ripoffs.
Hoping for a derecho on Sunday. A very special derecho, indeed. Just on the White House Lawn — and only on the White House Lawn. 90 mph winds. And some hail. A little lightning too, please. Thoughts and prayers. 🙏
Won’t be watching on Sunday. Kitty’s getting her teeth flossed at the vet. We’ve both been looking forward to this special bonding time between us all year now. 🙀
For decades the Nazi Republicans have been hell bent on eliminating the federal government "social safety net" that many less fortunate Americans rely on. This net includes Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security with their hardcore belief that the federal government is not a "cookie jar" for welfare queens and that all programs such as the Postal Service, Social Security should be privatized so that taxpayer $$ should be used to line the pockets of companies wanting a “piece of the action”. Indivisible’s Levin beautifully lays out the reason that the organization exists(https://bit.ly/4e7fwXd) and what alternative you can do instead Cheeto’s UFC crap.
Meanwhile spendthrift Nazi Cheeto has put us in a $2B/d war, denounce our geopolitical allies such as Ukraine, awarded all his Nazi cronies no bid contracts far surpassing what they are worth, trying to pull $$ out of the treasury for his own needs, rob Americans with a tax called tariffs, bankrupting farmers with trade policies, forcing Americans with 401K plans to pay a now trillionaire millions of "compensation" for his DOGE government work, while canceling USAID which was saving lives in Africa and giving tax breaks for billionaires as he bankrupts the country. And the Nazi Republicans are trying to normalize all of this corruption. Nothing to see here. Oh, and BTW, rig the elections on the lie of fraudulent voting so that the Nazi Republicans can stay in office forever.
But this is the Nazi Republican way. The see the federal government is not to serve WE the People which is the government but to serve the rich and powerful, making them wealthier and dictators forever....selfish and for self aggrandizement. So in the end, it's what you believe is the role of government. I just prefer the former which our Constitution mandates.
I still can’t believe there will be cage fighting and some type of motorcycle circus on the White House lawn, but the use of the Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon really pushes this over the ledge. This week brought good news too though which is now that much more noticeable and appreciated.
Dorothy, as a former Marine, I’ve written to the Commandant a couple of times (hard copy) and asked what he’s going to do to protect the Constitution. That was several months ago, and I’m still waiting for an answer.
Thanks, John. I am really wondering what the midterms might bring in terms of a military response to any efforts by the federal government to prevent or overturn voting by threat or outright violence. Is this fantasy on my part or do you think military leaders might be planning a domestic response? What are soldier's obligations once they take that oath? And of course, following orders is built into the system. The onslaught by trump and co. to move so quickly on their agenda (smartly, I might add) seems to have really hamstrung the country. Any thoughts?
Dorothy, you might recall that Senator Mark Kelly and about half a dozen other senators put out an ad letting servicemen and servicewomen know that they can disobey an order if it’s against the Constitution. The senators were threatened by Secretary Hedgeshit over the ad in question, especially Kelly, who was told he would lose his rank, pension, and everything else that comes with being a career member of the Armed Services.
If there was a coup in the making it would of happened by now, what with Venezuela and Iran.
As for the generals and admirals who lead our military, it could be anyone’s guess; most in the military like MAGA, but I still hold out hope that they will do the right thing and protect the Constitution, which they swore to uphold.
Kelly and the others did the right thing, and were brave to do so. I am a little disappointed that you believe most servicemen and servicewomen are MAGA... do you think it's connected to a higher number of military personnel coming from poorer states and circumstances? I think we've done a real disservice to unity by making people feel they are "lesser thans." Living in silos of identity is dangerous; and technology has only made that more profound. And believe me, I KNOW that I'm expressing one of those silos just by being on this site. It's a conundrum, friend.
it's part of their twisted image of what a "man" is -- big,extra muscular,strong, tough, a fighter of everyone - no compassion, which they see as weak, no understanding, no grace. Hegseth epitomizes it -- and he can't even do a full pull up or weight lift. It's like they all got stuck in a comic book somewhere. It's appalling.
His first four years was difficult enough to get through. But this go around is so much worse. Ironically so many people had their reputations ruined, lost their law license his first four years, why do those who support his criminality now not think that they will not also be held accountable ? It boggles the mind.
Professor Richardson -- Thank you for describing this spectacle, which is entirely inappropriate and unbecoming of the President of the United States. It reminds me of a scene from The Hunger Games rather than a celebration of our country's birthday.
I’m not pretending to be nauseous. History will not be kind to our country for tolerating this madness. Nor, should it be. We have created the biggest mess the modern world has ever witnessed.
Where I come from, the term mess means just that. It’s a real mess. We will spend years to get our country back. It cannot be a return to status quo, but a wholesale re-start based on FDR’s 4 Freedoms. We cannot sweep any of this graft, corruption, incompetence and cruelty under the rug. The whole world has witnessed this mess and the world will be watching how we respond to the challenge.
You’ll do FINE. It’s just a matter of creating a ‘failsafe’ BETTER version of the Constitution’s safeguards - which 🤯 God knows why? - did not prevent the GOP from working VERY HARD to re-elect Donald Trump. 😖
Now, they have their hands full, because he is misinterpreting “Executive Privilege” to mean ‘carte BLANCHE’ (NPI) 👀!
So, a Parliamentary ‘procedure’ similar to that of the Canadian ‘Non-Confidence Motion’, which can swiftly OUST a recalcitrant RED-NECK PM and his lapdogs too! 😉 We have done it - in short order - more than once!!
The POTUS has waaaay too much power and should be made to EARN the respect…not DEMAND IT!
Just saying.
But…never fear…🗽
🇨🇦🤝🇺🇸
Concentrating as much power in their chosen president has always been the republicans’ goal. I’m hoping it will severely backfire on them with this ridiculous piece of orange swamp muck
It is our duty to make sure that everyone knows how bad things truly are.
The MSM controls the narrative on many of the major newspapers as well as the network and cable news. And many other outlets are afraid to report anything negative about the Trump regime.
It was reported this week that Senator Cornyn voted with Trump 99.3% of the time. It wasn't enough for Trump to endorse him.
Inside the mind of Dissembling Don:
“They’ll discover my weaknesses if I allow them time to think about how to respond. I need to keep them 100% focused on something else, something I control. I control my behavior. I am the matador, they are the bull, my behavior is my cape, and I need to keep them 100% focused on the cape. Olé!”
