Just a week ago, the Trump administration was preparing for a sixth round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, scheduled to be held in Oman on June 15.
The American voters have installed an unstable imbecile at the wheel, and all we can do is wait for his next impulsive move and hope it's not to drive us off a cliff.
It doesn't matter who is on the security council because Trump won't care what they advise. There is no way to restrain him as long as his appointees and Congress go along and defend whatever he says and does.
Instead of keeping Trump in the spotlight we should put the Republican party center stage. The Trump administration is the result of Republican votes - at the ballot box and in Congress. Trump is the personification of Republican values and priorities.
I agree 💯%,Lin, Trump couldn't do ANY of this without the cowards in the GOP. They are causing this and they need to step up and put a stop to the destruction their administration is causing for the whole world, not only the US.
We need to spotlight the Republican party and their complicity in all of this in our next protest march. Instead of just"Trump, Trump, Trump" let's put the faces of Holy Mike, Kristi Noem, Hogsbreath and the other traitors on our posters. Trump is the face of this party but he is only their stooge.Stephen Miller is the evil puppeteer.
I am so tired of hearing democrats, most recently Tammy Baldwin in her interview with Jennifer Rubin of the Contrarian say her colleagues on the other side privately denounce what is going on. She should be calling these cowards out by name to step up and do the right thing. Democrats should compile a list of everyone who has espoused reservations in private. Cowering to the threat of violence against them and their families should not be a deterrent. It's time people in positions of power exercise their power by speaking up before it's too late. Democrats need to NAME these republicans. And yes, I can anticipate many saying then they won't confide in anyone. What's worse? To me they are two sides of the same coin. Finally, what happened in Minnesota over the weekend, while absolutely tragic, should not deter us from speaking out. History is full of people who have died to protect our democracy.
.. and I might add, when the dems interview Hegseth, and he does a whataboutism re Biden, they should remind him how many immigrants he did deport; that the dems and republicans worked out an immigration plan but trump wanted to make it his wedge issue, therefore, demanded it be put aside; and when Hegseth tells them that they shouldn't believe books written by experts, only believe in the bible, they should be prepared to read a few choice verses from the bible - if they can find some - which do reflect Jesus's humanity. There must be some good in the good book.
Yeah, and how many illegals that he deported had to process their Stephanie. Only 25% of the ones Obama deported had to process, but I didn’t hear a Peabody you guys go look it up.
Oh, there is a lot of verses that tell people how to be kind to others, deal with the bad ones who persecute others. Matthew 23 is a good chapter to read. I would love to hear congress/ senate folks to quote some Bible verses! Then, the so- called 'christian' politicians will have to answer- after they have been told the truth they can no longer feign ignorance or justify their mean actions.
The Democrats are just as cowardly. They all know the U.S. should stop giving bombs and money to Israel to stop the carnage and starvation in Gaza, but they are so afraid of AIPAC and getting primaried that they won't say a word.
Hey Barbara, do you want the holocaust to happen all over again and you appear to be Jewish perhaps a Jewish antisemite perhaps. Gaza is run by Hamas. It’s government of his Hamas. It’s laws are Hamas, and if Israel wins this battle, Hamas will be gone, and the people of Gaza will be thrilled to have their own government
Carolyn-"Cowering to the threat of violence against them and their families should not be a deterrent. It's time people in positions of power exercise their power by speaking up before it's too late"
If I were in their shoes I would be afraid, to be honest, for my family especially, given the violence and lawlessness promoted by MAGA. What needs to happen that will perhaps help courage is to act together in a group
There is no threat of violence. The violence is all being caused and performed by the left with illegals walking around the streets of America with Mexican flags and antifa, burning buildings and threatening police once again.
Show me where the violence is from maga. /?
You guys remind me a little bit of Pelosi when she said you have to pass the bill in order to know what’s in it.
You’re saying exactly the same thing here stop enforcing the law and we won’t be violent. Wow.
Read my post it’s not only Republicans so wake up and I keep saying you guys here have no idea what the people that voted for Trump think feel or how proud they are. The Trump is in the White House. Which is one of the reasons your party continues to flail.
Victoria, yes. A lot of people like us are aware of these and the other minions. We should make them even more aware as well as putting the whole party and the rest of the destroyers out there for those who do not pay attention, keeping in mind that some people are unreachable.
The behavior of the anti-democracy movement is appalling, especially in the way it responds when it's told that its behavior is appalling.
In the June 18 edition of MSNBC’s Deadline White House, Marc Elias correctly observed that the pro-democracy movement's primary focus cannot be on what the anti-democracy movement is doing and must instead be on what the pro-democracy movement is doing.
There is a line where the focus on the threat needs to change to positive action, the results, and hope. the blogs and substacks and opinion writers/experts in their field should be aware of what they are projecting-- hope or hopelessness? Not to avoid stating the threats altogether for sure... the one drives the other: threats to democracy, actual, planned- drive pro-democracy action.
Well I love it when you start giving people ugly nicknames and you think that’s not a children’s game. ? Next thing out of your mouth is gonna be Nah na nan na nah nah.
I don’t like my tax dollars are going to bomb and kill women and children as is historic. We are the greatest danger to all life on the planet. It’s not China. It’s the United States. We are the boogymen. The Antichrist has arisen. He is US.
There is much to critique and much to deplore in US policy. And there is much for Americans to protest.
But hyperbolic twaddle - reducing the world situation to blaming one player, the US, for everything that is wrong - is the sort of self indulgent, superficial, and specious rhetoric which is part of the problem.
A pissing match for "the most unbalanced destructive person in the whole world" is silly.
65% of eligible Americans voted in 2024. Trump got 49.8% of that vote.
So when you say "As an entity, we have elected the most unbalanced destructive person in the whole world" you are equating around 33 % of the American electorate with the "entity" the United States and using that as a justification for identifying the United States as the antichrist.
Yes. It makes me wonder what the heck does Israel manufacture or sell that generates the "tax" dollars or income to their country? In other words, How??? does that country afford all the weaponry/the IDF/healthcare for their people (who ARE their people?). I just wanted to throw the preceeding sentence out there. Go ahead..., tell me. Surely their income is not just the grapes and figs we get in Wal-mart?
Israel controls ignorant, guilt-riddled christians. It also acts as a kind of buffer between the West and the Middle East. There is absolutely no reason, Biblical or otherwise, for Christians to put Israel on a pedestal. They need salvation just like everyone else. Finally(?), Jesus said no one can predict His return, not even Him. Siding with Israel, wiping out innocent Palestinians, or bombing Iran will make no more difference than any other foolish or hateful move.
As a non-theist, I really do not understand the emotional ties that I see to Israel in my MAGAt cohort of former workmates. It seems that one of the many "one, true ways" of Christianity seems to idolize the created State of Israel and pray for the destruction of this world so they (and only they) can ascend to the "promised land."
In the end, the very end, the catalytic force may have been the Abrahamic religions. If Iran had a nuke right now, it would probably use it against Israel, and Israel would retaliate. Russia, who has a Comprehensive Strategic Relationship with Iran could jump in, inspiring NATO to nuke Russia, and on and on. We need to get rid of nuclear weapons and somehow (through education most probably) reduce the influence of religion on politics. We could start here in the U.S. where Christian nationalism has launched an all-out war on democracy, stupidly doing the bidding of the oligarchs. There is just no way to fix stupid except to marginalize it.
Sandra, I just finished Elaine Pagel's book on Jesus called Miracles and Wonders. There was at the time and still is a lot of mystery as to when what he was talking about would happen. It drove some of the disciples crazy. Some regarded him as a failure because nothing happened and the Romans were still in charge and he was crucified to boot. And we have the Huckster as ambassador to Israel to make things worse. Agree totally with your post.
You're right. We don't have to support Israel when their actions result in the death of so many children and innocent people.
I would add that God hasn't always supported Israel. Look at all the times Israel was warned and warned about their behavior by God. Finally, He decided enough was enough and allowed other nations to conquer Israel. Then the Israelis were taken into exile.
At least that's how it's told to us the Bible.
So being God's chosen people, as the Bible puts it, doesn't exempt Israel from having consequences when their actions are murderous, killing even children.
Sandra, did you ever hear of the Holocaust? Well, for all of those are you pulling for Iran, a.k.a. Gaza because it’s run by Hamas proxy of Iran… you are unknowingly , pulling for holocaust part two
I agree, Bill. Regarding whether Trump will use our military to attack Iran, I think not. Why? Because Putin has too much involvement economically with Iran and has instructed Trump to not use military force, IMO. Trump has already decided - he will do Putin's bidding. Why? Because of those Moscow hotel room videos. And they're really bad.
Why stop there, Bill? Put the blame on the real bogeyman- mankind. The human race is cruel, violent and capable of tremendous evil, but also capable of kindness, generosity, and love for others. That's why we keep living and trying to do better (with scattered successes).
Rex, why don’t you read my post above maybe you’ll be a slightly more enlightened because one of the things I keep saying here is most of the people here have no idea zero idea of what people that voted for Trump think feel or are about and just so you know they’re all very happy every morning they wake up knowing that Trump is at the wheel protecting America fighting for America and regaining America. It’s standing in the world.
There was a study conducted by two Univ. of Kansas professors and published in the Feb. 2018 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology. You can google it and read the summary. In fact, here's the abstract:
Abstract
"Recently released data from the 2016 American National Election Study allow us to offer a multifaceted profile of white voters who voted for Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election. We find that Trump’s supporters voted for him mainly because they share his prejudices, not because they’re financially stressed. It’s true, as exit polls showed, that voters without four-year college degrees were likelier than average to support Trump. But millions of these voters—who are often stereotyped as “the white working class”—opposed Trump because they oppose his prejudices. These prejudices, meanwhile, have a definite structure, which we argue should be called authoritarian: negatively, they target minorities and women; and positively, they favor domineering and intolerant leaders who are uninhibited about their biases. Multivariate logistic regression shows that, once we take these biases into account, demographic factors (age, education, etc.) lose their explanatory power. The electorate, in short, is deeply divided. Nearly 75% of Trump supporters count themselves among his enthusiastic supporters, and even “mild” Trump voters are much closer in their attitudes to Trump’s enthusiasts than they are to non-Trump voters. Polarization is profound, and may be growing."
The prejudices that the abstract references: racism, homophobia, xecnophobia and misogyny. IMO, we're dealing with the 21st century version of the KKK - white Christian Protestant Nationalism.
Richard, a like comment was passed on to me about two months ago From a fellow lemming and I gave it as much credibility as I give this one. The absolute last people I’m going to use as a source of reference are two loony liberal professors from Kansas.
Let me say it to you since you’re a smart guy. There are 61 black congressmen/women, in the House of Representatives. That equals 14% of the house of representatives 435 seats. The black population of the United States is 14%. The Senate is only one seat away from that exact number.
And I’m suggesting to you again stop dividing this country… start uniting this country. Misnomers and misidentifications and theories that are mentioned above are useless fodder.
And the longer the left keeps promulgating this divisive language, the longer It will be disorganized and nonfunctional.
I think there is more value in asking what we, us democrats have done wrong. This explains much. And be aware that many revenge vote meaning they don’t vote for someone but against someone. Hillary Clinton was hard to like and Biden simply outlived his welcome. He didn’t reduce the growing deficit which he should have. He was intent on his Build Back Better bill that did have waste imbedded in it. He didn’t touch the border for the first 2 years and most democrats refuse to acknowledge it. He was happy celebrating Trans Day and seeking to take away our gas stoves. And then that moment at the debate when he did a Mitch McConnell on us and we knew ( some of us anyway) it was over and we were about to elect a demon from hell. Think revenge vote and this is how he got in. Oh I’m a self educated social scientist if ya didn’t know, lol. Listen to me and you will learn something.
Bill, I agree with your first statement about voting against instead of voting for.
I think the best way to become a social scientist is to do it on yourself because you're getting firsthand knowledge rather than reading a book or getting a link.
And you do share a lot of good fair balanced messages for which I thank you
Who sets the Republican agenda and why? Whose interests are served? An awful lot of their whole Republican program is smoke and mirrors. Who benefits from that?
I was baptized and mama sent me off to catholic school. Man, they are a weird bunch. They once made me wear cardboard donkey horns for talking in class. On another occasion Mrs Henigan in 4th grade put me under her desk for talking and that’s when the real fun began. By 7th grade, Father Emerling expelled me. What a relief.
... raped, beaten unconscious, locked in closets by Catholic nuns and priests! Catholics have a horrible history that is not just in the U.S. Look no farther than the Americas, north and south, Africa, Asia, etc. Racist, elitist thugs. Historically, they've been a wrecking ball. Have they done anything beneficial? I guess some could argue that. I do support the current pope, though. He seems to be a good person who is determined to help others.
Do you think your remark is prejudiced? I am asking sincerely Bill. Here is what I am watching right now. Once the Catholic Church was mentioned in a 100% as yet unverified statement then the comments rolled out against the Catholic Church; none of them came with any solid evidence to back the statement. My very serious point is this: how are we to ever secure our Democracy if we are all walking around with these kinds of knee jerk prejudices? The lines of antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, misogyny, racism etc. are so easily crossed. No judgement here. Just some early morning thoughts on Democracy.
"Power always sincerely, conscientiously, de très bon foi, believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak." -- John Adams
Can you definitively prove that? We need to be super careful, especially at this time, on stirring up any more prejudice. Where does it say The Heritage Foundation is aligned with the Catholic Church?
Not the church per se, but check out the affiliations of those on SCOTUS. Every year SCOTUS attends the red mass, and even Breyer would attend.
The Red Mass for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 will likely be held in late September or early October, coinciding with the start of the Supreme Court's new term. It is a Catholic Mass celebrated annually to invoke God's blessings on the judiciary and all members of the legal profession. The Red Mass is traditionally held at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., where the justices often attend.
Both Thomas and Alito openly admit they apply "natural law" which is church dogma before applying gthe text of the Constitution.
Key contributors to Heritage 2025 include Russ Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, and Paul Dans, who previously directed the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Other notable contributors include Ken Cuccinelli, Rick Dearborn, and Christopher Miller, among others.
From Wiki: Vought graduated from the evangelical Christian Wheaton College and describes himself as a Christian nationalist. He seeks to infuse the government and society with elements of Christianity, saying he has "a commitment to an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society", according to The Washington Post. In a secretly recorded meeting in 2024, Vought said that conservatives should discuss whether to prioritize Christian immigrants over those of other religions. Vought supports a total ban on abortion. He has called the Democratic Party "increasingly evil" for supporting secularism.
Since 2022, Vought has advocated for what he calls "radical constitutionalism" to reverse what he calls a current "post-Constitutional time"; he asserts this has been the result of a century of corruption of laws and institutions by the political left. He characterizes the federal bureaucracy as "woke and weaponized" and advocates replacing it with "radical constitutionalists". Vought proposes to "gut the FBI" and end the tradition of political independence of the U.S. Justice Department.
"Where does it say The Heritage Foundation is aligned with the Catholic Church?"
As far as I know, Rome does not direct The Heritage Foundation et al.
But, extremist American Catholics - such as court capture operative Leonard Leo and his hand picked Supremes and others such a former AG Bill Barr - have had significant influence. When you hear GOP complaints about antiCatholic persecution - it comes Leo et al. If you criticize their racist right wing religious extremist policies they scream "antiCatholic." (Much as when one criticizes racist right wing religious extremist Netanyahu regime policy their supporters scream antisemitism. Before Oct 7, millions of Israelis were in the streets for a year protesting Netanyahu's attempts at capturing the Israeli Supreme Court - aided by Leo allies.)
Pope Francis and now Pope Leo have criticized the politicization of Catholicism in the US. Some of the best criticism comes from within the American Catholic Church.
Leonard Leo has reshaped the Supreme Court. Is he reshaping Catholic University too? | National Catholic Reporter
Barbara, it IS about the MONEY! Always follow the money trail. It will lead you to more connections which make sense. Do their actions lead to more sharing of wealth or more concentration of wealth? It is about THE MONEY!
And right-wing billionaires and right-wing media. I think JL's question 'Who benefits from Trump's agenda' is key. To stay focused on that is to stay focused on what is really happening and why. Imho, we need to shine a light on the embeddedness of criminals in government and business, aka Iron Triangles per Heather's recent Letter. Obviously, this is not easy to do with criminals in the upper echelons of power. (In my opinion, the head of Russia is the head of a criminal enterprise.) That said, religious leaders such as Pope Leo, and demonstrably strong public opinion can be enormously powerful and impactful.
Read Robert Lustig's "The Hacking of the American Mind."
They've got the names, amounts, and particulars, whether the banks, hedge funds, and high finance, or the schools, standardized testers, and corporate textbook publishers, or those who fund (and profit from) our best science.
J L see Project 2025, the product of the oligarchy wish list which has been pursued with remarkable consistency for such a whimsical president: https://www.project2025.observer/
TACO is driving the "golf kart" for those guys. He's their Uber, they have his number along with every other tom, dick, and harry. And, no tax on the 'tips' he gets either. Problem is, he doesn't always go where directed, or just gets lost late at night. So, star-lite.., star-brite.., StarLink is the star that really gonna bite (bite us in the arse). Watch..., err "stay tuned". bbboinkk
The guest at last night's Hancock County Democratic Committee meeting was the Maine Secretary of State -- Sheena Bellows spoke via zoom from the campaign trail in Saco, ME. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenna_Bellows
The HCDC invited her to speak for 15 minutes about her role as Secretary of State. Since she announced her run for governor, she could have spent the time stumping for her run as governor. But, she said she was invited to this meeting to talk about her role as Secretary of State and refused to even admit she was running for governor. She said that her personal ethics would not allow her to do so.
As Secretary of State she recommended pulling Trump's name from the primary ballot as it was illegal under Maine state election law for him to run. A week after that decision, the Fascist US Supreme Court over ruled her decision.
But I digress. During her terms as Secretary of State, she has initiated programs to educate students as well as adults about Civics since it is no longer taught in Maine schools. She also is on multiple nationwide bi-partisan committees and she praised the Republicans that she worked with on the committees. It seems that Fascism hasn't taken hold of the entire Republican Party even though cowardice certainly has.
One of the reasons, in my opinion that Democrats do so well in the non-Presidential election years is that state wide elections allow the Democrats to criticize the Republicans. At least that's how it is in many states.
