As rumors swirl about what may be an upcoming indictment against former president Donald Trump from Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, Republican Party leaders are in a bit of a pickle. For years now, they have gone along with—and some have fed—Trump’s insistence that the government is stacked against him and therefore against the right wing. Some have gone along out of conviction, undoubtedly, but others almost certainly were trying to keep the base voters without whom the Republicans cannot win an election.
Big news today that Trump attorney Corcoran apparently testified to the other GJ investigating the hidden classified documents. Judge Howell ordered him to turn over his contemporaneous notes of his telephone conversation with whoever told him about the delivery of the complete set of classified docs which of course was false. The government now has his notes. Presumably he was told that all the docs were produced that morning by this other person and that person was...you guess who? If so, guilty as charged of a serious national security crime! If someone else told him, the investigation just shifts to that person but it is probably fair to state that the buck ends up with Trump! The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh! An indictment is very close to fruition! Finally! Kudos to Jack Smith for his motion to Judge Howell to waive the attorney client privilege which succeeded! A long shot that worked! Very rarely accomplished! Justice may be done quite soon!
Optimism around the Barnum and Bailey Daily - Republican Party's goals and outcomes is something we all want to have. Even me.
But, I don't recommend it.
The Republican Party's and Trump's intent are nothing to be optimistic about. Indicting Trump (for anything) is fraught. Everyone can see he is attempting to call up his violent army of people willing to go to jail for him while he goes free. Plus, a black man in NY and a black woman in Georgia are participating in attempting to bring Trump to justice. That makes the whole endeavor even more fraught.
American history is built on arresting a black man for stealing a loaf of bread from the 7-11 to feed his family, since, of course, nobody will hire him - while simultaneously ignoring the stealing of billions of dollars by white men.
Like those guys who gave themselves "bonuses" of depositor money at SVB bank as it was crashing. Nobody has or will arrest those guys.
So, American history and culture is NOT attuned to arresting rich, white men.
America, in fact, does not tolerate holding rich white men to account well at all.
True enough, but what makes the current scenario more interesting is that Trump is a parvenu and not part of the monied political aristocracy. Their allegiance to him is, shall we say, "situational." The situation has changed: he's now a liability who is, among other things, blowing their cover. Further complicating the *situation* is the mob, aka the base, which the monied political aristocracy has no reason to love or trust and with good reason: they're at least dimly aware of what went down in the French and Russian Revolutions.
In other words, there are several wildcards in play here, and at the moment I can't hazard a guess as to how they're going to play out.
Susan, very true. The biggest chip on Trump’s shoulder is he has not and never will be accepted by the high society he desperately desired to be part of. I’m sure his late father had something to do with the articles in ‘80’s People magazine about Donald and Ivana being the newest rich couple in New York society. Flop. The truly elite rich eschewed his every attempt to be ushered into their halls. Join the clubs and societies, sure, but don’t look for invitations. The mob boss mentality didn’t play there. His reputation precedes him as a financial doofus and a bully. Your post is spot on. He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner. Republican dilemma; to Trump or not to Trump, that is the question...
I agree with Susanna and you, Karen, about wild cards. Rs are all over the place trying to keep the base and yet some of them yearn to be rid of death star. Love the riff on Hamlet.
As I read this, a vision of Donald in blue sweats sitting amongst the intellectual elites of the 1960s, discussing literature and political theory and planning the next rally against the Viet Nam War while sipping cheap red and pulling the ocassional toke came to mind .... and I snorted my coffee all over myself and broke into a paroxysm of laughter. Nah. Not possible. Thanks.
Karen L., I love "He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner." I can totally see it, and if I had talent in the visual-artistic direction I'd try to paint it.
What’s additionally ironic is that this situational quandary is exactly the way TFG treats his allegiance to others. He’ll defend them only if it is in his best interests. Full circle Trumpism.
Exactly how I feel, but so succinctly expressed. With all due respect, when I compare Professor Richardson to all the other media I consume (Times, Atlantic, New Yorker, CNN, Cafe Insider with Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara++, political Gabfest, Amicus - the latter 3 being podcasts), she comes off as being extremely optimistic. And, I should add, she always brings receipts. It’s a rare day that she doesn’t uncover a little nugget seen nowhere else.
At this point, most of the other media are at least cautionary, if not pessimistic. The NY indictment, while historic, feels historic but sadly minor. And I use the word ‘minor’ merely in comparison to Trump’s broader treasure chest of crimes commîtted. Getting Trump indicted in New York could produce a whiff of historic (literallly) proportions. It would make Trump’s road through the primaries nearly unassailable. The Republicans would dial for dollars for months off it. What a boon, to not have to create your own good publicity.
If America bungles, stumbles or gets a case of the chlilblains in NY, in Georgia from which there GM has been radio silence since the giggle fit of Emily Kohrs, or God forbid, at the DOJ we might has well curl up in a ball. Evil, allied with its helpful friend Mr. Timidity, will have triumphed.
I think the Republicans have other possibilities now. I think they will work on shifting the base toward someone who is not wobbling along on two+ Achilles heels.
Okay. You and Judith Felsten just made me laugh right out loud. The image doesn't work, though: We all know that Weebles may wobble, but they don't fall down. And this woebegone wobbly is definitely due for a fall.
I should probably add that when I talk about the "monied political aristocracy," I'm not thinking entirely of Kochs, Mercers, Thiels, and their right-wing ilk. I'm a huge admirer of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but her & husband Paul's "investments" are part of the problem, and if you take a look around the Democratic caucus, esp. in the Senate, you'll notice that they are nowhere close to unique. In the 1990s the Clinton administration was very friendly to invested money and -- _pace_ the attempts at health-care reform -- less friendly to those of us who work for a living. As many others have pointed out, many of the safeguards that might have prevented the global economic meltdown of 2008+ came off during the Clinton administration. If we were starting to doze off now that there's a (surprisingly progressive) Dem in the White House, what's going on now in the financial sector should be a good kick in the pants. Dozing off is not an option.
This is truth! I have no issue with casting aspersions on any politicians who’ve reach the state or federal level of government. Their accountability is to the monied investors whose interests they concern themselves with. Not us. For far too long these actions have gone without any regulation or oversight by the DOJ and even the voters that re-elect them.
Yep! And the Citizens United decision and other rollbacks on campaign-finance regulation only increase the incentives -- indeed, the necessity -- for making deals with big investor-donors in order to get elected and re-elected.
Susan, rump's not just a parvenu, he's not even wealthy. "Actually wealthy" people, even parvenus, just can't give him the time of day. And the "actually wealthy" elites would just scrape him off the soles of their shoes.
You are right Mike - from a historical perspective. And if it were only the Stormy Daniels case or the multiple times Trump stiffed contractors or a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll...I would say that trend would continue.
But there is so much more happening than paying off a porn star, more than business theft, more than a rape at Bloomingdales.
There are two other things to consider.
First, the potential indictments by Willis and Smith/Garland are so huge and so egregious that they have a life of their own. Those crimes have taken on a momentum and there are millions of people who are pushing for justice on those events. Supremely capable people are in charge of those investigations. Their expertise and their egos are powerful weapons for justice. Inertia is now fully on our side.
Second. I am not a religious or spiritual person. We are born, we live the best life we are capable of, then we are done. But I do have a sense of karma. Picture a scale of justice. On one side there is a list of all the people who Trump has stolen from, publicly humiliated, fired in a fury of epithets, ruined the careers of, thrown under the bus for the tiniest disloyal statement, thrown ketchup at....the list on that side of the scale is enough to flip the scale off the table. On the other side are a few people. Some are just thoughtless selfish idiots. Many more are hanging on to Trump out of what they think is a political necessity. That necessity is crumbling.
Trumps "rallies" see smaller turnout. Other Republicans are pecking away ever so carefully. But they are pecking. Pence runs in and out with a statements that slightly condemns his former boss. Then he walks it back. But each time he criticizes, it's a little stronger. Same with Haley. Pompeo the Pompous is in the wings. Chris Christy is salivating for another run. Sununu wants the job very badly...fumbling now, but watch out. The latter two hate Trump intensely.
The anvil of justice and the avalanche of a flipped public opinion are about to fall on Donald J. Trump. And then the fun begins. Picture a football game where the hated quarterback is piled on by the whole opposing team and then his own team that he has embarrassed and abused piles on. And then...the stadium - the "fans" launch themselves onto the pile. Karma is a bitch.
Indeed, Christine. Karma has no deadline, and we might or might not see the manifestation of TFG's Karma. I hope OUR own Karma is such that we do see something, and ...... soon! I'm hoping for something big to come from Fani Willis's carefully well documented investigation in Georgia. And the January 6th Committee. I fear that the Stormy Daniel's charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Why? Though it was the Feds, Michael Cohen did prison time for his involvement in the same crime. If Bragg uses all this resource to load and aim a cannon, and all that happens is a flag pops out that says ‘Bang!’ he will be forever derided as the definition of anti-climax. Surely he knows that.
I think we're all a little disappointed that the first indictment is the porn payoff case. It's like a serial killer who gets prosecuted for jaywalking.
Cheryl P. -- Funny comparison! As for the first indictment, as of last night (Wednesday) the MSNBC crew and lawyer-guests, were discussing the details of the other three possibilities. Hopefully by Friday something will happen!
Bill, as historically true and cautionary as Mike S’s comments are, I think I am leaning on your side this time. The hammer of justice is about to come down on TFG.
His popularity has always been that he puts on a good show. Apparently few people are willing to lose their careers or freedom to continue to watch it now that it has jumped the shark.
And all those namby-pamby statements just highlight their cowardice. Taken all together, they wouldn't be the equal of even Gerald Ford. Fie on the lot of them.
I fully expect that the brightest minds at SVB are squarely in the crosshairs of the feds. They know what happened to the bitcoin jerks. They've caused to many people with power too much grief, including pols. The fact that the public wants some whipping boys will lend motivation politically. Now, if the goofballs in the House will do their job or at least step out of the way...
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
They know, without a shadow of a doubt, based on the history of 2008, that they are home free.
ONE person was arrested during that time: A woman. For insider trading of like $ten bucks. Martha Stewart.
Stewart was never charged with Insider Trading. She was charged with lying to the federal investigators, repeatedly, about what her broker told her. Insiders are a defined group (senior executives, some of their deputies, sometimes outsiders -brokers, advisors, consultants, junior employees. If others are temporarily or permanently made insiders, they sign documents that record that. If you are a junior person at a company and discern something that you trade on, and you are not an insider, you are not guilty of insider trading. If an insider gives you information and does not say, "I'm an insider", or "this is insider information", you can trade on it freely. Thus, Stewart could have freely traded on the info. She went to prison for trying to lie for her broker.
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
A great visual -- not least because in my very small town we had a bank robbery last fall that looked like that, except that the perps were more like the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight than upper-crusty execs.
Mike S. All sad but true. The great historian Will Durant observed that we still jail people for stealing too little. There is a different law for the rich.
You seem to suggest that the pursuit of truth and justice is absent the psyche of the typical Republican pol. Unless it is as an opportunity to take down some ... other pol? Shucks.
Not clear what you're saying. Does "poll" = "pol"? The "pursuit of truth and justice" is an abstraction. The need for money is up close and personal. And it's not just about Republicans.
Noted. Spell check plus my diminished proofing skills. Yes, too. I was raised in Democratic Chicago when every extra vote was paid for, money-power was a badge worn with ease, and favors were never unpaid.
For all those who have seen trump for what he is so desire that he pay for ALL his crimes. And for those who see the hush money crime as small relative to all his others, I say, Michael Cohen paid with time in jail the order for the crime came from trump and he was sighted as a coconspirator, how should he not pay as MC did?
Comey put him in the White House! He caved to agents who were about to commit a crime by leaking info about an ongoing FBI case with his ‘midnight’ announcement that they were reopening the investigation into HRC’s emails! Comey is as creditable as road kill!
Completely agree re: Comey's pivotal role in Trump's election in 2016. The pain of sane Americans over the last 7 years can be laid squarely at Comey's feet.
Hmmm... yeah, I strongly agree. But would point out the one error: your sentence: "The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh!" has a misspelling... the correct word is 'nigh', neigh is what horses do.
Mr. Sheehy did not make that error! His English prof would turn over in his.... well, you know. That mistake was made way up the comment pile... Poor ol' Bill simply pointed it out. Nitpicking, you know. Meanwhile those pesky magapublicans continue to play the three monkey game; see no evil, hear no evil and.... go on repeating the evil.
Important to understand that Trump posted this on "Truth" Social: "THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION" and "MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS' So...."Woke" people are baking German Chistmas pastries and boarders are flooding our cities.
I don't typically remark upon such cosmic levels of malignant stupid, but tonight I am weak.
Why would the supposed anarchists go to the trouble to try to take over the government? ANARCHISTS DON'T BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT! Just like big businesses cannot be Marxist! Buy a dictionary, you 10.0-magnitude moron.
Sometimes there are things that just don't make sense. What you say is 100% correct; I have watched as "Antifa" and "Anarchists" have become one and the same here in the Pacific Northwet. The first time I saw organized anarchy (and that's a clue right there) was at the WTO in Seattle, 1999 during those protests. Eugene had its fair share of involved activists (which is a more accurate description of those that I had the opportunity to interact with.) In the early 00's, there were some related protest movements that took on components of violence and anti-corporate stances and became self-described anarchists. Those who took place in the Occupy movement were more of the former than the latter.
