There is so, so much going on. Trump loves chaos and uncertainty.
I can't thank you enough for staying on top of it all; the ugly spin, the lies, the cynical manipulation; but also the solidarity and determination of the millions who believe that the United States can yet find its way back to being a government "of the people, by the people, for the people."
They are indeed. We mustn’t forget that or overlook it. Yes, being forced to see a deranged, psychotic fruit loop of a conman and his top goons literally churning out AI shit videos against us is horrifying. But beneath that layer lies sheer terror, and they ALL know it. You can feel their fear. It grows by leaps and bounds every day.
Why does Cancun Cruz bellow and wheeze like a scraggly, puffy, enraged Pillsbury Doughboy having a heart attack? Because in some very real, petrified place inside that ghastly, false, prevaricating soul of his, he knows his time is up. Why does Lindsay drink himself into a dumb stupor before appearing before the press, clutching his pearls? Why does our Bobblehead nebbish of a Speaker say transparently stupid shit like “bless her heart” (directed at Rep. Grijalva) at a staged press conference where you can see the beads of sweat start to pop out on his forehead?
Because they know the jig is up. And they know their role in creating and perpetuating this monstrosity won’t be forgotten or forgiven even by their own constituents, whom they attack and strafe from a shit-carrying plane every bit as much as their rancid, crown-wearing boss.
Let’s make absolutely sure their very worst fears materialize.
The problem is that these latest attacks come against the background of the regular cadence of lies and misinformation from right-wing media and propagandists that has left people de-sensitised so that many people consider that sort of thing just part and parcel of the knockabout rivalry of party politics.
The evidence is clear enough - the egregious gerrymandering, the withdrawal of funding for Democratic states, the threats to eliminate what Trump calls 'Democrat programs' (even though Red states are the greatest beneficiaries), the absurd claims that the Democrats harbour actual terrorists as well as terrorist sympathisers and undocumented migrants within their ranks - they all point a Republican party that views the midterm elections with a sense of dread. The trouble is that in your polarised society people don't always see the evidence for what it is and Trump has always counted on that.
There is also the case pending before SCOTUS which will destroy the Voting Rights Act, Louisiana v. Vallais. Roberts first became a U.S. attorney under Reagan, and his job was to wreck citizens’ rights to vote. As Chief Justice, John Roberts will do this and allow Trump to get up to 20 seats racially gerrymandered to benefit white Republicans. Trump is also trying to restore Jim Crow and Juan Crow, to lock in racial discrimination against Black and Latino citizens.
They will also be ruling on Trump's tariffs, conversion therapy, gender-affirming care for minors and gun regulations which gives them plenty of scope to roll back progressive reforms and support Trump. The one case where they have fallen short is their refusal to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal which leaves Trump with the thorny problem of whether he can risk pardoning a paedophile. Go on...you know you want to do it.
The problem is that the system never gave Black citizens a say in their own government. Whites ran the political system in Louisiana as well as other Southern states. If this goes through, the whole meaning and purpose of the Voting Rights Act would be eviscerated, and the issue of white districts would be irrelevant, as whites still constitute the majority of voters. Black voters have needed to have dedicated districts because for so long they lacked representatives who would represent them. The policies would look race neutral, but in reality, they would favor majority voters over minority voters. Roberts has been totally unwilling to preserve the Voting Rights Act and he and his fellow Federalist Society justices have been aiming to get rid of the.Act for a long time. They truly do not believe government should represent all citizens and think the right to vote should not be a fundamental right, which it always should have been.
The majority of the Supreme Court have shown themselves to be willing to betray a number of established Constitutional to benefit Trump, the morbidly wealthy, and big businesses, and to destroy the rights of ordinary citizens. They have given Trump permission to break the law if carrying out “official duties.” The Founders made it clear the president was subject to the Constitution and the law. They would have been appalled at the result in United States v. Trump. Trump has already done things for which he should have already been impeached and convicted if we had a functioning government. The big problem with the concept about the president being allowed,to break the law is that the whole concept of official duties could stretched beyond any practical limits and nearly everything could be treated being within the scope of presidential duties, especially the baseless indictments and charges against James Comey, Letitia James, and John Bolton. As far as I am concerned, these are illegal and unconstitutional charges brought to harass people who disagreed with him, and without probable cause. These alone could be considered both high crimes and misdemeanors by misusing the department of justice as an instrument of retaliation against critics.
