The coordination of the Putin-Fox propaganda becomes more and more overt. I don't call it "Russian" propaganda any more than I'd call what Fox is emitting "American" propaganda. There's no longer any reason to wonder how on earth America could put a Donald Trump in the White House - America didn't.
The coordination of the Putin-Fox propaganda becomes more and more overt. I don't call it "Russian" propaganda any more than I'd call what Fox is emitting "American" propaganda. There's no longer any reason to wonder how on earth America could put a Donald Trump in the White House - America didn't.
Maybe "America didn't," Anne-Louise, but sadly, the people of the US fell for it! And many of them are still in that camp, including many influential traitors like the Thomases and far too many members of Congress! It is a sham.
Many US citizens are far too gullible, far too uneducated to separate truth from fiction. Many are lacking a good education that allows them to think critically and to assess what they are being fed. That we have justices of SCOTUS or their spouses in that camp is deplorable. That a TV personality is allowed such a platform is an abomination!
I, too, listened to President Biden's press conference with pride and gratitude! No wonder Charles Michel of Belgium -- if not all US citizens --greeted him so warmly today. A prophet is never fully recognized in his/her/their land.
Propaganda works, even on some educated and smart people I know. They do some mental gymnastics, usually having to do with pie (I ain’t sharing with those lazy takers). As HST said “Socialism is the epithet they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.” Make that 70 and still the same old rerun.
Yes, we do tend to think of the trump base as knuckle dragging, mouth breathers who haven't seen a bathtub in decades, but the truth is there is a large swath of that base that in other instances are smart, educated people that fell down the rabbit hole and can't find their way out.
And if you read Gianni Thomas’s text messages, they think the same of us, that many of us are “educated people that fell down a rabbit hole and can’t find their way out”. I am most intrigued by the crafting of propaganda to keep us so encamped. This is not a new phenomenon. It just has been weaponized on a grander scale because the new tools (FB, Twitter, cable news, etc.) allow for that to happen. We are experiencing psychological pollution, but our laws are not built to identify it, stop it, nor clean it up. The ecology of our minds,and our “data” have become commodities to be owned, retooled and deployed for gain. However that “gain” is not a better, more just society.
Great stuff, Michele. You know Ginny Thomas had been brain-sucked when she texted Meadows, “Help This Great President..." I hope Democrats will act republican and demand that her husband step down from the court.
She is an insurrectionist and should be in jail. As for him, he should not be on any court and yes, he used his position to try to cover up his wife's deed. Both of them are despicable.
“The attacks from Republicans would continue, Booker said. “But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that?” Booker’s voice cracked with emotion. “Because you’re here. And I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.”
Only another black person who has endured the "White-Privileged-Gauntlet" and then, finally one long-awaited day, to succeed through the white social status of political hell into an earned seat in the Senate of the United States of America...
As recounted for us by an equally scared "White-Privileged-Gauntlet" journalist so that we may realize the blessedness of the impossible ascension of the first black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States of America since its inception on September 24, 1789.
TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE YEARS of enduring the insult, fear, humiliation, degradation, the oh so very unnecessary pain and the struggle to be recognized as the blessed equality of love given to everyone of us by our FATHER in Heaven!
There remain enough of goodness to save America's greatness of freedom's love of neighbor, Eh!?
Michele, I'm sure you are well meaning and obviously kind-tending, but I think you're under-counting the strong attraction of the sloth-loving, non-opioid, self-administered prefrontal lobotomy. Get yours now. A do-it-yourself model is available on Amazon, no technical preparation or night-flight qualification needed, and can be administered in the privacy and comfort of a room-of-your-own, a bomb-shelter, anywhere. Don't ask me if I'm stealing from my own stash.
This has been the most confounding part of all. DeSantis, Pompeo, both highly educated. Pompeo is a religious zealot but DeSantis has not revealed that side except for his policies.
Look at Hawley, Cruz and (John) Kennedy, all on the Judiciary Comm. Educated at the best schools but you sure wouldn’t know it from watching them at the KBJ hearings.
There's a long list. A very long list. Legions which are not househild names. I've tried to put myself in their shoes to understand. My brain can't get there. Some of these people are family. Some were once dear friends.
How can a religious person be well educated? I can go with spiritually developed or aware, but for me well educated people can go beyond performing empty rituals just for show.
As a pastor and liturgical scholar, I am sure you are correct that some people engage in "empty rituals" but I don't know any of those people. Perhaps you mean folks whose hypocrisy and shamelessness compel them to hold up a Bible in front of a church after getting the road cleared of people who love this nation (and who even love Christ). Now that's an empty ritual!
In my hometown, it was partly a society thing. Most wealthy people went to the Episcopal Church. I will never forget the time I was at the midnight Christmas Eve service with a friend, and me with one of her mother's hats on when a woman came in with no hat. Then in a sneering tone my friend observed, "low church." Yikes.
I think that is a judgment obtained with incomplete information. Why? Because the ultimate understanding of anyone is what their lives stood for and nothing else. Please note that I am not saying that all “religious” are holy — but that a fig tree is judged by their fruit, not the biological information printed on a brass plant label stuck in the ground beside them. Labels can be misleading. Actions are more directly observed and weighed.
Yes, they are and they really have to dismiss facts to achieve this. The fact is that they don't care because in the rabbit hole is their money, their mansion, their bridge playing or golfing buddies, their swanky soirees, their gated communities keeping all the peons out. Mostly they want to keep making money and using it to protect themselves from any oversight or having to pay their fair share. The peons are being played and the elite are happy for them to do the dirty work.
When society experiences chaos, there are opportunities for shifts in status and there are always alert status seekers waiting for a chance to advance.
Are they lost, fallen down a rabbit hole, or attracted to the authoritarian strong man? ANYTHING that insinuates Trumpers are "victims" ...I just cannot buy it.
My experience with Trumpers close to me is that they are not victims but they SEE themselves as victims. And this is perhaps where the "I alone can fix this" (I alone can SAVE you) comes in. Every perceived slight from birth (and it was there from toddler hood) is gas for this engine. And everyone and everything must serve it. It is I, Me, Mine, My Family versus I, Us, Community, Humanity. Insular versus expansive. It Is not about information available but actually what we choose to pay attention to. It seems to be inherent somehow in human society (white, Western, Christian cut off from nature?) which seems to predispose us to conflict. Those who will share and those who will not. I live in Bali where this "I, me, mine, you must serve me" is rare, usually outgrown in early childhood.
We all have access to the same info. What is it that inclines people to follow a man like Trump? There is no dissembling with him. He unabashedly and without an ounce of shame or compassion greedily grabs (pussy) whatever he can get his hands on. He is an authoritarian with admiration for the worst tyrants our era has to offer. Those who follow him with adulation have a different compass than you and I ...I would not call it a "moral compass." I don't know what it is. A craving for an authoritarian strong man?
It depends on when and where they were educated. If you are well-educated, but have no knowledge of/insight into critical thinking, your education is incomplete.
The right-wing media provides an immersive fictional Virtual Reality lens for a large swath of Americans. Currently, I pray that certain people "experience consequences" or "leave the planet." Clearly, I should add to my prayers/meditations/invocations that people's right-wing VR headsets crack and break apart so they can be free to be back in touch with reality. For me, it helps to visualize change.