Inside the mind of Honest Abe:
“We the people will discover our enemy’s weaknesses if we have time to think about how to respond. The enemy wants us 100% focused on something else, something they control. They control their behavior. They are the matador, we are the bull, their behavior is the cape, and they want us 100% focused on the cape. We the people need to carve out some time to answer a question. Do we agree whether our horns are pointing at the cape or the matador? If not, then creating public sentiment is the task at hand.”
Very nice James. Many of the mainstream media outlets are complicit with Trump and the Republicans in controlling our behavior. The NY Times reports on several different Trump activities every day starting with the page 1 story above the fold. And they are just one of many. Most of these stories are assumed to be "news stories" when they are actually "opinion pieces." They want us to focus on the horns.
But many of the contributors to Substack, YouTube, TikTok, MSNOW, The Atlantic and others are mostly focused on the cape, but self preservation has many of us focusing on the horns.
Thanks for your analogy. Defintely worth thinking about.
I am joining this effort.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-paramount-mega-media-monopoly?
The Founders of this country never considered that the Congress would be groveling sycophants, who refused to do their jobs and hold a criminal president accountable.
MAJOR oversight....is it not surprising that it took 250 years to crack the facade?
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely blame Congress for this.
But 250 years ago we didn't have a SCOTUS who literally said that the President had absolute immunity and could not even be investigated.
It's taken 250 years for the Federalists to claw back all the power they lost to the bill of rights.
We need to either end the Federalists or end the experiment.
I'm voting for the former.
Not really, they did. They put safeguards in place which were dismantled over time in the name of democracy. From Aristotle to Publius to Montesquieu to Madison they understood a more direct democracy would lead to populism and the rise of an ideologue. Delegates to the Constitutional Convention were instructed to go forth and warn of the dangers of democracy and stress the importance of a republic. They were reconstituting a democratic confederacy, a more democratic form of government.
They saw this and warned us against us.
But we thought we knew better.
Caesar has his gladiators, (first, the J6ers, and now his "big tough powerful men", the UFC fighters on "his" birthday lawn). It is hard to tell whether the majority congress goes to bed at night with consternation at what they have wrought, or whether they are too giddily sleepless with lucrative stock trades to notice.
EXACTLY, We MUST get money out of politics! 🤬👿
Unless a Democrat is in office, and then it’s an unconstitutional power grab and the destruction of the republic.
Bob, can you name the Democratic president who conducted himself as Trump has, renaming buildings after himself, placing his image on passports and money, dealings with such overt corrupt self-enriching policies, being the play toy of dictators, hanging portraits of himself from building and more.
Please cite specific examples of the above.
Gary, i can't think of any president, D or R, who has done this. We have had some bad presidents, but nothing like death star.
How sad that Congress has been abdicating its power to the Executive branch for decades, so here we are with a monster.
How corrupt....
As the saying goes: Monsters will be monsters (read DJT); they can't help what they do. The others have a choice.
It’s as if The Beverly Hillbillies are running the nation.
I liked the Hill billies. They were not vicious pedophilic mass murderers.
Granny would be in there kicking their arses.
But they were not mean, nasty, and cruel as well as outlaws.
Holy wow. Classism much?
I can't actually believe you said that. Have you ever even seen the show?
While the Clampett Family didn't fit into 'the neighborhood'. They were good people who cared about those around them. That was the point. They had "strange customs" but when push came to shove they were always the first people to help. They wanted to help because they felt that was what made a community. And that community was important to them. Their idea of 'help' was sometime comical and certainly that show would not be made today because of the classist stereotypes. But the show was about the Clampett's because they were the heroes teaching their rich neighbors that people were more important than designer clothing and marble swimming pools.
You think that is what Trump is doing? Really?
No need to insult the Beverly Hillbillies.
Indeed, they often exposed the hypocrisy of the wealthy and powerful.
But we know what you meant. :)
The Supreme Court is filled with followers of the Executive Unitary Theory, so that should explain a few things.
All of trump’s abominations must be destroyed!
Where do we start? Look at the damage DOGE has caused and the data they have stolen. And the damage SCOTUS continues to do under the guise of the shadow docket.
Not to mention the destruction of our lands. What is happening in Texas with Musk. What is happening with our Forest Service and the protection of ground water. Yes, where do we start? What can be repared and what is irreparable? Lost forever.
Where do we start? We the people started by creating public sentiment in real time after the attack on Fort Sumter, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 911 attack, and the attack on Minneapolis.
Jonathan Haidt calls it the “hive switch.” We don’t throw the switch. We realize the switch was thrown and the enemy realizes they’ve summoned a thundercloud.
In progress:
H.Res.1155: Introduced in April 2026, this resolution sets forth 13 articles of impeachment regarding war powers, detentions, abuse of pardon power, and contempt of Congress.
H.Res.939: Introduced in December 2025, this resolution contains two articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abusing power by threatening Members of Congress and federal judges.
H.Res.353: Introduced in 2025, this resolution outlines seven articles of impeachment covering obstruction of justice, bribery, and usurpation of Congress's power of the purse.
all a bit of a waste of time and energy when a 2/3 vote of the Senate is not conceivable.
Better to draw up detailed items for prosecution of Trump and his cronies and enablers and accomplices after he and they are out of office. A credible prospect of prosecution is more likely to dissuade them from criminal actions than a neverland impeachment process.
Vote.out.every.single.republican.
The pretense that the Republicans are the only problem is part of the problem.
It wasn't just Republicans on Epstein's Island.
It wasn't just Republicans that have kept Trump's government running.
It's not just Republicans who need to be replaced and/or jailed.
True--the Epstein Class is more than politicians.
Let's start by pulling down the tarp in front of the Kennedy centre, then let's go into our house and take down the negative asinine gold color plaques he put under distinguished leaders portraits - including Joe Biden's auto pen picture.
Now let's restore SNAP benefits and health care to the people he robbed. Then we can send the troops to let legal residents out of concentration camps.
This will be a good days work.
Amen! Grind them all to dust.
now that will be a party!!! And it needs to be done so the shitstain carpetbagger sees it!!
We shouldn't sweep it under the rug. It should stand as a lesson to not allow a traitor to run for president ever again. And a lesson to what happens when those elected to speak for us speak only for their own benefit and not ours. Many good lessons can come out of this mess.
The American people who voted for Trump knew what he was. They didn’t care.
He gave them what they wanted.
