What bothers me about Vance is that he was completely groomed to be where he is right now. The Right has had a ‘plan’ for quite a while now, and he is the ‘great white hope’ for them 😥
With success, our influence over others expands. With maturity, our concern expands, which is to say that maturity is caring about the impact our decisions are having and will have on others. Ideally, one’s maturity keeps pace with one’s influence. Worst case scenario is a POTUS, aka the most powerful human on the planet, whose concern is limited to “me, myself, and I.” That is the personification of evil. God forbid, which I’m confident God will (keeping in mind that God helps those who help themselves).
He has the intelligence, MJAtlanta, to curry favor with despots and nihilist rich.
Worse, they're organized with each other.
Still worse, the U.S. ilk first rid our schools of humanities before undertaking their primary, socially crass predations as their far-right foundations implemented them following their action plan, the Powell memo of 1971.
Shed of humanities, and skills in using them, American elites couldn't see what the nihilist billionaires were doing to the tens of millions of working-class Americans whose jobs got offshored systematically from around 1980 on.
We're still suffering from lack of humanities. Vulgarity has taken over. And the dictators, despots, oligarchs, and authoritarians poise to take over the world.
I certainly have been. I understand that Reagan undid the social supports of Roosevelt, and then Biden started to rebuild those supports. Unfortunately, the very people who are being helped do not see that we need more of what Biden offers to continue this streak, not a return to Trump telling them they are great and then screwing them with his policies, and as Prof. Richardson says, or fascist Bad Boy Billionaire Bros like Peter Thiel running our country through JD Vance as their proxy president.
Agreed. That said, the Lincoln Project is out with a stunning ad featuring Reagan an Trump in which they demonstrate that Trump is the antithesis of St. Ronnie's views.
We are also suffering from Americans who hate immigrants and have no understanding of their role in the economy. They have no understanding of the economy at all if they think it will be better with Trump despite experts saying it will be awful under Trump.
The "Know Nothings," Linda, were preaching this hatred prior to the Civil War.
Throughout the South especially, whites of English and Scots Irish descent felt America could be only for those like them of Anglo-Saxon Protestant faiths. So they hated the Irish Catholics. Hated the French. The Germans. Hated cities (where new immigrants clustered). Hated use of federal money for roads, canals, and then railroads (which united cities and manufacturing hubs).
They fantasized instead some mythic agrarian past (where blacks, though plentiful, were never visible).
This visceral hatred, this fantasy life, has been part of our history a long, long time, Linda.
And they have zero understanding of history and that it can repeat itself with dire consequences. My friends whose relatives died in concentration camps know this way too well. In a novel I've written about France's matured Resistance hero Jean Moulin, I found a disturbing parallel to what is happening now at the hands of Trump and his enablers. They will do whatever it takes to undermine the truth in order to gain and keep power.
Linda, I don’t hate immigration but what I have strongly disliked is tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and eventually millions rushing over hot sands of our broken and unable to fix border. This is not the way to immigrate into any nation. All nations have laws. I don’t understand why y’all say on the other side, that we hate immigrants. Not true. It’s on Joe Biden’s watch that this happened. All the news stories from the New York Times, Washington Post, The News Hour on PBS and countless other sources can’t be all wrong. For almost three years he was inattentive . I don’t get my information from Fox and other propaganda news networks. And this issue could be the one that sinks Harris. It reminds me of what Bill Clinton left for support of Al Gore after the scandal of his times with big lips Monica.
I so agree - exposure to the humanities - art, literature, poetry, theatre - makes for rounded, compassionate people. Teaching Civics and history makes for wiser people. This is not fluff -- it is core stuff.
Study of these areas also makes for much more thinking, discerning people which Trumpers are not. I'm not saying they're stupid, just that they can't possibly be seeking out other news outlets and sources of information, thinking critically and discerning for themselves what makes sense, what's true and what's a lie, and why they should care about that. In fact, most of them label of that "elitist" which is very deeply concerning for our future.
Well said, Phil Balla, and VERY IMPORTANT. Liberal arts colleges are being defunded every day while liberal arts requirements have been lost, thanks to the efforts of the Koch brothers in many major universities, especially public ones. If you can find it, see James Carville in “Starving the Beast.”
"Vulgarity has taken over" to quote Phil Balla. Yes! Hasn't it. That's not a question, either. Or, has the definition changed? And, the lack of discerning behavior (public and private) so clearly illustrated by people we ( I think "we") would prefer to view as adults. Huh? Adults? That definition must have changed.. it must've. Meanwhile, in the language spectrum, can we maybe refrain from using a couple of words that end in 'uck'? Use some discretion.. can we? Or maybe 'restraint' would be better. And, 'girls' (ya.. you women out there), I'm glad you aren't opposed to the verbal meaning carried by those words, but please.., leave something to my imagination, could you? That goes for the VP as well. Stick with language that doesn't call for a PG rating, at least in public. Huh? Lots of questions here. I think Phil Balla, provided an answer. He sure wasn't being prudish. Get out that dictionary. Exercise a modicum of restraint. Wheww!
I couldn't agree more, MadRussian. Crudity of language bespeaks a very limited vocabulary and detracts from the speaker's dignity. The world needs leaders with dignity, courage, smarts, and better vocabulary!
No, he is cunning. He is a master manipulator. He appears intelligent. His Yale law degree? He can thank affirmative action. He is a vet. Seats are set aside for military vets at the top law schools. He is cunning and easily manipulated, for the right price. The German born misogynistic Fascist Peter Thiel groomed him for this rôle. Think of him as a young Frankenstein.
I can’t figure out how these extreme Catholics (Vance, Alito, Thomas, e.g.) have so little respect for the humanity of others—not the Catholicism I was raised with. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
Regardless of how evil you find Vance, it is trump who will become president again if he wins and nothing is more terrifying than a demented mind that espouses, "“Jill, get your fat husband off the couch,” he said. “Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to go and vote for Trump, he’s going to save our country. Get that guy the hell off our— get him up, Jill, slap him around. Get him up. Get him up, Jill. We want him off the couch to get out and vote.”
Place comments on social media...."Not suckers or losers" to vets groups, military, military dependents, history sites. Vote vets has thousands of testimonials of 2020 Trump voters that flipped. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans or active duty members on Facebook, and 12.5 million family members of veterans or active duty members on Facebook.
If vets haven't flipped by now there's no hope. My wish is that the tens of thousands of young people who've registered to vote for the first time, who never answer the phone and therefore don't poll, show up and vote, and Kamala wins by a landslide....
NOT TRUE. This kind off stuff takes a long time to sink in and many only watch right wing media. On vote vets we get epiphany stories every day. Anecdotally, people tell me that many switch.
At FT6 most of the texts go to people who are not otherwise in the system, do not get other political texts and the success rate is about 30% which is huge.
He’ll be bringing back Star Chambers, burning/flogging/torturing
Witches (ie., women, especially women without children, gays, intellectuals), turning schools into religious indoctrination centers, and turning over the economy to the likes Peter Thiel and his ilk. And all of his extreme social positions are because he has a mother who has struggled with addiction (“but she’s clean now”), an absent father, and all the opprobrium that comes from growing up in poverty.
Rather than have compassion for those in poverty and addiction and hold out plans to raise people out of those circumstances, Vance sees the answer to dysfunctional families in punishment: forcing couples to stay together, forcing women to have children, flogging fathers who don’t show up, executing drug users (Trump’s often said the way to get rid of drug problems is to execute users).
Raw, ruthless ambition underpinned by the certainty and intransigence conferred by his rigid right wing Catholicism. Perfect profile for a dictator who has no place in a democracy.
He follows then republican mantra of hypocrisy. Not to be picky, but isn't his wife's parents immigrants. His wife doesn't look too white to me. How about trump's 2 wives.? Immigrants. In his purge of all immigrants -legal or not- will they be tossed out, too?
Lest, Ted, we underestimate their numbers, malevolence, and organization:
Miriam Adelson, Robin Arkley II (purveyor of hidden, untaxed bribes to Alito), George Birnbaum, Harlan Crow (a Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Wayne Huizenga (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, Bernie Little (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Timothy Mellon, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Paul “Tony” Novelly (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Dennis Prager, David Rivkin (defender of Alito medieval corruption and his contemporary corruption, too), Steve Schwartzman, Paul Singer, David Sokol (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Peter Thiel, Anthony Welters (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer) Jeffrey Yass, Jeff Zuckerberg and families DeVos, Kushner, Mercer, Sackler, Uihlein (though another of Heather's readers here has pointed out one Uihlein daughter doesn't follow her larger number of relatives).