Since my retirement, I have not been as "in the know" as I was previously, but what I have seen is that these self-described anarchists have been lumped into the Antifa movement (which I believe is an outgrowth of the Occupy movement) and through pretty savvy labeling have become known as anarchists are nothing like real anarchists at all, but violent protesters of corporate greed and its detritus.
Some of them yes, but I think some of those, particularly in Portland, who use every opportunity to create havoc and vandalize are actually apolitical and love to smash windows and set fires in the middle of the street just because. They are detrimental to people who are actually peaceful protesting and giving all protesters a bad name.
This and the terrible homelessness is why we left Portland. It was once a beautiful city. We loved it there. But the pandemic, the George Floyd riots (and the weekend incursions from the Vancouver-based Proud Boys that kept things stirred up) , and inept city government that just seemed helpless in addressing the city's issues became too much. We no longer felt safe going downtown.
Unfortunately, there is a small group in Portland that take every change they have to vandalize and cause a mess. During the George Floyd protests there were people who were not peaceful and the problem was exacerbated by death star's administration sending in Feds. Kotek is making a big effort to address homelessness and housing among other things. But we have not in my neighborhood and cities that want no additional construction. I am reminded of Great Expectations where Magwich escaped from a prison ship. I say this because people want the unhoused off the streets and out of sight and they would be fine with such a solution. There was a book review in this Sunday's NYT's of a book called Poverty, by America, and it calls to task all of us including liberals and progressives. I will buy it in my next order.
You must have been up close and heatedly trying to defend Seattle from the black shirts in 1999, while I watched stunned on TV. The lineage of protest and the means and methods have apparently a complex history, with the biggest and most gruesome methods so far displayed January 6, 2021. But the endless cycle of people killing large numbers of others is a grim parallel. Where do they overlap? Will you write more about this?
I only attended training with cops from Seattle; their report of that event was a real eye-opener. That event ushered in a period of violent protests (some of them for the sake of violence rather than true protest.)
I was there in Seattle. The night before the WTO meetings started we held a very peaceful and prayerful gathering encircling the Kingdome. The next morning the violence was amazing!
There were many aspects that were totally unexpected and Seattle was unprepared for what was in many ways an invasion. So many people came from other parts of the country with the intention of creating a riot, not protesting.
‘Libor’ you are boring us with your shameless attempt to get hits on your writings! Wow 150 subscribers! Not even a pin prick into to the maga crowd numbering in the 10’s of millions!
Those posts tell me tfg is now doing his own writing. Remember his tweets early in his presidency? Ungrammatical, weird capitalizations, misspelled, more a stream of consciousness than a coherent thought? Then suddenly the tweets were strategic, using BIG words, etc? I had to laugh when newscasters would say “Today trump tweeted....” since obviously he was no longer writing his own posts - he had Ghost-Tweeters. These unhinged posts simply mean he is back to doing his own writing, which was always unhinged!
Yes, he went from himself to Guglilisni, to other ‘free’ (because he doesn’t pay anyone, or his bills) attorneys, and now back to himself. He’d be better getting a first grader to do his tweets for him!
I have taken to ignoring him but reporting him daily. At some point, the moderators will intervene. Interestingly enough (well, not really interesting but notable) is that I have seen this same person posting and begging on OTHER Substacks as well! So forking out the $50 multiple times to toss out his word salads doesn't appear to be hurting him.
Thank you Miselle, the Bay Area is recovering from a power outage, so I am back on-line. 👌
Thank you a great deal for registering your daily complaints; please keep it up as you see fit.
Reports of the Disruptor's activity on other Substack Inc platforms is significant. Please post activity on other Substack Platforms if you feel like doing so but, I can handle this matter as my experience with JAMS goes back to 1990 more than 20 matters. :)
Since she mysteriously fell down the steps and died and was very quickly buried on TFG's golf course in New Jersey (I am really hoping SOMEONE is investigating this!), I consider any reference involving Ivana yet another possible piece of evidence that he really should be charged under RICO.
Boarders flooding cities? That's the open ones? like, Rio Grande? or the people looking for accommodation? or are they getting a lot of rain? And German Christmas pastries? now, before Easter? This is not the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind.
There is a delightful delirium in these posts. The atmosphere is so charged that tfg is bound to feel it. Concentrated scorn laced with humor. Thank you all for the laughs.
Thank you for this; I had to reread it (so much for skim reading). Laughed out loud and shared with siblings (my mother baked Stollen every Christmas).
I buy several when they hit the shelves of Aldi, to give to people at Christmas. I try not to be alone once I've undone the wrapping - I'm an addictive Stollen eater.
Good morning Elisabeth. I signed up on Truth Social with a fake profile yesterday just to see this nonsense first hand. Wow, it's everything I expected and more.
In getting in you have to follow a minimum of 2 people. I chose Trump and Gabbard. She has certainly turned into a QAnon, lying sack of crap. Very sad to see a woman that stood on a stage during the primaries that said she would defend democracy become this.
Linda, I laugh, because i tried to sign up a few months ago and never got “in”. Gabbard always gave me the creeps, as you described her. Yes, very sad. Maybe I should take your lead and try again. I could follow Qevin MQarthy or MTQreen….ugh….
Proper spelling is part of basic education, not a nicety for the elite. Isn't 'maximize education' one of every society's goals? Absolutely agree with James Vander Poel and CC Barton
I wonder if this 'elite nicety' were dismissed as over-esteemed by professionals such as Dr. Richardson, and her well-crafted articles contained minefields of spelling errors, if reading them would be as easy or as enjoyable for you.
I am with your previous comments re trump, bored by all the puffery and not so patiently waiting for him to go away…prison would be good but really just go away
Yes, he needs to just go away. Be placed in a very quiet place, all alone, without phone, internet, television, radio. Maybe a prison cell on an island all in its own off the coast in California, that’s been closed down for years. That comes to mind. He’ll be there all by himself, and can shout all his nonsense, where no one that cares will hear him.
Don’t you just love it when an attorney (Representative Goldman) calls a irrefutable “foul” on elected official (Jordan -credentialed by coaching at the college level, with questionable ethics) who is pretend-playing a Congressional Committee Chair as he pompously castigates a state elected official (Bragg) without the slightest idea that he has no authority whatsoever to investigate him.
Hahaha. Yes, I forgot about the “mushroom” comparison. I wonder what type she was referring to? Maybe a poisonous mushroom? And, I never admired ‘it’ as a mushroom, but I guess there are types…….
And no makeup or chi-chi hair stylist either. Just give him a phone without internet access (like a mom placating a toddler in the grocery store) and he can typo away in all caps and no one has to listen to him.
When homo sapiens finally die out from burning out the ecosystem, actual rats, cockroaches and gulls will go on! (by the way, ornithologists refer to them only as gulls).
Oh, what a lovely image! However, I would want him to be on display, in a soundproof glass box (like Nuremberg?) so the Alcatraz tourists could pay extra to see him!
Ohhh, but that would be feeding his narcissistic tendencies. He needs to be totally alone, and with prison guards that couldn’t speak at all. Big, bulky, ugly, men. Not a woman in sight.
Daniel Cooper - as I read your comment, I visualized sentencing TFG to, say, 25 years on San Clemente Island. It's not closed down, there is a Navy base there so a government facility. That would be a terrible sentence for his Secret Service personnel but they, at least, would be able to rotate out at intervals.
"San Clemente Island (Tongva: Kinkipar; Spanish: Isla de San Clemente)[1] is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy,[2] and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered by Naval Base Coronado. It is 21 miles (34 km) long[3] and has 147.13 km2 (56.81 sq mi) of land. The 2018 census estimates 148 military and civilian personnel reside on the island." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Clemente_Island
Thank you for the detail. When he is sentenced, I’m positive he’ll be sent to a federal prison, but I’m not dire about his secret service detail. This is all uncharted waters we are entering, and sadly, it’s all brought on by him. I’ll be very honest here, but although it’s well known because it’s been covered extensively by the media, the secret service will stay with him through the booking, court process, etc. But if he’s found guilty and is sentenced to prison, I’m not sure he will be keeping his detail once incarcerated. Personally, as a taxpayer, I sure hope not. At that point he’s no longer an ‘ex-President’. He’s an inmate. A convicted felon. He doesn’t deserve a secret service detail in prison.
Me too. In my opinion, he shouldn’t have them now. I feel if they weren’t with him his every step, his lips wouldn’t be quit as loose. He’d not be barking all his anti-democratic rhetoric that he’s barking now.
With his SS detail, he’s acting like he’s King Tut, and is ‘untouchable’. Hopefully with all the investigations going on his criminal past will soon catch up to him.
It’s a tough call, though. If he wins the nomination, he will force the party of Chaos to further debase itself and likely assure the Dems keep the Senate and win back the House and Presidency. Would that be worth the horror of TFG running off his stupid mouth day and night for next 19 months, echoed by his equally repugnant lackeys in the House and Senate? Yes, it would, methinks. Keep the remote button close and stock up on Pepto Bismol. Take up yoga or meditation and spend time in Nature and enjoying the company of your like-minded friends. We can do this.
Iceland is a beautiful, peaceful country filled with good people. tRump needs to be sent somewhere extremely uncomfortable in every way; climate and people.
Could be unpleasant enough. And if he could be housed with minimal protection from the harsh environment that would be a plus. I was thinking more the hottest place, which is reportedly Dallol, Ethiopia. There is also Point Nemo the most isolated place in the world, a point in the Pacific Ocean 2,688 kilometres from the nearest land. Put him in a small boat with minimal shelter and just enough food so he has to ration it carefully to survive.
No. Whatever we may wish him on his ice floe, it cannot help him... but could harm us.
Don't join him in his sick sadistic dreams... He has already involved too many in those. There's more than enough of that filth on us and the whole world. It doesn't bear thinking about.
No one can get away from what they have done, and this one has already begun paying. No one can help him, best wish him well...
What I'm saying may be hard to understand, but think... There are men who sink like the Titanic, dragging others down. At least, let us stay clear and live to learn better.
Long ago Peter, as youth we came out of the sky launching from Fairbanks to land on the beach of Norton Sound. It was a nervous landing as the wind was blowing out to sea and our chutes had negligible forward speed. There in the middle of nowhere was an orange carcass washed up on the sand, bloated in the midnight sun. After the fire we jumped was contained we gathered at the massive walrus lying there a thousand miles from nowhere. Feeble waves lapped at his appendages which suspended awkwardly in the rotting bloat. It seems to me looking backwards now to be the fitting image of an appropriate end of the Fiend.
There are plenty of uninhabited islands in the Arctic which belong to Canada or Russia. The latter is used to using them for penal colonies. We could be renting them from Canada. Due to embargo we cannot fund Russia, even to build a Prison on one of their islands for our organized crime bosses.
This may cause Trump more harm than good. The country is suffering from 'Trump fatigue', and his constant alarms are reminding people how unfit he is to be president. My guess would be that for every one of his supporters who reaches for his credit card to send Trump a donation, there are likely to be many others were simply reminded about what an unstable person he is, and how much we want him to be gone. At some point, publicity and advertising get tuned out. We get enured to the stuff to the point that we don't even hear it anymore. It just becomes background noise. Trump is forever 'crying wolf', and at some point even his most fervent supporters are closing their checkbooks. I know this because I feel the same way about people who were constantly dunning me for campaign contributions, people to whom I have contributed before, but then I hear that little voice in me that says, 'not right now', or 'maybe later'. Even people I like can get tiresome in there pleas to send them campaign contributions. I get it. I also understand the tactics of solicitation, where the email appears to be personalized, and it says that I am among the top whatever it is that they're soliciting, or they want my opinion about something, or to sign some sort of petition; it's just one thing after another, and I tune it out. I'm expecting that these solicitations is to trump supporters are received in much the same way, because I get them— 'Apocalypse now'; the other side is winning; our fundraising is failing, send $3 (what the hell is $3 going to accomplish), the damn algorithm has my name and email address and it's never going to quit! This is going to come a point where even the most ardent redneck Trump supporter is going to realize that most of his beer money is going to Trump, or his family has expenses that won't allow for political contributions. Then there's the sure disillusionment of having to deal with someone we consider to be a friend who never stopped asking for money. The constant drip-drip-drip is terribly annoying, and we wanted to stop; and if we feed the beast, it's never enough. It's tax season, and most of us who have money are going to have to pony up some more to pay the tax man, because the tax system is corrupted, and billionaires pay less syntax than we do. There are too many hands out looking for money, and fewer reasons to give them any of it. So, when Trump bangs on his little tin cup, I'm expecting that a great number of his former supporters are simply going to avert their eyes and pretend that they heard nothing at all.
My sentiments exactly, Arthur! I still contribute to some worthy Democratic Party candidates, but the alarmist rhetoric of some political fundraisers (the DNC included) has to be counterproductive. Like you, I now tune them out, then mass delete them.