I am watching a fellow who has quite a following who prides himself on being independent and a follower of Christ. (He's a former local newsguy who decided to run for Secretary of State in Oregon in the mid 00's and got slapped with a campaign violation when he (on air) announced he was resigning and running for office and had his co-anchor interview him.
He turned himself into a videographer and did Oregon based stories for a while, and when Facebook became what it is now, he started several pages and has become a "social media influencer". He has (in my mind) gone off the deep end as far as politics and religion goes, and now has a very rabid MAGAt following.
He has, of late, written some stuff critical of this administration, and his followers are castigating him for "going libtard" (yes, that is the quality of their thought processes) and not "supporting our great president."
This is perhaps 30% of our population, based upon the various national polling numbers.
Ally, indeed he has....carte blanche to be truly awful. Not surprised by the former news guy. Oregon is full of wing nuts.
Rosemary, you make a lot of sense.
It's not a "mess" though. It's a highly organized attack on US democracy, based on an ideology that was developed over decades, inside the GOP, and that the GOP shares with people such as Putin, Xi and even the Iranian fundamentalists or Venezuelan dictator.
100%!!
Reaganomics full flower.
Right you are. A direct line from that stain on humanity to this thing. Almost everything bad in our country today started with Reagan.
Well, don't forget Barry Goldwater and his pal William Rehnquist, mentor to John Roberts. Not to mention Richard Nixon, Mitch McConnell, and Dick Cheney. Or Jesse Helms, Grover Norquist, and Rush Limbaugh The list is very long. But, yeah, Reagan gave them all the permission they needed to put their crime spree on steroids culminating with a trillion dollar genius who wants to live on mars, but only after he kills us all first. You can be sure this isn't going to end quietly. Neither did the Third Reich.
You left out Bork; Yale law prof and his acolytes, students, etc. in his circle. Recall when Reagan tried to put him in SCOTUS, but failed. Paleoconservatism survived none the less, then married up with the "Moral Majority." Before them, there was Powell - advanced by Nixon, and his manifesto addressed to the U.S. Chambers of Commerce. Yes, at Reagan the movement accelerated.
Adding Gingrich, Thomas, Alito, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Mike Lee, Tuberville, Rick Scott, Biggs.......
More players, laurie:
Samuel Alito, Steve Bannon, Amy Coney Barrett, Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Katie Britt, Mo Brooks, Aileen Cannon, Andrew Clyde, James Comer, Tom Cotton, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Neil Gorsuch, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Josh Hawley, Clay Higgins, Robert Hur, Mike Johnson, Jim Jordan, Brett Kavanaugh, Barry Loudermilk, Anna Luna, Nancy Mace, Mark Martin, Mitch McConnell, Chip Roy, Steve Scalise, Elise Stefanik, Clarence Thomas, Donald Trump, Tommy Tuberville, J.D. Vance.
And funders:
Miriam Adelson, Robin Arkley II (purveyor of hidden, untaxed bribes to Alito), Jeff Bezos, George Birnbaum, Harlan Crow (a Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Larry Ellison, Wayne Huizenga (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, Bernie Little (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Omeed Malik, Timothy Mellon, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Paul “Tony” Novelly (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Dennis Prager, David Rivkin (defender of Alito medieval corruption and his contemporary corruption, too), Pilgrim’s Pride chief executive officer Fabio Sandri (who gave record-setting $5 million to 2025 Trump inaugural, in exchange for Trump loosening of U.S. food poisoning regulations), Steve Schwartzman, Paul Singer, David Sokol (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Peter Thiel, Pilgrim’s Pride quality assurance Kendra Waldbusser (who gave record-setting $5 million to 2025 Trump inaugural, in exchange for Trump loosening of U.S. food poisoning regulations), Anthony Welters (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer) Jeffrey Yass, Jeff Zuckerberg and families DeVos, Kushner, Mercer, Sackler, Uihlein.
And to all throwing out all these names: What is the common denominator amongst ALL of them?
And Newt Gingrich. Until the 1990's Congresscritters and their families spent much more time together in Washington. Newt changed the calendar so that Congressmen could be in Washington 3 days a week and 4ish at home depending on travel schedules. This meant their families no longer socialized together and their kids no longer spent much time in DC. Many of the Senators and Congressmen commuted to Washington together, but Newt ordered his caucus not to fraternize with the Democrats and their families. And Trump's little Johnson has taken it even further ordering the Republican Congresscritters not to hold town halls.
William F. Buckley, Jr. who wrapped his racism and law of the jungle philosophy in an intellectual, phony accent and convinced the media he was actually a "conservative". His contribution to legitimizing the bigotry and cruelty of "the movement" can't be overstated. His intellectual prowess and searing wit was a nuclear weapon. And he was hard core evil. In his mind, you were lucky enough to be born well or not. Elitist POS.
No historian here, but did it not take the intervention of a number of countries, and lots of pain and loss, to force the end of the Third Reich?
Do we have an “acceptable” Der Alte? I can think of two—one of whom might get votes. (For those who don’t know history: Der Alte is Konrad Adenauer.)
Our version of Der Alte hasn't emerged. Adenauer's role was the reconstruction of German democracy out of the ruins of the Nazi fascism. Our fascism hasn't been rubbed out yet.
Racism, sexism, corruption, etc, go way back, Democrats included, but when Nixon misused his powers, there were enough Republicans who acknowledged it. With scripted TV razzle-dazzle and a B-movie actor as its public face, the party-wide campaign of big lies and pretense seemed to really gel with Reagan. The wholesale abandonment of playing by mutually established rules.
When they failed to prosecute nixon they let the money slip in. It was that money moment that went unnoticed and was the crucial error.
Only yesterday I was debating whether Reagan or Trump was worse for this country. To me, Reagan edged out Trump because he started the destruction of the social safety net and expedited the transfer of wealth. Trump just stood on his shoulders, though there’s a lot about his policies, actions, and character that made it a very close choice.
Republicans want to kill all social programs. Biden tried as much as any have since LBJ to reinstate the safety net.
We still have, among others, SSI, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, and for some low earners:
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): A massive refundable credit for workers. Incomes must be below $19,104 (single, no children) or up to $68,675 (married with three or more children).
Child Tax Credit (CTC): Provides partial or full refunds for families, even with little to no earned income.
In education Chapter1 is still standing. Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It provides billions in grants to school districts to fund remedial instruction, close achievement gaps, and support disadvantaged students in reading and math.
If a legal resident is 65 or older and is destitute, SSI is availble. The maximum monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment is $994 for an individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple. However, an exact payout will be lower if there are other sources of income, receive free shelter, or live in a state that adds a local supplement.