Or, just that he is special like Ben Carson MD, who wrote the chapter on the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Project 2025 document, where he advocates reducing of help for people in public housing, and tying this all into a plea for all services to ensure their anti-abortion agenda, which they call Life.
I have known other successful Black men to think that they were both special and could be typical if others would just pull themselves up by their boot straps like they did.
They fail to see that being special is part of the system they are in, which will not allow all people to succeed, regardless of their color, but particularly those who have Black and Brown skin. This is the system that Trump and the people who are voting for him are fighting for, one this remains unequal. Not just for them, but for people who do not embody conservative, Christian Nationalist, White, Male, Cis-gendered personhood.
Think-just think-of all the money behind those names….this list is terrifying. And it doesn’t list organizations like Opus Dei, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, and their adherents.
Do you mean Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Zucker? I think you are conflating two different people. I don't think there is any "famous" person supporting Trump named Jeff Zuckerberg.
Exactly. They are playing the long game, and Vance is their means to grab the seat behind the Resolute Desk-and never give it up. Democracy done. Hi, Russell! 😊
Vance would be a puppet for billionaire fascists Thiel and Musk. The $75 million that Musk donated to the Trump campaign was a big bet that Vance will soon become president if Trump is elected.
Yes. Groomed by Mr. Nazi, Peter Thiel, a gay man who also will set up our country to turn on other LGBTQ+ people assuming it will not affect him because he is so special.
Given that 806 Americans have accumulated the wealth of one-half the American population, there is no doubt that the oligarchs' plan and actions have been successful beyond their wildest dreams. Oligarchs (or very few of them) have any interest in democracy because the workers (horror upon horror) could actually tax the wealthy and large corporations to help pay for government. Our $36.6 trillion national debt is owing directly to the Reagan Revolution of cutting taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, driving the Middle Class here into oblivion, leaving the vast number of Americans as serfs. Thomas Frank explains this in his 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?"
Carol-Ann, you should really look at that article. It’s about the furthest thing from supporting Trump that a person could imagine. I understand why the NYT has disappointed all of us in so many respects, but THIS article shows that they are still doing the investigative work which the country needs. Please take a look at it. If the “gift” thing isn’t working, PM me and I’ll send you your own gift link.
Your viewpoint has no merit. The NYT is 100% opposed to Trump and they have no skin in the game to support Thiel or his cronies. Sulzberger is I highly credible journalist who worked his way up through the newsroom even though his family owns the paper (the paper is actually public in terms of stock but the Sulzberger family holds all the voting control stock). He is liberal and made significant attempts before Jan 6 2021 to get Trump to back off of his attacks on journalism.
The only serious flaw I see in the Sulzberger family (which is mostly Jewish) is their support of Israel during the events that followed the Oct 7 2023 attack by Hamas which I totally understand. Despite that they have actually done a pretty decent job of keeping their news stories on the Israel Hamas war objective.
Answering your comments is always a walk on the dark side. The one who is penning comments without merit is you. I know who owns the New York Times. I also know if the NYT continues to bleed profits, the family will fire Dash. That is what corporate families do. The Fords did it to Edsel. Anyone who thinks, as does the editor in chief Joseph Kahn, that "democracy" is a political slogan and not a form of government is no liberal. One more thing, don't mansplain, it's so cro-MAGAnum.
I can't imagine they will get rid of Dash S. His family owns the paper and has been publishing it for over 125 years. His great grandfather Arthur Ochs Sulzberger was publisher for decades.
I read the NYT article all the way through to the end. I am being specific about reading to the end because that article is the only one I have seen that presents a reason, other than financial, for these tech billionaires to be so supportive of Donald Trump.
People who are that wealthy can offshore their money and otherwise make it difficult for the US to get taxes from them. Whole different conversation. (They kind of leech off the rest of us as far as our infrastructure, our military, roads, airports, police etc. without paying their fair share of it.)
Now I understand why they are backing Project 2025.
They want to have free rein to alter our entire CULTURE and way of life - to suit their ideas of what a society should be to serve their interests.
Well - news for you narcissistic, entitled Assholes - this country is full of crazy people and Your Supreme Court flooded the country with guns.
And you actually had a “Let them eat cake party” 😁🤣😂
What happened to the person who made that sentence famous?
I went from being in that 1% to living on Social Security because of a bought and paid for attorney (who can’t sue me - no confidentiality agreement was part of the settlement).
I have been living among people (men) who have been the result of the school to prison pipeline.
A now retired, member of the County Sheriffs office told the neighbors that I was running a 3/4 house to explain the strange situation. He lived a couple of houses down.
One of my people (a minor on the spectrum) stole a bunch of stuff and tried to board a passenger jet going to Orlando with it. Fortunately TSA (another service our government provides that rich people don’t want to pay their fair share of) caught the kid.
The stuff included things that could have caused a disaster on the plane if a spark had gone through it.
And yes - the FBI showed up at my house in plainclothes. That FBI you want to close down.
They were doing their DAMN job.
Governor Whitmer was being stalked and some of the people who were later charged lived close to me.
Considering the incident with the jet and the people I had at my place - they thought I might have been running a white supremacist cell. I heard this from a special agent in the Florida office.
Instead they found a bunch of neurodiverse people who were living around animals so they would be CALMER.
Go ahead ruin their world. Most of these people have no idea what you are planning to do.
But when they find out as you try to implement the plan 😊
As one of them said “we will just kill them”.
Geoff Duncan has been trying to warn you. Listen to him.
To say nothing of his dishonesty. He's decided to ride the Trump bronco as far as he can. And I think he probably is betting that Trump can't go the whole 4 years. And lastly, even if he loses, he's teed up for a run in 2028. At which point, he will at least have a bit of experience under his belt to leaven his hubris.
The debate gave Vance a boost. He appeared more human and less a robotic idiot. Walz appeared less competent and he has suffered. It was a turning point,
No, Tim Walz held his own. Vance is a polished debater. I expected him to do well. But many pointed out that his message was still strange. I tried to remember something that he said that night. The only thing I remember was the "Christ have mercy," response to Tim Walz saying that his son witnessed someone being shot. I've never heard that expression outside of a Catholic Mass. Even when Vance is his most polished and professional self, a little weird slips out.
Sadly, to appear smooth, civil, unexcitable — even affable in a measured, friendly tone — the new GOP knows, gives them credence and trustworthiness in the regard of an unseemly large portion of the American population. Witness the unctuous performances of JD Vance and Mike Johnson and the admiration bestowed upon their "performance art", which disguised the content of their speech. Even corporate media focused on style over content. My only question: were they willingly, happily conned for short-term profit or is basic journalistic integrity passé?
I imagine the shadowy powerbrokers (as mentioned in the comments) have already been sussing out scenarios to that end….beware that Diet Coke, Donny, and stay on the ground floor and avoid stairs.
Yes. Chucky Vance is next in line -- for now. He can be replaced at the drop of a hat. It doesn't matter who the Top Pinocchio is, the oligarchs will always be in control. What is mystifying is that they could be masters of the universe and still get morbidly rich AND pay LOTS of taxes to return the people's money to the people to keep them well fed and healthy ... and very middle class. The oligarchs are idiots. Take Elon -- please.
They aren't idiots. That's the problem. They are obscenely smart and do not WANT a "very middle class" society, they want an obedient couch class who will survive on what they are given. They will use AI to take over most managerial responsibilities; mechanized middle management is much easier to control, less expensive and can avoid serious concerns like morality and fairness. Believe it or not I could handle four more years of Trump far easier than even one year of JD Vance.
JD Vance does not only have fealty to fascists, he is one too. I am bothered by his Christian Nationalist sexist, racist world view that ignores his privilege to destroy education for others and support an anti-intellectual wave with his CN fellows who are bent on destroying our nation and our constitution and taking over the world with violence. JD Vance is making the world unsafe not only for other immigrants and their children, but for his in-laws, his wife and his own children by raking up and supporting hostility to brown-skinned peoples from other countries. I am also bothered by his lack of life experience because running our country in these times requires complex thinking, and the ability to negotiate and compromise. He has no experience with either.