And as good a governor as Secretary Bellows will be, Maine is fortunate to have another equally amazing candidate Hannah Pingree (Chellie Pingree's daughter) running for governor.
They are both young and would be great governors. Hopefully, the Democrats (and Independents) across the US are able to recruit equally qualified candidates.
I can only conclude that they are being told to “Hang together, or we shall surely hang separately”. The mob-boss tactics are working because the gop like that worldview. Even “moderates” like Lisa Murkowski fall in line. “Hang together, for the Kingdom of Total gop Control is at Hand” seems another angle.
Democracy cannot achieve "liberty and justice for all" without a preponderance of due diligence and good faith. We can endure corrupting Big Lies as we endure infectious diseases, but not without a fight Not without a societal "immune system" keeping sociopolitical corruption at bay. That effort is never entirely successful, but we can do what we can do to minimize the damage.
'That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men (sic), deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"
Look at who funds The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation, and The Teneo Network? Charles Koch and the fossil fuel industry. Et al.
Then Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and the tech bros.
For starts.
For instance, Google Leonard Leo. Who for decades has been Koch et al's bagman funneling immense amounts of money through innumerable shell companies, to a myriad of antidemocratic causes.
In 2007, Robert Frank came out with a book called “Richistan”. The Financial Times explains: “As wealth creation becomes more and more globalized, RICHISTAN looks behind the glitz to find the real story of new money and its impact on the world.” In effect, the number of international-mega-rich constitute its own country, or centralized locus of power, changing the dynamics of world culture, economic functionality, and livability. They are insulated from us “mud-people” as Elon would call us. In short: WE are expendable, ala “Atlas Shrugged”. So the gop all hang together to realize this dream. The gods of Mt. Olympus fight and back-stab while we deal with the repercussions. They want us to “Just Die” and get out of the way. That’s my opinion, but it sure seems accurate to me viewing the actions of the gop.
Who benefits? The wealthy (more money) and the racists/white Christian nationalists. Their psychic food is the harsh treatment of our fellow humans who are brown skinned.
Great idea, J L. Would you like to take a crack at it? For starters, who suffers? We all suffer, but some more than others. Who benefits? Only the demented.
Iin , I agree with keeping the gop in the spotlight and center stage in every discussion. Since “Trump is the personification of Republican values and priorities,” we must conclude that the gop stand for nothing more than cruelty for cruelty’s sake. Hammer away at that Truth with every breath we have.
It is the GOP MAGA party in Congress that bears the responsibility. They do absolutely nothing and hopefully the American people will be smart enough to vote every single one of the cowards out! Many of them should eventually face criminal charges for failing to do their duty. None of them should be able to keep their health benefits or any other perk that may come with having been in their position. They have not served the constitution nor the rule of law only themselves and the felon in chief.
Sadly, No More, I feel that there are far, far too many of the American People who want the cruelty to others (not themselves, of course) and delight in seeing those "others" (mainly BIPOC and LGBTQ+) losing all their rights, shoved into poverty, and beneath the thumb of white Christian dominance.
AH, this is why I advocate for outing people, something I know you are not enthusiastic about. But I really do feel that the "Log Cabin Republicans" (mostly white male affluent gay men who share all the nativist and racist nonsense of the rest of the party but think they are immune) are relying on those closeted minions of the Felon to give them a pass. Revealing them for the hypocrites they are could make it difficult for everyone who remain with the Ghastly Oligarchs Party.
Whewwww!! Absolutely. Prosecute them - every one who broke the law. No need to hang them,just find them guilty, administer whatever punishment is appropiate, and move on.., move on.
Getting closer, but, it is the brainwashed millions and millions of cult members who checked the republican box last november. Our "friends" and neighbors, who, "don't want to talk politics". Pfft.
Thoroughly Orwellian "Republicans" are literally attempting to tear down the republic and erect an autocracy. "Originalism" my arse. Come to the Dark Side...
Your point is spot on, and is not stressed enough. Too much of the citizenry is composed of phony-christian evangelical crackpots, bigots, racists, neo-Nazis and generally stupid people who keep voting for this insanity. It’s easy to look at where we are and arrive at the conclusion that we are a nation of selfish idiots.
Thank media deregulation, and anti-antitrust for a strong supporting role. Thank the philosophy of glorifying violence and molding children's (and adults) thought-scape by inducing PTSD. @#$%^& Authoritarianism.
Agree, that's what I keep reminding my GOP senators and representative...you, by your vote or silence, are complicit and the American people will know that truth.
Agreed . I despise Trump but is that hate? It seems me that hate is more irrational, like profound anger vs rage, as in "road rage". Intense anger can be just anger. Unhinged "reptile" emotion makes us vulnerable to unwise choices; which can make us dangerous to ourselves and others. Extreme sociopaths are nobody's friend.
Perhaps, but what the Republicans and trump are doing is based on pure hate. Hate can lead to violence. Look at what the MAGA’s are doing. People are afraid of what they might do if you aren’t one of them. Do you think they fear us?
Not just that, but actively pushing the hate and paranoia scenarios Putin, Orban, and Netanyahu have pushed, grown, also funded?
Add in the social media techies organized by Xi's communist cadres, the Iranian mullahs, and Silicon Valley ideologues formerly known as libertarians but now all concerted to grow the MAGA federal police state to kill democracy forever.
Thanks. We should have been pressuring Congressional Republicans -- especially those is blue states. Besides Iran, there are several other pressure points that can kill the Trump agenda.
Remember, not only Republicans voted for tRump this time…many voters just bought the cool-aid and many more sat on the sidelines and didn’t vote at all…
They are all complicit…
Same happened in Congressional elections and those Republicans who were voted in and are in lock step with the policies of this regime need to get a conscience….they are all to blame…voters, non voters and legislators.
From my little point of view it has seemed to me that we do, and have done in my lifetime, a lousy job of explaining and promoting the democratic responsibility of voting. It's way more than a form of self expression. It shapes the future of our whole society. It impacts the lives of some way more than others, and especially tends to impact the fates of those already deprived of power. I have been told explicitly by right wing types to "grow up and realize life isn't fair". True enough, and fate is often unkind; and yet WE human beings are endowed with a potential of recognizing justice, and acting accordingly. Isn't that "the Spirit of '76"?
Voting is currency of our republic. The unhindered right and duty to vote and for EVERY vote to count, no more and no less than any other, is the life blood of real democracy.
No , not everyone is born to the same trials and advantages, either innate or circumstantial; but we ostensibly agree, as democratic republic, to offer, so far as attainable, equal opportunity, equal justice, and equal protection UNDER LAW. That's what the iconic statue of "Justice" is supposed to be about. That is what we, as a collective society have been neglecting, when not eroding, for decades, and not just under Trump. That equality, proposed by the signatories to the Declaration of Independence, and redefined by Lincoln and a movements promoting social justice, is what genuine liberty is made of. We are getting snookered bigly while the same old serpent sows a familiar confusion, and draws far too many away.
We seem to expect that foreign policy is a topic that presidents discuss with the knowledgeable people they have installed around them. But there is nobody who is knowledgeable about foreign policy in this administration, so expecting any kind of coherent plan is unreasonable. Chaos is not a plan, it is not a basis for even an idea of a plan. Where is the child who will stand up and make clear to us that this wannabe emperor has no clothes, no marbles, and no plans?
Isn't it horrifying? Captain Chaos will probably be more influenced by what he sees on TV than any expert in the fields of military actions and nuclear science.
Honestly, we would be in better, safer, more thoughtful hands if my 9 year old grandson were POTUS. At least, he would ask good questions. And has a strong sense of fairness and empathy.
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" feels tame in comparison. To Trump voters: "Look what you have done..."
Also, remember the Suprene Court and their rulings…..particularly, beginning with Roe vs Wade. They swore oaths and look where “most” of them go, and continue to go.
The first president in American history who did not WANT to talk to foreign policy experts, the first in history who says he knows "more than the generals", the only one to insist a dangerous, outmoded view of economic history that claims tariffs are the source of prosperity is actually TRUE, the first to tweet and blop and blap every loose squirt of incoherent mental activity from the bowels between his ears for all to hear, the first to insist on a North Korean-style tank parade in his honor, the first to appoint kumquats, unqualified nobodys and TV circus performers on his Cabinet....
When Trump excludes SecDef and DNI, assuming they know anything useful, which I doubt, you know he doesn’t care for good advice. He never has if it challenges his personal (uninformed) opinion.
Hello Phil... DJT's BBB doesn't have $$$ for Hungry Children in the USA, or elsewhere in the World... It doesn't have $$$ for Disease Prevention. or $$$ to Advance Human Knowledge... However it does have $$$ for the ICE Gestapo, and to Fight Netanyahu's War On Iran...
...
19-June-2025: Chris Hayes on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... The North Koreans help Design & Build the Fortifications... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either..
North Koreans learned to dig in about 75 years ago, and China promoted it's grab them by the belt strategy. Our enemies are not without ways to make nuclear weapons hard to use effectively without causing massive retaliation with even more nuclear weapons.
It makes me think of Peter Arnett's Vietnam reporting, "We had to Destroy the Village, to save the Village," except it is now more like We have to Destroy the Planet to Save the Planet.
According to several sources, there is an ongoing coup. According to Tousi, most of the Iranian general staff has been killed and their successors are pledging support to the crown prince in exile and he is asking Trump for help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjJdkOqhTg
Wilkerson sounds like sour grapes fermened into vinegar. His boss lied to Congress to get us into Iraq. When Tulsi Gabbard speaks, Putin's voice is expressed.
Our major vulnerabilities are bases in Iraq and Syria. 60% of the Iraqui population are Shiite as are most of the Iraqui militias. We can't trust them.
If you follow the money, Saudis and other Gulf countries say they support Iran, but they are Suni and are competititors and fear them.
Putin says he would mediate but he is an ally of the mullahs and he loves high oil prices.
Hello Daniel... The Middle-East is a MESS... Is Netanyahu's War worth US Lives, and Trillions of $$$... So Fordow is destroyed, and the Mullahs overthrown... Then What?... Meanwhile here in the USA we have an Authoritarian Coup in progress, and Troops in our Cities... Is bailing-out Netanyahu worth it?...
I'm not advocating war... Just things are never what they seem initially and from experience our intelligence sucks.
But they had a revolution in '79. They were our allies, even after we overthrew their elected government in 1952-1953. They were a westernized, modernized counry.
The mullas installed Sharia law. Women had few rights. They became militartistic. They had a bloody war with Iraq.
Just a few years ago, they had mass protests, pepole executed, tens of thousands jailed.
I probably laid out how Israel kept Trump out of the loop. When Israel attacked, Rubio denied all knowledge.
Trump lied about conversations with Netanyahu, tried to take credit for any success.
Thanks Daniel... From Experience, some of our Intelligence is very Good... It is a matter if the Decision Makers want to listen to it... Washington DC is too Political, and Insulated... Getting Power, and staying in Power is Job#1 for too many there... As for the Iranians, I think they are Blinded by Religion...
Anne-Louise Luccarini: " ... the imminent danger offer is hard to ignore". True.
Professor, Heather Cox Richardson quoting Trump: "... I will make my decision whether or not to [go to War] within the next two weeks".
On 6/19/25, Trump was spewing and major media platforms were dutifully re-publishing MAGA propaganda:
The following verbatim quotes are from 3 major media platforms yesterday:
* The WSJ on 6/19/25, "Trump decision to Come within Two Weeks".
That's Murdoch.
* On 6/19/25 the Washington Post (WAPO) headlined: "Trump says he'll decide on Iran strike within two weeks".
That's Jeff Bezos.
* AP on 6/19/25, the Associated Press headlined: "Trump says he'll decide whether U.S. will directly attack Iran [OK say it with me now all in unison] within 2 weeks".
*****
"WTW" -- A NEW ACRONYM:
I am tempted to coin a new 3 letter acronym. When referring to Trump's cognitive dysfunction, instead of saying "WTF" let's go with "WTW" referencing Trump's uncertainty on when to go to war so ... "Within Two Weeks", WTW.
Bonus: "WTW" goes well with WWL, World Wrestling League 🤡 jargon too.
Bryan, that is PERFECT! The two weeks is his constant time frame--somewhere I once saw a clip where a slew of his "in two weeks" comments were strung together. I am on the fence as to whether he realizes so much xxxx will come down the pipe that whatever will be forgotten in two weeks, or it is a manifestation of his dementia. (I've often mentioned here of my brother's dementia and his verbal difficulties. Trump's two weeks is chillingly familiar.)
Yes. And it was also on Psaki’s show that I saw a clip of Obama being interviewed by our own HCR. I used the search feature on YouTube to find the whole thing. It’s fascinating.
Most of what now comes out of Donald's demented mouth is something he heard when he was younger and merely learning-disabled. I doubt that I could find a citation, but I would bet a large sum of money that the "two-week" delay window was taught to him by one of his mentors, Roy Cohn.
When you spray the zone with liquified shit from a firehose, nobody can remember what you said two weeks ago.
Trump’s answers are always non-answers because he is really not capable of making a decision. He has perfected these ambiguous statements and goes off on tangents and distractions because he is clueless. Yet the press writes articles like he’s given us some great response instead of a feeling of fear that the man who most loves to see people slaughtered or blown up in the most gory way won’t order the violence.
I saw on the Indivisible page that the estimate for 6-14 was 11 mil. My hubby did the math and he said thats around 3%. I suppose it depends on whose numbers you are using!
"...all we can do is wait..." This is not helpful. Action is the cure for feeling helpless. Find any little thing you can do, because it not only helps you feel better, it adds up to mobilizing ourselves in the large numbers and votes to turn this ship around. Check out this new Substack resource for actions:
We the People Dissent is following up June 14 No Kings Day with a weekly list of actions, including by state:
Yes Ellie. Some feel just getting on this stream is “doing even just one thing every day to support democracy”.
It’s not. This reply column is a megaphone for readers. Be empowered and then get on the phone and call a rep in Congress. Dig into your community and show up at a meeting. Keep being informed a priority and then act in a way to promote the strength of We the People in action.
And my personal plea to readers….we complain constantly about mainstream media ignoring e.g. the latest NoKings protests and making it all about the MAGAts.
But I have yet to see a mention here of Sen Tammy Duckworth who followed Sen Slotkin’s complete takedown of Hegseth.
We do the same thing in this stream without really understanding the manipulation going on of US.
PLEASE….Let US be more assertive in our responsibility as a citizen of the world.
I’m so over giving more highlights to Trump. He has enough anyway simply in his hair.
And here is the full speech from Sen Alex Padilla. Let us give space and time to him. Call him and let him know what you think. Thank a true hero of We the People.They are fighting for US every day.
This is truly frightening. The felon rapist is insane and the repubs seems fine with it all: masked men armed to the hilt kidnaping innocent people including women and children off the streets, law abiding people trying to do the right thing! Installing military in the streets of blue states to intimidate and harass people. And now threatening a war in the Middle East bc we protested against him and no one showed up for his pathetic birthday bash. How will we ever survive three and a half more years of this...
Unfortunately my brother is one of them. To this day I don’t think he understands the term secret police. When I mentioned my disgust for Tucker Carlson last year I thought his head was going to explode.
1] The Felon did not write those posts on his social media because, unless HCR is correcting the grammar and spelling, he could not possibly spell three-syllable words or correctly spell Macron's first name. 2] NPR this morning reported a very different scenario for the Israeli strike against Iran. Less than 24 hours before Netanyahu launched the strike he "barely survived a no confidence vote in the Knesset." This was a vote made because he has signally failed to bring the remaining hostages home or end the war in Gaza and the shit-show there is clearly unresolved because his "advisors" (such as they are) are split between killing all the Palestinians in Gaza and taking over the territory before doing the same on the West Bank, and those who want him to end the Gaza war and get the hostages--or their corpses--home. 3] If we don't start emphasizing that Stephen Miller is the person who is manipulating the puppet strings we will not be able to drive him out of the maladministration, which we really need to do. 4] The "speech" that the Felon made at the flagpole installation was full-on demented. I read it in the Meidas Touch evening roundup.
Some American voters. When you say inclusive things such "the American voters" you are in essence surrendering in advance. Making statements such as "off the cliff" are classic defeatism. Americans are fighting back. There were approximately 12 million of us in the streets just 6 days ago. It matters tremendously.
I invite you to research the movement that is going on instead of doom posting. We simply cannot win this unless people get in a resistance mode.
"At the higher end of the estimates, the day of protest starts to approach the magic 3.5% number that civil resistance researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan identified in Why Civil Resistance Works. Between 1900 and 2006, any nonviolent movement that mobilized 3.5% of the population always won its struggle. In the United States, that’s 12 million people (if you include children). "
I honestly think that as long as the GOP in political office and the majority in SCOTUS refuse to put the country first and push back on the destruction of democracy by the current regime it won’t matter if 50% protest. Already they roll over and do whatever they’re ordered to do. The authoritarians are working on eliminating voting rights and the 2024 election is a clear picture of how successful they were and how they’re still doing it non-stop.
It does matter that we protested but until we find a way to get the selfish, greedy cowards out of office and power change won’t happen. They use religion as a cudgel pretending they’re the true Christians while they’re really only after power and money and don’t care how many deaths they cause. Wait until they issue an order that only white people are allowed to have babies in this country.
But it does matter Sharon. We achieved 3/5 of the population protesting on June 14. "The 3.5% rule is based on empirical research by Chenoweth and Stephan (2011) on resistance campaigns. It states that every campaign that mobilizes at least 3.5% of the population in sustained protest is successful1. Developed by Dr. Erica Chenoweth, this concept challenges conventional wisdom about power and demonstrates that nonviolent resistance is more effective than violent uprisings2."
I understand your numbers and your need to rely on them but you can’t remove the massive umber of people involved in the authoritarian overthrow and how much they just don’t care if the general population is against them. I’m talking about greed, vanity, the desperate need for power that they exude. Look at other countries who have had a much higher percentage show up in the streets the last few years with no change. What has Netanyahu done differently? He’s still in power and still making sure the people of Gaza die horrible, inhumane deaths from starvation. There are more but I’m just waking up and I’m sure you can find these other countries that The Trump Regime is modeling themselves after. 2011 was a long time ago.