Your comment prompts me to say that I wish Judge Brown Jackson could have used the opportunity to describe to the committee and the public what the goals of a progressive education are when Cruz held up the display of books. Private schools certainly do choose books that are provocative and controversial to stimulate critical thinking. Public schools, by and large, have their hands tied and spoon feed selected information to students. But alas, she couldn't jump into that fray. But this is why we have an electorate that is gullible, as you say, and unable to separate truth from fiction.
Octavia Butler also tapped into the future (which is now) in her books The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents. These people somehow envisioned where we were going with our modern society. I do believe in change, which helps me from being totally overwhelmed-but it is frightening to see these powerful forces loose in the world that are not for good.
Rowshan, I mostly agree and would add that Trump’s brand of fascism that promotes the idea that the world is broken and “I alone can fix it” is intended to appeal to those who feel aggrieved. I imagine a similar dynamic could exist between Putin and his supporters.
I agree. The folks I know who are devout Trumpers are bitter and aggrieved, not gullible. They are extremely well educated people who watch Faux News because they want to validate their hate and grievances. Trump satisfies something very deep in them, a worldview that cannot be changed. I have tried.
Trump won in 2016 because millions of Americans were tired of politics as usual and they got a monster. Too few Republicans have had the sense of character to admit they were terribly wrong.
My experience with the well educated devout privileged Trumpers who have children and grandchildren is that they voted for Trump in 2016 because they despised Hilary. I asked what Hillary had done that made them hate her so much. They could not tell me. I am sure it was Gingrich and Faux News. And they hate us libs with a passion. I went fishing around before the 2020 election to see if maybe 4 years later with all the revelations about the orange Jabba, they, as responsible intelligent people would vote for Biden. Nope! Not a chance. I live overseas but spent time with them because my mom died. If I brought up anything slightly liberal, humanitarian I felt a seething undercurrent of violence. Some of them are truly scary people. Decent, good people seemingly on the surface. Makes me think of the Nazis who were loving father's but sent people to the gas chamber.
Humanitarian-ism? Lord, help us! That means doing the kind of thing the Good Samaritan did, which Jesus recommended to his followers. He also said that if you have two coats, give one of them to the man who has no coat. Sounds like godless Communism, what was He thinking? Right-thinking Christians prefer the Old Testament “an eye for an eye,” and Revelations with its vision of hell for other people but not for them.
The thing is, those folks LIKE tfg...to them he is not a monster; he is trying to steer the U.S. back to the white, straight, Christian, male-dominated, misogynistic, racist that they 'remember' and yearn for...those "good old days". These sad, deluded folks cling to a very narrow, limited view because of their fear of change and their fear of a world they cannot control nor understand...and they do not want to understand it, apparently.
Fear of death -- whether literal or figurative, in their case fear of losing their way of life -- is a big part of their psychology. Terror management theory, which posits that our unconscious fear of death drives our behavior, largely in selfish and antisocial ways. see https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/terror-management-theory
I agree! I know many people that have Faux News on 24 hours a day! Some are educated some not. They just believe what they see on social media and what their friends claim. "They are coming for our guns, they are going to increase our taxes, they are making us wear masks and take shots that have chips embedded within them, they are baby killers." All of these are soundbites that determine they vote in my area for the good old boys in the Republican Party!
I can't help but feel that having any tv show on 24 hours/day, especially something as abrasive as Fox (sorta) News, is a sign of a severe disorder. Don't they get tired of the noise? What are they having to drown out?
My ex-bff had it on 24-7 literally. I spent a lot of time there in late 90‘s, it was shocking in it’s propaganda. Any idiot could have seen it. They lapped it up. Smart, educated, and kind. Lost all respect.
Wendy, I applaud you for trying. I have found, generally speaking, that the more one has invested in certain beliefs about the world, the more likely one is to resist restructuring
I've been entertaining a similar sense of being now on a side in search of validation for the positions and beliefs I have come to, some of which I worked hard and intellectually honest in their creation. I could no way imagine myself now as anything but progressive, advocate for diversity, and proponent of a liberal quest for democracy. I think, in all honesty, that I have crossed a line where more of my inquiries and subscriptions are in pursuit of my beliefs, validation, and less in data gathering that would (can?) challenge my certainty least of all open a crack where light might enter. I fear I have become the very certain who with smugness I claim Fox breathing American to be. When (or how) do we test ourselves for discernment as opposed to an achieved rigormortous?
Fred--you raise a good point. We all have enough confirmation bias without continually feeding it. I don't watch TV news or analysis, but I do read political, social, and economic articles that are more conservative than my inclinations and try to give them fair hearing. But it strikes me that it's conversations with friends or family members who aren't RWNJs but are definitely more traditional or "realist" than I am that most give me pause and (sometimes) lead to productive self-questioning and (occasionally) adjustments.
The trumpers present with diverse motivations. Many are stupid (=euphemisms such as "low information voters"), many are smart people who understand marketing, many just want to be entertained....
The dynamic is almost exactly the same! The parallels between Putin's consolidation if power and the machinations of Trump and his cohort are right out of the authoritarian playbook!
My interpretation of Trump's assertion that "I alone can fix it" ("it" being "the system") was in the sense that "the fix is in". That's what he meant.
Rowshan, I would hasten to add that a lot of our citizenry are just plain LAZY. By that, I mean "civically" lazy. They simply do not want to be bothered to expend an ounce of energy to inform themselves by looking at all the many other sources of information that are available in our society. They want others, someONE, even an autocratic ruler, to make their decisions for them. They're too busy and self-centered in their own little bubbles to lift a mental "finger" to expand their horizons. Also, many of them are relatively well off financially, not million- or billionaires necessarily, but they have their respective "piles" of money and possessions and, in their view, they do not want ANYONE, especially the government, to take any of it and dole it out to all "those black and brown people". It was true right after the Civil War, and it's true today. So, they stick to their guns-literally--and refuse to think any other way. They just don't care. I'm surrounded by it here. These people, driving their super-huge, big-ass, gas-guzzling, $100,000 pick-up trucks (you would not believe how many of them there are around here!), have a fair amount of education and disposable income. But, they just don't seem to care to do any mental, intellectual "heavy-lifting". They're content to blithely continue living their little lives, keep making their decent salaries, and let others do their thinking for them. People like that have been lulled into believing ANYTHING. Welcome to America.
I see plenty of well off, educated people in my City/neighborhood who vote Democrat but otherwise could care less about the threats to voting rights, the rise of racism nor the threat of fascism in this Country. They want to helicopter parent (man that is a whole book!) go to the latest in-season sports event and plan their vacations. They drive very aggressively and are intent upon ignoring anything beyond their smart phones and their encapsulated lives.
I never have any kind of in depth conversations anymore. Thank God for Dr. Richardson and you folks. Otherwise I might have ended up wandering the streets looking for signs of intelligent political discourse.
Yes. To everything you write, yes. So many Americans are not only uneducated, but easily sucked in to any whites-first males-first groupthink. Americans are dramatically and emphatically vulnerable to racism and sexism. Just look at the latest SC nomination, and at the vilification of Hillary, and so on. That’s also why putin and the R’s have such an affinity for each other.
Think of the groups the R's have openly offended in just 2022. Remember women are half the population. Also recall that almost 80% of the population agrees with democratic ideals. Considering all of this it would seem to follow that no republican could win any election in the United States. Mind boggling.