For several weeks now, I have been saying that Trump (or MAGA) fears of him being killed by Democrats is ridiculous. Every Democrat I know wants his to lose to a black, female prosecutor in a historic landslide!! (I can hear the "Amens!" LOL) I absolutely believe that if Trump is to win, within 60 days, Vance will invoke the 25th, and he will be instructed and prodded to do so by the likes of Thiel, Leo, and the Heritage Foundation.
Years ago, I purchased and read "Hillbilly Elegy" and I was astounded by the condescending tone I felt his displayed towards his roots. (If anyone here follows "Tennessee Brando" on YouTube, you'll find he has the same sort of opinions of Vance. Well worth a look up.) Vance manages to "other" those people while giving himself more credit than I think he deserves.
I recall him relaying the story of his then girlfriend, now wife, instructing him on how to dress and how to behave in the society he wishes to inhabit. Nothing wrong with that--but to me, it displayed such an eagerness to become "somebody" that I think he is willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve that status. Just as Trump idolizes Billionaires and dictators, I believe Vance idolizes power. I also think that just as NYC society laughed at Trump behind his back and never truly accepted him, Vance is just a useful pawn to those seeking a malleable figure to achieve their own policies.
Yep. He's been an elected official for 18 months. He says often he wants to make people, journalists and companies that oppose them "pay a big price". And his mentor, and financier of his campaign, Peter Theil, has said he now believes "Democracy and Freedom are incompatible." Personally, I want freedom from these people.
Agreed. Surreal and disgraceful. I’m going to copy and paste a note I wrote last week that has been liked 590 times and restacked 60 and counting (a lot for me!). Vance is a special kind of misogynist:
“To anyone hurt by a VP candidate’s cruel and heartless attack on women without children, as if they are not invested in the future of our children and country, that they should be judged first on their production of biological children - please know that there are many, many, many ways to make this world a better place, and find great meaning and purpose in life.
Here is a heart warming vignette I received from a very close friend about just such a childless woman. Maybe she even had a cat.
“My high school choir instructor was one of the best people I have ever met. Like a more modest, middle class, middle aged version of Dolly Parton. She taught us so much about life and expectations that many of us still dream about disappointing her. She even taught us how to die well when she succumbed to cancer in our early 20s. She didn’t have her own children, but she planned a heart-wrenchingly beautiful funeral service knowing hundreds of alum would come to her service. She programmed in letters to her students and songs for us all to sing together to say goodbye. We should all have a teacher like her in our lives once.”
~
Women without children are not invested in this country? How dare they even whisper it.
BTW. The actual Dolly Parton never had kids either.
I bet you can name such a wonderful woman in your life. They are a special kind of hero, too.
This is wonderful - thank you for sharing again. All of our lives have been touched by beautiful people, whether they have children or not. What burns me is Vance and his groomers never mention childless men. In their view, men have full freedoms to do as they please without any consequence whatsoever.
Doc, I can see why the response was so favorable to your post. A beautiful and important story! The wonderful woman in my children's lives was their elementary school counselor. She sounds very much like the woman in your story. Our lives are better for having known them.
Oh Heather, I get how impossible it is to take a night off especially when the Weirdo-In-Depends goes completely off of his rocker. Appreciate you chiming in about Donald’s strange conversation with himself about Arnold’s schlong before taking a break. Fox must be tired and embarrassed of his crazy remarks for them to switch to Kamala’s rally. Good! The more she is shown to their audience, the better it is in succeeding to get her elected.
Marlene, what next. I just hope we are not treated to his disrobing at a rally. And gosh, a reference to golfer's anatomy. He is absolutely in lala land. But J.D. is another dangerous story.
Kathy, correct on all 3 of your Trump analysis points. Yesterday's 10 min djt babble was on the size of Arnold Palmer's genitalia. No, I am not joking.
I just saw an article about it. He even commented about the bodies of the secret service guys. I don't know, do men come out of showers commenting on size. Maybe I shouldn't ask that question.
Margaret, I was always amused when I was at my local Curves, run by a Christian lady and probably full of conservative Christians, when that song came on. Also Voulez Vous Couchez Avec Moi when if came on.
Marlene, thank you for the link— when I read Heather‘s comment about Trump mentioning Arnold Palmer’s anatomy, I couldn’t believe it and had hoped for a link! He truly is unhinged and inappropriate—it’s always about someone’s looks (I am still getting over his comment on the debate stage about Carly Fiorina, “look at that face, would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?” or his obsession with $$ and he has no humanity!!
Yes, I do hope the October surprise is the total realization that Trump is not mentally capable of becoming President of the United States of America!
Debbie, any comments he makes about women who are supposed to be his equals, are mortifying and disgraceful. He’s a pig whether he has dementia or not.
Frankly, pigs are higher in my opinion. I said this some time ago Marlene and I'm gonna' say it again. I suspect much of what we're seeing out of the 'OiD' is Act 1, Scene 3 preparations for insanity defenses. The acting is so cheesy it's getting sickening. Is that so far fetched ?
When he said that about Fiorina, I just "knew" it had to be over for him! I mean, that was outright SADISTIC. Instead, people ate it up. He continued to be a sadist at all of the repugnicant debates -- and NO ONE CALLED HIM ON IT. I remember sitting with my jaw dropped wondering WHY IN HELL the moderators weren't saying anything?? WHY weren't the other candidates SAYING ANYTHING?? That's when I renamed him "The Orange Sadist". We've been forced to live in this Hell of his making for more than TEN YEARS now. He has put this country, and all of our lives (except for the maggots'), under a black, black cloud. As someone on another site put it, "He owes us, big time!"
And, kd, it is gobsmackingly chilling that his followers lap it up like an orange slurpy…and then say “sir, may I have more?”. Very disappointed in much of our citizenry! 😢
Michele, this is gross to share (ick factor), but a comment on this or another SubStack said aside from “shooting someone on 5th Ave”, that TFFFG could “drop trou’ on stage at a rally & take a giant dump” and also not lose a single vote. Brain bleach, please! 🤮
Sadly, what you say is true about Fox. Our talented and smart VP has appeared on several varying podcasts and shows this week including FOX when Bret Baer made a complete a$$ out of himself and likely lost thousands of faithful viewers for life.
It will be surprising if Trump gives another interview before the election because he knows he will only drive more voters way from him.
I think he's given up. He knows the 2025-ers have everything in hand, so why waste the dwindling energy? Hold tight everyone - we're about to cross the Delaware.
There's no doubt Donald's going downhill. There's now a photo making the rounds where Fox producers put down a towel for him to sit on supposedly so he wouldn't leak and stain their white couch.
Finally saw a clip of his statement this morning, Marlene, and the cringey envy was palpable. LOL…TFFFG likely wishes he could play golf like Arnie too! Comes up, um, short on both accounts methinks.
I don't believe for a second that this election is close, but we need to continue to act as though it was--and make sure people don't just vote for Harris, but vote blue all the way down the ballot.
They’ll keep him on the ticket, but it’s clear that the crypto hedge boys plan to install J-D asap, on the condition that he pardons the felon for all his many treason-related crimes. They’ll keep his 34 non-federal convictions in appeal for so long, he’ll never face jail time. They still plan to thwart a fair election, with violence if necessary, to throw the mess into the even messier House/Supreme Court gauntlet. This will make the “hanging chad” debacle look like a child’s tea party.
Have faith! Violence really??? Remember when the orange blight called for a convoy of truckers to go to the border to secure it??? It's been awhile. About 20 or 30 old dudes in pickups showed up. The truly crazy thing about the people armed to the teeth, is they are genuinely afraid that the government will actually take their guns away.
As for another insurrection attempt at the Capitol, it won't happen. The Biden Administration is still in charge until the Inauguration. So the Certification of the Election will go off without a hitch. There will be a plan for an orderly transition. The National Guard will be on standby.
Not to mention, hundreds were tried and convicted for the insurrection on January 6th. There are real consequences for trying to over throw the government!
It only takes a few select threats in certain precincts. Enough for the horde of “trained” poll watchers to discredit poll workers and file spurious lawsuits. The goal is to prevent certification of the vote. A threat of violence will keep some voters from the polls.
Please do take a night off when you need to, even mid-week if necessary. You are a national treasure and all of us here need your wisdom, insight, kindness and humanity.
I thought President Kennedy was the youngest president elected? Tonight, I also saw where it has been found, in the many redacted pages of Jack Smith’s report that the insurgents were paid by groups linked to the president. It’s my contention that digging deeper one would find that the instigators at the Floyd protests were also paid. I’m ready for a night off. Sleep well!
