This week, news has been focused on the former president’s possible indictment for paying $130,000 in hush money to adult film performer Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their 2006 affair before the 2016 election. The information currently being thrown about has been shaped by Trump himself and is obviously suspect (among other things, he has apparently raised $1.5 million since he claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday).
Let's not go back to all Trump, all the time. If we give him oxygen his notoriety wins votes, unfortunately. He will be indicted or not. Our job is to elect Democrats to keep the MAGA cult out of power.
I can concur, Gary, that too much oxygen and public facing attention to Trump is dangerous to fanning his narcissistic flame. Nevertheless, HCR’s piece tonight is an important recap. Her exploration of why this particular case is not so easily dismissed as “a small matter” is critical background. What I take from this is a contextual, broad understanding which reinforces me as I talk at folks’ doors about the former president ~ what better way to reiterate or draw the distinction between the current functioning administration, our values, and vision and the previous?
TFG knew that his slander would play right into the Republicans’ already quarter century of negative propaganda about Hillary Clinton. Does anyone any longer remember her efforts to begin a national health care system?
I remember her efforts to bring national healthcare, and its nothing to brag about.
Whether you agree with the idea, her modus operandi was pure Hillary Clinton.
Tone deaf, inartful, and fumbling. None of her husband's qualities.
It was the hallmark of her career.
Blame everyone else.
Word on the street she is circling back for a potential run at the presidency.
I guess if Joe Biden and John Fetterman can hold office with little or no brain waves, there is hope for her.
The problem is no lesson is ever learned. Besides the screaming melting she had when so lost last time, there is no sense of self awareness.
It was classic watching she and her team spike the football and take victory laps in early October, a month before the election, in spite of Bill's protest.
But as Christopher Hitchens put it best, 'she feels she deserves the presidency' for everything she has done for the country. But "no one should ever run for therapeutic reasons"
“Tone deaf, inartful, and fumbling. None of her husband's qualities”
James A all you are doing is parroting mass media’s relentless negative message about an incredibly talented and accomplished woman who had the audacity to think she could be the most important person on this planet, that is, President of the United States. The nerve of her. In 100 years the misogyny and sexism toward her will be apparent, in hindsight, and future generations will have no positive explanation for the insanity of this country electing tfg, instead of her. There is no explanation and no excuse. As a woman, I will never forget or forgive.
You seem to equate the idea that there were no other crimes with the fact that Trump has gotten away with so many for so many years. Just for starters, there was the $25 million settlement he had to pay the students he defrauded with his Trump University scam.
Try running a billion dollar company. There are always problems.
Do you think he ran the university program day to day? Highly unlikely.
What you described is CIVIL LITIGATION not criminal. A $25,000,000 settlement doesn't sound like getting away with it.
Facts don't really matter. Feelings do. For leftists feeling are first, power is second, politics are third, the truth is last. Otherwise you couldn't have made such a silly post.
Talk about lazy. How is it not lazy to characterize anyone with a contrary opinion as a leftist. Certainly there are prosecutors out there that are Trump haters, but that doesn't make them incompetent, and it doesn't mean that there was not a crime. How much did you send him?
"There are no other crimes try as hard as you may. There is no crime here." No other crimes? Are you kidding me? No other crimes for which he has been indicted/convicted - now I can go with that. Is that what you meant? If/when the indictments come, the crimes indicted for will be spelled out clearly. You sir are for some reason trying to protect a known white collar criminal who took an entire nation and applied his crooked New York real estate mogul ways and bent our political systems toward his own benefit, often in direct opposition to the benefit of the nation at large, for four years as he was president. Some of that was legal, due to imperfections and inadequacies in our laws. Some was not - and for that he is under investigation on several fronts. Not only do I vehemently disagree with you on this, I would also point out that he has already gotten away with multiple potential crimes brought out by the Mueller investigation, obstruction of justice being one of them but not all. It appears the long arm of the law is going to let all that slide. This guy's gotta pay.
Thanks for doing the important work of talking to voters by canvassing. And for having conversations focused on finding common ground that are values-based. That’s golden!
Indeed our job is to elect those who make a better case for being in power than their opponents do, and Democrats are doing so and Republicans are corrupt as hell. That said, I find Trump and the vast array of anti-democratic co-conspirators attempting to overthrow the Republic (no?) and that's a very big deal. It is also essential that those who participated in the attempted coup, and in continuance of sidelining fair and free elections and due process of law be held as accountable as an other segment of society would be had they done the same. That tends not to happen so much to rich, powerful and/or popular; but it must. The more they get away with, the more outrageous and dangerous they have become.
“The vast array of anti-democratic co-conspirators attempting to overthrow the Republic”.
Thank you for stating plain unadorned truth here and throughout the whole of this comment.
The time has long since passed when, in the face of systematic cheating, lying, subversion and theft—carefully, ably, most professionally reframed to mislead—truth could be otherwise stated.
When, however, you suggest possible doubt about this “vast array” you do yourself no service and provide the conspirators with what they will try to use as a key to unlock the cage in which they have entrapped themselves. The onus is on them to disprove the evidence they have piled up against themselves—the words, the actions, the policy.
Policy? TO WIN.
And since all fair means of implementing that policy are on the point of failing, the means are and must be foul.
*
What surprises me is not so much the antics of mad extremists as how such a large body of ordinary men and women should have allowed themselves to be corralled like cattle. And here I am not thinking only of voters but of those politicians who entered politics to do a job serving their constituents…
HCR writes today of these people’s “conviction that Democrats will destroy the country” and their consequent belief that cheating to win is justified. I fear that in so phrasing her sentence she may be projecting onto those who call themselves “Republicans” convictions as genuine as her own. Genuine moneyed interests cannot lose all influence unless they are in the hands of idiots. Participation by genuine conservatives in work for the common good cannot “destroy the country”. This so-called “conviction” has nothing to do with “the country” and everything to do with total domination of that unfortunate country by those who have siphoned off so much material wealth from it that their sole concern now is with continued accumulation and with keeping, not use.
They are in this for accumulation’s sake. As for what to do with what’s accumulated, that is not even a secondary concern for most, as they haven’t a clue. And loose cannons like Musk who do have a clue are potentially even more dangerous, for themselves, for everyone else. All accelerator, their only brakes the rocks, the trees and the ravines by the roadside. Those and other vehicles.
Peter, that phrase struck me, as well. Thanks for pointing it out. That may be what they tell themselves when they try to fall asleep at night, but I don’t think it’s any more true than the other lies they tell.
I, too, was struck by the same sentence by Prof. Richardson: “ It appears Republicans have gotten to the point that they don’t believe they can win a free and fair election, and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified.” They don’t just believe—they know that their policies are so unpopular they can’t win a free and fair national election. As a result, they are intent on using all cheating necessary to gain and retain power, as people like Stephen Breitbart and Roger Cohen have been quoted baldly stating. And I agree that Prof. Richardson’s phrasing, “…and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified,” is far too kind. Trump and all the MAGA sycophants (McCarthy et al) and coattails/copycat opportunists (DeSantis et al) may have bamboozled millions of gullible MAGA voters into believing Democrats are evil and will “destroy the country.” But they themselves just want all the power and money they can get, any way they can get it. In other words, they have no convictions—they’re just crooks.
...And the Republicans certainly have no worries about anyone "destroy[ing] the country" because they don't care what survives so long as when the dust clears, they have all the power, and a lot of money. By "Democrats will destroy the country" they mean "destroy our opportunities to wage Republican authoritarian control via white supremacy, patriarchal dominance, old white boy network political, legal, and cultural hegemony, and no-rules laissez faire capitalism that gives us our god-given 'freedom' to aggregate all the money and power to us and our buddies, the rich and powerful, and externalizes all the costs and damage onto brown people, poor people, women, and the air, land, and water that we by ancestral rights ought to be allowed to use however we want to get rich and then dump our waste in, without the pesky interference of pantywaist rules from snowflake libruls whining about "pollution" and "global warming" and some silly salamander or whale or micro owl."
Thanks, Elizabeth M, for spelling out a few of the details of those We-Take-You-Pay Rights... Perpetual and, so they'd have us believe, divinely sanctioned...
I remember being called many names, from Democrat to socialist to commie, with other adjectives appended. Then is 2016, a self-righteous loser when tfg got elected and I asked for his goals and policies of my Red friends. "WE won. Get over it. You lost." Winning is everything. Now they talk about how good it was when tfg was in power. And, can't say what was good or better then. No. I don't tell them they are losers as they don't talk to me anymore.
Agreed. I noted this phrasing, "in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country..." I don't think that is a conviction. They just know it will get supporters worked up enough to cough up money and votes.
Absolutely, Peter. There is no “cause” except to game the system and acquire influence and money. It baffles me that what is being said in its furtherance is being said with a straight face.
"All mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. They do this by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ." ~ Eric Hoffer
The sad part is so many common folk vote against their own interest & well being. I frequently see people feed up with their Rep Congress critter say "i will vote for some one else as long as they are not a democrat" When some of these people had a choice of someone running with an I next to their name, support from both parties, they still voted for the Freedom Caucus guy one of our 2 House Reps.
Gary, Trump is the train wreck who never ends. He makes it impossible to look away. Especially for the media...he is VERY easy cannon fodder. His constant side show sells tickets. Don't be afraid of adding oxygen to this dumpster fire of a human being. Eventually there will be nothing but ashes and bones left....and yes the job is too keep MAGA out of power. Use the tower of light that's being thrown at this man to do that. Just think if these things all remained hidden...then what's left there to despise ? He does become the victim of a witch hunt...and not the villain he really is. Be one of the hero's in this epic tale and help throw him off of this stage forever. Don't fear the light. Embrace it.
Interesting his decision to seek the presidency brought to light his earlier misdeeds in NY, and piled on are his crimes of and after the presidency. Had he been satisfied with leading his tawdry, attention-seeking life prior to the presidency, he might have lived out his life out of the criminal Justice system.
MLM, I'm pretty sure Melania and Ivanka understand that. From what I've read I really don't think DJT thought he would actually win in 2016. It was all about stirring the pot and getting attention...then, he REALLY loved the power of it...the smell of the crowd and the roar of the greasepaint...but not the real responsibilities. Right now I don't think he really wants to "serve" as President...he just wants a shield from his other crap. It's disgusting that Mitch helped him get 3 Supreme Court Justices. That's the big blow from his Presidency that will last awhile.
You can see from his rallies, that Trump adores being adored.. a true narcissist. He adores the power of the presidency and that’s what he lusts for. And the money his supporters pour into his coffers.
Good on, Mike: “Don't fear the light. Embrace it.”
One way to add oxygen to the TrumptyDumpty BurnPit is to continue to shine a bright light on Biden administration/Progressive successes and achievements. “They” say Biden is too old. Yet, look at his accomplishments! (Is Rupert Murdoch too old at 92? Too old to make FOXy decisions, like getting married again - #5?)
Right on Paul. I thought Biden was too old during the last primary season. It turns out he was exactly the right guy for the job. Bless him. I knew a man who had been a test pilot all his career, Dick Henson. At age 90 the Insurance industry had to create a new category for him, because he was still flying his corporate jet. I think they might have required a co-pilot...but then Joe has that already.
Yes, exactly, Mike! Plus, our Founders had already come up with a plan that would remedy the Succession Issue. If something happens to Joe, it’s covered. AND, as we are now seeing, Kamala is moving from a “learning” mode to a “governing” mode. Her recent trip to the Security Conference in Munich is a perfect example.
What too many voters tend to forget is that when they push the lever for The Candidate, they are also “electing” everyone that person appoints to important positions. Those appointees can protect us from war, pandemics, unsafe products, pollution, etc. But when The Candidate is a criminal, the appointees will be criminals - members of a crime family who will protect their Leader because that Leader gives them access to untold opportunities for power and money. They will also be loyal because their Leader has the goods on them - as they do on him. A true crime family. Consider the Trump appointees vs the Biden appointees. Those are the people who can do untold damage or unrecognized good. I do not vote just for Biden; I vote for all the good people that a Biden Administration appoints to run the government.
Tell it to a media that still hasn't learned its lesson and would rather toss red meat than the current events that really matter to its audience. This is why a daily LFAA beats the M$M hands down. HCR must be related to Joe Friday b/c she sticks to "just the facts".
Christopher, it's sad, but the media is NEVER going to learn that lesson. "If it bleeds it leads" has been the battle cry forever. We all need trusted and reliable places to get real news and thoughtful enlightened opinions like this page of HCR's. But the general media landscape won't change...the one thing that might...just maybe affect it, is if Fox loses this suit with Dominion big time...that may reign some of the most egregious in. This case may also give pause to future journalists and who they chose to work for.
One can hope that Faux finally gets hoisted on its own petard. However it so frustrating to see how many reporters and news outlets seems completely ignorant of why they have the "freedom of the press" in the first place. They are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the American People, focused on keeping government honest and working on their behalf. Instead they scramble for "eyeballs" no matter how they can do that. So many shouldn't really call themselves news or reporters.
I DO agree that we should allow Trump into our brains for shorter periods of time. Read a bit each day. Get up to date. And then proceed with all the other aspects of life that matter to us. Like family, friends, fun. Like being productive. Like worrying about much more important things like the fact that we are murdering our planet.
But Heather's recap today is brilliant. Too many of the talking heads have suggested that this is a minor offense compared to his other crimes. That's only because the other offenses are so horrific. The Stormy Daniels payoff should have taken Trump to jail with Michael Cohen.
