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I am very much reminded of the behavior of King James II (I bet you weren't expecting THAT, friends!) after he was deposed and replaced by his daughter and son-in-law William of Orange and Mary Stuart (King William III and Queen Mary II) in 1688. James, who was admittedly a whole lot smarter than TFG but also pretty deranged, was sustained in France, where he hung out with his buddy Louis XIV, and maintained a fantasy "court in exile" as well as trying to encourage his son Charles (from his second marriage) to invade England via Scotland--against his own half-sister. The dumb-show of the court is mimicked by TFG, who has a pretend office, with a pretend desk, and a pretend seal that he uses for his fundraising letters. Because, like James II, he is broke and isn't paying anyone. That is why he is having trouble finding competent lawyers to represent him, because they know he will stiff them. The Ghastly Ones People are almost identical to the Tories after 1688, who would go to visit James at his pretend court, play strategy games to get him back on the throne (which they actually did not want to happen, but it was a convenient way to muck up parliamentary activity and keep the sitting royals discomfited), and play up to the old guy because it suited their purposes. And he would try to hit them up for money because he was broke.

The GAO announced that, although TFG's hotel in the Old Post Office was the scene of forelock-tugging by foreign nationals who wanted his favor by paying extortionate rates for rooms there, it nevertheless lost an obscene amount of money (70 million is I think the number). TFG's organization is trying to sell the hotel but to no avail because, well, it is a dog. Which is an insult to dogs.

If anyone finds any of the behavior by TFG to be unusual, that person has been living in a media-free universe for the last, oh, 30 years or so. Because gaslighting is the ONLY technique he knows how to play.

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When toasting the English monarch, those favoring James' son Charles would pass their wine glasses over their water glasses to signify they were actually toasting 'the king over the water' in France. Early dog whistle, early deniability.

Sedition bred in the bone of the decedents of those who fled over the water to America. Many of whom were the backbone of the Confederacy and today are the civil war minded Republican insurrectionist base.

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The New York Times book review section had an interesting essay yesterday focused on the book Albion's Seed which is about which elements from Britain settled which sections of the country and the culture they brought with him. The author notes that there is a marked comparison when we examine where COVID is more of a problem.

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“…it goes a long way toward explaining why George Wallace is Governor of Alabama. He has the same smile as his great-grandfather—a thrice-convicted pig thief from somewhere near Nottingham, who made a small reputation, they say, as a jailhouse lawyer, before he got shipped out.” -HST …on the campaign trail ‘72

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Very interesting. Something I would like to read.

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I am an Anglophile, so I am enjoying your comparison. I guess we can call death star donny some version of pretender; he is certainly old and living in some kind of la la land, Tsar-a-Loco.

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death star donny 😘🙏

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My only question about the loss reported on the hotel, which I saw raised online, is that it's pretty typical for Herr drumpf to declare a loss when it suits his tax filing status. If all those wealthy foreign nationals were paying exorbitant rates as a low end grift to curry favor, he should have made money.

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Same here. TFG's businesses have a history of losing money for everyone else while managing to line his pockets. I expect the same is true for the hotel.

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Yeah--but he was not the one who identified the losses, as Judy says. His MO is to inflate the value of properties he wants to sell and deflate the ones he has to pay taxes on. He had a major toddler meltdown when the news came out because it makes it very hard to sell that property.

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I don't know what has prevented TFG from stroking out or just plain exploding.

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I think of this constantly, as I struggle with my own BP! How on earth does a washed up, overweight, mob boss, who lives on fries and hamburgers and no telling what drugs continue to wake up every damn day?

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Please don’t ask him, he’ll say he has superior genes. IMHO he’s just too damn mean to die.

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One can only hope (no pun intended).

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I was thinking the same thing, but you beat me to it.

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a tax-conjured "loss" the grift is on-going

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I just loved your historical references!!! Just as HCR brings in American history to help us understand present events, you gave us some European history to help us see TFG and his enablers in another light! Thank you.

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Brilliant comparison and insight…

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Hi David. I like the name

“Your brain in nature”

I subscribed. Looking forward to reading it!

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Mitzi, I appreciate the interest and supportive comment. At the moment I’m stalled out… I’m in need of a collaborative illustrator.

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Oops, I subscribed, also. We will be over here, waiting.

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Let’s not forget Charles I, whose head was cut off. After an Interregnum, Charles II returned to the throne and promptly sought to kill every Parliamentarian who voted for regicide. Having horses pulling a Parliamentarian apart was one technique of persuasion.He even had bodies dug up so that the bones could be sc be scattered. Can you Trump that?

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Not sure if it is a "trumping" but Kim Jong-un is said to have his enemies put to death by firing a 40mm cannon. I am assuming this can be quite messy.

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I believe that they are still looking for Kim’s uncle’s scattered parts. Oh well, one less at family dinners.

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OMG, I had almost forgotten KJU whilst focusing on his former buddy (according to the buddy), DJT.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same. Human nature does not change. We are still dealing with the issues of greed, money and power.

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The flaws in human nature.

But I think you'll find, if you study history, that there are many variations in the pattern. For instance, honor was an immensely important motivating factor in the 17th and 18th centuries -- and, in many countries until quite recently.

It's not even to be found among thieves now. At least, not in Western societies. Omertà is enforced by thugs.

This is one area in which misunderstandings have arisen between societies in which honor still matters and Westerners who don't have a clue what it means... A not unimportant consideration for the conduct of foreign policy.

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What changes is technology, so we have the same old humans using very sophisticated and often deadly tech.

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Well said! I liken it to just another ridiculous and bogus episode of The Apprentice. And those hotels are also probably infested with bed bugs among other things which would make one shudder.

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Delightful reading for a Tuesday morn, Linda. Thanks for that!

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sorry - what am I missing in this thread - how did TFG become the acronym for Trump?

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The Former Guy. So his name doesn’t have to appear anywhere…..

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DD for Dastardly Dotard (credit to Kim)

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AKA He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

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Oct 19, 2021
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Just researched TFG and found the info I needed - it's no longer oblique, but much too reflective of "social media speak" for my taste. At least I'm up to speed now: https://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2021/04/word-of-the-week-tfg.html

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Am I right that TFG epithet was first from the lips of Pres. Joe?

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Yes, I learned that from the site I posted above

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Colbert has many many samples of "nicknames" for DJT! Some of them are really right on the money.

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Yes, indeed, it's The Former Guy. Saying his name leaves a bad taste in my mouth!

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Wendy I also missed the thread. We’re dealing with a fast crowd and missed a step.

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Linda, let's not insult the memory of the Old Pretender, who at least had a claim to legitimacy, having been ousted by a Dutch invader (in the only successful invasion of England since the Norman conquest) by comparing him with this Pretense without even a shadow of legitimacy.

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"Ghastly Ones People", good one.

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Linda, thank you for this excellent history lesson.

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