It’s infuriating that the president elect has zero knowledge or wisdom of approaching our global economy or foreign relation’s. It’s time for the democrats to step up, not step aside!
And we need to get the media to stop amplifying his social media posts. He has controlled the narrative for far too long, with only lies, fear, hate and division. Let's get back to reality, and adulthood. Quit treating him like he's "normal." All he wants to do is golf, talk about who's got the biggest genitals, and what his latest grift is that he's selling to put money in his own pockets. Oh, and who he's putting in place to destroy another of our institutions and social safety nets. Apparently, he's choosing only from a pool of white supremacists with a criminal background.
The president-elect of the United States of America (the greatest economic and military power on Earth, with the nuclear power to destroy life on Earth) is a convicted criminal, grifter, inveterate liar, and a subpar level of intelligence (to be kind). Americans think about the fact that YOU voted for him. Why? Because you needed to believe all the BS that gave you reasons to hate.
Correct Imogene Drummond! Joseph Robinette Biden is the last president of the United States of America. trump is the first president of the ARUS: Autocracy R US.
We have a viable Democracy as it stands today. We fully intend to fight for it. You are either going to do that with us or not. Please do not declare defeat without any facts. Otherwise, this is called fearmongering.
"Americans think about the fact that YOU voted for him. Why? Because you needed to believe all the BS that gave you reasons to hate."
And I guarantee that a majority of those in the farm and construction industries -- who are now begging to be spared from mass deportations of their workforce -- voted for trump.
And they are appealing for their profits, not for the good of the country or our people. Chances are, they agree with Trump, except for what affects them the most. If not, they would insist on impeachment and justice for his crimes.
Yes, now they want to beg for him not to do what he said he would. Better yet, Ackman was very vocal about how great Trump would be and now he wants us to believe he won’t do those things. Ackman’s a small, petty man who thinks his money gives him rights he doesn’t have. I watched him write novels of garbage on X and all of it was trying to justify his lack of ethics. The negotiating tool line did so much damage to Grassley’s constituents I can’t imagine why they keep electing him.
The Trump camp doesn’t care if it’s illegal, they’ll do it anyway.
Right, Ackman has been a corrosive to academic freedom, by using his money to bully some of our best academic institutions. Ackman also hypocritically used accusations of plagiarism to attack people like Dr. Claudine Gay of Harvard, while claiming accusations of plagiarism against his wife Dr. Neri Oxman (who lifted passages from Wikipedia in her dissertation). He's almost as bad as Trump.
If tariffs are just a threat and are never going to happen, then why use them as a threat in the first place? Why say that they are just threats? That is not how threats and negotiations work. I'm so tired of these people being Trump whisperers who try to gaslight us that what Trump is saying, isn't what he is actually saying.
Calling it a "threat" does imply an intent to follow through.
More likely, though, his use of "threats" when he *knows* there's no need to follow through are just used to enlarge his shadow of competence and power. In short: it's a bluff, and if someone calls him on it, *then* it's a threat.
Dan, Of course they did. Go out of the urban areas of Oregon and all you would see before the election were signs for death star. I have read articles about certain Hispanics who are citizens, thinking that they would not be affected and voting for death star. A lot of them have family and friends who are undocumented. We have a heavily Hispanic town north of us and i would bet that the tension there is sky high. We have a landscape service and I have no idea whether or not their workers are citizens or not. I do know that our pruning service does not hire undocumented workers. However, I am willing to bet that the company that gets a lot of local government contracts because they are cheaper, do. I call them Tree Butchers, Inc. So, in addition to ag and construction industries, people are going to find in many instances there are few or no workers.
And all those people who complained about grocery prices and oil prices, should get ready for higher prices and perhaps emptier shelves.
Not just “perhaps emptier shelves,” but definitely higher prices and emptier shelves. Between climate change and proposed tariffs, the former middle class (brought low by trickle down) will be hungry as intended by the criminals in power.
I would argue more than half. The Trump voters and the nonvoters and the Stein voters all deserve this. The rest of us are stuck trying to protect people in our lives with very few legal tools or resources.
Yes. More Americans preferred Yrump because he gave thrm permission to indulge their bigotry and hate. Trust me,NO ONE in the legacy media wants to report or analyze that.
bitchybitchybitchy, I'm not picking on you personally, but with respect, I would ask that we who are well-informed and intelligent stop using the term, "legacy media." The word "legacy" implies leaving something behind of lasting, beneficial value. That is not what we're getting from the major networks.
Likewise, "mainstream" is no longer an accurate descriptor, in my opinion. Social media, through all its platforms, including Dr. Richardson's "Letters," has supplanted the major television networks and big-city newspapers. This erosion of their audiences is what motivates them to amplify the controversial words and actions of The Donald and his stooges. Those outlets are all desperate to capture as many ears and eyeballs as possible, because they justify the media's advertising rates, which put money in the pockets of the oligarch-owners.
This leads me to recommend the most accurate term for these Trumpworld shills: Corporate Media.
Picking at terms? What does it matter? These are the words used today.
The media has been the issue for a very long time. I recall the years of "yellow journalism" being talked about in history books. Bob Dylan spoke of the media in 1962 in his song A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall: " Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters." He is quoted as saying this described the media.
The real issue are the readers and watchers of this stuff.
40% of Americans get half of their news from social media, its not fair to blame legacy media on this. The data shows that highly engaged voters and voters that read the news voted for Harris.
The President is Biden. I know what you are saying but I counter for a reason. Joe is our President and we need to back him and his policies until the very last day. When we cease doing so he loses voice and power and that is what Maga wants.
Actually Trump only got a plurality of the vote, about 48%. Most voters voted for Harris or a 3rd party candidate. Trump just barely won the election and is deeply unpopular.
The Womens March planned for Inauguration should be a massive coalition of every group opposed to Orange Hitler. There should be a man for every single women marching on that day.........tell the Orange Cult that they "do not own the women now".......and never ever will!!!.
The pendulum will swing back but at what price that will be paid. He will give or sell national secrets for personal gain. He will place a stain on the very White House with his presence. He will nominate the worst. He will shift as much wealth as possible in the shortest time to the wealthy supporters who have no moral or ethical compass. I would take my chances with the remaining good generals to suspend the constitution and rid this menace.
Beverly, I think that you just identified the formula, if one wants to get noticed, broadcast "lies, fear, hate and division." Sadly, we are living in "interesting times." That having been said, I am struggling internally with the anger and disappointment that I have for friends who voted for Trump. I never, ever thought that so many people could be that ignorant, that stupid, that so unaware and so indifferent to the obvious.
We are fortunate. I would say all of our friends did not vote for death star. I have one ex-classmate who I know did. It was her birthday the other day, so I wished her a happy birthday, but should she post dreck, I will have to block her. We are keeping our friends and family here close. i have family in the midwest. I have no idea if they voted or not as they seem to be busy having children; I am to be a great great aunt for over the 12th time. These are people, who for the most part, have scut jobs, and I am sure receive government benefits at times.
Me thinks a lot of those government benefits will go the way of SS and Medicare. The Repubs have been waiting a long time for this opportunity. They won’t back down
Same here. I’m struggling being in the room of friends who I know are Trumpers. I’m so over their anger and lies ~ life isn’t that bad… it’s actually pretty good (before Trump takes office that is)
Richard, I have been thinking that all we hear from the death star side is threats to cause fear, and hatred and division to back all this dreck up. The other side offered unity and help for ordinary people, but somehow the former won out, even if not by much. And why, oh why, were people voting for Jill not green Stein.
That’s what I thought. I guess the Founding Fathers never dream a traitor who tried to overthrow the government and a convicted felon would be elected President.
They, his appointees, for the most part, are a perfect reflection of his incompetence. Proof he cares not a twit for the country he was elected to head.
Exactly--these nominees are just the first round. They'll all be fired and replaced within six months. I'm sure Scaramucci is taking note to see if anyone can beat his record!
Kevin Robert’s and/or Vlad are just letting him get his revenge and take the heat for about six months. Then the fun will begin in Ernest, unless muskrat can’t wait that long.
And that pool of people is much, much smaller than it was in his first term. Because there are fewer people like him who can put up with him. Plus they become used to the smell.
And that is my silver lining. Their infighting will limit the amount of damage they can do. But we need to keep our eye on the ball which are the guys from Wall Street. They stay out of the spotlight on purpose and I fear they will bankrupt the country and no one will notice until it is too late. Google a couple of these fellows and you will see where their priorities lie. The MAGA’s are going to be out of a job before the Eagles make their first touchdown.
Beverly Falls -- The media has been amplifying Trump for years and is the cause of him continuing to blather everything he wants to blather. The NYTimes and WAPO (and Fox), and I must add Rachel Maddow are almost solely to blame for what we've got now. Now covering his social media for every dot and tittle! Yes, he certainly controls the narrative -- and then some.
Exactly which is why we are on a news blackout. Only getting my news from the good Dr. and overseas news. I’m not interested in Trump’s nonsense which is what it is. He reminds me of Charlie Brown’s teacher’s voice “wa, wa, wa, wa,” droning on and on.
We are not watching national news and we have a number of news sources. I am interested in local news and our local rag is the last place I look except for obits.
True, but the legacy media has also been exposed as part of the problem. The Maga era has made me into a cynic about the media and press, justice, and the wisdom of the American people.
Steve, I read a lot of history, all times and all places where my interests carry me. I have been cynical about humankind for a very long time and all this only makes it worse.
The way to do that is to have journalists and leaders in gov't. spread the word on every media outlet. Individual citizens cannot do that. We have a plethora of facts that are not being heard by the people that need to hear it. Every fact that HCR enumerated should be taken up by a leader that has the gravitas to spread this information. MAGATS and tRump supporters should be bombarded with this info. If each leader in the Democratic House chose one issue HCR focused on, we might get an informed electorate. We have a month to do that. Pressure on democratic leaders needs to start now!
Oh no. Not this time around. Now he has the support of women, Hispanics, Blacks, Gays, Amish, Jews, Arabs Christians. Hate and pettiness are powerful unifiers
Beverly, you do that by competing for media attention with tRump, which he is clearly a master of. There has been no plan by our democratic leaders to do just that!
"It’s infuriating that the president elect has zero knowledge or wisdom of approaching our global economy or foreign relation’s. It’s time for the democrats to step up, not step aside!"
What a segue. I am so weary of critics of Trump blaming Democrats. Trump, the Senate majority, and the House majority were elected by Republicans - and by every American who did not vote for the Democratic candidates. Democrats step up all the time. Not enough Americans step up to empower them.
He is the combination of two lethal personality traits: low IQ and narcissism. His narcissism does tell him he is a genius king. Narcissists can only tolerate having sycophants around. He is also at the point in his degeneration as a human being that he is completely overtaken by evil. Ever looked in his eyes in photos? Reptilian.
I watch people eyes. As people like Mike Johnson sink into craven power their eyes go dead. And their smiles are fake. I guess I needed to get this out of my system! Last time I'll pay this much attention to him.
Actually Barbara, according to Dr. Bandy Lee, it is not his narcissism which makes him most dangerous, it is his psychopathy. He fits into the antisocial personality disorder diagnosis and it is the lack of empathy and impulsiveness that is most dangerous - on par with Hitler and Mussolini. You can find Dr. Bandy Lee on YouTube and elsewhere, as well as her books about Trump.
Barbara, first of all, have a Happy Thanksgiving, if you can. These are difficult times. Second, I felt that your comparing Trump to reptiles was insulting to the reptiles. As I grow older (now 84) I have come to appreciate more and more our fellow inhabitants of this planet, how we're wasted their habitat, on the one hand, and how we've wasted our mental capacity, on the other hand. How to explain a creep as degraded as Trump being selected to lead us? I'm not a Christian, though brought up as one, and what immediately comes to my mind is this: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
It's a description not a condemnation Richard. Reptiles could care less.
I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving. I need to be with people that love each other no matter what. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. Thank you for your appreciation of all living things.
The best explanation I have seen is that they have been deluded through the the dominance of billionaire-owned right wing media lies and disinformation. Propaganda is a powerful weapon in the struggle between the oligarchs and the people at large.
Has been since 1996, likely before since Rupert “used the front page, the editorial page and every other page necessary to elect Ronald Reagan as President.” So said, Jack Kemp about Rupert in Jan 1981.
@Ricardo Grinbank: It is so very important to keep reminding yourself and our compatriots that we, the non-Trumpian patriots who are still here, comprise >50% of the USA, not the other way around. Trump and his pack of vindictive troglodytes are nothing more than a thin plurality—not a majority—and have a “mandate” only in the primitive recesses of their own incompletely septated, reptilian brains.
Ricardo this is not the first time in history that we have had a heavy risk President in the White House. Nixon, towards the end of this Presidency, was wandering around the White House drunk and talking to the portraits. During George W, Bush's terms he had two of the most trigger-happy people on the planet, Rumsfeld and Cheney.
then there was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 when Russia decided to plant nuclear warheads in Cuba-and point them at the US.
