Ten days after he was taken from a plane diverted to Minsk by autocrat Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, 26-year-old opposition journalist Roman Protasevich appeared on state television.
In the 1970s, I spent a few years working for the Royal Bank of Canada in Montréal and worked on some projects concerning the distribution of retail branches in Canada and thereafter spent some time in the Public Relations Division. For an internal magasine article, I once asked a senior international banker, after he had downed 2 Manhattans befor eating, why there was such an abnormal concentration of bank branches in Southern Florida (from which RBC was totally absent, I must say). He laughed and said that it certainly wasn't a question of the Floridians, retirees and the "snow geese" but to capture and whitewash all the cash coming from black market and undeclared financial and commercial operations in the Carribean, Central America and Venezuala/ Columbia. He then ordered another Manhattan to drink while eating!
Innocence cohabiting with horrors in the sunshine. All the sharks are not in the seam. I remember some really interesting projects with island oligarchs in Haiti and Jamaica for whom Miami was their town...bank, coiffeur, resto...whenever! Just hop a flight.
Florida...one of the great states of corruption. I live here so I can say that. My long-time neighbor was a big-time cocaine dealer working with Colombian king pins. I never knew until he was hauled away I and read about it later. They had an “excavation” company and dug up and buried things in their back yard.. which gives me the willies to think about now.
No, of course not. He was on loan to the Federal Government at the time. The article was about this cooperative program and him. I also found out why he and several other "shelved" senior executives always are "unavailable and in a meeting" every afternoon from 2 till 4 and why they all have "dragons" as secretaries and large comfortable sofas in their offices!
“In my book it’s pretty simple. If you work hard to PREVENT people from voting, you pretty much admit that your ideas aren’t popular and you fear the verdict of the people.” Dan Rather
Oh my. Springsteen's rendition of Woody Guthrie's song and his love for our country choked me up. An old song, so relevant for how so many Americans feel about our Constitutional crises today. There is a growing list of songs that could become multiple anthems for the states of our democracies around our world today.
Wow... thanks for the quote and the video. I have wondered what has become of our great protest singers... when the 60’s were chock full of them, now we just hear crickets. I wish the movement could swell up again and help empower us.
I miss them too, Pamsy, but otherwise respectfully dissent. They are out there, though it's harder to spot them with YouTube and Twitter so cluttered. It's interesting that you say "protest singers" rather than folk singers. Hip hop is probably the genre most committed to overt political themes. I dislike its unmelodic style, but the political content is all we could wish for. From Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, through Blaxploitation films, to rap and hip hop, the Civil Rights movement ended the (self) censorship imposed on R&B, jazz, and other Black artists. This is progress -- let's have more!
I'm not so sure we were braver - perhaps more terrified when the issues were go to Vietnam and die, or speak up and be assassinated. What was left? We had no choice. Today everything can look peachy keen while the RQC and Qanon and Proud Boy sheep plan their 2nd insurrection attempt for August under our happy, vaccinated, sunburned noses. I also think "The Media" in the 60's and 70's was pretty concentrated to 3 TV stations, plus the 3 radio ones (country, polka and the cool new FM one) so young Bruce Springsteen had one big audience (not the polka station) for young people. We ALL heard and sang the same protest songs. Now artists and athletes and heroes have so many multiplex forums, blogs, podcasts, sites, channels, uploads , substacks, tik toks, and smartspeakers (I listen to my daughter delivering morning news briefs for the Chicago Tribune and others - I'm putting in a plug here for "Spoken Layer", currently looking for more great audio talent!) that the message and the songs gets diluted and dispersed. Plus, how many rock or folk concerts have you been to in the past year. Like, NONE, Right?! That's where we got our communal energy and focus, and, well, bravery. We do need that movement again, that clear message, that unifying song, an anthem for oir new democracy. Fer Sure.
Thanks you for this, Ted. A deep truth, beautifully said, and a lovely song of our shared beliefs that nowadays seem buried under the deluge of propaganda that has muffled us (whether self-marketing on social media or the more institutional variety).
As far as voting rights, please read this LA Times analysis of how SCOTUS has been morphed in supporting the Republicans' concept re voting. (IMHO, the Federalist Society' efforts over the past 40 years have paid off (I use that term deliberately, since it has been taking dark money, per Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's piece titled "The Third Federalist Society" that appeared in Medium 3/27/19.) Here's the LA Times analysis: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-04/how-supreme-court-tilted-election-law-favor-gop
Roman Protasevich. As a parent, my heart breaks for his family.
So much news today but this one piece is so sad.
As for 45, it continues to astonish and perplex me how such a mentally ill, morally bankrupt and inhumane organism has so many loyal dedicated (gullible?) followers who seem to believe all his lies... just astounding and frustrating.
I just got a new batch of postcards from Postcards To Voters today and will continue to do my small part towards preserving our democracy.
Thank you, Dr. Heather, for keeping us informed. I refer others to you, and to Gabe at Wake Up to Politics. Individually we may be tiny voices but together en masse we can make a difference.
How wonderful that you do the postcards! I've been looking for a way to help, and I'm told I have "enviable penmanship." Will check out Postcards to Voters. Thank You.
Whew - the political gamesmanship here and around the world this week! We all watch like an enrapt audience at a championship chess match. It also demonstrates that an autocrat’s will is much stronger than his mind.
Oh - in PA, there is no legal mechanism to do what they are doing in AZ. Any recount must be brought to court the way Trump’s team did, and AFTER finding fault in the process, petitions must be signed in EACH AND EVERY VOTING PRECINCT to be recounted. It is an extremely arduous and expensive process that cannot originate from the same government that already certified the election results. Plus, they don’t have support from the governor or the courts.
Morning, ted!! Exactly as you say. I have been overwhelmed by the idea that "they can't do that...it's not legal" with the reality that "they" don't care about the rule of law anymore.
I'm afraid you are correct. This 'fraudit' will become a permanent feature of the "electoral" process. But, you have to hand it to them. This is an ingenious con. It produces significant free cash flow, is very scalable, and has a high barrier to entry for any potential competitor.
They would have to break a lot of the PA Constitution, even if the governor’s seat is flipped. The PA Supreme Court will shut them down. It’s one of the few backstops that PA has and WI doesn’t have.
PA’s problem right now is the redistricting as a result of the 2020 Census is one more opportunity for the PA Legislature to gerrymander the state.
Mark Elias said exactly that during his interview with Rachel Maddow last night. He also made a clear statement about his hope and expectation was for the legal process he is pursuing is meant to buy time so that the political process could “catch up” and correct itself. Fat chance. Regarding the multiple and ongoing lawsuits he is filing in states that continue to pass laws that suppress the vote of black, brown and younger citizens, he indicated that this tactic will only go so far because “the big lie is quite literally becoming a matter of state policy.” OK, so now what??? At what point does the justice department step in, if they have not done so already? Remembering HCR’s recounting the historical fact that the whole reason for the existence of the justice department at its founding was to root out and put an end to the illegal activities of the KKK? So here we are, again. So where are they?
Trust Robert. I’m not about to second guess Merrick Garland regardless of how infuriating that the wheel turns so slowly. But what I believe 100%+ is that Lady Justice is at his right hand and that Merrick Garland is there.
I'm with you on that point. I have no doubt about Merrick Garland's facility and integrity with regard to the pursuit of justice, but to hear Marc Elias sound the alarm as he did last night, that the legal path he is pursuing can only do so much, well, that just raises a lot of questions in my mind about who does what and when. Taking to the streets in protest is one thing. Getting the levers of government working to uphold the Constitution is another. Are we supposed to wait and see where the SDNY comes down on Trump Org to save us? I don't think so.