It was a really big crime that led to his election to be the worst President in history. It led to his denying the importance of Covid and the deaths of hundreds of thousands who could have been saved. It led to 4 years of Climate Inaction and worse. It led to Putin thinking it was OK to annex Ukraine. The list too long and I need another coffee.
That payoff led to the biggest electoral mistake in the history of the world.
I like this approach and I'm doing something I believe is an offshoot. I told some friends that since many articles, especially those produced for online consumption, are driven by click traffic, I'm going to be selective. The more we click on a particular topic, the more coverage of that item gets produced.
So, I've vowed to try only clicking on stories of TFG that list and discuss how damning the charges and crimes are against him. My hope is that if I and others do the same in feeding the algorithms, eventually they will almost exclusively cover his crimes, the many court cases springing from them and nothing else. All are welcome to join this quest.
What your comment seems to be saying is "let's stop talking about trump and he will just go away". Another version of this I hear among friends is "I so tired of trump I just stopped listening to the news, I have a life to get on with." My comment is; No we need to cut the head off the snake before it strikes again. I live in copperhead country, the way to keep copperheads away is to get rid of the mice. The GOP are the mice.
We have a duty to keep watching that repugnant person because he is a continuing danger to our nation. He has bullied the entire Republican Party into submission and raised a violent cult to attempt to destroy our democracy and establish a fascist dictatorship with Trump as its head.
It stuns me that one narcissistic bully could become this "Monster from the deep". But the truth is the people...our friends, family and neighbors empowered him with enough backing, enough votes...and then armed terror... to compromise most of the GOP "leadership". We HAVE to continue to pour light on this autocratic vampire. It's our only hope.
YES. Or as someone brilliant whose name I have unfortunately forgotten said, "When there's a deranged gorilla with a machine gun in the room, you've got to keep your eyes on that gorilla..."
Still we need to realize there are a few "good" republicans out there. We need a healthy 2 party system for a healthy democracy. Many of the Good Rep voted for Biden & are speaking out against the Magas & r as alarmed about what has happened to the party as the many here. So s get the Democratic voters out & the GOP who distain MAGA. Too many R who dont like the direction of the R party will not cross the line.
Dear Gary S., ordinarily I would agree with not giving DJT anymore of our oxygen. He gets enough to live on from the media and right wing circus that he has going for him. But I want to understand more about why the Stormy Daniels case has gained so much attention and why it is more important (in the media's coverage that is) than him clearly trying to overturn an election and inciting a riot against the US Capital. The media is going to spin what they will spin but in order for us to clearly understand and to motivate people to vote against him and his sycophants in Congress I think it is a good thing to explain what is truly going on. I keep thinking of history and how when Al Capone thought he could lie, cheat, commit crimes including murder the law FINALLY brought him down on tax evasion charges. He died in prison and the world was a better place with him gone. I am so hopeful that the same thing happens to DJT and truly, I don't care which of his horrible crimes they end up indicting him for. It would be great to have multiple indictments, one after another so we never have to see his ugly face and body, hear his voice or hear about him ever again. May he someday leave this world in obscurity.
It has been said in show business there is no bad publicity. But not everything is a show. Wannabee Sarah Palin got far too much press for about a year or so before she became Sarah Who? (no relation to the Dr.). But despite the fact that in a crueler world she might have wound up being president, she was most a distraction shouting "look at me".
Trump and his party's racketeering is a clear and present danger. We can be selective about what we focus on, but he cannot and should not be ignored. Democrats got into this pickle at least in part by not making a "thing" of "GOP" treachery. Think of the public reaction to Nixon's misdeeds and how "normalized" political whopper lies and law-breaking has become. We can't slide any further without disastrous consequences. Many lives have already been lost, and the public impoverished by "GOP" power plays.
Which we will do. And it’s true that much of the news isn’t worth reading. Sounds like you’re asking us to miss the final episode though. An episode so many have worked so hard to bring forth.
Gary, It’s not a matter of the subject matter as much as it is the key ingredient for understanding history: the details are critical to understanding events.
Heather’s keen eye for detail along with her astute congregation of footnotes develop a whole picture of an era dominated by a criminal who still threatens the nation.
When we consider the conduct of the current national affairs as not emerged in flagrant soulless forays of personal vendettas and nutty adventures of the Trump Presidency it is good we know delineate the stinking carcass before time eases its menace.
Our job is not to elect Democrats. It's to elect those with foresight and good judgement to realize the explicit 6 reasons, brilliantly listed in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America for which our founders and everyone who swears to defend and protect must continue to ordain and establish by lawful authority.
Growing the GDP or making all men equal are not part of that list. Not to say it wouldn't be nice, just that it's not the government's job to form, establish, insure, provide, promote or secure anything but those six top requirements.
Leave the Heaven on Earth job to free people and their gods and not to our government. Anything but those six are just requirement creep and should be illegal.
The MEDIA is doing a very fine job at giving Trump abundant oxygen. They perpetuate and propel his notoriety. That, as I see it, is a huge part of the problem.
The moral for all of us ordinary citizens is that we need to vote. We need to work on voter registration, on getting out the vote on election day, and on voting ourselves. We need to elect legislators who will protect everyone's right to vote, since that's the basis of our democracy. We need to elect judges or those who appoint judges who will make sure that everyone is equal before the law. It is up to all of us to do the work of ensuring that scoundrels and cheats cannot prevail.
Betsy, I would add that we need to run for local offices. It takes courage in the neighborhoods that snarl with venom at any non-MAGA but it’s important for the golden rule to win is to normalize it. They’re swimming in a sea of hate. They need a liferaft
That is why some of my work now is making sure to bring young people (or their parents) to Voter of Tomorrow, the talented and creative Santiago Meyers’ organization. It has chapters in many states but not nearly enough. And in other states where they have not yet created organization, there are sister orgs doing the work (check out Loud Light in Kansas, for example). This kind of grassroots network growing among young voters is elemental to helping them form voting “memory muscle.”
Christy, I agree 100%. At a Zoom meeting last night about passing legislation that would provide Medicare for All in MA, someone asked which legislators have opposed the bill. I replied with an anecdote about a state rep who had been silent on the matter until she was primaried, and then she signed on. So yes, running for office can make a big difference. Even if you don't win, it puts important issues in front of the electorate and may change the attitude of your opponent. And who knows, you might win!
We need to get Gen Z to vote. Hopefully the Biden Admin will not shoot itself in the foot by banning TikTok and alienating that demographic. Whatever your personal opinion is of that platform it’s how you reach the 18-25 year olds.
DeSantis loves the attention given to “do not ban TikTok. The world will end for GenZ.” In fact, DeSantis is stirring up his evil ways beyond TikTok access. He and his punk legislative majority have already taken over New College of FL and erased their nationally recognized liberal arts curriculum. And put in its place his lieutenants to indoctrinate young adults to his “anti woke”, fascist, racist, white nationalism agenda. And setting the example to other like minded Republican governors across the country. TikTok? No. Nazi youth program indoctrination. Same thing. Again. Right in our country.
I consider it a serious miscalculation on his part. For any American not to have a deep respect for our public education system and arbitrarily sabotage it is an affront to far more people than Desantis and his ilk have thought.
White Nationalism pontoon boat….go f*ck yourselves. And get your hands off our kids. These people are the real groomers.
As with everything else, Donna, there is no magic wand. It’s up to all of us to speak up and inform and try. People are working on it. I talk to my 11 year old grandson almost every day about the pros and cons of social media. I explain why I don’t want him using TikTok.
I don’t have 11 year olds...I have voting aged young adults and the reality is that they are using TikTok so all of us saying it’s brainwashing them and recalling Nazis is all well and good but they’re on it, they love it, and we need to figure out how to reach them. We can all come here and say how we personally ensure that we have educated our own children but that doesn’t really help.
I’m not trying to argue or discount what you’re saying Donna, just trying to share what I’ve learned in my lifetime of work of trying to help people adopt healthier behaviors. Once the cement has dried it’s much more challenging to change, easier to do while it’s still wet. If we know TikTok is a serious threat to National Security what would you want to see done?
I would also like to add, that after millions of us were brainwashed by Putin’s cyber-propaganda, we could “wake up” to the bad actors that see social media for the fertile garden it is for influencing minds
My government-issued phone does not allow many “standard” apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Weather Underground, etc. Nothing unusual for TikTok to be disallowed as well.
Exactly. What exactly is democracy? And what is not? How has is worked historically? What does it look like today? What hath Reagan and Company really wrought? Compare and contrast.
As usual, very well distilled and constructed essay Dr. Thank you. **edit in > However, I must point out a fact that I know all too well from lived experience that's documented. Wherein you state >> "It appears Republicans have gotten to the point that they don’t believe they can win a free and fair election, and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified. They cannot condemn Trump because he delivered what they wanted: a victory." >> I must add that it is not a recent conclusion of theirs (gop). It's only new that they may have in recent history exhibited and hopefully got caught red handed in how far they would go to 'win.' I caught them red handed roughly 30 years ago when they were beginning their tricks locally, on a much smaller scale mind you. At the time, council meetings in this glowing red town were still televised. I prepared myself well, steeled my nerves, then live at the recorded meeting I blistered their azzes (tastefully - no village idiot ranting) and called them out, pointing out that I had met with them all and the mayor, to no satisfaction, so I was bring it via public meeting to the people. They were not happy to say the least. One week later, council and the mayor changed the local law / rule severely restricting a citizen's allowed time to comment at council meetings ! Additionally, one of the 'upstanding citizen mover / shakers' in the town - a gop member of the city Chamber of Commerce, asked me if I could be 'persuaded' to argue as forcefully from their point of view. I think you 'know' what he was insinuating. I do beyond doubt; they wanted to know if I were for sale. *Postscript - We carried the day and city voted against them as I had lobbied for at that council meeting. Other measures I did was that prior to the council meeting, I'd months earlier begun composing local information newsletters that we (my family) distributed at our cost and time, as far and wide as we could. One of the many things I caught them doing and blistered them for was gerrymandering districts to favor themselves - jfyi.
You 'have it' JL. Precisely my point. Believe it or not, I caught them red handed in the early '80's and it took me a bit to understand fully, and get my mind around it all, if I'm as honest as I strive to be. I may even have been 'guilty' of giving them ideas to turn against us all. I just didn't know for sure, what I didn't know at the time, fully, if you 'get that', which, I've believed since observing you here, you must surely understand. I've been on something of a quest since the early '80's to find and share what light I can. In great measure, I've found that here within this forum of awesome folks. I've followed our good Dr. since she began her stumbling first steps to gracefully, humbly share her learned truths... I think - 2019 on her FB. I 'knew' I'd found at least her and just watched in silence, while she 'tried her wings out', then took flight - so to speak. At first, to borrow a line from a somewhat popular movie, I feared she was "to good to be true" and yet as I've followed I learned, "and she almost is too good" , and yet she works towards it still, humbly, and I for one remain forever grateful.
We tend to be drawn to those who reinforce with our prejudices (cf MAGA) but I find the views of HCR highly compatible with my own. That can also happen when two people closely follow a trail of evidence. I can never be totally sure for myself which is which, but I am always looking for empirical anchor points and HCR fills in some yawning gaps on my own chart of things.
They told me in college that Aristotle figured out that women have fewer teeth than men; except they don't, and he did not bother to count. The only intelligent thing I can ever recall Reagan saying was "Trust, but verify". I like that we in the peanut gallery (I'm dating myself) peer review and share relevant resources, which feels more sensible than prostrating one's self to "Q".
I am biased towards 'facts in evidence' and make no apology whatever for that. An unthinking, under-educated type of first time viewer here could fairly 'wonder or presume' that our HCR is biased from her tone sometimes. I look past that since I happen to know that when one is so deeply immersed in the world of 'facts in evidence', one can tend to 'sound as though'. Not unforgivable to my mind, 'cuz I 'grade my own papers' - lol. I do however have a conscience within me that occasionally has to call bs on my bs; I do so endeavor to heed that conscience as humanly possibly as I can. Cheers JL !
HCR dispenses an abiding political philosophy though her chronicles, but not to the point of unmooring them as far as I can tell. I sense that I learn a lot.
Some say reality itself has something of a left wing bias, and modern Republicans make even a stopped clock look oracular.
There is a lakeshore county In West Michigan now dominated by Trumpists that could use a few good people willing to stand up as you did thirty years ago.
Outstanding example of action at the local level! Heartiest congratulations! As you describe it takes interest, time, preparation and consistent and persistent action! Well done!
This is an excellent explanation of a case that the GOP and its media pilot fish have terribly muddled. Let's hope it's successfully argued and produces a conviction. A Republican could win the presidency if he or she moved somewhat to the left and articulated policies that would directly help voters and the country. But the party is boxed in, trapped really, by all that it has wrought — by embracing Trump and hate.
So true - the GOP deserves to implode. They have no policies are plans and they have all become Trump Eunuchs. They have driven out their best people and replaced them with Trump Trash. They don’t represent their people they just take orders from Benedict Donald.
Trump eunuchs. Benedict Donald. Thanks for cheering me up. Now if we could neuter Supreme Court that would allow states to undermine popular voting. . .
'Kevin McCarthy Claims Most Americans Pay Porn Stars'
'ORLANDO (The Borowitz Report)—Offering a vehement defense of Donald J. Trump, Representative Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the former President should not be indicted because “most if not almost all Americans” pay porn stars.'