The bottom line to all of this is we have been living with nuclear threat since Hiroshima.
For votes counted through Nov. 20, Trump’s margin over Harris was 1.62 percent. That’s smaller than any winner since Bush in 2000, when the margin was 0.51 percent. Going back further, only John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Nixon in 1968 won the popular vote by smaller margins, 0.17 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Using raw votes, Trump’s margin was also smaller than in any election going back to 2000. At about 2.5 million, it was the fifth-smallest popular vote margin since 1960."
No, Ricardo..., how could 400 plus Congress(PERSONS) and Senators have let this happen? Let's see if they can figure it out before we have an atomic solution.
Well, let us hope not. I have talked with some elated Trump supporters. They do not think he is out to become a dictator. These are intelligent, well-meaning people. G-D knows, I hope they are right.
There has been executive over-reach for years. Maybe the craven quislings in Congress will finally correct the severe calcium deficiency in the lower back area that many seem to share.
Thank you for making me smile. Per that fine, mid-century American existentialist, Snoopy: "Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life but it will surely add life to your years." 🥳✌🏽😊
So does he just toss out the international trade agreement his own previous administration made with Mexico and Canada? I noticed how that the top Canadian and Mexican leaders reminded him all too well of realities.
And here we are ~ global leaders babysitting the American President while giving him lessons on “How World Leadership Operates” Unfortunately Trump doesn’t have the skills necessary to read “Running a Country for Dummies”
STEVEN and FRANK, here you go; hope this helps. I am not trained in the law, but I believe that I understand this text.
😳🤞⚖️🤔💔
The Constitution of the United States of America:
"[Article II]
"Section II
". . . . He [i.e., the President]shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate . . .
"Article VI
". . . . all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land . . . ."
BUT, this may be 'mission-critical:
"Article III
"Section I
"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . . ."
"Section II
"The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority . . . ."
Frank.., I think 'the commotion' will consume the next 4 years. Beneath it, let's hope a rising star will emerge. This kind of thing could generate one. On the other hand, should the next four years not be any worse than the past eight... only time will tell. If China decides to call our hand on Taiwan, all bets are off. May of 2026 looks like a target date.
I just read 'Hillbilly Elegy' by V.P.-elect Vance. As a conservative, I liked it. His politics has not change since he wrote the book; his manner has in his deference to Trump. Will the real J.D. Vance please stand up?
J.D. Vance is talented in his thinking and writing.
J.D. Vance got through four years of college in two years.
J.D. Vance's values from his family -- e.g., do not impose upon others -- ring true for me.
J.D. Vance had a great older sister and grand-parents who gave him love and resilience. Yes there was craziness, but there was a home-spun decency.
J.D. Vance relieved me of some concern in that his politics was the same eight years ago, though he disliked Trump.
So, will the real J.D. Vance please standup.
A relative made an astute observation this evening. There is a good chance that in the next term, the presidency may shift from one of the oldest presidents to the youngest president ever.
I do not know, Frank. But you make a crucial point at a critical time. American power is hollowed out financially. We are in the Chinese century and the United States in a first among equals militarily. But she is an equal, always has been.
We Yanks, disillusioned or cognitivel O.T.L., had better wise up, fast.
Whom do we have at the helm? A homo-erotic imposter who believes, "When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same."
So, if i read your post correctly, a treaty needs a supermajority in Congress to pass? That apply to a tariff posting or are there "extenuating" circumstances... so the treaty still applies, but there are special, allowed reasons to apply a tariff...
I May be mistaken please correct me but I thought Executive Orders have very limited funding and what he proposes needs huge changes to the software underlying imposing these deep changes. He's definitely certifiable in his stupidity about how these functions occur.
My family -- including relatives far brighter than I -- split down the middle in this election. Friends and acquaintances who voted for Trump are voting against career politicians and what they view as corrupted power. After reading 'Hillbilly Elegy', I believe that M.A.G.A.s are not necessarily giving up on the republican experiment but believe that the republican experiment has given up on them.
The power of the executive has been expanded to monarchical levels by the corrupt and rabidly partisan Supreme Court and implementation of a unitary executive model following the Project 2025 blueprint for White Christian nationalist autocracy would greatly enhance that power. The House and Senate are likely to fall in line. The danger to democracy is extreme and widespread popular resistance is the only remedy I see to stop the imposition of a fascist dictatorship. The 2026 midterms and 2025 off-year elections will be critical to move to restore democracy.
The Constitution has no provision for immunity for official acts. The rule of law applies to all and the president should not have a free pass to commit criminal acts. Giving the president the absolute power of a monarch was something the founders wanted to avoid through checks and balances.
Richard, thank you for the intel. I responded by citing the Constitution to Frank and Steve above. Yes, what Congress giveth, Congress can take away. Getting ready for a scheiße-show. Thank you, again, for your response.✌🏽
If you haven't read Mary L. Trump's book, I recommend it. Your questions will be answered. Spoiler alert: He is stupid, or more accurately, learning disabled. This would make him pitiful, were it not that at an early age, he developed a bottomless capacity for malice, encouraged by his father, Fred. Both of Donald's parents were incapable of demonstrating love or empathy. With no model to follow, he, too is incapable of feeling anything but self-interest. Here's a link to purchasing the book without benefitting an oligarch: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/too-much-and-never-enough-how-my-family-created-the-worlds-most-dangerous-man_mary-l-trump/26891852/#edition=33029714&idiq=40530028
The two books by a group of mental health professionals and thought-leaders led by Dr Bandy Lee also zero in on Trump's faults and pathologies, at least as they see.
I think executive orders were meant to be guidance for implementing legislation passed by Congress. But career politicians are more worried about keeping power rather than using it in the public trust.
Dr Cox Richardson has often noted that Trump's plans on de-funding agencies, as per 'Project 2025' (i.e., re-cycled Reaganism as an ideological bridge too far) directly violates 'The Impoundment Control Act of 1974'.
Ned.., simple it isn't gonna work.., and numbskull will capitalize on whatever happens and make himself look exponentially GOOOOD! Haven't we seen this act before? Yes we have. And he's back in the big house as proof. We, on the other hand, are about as numb as a pounded thumb. We've got 51 "numb" Senators as proof.
Me Too, Linda.. The fact that we have 51 Senators and 213 Reps, to whom WE have provided a pulpit to speak from.., from which I have only heard from one... Jasmine Crockett (TX), causes me to feel disgusted.
So the attack on American Citizens, morally & in our pocket books starts with a salvo on 11/26/24; let's call it orange Duce's Black Tuesday.
Where to start?
Wherever his Orwellian tactics are vulnerable. Force a divestiture of his ownership stock in Truth Media & Technology Group (WRECK). Senators: D, R and/or Other, it is time to step-up now including the Senator Elect from my state, Adam Schiff. Take down another of "nominees". Tulsi Gabbard can be sent back to Syria. Get creative tactically.
We lost not to the Republicans as much as to Russian psy ops. They learned it from us. We used it successfully many times since WW II. We failed to fully prosecute the 2016 election interference, and although we had advance notice did little to stop it.
Tempus fugit, but Biden can step up and be a hero. Given the threats by an inchoate unitary executive, who beleieves that his election is redemption for being victimized and threatens recrimination, he should grant tens of thosuands of pardons to folks like us.
Are crimes of election interference acts of war? We should be discussing war powers. What about Biden as unitary executive for a month?
Dems step up? hahahahah - spineless , useless, appeasers in their own way
From Senator this morning :
Should Democrats rebuild their wall of anti-Trump resistance in 2025 as the president-elect takes office? Not if you ask John Fetterman. “If you vote against everyone, then you lose whatever value or whatever statement that you’re trying to make,” Fetterman said. “Has anyone checked? If you win, you pick the people. And it’s like, if you’ve got the votes, [opposition is] not going to really change the outcome.” Indeed, the Senate Democratic Caucus doesn’t seem inclined to delay or fight Donald Trump’s Cabinet tooth and nail the way the party did in 2017, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Democrats from across the ideological spectrum say that delay is not their goal, although it is still very early in the process. “I am not for foot-dragging. The president ought to have this team in place,” Democratic whip Dick Durbin said.
I do hope that Biden will at least pardon Hunter - if not the republicans intend to jail him and will.
Many here in the comments have noted that trump is not bright etc . What I fear are the Ackman's, Grassley's, Leo's , the team of sharp lawyers he has around him etc that will enact policies through him. Policies that are aimed at dismantling America as we know it.
Read the editorial pages of the WSJ, listen to the slow acceptance of trumpism from many of the hosts on CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, ( corporate bosses fear losing their license to broadcast!)
But in the end I blame the people of America - they are blind and intellectually lazy that they would re-elect this fraud. Like the British who were shocked when Brexit too affect to find what they voted for, so do will a large swath of America be shocked when they discover groceries actually cost more, their interest rates soar, their 401K drop, when they find that THEIR family members are deported - not some other people, that their gay child or relative is denied employment and even medical care, when they discover that they must whisper in public because they do not know who is listening and might report them
This sounds extreme and tim hat, I know. But read between he lines of Project 2025, of the comments from the rabid congress people and from the people BEHIND the scenes of the trump administration as well as the limpness of Durbin and Letterman et al or the anti trans comments from Muldon who embraces republican talking points. A storm is coming - we need a strong shelter to combat it - before the storm arrives.
(I am currently attempting to obtain an agent for my first manuscript. I've written a second and am 80% done with a third. It's usually Jeri down in TX who comes up with some great lines that I can hear in the voice of a character in the third novel. She has kindly said I could use them, but I always ask for permission. That line you used would perfectly summarize the estranged relationship between a mother and her internet-influencer daughter.)
I love it...no one has ever asked to use one of my one liners in a novel. A quip from a frustrated mother...good luck with the agent and getting published. Keep us abreast of things and the title and release date of your first book. Happy T Day.
Mike, the agent is key. TC gave me an intro to his agent who does not represent my genre of work. She promised to look at my query and synopsis, and forward onto a possible agent . The manuscript has been professionally edited and the editor thought I should pursue publication. Fingers crossed!
It's time for Mr. Biden to act on behalf of national security of America. Order Mr. Trump to disclose a professional assessment of his health and the names of those donating for the transition - all legally required. If he refuses, Biden can arrest him for national security. He is still President and is responsible for the safety of the country. Citizens should not be exposed to risk of Putin is compromising security of the country.
Time for ALL CONCERNED to step up. Trumps solutions to false narratives are rolling at the American public, not to mention those in its largest trading partners.
Trump has zero clue about what is happening on the Canadian border.........1/Guns are smuggled INTO Canada and used in violent crime...2/ Drugs are smuggled INTO Canada by the Hells Angles/Cartels etc...3/Immigrants are leaving the USA and crossing into Canada.
.....The heroin that he shared with Kennedy did not help bone spurs brain.......he bankrupted a casino...now he will bankrupt the USA.
Trump's promise of new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China ignores a simple truth: other countries don't pay tariffs--we do. Tariffs are taxes on imports, and the costs get passed to American consumers through higher prices. History offers a clear warning, vividly captured in these Gilded Age cartoons, about who really pays for tariffs--and who profits. https://forgottenfiles.substack.com/p/the-hidden-cost-of-tariffs
Would one expect anything less from a 'Stable, Genius' Businessman that has filed for Bankruptcy at least 5-times, and mushroomed the National Debt? DJT will create Extreme Havoc on this Country...
Every Republican President has had a recession during their regimes back to Lincoln. And there have been 6 Presidents that had no recession during their time in office -
I’ve settled on balancing this reactionary talk, and even to my family said, well we’re just gonna have to see how ..’his plan,the best plan that every was, coming in two months, will do.’ They say ‘It’s going to be fine’…
I’ve heard the alternate reality story since 2016..(plum in the middle for sure because I’m not going to alienate my children or grandchildren)..
If the US is going to allow criminals to get away with ruining the country …however they misconstrue their game …I will not gloat, nor hate, I’ll deal however and hope we can reconstruct and better the system which means tightening up the loopholes that let corruption, lies, and false claims ride rampant destruction.
I run my own show helping , walking the walk, voted , supported, and listened . What happens is a result of the people we entrusted not minding the store.
I am wondering what our country will look like next year at this time. Economic collapse planed by the DOGE morons who think they’re the most intelligent people in the world when all they are is corrupt prepubescents claiming they have the right to rule the serfs. We have done all our spending this past week on electronics and big purchases because we may not be able to get them for a reasonable price next year.
What else will there be shortages of besides our food supply? All the MAGA talk about Democrats banning beef will seem silly when they can’t find that food. No fresh produce, rampant disease from uninspected and unregulated foods like meats. I’m glad I know how to thrive on dried beans and rice but even then how much will rice cost? We don’t grow it here.
I fear for my grandchildren’s future. It’s hard to convince the one graduating from college that he has a bright future and great things to look forward to.