I hear you. It is terrifying to feel like we are all passengers in a car being driven by someone who ignores every warning sign and barrels ahead regardless of the consequences. What makes it even harder is knowing that the usual checks and balances — voices of reason in the room, congressional oversight — have been largely silenced or coopted. It is not just about one man's recklessness, but about a system enabling it. That is why moments of collective clarity and courage, however rare, feel more important than ever.
He can’t and won’t make a decision without behind the scenes manipulation by Leonard Leo, Peter Thiel and the other self-serving billionaires. That’s how we got here in the first place. Money is the power and Donald Trump is the puppet at the end of the strings.
This is why having an uninformed, narcissistic, 2-yr-old in the White House is a bad idea, especially when you consider he’s got the ability to launch a nuclear strike on little more than a whim.
trump is such a loose cannon. And he thrives on being unpredictable and always needs the spotlight. Making him the most dangerous to the world because of it.
My comment is unrelated to Mr Trump’s silly behavior. Heather, you have illuminated my understanding of so many important world events. In return, I want to offer you and my fellow readers a little glimpse into a shining little moment in a little town far removed from the deteriorating and deranged narcissist in the White House.
It’s Juneteenth, and I’ve just come from a celebration of that event in Cambridge, MD, featuring our Governor, Wes Moore, who spoke to an enthusiastic and thoroughly integrated crowd at the Bethel AME Church on Pine Street, in the historically Black section of town. The church was packed, standing room only, and we heard from our Mayor, Lajan Cephas, the second Black woman to be our mayor, following Victoria Jackson-Stanley, and a few other notable pastors and residents before our Governor came to the podium.
Pine Street was the hub of Black businesses and culture that famously burned down following H. Rap Brown’s fiery visit and speech in July, 1967, while the all white fire department stood by and watched. Pine Street has bounced back and is thriving again and our fire department is, of course, fully integrated. One step forward and let’s not go back.
Governor Moore related the history of Juneteenth, delighted the crowd by explaining his choice of Cambridge for his own Juneteenth plans, and told us he’d be back soon because he’d be running again in 2026. He went on to say that when he ran in 2022, he received more individual votes than any gubernatorial candidate before him because the turnout was so terrific. He took no credit for the turnout, noting that there was only one issue on the ballot - the decriminalization of cannabis. He did note that Maryland incarcerates more Black men per capita than any other state - the runner-up being Mississippi - and that he had pardoned 175,000 people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. The crowd roared.
Morning, Lynell! Indeed, I flew my flag yesterday until sunset (well, slightly after since it was a rehearsal night) for the first time since Jan 20, 2025.
Morning, Ally! Sorry to be so late in responding. My inbox is now flooded with emails from folks I never invited to contact me!
Good to hear your flag is getting the attention it deserves. Our flag gets exercised as well except on very windy days or during torrential rainstorms.
Hope you and yours are hanging in there. I, for one, look forward to our own change of regime...first, with a new Governor this year; then in 2028.
Thank you for the beautiful respite from the current clusterfuq with a wonderful vignette of what life could be if we just let go of our prejudices and showed kindness always towards others.
Wonderful Juneteenth story, thank you! I've been to Cambridge and visited the Harriet Tubman museum(s). What a powerful history lesson I received there, and I've just learned even more from your post.
Thank you for this information and history. I really like your governor. And the underground rumblings coming out of Histiry sometimes can change the course of events which oh my is so so needed at this.
I don’t understand why any legitimate news organization reports anything Trump says. All of it is either gibberish, random fantasies, lies, or some combination gibberish, fantasies, and lies. It might be useful for news organizations to report actions that Trump takes (curated to ignore irrelevant meanderings), but repeating what he says is a waste of time, space, and public attention.
Gibberish, yes, but also manipulation intended to distract the MSM away from whatever he does not want them to focus on. And it works. Every. Single. Time. Sigh.
Getting worse. Concealment? He's floundering. I read somewhere that the "two weeks" is related somehow to Putin. Is that when Zelensky is expected to give up?
Speculation about what Trump’s gibberish means is even more harmful to public discourse than his gibberish. Ignore it. Like the comments of any other troll in the peanut gallery.
but a lot of it should be reported verbatim, because it shows how demented he is. That's why the White House has stopped giving transcripts of his speeches or ex tempore remarks - they are gibberish.
Remember in his first term- He was going to have a health plan..in 2 weeks. He said this so often I thought it was Groundhog Day . This is just a euphemism for “I have no clue”
Rex, reporting his ramblings is a good thing, especially if the talking heads don't try to apologize for his incoherence and stumbling.
If you listen or watch any of the corporate media, they almost always try to explain away his incoherence. They even coined "Trump derangement syndrome" to explain why we criticize the motherfucker.
Only 25% of those polled want us to bomb Iran. The TACO King will chicken out.
Sane-washing is worse than reporting his words or giving him airtime. When he came down the elevator, nobody in the media should have shown up. Instead, they waited breathlessly to ask for more gibberish about Obama’s birth certificate.
Imagine his contempt for the expertise of negotiators and the hard work of 5 countries in reaching the initial agreement to circumscribe much of Iran's nuclear ambitions and capabilities. Picture his ulterior motives -- small, petty, vicious little vendettas and grudges against the man who laughed at him in 2011 -- the feelings of humiliation.
Then picture all the rebuilt centrifuges, the renewed stockpiling of fissile material, the bluster and bellicosity of a regime that thrives on anti-semitism and unrestrained subversion of many countries in the Middle East. Add to it the utter incompetence of the Trump Administration, the 'perpetual war' ambitions of Netanyahu, the contradictory findings of US and Israeli intelligence and a region set for hair-trigger responses that have repeatedly brought horrendous, unintended consequences to the region, cementing new cycles of unstable violence for generations to come.
Then add to this toxic brew a deranged idiot who doesn't understand anything about how the real world works on a good day, but now lost in the throes of full-onset dementia. Picture an unhappy, frustrated, unfocused, lonely, bitter, sick man-child utterly desperate to remain the perpetual bride at every funeral, the corpse at every wedding, the baby at every exorcism, surrounded by brainless idiots and slithering wormtongues for advisors. "Maybe I'll bomb Iran, maybe I won't, stay tuned, you don't know what I'm going to do, I don't even know what I'm going to do."
How this could possibly turn out well I can't imagine.
19-June-2025: Chris Hayes on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... The North Koreans help Design & Build the Fortifications... They are Expert at that... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either.. It is Worth the Effort to Watch this Segment... Col. Larry Wilkerson has Sterling Credentials...
Were anyone sane or even slightly competent in the White House right now, the 'known unknowns' and 'unknown unknowns' together would have been hashed out beforehand, realized and used to prevent a compos mentis President from ever getting anywhere near this day. So many possibilities, all of them dreadful.
Thanks Larry.... In MAGA World, only could a twice Impeached President who is a Felon suffering from Dementia be re-elected.... DJT is a 'Black-Hole' that is sucking us all into his Dementia...
I heard Wilkerson being interviewed on NPR yesterday. He cuts through the cacala very effectively with real life experience - he suggests we learn from our mistakes and take advantage of past lessons. Not a typical thing for Americans to do. Learning from the past and from others just seems to escape our consciousness. If we weren't such a young country, I would say we have collective dementia. Or maybe we are really just naive kids.
Every foreign adventure starts with hubris and overconfidence.
"This one bombing campaign will solve our problem."
"If we take out this leader, the people will rise up and take over for us."
"We'll pay for this with their oil."
"Gotta stop those commies before they take over the world."
I could go on....
The French were laughing at us when we took over from them in Vietnam.
The Russians were chuckling at us when we invaded Afghanistan.
Iran was amazed as we eliminated Sadam and disenfranchised the Sunnis.
We don't listen. We don't learn. And we are surprised that we now have a clueless conman at the helm? He is just another expression of our absolute national stupidity.
But maybe, just maybe, the horror and insanity of this Republicon nightmare will flip enough votes for us to regain some semblance control and allow us to restore the rule of law, Constitutional governance and international cooperation. We can hope.
And we can act. Despite being pushed off the front page, June 14th was meaningful. We know what we can accomplish. It will be recorded as the beginning of the peaceful revolution.
As Ted said: Believe. That we can grow up and become a mature nation.
Thanks Bill… This unfortunately True… Maybe this a Version of 21st Century Manifest Destiny… The War Junkies always Think that War is Antiseptic… It is not, it is Extreme Human Chaos… Netanyahu should personally fight his own Wars, or Serve on the Rescue Teams for it’s Victims…
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, as well as those in others. Use your voice and make some “good trouble” ❤️🩹🤍💙
Dean Obeidallah on Progress Radio yesterday had on a guest who had spoken with several Army personnel that were FORCED to march in Trump's birthday fiasco.
Many to most of them were upset because they were missing Father's Day with their wives and kids or with their own Fathers. Trump put them up in warehouses with bunks he had brought in, so the conditions were similar to those reported in LA.
No wonder they marched the way they did. If Trump wants goose steppers for his parades he needs to have the Proud Boys march and not the US Military.
Yup. I recall a story one guy told; he was a member of a painting crew, and they were at a restaurant for breakfast, and another patron (seeing them all in white as yet unmarred by paint) asked if they were SEALS. One fellow said "no ma'am, we're more like the manatees."
I say this as a mother and grandmother who has overheard many conversations, including those of the pre-teen boys who hung out regularly in my living room just a few years ago to play video games and joke around and engage in some verbal competition. When I read Trump's words in print, it is clear to me that he has the vocabulary and worldview and thought processes of a 10 or 11 year old boy. And yet Congress and the voters have given him super powers and agency that pre-teen boys can only fantasize about, including the nuclear codes.
now imagine a preteen boy with dementia and power over the fate of the world.
and WHO is the adult in the room right now? and WHO has the nuclear football when he gets Confused and Paranoid like Stalin, the man he most resembles.
Hitler was full of Hate. Trump is full of Himself. Same same?
Trump would Never check himself and his Melania out.
I'm just hoping the Banksters or Someone bigger says
"Roberts, it's time to call foul."
Because his "total immunity" rests in SCOTUS decision about what is "an official act." That is the sword of Damoclese. (sp?) you know?
Rigging the vote is what actually happened. The numbers, especially in the target states made no sense at all. There * 'is' (duh) are some in depth reporting on all that.
I have to add that upon thinking about this, and why have the dems 'not' called for a recount, I sort of imagine that the dems are afraid that the whole idea of them calling for a recount might appear as 'dipping from a well poisoned by the maga's. In other words, I think they are hoping that the demands for recounts, by hand come from the grass roots preferably or only, so that it don't stick to them. Could or should we be demanding hand recounts ? I wonder - could we pull that off ? The vote totals in each of the battle ground states "coincidentally" fell just a whisker below the numbers that would trigger an automatic recounting..... Fact check that for yourselves if you can or will. I find that just a little too 'coincidental' myself. **Seems to me, it was only seven states or so.. right ? It's not like the task is all 50 states...
not even a 10 yo...maybe a 5 yo. Whiny little spoiled brat became the world's most dangerous person...a democidal sociopathic malignant narcissist. What can go wrong?
As stupid as toppling democratically elected Mossadegh there in 1953 and installing the cruel dictator Shah, and funding and torture training his savage SAVAK secret police.
As stupid as Nam (I was U.S. Army translator/interpreter of Vietnamese 2 Sept. 1969 - 4 Apr.'72).
As stupid as invading Iraq.
Instead, let's go forward. In step with that, Sam Harris (today interviewed by Scott Galloway) says our first requirement may be rebooting trust in our institutions.
They’ve become lately reviled as silos inhabited mainly by specialist, wonk, out-of-touch elites.
Of course, too, our elites have excelled in their specializations. Have aced all the tests for years they’ve taken. But do they possess any humanity? Or have the schools, to make way for meritocracy’s necessary tools, all anathematized, abandoned, scorned the novels, memoirs, histories, biographies, and essay collections that used to center us?
We need to put those at our center again. And we need school essay writing so humane literacy accompanies key skills to embrace our complicated world. With vigilance against the more long-recent of categories and group think packaged by our social media billionaires – against the swamp of slogans and cliché to which all sink who’ve no active humanities.
Phil, I agree that war is stupid. I have been saying "War is stupid" ever since I was in the war. My usual line is "About two weeks after Americans landed on the moon, I landed in Vietnam". I was in the 47-week program at DLIWC in Monterey from about April 1968 through the spring of '69. Then about two months at Goodfellow AFB. Then to Việt Nam. I was attached to the First Cav. One of my nuggets of wisdom is "Don't go looking for trouble. Trouble is looking for you." Of all of the varieties of human experience, warfare must surely be the most stupid endeavor we could embark on. The only possible exception I can see is if war is thrust upon us and no way can be found to avoid it. After I'd been back in The World for almost a year I applied for discharge as a conscientious objector, and won, about seven months before the end of my 4-year enlistment.
War is stupid. We should do everything we can think of to avoid going to war. The authors of our Constitution reserved the choice to go war to the representatives of the People. Something as grave as choosing to go to war should not be decided by one person -- even a healthy and completely sane person. The decision to go to war should be made by the representatives of the People in the House of Representatives. If this President decides to drag our nation into war in the Middle East, or anywhere else, we should strongly seek to restrain him by all legal means available to the People. If the House decides we should go to war, then it will be on them, and we will remember them at the next election.
Hello David H... From Another Another Vietnam Vet: Chris Hayes Show on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either..
The orange criminal in the White House, Putin, Netanyahu -- all the same, Apache.
All full of themselves -- and these gases puffing them up require fueling millions around them in hatreds, ceaseless hatreds.
How can U.S. Dems counter any of that when same Dems went to schools that for decades now have existed solely in the fantasyland of neutered testing -- as if so getting neutered oneself equips anyone to inhabit the same world as Putin, Netanyahu, and the U.S. criminal-in-chief?
Hello Daniel... I'm Not Pro-Iranium, I'm Pro-USA... Bear in Mind that the Persians have been a Cohesive People for Thousands of Years, and that this is a Defensive War for them... Refer to the Iran/Iraq War for how much the Iranians are willing to Suffer... How much were the North Vietnamese willing to Suffer?...
According to several sources, there is an ongoing coup. According to Tousi, most of the Iranian general staff has been killed and their successors are pledging support to the crown prince in exile and he is asking Trump for help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjJdkOqhTg
Thanks Phil... If the USA gets sucked into Netanyahu's War, it will be the Product of Broken USA Governance... The Main Political Parties, The Governing Class, and the MSM, particularly Fox News...
I'm a combat vet too and feel the same way David but I'm afraid the next war will be fought with our own people on our own turf. We are getting closer and Trump is all in.
Not a combat vet, denied the opportunity to serve my country in uniform, so I served my community in uniform for 28+ years. I have felt that your assessment is 100% accurate, and that a "War Between the States" is at hand. One part of our federal government seems to be running roughshod over the constitution while another is implementing plans to kill the social safety net and all areas of society that promote equity instead of white male Christian dominance, and a third is trying to establish an oligarchy.
After the war and a few years of thinking about what I had experienced and learned, I went back to school as a sophomore, at 27 yo, and earned a BA in philosophy. I think I will join you in calling for more emphasis on the humanities. I think humanity in general is short on empathy. And I think that many of the Members of the House on the conservative side exhibit evidence of sociopathic personality disorders. How else to explain why the conservatives want to take away the social safety net from about 11% of our fellow citizens living in poverty, in order to allow a tiny minority who have vastly more wealth than they can use in one lifetime to keep even more of their wealth for themselves?
David H, your last questions must be front and center in every conversation between now and election time. The wealth accumulation and preservation at the top is where each and every talking point must focus.
We must create a twenty-first century middle class where families can thrive during child-rearing years on one salary. Parents who make the life changing decision to nurture a child must be able to focus on that child’s best interest during the child’s formative years. Each couple knows their combined strengths and weaknesses. A stay-at-home parent contributes to the village needed to nurture family life in a profound way. That choice to live more modestly in order to be the homemaker during a child’s formative years is critical not just to one’s own family but to the village to which each family is a part. There are families that function well with two working parents. The choice depends on available emotional and financial support within each nuclear and extended family.
21st century policy reform is needed across the board: governmental, tax, environmental, health, educational, immigration policy, etc.
We desperately need ethical leaders to carry us into a better world. May they come forward to lead us!
Thank you, David, for your ending question that I will ask all day!
David, yesterday, I spent more than a little time thinking about this insanity going on, and I was wondering if any of the vets who saw upfront/close war and its suffering are gungho for yet another engagement. Personally, I hate war, but I support Ukraine for many reasons; one of which is keeping our boots out of there, and the other for keeping Putin from taking over Europe.
I trust the generals (mostly) more than Corp BoneSpurs (at all).
It looks, from here, like a serious number of those
who take part in the discussion are broadcasting a point of view rather than engaging in a discussion. How does the group as a whole consider information? We don’t seem to have a format for considering different points of view.
Linda, I've been pondering your comment about "engaging in a discussion". Some of us here have been talking about the problems of war and peace for half a century, or more. Being familiar with the problem makes it easy to state the case for a particular point-of-view without restating the full dimensions of the problem. To take a thorough-going approach to examine the multitudinous aspects of the problem of "war and peace" would require a college major program that would take several years to explore thoroughly. I believe such programs exist. When we are faced with exigent circumstances, we don't really have time or the luxury to give the problem the careful consideration it deserves. Having experienced warfare long ago, and having devoted many years to thinking about that experience, it is easy for me to take a firm stand on the subject. To wit: I believe we should devote time and attention to do everything we can think of to avoid getting involved in yet another war. If, despite all of our best efforts, we cannot avoid war, then we should be prepared to prosecute the fight with efficiency.
And if tomorrow I would be moved again to address this subject, I probably would not tell my story exactly the same way -- but my conclusion would always be almost exactly the same. Don't fight. If you have no choice, then be quick and efficient about how you fight.
Fox has replaced any serious thought with “entertainment politics.” Now the tech genuses have joined up and they are even bypassing the entertainment and going straight for the jugular without the victim even being aware that they are being “mind-controlled. The iceberg is straight ahead.
We’ve gone from hyper specialization with no heart and perhaps lacking morality to absolutely buffoonery, totally no experience running things with no heart and zero morals, and no spine. The only way to go is up. Back to experts schooled in ethics and taught basic compassion!