Roughly 20% of the population needs a hand up, primarily because of an inability to be able to take care of themselves.....
"primarily because of an inability to be able to take care of themselves"
Seriously?
What is wrong with you people this morning?
Got MLM going the class war route.
Now you are going after disabled people and the disadvantaged.
And who the heck can live on $994 a month in America? Unless you have family who is supporting you... no one. You can't get an apartment for that. You can't even get a room in someone else's apartment for that. And that doesn't include food, transportation and utilities.
How dare we think that their should be a better way?
"Now you are going after disabled people and the disadvantaged." You are confused. Millions are lucky to receive these benefits. The Republicans want to take it away.
Also get housing benefits with it. Food stamps. Lots more. Location, location. First lesson of economics, allocation of resources.
If it were up to the Republicans, needy people would have gotten NOTHING all these years.
Democrats offer more programs but we don't control Congress. In essence Biden's child tax credit eliminated childhood povery, but the Republicans took it away.
No Dana, started with the American voters.
The ones who elected Reagan.
You bet! Trickle down, abolishing the Fairness Doctrine, and so much more…the GOP has played the long game-dems have been too slow to act-and here we are.
Direct line to Reagan is good natured bumbling naive Ford pardoning the crook. No accountability for the master, only for some of the lieutenants.
I could say the same about Lincoln who let Southerners off the hook as the traitors that they were. It allowed the Lost Cause to take root and flourish.
Nixon had a head start, and Agnew
Actually Ronald Regan was just the fulfillment of the Lewis Powell Memo published on August 23, 1971. To see how completely the Republican Party has and taken over our economic system and our "government by the people," look up Greenpeace's article publishing the complete document from Lewis Powell: The Lewis Powell Memo: A Corporate Blueprint to Dominate Democracy.
Much worse. Almost incalculably worse.
Reagan belittled the sort of Government Lincoln hoped would not perish from the earth and pumped the very rich as our saviors and benefactors. But when was that ever true? Republicans took down a lot of the safeguards and benefits erected since the Gilded Age, and yes, now aim to topple the republic itself. The Declaration of Independence was never anti-government, as it's text makes plain, it was opposed to autocratic government. A government controlled by men, not by publicly advised laws, with the consent of the governed.
Current Status of State controlled November 2025 election:
"Courts are actively assessing challenges to the administration's expansion of the SAVE program citizenship verification tool. For more on how state attorneys general are contesting these election policies, visit the Brennan Center for Justice to track the ongoing litigation."
Good News Democracy Docket & Norm Eisen's litigators are on it. ⚖️
More good news ... for a small payment of a fee I was kicked up stairs.
Norm's Team & others will TCB.
"The fight will be carried live on Paramount Plus, for a fee of $8.99 and up." .... But, wait ... for only $2.99 more you to can throw up for real! 😝
Maybe in a crypto souvenir swag bag. 🤮
No words to describe this whole "thing", right Beverly?
The words are there but they elude me at the moment, given the hour.
No one wants to read my two words “Joe Biden” but he is the one to blame for this rotten stinking mess. The selfish man wanted the 250th birthday on his watch. And when ever I will think of the slob that beat him, I think of him.
No, the voters who actually voted for this evil "man" are to blame. The voters who couldn't bring themselves to vote for a woman in both 2016 and 2024 are to blame. It's far past time to hold THEM accountable. They voted for him THREE times! No excuses. They know better. They are complicit in their continual support of this vile, vicious and evil regime.
Let’s me more specific. The women didn’t come out oki doki smokie?
The absolutely best thing that could happen today is for Trump to grab at his chest as he encounters a fatal heart attack. That would be the best since then I would realize my dream to poop on or beside his mausoleum.
No, Bill. The people who voted for Trump are the ones to blame. joe Biden had some real successes in hisPresidency ! The infrastructure bill, that helped improve our roads and bridges and airports in both Blue and Red states - the Chips and Science Act, that encouraged chip manufacturing in many Red and Blue states. ( No, i don't mean Frito Lay chips).
Bill! This horse is dead. Beating it over and over won't get us anywhere. So, that being said, what public figure do you like right now? Who is showing some serious leadership chops? Who would you like to see in the WH? Forward ho!
NO IT IS NOT DEAD AND NEVER WILL BE DEAD. SHAME ON YOU FOR TELLING ME WHAT I CAN SAY. AS TO YOUR QUESTION , SHERWOOD BROWN WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT PRESIDENT. Wise. Articulates well. From the Midwest. He almost ran in 2016. He is Christian that would find support in those dense Christian families. I want a winner.
Oh… almost forgot to mention that if Joe Biden didn’t toss Anita Hill under that proverbial bus once upon a time, we wouldn’t have Uncle Tom at Court. Ok now you got my horse out of the barn. He also refused permission to allow Ukraine to attack deep inside Russia. Why was he afraid that Putin might drop bombs on civilians? He put an AG in place who was so old and infirm and unable to prosecute Donald J. Trump who would have then been ineligible to run for office. Pa-lease, you are giving me heartburn so early in the morning.
there is plenty of blame to go around
Reagan and Gingrich are the roots of current Republican evil.
Don’t forget Mitch McConnell and the Supreme Court with its Citizen United decision and basically full immunity for the president.
And his MAGA supporters (30% of the population) continue to say unashamedly, “This is what I voted for.”
There is always going to be a pack of idiots in the electorate. This particular group will become the modern Lost Cause. We have to provide a democracy that the remaining 70% can support and defend.
I believe you have touched on something we all need to remember… we ARE the majority. They, ARE the minority. This is the tail wagging the dog. The 70% of us need to ensure we get out and vote - overwhelmingly! Come November, it can’t be some of us at the ballot box. It must be all of us. Look forward to seeing all of you there! 🇺🇸
About 30% of any given population is willing to subject themselves and the country to an authoritarian regime, and in the US, that is mainly comprised of #Evangelical White Supremacists (EWS) who are misogynistic, racist bigots. Read Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum.
There are many damaged people among us. One only has to look at the statistics of child abuse of all types in this country.
Sorry, no excuses for this behavior! The definition of right and wrong doesn’t change because someone had a lousy childhood!
Some people have been so abused as children, they don't have that sense of right and wrong that you have. They see the abuser as the one who has power, their strongman, the one they have to please. When I look at it like that, I can understand why these people worship him.