Thanks for the info - I will take a listen today. And regarding the DOJ? Who knows where their investigation into Jan 6th will lead ... But, I expect they are being very careful not to tread on the space that even smells like the persecution of previous administrations. It's a thorny issue when the previous administration attempted a coup?
As thorny as it may be politically, it appears to me that the attempted coup issue is pretty black and white (sorry, no pun intended) but I was naive about how the Constitution and its amendments are enforced:
15th Amendment:
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
I feel like they don’t want to pursue anything that might even smell like partisanship. I know it’s a thin line between that and making a valid case, but what is the law for if they’re afraid to use it? (I’m feeling so discouraged today, if you can’t tell.)
I think the brains behind Trumpism have that thin line figured out, and they are ready with more Big Lies, and supporting Little Lies, to assert that any attempt to prosecute the former guy and his minions is Partisan.
Which, in a sense, is true, because their Party is opposed to democracy and the rule of law.
If I were to take the idea of a GOP insurrection literally, it would have to come from the states ruled by the GOP, enlisting their Nat’l Guard to take up arms against our federal government? I’m having a hard time envisioning some proud boys with their uzi’s up against army tanks. I would really appreciate it if someone could spell out for me what an insurrection would look like now that we have sanity in the Oval Office.
More subtle than that. Like a slow creepy coup...it’s been happing since 1980, so slow most have not noticed. The courts, local and state governments. Read Snyder’s substack today, it’s brilliant.
That is what worries me most. With Flynn’s recent comments about a Myanmar- style coup being possible in this country, it does seem credible that Trump is coaxing supporters towards taking up arms. Terrifying to me.
Anyone that thinks a bunch of wannabe paramilitaries has the remotest chance of defeating our military doesn’t know anything about our military. I don’t know if they have any brains 🧠, apparently they don’t, but most creatures on our planet aren’t hell bent on suicide, which would be the result of attacking our military. I think we were way too easy on the attackers on 6 January, it’s time for the gloves to come off, send them to hell where they belong. Good morning everyone 🌅
I had had my coffee alright. I'm a VN vet that served with a Ranger company until I was wounded, I'm lucky, I got out alive. If I had been 6" slower in my movements I would not be writing this. I get what it means to take an oath to defend the constitution, more than 500,000, way more, have given life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to defend everything that is enshrined in our capitol. The rioters and seditionists that attacked our shrine to democracy are beneath contempt, I'm no saint, but I know which side to stand with. I'm not consumed with anger, like most of us I don't have time for that, but if you ask me if what I watched on 6 January made me angry I would have to answer yes. Thanks for the reply, like all of them, it made me think about what I had said
I agree. The Capitol Police should have had the right to defend themselves with lethal force Jan 6th. They will next time. I really hate to say that, but sometimes you have to escalate the conflict in order to resolve it. Democracy is one of the times.
I like the image of him as a mound of dirt topped by a DRIP sign: Don't Rest in Peace. For all the wrong he's done and continues to do - blatantly and without any regard for the real America - he deserves exactly that.
As Noa Laundau of Haaretz puts it, “fasten your seatbelts, this is going to get ugly now.”
Not just in Israel. Those of our readership who thought they were going to get to sleep peacefully from now on after January 20 look to have "another think coming."
Like Saul Alinsky (who was NEVER the "radical" the right made him out as - trust me, I met him and had one hell of an argument with him over his support of Johnson and Vietnam - some "radical") once said - and it's something everyone involved in politics should tattoo on their frontal lobes:
"The *real* fight starts AFTER you win the election!"
Dr Richardson, Does the commitment to fight corruption address the current laws allowing for foreign real estate investment trusts and LLCs to blindy purchase real estate property in the US? Does today’s news address these gaps in our country’s complicity in money laundering through real estate trading?
Is it coincidence that after the Great Recession 2007-2009 (caused in part the sub prime lending and trading of shady real estate debt and subsequent financial crisis) left the US more vulnerable to pervasive real estate corruption?
Does this also help explain the rise of a bankrupt DT, saved by both becoming a Reality TV star and dark loans via Deutsche banc? DT from fiction to power. Did our Gov change the law then in 2007-10 to help salvage both the real estate and financial sectors, stimulated back to life by becoming money launders?
Has it always been so easy to invest foreign dark money into US real estate with the goal of laundering it for foreign dictators? Was it intentional, like an invitation from President Bush, who said he looked into Putin’s soul?
Just to add a little to the fire.....the US is 25th out of 179 countries on the Corruption Perception Index! Not Glorious....on a level with Chile! Australia, Western Europe and Japan fill the top ten places behind the shining example of New Zealand, the least corrupt of us all..
If Trump has convinced himself he will be reinstated, it's out of desperation born of knowledge of his guilt in the crimes for which he is being investigated. Or maybe Q has promised to save him.
He has always been delusional--remember, we had absolutely no legitimate medical reports on his condition for his entire "presidency," and the lack of information also includes no info at all on the kinds of meds he has been taking. Similar to Reagan when he began to show clear evidence of dementia, and the only reports from the WH for the last 2 years of his second term were that he was sleeping. A lot. But Cheeto also is disgruntled because, banned from FB and Twitter, he has no easily-accessed medium with which to spread his lies. He just shut down his "blog" because it had a pitiful number of subscribers.
I would like to point out that no matter what his convictions are about his "reinstatement" in August, and no matter how much he tries to encourage his Hitler Youth Army to engage in a putsch to effect such a reinstatement, the reality is that no such thing is going to take place. However, all this signaling might also be a deliberate ploy on the part of the Ghastly Obstructionists to tie up the Biden Justice Department and the FBI: the tactic of frivolous lawsuits is sometimes effective. I don't think it will be in this instance, because both Biden and Harris can walk and chew gum at the same time, but Moscow Mitch is likely trying to find some cover for the Quislings who are going to be dealing with massive law suits over voter suppression all summer.
I wish that the wheels of justice were swift, but they are not. This is going to take awhile, folks. We might as well settle in for the long haul. I know that my blood pressure can't take the kind of "excitement" it experienced for the last 5 years.
"Moscow Mitch is likely trying to find some cover for the Quislings who are going to be dealing with massive law suits over voter suppression all summer."
Marc Elias has said he cannot do it alone. Listening to him describe the avalanche of lawsuits already underway, I was reminded of the story of Hans Brinker with his finger in the dike. I am wondering if, perhaps, we need to start some sort of online fundraising to offset the costs. I don't know how he's financing all of this pushback.
I know--he's heroic but can't do it alone. The good news is that the ACLU and NAACP are also flooding the courts with lawsuits. I think that there are probably any number of legal defense funds that could be donated to that will be helping with this. I would recommend checking with the Act Blue folks--they're a clearinghouse.
In 2 interviews in the last 2 days, Marc Elias said that "federal law is the ONLY way to stop voter suppression." And that means passing the "For the People Act". Voter suppression is based on a lie because there was no fraud in the election. The Brennen Center for Justice reported that restrictive bills against voting rights are proposed in 48 states. $'s needed NOW.
Will the Supreme Court support it? That’s a big question. If the red states do what they are planning, will anyone even pay attention to the Supreme Court?
That would assume a degree of rationality that he doesn't seem to possess. His capacity to distinguish his fantasies from reality and right from wrong is not exactly great...psychopath or "just" sociopath" that is the question for this Perverse Narcissist?
Narcissistic sociopath for sure but as rational as Hitler was in order to inspire his ardent followers. Have you read about the newly translated Mein Kampf? Apparently the first published version tried to make Hitler seem more literate than he was but this new version has his writing more accurately as disconnected racist rants.
Apparently, it was leaked to the press this week that whenever anyone tries to approach him with any version of the truth, according to them "it's like p***ing" in the wind.