“What you use your personal money for is your own personal business,” the Speaker of the House said during a break at a G.O.P. retreat. “If you want to pay for a haircut, fine. If you want to pay for a car wash, also fine. And, if you want to pay a porn star, well, that’s fine, too, and pretty much every American does it.” (Satire,NewYorker)
That's what I get for being half awake... but he did say something just about as inane... "This was personal money. This was seven years ago, statute of limitation. And I think that, in your heart of hearts, you know too, that you think this is just political. And I think that is what the rest of the country thinks. And we're tired of that." (McCarthy, quoted in The Hill, also on press conference video)
Sorry for any confusion; I just picked up on the Borowitz idea and found that quote from McCarthy on The Hill; and I do recall seeing some clip with him trying to pooh-pooh the whole hush-money business. Borowitz's satire is top-notch.
Satirist Andy Borowitz actually did write that! That's why FERN posted the entire post. Check out the New Yorker. Borowitz is a satirist. Who hits home runs all the time.
On a drive one day when I was sitting shotgun while a man I know was driving, he was inconvenienced by a very elderly woman, who slowly, and apparently in some pain, was crossing at a crosswalk. As he tic tic ticked on the steering wheel he yelled out “C’mon c’mon, c’mon !!”
Some people grew up to be that kind of person. This man’s parents and friends were all fk you types. Also he was fond of Alex Jones and later totally enthralled by Mr Trouble.
Borowitz (satire based on facts) provides momentary humor to the reality based facts provided by HCR. Some, like this one, make you wonder if truly satire.
I have not yet found a source, but long ago an NPR program quoted Mark Twain as saying that the secret of his humor was to "tell the truth, but exaggerate". At a certain point, exaggeration becomes difficult. As they say, "You can't make (some of) this stuff up".
Your self serving posts are pathetic. Go find a new technique to get people to read you stuff. Perhaps make your writings relevant and understandable. That could help. Until then just stop cluttering these comment sections on this substack. Thank you. -saw-
Steve, I am reporting to Substack Inc along with notice of their obligation, contractual obligation, to submit to JAMS Mediation in SF. I have advised Substack Inc that JAMS has three ( 3 ) capable Mediators including one that has actually litigated Platform liability in SF Superor Court before a Jury.
I now ask Substack Inc. before all Readers to submit to JAMS mediation per Contract or I will serve Substack's Agent for Service of Process to compel their appearance.
GOOD NEWS UPDATE & CONFIRMED, there is staff in the Content Moderation Dept as certain Comments have been taken down. Salud Substack Inc. Thank you for protecting the Community per your enforceable contract with ""Readers".
You're so right, it's about getting out the vote, MORE of the vote, and with in MORE of the MESSAGE. 2024 will be full throttle. Another defeat for the Republicans should put the GOP into the can for quite a bit, perhaps enough to break it up and reconstitute itself with at least one more reasonable kind of party. Not sure that's really possible however given how beholden it is to anti- WOKE cultural issues courtesy of the religious "right".
The Stormy Daniels case seems like smaller potatoes than the classified-docs-at-MAL or the I-need- to-find-11,000-votes case but it's actually the most sobering. Buying Daniels' silence bought DT the election and that, in turn, led to DT's handling of the pandemic and the unnecessary deaths of over 1 million Americans.
Yes. His “legal wrangling” of his cult, and attorneys is rapidly coming to an end, hopefully. I will cheer the day he gets booked. Then the dominoes will start to fall like Trump Tower being imploded.
Concur Karen but, make that "I need to find ... uh ... uh ... 11,780 votes , just one more than we have." ... "Fellas give me a break." Other coconspirators were in the room during the Perp's call on both ends of the phone.
Per superb work by WAPO reporters, Amy Gardner & Paulina Firozi, the entire 62 minute call was posted. by WAPO along with 5867 Comments.
On the Perp's side, you have MARK MEADOWS who states as follows; "Okay, alright Mr. Presdent everone is on the line:" which on tfg`s side included "several lawyers" identified as tfg Attorney, CLETA MITCHELL & GA tfg attorney, KURT GILBERT. I should call them adverse witnesses.
UPDATE: Ari Melbar roasted yet another tfg Attorney on the GA stuff on yesterday's program. Ari knows how to conduct a direct examination live on TV.
"Our election laws are designed to try to hold the playing field level" is no longer true with Citizens United legalizing corruption of elections by calling money free speech and tipping the playing field toward minority autocratic rule.
"Citizens United" was a knife in the back of democracy. We need to be clearer about that and to find ways to work around saboteurs in the "Supreme" Court.
Right on JL and one way can be legislation requiring identification of who is giving the "free speech." It could have the same impact that campaign donation limits had in ultimately revealing the Stormy Daniels payoff will have had once the NY DA gets around to indictment....perhaps today? Like Al Capone, we may ultimately get them on what may seem minor technicalities but which actually reveal whole lives built around gaining money and power...not exactly the ideals we expect of a "justice" of the SCOTUS.
Genuine free speech has an author. Anonymous speech is in it's own category. I could elaborate. US law is pretty tolerant of speech some might object to with respect to the rights of the author. Except is specific circumstances, the right to say what one pleases is robust. It reinforces egalitarian democracy, and is essential to it.
"Free $peech" could hardly be more different, and where corruption festers, follow the money. That's fundamental. Note (among other things) that those who struggle to both eat and pay rent simple cannot afford "Free $peech", yet are entitled (as it says right on the SCOTUS building) to "equal justice under law". I would expect that to include equal representation, yet:
"But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money, money, money. ... As a result, the Senate doesn't work on Mondays and Fridays. We have longer holidays. The policy committee is adjourned and we go over to the campaign building because you can't call for money in the office. So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
Would votes have changed if Stormy's Story was public pre-election? Come on, guys. You know the answer. I know you know the answer.
Nada.
The Access Hollywood tape told everyone everything they needed to know. Only a person existing at the nadir of depravity could have said what tfg did there, and so cheerfully too! Is anyone here *really* wondering if there were people who were okay with making the guy in that tape the President, but would have changed their mind upon hearing of the porn star hush money? Please.
Actually, who among us truly thought he would lose support after that tape came out? I didn't, not for a second. Anyone with a sense of decency who heard the bile this guy spewed at his campaign ANNOUNCEMENT should have been able to tell that anyone capable of letting these words out of your mouth in public, or frankly even thinking them at all, would be capable of saying and doing pretty much anything, at any level of venality. Anyone who didn't turn the channel with their stomach turned immediately had had their moral compass run over by a semi somewhere along the line.
I have never been surprised by one thing this dude has said, and I never expected to ever find "the dealbreaker." There was not going to be one. The man is a dealbreaker unto himself for everyone other than those willing to deal with the devil. I am not bragging about my clairvoyance here, as I don't think I should take credit for seeing something so obvious. When people tell you who you are the first time, believe them.
Ignore him. Then put him in jail. Then ignore him again. And ignore everyone saying they didn't know or couldn't tell. Please.
Your point is well taken. I get it. But if the Stormy payoff had been given oxygen AND Comey had not made his infamous statement, there is a pretty good chance we would have had a different President in 2017 - one who Putin would have been afraid of.
We all tend to think of the world and its events in a linear sense. But it's really more like a 3D chess game.
Sometimes the first punch doesn’t knock them out, while the second one does the trick.
The only fact here, is that we will never know.
He squeaked out his victory in the general election with the support of many evangelicals, republican women and others who simply didn’t like Hillary. Would the disclosure that he was hooking up with a porn star while his wife was at home caring for their infant son turned the stomachs of enough voters to cost him the election?
I just ask again... who are these hypothetical voters who could overlook an already-known serial philanderer's bragging about sexual assault, but would NOT overlook a porn star affair? Both of those transgressions trigger the "Ew!" response in the same part of the brain, methinks. And one big "Ew!" should be all that is required to make someone seem "Ew!"-ey. Besides, we actually did find out about the porn star affair pretty soon thereafter, then had 4 years of all sorts of real world consequences after that, and what percentage of the vote did the Emperor of Ew receive when voters had a do-over? The same, of course! This time against a devout lifelong Catholic family man.
It appears to me that one of consequences of Doublethink is to have a conniption fit with one instance of a disturbing event and shug at another. Politics, prejudice and the press have a lot to do with which way that "spins". but I also think there is a certain fickle randomness to human behavior that appears over time (both ways).
In any case, positive social change generally seems to require perseverance which, according to the I Ching, "furthers".
Will from Cal— Precisely and perfectly said: "The Access Hollywood tape told everyone everything they needed to know. Only a person existing at the nadir of depravity could have said what tfg did there, and so cheerfully too!" And of course - "When people tell you who you are the first time, believe them."
But:
"Actually, who among us truly thought he would lose support after that tape came out?"
I did. I truly did. And I believe he did lose support. The ugly truth is, he also GAINED support from it, and the worst of the worst grabbed their chance and are plunging us right back into the 18th century.
Yes, Christian Nationalism is deeply misogynistic. Let's be absolutely clear about this - there's no commandment against rape. Or child abuse, or torture, or slavery.
Will, it wasn't just the fact that he had an "affair" (that's Daniel's cover for what she does for a living). Not only did he pay her for services rendered (which is something between her and him and members of his family who were also impacted). The public part is the fact that he went beyond that and paid her money to keep it quiet, and he used campaign funds and a wonky funds transfer scheme to do it. That's illegal.
And yes, I do believe that could have made a difference in how the election came out. There were other factors that could have come into play, too, and it is too damn bad so many people decided to wear blinkers. We KNOW we'd be in a different place now, and that we'd be working as a different kind of society that what Trump left in his trail of debris. We'd still be dealing with some of the underlying issues, but in a much more productive way.
Agreed, Will, that it probably would not have made one iota of difference BEFORE the election, but HCR's point in this letter is that he (TFG) thought it would, so he entered into a cover-up. The court case today is about the cover-up, perverting our campaign laws.
He's now a part of our history, and HCR is letting us know where he stands and what is (maybe?) being done to stop him from being an ongoing character in the story. I think it's important that we know.
Thanks to HCR for explaining why this case isn't minor. Unfortunately, the CNN crowd, including the Dems on their panels, have already pooh-poohed this particular case, because they think paying hush money to women isn't a big deal anyhow. How about focusing at least briefly on the sexism behind such attitudes?
The hush money in and of it's self is pretty dodgy, and Trump is as sexist as hell, but there are also subtle legal issues in this particular case that drew the attention of the law.
The stupid talking head panels are why I no longer watch CNN. Not cutting away to the interruptors during President Biden's state of the union gave me hope they would start concentrating on the facts but nooooo.
Upon Biden’s election, CNN immediately shifted their reporting angles to cast doubt over Biden in general, as did CBS News. My original reaction was WTF???, but in light of the recognition that news outlets serve as accelerants of rage, its shouldn’t have been surprising to me: the Producers all understand marketing to the reptilian brain nuggets of their target audience; the smell of red meat
Benedict Arnold however only changed sides in a war of independence leaving the side of the "rebels" and rejoining the forces of the State. As such he was not a traitor in the same sense as the USA did not yet exist as a recognized State and was most certainly not yet what we might call a democracy.
Stuart, good description of the circumstances. "Benedict as Traitor" is part of our origin myth. We forget that the colonists themselves were deeply split about supporting independence. Arnold was not regarded as a traitor by all Americans. Even those fighting for independence recognized what he'd contributed to the struggle and honored him for it. Here in New England, people experienced it first hand, and many here still openly consider him a hero. He was not considered a "traitor" until later. Some revolutionaries didn't trust him and thought he might give away what we would call intelligence to England. Arnold had some legitimate grievances, and chose to go live in England rather than endure slander.
Thank you Annie for the details. It all comes down to one's point of view and the limits that you impose on the info that you will include in its formulation. Frequently we set our horizens very low in our willingness to make the effort to fully understand a situation or people
I guess I’m stuck in a rut of disbelief that over 60% of the Republican redcoats continue to support him and unfathomably they even send a multimillionaire money - let me say that again - average ‘redcoat’ citizens are parting with their hard earned funds to send them to a multimillionaire - huh?
Trump is a lying nutcase! What do you call the lemmings which continue to blindly follow him.
Could it be payback time for those who benefitted the most from tfg's tax 'reduction'? It is indeed unfathomable how anybody would donate any money to such a criminal.
I hear Putin needs help. There are jobs available in the Russian Army. I would be more interested in your comments if they came with pictures, on the ground in Ukraine.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that the entire country of Ukraine can be described as "an ultra violent, corrupt Nazi shithole." What steps must it take, right now, to become something different?
Donald Trump is a thief. His father was a thief. Donald learned his real,estate craft from his father and continued the family business. He recognizes weaknesses in people with similar character flaws and those people have gravitated to him for years and years. They still do, and they are predominantly members of the Republican party. They all know that there are fewer of them than normal hard working folks just trying to survive and provide for themselves and their families. So, the Republicans cheat to take advantage of any weakness in the democratic system in order to be elected. This is a simple exercise of the Trump family getting caught stealing everything that they can convert into cash in order to stay out of jail as long as possible. They grift, lie, and pay attorneys to delay the inevitable judgment day when every member of the jury agrees that the Trumps have been operating a family criminal enterprise for multiple generations. With any luck Ms Willis in Fulton, GA will charge the FPOTUS with RICO crimes and prosecute a large number of the family crime syndicate and its current boss and members of Congress who are accomplices in the RICO violations. Jack Smith knows this RICO violation has been ongoing and it is embarrassing to the Attorney General of the US and everyone in the DOJ who has ignored the existence of the Trump crime family and hoped this open sore would stay a quiet NYC crime sene. It is now a world wide embarrassment that is going to be exposed by women who have grown tired of being told to behave and stay in your place. That behavior is over. Many honest public servants know this is a long time coming and the scandal will make the Watergate preview look like a dry run in preparation for the main event. The Trump circus is about for be burned down. It is about time.