The Supreme Court majority thinks racism is dead in this country, which is categorically untrue. Republicans controlled states are doing everything they can to cement themselves into power, and to unjustly gerrymander state legislative and federal congressional districts for their own benefit. Federal Republicans have introduced legislation which would make it very difficult for,married women and various other groups to register as voters. We have never had more than a miniscuke problem with voter fraud, and it does get caught. We have a much greater problem with deliberate attempts to disenfranchise and suppress voters who don’t vote for Republican candidates. The Supreme Court majority wants to destroy the Voting Rights Act. It is trampling in the memory of people who died to enable Black citizens to vote; such as Martin Luther King, Viola Liuzzo, Vernon Dahmer, Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, Jr., and many others. It also tramples on the memories of Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis, who were severely beaten for the “crime” of demanding the full citizenship they should have had. Up until the late 1960s, the South was not a true democracy, but a herrenvolk republic run by and for white citizens only. Now we seem to be reverting to the worst of the past. Nixon enticed them to join the Republicans, they run the party, and some of them feel free to say the foulest possible things about their fellow humans on social media chats. Vance has it wrong about the people saying these things. These people are adults ranging from their 20s to their early 40s, they are fully accountable for what they say..
I trust the voters and so they willl try to undo all that has been accomplished but vote counts, particularly in red states, must be carefully counted and checked as I think many will vote as if their lives as well as our lives depend on a truthful election.
Pauli Murray was a unique individual who worked for the rights of ALL to be their authentic selves. If you've never heard the name, watch the documentary "My Name Is Pauli Murray."
'They' will feel forced to do everything possible to fix the elections-that is our greatest concern. We can vote them all out of office IF we can still vote.
The farmers are waking up! I listened to a rather large farmer in Missouri ask his Republican Representive when was that Rep going to due something for his Constituents instead of "Kissing Trump's ass?" The room erupted in cheers! White Rural America is waking up to the threat, making gerrymandering pointless as well. If everyone is against you, where do you draw the line? Their only option is instituting a police state rapidly, which is exactly what Trump is trying to do!
There are more & more 'common' people who are speaking up loud & clear & challenging the republicans to answer them. I hope people report on more & more of them stepping up to the challenge!
Yes, but if the gerrymandering is designed to insure the majority Republicans in enough districts to insure a win for any Republican candidate, and Republican voters turn against the party, then gerrymandering is useless.
Russell, I am waiting for the reality of the medical cuts & food assist cuts to become so evident in the 'red' areas that those people's heads will clear enough to understand where the turmoil started- with their own elected shits.
I can tell you that the reality of the food assistance cuts have already been felt. I am a low income senior and before the big beautiful bill my subsidy was $292/month .As of last month my subsidy was $38/month.Today I listened to talking heads on MSNBC pontificating on the money running out for food programs on November 1st,and that would make the Senate Democrats fold. How out of touch they are! $38 dollars doesn't even pay for the cost of my morning coffee a month. As two of my elderly neighbors said that also get food subsidies, it is hardly worth filling all the forms out to prove your eligibility! I immediately thought to email my Senator Elissa Slotkin and tell her and fellow Senators to not be shamed into folding for so called food subsidies, because we had already lost them under that Big Beautiful Ugly Bill!
The food stamp cuts are coming soon to Oregon. I just read an article today about the amount of money cut. Frankly, I have no idea how we can feed people. I see below an account of the problem from Louise.
I think the cuts are scheduled to kick in next year, crucially after the midterm elections, although with the shutdown the SNAP payments will end very soon because the budget will run out.
Blowback is real and when the shit hits the fan anyone in proximity gets hit by it. Karmically Donold deserves to choke on his own caca for shitting on our nation for so long, for defiling the rule of law and the Constitution, for flushing the economy and our nation’s goodwill and standing in the world down the toilet. May the trickle down theory apply to all that are responsible, associated and complicit in this shit show of a regime.
I applaud the fine rhetoric in your comment, horhai, and in other comments here. Concrete, continuous actions are required now. Fascism is not coming -- it is here. We need to shut it down by withdrawing our economic support. Make a personal pledge to reduce your own consumption. Turn off the money spigot. You don't need to wait for an organized national strike.