I live in St Paul MN. There were men in white panel trucks with obscured or missing license plates who jumped into the George Floyd protest. We are convinced they were there to escalate the chaos and damage property. You could be right that they were paid.
There are also photos of young, white men in professional riot gear breaking windows at some of the businesses near the Third Precinct building that was burned to the ground in Minneapolis. (Third Precinct was where police officer Derek Chauvin and the others involved in Floyd’s murder worked.) We know that several of those arrested that night were from out of town and brought in to raise hell. Boogaloo Boys or maybe Proud Boys. Yes, there were local people rioting and looting but some of the worst damage was done by masked men in riot gear who were never found. Likely raised hell and then left town. And yes, likely paid.
Sheila, yes, that’s right. Boogaloo boys. I recall that there were also men in Hawaiian shirts, which was the informal “uniform” of the BBs. I’ve never quite gotten over the fact that no one followed up to get more information…
I live in Spokane, WA, where there was a peaceful George Floyd march. But as the march concluded , a group of Proud Boys definitely disrupted that peaceful event, and triggered some rioting. It was an unfortunate end to a local event that had gone smoothly until the Proud Boys intruded on it.
JFK was the youngest ELECTED President at 43. Teddy Roosevelt ascended to the presidency at the age of 42 due to the assassination of Wm. McKinley, as he was the Vice-President.
Vance is the Reich Wing’s uber mensch. I would not be surprised to learn he was planted on the ticket by Peter Thiel and one or two others, with little-to-no input from Trump — who, should he re-take the Oval Office, could be fated for 25th Amendment removal right after his Cabinet is sworn in.
Professor Richardson, please explain to your readers that there is a silent strategy here: J. D. Vance is one of the newest members of the New Apostolic Reformation (Mike Johnson is member), which hopes to make the USA into a theocracy run by white Christians, especially Roman Catholics (Vance converted in 2019). They want to get Trump elected, then Junior Dictator Vance will initiate the 25 Amendment (it begins with a written declaration by the Vice President that the President cannot perform his duties) making Vance the Acting President. Then all hell breaks loose. Those of you who are skeptics, please, please prove me wrong. Unfortunately Trump is demonstrating his senility too soon, they hope he would be sane until after January 20.
Yet the MAGAts stand by him and swear he is not only normal but brilliant. TCinLA (??) says he speaks at a Grade 4 level which is why his fans think he is a genius. What a disguting human being Trump is. Duct tape would certainly help.
He/they can't win the popular vote. But they may still be able to seize power. And without both houses of congress the Harris administration will be crippled. I have never been so anxious before a presidential election, and I have been through a dozen of them. It will be January before I can breath again if we win. If we lose I may never breath a full breath again.
What bothers me about Vance isn’t his lack of experience but his fealty to blatant fascists.
What bothers me about Vance is that he was completely groomed to be where he is right now. The Right has had a ‘plan’ for quite a while now, and he is the ‘great white hope’ for them 😥
He terrifies me. There is no apparent humanity there.
Likewise!! He feels like evil personified.
With success, our influence over others expands. With maturity, our concern expands, which is to say that maturity is caring about the impact our decisions are having and will have on others. Ideally, one’s maturity keeps pace with one’s influence. Worst case scenario is a POTUS, aka the most powerful human on the planet, whose concern is limited to “me, myself, and I.” That is the personification of evil. God forbid, which I’m confident God will (keeping in mind that God helps those who help themselves).
If you read Exodus, God is for protecting foreigners and marginalized.
Same thing if you read the Gospel. Luke 10:25-37 comes to mind.
The Republican party acts like it hates real Christians and loves CHRINOs (Christians in name only).
Let’s make him an honorary Steve!
No apparent humanity and no apparent intelligence. Hang on, folks! This could get ugly....
He has the intelligence, MJAtlanta, to curry favor with despots and nihilist rich.
Worse, they're organized with each other.
Still worse, the U.S. ilk first rid our schools of humanities before undertaking their primary, socially crass predations as their far-right foundations implemented them following their action plan, the Powell memo of 1971.
Shed of humanities, and skills in using them, American elites couldn't see what the nihilist billionaires were doing to the tens of millions of working-class Americans whose jobs got offshored systematically from around 1980 on.
We're still suffering from lack of humanities. Vulgarity has taken over. And the dictators, despots, oligarchs, and authoritarians poise to take over the world.
Can we bring up again the damage brought by Reagan?
I certainly have been. I understand that Reagan undid the social supports of Roosevelt, and then Biden started to rebuild those supports. Unfortunately, the very people who are being helped do not see that we need more of what Biden offers to continue this streak, not a return to Trump telling them they are great and then screwing them with his policies, and as Prof. Richardson says, or fascist Bad Boy Billionaire Bros like Peter Thiel running our country through JD Vance as their proxy president.
Agreed. That said, the Lincoln Project is out with a stunning ad featuring Reagan an Trump in which they demonstrate that Trump is the antithesis of St. Ronnie's views.
It is a deep well.
We are also suffering from Americans who hate immigrants and have no understanding of their role in the economy. They have no understanding of the economy at all if they think it will be better with Trump despite experts saying it will be awful under Trump.
The "Know Nothings," Linda, were preaching this hatred prior to the Civil War.
Throughout the South especially, whites of English and Scots Irish descent felt America could be only for those like them of Anglo-Saxon Protestant faiths. So they hated the Irish Catholics. Hated the French. The Germans. Hated cities (where new immigrants clustered). Hated use of federal money for roads, canals, and then railroads (which united cities and manufacturing hubs).
They fantasized instead some mythic agrarian past (where blacks, though plentiful, were never visible).
This visceral hatred, this fantasy life, has been part of our history a long, long time, Linda.
And they have zero understanding of history and that it can repeat itself with dire consequences. My friends whose relatives died in concentration camps know this way too well. In a novel I've written about France's matured Resistance hero Jean Moulin, I found a disturbing parallel to what is happening now at the hands of Trump and his enablers. They will do whatever it takes to undermine the truth in order to gain and keep power.
It's not about the economy; it's about the color of their skin.
Linda, I don’t hate immigration but what I have strongly disliked is tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and eventually millions rushing over hot sands of our broken and unable to fix border. This is not the way to immigrate into any nation. All nations have laws. I don’t understand why y’all say on the other side, that we hate immigrants. Not true. It’s on Joe Biden’s watch that this happened. All the news stories from the New York Times, Washington Post, The News Hour on PBS and countless other sources can’t be all wrong. For almost three years he was inattentive . I don’t get my information from Fox and other propaganda news networks. And this issue could be the one that sinks Harris. It reminds me of what Bill Clinton left for support of Al Gore after the scandal of his times with big lips Monica.
I so agree - exposure to the humanities - art, literature, poetry, theatre - makes for rounded, compassionate people. Teaching Civics and history makes for wiser people. This is not fluff -- it is core stuff.
and also travel .... around these United States, across the borders, and abroad. Perspective is so important.
Study of these areas also makes for much more thinking, discerning people which Trumpers are not. I'm not saying they're stupid, just that they can't possibly be seeking out other news outlets and sources of information, thinking critically and discerning for themselves what makes sense, what's true and what's a lie, and why they should care about that. In fact, most of them label of that "elitist" which is very deeply concerning for our future.
Well said, Phil Balla, and VERY IMPORTANT. Liberal arts colleges are being defunded every day while liberal arts requirements have been lost, thanks to the efforts of the Koch brothers in many major universities, especially public ones. If you can find it, see James Carville in “Starving the Beast.”
"Vulgarity has taken over" to quote Phil Balla. Yes! Hasn't it. That's not a question, either. Or, has the definition changed? And, the lack of discerning behavior (public and private) so clearly illustrated by people we ( I think "we") would prefer to view as adults. Huh? Adults? That definition must have changed.. it must've. Meanwhile, in the language spectrum, can we maybe refrain from using a couple of words that end in 'uck'? Use some discretion.. can we? Or maybe 'restraint' would be better. And, 'girls' (ya.. you women out there), I'm glad you aren't opposed to the verbal meaning carried by those words, but please.., leave something to my imagination, could you? That goes for the VP as well. Stick with language that doesn't call for a PG rating, at least in public. Huh? Lots of questions here. I think Phil Balla, provided an answer. He sure wasn't being prudish. Get out that dictionary. Exercise a modicum of restraint. Wheww!