Boy did you describe my mail box. Way past enough, even when for a good cause; can’t imagine a dime for chump, but I have never been good at flushing money down the toilet…
I doubt the billionaires who look at politicians as tools not leaders will be stopping to fund him. They probably don't listen to him. Either they agree with him on a shared agenda that will make them more money, such as no taxing on the wealthy, which is now going to be a war with the Biden administration insisting on going there to his credit, since we need to fund our government if we want to run our country well. So, let us hope that you are right about the everyday voter. The ones who feel elevated by Trumps rhetoric. Just as gamblers feel convinced that their cause is going to pay off too.
"no taxing on the wealthy" keeps Republicans in the chips. That and anti-anti-trust. I would not surprise me if billionaires, who, like Putin, cynically see Trump as a tool, are not window shopping for the next rough beast, but Trump still has established despotic mojo. He is sounding weaker though, and though he HE TURNS UP THE VOLUME, his repertoire is pretty thin.
You guys, I need to share how I feel about something, and I need you all to gather in close so that no one else can hear, because it is ka-ray-zay. No, I mean, really, you'll think I'm nuts. Come in closer. Closer! I need to whisper it. Are you ready? I mean really really ready? Okay... here goes...
I don't really care that much whether tfg goes to jail or not.
Don't look at me like that! I told you it was crazy! Wait! Come back! I thought we were friends! HEAR ME OUT!
I didn't say I didn't care *at all.* Dont get me wrong, if/when it happens, I will take the day off work and invite everyone in my address book to the party of the year. Everyone will get their own custom noisemakers, and their own differently colored set of fireworks. Mom will make ambrosia. We will spill into the street as night falls and sing the Star Spangled Banner with an extra tear in the eye. It will be great.
But...
I remain so perplexed and concerned at both how much space the much-desired Cheeto Legal Reckoning takes up in this forum (and others) day after day, as well as the tone with which the conversation takes place. I have read so many variations recently of how "our hope rests with" those brave prosecutors reasserting the law and putting the charlatans away, lest our Repubublic be lost. Excuse me? Frankly, how rude to the tens of millions of common citizens who participated in saving our democracy the last few election cycles the regular way, by voting and interacting with our neighbors. We do not need a hero in a courtroom drama to keep this country going. What evidence makes y'all think we need any different kind of saving than we have already been doing ourselves?
I think our collective trauma is talking here and - as trauma does - it is demanding emotional closure. We Americans belong to a culture so steeped in narrative. We have mastered the tidy narrative of inspirational triumph especially well. Hollywood. Broadway. Manifest Destiny. We love heroes and villains, we love a final face-off, we love just desserts, lessons learned, and horses riding into the sunset. There is nothing wrong with loving these things! They speak to an optimism in the national character. The political rise of tfg was an absolute vortex of drama, and to those of us in the reality-based community, the unfolding drama has had an unequivocal supervillain. Yet the "vanquishing" part of the story has not arrived. Sure, the villain was removed from ultimate power, but he was removed by election. That's a way that all sorts of less-evil or not-evil people lost power, too! And he's still out there, and still having whatever he wants for dinner each night. Not good enough, say our poor narrative-seeking, traumatized brains. A *unique, unprecedented* menace must have a *unique, unprecedented* punishment! If you attempted a coup, you should be in jail! Come on! Please, we say, we have had so many of the stories we told ourselves about our country stolen from us, so many scales ripped from our eyes, this process has been so damn dramatic and painful, please please please just give us a satisfying ending. Let us have that part of the story, that closure. How will the world seem balanced if we do not get that?
But... what will having this ending DO for us exactly? Putting tfg away, however satisfying, will not single-handedly restore the rule of law in America, nor will the lack of such an outcome doom it. Plenty of evil people will still be out and about on private yachts, and many innocent people will be behind bars. What makes the continued precense of these systemic injustices any less of a deal-breaker with regards to how we perceive the rule of law? Putting tfg away, however satisfying, will not dissuade other right-wing wannabe autocrats from embarking on a less openly criminal quest for power, just as failure to put ftg away will not cause the army of progressive activists that sprang into action during his reign of terror to throw up their hands and walk away. Plus, the ICC just released another dire call to action today to save our only planetary home from tragic degredation. How will putting everyone's least favorite rotting pumpkin in the appropriate garbage bin get us closer to avoiding that, pray tell?
Simply, the supervillain's vanquishing is not our endgame. Not my endgame, at least. My endgame is a healthier society that is significantly less apt to give any such villainy space to thrive. And focusing so much on desired downfalls will not help us get there.
It would be poetic justice, yes. But social justice is what I care about more.
Will, you make some excellent points. What we are seeing with our government(s) today are the results of a festering underbelly made up of those who embrace the "lost cause" of the south, with its white males first/blacks enslaved/women as property mentality blended with the Christians who are anxiously awaiting the rapture where all non-believers are destroyed and only they ascend to heaven. This underbelly is driven by corporatists who are absolutely convinced that their money makes them de facto kings who should have no constraints put upon them in their accumulation of even more money. This festering underbelly has been unleashed by the individual who won the electoral college in the election of 2016 and made a mockery of our government. He was just the centerpiece of something building since FDR was elected and actually helped the common people (well, some of them) utilizing the government.
What I see as necessary to recover from this has little to do with whether tfg is prosecuted or not, and far, far more to do with restoring actual government and not the performative circus that we are currently faced with. Were crimes committed? Absolutely. Is the engineered divide in this country a more pressing issue? I believe so.
Will, your comments re “ the satisfying ending” are insightful. It reinforces the current video phenomenon of Netflix drama series that many times “ do not resolve”, ie Yellowstone, Virgin River as the actors renegotiate their contracts or writers write more content
Resolution desire reigns, and then we forget about that which we were binging on
Trump is Binge. We can forget about him too, as long as we can be reassured that his replacement is addressed moving forward
But Will...isn't a legal and just punishment for a career criminal worth getting the Dumpster fire "contained"? And I'm not speaking to the satisfaction and closure that we would all appreciate...but wouldn't his incarceration function as a warning to others of similarly unhealthy ambitions to emulate trump?
“My endgame is a healthier society that is significantly less apt to give any such villainy space to thrive.” Well said, Will. Humans love closure, yet that often is hard to achieve. Alas, the news feeds off the focus on the the celebrity criminal because it is lazy journalism. Building a more perfect union is hard work -- a marathon that will go beyond criminal closure that an indictment might provide.
Will...with deep appreciation for your priorities, your care and concern, may I just offer my own personal POV? TFG represents a gross miscarriage of Justice ( in its purest sense) and everything that is easily contaminated in our present system, perhaps most systems....even down to the minute details of his thieving lying miserable petty ignorant life. Our souls cry out for a pure Justice...a resolution to this sorry tale that will suggest that it can indeed triumph over malicious corrupt power. This is a morality tale on steroids. Resolution is critical imho. But perhaps I have lived too long and seen too much?
However, the idea that all people are equal under the law is an important one, that most of us find important but don't really believe. How this plays itself out will further our understanding of how democratic our democracy is, so it provides information. How far can certain people go and get away with things? I think it is a very critical question that we should be following. So, it is less about revenge and more about what system do we live in, what are its shortcomings and how do we process that information in decision making and moving forward. How do things work? I would not give short shrift to the people who are bringing Trump to trial. Even if it is unprecedented there always needs to be a precedent. It is not about the Hollywood happy ending, so much as looking at how well our system works. The outcome is tied to our planet's well being since if the Trump allied politicians maintain/regain a hold of it, they will be wanting to enact policies that hasten the heating up of the planet and all of the fall-out that that entails. There is a huge battle right now for environmental justice and better environmental practices in our country. That goes for the courts in general and abortion and women's health care in general is degraded by the courts, so the courts are playing an outsized role in our lives. Will there be any hope for non Republicans with the courts given that Trump and other Republicans have packed them on so many levels with people who may make it impossible to bring certain people to justice. There are those who are dedicated to thwarting everything that could possibly be done to slow the growth of global warming and they seem to have thrown themselves behind Trump. So, when amoral people see that there might be consequences for their actions since they are not motivated out of any sense of doing what is right, they may be less likely to misbehave. If they see that they have already stacked the courts irreversibly in their favor that is going to have a huge impact on our nation for much time to come. That is the great purpose of bringing people to trial and to justice. It is as much a part of the system as other aspects. When people feel that the system does not work for them, only for the wealthy, or only for certain groups, then they lose hope and are probably more easy prey for grifters and schemers as well as they may stop trying to be one of the just and join the unjust.
The irony is that the “base” is so completely misinformed, they see the corrupt figures as heroes in some comic book bizarro world where Clark Kent is the enemy
Will, your post is a little windy but extremely pertinent and broaches an important aspect of why we gather here on Heather's substack. Thanks, as always for this timely reminder of where our attention belongs.
Social justice is what is being countered in some red states by fuel charged super majority legislation. MT legislators are passing or attempting to, bills that deny care for transgender children, narrow definition of who is male/female. Legislation re water rights to favor development. Push for unregulated mines. The 3 stooges supporting tgf & posting the faux news propaganda while clinging to their gun rights even in the face of more future voters &legislators enduring another school shooting.
Carole, my son and I had this conversation last night concerning the gop on steroids pushing legislation and we both commented on how sickening it was to watch our beloved state of Montana plunge into this abyss. He feels like he escaped to Washington state.
Dear Will, from CA, I think you are right on target about the increasingly urgent need to replace the extraordinary amount of space our group of thoughtful commenters devote to tfg. I fear, however, that it is not just "we Americans [who] belong to a culture so steeped in narrative."
It is our entire species which has been steeped in in narrative since we acquired the capacity for fictive language some 70,000 years ago (Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari). Since then we have not only outcompeted all other hominids on the planet (Neanderthals, homo floriensis), we have also managed to become the only species which has managed to alter the ecology of the entire planet, largely through the machinations of unbridled capitalism using that same powerful capacity for narrative allowed by fictive language. In wholeheartedly agreeing with your relative lack of concern about what happens to tfg as he will be long forgotten in the chaos, no the maelstrom, of climatic disasters which have begun to befall us.
THAT is the single biggest issue we need to be hearing about, discussing what to do about and asking questions even of our current favorite Joe:
WHY he is allowing renewed drilling on the North Slope of Alaska?
Questions like what can each of us do to forestall the growing nclimate catastrophe which scientists have been warning us since the 1970's?
Agree with much of your thinking Will but I believe there is much potential value in prosecuting and convicting tfg. First it shows his followers he is not actually above the law. Second it may diminish his appeal. Third and last it shows the rest of us (reality based community love that) the wheels of justice do turn if much too slowly.
”...former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele tweeted "Why the hell are you (Mike Pence) 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?"... Priceless. Sounds like 'hero' Pence is somewhat conflicted...
Hahaha..... Pence is totally lost. He doesn’t know which way is up right now. He’s just like DeSantis. Another ‘lost’ soul that’s conflicted with an epic dilemma. They both don’t want to turn the Trump supporters against them, but they don’t want to piss off the ‘Don’ either.
Pence, while brave in the face of the sin Trump was asking him to commit, is terrified by the threats and has not put together that he cannot have it both ways. He cannot be president (for many reasons) if he feels beholden to the Trump base. He knows that Trumps wrath can turn the masses on him. One problem they have is that they cannot wait for things to run their natural course. If Trump were to win again (which I hope never can happen), then they would just need to wait 4 more years. He could never run again. However, I guess they don't trust being relevant then. Let us hope they are not relevant in less than 4 more years. Being unwilling to wait is not helping either of these eager beavers.
Pence doesn’t have the guts to be President. If he can’t stand up to Trump, and the Trump base, how in the hell will he ever stand up to the likes of Putin, Xi, or any other communist leaders in this world.
Pence is no hero, but I have to give him credit for following the advice of those who counseled him about what his responsibilities were as Vice President. Think of what a bigger mess we’d be in if he hadn’t!
I think part of Pence’s confusion is his absolute tenacity in his religious life. Can’t let go of those “beliefs” that stand in stark contrast to Trump’s personal life, which started decades and decades ago and are somewhat front and center with the Stormy Daniels debacle.
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for the satisfying rundown of the current predicaments of the various insurrectionists inside government and out. What a pathetic and dangerous bunch of misguided power seeking prevaricators.
"The chairs claim they want to know if federal money was used in the investigation, but Representative Daniel Goldman (D-NY) noted: “Defending Trump is not a legitimate legislative purpose for Congress to investigate a state district attorney. Congress has no jurisdiction to investigate the Manhattan DA, which receives no federal funding nor has any other federal nexus.”
I like it. Rather like Al Capone. “In the end, it took a team of federal, state, and local authorities to end Capone’s reign as underworld boss. Precisely the kind of partnerships that are needed today as well to defeat dangerous criminals and terrorists.” https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2005/march/capone_032805
Jim Jordon (R-OH) is worried tax money is being used to prosecute Trump ? I’m more concerned as to whether federal money is used for Jim Jordan and his fellow cronies on their annual three-day retreat at a luxury resort in Orlando, Florida.
A quibble, but: Can we find some way - any way! - to get the image of that pathetically pale pus-bucket to not be the first thing below the "add a comment" box?
Only thing I can think of is to break Professor Richardson's "most-liked page" record a few more times, which isn't a bad idea, but...