But he turns out to be just one more abuser! He doesn’t offer kindness or hope or compassion! Isn’t that what they should be looking for?
I suppose fear is a great enabler!
Reading this to a chorus of ICE sirens. Must get to GOTV postcards quickly.
And now that Elon Musk is a trillionaire, he can buy the elections wherever he likes... 😕
Hello Kasey... Musk is a Trillionaire on Paper... Expert Analysis of the Space-X Prospectus reveals alot of Wishful Thinking... Elon Musk, and DJT are both Carnival Barkers...
Yes. On paper.
Space X is now three companies. Only one makes any money - Starlink. The rocket division is dependent on the good fortune of government funding and the luck of not exploding on the launch pad. Both can change easily. The AI portion is just as much a Ponzi scheme as all the other AI projects that suck the life out of the planet with the promise of huge profits that may never materialize.
AI is certainly an integral part of the social fabric now, but don't be surprised when some tech analyst at Chase or GS says - "we've waited a bit too long for some ROI, we're changing from over weight..."
Morningstar rates SpaceX's "fair value" at about one half its current market value. Companies that issue stock are expected to show a profit - not just a promise.
Now, I have some rare tulips and several bridges you can choose from. But I don't accept crypto.
We have to make it illegal for corporations to fund elections
Overturning Citizens United should happen asap - it has added so much poison to the waters.
I absolutely agree! I think we need to find a way to make lobbyists illegal too - they are just go-betweens for the megacorps...
No kidding! Get BIG DARK money OUT of politics altogether!
I think Montana and Hawaii have told corporations registered in their states they cannot donate for political purposes.
That is the plan, and we pay
That's one of the greatest mysteries of this times Frau. Maybe a massive and profound stupidity of so many people might give us a clue.
I think it's more complicated than stupidity. It seems like there are security holes in our human nature.
Yes. This definitely did not start with Reagan. There have always been security holes in human nature, typically related to stressors that men or stronger beasts have been uninformed of but which they attributed to some form of divine expression. That has always led to someone taking advantage of others, realizing causality was never provable. And the interpreter (priest/spiritual leader) was always the one that suffered less or not at all because they either assumed leadership or worked for someone else that did. Trump is just a deranged, aging narcissistic asshole. Hegseth and Vance and Musk and Thiel and others of his ilk are the most dangerous to the world.
And the first thing they approved is destroying our educational system... Pass the Kool-Aid.
Remember the term "vast right-wing conspiracy?" And how pearls were clutched when Hillary Clinton uttered them?
She was so prophetic Laurie. What a wasted opportunity. Look at what we have now. Thanks for your comment 👍
Ricardo, I think it reflects the percentage of the population that believes that the "American Way" is that of a white, male dominated, Christian, heteronormative, cisgendered culture. No room for any alphabet people except as chattel, servants, or second class citizens. (Alphabet people = BIPOC and LGBTQ+)
Ally, your analysis is correct and in a way, confirm my assumption of how many millions of stupid people are determined to decide the future of this country and the world. Thanks for your comment 👍
Hello Frau... DJT will be having DJT's Birthday Party at Our WH... Meanwhile the Iranian's per CNN have announced that they will not be signing anything... The Iran War Will Go On...
Yes...Iran holds all the cards... Except for "The Joker" - that one belongs to Trump....
Without even quite ever knowing what 'this' is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7661YW0FH4
Hard to watch how many "uninformed", for the lack of a better word, voters we have!
Jay Leno in his time (not so long ago) did "Jay-walking," interviewing the fools.
Jimmy Kimmel regularly has had Hollywood passers-by interviewed on topics which disturbingly always show the lowest nadir possible of our fellow citizens.
I remember Jay Leno's Jay-Walking. It was my first glimpse into how "uninformed" people could be; and at the beginning I thought it was all staged! Until a friend told me it was indeed real which mortified me for all the ignorance being shown to the world.
I know Frauline. I know, lol.
Agreed!
Let's not just call it a mess, Rosemary. Think of the tarp trying to make it invisible.
George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison in 2024 released “The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism,” on how our economic elites set us all to invisibility and silence on their rape of the whole country.
“Silence” from where I am in the mountains of Kyushu, Japan, brings up Shusaku Endo.
He’s the writer who wrote the 1966 novel, “Silence,” on the Christians in 17th-century Japan. And the novel also brings up the Martin Scorsese film version of exactly 50 years later.
But I’m thinking about silence more now as after the literal rape of 1200 underage girls and young women by U.S. and other rich and powerful.
I’m thinking of the silence the victims for years sank to from their damages. Though Monbiot and Hutchison wrote their book (slightly) before the Epstein saga broke, I’m thinking the literal rapes as long invisible to us along with what their book terms the figurative rapes we still scarcely see, and willy-nilly condone.
Monbiot and Hutchison say the rich and powerful regularly funded all the conspiracy theories (they call conspiracy fictions) so culture wars have distracted instead.
But has something, or sets of things so deeply ruled that the women sank to silence as we to invisibility for the perpetrators? Or does it suffice that we know criminal Donald and his accomplices cover up, in contempt of the girls, in contempt of us?
Please stop using the phrase underage girls. When boys are raped we don't refer to them as underage boys! They are all children. Young women confers adulthood. Young men confers adulthood. When you are yet an adult you are a child.
Exactly.
I hate "underaged".
Underage for what?
Legal sexual assault?
Maybe “let’s not” begin by telling other people what they should and should not have said, according to you, that is.
Maybe Rosemary said exactly what she intended to say, and neither asked for, nor needed your editorial manipulation of her words.
My operative word, ICTT, was "just" -- "let's not just."
That is, let's expand from seeing the obvious mess to recalling, connecting also to the 1200 female human beings raped, to seeing further, into the greater ranges of damages on which Monbiot and Hutchison dwell.
I wish a group of stealth people could pull down that tarp -- like pulling back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz.
As they said in the 1970s, "It's the coverup."
The tarp is a great symbol of that!
I wonder if that would work with the Epstein files?
Remember, Russell, the Monbiot & Hutchison book came out before Epstein broke.
Their case in their book urges paying attention to actual corruptions of those following neoliberal schemes and tactics -- so getting bogged down in diversions have meant to keep us blind to seeing their damages.
Criminal Donald relies heavily on distractions and diversions -- and blatantly illegal diversions at that -- to keep us from seeing how the predators have been and what they actually have done and still do.