We are witness to a man having a complete psychotic breakdown. Any psychiatrists out there who care to comment on the process in general - not this person?
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell hosted Lance Dodes, a retired Harvard professor of psychiatry, who holds that Trump is delusional, actually believes the election was stolen, and also believes he'll be reinstated. Dr. Dodes says he will never accept the truth, and his behavior will get worse and he'll deteriorate. Whether he publicly falls apart in public, or is charged and convicted of criminal activity, I hope it's soon enough to save this country.
It’s part and parcel of malignant narcissism. He should have been put in a strait jacket long ago. I have little doubt that he was heavily medicated by his handlers on many occasions while living in our White House.
It's trump's fault. He messes up my grammar, as well as my ability to properly proof posts (like the alliteration?). I'm hoping to return to the "me" I used to be 5 years ago. . . .
Good luck with that! The frustration in watching the idgts politician "followers" gets to the point that I have to stop watching. Can feel my BP rising - know what I mean?
Charlie, Nancy provided an excellent answer to your question. Here is an excerpt of the interview that O'Donnell had with Dr. Lance Dodes:
'... He contributed to the book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess a president."
Dr. Dodes, thank you for joining us once again tonight. It was the talk of being reinstated that made me want to talk to you again tonight. This is Donald Trump thinking, perhaps, that in August he will be president again.
What is your professional reaction to that?
DR. LANCE DODES, RET. CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, HARVARD 'MEDICAL SCHOOL: Donald Trump is delusional. But this is not news. We`ve known this for the past four years at least.'
'He keeps insisting on things as true which are demonstrably false. That is the definition of delusion. I think what we are seeing is a continuation of his grandiose delusion that he is better than everyone, more important than everyone, and consequently no one else matters. He doesn`t care about anyone else. It is all about his own power.'
'Part of the hell that you speak of is that I think that he is enraged which is not unusual for him. I don`t think that he is capable of being sorrowful at his loss though because he doesn`t know that he`s lost. He is deluded about it.''
'So I think that what we are seeing is the increasingly desperate attempts to hold on to this power which will continue. We`ve said this for the last four years. The more pressure he is under the more he will be outrageous in his demands, the more the lies will increase. The big lie technique will get bigger and bigger.'
'O`DONNELL: Yes. You have consistently said in effect it will get worse. Donald Trump`s condition will get worse. And it will get worse because the pressure increases. That was one of the factors.'
'Certainly a grand jury investigation in Manhattan is a very significant increase in pressure along with the other grand jury investigation that`s happening in Georgia over his election interference. Those are new kinds of pressures for him because he is no longer president. There is nothing he can do to interfere with those.'
'DR. DODES: Right. And lack of power is the thing that he can`t stand and doesn`t acknowledge. Since it can`t be true in his world, in his delusional world, he has to do -- he has to change reality to the extent he can to make it so.'
'So he creates, you know, the illusion that he has some information and things are going to happen. He promises that he`ll be back in office and what not. It is, you know, it`s more of the same and I think that if none of these things pan out for him I think what we`ll see is that he will become even more overtly deluded.'
'And I`ve said for sometime although I can`t be sure but he is probably -- he is certainly at risk of leaving the country rather than facing the law.'
'O`DONNELL: So is it possible that there might come a day if he is, say, convicted of a crime in New York that something could happen where he could have that moment where he kind of admits where he really is in the world?'
'DR. DODES: I don`t think so. That would be a sign of mental health actually. You know, the ability to grieve is normal. I don`t think he can do that. I think he can only become more enraged and more psychotic.'
Fern, Thank you. That completely answers my question. I should stay up later and watch MSNBC. The pressure is mounting. I wonder when the time will come where he needs to be institutionalized?
Don’t lose sleep, Charlie. You know the forces we face. There aren’t enough sanatoriums, prisons and detention centers to hold Trump, his older children, cohorts, the Republican Party, Cult Members and Dark Money. We need to mobilize, demonstrate against legislators passing bills to limit access to voting and putting people in position to manipulate voting results. Massive marches in Washington DC and in the states to demonstrate in favor of the For the People Act and Democracy are called for — an absolute necessity. Our future is truly in jeopardy.
As the court cases tighten, and the Deutsche banc debts go unpaid, the former guy must be really losing his mind as his world crumbles. I give Melania 3-6 more money months. She could still save Barron...maybe.
When I bother to think about Melania, I can't help but wonder why she's waiting. Much longer, and I doubt he'll have enough cash to fund that renegotiated prenup that she crafted with lawyers before she agreed to leave NYC and move to D.C. Poor Barron's chances of avoiding the trump curse of questionable IQ, coupled with inherited mental health issues, diminish every day he remains in that cesspool.
That prenup is now a historical document, right? Oh the fun the next generation is going to have with it? Donnie, couldn’t even get his wife to move into the White House without a new deal!!!
Melanie ain’t there for anything but the money. Any threat to that she’s getting the f out. That’s ur sign he’s broke. The day M hits the road with Baron.
Fern, u probably right. She hasn’t given any us any reason for confidence. That green coat of hers... that is going to be what she is remembered for, “ I really don’t care do you”
Many have been trying to warn about it since 2016. There are others, with the morals of TFG who have done all they could to shut the good ones up. https://worldmhc.org/
Do not underestimate the delusional mass who obey the delusional narcissist who still takes orders from the Russian narcissist. We, and our democracy, remain in real danger.
A little late on this bandwagon, but why is there no federal investigation of TFG being Putin’s Patsy? I think 🤔 it would be most compelling to show his subordination to Putin as seditionist/treasonous behavior. If it is true how hard could it be to prove?
I find him more and more delusional/crazy. At some point he is going to show the world (and the press will report it) that he has slipped into the paranoia that comes with full blown dementia.
I think it's really hard to tell whether Trump is actually delusional. Yes, he raves. Yes, he tells flagrant lies. But this has been a very successful strategy for him in the past, and there's no easy way to determine what he actually believed, and what he simply used to manipulate others.
It's somewhat comforting to think that he IS delusional, because it means he is now trapped in a mental device of his own making, and has thrown away the key.
He might not be delusional. He might be very deliberately playing a role. I note that he has been dismissed as delusional, mentally-ill, incompetent, etc., etc. for many years now -- and yet here we are, discussing the threat he STILL represents to US democracy. His delusion, if it is a delusion, is very potent, and contagious. It serves a purpose that goes beyond the mumbled ravings of a madman. Which means there could still be malign intelligence behind it.
I believe his mentor, Roy Cohn died similar, in a delusional state? Similar to joe McCarthy too? So there is a pattern for these types. Maybe not 100%...but ...
Yes his desperation will cause him to become more and more unhinged and reckless. We're in for a roller coaster ride like we've never seen. Put your money where your mouth is and help elect democrats in the state houses and congress!
Squeezing every bit of cash out of the big lie. I think there is psychology to suggest once you buy in to something, but also give materially to a cause, you are even more cemented in your beliefs, even when evidence is contrary.
I think Trump is the kind of person who spent his life pushing the envelope just to see what he can get away with. I picture him amazed at how no one stops him on much, and that just encourages him to find another more outlandish norm/law to break. The more outrageous, the better. No doubt he was ecstatic watching his insurrectionists on January 6th. His latest proposed cliff-hanger, the August reinstatement (concocted by the pillow guy, I’ve read), is looney, but the potential consequences are pretty scary. What are they up to, now?
IMHO: trumpublicans are victims of “Grooming”, and Jan 6 is not a one off. Over many years/months, small lies have been repeated so often that they are soon accepted as fact by the targets of the grooming. That sets the stage for not only the Big Lie, but other big lies as well (eg:trump will be reinstated in August).