I absolutely agree with you, Daryl. But it gets more basic than that for me. I'm appalled that taxpayer dollars are going to support the whole batch of Republican insurrectionist, racist, fascist, misogynist, rocks-for-brains, fake patriots in Congress.
“So many reporters here I just saw a reporter start interviewing someone but they turned out to be a reporter too,”
Thanks, I needed this bit of irony + levity.
"Why the hell are you 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?"
Excellent questions.
“American aid worker Jeff Woodke, who was taken prisoner more than six years ago in Niger and held captive by a terrorist group, has been released.”
Thank you Biden Administration and Secretary of State Blinken.
“ Why the hell are you 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?". Thanks for highlighting this, Jean-Pierre! Today (03/20) on PBS’s Newshour, a commentator posed a similar question. I didn’t catch his name, but his observation is the sanest retort I’ve heard so far. I’m paraphrasing here: Why should the prosecution of an indicted former president be considered a political ploy of his opposing party? Nobody should be above the law. To NOT prosecute him WOULD BE POLITICAL.
YES! The release of Woodke ( and similar events) stands like a beacon in the night. One thing that totally irritates me is the largely manufactured statements I read on a local “open” FB forum is that “Biden has done nothing - not one thing - in two years” - “Biden is demented, cannot walk or talk”. Many of these local yokels, as I have christened them, love to concentrate on his sometimes halting speech (as we all know - related to his childhood disfluency) totally ignoring the complete failure of Trump as Chief Communicator.
In your observation of the "local yokels" regurgitating the manufactured statements they've been spoon fed you describe a cadre of my former coworkers. They live in a completely different universe and see the occurrences of today an a completely different way than we do. It has given rise to my statement that "their sky is a different color" and that their perception of reality is skewed.
I recall the well-made movie "The King's Speech". Also, the Press, back in the day, that loved to refer to Reagan as "The Great Communicator", which was only credible if you considered advertising copy to be the canon of our literacy. I still don't quite get why the press that sniffed our Nixon was so besotted with a "B" movie actor.
It appears this site is policed for trolls. I see good and bad in that, but it's nice to communicate without the clutter. I recall back in the Trump/Hilary contest tons of posts on liberal blogs to discourage one from voting, claiming they were both "evil". Much of it smelled of rent-a-troll. I also know that among my acquaintances that some of the negativity is bitterness, what's-the-use self-protective defeatism. Despots do terrible things to instill a sense that resistance is futile, but that's accepting defeat in advance so it won't hurt later. It also precludes any opportunity to make things better, and that is sad and scary.
As is typical with anything regarding the Orang, fka as the less-than-majority-elected former president, he wants everyone ELSE to support his misdeeds. Shocking. Not shocking that his media can create an alternate universe where he is the victim though. It's his calling-card!
I agree it puts many if not all Republicans in a tough spot. HCR detailed that sufficiently.
My point, my reason for posting a comment, is: does any of it move the dial? Will ANY of this create a real conversation about the loss of real discourse between the parties; the REAL Democrats and REAL Republicans? That is what I'd like to get back to.
The fixation on Trump, by both parties, distracts, at best, from the job. The work that is governing. I'm sorry, but the MTG and Bobo's of the "leadership" should not define the conversation we all PAY FOR in this Country. The former office-holder seems to at-least hold-sway on the attention of the Country and until it changes; all efforts to besmirch, indict and give reason to not support that individual will be in-vane... I'll re-asset here that a portion of the Country is now under the influence of a Fox-News-created cult. Is it most of the Republican party: No. It is a portion that is out-sized from what even Mitch McConnell thinks is reasonable.
The Republican Party has work to do. It wont be at the direction of Mr. McCarthy. He's a bitch. The party needs leadership. They need a spine that can stand up to the ridiculous individuals that are advocating for, essentially, no government.
Dems need to advocate FOR government. As weird as that is, the frame of the debate has become that. Biden has done that, but it's not as easy as just doing it. People that need to know that government is working for them aren't hearing it. That will become the existentIal question in 24.
Dems need to advocate for Good Government; for democracy and the common weal. That's what Republicans have really attacked and undermined ever since the election of Reagan.
Attacking "government" is just obfuscation for their real objective of BEING a plutocratic, autocratic, authoritarian Government in it's place. I suspect there is some form of governance as an inevitable consequence of being a society, even if it is rule by warlords in a failed state, and life is nasty, brutish and short.
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities." - Lincoln
JL, I would extend your well-placed reminder of what the purpose of a legitimate government is. We desperately need a good and functioning government in order to save us ALL from the climate change which is inexorably growing beneath our rhetoric and concerns about politicians. We NEED politicians not for who they are but what we need them to DO. We need them to take more effective action as we have yet again in 2022 increased the CO2 we have pumped into the atmosphere despite the growing evidence that we are approaching a tipping point in climate change from which we will not be able to recover. These are the issues which truly deserve our attention and thought and comment.
THE PRIORITY OF PRIORITIES -- Thank you for making this quite clear.
All that too many so-called politicians -- and too many others -- can do is behave like gangsters, creating diversions while they or their bosses rob the bank.
Republicans mock governmental care for the general welfare as the "nanny state" but the real nanny state is "only I can fix it". Democratic leadership cannot fix it for us while we go back to the game. Like hiring a good lawyer, we need fiduciary representatives to turn the nuts and bolts of a massive, modern democracy, but we set the agenda, and we attentively supervise. Otherwise, it is no democracy.
It is a pity that we allowed Lincoln to be robbed of his memorial day. He offers exceptional clarity about what ethical and responsible government is about. Our excessively commercial culture has distracted us with (white) bread and circuses. Contrast this with St. Reagan's cheap shots at democracy; "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Har, har, har.
We are inherently a social species and we, our and though rather pathetic in tooth and claw, prosper, even excessively-prosper because of it. Our most consistent enemy besides our own hubris, is our own species; and we have brains capable of finding solutions when that is our wont.
And yes, prioritizing priorities.. How much human behavior, like "road rage" endangers or ends lives, certainly %@#&$ things up royally, for some petty outburst of ego? Lincoln though we could do better. Modern bought off-Republicans say not; law of the jungle except for the rich. Who speaks for a better life?
… a very large portion of the country is now under the influence of a Fox-News-created cult.” And Rupert’s crew of vipers are still lying after admitting to lying under oath. No fiction writer could write a more bizarre script…
Outstanding piece of thought Alan. Thank you, I agree. It's given me no pleasure to see that party go to the dogs as it is. Oh the tangled web we weave.. comes to my mind. The dysfunctional nature and state of our broadcast media is a damn mess and bears substantial blame that we should Not let them off the hook over. Consider how they allowed themselves to be 'classic conditioned' like Pavlov's dog by the political propaganda money and bullying. They lost their way and nearly all their agency / credibility in large measure and failed us all, of any and all political persuasion. Balance ? Fair and balanced ? What the hell does that even have to do with their high mission principles; tell us unvarnished - who, what, when, and how - colorless. Leave what the facts in evidence 'mean' to our minds to reason the rest. That's all their mission is, and they've failed us and our country miserably. I feel like we have to 'demand' better and keep them accountable as well as the elected critters.
I think Biden is doing both - the good governing and explaining his actions in various speeches. But television media is much more interested in the Chaos Clown Show (I admit to being fascinated at times and adding to the “gaper delay,”) I think that as the election season draws near, Dems will continue to calmly call ou
Editing not working this morning. To finish my sentence I wanted to say “call out the inaccurate and stupid, as well as highlight their actual governance,”
Has Joe explained to your satisfaction why he is allowing renewed drilling on Alaska's North Slope? Especially in the context of the great strides he has taken elsewhere toward preserving our planet?
Here's hoping the reporters continue outnumbering the protestors and Trump will explode in a burst of apoplectic outrage that he is being deserted by his followers in his darkest hour. I am waiting for him to compare himself to Jesus Christ. Blasphemy is about the only thing left on his bucket list.
Big news today that Trump attorney Corcoran apparently testified to the other GJ investigating the hidden classified documents. Judge Howell ordered him to turn over his contemporaneous notes of his telephone conversation with whoever told him about the delivery of the complete set of classified docs which of course was false. The government now has his notes. Presumably he was told that all the docs were produced that morning by this other person and that person was...you guess who? If so, guilty as charged of a serious national security crime! If someone else told him, the investigation just shifts to that person but it is probably fair to state that the buck ends up with Trump! The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh! An indictment is very close to fruition! Finally! Kudos to Jack Smith for his motion to Judge Howell to waive the attorney client privilege which succeeded! A long shot that worked! Very rarely accomplished! Justice may be done quite soon!
Optimism around the Barnum and Bailey Daily - Republican Party's goals and outcomes is something we all want to have. Even me.
But, I don't recommend it.
The Republican Party's and Trump's intent are nothing to be optimistic about. Indicting Trump (for anything) is fraught. Everyone can see he is attempting to call up his violent army of people willing to go to jail for him while he goes free. Plus, a black man in NY and a black woman in Georgia are participating in attempting to bring Trump to justice. That makes the whole endeavor even more fraught.
American history is built on arresting a black man for stealing a loaf of bread from the 7-11 to feed his family, since, of course, nobody will hire him - while simultaneously ignoring the stealing of billions of dollars by white men.
Like those guys who gave themselves "bonuses" of depositor money at SVB bank as it was crashing. Nobody has or will arrest those guys.
So, American history and culture is NOT attuned to arresting rich, white men.
America, in fact, does not tolerate holding rich white men to account well at all.
True enough, but what makes the current scenario more interesting is that Trump is a parvenu and not part of the monied political aristocracy. Their allegiance to him is, shall we say, "situational." The situation has changed: he's now a liability who is, among other things, blowing their cover. Further complicating the *situation* is the mob, aka the base, which the monied political aristocracy has no reason to love or trust and with good reason: they're at least dimly aware of what went down in the French and Russian Revolutions.
In other words, there are several wildcards in play here, and at the moment I can't hazard a guess as to how they're going to play out.
Susan, very true. The biggest chip on Trump’s shoulder is he has not and never will be accepted by the high society he desperately desired to be part of. I’m sure his late father had something to do with the articles in ‘80’s People magazine about Donald and Ivana being the newest rich couple in New York society. Flop. The truly elite rich eschewed his every attempt to be ushered into their halls. Join the clubs and societies, sure, but don’t look for invitations. The mob boss mentality didn’t play there. His reputation precedes him as a financial doofus and a bully. Your post is spot on. He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner. Republican dilemma; to Trump or not to Trump, that is the question...
I agree with Susanna and you, Karen, about wild cards. Rs are all over the place trying to keep the base and yet some of them yearn to be rid of death star. Love the riff on Hamlet.
It doesn't matter whether they trump or not; they've run out of good tricks and they're going down. I hope the opposing players doubled.
As I read this, a vision of Donald in blue sweats sitting amongst the intellectual elites of the 1960s, discussing literature and political theory and planning the next rally against the Viet Nam War while sipping cheap red and pulling the ocassional toke came to mind .... and I snorted my coffee all over myself and broke into a paroxysm of laughter. Nah. Not possible. Thanks.
There's a lot of Karma to the first indictment coming from NYC...
Karen L., I love "He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner." I can totally see it, and if I had talent in the visual-artistic direction I'd try to paint it.
What’s additionally ironic is that this situational quandary is exactly the way TFG treats his allegiance to others. He’ll defend them only if it is in his best interests. Full circle Trumpism.
Exactly how I feel, but so succinctly expressed. With all due respect, when I compare Professor Richardson to all the other media I consume (Times, Atlantic, New Yorker, CNN, Cafe Insider with Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara++, political Gabfest, Amicus - the latter 3 being podcasts), she comes off as being extremely optimistic. And, I should add, she always brings receipts. It’s a rare day that she doesn’t uncover a little nugget seen nowhere else.
At this point, most of the other media are at least cautionary, if not pessimistic. The NY indictment, while historic, feels historic but sadly minor. And I use the word ‘minor’ merely in comparison to Trump’s broader treasure chest of crimes commîtted. Getting Trump indicted in New York could produce a whiff of historic (literallly) proportions. It would make Trump’s road through the primaries nearly unassailable. The Republicans would dial for dollars for months off it. What a boon, to not have to create your own good publicity.
If America bungles, stumbles or gets a case of the chlilblains in NY, in Georgia from which there GM has been radio silence since the giggle fit of Emily Kohrs, or God forbid, at the DOJ we might has well curl up in a ball. Evil, allied with its helpful friend Mr. Timidity, will have triumphed.
I think the Republicans have other possibilities now. I think they will work on shifting the base toward someone who is not wobbling along on two+ Achilles heels.
With bone spurs.
Okay. You and Judith Felsten just made me laugh right out loud. The image doesn't work, though: We all know that Weebles may wobble, but they don't fall down. And this woebegone wobbly is definitely due for a fall.
Eric
"treasure chest of crimes."
Love it! What other hidden gems await discovery? What we know is considerable but likely only the tip of the iceberg.
Tantalizing, in an ugly sort of way.
Thank you. :)
Beautifully posited, Susanna.
Excellent synopsis of the history of Trumpty Dumpty.
Trumpty Dumpty promised a wall.
Trumpty Dumpty had a bad fall.