I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but it seemed to me that Democrats were stymied by the press' love affair with Reagan, and gave up after that on fighting corruption, a tendency ti not to make too many waves. I thought and hoped that a public and partisan push would emerge to condemn and resist "Citizens United" but for all the complaining, organized resistance never gained much traction. The degree to which Big Money has been given free rein to shape our nation's politics compare to in my youth to me is jaw-dropping. It's the one ring to rule them all, but cementing it in place has been job one for Republicans for several decades, and a resisting it a secondary issue for Democrats over the same period; a concern but not an actionable issue. It's the elephant in the room that few seem sufficiently focused on.
Another newsletter to render me sleepless (I simply got up to go to the bathroom and stupidly looked at my emails). Thanks Heather. With the incoming administration's threat of imposed tariffs, like a category 10 hurricane about to hit us, I worried about food scarcity. But then calmed myself knowing that the H-2A temporary agricultural visas that allow immigrants to work in our farms/dairies/meat packing plants would assure the status quo. Now they want to do away with THAT?? Back to food scarcity worries. Back to bed. Sometimes people have to hit rock bottom before they wake up....
Unfortunately I think you are correct. The more successful Trump and his billionaire cronies are at implementing tariffs and deportations the sooner we will experience skyrocketing consumer prices followed by a major crash of the economy. Perhaps that will be enough to wake up the clueless MAGA base and foment a popular revolt against the tyranny of the oligarchs.
DJT was a transfer Student from Fordham in Queens... DJT attended Wharton for two years... Allegedly, one of DJT's Professors called DJT the Dumbest Student that the Professor ever had... Allegedly, per Fortune Magazine, DJT is now worth 6.1B $, most of that in 'Truth Social'.... Hmm? A much more Interesting Calculation would be how many Billions has DJT Squandered? Start with the $400,000,000 that DJT got from his Father...
Many of our highly regarded universities, certainly the Ivy League schools, ought to be ashamed of, and condemned for, graduating people with no moral compass, and no appreciation for human rights and civil society, especially the off spring of dictators and oligarchs, not to mention many home grown lawyers and Wall Street types.
These universities are educating people who are dedicated to tearing down our society and our institutions. They are providing them with the tools they need. Freedom of speech and the free flow of ideas are critical for a free society, and a good university, but that doesn’t mean we provide the sons and daughters of dictators and oligarchs with the connections, the credentials and the tools to better implement their rape of their people and our planet.
With the existing regime of taxation etc still making them the very richest generation of top wealth since the Gilded Age. Americans need a serious re-think of how to manage income inequality and its drastic effects on politics.
You misread it. Trump proposes an additional 10% on top of the significant tariffs already on China. The existing tariffs on China have already reduced Chinese imports from 24% of our total to 14% of total imports. Current tariffs run from 25% up to 100% on EVs. THUS, under Trump EVs will have a 110% tariff. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/comparing-new-and-current-u-s-tariffs-on-chinese-imports/
There are still 17 red states and 3 purplish states where the minimum wage is stuck at $7.25 an hour. Trump blocked minimum wage increases in 2020 and refused to answer questions about raising the minimum wage 3 times during his McDonald's stunt.
"The 2019 minimum wage bill
One thing that’s clear is that the White House officially opposed a bill to enact $15 minimum wage in 2019.
That came when the House was considering H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act. All but six Democrats voted for the measure while only three Republicans voted for it. The bill would phase in a $15 minimum wage over a seven-year period."
The 2019 minimum wage bill
One thing that’s clear is that the White House officially opposed a bill to enact $15 minimum wage in 2019.
Of course, not many workers are paid minimum wage, but why should anyone be paid only $7.25 an hour in the US.
The last federal minimum wage increase was in 2009, 15 years ago. With inflation at an average of 2% the minimum wage would be around $11/hour with a 2% COLA.
As usual, Trump and the Republicans only complain about the Dems and inflation, but are unable to offer solutions other than, "ELECT ME".
His voters are convinced he will lower prices on everything therefore they don’t need an increase in wages. Plus, for some odd reason, they think only 16 year olds work at those minimum wage jobs and it’s just slush money for them. Mom and dad will buy them the car they need to get to work and there’s no need for public transit. We have a Republican County Supervisor who thinks we should do away with public transit and Musk will create auto drive vehicles available to everyone, put tunnel systems, like his failed same in Vegas, along the unstable California coast, and bike lanes should disappear. Then he complains about traffic, gas taxes for infrastructure and roads desperately in need of expansions and repair.
Banned from schools by Republican agendas for being too "woke". It's almost like those who think critically sometimes have critical thoughts about how things are done....
Who stands to benefit from theses tariffs? Most likely the new oligarchy we have in place. They are not a "negotiating tool" as the Donvict's apologists put it. There has been too much chatter from 'on high' for them to be just some opening salvo in an international haggling session. It seems to be just another way of extracting wealth from the 99% and shifting it upward. None of the revenue generated from them will be used to build schools, affordable housing, fund food programs or for student loan debt relief, they will quietly pay for the "privatization" of current government services, and so line the pockets of our oligarchs - with very little in return.
Yes, Peter, I agree with your “simple truth” about tariffs. And, I’ll reiterate and add another simple truth about illegal drugs: Tons of illegal drugs are brought into the US by US citizens AND Tons of illegal drugs are sold and bought and used by US citizens. Apparently, Americans love their drugs, especially the illegal ones. The real question is: Will an increase in tariffs lead to a decrease in drug use? Or, will it enhance the “business model” of the drug dealers as they increase their prices (and profits)?
Where was the ag industry when Trump was campaigning on tariffs? Why weren’t they jumping up and down then? And where were the car companies, likewise? And where was the construction industry, which is now shouting about their 60% undocumented work force in TX? It’s as if none of them heard anything about Trump and tariffs until Nov 6!
I just don’t get it. Wasn’t it literally Nov 6 when that first story broke about the business which called a meeting to tell the workers there wouldn’t be a Xmas bonus, as Trump’s imminent tariffs meant the company had to use every $ to buy up the supplies which would soon cost 25% more? Where were THOSE executives when they could’ve made a difference in the election?
They all think the things Trump is going to attempt to do will only affect "those kinds of people*." Until they don't. If construction and agriculture get exemptions, the War on Immigrants and the Undocumented" will be a waste of time and (consumer's) money.
Leave it to Trump and his sycophants to undermine any Middle East achievement by Biden. You know that Trump can’t rest with his opponents getting positive attention.
There is a rush of activity in the Biden administration to spend as much money as they can and to button up regulations so that Trump and his cronies have a difficult time undoing them.
And they aren't advertising most of them, because they know Trump will target them for rolling them back.
He is not the president YET! How does he get away with interfering in global affairs before he is even inaugurated? And Musk as well? Can’t Biden just tell him to shut TFUp until he is actually sworn in?
Such is the conundrum of assumed power when combined with pervasive, real-time, global locker room talk on social media.
He's a threat and people know it. For as long as he lives, citizen or elected official, his populism means his social capital will never wane, which means his power will never wane. And when he passes, someone else is going to try and step in his shoes and use the same tactics cause guess what? They worked.
The incoming Misadministration of full of fundamentalist evangelicals. They WANT war in the Middle East to fulfill their self-fulfilling prophecies. If you aren't worried, you should be. They think touching off WW III is a good thing.
So Trump declares his policies on Day 1. In February he cites the true data about drugs and migrants and declares Victory! Fox spends a week celebrating and spreading the good news.
I think there are/will be such efforts but I doubt they will be consumed given the media appetites of half the country. And now we have some states distorting their educational curriculums to exclude inconvenient truths and leaning heavily into bible based tutelage.
I haven’t thought about what Trump would sell then. Perhaps a flag set of US flag and MAGA flag (made in China, of course). The MAGA flag would have an image of Trump with his right hand on his heart and facing a cross.
He'd probably just see an American flag with "Made America Great Again" on it. Or he'd put himself saluting on a flag and sell it as "The Most Stunning and Patriotic Flag to Ever Exist".
Regardless of the fact of how flagrantly opposed to flag code it would be (not that many people follow it) people would buy it and fly it proudly. Which is just. So wrong on so many levels.
It takes a village. Not merely of idiots but of Eichmann's.
Trump would only be the village idiot spitting into the wind - were it not for the entire right wing village calling him a genius for doing so.
Mitch McConnell may have helped keep Matt Gaetz out of the DOJ, but McConnell put Trump in the position to nominate Gaetz, Sieg Heil Hegseth et al. And broke the Senate to do so. To let Trump stack the Supreme Court and to keep Trump off the hook in two impeachment trials. Colluding in the transformation of a felon into a tyrant - with the imprimatur of the Supreme Court. And the repurposing of a democratic republic into a Christo-Fascist state. McConnell has arguably done more harm to all three branches of government than anyone since Jefferson Davis. Perhaps even than Leonard Leo. And for the same reason - to line their own pockets by perpetuating economic injustice throughout the nation.
A Ceasefire in Gaza, and Lebanon would have been achieved much earlier, perhaps in Spring 2024, if Joe Biden had adhered to U.S. Law, and imposed an Arms Embargo on Israel to stop Israel from the Mass Slaughter of Civilians in Gaza... Legally U.S. Military Aid is conditioned upon their non-use for War Crimes... Per Matthew Hoh, who has been on the Ground in Southern Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank, 100,000 - 200,000 have been Killed in Netanyahu's Wars...
Independent Investigations are now starting to occur in Israel that are starting to reveal that all this Bloodshed was so unnecessary... OBW: The Israeli Newspaper 'Hareetz' which started leaking the Israeli Gov't failure to protect its Citizens about a year ago was Sanctioned by Netanyahu's Gov't today...
"A Ceasefire in Gaza, and Lebanon would have been achieved much earlier, perhaps in Spring 2024"....if Hamas had surrendered. If Gazans had revolted and handed over those that slaughtered and kidnapped peace loving Jewish folks.
I think that Bibi should have been jailed (along with Trump). And his brutality to Gaza has been a crime against humanity. But so was Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden. The Japanese and the Germans surrendered in the face of an absolutely certain defeat. Hamas is complicit by not accepting the reality that "Never Again" is in the DNA of Israeli Jews. Hamas is doomed.
Hamas has sacrificed their own people - women and babies for an impossible ideological goal. They could have ended this a long time ago. Saved their people, surrendered.
There are always three sides to every story. "Yours, mine and the truth."
If I were an Israeli Jew and lost loved ones on October 7, 2023 I would probably want to fight until every member of Hamas was dead.
If I were a kid who managed to survive in Gaza and watched my family die - buried in bombed rubble, I would probably sign up for a short life of vengeance with Hamas.
Someone has to say stop. And it is almost always the loser of the war.
I'm waiting, Apache, for the essay-writing program.
That is, schools for upper teens, and young adults, could teach youth on both sides of the stereotype divide to see each other as individuals in their fraught communities.
Individuals grow -- some do. That is, we all first inherit our cultures. Many just stay in whatever styles, fashions, and expectations they get originally from their families and communities. Others chafe. Change. They make culture more particularly for themselves -- and appreciate others willing similar evolution, growth, adjustments, plunges.
An essay writing program can credit, first, peers for nudges from them, starting with new forms of the necessities for all: food-clothing-shelter (including landscapes and travel).
The U.S., Israel, Iran, and regional others there spend so much on war, on fossilizing hatreds, on angry old people locked in the angry slogans. Vulgarity is that total among our "leaders," our "elites"? Education can have no perch at all among all doomed by them? No funds for any schools venturing anything outside all the hopeless cycles?
Amen to this. It also works. But it costs local extremist politicians votes and risks them losing their power and privilege. Northern Ireland remains in a segregated historically frozen state because of its public apartheid education system. For some reason successive British governments (Ireland signed away any direct local political influence with The Belfast Agreement), have seen fit to neglect or ignore or, with local political or religious extremist aid (Catholic church or Christo fascist Unionists) block any attempts to jettison the educating of children in separate British Protestant or Irish schools. There are some integrated schools but they are a minority. Then every election round local journalists opine why it is that rigid voting patterns of Orange and Green remain so deeply sectarian. Are these individuals bigots or simply purposely undereducated ?
Some years ago I recall someone talking about establishing a cabinet level Department of Peace, a for real one to identify and act to deescalate preventable conflict. It sounds like a pipe dream (especially now), but why not? I'm aware that some such preemptive work is already being done, but is it as comprehensive as it might be? I think that progress stalls on many fronts because our strategies fail to take a sufficiently comprehensive approach. We could at least try to get a better purchase on them. Especially as the world gets "smaller". What goes around comes around.
I have been concentrated on "peacemakers" rather than bomb throwers or retaliators for some time. Tragically, peacemaking and coalition building is more in the feminine wheelhouse. USA proved they reject the leadership of women, time and time again. Now the "Christian Nationalists" have convinced a proportion of the US population that violence is the way to approach relationships. Elon Musk was at the 45 rallies claiming "free speech, First Amendment rights are guaranteed by The Second Amendment." That's their lie. Trump is ever the bully.