They were groomed for the insurrection of Jan 6 with many seemingly innocuous statements like: Pence can change the outcome, come to Washington it will be wild, fight like hell to save democracy and many more. Each one relatively harmless but, when added together, resulted in the Jan 6 violence.
Now, they are continuing to groom for the next insurrection. The victims of the grooming are hearing that trump will be reinstated in August, audits will find widespread voter fraud, the 2nd amendment guarantees the right to bear arms against the government, we should have a coup just like Myanmar, along with many more.
Those who are being groomed will absolutely feel justified when they rise up and save their country.
Agree. Unfortunately. More evidence is the uptick in gun sales. I would love to hear an expert social psychologist's analysis of this situation. And some good responses for how to defuse and manage it.
Relaxing gun laws result in direct and indirect intimidation. Just the other day, one big guy sat at a popular lunch counter with his giant holster and gun hanging out for all to see that he was loaded. I will not stay in a public place with these crazies. This was a city, not the northern remote hunting grounds. As gun owners get increasingly more relaxed laws for owning and operating their kill devices, I feel less and less safe or free to be where I wish to be and, perhaps more importantly, I hate to admit this, to speak my mind on political issues. Along w the “grooming” (mentioned above) of his believers, there is also this process of active and not so subtle “intimidation” going on nationally. I too am deeply concerned along w the legion of others. I watch the slow wheels of justice (5 years now!!) and pray.
You brought up an important point. It’s not just that they get to carry and flaunt guns and nearly run people off the road in their big trucks with impunity. I have become afraid to put on a bumper sticker, put up a political sign, or even now, go to a protest. When I went to an “Impeach Trump” rally, there was so much hostility from the cars going by that I was concerned we would be run through by one of them, or shot. I have never experienced this before, in this country.
I hear you. The last 5 years I worked, I was "Ally of Mayberry" in the town of Creswell, Oregon (daytime contract deputy). It is a town of about 5,000+ that is becoming a bedroom community to Eugene (there are wood houses of 900 square feet to huge 2500 square foot homes with 3 car garages within the city limits). They had a small BLM demonstration scheduled in late October that was postponed once, and ultimately held on November 1. I'm guessing there might have been 50-75 Creswellians supporting BLM, and perhaps double that protesting the demonstration. A group of over 100 arrived from Springfield (just up the road and Eugene's sister city) in their large trucks and multitudes of flags, TBL, Confederate, US, and TFG. Very, very ugly.
The West has way more Bundy-wannabees than many East Coasters think. In 2009 the Tea Party took these self-styled survivalist militia-types with rabid territoriality and gun-toting tendencies and added a racist switch.
Am I the only one who has trouble seeing a path forward with people like this?
Who led the counter protest? Who encouraged the intimidation? See any long guns, high cap magazines in Hawaiian shirts? “Is this land still made for you and me?”
Any future insurrection will need the help from the military. I'm hopeful that the Defense Department is right now searching out any dissident officers and purging the top brass of traitors.
Re Netanyahu:
... “[w]hen you lose an election, you’re supposed to leave. Netanyahu’s not leaving.”
Anyone else see a parallel here?
Thank you, Heather.
Yep. And in Hungry, Turkey, basically all the ‘Stan’s, China, Belarus, and Russia.
In the 1970s, I spent a few years working for the Royal Bank of Canada in Montréal and worked on some projects concerning the distribution of retail branches in Canada and thereafter spent some time in the Public Relations Division. For an internal magasine article, I once asked a senior international banker, after he had downed 2 Manhattans befor eating, why there was such an abnormal concentration of bank branches in Southern Florida (from which RBC was totally absent, I must say). He laughed and said that it certainly wasn't a question of the Floridians, retirees and the "snow geese" but to capture and whitewash all the cash coming from black market and undeclared financial and commercial operations in the Carribean, Central America and Venezuala/ Columbia. He then ordered another Manhattan to drink while eating!
Paradise Papers
Perfect!
Ahhh the Keys in the ‘70’s. 😂
Innocence cohabiting with horrors in the sunshine. All the sharks are not in the seam. I remember some really interesting projects with island oligarchs in Haiti and Jamaica for whom Miami was their town...bank, coiffeur, resto...whenever! Just hop a flight.
Florida...one of the great states of corruption. I live here so I can say that. My long-time neighbor was a big-time cocaine dealer working with Colombian king pins. I never knew until he was hauled away I and read about it later. They had an “excavation” company and dug up and buried things in their back yard.. which gives me the willies to think about now.
Creepy!
Yup. Walsh just gave DeSantis $995K and the Key West vote against cruise ships just went away...
In the sea of course! Agh!
The sharks and pirates are now the pillars of the community. With jets...
Wow. Did you quote him in your article or was that off the record? I suppose since the magazine was internal, that would have been edited out anyway.
No, of course not. He was on loan to the Federal Government at the time. The article was about this cooperative program and him. I also found out why he and several other "shelved" senior executives always are "unavailable and in a meeting" every afternoon from 2 till 4 and why they all have "dragons" as secretaries and large comfortable sofas in their offices!
Very interesting.
Clever how HCR has us draw in the parallel lines. A great teacher and historian.
“In my book it’s pretty simple. If you work hard to PREVENT people from voting, you pretty much admit that your ideas aren’t popular and you fear the verdict of the people.” Dan Rather
“Countries, just like with people, it’s easy, to let the best of yourself slip away”-Bruce Springsteen.
This is what has happened to Mitch McConnel and todays Republican Party.
https://youtu.be/1yuc4BI5NWU
Oh my. Springsteen's rendition of Woody Guthrie's song and his love for our country choked me up. An old song, so relevant for how so many Americans feel about our Constitutional crises today. There is a growing list of songs that could become multiple anthems for the states of our democracies around our world today.
“This machine kills fascists”
I prefer Pete Seeger's "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
yeah, agree. That is better, but that wont fit on my Guitar.
https://www.amazon.com/My-Dusty-Road-4-CD/dp/B0025XV1LW/ref=asc_df_B0025XV1LW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312149562874&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17548947961285987162&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029448&hvtargid=pla-583998803444&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62466800336&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312149562874&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17548947961285987162&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029448&hvtargid=pla-583998803444
Penelope, this Spotify version is even better. For u:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4MvJlIpDpdZi4sCXvAhrym?si=AOxvzytaT-KG6feeI2sAqQ
Wow... thanks for the quote and the video. I have wondered what has become of our great protest singers... when the 60’s were chock full of them, now we just hear crickets. I wish the movement could swell up again and help empower us.
I miss them too, Pamsy, but otherwise respectfully dissent. They are out there, though it's harder to spot them with YouTube and Twitter so cluttered. It's interesting that you say "protest singers" rather than folk singers. Hip hop is probably the genre most committed to overt political themes. I dislike its unmelodic style, but the political content is all we could wish for. From Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, through Blaxploitation films, to rap and hip hop, the Civil Rights movement ended the (self) censorship imposed on R&B, jazz, and other Black artists. This is progress -- let's have more!
I’m not able right as this moment TPJ, but I have a few things to say about music and the young people now. And it’s all good.
I love hip hop.
Worth waiting for, C. Take your time.
Yes please
Folk songs...I was raised on it. Still love it.
We were braver then. Not scared to speak out. Artists/Athletes/hero’s need to step it up.