I couldn't agree more, MadRussian. Crudity of language bespeaks a very limited vocabulary and detracts from the speaker's dignity. The world needs leaders with dignity, courage, smarts, and better vocabulary!
Vance is intelligent. He's a lot smarter than Trump. He's without morals, but he is intelligent.
Which makes Vance 100 times more dangerous.
Yup. We should all be scared. Very scared. Whether its this year or in 2028.
No, he is cunning. He is a master manipulator. He appears intelligent. His Yale law degree? He can thank affirmative action. He is a vet. Seats are set aside for military vets at the top law schools. He is cunning and easily manipulated, for the right price. The German born misogynistic Fascist Peter Thiel groomed him for this rôle. Think of him as a young Frankenstein.
It is ugly....
Could?
Vance is the backup Trojan horse for the fascist-nazi Heritage Project 2025.........
What are Maggots going to do when they meet sheets AR-15 bullets streaming from the home of a US citizen...when they start their deporation plan!!!
Vote Vote Vote.......case closed!!!
There are NO nights off during this final dash to the finish line!!!
He will throw anyone under the bus, if doing so is advantageous for him.
I can’t figure out how these extreme Catholics (Vance, Alito, Thomas, e.g.) have so little respect for the humanity of others—not the Catholicism I was raised with. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
MLMinET: Isn't THAT the case!
You state it exactly right!
Regardless of how evil you find Vance, it is trump who will become president again if he wins and nothing is more terrifying than a demented mind that espouses, "“Jill, get your fat husband off the couch,” he said. “Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to go and vote for Trump, he’s going to save our country. Get that guy the hell off our— get him up, Jill, slap him around. Get him up. Get him up, Jill. We want him off the couch to get out and vote.”
Trump is headed to the Steeler game tonight. It would be great if the crowd shouts "WON"T GO BACK!" https://www.instagram.com/kamalaforpa/p/DBK2jL4RU-a/?img_index=1
Place comments on social media...."Not suckers or losers" to vets groups, military, military dependents, history sites. Vote vets has thousands of testimonials of 2020 Trump voters that flipped. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans or active duty members on Facebook, and 12.5 million family members of veterans or active duty members on Facebook.
DNC Anytime Training signup link (call on your schedule!) Share the link with your own message in an email or text: https://events.democrats.org/event/551644/ T
If vets haven't flipped by now there's no hope. My wish is that the tens of thousands of young people who've registered to vote for the first time, who never answer the phone and therefore don't poll, show up and vote, and Kamala wins by a landslide....
NOT TRUE. This kind off stuff takes a long time to sink in and many only watch right wing media. On vote vets we get epiphany stories every day. Anecdotally, people tell me that many switch.
At FT6 most of the texts go to people who are not otherwise in the system, do not get other political texts and the success rate is about 30% which is huge.
He’ll be bringing back Star Chambers, burning/flogging/torturing
Witches (ie., women, especially women without children, gays, intellectuals), turning schools into religious indoctrination centers, and turning over the economy to the likes Peter Thiel and his ilk. And all of his extreme social positions are because he has a mother who has struggled with addiction (“but she’s clean now”), an absent father, and all the opprobrium that comes from growing up in poverty.
Rather than have compassion for those in poverty and addiction and hold out plans to raise people out of those circumstances, Vance sees the answer to dysfunctional families in punishment: forcing couples to stay together, forcing women to have children, flogging fathers who don’t show up, executing drug users (Trump’s often said the way to get rid of drug problems is to execute users).
All to be sure to keep from paying his fair share of taxes. Trump is walking greed.
He is more scary than Trump which I can’t believe we can say
Raw, ruthless ambition underpinned by the certainty and intransigence conferred by his rigid right wing Catholicism. Perfect profile for a dictator who has no place in a democracy.
He follows then republican mantra of hypocrisy. Not to be picky, but isn't his wife's parents immigrants. His wife doesn't look too white to me. How about trump's 2 wives.? Immigrants. In his purge of all immigrants -legal or not- will they be tossed out, too?
Virginia Witmer: Exactly!
JD’s just a front for Theil, Elon, Koch, Mercer, etc
Lest, Ted, we underestimate their numbers, malevolence, and organization:
Miriam Adelson, Robin Arkley II (purveyor of hidden, untaxed bribes to Alito), George Birnbaum, Harlan Crow (a Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Wayne Huizenga (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Charles Koch, Leonard Leo, Bernie Little (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Timothy Mellon, Rupert Murdoch, Elon Musk, Paul “Tony” Novelly (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Dennis Prager, David Rivkin (defender of Alito medieval corruption and his contemporary corruption, too), Steve Schwartzman, Paul Singer, David Sokol (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer), Peter Thiel, Anthony Welters (another Clarence Thomas subsidizer) Jeffrey Yass, Jeff Zuckerberg and families DeVos, Kushner, Mercer, Sackler, Uihlein (though another of Heather's readers here has pointed out one Uihlein daughter doesn't follow her larger number of relatives).
Thanks for the registry.
Ginni must have convinced Clarence that he’s white.
Or, just that he is special like Ben Carson MD, who wrote the chapter on the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Project 2025 document, where he advocates reducing of help for people in public housing, and tying this all into a plea for all services to ensure their anti-abortion agenda, which they call Life.
I have known other successful Black men to think that they were both special and could be typical if others would just pull themselves up by their boot straps like they did.
They fail to see that being special is part of the system they are in, which will not allow all people to succeed, regardless of their color, but particularly those who have Black and Brown skin. This is the system that Trump and the people who are voting for him are fighting for, one this remains unequal. Not just for them, but for people who do not embody conservative, Christian Nationalist, White, Male, Cis-gendered personhood.
🤣🤣🤣 (although greedy is as much to the point)
😂
Think-just think-of all the money behind those names….this list is terrifying. And it doesn’t list organizations like Opus Dei, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, and their adherents.
They have overlapping membership.
Well done Phil....
Do you mean Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Zucker? I think you are conflating two different people. I don't think there is any "famous" person supporting Trump named Jeff Zuckerberg.
Something like the top 50 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50% of Americans. Nothing gets done till we right this historic inequality.
What a startling list!!!
Whew, what a list!
Project 2025!
MURDOCH
JD’s violent Forward in upcoming Project 2025 book:
https://newrepublic.com/article/184393/jd-vance-violent-foreword-kevin-roberts-project-2025-leader-book
Like a Manchurian Candidate, but of Peter Theil, the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.
And I thought that was fiction. I also thought Rupert Murdoch was the worst of the worst. Silly me. He just showed them how it’s done.
Exactly. They are playing the long game, and Vance is their means to grab the seat behind the Resolute Desk-and never give it up. Democracy done. Hi, Russell! 😊
Hi Jen!
Vance would be a puppet for billionaire fascists Thiel and Musk. The $75 million that Musk donated to the Trump campaign was a big bet that Vance will soon become president if Trump is elected.
Thiel and Musk are both immigrants. Can't be president. But could be in the Cabinet.
Musk at some point was asked if he could be president. He said: "not officially."
Sounds ominous, Michael, and chilling.
Thank goodness
He makes a lot of money off the federal government from starlink alone.. The odds are long. But it's small change
Yes. Groomed by Mr. Nazi, Peter Thiel, a gay man who also will set up our country to turn on other LGBTQ+ people assuming it will not affect him because he is so special.
Given that 806 Americans have accumulated the wealth of one-half the American population, there is no doubt that the oligarchs' plan and actions have been successful beyond their wildest dreams. Oligarchs (or very few of them) have any interest in democracy because the workers (horror upon horror) could actually tax the wealthy and large corporations to help pay for government. Our $36.6 trillion national debt is owing directly to the Reagan Revolution of cutting taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, driving the Middle Class here into oblivion, leaving the vast number of Americans as serfs. Thomas Frank explains this in his 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?"
The Advance Vance Plan. I wonder how far back it goes.
Peter Theil’s puppet. Just like Trump is Putin’s puppet
Nickie: The long rightwing plan and JD Vance as "the great WHITE hope" for the white nationalists: You state it Exactly RIGHT!
Like the Manchurian candidate...
Would getting young Supreme Court Justices in place? Thomas is old as is Alito. Maybe they would resign early and enjoy the fruits of their labor,
Agreed. Lack of experience is a concern but is forgivable, and can be overcome. But his alliances, backers, and fealties are deeply troubling.