Oh we are back to talking about Fake 45 and what might or might not happen to him. He is the king of delays and some speculated that he will ask SCOTUS to take his case. That ain't gonna happen. In spite of 6 justices being Repubs, I feel they are very tired of him. He is, after all, a big whiner and always plays the victim. The fact that his "fans" have deposited $1.5 mil into his "GoFundMe" account really says it all. I say if we can get an indictment from some entity somewhere, then isolate him, bankrupt him. Make him a pauper, a pariah, where no one will go near him.
Trump lived as he did in New York his entire life, a good part of it as a registered Democrat, womanized freely, and hobnobbed with the connected operatives of both parties and industry. That state never touched him then, and I'm not holding my breath trusting they will do anything now, but...surprise me NY. That would be a welcome surprise. Meantime, I'm waiting for the real indictment to come from Georgia.
We’re all waiting for Georgia! What do they need? You’ve got the guy on tape, it was played all over the country. What more do you need, another special grand jury?
Angelica, I was sure his “pussy grabbing” debacle would have thrown him out. The guy is so teflon it is unbelievable. Yes, Meredith, Fani Willis is a true American hero, an “ordinary” woman who took on the FORMIDABLE powers-that-be, as Heather has taught us, when REAL history is made. Not hijinx and stupidity or lies or TREASON, for god’s sake.
Ed, don’t forget the stolen classified documents. I am counting on those as the real bombshell to blow up the bloviator. I grew up in NYC, so I know of what you speak.....Georgia is good, too. Even the Stormy Daniels story could upend 45. Always hopeful....
That's true, and that would come from a federal level investigation. Jack Smith could surface and surprise us all with a charge at any time. However, what we have more access to seeing right now is at the local level in the convening of grand juries, which has been ongoing for a while in both Manhattan NY and Fulton County GA.
I really would like to see the GA lead on an indictment because it seems more serious as a threat to democracy by direct election interference. Both parties are too corrupted right now to rid themselves of the abuses of money. We recently saw the DNC officially refusing to even discuss getting rid of dark when introduced as a proposal, and the Republican "Party" wouldn't even have such a proposal originating from its operative ranks. The NY case seems more like another case of money misuse. However, to my knowledge, no Democrat has overtly tried to overturn or overtly pressure an official to deny an official vote count, and that is what the GA indictment could bring that has no precedent.
The NYC case is a distraction that will lower attention to the really serious cases against this scoundrel, this traitor, this bad man. Sure, it is perhaps provable, but is a great fundraiser that will continue if we get to Georgia and the clear and present dangers cases that could put him away in a dark cell where the press can't get a quote of the day from him. HCR is right, but the optics make this case the trivial lead-up to the bigger criminal prosecutions. Will fatigue and enu have taken place for the public by that time?
I'm already fatigued by mentions of Trump, and know that I am not alone.
I saw estimates that the mainstream media provided to Trump nearly two billion dollars in free coverage during the 2016 election, and that is what caused him to get into the White House, convert the Republican Party into a ruling class gangster mob, and cause damage that wlll take decades to undo...if we can in fact restore a government with the political will to undo it.
That the coverage was negative did not matter; it simply gave him name recognition nationally that he had little of outside of the crowd that stayed in Trump towers. Mainstream media is doing it again, putting him front and center, and it is easy to see why. Anger, outrage and fear sells newspapers and raise ratings. WAfter Trump got the boot, their ratings have plummeted. Some independent journalists and newscasters have bigger followings now than the cheese whiz talking heads on the networks.
My concern as well. When you chase ratings, you loose track of the whole story. When you believe in the stark market as the best indicator of the health of your nation you have succumbed to ignorance brought on by convenient numbers. And while you remain fascinated by that alternate reality brought to you at 5 every evening, the opposite of what we hope for gets put into place, one lie, one possibility, on good bumper sticker and your yard ends up looking like a cemetery for lost causes. Much work to do, besides planting tombstones in advance of the next election.
I started by breaking being chained to cable and the alternate reality it carried about six years ago, That former cable fee serves me much better by supporting independent journalism and news syntheses, only one of which is this site. Realize that those recently in the Matt Taibbi hearings who called independent researchers, scholars, and writers "so-called journalists" and pretending not to know what Substack is were gunning for this site just as much as they were for Pulitzer prize winners like Greenwald and independent newscasters like Breaking Points.
Donald Trump paid Michael Cohen to pay off Stormy Daniels, right? He then deducted the payment made to Cohen as a business expense, calling him a consultant. So the tax payers, paid for half, assuming a 50% tax bracket, of Mr Trump’s affair. I don’t care who Trump has an affair with, I just don’t like paying for it.
Oh ya right, Trump doesn’t pay taxes, so the those of us that do pay taxes, picked up the whole tab!!!
I beg to differ, and in differing to underscore Heather's point. The $130,000 wasn't a payment for sex, it was a bribe not to blab about the sex - a bribe in the service of furthering Trump's candidacy by fraud. People of goodwill can differ as to the legality of payment for sex, but I know of no US jurisdiction - not even Las Vegas - in which bribery and fraud aren't crimes.
She signed an NDA which her lawyer got her to violate. Remember him? Michael Avenatti?
Sleaziness exists everywhere. It only matters to you when its on the other side. We are all tired of the moralizing. Especially when its hypocritical.
Joe, just like Bill and Hillary, was out there selling influence to the Ukraine & China. His son Hunter was the bag man. Any problem with that? Of course not.
The issue was investigated by Federal Elections Committee and NO wrong doing was found.
Then issue was investigated by the US Attorney for the southern district of NY. No wrong doing was found. NO FEDERAL CRIME BUT a local DA, who's boss campaigned openly to GET TRUMP is a pursuing forms record charge that has PASSED its statue of limitations and is a misdemeanor.
They are inventing a new theory of the law THAT has never been prosecuted as a felony.
Let me do your homework for you:
John Edwards was indicted and tried by the Obama administration for campaign funds violation. HE PAID his mistress hush money to keep the affair private during his run for the presidency.
The money was paid out of campaign funds. HE WAS ACQUITTED.
Problem. Trump paid Daniels out of his personal funds. His motivation? Who knows. Keep it private? Avoid public embarrassment? Save his marriage?
Even if he did it to help his campaign that's not a campaign violation.
MORE PROOF
1988 Democrat Gary Hart was caught in an adulterous affair during his run for the presidency. There were allegations about him spending campaign funds on her. NO CHARGES
2004 Democrat Bill Clinton was accused of an affair. Same allegations. NO CHARGES.
We are all tired of the sanctimonious rhetoric about democracy. Its just too phony to believe.
You don't give a damn about democracy. Its just about power.
PROOF?
Presidential records - You were all screaming about democracy and Trump had to be punished.
As soon as Biden was caught with TOP SECRET documents in his garage - WE HAVEN"T ANOTHER
WORD ABOUT THE WHOLE AFFAIR.
Lavrentiy Beria, chief of the Soviet secret police during the Stalin era, famously said "You bring me the man, I'll find you the crime."
Feels a lot like 1933 in Washington again.
Political persecution are the stuff of banana republics
James, your 4th Paragraph is false as a matter of New York law. You need to consult with a lawyer who understands the concept of "tolling" in New York when the Perp is out of State.
You need to do some more homework, lots of homework.
Perhaps it wil be easier to scrutinize the possible Indictment, if any, and like the rest of us to understand the specific admissible evidence that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt & how under New York law the admissible facts allow the charging of 1, 2 or more criminal counts as felonies.
Take fair notice, I have reported your falsehoods to Substack Inc's content moderation department with possible referral to JAMS per your Contract.
You have a legitimate point with the flavor of "everybody does it" for the NY investigation. Now, don't try to tell readers "everybody does it" in the Fulton County Georgia incident. Any writer trying to push that seems the person that doesn't "give a damn about democracy."
Trump said "find 13,000 votes" He didn't say invent, make-up, concoct, steal, et cetera.
The same thing Al Gore said to his team 2000. Look for lost ballots, mis cast et cetera.
There is no way a reasonable person could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt he was
asking the governor to commit fraud.
BTW - What no one seems to comprehend is that Trump is smart. Every president is smart.
THey know that every word he says will be recorded, dissected. Lets assume he wanted someone to commit fraud, there is no way he going to say it directly.
This is yet another nothing burger.
When does the political persecution end?
They lied about Russian collusion with the help of the FBI
They about COVID and the vaccine & boosters
They censored all sensible and important speech through social media
They lied about Hunter Biden's laptop
They lied about Jan6th - Trump said go forth peacefully and patriotically (they edited this out of his speech)
They lied about classified documents
They are lied about Georgia - His words are clear - find 13,000 votes.
They are lied about Campaign law violation- He is not in violation of Federal law. He was cleared by FEC and US Attorney.
Yet it goes on and on.
Under Stalin the mantra was "find the man and I'll find a crime"
Let's not go back to all Trump, all the time. If we give him oxygen his notoriety wins votes, unfortunately. He will be indicted or not. Our job is to elect Democrats to keep the MAGA cult out of power.
I can concur, Gary, that too much oxygen and public facing attention to Trump is dangerous to fanning his narcissistic flame. Nevertheless, HCR’s piece tonight is an important recap. Her exploration of why this particular case is not so easily dismissed as “a small matter” is critical background. What I take from this is a contextual, broad understanding which reinforces me as I talk at folks’ doors about the former president ~ what better way to reiterate or draw the distinction between the current functioning administration, our values, and vision and the previous?
To many this hush money issue is small potatoes compared to the other crimes. HCR is dead right about its importance for the reasons she gave.
TFG knew that his slander would play right into the Republicans’ already quarter century of negative propaganda about Hillary Clinton. Does anyone any longer remember her efforts to begin a national health care system?
I remember her efforts to bring national healthcare, and its nothing to brag about.
Whether you agree with the idea, her modus operandi was pure Hillary Clinton.
Tone deaf, inartful, and fumbling. None of her husband's qualities.
It was the hallmark of her career.
Blame everyone else.
Word on the street she is circling back for a potential run at the presidency.
I guess if Joe Biden and John Fetterman can hold office with little or no brain waves, there is hope for her.
The problem is no lesson is ever learned. Besides the screaming melting she had when so lost last time, there is no sense of self awareness.
It was classic watching she and her team spike the football and take victory laps in early October, a month before the election, in spite of Bill's protest.
But as Christopher Hitchens put it best, 'she feels she deserves the presidency' for everything she has done for the country. But "no one should ever run for therapeutic reasons"
“Tone deaf, inartful, and fumbling. None of her husband's qualities”
James A all you are doing is parroting mass media’s relentless negative message about an incredibly talented and accomplished woman who had the audacity to think she could be the most important person on this planet, that is, President of the United States. The nerve of her. In 100 years the misogyny and sexism toward her will be apparent, in hindsight, and future generations will have no positive explanation for the insanity of this country electing tfg, instead of her. There is no explanation and no excuse. As a woman, I will never forget or forgive.
What other crimes? What a disgraceful claim.
There are no other crimes try as hard as you may. There is no crime here.
The FEC, The US Attorney found no wrong doing. Now a local DA who ran on "Getting Trump" brings a novel charge that has never been prosecuted.
You seem to equate the idea that there were no other crimes with the fact that Trump has gotten away with so many for so many years. Just for starters, there was the $25 million settlement he had to pay the students he defrauded with his Trump University scam.
What a lazy blanket statement.
Try running a billion dollar company. There are always problems.
Do you think he ran the university program day to day? Highly unlikely.
What you described is CIVIL LITIGATION not criminal. A $25,000,000 settlement doesn't sound like getting away with it.
Facts don't really matter. Feelings do. For leftists feeling are first, power is second, politics are third, the truth is last. Otherwise you couldn't have made such a silly post.
Really? Other people run billion dollar companies and don’t commit crimes. How? Because they are ethical.
Talk about lazy. How is it not lazy to characterize anyone with a contrary opinion as a leftist. Certainly there are prosecutors out there that are Trump haters, but that doesn't make them incompetent, and it doesn't mean that there was not a crime. How much did you send him?
I'm holding out hope for charges related to fraudulent real estate appraisals, so long as we are hoping for state action.
"There are no other crimes try as hard as you may. There is no crime here." No other crimes? Are you kidding me? No other crimes for which he has been indicted/convicted - now I can go with that. Is that what you meant? If/when the indictments come, the crimes indicted for will be spelled out clearly. You sir are for some reason trying to protect a known white collar criminal who took an entire nation and applied his crooked New York real estate mogul ways and bent our political systems toward his own benefit, often in direct opposition to the benefit of the nation at large, for four years as he was president. Some of that was legal, due to imperfections and inadequacies in our laws. Some was not - and for that he is under investigation on several fronts. Not only do I vehemently disagree with you on this, I would also point out that he has already gotten away with multiple potential crimes brought out by the Mueller investigation, obstruction of justice being one of them but not all. It appears the long arm of the law is going to let all that slide. This guy's gotta pay.