Phil, I saw the same Scott Galloway/Sam Harris interview with Sam Harris fumbling on his confusion of any relationship between American press holding Trump’s administration accountable for Trump’s reckless inexperience with not giving the US taxpayers any ROI for how much his Presidency is steering us into a recession and maybe a war. Where are the Democrats with a strong leader with charisma out in the press? Thank goodness for Bernie AOC and Cory Booker - why is the Democrats not being louder?
Following the army, Apache, some years reading in American stuff.
What the hell happened so the U.S. became so stupid as to accurately, humanly seeing foreigners?
A years'-long love affair with U.S. regionalism (for me, Appalachia).
Human rights in NYC opening me up to a larger world. Then off I was to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (so much wisdom in their poets, novelists, film makers).
Back to the U.S., trying to get universities to take on a program I'd developed in eastern Europe. A program of essay writing so students first see each other as individuals in the same classroom, then see others in neighboring cultures. Wrong. I still thought of America through the eyes of its novelists, memoirists, historians, and so many other great artists. Wrong. America had been taken over by all the legacies of the Powell memo, from the far-right gangrened to the remorseless but humanly dead standardized testers.
Japan, where I knew I could deepen insights into a great older culture now also beset by the U.S.'s stupidities for commercialism and schools killed by standardized testing.
I've found a former co-worker to be quite a conundrum. Her husband's job sent them to live in Saudi for several years. The company compound had people from all over the world. She said that everyone should live outside the US as it gives them perspective.
However, although she is of middle-eastern heritage, her parents were Catholic, as is she. She absolutely HATES any Muslim people, and also is a staunch anti-liberal, anti-Democrat, uber-religious person.
Miselle, my spouse and I have developed a way of looking at world religions as a universal search for divinity in the universe, clothed and colored by local customs and cultures, superimposed on an ineffable divine aspect.
For example, in Genesis we find a passage, translated in various ways, that says something like "God created Man in his own image". We see it as anthropomorphic (and sexist), projecting our own image onto the divine aspect, because the divine aspect is ineffable, unknowable. Similarly, every culture projects its own favorite characteristics onto the divine aspect. But surely we are all trying to know the same thing about the true nature of our existence. From this point-of-view, religious wars are non-sensical. The modern phrase "You do you!" applies.
Here in the United States we need to preserve the principle of religious freedom. Every American should be free to follow their own preferred religion, or to hold no religious beliefs at all. Religion is not the sole source of moral/ethical behavior. There is a version of the "Golden Rule" in almost all, if not all, world religions. Treat others as you wish to be treated. The clothing doesn't matter.
I started writing about my perspective and then it became about my encounters and my journey and then I realized that I was writing a book that nobody needed to read. You had already made my point when you said:
the divine aspect is ineffable, unknowable.
OR
You do you.
Every word you said is true.
I only wish that James Madison and the other writers of the First Amendment had elaborated a little bit. But we must remember that they lived in a political world too.
The one thing that may help people reading this is that there is a fascinating new interview of President Barack Obama by Heather Cox Richardson done at an event in Connecticut. Just search for their names. There is a 1:08:15 version on the Barack Obama channel Andy a 1:13:58 version on the CTFORUM channel.
The conversation between Barack and Heather Cox Richardson occurred on June 18, 2025.
My initial viewing/listening was of a 5 minute+ clip (link below), which instantly delivered me from the fabricated reality of preznit 4547, to a wholly wholesome sane and rational reality exemplified by two world-class humans who are excellent communicators and thinkers.
David, your comment is very close to my own heart. (So much so, that this theme is underlying in my debut manuscript which I'm trying so hard to get published.)
And indeed, some of the best "Christians" I've known are not Christians. In fact, one is Muslim!
EVERYTHING Chump does is damaging to everyone else. Even the toadies who think he is their golden goose.
Barry Goldwater’s message to the Mike Huckabees of our country. “REPUBLICAN BARRY GOLDWATER PREDICTS THE TEA PARTY’S DESTRUCTIVE RISE BACK IN 1994: When the preachers get control of the Republican Party, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. These people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise, but these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise.”
Sorry Barry, but they resemble what I was raised to think of as Christian, not at all. They are the deliberate inquisition. Evil to the bone. Every last one.
JD, you wrote "...they resemble what I was raised to think of as Christian, not at all..."
I would expand on that insight. My version is "They don't remind me of Jesus at all".
A few years ago we saw several films made in Iran, by Iranians, with English subtitles. The films were part of an annual film series at my alma mater, a local campus of the University of Wisconsin system in SE Wisconsin. We both came away with feelings of empathy for the people of Iran.
Another profound experience was delivered by reading "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books" by Azar Nafisi. It was enchanting.
When I read about a character in a story who is kind and generous toward other people, it often reminds me of Jesus, despite being devoid of religious language. And the people in the Iranian films were very relatable, just like us, apart from speaking a different language.
I am certain that many of us here would easily become friends with people in Iran. We are alike in many ways - just as we are alike with other people all over the world.
It would be a terrible, tragic mistake to inflict war on the Iranian people - or any other people.
They kicked Jesus to the curb decades ago. Peace may come when we are attacked by aliens and earthlings see themselves as in it together. Our tribal crap is so destructive as the “others” are us, in more ways than not.
Barry got that one right. Barry was also the lead republican in getting Nixon to resign, but how long did it take him to finally step up? The repubs learned from that "mistake" and no longer support anything resembling those conservatives. First they would break ethics and say that they did not break any laws, now they break the laws and do not even attempt to defend their actions.
Proud inquisition. I saw a show about Roger Stone, when he said that he would try to make sure that no other Repub president would be subjected to what Nixon was. He has done a smashing job. Evil has won the Republican hearts and minds. What the repubs learned was that cheating wins. Roger even remembered when, as a very young man, he discovered that lying was a winning strategy. Reagan bought into the Lee Atwater plans for their political future.
What worries me is that Seymour Hersch is predicting that the U.S. will heavily attack Iran as early as this weekend. He's been correct before about that sort of thing.
On a different note, I honestly can't tell which is the biggest waste of space among Noem, Hegseth, and Gabbard.
Perhaps not in the sense of using the office the presidency to enrich himself, but certainly in another way that he cares almost as much about and that is his legacy as president. It's why he's invested so much of his bandwidth (not large at the best of times) on trying to resolve foreign conflicts without much success. He still entertains hopes of winning a Nobel Peace prize like his bete noir Obama. He believes that he deserves the prize more than anyone else. Observe his scornful attitude to this Nobel Peace prize winner.
It doesn't seem to matter to our Thug-In-Chief that lives are at stake here. He thrives on appearing chaotic, and is proud of being able to turn on a dime, no matter what the cost in lives and taxpayer money. He demands loyalty over intelligence, filling his administration with ignorant loyalists and TV personalities. Surely there must be a successful way to impeach him and his cronies by now.
Why the sudden urge by Trump to join with Israel in attacking Iran, especially given Tulsi Gabbard's testimony, in which she passed along the collective judgment of our intelligence community, that Iran isn't even close to developing nuclear weapons?
Is it that Trump is acting on pure instinct, or a hunch, or is there some other explanation or, if I may hypothesize, an ulterior motive?
Let's look at the timeline to see if there may be some clues as to what suddenly caused him to do an about-face.
Let's start with Saturday and what was billed as the parade to end all parades and one whose glorification of Donald Trump as the master of the universe would be firmly implanted in the firmament.
To quote the late Dayton Allen, the parade " started off slowly but little by little it died out completely". As we all know, it was a huge fiasco and a total humiliation to Donald Trump. It was such a laughable event, that Trump could have easily imagined the participants at the G7 conference in Canada a few days later laughing at him behind his back along with the rest of the world.
So was it then a mere coincidence that at that very moment, he just happened to do a quick turn-around, reject the assessment of his own intelligence organizations and tell Iran and the world that unless Iran agrees to "unconditional surrender" the U.S. may join in Israel's attack on Iran?
Can we think of anything, other than a surprise announcement that we're going to war in the Middle East, that would have diverted the world's attention from Trump's utter humiliation on Saturday?
It obviously did the trick. The headlines about Trump's pathetic birthday military salute to himself have been displaced by Trump's threat to imminently join Israel in attacking Iran. It was a brilliant stroke of genius! All it took was a deranged mind and a willingness to commit our country to war.
Not only did Trump's sleight-of-hand work, but he now has the self-congratulatory and egotistical thrill of placing the world on tenterhooks waiting for this great man, who claims he rules the world, to decide over the next two weeks whether he will commit the greatest power in the world to joining Israel in its attack on Iran.
Which brings us to the most important issue. The U.S. Constitution vests in Congress, not the President, the exclusive power to declare war. Trump can no more engage the U.S. in offensive warfare against Iran without the consent of Congress than he could invade Canada, Greenland or any other foreign territory, whether on a whim or otherwise. But if the Democrats don't have the power, and the Republicans don't have the guts, we could be looking at a madman on the loose attacking whomever he pleases at that moment.
The Guardian gave the "parade" a nice little day-after coverage - it also seemed to them that the soldiers deliberately sabotaged it (sloppy posture, out-of-step, etc).
If I recall correctly, the war in Vietnam was initially called a 'Police Action' to circumvent the need for congressional approval. In fact, the last time the US declared war with congressional approval was June 4, 1942 against the lesser Axis powers of Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
Wrote and called my senators this morning and house representative(went to office as close by) right now our government is being run like a reality tv. show, as that seems to be all he knows it’s no surprise. This time around no one with any knowledge to bring him back to “earth” congress best do their job!
Christine, I believe there are many in our country, now that confuse life with reality TV., and one of them is surely Trump.
It’s great to imagine you have a staff of writers who will give you a scrip that says we will automatically win because we have to come back next season, but this is life, and we can’t just write a scene where we end up being the hero. That takes intelligence and ability to see the big picture over the long term, and a talent to communicate to people of different cultures and actually make sense. We have no one who can step into these shoes, now. We have only greedy deal makers and truly stupid leaders who desire aggrandizement.
Still here. And just this morning, a giant freighter got stuck in the mouth of the "Key-a-hooja" trying to make one of the turns! Wish Randy was still writing; he'd have a field day with this one, too!
Each day that Trump is in power I feel that the US is less safe. This is a frightening time for me and I am not even in the military but I have family and friends who are. I cannot imagine the PTSD they are getting from this presidency. They understand what cannon fodder is from watching Putin. That is not what anyone signed up for in our professional military. I just wish them safety and the wisdom to understand what is right.
I read this letter three times. Only Rod Serling could make sense out of the sequence of events. We are living in a real life "Twlight Zone". The ship is floundering in a sea of uncertainty created by the whims of poor old demented Captain Trump. The crew, made up of land lubbers who have never been to sea before, blindly follow his orders hoping to avoid being accused of disloyalty and forced to walk the plank to oblivion. Bill
The American voters have installed an unstable imbecile at the wheel, and all we can do is wait for his next impulsive move and hope it's not to drive us off a cliff.
It doesn't matter who is on the security council because Trump won't care what they advise. There is no way to restrain him as long as his appointees and Congress go along and defend whatever he says and does.
Instead of keeping Trump in the spotlight we should put the Republican party center stage. The Trump administration is the result of Republican votes - at the ballot box and in Congress. Trump is the personification of Republican values and priorities.
I agree 💯%,Lin, Trump couldn't do ANY of this without the cowards in the GOP. They are causing this and they need to step up and put a stop to the destruction their administration is causing for the whole world, not only the US.
We need to spotlight the Republican party and their complicity in all of this in our next protest march. Instead of just"Trump, Trump, Trump" let's put the faces of Holy Mike, Kristi Noem, Hogsbreath and the other traitors on our posters. Trump is the face of this party but he is only their stooge.Stephen Miller is the evil puppeteer.
I am so tired of hearing democrats, most recently Tammy Baldwin in her interview with Jennifer Rubin of the Contrarian say her colleagues on the other side privately denounce what is going on. She should be calling these cowards out by name to step up and do the right thing. Democrats should compile a list of everyone who has espoused reservations in private. Cowering to the threat of violence against them and their families should not be a deterrent. It's time people in positions of power exercise their power by speaking up before it's too late. Democrats need to NAME these republicans. And yes, I can anticipate many saying then they won't confide in anyone. What's worse? To me they are two sides of the same coin. Finally, what happened in Minnesota over the weekend, while absolutely tragic, should not deter us from speaking out. History is full of people who have died to protect our democracy.
.. and I might add, when the dems interview Hegseth, and he does a whataboutism re Biden, they should remind him how many immigrants he did deport; that the dems and republicans worked out an immigration plan but trump wanted to make it his wedge issue, therefore, demanded it be put aside; and when Hegseth tells them that they shouldn't believe books written by experts, only believe in the bible, they should be prepared to read a few choice verses from the bible - if they can find some - which do reflect Jesus's humanity. There must be some good in the good book.
Yeah, and how many illegals that he deported had to process their Stephanie. Only 25% of the ones Obama deported had to process, but I didn’t hear a Peabody you guys go look it up.
Oh, there is a lot of verses that tell people how to be kind to others, deal with the bad ones who persecute others. Matthew 23 is a good chapter to read. I would love to hear congress/ senate folks to quote some Bible verses! Then, the so- called 'christian' politicians will have to answer- after they have been told the truth they can no longer feign ignorance or justify their mean actions.
The Democrats are just as cowardly. They all know the U.S. should stop giving bombs and money to Israel to stop the carnage and starvation in Gaza, but they are so afraid of AIPAC and getting primaried that they won't say a word.
Hey Barbara, do you want the holocaust to happen all over again and you appear to be Jewish perhaps a Jewish antisemite perhaps. Gaza is run by Hamas. It’s government of his Hamas. It’s laws are Hamas, and if Israel wins this battle, Hamas will be gone, and the people of Gaza will be thrilled to have their own government
Carolyn-"Cowering to the threat of violence against them and their families should not be a deterrent. It's time people in positions of power exercise their power by speaking up before it's too late"
If I were in their shoes I would be afraid, to be honest, for my family especially, given the violence and lawlessness promoted by MAGA. What needs to happen that will perhaps help courage is to act together in a group
There is no threat of violence. The violence is all being caused and performed by the left with illegals walking around the streets of America with Mexican flags and antifa, burning buildings and threatening police once again.
Show me where the violence is from maga. /?
You guys remind me a little bit of Pelosi when she said you have to pass the bill in order to know what’s in it.
You’re saying exactly the same thing here stop enforcing the law and we won’t be violent. Wow.
Read my post it’s not only Republicans so wake up and I keep saying you guys here have no idea what the people that voted for Trump think feel or how proud they are. The Trump is in the White House. Which is one of the reasons your party continues to flail.
Victoria, yes. A lot of people like us are aware of these and the other minions. We should make them even more aware as well as putting the whole party and the rest of the destroyers out there for those who do not pay attention, keeping in mind that some people are unreachable.
The behavior of the anti-democracy movement is appalling, especially in the way it responds when it's told that its behavior is appalling.
In the June 18 edition of MSNBC’s Deadline White House, Marc Elias correctly observed that the pro-democracy movement's primary focus cannot be on what the anti-democracy movement is doing and must instead be on what the pro-democracy movement is doing.
There is a line where the focus on the threat needs to change to positive action, the results, and hope. the blogs and substacks and opinion writers/experts in their field should be aware of what they are projecting-- hope or hopelessness? Not to avoid stating the threats altogether for sure... the one drives the other: threats to democracy, actual, planned- drive pro-democracy action.
Any dwelling on the sad facts & not rejoicing in good accomplishments is EXACTLY the game plan by twump & his minions. Quit feeding the bear.
You are right about Miller.
Yes, Moe Larry and Curley - The 3 Stooges!
Good one. Biden Mayorkas and the borders czar. The Three Stooges that caused all this illegal immigration turmoil.
Well I love it when you start giving people ugly nicknames and you think that’s not a children’s game. ? Next thing out of your mouth is gonna be Nah na nan na nah nah.
I don’t like my tax dollars are going to bomb and kill women and children as is historic. We are the greatest danger to all life on the planet. It’s not China. It’s the United States. We are the boogymen. The Antichrist has arisen. He is US.
"The Antichrist has arisen. He is US."
Nonsense.
There is much to critique and much to deplore in US policy. And there is much for Americans to protest.
But hyperbolic twaddle - reducing the world situation to blaming one player, the US, for everything that is wrong - is the sort of self indulgent, superficial, and specious rhetoric which is part of the problem.
As an entity, we have elected the most unbalanced destructive person in the whole world.
A pissing match for "the most unbalanced destructive person in the whole world" is silly.
65% of eligible Americans voted in 2024. Trump got 49.8% of that vote.
So when you say "As an entity, we have elected the most unbalanced destructive person in the whole world" you are equating around 33 % of the American electorate with the "entity" the United States and using that as a justification for identifying the United States as the antichrist.
Yes. It makes me wonder what the heck does Israel manufacture or sell that generates the "tax" dollars or income to their country? In other words, How??? does that country afford all the weaponry/the IDF/healthcare for their people (who ARE their people?). I just wanted to throw the preceeding sentence out there. Go ahead..., tell me. Surely their income is not just the grapes and figs we get in Wal-mart?
Israel controls ignorant, guilt-riddled christians. It also acts as a kind of buffer between the West and the Middle East. There is absolutely no reason, Biblical or otherwise, for Christians to put Israel on a pedestal. They need salvation just like everyone else. Finally(?), Jesus said no one can predict His return, not even Him. Siding with Israel, wiping out innocent Palestinians, or bombing Iran will make no more difference than any other foolish or hateful move.
Well said, Sandra!
As a non-theist, I really do not understand the emotional ties that I see to Israel in my MAGAt cohort of former workmates. It seems that one of the many "one, true ways" of Christianity seems to idolize the created State of Israel and pray for the destruction of this world so they (and only they) can ascend to the "promised land."
In the end, the very end, the catalytic force may have been the Abrahamic religions. If Iran had a nuke right now, it would probably use it against Israel, and Israel would retaliate. Russia, who has a Comprehensive Strategic Relationship with Iran could jump in, inspiring NATO to nuke Russia, and on and on. We need to get rid of nuclear weapons and somehow (through education most probably) reduce the influence of religion on politics. We could start here in the U.S. where Christian nationalism has launched an all-out war on democracy, stupidly doing the bidding of the oligarchs. There is just no way to fix stupid except to marginalize it.