I'm not so sure we were braver - perhaps more terrified when the issues were go to Vietnam and die, or speak up and be assassinated. What was left? We had no choice. Today everything can look peachy keen while the RQC and Qanon and Proud Boy sheep plan their 2nd insurrection attempt for August under our happy, vaccinated, sunburned noses. I also think "The Media" in the 60's and 70's was pretty concentrated to 3 TV stations, plus the 3 radio ones (country, polka and the cool new FM one) so young Bruce Springsteen had one big audience (not the polka station) for young people. We ALL heard and sang the same protest songs. Now artists and athletes and heroes have so many multiplex forums, blogs, podcasts, sites, channels, uploads , substacks, tik toks, and smartspeakers (I listen to my daughter delivering morning news briefs for the Chicago Tribune and others - I'm putting in a plug here for "Spoken Layer", currently looking for more great audio talent!) that the message and the songs gets diluted and dispersed. Plus, how many rock or folk concerts have you been to in the past year. Like, NONE, Right?! That's where we got our communal energy and focus, and, well, bravery. We do need that movement again, that clear message, that unifying song, an anthem for oir new democracy. Fer Sure.
But that is how many scared people at least offer a peep.... through music!!!!’
https://open.spotify.com/track/4MvJlIpDpdZi4sCXvAhrym?si=AOxvzytaT-KG6feeI2sAqQ
"...In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me."
Woody Guthrie, sigh . . . gone long before his time. Perhaps Pete Seeger living to 94 restored a semblance of cosmic balance.
Pete Seeger. Yes.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4MvJlIpDpdZi4sCXvAhrym?si=AOxvzytaT-KG6feeI2sAqQ
Thanks you for this, Ted. A deep truth, beautifully said, and a lovely song of our shared beliefs that nowadays seem buried under the deluge of propaganda that has muffled us (whether self-marketing on social media or the more institutional variety).
Enjoy this live from 1975 ...
https://open.spotify.com/track/4MvJlIpDpdZi4sCXvAhrym?si=AOxvzytaT-KG6feeI2sAqQ
As far as voting rights, please read this LA Times analysis of how SCOTUS has been morphed in supporting the Republicans' concept re voting. (IMHO, the Federalist Society' efforts over the past 40 years have paid off (I use that term deliberately, since it has been taking dark money, per Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's piece titled "The Third Federalist Society" that appeared in Medium 3/27/19.) Here's the LA Times analysis: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-04/how-supreme-court-tilted-election-law-favor-gop
DE-PRESSING.
MaryPat, here’s a pick me up...
https://open.spotify.com/track/4MvJlIpDpdZi4sCXvAhrym?si=AOxvzytaT-KG6feeI2sAqQ
Spot on!
Here in Maricopa County Arizona we call it a “fraudit”.
Coming to a state near you!
😏
Roman Protasevich. As a parent, my heart breaks for his family.
So much news today but this one piece is so sad.
As for 45, it continues to astonish and perplex me how such a mentally ill, morally bankrupt and inhumane organism has so many loyal dedicated (gullible?) followers who seem to believe all his lies... just astounding and frustrating.
I just got a new batch of postcards from Postcards To Voters today and will continue to do my small part towards preserving our democracy.
Thank you, Dr. Heather, for keeping us informed. I refer others to you, and to Gabe at Wake Up to Politics. Individually we may be tiny voices but together en masse we can make a difference.
Is this it? https://m.facebook.com/TonyTheDemocrat.org/
Oops, thought I replied, yes it is!
Thanks!
How wonderful that you do the postcards! I've been looking for a way to help, and I'm told I have "enviable penmanship." Will check out Postcards to Voters. Thank You.
MaryPat, I'm going to do them also. "Enviable penmanship!" Sounds grand!
Whew - the political gamesmanship here and around the world this week! We all watch like an enrapt audience at a championship chess match. It also demonstrates that an autocrat’s will is much stronger than his mind.
Oh - in PA, there is no legal mechanism to do what they are doing in AZ. Any recount must be brought to court the way Trump’s team did, and AFTER finding fault in the process, petitions must be signed in EACH AND EVERY VOTING PRECINCT to be recounted. It is an extremely arduous and expensive process that cannot originate from the same government that already certified the election results. Plus, they don’t have support from the governor or the courts.
What legal mechanism will ever stop them if they get back in power?
Morning, ted!! Exactly as you say. I have been overwhelmed by the idea that "they can't do that...it's not legal" with the reality that "they" don't care about the rule of law anymore.
Oligarchy never cares about the law. To them, they are the law. We can never trust them with power again.
Exactly. It’s why Sinema doesn’t make any sense: why doesn’t she realize even if she wins again they won’t let it stand without HR1 ?
Sinema is playing a totally different game. It's street theatre for her now. She's setting herself up to be primaried.
All the more reason to break the filibuster over voting rights now. If she’s going down anyway, she should at least do it fighting for democracy.
She should be. But it won’t matter - the GQP in AZ will override any dem win.
I'm afraid you are correct. This 'fraudit' will become a permanent feature of the "electoral" process. But, you have to hand it to them. This is an ingenious con. It produces significant free cash flow, is very scalable, and has a high barrier to entry for any potential competitor.
Sinema and Manchin are damn fools being played.
They would have to break a lot of the PA Constitution, even if the governor’s seat is flipped. The PA Supreme Court will shut them down. It’s one of the few backstops that PA has and WI doesn’t have.
PA’s problem right now is the redistricting as a result of the 2020 Census is one more opportunity for the PA Legislature to gerrymander the state.
HR1 - if it passes.
S1 i mean.
If you take Trump at his word, which is always a tricky proposition, it sounds like his is advocating for a Coup.
Mark Elias said exactly that during his interview with Rachel Maddow last night. He also made a clear statement about his hope and expectation was for the legal process he is pursuing is meant to buy time so that the political process could “catch up” and correct itself. Fat chance. Regarding the multiple and ongoing lawsuits he is filing in states that continue to pass laws that suppress the vote of black, brown and younger citizens, he indicated that this tactic will only go so far because “the big lie is quite literally becoming a matter of state policy.” OK, so now what??? At what point does the justice department step in, if they have not done so already? Remembering HCR’s recounting the historical fact that the whole reason for the existence of the justice department at its founding was to root out and put an end to the illegal activities of the KKK? So here we are, again. So where are they?
Trust Robert. I’m not about to second guess Merrick Garland regardless of how infuriating that the wheel turns so slowly. But what I believe 100%+ is that Lady Justice is at his right hand and that Merrick Garland is there.
I'm with you on that point. I have no doubt about Merrick Garland's facility and integrity with regard to the pursuit of justice, but to hear Marc Elias sound the alarm as he did last night, that the legal path he is pursuing can only do so much, well, that just raises a lot of questions in my mind about who does what and when. Taking to the streets in protest is one thing. Getting the levers of government working to uphold the Constitution is another. Are we supposed to wait and see where the SDNY comes down on Trump Org to save us? I don't think so.
It’s Marc’s job right now, among many other tasks, to up the alarm.
In addition any investigation must be absolutely, positively air-tight. That takes time.
Thanks for the info - I will take a listen today. And regarding the DOJ? Who knows where their investigation into Jan 6th will lead ... But, I expect they are being very careful not to tread on the space that even smells like the persecution of previous administrations. It's a thorny issue when the previous administration attempted a coup?
As thorny as it may be politically, it appears to me that the attempted coup issue is pretty black and white (sorry, no pun intended) but I was naive about how the Constitution and its amendments are enforced:
15th Amendment:
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2
The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Thanks for the reminder, if only the members of the US senate could read
I feel like they don’t want to pursue anything that might even smell like partisanship. I know it’s a thin line between that and making a valid case, but what is the law for if they’re afraid to use it? (I’m feeling so discouraged today, if you can’t tell.)
I think the brains behind Trumpism have that thin line figured out, and they are ready with more Big Lies, and supporting Little Lies, to assert that any attempt to prosecute the former guy and his minions is Partisan.