Damn, indeed. Corporations do understand the money spigot. If the economy depended on our spending, we would be in a depression. We also try to support local businesses, but have a few on our black list.
boycott all big sales places on TG weekend, and Walmart, Amazon and Disney. Companies which do not have good employee benefits. Support local businesses and farmers' markets where you can.
Right now, the Democratic Senators are taking a concrete, continuous action, and 7-8 million people seem to be supporting them. To me the big concern is whether those people will be willing to suffer at all when push comes to shove.
Well. Like all myths, this one is also not really true. But we can hope. The problem is that anything can happen at any time. So there's no certainty about any one thing happening.
horhai, I like the idea of death star choking on his own shit. Saw a sign from the protests that said his only throne is porcelain. I wish it were an outhouse and he could be bitten on the butt by a cockroach.
I was thinking of the latrines in Sierra Leone which varied widely, but always had cockroaches lining them. Snakes could be a problem there and also other critters.
In my regular visits to the Wall Street Journal (that hotbed of liberal thinking:) I note that there is as yet absolutely no mention of the No Kings demonstrations (no surprise). On the other hand, when I asked one commenter on another opinion piece why he though that 7,000,000 people came out to protest Trumpism on Saturday, he remarked that, like the Brown Shirts in 1930’s Germany, they’d been brainwashed.
While the comparison was so far from any sort of reality as to make one wonder on what distant planet the commenter had been living, it does make it clear how MAGA still sees things. They are simply digging in. There is as yet much work to do.
James, what I am seeing from my former work cohort is that they are being fed a constant diet of mis and disinformation that they are eating up like candy. I can tell when a "new topic" is introduced; this past week it was about taxes and they are all over social media complaining about how their "hard earned money" is paying for "undeserving people to get free stuff". Sounds like Reagans welfare queen argument dusted off to me.
How do they feel about their "hard earned money", as in the $20B, possibly $40B being given to Argentina, in part to support a billionaire friend of a cabinet member avoid taking a big investment hit? How do they feel about Argentina then selling soybeans to China, who previously were buying soybeans from US farmers, but don't anymore because of tariffs? Do they show any concern for the "hard working" farmers who now haven't a market for their soybeans?
That $40B would go a long way to paying ACA premiums for healthcare. Instead that $$$ is lost to corruption.
How do these actions fit in with the "America First" ideology they so fervently believe in?
Have you read Heather’s history of the Republican Party, To Set Men Free? It the same old same old, constantly recycled for each new generation of ‘the faithful’.
Ally, I took a look a the page of a cousin of one of my ex-students and it is full of nonsense. She has already told him off, but I note he likes to comment on Next Door where his comment went nowhere as it was about the huge cemetery the VA wants to put on prime farm land east of us. The local people nearby, many of whom are Rs, are up in arms and so hopefully it will not happen. As usual, our county commissioners are trying to hide and not say anything much. Citizens are headed to the next meeting and hopefully will give them an earful.
So Ally, when did your misguided cohorts forget that the values of helping each other were central to the US? How sad for the crap they are digesting. You'd think there would be a run on Pepto Bismol!
Mis and dis information are one thing but what I see as the bigger problem is the MISSING other side of the coin. We all know what FOX is going to do and say and that gets more juvenile as each day passes. But where is the counter messaging? It's what the media DOESN'T DO that is the problem.
Christine, you've identified the issue that helped bring us to where we are, as well as what won't help us get out of this: Corporate Media.
Unfortunately, I'm at a loss for a solution.
The majority of Americans get their news from two (grossly unreliable) sources: TV network news and Facebook. The oligarchs who own these outlets are motivated solely by wealth, truth be damned. The GOP promises them shelter from taxes and Trump promises them audience share, which translates to revenue. They will never abandon these two sources of wealth. Their audiences will never see the truth.
Independent media are doing yeoman's work in telling the truth, but they are still speaking to a minority audience that is already aware of the truth.
These are the facts and I see no way to overcome them.
Use word of mouth - our mouths, our full hearts; talk to those you can, find out what their 'view of reality' is, find things that you can share with them the reality of things, and see how to start to see that this make better sense than the non-sense they are being fed. (like the protest sign; "maga go fact yourself!" ha! The challenge is finding people who we can talk to.. A friend of mine at the rally Saturday told me that she had many repub pals jump ship...and abandon dt&co, I was so glad to hear this! Keep working at it y'all! It really is up to US!