Except the GOP are reaping the benefits of decades of a “coup within”. They got what they wanted with a racist, undemocratic SCOTUS: “On Wednesday, in an unsigned opinion on the “shadow docket,” the court granted emergency relief to Republicans in Wisconsin, who objected to a new map of legislative districts the state Supreme Court had decided on.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/23/supreme-court-wisconsin-gerrymandering-ruling/
didn't the SC rule prior to the civil war in this fashion and also against the New Deal in the 1930s. what happened to the movement to change the composition of the court to hinder bias in either direction? As it stands they are not sticking to being the judicial branch and have moved into being activist judges. of course this is what the Conservative movement has wanted since the 1960s with all those pesky civil and human rights gains and has now achieved. I pity women and minorities for the next decade as the ruling philosophy of the court is free reign for the monied and powerful and state control for women and minorities.
You would think.... Except that the Republican sappers and miners in several R-dominated state legislatures are busily making laws to restrict and/or suppress voting (overtly targeting dem districts). They have no shame whatsoever; the R's know they cannot win in a free and fair election--so they are determined to make the midterms less free and less fair and, in the meantime, shout and wave their arms about Dem efforts to "steal" the election just to direct attention away from their own perfidy.
Well said, Rowshan. I have been a student of Buddhism for many years. One concept that I've learned (but not yet mastered) is that ignorance is pervasive in the human species. It is one reason Buddhists sit as silent observers of our minds to develop deep understanding. Our American behavior is not a matter of intelligence, but of our collective tendency to be aggressive and act rashly. The white American paradigm was enhanced by stories of revolutionaries, frontiersmen, slave owners and cowboys. We still act on these stereotypes. We celebrate the "rugged" individual and ignore cooperation. We praise financial superiority and blame the poor for their plight, on and on...We need an entirely new soul. We need to educate our children to be kind, compassionate and insightful.
For a very different POV re the US, go to <consortiumnews.com> I have often/usually found it very puzzling, but less so now that I am becoming more aware of US duplicity in the conduct of foreign relations, although I've never thought of us as perfect. I'm 95 years old, and paying attention is what I do every day; even so it's impossible to read/know 'everything.'
From the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, this: Be strong! Be strong! And we will strengthen each other. L&B&L
Yes, Ida…I am also trying to pay attention to the best sources, keeping up as best I can. This extraordinary community of people who add their wisdom and insight and wit to the Comments Section are a lifeline for me! Alabama is a lonely place for an 84 year old Lifelong Democrat!
In my old age, Margaret, I've become more radical and think of myself as a democratic socialist - no caps. Capitalism is no longer serving us - the people - well, if it ever did. Even during the New England winter I know that I'm happier here in a more liberal environment - although one beloved friend is very conservative. I did realize yesterday that I am a Conservative in the sense that I want to conserve the democratic institutions of our country. And we can strengthen each other. L&B&L
That’s the core of Republican disconnect. Really My simmer hits a boil when they dust their halos and claim exclusivity as conservatives. I know I know that they have told that lie so many times it has become their mantra. Any mealy mouthed Republican who spits that out has never seen my shop. On every one of their tombstones should be inscribed, Here lies a republican.
Hi Ida, people I don’t like very much call me a snowflake, but winter is good. My age is towards the winter as well. Like you most all of us are conservative. I almost blush at the buckets of nuts and bolts I have squirreled away because I can’t afford the hard ware store anymore. You and Margaret made me smile.
I'm going to add this website to my sources, thank you. From MediaBiasFactCheck: "Overall, we rate Consortium News Left-Center Biased based on story selection and advocacy that mildly favors the left. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting due to a lack of transparency despite a clean fact check record."
I believe that vulnerability to lies is emotional and will not be ensured with just knowledge alone. Resilence of the human mind to misinformation starts very early in life and requires attunement, authenticity, & connection from the primary caretakers. It’s a societal problem. It truly does take a community to raise children.
It is absolutely a societal problem, and I think, a mental health problem. Family values/cultures are imprinted onto children and are very hard to erase/change, many being subliminal. And abuse, neglect, criticism, absence of love and affection all affect the brain and thought patterns. Some children are more "resilient" than others. A child's early life and family culture can create problematic thinking. along with depression, anger, hatred, entitlement, insecurity, low self esteem, etc. Education is not always going to supersede this.
Sometimes I plan to write a comment mid morning and then I read yours and it’s pretty much all that I wanted to say. Our thinking is linked in the Light, Rowshan.
I am feeling a wave of prospect that many Americans are coming back to understanding how important that we unite with the common good of democracy. It has nothing to do with political malfeasance. That has created the discord. It has to do with the accord of “We the People….and that means all of us.” That accord springs forth community and compassion and that is in the heart of common good. I see it more and more in the eyes of many people. They don’t want to move forward into the past. Maybe they thought that, but living lies takes a tremendous toll. They want to move forward as decent people living decent lives. The Universe is, as always, perfect timing and room for all to be in Light, not darkness.
T***p is to hold a big rally tomorrow in Commerce, GA near us in Jackson county (SHOUT OUT TO GUS!! He's coming for ya...somebody tell him!), which should be interesting. I believe there are 8 candidates in races here that he has endorsed and they will all probably be on the dais with him--though most likely they won't get much of a chance to say anything as he'll blather on about the same old same old. His candidate for Governor, David Perdue, is trailing pretty badly in the polls, so it might be a matter of time before Trump drops him...he's only for winners, y'know.
Anyone still clinging to a hold above feeble minded would likely not want his endorsement. If he even breathed on me I would get myself to the nearest river and swim upstream until that skin peeled off.
Seems they’ve locked blatant anti-democratic racists onto SCOTUS though. That can’t be fixed with an election. (I posted a link to Wed. Shadow docket ruling on this thread)
Yes, but even should Trump's power continue to wane, Trumpism remains strong, and I fear that those people's lies, hypocrisy, malevolence and conspiracy theories will be sticking around, since it is difficult to un-brainwash people.
Too intelligent ever to be OK about that. But she's very strong, and knows herself. I like her story of the first time she spoke to Bill. He was staring at her in the library. She went up to him and said (something like) "If you're going to stare at me, you'd better know my name. I'm Hillary Rodham."
Except an angry loser who is also a narcissistic bastard. He will stop at nothing to destroy anything and everything that rejects him, especially America
And , although I believe in the 1st amendment, someone needs to take Tucker (insert traitors here - MTG, meadows, Boebert, Guiliani etc ad nauseum) aside and tell them forcefully to STFU.
I just watched some videos of the guards, clearly and loudly, admonishing the disrespectful crowds at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mind their manners. That they held guns with bayonets and sometimes cocked their guns when people messed with the boundaries around the tomb. There are clearly some narcissistic, disrespectful Americans that need boundaries spelled out strongly (like our own elected, disrespectful republican reps in our government).
"The ceremony is an impressive and solemn event. As this video clearly shows, the soldiers on duty here are very serious about what they do. Bearing in mind the significance of the tomb and their role as its guard, these individuals are extremely respectful and highly disciplined in their duties.
Understandably, of course, they also expect the same level of respect and maturity from members of the public who come to visit the Tomb. If people try to cross the barriers, are too disruptive and noisy, or are otherwise disrespectful, the guard on patrol will do something about it!"
Is it not time for the American people to demand the same dignity and respect from all elected officials and be in their job descriptions? We are witnessing belligerent people inflict abuse and taunt an incredible American like Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has been nominated to be one of the highest judges in our land. No one deserves that kind of treatment, publicly or privately, and it should have been denounced and stopped immediately. Abusive behavior of that kind should call for dismissal of the person inflicting intentional abuse.
Checks and balances must be implemented in any democracy otherwise, some humans return to below the belt, uncivilized behaviors as represented by the current leaders of the Party of Sedition. Do you not think that in order for democracy to function, Truth and Justice must be protected...For All The People?