Which, in a sense, is true, because their Party is opposed to democracy and the rule of law.
Wait, did you use the words 'brains' and 'Trumpism' in the same sentence?
If I were to take the idea of a GOP insurrection literally, it would have to come from the states ruled by the GOP, enlisting their Nat’l Guard to take up arms against our federal government? I’m having a hard time envisioning some proud boys with their uzi’s up against army tanks. I would really appreciate it if someone could spell out for me what an insurrection would look like now that we have sanity in the Oval Office.
How long will we have sanity in the Oval Office? It has already departed the Senate.
Any reason to think we won’t have sanity in our Oval Office for the next 3+ years??
I meant after this current administration. I should have clarified!
More subtle than that. Like a slow creepy coup...it’s been happing since 1980, so slow most have not noticed. The courts, local and state governments. Read Snyder’s substack today, it’s brilliant.
Here’s how:
https://snyder.substack.com/
That is what worries me most. With Flynn’s recent comments about a Myanmar- style coup being possible in this country, it does seem credible that Trump is coaxing supporters towards taking up arms. Terrifying to me.
Anyone that thinks a bunch of wannabe paramilitaries has the remotest chance of defeating our military doesn’t know anything about our military. I don’t know if they have any brains 🧠, apparently they don’t, but most creatures on our planet aren’t hell bent on suicide, which would be the result of attacking our military. I think we were way too easy on the attackers on 6 January, it’s time for the gloves to come off, send them to hell where they belong. Good morning everyone 🌅
Oooo. Wonder what you have to say after coffee!
😂🥷🏽
I had had my coffee alright. I'm a VN vet that served with a Ranger company until I was wounded, I'm lucky, I got out alive. If I had been 6" slower in my movements I would not be writing this. I get what it means to take an oath to defend the constitution, more than 500,000, way more, have given life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, to defend everything that is enshrined in our capitol. The rioters and seditionists that attacked our shrine to democracy are beneath contempt, I'm no saint, but I know which side to stand with. I'm not consumed with anger, like most of us I don't have time for that, but if you ask me if what I watched on 6 January made me angry I would have to answer yes. Thanks for the reply, like all of them, it made me think about what I had said
Thank you for your service. And I agree. Jan 6th was Terrorism.
I have a Marine friend who says exactly the same thing. These wannabes won't even know what hit them if they try anything like a second coup.
Thank you 🙏. Good morning !
I agree. The Capitol Police should have had the right to defend themselves with lethal force Jan 6th. They will next time. I really hate to say that, but sometimes you have to escalate the conflict in order to resolve it. Democracy is one of the times.
Yes it is.
I like the image of him tied up and fighting with the chickens for corn in my son’s backyard coop—-
I like the image of him as a mound of dirt topped by a DRIP sign: Don't Rest in Peace. For all the wrong he's done and continues to do - blatantly and without any regard for the real America - he deserves exactly that.
None of the damage he’s done would have been possible without the complicity of the GOP and especially their members of the Senate.
And we know which ones they are.
Just like his blog.
Maybe this is how he finally gets handcuffed and taken away? One can only hope.
Maybe Bibi needs to go first. Somehow we need to realize our country is not that exceptional.
And grooming his followers to believe that it is the only way to save democracy.
No doubt.
As Noa Laundau of Haaretz puts it, “fasten your seatbelts, this is going to get ugly now.”
Not just in Israel. Those of our readership who thought they were going to get to sleep peacefully from now on after January 20 look to have "another think coming."
Like Saul Alinsky (who was NEVER the "radical" the right made him out as - trust me, I met him and had one hell of an argument with him over his support of Johnson and Vietnam - some "radical") once said - and it's something everyone involved in politics should tattoo on their frontal lobes:
"The *real* fight starts AFTER you win the election!"
I have been saying that the inauguration was but the starting line, not the finish line. And this isn't the 100 meter dash, it is a steeplechase.
I believe JFK said something like "The real politics start after you're in office"
Dr Richardson, Does the commitment to fight corruption address the current laws allowing for foreign real estate investment trusts and LLCs to blindy purchase real estate property in the US? Does today’s news address these gaps in our country’s complicity in money laundering through real estate trading?
Is it coincidence that after the Great Recession 2007-2009 (caused in part the sub prime lending and trading of shady real estate debt and subsequent financial crisis) left the US more vulnerable to pervasive real estate corruption?
Does this also help explain the rise of a bankrupt DT, saved by both becoming a Reality TV star and dark loans via Deutsche banc? DT from fiction to power. Did our Gov change the law then in 2007-10 to help salvage both the real estate and financial sectors, stimulated back to life by becoming money launders?
Has it always been so easy to invest foreign dark money into US real estate with the goal of laundering it for foreign dictators? Was it intentional, like an invitation from President Bush, who said he looked into Putin’s soul?
And who thinks we owe them for such a bailout?
Just to add a little to the fire.....the US is 25th out of 179 countries on the Corruption Perception Index! Not Glorious....on a level with Chile! Australia, Western Europe and Japan fill the top ten places behind the shining example of New Zealand, the least corrupt of us all..
https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020/index/nzl
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#:~:text=The%20Corruption%20Perceptions%20Index%20(CPI,corruption%20as%20an%20%22abuse%20of
What does corruption really hide? What does it prove?
Excellent, scary questions.
Excellent question.
Kinda scary for the answers.
If Trump has convinced himself he will be reinstated, it's out of desperation born of knowledge of his guilt in the crimes for which he is being investigated. Or maybe Q has promised to save him.
He wants to be reinstated by August rather than being arrested by September?
.....and Bingo was his name-o!
Ha ha ha
Funny that.
Lynn, u just won the internet.
Truly the malignant narcissist is now delusional.
He has always been delusional--remember, we had absolutely no legitimate medical reports on his condition for his entire "presidency," and the lack of information also includes no info at all on the kinds of meds he has been taking. Similar to Reagan when he began to show clear evidence of dementia, and the only reports from the WH for the last 2 years of his second term were that he was sleeping. A lot. But Cheeto also is disgruntled because, banned from FB and Twitter, he has no easily-accessed medium with which to spread his lies. He just shut down his "blog" because it had a pitiful number of subscribers.
I would like to point out that no matter what his convictions are about his "reinstatement" in August, and no matter how much he tries to encourage his Hitler Youth Army to engage in a putsch to effect such a reinstatement, the reality is that no such thing is going to take place. However, all this signaling might also be a deliberate ploy on the part of the Ghastly Obstructionists to tie up the Biden Justice Department and the FBI: the tactic of frivolous lawsuits is sometimes effective. I don't think it will be in this instance, because both Biden and Harris can walk and chew gum at the same time, but Moscow Mitch is likely trying to find some cover for the Quislings who are going to be dealing with massive law suits over voter suppression all summer.
I wish that the wheels of justice were swift, but they are not. This is going to take awhile, folks. We might as well settle in for the long haul. I know that my blood pressure can't take the kind of "excitement" it experienced for the last 5 years.
Exactly! Thank you for saying it so well.
"Moscow Mitch is likely trying to find some cover for the Quislings who are going to be dealing with massive law suits over voter suppression all summer."
Marc Elias has said he cannot do it alone. Listening to him describe the avalanche of lawsuits already underway, I was reminded of the story of Hans Brinker with his finger in the dike. I am wondering if, perhaps, we need to start some sort of online fundraising to offset the costs. I don't know how he's financing all of this pushback.
I know--he's heroic but can't do it alone. The good news is that the ACLU and NAACP are also flooding the courts with lawsuits. I think that there are probably any number of legal defense funds that could be donated to that will be helping with this. I would recommend checking with the Act Blue folks--they're a clearinghouse.