Which media are we talking about? There are multiple sources out there which are doing exactly that - counter-messaging. Usually, of course, they are preaching to the choir since hard-core MAGA dismisses anything that runs counter to Trumpist lies.
Terrified people do desperate things. So, I am guessing that Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act. Do you have an idea of what that would look like for all of us “regular people”?
Well said! It must take enormous energy to keep maintaining this monstrous, sh** infested charade. Thankfully, more and more people (and judges) are seeing it for what it is.
If/when this is over, Vought, Miller, Vance, Trump, Johnson must be held accountable. I am not sure how we do that , but they have to pay a price for deliberately undermining our democracy.
The part about Kristi Noem watching ICE blow the door off and detain a pregnant woman conjured up a future image of her cowering in a corner once imprisoned. Bondi has more fortitude to stand her ground, but the other prisoners won’t have it. Neither will fair well. (It’s all Hollywood, for now, but it does help to imagine it.)
I suppose my own image of them in the future being Hollywood-inspired is actually so because of the performative nature of their behavior—all of them, not just Noem and Bondi. I really feel disturbed by this. It seems ridiculous to say that, because of course, but then again, maybe it’s important to keep saying, this is deeply disturbing, inhumane and immoral behavior. Maybe these words really matter because retaliation won’t be performative, Hollywood-style. They’ll have due process and humane conditions.
I think a huge security wall should be built around Mara Lago so it can be used as a prison for Vought, Miller, Vance, T, Johnson. Add Mitch, Lindsey & a few others to the mix. Oh yeah, NO media access.
Are the things he is ordering lawful? I don’t think so in many instances. He must own a lot of judges. The so called supremes on the court who are republican should review the oaths they have taken for our Country, not for Trump, and at some time be held responsible for the damage to so many.
The military have a duty not to carry out unlawful orders. Civilian officers surely have a right to resist. I worry about underlings committing murder on the high seas. Assault and uncalled for detention on land should not be good either.
Maybe when all those poor red state folks have no health insurance they will wake up...I'm not counting on it however, they are as dumb as that shit flowing out of the plane.
Don’t count on it. Some of these people are ignorant enough to be indifferent to not having health insurance as long as someone they think undeserving doesn’t have health insurance either. It’s a classic example of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
It's kind of amusing that when these republican leaders look in the mirror, they see terrorist (themselves) and fear in their own faces, good for them. Let's keep up the cycle of fear in their eyes, it's good for my soul and makes me smile and not afraid of my fellow citizens. Carry on and get louder, next protest please.
It's, Nicely put as usual. I am truly amazed at the memes coming from the regime. They are so well, immature, like toddlers pooping in the sandbox. I note the little johnson is always sweaty. I think it is the hard work he puts in to repress his sexual feelings and that's why he freaked out over the naked bike ride in Portland.
Hello ICTT... "Then last night, after the protests, the president’s social media account posted an AI-generated video showing Trump in a fighter jet with “KING TRUMP” painted on the side. The president sits in the airplane in front of something round that could be seen as a halo. He is wearing a gold crown; weirdly, the oxygen mask is over his mouth and chin, rather than mouth and nose. Once in the air, the plane drops excrement on American cities, including what seems to be New York City. The excrement drenches protesters,"... This Pretty much expresses how DJT views himself, and how DJT views the majority of US Citizens... Pray fo Divine Intervention...
Hello Cindy... Thanks... It will be a Major Medical Event... It almost happened in DJT 1.0 when DJT got COVID... The Horseman Rides.... Pray For Divine Intervention...
In an interview on ABC's This Week, Johnson was pressed on why he wouldn't swear in Adelita Grijalva and he claimed that there was a precedent for this set by Nancy Pelosi in 2021, When it was pointed out to him that the new Representative had requested a later swearing in date due to Covid protocols and Pelosi had not refused to swaer her in he quickly pivoted to other even less relevant examples. He's a weasel, pure and simple.
He is the embodiment of the nightmarish Chucky doll. Maybelline has that same distinctive telltale essence. Ever notice that some people give you that sense of the creeps keeping you facing them and feeling a shudder warning your defense mechanisms? Chucky and Maybelline are kissing cousins. I guess I’m searching for the word, bristle. With many of trumps trollops I find a low growl and a bristling come over me. I’ll be doggoned if can understand why.