I’m afraid the Musk/Thiel/Sacks et al tech oligarch thing is WAY bigger and better organized than any of us have understood. I read this long-form piece at the NYT today with growing terror. I’m not exaggerating. Those guys are serious about taking over the USA, and they’ve got the ability to do it. It’s like an alternate universe, and it’s melting its way into OUR world. I hope this is disseminated far and wide: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/magazine/trump-donors-silicon-valley.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Tk4.NNjI.Aw4VsWkI4GKt&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
I will believe the NY Times when they get rid of their editor in chief Joseph Kahn and the publisher Dash Sulzberger.
Now they notice that there is a problem after they helped create it? This is why I canceled my subscription.
Carol-Ann, you should really look at that article. It’s about the furthest thing from supporting Trump that a person could imagine. I understand why the NYT has disappointed all of us in so many respects, but THIS article shows that they are still doing the investigative work which the country needs. Please take a look at it. If the “gift” thing isn’t working, PM me and I’ll send you your own gift link.
Maria - thank you for gifting. Though I probably shouldn't be, I am astonished at the darkness revealed in this article.
Maria & runragged, it is a frightening article, a gift about grift!
Your viewpoint has no merit. The NYT is 100% opposed to Trump and they have no skin in the game to support Thiel or his cronies. Sulzberger is I highly credible journalist who worked his way up through the newsroom even though his family owns the paper (the paper is actually public in terms of stock but the Sulzberger family holds all the voting control stock). He is liberal and made significant attempts before Jan 6 2021 to get Trump to back off of his attacks on journalism.
The only serious flaw I see in the Sulzberger family (which is mostly Jewish) is their support of Israel during the events that followed the Oct 7 2023 attack by Hamas which I totally understand. Despite that they have actually done a pretty decent job of keeping their news stories on the Israel Hamas war objective.
Answering your comments is always a walk on the dark side. The one who is penning comments without merit is you. I know who owns the New York Times. I also know if the NYT continues to bleed profits, the family will fire Dash. That is what corporate families do. The Fords did it to Edsel. Anyone who thinks, as does the editor in chief Joseph Kahn, that "democracy" is a political slogan and not a form of government is no liberal. One more thing, don't mansplain, it's so cro-MAGAnum.
I can't imagine they will get rid of Dash S. His family owns the paper and has been publishing it for over 125 years. His great grandfather Arthur Ochs Sulzberger was publisher for decades.
Dystopian Marvel/DC Universe villains! The entire lot of them!
Own the satellites. Own Twitter. Buy people without making a dent in the war chest. Terrifying.
Thank you for gifting. It certainly explains why no one should assume they are seeing the full picture just because their eyes are open.
And here is a gift to WaPo coverage of same issue https://wapo.st/3C2nTm7
Thanks, Rhea!
I read the NYT article all the way through to the end. I am being specific about reading to the end because that article is the only one I have seen that presents a reason, other than financial, for these tech billionaires to be so supportive of Donald Trump.
People who are that wealthy can offshore their money and otherwise make it difficult for the US to get taxes from them. Whole different conversation. (They kind of leech off the rest of us as far as our infrastructure, our military, roads, airports, police etc. without paying their fair share of it.)
Now I understand why they are backing Project 2025.
They want to have free rein to alter our entire CULTURE and way of life - to suit their ideas of what a society should be to serve their interests.
Well - news for you narcissistic, entitled Assholes - this country is full of crazy people and Your Supreme Court flooded the country with guns.
And you actually had a “Let them eat cake party” 😁🤣😂
What happened to the person who made that sentence famous?
I went from being in that 1% to living on Social Security because of a bought and paid for attorney (who can’t sue me - no confidentiality agreement was part of the settlement).
I have been living among people (men) who have been the result of the school to prison pipeline.
A now retired, member of the County Sheriffs office told the neighbors that I was running a 3/4 house to explain the strange situation. He lived a couple of houses down.
One of my people (a minor on the spectrum) stole a bunch of stuff and tried to board a passenger jet going to Orlando with it. Fortunately TSA (another service our government provides that rich people don’t want to pay their fair share of) caught the kid.
The stuff included things that could have caused a disaster on the plane if a spark had gone through it.
And yes - the FBI showed up at my house in plainclothes. That FBI you want to close down.
They were doing their DAMN job.
Governor Whitmer was being stalked and some of the people who were later charged lived close to me.
Considering the incident with the jet and the people I had at my place - they thought I might have been running a white supremacist cell. I heard this from a special agent in the Florida office.
Instead they found a bunch of neurodiverse people who were living around animals so they would be CALMER.
Go ahead ruin their world. Most of these people have no idea what you are planning to do.
But when they find out as you try to implement the plan 😊
As one of them said “we will just kill them”.
Geoff Duncan has been trying to warn you. Listen to him.
Thanks for sharing, Maria….appreciate it!
I read the art
He is being groomed to follow the playbook of Project 2025!
Didn’t JD write the forward to Project 2025?
To say nothing of his dishonesty. He's decided to ride the Trump bronco as far as he can. And I think he probably is betting that Trump can't go the whole 4 years. And lastly, even if he loses, he's teed up for a run in 2028. At which point, he will at least have a bit of experience under his belt to leaven his hubris.
Agreed. Vance will probably be back in 2028
45 can’t go the whole 4-minutes!
The debate gave Vance a boost. He appeared more human and less a robotic idiot. Walz appeared less competent and he has suffered. It was a turning point,
No, Tim Walz held his own. Vance is a polished debater. I expected him to do well. But many pointed out that his message was still strange. I tried to remember something that he said that night. The only thing I remember was the "Christ have mercy," response to Tim Walz saying that his son witnessed someone being shot. I've never heard that expression outside of a Catholic Mass. Even when Vance is his most polished and professional self, a little weird slips out.
Agree, Carol, I thought Vance came off as savvy-smooth & polished, but Walz came off as genuine and “real”.
Agreed...I believe Walz made up ground at the end of the debate though. Leaving a stronger last impression than Vance did.
Sadly, to appear smooth, civil, unexcitable — even affable in a measured, friendly tone — the new GOP knows, gives them credence and trustworthiness in the regard of an unseemly large portion of the American population. Witness the unctuous performances of JD Vance and Mike Johnson and the admiration bestowed upon their "performance art", which disguised the content of their speech. Even corporate media focused on style over content. My only question: were they willingly, happily conned for short-term profit or is basic journalistic integrity passé?
Vance's lack of experience does bother me. Especially, with the current state of the world. I agree with everything else you said.
Vance, the man who changed his name THREE TIMES, is as unstable and just as amoral as his idol Donald. Vance is crude, rude and disgusting.
And weird!
He is uncomfortable in his skin exuding an extraterrestrial vibe in a human skin suit.
I don't think JD sees TFFG as his idol so much as his vehicle.
Good point! Means to an end. Watch your back, Donny Boy. There is a Brutus in every empire.
I imagine the shadowy powerbrokers (as mentioned in the comments) have already been sussing out scenarios to that end….beware that Diet Coke, Donny, and stay on the ground floor and avoid stairs.
There MUST be an end to this tyranny-based tragedy.
Wholely agree!
2025 and the 25th Amendment
Yes. Chucky Vance is next in line -- for now. He can be replaced at the drop of a hat. It doesn't matter who the Top Pinocchio is, the oligarchs will always be in control. What is mystifying is that they could be masters of the universe and still get morbidly rich AND pay LOTS of taxes to return the people's money to the people to keep them well fed and healthy ... and very middle class. The oligarchs are idiots. Take Elon -- please.
They aren't idiots. That's the problem. They are obscenely smart and do not WANT a "very middle class" society, they want an obedient couch class who will survive on what they are given. They will use AI to take over most managerial responsibilities; mechanized middle management is much easier to control, less expensive and can avoid serious concerns like morality and fairness. Believe it or not I could handle four more years of Trump far easier than even one year of JD Vance.
They are intertwined at this point.
“They” want a programmed society that only makes binary decisions : Scroll, buy, or keep scrolling. Repeat.
Well said, James!
JD Vance does not only have fealty to fascists, he is one too. I am bothered by his Christian Nationalist sexist, racist world view that ignores his privilege to destroy education for others and support an anti-intellectual wave with his CN fellows who are bent on destroying our nation and our constitution and taking over the world with violence. JD Vance is making the world unsafe not only for other immigrants and their children, but for his in-laws, his wife and his own children by raking up and supporting hostility to brown-skinned peoples from other countries. I am also bothered by his lack of life experience because running our country in these times requires complex thinking, and the ability to negotiate and compromise. He has no experience with either.