You are spot on. Assholes like Cruz, Lee, and Hawley should have been escorted out of the room. Thank God for quick reporters and photogs who caught Cancun Cruz checking twitter immediately after his tirade. Those morons did it just for social media and they should have been shut down and shut up. But since the tRUMP (and Hitlerian) method is to say outrageous things you know aren't true over and over until they become routine, we're stuck until someone like Liz Cheney has balls enough to confront these lowlife bastards. Ketanji couldn't go too far as she wants the job but I was glad to see she did stand up and corrected them several times. What a bunch of losers.
C. Thomas should have recused himself from anything tRUMP related after his dimwitted wife started a 3-way with her, Meadows and God. Dis-gusting and illegal. I think these guys need a little truth serum added to their morning coffee.
Could not agree more, so tired of bullies taking the stage EVERYWHERE. Rocks, where is your slime. Must apologize to slime after watching the PBS show The Secret Mind of Slime. Slime is way ahead of MAGAts in intelligence and “humanity”
I have told this story on this forum before, but I will repeat it here. Back in summer of 2016, Yahoo would allow comments to their stories. I often posted a non-partisan post, I would say something along the line of know who/what you are voting for! With absolutely no mention of candidate nor of party, I would say to not listen to media, social media, friends, neighbors, your boss or pastor--go to the candidates OFFICIAL website and read what they stand for! No candidate is 100% aligned with your personal beliefs, so decide what issues matter the most to you, find which candidate best supports your views, and vote accordingly.
You would not believe the nasty, nasty replies and comments made about me personally! (and they didn't know me, I posted under the name "anonymous" which in itself got some people's Depends in knots and caused another slew of speculative comments! LOL) And I am being totally honest here, 100% of those rapid replies came from Right wing or GOP leaning persons.
I remember you posting that, and reflecting that that mirrored the experience I was getting as I engaged politically with my friends who were on a different plane in the political arena than I was. (I can't even say "side" any more, they are so far out of balance.)
Ally, I lost my long time "bff" (relationship of several decades) over tfg. She was a very wealthy person (inherited an 8 figure estate perhaps a year or so before the rise of tfg) yet lived in a solidly middle class area. It's way too long of a story for this forum. Anyhow, the rather sudden wealth combined with falling down the FOX news hole either changed her or revealed a side I hadn't seen. Racism and white supremacy came out and it destroyed the relationship. I came to see that there was a toxicity to the relationship for quite awhile before all of this which I didn't see or perhaps chose not to see. What has been shocking to me is the realization that I don't miss her at all! Perhaps because the gap has been filled by a number of other friends who do not demand that intense time commitment and attention she commanded. (ie, no joke--on a one week cruise she took 6000 photos, I do not exaggerate, and made me sit through hours of viewing them all when she returned. Which I felt compelled to do as she returned with myriad gifts--all unwanted--for me and my family and I was reared to be polite.)
I relate this, in a way, to the loonies on the Right, perhaps they will get woke and shake their heads.
Most of my "losses" in this arena have been former comrades in arms with either my own agency, or other local agencies. Well, and my father-in-law who fell down the faux noise hole and had become a bitter, angry man; he is now in some flavor of dementia (vascular? sundowners? other?) and you can no longer have any sort of conversation with him.
I always think of you, Ally, when I see a story that, to my mind, would surely change the minds of your former comrades, and then realize it won't. Can't say about your dad-in-law. I suppose at this point it's fruitless to try.
To say that Americans were duped is to let them off the hook. Many Americans believe lies, but they do so to justify their racism, which is the foundation for all Republican successes at the ballot box since 1968. Americans know which party wiil do everything it can to preserve the advantages of white Americans over all others, and the voters who favor preservation of those advantages vote for Republicans. Some of them excuse themselves through willful ignorance. Most don’t think they need an excuse.
Rupert pretty much did. One wonders when Rupert turned on America. Reagan sure thought he was on board with his script, but the worm turned, or did he???
I don't believe that Dutch Reagan was a very smart man...indeed I think he was just about as credulous a man as has ever managed to get himself elected on his charisma and personal vision alone.
As I recall, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by, um, 3 million votes... so how com tfg sat in the white house for 4 years? (I know - the electoral college)
Anne, unfortunately your words ring true. The news is so bizarre it seems like a Star Wars type movie plot, impossible to even imagine, let alone our not-so United States in this role that becomes more visible by the day.
Anne-Louise, thanks. But, if you permit one redaction, "Fox is emitting "Mother Tucker American" propaganda. If you shake it, you'll soon find it's really all gas. The Tucker base doesn't need GPS to show who's brain-dead, just look down from the Moon station where all the TV sets light up when The Man comes on to sly-smirk and smiffoodle. It's hot.
The coordination of the Putin-Fox propaganda becomes more and more overt. I don't call it "Russian" propaganda any more than I'd call what Fox is emitting "American" propaganda. There's no longer any reason to wonder how on earth America could put a Donald Trump in the White House - America didn't.
Maybe "America didn't," Anne-Louise, but sadly, the people of the US fell for it! And many of them are still in that camp, including many influential traitors like the Thomases and far too many members of Congress! It is a sham.
Many US citizens are far too gullible, far too uneducated to separate truth from fiction. Many are lacking a good education that allows them to think critically and to assess what they are being fed. That we have justices of SCOTUS or their spouses in that camp is deplorable. That a TV personality is allowed such a platform is an abomination!
I, too, listened to President Biden's press conference with pride and gratitude! No wonder Charles Michel of Belgium -- if not all US citizens --greeted him so warmly today. A prophet is never fully recognized in his/her/their land.
Propaganda works, even on some educated and smart people I know. They do some mental gymnastics, usually having to do with pie (I ain’t sharing with those lazy takers). As HST said “Socialism is the epithet they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.” Make that 70 and still the same old rerun.
Yes, we do tend to think of the trump base as knuckle dragging, mouth breathers who haven't seen a bathtub in decades, but the truth is there is a large swath of that base that in other instances are smart, educated people that fell down the rabbit hole and can't find their way out.
And if you read Gianni Thomas’s text messages, they think the same of us, that many of us are “educated people that fell down a rabbit hole and can’t find their way out”. I am most intrigued by the crafting of propaganda to keep us so encamped. This is not a new phenomenon. It just has been weaponized on a grander scale because the new tools (FB, Twitter, cable news, etc.) allow for that to happen. We are experiencing psychological pollution, but our laws are not built to identify it, stop it, nor clean it up. The ecology of our minds,and our “data” have become commodities to be owned, retooled and deployed for gain. However that “gain” is not a better, more just society.
Great stuff, Michele. You know Ginny Thomas had been brain-sucked when she texted Meadows, “Help This Great President..." I hope Democrats will act republican and demand that her husband step down from the court.
She is an insurrectionist and should be in jail. As for him, he should not be on any court and yes, he used his position to try to cover up his wife's deed. Both of them are despicable.
It BOGGLES my MIND that anyone could perceive tfg as a "great president"!
Psychological pollution. Great phrase and exactly correct.
Michele Lyons-Russell....
Au contraire mon frère:
“The attacks from Republicans would continue, Booker said. “But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that?” Booker’s voice cracked with emotion. “Because you’re here. And I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.”
Only another black person who has endured the "White-Privileged-Gauntlet" and then, finally one long-awaited day, to succeed through the white social status of political hell into an earned seat in the Senate of the United States of America...