It’s indeed apropos that you would use thrall as that is what Vikings used for the term slave. Of course , or is that coarse, that immediately brings to mind Mary’s definition of her uncle as prehistoric. One can not fail to connect the northern Germanic ancestral ties to the Viking precursive bloodlines.Thus Trump as having the probable genetic predisposition of the mushroom eating crazed berserkers has no difficulty shedding his suit and tie and enthralling the weak and vulnerable. Going somewhat further back in time we might bring up sharks and fins. You know those crazy Finns.
I think one should be careful here about such allegations. What is abundantly clear that Trump is worried that his long and close association with that reprobate Epstein is something that hurts his image and for Trump image is everything.
I don’t know… I do know that little johnson has a young black man who he calls his son, but never adopted legally who lives with him… I don’t trust these criminals as far as I could throw them. And pedophilia is rampant in the retrumpian party.
My call today to my reps is going to be about the AI cartoon of pilot Trump. "I am disturbed by...."
I am energized by "No Kings" to call today. I have been calling once a week and now I want to do so twice a week. (I also work 40 hrs a week). In my opinion, my calls should be civil. We are up against the height of immaturity. Yes, other adjectives fit, but I see at the base of this narcissist a warped childhood, and at the base of Congress, a cowardly Republican representation. We must keep the heat on the reps.
I agree, Anne. The more the Republicans resort to stupid lies and silly memes on social media the harder it should be for them to persuade people that they're serious and that the shutdown is entirely the fault of the Democratic party. The polls however show that many Americans are blaming both parties more or less equally and a disturbing number don't seem to care at all.
Perhaps many are preoccupied with the daily vicissitudes of life and no longer believe that the system works for them. It's a problem not confined to America, we see the same thing all across democracies and this apathy is being actively encouraged by bad actors.
Nobody benefits more from the collapse fo American democracy than Vladimir Putin. His plan was to secure a lucrative partnership between Rosneft and Exxon to exploit Siberia, the Arctic and the Baltic sea. That would have been impossible if Clinton had won in 2016, so he supported Trump. Trump obliged first by appointing Paul Manafort as his chief of staff and then when elected Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state (the former was an aide to Putin stooge Victor Yanukovich in Ukraine; the latter received the Order of Friendship from Putin). The Russians have flooded social media with bots and trolls undermining western democracies. Trump shares Putin's transactional approach to power politics.
Yes, because at his most mature, Trump behaves as a 14-15 junior high school boy, while at his least mature, Trump behaves as a whiny toddler deprived of something he wants at that very moment. His embarrassing lobbying for the Nobel Peace Prize was Trump at his immature worst. Trump’s fundamental reasoning is that the can never forgive President Obama for getting to the White House before Trump did, and Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize because President Obama received one. Trump has always been insanely jealous of President Obama.
All of Trump’s begging made it more likely that the Nobel Committee would never award Trump a Nobel Peace Prize. I have to say that María Corina Machado disappointed me with her thanks to Trump. Maduro is incompetent and a lousy leader, but Trump envies his power. Ms. Machado is going to have to learn the hard way that Trump cares for no one but himself, he doesn’t care about Venezuela, and he is even more authoritarian than Maduro.
You’re correct that I failed to mention why. Trump’s racism is definitely part of the reason why. He thinks as a mediocre white guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’s more valuable than President Obama. The other factor at play is Trump’s extreme narcissism. Trump thinks he should have been elected president before Obama, even though he didn’t run until President Obama’s term was over.
He's reduced the US labour force by around 1.2 million people, many leaving voluntarily.
What's more worrying was the news following the collapse of Tricolor and First Brands that 186 banks (and not all of them in the so-called shadow banking sector) in the US are at risk of failure due to rising interest rates and a high proportion of uninsured deposits.
In DTs first term he visited some Native Americans who gave him the honorary name of Walking Eagle. When a reporter asked one of the tribe what that meant, the reply was: A walking bird is so full of shit it can't fly! Seems (in)appropriate that he is dumping shit on the Stature of Liberty and the No Kings protesters! In Solidarity!
After his testy Oval Office meeting with South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa in May at which he falsely accused the South African government of genocide of white farmers, Trump has been accorded a designation commensurate with his standing in the eyes of South Africans (one that needs no explaining): Uwanka.
Sadly, the expression 'post-truth' is now in dictionaries and we have Trump to thank for that. 'Alternative facts' hasn't quite made it yet probably because there aren't any such things.