Other parts of our status quo practice other habits and distractions to keep us from seeing these predators or the dimensions of their predations. Monbiot and Hutchison show their research on this, and suggest how more research may fit.
Of course, we'll never get close to accountability if we satisfy ourselves simply by self-satisfactory conclusions such as "the biggest mess the modern world has ever witnessed."
I read Monbiots book last year. Excellent. Perfect explanation of the philosophy and cruelty and greed that dooms our civilization if not our species. Share with everyone.
With respect. Any historian will look at the elections, protests, and sacrifices people are making in order to stand up to this regime and will not condemn us. It is simply not accurate that "Our Country" will be vilified. Do you blame all the people in America for the KKK or the tragedy at the Pettis Bridge. Let's keep our perspective and our heads up. We have work to do.
The Emperor’s Sweat: A Birthday Colosseum on the South Lawn
Tonight the White House South Lawn has been repurposed into what officials are calling “a patriotic sporting experience,” and what everyone else recognizes as a man-made Roman fever dream with catering.
For President Trump’s birthday, the lawn now hosts a fenced octagon stamped with gold decals that read “LIBERTY COMBAT SERIES,” flanked by giant screens looping slow-motion highlight reels and flag graphics that appear to have been designed by someone who thinks Latin is still spoken in Congress.
Guests arrive through metal detectors and snack stands selling “Founding Father Funnel Cakes” and “Second Amendment Energy Drinks.” A small brass band plays while someone in a tricorne hat announces weigh-ins like it is 1791 and ESPN somehow got involved.
Inside the cage, two athletes warm up under bright lights while staff hose down the canvas to deal with what officials are calling “historic humidity” and what others are calling “June in Washington plus bad decisions.” The President reportedly enters to a remix of patriotic rock and a pyrotechnic display that briefly alarms a nearby Secret Service agent who has not been fully briefed on the concept of “party atmosphere.”
In the VIP section, lawmakers and donors sit beneath heat lamps labeled “EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE SUITE,” fanning themselves while pretending this is a normal extension of American civic tradition. One aide is seen adjusting a clipboard that reads, “Schedule: democracy adjacent entertainment, 7:30 to collapse of reason.”
Historians, if consulted, are said to be unavailable due to prolonged sighing.
As the first bell rings, thunder rolls in the distance, or possibly that is just the sound of the republic asking for clarification on what exactly it has become.
Either way, the spectacle continues, gleaming, sweating, and loudly insisting it is very normal, very American, and definitely not a coliseum with better branding.
Very good description, especially the "prolonged sighing" of the historians, with which I join in. We will get through this!
And the slaves are all brown
Rosemary, It is sickening. I have mostly been paying attention to the Indivisible counter programming. It starts at 1 am CEST, where I am but should be at 7 pm EST.
https://www.youtube.com/live/4HTPwI5VJEQ?si=pCwhxpQgSaLUiWxB
However, after reading this piece I looked up the fighters and see that they all have brown skin, the ones I could see. This is like watching slaves fight each other on the plantation. I see the White House as being turned into a big Plantation for a racist master.
All pigs are created equal, but some pigs are more equal than others. 😥🐷🖕🐷🖕🐷🤢
Dear Rosemary,
Unless you donated to, authored or implemented Project 2025 or DOGE and voted for felon Trump, I think you should not use the word we, nor should you blame yourself for your beautiful countries woes.
I am not a historian. I read historical fiction for decades and then as in my mind sci fi, fiction and history began to blur in my mind about 20-30 years ago I focused on reading history starting with Thomas Cahill and then Jarad Diamond and Jeremy Lent who are “ integrators”.
My professional training was in academic clinical Hematology . There I became familiar with how most basic scientists from every corner of our planet are passionate about their hypotheses and research and many can react negatively to clashing hypotheses and explanations. Cutting edge academia is demanding and high stakes and careers and reputations and funding are at stake. However on the many occasions prior to 2020 when I had the privilege of attending an American Society of Hematology meeting , I was impressed by how well truly diverse people could come together.
I was amazed at how many diverse people were interested in solving complex problems by understanding different perspectives and creating new solutions. As one example in the 1990s when the Hepatitis C virus was first identified this horrible virus was a major cause of long term illness and death often due to liver failure or cancer globally.
Since then all kinds of incredible people addressed this human tragedy using approaches from public health and bench to bedside research and this virus was on the way to being eradicated globally,
The hard women and men who support abuse , brutality , coercive control, cruelty, discrimination, domination , enslavement, murder , mutilation, pedophilia, rape, torture, vengeance and violence have always lived among us.
In 2016 I discovered the research around the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. As a well trained former paediatrician and pediatric oncologist and then an academic clinical Hematologist I was amazed to learn about this research from a CBC interview with Dr.Felitti one of the original investigators with Dr.Dada.
Since then I discovered there is now a science of altruism. To summarize a massive scientific debate . There is a growing consensus that once a truly antisocial person gains power in a relationship, family, business, organization or governance structure they are impossible to overcome.
This is why all long lived human cultures put enormous effort into making sure psychopaths or truly antisocial people never gain power.
Many milennias ago some of our human ancestors decided that choosing rule by a tiny elite of truly antisocial brutal psychopaths or malignant narcissists works. Ever since as Riane Eisler brilliantly shares we all float along between domination and partnership.
The founding fathers of the US created a constitution to protect against rule by a psychopathic elite. However as Professor Heather teaches so wisely there have always been people who want rule by a brutal ruthless leader who enjoys cage fighting and no doubt every kind of brutal cruelty.
Until we moderns accept that some people are psychopaths and that they should never gain power and that we all benefit from Merciful Wise leaders democracies will be at risk.
Also in my opinion the most dangerous men alive today are Elon Musk and Peter Thiele and ironically both are migrants. They both came to the US from South Africa.
I hate them passionately because they are so brutal, callous, cruel and entitled and because only Elizabeth Warren seems to have the courage to call them out since 2016.
They both have a connection to Canada so as a Canadian CFA I feel the need to call them out.
As someone who grew up in Ireland with relatives in England I hate Thiel for Brexit and Musk for lighting the flame of bloodlust yet again in Belfast the city where I was born.
I am now getting ready to attend mass. I pray constantly that Musk, Thiel, Trump and everyone who donated to , authored and implemented Project 2025 and DOGE be tried for corruption and crimes against humanity and for hurting and harming so many babies, children and people of all ages
Beannachtai libh,
Blessings to all those who work for the Common Good.