Leslie,
Thanks for doing the important work of talking to voters by canvassing. And for having conversations focused on finding common ground that are values-based. That’s golden!
Exactly, Leslie!
Indeed our job is to elect those who make a better case for being in power than their opponents do, and Democrats are doing so and Republicans are corrupt as hell. That said, I find Trump and the vast array of anti-democratic co-conspirators attempting to overthrow the Republic (no?) and that's a very big deal. It is also essential that those who participated in the attempted coup, and in continuance of sidelining fair and free elections and due process of law be held as accountable as an other segment of society would be had they done the same. That tends not to happen so much to rich, powerful and/or popular; but it must. The more they get away with, the more outrageous and dangerous they have become.
“The vast array of anti-democratic co-conspirators attempting to overthrow the Republic”.
Thank you for stating plain unadorned truth here and throughout the whole of this comment.
The time has long since passed when, in the face of systematic cheating, lying, subversion and theft—carefully, ably, most professionally reframed to mislead—truth could be otherwise stated.
When, however, you suggest possible doubt about this “vast array” you do yourself no service and provide the conspirators with what they will try to use as a key to unlock the cage in which they have entrapped themselves. The onus is on them to disprove the evidence they have piled up against themselves—the words, the actions, the policy.
Policy? TO WIN.
And since all fair means of implementing that policy are on the point of failing, the means are and must be foul.
*
What surprises me is not so much the antics of mad extremists as how such a large body of ordinary men and women should have allowed themselves to be corralled like cattle. And here I am not thinking only of voters but of those politicians who entered politics to do a job serving their constituents…
HCR writes today of these people’s “conviction that Democrats will destroy the country” and their consequent belief that cheating to win is justified. I fear that in so phrasing her sentence she may be projecting onto those who call themselves “Republicans” convictions as genuine as her own. Genuine moneyed interests cannot lose all influence unless they are in the hands of idiots. Participation by genuine conservatives in work for the common good cannot “destroy the country”. This so-called “conviction” has nothing to do with “the country” and everything to do with total domination of that unfortunate country by those who have siphoned off so much material wealth from it that their sole concern now is with continued accumulation and with keeping, not use.
They are in this for accumulation’s sake. As for what to do with what’s accumulated, that is not even a secondary concern for most, as they haven’t a clue. And loose cannons like Musk who do have a clue are potentially even more dangerous, for themselves, for everyone else. All accelerator, their only brakes the rocks, the trees and the ravines by the roadside. Those and other vehicles.
Guaranteed destruction of far more than America.
Peter, that phrase struck me, as well. Thanks for pointing it out. That may be what they tell themselves when they try to fall asleep at night, but I don’t think it’s any more true than the other lies they tell.
I, too, was struck by the same sentence by Prof. Richardson: “ It appears Republicans have gotten to the point that they don’t believe they can win a free and fair election, and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified.” They don’t just believe—they know that their policies are so unpopular they can’t win a free and fair national election. As a result, they are intent on using all cheating necessary to gain and retain power, as people like Stephen Breitbart and Roger Cohen have been quoted baldly stating. And I agree that Prof. Richardson’s phrasing, “…and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified,” is far too kind. Trump and all the MAGA sycophants (McCarthy et al) and coattails/copycat opportunists (DeSantis et al) may have bamboozled millions of gullible MAGA voters into believing Democrats are evil and will “destroy the country.” But they themselves just want all the power and money they can get, any way they can get it. In other words, they have no convictions—they’re just crooks.
...And the Republicans certainly have no worries about anyone "destroy[ing] the country" because they don't care what survives so long as when the dust clears, they have all the power, and a lot of money. By "Democrats will destroy the country" they mean "destroy our opportunities to wage Republican authoritarian control via white supremacy, patriarchal dominance, old white boy network political, legal, and cultural hegemony, and no-rules laissez faire capitalism that gives us our god-given 'freedom' to aggregate all the money and power to us and our buddies, the rich and powerful, and externalizes all the costs and damage onto brown people, poor people, women, and the air, land, and water that we by ancestral rights ought to be allowed to use however we want to get rich and then dump our waste in, without the pesky interference of pantywaist rules from snowflake libruls whining about "pollution" and "global warming" and some silly salamander or whale or micro owl."
Thanks, Elizabeth M, for spelling out a few of the details of those We-Take-You-Pay Rights... Perpetual and, so they'd have us believe, divinely sanctioned...
Once the crooks were dead or behind bars, the movie would come to an end with these words blazoned across the screen:
CRIME DOES NOT PAY
Today we all know that nothing pays like crime.
And nothing can guarantee that high principle more securely than to steal whole countries.
Observe what was done to Russia and is now being done to Ukraine. Then consider examples nearer home.
Elizabeth M: You've made me realize that the action of "To bamboozle" needs to be elevated to a felony!
Deluded deluders. Junkies, methinks, in thrall to a uniquely powerful drug, the more you take the more you need.
It’s win-win and lose-lose… yourself.
Like that old Rolling Stones number, I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.
I remember being called many names, from Democrat to socialist to commie, with other adjectives appended. Then is 2016, a self-righteous loser when tfg got elected and I asked for his goals and policies of my Red friends. "WE won. Get over it. You lost." Winning is everything. Now they talk about how good it was when tfg was in power. And, can't say what was good or better then. No. I don't tell them they are losers as they don't talk to me anymore.
Agreed. I noted this phrasing, "in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country..." I don't think that is a conviction. They just know it will get supporters worked up enough to cough up money and votes.
Absolutely, Peter. There is no “cause” except to game the system and acquire influence and money. It baffles me that what is being said in its furtherance is being said with a straight face.
"All mass movements strive, therefore, to interpose a fact-proof screen between the faithful and the realities of the world. They do this by claiming that the ultimate and absolute truth is already embodied in their doctrine and that there is no truth nor certitude outside it. The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ." ~ Eric Hoffer
The sad part is so many common folk vote against their own interest & well being. I frequently see people feed up with their Rep Congress critter say "i will vote for some one else as long as they are not a democrat" When some of these people had a choice of someone running with an I next to their name, support from both parties, they still voted for the Freedom Caucus guy one of our 2 House Reps.
Gary, Trump is the train wreck who never ends. He makes it impossible to look away. Especially for the media...he is VERY easy cannon fodder. His constant side show sells tickets. Don't be afraid of adding oxygen to this dumpster fire of a human being. Eventually there will be nothing but ashes and bones left....and yes the job is too keep MAGA out of power. Use the tower of light that's being thrown at this man to do that. Just think if these things all remained hidden...then what's left there to despise ? He does become the victim of a witch hunt...and not the villain he really is. Be one of the hero's in this epic tale and help throw him off of this stage forever. Don't fear the light. Embrace it.
Interesting his decision to seek the presidency brought to light his earlier misdeeds in NY, and piled on are his crimes of and after the presidency. Had he been satisfied with leading his tawdry, attention-seeking life prior to the presidency, he might have lived out his life out of the criminal Justice system.
MLM, I'm pretty sure Melania and Ivanka understand that. From what I've read I really don't think DJT thought he would actually win in 2016. It was all about stirring the pot and getting attention...then, he REALLY loved the power of it...the smell of the crowd and the roar of the greasepaint...but not the real responsibilities. Right now I don't think he really wants to "serve" as President...he just wants a shield from his other crap. It's disgusting that Mitch helped him get 3 Supreme Court Justices. That's the big blow from his Presidency that will last awhile.
You can see from his rallies, that Trump adores being adored.. a true narcissist. He adores the power of the presidency and that’s what he lusts for. And the money his supporters pour into his coffers.
I agree with you 100%, Mike!!
Good on, Mike: “Don't fear the light. Embrace it.”
One way to add oxygen to the TrumptyDumpty BurnPit is to continue to shine a bright light on Biden administration/Progressive successes and achievements. “They” say Biden is too old. Yet, look at his accomplishments! (Is Rupert Murdoch too old at 92? Too old to make FOXy decisions, like getting married again - #5?)
Right on Paul. I thought Biden was too old during the last primary season. It turns out he was exactly the right guy for the job. Bless him. I knew a man who had been a test pilot all his career, Dick Henson. At age 90 the Insurance industry had to create a new category for him, because he was still flying his corporate jet. I think they might have required a co-pilot...but then Joe has that already.
Yes, exactly, Mike! Plus, our Founders had already come up with a plan that would remedy the Succession Issue. If something happens to Joe, it’s covered. AND, as we are now seeing, Kamala is moving from a “learning” mode to a “governing” mode. Her recent trip to the Security Conference in Munich is a perfect example.
He's very experienced at this "game".
What too many voters tend to forget is that when they push the lever for The Candidate, they are also “electing” everyone that person appoints to important positions. Those appointees can protect us from war, pandemics, unsafe products, pollution, etc. But when The Candidate is a criminal, the appointees will be criminals - members of a crime family who will protect their Leader because that Leader gives them access to untold opportunities for power and money. They will also be loyal because their Leader has the goods on them - as they do on him. A true crime family. Consider the Trump appointees vs the Biden appointees. Those are the people who can do untold damage or unrecognized good. I do not vote just for Biden; I vote for all the good people that a Biden Administration appoints to run the government.
Absolutely right, Marge. I will never forget all those hucksters he appointed to key positions in our government. It’s a miracle we survived.
Yup, exactly, Marge. Good points!!
Excellent point. Not only would TFG 2.0 appointees be criminal but sycophantically so. An extremely dangerous cocktail indeed.
Tell it to a media that still hasn't learned its lesson and would rather toss red meat than the current events that really matter to its audience. This is why a daily LFAA beats the M$M hands down. HCR must be related to Joe Friday b/c she sticks to "just the facts".
Christopher, it's sad, but the media is NEVER going to learn that lesson. "If it bleeds it leads" has been the battle cry forever. We all need trusted and reliable places to get real news and thoughtful enlightened opinions like this page of HCR's. But the general media landscape won't change...the one thing that might...just maybe affect it, is if Fox loses this suit with Dominion big time...that may reign some of the most egregious in. This case may also give pause to future journalists and who they chose to work for.
One can hope that Faux finally gets hoisted on its own petard. However it so frustrating to see how many reporters and news outlets seems completely ignorant of why they have the "freedom of the press" in the first place. They are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the American People, focused on keeping government honest and working on their behalf. Instead they scramble for "eyeballs" no matter how they can do that. So many shouldn't really call themselves news or reporters.
Ratings drive the money. Folks like a good freak show. We sure have one on the GOP side of the aisle in the House these days.
For Fox, the expression “hoist on its own petard” comes to mind. May it happen!
I DO agree that we should allow Trump into our brains for shorter periods of time. Read a bit each day. Get up to date. And then proceed with all the other aspects of life that matter to us. Like family, friends, fun. Like being productive. Like worrying about much more important things like the fact that we are murdering our planet.
But Heather's recap today is brilliant. Too many of the talking heads have suggested that this is a minor offense compared to his other crimes. That's only because the other offenses are so horrific. The Stormy Daniels payoff should have taken Trump to jail with Michael Cohen.
It was a really big crime that led to his election to be the worst President in history. It led to his denying the importance of Covid and the deaths of hundreds of thousands who could have been saved. It led to 4 years of Climate Inaction and worse. It led to Putin thinking it was OK to annex Ukraine. The list too long and I need another coffee.
That payoff led to the biggest electoral mistake in the history of the world.
I love your spiritual awareness melded with political awareness approach, Bill. I felt sanity somewhat restored just reading your comment. :)
Ditto
I like this approach and I'm doing something I believe is an offshoot. I told some friends that since many articles, especially those produced for online consumption, are driven by click traffic, I'm going to be selective. The more we click on a particular topic, the more coverage of that item gets produced.
So, I've vowed to try only clicking on stories of TFG that list and discuss how damning the charges and crimes are against him. My hope is that if I and others do the same in feeding the algorithms, eventually they will almost exclusively cover his crimes, the many court cases springing from them and nothing else. All are welcome to join this quest.
99% agree. The other 1% is that the election of Adolf Hotler in Germany had greater evil repercussions.
What your comment seems to be saying is "let's stop talking about trump and he will just go away". Another version of this I hear among friends is "I so tired of trump I just stopped listening to the news, I have a life to get on with." My comment is; No we need to cut the head off the snake before it strikes again. I live in copperhead country, the way to keep copperheads away is to get rid of the mice. The GOP are the mice.
TRUE
We have a duty to keep watching that repugnant person because he is a continuing danger to our nation. He has bullied the entire Republican Party into submission and raised a violent cult to attempt to destroy our democracy and establish a fascist dictatorship with Trump as its head.
If that doesn't givexyou nightmares, it should!
It stuns me that one narcissistic bully could become this "Monster from the deep". But the truth is the people...our friends, family and neighbors empowered him with enough backing, enough votes...and then armed terror... to compromise most of the GOP "leadership". We HAVE to continue to pour light on this autocratic vampire. It's our only hope.
YES. Or as someone brilliant whose name I have unfortunately forgotten said, "When there's a deranged gorilla with a machine gun in the room, you've got to keep your eyes on that gorilla..."
Still we need to realize there are a few "good" republicans out there. We need a healthy 2 party system for a healthy democracy. Many of the Good Rep voted for Biden & are speaking out against the Magas & r as alarmed about what has happened to the party as the many here. So s get the Democratic voters out & the GOP who distain MAGA. Too many R who dont like the direction of the R party will not cross the line.