The lying king AI shitting on America--now who is it that hates America and loves puttin" Putin First? Why, it's the Turd Reich-Making America a Shithole.
They say stupid stuff because they all live by the same mentality as tRump and that is as he as said, "you tell them and they will just believe you they just do." 'They' ain't us!!
Someone once said that science is based on facts, religion on faith and politics on repetition and nobody understands the last part of the dictum better than Trump. If you're going to lie, lie big and bold and lie relentlessly. Thus, the 2020 election was rigged, Trump is the most victimised president in US history, the January 6 Capitol rioters were patriots, Trump's inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's, black is white, right is wrong and and farty is fresh. The post-truth world seems an understatement to describe this dystopian mirror world.
tRump's lies are the exact truth in reverse. It is a rare comment from him that is true because almost every comment is the exact opposite of the truth. It does suggest that he knows the truth but must convey the opposite for his cultists. For he knows that, "you tell them and they just believe you, they just do". 'They' ain't us!!!!
That sounds like a Kellyanne Conway explanation - 'look, the president wasn't lying, he was just telling the truth in reverse.' Some of Trump's anecdotes are almost complete confabulations ("untethered to the facts" as judge Ellis recently put it) like the story about his uncle and the Unabomber.
Yes, of course the MAGA Republicans who he can count on for enthusiastic support; and those whose interests he protects, a more diffuse group who don't support everything he does. But they are all cowed into submission, as Senator Murkowski as much as admitted earlier this year.
With respect to the excrement vid., I wonder; really REALLY wonder; REALLY REALLY REALLY wonder *if the poofillanimous Pretender-in-Chief 🙄 and his venomous, amoral side-kick, liar-liar-Vance-on-fire🤥, have a private wager on whether one or both can come up with something more outlandishly outrageous than the nastiest post of the day before. 🤢
Somewhere inside that rotten little bearded, maybellined, phony three-dollar bill soul of his, JD Wanker must know none of this will end well for him.
The more these assholes bellow and swagger, beat their chests and stick out their lower jaws like enraged old chimpanzee males being challenged, the closer some Republican Night of The Long Knives dawns. It’s not going to be a pretty sight when that happens.
Agreed 111%, It's Come To This. 🫱🏻🫲🏼 I keep hoping, foolishly perhaps or likely, that this is the last gasp of this scheiße that has been creeping around the republic since day-1. 🤢
Hi Ned, there is no way the P-I-C has the capability of coming up with the idea or actually creating the AI stuff that comes out on Truth Social. I strongly suspect it originates from a) stuck in adolescence, ambitious staffers, vying for his approval; b) " loomering" unelected,twisted hangers-on ; or, c) spawned from the rancid, flammable anger of the bald Nazi -whisperer in his ear.
As I stated to It's Come To This, above, I agree with you 111%, Carol. 🙏🏾 What stuns me is how sadistic, hollow people can rise so high in the echelons of power.😳 What also stuns me is that Trump approves these twisted images. 😠
Ned, I feel pretty certain that Donald has given others access to his social account. They post content without his prior approval, with the understanding that they can always delete it if he doesn't like it. I judge Carol's first theory to be the correct one.
Ambitious staffers who know how to use AI (Donald doesn't) keep pushing the envelope to get his attention and approval.
Very well stated, there, Dale. 💡 The storm-trumpers -- thank-you, Jimmy Kimmel ✌🏼-- may think they do not need therapy; 🙄 at this point, an electroshock does not sound so bad for me. 🤭 Maybe I will wake up and understand that I have been in a nightmarishly psychotic break.😇
On March 4, 1801, the first peaceful transfer of power in world history occurred right here in the United States. Federalist John Adams turned the reins of government over to the leader of the opposition, Thomas Jefferson, whom Adams despised. That peaceful transfer of power not only protected the people, it protected leaders who had lost the support of voters, giving them a way to leave office safely and either retire or regroup to make another run at power.
And now? At the Believers' Summit on July 26, 2024, a gathering hosted by Charlie Kirk's group, Turning Point Action, Trump told the assembled gathering: "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore my beautiful Christians." (Wall Street Journal News, You Tube July 27, 2024.) "You won't have to do it [vote] anymore . . ." "It'll be fixed." Let that sink in.
Those who are relieved by the thought of not having to vote anymore will find themselves ruled by Caesar and fed to the lions for their beliefs. And maybe that will suit them - better to die by mauling because one believes correctly than to follow Jesus into touching lepers, healing hurting folks, and hanging out with the "out" crowd.