Sandra, I just finished Elaine Pagel's book on Jesus called Miracles and Wonders. There was at the time and still is a lot of mystery as to when what he was talking about would happen. It drove some of the disciples crazy. Some regarded him as a failure because nothing happened and the Romans were still in charge and he was crucified to boot. And we have the Huckster as ambassador to Israel to make things worse. Agree totally with your post.
I don’t know that it’s proper to equate Israel with Christians. Would be better to equate Israel with Jewish people and the Jewish religion.
Thank you Sandra for your comment!
You're right. We don't have to support Israel when their actions result in the death of so many children and innocent people.
I would add that God hasn't always supported Israel. Look at all the times Israel was warned and warned about their behavior by God. Finally, He decided enough was enough and allowed other nations to conquer Israel. Then the Israelis were taken into exile.
At least that's how it's told to us the Bible.
So being God's chosen people, as the Bible puts it, doesn't exempt Israel from having consequences when their actions are murderous, killing even children.
Sandra, did you ever hear of the Holocaust? Well, for all of those are you pulling for Iran, a.k.a. Gaza because it’s run by Hamas proxy of Iran… you are unknowingly , pulling for holocaust part two
Technology, manufacturing, professional services are the top three. Want more details? Take two minutes and your favorite search engine will help you.
I agree, Bill. Regarding whether Trump will use our military to attack Iran, I think not. Why? Because Putin has too much involvement economically with Iran and has instructed Trump to not use military force, IMO. Trump has already decided - he will do Putin's bidding. Why? Because of those Moscow hotel room videos. And they're really bad.
Why stop there, Bill? Put the blame on the real bogeyman- mankind. The human race is cruel, violent and capable of tremendous evil, but also capable of kindness, generosity, and love for others. That's why we keep living and trying to do better (with scattered successes).
You better define us Bill.
Define you? A piece of S.
They're not cowards, they AGREE. The GOP itself has become neofascist.
We all should admit, these posts are therapeutic. Don’t we all feel better after leaving a cleaver statement no matter what we say?
I was merely stating the objectively demonstrable truth ;-).
Sorry buddy, I just used your post for positioning. I didn’t even read it, lol.
Rex, why don’t you read my post above maybe you’ll be a slightly more enlightened because one of the things I keep saying here is most of the people here have no idea zero idea of what people that voted for Trump think feel or are about and just so you know they’re all very happy every morning they wake up knowing that Trump is at the wheel protecting America fighting for America and regaining America. It’s standing in the world.
There was a study conducted by two Univ. of Kansas professors and published in the Feb. 2018 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology. You can google it and read the summary. In fact, here's the abstract:
Abstract
"Recently released data from the 2016 American National Election Study allow us to offer a multifaceted profile of white voters who voted for Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential election. We find that Trump’s supporters voted for him mainly because they share his prejudices, not because they’re financially stressed. It’s true, as exit polls showed, that voters without four-year college degrees were likelier than average to support Trump. But millions of these voters—who are often stereotyped as “the white working class”—opposed Trump because they oppose his prejudices. These prejudices, meanwhile, have a definite structure, which we argue should be called authoritarian: negatively, they target minorities and women; and positively, they favor domineering and intolerant leaders who are uninhibited about their biases. Multivariate logistic regression shows that, once we take these biases into account, demographic factors (age, education, etc.) lose their explanatory power. The electorate, in short, is deeply divided. Nearly 75% of Trump supporters count themselves among his enthusiastic supporters, and even “mild” Trump voters are much closer in their attitudes to Trump’s enthusiasts than they are to non-Trump voters. Polarization is profound, and may be growing."
The prejudices that the abstract references: racism, homophobia, xecnophobia and misogyny. IMO, we're dealing with the 21st century version of the KKK - white Christian Protestant Nationalism.
Richard, a like comment was passed on to me about two months ago From a fellow lemming and I gave it as much credibility as I give this one. The absolute last people I’m going to use as a source of reference are two loony liberal professors from Kansas.
Let me say it to you since you’re a smart guy. There are 61 black congressmen/women, in the House of Representatives. That equals 14% of the house of representatives 435 seats. The black population of the United States is 14%. The Senate is only one seat away from that exact number.
And I’m suggesting to you again stop dividing this country… start uniting this country. Misnomers and misidentifications and theories that are mentioned above are useless fodder.
And the longer the left keeps promulgating this divisive language, the longer It will be disorganized and nonfunctional.
I think there is more value in asking what we, us democrats have done wrong. This explains much. And be aware that many revenge vote meaning they don’t vote for someone but against someone. Hillary Clinton was hard to like and Biden simply outlived his welcome. He didn’t reduce the growing deficit which he should have. He was intent on his Build Back Better bill that did have waste imbedded in it. He didn’t touch the border for the first 2 years and most democrats refuse to acknowledge it. He was happy celebrating Trans Day and seeking to take away our gas stoves. And then that moment at the debate when he did a Mitch McConnell on us and we knew ( some of us anyway) it was over and we were about to elect a demon from hell. Think revenge vote and this is how he got in. Oh I’m a self educated social scientist if ya didn’t know, lol. Listen to me and you will learn something.
Bill, I agree with your first statement about voting against instead of voting for.
I think the best way to become a social scientist is to do it on yourself because you're getting firsthand knowledge rather than reading a book or getting a link.
And you do share a lot of good fair balanced messages for which I thank you
Who sets the Republican agenda and why? Whose interests are served? An awful lot of their whole Republican program is smoke and mirrors. Who benefits from that?
The Heritage Foundation, Peter Thiel and other Silicon Valley techno-authoritarians
Heritage selected the 2,500+ loyalists that Trump is appointing to fill the positions that Musk fired. Catholicism is a factor in Heritage governance.
It's interesting that Pope Leo is unafraid of standing up to the Fascist wannabe Priests, Bishops, Cardinals in the Catholic Church.
And many of them are oligarchs and supporters of Project 2025.
Support the Pope and all of his endeavors to assist underprivileged people regardless of their religion.
Pope Francis lead the way.
I was baptized and mama sent me off to catholic school. Man, they are a weird bunch. They once made me wear cardboard donkey horns for talking in class. On another occasion Mrs Henigan in 4th grade put me under her desk for talking and that’s when the real fun began. By 7th grade, Father Emerling expelled me. What a relief.
born and raised Catholic here in Canada. Never saw any of that zealous ideology here...is this an American thing with over zealous Catholics?
... raped, beaten unconscious, locked in closets by Catholic nuns and priests! Catholics have a horrible history that is not just in the U.S. Look no farther than the Americas, north and south, Africa, Asia, etc. Racist, elitist thugs. Historically, they've been a wrecking ball. Have they done anything beneficial? I guess some could argue that. I do support the current pope, though. He seems to be a good person who is determined to help others.
That is terrifying, indeed.
There are all kinds of "Catholics". Just as there is a wide variety of Protestants, Muslims, Jews, etc.
Each seems to have an extreme, highly superstitious and cruelly exclusive wing. The Catholic extremists hide it better. Ask Amy and Leonard.
Do you think your remark is prejudiced? I am asking sincerely Bill. Here is what I am watching right now. Once the Catholic Church was mentioned in a 100% as yet unverified statement then the comments rolled out against the Catholic Church; none of them came with any solid evidence to back the statement. My very serious point is this: how are we to ever secure our Democracy if we are all walking around with these kinds of knee jerk prejudices? The lines of antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, misogyny, racism etc. are so easily crossed. No judgement here. Just some early morning thoughts on Democracy.
"Power always sincerely, conscientiously, de très bon foi, believes itself right. Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak." -- John Adams
"Catholicism is a factor in Heritage governance."
Entities connected with Charles Koch bagman and Catholic extremist Leonard Leo funded at least 40% of HF work on Project 2025.
Leonard Leo's acceptance speech at the 2017 Canterbury Medal Gala - Becket
.https://becketfund.org/leonard-leo-speech-2017-canterbury-medal-gala/.
William Barr Notre Dame Speech on Religious Liberty (text-video)
.https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williambarrnotredame.htm.
Is it Catholicism or Leo Leonard? Huge difference here Lin.
Can you definitively prove that? We need to be super careful, especially at this time, on stirring up any more prejudice. Where does it say The Heritage Foundation is aligned with the Catholic Church?
Not the church per se, but check out the affiliations of those on SCOTUS. Every year SCOTUS attends the red mass, and even Breyer would attend.
The Red Mass for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 will likely be held in late September or early October, coinciding with the start of the Supreme Court's new term. It is a Catholic Mass celebrated annually to invoke God's blessings on the judiciary and all members of the legal profession. The Red Mass is traditionally held at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., where the justices often attend.
Both Thomas and Alito openly admit they apply "natural law" which is church dogma before applying gthe text of the Constitution.
Key contributors to Heritage 2025 include Russ Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, and Paul Dans, who previously directed the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. Other notable contributors include Ken Cuccinelli, Rick Dearborn, and Christopher Miller, among others.
From Wiki: Vought graduated from the evangelical Christian Wheaton College and describes himself as a Christian nationalist. He seeks to infuse the government and society with elements of Christianity, saying he has "a commitment to an institutional separation between church and state, but not the separation of Christianity from its influence on government and society", according to The Washington Post. In a secretly recorded meeting in 2024, Vought said that conservatives should discuss whether to prioritize Christian immigrants over those of other religions. Vought supports a total ban on abortion. He has called the Democratic Party "increasingly evil" for supporting secularism.
Since 2022, Vought has advocated for what he calls "radical constitutionalism" to reverse what he calls a current "post-Constitutional time"; he asserts this has been the result of a century of corruption of laws and institutions by the political left. He characterizes the federal bureaucracy as "woke and weaponized" and advocates replacing it with "radical constitutionalists". Vought proposes to "gut the FBI" and end the tradition of political independence of the U.S. Justice Department.
Leonard Leo
"Where does it say The Heritage Foundation is aligned with the Catholic Church?"
As far as I know, Rome does not direct The Heritage Foundation et al.
But, extremist American Catholics - such as court capture operative Leonard Leo and his hand picked Supremes and others such a former AG Bill Barr - have had significant influence. When you hear GOP complaints about antiCatholic persecution - it comes Leo et al. If you criticize their racist right wing religious extremist policies they scream "antiCatholic." (Much as when one criticizes racist right wing religious extremist Netanyahu regime policy their supporters scream antisemitism. Before Oct 7, millions of Israelis were in the streets for a year protesting Netanyahu's attempts at capturing the Israeli Supreme Court - aided by Leo allies.)
Pope Francis and now Pope Leo have criticized the politicization of Catholicism in the US. Some of the best criticism comes from within the American Catholic Church.
Leonard Leo has reshaped the Supreme Court. Is he reshaping Catholic University too? | National Catholic Reporter
.https://www.ncronline.org/news/leonard-leo-has-reshaped-supreme-court-he-reshaping-catholic-university-too.
Barbara, it IS about the MONEY! Always follow the money trail. It will lead you to more connections which make sense. Do their actions lead to more sharing of wealth or more concentration of wealth? It is about THE MONEY!
The first two articles the Duck gave me when I asked "Is the Heritage Foundation" based in Catholicism:
https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholic-leader-champions-heritage-foundations-right-wing-brand
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/thecreationproject/2019/07/serving-god-mammon-rise-influence-heritage-foundation-federalist-society/
C'mon Barb...
And right-wing billionaires and right-wing media. I think JL's question 'Who benefits from Trump's agenda' is key. To stay focused on that is to stay focused on what is really happening and why. Imho, we need to shine a light on the embeddedness of criminals in government and business, aka Iron Triangles per Heather's recent Letter. Obviously, this is not easy to do with criminals in the upper echelons of power. (In my opinion, the head of Russia is the head of a criminal enterprise.) That said, religious leaders such as Pope Leo, and demonstrably strong public opinion can be enormously powerful and impactful.
Enemies of the Constitution.
Who?
Read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money," Barbara.
Read Diane Ravitch's "The Language Police."
Read Robert Lustig's "The Hacking of the American Mind."
They've got the names, amounts, and particulars, whether the banks, hedge funds, and high finance, or the schools, standardized testers, and corporate textbook publishers, or those who fund (and profit from) our best science.
J L see Project 2025, the product of the oligarchy wish list which has been pursued with remarkable consistency for such a whimsical president: https://www.project2025.observer/
Don't forget Chuckie Koch. Even if he is very nearly dead, he's not.
And Russell Vought.
TACO is driving the "golf kart" for those guys. He's their Uber, they have his number along with every other tom, dick, and harry. And, no tax on the 'tips' he gets either. Problem is, he doesn't always go where directed, or just gets lost late at night. So, star-lite.., star-brite.., StarLink is the star that really gonna bite (bite us in the arse). Watch..., err "stay tuned". bbboinkk
The guest at last night's Hancock County Democratic Committee meeting was the Maine Secretary of State -- Sheena Bellows spoke via zoom from the campaign trail in Saco, ME. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenna_Bellows
The HCDC invited her to speak for 15 minutes about her role as Secretary of State. Since she announced her run for governor, she could have spent the time stumping for her run as governor. But, she said she was invited to this meeting to talk about her role as Secretary of State and refused to even admit she was running for governor. She said that her personal ethics would not allow her to do so.
As Secretary of State she recommended pulling Trump's name from the primary ballot as it was illegal under Maine state election law for him to run. A week after that decision, the Fascist US Supreme Court over ruled her decision.
But I digress. During her terms as Secretary of State, she has initiated programs to educate students as well as adults about Civics since it is no longer taught in Maine schools. She also is on multiple nationwide bi-partisan committees and she praised the Republicans that she worked with on the committees. It seems that Fascism hasn't taken hold of the entire Republican Party even though cowardice certainly has.
One of the reasons, in my opinion that Democrats do so well in the non-Presidential election years is that state wide elections allow the Democrats to criticize the Republicans. At least that's how it is in many states.
And as good a governor as Secretary Bellows will be, Maine is fortunate to have another equally amazing candidate Hannah Pingree (Chellie Pingree's daughter) running for governor.
They are both young and would be great governors. Hopefully, the Democrats (and Independents) across the US are able to recruit equally qualified candidates.
I can only conclude that they are being told to “Hang together, or we shall surely hang separately”. The mob-boss tactics are working because the gop like that worldview. Even “moderates” like Lisa Murkowski fall in line. “Hang together, for the Kingdom of Total gop Control is at Hand” seems another angle.
no matter how bad the legislation is, they always seem to fall in line. They complain, then vote for things.
Having it both ways with their constituents.
Democracy cannot achieve "liberty and justice for all" without a preponderance of due diligence and good faith. We can endure corrupting Big Lies as we endure infectious diseases, but not without a fight Not without a societal "immune system" keeping sociopolitical corruption at bay. That effort is never entirely successful, but we can do what we can do to minimize the damage.
'That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men (sic), deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,"
"Who benefits from the Republican agenda?"
Look at who funds The Federalist Society, The Heritage Foundation, and The Teneo Network? Charles Koch and the fossil fuel industry. Et al.
Then Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and the tech bros.
For starts.
For instance, Google Leonard Leo. Who for decades has been Koch et al's bagman funneling immense amounts of money through innumerable shell companies, to a myriad of antidemocratic causes.
In 2007, Robert Frank came out with a book called “Richistan”. The Financial Times explains: “As wealth creation becomes more and more globalized, RICHISTAN looks behind the glitz to find the real story of new money and its impact on the world.” In effect, the number of international-mega-rich constitute its own country, or centralized locus of power, changing the dynamics of world culture, economic functionality, and livability. They are insulated from us “mud-people” as Elon would call us. In short: WE are expendable, ala “Atlas Shrugged”. So the gop all hang together to realize this dream. The gods of Mt. Olympus fight and back-stab while we deal with the repercussions. They want us to “Just Die” and get out of the way. That’s my opinion, but it sure seems accurate to me viewing the actions of the gop.
I’m ordering that book now.
Sorta sounds is like same old feudalism, same old narcissistic conceit of supremacy, same old serpent.
JL Graham, I think you just gave me the best idea for my next protest sign: a picture of trump with “Same Old Serpent” written below.
Um, any spineless Republican who doesn’t want to be “primaried” ( geez, that is a ridiculous word!)?
Putin. DT is blowing up the US from the inside.
Corporate America and its oligarchs, duh.
Donors.
"We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
-- Fritz Hollings, November 16, 2004
J L, the people at the top and ghouls like Stephen Miller.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Who benefits? The wealthy (more money) and the racists/white Christian nationalists. Their psychic food is the harsh treatment of our fellow humans who are brown skinned.
Who suffers, who benefits and why? I think our society would be wise to map that one out.
Great idea, J L. Would you like to take a crack at it? For starters, who suffers? We all suffer, but some more than others. Who benefits? Only the demented.
It’s spelled “AIPAC”
Iin , I agree with keeping the gop in the spotlight and center stage in every discussion. Since “Trump is the personification of Republican values and priorities,” we must conclude that the gop stand for nothing more than cruelty for cruelty’s sake. Hammer away at that Truth with every breath we have.
It is the GOP MAGA party in Congress that bears the responsibility. They do absolutely nothing and hopefully the American people will be smart enough to vote every single one of the cowards out! Many of them should eventually face criminal charges for failing to do their duty. None of them should be able to keep their health benefits or any other perk that may come with having been in their position. They have not served the constitution nor the rule of law only themselves and the felon in chief.
Sadly, No More, I feel that there are far, far too many of the American People who want the cruelty to others (not themselves, of course) and delight in seeing those "others" (mainly BIPOC and LGBTQ+) losing all their rights, shoved into poverty, and beneath the thumb of white Christian dominance.
AH, this is why I advocate for outing people, something I know you are not enthusiastic about. But I really do feel that the "Log Cabin Republicans" (mostly white male affluent gay men who share all the nativist and racist nonsense of the rest of the party but think they are immune) are relying on those closeted minions of the Felon to give them a pass. Revealing them for the hypocrites they are could make it difficult for everyone who remain with the Ghastly Oligarchs Party.
Whewwww!! Absolutely. Prosecute them - every one who broke the law. No need to hang them,just find them guilty, administer whatever punishment is appropiate, and move on.., move on.
Getting closer, but, it is the brainwashed millions and millions of cult members who checked the republican box last november. Our "friends" and neighbors, who, "don't want to talk politics". Pfft.