"USA proved they reject the leadership of women, time and time again."
Sadly true, Beverly.
Kamala would have won when, asked what she might do differently from the current administration, of which she was a part, she could have suggested some major push for peace in the Middle East involving its schools.
Instead, she passed, saying she couldn't think of anything different.
That likely only cost her the American Arabic / Palestinian vote, which by itself had relatively small impact. Much of America has been only too happy for Netanyahu's war, led by the the GOP.
Trouble is, those in power typically have become living dead by the time they've gotten their offices. Totally void of any humanities.
So easy for our dehumanized to resort to military thinking, because at its most mediocre it's only numbers, units, and more numbers and units (bombs, missiles, razor wire, attack gunships, drones, body bags).
Great generals knew better than this. But just name the countries in repeat barbarism and see: only mediocrities in every country.
A new first, diplomacy via social media. Threaten your friends and crush your economy. Makes perfect sense to me when you elect an aging, pathologic narcissist to the Presidency. The only turkey to be served on Thursday is the United State of America. The stuffing, the 49 % who voted for Trump. The mashed potatoes-democracy. Bill
It is absolutely appalling that the orange 🍊 buffoon cannot/will not abide by any norms what so ever as to established guidelines for transition. He bullies his way forward with out any respect for the nation or we the people. He defies any precedent until we take a stand and STOP HIM as the rule of law dictates.
Media has reduced citizen participation in governance to rowdy crowd egging on their costumed hero at a choreographed theatrical wrestling match. The future be damned.
Government by rowdy crowd, yes. Rowdy media, too. But the crowd is the problem. They demand a rowdy media. Won’t watch anything else. The belligerents (that is, a 20-point majority of white Americans and almost nobody else) are in charge, now. Trump voices their most treasured fantasies. The Republicans have been riding those fantasies since 1968 but did not, until Trump, allow them to drive the train.
Nowhere to be seen. The guys throwing spitballs in the back of your junior highschool have now decided who will run the richest, most powerful country in history.
Get nominees vetted for 2026 NOW. Demand hand recounts in all ambiguous areas and those not called yet. The House is still very close; support those outstanding nominees. Let the orange 🍊 man use legislators who are loyalists as cabinet picks so they sacrifice their majority. Then object loudly to the appointments because they too are unfit. Let Biden know we support his stacking the judiciary with democratic leaning judges and to use his IMMUNITY to finish his
legacy; he has a great deal of experience and he’s not retired yet. Let him use it! Support him as the media failed to do. He cannot fight for the people while OPEDS ( clickbait journalists) run crickets CONSTANTLY. If Trump stole the election (likely with Putin and Musk joining him) then let’s be sure the intelligence agencies do their jobs and find the culprits. I am not a politician and frankly despise the topic but from reading, those are a few ideas that might work.
There is no question that Trump will cite the falling Fentanyl deaths and decreased border crossings as a proof of his successful policies shortly after he takes office. He will appropriate Biden’s successes as he did Obama’s during his first term. Sadly, it will reported as such by Fox, Musk and the other sycophants.
Definitely but, time for Biden to formalize the 28th Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ABA House of Delegates & 300 other Organizations across our Country have already shown the way to final merely ministerial acts.
That would be good. Actually, I'm for abolishing the Electoral College (one person, one vote) and expanding SCOTUS to thirteen (and filling the empties) first, not necessarily in that order.
U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.
Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,”
Watch carefully as situations like this become “pay to play”. They will have to pay millionsin bribes to carry on as usual.
Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”
Grassley is a “negotiating fool” long past his expiration date.
Trump is behaving like a toddler, lashing out in an impotent fury, with no real understanding of what is going on around them in a world that consists only of their feelings.
If it were only Trump we have to worry about, it would be bad enough, but this tantruming toddler has powerful, oligarch "parents" who will see that baby's tantrums are not ignored.
I read something recently but cannot recall where. Trump s already expressing "hints\" that he'll run for a third term. When can we wake up from this nightmare? Half the country voted for him. Are they so stupid they don't know what's happening? In my estimation, we are on the precipice of the USA collapsing.
"Run?" I don't think he's going to leave the White House. He's going to make himself dictator by declaring a bogus "national emergency", with his shadow backers paving the way. Or set off a civil war trying.
It’s infuriating that the president elect has zero knowledge or wisdom of approaching our global economy or foreign relation’s. It’s time for the democrats to step up, not step aside!
I like that - "step up, not step aside."
And we need to get the media to stop amplifying his social media posts. He has controlled the narrative for far too long, with only lies, fear, hate and division. Let's get back to reality, and adulthood. Quit treating him like he's "normal." All he wants to do is golf, talk about who's got the biggest genitals, and what his latest grift is that he's selling to put money in his own pockets. Oh, and who he's putting in place to destroy another of our institutions and social safety nets. Apparently, he's choosing only from a pool of white supremacists with a criminal background.
The president-elect of the United States of America (the greatest economic and military power on Earth, with the nuclear power to destroy life on Earth) is a convicted criminal, grifter, inveterate liar, and a subpar level of intelligence (to be kind). Americans think about the fact that YOU voted for him. Why? Because you needed to believe all the BS that gave you reasons to hate.
President-elect.. The current president is Biden.
Correct Imogene Drummond! Joseph Robinette Biden is the last president of the United States of America. trump is the first president of the ARUS: Autocracy R US.
No one knows this. Do not submit ahead of time.
We have a viable Democracy as it stands today. We fully intend to fight for it. You are either going to do that with us or not. Please do not declare defeat without any facts. Otherwise, this is called fearmongering.
Agree to a point Barbara. The fact that Trump was never held
accountable for all his crimes indicates our democracy is failing.
Thank you for that reminder. And our president is actively working for a democracy for all.
And his cabinet nominations aren’t in office yet. They’ll be installed — or not — after he’s installed January 20, 2025, not today.
Thanks, Yoshie.
"Americans think about the fact that YOU voted for him. Why? Because you needed to believe all the BS that gave you reasons to hate."
And I guarantee that a majority of those in the farm and construction industries -- who are now begging to be spared from mass deportations of their workforce -- voted for trump.
And they are appealing for their profits, not for the good of the country or our people. Chances are, they agree with Trump, except for what affects them the most. If not, they would insist on impeachment and justice for his crimes.
Yes, now they want to beg for him not to do what he said he would. Better yet, Ackman was very vocal about how great Trump would be and now he wants us to believe he won’t do those things. Ackman’s a small, petty man who thinks his money gives him rights he doesn’t have. I watched him write novels of garbage on X and all of it was trying to justify his lack of ethics. The negotiating tool line did so much damage to Grassley’s constituents I can’t imagine why they keep electing him.
The Trump camp doesn’t care if it’s illegal, they’ll do it anyway.
Right, Ackman has been a corrosive to academic freedom, by using his money to bully some of our best academic institutions. Ackman also hypocritically used accusations of plagiarism to attack people like Dr. Claudine Gay of Harvard, while claiming accusations of plagiarism against his wife Dr. Neri Oxman (who lifted passages from Wikipedia in her dissertation). He's almost as bad as Trump.
Steven Kierstead, Claudine Gay was a plagiarist and her handling of the antisemitism issue at Harvard was less than stellar.
Ackman was right about that.
He defended his wife not the least because she admitted responsibility.
If tariffs are just a threat and are never going to happen, then why use them as a threat in the first place? Why say that they are just threats? That is not how threats and negotiations work. I'm so tired of these people being Trump whisperers who try to gaslight us that what Trump is saying, isn't what he is actually saying.
Calling it a "threat" does imply an intent to follow through.
More likely, though, his use of "threats" when he *knows* there's no need to follow through are just used to enlarge his shadow of competence and power. In short: it's a bluff, and if someone calls him on it, *then* it's a threat.
Dan, Of course they did. Go out of the urban areas of Oregon and all you would see before the election were signs for death star. I have read articles about certain Hispanics who are citizens, thinking that they would not be affected and voting for death star. A lot of them have family and friends who are undocumented. We have a heavily Hispanic town north of us and i would bet that the tension there is sky high. We have a landscape service and I have no idea whether or not their workers are citizens or not. I do know that our pruning service does not hire undocumented workers. However, I am willing to bet that the company that gets a lot of local government contracts because they are cheaper, do. I call them Tree Butchers, Inc. So, in addition to ag and construction industries, people are going to find in many instances there are few or no workers.
And all those people who complained about grocery prices and oil prices, should get ready for higher prices and perhaps emptier shelves.
Not just “perhaps emptier shelves,” but definitely higher prices and emptier shelves. Between climate change and proposed tariffs, the former middle class (brought low by trickle down) will be hungry as intended by the criminals in power.
I didn't mean to waffle here. It could be very bad.
This is where Trump takes his cut.
We will all get what half of us deserve.
I would argue more than half. The Trump voters and the nonvoters and the Stein voters all deserve this. The rest of us are stuck trying to protect people in our lives with very few legal tools or resources.
Crying doen't help.
Your comment couldn't be more clear of what's coming to us because of the others..
Yes. More Americans preferred Yrump because he gave thrm permission to indulge their bigotry and hate. Trust me,NO ONE in the legacy media wants to report or analyze that.
bitchybitchybitchy, I'm not picking on you personally, but with respect, I would ask that we who are well-informed and intelligent stop using the term, "legacy media." The word "legacy" implies leaving something behind of lasting, beneficial value. That is not what we're getting from the major networks.
Likewise, "mainstream" is no longer an accurate descriptor, in my opinion. Social media, through all its platforms, including Dr. Richardson's "Letters," has supplanted the major television networks and big-city newspapers. This erosion of their audiences is what motivates them to amplify the controversial words and actions of The Donald and his stooges. Those outlets are all desperate to capture as many ears and eyeballs as possible, because they justify the media's advertising rates, which put money in the pockets of the oligarch-owners.
This leads me to recommend the most accurate term for these Trumpworld shills: Corporate Media.
Picking at terms? What does it matter? These are the words used today.
The media has been the issue for a very long time. I recall the years of "yellow journalism" being talked about in history books. Bob Dylan spoke of the media in 1962 in his song A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall: " Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters." He is quoted as saying this described the media.
The real issue are the readers and watchers of this stuff.
Unfortunately he has the mainstream media outlets in his pocket.
well...doing so exposes their failures
40% of Americans get half of their news from social media, its not fair to blame legacy media on this. The data shows that highly engaged voters and voters that read the news voted for Harris.
The President is Biden. I know what you are saying but I counter for a reason. Joe is our President and we need to back him and his policies until the very last day. When we cease doing so he loses voice and power and that is what Maga wants.
Actually Trump only got a plurality of the vote, about 48%. Most voters voted for Harris or a 3rd party candidate. Trump just barely won the election and is deeply unpopular.
That really is how it is isn't it? Of course, the media have now emblazoned the word "mandate" across their foreheads because their fear trump.
The Womens March planned for Inauguration should be a massive coalition of every group opposed to Orange Hitler. There should be a man for every single women marching on that day.........tell the Orange Cult that they "do not own the women now".......and never ever will!!!.
"Most voters voted for Harris or a 3rd party candidate."
OR more accurately,
Most voters voted for Trump or a 3rd party candidate.
No, you are making a fundamental mistake by referring Trump as the President of the US. He is not, Mr. Biden is. Pls be careful.
1. The President of the United States is Joe Biden.
2. 75 million people voted for Kamala Harris. The largest in history.
3. Stop hating on American voters.
"75 million people voted for Kamala Harris. The largest in history."
Harris got 74,406,431. Biden got 81 MM, supposedly. Wow!! Are you suggesting, finally, that Biden did NOT get 81 MM???????
oops! sorry.
Harvey, no, because trump won the media war in the swing states is the reason. Where is Biden/Harris now when time is of the essence?
Harris/Waltz posted a video yesterday.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=harris+post+election+video&mid=407A402383CD9C3134A5407A402383CD9C3134A5&FORM=VIRE#:~:text=1%3A44-,Campaign%202024%2DHarris%2DWalz%20Post%2DElection%20Message%20to%20Supporters,-C%2DSPAN.org
The pendulum will swing back but at what price that will be paid. He will give or sell national secrets for personal gain. He will place a stain on the very White House with his presence. He will nominate the worst. He will shift as much wealth as possible in the shortest time to the wealthy supporters who have no moral or ethical compass. I would take my chances with the remaining good generals to suspend the constitution and rid this menace.
Beverly, I think that you just identified the formula, if one wants to get noticed, broadcast "lies, fear, hate and division." Sadly, we are living in "interesting times." That having been said, I am struggling internally with the anger and disappointment that I have for friends who voted for Trump. I never, ever thought that so many people could be that ignorant, that stupid, that so unaware and so indifferent to the obvious.