The King and His Flying Toilet: A Love Letter to Authoritarian Chic
America, congratulations. We’ve reached the “AI dictator with a gold crown dumping excrement on his own citizens” stage of our democracy. Somewhere, George Orwell is chain-smoking in the afterlife, muttering, “I didn’t mean it literally.”
Millions of peaceful Americans flooded the streets for the “No Kings” protests, waving flags, singing, and defending democracy. The administration responded like a jealous prom king, posting deepfake videos of Trump flying a fighter jet labeled KING TRUMP and dropping digital feces on protestors. Because nothing says “strong leadership” like a royal tantrum rendered in 4K.
While citizens danced for freedom, the president cosplayed as Louis XIV with Wi-Fi, complete with sword, robe, and AI subjects kneeling at his golden feet. His followers cheered. “Finally, a king who tweets!”
Meanwhile, real Americans are being detained without cause, a democratically elected representative is barred from taking her seat, and the government wants to deploy troops in Chicago. But sure, let’s focus on the cool graphics.
The White House motto now seems to be: When in doubt, post propaganda. The new American dream is to be ruled by a man whose idea of “draining the swamp” involves dumping on his own country from above.
Hitler used chaos and uncertainty to solidify power. It worked for him, seemed to be working for trump until dementia came and, thanks to trump's confabulations, is working well for the regime.
It is by now obvious that when increased numbers of ICE and occasionally with local and or state police leads to more violent confrontations with the public than were occurring prior to the increase of ICE and police forces. This is why city officials do not want National Guard deployed to their cities as history has shown that it typically increases rather than decreases violent encounters
I don't want anymore explaining about why Trump is who he is. I just want his actions to be curtailed. Scotus can do that. They're responsible for his actions. Make him stop now.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
My Senator, Susan Collins, quit responding to emails years ago. Her weekly newsletter has devolved into photo-ops with a few constituents where she praises them for some minor accomplishment of theirs.
Since not a single Republican will attend the protests, next time we need to have protests at their homes and invite the local press. A few of them may bother to come out of the hides-holes but not many. And especially protest outside the MAGA far-right SCOTUS's homes.
That’s like my republican congressman. Although he replies to emails, just so late I don’t know which one he is responding to. And uses such GOP talking points is ridiculous. He also only does photo ops. Such a waste of tax payer dollars.
Mike Turner is my congresscritter from Ohio. He refuses to have town halls because he thinks there is an organized group protesting him. That is incorrect. What Turner’s support for MAGA has done is created a group of his constituents who are united in their discontent with the ruin Trump,and MAGA are inflicting on ordinary citizens. There is no organized antifa either. Antifa is a philosophical stance, not an organized party or group.
I'm with you in spirit GJ. It's like bringing the mountain to Mohammed. But I won't be attending. I am aware though that trespassing is illegal in my state. I know someone is going to say that's Good Trouble, but I'm getting too old for that 💩. I'll stick to the NO KINGS rallys, which are legal.
I'm glad to see people going out in the street and gathering in opposition to this fascist takeover. I was at the protest in LA, and if anyone want to see some of the day's photos they can do so here.
It had a carnivalesque atmosphere, but I was heartened to see so many people continuing to center the struggle for Palestinian liberation and the Native American Land Back Movement. We cannot look to go back to business as usual. That is what brought us to our current misery. We have to forge a new path, one that breaks from imperialism, settler colonialism, and Capitalism to show an egalitarian future that is in every way the inverse of Fascism.
It is good to go to protests. They build community, show the Fascists they are not in complete control, and inspire further resistance. That said, marching with a sign cannot be the end of it. Let this drive you to militancy. Get in community not just certain days, but all days. Organize your workplace, plan strikes, work towards a general strike. Learn and practice community self-defense, practice mutual aid.
This country's blood is money, and its heart is banks. If we clog those arteries, if we jam up commerce, we can deprive the Fascist Regime of power.
The General Strike is the obvious next step. Watching us have fun during mass protests only inflames their disdain. We now need to hit them where it REALLY hurts- their wallets!
Excellent idea Daniel. Holidays are coming. What if millions drop Amazon and other billionaires and go local for gifts or give donations to non-profits which have lost funding or perform acts of kindness for family and friends and ask them to pay it forward. 💙
I gift to a number of people of various relationships, some of whom are MAGA over the holidays. (I do it in spite of their opinions because I'm just that person.)