That's what's makes him a perfect puppet for Darth Musk. Darth Trump is about be replaced. "There are alway two, a master and an apprentice..."
Barbara, what frightens me is Vance’s wholesale crusade to make Project 2025 a reality.
His inexperience makes me ill. Look at what President Biden has accomplished. Experience was core to his presidency. God help us.
His fealty to his sugar daddy!
For several weeks now, I have been saying that Trump (or MAGA) fears of him being killed by Democrats is ridiculous. Every Democrat I know wants his to lose to a black, female prosecutor in a historic landslide!! (I can hear the "Amens!" LOL) I absolutely believe that if Trump is to win, within 60 days, Vance will invoke the 25th, and he will be instructed and prodded to do so by the likes of Thiel, Leo, and the Heritage Foundation.
Years ago, I purchased and read "Hillbilly Elegy" and I was astounded by the condescending tone I felt his displayed towards his roots. (If anyone here follows "Tennessee Brando" on YouTube, you'll find he has the same sort of opinions of Vance. Well worth a look up.) Vance manages to "other" those people while giving himself more credit than I think he deserves.
I recall him relaying the story of his then girlfriend, now wife, instructing him on how to dress and how to behave in the society he wishes to inhabit. Nothing wrong with that--but to me, it displayed such an eagerness to become "somebody" that I think he is willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve that status. Just as Trump idolizes Billionaires and dictators, I believe Vance idolizes power. I also think that just as NYC society laughed at Trump behind his back and never truly accepted him, Vance is just a useful pawn to those seeking a malleable figure to achieve their own policies.
Vance is a pile of clay.... and it seems for the right price, he can be molded into anything and quite quickly too...
Gee, tell us what you really think, Barbara! Couldn't have said it better myself!
Senator Vance summons this intuition within me: now I have seen Aaron Burr, Alcibiades, Oswald Mosley,
Yep. He's been an elected official for 18 months. He says often he wants to make people, journalists and companies that oppose them "pay a big price". And his mentor, and financier of his campaign, Peter Theil, has said he now believes "Democracy and Freedom are incompatible." Personally, I want freedom from these people.
Barbara A. Ginsberg: Neo-Nazi JD Vance, with his obscene blood-libel against the Haitian immigrants, is WORSE than Trump.
You state it Exactly RIGHT!
Yes Indeed.
What upsets me is his blatant hatred for women and wanting us to be second class citizens.
Thanks for capturing tonight’s surreal moment for posterity. Lord help us all!
Agreed. Surreal and disgraceful. I’m going to copy and paste a note I wrote last week that has been liked 590 times and restacked 60 and counting (a lot for me!). Vance is a special kind of misogynist:
“To anyone hurt by a VP candidate’s cruel and heartless attack on women without children, as if they are not invested in the future of our children and country, that they should be judged first on their production of biological children - please know that there are many, many, many ways to make this world a better place, and find great meaning and purpose in life.
Here is a heart warming vignette I received from a very close friend about just such a childless woman. Maybe she even had a cat.
“My high school choir instructor was one of the best people I have ever met. Like a more modest, middle class, middle aged version of Dolly Parton. She taught us so much about life and expectations that many of us still dream about disappointing her. She even taught us how to die well when she succumbed to cancer in our early 20s. She didn’t have her own children, but she planned a heart-wrenchingly beautiful funeral service knowing hundreds of alum would come to her service. She programmed in letters to her students and songs for us all to sing together to say goodbye. We should all have a teacher like her in our lives once.”
~
Women without children are not invested in this country? How dare they even whisper it.
BTW. The actual Dolly Parton never had kids either.
I bet you can name such a wonderful woman in your life. They are a special kind of hero, too.
https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/you-are-a-hero
Priceless, thank you
This is wonderful - thank you for sharing again. All of our lives have been touched by beautiful people, whether they have children or not. What burns me is Vance and his groomers never mention childless men. In their view, men have full freedoms to do as they please without any consequence whatsoever.
💯
That is wonderful, and thank you so much. For some of us, music programs were what kept us in school, and gave us a place to belong.
Doc, I can see why the response was so favorable to your post. A beautiful and important story! The wonderful woman in my children's lives was their elementary school counselor. She sounds very much like the woman in your story. Our lives are better for having known them.
Oh Heather, I get how impossible it is to take a night off especially when the Weirdo-In-Depends goes completely off of his rocker. Appreciate you chiming in about Donald’s strange conversation with himself about Arnold’s schlong before taking a break. Fox must be tired and embarrassed of his crazy remarks for them to switch to Kamala’s rally. Good! The more she is shown to their audience, the better it is in succeeding to get her elected.
Marlene, what next. I just hope we are not treated to his disrobing at a rally. And gosh, a reference to golfer's anatomy. He is absolutely in lala land. But J.D. is another dangerous story.
With Trump, you never know what to expect, except you do know it’s going to be extremely vulgar and lower than he’s gone before.
But don't call them wierd! That hurts their feelings.
Weird works because it's Minnesota nice. But I don't live in the Midwest. To me they are stains on the ballot.
Yeah, “bless their hearts”, right?
Your words not mine but you made me smile. To be absolutely clear I was referring to you know coup and hs I'll say anything for a dollar kissup.
Agreed, the man has no self- respect
Kathy, correct on all 3 of your Trump analysis points. Yesterday's 10 min djt babble was on the size of Arnold Palmer's genitalia. No, I am not joking.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-arnold-palmer-closing-arguments-latrobe-pennsylvania-2bea9620c523e531a55259200215284e
I just saw an article about it. He even commented about the bodies of the secret service guys. I don't know, do men come out of showers commenting on size. Maybe I shouldn't ask that question.
Maybe THAT'S with all the super-macho crap of late! He's a closet homosexual.
He's a sexual criminal. It's about domination and displaying the signs of dominance for him.
And yet, he had Stormy spank him during their 'session'. Actually, that's psychologically consistent with the pattern...
Well, all that sniggering about Lindsay...
Remember, YMCA is among his favorite songs.
Margaret, I was always amused when I was at my local Curves, run by a Christian lady and probably full of conservative Christians, when that song came on. Also Voulez Vous Couchez Avec Moi when if came on.
I must look into these, as I'm missing the specifics. I have heard of YMCA, but you know, I'm a trad music kinda gal.
All I can say is "EWW!" But maybe you shouldn't.
I did ask my husband about this and he said he had read it was sometimes a celebrity thing.
Sorry, Michele, I'm losing track. Your husband said "locker room talk" is a celebrity thing, or something else?
Ah, Michele, the fabled cultural rite of “locker room talk”, which for TFFFG was a get out of jail free card. 🤦🏻♀️
Marlene, thank you for the link— when I read Heather‘s comment about Trump mentioning Arnold Palmer’s anatomy, I couldn’t believe it and had hoped for a link! He truly is unhinged and inappropriate—it’s always about someone’s looks (I am still getting over his comment on the debate stage about Carly Fiorina, “look at that face, would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?” or his obsession with $$ and he has no humanity!!
Yes, I do hope the October surprise is the total realization that Trump is not mentally capable of becoming President of the United States of America!
Debbie, any comments he makes about women who are supposed to be his equals, are mortifying and disgraceful. He’s a pig whether he has dementia or not.
Frankly, pigs are higher in my opinion. I said this some time ago Marlene and I'm gonna' say it again. I suspect much of what we're seeing out of the 'OiD' is Act 1, Scene 3 preparations for insanity defenses. The acting is so cheesy it's getting sickening. Is that so far fetched ?
I have heard that suggested ......
I don't think so...
When he said that about Fiorina, I just "knew" it had to be over for him! I mean, that was outright SADISTIC. Instead, people ate it up. He continued to be a sadist at all of the repugnicant debates -- and NO ONE CALLED HIM ON IT. I remember sitting with my jaw dropped wondering WHY IN HELL the moderators weren't saying anything?? WHY weren't the other candidates SAYING ANYTHING?? That's when I renamed him "The Orange Sadist". We've been forced to live in this Hell of his making for more than TEN YEARS now. He has put this country, and all of our lives (except for the maggots'), under a black, black cloud. As someone on another site put it, "He owes us, big time!"
And, kd, it is gobsmackingly chilling that his followers lap it up like an orange slurpy…and then say “sir, may I have more?”. Very disappointed in much of our citizenry! 😢
It is grotesque.