As recounted for us by an equally scared "White-Privileged-Gauntlet" journalist so that we may realize the blessedness of the impossible ascension of the first black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States of America since its inception on September 24, 1789.
TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE YEARS of enduring the insult, fear, humiliation, degradation, the oh so very unnecessary pain and the struggle to be recognized as the blessed equality of love given to everyone of us by our FATHER in Heaven!
There remain enough of goodness to save America's greatness of freedom's love of neighbor, Eh!?
See link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/24/cory-booker-doesnt-let-gop-ugliness-tar-ketanji-brown-jacksons-historic-moment/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_opinions&utm_campaign=wp_opinions
👍🏼
Michele, I'm sure you are well meaning and obviously kind-tending, but I think you're under-counting the strong attraction of the sloth-loving, non-opioid, self-administered prefrontal lobotomy. Get yours now. A do-it-yourself model is available on Amazon, no technical preparation or night-flight qualification needed, and can be administered in the privacy and comfort of a room-of-your-own, a bomb-shelter, anywhere. Don't ask me if I'm stealing from my own stash.
This has been the most confounding part of all. DeSantis, Pompeo, both highly educated. Pompeo is a religious zealot but DeSantis has not revealed that side except for his policies.
Look at Hawley, Cruz and (John) Kennedy, all on the Judiciary Comm. Educated at the best schools but you sure wouldn’t know it from watching them at the KBJ hearings.
Their MO is PERSONAL GAIN AT ALL COSTS.
There's a long list. A very long list. Legions which are not househild names. I've tried to put myself in their shoes to understand. My brain can't get there. Some of these people are family. Some were once dear friends.
Just being on a campus doesn't mean they attended classes or learned anything.
I would pay to hear Hawley or Cruz, under truth serum, tell what motivates.
It is a very simple truth...FOLLOW THE MONEY, EH!?
How can a religious person be well educated? I can go with spiritually developed or aware, but for me well educated people can go beyond performing empty rituals just for show.
As a pastor and liturgical scholar, I am sure you are correct that some people engage in "empty rituals" but I don't know any of those people. Perhaps you mean folks whose hypocrisy and shamelessness compel them to hold up a Bible in front of a church after getting the road cleared of people who love this nation (and who even love Christ). Now that's an empty ritual!
In my hometown, it was partly a society thing. Most wealthy people went to the Episcopal Church. I will never forget the time I was at the midnight Christmas Eve service with a friend, and me with one of her mother's hats on when a woman came in with no hat. Then in a sneering tone my friend observed, "low church." Yikes.
I think that is a judgment obtained with incomplete information. Why? Because the ultimate understanding of anyone is what their lives stood for and nothing else. Please note that I am not saying that all “religious” are holy — but that a fig tree is judged by their fruit, not the biological information printed on a brass plant label stuck in the ground beside them. Labels can be misleading. Actions are more directly observed and weighed.
They lust for more and more power. And they're taking the easiest path to it.
Ha! Ha! My grandmother described that type of person as someone who has to cut the giant off at the knees so “he” can look him in the eye.
Yes, they are and they really have to dismiss facts to achieve this. The fact is that they don't care because in the rabbit hole is their money, their mansion, their bridge playing or golfing buddies, their swanky soirees, their gated communities keeping all the peons out. Mostly they want to keep making money and using it to protect themselves from any oversight or having to pay their fair share. The peons are being played and the elite are happy for them to do the dirty work.
Worth a quick moment.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cbh323Ug6xO/?utm_medium=copy_link
Thanks. I did enjoy this. However, I blame Joe in part for the Clarence Thomas. A bad mark on his record.
Thank you Ted. Absolutely worth it!
Or don't want to find their way out. Some people enjoy this chaos.
Those that enjoy the distress they cause others, and the chaos they themselves create are not leaders, they are demagogues.
When society experiences chaos, there are opportunities for shifts in status and there are always alert status seekers waiting for a chance to advance.
One may be educated, but not very smart. If you employ rote learning, you memorize, but don't necessarily analyze.
Are they lost, fallen down a rabbit hole, or attracted to the authoritarian strong man? ANYTHING that insinuates Trumpers are "victims" ...I just cannot buy it.
My experience with Trumpers close to me is that they are not victims but they SEE themselves as victims. And this is perhaps where the "I alone can fix this" (I alone can SAVE you) comes in. Every perceived slight from birth (and it was there from toddler hood) is gas for this engine. And everyone and everything must serve it. It is I, Me, Mine, My Family versus I, Us, Community, Humanity. Insular versus expansive. It Is not about information available but actually what we choose to pay attention to. It seems to be inherent somehow in human society (white, Western, Christian cut off from nature?) which seems to predispose us to conflict. Those who will share and those who will not. I live in Bali where this "I, me, mine, you must serve me" is rare, usually outgrown in early childhood.
Yes. Being a self righteous victim. Must be so satisfying
Misled, manipulated. They lost their moral compass following false leaders. This what demagoguery, greed, craving, propaganda can do to people.
We all have access to the same info. What is it that inclines people to follow a man like Trump? There is no dissembling with him. He unabashedly and without an ounce of shame or compassion greedily grabs (pussy) whatever he can get his hands on. He is an authoritarian with admiration for the worst tyrants our era has to offer. Those who follow him with adulation have a different compass than you and I ...I would not call it a "moral compass." I don't know what it is. A craving for an authoritarian strong man?
Shakespeare nailed it in Richard lll.
Cuz demagoguery works.
You hit the nail on it’s head. So many people believe giving to others short changes them.
It depends on when and where they were educated. If you are well-educated, but have no knowledge of/insight into critical thinking, your education is incomplete.
Socialism is the epithet the haves have hurled since the 1870’s.
The right-wing media provides an immersive fictional Virtual Reality lens for a large swath of Americans. Currently, I pray that certain people "experience consequences" or "leave the planet." Clearly, I should add to my prayers/meditations/invocations that people's right-wing VR headsets crack and break apart so they can be free to be back in touch with reality. For me, it helps to visualize change.
Make it closer to every social safety net advance in the past 80 years.
Your comment prompts me to say that I wish Judge Brown Jackson could have used the opportunity to describe to the committee and the public what the goals of a progressive education are when Cruz held up the display of books. Private schools certainly do choose books that are provocative and controversial to stimulate critical thinking. Public schools, by and large, have their hands tied and spoon feed selected information to students. But alas, she couldn't jump into that fray. But this is why we have an electorate that is gullible, as you say, and unable to separate truth from fiction.
I am currently reading 1984! Hummm! Get rid of history!
I just read Fahrenheit 451, another oldie, but still very relevant.
Both terrifyingly relevant to today. Along with "The Handmaid's Tale".
Octavia Butler also tapped into the future (which is now) in her books The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Talents. These people somehow envisioned where we were going with our modern society. I do believe in change, which helps me from being totally overwhelmed-but it is frightening to see these powerful forces loose in the world that are not for good.
I have read "The Handmaid's Tale".
Charles Michel's greeting struck me as a significant
as well. He acknowledged the leader and he acknowledged the compassionate man that is Joe Biden.
Your second paragraph is a rightful indictment of our many institutional and personal failures.
Rowshan, I mostly agree and would add that Trump’s brand of fascism that promotes the idea that the world is broken and “I alone can fix it” is intended to appeal to those who feel aggrieved. I imagine a similar dynamic could exist between Putin and his supporters.