Yep, friends and family are redefined
We are fortunate. I would say all of our friends did not vote for death star. I have one ex-classmate who I know did. It was her birthday the other day, so I wished her a happy birthday, but should she post dreck, I will have to block her. We are keeping our friends and family here close. i have family in the midwest. I have no idea if they voted or not as they seem to be busy having children; I am to be a great great aunt for over the 12th time. These are people, who for the most part, have scut jobs, and I am sure receive government benefits at times.
Me thinks a lot of those government benefits will go the way of SS and Medicare. The Repubs have been waiting a long time for this opportunity. They won’t back down
I am sure they will, but most of these folks are poorly educated and I do not know if they will make the connection.
Same here. I’m struggling being in the room of friends who I know are Trumpers. I’m so over their anger and lies ~ life isn’t that bad… it’s actually pretty good (before Trump takes office that is)
Richard, I have been thinking that all we hear from the death star side is threats to cause fear, and hatred and division to back all this dreck up. The other side offered unity and help for ordinary people, but somehow the former won out, even if not by much. And why, oh why, were people voting for Jill not green Stein.
Voting for a spoiler
She was a spoiler last time and her ties to Putey were made public. Duh.
I knew, so could anybody with half a brain.
That Richard plus Vlad pusface. I’m convinced he’s in the vote time mix big time.
Those he is choosing are the only kind of people, people like him, he can get along with.....at least for few hours.
Exactly! And many of them, like him, have been accused of sexual misconduct. Funny how these guys all find each other.
Wait, isn't that the prerequisite to be considered to run a vast government agency/department?
That’s what I thought. I guess the Founding Fathers never dream a traitor who tried to overthrow the government and a convicted felon would be elected President.
Well...Putin was smarter than our Founding Fathers....
My 4th grade lay teacher Mrs. Henigan, in catholic grade school once placed me under her desk for talking in class.
(Just a little humor to take the edge off of things. And yes, it did happen. It was after all, catholic culture.)
Here is a song I wrote during his first crap around. Enjoy and titled: "The Shithole Song." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BSaG6I77RU
Your comment is disgusting. It is misogyny at its worst. I reported your comment.
I thought you meant the song. I see you responded to my catholic school days. It happened so I will delete a few words to allow you less discomfort.
I also reported Bill's Tantrums & violations of his contractual duties to "Readers" under Substack's Choice of Law --not mine.
You must be the life of the party.
Probably hang out in the same middle school locker room.
Must be the smell
They, his appointees, for the most part, are a perfect reflection of his incompetence. Proof he cares not a twit for the country he was elected to head.
Exactly--these nominees are just the first round. They'll all be fired and replaced within six months. I'm sure Scaramucci is taking note to see if anyone can beat his record!
Kevin Robert’s and/or Vlad are just letting him get his revenge and take the heat for about six months. Then the fun will begin in Ernest, unless muskrat can’t wait that long.
😄
😂
And that pool of people is much, much smaller than it was in his first term. Because there are fewer people like him who can put up with him. Plus they become used to the smell.
There’s certainly a great deal of ego in the chosen group. If it weren’t so important, it might be fun to watch them implode.
And that is my silver lining. Their infighting will limit the amount of damage they can do. But we need to keep our eye on the ball which are the guys from Wall Street. They stay out of the spotlight on purpose and I fear they will bankrupt the country and no one will notice until it is too late. Google a couple of these fellows and you will see where their priorities lie. The MAGA’s are going to be out of a job before the Eagles make their first touchdown.
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
Beverly Falls -- The media has been amplifying Trump for years and is the cause of him continuing to blather everything he wants to blather. The NYTimes and WAPO (and Fox), and I must add Rachel Maddow are almost solely to blame for what we've got now. Now covering his social media for every dot and tittle! Yes, he certainly controls the narrative -- and then some.
Exactly which is why we are on a news blackout. Only getting my news from the good Dr. and overseas news. I’m not interested in Trump’s nonsense which is what it is. He reminds me of Charlie Brown’s teacher’s voice “wa, wa, wa, wa,” droning on and on.
After the election I cancelled WAPO and The NYTimes. I do not watch nor listen to news, only Heather and Steve. Otherwise I would be driven
insane.
We are not watching national news and we have a number of news sources. I am interested in local news and our local rag is the last place I look except for obits.
True, but the legacy media has also been exposed as part of the problem. The Maga era has made me into a cynic about the media and press, justice, and the wisdom of the American people.
Steve, I read a lot of history, all times and all places where my interests carry me. I have been cynical about humankind for a very long time and all this only makes it worse.
Yes to this!!!
The way to do that is to have journalists and leaders in gov't. spread the word on every media outlet. Individual citizens cannot do that. We have a plethora of facts that are not being heard by the people that need to hear it. Every fact that HCR enumerated should be taken up by a leader that has the gravitas to spread this information. MAGATS and tRump supporters should be bombarded with this info. If each leader in the Democratic House chose one issue HCR focused on, we might get an informed electorate. We have a month to do that. Pressure on democratic leaders needs to start now!
Oh no. Not this time around. Now he has the support of women, Hispanics, Blacks, Gays, Amish, Jews, Arabs Christians. Hate and pettiness are powerful unifiers
Beverly, you do that by competing for media attention with tRump, which he is clearly a master of. There has been no plan by our democratic leaders to do just that!
"It’s infuriating that the president elect has zero knowledge or wisdom of approaching our global economy or foreign relation’s. It’s time for the democrats to step up, not step aside!"
What a segue. I am so weary of critics of Trump blaming Democrats. Trump, the Senate majority, and the House majority were elected by Republicans - and by every American who did not vote for the Democratic candidates. Democrats step up all the time. Not enough Americans step up to empower them.
He's too fucking ignorant to qualify as a member of the species. Homo Sap - him and his droolers; Homo Sapiens - us.
He is the combination of two lethal personality traits: low IQ and narcissism. His narcissism does tell him he is a genius king. Narcissists can only tolerate having sycophants around. He is also at the point in his degeneration as a human being that he is completely overtaken by evil. Ever looked in his eyes in photos? Reptilian.
I watch people eyes. As people like Mike Johnson sink into craven power their eyes go dead. And their smiles are fake. I guess I needed to get this out of my system! Last time I'll pay this much attention to him.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
You are right. I used to post pic of his dead eyes on FB and T before I got banned. Think I’ll post them on BSky today…. Right about Mike too…
FB banned the pics? Hmmm. I am so glad Bluesky is here. We are developing a credible alternate media ecosystem with Substack, Meidas Touch, etc.
Yes. Bluesky 🦋is a state of the art platform. I gotta ask Casey Newton at Platformer to do a technical review.
Anybody else notice that we briefly lost some functional tools on Substack Inc's platform earlier today?
You know those three (3) little dotes ... over to the right. Yeah those ...
I must have the "Edit" tool which means (among other things) that I can do real-time updates just like HCR does real-time history.
And, I can correct my fat finger errors.
Bryan I just clicked one of my posts. I have the edit function at the top of the list. Try a cold reboot. That might clear things up for you.
Also. I have noticed a pretty heavy traffic of comments lately. I imagine Substack is straining so I fully expect to see some things jumping around.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Actually Barbara, according to Dr. Bandy Lee, it is not his narcissism which makes him most dangerous, it is his psychopathy. He fits into the antisocial personality disorder diagnosis and it is the lack of empathy and impulsiveness that is most dangerous - on par with Hitler and Mussolini. You can find Dr. Bandy Lee on YouTube and elsewhere, as well as her books about Trump.
I have spent my life around narcissists.
Barbara, first of all, have a Happy Thanksgiving, if you can. These are difficult times. Second, I felt that your comparing Trump to reptiles was insulting to the reptiles. As I grow older (now 84) I have come to appreciate more and more our fellow inhabitants of this planet, how we're wasted their habitat, on the one hand, and how we've wasted our mental capacity, on the other hand. How to explain a creep as degraded as Trump being selected to lead us? I'm not a Christian, though brought up as one, and what immediately comes to my mind is this: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
It's a description not a condemnation Richard. Reptiles could care less.
I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving. I need to be with people that love each other no matter what. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. Thank you for your appreciation of all living things.
He is ALL human failings wrapped up into one person.
Happy Thanksgiving, Barbara.
Thank You Paula. Hope your Thanksgiving is a good one.
Well said! Just look at that Nazi Steven Miller. Evil.
Lizard people 🦎 and Putin is one of them as well. I think it was Madeline Albright who said it??
Whatever he is, he will be in control of the atomic arsenal.....😲 how could about 50% of the voters, voted for that thing..
The best explanation I have seen is that they have been deluded through the the dominance of billionaire-owned right wing media lies and disinformation. Propaganda is a powerful weapon in the struggle between the oligarchs and the people at large.
Has been since 1996, likely before since Rupert “used the front page, the editorial page and every other page necessary to elect Ronald Reagan as President.” So said, Jack Kemp about Rupert in Jan 1981.
Vlad is orgasmic
@Ricardo Grinbank: It is so very important to keep reminding yourself and our compatriots that we, the non-Trumpian patriots who are still here, comprise >50% of the USA, not the other way around. Trump and his pack of vindictive troglodytes are nothing more than a thin plurality—not a majority—and have a “mandate” only in the primitive recesses of their own incompletely septated, reptilian brains.
Ricardo this is not the first time in history that we have had a heavy risk President in the White House. Nixon, towards the end of this Presidency, was wandering around the White House drunk and talking to the portraits. During George W, Bush's terms he had two of the most trigger-happy people on the planet, Rumsfeld and Cheney.
then there was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 when Russia decided to plant nuclear warheads in Cuba-and point them at the US.
The bottom line to all of this is we have been living with nuclear threat since Hiroshima.
Let's have some perspective please:
For votes counted through Nov. 20, Trump’s margin over Harris was 1.62 percent. That’s smaller than any winner since Bush in 2000, when the margin was 0.51 percent. Going back further, only John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Nixon in 1968 won the popular vote by smaller margins, 0.17 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Using raw votes, Trump’s margin was also smaller than in any election going back to 2000. At about 2.5 million, it was the fifth-smallest popular vote margin since 1960."
PBS
No, Ricardo..., how could 400 plus Congress(PERSONS) and Senators have let this happen? Let's see if they can figure it out before we have an atomic solution.
Trump says he will sign executive orders for these tariffs on his first day.
¡Scheiße! ¿How does that work?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-says-plans-enact-new-tariffs-canada-china-mexico-first-day-offic-rcna181753
From the U.S. Constitution:
"[Article I] Section. 8.
"The Congress shall have Power
"To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises . . .
"To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations . . . ."
Trump has no idea how our government works. Once again, he thinks he is King and in charge of everything. The stupidity is astounding.
His gall is beyond astounding. The guard rails are GONE
Well, let us hope not. I have talked with some elated Trump supporters. They do not think he is out to become a dictator. These are intelligent, well-meaning people. G-D knows, I hope they are right.
There has been executive over-reach for years. Maybe the craven quislings in Congress will finally correct the severe calcium deficiency in the lower back area that many seem to share.
Are you betting the farm, hahaha
Thank you for making me smile. Per that fine, mid-century American existentialist, Snoopy: "Always find a reason to laugh. It may not add years to your life but it will surely add life to your years." 🥳✌🏽😊
Pretty sure SCOTUS told him he could do anything he wants, or at least he heard it that way.
Yeah, sadly, I think you are correct on that one, Rhonda.
So does he just toss out the international trade agreement his own previous administration made with Mexico and Canada? I noticed how that the top Canadian and Mexican leaders reminded him all too well of realities.
He enjoys power for its own sake. He is a mythical tragedy unfolding in our time.
Nahh. Trump does not have a tragic flaw; he IS a tragic flaw.
And here we are ~ global leaders babysitting the American President while giving him lessons on “How World Leadership Operates” Unfortunately Trump doesn’t have the skills necessary to read “Running a Country for Dummies”
You have that right. Trump has said, "When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same."
And he doesn't care
Such a tragic time, a little dark humor "Running a (very big, powerful, nuclear-armed) Country for Dummies" gave me a chuckle. Thank you.
Ratified treaties are supposed to be as binding as US Law.
STEVEN and FRANK, here you go; hope this helps. I am not trained in the law, but I believe that I understand this text.
😳🤞⚖️🤔💔
The Constitution of the United States of America:
"[Article II]
"Section II
". . . . He [i.e., the President]shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate . . .
"Article VI
". . . . all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land . . . ."
BUT, this may be 'mission-critical:
"Article III
"Section I
"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . . ."
"Section II
"The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority . . . ."
I'd like to know more abt that.
Please revert to my response the Steven, Frank.
Frank.., I think 'the commotion' will consume the next 4 years. Beneath it, let's hope a rising star will emerge. This kind of thing could generate one. On the other hand, should the next four years not be any worse than the past eight... only time will tell. If China decides to call our hand on Taiwan, all bets are off. May of 2026 looks like a target date.