Dear Gary S., ordinarily I would agree with not giving DJT anymore of our oxygen. He gets enough to live on from the media and right wing circus that he has going for him. But I want to understand more about why the Stormy Daniels case has gained so much attention and why it is more important (in the media's coverage that is) than him clearly trying to overturn an election and inciting a riot against the US Capital. The media is going to spin what they will spin but in order for us to clearly understand and to motivate people to vote against him and his sycophants in Congress I think it is a good thing to explain what is truly going on. I keep thinking of history and how when Al Capone thought he could lie, cheat, commit crimes including murder the law FINALLY brought him down on tax evasion charges. He died in prison and the world was a better place with him gone. I am so hopeful that the same thing happens to DJT and truly, I don't care which of his horrible crimes they end up indicting him for. It would be great to have multiple indictments, one after another so we never have to see his ugly face and body, hear his voice or hear about him ever again. May he someday leave this world in obscurity.
It has been said in show business there is no bad publicity. But not everything is a show. Wannabee Sarah Palin got far too much press for about a year or so before she became Sarah Who? (no relation to the Dr.). But despite the fact that in a crueler world she might have wound up being president, she was most a distraction shouting "look at me".
Trump and his party's racketeering is a clear and present danger. We can be selective about what we focus on, but he cannot and should not be ignored. Democrats got into this pickle at least in part by not making a "thing" of "GOP" treachery. Think of the public reaction to Nixon's misdeeds and how "normalized" political whopper lies and law-breaking has become. We can't slide any further without disastrous consequences. Many lives have already been lost, and the public impoverished by "GOP" power plays.
Seems to me there is a difference between the crimes and the results of the crimes.
Yes and the two are intertwined.
Which we will do. And it’s true that much of the news isn’t worth reading. Sounds like you’re asking us to miss the final episode though. An episode so many have worked so hard to bring forth.
Yes. Keep it in peripheral vision and work to identify and mobilize Democratic voters.
Also how can giving oxygen to Republican nonsense hurt any more than it has so far? Their lies are lies.
Gary, It’s not a matter of the subject matter as much as it is the key ingredient for understanding history: the details are critical to understanding events.
Heather’s keen eye for detail along with her astute congregation of footnotes develop a whole picture of an era dominated by a criminal who still threatens the nation.
When we consider the conduct of the current national affairs as not emerged in flagrant soulless forays of personal vendettas and nutty adventures of the Trump Presidency it is good we know delineate the stinking carcass before time eases its menace.
Our job is not to elect Democrats. It's to elect those with foresight and good judgement to realize the explicit 6 reasons, brilliantly listed in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America for which our founders and everyone who swears to defend and protect must continue to ordain and establish by lawful authority.
Growing the GDP or making all men equal are not part of that list. Not to say it wouldn't be nice, just that it's not the government's job to form, establish, insure, provide, promote or secure anything but those six top requirements.
Leave the Heaven on Earth job to free people and their gods and not to our government. Anything but those six are just requirement creep and should be illegal.
The MEDIA is doing a very fine job at giving Trump abundant oxygen. They perpetuate and propel his notoriety. That, as I see it, is a huge part of the problem.
The moral for all of us ordinary citizens is that we need to vote. We need to work on voter registration, on getting out the vote on election day, and on voting ourselves. We need to elect legislators who will protect everyone's right to vote, since that's the basis of our democracy. We need to elect judges or those who appoint judges who will make sure that everyone is equal before the law. It is up to all of us to do the work of ensuring that scoundrels and cheats cannot prevail.
Amen.
'They had things, levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again,” -DJT
Also this:
https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2017/comm/voting-rates-age.html
Don't you love it when pathological liars truth accidentally?
Betsy, I would add that we need to run for local offices. It takes courage in the neighborhoods that snarl with venom at any non-MAGA but it’s important for the golden rule to win is to normalize it. They’re swimming in a sea of hate. They need a liferaft
That is why some of my work now is making sure to bring young people (or their parents) to Voter of Tomorrow, the talented and creative Santiago Meyers’ organization. It has chapters in many states but not nearly enough. And in other states where they have not yet created organization, there are sister orgs doing the work (check out Loud Light in Kansas, for example). This kind of grassroots network growing among young voters is elemental to helping them form voting “memory muscle.”
https://votersoftomorrow.org/about-us/
https://www.loudlight.org/
I passed the link on to LWV
Thank you for the links Leslie. So important ❤️
Christy, I agree 100%. At a Zoom meeting last night about passing legislation that would provide Medicare for All in MA, someone asked which legislators have opposed the bill. I replied with an anecdote about a state rep who had been silent on the matter until she was primaried, and then she signed on. So yes, running for office can make a big difference. Even if you don't win, it puts important issues in front of the electorate and may change the attitude of your opponent. And who knows, you might win!
Exactly! ❤️❤️
We need to get Gen Z to vote. Hopefully the Biden Admin will not shoot itself in the foot by banning TikTok and alienating that demographic. Whatever your personal opinion is of that platform it’s how you reach the 18-25 year olds.
DeSantis loves the attention given to “do not ban TikTok. The world will end for GenZ.” In fact, DeSantis is stirring up his evil ways beyond TikTok access. He and his punk legislative majority have already taken over New College of FL and erased their nationally recognized liberal arts curriculum. And put in its place his lieutenants to indoctrinate young adults to his “anti woke”, fascist, racist, white nationalism agenda. And setting the example to other like minded Republican governors across the country. TikTok? No. Nazi youth program indoctrination. Same thing. Again. Right in our country.
I consider it a serious miscalculation on his part. For any American not to have a deep respect for our public education system and arbitrarily sabotage it is an affront to far more people than Desantis and his ilk have thought.
White Nationalism pontoon boat….go f*ck yourselves. And get your hands off our kids. These people are the real groomers.
Salud, Donna.
🗽
Mao and Pol Pot did the same thing. And millions were murdered or starved to death.
That’s more a question of national security than just politics.
Then we need to fix that or risk losing their votes. They aren’t using Facebook or reading LFAA.
As with everything else, Donna, there is no magic wand. It’s up to all of us to speak up and inform and try. People are working on it. I talk to my 11 year old grandson almost every day about the pros and cons of social media. I explain why I don’t want him using TikTok.
I don’t have 11 year olds...I have voting aged young adults and the reality is that they are using TikTok so all of us saying it’s brainwashing them and recalling Nazis is all well and good but they’re on it, they love it, and we need to figure out how to reach them. We can all come here and say how we personally ensure that we have educated our own children but that doesn’t really help.
I’m not trying to argue or discount what you’re saying Donna, just trying to share what I’ve learned in my lifetime of work of trying to help people adopt healthier behaviors. Once the cement has dried it’s much more challenging to change, easier to do while it’s still wet. If we know TikTok is a serious threat to National Security what would you want to see done?
Zuckerberg has been lobbying to ban TikTok for a few years now. Follow the $$.
Note: I know this because I'm on TikTok. (Google "zuckerberg lobbying against tiktok")
Donna, I hear you, but the case against TikTok is much more than a personal opinion.
I would also like to add, that after millions of us were brainwashed by Putin’s cyber-propaganda, we could “wake up” to the bad actors that see social media for the fertile garden it is for influencing minds
Biden is not trying to ban TikTok is he? He wants an American CEO, not a Chinese one. There are bipartisan lawmakers who do want to ban it.
House testimony happening on TikTok on MSNBC right now
My government-issued phone does not allow many “standard” apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Weather Underground, etc. Nothing unusual for TikTok to be disallowed as well.
And we need to emphasize the ideology of democracy more.
Exactly. What exactly is democracy? And what is not? How has is worked historically? What does it look like today? What hath Reagan and Company really wrought? Compare and contrast.
As usual, very well distilled and constructed essay Dr. Thank you. **edit in > However, I must point out a fact that I know all too well from lived experience that's documented. Wherein you state >> "It appears Republicans have gotten to the point that they don’t believe they can win a free and fair election, and in their conviction that Democrats will destroy the country, they believe cheating to win is justified. They cannot condemn Trump because he delivered what they wanted: a victory." >> I must add that it is not a recent conclusion of theirs (gop). It's only new that they may have in recent history exhibited and hopefully got caught red handed in how far they would go to 'win.' I caught them red handed roughly 30 years ago when they were beginning their tricks locally, on a much smaller scale mind you. At the time, council meetings in this glowing red town were still televised. I prepared myself well, steeled my nerves, then live at the recorded meeting I blistered their azzes (tastefully - no village idiot ranting) and called them out, pointing out that I had met with them all and the mayor, to no satisfaction, so I was bring it via public meeting to the people. They were not happy to say the least. One week later, council and the mayor changed the local law / rule severely restricting a citizen's allowed time to comment at council meetings ! Additionally, one of the 'upstanding citizen mover / shakers' in the town - a gop member of the city Chamber of Commerce, asked me if I could be 'persuaded' to argue as forcefully from their point of view. I think you 'know' what he was insinuating. I do beyond doubt; they wanted to know if I were for sale. *Postscript - We carried the day and city voted against them as I had lobbied for at that council meeting. Other measures I did was that prior to the council meeting, I'd months earlier begun composing local information newsletters that we (my family) distributed at our cost and time, as far and wide as we could. One of the many things I caught them doing and blistered them for was gerrymandering districts to favor themselves - jfyi.
Treachery in politics is an ancient tradition, but after the embarrassment of Nixon's Resignation, Republicans seemed to have torn up the rule book.
You 'have it' JL. Precisely my point. Believe it or not, I caught them red handed in the early '80's and it took me a bit to understand fully, and get my mind around it all, if I'm as honest as I strive to be. I may even have been 'guilty' of giving them ideas to turn against us all. I just didn't know for sure, what I didn't know at the time, fully, if you 'get that', which, I've believed since observing you here, you must surely understand. I've been on something of a quest since the early '80's to find and share what light I can. In great measure, I've found that here within this forum of awesome folks. I've followed our good Dr. since she began her stumbling first steps to gracefully, humbly share her learned truths... I think - 2019 on her FB. I 'knew' I'd found at least her and just watched in silence, while she 'tried her wings out', then took flight - so to speak. At first, to borrow a line from a somewhat popular movie, I feared she was "to good to be true" and yet as I've followed I learned, "and she almost is too good" , and yet she works towards it still, humbly, and I for one remain forever grateful.
We tend to be drawn to those who reinforce with our prejudices (cf MAGA) but I find the views of HCR highly compatible with my own. That can also happen when two people closely follow a trail of evidence. I can never be totally sure for myself which is which, but I am always looking for empirical anchor points and HCR fills in some yawning gaps on my own chart of things.
They told me in college that Aristotle figured out that women have fewer teeth than men; except they don't, and he did not bother to count. The only intelligent thing I can ever recall Reagan saying was "Trust, but verify". I like that we in the peanut gallery (I'm dating myself) peer review and share relevant resources, which feels more sensible than prostrating one's self to "Q".
I am biased towards 'facts in evidence' and make no apology whatever for that. An unthinking, under-educated type of first time viewer here could fairly 'wonder or presume' that our HCR is biased from her tone sometimes. I look past that since I happen to know that when one is so deeply immersed in the world of 'facts in evidence', one can tend to 'sound as though'. Not unforgivable to my mind, 'cuz I 'grade my own papers' - lol. I do however have a conscience within me that occasionally has to call bs on my bs; I do so endeavor to heed that conscience as humanly possibly as I can. Cheers JL !
Ah, conscience; vulnerability and superpower.
HCR dispenses an abiding political philosophy though her chronicles, but not to the point of unmooring them as far as I can tell. I sense that I learn a lot.
Some say reality itself has something of a left wing bias, and modern Republicans make even a stopped clock look oracular.
Well done, you and your family! Keep up the good work, especially at local level.
I'll be darned!
There is a lakeshore county In West Michigan now dominated by Trumpists that could use a few good people willing to stand up as you did thirty years ago.
Vince in Grand Rapids
Vince, that is one scary group of radicals —-Dave from an hour and half north of you
Outstanding example of action at the local level! Heartiest congratulations! As you describe it takes interest, time, preparation and consistent and persistent action! Well done!
This is an excellent explanation of a case that the GOP and its media pilot fish have terribly muddled. Let's hope it's successfully argued and produces a conviction. A Republican could win the presidency if he or she moved somewhat to the left and articulated policies that would directly help voters and the country. But the party is boxed in, trapped really, by all that it has wrought — by embracing Trump and hate.
So true - the GOP deserves to implode. They have no policies are plans and they have all become Trump Eunuchs. They have driven out their best people and replaced them with Trump Trash. They don’t represent their people they just take orders from Benedict Donald.
Trump eunuchs. Benedict Donald. Thanks for cheering me up. Now if we could neuter Supreme Court that would allow states to undermine popular voting. . .
We can. We have to increase the size of the court already. Why is this not a done deal yet!?
'Kevin McCarthy Claims Most Americans Pay Porn Stars'
'ORLANDO (The Borowitz Report)—Offering a vehement defense of Donald J. Trump, Representative Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the former President should not be indicted because “most if not almost all Americans” pay porn stars.'
“What you use your personal money for is your own personal business,” the Speaker of the House said during a break at a G.O.P. retreat. “If you want to pay for a haircut, fine. If you want to pay for a car wash, also fine. And, if you want to pay a porn star, well, that’s fine, too, and pretty much every American does it.” (Satire,NewYorker)
Do people like McQarthy ever really listen to themselves? Un-effingbelievable.