Agreed!
lin, I like your idea. Maybe reporters should ask them if they think the Marines out in LA should shoot protesters if ordered to do so by Voldemort.
Democrats in Congress are asking that. And it is being reported.
WATCH: Hegseth won’t say if he allowed military to arrest, use lethal fo...
.https://youtu.be/2s8bkl36BV4?si=WDgzR0dd0PBsx9Ak.
Holy Moly! What a snake.
Yes, it is the republican party that is the enemy of the Constitution and the rule of law.
Thoroughly Orwellian "Republicans" are literally attempting to tear down the republic and erect an autocracy. "Originalism" my arse. Come to the Dark Side...
Your point is spot on, and is not stressed enough. Too much of the citizenry is composed of phony-christian evangelical crackpots, bigots, racists, neo-Nazis and generally stupid people who keep voting for this insanity. It’s easy to look at where we are and arrive at the conclusion that we are a nation of selfish idiots.
"It’s easy to look at where we are and arrive at the conclusion that we are a nation of selfish idiots."
Something like 30% of the actual electorate. A bit over half of voters.
Still, STILL, gets. 46% overall job performance approval.
Thank media deregulation, and anti-antitrust for a strong supporting role. Thank the philosophy of glorifying violence and molding children's (and adults) thought-scape by inducing PTSD. @#$%^& Authoritarianism.
Agree, that's what I keep reminding my GOP senators and representative...you, by your vote or silence, are complicit and the American people will know that truth.
I love that idea lin, for more reasons than I'll state here.
Not only republican values and priorities, but of hate.
Agreed . I despise Trump but is that hate? It seems me that hate is more irrational, like profound anger vs rage, as in "road rage". Intense anger can be just anger. Unhinged "reptile" emotion makes us vulnerable to unwise choices; which can make us dangerous to ourselves and others. Extreme sociopaths are nobody's friend.
Perhaps, but what the Republicans and trump are doing is based on pure hate. Hate can lead to violence. Look at what the MAGA’s are doing. People are afraid of what they might do if you aren’t one of them. Do you think they fear us?
And how many billionaires, lin, backing them up?
Not just that, but actively pushing the hate and paranoia scenarios Putin, Orban, and Netanyahu have pushed, grown, also funded?
Add in the social media techies organized by Xi's communist cadres, the Iranian mullahs, and Silicon Valley ideologues formerly known as libertarians but now all concerted to grow the MAGA federal police state to kill democracy forever.
Thanks. We should have been pressuring Congressional Republicans -- especially those is blue states. Besides Iran, there are several other pressure points that can kill the Trump agenda.
https://news.yahoo.com/news/senate-gop-leader-faces-pushback-100000271.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/politics/breaking-with-trump-bacon-says-he-wont-follow-his-party-off-the-cliff.html
Bravo, lin!
King Donald’s Court Jesters aren’t up the task of planning his war, hence his only super power is everyone else’s fear of his “uncertainties”
Remember, not only Republicans voted for tRump this time…many voters just bought the cool-aid and many more sat on the sidelines and didn’t vote at all…
They are all complicit…
Same happened in Congressional elections and those Republicans who were voted in and are in lock step with the policies of this regime need to get a conscience….they are all to blame…voters, non voters and legislators.
From my little point of view it has seemed to me that we do, and have done in my lifetime, a lousy job of explaining and promoting the democratic responsibility of voting. It's way more than a form of self expression. It shapes the future of our whole society. It impacts the lives of some way more than others, and especially tends to impact the fates of those already deprived of power. I have been told explicitly by right wing types to "grow up and realize life isn't fair". True enough, and fate is often unkind; and yet WE human beings are endowed with a potential of recognizing justice, and acting accordingly. Isn't that "the Spirit of '76"?
Voting is currency of our republic. The unhindered right and duty to vote and for EVERY vote to count, no more and no less than any other, is the life blood of real democracy.
No , not everyone is born to the same trials and advantages, either innate or circumstantial; but we ostensibly agree, as democratic republic, to offer, so far as attainable, equal opportunity, equal justice, and equal protection UNDER LAW. That's what the iconic statue of "Justice" is supposed to be about. That is what we, as a collective society have been neglecting, when not eroding, for decades, and not just under Trump. That equality, proposed by the signatories to the Declaration of Independence, and redefined by Lincoln and a movements promoting social justice, is what genuine liberty is made of. We are getting snookered bigly while the same old serpent sows a familiar confusion, and draws far too many away.
We seem to expect that foreign policy is a topic that presidents discuss with the knowledgeable people they have installed around them. But there is nobody who is knowledgeable about foreign policy in this administration, so expecting any kind of coherent plan is unreasonable. Chaos is not a plan, it is not a basis for even an idea of a plan. Where is the child who will stand up and make clear to us that this wannabe emperor has no clothes, no marbles, and no plans?
Isn't it horrifying? Captain Chaos will probably be more influenced by what he sees on TV than any expert in the fields of military actions and nuclear science.
Honestly, we would be in better, safer, more thoughtful hands if my 9 year old grandson were POTUS. At least, he would ask good questions. And has a strong sense of fairness and empathy.
"Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" feels tame in comparison. To Trump voters: "Look what you have done..."
I keep thinking of that movie with taco on the front of that missile and the Austin Powers crazy guy. You can’t make this shit up. We are living it.
Also, remember the Suprene Court and their rulings…..particularly, beginning with Roe vs Wade. They swore oaths and look where “most” of them go, and continue to go.
The first president in American history who did not WANT to talk to foreign policy experts, the first in history who says he knows "more than the generals", the only one to insist a dangerous, outmoded view of economic history that claims tariffs are the source of prosperity is actually TRUE, the first to tweet and blop and blap every loose squirt of incoherent mental activity from the bowels between his ears for all to hear, the first to insist on a North Korean-style tank parade in his honor, the first to appoint kumquats, unqualified nobodys and TV circus performers on his Cabinet....
I give up. The list of "firsts" has no bottom....
When Trump excludes SecDef and DNI, assuming they know anything useful, which I doubt, you know he doesn’t care for good advice. He never has if it challenges his personal (uninformed) opinion.
Perhaps enough voices in unison.
Agree completely. Not one person in the clown admin has foreign policy experience. Flying by the seat of their pants and the us will pay big time.
Oh, but they look so good on television. So, in the end, does it matter if they are excluded. They’re just window dressing.
Good thing SecDrunk (aka SecDef) has a makeup room!
And perhaps not so many of the cards he implies he has and others don't.
Especially brain marbles!
Betsy. You said it perfectly clear😤
Hello Phil... DJT's BBB doesn't have $$$ for Hungry Children in the USA, or elsewhere in the World... It doesn't have $$$ for Disease Prevention. or $$$ to Advance Human Knowledge... However it does have $$$ for the ICE Gestapo, and to Fight Netanyahu's War On Iran...
...
19-June-2025: Chris Hayes on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... The North Koreans help Design & Build the Fortifications... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either..
North Koreans learned to dig in about 75 years ago, and China promoted it's grab them by the belt strategy. Our enemies are not without ways to make nuclear weapons hard to use effectively without causing massive retaliation with even more nuclear weapons.
It makes me think of Peter Arnett's Vietnam reporting, "We had to Destroy the Village, to save the Village," except it is now more like We have to Destroy the Planet to Save the Planet.
I saw that but I also watch Tousi TV. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJec0wv1EUomjrBNt1xCTA
According to several sources, there is an ongoing coup. According to Tousi, most of the Iranian general staff has been killed and their successors are pledging support to the crown prince in exile and he is asking Trump for help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjJdkOqhTg
Wilkerson sounds like sour grapes fermened into vinegar. His boss lied to Congress to get us into Iraq. When Tulsi Gabbard speaks, Putin's voice is expressed.
Our major vulnerabilities are bases in Iraq and Syria. 60% of the Iraqui population are Shiite as are most of the Iraqui militias. We can't trust them.
If you follow the money, Saudis and other Gulf countries say they support Iran, but they are Suni and are competititors and fear them.
Putin says he would mediate but he is an ally of the mullahs and he loves high oil prices.
Hello Daniel... The Middle-East is a MESS... Is Netanyahu's War worth US Lives, and Trillions of $$$... So Fordow is destroyed, and the Mullahs overthrown... Then What?... Meanwhile here in the USA we have an Authoritarian Coup in progress, and Troops in our Cities... Is bailing-out Netanyahu worth it?...
I'm not advocating war... Just things are never what they seem initially and from experience our intelligence sucks.
But they had a revolution in '79. They were our allies, even after we overthrew their elected government in 1952-1953. They were a westernized, modernized counry.
The mullas installed Sharia law. Women had few rights. They became militartistic. They had a bloody war with Iraq.
Just a few years ago, they had mass protests, pepole executed, tens of thousands jailed.
I probably laid out how Israel kept Trump out of the loop. When Israel attacked, Rubio denied all knowledge.
Trump lied about conversations with Netanyahu, tried to take credit for any success.
Trump gave Syria status at a time Israel was protecting the Syrian Druze from massacre. Said he liked the looks of an Isis murderer. https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-855242
Trump also did a "deal" with the Houthis, without including Israel. As soon as it was signed the Houthis sent missles into Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran is supplying Russia with arms, and other stuff.
Thanks Daniel... From Experience, some of our Intelligence is very Good... It is a matter if the Decision Makers want to listen to it... Washington DC is too Political, and Insulated... Getting Power, and staying in Power is Job#1 for too many there... As for the Iranians, I think they are Blinded by Religion...
Intelligence failures re Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam cost millions in lives and trillions of dollars.
The prople in Iran may/may not be religious. Shiites followers aspire to subjugate even Sunnis.
Apache. EXACTLY🤬🤬🤬
June 14th had over our 3.5% protest to say “don’t wave that surrender flag” - come on people!
Sure, but as distractions go, the imminent danger of war is hard to ignore.
Anne-Louise Luccarini: " ... the imminent danger offer is hard to ignore". True.
Professor, Heather Cox Richardson quoting Trump: "... I will make my decision whether or not to [go to War] within the next two weeks".
On 6/19/25, Trump was spewing and major media platforms were dutifully re-publishing MAGA propaganda:
The following verbatim quotes are from 3 major media platforms yesterday:
* The WSJ on 6/19/25, "Trump decision to Come within Two Weeks".
That's Murdoch.
* On 6/19/25 the Washington Post (WAPO) headlined: "Trump says he'll decide on Iran strike within two weeks".
That's Jeff Bezos.
* AP on 6/19/25, the Associated Press headlined: "Trump says he'll decide whether U.S. will directly attack Iran [OK say it with me now all in unison] within 2 weeks".
*****
"WTW" -- A NEW ACRONYM:
I am tempted to coin a new 3 letter acronym. When referring to Trump's cognitive dysfunction, instead of saying "WTF" let's go with "WTW" referencing Trump's uncertainty on when to go to war so ... "Within Two Weeks", WTW.
Bonus: "WTW" goes well with WWL, World Wrestling League 🤡 jargon too.
Bryan, that is PERFECT! The two weeks is his constant time frame--somewhere I once saw a clip where a slew of his "in two weeks" comments were strung together. I am on the fence as to whether he realizes so much xxxx will come down the pipe that whatever will be forgotten in two weeks, or it is a manifestation of his dementia. (I've often mentioned here of my brother's dementia and his verbal difficulties. Trump's two weeks is chillingly familiar.)
You are on it Miselle.
You may have seen a collection of the "in 2 weeks" babble collected by the sharpest tool in the box Jen Psaki.
Yes. And it was also on Psaki’s show that I saw a clip of Obama being interviewed by our own HCR. I used the search feature on YouTube to find the whole thing. It’s fascinating.
Yikes!
Ally, forgive me if needed -- I'm just trying to call 'em as I see & hear them.
Let me translate. At the same time there're negotiating in Geneva, he's giving Israel encouragement to continue.
Trump looks to the past. To him, two weeks is a nice escape, because to him, that’s so far in the future that he can’t imagine it.
Most of what now comes out of Donald's demented mouth is something he heard when he was younger and merely learning-disabled. I doubt that I could find a citation, but I would bet a large sum of money that the "two-week" delay window was taught to him by one of his mentors, Roy Cohn.
When you spray the zone with liquified shit from a firehose, nobody can remember what you said two weeks ago.
Trump’s answers are always non-answers because he is really not capable of making a decision. He has perfected these ambiguous statements and goes off on tangents and distractions because he is clueless. Yet the press writes articles like he’s given us some great response instead of a feeling of fear that the man who most loves to see people slaughtered or blown up in the most gory way won’t order the violence.
then for sure get in the faces of every GOP Rep and Senator.
Well not quite JaKsaa. More like just above 2 percent, meaning we still have work to do.
I saw on the Indivisible page that the estimate for 6-14 was 11 mil. My hubby did the math and he said thats around 3%. I suppose it depends on whose numbers you are using!
"...all we can do is wait..." This is not helpful. Action is the cure for feeling helpless. Find any little thing you can do, because it not only helps you feel better, it adds up to mobilizing ourselves in the large numbers and votes to turn this ship around. Check out this new Substack resource for actions:
We the People Dissent is following up June 14 No Kings Day with a weekly list of actions, including by state:
https://open.substack.com/pub/thepeopledissent/p/7-ways-to-resist-this-week-and-a?r=6pp8t&utm_medium=ios
Yes Ellie. Some feel just getting on this stream is “doing even just one thing every day to support democracy”.
It’s not. This reply column is a megaphone for readers. Be empowered and then get on the phone and call a rep in Congress. Dig into your community and show up at a meeting. Keep being informed a priority and then act in a way to promote the strength of We the People in action.
And my personal plea to readers….we complain constantly about mainstream media ignoring e.g. the latest NoKings protests and making it all about the MAGAts.
But I have yet to see a mention here of Sen Tammy Duckworth who followed Sen Slotkin’s complete takedown of Hegseth.
We do the same thing in this stream without really understanding the manipulation going on of US.
PLEASE….Let US be more assertive in our responsibility as a citizen of the world.
I’m so over giving more highlights to Trump. He has enough anyway simply in his hair.
Salud, Ellie.
Light and Love.
🗽💜
And here is the full speech from Sen Alex Padilla. Let us give space and time to him. Call him and let him know what you think. Thank a true hero of We the People.They are fighting for US every day.
https://youtu.be/G-mKheWHHDw?si=lfiF5W33SNxKgfbu
Salud!
🗽
That was an incredible speech. I've bookmarked this to watch in full later today; I have seen probably 8-9 minutes of it on various platforms.
It is reassuring to know that there ARE people in power who are fighting for us.
Salud, Christine!
This is what a Kakistocracy looks like.
The perfect storm.
This is truly frightening. The felon rapist is insane and the repubs seems fine with it all: masked men armed to the hilt kidnaping innocent people including women and children off the streets, law abiding people trying to do the right thing! Installing military in the streets of blue states to intimidate and harass people. And now threatening a war in the Middle East bc we protested against him and no one showed up for his pathetic birthday bash. How will we ever survive three and a half more years of this...
Something installed this mess, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that it was not American voters.
Maybe not 100% but there sure are American voters who eat this 💩up like it is manna from Heaven.
Note: when I searched the emoji, I used "poo" as my search word, not the "real magilla".
Unfortunately my brother is one of them. To this day I don’t think he understands the term secret police. When I mentioned my disgust for Tucker Carlson last year I thought his head was going to explode.
1] The Felon did not write those posts on his social media because, unless HCR is correcting the grammar and spelling, he could not possibly spell three-syllable words or correctly spell Macron's first name. 2] NPR this morning reported a very different scenario for the Israeli strike against Iran. Less than 24 hours before Netanyahu launched the strike he "barely survived a no confidence vote in the Knesset." This was a vote made because he has signally failed to bring the remaining hostages home or end the war in Gaza and the shit-show there is clearly unresolved because his "advisors" (such as they are) are split between killing all the Palestinians in Gaza and taking over the territory before doing the same on the West Bank, and those who want him to end the Gaza war and get the hostages--or their corpses--home. 3] If we don't start emphasizing that Stephen Miller is the person who is manipulating the puppet strings we will not be able to drive him out of the maladministration, which we really need to do. 4] The "speech" that the Felon made at the flagpole installation was full-on demented. I read it in the Meidas Touch evening roundup.
Some American voters. When you say inclusive things such "the American voters" you are in essence surrendering in advance. Making statements such as "off the cliff" are classic defeatism. Americans are fighting back. There were approximately 12 million of us in the streets just 6 days ago. It matters tremendously.
I invite you to research the movement that is going on instead of doom posting. We simply cannot win this unless people get in a resistance mode.
"At the higher end of the estimates, the day of protest starts to approach the magic 3.5% number that civil resistance researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan identified in Why Civil Resistance Works. Between 1900 and 2006, any nonviolent movement that mobilized 3.5% of the population always won its struggle. In the United States, that’s 12 million people (if you include children). "
https://paceebene.org/blog/2025/6/19/protests-hit-35-heres-how-we-use-that-people-power#:~:text=At%20the%20higher,noncooperation%20and%20intervention.
I honestly think that as long as the GOP in political office and the majority in SCOTUS refuse to put the country first and push back on the destruction of democracy by the current regime it won’t matter if 50% protest. Already they roll over and do whatever they’re ordered to do. The authoritarians are working on eliminating voting rights and the 2024 election is a clear picture of how successful they were and how they’re still doing it non-stop.
It does matter that we protested but until we find a way to get the selfish, greedy cowards out of office and power change won’t happen. They use religion as a cudgel pretending they’re the true Christians while they’re really only after power and money and don’t care how many deaths they cause. Wait until they issue an order that only white people are allowed to have babies in this country.
But it does matter Sharon. We achieved 3/5 of the population protesting on June 14. "The 3.5% rule is based on empirical research by Chenoweth and Stephan (2011) on resistance campaigns. It states that every campaign that mobilizes at least 3.5% of the population in sustained protest is successful1. Developed by Dr. Erica Chenoweth, this concept challenges conventional wisdom about power and demonstrates that nonviolent resistance is more effective than violent uprisings2."