And all Putin's horses,
And all Orban's men,
Couldn't put Trumpty atop us again.
How's that for synopsis?
Terrific! Well done. I do love authentic poetry! Says so much with so little verbiage.
I should probably add that when I talk about the "monied political aristocracy," I'm not thinking entirely of Kochs, Mercers, Thiels, and their right-wing ilk. I'm a huge admirer of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but her & husband Paul's "investments" are part of the problem, and if you take a look around the Democratic caucus, esp. in the Senate, you'll notice that they are nowhere close to unique. In the 1990s the Clinton administration was very friendly to invested money and -- _pace_ the attempts at health-care reform -- less friendly to those of us who work for a living. As many others have pointed out, many of the safeguards that might have prevented the global economic meltdown of 2008+ came off during the Clinton administration. If we were starting to doze off now that there's a (surprisingly progressive) Dem in the White House, what's going on now in the financial sector should be a good kick in the pants. Dozing off is not an option.
This is truth! I have no issue with casting aspersions on any politicians who’ve reach the state or federal level of government. Their accountability is to the monied investors whose interests they concern themselves with. Not us. For far too long these actions have gone without any regulation or oversight by the DOJ and even the voters that re-elect them.
Yep! And the Citizens United decision and other rollbacks on campaign-finance regulation only increase the incentives -- indeed, the necessity -- for making deals with big investor-donors in order to get elected and re-elected.
Please can we have Gilbert and Sullivan? This piece is rich with musical satire possibilities. It’s even richer than “Servant of the People.”
OK, now I'm seeing the 1/6 committee, led by Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, coming onstage to "When the Foeman Bares His Steel" . . .
How about Anais Mitchell's Hadestown call-and-answer anthem, "Why We Build the Wall?" That's the one I keep hearing.
Susanna,
I hope you are right. I hope that the variables will result in a non-violent outcome. But, all things considered, I am worried.
So am I. The future is very unsettled.
Interesting assessment. Thank you!
Susan, rump's not just a parvenu, he's not even wealthy. "Actually wealthy" people, even parvenus, just can't give him the time of day. And the "actually wealthy" elites would just scrape him off the soles of their shoes.
You are right Mike - from a historical perspective. And if it were only the Stormy Daniels case or the multiple times Trump stiffed contractors or a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll...I would say that trend would continue.
But there is so much more happening than paying off a porn star, more than business theft, more than a rape at Bloomingdales.
There are two other things to consider.
First, the potential indictments by Willis and Smith/Garland are so huge and so egregious that they have a life of their own. Those crimes have taken on a momentum and there are millions of people who are pushing for justice on those events. Supremely capable people are in charge of those investigations. Their expertise and their egos are powerful weapons for justice. Inertia is now fully on our side.
Second. I am not a religious or spiritual person. We are born, we live the best life we are capable of, then we are done. But I do have a sense of karma. Picture a scale of justice. On one side there is a list of all the people who Trump has stolen from, publicly humiliated, fired in a fury of epithets, ruined the careers of, thrown under the bus for the tiniest disloyal statement, thrown ketchup at....the list on that side of the scale is enough to flip the scale off the table. On the other side are a few people. Some are just thoughtless selfish idiots. Many more are hanging on to Trump out of what they think is a political necessity. That necessity is crumbling.
Trumps "rallies" see smaller turnout. Other Republicans are pecking away ever so carefully. But they are pecking. Pence runs in and out with a statements that slightly condemns his former boss. Then he walks it back. But each time he criticizes, it's a little stronger. Same with Haley. Pompeo the Pompous is in the wings. Chris Christy is salivating for another run. Sununu wants the job very badly...fumbling now, but watch out. The latter two hate Trump intensely.
The anvil of justice and the avalanche of a flipped public opinion are about to fall on Donald J. Trump. And then the fun begins. Picture a football game where the hated quarterback is piled on by the whole opposing team and then his own team that he has embarrassed and abused piles on. And then...the stadium - the "fans" launch themselves onto the pile. Karma is a bitch.
And Karma has no deadline!
Indeed, Christine. Karma has no deadline, and we might or might not see the manifestation of TFG's Karma. I hope OUR own Karma is such that we do see something, and ...... soon! I'm hoping for something big to come from Fani Willis's carefully well documented investigation in Georgia. And the January 6th Committee. I fear that the Stormy Daniel's charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Why? Though it was the Feds, Michael Cohen did prison time for his involvement in the same crime. If Bragg uses all this resource to load and aim a cannon, and all that happens is a flag pops out that says ‘Bang!’ he will be forever derided as the definition of anti-climax. Surely he knows that.
Tom, I have no valid reason for my "fear." Just sayin' that the well of surprises is deep.
Particularly in the Game of Trumps. Not everything is logical. However, things do seem to be changing.
The good Karma demonstrated on this website has no deadline either! Keep putting it out there…
Judith
I think we're all a little disappointed that the first indictment is the porn payoff case. It's like a serial killer who gets prosecuted for jaywalking.
Cheryl P. -- Funny comparison! As for the first indictment, as of last night (Wednesday) the MSNBC crew and lawyer-guests, were discussing the details of the other three possibilities. Hopefully by Friday something will happen!
I am adopting this as my answer to all thing "You won't be around for his conviction" comments from my equally old Red friends. Perfect.
I would like to think that you are right, Bill. TFG needs to learn that karma is a bitch.
He’s going to learn alright Ellen on this side or the other, I wouldn’t trade all of the money in the world for his karma. 😎
Well done Bill. I'm not yet optimistic, that will have to wait until serious charges are filed, but the balance does seem to be swinging a little.
Bill, as historically true and cautionary as Mike S’s comments are, I think I am leaning on your side this time. The hammer of justice is about to come down on TFG.
His popularity has always been that he puts on a good show. Apparently few people are willing to lose their careers or freedom to continue to watch it now that it has jumped the shark.
YES. Karma. Have at it.
And all those namby-pamby statements just highlight their cowardice. Taken all together, they wouldn't be the equal of even Gerald Ford. Fie on the lot of them.
Bill,
Thank you. It would be great if you read the book "Railroaded" By Roger White.
There, you will see, Karma is something we hope for, but, is rarely realized, although, sometimes it is.
Remember, if you flip a coin, well, half the time it will land on "heads".
I fully expect that the brightest minds at SVB are squarely in the crosshairs of the feds. They know what happened to the bitcoin jerks. They've caused to many people with power too much grief, including pols. The fact that the public wants some whipping boys will lend motivation politically. Now, if the goofballs in the House will do their job or at least step out of the way...
Richard,
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
They know, without a shadow of a doubt, based on the history of 2008, that they are home free.
ONE person was arrested during that time: A woman. For insider trading of like $ten bucks. Martha Stewart.
I would laugh it if it were not so very sad.
Stewart was never charged with Insider Trading. She was charged with lying to the federal investigators, repeatedly, about what her broker told her. Insiders are a defined group (senior executives, some of their deputies, sometimes outsiders -brokers, advisors, consultants, junior employees. If others are temporarily or permanently made insiders, they sign documents that record that. If you are a junior person at a company and discern something that you trade on, and you are not an insider, you are not guilty of insider trading. If an insider gives you information and does not say, "I'm an insider", or "this is insider information", you can trade on it freely. Thus, Stewart could have freely traded on the info. She went to prison for trying to lie for her broker.
No one is above the law in this country.
KD,
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
A great visual -- not least because in my very small town we had a bank robbery last fall that looked like that, except that the perps were more like the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight than upper-crusty execs.
Trump’s karma has always run over that dogma. Hope that stops here.
I light candles and beseech all the gods that’s true.
What country are you referring to?
Not Russia or China….
Well said. And, your term, "the Barnum and Baily Daily," is priceless.
Your fourth paragraph immediately brought the vision to my mind of Jean Valjean,
the hero of "Les Miserables".
Mike S. All sad but true. The great historian Will Durant observed that we still jail people for stealing too little. There is a different law for the rich.
You seem to suggest that the pursuit of truth and justice is absent the psyche of the typical Republican pol. Unless it is as an opportunity to take down some ... other pol? Shucks.
Not clear what you're saying. Does "poll" = "pol"? The "pursuit of truth and justice" is an abstraction. The need for money is up close and personal. And it's not just about Republicans.
Noted. Spell check plus my diminished proofing skills. Yes, too. I was raised in Democratic Chicago when every extra vote was paid for, money-power was a badge worn with ease, and favors were never unpaid.
For all those who have seen trump for what he is so desire that he pay for ALL his crimes. And for those who see the hush money crime as small relative to all his others, I say, Michael Cohen paid with time in jail the order for the crime came from trump and he was sighted as a coconspirator, how should he not pay as MC did?
Harvey. Bingo
...And let's not forget that Weisselberg is in Rikers as well, another person caught up in TFG's orbit.
As James Comey so aptly observed, "Trump eats your soul in small bites". We are now about to witness a whole bunch of soul chunks dropping.
Comey put him in the White House! He caved to agents who were about to commit a crime by leaking info about an ongoing FBI case with his ‘midnight’ announcement that they were reopening the investigation into HRC’s emails! Comey is as creditable as road kill!
I agree with your Comey assessment. Perhaps his accusation was a hidden confession!
My thoughts precisely...
Completely agree re: Comey's pivotal role in Trump's election in 2016. The pain of sane Americans over the last 7 years can be laid squarely at Comey's feet.
Or as Rick Wilson aptly titled his book, "Everything Trump Touches Dies".
I am reminded of Rick Wilson’s book title, “Everything Trump Touches Dies.”
Tracey,
Indeed, that is absolutely, without a doubt, true. Being infected with Trump has a worse set of statistics than the Black Plague in Europe.
Nigh - not neigh ( like a horse)
Thanks I was galloping along!
Hmmm... yeah, I strongly agree. But would point out the one error: your sentence: "The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh!" has a misspelling... the correct word is 'nigh', neigh is what horses do.
I can see spellcheck making that choice and Bill Sheehy not spotting it.
Mr. Sheehy did not make that error! His English prof would turn over in his.... well, you know. That mistake was made way up the comment pile... Poor ol' Bill simply pointed it out. Nitpicking, you know. Meanwhile those pesky magapublicans continue to play the three monkey game; see no evil, hear no evil and.... go on repeating the evil.
Important to understand that Trump posted this on "Truth" Social: "THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION" and "MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS' So...."Woke" people are baking German Chistmas pastries and boarders are flooding our cities.
I don't typically remark upon such cosmic levels of malignant stupid, but tonight I am weak.
Why would the supposed anarchists go to the trouble to try to take over the government? ANARCHISTS DON'T BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT! Just like big businesses cannot be Marxist! Buy a dictionary, you 10.0-magnitude moron.
Wise as always, Will!
Exactly. And Pense being shocked?!? C’mon. A crime is a crime. And #45 has been a criminal since a young man
He (Pence) still can’t believe he sold his soul.
Sometimes there are things that just don't make sense. What you say is 100% correct; I have watched as "Antifa" and "Anarchists" have become one and the same here in the Pacific Northwet. The first time I saw organized anarchy (and that's a clue right there) was at the WTO in Seattle, 1999 during those protests. Eugene had its fair share of involved activists (which is a more accurate description of those that I had the opportunity to interact with.) In the early 00's, there were some related protest movements that took on components of violence and anti-corporate stances and became self-described anarchists. Those who took place in the Occupy movement were more of the former than the latter.
Since my retirement, I have not been as "in the know" as I was previously, but what I have seen is that these self-described anarchists have been lumped into the Antifa movement (which I believe is an outgrowth of the Occupy movement) and through pretty savvy labeling have become known as anarchists are nothing like real anarchists at all, but violent protesters of corporate greed and its detritus.
Some of them yes, but I think some of those, particularly in Portland, who use every opportunity to create havoc and vandalize are actually apolitical and love to smash windows and set fires in the middle of the street just because. They are detrimental to people who are actually peaceful protesting and giving all protesters a bad name.
This and the terrible homelessness is why we left Portland. It was once a beautiful city. We loved it there. But the pandemic, the George Floyd riots (and the weekend incursions from the Vancouver-based Proud Boys that kept things stirred up) , and inept city government that just seemed helpless in addressing the city's issues became too much. We no longer felt safe going downtown.
Unfortunately, there is a small group in Portland that take every change they have to vandalize and cause a mess. During the George Floyd protests there were people who were not peaceful and the problem was exacerbated by death star's administration sending in Feds. Kotek is making a big effort to address homelessness and housing among other things. But we have not in my neighborhood and cities that want no additional construction. I am reminded of Great Expectations where Magwich escaped from a prison ship. I say this because people want the unhoused off the streets and out of sight and they would be fine with such a solution. There was a book review in this Sunday's NYT's of a book called Poverty, by America, and it calls to task all of us including liberals and progressives. I will buy it in my next order.
You must have been up close and heatedly trying to defend Seattle from the black shirts in 1999, while I watched stunned on TV. The lineage of protest and the means and methods have apparently a complex history, with the biggest and most gruesome methods so far displayed January 6, 2021. But the endless cycle of people killing large numbers of others is a grim parallel. Where do they overlap? Will you write more about this?
I only attended training with cops from Seattle; their report of that event was a real eye-opener. That event ushered in a period of violent protests (some of them for the sake of violence rather than true protest.)