James, did you see that the comment was labeled as satire?
That's what I get for being half awake... but he did say something just about as inane... "This was personal money. This was seven years ago, statute of limitation. And I think that, in your heart of hearts, you know too, that you think this is just political. And I think that is what the rest of the country thinks. And we're tired of that." (McCarthy, quoted in The Hill, also on press conference video)
James, you never sounded like a Republican before, so confusing. Please let us know whether you meant what you said or not.
Sorry for any confusion; I just picked up on the Borowitz idea and found that quote from McCarthy on The Hill; and I do recall seeing some clip with him trying to pooh-pooh the whole hush-money business. Borowitz's satire is top-notch.
So, did he actually say that or was it someone like Borowitz?
It is totally understandable that one might think he actually said that.
Satirist Andy Borowitz actually did write that! That's why FERN posted the entire post. Check out the New Yorker. Borowitz is a satirist. Who hits home runs all the time.
I have followed AB for years. What was funny was none of us would have been surprised if it had been true.
And this surely was out of the park...
Thanks Judith,I thought that's where I saw it.
Did you mean 'like Borowitz' or Borowitz?
I meant Borowitz, none other.
Now I AM confused! I thought I was clear that your post was a direct quote from The One and Only Andy Borowitz. Not someone "like" him.
On a drive one day when I was sitting shotgun while a man I know was driving, he was inconvenienced by a very elderly woman, who slowly, and apparently in some pain, was crossing at a crosswalk. As he tic tic ticked on the steering wheel he yelled out “C’mon c’mon, c’mon !!”
Some people grew up to be that kind of person. This man’s parents and friends were all fk you types. Also he was fond of Alex Jones and later totally enthralled by Mr Trouble.
Borowitz (satire based on facts) provides momentary humor to the reality based facts provided by HCR. Some, like this one, make you wonder if truly satire.
I have not yet found a source, but long ago an NPR program quoted Mark Twain as saying that the secret of his humor was to "tell the truth, but exaggerate". At a certain point, exaggeration becomes difficult. As they say, "You can't make (some of) this stuff up".
I’ve NEVER paid a porn star. I never had to. But then, my name isn’t “Mushroom Head TRUMP”!!!
Loved “pilot fish”.
Your self serving posts are pathetic. Go find a new technique to get people to read you stuff. Perhaps make your writings relevant and understandable. That could help. Until then just stop cluttering these comment sections on this substack. Thank you. -saw-
Steve, I am reporting to Substack Inc along with notice of their obligation, contractual obligation, to submit to JAMS Mediation in SF. I have advised Substack Inc that JAMS has three ( 3 ) capable Mediators including one that has actually litigated Platform liability in SF Superor Court before a Jury.
I now ask Substack Inc. before all Readers to submit to JAMS mediation per Contract or I will serve Substack's Agent for Service of Process to compel their appearance.
GOOD NEWS UPDATE & CONFIRMED, there is staff in the Content Moderation Dept as certain Comments have been taken down. Salud Substack Inc. Thank you for protecting the Community per your enforceable contract with ""Readers".
Lies and appeals to prejudice is all they have left.
You're so right, it's about getting out the vote, MORE of the vote, and with in MORE of the MESSAGE. 2024 will be full throttle. Another defeat for the Republicans should put the GOP into the can for quite a bit, perhaps enough to break it up and reconstitute itself with at least one more reasonable kind of party. Not sure that's really possible however given how beholden it is to anti- WOKE cultural issues courtesy of the religious "right".
So, how about: Be WOKE, VOTE! heh, heh...
I love it. Might use it. (In VT I can get away with it.)
need a LOL emoticon here!
Exactly what I did when I read that!
Notice how there’s nothing in the constitution about our beloved “two-party system”.
The Stormy Daniels case seems like smaller potatoes than the classified-docs-at-MAL or the I-need- to-find-11,000-votes case but it's actually the most sobering. Buying Daniels' silence bought DT the election and that, in turn, led to DT's handling of the pandemic and the unnecessary deaths of over 1 million Americans.
Small-er potatoes, yet Trumps stooge got a 3 year sentence. And he was the small fry. Trump is a walking crime wave.
"... walking crime wave." Perfect.
He’s been one for decades. Getting his ‘stooges’ do do his criminal activities for him.
Mostly he is a manipulator, but he also crosses legal lines all by himself. We shall see what is made of that.
Yes. His “legal wrangling” of his cult, and attorneys is rapidly coming to an end, hopefully. I will cheer the day he gets booked. Then the dominoes will start to fall like Trump Tower being imploded.
Concur Karen but, make that "I need to find ... uh ... uh ... 11,780 votes , just one more than we have." ... "Fellas give me a break." Other coconspirators were in the room during the Perp's call on both ends of the phone.
Per superb work by WAPO reporters, Amy Gardner & Paulina Firozi, the entire 62 minute call was posted. by WAPO along with 5867 Comments.
On the Perp's side, you have MARK MEADOWS who states as follows; "Okay, alright Mr. Presdent everone is on the line:" which on tfg`s side included "several lawyers" identified as tfg Attorney, CLETA MITCHELL & GA tfg attorney, KURT GILBERT. I should call them adverse witnesses.
UPDATE: Ari Melbar roasted yet another tfg Attorney on the GA stuff on yesterday's program. Ari knows how to conduct a direct examination live on TV.
The dominos affect is sobering :/
"Our election laws are designed to try to hold the playing field level" is no longer true with Citizens United legalizing corruption of elections by calling money free speech and tipping the playing field toward minority autocratic rule.
"Citizens United" was a knife in the back of democracy. We need to be clearer about that and to find ways to work around saboteurs in the "Supreme" Court.
We now know justices benefit from dark money too.
Right on JL and one way can be legislation requiring identification of who is giving the "free speech." It could have the same impact that campaign donation limits had in ultimately revealing the Stormy Daniels payoff will have had once the NY DA gets around to indictment....perhaps today? Like Al Capone, we may ultimately get them on what may seem minor technicalities but which actually reveal whole lives built around gaining money and power...not exactly the ideals we expect of a "justice" of the SCOTUS.
Genuine free speech has an author. Anonymous speech is in it's own category. I could elaborate. US law is pretty tolerant of speech some might object to with respect to the rights of the author. Except is specific circumstances, the right to say what one pleases is robust. It reinforces egalitarian democracy, and is essential to it.
"Free $peech" could hardly be more different, and where corruption festers, follow the money. That's fundamental. Note (among other things) that those who struggle to both eat and pay rent simple cannot afford "Free $peech", yet are entitled (as it says right on the SCOTUS building) to "equal justice under law". I would expect that to include equal representation, yet:
"But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money, money, money. ... As a result, the Senate doesn't work on Mondays and Fridays. We have longer holidays. The policy committee is adjourned and we go over to the campaign building because you can't call for money in the office. So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
- Former Senator Fritz Hollings
"Supreme" Court. Thank you, J L.
Would votes have changed if Stormy's Story was public pre-election? Come on, guys. You know the answer. I know you know the answer.
Nada.
The Access Hollywood tape told everyone everything they needed to know. Only a person existing at the nadir of depravity could have said what tfg did there, and so cheerfully too! Is anyone here *really* wondering if there were people who were okay with making the guy in that tape the President, but would have changed their mind upon hearing of the porn star hush money? Please.
Actually, who among us truly thought he would lose support after that tape came out? I didn't, not for a second. Anyone with a sense of decency who heard the bile this guy spewed at his campaign ANNOUNCEMENT should have been able to tell that anyone capable of letting these words out of your mouth in public, or frankly even thinking them at all, would be capable of saying and doing pretty much anything, at any level of venality. Anyone who didn't turn the channel with their stomach turned immediately had had their moral compass run over by a semi somewhere along the line.
I have never been surprised by one thing this dude has said, and I never expected to ever find "the dealbreaker." There was not going to be one. The man is a dealbreaker unto himself for everyone other than those willing to deal with the devil. I am not bragging about my clairvoyance here, as I don't think I should take credit for seeing something so obvious. When people tell you who you are the first time, believe them.
Ignore him. Then put him in jail. Then ignore him again. And ignore everyone saying they didn't know or couldn't tell. Please.
Your point is well taken. I get it. But if the Stormy payoff had been given oxygen AND Comey had not made his infamous statement, there is a pretty good chance we would have had a different President in 2017 - one who Putin would have been afraid of.
We all tend to think of the world and its events in a linear sense. But it's really more like a 3D chess game.
Sometimes the first punch doesn’t knock them out, while the second one does the trick.
The only fact here, is that we will never know.
He squeaked out his victory in the general election with the support of many evangelicals, republican women and others who simply didn’t like Hillary. Would the disclosure that he was hooking up with a porn star while his wife was at home caring for their infant son turned the stomachs of enough voters to cost him the election?
You seem convinced it wouldn’t - I don’t know.
I just ask again... who are these hypothetical voters who could overlook an already-known serial philanderer's bragging about sexual assault, but would NOT overlook a porn star affair? Both of those transgressions trigger the "Ew!" response in the same part of the brain, methinks. And one big "Ew!" should be all that is required to make someone seem "Ew!"-ey. Besides, we actually did find out about the porn star affair pretty soon thereafter, then had 4 years of all sorts of real world consequences after that, and what percentage of the vote did the Emperor of Ew receive when voters had a do-over? The same, of course! This time against a devout lifelong Catholic family man.
Not buyin' it.
And 10 million more voted for Emperor of Ew in 2020 then 2016.
While Biden is Catholic, he wasn't against abortion. Therefore my Georgia aunt could not vote for Biden. Trump was her man.
Nothing for sale here, Will. I am not a buyer of anything in Comments. I was not aware you consider Comments, a 'Market' of any kind.
It appears to me that one of consequences of Doublethink is to have a conniption fit with one instance of a disturbing event and shug at another. Politics, prejudice and the press have a lot to do with which way that "spins". but I also think there is a certain fickle randomness to human behavior that appears over time (both ways).
In any case, positive social change generally seems to require perseverance which, according to the I Ching, "furthers".
Will from Cal— Precisely and perfectly said: "The Access Hollywood tape told everyone everything they needed to know. Only a person existing at the nadir of depravity could have said what tfg did there, and so cheerfully too!" And of course - "When people tell you who you are the first time, believe them."
But:
"Actually, who among us truly thought he would lose support after that tape came out?"
I did. I truly did. And I believe he did lose support. The ugly truth is, he also GAINED support from it, and the worst of the worst grabbed their chance and are plunging us right back into the 18th century.
Alex, also from CA.
I was surprised at how many women supported him after that!
Ellen, it absolutely disgusts me. So completely contrary to the vast majority of women in my life.
Christian Nationalist have explained & excused his behavior in the context of their belief system. PRRI.org
Yes, Christian Nationalism is deeply misogynistic. Let's be absolutely clear about this - there's no commandment against rape. Or child abuse, or torture, or slavery.
Will, it wasn't just the fact that he had an "affair" (that's Daniel's cover for what she does for a living). Not only did he pay her for services rendered (which is something between her and him and members of his family who were also impacted). The public part is the fact that he went beyond that and paid her money to keep it quiet, and he used campaign funds and a wonky funds transfer scheme to do it. That's illegal.
And yes, I do believe that could have made a difference in how the election came out. There were other factors that could have come into play, too, and it is too damn bad so many people decided to wear blinkers. We KNOW we'd be in a different place now, and that we'd be working as a different kind of society that what Trump left in his trail of debris. We'd still be dealing with some of the underlying issues, but in a much more productive way.
Agreed, Will, that it probably would not have made one iota of difference BEFORE the election, but HCR's point in this letter is that he (TFG) thought it would, so he entered into a cover-up. The court case today is about the cover-up, perverting our campaign laws.
Will, you’re one of my heroes-you often speak my heart. Peace be yours.
If only we could ignore him.
He's now a part of our history, and HCR is letting us know where he stands and what is (maybe?) being done to stop him from being an ongoing character in the story. I think it's important that we know.
Thanks to HCR for explaining why this case isn't minor. Unfortunately, the CNN crowd, including the Dems on their panels, have already pooh-poohed this particular case, because they think paying hush money to women isn't a big deal anyhow. How about focusing at least briefly on the sexism behind such attitudes?
The hush money in and of it's self is pretty dodgy, and Trump is as sexist as hell, but there are also subtle legal issues in this particular case that drew the attention of the law.
The stupid talking head panels are why I no longer watch CNN. Not cutting away to the interruptors during President Biden's state of the union gave me hope they would start concentrating on the facts but nooooo.
Upon Biden’s election, CNN immediately shifted their reporting angles to cast doubt over Biden in general, as did CBS News. My original reaction was WTF???, but in light of the recognition that news outlets serve as accelerants of rage, its shouldn’t have been surprising to me: the Producers all understand marketing to the reptilian brain nuggets of their target audience; the smell of red meat
Benedict Donald was a criminal long before the MAGA TRASH ever heard of him
Benedict Arnold however only changed sides in a war of independence leaving the side of the "rebels" and rejoining the forces of the State. As such he was not a traitor in the same sense as the USA did not yet exist as a recognized State and was most certainly not yet what we might call a democracy.