I agree. The folks I know who are devout Trumpers are bitter and aggrieved, not gullible. They are extremely well educated people who watch Faux News because they want to validate their hate and grievances. Trump satisfies something very deep in them, a worldview that cannot be changed. I have tried.
Trump won in 2016 because millions of Americans were tired of politics as usual and they got a monster. Too few Republicans have had the sense of character to admit they were terribly wrong.
My experience with the well educated devout privileged Trumpers who have children and grandchildren is that they voted for Trump in 2016 because they despised Hilary. I asked what Hillary had done that made them hate her so much. They could not tell me. I am sure it was Gingrich and Faux News. And they hate us libs with a passion. I went fishing around before the 2020 election to see if maybe 4 years later with all the revelations about the orange Jabba, they, as responsible intelligent people would vote for Biden. Nope! Not a chance. I live overseas but spent time with them because my mom died. If I brought up anything slightly liberal, humanitarian I felt a seething undercurrent of violence. Some of them are truly scary people. Decent, good people seemingly on the surface. Makes me think of the Nazis who were loving father's but sent people to the gas chamber.
Humanitarian-ism? Lord, help us! That means doing the kind of thing the Good Samaritan did, which Jesus recommended to his followers. He also said that if you have two coats, give one of them to the man who has no coat. Sounds like godless Communism, what was He thinking? Right-thinking Christians prefer the Old Testament “an eye for an eye,” and Revelations with its vision of hell for other people but not for them.
That’s exactly who they are. I know them well.
I hear bells...
❤️
The thing is, those folks LIKE tfg...to them he is not a monster; he is trying to steer the U.S. back to the white, straight, Christian, male-dominated, misogynistic, racist that they 'remember' and yearn for...those "good old days". These sad, deluded folks cling to a very narrow, limited view because of their fear of change and their fear of a world they cannot control nor understand...and they do not want to understand it, apparently.
Fear of death -- whether literal or figurative, in their case fear of losing their way of life -- is a big part of their psychology. Terror management theory, which posits that our unconscious fear of death drives our behavior, largely in selfish and antisocial ways. see https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/terror-management-theory
One of the founders of that theory showed a correlation between 'death salience' and Trumpism. see https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/do-voters-adore-trump-because-they-dread-death/
There is also a very interesting book about this, called "The Worm at the Core" . Here is a review: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/31/the-worm-at-the-core-on-the-role-of-death-in-life-solomon-greenberg-pyszczynski-review
Bronwyn, I found your links fascinating and appreciate your posting them.
Thanks, Browyn!
Wow! Thanks for the links.
I agree! I know many people that have Faux News on 24 hours a day! Some are educated some not. They just believe what they see on social media and what their friends claim. "They are coming for our guns, they are going to increase our taxes, they are making us wear masks and take shots that have chips embedded within them, they are baby killers." All of these are soundbites that determine they vote in my area for the good old boys in the Republican Party!
I can't help but feel that having any tv show on 24 hours/day, especially something as abrasive as Fox (sorta) News, is a sign of a severe disorder. Don't they get tired of the noise? What are they having to drown out?
My ex-bff had it on 24-7 literally. I spent a lot of time there in late 90‘s, it was shocking in it’s propaganda. Any idiot could have seen it. They lapped it up. Smart, educated, and kind. Lost all respect.
Wendy, I applaud you for trying. I have found, generally speaking, that the more one has invested in certain beliefs about the world, the more likely one is to resist restructuring
I've been entertaining a similar sense of being now on a side in search of validation for the positions and beliefs I have come to, some of which I worked hard and intellectually honest in their creation. I could no way imagine myself now as anything but progressive, advocate for diversity, and proponent of a liberal quest for democracy. I think, in all honesty, that I have crossed a line where more of my inquiries and subscriptions are in pursuit of my beliefs, validation, and less in data gathering that would (can?) challenge my certainty least of all open a crack where light might enter. I fear I have become the very certain who with smugness I claim Fox breathing American to be. When (or how) do we test ourselves for discernment as opposed to an achieved rigormortous?
Fred--you raise a good point. We all have enough confirmation bias without continually feeding it. I don't watch TV news or analysis, but I do read political, social, and economic articles that are more conservative than my inclinations and try to give them fair hearing. But it strikes me that it's conversations with friends or family members who aren't RWNJs but are definitely more traditional or "realist" than I am that most give me pause and (sometimes) lead to productive self-questioning and (occasionally) adjustments.
The trumpers present with diverse motivations. Many are stupid (=euphemisms such as "low information voters"), many are smart people who understand marketing, many just want to be entertained....
And are afraid of others having the same opportunities they have.
The dynamic is almost exactly the same! The parallels between Putin's consolidation if power and the machinations of Trump and his cohort are right out of the authoritarian playbook!
My interpretation of Trump's assertion that "I alone can fix it" ("it" being "the system") was in the sense that "the fix is in". That's what he meant.
Rowshan, I would hasten to add that a lot of our citizenry are just plain LAZY. By that, I mean "civically" lazy. They simply do not want to be bothered to expend an ounce of energy to inform themselves by looking at all the many other sources of information that are available in our society. They want others, someONE, even an autocratic ruler, to make their decisions for them. They're too busy and self-centered in their own little bubbles to lift a mental "finger" to expand their horizons. Also, many of them are relatively well off financially, not million- or billionaires necessarily, but they have their respective "piles" of money and possessions and, in their view, they do not want ANYONE, especially the government, to take any of it and dole it out to all "those black and brown people". It was true right after the Civil War, and it's true today. So, they stick to their guns-literally--and refuse to think any other way. They just don't care. I'm surrounded by it here. These people, driving their super-huge, big-ass, gas-guzzling, $100,000 pick-up trucks (you would not believe how many of them there are around here!), have a fair amount of education and disposable income. But, they just don't seem to care to do any mental, intellectual "heavy-lifting". They're content to blithely continue living their little lives, keep making their decent salaries, and let others do their thinking for them. People like that have been lulled into believing ANYTHING. Welcome to America.
I see plenty of well off, educated people in my City/neighborhood who vote Democrat but otherwise could care less about the threats to voting rights, the rise of racism nor the threat of fascism in this Country. They want to helicopter parent (man that is a whole book!) go to the latest in-season sports event and plan their vacations. They drive very aggressively and are intent upon ignoring anything beyond their smart phones and their encapsulated lives.
I never have any kind of in depth conversations anymore. Thank God for Dr. Richardson and you folks. Otherwise I might have ended up wandering the streets looking for signs of intelligent political discourse.
...with a lantern, like Diogenes? Me too!
LOL! I thought that a nanosecond before my eye went on to your comment....
Shame on the cult. America has been hijacked or I was delusional for 60 years.
Trump opened Pandora's box,
Yes. To everything you write, yes. So many Americans are not only uneducated, but easily sucked in to any whites-first males-first groupthink. Americans are dramatically and emphatically vulnerable to racism and sexism. Just look at the latest SC nomination, and at the vilification of Hillary, and so on. That’s also why putin and the R’s have such an affinity for each other.
Think of the groups the R's have openly offended in just 2022. Remember women are half the population. Also recall that almost 80% of the population agrees with democratic ideals. Considering all of this it would seem to follow that no republican could win any election in the United States. Mind boggling.