I was there in Seattle. The night before the WTO meetings started we held a very peaceful and prayerful gathering encircling the Kingdome. The next morning the violence was amazing!
There were many aspects that were totally unexpected and Seattle was unprepared for what was in many ways an invasion. So many people came from other parts of the country with the intention of creating a riot, not protesting.
That is exactly what/who we saw in Portland's BLM protests following George Floyd's murder.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
‘Libor’ you are boring us with your shameless attempt to get hits on your writings! Wow 150 subscribers! Not even a pin prick into to the maga crowd numbering in the 10’s of millions!
Louis, he is just a scammer.
Report and ignore him.
He is just taking up space from the legimate LFAA Community.
Spelling was never tfg's forte... And the increasing typos and all caps speak volumes about his state of anxiety.
And childish mentality.
Those posts tell me tfg is now doing his own writing. Remember his tweets early in his presidency? Ungrammatical, weird capitalizations, misspelled, more a stream of consciousness than a coherent thought? Then suddenly the tweets were strategic, using BIG words, etc? I had to laugh when newscasters would say “Today trump tweeted....” since obviously he was no longer writing his own posts - he had Ghost-Tweeters. These unhinged posts simply mean he is back to doing his own writing, which was always unhinged!
Yes, he went from himself to Guglilisni, to other ‘free’ (because he doesn’t pay anyone, or his bills) attorneys, and now back to himself. He’d be better getting a first grader to do his tweets for him!
Oh so true. Are you sure you weren’t on the investigative team back in the early 80s investigating him? We called him the exact same thing!
Isn't it wonderful!
This man spams more than a British family after the blitz.
And thinks he’s so clever… blooming idiot
…and I DO like the fact he had to pay $50. to Heather to comment here!😁😁
I got this Will, from Cal.
Thanks. This is getting very old. I'm doing my part.
Yes, you are an Officer but, I got this one. Very god news at JAMS concerning conflict resolution.
I have taken to ignoring him but reporting him daily. At some point, the moderators will intervene. Interestingly enough (well, not really interesting but notable) is that I have seen this same person posting and begging on OTHER Substacks as well! So forking out the $50 multiple times to toss out his word salads doesn't appear to be hurting him.
Thank you Miselle, the Bay Area is recovering from a power outage, so I am back on-line. 👌
Thank you a great deal for registering your daily complaints; please keep it up as you see fit.
Reports of the Disruptor's activity on other Substack Inc platforms is significant. Please post activity on other Substack Platforms if you feel like doing so but, I can handle this matter as my experience with JAMS goes back to 1990 more than 20 matters. :)
I bet he bought his own books.
Damn. You hit him on his tiny head with that one.
Since she mysteriously fell down the steps and died and was very quickly buried on TFG's golf course in New Jersey (I am really hoping SOMEONE is investigating this!), I consider any reference involving Ivana yet another possible piece of evidence that he really should be charged under RICO.
Boarders flooding cities? That's the open ones? like, Rio Grande? or the people looking for accommodation? or are they getting a lot of rain? And German Christmas pastries? now, before Easter? This is not the eternal sunshine of a spotless mind.
And what exactly are German cookies? His mom didn't strike me as much of a baker.
There is a delightful delirium in these posts. The atmosphere is so charged that tfg is bound to feel it. Concentrated scorn laced with humor. Thank you all for the laughs.
Thank you for the stollen laugh!
Thank you for this; I had to reread it (so much for skim reading). Laughed out loud and shared with siblings (my mother baked Stollen every Christmas).
I buy several when they hit the shelves of Aldi, to give to people at Christmas. I try not to be alone once I've undone the wrapping - I'm an addictive Stollen eater.
Trump should also be indicted for being a lousy speller. Very funny post, Barney.
OMG. Just re-reading your comment, Barney. Can it get any worse?
Good morning Elisabeth. I signed up on Truth Social with a fake profile yesterday just to see this nonsense first hand. Wow, it's everything I expected and more.
In getting in you have to follow a minimum of 2 people. I chose Trump and Gabbard. She has certainly turned into a QAnon, lying sack of crap. Very sad to see a woman that stood on a stage during the primaries that said she would defend democracy become this.
Linda, I laugh, because i tried to sign up a few months ago and never got “in”. Gabbard always gave me the creeps, as you described her. Yes, very sad. Maybe I should take your lead and try again. I could follow Qevin MQarthy or MTQreen….ugh….
Well played Barney.
Spelling is so over-esteemed... just a typical elite nicety only prized by coastal academicians.
NO. Without it, we are reduced to rabble. I cringe every time I run across a post with a misspelling. There's nothing 'elite' about education.
Proper spelling is part of basic education, not a nicety for the elite. Isn't 'maximize education' one of every society's goals? Absolutely agree with James Vander Poel and CC Barton
Jeez Louise folks, you are so serious you don't recognize sarcasm? I taught for years and to this day typos jump off the page and hit me in the eye.
I wonder if this 'elite nicety' were dismissed as over-esteemed by professionals such as Dr. Richardson, and her well-crafted articles contained minefields of spelling errors, if reading them would be as easy or as enjoyable for you.
And...the defensive dragon rears its head.
I am with your previous comments re trump, bored by all the puffery and not so patiently waiting for him to go away…prison would be good but really just go away
100%, Ellen. In the years I have left, I'd prefer to concentrate my efforts on Mother Earth.
Yes, he needs to just go away. Be placed in a very quiet place, all alone, without phone, internet, television, radio. Maybe a prison cell on an island all in its own off the coast in California, that’s been closed down for years. That comes to mind. He’ll be there all by himself, and can shout all his nonsense, where no one that cares will hear him.
Don’t you just love it when an attorney (Representative Goldman) calls a irrefutable “foul” on elected official (Jordan -credentialed by coaching at the college level, with questionable ethics) who is pretend-playing a Congressional Committee Chair as he pompously castigates a state elected official (Bragg) without the slightest idea that he has no authority whatsoever to investigate him.
Golden Kathy! Like Jorden standing under a waterfall only to realize it’s just a bridge from which someone is peeing.
The core of the modern "GOP" is the manufactured illusion of carte blanche entitlement.
Give him a throne and a toy cell phone and he'll be all set.
Yes, a “throne” with an oblong seat at children’s height. That would be most fitting, according to Stormy Daniel’s description.
Stormy said something about "Tiny".
Yes. And I doubt seriously if she’s talking about Tiny Tim.
More appropriately, TIny HIM!
“Small mushroom” was the Stormy term I loved the most….gray and wrinkled and SMALL…
Hahaha. Yes, I forgot about the “mushroom” comparison. I wonder what type she was referring to? Maybe a poisonous mushroom? And, I never admired ‘it’ as a mushroom, but I guess there are types…….
NIMBY!!!! 😅
The East Coast can keep him there far far away...
Ah, but we’ve had him here for so, so long. Hot potato! Someplace else’s turn! I do hear Mars is nice this time of year...
Elon, Oh Elon. We have company for you on your Mars trip, Elon. You can even take his hair piece and use it for fuel!
Fly them to the moon and let them drift among the stars. Let them see what spring is like on Jupiter or Mars.
And no makeup or chi-chi hair stylist either. Just give him a phone without internet access (like a mom placating a toddler in the grocery store) and he can typo away in all caps and no one has to listen to him.
One of those plastic toy phones. I love this idea. Fits him nicely!
Perfect!
Daniel, pity the poor shorebirds at least.
I can speak from experience that San Francisco seagulls need no one's pity. They take crap from no one. They're too busy making the crap for everyone.
We call them rats with wings. 😉
When homo sapiens finally die out from burning out the ecosystem, actual rats, cockroaches and gulls will go on! (by the way, ornithologists refer to them only as gulls).
And Trumpty Dumpty presents such a large target! Bombs away!!
Yes. Maybe the “Bird man” will go visit him!!! lol :-)
High Security Prison for the criminally insane would be appropriate.
Like Napoleon.
Oh, what a lovely image! However, I would want him to be on display, in a soundproof glass box (like Nuremberg?) so the Alcatraz tourists could pay extra to see him!
Ohhh, but that would be feeding his narcissistic tendencies. He needs to be totally alone, and with prison guards that couldn’t speak at all. Big, bulky, ugly, men. Not a woman in sight.
Love the visual!
Daniel Cooper - as I read your comment, I visualized sentencing TFG to, say, 25 years on San Clemente Island. It's not closed down, there is a Navy base there so a government facility. That would be a terrible sentence for his Secret Service personnel but they, at least, would be able to rotate out at intervals.
"San Clemente Island (Tongva: Kinkipar; Spanish: Isla de San Clemente)[1] is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy,[2] and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administered by Naval Base Coronado. It is 21 miles (34 km) long[3] and has 147.13 km2 (56.81 sq mi) of land. The 2018 census estimates 148 military and civilian personnel reside on the island." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Clemente_Island
Thank you for the detail. When he is sentenced, I’m positive he’ll be sent to a federal prison, but I’m not dire about his secret service detail. This is all uncharted waters we are entering, and sadly, it’s all brought on by him. I’ll be very honest here, but although it’s well known because it’s been covered extensively by the media, the secret service will stay with him through the booking, court process, etc. But if he’s found guilty and is sentenced to prison, I’m not sure he will be keeping his detail once incarcerated. Personally, as a taxpayer, I sure hope not. At that point he’s no longer an ‘ex-President’. He’s an inmate. A convicted felon. He doesn’t deserve a secret service detail in prison.
Hope you're right about SS detail.
Me too. In my opinion, he shouldn’t have them now. I feel if they weren’t with him his every step, his lips wouldn’t be quit as loose. He’d not be barking all his anti-democratic rhetoric that he’s barking now.
With his SS detail, he’s acting like he’s King Tut, and is ‘untouchable’. Hopefully with all the investigations going on his criminal past will soon catch up to him.
We can all hope, anyway!!!
Judith, an incredible detail!
And no matter how much he yells, no tree will fall or be heard or be cared about. Great image. Thanks, Daniel.
It’s a tough call, though. If he wins the nomination, he will force the party of Chaos to further debase itself and likely assure the Dems keep the Senate and win back the House and Presidency. Would that be worth the horror of TFG running off his stupid mouth day and night for next 19 months, echoed by his equally repugnant lackeys in the House and Senate? Yes, it would, methinks. Keep the remote button close and stock up on Pepto Bismol. Take up yoga or meditation and spend time in Nature and enjoying the company of your like-minded friends. We can do this.
Splendid advice, Maureen!
Ambassador to Mars; Elon could keep him company.
Iceland is a beautiful, peaceful country filled with good people. tRump needs to be sent somewhere extremely uncomfortable in every way; climate and people.
Yeah, but not every part of Iceland is a destination get-away.
I think the center of Grimsvotn would be the perfect place to send Von Tweeto.
Could be unpleasant enough. And if he could be housed with minimal protection from the harsh environment that would be a plus. I was thinking more the hottest place, which is reportedly Dallol, Ethiopia. There is also Point Nemo the most isolated place in the world, a point in the Pacific Ocean 2,688 kilometres from the nearest land. Put him in a small boat with minimal shelter and just enough food so he has to ration it carefully to survive.
No hamburgers or catsup.
Why food? Put him in a dinghy, fishing pole (cane) line and hook. Period.
Von Tweeto! : ()
The Devil's Golf Course, in Death Valley, in July with no water might be a fitting place.
I'm thinking Siberia, where he and his brofriend Putin, can keep each other warm.
A large iceberg?
Big as a country. With golf courses, snug accommodation...
His Very Own Free-Floating Kingdom.
Shrinking...
How bout a small iceberg
No. Whatever we may wish him on his ice floe, it cannot help him... but could harm us.
Don't join him in his sick sadistic dreams... He has already involved too many in those. There's more than enough of that filth on us and the whole world. It doesn't bear thinking about.
No one can get away from what they have done, and this one has already begun paying. No one can help him, best wish him well...
What I'm saying may be hard to understand, but think... There are men who sink like the Titanic, dragging others down. At least, let us stay clear and live to learn better.
Long ago Peter, as youth we came out of the sky launching from Fairbanks to land on the beach of Norton Sound. It was a nervous landing as the wind was blowing out to sea and our chutes had negligible forward speed. There in the middle of nowhere was an orange carcass washed up on the sand, bloated in the midnight sun. After the fire we jumped was contained we gathered at the massive walrus lying there a thousand miles from nowhere. Feeble waves lapped at his appendages which suspended awkwardly in the rotting bloat. It seems to me looking backwards now to be the fitting image of an appropriate end of the Fiend.
I doubt they would take him, and Greenland is out.
Oh, so THAT'S why he wanted to buy it.
LOL!