Stuart, good description of the circumstances. "Benedict as Traitor" is part of our origin myth. We forget that the colonists themselves were deeply split about supporting independence. Arnold was not regarded as a traitor by all Americans. Even those fighting for independence recognized what he'd contributed to the struggle and honored him for it. Here in New England, people experienced it first hand, and many here still openly consider him a hero. He was not considered a "traitor" until later. Some revolutionaries didn't trust him and thought he might give away what we would call intelligence to England. Arnold had some legitimate grievances, and chose to go live in England rather than endure slander.
Thank you Annie for the details. It all comes down to one's point of view and the limits that you impose on the info that you will include in its formulation. Frequently we set our horizens very low in our willingness to make the effort to fully understand a situation or people
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910/
Put it into the context of Christian Nationalism. They explain it away. PRRI.org
I guess I’m stuck in a rut of disbelief that over 60% of the Republican redcoats continue to support him and unfathomably they even send a multimillionaire money - let me say that again - average ‘redcoat’ citizens are parting with their hard earned funds to send them to a multimillionaire - huh?
Trump is a lying nutcase! What do you call the lemmings which continue to blindly follow him.
Could it be payback time for those who benefitted the most from tfg's tax 'reduction'? It is indeed unfathomable how anybody would donate any money to such a criminal.
Putin has been getting a very high return on his rubles.
I hear Putin needs help. There are jobs available in the Russian Army. I would be more interested in your comments if they came with pictures, on the ground in Ukraine.
Let's assume for the sake of argument that the entire country of Ukraine can be described as "an ultra violent, corrupt Nazi shithole." What steps must it take, right now, to become something different?
Donald Trump is a thief. His father was a thief. Donald learned his real,estate craft from his father and continued the family business. He recognizes weaknesses in people with similar character flaws and those people have gravitated to him for years and years. They still do, and they are predominantly members of the Republican party. They all know that there are fewer of them than normal hard working folks just trying to survive and provide for themselves and their families. So, the Republicans cheat to take advantage of any weakness in the democratic system in order to be elected. This is a simple exercise of the Trump family getting caught stealing everything that they can convert into cash in order to stay out of jail as long as possible. They grift, lie, and pay attorneys to delay the inevitable judgment day when every member of the jury agrees that the Trumps have been operating a family criminal enterprise for multiple generations. With any luck Ms Willis in Fulton, GA will charge the FPOTUS with RICO crimes and prosecute a large number of the family crime syndicate and its current boss and members of Congress who are accomplices in the RICO violations. Jack Smith knows this RICO violation has been ongoing and it is embarrassing to the Attorney General of the US and everyone in the DOJ who has ignored the existence of the Trump crime family and hoped this open sore would stay a quiet NYC crime sene. It is now a world wide embarrassment that is going to be exposed by women who have grown tired of being told to behave and stay in your place. That behavior is over. Many honest public servants know this is a long time coming and the scandal will make the Watergate preview look like a dry run in preparation for the main event. The Trump circus is about for be burned down. It is about time.
Oh we are back to talking about Fake 45 and what might or might not happen to him. He is the king of delays and some speculated that he will ask SCOTUS to take his case. That ain't gonna happen. In spite of 6 justices being Repubs, I feel they are very tired of him. He is, after all, a big whiner and always plays the victim. The fact that his "fans" have deposited $1.5 mil into his "GoFundMe" account really says it all. I say if we can get an indictment from some entity somewhere, then isolate him, bankrupt him. Make him a pauper, a pariah, where no one will go near him.
Trump lived as he did in New York his entire life, a good part of it as a registered Democrat, womanized freely, and hobnobbed with the connected operatives of both parties and industry. That state never touched him then, and I'm not holding my breath trusting they will do anything now, but...surprise me NY. That would be a welcome surprise. Meantime, I'm waiting for the real indictment to come from Georgia.
We’re all waiting for Georgia! What do they need? You’ve got the guy on tape, it was played all over the country. What more do you need, another special grand jury?
Fani Willis is a true American hero.
Angelica, I was sure his “pussy grabbing” debacle would have thrown him out. The guy is so teflon it is unbelievable. Yes, Meredith, Fani Willis is a true American hero, an “ordinary” woman who took on the FORMIDABLE powers-that-be, as Heather has taught us, when REAL history is made. Not hijinx and stupidity or lies or TREASON, for god’s sake.
Ed, don’t forget the stolen classified documents. I am counting on those as the real bombshell to blow up the bloviator. I grew up in NYC, so I know of what you speak.....Georgia is good, too. Even the Stormy Daniels story could upend 45. Always hopeful....
That's true, and that would come from a federal level investigation. Jack Smith could surface and surprise us all with a charge at any time. However, what we have more access to seeing right now is at the local level in the convening of grand juries, which has been ongoing for a while in both Manhattan NY and Fulton County GA.
I really would like to see the GA lead on an indictment because it seems more serious as a threat to democracy by direct election interference. Both parties are too corrupted right now to rid themselves of the abuses of money. We recently saw the DNC officially refusing to even discuss getting rid of dark when introduced as a proposal, and the Republican "Party" wouldn't even have such a proposal originating from its operative ranks. The NY case seems more like another case of money misuse. However, to my knowledge, no Democrat has overtly tried to overturn or overtly pressure an official to deny an official vote count, and that is what the GA indictment could bring that has no precedent.
The NYC case is a distraction that will lower attention to the really serious cases against this scoundrel, this traitor, this bad man. Sure, it is perhaps provable, but is a great fundraiser that will continue if we get to Georgia and the clear and present dangers cases that could put him away in a dark cell where the press can't get a quote of the day from him. HCR is right, but the optics make this case the trivial lead-up to the bigger criminal prosecutions. Will fatigue and enu have taken place for the public by that time?
I'm already fatigued by mentions of Trump, and know that I am not alone.
I saw estimates that the mainstream media provided to Trump nearly two billion dollars in free coverage during the 2016 election, and that is what caused him to get into the White House, convert the Republican Party into a ruling class gangster mob, and cause damage that wlll take decades to undo...if we can in fact restore a government with the political will to undo it.
That the coverage was negative did not matter; it simply gave him name recognition nationally that he had little of outside of the crowd that stayed in Trump towers. Mainstream media is doing it again, putting him front and center, and it is easy to see why. Anger, outrage and fear sells newspapers and raise ratings. WAfter Trump got the boot, their ratings have plummeted. Some independent journalists and newscasters have bigger followings now than the cheese whiz talking heads on the networks.
My concern as well. When you chase ratings, you loose track of the whole story. When you believe in the stark market as the best indicator of the health of your nation you have succumbed to ignorance brought on by convenient numbers. And while you remain fascinated by that alternate reality brought to you at 5 every evening, the opposite of what we hope for gets put into place, one lie, one possibility, on good bumper sticker and your yard ends up looking like a cemetery for lost causes. Much work to do, besides planting tombstones in advance of the next election.
I started by breaking being chained to cable and the alternate reality it carried about six years ago, That former cable fee serves me much better by supporting independent journalism and news syntheses, only one of which is this site. Realize that those recently in the Matt Taibbi hearings who called independent researchers, scholars, and writers "so-called journalists" and pretending not to know what Substack is were gunning for this site just as much as they were for Pulitzer prize winners like Greenwald and independent newscasters like Breaking Points.
Your artical(?) is the clearest I've read about the hush money. Thank you.
Do I hear three prosecutors saying “no, you go first.”?
"NOT IT!"
**jumps behind rosebush while licking lollipop**
Donald Trump paid Michael Cohen to pay off Stormy Daniels, right? He then deducted the payment made to Cohen as a business expense, calling him a consultant. So the tax payers, paid for half, assuming a 50% tax bracket, of Mr Trump’s affair. I don’t care who Trump has an affair with, I just don’t like paying for it.
Oh ya right, Trump doesn’t pay taxes, so the those of us that do pay taxes, picked up the whole tab!!!
I beg to differ, and in differing to underscore Heather's point. The $130,000 wasn't a payment for sex, it was a bribe not to blab about the sex - a bribe in the service of furthering Trump's candidacy by fraud. People of goodwill can differ as to the legality of payment for sex, but I know of no US jurisdiction - not even Las Vegas - in which bribery and fraud aren't crimes.
Correct.
The distinction appears to evade even some of the Richardson readers this morning.
Let's keep our eye on the ball.
Vince in Grand Rapids
We will never know if or how much he paid for their affair-this is just the money to keep her lips zipped about it.
So what? That's his business.
She signed an NDA which her lawyer got her to violate. Remember him? Michael Avenatti?
Sleaziness exists everywhere. It only matters to you when its on the other side. We are all tired of the moralizing. Especially when its hypocritical.
Joe, just like Bill and Hillary, was out there selling influence to the Ukraine & China. His son Hunter was the bag man. Any problem with that? Of course not.
Another flawed and academically lazy post.
What law did he break? Answer none.
The issue was investigated by Federal Elections Committee and NO wrong doing was found.
Then issue was investigated by the US Attorney for the southern district of NY. No wrong doing was found. NO FEDERAL CRIME BUT a local DA, who's boss campaigned openly to GET TRUMP is a pursuing forms record charge that has PASSED its statue of limitations and is a misdemeanor.
They are inventing a new theory of the law THAT has never been prosecuted as a felony.
Let me do your homework for you:
John Edwards was indicted and tried by the Obama administration for campaign funds violation. HE PAID his mistress hush money to keep the affair private during his run for the presidency.
The money was paid out of campaign funds. HE WAS ACQUITTED.
Problem. Trump paid Daniels out of his personal funds. His motivation? Who knows. Keep it private? Avoid public embarrassment? Save his marriage?
Even if he did it to help his campaign that's not a campaign violation.
MORE PROOF
1988 Democrat Gary Hart was caught in an adulterous affair during his run for the presidency. There were allegations about him spending campaign funds on her. NO CHARGES
2004 Democrat Bill Clinton was accused of an affair. Same allegations. NO CHARGES.
We are all tired of the sanctimonious rhetoric about democracy. Its just too phony to believe.
You don't give a damn about democracy. Its just about power.
PROOF?
Presidential records - You were all screaming about democracy and Trump had to be punished.
As soon as Biden was caught with TOP SECRET documents in his garage - WE HAVEN"T ANOTHER
WORD ABOUT THE WHOLE AFFAIR.
Lavrentiy Beria, chief of the Soviet secret police during the Stalin era, famously said "You bring me the man, I'll find you the crime."
Feels a lot like 1933 in Washington again.
Political persecution are the stuff of banana republics
James, your 4th Paragraph is false as a matter of New York law. You need to consult with a lawyer who understands the concept of "tolling" in New York when the Perp is out of State.
You need to do some more homework, lots of homework.
Perhaps it wil be easier to scrutinize the possible Indictment, if any, and like the rest of us to understand the specific admissible evidence that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt & how under New York law the admissible facts allow the charging of 1, 2 or more criminal counts as felonies.
Take fair notice, I have reported your falsehoods to Substack Inc's content moderation department with possible referral to JAMS per your Contract.
Cry to Bari Weiss yet?
How are you feeling now? The more that comes out this worse this all looks,
Turns out Alvin Bragg didn't want to bring the case. He got bullied into by
Democratic insiders.
Turns out that the statue of limitations of the misdemeanor charge expired 5 years and the felony charge 3 years ago.
No one wanted this case. Not the FEC, Not the US Attorney, Not the former DA, Not even Bragg.
When asked about the case Chuck Schumer declined to comment. Even Chuck doesn't this case hung around his neck
I wonder why? Maybe because the star witness is Michael Cohen.
The word on the street is other attorney in the DA's office are very skeptical about the case.
Bragg may bring the case, but he is sitting at home wondering if he is committing career suicide.
The Democrats are more than happy to let him be the patsy.
Yet another Democrat case that turns out to be total bullshit.
How many people have been prosecuted under that theory? That was the point.
And specifically related to a presidential campaign. Its a joke.
A leftist Soros backed DA is going to bend the law to find a way to go after Donald Trump.
That was the raison d'etre of the campaign.
But like a good little leftist you want to censor anyone you disagree with.
The joke is on YOU. Substack was founded because of leftist censorship. You can
cry to Bari Weiss the founder of Substack all you want.
By all means try - its the sign of a loser
You have a legitimate point with the flavor of "everybody does it" for the NY investigation. Now, don't try to tell readers "everybody does it" in the Fulton County Georgia incident. Any writer trying to push that seems the person that doesn't "give a damn about democracy."
Georgia is a joke.
Trump said "find 13,000 votes" He didn't say invent, make-up, concoct, steal, et cetera.
The same thing Al Gore said to his team 2000. Look for lost ballots, mis cast et cetera.
There is no way a reasonable person could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt he was
asking the governor to commit fraud.
BTW - What no one seems to comprehend is that Trump is smart. Every president is smart.
THey know that every word he says will be recorded, dissected. Lets assume he wanted someone to commit fraud, there is no way he going to say it directly.
This is yet another nothing burger.
When does the political persecution end?
They lied about Russian collusion with the help of the FBI
They about COVID and the vaccine & boosters
They censored all sensible and important speech through social media
They lied about Hunter Biden's laptop
They lied about Jan6th - Trump said go forth peacefully and patriotically (they edited this out of his speech)
They lied about classified documents
They are lied about Georgia - His words are clear - find 13,000 votes.
They are lied about Campaign law violation- He is not in violation of Federal law. He was cleared by FEC and US Attorney.
Yet it goes on and on.
Under Stalin the mantra was "find the man and I'll find a crime"
Deja vu