Except the GOP are reaping the benefits of decades of a “coup within”. They got what they wanted with a racist, undemocratic SCOTUS: “On Wednesday, in an unsigned opinion on the “shadow docket,” the court granted emergency relief to Republicans in Wisconsin, who objected to a new map of legislative districts the state Supreme Court had decided on.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/23/supreme-court-wisconsin-gerrymandering-ruling/
didn't the SC rule prior to the civil war in this fashion and also against the New Deal in the 1930s. what happened to the movement to change the composition of the court to hinder bias in either direction? As it stands they are not sticking to being the judicial branch and have moved into being activist judges. of course this is what the Conservative movement has wanted since the 1960s with all those pesky civil and human rights gains and has now achieved. I pity women and minorities for the next decade as the ruling philosophy of the court is free reign for the monied and powerful and state control for women and minorities.
You would think.... Except that the Republican sappers and miners in several R-dominated state legislatures are busily making laws to restrict and/or suppress voting (overtly targeting dem districts). They have no shame whatsoever; the R's know they cannot win in a free and fair election--so they are determined to make the midterms less free and less fair and, in the meantime, shout and wave their arms about Dem efforts to "steal" the election just to direct attention away from their own perfidy.
Well said, Rowshan. I have been a student of Buddhism for many years. One concept that I've learned (but not yet mastered) is that ignorance is pervasive in the human species. It is one reason Buddhists sit as silent observers of our minds to develop deep understanding. Our American behavior is not a matter of intelligence, but of our collective tendency to be aggressive and act rashly. The white American paradigm was enhanced by stories of revolutionaries, frontiersmen, slave owners and cowboys. We still act on these stereotypes. We celebrate the "rugged" individual and ignore cooperation. We praise financial superiority and blame the poor for their plight, on and on...We need an entirely new soul. We need to educate our children to be kind, compassionate and insightful.
Thank you for this, Hope.
The cult collective may be a minority but the money has given them the power for the inmates to take over the asylum
For a very different POV re the US, go to <consortiumnews.com> I have often/usually found it very puzzling, but less so now that I am becoming more aware of US duplicity in the conduct of foreign relations, although I've never thought of us as perfect. I'm 95 years old, and paying attention is what I do every day; even so it's impossible to read/know 'everything.'
From the oldest of the Abrahamic faiths, this: Be strong! Be strong! And we will strengthen each other. L&B&L
Yes, Ida…I am also trying to pay attention to the best sources, keeping up as best I can. This extraordinary community of people who add their wisdom and insight and wit to the Comments Section are a lifeline for me! Alabama is a lonely place for an 84 year old Lifelong Democrat!
In my old age, Margaret, I've become more radical and think of myself as a democratic socialist - no caps. Capitalism is no longer serving us - the people - well, if it ever did. Even during the New England winter I know that I'm happier here in a more liberal environment - although one beloved friend is very conservative. I did realize yesterday that I am a Conservative in the sense that I want to conserve the democratic institutions of our country. And we can strengthen each other. L&B&L
Republicans have made conservative a swear word to me
That’s the core of Republican disconnect. Really My simmer hits a boil when they dust their halos and claim exclusivity as conservatives. I know I know that they have told that lie so many times it has become their mantra. Any mealy mouthed Republican who spits that out has never seen my shop. On every one of their tombstones should be inscribed, Here lies a republican.
Hi Ida, people I don’t like very much call me a snowflake, but winter is good. My age is towards the winter as well. Like you most all of us are conservative. I almost blush at the buckets of nuts and bolts I have squirreled away because I can’t afford the hard ware store anymore. You and Margaret made me smile.
So is Texas
Sounds like the current public policy statement for Ukraine!
I'm going to add this website to my sources, thank you. From MediaBiasFactCheck: "Overall, we rate Consortium News Left-Center Biased based on story selection and advocacy that mildly favors the left. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting due to a lack of transparency despite a clean fact check record."
I check 'em out, too.
You're a treasure!
And so do I regard all of you who share your thoughts with me. L&B&L
Good for you.
Ida, we are never too old to care!
I believe that vulnerability to lies is emotional and will not be ensured with just knowledge alone. Resilence of the human mind to misinformation starts very early in life and requires attunement, authenticity, & connection from the primary caretakers. It’s a societal problem. It truly does take a community to raise children.
It is absolutely a societal problem, and I think, a mental health problem. Family values/cultures are imprinted onto children and are very hard to erase/change, many being subliminal. And abuse, neglect, criticism, absence of love and affection all affect the brain and thought patterns. Some children are more "resilient" than others. A child's early life and family culture can create problematic thinking. along with depression, anger, hatred, entitlement, insecurity, low self esteem, etc. Education is not always going to supersede this.
💯💯💯 and subliminal, definitely!! ❤️🙏
Sometimes I plan to write a comment mid morning and then I read yours and it’s pretty much all that I wanted to say. Our thinking is linked in the Light, Rowshan.
I am feeling a wave of prospect that many Americans are coming back to understanding how important that we unite with the common good of democracy. It has nothing to do with political malfeasance. That has created the discord. It has to do with the accord of “We the People….and that means all of us.” That accord springs forth community and compassion and that is in the heart of common good. I see it more and more in the eyes of many people. They don’t want to move forward into the past. Maybe they thought that, but living lies takes a tremendous toll. They want to move forward as decent people living decent lives. The Universe is, as always, perfect timing and room for all to be in Light, not darkness.
United, Rowshan and All!
I love that we are united in the Light, dear Christine!
I am no lawyer, but I do wonder why Tucker Carlson hasn't yet been charged with a crime - surely sedition comes to my mind.
I’ve been wondering about that for some time!
He is the Elmer Gantry of news darlings. “Ugh”
Morning, Rowshan. "A prophet is never fully recognized in his/her/their land." I agree with this completely!
True
Thank you, Lynell, and a good afternoon to you!
Here is an interesting article from CNN on trump's waning power:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/23/opinions/trump-fatigue-republican-party-bond/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0tviuqG-SPFmabS7YqU8ojeJ1e0R0DcM0fc6sPbGoR5ytDYQ4DIZu987E#:~:text=For%20Trump%2C%20the%20party%27s%20over
T***p is to hold a big rally tomorrow in Commerce, GA near us in Jackson county (SHOUT OUT TO GUS!! He's coming for ya...somebody tell him!), which should be interesting. I believe there are 8 candidates in races here that he has endorsed and they will all probably be on the dais with him--though most likely they won't get much of a chance to say anything as he'll blather on about the same old same old. His candidate for Governor, David Perdue, is trailing pretty badly in the polls, so it might be a matter of time before Trump drops him...he's only for winners, y'know.
Anyone still clinging to a hold above feeble minded would likely not want his endorsement. If he even breathed on me I would get myself to the nearest river and swim upstream until that skin peeled off.
Seems they’ve locked blatant anti-democratic racists onto SCOTUS though. That can’t be fixed with an election. (I posted a link to Wed. Shadow docket ruling on this thread)
Oooo! This is wonderful!
Yes, but even should Trump's power continue to wane, Trumpism remains strong, and I fear that those people's lies, hypocrisy, malevolence and conspiracy theories will be sticking around, since it is difficult to un-brainwash people.
Amen!
Rowshan Nemazee:
"A prophet is never fully recognized in his/her/their land."
Perhaps Luke 4:24
Eh!?
That is correct, Anne-Louise. I wonder how Hilary can ever be ok about that. Perhaps when justice is served on treason.
Too intelligent ever to be OK about that. But she's very strong, and knows herself. I like her story of the first time she spoke to Bill. He was staring at her in the library. She went up to him and said (something like) "If you're going to stare at me, you'd better know my name. I'm Hillary Rodham."
Nothing surpasses the scorn of an angry woman.