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/carr/publications/questions-answers-and-some-cautionary-updates-regarding-35-rule#:~:text=Clear%20All-,Questions%2C%20Answers%2C%20and%20Some%20Cautionary%20Updates%20Regarding%20the%203.5%25%20Rule,-Carr%2DRyan%20Center
I understand your numbers and your need to rely on them but you can’t remove the massive umber of people involved in the authoritarian overthrow and how much they just don’t care if the general population is against them. I’m talking about greed, vanity, the desperate need for power that they exude. Look at other countries who have had a much higher percentage show up in the streets the last few years with no change. What has Netanyahu done differently? He’s still in power and still making sure the people of Gaza die horrible, inhumane deaths from starvation. There are more but I’m just waking up and I’m sure you can find these other countries that The Trump Regime is modeling themselves after. 2011 was a long time ago.
Comparing himself to Truman and his use of the atom bomb against Japan should worry us all. I don't have school desk to hide under. OMG
I hear you. It is terrifying to feel like we are all passengers in a car being driven by someone who ignores every warning sign and barrels ahead regardless of the consequences. What makes it even harder is knowing that the usual checks and balances — voices of reason in the room, congressional oversight — have been largely silenced or coopted. It is not just about one man's recklessness, but about a system enabling it. That is why moments of collective clarity and courage, however rare, feel more important than ever.
He can’t and won’t make a decision without behind the scenes manipulation by Leonard Leo, Peter Thiel and the other self-serving billionaires. That’s how we got here in the first place. Money is the power and Donald Trump is the puppet at the end of the strings.
This is why having an uninformed, narcissistic, 2-yr-old in the White House is a bad idea, especially when you consider he’s got the ability to launch a nuclear strike on little more than a whim.
Phil. It is mind boggling and upsetting to have to
listen to this imbecile muddle through his thought process. Especially since his dementia is so obvious to most of us.
Meanwhile, lives are at stake , AGAIN🤬💩
trump is such a loose cannon. And he thrives on being unpredictable and always needs the spotlight. Making him the most dangerous to the world because of it.
My comment is unrelated to Mr Trump’s silly behavior. Heather, you have illuminated my understanding of so many important world events. In return, I want to offer you and my fellow readers a little glimpse into a shining little moment in a little town far removed from the deteriorating and deranged narcissist in the White House.
It’s Juneteenth, and I’ve just come from a celebration of that event in Cambridge, MD, featuring our Governor, Wes Moore, who spoke to an enthusiastic and thoroughly integrated crowd at the Bethel AME Church on Pine Street, in the historically Black section of town. The church was packed, standing room only, and we heard from our Mayor, Lajan Cephas, the second Black woman to be our mayor, following Victoria Jackson-Stanley, and a few other notable pastors and residents before our Governor came to the podium.
Pine Street was the hub of Black businesses and culture that famously burned down following H. Rap Brown’s fiery visit and speech in July, 1967, while the all white fire department stood by and watched. Pine Street has bounced back and is thriving again and our fire department is, of course, fully integrated. One step forward and let’s not go back.
Governor Moore related the history of Juneteenth, delighted the crowd by explaining his choice of Cambridge for his own Juneteenth plans, and told us he’d be back soon because he’d be running again in 2026. He went on to say that when he ran in 2022, he received more individual votes than any gubernatorial candidate before him because the turnout was so terrific. He took no credit for the turnout, noting that there was only one issue on the ballot - the decriminalization of cannabis. He did note that Maryland incarcerates more Black men per capita than any other state - the runner-up being Mississippi - and that he had pardoned 175,000 people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession. The crowd roared.
Dr. Bearman, thank you for sharing your Juneteenth Celebration with us!
This is where we resist. Sharing our love and support for each other!
Thanks for that! It put a smile back on my face.
A Juneteenth celebration like no other, Dr. Bearman. So glad that you could bear witness this year and then share it with all of us.
Morning, Lynell! Indeed, I flew my flag yesterday until sunset (well, slightly after since it was a rehearsal night) for the first time since Jan 20, 2025.
Morning, Ally! Sorry to be so late in responding. My inbox is now flooded with emails from folks I never invited to contact me!
Good to hear your flag is getting the attention it deserves. Our flag gets exercised as well except on very windy days or during torrential rainstorms.
Hope you and yours are hanging in there. I, for one, look forward to our own change of regime...first, with a new Governor this year; then in 2028.
Thank you for the beautiful respite from the current clusterfuq with a wonderful vignette of what life could be if we just let go of our prejudices and showed kindness always towards others.
Wonderful Juneteenth story, thank you! I've been to Cambridge and visited the Harriet Tubman museum(s). What a powerful history lesson I received there, and I've just learned even more from your post.
Thank you for this information and history. I really like your governor. And the underground rumblings coming out of Histiry sometimes can change the course of events which oh my is so so needed at this.
Thanks for telling us about this, Richard! Happy Juneteenth!
Thank you for sharing that !
Inspirational and wonderful ❤️
Thanks very much for sharing 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Keep Progressing! SOLIDARITY 💙
Thanks for this story.
Hello from a neighbor in Easton!
I don’t understand why any legitimate news organization reports anything Trump says. All of it is either gibberish, random fantasies, lies, or some combination gibberish, fantasies, and lies. It might be useful for news organizations to report actions that Trump takes (curated to ignore irrelevant meanderings), but repeating what he says is a waste of time, space, and public attention.
Gibberish, yes, but also manipulation intended to distract the MSM away from whatever he does not want them to focus on. And it works. Every. Single. Time. Sigh.
Exactly. Like how truly many showed up to the peaceful protests and skipped his disaster “perade” as he tweeted.
Getting worse. Concealment? He's floundering. I read somewhere that the "two weeks" is related somehow to Putin. Is that when Zelensky is expected to give up?
Speculation about what Trump’s gibberish means is even more harmful to public discourse than his gibberish. Ignore it. Like the comments of any other troll in the peanut gallery.
but a lot of it should be reported verbatim, because it shows how demented he is. That's why the White House has stopped giving transcripts of his speeches or ex tempore remarks - they are gibberish.
Remember in his first term- He was going to have a health plan..in 2 weeks. He said this so often I thought it was Groundhog Day . This is just a euphemism for “I have no clue”
Rex, reporting his ramblings is a good thing, especially if the talking heads don't try to apologize for his incoherence and stumbling.
If you listen or watch any of the corporate media, they almost always try to explain away his incoherence. They even coined "Trump derangement syndrome" to explain why we criticize the motherfucker.
Only 25% of those polled want us to bomb Iran. The TACO King will chicken out.
What the corporate media does to try to explain Trump's incoherent babbling is called "sane washing".
Sane-washing is worse than reporting his words or giving him airtime. When he came down the elevator, nobody in the media should have shown up. Instead, they waited breathlessly to ask for more gibberish about Obama’s birth certificate.
right on Rex Page!
Because they are no longer ‘legitimate.’
Totally agree
Imagine his contempt for the expertise of negotiators and the hard work of 5 countries in reaching the initial agreement to circumscribe much of Iran's nuclear ambitions and capabilities. Picture his ulterior motives -- small, petty, vicious little vendettas and grudges against the man who laughed at him in 2011 -- the feelings of humiliation.
Then picture all the rebuilt centrifuges, the renewed stockpiling of fissile material, the bluster and bellicosity of a regime that thrives on anti-semitism and unrestrained subversion of many countries in the Middle East. Add to it the utter incompetence of the Trump Administration, the 'perpetual war' ambitions of Netanyahu, the contradictory findings of US and Israeli intelligence and a region set for hair-trigger responses that have repeatedly brought horrendous, unintended consequences to the region, cementing new cycles of unstable violence for generations to come.
Then add to this toxic brew a deranged idiot who doesn't understand anything about how the real world works on a good day, but now lost in the throes of full-onset dementia. Picture an unhappy, frustrated, unfocused, lonely, bitter, sick man-child utterly desperate to remain the perpetual bride at every funeral, the corpse at every wedding, the baby at every exorcism, surrounded by brainless idiots and slithering wormtongues for advisors. "Maybe I'll bomb Iran, maybe I won't, stay tuned, you don't know what I'm going to do, I don't even know what I'm going to do."
How this could possibly turn out well I can't imagine.
19-June-2025: Chris Hayes on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... The North Koreans help Design & Build the Fortifications... They are Expert at that... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either.. It is Worth the Effort to Watch this Segment... Col. Larry Wilkerson has Sterling Credentials...
Were anyone sane or even slightly competent in the White House right now, the 'known unknowns' and 'unknown unknowns' together would have been hashed out beforehand, realized and used to prevent a compos mentis President from ever getting anywhere near this day. So many possibilities, all of them dreadful.
Thanks Larry.... In MAGA World, only could a twice Impeached President who is a Felon suffering from Dementia be re-elected.... DJT is a 'Black-Hole' that is sucking us all into his Dementia...
Apache,
I heard Wilkerson being interviewed on NPR yesterday. He cuts through the cacala very effectively with real life experience - he suggests we learn from our mistakes and take advantage of past lessons. Not a typical thing for Americans to do. Learning from the past and from others just seems to escape our consciousness. If we weren't such a young country, I would say we have collective dementia. Or maybe we are really just naive kids.
Every foreign adventure starts with hubris and overconfidence.
"This one bombing campaign will solve our problem."
"If we take out this leader, the people will rise up and take over for us."
"We'll pay for this with their oil."
"Gotta stop those commies before they take over the world."
I could go on....
The French were laughing at us when we took over from them in Vietnam.
The Russians were chuckling at us when we invaded Afghanistan.
Iran was amazed as we eliminated Sadam and disenfranchised the Sunnis.
We don't listen. We don't learn. And we are surprised that we now have a clueless conman at the helm? He is just another expression of our absolute national stupidity.
But maybe, just maybe, the horror and insanity of this Republicon nightmare will flip enough votes for us to regain some semblance control and allow us to restore the rule of law, Constitutional governance and international cooperation. We can hope.
And we can act. Despite being pushed off the front page, June 14th was meaningful. We know what we can accomplish. It will be recorded as the beginning of the peaceful revolution.
As Ted said: Believe. That we can grow up and become a mature nation.
sadly Americans have been duped over the decades to believe in American Exceptionalism...they will be the heroes.
Thanks Bill… This unfortunately True… Maybe this a Version of 21st Century Manifest Destiny… The War Junkies always Think that War is Antiseptic… It is not, it is Extreme Human Chaos… Netanyahu should personally fight his own Wars, or Serve on the Rescue Teams for it’s Victims…
Indeed, I was thrilled to see him reemerge!
"It's Come to This,
Well written! I think you have covered clearly the unstable, "master of disaster" sitting behind the desk in the White House.
Will he be allowed to make an end to us all???
I won't turn out well. Fact.
🎯
Thank you. Your letters are so important.
And my normal -
Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, as well as those in others. Use your voice and make some “good trouble” ❤️🩹🤍💙
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
I agree Megan.
Dean Obeidallah on Progress Radio yesterday had on a guest who had spoken with several Army personnel that were FORCED to march in Trump's birthday fiasco.
Many to most of them were upset because they were missing Father's Day with their wives and kids or with their own Fathers. Trump put them up in warehouses with bunks he had brought in, so the conditions were similar to those reported in LA.
No wonder they marched the way they did. If Trump wants goose steppers for his parades he needs to have the Proud Boys march and not the US Military.
Excellent conclusion, GJ. Maybe Meal Team Six could march, too.
The Gravy Seals? 😆
Yup. I recall a story one guy told; he was a member of a painting crew, and they were at a restaurant for breakfast, and another patron (seeing them all in white as yet unmarred by paint) asked if they were SEALS. One fellow said "no ma'am, we're more like the manatees."
🤣
I say this as a mother and grandmother who has overheard many conversations, including those of the pre-teen boys who hung out regularly in my living room just a few years ago to play video games and joke around and engage in some verbal competition. When I read Trump's words in print, it is clear to me that he has the vocabulary and worldview and thought processes of a 10 or 11 year old boy. And yet Congress and the voters have given him super powers and agency that pre-teen boys can only fantasize about, including the nuclear codes.
now imagine a preteen boy with dementia and power over the fate of the world.
and WHO is the adult in the room right now? and WHO has the nuclear football when he gets Confused and Paranoid like Stalin, the man he most resembles.
Hitler was full of Hate. Trump is full of Himself. Same same?
Trump would Never check himself and his Melania out.
I'm just hoping the Banksters or Someone bigger says
"Roberts, it's time to call foul."
Because his "total immunity" rests in SCOTUS decision about what is "an official act." That is the sword of Damoclese. (sp?) you know?
.....sounds like Steven Miller.
Damocles.... you were so close!!
Rigging the vote is what actually happened. The numbers, especially in the target states made no sense at all. There * 'is' (duh) are some in depth reporting on all that.
N.C. Democratic winners:
Governor Josh Stein
Lt. Governor: Rachel Hunt
Attorney General Jeff Jackson
Superintendent of Public Schools Mo Green
….and president trump
….go figure?
Yup
Oh Jane; There are so many others. I'll see if I can find some of the reports - no promises though.
I have to add that upon thinking about this, and why have the dems 'not' called for a recount, I sort of imagine that the dems are afraid that the whole idea of them calling for a recount might appear as 'dipping from a well poisoned by the maga's. In other words, I think they are hoping that the demands for recounts, by hand come from the grass roots preferably or only, so that it don't stick to them. Could or should we be demanding hand recounts ? I wonder - could we pull that off ? The vote totals in each of the battle ground states "coincidentally" fell just a whisker below the numbers that would trigger an automatic recounting..... Fact check that for yourselves if you can or will. I find that just a little too 'coincidental' myself. **Seems to me, it was only seven states or so.. right ? It's not like the task is all 50 states...
not even a 10 yo...maybe a 5 yo. Whiny little spoiled brat became the world's most dangerous person...a democidal sociopathic malignant narcissist. What can go wrong?
I taught 10-11 year old boys for 10 years and despite their ill-computed bravado, they still listened (usually ;) to the adults in the room.
😏
😏
Invade Iran? Totally stupid.
As stupid as toppling democratically elected Mossadegh there in 1953 and installing the cruel dictator Shah, and funding and torture training his savage SAVAK secret police.
As stupid as Nam (I was U.S. Army translator/interpreter of Vietnamese 2 Sept. 1969 - 4 Apr.'72).
As stupid as invading Iraq.
Instead, let's go forward. In step with that, Sam Harris (today interviewed by Scott Galloway) says our first requirement may be rebooting trust in our institutions.
They’ve become lately reviled as silos inhabited mainly by specialist, wonk, out-of-touch elites.
Of course, too, our elites have excelled in their specializations. Have aced all the tests for years they’ve taken. But do they possess any humanity? Or have the schools, to make way for meritocracy’s necessary tools, all anathematized, abandoned, scorned the novels, memoirs, histories, biographies, and essay collections that used to center us?
We need to put those at our center again. And we need school essay writing so humane literacy accompanies key skills to embrace our complicated world. With vigilance against the more long-recent of categories and group think packaged by our social media billionaires – against the swamp of slogans and cliché to which all sink who’ve no active humanities.
Phil, I agree that war is stupid. I have been saying "War is stupid" ever since I was in the war. My usual line is "About two weeks after Americans landed on the moon, I landed in Vietnam". I was in the 47-week program at DLIWC in Monterey from about April 1968 through the spring of '69. Then about two months at Goodfellow AFB. Then to Việt Nam. I was attached to the First Cav. One of my nuggets of wisdom is "Don't go looking for trouble. Trouble is looking for you." Of all of the varieties of human experience, warfare must surely be the most stupid endeavor we could embark on. The only possible exception I can see is if war is thrust upon us and no way can be found to avoid it. After I'd been back in The World for almost a year I applied for discharge as a conscientious objector, and won, about seven months before the end of my 4-year enlistment.
War is stupid. We should do everything we can think of to avoid going to war. The authors of our Constitution reserved the choice to go war to the representatives of the People. Something as grave as choosing to go to war should not be decided by one person -- even a healthy and completely sane person. The decision to go to war should be made by the representatives of the People in the House of Representatives. If this President decides to drag our nation into war in the Middle East, or anywhere else, we should strongly seek to restrain him by all legal means available to the People. If the House decides we should go to war, then it will be on them, and we will remember them at the next election.
Hello David H... From Another Another Vietnam Vet: Chris Hayes Show on MSNBC: Col. Larry Wilkerson, former Chief-Of-Staff to former Secretary Of State Colin Powell laid out some interesting points about Netanyahu's Iran War... Among many Salient Points is that it will not be a Cakewalk if the USA gets involved... This War could take years, and trillions of $$$... Iran is much larger than Iraq, and its Society is much more Cohesive... A Military Strike on the Fordow has already been Gamed-Out... An Aerial Strike would be ineffective... A Ground Attack would be necessary... Per Col. Wilkerson, Netanyau never expected the Iranians to fight back as they have... Putin did not expect the Ukrainians to Fight Back Either..
The orange criminal in the White House, Putin, Netanyahu -- all the same, Apache.
All full of themselves -- and these gases puffing them up require fueling millions around them in hatreds, ceaseless hatreds.
How can U.S. Dems counter any of that when same Dems went to schools that for decades now have existed solely in the fantasyland of neutered testing -- as if so getting neutered oneself equips anyone to inhabit the same world as Putin, Netanyahu, and the U.S. criminal-in-chief?
I wrote about this above. I was a Vietnam vet at age 23 in 1967. War is hell.
But from a philisophical standpoint defense is different than offense and the "just war" Augustinian theory has to be considered.
A broken clock is right twice a day.
Got to consider that Iran is not homogeneous, that it has a recent history of internal strife, etc.
Hello Daniel... I'm Not Pro-Iranium, I'm Pro-USA... Bear in Mind that the Persians have been a Cohesive People for Thousands of Years, and that this is a Defensive War for them... Refer to the Iran/Iraq War for how much the Iranians are willing to Suffer... How much were the North Vietnamese willing to Suffer?...
You're guessing. Watch Tousi TV.
NOT cohesive. I am watching Iranian groups fighting each other -- on the strees of London today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcbNmaLx2hg&t=833s
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2r27jn24o
According to several sources, there is an ongoing coup. According to Tousi, most of the Iranian general staff has been killed and their successors are pledging support to the crown prince in exile and he is asking Trump for help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjJdkOqhTg
In 2022 and 223 there were thousands of protestors arrested.https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/03/iran-thousands-detained-protesters-and-activists-peril
In some Arab countries, there is support for a coup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hytW41iXV4E&t=802s
The BBC reports there is internal Iranian support for the coup.