In 2 interviews in the last 2 days, Marc Elias said that "federal law is the ONLY way to stop voter suppression." And that means passing the "For the People Act". Voter suppression is based on a lie because there was no fraud in the election. The Brennen Center for Justice reported that restrictive bills against voting rights are proposed in 48 states. $'s needed NOW.
Will the Supreme Court support it? That’s a big question. If the red states do what they are planning, will anyone even pay attention to the Supreme Court?
My Boogaloo Boy neighbor would disagree with you.
Lord have mercy MaryPat! You have your own Boogaloo Boy? I can only offer up 2 Qanon believers and 1 white supremacist!
Excellent statement of the situation
He always was - going back the past 40 years.
And, as is normal in such cases, his biggest delusions are about himself and his place in society.
...to the extent that 'normal' can be used anywhere near TFG.
I don’t think he believes it but I think he believes he can convince his supporters more than ever that he deserves to be reinstated.
That would assume a degree of rationality that he doesn't seem to possess. His capacity to distinguish his fantasies from reality and right from wrong is not exactly great...psychopath or "just" sociopath" that is the question for this Perverse Narcissist?
Narcissistic sociopath for sure but as rational as Hitler was in order to inspire his ardent followers. Have you read about the newly translated Mein Kampf? Apparently the first published version tried to make Hitler seem more literate than he was but this new version has his writing more accurately as disconnected racist rants.
I heard or saw a blip that Mein Kampf has long been the not so hidden book on his bedside table.
So interesting— I thought he hardly read but honestly I think he might be Hitler’s soul mate.
First wife Ivanna testified to that fact under oath in their divorce proceedings.
Being published now in France at 100 Euros per copy.
So I read yesterday Stuart. I’m curious about it but probably won’t pay that price.
Wasn’t It Goebbels who helped Hitler write it while in prison after the beer hall putsch?
Goebbels makes sense.. But it was Rudolf Hess, imprisoned in Landsberg with Hitler, who served ghost writer/editor.
R Evans, Coming of the Third Reich
I Kershaw, Hitler, vol 1
Not sure but it sounds like a likely scenario.
It is his MO. That he became president in the first place is proof.
Apparently, it was leaked to the press this week that whenever anyone tries to approach him with any version of the truth, according to them "it's like p***ing" in the wind.
Back to the golden shower, eh?
We are witness to a man having a complete psychotic breakdown. Any psychiatrists out there who care to comment on the process in general - not this person?
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell hosted Lance Dodes, a retired Harvard professor of psychiatry, who holds that Trump is delusional, actually believes the election was stolen, and also believes he'll be reinstated. Dr. Dodes says he will never accept the truth, and his behavior will get worse and he'll deteriorate. Whether he publicly falls apart in public, or is charged and convicted of criminal activity, I hope it's soon enough to save this country.
It’s part and parcel of malignant narcissism. He should have been put in a strait jacket long ago. I have little doubt that he was heavily medicated by his handlers on many occasions while living in our White House.
"...publicly falls apart in public..." now that's a meme best handled by the Department of Redundancy Department.
It's trump's fault. He messes up my grammar, as well as my ability to properly proof posts (like the alliteration?). I'm hoping to return to the "me" I used to be 5 years ago. . . .
We all hope the same for ourselves
Good luck with that! The frustration in watching the idgts politician "followers" gets to the point that I have to stop watching. Can feel my BP rising - know what I mean?
Charlie, Nancy provided an excellent answer to your question. Here is an excerpt of the interview that O'Donnell had with Dr. Lance Dodes:
'... He contributed to the book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess a president."
Dr. Dodes, thank you for joining us once again tonight. It was the talk of being reinstated that made me want to talk to you again tonight. This is Donald Trump thinking, perhaps, that in August he will be president again.
What is your professional reaction to that?
DR. LANCE DODES, RET. CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, HARVARD 'MEDICAL SCHOOL: Donald Trump is delusional. But this is not news. We`ve known this for the past four years at least.'
'He keeps insisting on things as true which are demonstrably false. That is the definition of delusion. I think what we are seeing is a continuation of his grandiose delusion that he is better than everyone, more important than everyone, and consequently no one else matters. He doesn`t care about anyone else. It is all about his own power.'
'Part of the hell that you speak of is that I think that he is enraged which is not unusual for him. I don`t think that he is capable of being sorrowful at his loss though because he doesn`t know that he`s lost. He is deluded about it.''
'So I think that what we are seeing is the increasingly desperate attempts to hold on to this power which will continue. We`ve said this for the last four years. The more pressure he is under the more he will be outrageous in his demands, the more the lies will increase. The big lie technique will get bigger and bigger.'
'O`DONNELL: Yes. You have consistently said in effect it will get worse. Donald Trump`s condition will get worse. And it will get worse because the pressure increases. That was one of the factors.'
'Certainly a grand jury investigation in Manhattan is a very significant increase in pressure along with the other grand jury investigation that`s happening in Georgia over his election interference. Those are new kinds of pressures for him because he is no longer president. There is nothing he can do to interfere with those.'
'DR. DODES: Right. And lack of power is the thing that he can`t stand and doesn`t acknowledge. Since it can`t be true in his world, in his delusional world, he has to do -- he has to change reality to the extent he can to make it so.'
'So he creates, you know, the illusion that he has some information and things are going to happen. He promises that he`ll be back in office and what not. It is, you know, it`s more of the same and I think that if none of these things pan out for him I think what we`ll see is that he will become even more overtly deluded.'
'And I`ve said for sometime although I can`t be sure but he is probably -- he is certainly at risk of leaving the country rather than facing the law.'
'O`DONNELL: So is it possible that there might come a day if he is, say, convicted of a crime in New York that something could happen where he could have that moment where he kind of admits where he really is in the world?'
'DR. DODES: I don`t think so. That would be a sign of mental health actually. You know, the ability to grieve is normal. I don`t think he can do that. I think he can only become more enraged and more psychotic.'
Fern, Thank you. That completely answers my question. I should stay up later and watch MSNBC. The pressure is mounting. I wonder when the time will come where he needs to be institutionalized?
Don’t lose sleep, Charlie. You know the forces we face. There aren’t enough sanatoriums, prisons and detention centers to hold Trump, his older children, cohorts, the Republican Party, Cult Members and Dark Money. We need to mobilize, demonstrate against legislators passing bills to limit access to voting and putting people in position to manipulate voting results. Massive marches in Washington DC and in the states to demonstrate in favor of the For the People Act and Democracy are called for — an absolute necessity. Our future is truly in jeopardy.
I’m listening, Fern. This is the most stern I have read you. Brought me to attention.
Agree. It’s on.
I missed this. Thanks for sharing it.
As the court cases tighten, and the Deutsche banc debts go unpaid, the former guy must be really losing his mind as his world crumbles. I give Melania 3-6 more money months. She could still save Barron...maybe.
When I bother to think about Melania, I can't help but wonder why she's waiting. Much longer, and I doubt he'll have enough cash to fund that renegotiated prenup that she crafted with lawyers before she agreed to leave NYC and move to D.C. Poor Barron's chances of avoiding the trump curse of questionable IQ, coupled with inherited mental health issues, diminish every day he remains in that cesspool.
That prenup is now a historical document, right? Oh the fun the next generation is going to have with it? Donnie, couldn’t even get his wife to move into the White House without a new deal!!!
She claimed to be "protecting Barron" with the new deal, and also ensuring that he had an interest in the business. Shortsighted, eh?
Melanie ain’t there for anything but the money. Any threat to that she’s getting the f out. That’s ur sign he’s broke. The day M hits the road with Baron.