Except an angry loser who is also a narcissistic bastard. He will stop at nothing to destroy anything and everything that rejects him, especially America
So much in common with his benefactor, putin
And , although I believe in the 1st amendment, someone needs to take Tucker (insert traitors here - MTG, meadows, Boebert, Guiliani etc ad nauseum) aside and tell them forcefully to STFU.
I just watched some videos of the guards, clearly and loudly, admonishing the disrespectful crowds at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mind their manners. That they held guns with bayonets and sometimes cocked their guns when people messed with the boundaries around the tomb. There are clearly some narcissistic, disrespectful Americans that need boundaries spelled out strongly (like our own elected, disrespectful republican reps in our government).
"The ceremony is an impressive and solemn event. As this video clearly shows, the soldiers on duty here are very serious about what they do. Bearing in mind the significance of the tomb and their role as its guard, these individuals are extremely respectful and highly disciplined in their duties.
Understandably, of course, they also expect the same level of respect and maturity from members of the public who come to visit the Tomb. If people try to cross the barriers, are too disruptive and noisy, or are otherwise disrespectful, the guard on patrol will do something about it!"
Is it not time for the American people to demand the same dignity and respect from all elected officials and be in their job descriptions? We are witnessing belligerent people inflict abuse and taunt an incredible American like Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has been nominated to be one of the highest judges in our land. No one deserves that kind of treatment, publicly or privately, and it should have been denounced and stopped immediately. Abusive behavior of that kind should call for dismissal of the person inflicting intentional abuse.
Checks and balances must be implemented in any democracy otherwise, some humans return to below the belt, uncivilized behaviors as represented by the current leaders of the Party of Sedition. Do you not think that in order for democracy to function, Truth and Justice must be protected...For All The People?
You are spot on. Assholes like Cruz, Lee, and Hawley should have been escorted out of the room. Thank God for quick reporters and photogs who caught Cancun Cruz checking twitter immediately after his tirade. Those morons did it just for social media and they should have been shut down and shut up. But since the tRUMP (and Hitlerian) method is to say outrageous things you know aren't true over and over until they become routine, we're stuck until someone like Liz Cheney has balls enough to confront these lowlife bastards. Ketanji couldn't go too far as she wants the job but I was glad to see she did stand up and corrected them several times. What a bunch of losers.
C. Thomas should have recused himself from anything tRUMP related after his dimwitted wife started a 3-way with her, Meadows and God. Dis-gusting and illegal. I think these guys need a little truth serum added to their morning coffee.
It is deliberate, they know and love the notoriety, no shame no where
Could not agree more, so tired of bullies taking the stage EVERYWHERE. Rocks, where is your slime. Must apologize to slime after watching the PBS show The Secret Mind of Slime. Slime is way ahead of MAGAts in intelligence and “humanity”
Don’t hold back girl.
I have told this story on this forum before, but I will repeat it here. Back in summer of 2016, Yahoo would allow comments to their stories. I often posted a non-partisan post, I would say something along the line of know who/what you are voting for! With absolutely no mention of candidate nor of party, I would say to not listen to media, social media, friends, neighbors, your boss or pastor--go to the candidates OFFICIAL website and read what they stand for! No candidate is 100% aligned with your personal beliefs, so decide what issues matter the most to you, find which candidate best supports your views, and vote accordingly.
You would not believe the nasty, nasty replies and comments made about me personally! (and they didn't know me, I posted under the name "anonymous" which in itself got some people's Depends in knots and caused another slew of speculative comments! LOL) And I am being totally honest here, 100% of those rapid replies came from Right wing or GOP leaning persons.
I remember you posting that, and reflecting that that mirrored the experience I was getting as I engaged politically with my friends who were on a different plane in the political arena than I was. (I can't even say "side" any more, they are so far out of balance.)
Ally, I lost my long time "bff" (relationship of several decades) over tfg. She was a very wealthy person (inherited an 8 figure estate perhaps a year or so before the rise of tfg) yet lived in a solidly middle class area. It's way too long of a story for this forum. Anyhow, the rather sudden wealth combined with falling down the FOX news hole either changed her or revealed a side I hadn't seen. Racism and white supremacy came out and it destroyed the relationship. I came to see that there was a toxicity to the relationship for quite awhile before all of this which I didn't see or perhaps chose not to see. What has been shocking to me is the realization that I don't miss her at all! Perhaps because the gap has been filled by a number of other friends who do not demand that intense time commitment and attention she commanded. (ie, no joke--on a one week cruise she took 6000 photos, I do not exaggerate, and made me sit through hours of viewing them all when she returned. Which I felt compelled to do as she returned with myriad gifts--all unwanted--for me and my family and I was reared to be polite.)
I relate this, in a way, to the loonies on the Right, perhaps they will get woke and shake their heads.
Your bff's loss is our gain, Miselle!
This kind of separation is usually a life-saver -- unless it's with close family.
Most of my "losses" in this arena have been former comrades in arms with either my own agency, or other local agencies. Well, and my father-in-law who fell down the faux noise hole and had become a bitter, angry man; he is now in some flavor of dementia (vascular? sundowners? other?) and you can no longer have any sort of conversation with him.
I always think of you, Ally, when I see a story that, to my mind, would surely change the minds of your former comrades, and then realize it won't. Can't say about your dad-in-law. I suppose at this point it's fruitless to try.
I have come to embrace "you cannot reason with unreasonable people". I still hope they will see reason, but until then, I'm done.
Cults don’t deprogram themselves
Once bullies smell blood, they are worse and “worser”
Gees, Miselle!
Or Russian trolls. We were invaded at least a decade ago.
I can only imagine! Your Your suggestions were too logical/well thought-out for them
Amen Anne!
To say that Americans were duped is to let them off the hook. Many Americans believe lies, but they do so to justify their racism, which is the foundation for all Republican successes at the ballot box since 1968. Americans know which party wiil do everything it can to preserve the advantages of white Americans over all others, and the voters who favor preservation of those advantages vote for Republicans. Some of them excuse themselves through willful ignorance. Most don’t think they need an excuse.
Watched it happen, just as you articulated. Truth more than many want to admit. A cult as large as this will destroy us.
Nice piece. Duped too. That DOESN’T let them off the hook because tHey learned the truth and said “so what” and went back to cultivating corn.
Thank you for this piece Rex. Beautifully said. 🏆
Rupert pretty much did. One wonders when Rupert turned on America. Reagan sure thought he was on board with his script, but the worm turned, or did he???
I don't believe that Dutch Reagan was a very smart man...indeed I think he was just about as credulous a man as has ever managed to get himself elected on his charisma and personal vision alone.
Had a good script writer (Noonan) and a good PR man (Deaver). He was wrapped in a flag at every event, spouting platitudes
No doubt it was about the money!
As I recall, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by, um, 3 million votes... so how com tfg sat in the white house for 4 years? (I know - the electoral college)
And not even the electoral college, the second time around.
Anne, unfortunately your words ring true. The news is so bizarre it seems like a Star Wars type movie plot, impossible to even imagine, let alone our not-so United States in this role that becomes more visible by the day.
Anne-Louise, thanks. But, if you permit one redaction, "Fox is emitting "Mother Tucker American" propaganda. If you shake it, you'll soon find it's really all gas. The Tucker base doesn't need GPS to show who's brain-dead, just look down from the Moon station where all the TV sets light up when The Man comes on to sly-smirk and smiffoodle. It's hot.
Remarkable adjectives! ;-)