There are plenty of uninhabited islands in the Arctic which belong to Canada or Russia. The latter is used to using them for penal colonies. We could be renting them from Canada. Due to embargo we cannot fund Russia, even to build a Prison on one of their islands for our organized crime bosses.
https://www.privateislandsonline.com/region/canada
This may cause Trump more harm than good. The country is suffering from 'Trump fatigue', and his constant alarms are reminding people how unfit he is to be president. My guess would be that for every one of his supporters who reaches for his credit card to send Trump a donation, there are likely to be many others were simply reminded about what an unstable person he is, and how much we want him to be gone. At some point, publicity and advertising get tuned out. We get enured to the stuff to the point that we don't even hear it anymore. It just becomes background noise. Trump is forever 'crying wolf', and at some point even his most fervent supporters are closing their checkbooks. I know this because I feel the same way about people who were constantly dunning me for campaign contributions, people to whom I have contributed before, but then I hear that little voice in me that says, 'not right now', or 'maybe later'. Even people I like can get tiresome in there pleas to send them campaign contributions. I get it. I also understand the tactics of solicitation, where the email appears to be personalized, and it says that I am among the top whatever it is that they're soliciting, or they want my opinion about something, or to sign some sort of petition; it's just one thing after another, and I tune it out. I'm expecting that these solicitations is to trump supporters are received in much the same way, because I get them— 'Apocalypse now'; the other side is winning; our fundraising is failing, send $3 (what the hell is $3 going to accomplish), the damn algorithm has my name and email address and it's never going to quit! This is going to come a point where even the most ardent redneck Trump supporter is going to realize that most of his beer money is going to Trump, or his family has expenses that won't allow for political contributions. Then there's the sure disillusionment of having to deal with someone we consider to be a friend who never stopped asking for money. The constant drip-drip-drip is terribly annoying, and we wanted to stop; and if we feed the beast, it's never enough. It's tax season, and most of us who have money are going to have to pony up some more to pay the tax man, because the tax system is corrupted, and billionaires pay less syntax than we do. There are too many hands out looking for money, and fewer reasons to give them any of it. So, when Trump bangs on his little tin cup, I'm expecting that a great number of his former supporters are simply going to avert their eyes and pretend that they heard nothing at all.
My sentiments exactly, Arthur! I still contribute to some worthy Democratic Party candidates, but the alarmist rhetoric of some political fundraisers (the DNC included) has to be counterproductive. Like you, I now tune them out, then mass delete them.
He is doing a great job of sounding disgustingly pathetic. This is not that way a man who would be Galactic Emperor behaves.
Boy did you describe my mail box. Way past enough, even when for a good cause; can’t imagine a dime for chump, but I have never been good at flushing money down the toilet…
Very good points, Arthur. Maybe fewer words next time, or at least break them up with paragraphs? Makes your thoughts more readable.
Yes, paragraphs please.
I doubt the billionaires who look at politicians as tools not leaders will be stopping to fund him. They probably don't listen to him. Either they agree with him on a shared agenda that will make them more money, such as no taxing on the wealthy, which is now going to be a war with the Biden administration insisting on going there to his credit, since we need to fund our government if we want to run our country well. So, let us hope that you are right about the everyday voter. The ones who feel elevated by Trumps rhetoric. Just as gamblers feel convinced that their cause is going to pay off too.
"no taxing on the wealthy" keeps Republicans in the chips. That and anti-anti-trust. I would not surprise me if billionaires, who, like Putin, cynically see Trump as a tool, are not window shopping for the next rough beast, but Trump still has established despotic mojo. He is sounding weaker though, and though he HE TURNS UP THE VOLUME, his repertoire is pretty thin.
Jeeze Arthur. I didn’t use a credit card for my donation. I just sent a small bottle. If the lid leaks the post office may really be pissed.
You guys, I need to share how I feel about something, and I need you all to gather in close so that no one else can hear, because it is ka-ray-zay. No, I mean, really, you'll think I'm nuts. Come in closer. Closer! I need to whisper it. Are you ready? I mean really really ready? Okay... here goes...
I don't really care that much whether tfg goes to jail or not.
Don't look at me like that! I told you it was crazy! Wait! Come back! I thought we were friends! HEAR ME OUT!
I didn't say I didn't care *at all.* Dont get me wrong, if/when it happens, I will take the day off work and invite everyone in my address book to the party of the year. Everyone will get their own custom noisemakers, and their own differently colored set of fireworks. Mom will make ambrosia. We will spill into the street as night falls and sing the Star Spangled Banner with an extra tear in the eye. It will be great.
But...
I remain so perplexed and concerned at both how much space the much-desired Cheeto Legal Reckoning takes up in this forum (and others) day after day, as well as the tone with which the conversation takes place. I have read so many variations recently of how "our hope rests with" those brave prosecutors reasserting the law and putting the charlatans away, lest our Repubublic be lost. Excuse me? Frankly, how rude to the tens of millions of common citizens who participated in saving our democracy the last few election cycles the regular way, by voting and interacting with our neighbors. We do not need a hero in a courtroom drama to keep this country going. What evidence makes y'all think we need any different kind of saving than we have already been doing ourselves?
I think our collective trauma is talking here and - as trauma does - it is demanding emotional closure. We Americans belong to a culture so steeped in narrative. We have mastered the tidy narrative of inspirational triumph especially well. Hollywood. Broadway. Manifest Destiny. We love heroes and villains, we love a final face-off, we love just desserts, lessons learned, and horses riding into the sunset. There is nothing wrong with loving these things! They speak to an optimism in the national character. The political rise of tfg was an absolute vortex of drama, and to those of us in the reality-based community, the unfolding drama has had an unequivocal supervillain. Yet the "vanquishing" part of the story has not arrived. Sure, the villain was removed from ultimate power, but he was removed by election. That's a way that all sorts of less-evil or not-evil people lost power, too! And he's still out there, and still having whatever he wants for dinner each night. Not good enough, say our poor narrative-seeking, traumatized brains. A *unique, unprecedented* menace must have a *unique, unprecedented* punishment! If you attempted a coup, you should be in jail! Come on! Please, we say, we have had so many of the stories we told ourselves about our country stolen from us, so many scales ripped from our eyes, this process has been so damn dramatic and painful, please please please just give us a satisfying ending. Let us have that part of the story, that closure. How will the world seem balanced if we do not get that?
But... what will having this ending DO for us exactly? Putting tfg away, however satisfying, will not single-handedly restore the rule of law in America, nor will the lack of such an outcome doom it. Plenty of evil people will still be out and about on private yachts, and many innocent people will be behind bars. What makes the continued precense of these systemic injustices any less of a deal-breaker with regards to how we perceive the rule of law? Putting tfg away, however satisfying, will not dissuade other right-wing wannabe autocrats from embarking on a less openly criminal quest for power, just as failure to put ftg away will not cause the army of progressive activists that sprang into action during his reign of terror to throw up their hands and walk away. Plus, the ICC just released another dire call to action today to save our only planetary home from tragic degredation. How will putting everyone's least favorite rotting pumpkin in the appropriate garbage bin get us closer to avoiding that, pray tell?
Simply, the supervillain's vanquishing is not our endgame. Not my endgame, at least. My endgame is a healthier society that is significantly less apt to give any such villainy space to thrive. And focusing so much on desired downfalls will not help us get there.
It would be poetic justice, yes. But social justice is what I care about more.
Will, you make some excellent points. What we are seeing with our government(s) today are the results of a festering underbelly made up of those who embrace the "lost cause" of the south, with its white males first/blacks enslaved/women as property mentality blended with the Christians who are anxiously awaiting the rapture where all non-believers are destroyed and only they ascend to heaven. This underbelly is driven by corporatists who are absolutely convinced that their money makes them de facto kings who should have no constraints put upon them in their accumulation of even more money. This festering underbelly has been unleashed by the individual who won the electoral college in the election of 2016 and made a mockery of our government. He was just the centerpiece of something building since FDR was elected and actually helped the common people (well, some of them) utilizing the government.
What I see as necessary to recover from this has little to do with whether tfg is prosecuted or not, and far, far more to do with restoring actual government and not the performative circus that we are currently faced with. Were crimes committed? Absolutely. Is the engineered divide in this country a more pressing issue? I believe so.
Uncanny clairvoyance Ally. Thank you.
Have to agree …. Thank you
You are so right, but…. The slimmy bastard is above the law in that case.
Will, your comments re “ the satisfying ending” are insightful. It reinforces the current video phenomenon of Netflix drama series that many times “ do not resolve”, ie Yellowstone, Virgin River as the actors renegotiate their contracts or writers write more content
Resolution desire reigns, and then we forget about that which we were binging on
Trump is Binge. We can forget about him too, as long as we can be reassured that his replacement is addressed moving forward
Excellent analogy, Dave.
You’re right.. It may just make more noise and take up more news to lock him up. He needs to just fade away !
Fade away… ala Will’s image: the rotting pumpkin in a garbage bin (any bin will do for me).
But Will...isn't a legal and just punishment for a career criminal worth getting the Dumpster fire "contained"? And I'm not speaking to the satisfaction and closure that we would all appreciate...but wouldn't his incarceration function as a warning to others of similarly unhealthy ambitions to emulate trump?
“My endgame is a healthier society that is significantly less apt to give any such villainy space to thrive.” Well said, Will. Humans love closure, yet that often is hard to achieve. Alas, the news feeds off the focus on the the celebrity criminal because it is lazy journalism. Building a more perfect union is hard work -- a marathon that will go beyond criminal closure that an indictment might provide.
Will...with deep appreciation for your priorities, your care and concern, may I just offer my own personal POV? TFG represents a gross miscarriage of Justice ( in its purest sense) and everything that is easily contaminated in our present system, perhaps most systems....even down to the minute details of his thieving lying miserable petty ignorant life. Our souls cry out for a pure Justice...a resolution to this sorry tale that will suggest that it can indeed triumph over malicious corrupt power. This is a morality tale on steroids. Resolution is critical imho. But perhaps I have lived too long and seen too much?
However, the idea that all people are equal under the law is an important one, that most of us find important but don't really believe. How this plays itself out will further our understanding of how democratic our democracy is, so it provides information. How far can certain people go and get away with things? I think it is a very critical question that we should be following. So, it is less about revenge and more about what system do we live in, what are its shortcomings and how do we process that information in decision making and moving forward. How do things work? I would not give short shrift to the people who are bringing Trump to trial. Even if it is unprecedented there always needs to be a precedent. It is not about the Hollywood happy ending, so much as looking at how well our system works. The outcome is tied to our planet's well being since if the Trump allied politicians maintain/regain a hold of it, they will be wanting to enact policies that hasten the heating up of the planet and all of the fall-out that that entails. There is a huge battle right now for environmental justice and better environmental practices in our country. That goes for the courts in general and abortion and women's health care in general is degraded by the courts, so the courts are playing an outsized role in our lives. Will there be any hope for non Republicans with the courts given that Trump and other Republicans have packed them on so many levels with people who may make it impossible to bring certain people to justice. There are those who are dedicated to thwarting everything that could possibly be done to slow the growth of global warming and they seem to have thrown themselves behind Trump. So, when amoral people see that there might be consequences for their actions since they are not motivated out of any sense of doing what is right, they may be less likely to misbehave. If they see that they have already stacked the courts irreversibly in their favor that is going to have a huge impact on our nation for much time to come. That is the great purpose of bringing people to trial and to justice. It is as much a part of the system as other aspects. When people feel that the system does not work for them, only for the wealthy, or only for certain groups, then they lose hope and are probably more easy prey for grifters and schemers as well as they may stop trying to be one of the just and join the unjust.
Well thought out observation
The irony is that the “base” is so completely misinformed, they see the corrupt figures as heroes in some comic book bizarro world where Clark Kent is the enemy
Will, your post is a little windy but extremely pertinent and broaches an important aspect of why we gather here on Heather's substack. Thanks, as always for this timely reminder of where our attention belongs.
Social justice is what is being countered in some red states by fuel charged super majority legislation. MT legislators are passing or attempting to, bills that deny care for transgender children, narrow definition of who is male/female. Legislation re water rights to favor development. Push for unregulated mines. The 3 stooges supporting tgf & posting the faux news propaganda while clinging to their gun rights even in the face of more future voters &legislators enduring another school shooting.
Carole, my son and I had this conversation last night concerning the gop on steroids pushing legislation and we both commented on how sickening it was to watch our beloved state of Montana plunge into this abyss. He feels like he escaped to Washington state.
Dear Will, from CA, I think you are right on target about the increasingly urgent need to replace the extraordinary amount of space our group of thoughtful commenters devote to tfg. I fear, however, that it is not just "we Americans [who] belong to a culture so steeped in narrative."
It is our entire species which has been steeped in in narrative since we acquired the capacity for fictive language some 70,000 years ago (Sapiens, Yuval Noah Harari). Since then we have not only outcompeted all other hominids on the planet (Neanderthals, homo floriensis), we have also managed to become the only species which has managed to alter the ecology of the entire planet, largely through the machinations of unbridled capitalism using that same powerful capacity for narrative allowed by fictive language. In wholeheartedly agreeing with your relative lack of concern about what happens to tfg as he will be long forgotten in the chaos, no the maelstrom, of climatic disasters which have begun to befall us.
THAT is the single biggest issue we need to be hearing about, discussing what to do about and asking questions even of our current favorite Joe:
WHY he is allowing renewed drilling on the North Slope of Alaska?
Questions like what can each of us do to forestall the growing nclimate catastrophe which scientists have been warning us since the 1970's?
Yes! Thank you
Agree with much of your thinking Will but I believe there is much potential value in prosecuting and convicting tfg. First it shows his followers he is not actually above the law. Second it may diminish his appeal. Third and last it shows the rest of us (reality based community love that) the wheels of justice do turn if much too slowly.