Well, she is certainly not there because of his good looks or social aplomb, and never was. Talk about a deal with the Devil. . . .
She’s just waiting for the next deposit.
It's probably just me, but there isn't enough money in the world to make me do what she did.
Optimistic of you., ted. That's a good trait. I just don't have as much confidence in Melania.
Fern, u probably right. She hasn’t given any us any reason for confidence. That green coat of hers... that is going to be what she is remembered for, “ I really don’t care do you”
So should we care about her at all then?
I don't have a Care package with her name on it.
nope
Many have been trying to warn about it since 2016. There are others, with the morals of TFG who have done all they could to shut the good ones up. https://worldmhc.org/
Do not underestimate the delusional mass who obey the delusional narcissist who still takes orders from the Russian narcissist. We, and our democracy, remain in real danger.
Yes, I completely understand. That's why he needs to be put away.
A little late on this bandwagon, but why is there no federal investigation of TFG being Putin’s Patsy? I think 🤔 it would be most compelling to show his subordination to Putin as seditionist/treasonous behavior. If it is true how hard could it be to prove?
Of the danger I’m absolutely sure.
He has been delusional for years.
So was Hitler...
Now? Ted, have you been doing the Rip Van Winkle thing?
LOL 👍🏼
Always always was.
I find him more and more delusional/crazy. At some point he is going to show the world (and the press will report it) that he has slipped into the paranoia that comes with full blown dementia.
I think it's really hard to tell whether Trump is actually delusional. Yes, he raves. Yes, he tells flagrant lies. But this has been a very successful strategy for him in the past, and there's no easy way to determine what he actually believed, and what he simply used to manipulate others.
It's somewhat comforting to think that he IS delusional, because it means he is now trapped in a mental device of his own making, and has thrown away the key.
He might not be delusional. He might be very deliberately playing a role. I note that he has been dismissed as delusional, mentally-ill, incompetent, etc., etc. for many years now -- and yet here we are, discussing the threat he STILL represents to US democracy. His delusion, if it is a delusion, is very potent, and contagious. It serves a purpose that goes beyond the mumbled ravings of a madman. Which means there could still be malign intelligence behind it.
I believe his mentor, Roy Cohn died similar, in a delusional state? Similar to joe McCarthy too? So there is a pattern for these types. Maybe not 100%...but ...
And remember, when Trump learned Cohn had AIDS Trump turned his back on him. So much for Cohn being a respected mentor, eh?
I Quess Malignant narcissist don’t have relationships.
Indeed, they do not.
He will die alone. Nobody really cares about him. And the world will be better for it.
Yes his desperation will cause him to become more and more unhinged and reckless. We're in for a roller coaster ride like we've never seen. Put your money where your mouth is and help elect democrats in the state houses and congress!
Drsperately trying to keep donations flowing...
Squeezing every bit of cash out of the big lie. I think there is psychology to suggest once you buy in to something, but also give materially to a cause, you are even more cemented in your beliefs, even when evidence is contrary.
I think Trump is the kind of person who spent his life pushing the envelope just to see what he can get away with. I picture him amazed at how no one stops him on much, and that just encourages him to find another more outlandish norm/law to break. The more outrageous, the better. No doubt he was ecstatic watching his insurrectionists on January 6th. His latest proposed cliff-hanger, the August reinstatement (concocted by the pillow guy, I’ve read), is looney, but the potential consequences are pretty scary. What are they up to, now?
Conspiracy to commit treason. I believe another Tim McVeigh is coming. Of course Republicans will say it was Antifa.
The investigational wings of the U.S. need to be keenly attuned to such a possibility.
Or ‘pardon’ him
IMHO: trumpublicans are victims of “Grooming”, and Jan 6 is not a one off. Over many years/months, small lies have been repeated so often that they are soon accepted as fact by the targets of the grooming. That sets the stage for not only the Big Lie, but other big lies as well (eg:trump will be reinstated in August).
They were groomed for the insurrection of Jan 6 with many seemingly innocuous statements like: Pence can change the outcome, come to Washington it will be wild, fight like hell to save democracy and many more. Each one relatively harmless but, when added together, resulted in the Jan 6 violence.
Now, they are continuing to groom for the next insurrection. The victims of the grooming are hearing that trump will be reinstated in August, audits will find widespread voter fraud, the 2nd amendment guarantees the right to bear arms against the government, we should have a coup just like Myanmar, along with many more.
Those who are being groomed will absolutely feel justified when they rise up and save their country.
I don’t see any other possible outcome.
There are so many comparisons to domestic abusers and their "grooming" of their victims and the conduct of the GQP.
Agree. Unfortunately. More evidence is the uptick in gun sales. I would love to hear an expert social psychologist's analysis of this situation. And some good responses for how to defuse and manage it.
Relaxing gun laws result in direct and indirect intimidation. Just the other day, one big guy sat at a popular lunch counter with his giant holster and gun hanging out for all to see that he was loaded. I will not stay in a public place with these crazies. This was a city, not the northern remote hunting grounds. As gun owners get increasingly more relaxed laws for owning and operating their kill devices, I feel less and less safe or free to be where I wish to be and, perhaps more importantly, I hate to admit this, to speak my mind on political issues. Along w the “grooming” (mentioned above) of his believers, there is also this process of active and not so subtle “intimidation” going on nationally. I too am deeply concerned along w the legion of others. I watch the slow wheels of justice (5 years now!!) and pray.
You brought up an important point. It’s not just that they get to carry and flaunt guns and nearly run people off the road in their big trucks with impunity. I have become afraid to put on a bumper sticker, put up a political sign, or even now, go to a protest. When I went to an “Impeach Trump” rally, there was so much hostility from the cars going by that I was concerned we would be run through by one of them, or shot. I have never experienced this before, in this country.
I hear you. The last 5 years I worked, I was "Ally of Mayberry" in the town of Creswell, Oregon (daytime contract deputy). It is a town of about 5,000+ that is becoming a bedroom community to Eugene (there are wood houses of 900 square feet to huge 2500 square foot homes with 3 car garages within the city limits). They had a small BLM demonstration scheduled in late October that was postponed once, and ultimately held on November 1. I'm guessing there might have been 50-75 Creswellians supporting BLM, and perhaps double that protesting the demonstration. A group of over 100 arrived from Springfield (just up the road and Eugene's sister city) in their large trucks and multitudes of flags, TBL, Confederate, US, and TFG. Very, very ugly.
From our only non-Sinclair TV station:
https://www.kezi.com/content/news/Black-Lives-Matter-event-turns-into-dueling-demonstrations--572946011.html
From our liberal weekly paper:
https://eugeneweekly.com/2020/11/05/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire/
The West has way more Bundy-wannabees than many East Coasters think. In 2009 the Tea Party took these self-styled survivalist militia-types with rabid territoriality and gun-toting tendencies and added a racist switch.
Am I the only one who has trouble seeing a path forward with people like this?
You want strict gun legislation? Organize BIPOC to start buying guns en masse and sit back and watch the GQP backpedal.
“Tear the Fascist down”- Woody Guthrie
Who led the counter protest? Who encouraged the intimidation? See any long guns, high cap magazines in Hawaiian shirts? “Is this land still made for you and me?”
From what I’ve read much of the uptick in gun sales is byBlacks and Hispanics.
Could u site a source?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/29/us/gun-purchases-ownership-pandemic.html Another.
Great :( mo' guns. NO BUENO!
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/gun-sales-black-buyers-have-surged-gun-store-ownership-black-n1265840 This is one.
Any future insurrection will need the help from the military. I'm hopeful that the Defense Department is right now searching out any dissident officers and purging the top brass of traitors.