I just read 'Hillbilly Elegy' by V.P.-elect Vance. As a conservative, I liked it. His politics has not change since he wrote the book; his manner has in his deference to Trump. Will the real J.D. Vance please stand up?
Please give me reasons why you liked the book.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7264891420279296001/ Remember, I grew up in PGH and watched the steel industry I worked in during college summers collapse.
J.D. Vance is talented in his thinking and writing.
J.D. Vance got through four years of college in two years.
J.D. Vance's values from his family -- e.g., do not impose upon others -- ring true for me.
J.D. Vance had a great older sister and grand-parents who gave him love and resilience. Yes there was craziness, but there was a home-spun decency.
J.D. Vance relieved me of some concern in that his politics was the same eight years ago, though he disliked Trump.
So, will the real J.D. Vance please standup.
A relative made an astute observation this evening. There is a good chance that in the next term, the presidency may shift from one of the oldest presidents to the youngest president ever.
I do not know, Frank. But you make a crucial point at a critical time. American power is hollowed out financially. We are in the Chinese century and the United States in a first among equals militarily. But she is an equal, always has been.
We Yanks, disillusioned or cognitivel O.T.L., had better wise up, fast.
Whom do we have at the helm? A homo-erotic imposter who believes, "When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same."
So, if i read your post correctly, a treaty needs a supermajority in Congress to pass? That apply to a tariff posting or are there "extenuating" circumstances... so the treaty still applies, but there are special, allowed reasons to apply a tariff...
Richard Nortier supplied some timely intel.
https://www.axios.com/2024/11/15/trump-tariffs-congress
I May be mistaken please correct me but I thought Executive Orders have very limited funding and what he proposes needs huge changes to the software underlying imposing these deep changes. He's definitely certifiable in his stupidity about how these functions occur.
Don't tell me that the stupids in this country voted for a bigger stupid...
😂
My family -- including relatives far brighter than I -- split down the middle in this election. Friends and acquaintances who voted for Trump are voting against career politicians and what they view as corrupted power. After reading 'Hillbilly Elegy', I believe that M.A.G.A.s are not necessarily giving up on the republican experiment but believe that the republican experiment has given up on them.
The power of the executive has been expanded to monarchical levels by the corrupt and rabidly partisan Supreme Court and implementation of a unitary executive model following the Project 2025 blueprint for White Christian nationalist autocracy would greatly enhance that power. The House and Senate are likely to fall in line. The danger to democracy is extreme and widespread popular resistance is the only remedy I see to stop the imposition of a fascist dictatorship. The 2026 midterms and 2025 off-year elections will be critical to move to restore democracy.
I do not think the Supreme Court over-extended the power executive branch. It merely codified a trend over the past few decades.
The Constitution has no provision for immunity for official acts. The rule of law applies to all and the president should not have a free pass to commit criminal acts. Giving the president the absolute power of a monarch was something the founders wanted to avoid through checks and balances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_immunity_in_the_United_States
I have long believed that originalism is an ideological cover story for some very ugly politics. Thank you for the information, Philip.
There are provisions for the president to impose tariffs. In most cases a willing congress is required which probably (unfortunately) won't be a problem - https://www.axios.com/2024/11/15/trump-tariffs-congress
Richard, thank you for the intel. I responded by citing the Constitution to Frank and Steve above. Yes, what Congress giveth, Congress can take away. Getting ready for a scheiße-show. Thank you, again, for your response.✌🏽
I still can't decide if Trump is actually stupid, or just willfully ignorant/oblivious but crafty.
If you haven't read Mary L. Trump's book, I recommend it. Your questions will be answered. Spoiler alert: He is stupid, or more accurately, learning disabled. This would make him pitiful, were it not that at an early age, he developed a bottomless capacity for malice, encouraged by his father, Fred. Both of Donald's parents were incapable of demonstrating love or empathy. With no model to follow, he, too is incapable of feeling anything but self-interest. Here's a link to purchasing the book without benefitting an oligarch: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/too-much-and-never-enough-how-my-family-created-the-worlds-most-dangerous-man_mary-l-trump/26891852/#edition=33029714&idiq=40530028
The two books by a group of mental health professionals and thought-leaders led by Dr Bandy Lee also zero in on Trump's faults and pathologies, at least as they see.
'The Dagerous Case of Donald Trump', published in 2017. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6145972/
'The More Dangerous Case of Donald Trump', published in 2024. https://app.thebookpatch.com/BookStore/the-more-dangerous-case-of-donald-trump-40-psychiatrists-and-mental-health-experts-warn-anew/a16c0988-d60f-481d-8317-cbc5fa92838f
He’s both
Exactly! People shun me when I mutter this too.
They were meant, I believe, for guidance on implementing legislated policies.
I think executive orders were meant to be guidance for implementing legislation passed by Congress. But career politicians are more worried about keeping power rather than using it in the public trust.
https://www.gao.gov/products/095406
Dr Cox Richardson has often noted that Trump's plans on de-funding agencies, as per 'Project 2025' (i.e., re-cycled Reaganism as an ideological bridge too far) directly violates 'The Impoundment Control Act of 1974'.
Easy, in his mind, or whatever is left of it, he is already a dictator.
Ned.., simple it isn't gonna work.., and numbskull will capitalize on whatever happens and make himself look exponentially GOOOOD! Haven't we seen this act before? Yes we have. And he's back in the big house as proof. We, on the other hand, are about as numb as a pounded thumb. We've got 51 "numb" Senators as proof.
Well, let us hope not. I remain stubbornly optimistic.
Why? I have nowhere else to go.
Yes, I will fight if I have to.
Infuriating, yes. But President ELECT...
I think this is half of your problem....
this
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCxlH5uMj_D/?igsh=MTNqN24wMng4amU2dg==
okay, that was terrifying...
45 loves "the uneducated."
He is one.
Yeah, we've got a nation full of them... sigh...
Plenty of so called educated people voted for this madman. Look at Vance. Exhibit A
I am at a loss for words.
Me Too, Linda.. The fact that we have 51 Senators and 213 Reps, to whom WE have provided a pulpit to speak from.., from which I have only heard from one... Jasmine Crockett (TX), causes me to feel disgusted.
please tell me this was supposed to be satire??? otherwise, yikes.
Not satire exactly, those are real signs. Jason Gaston is worth following.
So freaking true, Christopher.
Christopher Colles -- That was disgusting. And something that you can't unsee.
I know Judith.
Jason Gaston is good at horror 🙂
Thank you. That guy is off his meds.
He's reading real signs
Thank you for making me smile. Happy Thanksgiving.
So the attack on American Citizens, morally & in our pocket books starts with a salvo on 11/26/24; let's call it orange Duce's Black Tuesday.
Where to start?
Wherever his Orwellian tactics are vulnerable. Force a divestiture of his ownership stock in Truth Media & Technology Group (WRECK). Senators: D, R and/or Other, it is time to step-up now including the Senator Elect from my state, Adam Schiff. Take down another of "nominees". Tulsi Gabbard can be sent back to Syria. Get creative tactically.
Happy Thanksgiving ... make it so!
No discussion about Putin's breech of our national security. Should be firtst priority.
I wonder why it isn’t. Possibly because no one knows what to do about it?
We lost not to the Republicans as much as to Russian psy ops. They learned it from us. We used it successfully many times since WW II. We failed to fully prosecute the 2016 election interference, and although we had advance notice did little to stop it.
Tempus fugit, but Biden can step up and be a hero. Given the threats by an inchoate unitary executive, who beleieves that his election is redemption for being victimized and threatens recrimination, he should grant tens of thosuands of pardons to folks like us.
Are crimes of election interference acts of war? We should be discussing war powers. What about Biden as unitary executive for a month?
Dems step up? hahahahah - spineless , useless, appeasers in their own way
From Senator this morning :
Should Democrats rebuild their wall of anti-Trump resistance in 2025 as the president-elect takes office? Not if you ask John Fetterman. “If you vote against everyone, then you lose whatever value or whatever statement that you’re trying to make,” Fetterman said. “Has anyone checked? If you win, you pick the people. And it’s like, if you’ve got the votes, [opposition is] not going to really change the outcome.” Indeed, the Senate Democratic Caucus doesn’t seem inclined to delay or fight Donald Trump’s Cabinet tooth and nail the way the party did in 2017, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports. Democrats from across the ideological spectrum say that delay is not their goal, although it is still very early in the process. “I am not for foot-dragging. The president ought to have this team in place,” Democratic whip Dick Durbin said.
I do hope that Biden will at least pardon Hunter - if not the republicans intend to jail him and will.
Many here in the comments have noted that trump is not bright etc . What I fear are the Ackman's, Grassley's, Leo's , the team of sharp lawyers he has around him etc that will enact policies through him. Policies that are aimed at dismantling America as we know it.
Read the editorial pages of the WSJ, listen to the slow acceptance of trumpism from many of the hosts on CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, ( corporate bosses fear losing their license to broadcast!)
But in the end I blame the people of America - they are blind and intellectually lazy that they would re-elect this fraud. Like the British who were shocked when Brexit too affect to find what they voted for, so do will a large swath of America be shocked when they discover groceries actually cost more, their interest rates soar, their 401K drop, when they find that THEIR family members are deported - not some other people, that their gay child or relative is denied employment and even medical care, when they discover that they must whisper in public because they do not know who is listening and might report them
This sounds extreme and tim hat, I know. But read between he lines of Project 2025, of the comments from the rabid congress people and from the people BEHIND the scenes of the trump administration as well as the limpness of Durbin and Letterman et al or the anti trans comments from Muldon who embraces republican talking points. A storm is coming - we need a strong shelter to combat it - before the storm arrives.
Correction to my comment above, auto correct changed “ Semafor” to “ senator “
Semafor is a news site
He's a simplistic idiot...a child with a cell phone who lobs digital molotov cocktails...
Mike, I absolutely love that description! May I use that description in my writing?
Sure, run with it...knock yourself out
Thank you, Mike!
(I am currently attempting to obtain an agent for my first manuscript. I've written a second and am 80% done with a third. It's usually Jeri down in TX who comes up with some great lines that I can hear in the voice of a character in the third novel. She has kindly said I could use them, but I always ask for permission. That line you used would perfectly summarize the estranged relationship between a mother and her internet-influencer daughter.)
Have a good Thanksgiving.
I love it...no one has ever asked to use one of my one liners in a novel. A quip from a frustrated mother...good luck with the agent and getting published. Keep us abreast of things and the title and release date of your first book. Happy T Day.
Mike, the agent is key. TC gave me an intro to his agent who does not represent my genre of work. She promised to look at my query and synopsis, and forward onto a possible agent . The manuscript has been professionally edited and the editor thought I should pursue publication. Fingers crossed!
Have a good Thanksgiving as well.
It's time for Mr. Biden to act on behalf of national security of America. Order Mr. Trump to disclose a professional assessment of his health and the names of those donating for the transition - all legally required. If he refuses, Biden can arrest him for national security. He is still President and is responsible for the safety of the country. Citizens should not be exposed to risk of Putin is compromising security of the country.
Yes I think everyone needs to not react with a "frenzy." That's what he wants. Ignore his tweets. Let these idiots actually touch the hot stove.
Time for ALL CONCERNED to step up. Trumps solutions to false narratives are rolling at the American public, not to mention those in its largest trading partners.
Also infuriating that the soon to be president of the United States writes like a 7th grader.
I will not hold my breath...so far their silence is deafening!
Trump has zero clue about what is happening on the Canadian border.........1/Guns are smuggled INTO Canada and used in violent crime...2/ Drugs are smuggled INTO Canada by the Hells Angles/Cartels etc...3/Immigrants are leaving the USA and crossing into Canada.
.....The heroin that he shared with Kennedy did not help bone spurs brain.......he bankrupted a casino...now he will bankrupt the USA.
Resist!
Trump's promise of new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China ignores a simple truth: other countries don't pay tariffs--we do. Tariffs are taxes on imports, and the costs get passed to American consumers through higher prices. History offers a clear warning, vividly captured in these Gilded Age cartoons, about who really pays for tariffs--and who profits. https://forgottenfiles.substack.com/p/the-hidden-cost-of-tariffs
Would one expect anything less from a 'Stable, Genius' Businessman that has filed for Bankruptcy at least 5-times, and mushroomed the National Debt? DJT will create Extreme Havoc on this Country...
Well, the Great Depression? The Great Recession? Republicans have a knack for this stuff.
Every Republican President has had a recession during their regimes back to Lincoln. And there have been 6 Presidents that had no recession during their time in office -
Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Clinton, Obama, Biden.
Hmmm, I wonder what they all have in common?
https://www.financialsense.com/contributors/urban-carmel/us-presidents-recessions
There's something there, Gary. Can't quite put my finger on it....
That is because they Work For The Oligarchs... Oligarchs can never have Enough... They Are $$$ Vampires...
Oh that’s it in a nutshell! 👏
Given enough rope he’ll hang himself?