Thank you for the link. I would say, "can he get anymore disgusting?" but of course he'll find a way.
Well, now we know why Trump is obsessed with crowd size...to him it's akin to penis envy.
Michele, this is gross to share (ick factor), but a comment on this or another SubStack said aside from “shooting someone on 5th Ave”, that TFFFG could “drop trou’ on stage at a rally & take a giant dump” and also not lose a single vote. Brain bleach, please! 🤮
I had heard the bit about dropping the trousers, but not the dump. He is a dump.
💩…..may his path forward be filled with cow-pies!
Sadly, what you say is true about Fox. Our talented and smart VP has appeared on several varying podcasts and shows this week including FOX when Bret Baer made a complete a$$ out of himself and likely lost thousands of faithful viewers for life.
It will be surprising if Trump gives another interview before the election because he knows he will only drive more voters way from him.
I think he's given up. He knows the 2025-ers have everything in hand, so why waste the dwindling energy? Hold tight everyone - we're about to cross the Delaware.
There's no doubt Donald's going downhill. There's now a photo making the rounds where Fox producers put down a towel for him to sit on supposedly so he wouldn't leak and stain their white couch.
https://www.threads.net/@adamparkhomenko/post/DBRhTAIP5yw
I had a dog like that. He didn't age gracefully and he too got so he couldn't help himself.
As time passed he also turned mean.
Haa !
Soooo.... what did he say about Arnold?
Something about a putter?
David, LOL.
clever
Look above, Jocelyn.
Thanks. I did. EW.
Mentioning Palmer in the shower
You can't make this stuff up
Finally saw a clip of his statement this morning, Marlene, and the cringey envy was palpable. LOL…TFFFG likely wishes he could play golf like Arnie too! Comes up, um, short on both accounts methinks.
I don't believe for a second that this election is close, but we need to continue to act as though it was--and make sure people don't just vote for Harris, but vote blue all the way down the ballot.
Also, Trump should be in a closed mental ward.
I’m concerned that the GQP has more dirty tricks up the members’ collective sleeves.
If not, ER, we will have the inmates in charge of the mental hospital.
... in prison.
They’ll keep him on the ticket, but it’s clear that the crypto hedge boys plan to install J-D asap, on the condition that he pardons the felon for all his many treason-related crimes. They’ll keep his 34 non-federal convictions in appeal for so long, he’ll never face jail time. They still plan to thwart a fair election, with violence if necessary, to throw the mess into the even messier House/Supreme Court gauntlet. This will make the “hanging chad” debacle look like a child’s tea party.
Have faith! Violence really??? Remember when the orange blight called for a convoy of truckers to go to the border to secure it??? It's been awhile. About 20 or 30 old dudes in pickups showed up. The truly crazy thing about the people armed to the teeth, is they are genuinely afraid that the government will actually take their guns away.
As for another insurrection attempt at the Capitol, it won't happen. The Biden Administration is still in charge until the Inauguration. So the Certification of the Election will go off without a hitch. There will be a plan for an orderly transition. The National Guard will be on standby.
Not to mention, hundreds were tried and convicted for the insurrection on January 6th. There are real consequences for trying to over throw the government!
It only takes a few select threats in certain precincts. Enough for the horde of “trained” poll watchers to discredit poll workers and file spurious lawsuits. The goal is to prevent certification of the vote. A threat of violence will keep some voters from the polls.
Please do take a night off when you need to, even mid-week if necessary. You are a national treasure and all of us here need your wisdom, insight, kindness and humanity.
Beautiful photo. A great contrast to the foul-mouthed pretend presidential candidate running to stay out of prison.
I thought President Kennedy was the youngest president elected? Tonight, I also saw where it has been found, in the many redacted pages of Jack Smith’s report that the insurgents were paid by groups linked to the president. It’s my contention that digging deeper one would find that the instigators at the Floyd protests were also paid. I’m ready for a night off. Sleep well!
I live in St Paul MN. There were men in white panel trucks with obscured or missing license plates who jumped into the George Floyd protest. We are convinced they were there to escalate the chaos and damage property. You could be right that they were paid.
I fully believe that as well.
There are also photos of young, white men in professional riot gear breaking windows at some of the businesses near the Third Precinct building that was burned to the ground in Minneapolis. (Third Precinct was where police officer Derek Chauvin and the others involved in Floyd’s murder worked.) We know that several of those arrested that night were from out of town and brought in to raise hell. Boogaloo Boys or maybe Proud Boys. Yes, there were local people rioting and looting but some of the worst damage was done by masked men in riot gear who were never found. Likely raised hell and then left town. And yes, likely paid.
Sheila, yes, that’s right. Boogaloo boys. I recall that there were also men in Hawaiian shirts, which was the informal “uniform” of the BBs. I’ve never quite gotten over the fact that no one followed up to get more information…
I live in Spokane, WA, where there was a peaceful George Floyd march. But as the march concluded , a group of Proud Boys definitely disrupted that peaceful event, and triggered some rioting. It was an unfortunate end to a local event that had gone smoothly until the Proud Boys intruded on it.
JFK was the youngest ELECTED President at 43. Teddy Roosevelt ascended to the presidency at the age of 42 due to the assassination of Wm. McKinley, as he was the Vice-President.
Thanks!
Shoulda read to the end. Sorry for the double-dip.
No worries my friend… good to see you… 😉
He was; Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest person to assume office, which he did following the assassination of William McKinley.
Kennedy was the youngest elected. Teddy Roosevelt was the Vice President when McKinley was assassinated.
Thanks for writing tonight. The idea of Fox cutting from 45 to Harris great. He so far gone that I can’t imagine how anyone can vote for him.
And yet he'll get millions and millions of votes.
All I can do is shake my head.
And sadly, my retired cop friends will be among those votes.
WOW! Are they former military?
Some of them. Not all. Their spouses are on board as well.
I'm convinced Vance and Musk already have a 25th Amendment Plan.
Vance is the Reich Wing’s uber mensch. I would not be surprised to learn he was planted on the ticket by Peter Thiel and one or two others, with little-to-no input from Trump — who, should he re-take the Oval Office, could be fated for 25th Amendment removal right after his Cabinet is sworn in.
I linked above to a terrifying NYT piece about Vance, Thiel and the rest of their sinister clique—really a fantastic piece of investigative journalism which I hope won’t end up sliding away from the public eye. It’s long, and spellbinding. In a terrible way. “How Tech Billionaires Became the GOP’s New Donor Class” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/magazine/trump-donors-silicon-valley.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Didn't trump have less experience the 1st time around? As in, zero?
He had lots of experience with bankruptcy, misogyny, xenophobia, racism and temper tantrums.
And JD has weird and bizarre ideas about what a family is..
And never forget the roadmap for Republicans is Project 2025.
Yes, and remember what a shit show his administration was. Vance would be much more dangerous
Professor Richardson, please explain to your readers that there is a silent strategy here: J. D. Vance is one of the newest members of the New Apostolic Reformation (Mike Johnson is member), which hopes to make the USA into a theocracy run by white Christians, especially Roman Catholics (Vance converted in 2019). They want to get Trump elected, then Junior Dictator Vance will initiate the 25 Amendment (it begins with a written declaration by the Vice President that the President cannot perform his duties) making Vance the Acting President. Then all hell breaks loose. Those of you who are skeptics, please, please prove me wrong. Unfortunately Trump is demonstrating his senility too soon, they hope he would be sane until after January 20.
Totally terrifying! We MUST Elect Harris/Walz and give them both houses of Congress!!!
I thought Vance was Catholic.
He recently converted.
They are often the most fanatic.
Not the least bit skeptical of this theory. I think you're right on.
Yet the MAGAts stand by him and swear he is not only normal but brilliant. TCinLA (??) says he speaks at a Grade 4 level which is why his fans think he is a genius. What a disguting human being Trump is. Duct tape would certainly help.
Improve his looks, too.
Allen, you’re back!
Yes, thanks. Broke down and paid up again. So I could shoot my mouth off.
He/they can't win the popular vote. But they may still be able to seize power. And without both houses of congress the Harris administration will be crippled. I have never been so anxious before a presidential election, and I have been through a dozen of them. It will be January before I can breath again if we win. If we lose I may never breath a full breath again.
No to Vance. No to Project 2025.
For now, but P25 won't just dissolve into the ether. The ones behind it have worked for too many decades to get where they are now.