Thanks Phil... If the USA gets sucked into Netanyahu's War, it will be the Product of Broken USA Governance... The Main Political Parties, The Governing Class, and the MSM, particularly Fox News...
I'm a combat vet too and feel the same way David but I'm afraid the next war will be fought with our own people on our own turf. We are getting closer and Trump is all in.
Not a combat vet, denied the opportunity to serve my country in uniform, so I served my community in uniform for 28+ years. I have felt that your assessment is 100% accurate, and that a "War Between the States" is at hand. One part of our federal government seems to be running roughshod over the constitution while another is implementing plans to kill the social safety net and all areas of society that promote equity instead of white male Christian dominance, and a third is trying to establish an oligarchy.
Hope not.
Double yikes
Yikes
Good for you, David.
Thank You, Phil
After the war and a few years of thinking about what I had experienced and learned, I went back to school as a sophomore, at 27 yo, and earned a BA in philosophy. I think I will join you in calling for more emphasis on the humanities. I think humanity in general is short on empathy. And I think that many of the Members of the House on the conservative side exhibit evidence of sociopathic personality disorders. How else to explain why the conservatives want to take away the social safety net from about 11% of our fellow citizens living in poverty, in order to allow a tiny minority who have vastly more wealth than they can use in one lifetime to keep even more of their wealth for themselves?
David H, your last questions must be front and center in every conversation between now and election time. The wealth accumulation and preservation at the top is where each and every talking point must focus.
We must create a twenty-first century middle class where families can thrive during child-rearing years on one salary. Parents who make the life changing decision to nurture a child must be able to focus on that child’s best interest during the child’s formative years. Each couple knows their combined strengths and weaknesses. A stay-at-home parent contributes to the village needed to nurture family life in a profound way. That choice to live more modestly in order to be the homemaker during a child’s formative years is critical not just to one’s own family but to the village to which each family is a part. There are families that function well with two working parents. The choice depends on available emotional and financial support within each nuclear and extended family.
21st century policy reform is needed across the board: governmental, tax, environmental, health, educational, immigration policy, etc.
We desperately need ethical leaders to carry us into a better world. May they come forward to lead us!
Thank you, David, for your ending question that I will ask all day!
David, yesterday, I spent more than a little time thinking about this insanity going on, and I was wondering if any of the vets who saw upfront/close war and its suffering are gungho for yet another engagement. Personally, I hate war, but I support Ukraine for many reasons; one of which is keeping our boots out of there, and the other for keeping Putin from taking over Europe.
I trust the generals (mostly) more than Corp BoneSpurs (at all).
I was a grunt. I also heard defense base Act cases for 20 years and was a volunteer with ROLI. https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/global-programs/?login
From personal experience, I don't trust our intelligence. Substantiated by our recent military experiences.
On the other hand, most Iranian Americans seem to be gung ho.
That’s not my experience. They came to USA to escape that country.
Agreed. I look forward to the exile of Napoleon bonehead.
It looks, from here, like a serious number of those
who take part in the discussion are broadcasting a point of view rather than engaging in a discussion. How does the group as a whole consider information? We don’t seem to have a format for considering different points of view.
Linda, I've been pondering your comment about "engaging in a discussion". Some of us here have been talking about the problems of war and peace for half a century, or more. Being familiar with the problem makes it easy to state the case for a particular point-of-view without restating the full dimensions of the problem. To take a thorough-going approach to examine the multitudinous aspects of the problem of "war and peace" would require a college major program that would take several years to explore thoroughly. I believe such programs exist. When we are faced with exigent circumstances, we don't really have time or the luxury to give the problem the careful consideration it deserves. Having experienced warfare long ago, and having devoted many years to thinking about that experience, it is easy for me to take a firm stand on the subject. To wit: I believe we should devote time and attention to do everything we can think of to avoid getting involved in yet another war. If, despite all of our best efforts, we cannot avoid war, then we should be prepared to prosecute the fight with efficiency.
And if tomorrow I would be moved again to address this subject, I probably would not tell my story exactly the same way -- but my conclusion would always be almost exactly the same. Don't fight. If you have no choice, then be quick and efficient about how you fight.
Fox has replaced any serious thought with “entertainment politics.” Now the tech genuses have joined up and they are even bypassing the entertainment and going straight for the jugular without the victim even being aware that they are being “mind-controlled. The iceberg is straight ahead.
We’ve gone from hyper specialization with no heart and perhaps lacking morality to absolutely buffoonery, totally no experience running things with no heart and zero morals, and no spine. The only way to go is up. Back to experts schooled in ethics and taught basic compassion!
Phil, I saw the same Scott Galloway/Sam Harris interview with Sam Harris fumbling on his confusion of any relationship between American press holding Trump’s administration accountable for Trump’s reckless inexperience with not giving the US taxpayers any ROI for how much his Presidency is steering us into a recession and maybe a war. Where are the Democrats with a strong leader with charisma out in the press? Thank goodness for Bernie AOC and Cory Booker - why is the Democrats not being louder?
#shorts - Buffet Speaks Out
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJ-Arh_znSV/?igsh=MWhhNmswNHM4dDRreQ==
We the people! We are speaking from the ground up!
Totally agree that humanities and the social sciences are a necessary course of study, along with actual civics
Hello Phil... How did You wind up in Japan?....
Following the army, Apache, some years reading in American stuff.
What the hell happened so the U.S. became so stupid as to accurately, humanly seeing foreigners?
A years'-long love affair with U.S. regionalism (for me, Appalachia).
Human rights in NYC opening me up to a larger world. Then off I was to Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (so much wisdom in their poets, novelists, film makers).
Back to the U.S., trying to get universities to take on a program I'd developed in eastern Europe. A program of essay writing so students first see each other as individuals in the same classroom, then see others in neighboring cultures. Wrong. I still thought of America through the eyes of its novelists, memoirists, historians, and so many other great artists. Wrong. America had been taken over by all the legacies of the Powell memo, from the far-right gangrened to the remorseless but humanly dead standardized testers.
Japan, where I knew I could deepen insights into a great older culture now also beset by the U.S.'s stupidities for commercialism and schools killed by standardized testing.
Interesting, Phil.
I've found a former co-worker to be quite a conundrum. Her husband's job sent them to live in Saudi for several years. The company compound had people from all over the world. She said that everyone should live outside the US as it gives them perspective.
However, although she is of middle-eastern heritage, her parents were Catholic, as is she. She absolutely HATES any Muslim people, and also is a staunch anti-liberal, anti-Democrat, uber-religious person.
I've never been able to figure her out.
Miselle, my spouse and I have developed a way of looking at world religions as a universal search for divinity in the universe, clothed and colored by local customs and cultures, superimposed on an ineffable divine aspect.
For example, in Genesis we find a passage, translated in various ways, that says something like "God created Man in his own image". We see it as anthropomorphic (and sexist), projecting our own image onto the divine aspect, because the divine aspect is ineffable, unknowable. Similarly, every culture projects its own favorite characteristics onto the divine aspect. But surely we are all trying to know the same thing about the true nature of our existence. From this point-of-view, religious wars are non-sensical. The modern phrase "You do you!" applies.
Here in the United States we need to preserve the principle of religious freedom. Every American should be free to follow their own preferred religion, or to hold no religious beliefs at all. Religion is not the sole source of moral/ethical behavior. There is a version of the "Golden Rule" in almost all, if not all, world religions. Treat others as you wish to be treated. The clothing doesn't matter.
🙏🏼Excellent, David H.
It's an honor to share this space with you.
I started writing about my perspective and then it became about my encounters and my journey and then I realized that I was writing a book that nobody needed to read. You had already made my point when you said:
the divine aspect is ineffable, unknowable.
OR
You do you.
Every word you said is true.
I only wish that James Madison and the other writers of the First Amendment had elaborated a little bit. But we must remember that they lived in a political world too.
The one thing that may help people reading this is that there is a fascinating new interview of President Barack Obama by Heather Cox Richardson done at an event in Connecticut. Just search for their names. There is a 1:08:15 version on the Barack Obama channel Andy a 1:13:58 version on the CTFORUM channel.
Thank You, Justin Sayn!
I appreciate your encouragement.
The conversation between Barack and Heather Cox Richardson occurred on June 18, 2025.
My initial viewing/listening was of a 5 minute+ clip (link below), which instantly delivered me from the fabricated reality of preznit 4547, to a wholly wholesome sane and rational reality exemplified by two world-class humans who are excellent communicators and thinkers.
I found a truncated clip, at 5 min 23 sec, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8hTXcKb4I
At 1:08:14 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM9B8Qin9ac
At 1:13:58 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIBCskNAg9A (This is the CTFORUM channel, which includes introductions, etc.)
David, your comment is very close to my own heart. (So much so, that this theme is underlying in my debut manuscript which I'm trying so hard to get published.)
And indeed, some of the best "Christians" I've known are not Christians. In fact, one is Muslim!
EVERYTHING Chump does is damaging to everyone else. Even the toadies who think he is their golden goose.
Barry Goldwater’s message to the Mike Huckabees of our country. “REPUBLICAN BARRY GOLDWATER PREDICTS THE TEA PARTY’S DESTRUCTIVE RISE BACK IN 1994: When the preachers get control of the Republican Party, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. These people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise, but these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise.”
Sorry Barry, but they resemble what I was raised to think of as Christian, not at all. They are the deliberate inquisition. Evil to the bone. Every last one.
JD, you wrote "...they resemble what I was raised to think of as Christian, not at all..."
I would expand on that insight. My version is "They don't remind me of Jesus at all".
A few years ago we saw several films made in Iran, by Iranians, with English subtitles. The films were part of an annual film series at my alma mater, a local campus of the University of Wisconsin system in SE Wisconsin. We both came away with feelings of empathy for the people of Iran.
Another profound experience was delivered by reading "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books" by Azar Nafisi. It was enchanting.
When I read about a character in a story who is kind and generous toward other people, it often reminds me of Jesus, despite being devoid of religious language. And the people in the Iranian films were very relatable, just like us, apart from speaking a different language.
I am certain that many of us here would easily become friends with people in Iran. We are alike in many ways - just as we are alike with other people all over the world.
It would be a terrible, tragic mistake to inflict war on the Iranian people - or any other people.
They kicked Jesus to the curb decades ago. Peace may come when we are attacked by aliens and earthlings see themselves as in it together. Our tribal crap is so destructive as the “others” are us, in more ways than not.
Barry got that one right. Barry was also the lead republican in getting Nixon to resign, but how long did it take him to finally step up? The repubs learned from that "mistake" and no longer support anything resembling those conservatives. First they would break ethics and say that they did not break any laws, now they break the laws and do not even attempt to defend their actions.
Proud inquisition. I saw a show about Roger Stone, when he said that he would try to make sure that no other Repub president would be subjected to what Nixon was. He has done a smashing job. Evil has won the Republican hearts and minds. What the repubs learned was that cheating wins. Roger even remembered when, as a very young man, he discovered that lying was a winning strategy. Reagan bought into the Lee Atwater plans for their political future.
What worries me is that Seymour Hersch is predicting that the U.S. will heavily attack Iran as early as this weekend. He's been correct before about that sort of thing.
On a different note, I honestly can't tell which is the biggest waste of space among Noem, Hegseth, and Gabbard.
Yes. Noem, Hegseth AND Gabbard.
right on Ally House!
At least The Three Stooges were funny...sort of.
I also heard that the attack could happen tomorrow or on the weekend.
Trump put it well.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/g3gFwwNxFyc
The amazing thing is that, even though he's president, Trump is the biggest loser of them all.
Perhaps not in the sense of using the office the presidency to enrich himself, but certainly in another way that he cares almost as much about and that is his legacy as president. It's why he's invested so much of his bandwidth (not large at the best of times) on trying to resolve foreign conflicts without much success. He still entertains hopes of winning a Nobel Peace prize like his bete noir Obama. He believes that he deserves the prize more than anyone else. Observe his scornful attitude to this Nobel Peace prize winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUW-1Wg2xs
It doesn't seem to matter to our Thug-In-Chief that lives are at stake here. He thrives on appearing chaotic, and is proud of being able to turn on a dime, no matter what the cost in lives and taxpayer money. He demands loyalty over intelligence, filling his administration with ignorant loyalists and TV personalities. Surely there must be a successful way to impeach him and his cronies by now.
if you can figure out how to turn at least 7 Repos in the House and 25 Repos in the Senate against Trump, please let me know. I will gladly help.
Demand a recount.
right on Mona Ross!
It's the coalition behind him, supporting him.
you have to take back the House and the Senate if you want to impeach
Why the sudden urge by Trump to join with Israel in attacking Iran, especially given Tulsi Gabbard's testimony, in which she passed along the collective judgment of our intelligence community, that Iran isn't even close to developing nuclear weapons?
Is it that Trump is acting on pure instinct, or a hunch, or is there some other explanation or, if I may hypothesize, an ulterior motive?
Let's look at the timeline to see if there may be some clues as to what suddenly caused him to do an about-face.
Let's start with Saturday and what was billed as the parade to end all parades and one whose glorification of Donald Trump as the master of the universe would be firmly implanted in the firmament.
To quote the late Dayton Allen, the parade " started off slowly but little by little it died out completely". As we all know, it was a huge fiasco and a total humiliation to Donald Trump. It was such a laughable event, that Trump could have easily imagined the participants at the G7 conference in Canada a few days later laughing at him behind his back along with the rest of the world.
So was it then a mere coincidence that at that very moment, he just happened to do a quick turn-around, reject the assessment of his own intelligence organizations and tell Iran and the world that unless Iran agrees to "unconditional surrender" the U.S. may join in Israel's attack on Iran?
Can we think of anything, other than a surprise announcement that we're going to war in the Middle East, that would have diverted the world's attention from Trump's utter humiliation on Saturday?
It obviously did the trick. The headlines about Trump's pathetic birthday military salute to himself have been displaced by Trump's threat to imminently join Israel in attacking Iran. It was a brilliant stroke of genius! All it took was a deranged mind and a willingness to commit our country to war.
Not only did Trump's sleight-of-hand work, but he now has the self-congratulatory and egotistical thrill of placing the world on tenterhooks waiting for this great man, who claims he rules the world, to decide over the next two weeks whether he will commit the greatest power in the world to joining Israel in its attack on Iran.
Which brings us to the most important issue. The U.S. Constitution vests in Congress, not the President, the exclusive power to declare war. Trump can no more engage the U.S. in offensive warfare against Iran without the consent of Congress than he could invade Canada, Greenland or any other foreign territory, whether on a whim or otherwise. But if the Democrats don't have the power, and the Republicans don't have the guts, we could be looking at a madman on the loose attacking whomever he pleases at that moment.
The Guardian gave the "parade" a nice little day-after coverage - it also seemed to them that the soldiers deliberately sabotaged it (sloppy posture, out-of-step, etc).
If I recall correctly, the war in Vietnam was initially called a 'Police Action' to circumvent the need for congressional approval. In fact, the last time the US declared war with congressional approval was June 4, 1942 against the lesser Axis powers of Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.
Read Steve Vladek’s legal substack One First from today, on the erosion of congress’ control of war.
he needs to be the spotlight, at any cost!!
He's a democidal sociopathic malignant narcissist
Tulsi Gabbard gives Russian talking points.
Wrote and called my senators this morning and house representative(went to office as close by) right now our government is being run like a reality tv. show, as that seems to be all he knows it’s no surprise. This time around no one with any knowledge to bring him back to “earth” congress best do their job!
Christine, I believe there are many in our country, now that confuse life with reality TV., and one of them is surely Trump.
It’s great to imagine you have a staff of writers who will give you a scrip that says we will automatically win because we have to come back next season, but this is life, and we can’t just write a scene where we end up being the hero. That takes intelligence and ability to see the big picture over the long term, and a talent to communicate to people of different cultures and actually make sense. We have no one who can step into these shoes, now. We have only greedy deal makers and truly stupid leaders who desire aggrandizement.
100%
Yes Christine!
I am reminded of Randy Neuman’s lyrics so suitable for Trumpsters:
No one likes us, I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
And all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens
[Verse 2]
We give them money, but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them
I'd never heard that. Our tuba chamber group is playing an arrangement of "You've Got a Friend in Me" this season.
&LOVED his honky tonk piano accompaniment …😉
Also "Burn On":
Cleveland, city of light, city of magic*
Cleveland, city of light, you're calling me
Cleveland, even now I can remember
'Cause the Cuyahoga River
Goes smokin' through my dreams
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can't make you burn
Burn on, big river, burn on
Burn on, big river, burn on
* as it happens, I was born in Cleveland
Still here. And just this morning, a giant freighter got stuck in the mouth of the "Key-a-hooja" trying to make one of the turns! Wish Randy was still writing; he'd have a field day with this one, too!
I grew up there!
I'm still working on the "grew up" part!
😂
Good for you. I'm thinking that emotional and mental maturity is knowing you're not there. And you know it don't come easy.
WOW! First Randy, then Chrissie Hynde, with a little Ringo for good measure! I'll be waiting for some Phil Keaggy, or Micheal Stanley next!
"I went back to Ohio
But my city was gone
There was no train station
There was no downtown
South Howard had disappeared
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces"
I've lived that as well.
I would like to share the piece Lucian Truscott wrote about the decision to bomb Iran. It is called A World of Hurt!
https://open.substack.com/pub/luciantruscott/p/a-world-of-hurt?r=f0qfn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Each day that Trump is in power I feel that the US is less safe. This is a frightening time for me and I am not even in the military but I have family and friends who are. I cannot imagine the PTSD they are getting from this presidency. They understand what cannon fodder is from watching Putin. That is not what anyone signed up for in our professional military. I just wish them safety and the wisdom to understand what is right.
That is a great post, Linda.
I read this letter three times. Only Rod Serling could make sense out of the sequence of events. We are living in a real life "Twlight Zone". The ship is floundering in a sea of uncertainty created by the whims of poor old demented Captain Trump. The crew, made up of land lubbers who have never been to sea before, blindly follow his orders hoping to avoid being accused of disloyalty and forced to walk the plank to oblivion. Bill
I keep saying I'm living in the Matrix.
Donnie Two Weeks because Donnie’s Too Weak. My new protest sign. Call, write, or email congress. Resist! We can do this 💪🇺🇸