I’ve settled on balancing this reactionary talk, and even to my family said, well we’re just gonna have to see how ..’his plan,the best plan that every was, coming in two months, will do.’ They say ‘It’s going to be fine’…
I’ve heard the alternate reality story since 2016..(plum in the middle for sure because I’m not going to alienate my children or grandchildren)..
If the US is going to allow criminals to get away with ruining the country …however they misconstrue their game …I will not gloat, nor hate, I’ll deal however and hope we can reconstruct and better the system which means tightening up the loopholes that let corruption, lies, and false claims ride rampant destruction.
I run my own show helping , walking the walk, voted , supported, and listened . What happens is a result of the people we entrusted not minding the store.
C’est last vie?
I am wondering what our country will look like next year at this time. Economic collapse planed by the DOGE morons who think they’re the most intelligent people in the world when all they are is corrupt prepubescents claiming they have the right to rule the serfs. We have done all our spending this past week on electronics and big purchases because we may not be able to get them for a reasonable price next year.
What else will there be shortages of besides our food supply? All the MAGA talk about Democrats banning beef will seem silly when they can’t find that food. No fresh produce, rampant disease from uninspected and unregulated foods like meats. I’m glad I know how to thrive on dried beans and rice but even then how much will rice cost? We don’t grow it here.
I fear for my grandchildren’s future. It’s hard to convince the one graduating from college that he has a bright future and great things to look forward to.
"When a clown moves into a palace, the clown does not become a king--the palace becomes a circus."
The ability to twist reality upside down also makes the scapegoating more believable
I'm sure I'm oversimplifying, but it seemed to me that Democrats were stymied by the press' love affair with Reagan, and gave up after that on fighting corruption, a tendency ti not to make too many waves. I thought and hoped that a public and partisan push would emerge to condemn and resist "Citizens United" but for all the complaining, organized resistance never gained much traction. The degree to which Big Money has been given free rein to shape our nation's politics compare to in my youth to me is jaw-dropping. It's the one ring to rule them all, but cementing it in place has been job one for Republicans for several decades, and a resisting it a secondary issue for Democrats over the same period; a concern but not an actionable issue. It's the elephant in the room that few seem sufficiently focused on.
Agreed. The Roberts Court has been a travesty.
Economic Collapse? Civil Collapse? Wonder if DJT is Dilextic?
What is “dilextic” - I couldn’t find a definition.
Another newsletter to render me sleepless (I simply got up to go to the bathroom and stupidly looked at my emails). Thanks Heather. With the incoming administration's threat of imposed tariffs, like a category 10 hurricane about to hit us, I worried about food scarcity. But then calmed myself knowing that the H-2A temporary agricultural visas that allow immigrants to work in our farms/dairies/meat packing plants would assure the status quo. Now they want to do away with THAT?? Back to food scarcity worries. Back to bed. Sometimes people have to hit rock bottom before they wake up....
Unfortunately I think you are correct. The more successful Trump and his billionaire cronies are at implementing tariffs and deportations the sooner we will experience skyrocketing consumer prices followed by a major crash of the economy. Perhaps that will be enough to wake up the clueless MAGA base and foment a popular revolt against the tyranny of the oligarchs.
If i heard Heather correctly, about half of immigrant agricultural workers are undocumented. Are they covered by H-2As?
Immigrants that enter the US to work under the H-2A program are considered to be documented.
He and his ilk already have!
And, worse, has a B.S. in economics from an Ivy League university!
DJT was a transfer Student from Fordham in Queens... DJT attended Wharton for two years... Allegedly, one of DJT's Professors called DJT the Dumbest Student that the Professor ever had... Allegedly, per Fortune Magazine, DJT is now worth 6.1B $, most of that in 'Truth Social'.... Hmm? A much more Interesting Calculation would be how many Billions has DJT Squandered? Start with the $400,000,000 that DJT got from his Father...
this. Fraud. Tax cheat and evader. Bankrupted casinos (plural!)
Now he's going to tank the US economy and drag the world economy down with it
Elections have consequences.
Daddy bought it
Many of our highly regarded universities, certainly the Ivy League schools, ought to be ashamed of, and condemned for, graduating people with no moral compass, and no appreciation for human rights and civil society, especially the off spring of dictators and oligarchs, not to mention many home grown lawyers and Wall Street types.
These universities are educating people who are dedicated to tearing down our society and our institutions. They are providing them with the tools they need. Freedom of speech and the free flow of ideas are critical for a free society, and a good university, but that doesn’t mean we provide the sons and daughters of dictators and oligarchs with the connections, the credentials and the tools to better implement their rape of their people and our planet.
Who has?
Remember to call it the TRUMP TAX and remind people WE TOLD THEM IT WOULD HAPPEN BEFORE THE ELECTION!
every. single. day.
The "trumpers" will blame it on Biden. Even after he is gone
No doubt about it.
Such is convenience , no accountability needed.
But perhaps that's the point, to finance the government with regressive sales taxes rather than the income tax his billionaire patrons so hate.
With the existing regime of taxation etc still making them the very richest generation of top wealth since the Gilded Age. Americans need a serious re-think of how to manage income inequality and its drastic effects on politics.
You have this exactly correct!
Note that tariffs on China, where tfg and Ivanka have numerous trademarks, are going to be only 10%, unlike Mexico and Canada at 25%!
You misread it. Trump proposes an additional 10% on top of the significant tariffs already on China. The existing tariffs on China have already reduced Chinese imports from 24% of our total to 14% of total imports. Current tariffs run from 25% up to 100% on EVs. THUS, under Trump EVs will have a 110% tariff. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/comparing-new-and-current-u-s-tariffs-on-chinese-imports/
OH, but not Musk's Teslas!!
He intends 10% on top of the 25% = 35% for China.
Big discounts for dictators.
See above.
Won't the Chinese tariffs hurt Trump's new best friend Elon Musk? Aren't most Teslas made in China?
There are still 17 red states and 3 purplish states where the minimum wage is stuck at $7.25 an hour. Trump blocked minimum wage increases in 2020 and refused to answer questions about raising the minimum wage 3 times during his McDonald's stunt.
"The 2019 minimum wage bill
One thing that’s clear is that the White House officially opposed a bill to enact $15 minimum wage in 2019.
That came when the House was considering H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act. All but six Democrats voted for the measure while only three Republicans voted for it. The bill would phase in a $15 minimum wage over a seven-year period."
The 2019 minimum wage bill
One thing that’s clear is that the White House officially opposed a bill to enact $15 minimum wage in 2019.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/oct/30/joe-biden/does-donald-trump-think-15-hour-too-much-essential/
Of course, not many workers are paid minimum wage, but why should anyone be paid only $7.25 an hour in the US.
The last federal minimum wage increase was in 2009, 15 years ago. With inflation at an average of 2% the minimum wage would be around $11/hour with a 2% COLA.
As usual, Trump and the Republicans only complain about the Dems and inflation, but are unable to offer solutions other than, "ELECT ME".
His voters are convinced he will lower prices on everything therefore they don’t need an increase in wages. Plus, for some odd reason, they think only 16 year olds work at those minimum wage jobs and it’s just slush money for them. Mom and dad will buy them the car they need to get to work and there’s no need for public transit. We have a Republican County Supervisor who thinks we should do away with public transit and Musk will create auto drive vehicles available to everyone, put tunnel systems, like his failed same in Vegas, along the unstable California coast, and bike lanes should disappear. Then he complains about traffic, gas taxes for infrastructure and roads desperately in need of expansions and repair.
What happened to critical thinking skills?
Banned from schools by Republican agendas for being too "woke". It's almost like those who think critically sometimes have critical thoughts about how things are done....
Who stands to benefit from theses tariffs? Most likely the new oligarchy we have in place. They are not a "negotiating tool" as the Donvict's apologists put it. There has been too much chatter from 'on high' for them to be just some opening salvo in an international haggling session. It seems to be just another way of extracting wealth from the 99% and shifting it upward. None of the revenue generated from them will be used to build schools, affordable housing, fund food programs or for student loan debt relief, they will quietly pay for the "privatization" of current government services, and so line the pockets of our oligarchs - with very little in return.
Peter Pappas,
THANK YOU! Nothing like the amazing cartoons from the past to clarify what the small majority of our greedy, uneducated citizenry has chosen.
Most do not realize the horrible transformation of our country that is coming like a freight train out of control!!!!
Sadly we’ll all find out soon enough
Yes, Peter, I agree with your “simple truth” about tariffs. And, I’ll reiterate and add another simple truth about illegal drugs: Tons of illegal drugs are brought into the US by US citizens AND Tons of illegal drugs are sold and bought and used by US citizens. Apparently, Americans love their drugs, especially the illegal ones. The real question is: Will an increase in tariffs lead to a decrease in drug use? Or, will it enhance the “business model” of the drug dealers as they increase their prices (and profits)?
I fear we’ll soon have a new black market drug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mifepristone
Economists et al have been saying this since Trump began his rhetorically tariff overkill campaign. I wouldn't count on moderation out of this.
Where was the ag industry when Trump was campaigning on tariffs? Why weren’t they jumping up and down then? And where were the car companies, likewise? And where was the construction industry, which is now shouting about their 60% undocumented work force in TX? It’s as if none of them heard anything about Trump and tariffs until Nov 6!
I just don’t get it. Wasn’t it literally Nov 6 when that first story broke about the business which called a meeting to tell the workers there wouldn’t be a Xmas bonus, as Trump’s imminent tariffs meant the company had to use every $ to buy up the supplies which would soon cost 25% more? Where were THOSE executives when they could’ve made a difference in the election?
Grrrrrrrrrrr!
and remember to ask where the financing of Trump's GOP campaign came from in the first place?
Ostriches- don’t they do that as a fear reflex? Sadly it appears that a multitude of ostriches were born this year
And sheep…. But they just increased their numbers
Maria, exactly! Where the hell WERE they? Oh, right, they had their heads in the sand, or somewhere else where the sun don’t shine. Grrrrrr!
They all think the things Trump is going to attempt to do will only affect "those kinds of people*." Until they don't. If construction and agriculture get exemptions, the War on Immigrants and the Undocumented" will be a waste of time and (consumer's) money.
*All those they hate.
And so it starts: "I didn't realize you meant to deport *my* work force, can't I get an exception?"
It's almost like people weren't listening when Trump was talking and just heard what they wanted to hear. Oh wait, that's exactly what happened.
My well of sympathy hath run dry.
Leave it to Trump and his sycophants to undermine any Middle East achievement by Biden. You know that Trump can’t rest with his opponents getting positive attention.
There is a rush of activity in the Biden administration to spend as much money as they can and to button up regulations so that Trump and his cronies have a difficult time undoing them.
And they aren't advertising most of them, because they know Trump will target them for rolling them back.
He is not the president YET! How does he get away with interfering in global affairs before he is even inaugurated? And Musk as well? Can’t Biden just tell him to shut TFUp until he is actually sworn in?
Such is the conundrum of assumed power when combined with pervasive, real-time, global locker room talk on social media.
He's a threat and people know it. For as long as he lives, citizen or elected official, his populism means his social capital will never wane, which means his power will never wane. And when he passes, someone else is going to try and step in his shoes and use the same tactics cause guess what? They worked.
This is politics now.
exactly.
45 has to be the headline.
He is SO exhausting!
The incoming Misadministration of full of fundamentalist evangelicals. They WANT war in the Middle East to fulfill their self-fulfilling prophecies. If you aren't worried, you should be. They think touching off WW III is a good thing.
Many Latinos seem to think Trump doesn’t mean them.
Many Black men seem to think Trump doesn’t mean them.
Many white women seem to think Trump doesn’t mean them.
The farm industry wants an exception, for them.
The construction industry wants an exception, for them.
We are truly a nation of exceptional people.
I’m not sure the leopards are up to this exceptional task.
Well said, Johnny!
Morning, Lynell! Beat me to it!
Exactly so, Jonny. Won't they be surprised...
Thanks again, Professor, your letters really do help us (me) better understand the fragility of our political landscape and it’s changing tides.
Oh, and I’m grateful as hell for Mexico’s President Pardo!
Mexico's President is a Jewish Woman... Congrats to Mexico... I Wonder How DJT Will Get Along With Her.... This Could Be Interesting....
She doesn’t mess around. He won’t like her at all just then again, he only likes dicktators and those who are male.
Just out of curiosity, isn't that what a "dicktator" is? (Junior high brain at it again. I apologize, it's only had about 5 sips of coffee}
Ally, say it slowwly :)
Oh, I do....
You know those three (3) little dots ... on the first Commenter's line -- yeah, that's them way over to the right?
It appears I lost functionality for awhile. Barbara Mullen helped me with an easy fix 🙏.
Investigation into functionality tools & Terms of Use is in my department.
That's one of the reason I went to Bluesky 🦋 this week where you can do real-time history just like HCR with many cool tools.
Take care & Be Safe All.
Ha! Right! A strong woman - whatever will he do??