I love what you wrote and then wonder that you go from this to catholic mass. If there is a better organization that typifies the dichotomy of cruelty and kindness, I can't imagine it.
The belief in some or another version of god has also plagued humanity for its entire existence.
And that rosemary i wrote over a year now - have thirteen states declare their independence and form a new union and country. Modernize and improve our constitution. Separate church from state. Focus on Education, Healthcare, and Peoples rights.
We did it in 1776. We stopped the bondage of human beings in 1860. We watched afar the soviet inion doing it in 1991.
Peace.
Exactly! Such a shameful time in our countries‘s history! The most shameful time!
Halfway through this post my stomach was unwell. He knows how offensive this is and I believe that’s absolutely the point. As far back as I can remember hearing about him in the media (in the 80s), he’s had a chip on his shoulder. He’s a crook. He’s an insecure bully. You can be loyal to him but he is loyal to no one, including his base.
Hey, can I weigh in for a moment: is anyone writing about the big UFC fight or the ballroom, or the reflecting pond, or the arch, or any other erections in celebration of his power. It's the biggest "erection" trump will ever have....
Rosemary, Well said!!!
My concern is not WHEN we take back our democracy, BUT all the fallout that will tumble out of that maga circus tent. The hypnotised maga, still uneducated, refusing to admit they were used as pawns to reignite racism, refusing to believe science saves lives and the long list of their ills. Their roots are deep. They’ve had a spotlight for their rage. What happens when their voices are squelched? How do we “reprogram” this cult so that we can work at rebuilding a more civil way of dealing with our differences? Unfortunately, I see a continuation of their support of blatant lies and corruption they’ve been spoon fed. This could be an even uglier 5-10-50? years to come. Sigh.
I shouldn't worry. You'll all be off to Mars soon. At least the weather's settled there - just the odd planet-wide dust storm every now and again.
Ugh. The most vulgar display plus desecration of our sacred monuments equals ABOMINATION 🤮
Which seems to be the point. Trump pisses on everything sacred in US tradition to claim it as his personal territory alone. George III looks good by comparison.
He is pissing on us, again deliberately and with malice. And while he is robbing our treasury and teaching our children that thuggery pays
And GIII wasn't even the problem, really. It was Parliament. But I digress.
Thank you, J L Graham. I think “Madness of King George” at least once a day.
The sheer vulgarity of the occasion defies description. And to require that the Army Herald Trumpets and the Armed Services Full Honor Guard participate in it sullies them, as well. What a travesty. Let's hope the grotesque cage gets struck by lightning.
I think our military has been deeply, deeply sullied by their participation in all that is #47. It no longer appears that our military can honestly say that their oath is to the Constitution and not an individual. Hegseth has destroyed what so many in this country were once proud of…individually and collectively. To listen to Adm Cooper along side Hegseth in Pentagon briefings is a sad state of affairs.
This vet agrees with you. I have trouble believing the regime could change the military culture to the degree that seems to have happened, but there is it. The only ones publicly speaking out, and admirably so, are retired, and some of them have been attacked for upholding the Constitution.
It does entertain me to see a video of Pete trying to bench maybe 140 pounds and using his legs to lever what he hasn't the strength in his upper body to lift.
It's not the vulgarity that's most troublesome. Trump owns stock in UFC's parent company; he is profiting off this event. That makes this an extreme Emoluments Clause violation. Once this regime is out of power, a full investigation needs to be done on the finances involved in this event.
The vulgarity is the most nauseating; the corruption the most important. And we’re keeping notes.
Yes indeed!
What Trump cannot destroy he desecrates, gleefully. Americans must demand full reparations from his family to restore Washington DC to its former self. I’m sure we’re keeping a tab on that. Praying hard for a storm tonight for his late night MAGA fight might turn me into a religious man.
Mike, I’m praying for torrents of rain, lightning, thunder, hurricane force winds and an biblical invasion of insects. The PedoFelon’s desecration of monuments and disregard of laws is abhorrent and unforgivable. Thank you, Heather.
As a resident of DC, I would appreciate if you would confine your vision, especially the insects, to the south lawn of the White House!!
Is there still a south lawn? Is there still a white house, for that matter? I know the athletes' dressing room is in the part labelled "Oval Office", but I wonder if all the amenities are prepared?
Terry, a friend who also lives in DC called after reading what I wrote and said agh! Keep your vision to the south lawn and other precise areas that clan is focused on!!!
Seems like we're coming up with a coalition! And now I really needed to be focused, because I just got invited to a watch party for the concert tonight, and I really don't want to get stuck in the rainstorm!!!
A biblical invasion of frogs too might be interesting.
plus some boils and locusts
I can't wait for the photos where he's asleep
I’m with you on that…praying for a downpour of rain with thunder and lightning! Just for the fat man’s birthday!
Of all he is that is inhumane- fat shaming should be off the table
🤭🤣🤣🤣
Thank you, Heather, for actually listening to this garbage which you then report on. I for one much appreciate that buffer.
Indeed, most grateful for reports on these things. The only thing I tried to do in real time was watch his name come off the Kennedy Center. I guess we should be grateful that the tarp doesn’t have one of those smarmy pictures of Tuhrump on it.
The running chat border started to get very funny as everyone tried out different ways of using "tarp" e.g. The silence of the tarps, a tarp in the night, may the tarp be with you, and so on. There was so much loud banging going on during the morning shift that I suspect the damage to the marble wall may have made it necessary to secure the tarp very tightly.
I’m really fixated on (almost said hung up on) the tarp and the Kennedy center’s response to the judges order. They are basically saying “you can’t catch me” and “oh yah, watch me” with a side of “you’ll be sorry.” It wouldn’t surprise me if they eventually do just what you said about the tarp by replacing it with one that features that mugshot he loves so much. There’s a touch of the sadistic in this particular retribution and it reveals more than it covers.
That’s the kicker. So many won’t do that, which is just another way of smearing lipstick on the pig. All that does is enable the fright-wing foozballs and voidoids to claim it can not only walk and chew gum at the same time, but play five-dimensional chess while singing Puccini and waging 4 wars at once.
On the contrary, the honest reporting of every nauseous outburst, degradation fantasy and obsession with feces, dirt, Barack Obama, gold and Ti-D-Bowl toilet-blue water keeps everyone honest and provides great background for asking your local Repulsican Congresscritter what they think of that.
Someone at YouTube said that T is playing 3-dementia chess.
Playdough, kings and en pissants.
“Three dementia chess” is the best.