”...former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele tweeted "Why the hell are you (Mike Pence) 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?"... Priceless. Sounds like 'hero' Pence is somewhat conflicted...
Hahaha..... Pence is totally lost. He doesn’t know which way is up right now. He’s just like DeSantis. Another ‘lost’ soul that’s conflicted with an epic dilemma. They both don’t want to turn the Trump supporters against them, but they don’t want to piss off the ‘Don’ either.
Yeah, his peers in Congress were right when they nicknamed him "Dense."
What a slap in the face to the Godfather! “Dense Don”. Wow!
He’s such an empty vessel.
He’s indeed empty, but he still retains the odor to attract flies.
Pence, while brave in the face of the sin Trump was asking him to commit, is terrified by the threats and has not put together that he cannot have it both ways. He cannot be president (for many reasons) if he feels beholden to the Trump base. He knows that Trumps wrath can turn the masses on him. One problem they have is that they cannot wait for things to run their natural course. If Trump were to win again (which I hope never can happen), then they would just need to wait 4 more years. He could never run again. However, I guess they don't trust being relevant then. Let us hope they are not relevant in less than 4 more years. Being unwilling to wait is not helping either of these eager beavers.
Pence doesn’t have the guts to be President. If he can’t stand up to Trump, and the Trump base, how in the hell will he ever stand up to the likes of Putin, Xi, or any other communist leaders in this world.
Pence is no hero, but I have to give him credit for following the advice of those who counseled him about what his responsibilities were as Vice President. Think of what a bigger mess we’d be in if he hadn’t!
Apparenty, retired Judge Luttig.
And, of all people, Dan Quayle.
I think part of Pence’s confusion is his absolute tenacity in his religious life. Can’t let go of those “beliefs” that stand in stark contrast to Trump’s personal life, which started decades and decades ago and are somewhat front and center with the Stormy Daniels debacle.
And called out ! How awesome is that !
I never thought I'd be saying "amen" to something Michael Steele says!
You mean the “little Prence?”
Exactly:-)
Thank you, Professor Richardson, for the satisfying rundown of the current predicaments of the various insurrectionists inside government and out. What a pathetic and dangerous bunch of misguided power seeking prevaricators.
It is a distinct pleasure to read this intelligent historian's round up of current events and the pickle Republicans are in now.
What a tangled web they weave.
“Pickled Republicans” - love the image it brings to mind!
That could explain the characteristic "Sourpuss" affect. Like Mitch, a little heavy on the vinegar.
"The chairs claim they want to know if federal money was used in the investigation, but Representative Daniel Goldman (D-NY) noted: “Defending Trump is not a legitimate legislative purpose for Congress to investigate a state district attorney. Congress has no jurisdiction to investigate the Manhattan DA, which receives no federal funding nor has any other federal nexus.”
Details. details. The show must go on....
A possible rationale for starting with this case: it’s not federal (so Jordan can go pound sand); and it reminds people of the Access Hollywood tape.
I like it. Rather like Al Capone. “In the end, it took a team of federal, state, and local authorities to end Capone’s reign as underworld boss. Precisely the kind of partnerships that are needed today as well to defeat dangerous criminals and terrorists.” https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2005/march/capone_032805
Yes! tRump is being Al Caponed. Follow the money (and the rubles).
Jim Jordon (R-OH) is worried tax money is being used to prosecute Trump ? I’m more concerned as to whether federal money is used for Jim Jordan and his fellow cronies on their annual three-day retreat at a luxury resort in Orlando, Florida.
Buckle up .. it’s about to get bumpy !!
A quibble, but: Can we find some way - any way! - to get the image of that pathetically pale pus-bucket to not be the first thing below the "add a comment" box?
Only thing I can think of is to break Professor Richardson's "most-liked page" record a few more times, which isn't a bad idea, but...
I absolutely agree with you, Daryl. But it gets more basic than that for me. I'm appalled that taxpayer dollars are going to support the whole batch of Republican insurrectionist, racist, fascist, misogynist, rocks-for-brains, fake patriots in Congress.
Oh, great point!
Thank you Heather.
“So many reporters here I just saw a reporter start interviewing someone but they turned out to be a reporter too,”
Thanks, I needed this bit of irony + levity.
"Why the hell are you 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?"
Excellent questions.
“American aid worker Jeff Woodke, who was taken prisoner more than six years ago in Niger and held captive by a terrorist group, has been released.”
Thank you Biden Administration and Secretary of State Blinken.
Ni night all. Zzz...
“ Why the hell are you 'taken aback by the idea of indicting a former President' who has engaged in criminal behavior? Why continue to make excuses for Trump who would rather see you hanged & rancid behavior you decry in others?". Thanks for highlighting this, Jean-Pierre! Today (03/20) on PBS’s Newshour, a commentator posed a similar question. I didn’t catch his name, but his observation is the sanest retort I’ve heard so far. I’m paraphrasing here: Why should the prosecution of an indicted former president be considered a political ploy of his opposing party? Nobody should be above the law. To NOT prosecute him WOULD BE POLITICAL.
Brilliant!
If you are not accountable in the place where the buck stops, who is?
YES! The release of Woodke ( and similar events) stands like a beacon in the night. One thing that totally irritates me is the largely manufactured statements I read on a local “open” FB forum is that “Biden has done nothing - not one thing - in two years” - “Biden is demented, cannot walk or talk”. Many of these local yokels, as I have christened them, love to concentrate on his sometimes halting speech (as we all know - related to his childhood disfluency) totally ignoring the complete failure of Trump as Chief Communicator.
In your observation of the "local yokels" regurgitating the manufactured statements they've been spoon fed you describe a cadre of my former coworkers. They live in a completely different universe and see the occurrences of today an a completely different way than we do. It has given rise to my statement that "their sky is a different color" and that their perception of reality is skewed.
Raised by Fox's
Raised by authoritarians is my guess, but "FOX" is it's effluent.
I recall the well-made movie "The King's Speech". Also, the Press, back in the day, that loved to refer to Reagan as "The Great Communicator", which was only credible if you considered advertising copy to be the canon of our literacy. I still don't quite get why the press that sniffed our Nixon was so besotted with a "B" movie actor.
It appears this site is policed for trolls. I see good and bad in that, but it's nice to communicate without the clutter. I recall back in the Trump/Hilary contest tons of posts on liberal blogs to discourage one from voting, claiming they were both "evil". Much of it smelled of rent-a-troll. I also know that among my acquaintances that some of the negativity is bitterness, what's-the-use self-protective defeatism. Despots do terrible things to instill a sense that resistance is futile, but that's accepting defeat in advance so it won't hurt later. It also precludes any opportunity to make things better, and that is sad and scary.
As is typical with anything regarding the Orang, fka as the less-than-majority-elected former president, he wants everyone ELSE to support his misdeeds. Shocking. Not shocking that his media can create an alternate universe where he is the victim though. It's his calling-card!
I agree it puts many if not all Republicans in a tough spot. HCR detailed that sufficiently.
My point, my reason for posting a comment, is: does any of it move the dial? Will ANY of this create a real conversation about the loss of real discourse between the parties; the REAL Democrats and REAL Republicans? That is what I'd like to get back to.
The fixation on Trump, by both parties, distracts, at best, from the job. The work that is governing. I'm sorry, but the MTG and Bobo's of the "leadership" should not define the conversation we all PAY FOR in this Country. The former office-holder seems to at-least hold-sway on the attention of the Country and until it changes; all efforts to besmirch, indict and give reason to not support that individual will be in-vane... I'll re-asset here that a portion of the Country is now under the influence of a Fox-News-created cult. Is it most of the Republican party: No. It is a portion that is out-sized from what even Mitch McConnell thinks is reasonable.
The Republican Party has work to do. It wont be at the direction of Mr. McCarthy. He's a bitch. The party needs leadership. They need a spine that can stand up to the ridiculous individuals that are advocating for, essentially, no government.
Dems need to advocate FOR government. As weird as that is, the frame of the debate has become that. Biden has done that, but it's not as easy as just doing it. People that need to know that government is working for them aren't hearing it. That will become the existentIal question in 24.
Dems need to advocate for Good Government; for democracy and the common weal. That's what Republicans have really attacked and undermined ever since the election of Reagan.
Attacking "government" is just obfuscation for their real objective of BEING a plutocratic, autocratic, authoritarian Government in it's place. I suspect there is some form of governance as an inevitable consequence of being a society, even if it is rule by warlords in a failed state, and life is nasty, brutish and short.
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities." - Lincoln
Thanks for the sound reminder of what counts amidst all the hubbub...
JL, I would extend your well-placed reminder of what the purpose of a legitimate government is. We desperately need a good and functioning government in order to save us ALL from the climate change which is inexorably growing beneath our rhetoric and concerns about politicians. We NEED politicians not for who they are but what we need them to DO. We need them to take more effective action as we have yet again in 2022 increased the CO2 we have pumped into the atmosphere despite the growing evidence that we are approaching a tipping point in climate change from which we will not be able to recover. These are the issues which truly deserve our attention and thought and comment.
THE PRIORITY OF PRIORITIES -- Thank you for making this quite clear.
All that too many so-called politicians -- and too many others -- can do is behave like gangsters, creating diversions while they or their bosses rob the bank.
Republicans mock governmental care for the general welfare as the "nanny state" but the real nanny state is "only I can fix it". Democratic leadership cannot fix it for us while we go back to the game. Like hiring a good lawyer, we need fiduciary representatives to turn the nuts and bolts of a massive, modern democracy, but we set the agenda, and we attentively supervise. Otherwise, it is no democracy.
Ditto JL
Perfect Quotation for the topic here.
It is a pity that we allowed Lincoln to be robbed of his memorial day. He offers exceptional clarity about what ethical and responsible government is about. Our excessively commercial culture has distracted us with (white) bread and circuses. Contrast this with St. Reagan's cheap shots at democracy; "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Har, har, har.
We are inherently a social species and we, our and though rather pathetic in tooth and claw, prosper, even excessively-prosper because of it. Our most consistent enemy besides our own hubris, is our own species; and we have brains capable of finding solutions when that is our wont.
And yes, prioritizing priorities.. How much human behavior, like "road rage" endangers or ends lives, certainly %@#&$ things up royally, for some petty outburst of ego? Lincoln though we could do better. Modern bought off-Republicans say not; law of the jungle except for the rich. Who speaks for a better life?
… a very large portion of the country is now under the influence of a Fox-News-created cult.” And Rupert’s crew of vipers are still lying after admitting to lying under oath. No fiction writer could write a more bizarre script…
Jeri, fewer Fox viewers believe them (or the big lie).
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-viewers-less-trust-1235554399/
Apt link. thanks for your assist.
Outstanding piece of thought Alan. Thank you, I agree. It's given me no pleasure to see that party go to the dogs as it is. Oh the tangled web we weave.. comes to my mind. The dysfunctional nature and state of our broadcast media is a damn mess and bears substantial blame that we should Not let them off the hook over. Consider how they allowed themselves to be 'classic conditioned' like Pavlov's dog by the political propaganda money and bullying. They lost their way and nearly all their agency / credibility in large measure and failed us all, of any and all political persuasion. Balance ? Fair and balanced ? What the hell does that even have to do with their high mission principles; tell us unvarnished - who, what, when, and how - colorless. Leave what the facts in evidence 'mean' to our minds to reason the rest. That's all their mission is, and they've failed us and our country miserably. I feel like we have to 'demand' better and keep them accountable as well as the elected critters.
I think Biden is doing both - the good governing and explaining his actions in various speeches. But television media is much more interested in the Chaos Clown Show (I admit to being fascinated at times and adding to the “gaper delay,”) I think that as the election season draws near, Dems will continue to calmly call ou
Editing not working this morning. To finish my sentence I wanted to say “call out the inaccurate and stupid, as well as highlight their actual governance,”
Has Joe explained to your satisfaction why he is allowing renewed drilling on Alaska's North Slope? Especially in the context of the great strides he has taken elsewhere toward preserving our planet?
Meanwhile, Trump spent the day “truthing” on social media.
He keeps LYING when he ought to be truthing, and he keeps LOSING when he ought to not bet...
Every day, President Truman's 1948 statement only becomes more relevant and accurate - the situation he described then is only 2,000x worse now:
"the only 'good Republicans' are pushing up daisies."
Personally, I don't think Jungle Gym Jordan could push up a dandelion.
Don't dis dandelions! Gymmie couldn't even convince a worm to visit his rotten remains.
Here's hoping the reporters continue outnumbering the protestors and Trump will explode in a burst of apoplectic outrage that he is being deserted by his followers in his darkest hour. I am waiting for him to compare himself to Jesus Christ. Blasphemy is about the only thing left on his bucket list.
I don’t think he knows who Jesus Christ is beyond Jesus H. Christ the useful expletive.
He was the most powerful man on earth for 4 years. He's got to come up with something to top that...
Dollar to a donut you never gave him that distinction!
As many will attest, “Just Asking Questions” is also known somewhat obscurely as sealioning or more crudely as JAQing off.
Thanks you, Matthew, for "sealioning," my word for the day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealioning
Sea Lion thy name is David lol.