So Trump declares his policies on Day 1. In February he cites the true data about drugs and migrants and declares Victory! Fox spends a week celebrating and spreading the good news.
Craig, I had the same thought. I wish, oh wish there was some agreed upon and shared source of facts that could trace these cause and effect developments. …A utopian (as opposed to dystopian) reality check that all citizens had to access every time they wanted to weigh in on the public discourse (e.g., social media influencers, see https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/2/3-digital-content-creators-do-not-check-their-facts-sharing-want-learn-how-do-so-unesco-survey) and particularly before they went to cast a vote.
Could the AP develop a public database of key indicators and update it monthly?
I think there are/will be such efforts but I doubt they will be consumed given the media appetites of half the country. And now we have some states distorting their educational curriculums to exclude inconvenient truths and leaning heavily into bible based tutelage.
I believe this is the tactic.
I haven’t thought about what Trump would sell then. Perhaps a flag set of US flag and MAGA flag (made in China, of course). The MAGA flag would have an image of Trump with his right hand on his heart and facing a cross.
He'd probably just see an American flag with "Made America Great Again" on it. Or he'd put himself saluting on a flag and sell it as "The Most Stunning and Patriotic Flag to Ever Exist".
Regardless of the fact of how flagrantly opposed to flag code it would be (not that many people follow it) people would buy it and fly it proudly. Which is just. So wrong on so many levels.
With an upside down Bible in his other hand.
It takes a village. Not merely of idiots but of Eichmann's.
Trump would only be the village idiot spitting into the wind - were it not for the entire right wing village calling him a genius for doing so.
Mitch McConnell may have helped keep Matt Gaetz out of the DOJ, but McConnell put Trump in the position to nominate Gaetz, Sieg Heil Hegseth et al. And broke the Senate to do so. To let Trump stack the Supreme Court and to keep Trump off the hook in two impeachment trials. Colluding in the transformation of a felon into a tyrant - with the imprimatur of the Supreme Court. And the repurposing of a democratic republic into a Christo-Fascist state. McConnell has arguably done more harm to all three branches of government than anyone since Jefferson Davis. Perhaps even than Leonard Leo. And for the same reason - to line their own pockets by perpetuating economic injustice throughout the nation.
Thank you-incredibly well said!
I think Hegseth & definitely Tulsi can go the way of Gaetz - gone.
Truth.
lin*, did I really read from you that someone could do more harm than Leonard Leo? /s
HaHa!
Will wonders never cease.
"By merit rais'd to that bad eminence"
John Milton
As always, lin•, thanks for the big picture.
I'll believe the U.S. on Israel when I see it halt the far-right settlers' illegal West Bank thieveries.
A Ceasefire in Gaza, and Lebanon would have been achieved much earlier, perhaps in Spring 2024, if Joe Biden had adhered to U.S. Law, and imposed an Arms Embargo on Israel to stop Israel from the Mass Slaughter of Civilians in Gaza... Legally U.S. Military Aid is conditioned upon their non-use for War Crimes... Per Matthew Hoh, who has been on the Ground in Southern Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank, 100,000 - 200,000 have been Killed in Netanyahu's Wars...
You can Read it here:
https://substack.com/redirect/73f605b5-e31f-400a-a319-be6d1142dbbb?j=eyJ1IjoiMzNrZHV5In0.RxEtPo99iMksVUZ5fGTUad1S8m0OBmqd19-m8GekzWU
Independent Investigations are now starting to occur in Israel that are starting to reveal that all this Bloodshed was so unnecessary... OBW: The Israeli Newspaper 'Hareetz' which started leaking the Israeli Gov't failure to protect its Citizens about a year ago was Sanctioned by Netanyahu's Gov't today...
"A Ceasefire in Gaza, and Lebanon would have been achieved much earlier, perhaps in Spring 2024"....if Hamas had surrendered. If Gazans had revolted and handed over those that slaughtered and kidnapped peace loving Jewish folks.
I think that Bibi should have been jailed (along with Trump). And his brutality to Gaza has been a crime against humanity. But so was Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden. The Japanese and the Germans surrendered in the face of an absolutely certain defeat. Hamas is complicit by not accepting the reality that "Never Again" is in the DNA of Israeli Jews. Hamas is doomed.
Hamas has sacrificed their own people - women and babies for an impossible ideological goal. They could have ended this a long time ago. Saved their people, surrendered.
There are always three sides to every story. "Yours, mine and the truth."
If I were an Israeli Jew and lost loved ones on October 7, 2023 I would probably want to fight until every member of Hamas was dead.
If I were a kid who managed to survive in Gaza and watched my family die - buried in bombed rubble, I would probably sign up for a short life of vengeance with Hamas.
Someone has to say stop. And it is almost always the loser of the war.
I'm waiting, Apache, for the essay-writing program.
That is, schools for upper teens, and young adults, could teach youth on both sides of the stereotype divide to see each other as individuals in their fraught communities.
Individuals grow -- some do. That is, we all first inherit our cultures. Many just stay in whatever styles, fashions, and expectations they get originally from their families and communities. Others chafe. Change. They make culture more particularly for themselves -- and appreciate others willing similar evolution, growth, adjustments, plunges.
An essay writing program can credit, first, peers for nudges from them, starting with new forms of the necessities for all: food-clothing-shelter (including landscapes and travel).
The U.S., Israel, Iran, and regional others there spend so much on war, on fossilizing hatreds, on angry old people locked in the angry slogans. Vulgarity is that total among our "leaders," our "elites"? Education can have no perch at all among all doomed by them? No funds for any schools venturing anything outside all the hopeless cycles?
Amen to this. It also works. But it costs local extremist politicians votes and risks them losing their power and privilege. Northern Ireland remains in a segregated historically frozen state because of its public apartheid education system. For some reason successive British governments (Ireland signed away any direct local political influence with The Belfast Agreement), have seen fit to neglect or ignore or, with local political or religious extremist aid (Catholic church or Christo fascist Unionists) block any attempts to jettison the educating of children in separate British Protestant or Irish schools. There are some integrated schools but they are a minority. Then every election round local journalists opine why it is that rigid voting patterns of Orange and Green remain so deeply sectarian. Are these individuals bigots or simply purposely undereducated ?
That is a good question you ask at the end.
Some years ago I recall someone talking about establishing a cabinet level Department of Peace, a for real one to identify and act to deescalate preventable conflict. It sounds like a pipe dream (especially now), but why not? I'm aware that some such preemptive work is already being done, but is it as comprehensive as it might be? I think that progress stalls on many fronts because our strategies fail to take a sufficiently comprehensive approach. We could at least try to get a better purchase on them. Especially as the world gets "smaller". What goes around comes around.
I have been concentrated on "peacemakers" rather than bomb throwers or retaliators for some time. Tragically, peacemaking and coalition building is more in the feminine wheelhouse. USA proved they reject the leadership of women, time and time again. Now the "Christian Nationalists" have convinced a proportion of the US population that violence is the way to approach relationships. Elon Musk was at the 45 rallies claiming "free speech, First Amendment rights are guaranteed by The Second Amendment." That's their lie. Trump is ever the bully.
We're in a bad place.
"USA proved they reject the leadership of women, time and time again."
Sadly true, Beverly.
Kamala would have won when, asked what she might do differently from the current administration, of which she was a part, she could have suggested some major push for peace in the Middle East involving its schools.
Instead, she passed, saying she couldn't think of anything different.
That likely only cost her the American Arabic / Palestinian vote, which by itself had relatively small impact. Much of America has been only too happy for Netanyahu's war, led by the the GOP.
You have logical truths here, J L.
Trouble is, those in power typically have become living dead by the time they've gotten their offices. Totally void of any humanities.
So easy for our dehumanized to resort to military thinking, because at its most mediocre it's only numbers, units, and more numbers and units (bombs, missiles, razor wire, attack gunships, drones, body bags).
Great generals knew better than this. But just name the countries in repeat barbarism and see: only mediocrities in every country.
That is one no American administration has gotten around...
A new first, diplomacy via social media. Threaten your friends and crush your economy. Makes perfect sense to me when you elect an aging, pathologic narcissist to the Presidency. The only turkey to be served on Thursday is the United State of America. The stuffing, the 49 % who voted for Trump. The mashed potatoes-democracy. Bill
Oh and don’t forget that he’s a felon, a rapist, a misogynist, a thief, a murderer (Covid), a liar, and a grifter.
But other from that, he is quite a despicable fellow.
It is absolutely appalling that the orange 🍊 buffoon cannot/will not abide by any norms what so ever as to established guidelines for transition. He bullies his way forward with out any respect for the nation or we the people. He defies any precedent until we take a stand and STOP HIM as the rule of law dictates.
Media has reduced citizen participation in governance to rowdy crowd egging on their costumed hero at a choreographed theatrical wrestling match. The future be damned.
your description is spot on.
On November 5, 2024, the mob yelled "Give us Barabbas!"
I'd always wondered how that'd happened, never occurred to me that I might have just witnessed it.
Government by rowdy crowd, yes. Rowdy media, too. But the crowd is the problem. They demand a rowdy media. Won’t watch anything else. The belligerents (that is, a 20-point majority of white Americans and almost nobody else) are in charge, now. Trump voices their most treasured fantasies. The Republicans have been riding those fantasies since 1968 but did not, until Trump, allow them to drive the train.
Exactly! Trump has become a comic book hero with Greek levels of tragedy and matyrdom. And people are rabid to be a part of the story.
Great description! Juvenile, right? Where are the adults in this charade?
Nowhere to be seen. The guys throwing spitballs in the back of your junior highschool have now decided who will run the richest, most powerful country in history.
HOW?
Get nominees vetted for 2026 NOW. Demand hand recounts in all ambiguous areas and those not called yet. The House is still very close; support those outstanding nominees. Let the orange 🍊 man use legislators who are loyalists as cabinet picks so they sacrifice their majority. Then object loudly to the appointments because they too are unfit. Let Biden know we support his stacking the judiciary with democratic leaning judges and to use his IMMUNITY to finish his
legacy; he has a great deal of experience and he’s not retired yet. Let him use it! Support him as the media failed to do. He cannot fight for the people while OPEDS ( clickbait journalists) run crickets CONSTANTLY. If Trump stole the election (likely with Putin and Musk joining him) then let’s be sure the intelligence agencies do their jobs and find the culprits. I am not a politician and frankly despise the topic but from reading, those are a few ideas that might work.
PS FOLLOW ANDRA WATKINS HERE ON SUBSTACK!
But as this momentous week has proved, he alone is entirely above any laws.
There is no question that Trump will cite the falling Fentanyl deaths and decreased border crossings as a proof of his successful policies shortly after he takes office. He will appropriate Biden’s successes as he did Obama’s during his first term. Sadly, it will reported as such by Fox, Musk and the other sycophants.
And that is where the media needs to step up. Numbers need to be Published NOW, all lies called out NOW. Mexico and Canada need to speak out NOW.
I don't want to waste time on this moron. I want to celebrate Biden's cease fire agreement.
Definitely but, time for Biden to formalize the 28th Amendment, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ABA House of Delegates & 300 other Organizations across our Country have already shown the way to final merely ministerial acts.
ERA Now!
That would be good. Actually, I'm for abolishing the Electoral College (one person, one vote) and expanding SCOTUS to thirteen (and filling the empties) first, not necessarily in that order.
You are on a roll ... 1 person 1 vote.
PS: I invited Kamala to the ABA House of Delegates Meeting in August in Arizona.
Maybe I should inform the ABA President.
Thank you Heather for all your inspiration day after day. It keeps me sane 🕯️🥁🇺🇸🗽🌻🕊️
Same! Thank you, Heather!
U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.
Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,”
Watch carefully as situations like this become “pay to play”. They will have to pay millionsin bribes to carry on as usual.
Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”
Grassley is a “negotiating fool” long past his expiration date.
Maybe he has dementia caused by the thousands of wind turbines in Iowa😉
Trump is behaving like a toddler, lashing out in an impotent fury, with no real understanding of what is going on around them in a world that consists only of their feelings.
If it were only Trump we have to worry about, it would be bad enough, but this tantruming toddler has powerful, oligarch "parents" who will see that baby's tantrums are not ignored.
I read something recently but cannot recall where. Trump s already expressing "hints\" that he'll run for a third term. When can we wake up from this nightmare? Half the country voted for him. Are they so stupid they don't know what's happening? In my estimation, we are on the precipice of the USA collapsing.
DUH
"Run?" I don't think he's going to leave the White House. He's going to make himself dictator by declaring a bogus "national emergency", with his shadow backers paving the way. Or set off a civil war trying.
Yup, he'll call a war on the "enemy within", declare martial law, exercise emergency powers and then never give them back.
"So this is how liberty dies: with thunderous applause."
(Honestly a little terrified at the number of Star Wars parallels I can draw right now. DT is our Chancellor Palpatine.)
DUH
And then there is the other toddler, Elon