True to form, Trump shafted the people who actually repaired the Wollman Rink in NYC, and hogged all the credit for himself. He prides himself on his ripoffs.
Sort of like Epstein and the oligarchs, proud of what they get away with
DT learned graft, grift, and racism from his father. Putin has enhanced and expanded his father’s teaching.
Congrats to the Knickerbockers! They fought hard and won! Now the rest of us need to do the same for our country and form of government.
GREAT game, but I should have continued thinking about basketball instead of reading tonight’s post!
Christ, what an asshole.
on a stale cracker…
Putting it bluntly.
And the King of Bullshit
My own thoughts entire, Radio Free F.
Hoping for a derecho on Sunday. A very special derecho, indeed. Just on the White House Lawn — and only on the White House Lawn. 90 mph winds. And some hail. A little lightning too, please. Thoughts and prayers. 🙏
Hey, thanks for the new word in my vocabulary!
Just canceled Paramount+
I didn't accept Verizon's offer of a three-month free trial of Paramount. I won't watch CBS or Paramount.
Sigh. Farewell, Paramount. Farewell, Warner Bros. Anyone remember Walt Disney?
Me too
I don’t need to be a consumer especially when payments go to regressives. Good on you. I don’t watch anything CBS. I can’t wait for Leslie to quit.
How do you cancel? I definitely want to cancel!
Yea, break the Ellison bastards and send a clear message
Won’t be watching on Sunday. Kitty’s getting her teeth flossed at the vet. We’ve both been looking forward to this special bonding time between us all year now. 🙀
Kitty! Kitty!
It’s The Nazi Republican Way
For decades the Nazi Republicans have been hell bent on eliminating the federal government "social safety net" that many less fortunate Americans rely on. This net includes Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security with their hardcore belief that the federal government is not a "cookie jar" for welfare queens and that all programs such as the Postal Service, Social Security should be privatized so that taxpayer $$ should be used to line the pockets of companies wanting a “piece of the action”. Indivisible’s Levin beautifully lays out the reason that the organization exists(https://bit.ly/4e7fwXd) and what alternative you can do instead Cheeto’s UFC crap.
Meanwhile spendthrift Nazi Cheeto has put us in a $2B/d war, denounce our geopolitical allies such as Ukraine, awarded all his Nazi cronies no bid contracts far surpassing what they are worth, trying to pull $$ out of the treasury for his own needs, rob Americans with a tax called tariffs, bankrupting farmers with trade policies, forcing Americans with 401K plans to pay a now trillionaire millions of "compensation" for his DOGE government work, while canceling USAID which was saving lives in Africa and giving tax breaks for billionaires as he bankrupts the country. And the Nazi Republicans are trying to normalize all of this corruption. Nothing to see here. Oh, and BTW, rig the elections on the lie of fraudulent voting so that the Nazi Republicans can stay in office forever.
But this is the Nazi Republican way. The see the federal government is not to serve WE the People which is the government but to serve the rich and powerful, making them wealthier and dictators forever....selfish and for self aggrandizement. So in the end, it's what you believe is the role of government. I just prefer the former which our Constitution mandates.
It’s been the Nazi republican way since Rove foisted W on Texas in 1994. Before that they had just embraced racism and greed.
I still can’t believe there will be cage fighting and some type of motorcycle circus on the White House lawn, but the use of the Armed Forces Full Honor Cordon really pushes this over the ledge. This week brought good news too though which is now that much more noticeable and appreciated.
Where are the military leaders of your country? Is there not one who knows his/her constitutional obligation?
Dorothy, as a former Marine, I’ve written to the Commandant a couple of times (hard copy) and asked what he’s going to do to protect the Constitution. That was several months ago, and I’m still waiting for an answer.
Send a copy, with a courteous supposition that the original(s) seem to have gone astray.
Thanks, John. I am really wondering what the midterms might bring in terms of a military response to any efforts by the federal government to prevent or overturn voting by threat or outright violence. Is this fantasy on my part or do you think military leaders might be planning a domestic response? What are soldier's obligations once they take that oath? And of course, following orders is built into the system. The onslaught by trump and co. to move so quickly on their agenda (smartly, I might add) seems to have really hamstrung the country. Any thoughts?
Dorothy, you might recall that Senator Mark Kelly and about half a dozen other senators put out an ad letting servicemen and servicewomen know that they can disobey an order if it’s against the Constitution. The senators were threatened by Secretary Hedgeshit over the ad in question, especially Kelly, who was told he would lose his rank, pension, and everything else that comes with being a career member of the Armed Services.
If there was a coup in the making it would of happened by now, what with Venezuela and Iran.
As for the generals and admirals who lead our military, it could be anyone’s guess; most in the military like MAGA, but I still hold out hope that they will do the right thing and protect the Constitution, which they swore to uphold.
I wish they would pick up the pace a bit.
Kelly and the others did the right thing, and were brave to do so. I am a little disappointed that you believe most servicemen and servicewomen are MAGA... do you think it's connected to a higher number of military personnel coming from poorer states and circumstances? I think we've done a real disservice to unity by making people feel they are "lesser thans." Living in silos of identity is dangerous; and technology has only made that more profound. And believe me, I KNOW that I'm expressing one of those silos just by being on this site. It's a conundrum, friend.
This is their military leader.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MPU4DRA4dMk
Yes, but...
it's part of their twisted image of what a "man" is -- big,extra muscular,strong, tough, a fighter of everyone - no compassion, which they see as weak, no understanding, no grace. Hegseth epitomizes it -- and he can't even do a full pull up or weight lift. It's like they all got stuck in a comic book somewhere. It's appalling.
Cheap thrills ruling the despicable WH. And by the way, let's BOYCOTT all Paramount events from this point on.
Yes!
His first four years was difficult enough to get through. But this go around is so much worse. Ironically so many people had their reputations ruined, lost their law license his first four years, why do those who support his criminality now not think that they will not also be held accountable ? It boggles the mind.
I counted days and hours, and now this term is unbearable and it will get worse
Professor Richardson -- Thank you for describing this spectacle, which is entirely inappropriate and unbecoming of the President of the United States. It reminds me of a scene from The Hunger Games rather than a celebration of our country's birthday.
Well, really, this whole thing is to celebrate Drumpf’s 80th birthday, NOT our country’s 250’th birthday. Let’s not mix them up!
That definitely seems to be the case.
He's so jealous of Obama it's almost humorous. (almost--more like abominable)