THIS year, I'm thinking of making contributions to various safety net non-profits. I'd like to find one that would send them notifications of the gifts, not just my word that I did it. Anyone got any ideas?
The Heifer project used to let people know that money had been given in their name. Betting that this year there will be many charitable organizations who will do the same. Charities are trying to make up for the loss of federal help.
That is a great idea. I can’t think of any off hand but hopefully others will respond. Mostly I try to give locally and our conservation and animal rescue groups publish lists of contributions.
Gigi, my best friend and I exchange what most people would call "stocking-stuffers" on Christmas just to have some little thing to open. The •real• gifts are charitable donations in our names. She always gives a donation to Heifer International. Last year, I got a goat.
Suggest you read up on the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine, also known as the Revolution of Dignity. Ukraine and the US are, vof course very different places, but the next step for the US may look something like that. (I read the Wikipedia article today.)
That was quite a read, Talia! I remember the coverage here in the states, but it doesn't compare to the 'play by play' you gave me. I don't want to be negative about anything, so I'll simply say that I hope we never reach the point the Ukrainians had to face. Which is why, at this moment, I'm advocating for the general strike. It's non-violent, very pointed, and, as said by a few others here, the holidays will be upon us soon, and many of the 'swells', as I call them, count on this time of year for their millions.
Again, thank you for the link. My respect for the Ukrainian people went up a couple more notches after reading all the details.
I would love to but my senators and congress witch-Propaganda Beth are apart of this scheme........ they just keep repeating the demonization of democrats....
I don’t think we’ll see many big waves (like a major MAGA Congress member changing their opinions), however I think we can cause little ripples. I’m thinking staff members who hear the same thing over and over via voicemail, phone calls, letter after letter, email after email - maybe they’ll be a little more receptive each time they hear from us. Maybe they’ll talk more about our talking points to friends and family, maybeeee they’ll vote differently. I think we can cause ripples to push news organizations to be more honest and maybe even a bit accusatory about what’s happening. As a collective, our volume matters. And, at the end of the day, if we just annoy and overwhelm some staffers working for people hurting the average American, I’m ok with that too 🙃
Megan, reading what you've written in the paragraph reminds me of the line in Paul Simon's "The Boxer": "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest". That describes perfectly what I see in my retired cop cohort who are eating up what they are being served by their propaganda sources and going back for seconds.
Ally, I've heard you talk about these guys for awhile now. I wonder about them, as my b.i.l. who is a retired cop is very racist and misogynistic. And also in moderate stages of dementia now.
What do you gage is the average age of these dudes, and how do you think the bad times coming economically will impact them? Wondering if ANYTHING might finally change their minds.
They range in age from about 55-70, or thereabouts. My guess is that the ratio of "conservative" (them) to "liberal" (us) is 10-1 if not greater. I do not know how the looming "bad times" will impact them. Most of us have a very good pension from the PERS retirement system, but the loss of Medicare and SS income will sting them.
My off the cuff guess is that they will blame our state government (recent uptick in bitching about our Governor and the Democratic state officials). It is pretty funny, put in this context. They are apparently being manipulated by their "information" sources to be primed for what is coming.
Ally, by nature I'm a peace loving, and loving person. I hate to say this as I know innocent people will be hurt as well, but I am waiting for the economy to bottom out and I hope those who drink the kool-aid really feel it. I take "Belle" seriously, and I have been stocking up for the last six months. I can weather the storm for awhile, and help a few chosen family as well.
You don't even know why you protesting Megan other than you hate Trump not one policy is punishing you or is negatively affecting you from Trump's administration it's so sad
Megan, here's the problem. I have never seen a larger group of negative in advanced human beings. What happened in Obama administration by administration Clinton administration Bush administration, etc. if you can name me some things I would like to hear them if you're talking about Medicaid or Medicare nothing has happened yet nor is that anything different in one specific instance, Bill Clinton did exactly the same thing
And the more I post the more I realize people are unaware absolutely unaware people actually talk about due process when I've just sent leaks a little while earlier Obama had only 25% of his deportees have due process, and Clinton's percentage was a lot less factual go look it up just an example Medicaid issue people who were capable of working should work that's exactly came from Bill Clinton's playbook. Tell me what else is happening so I can address it.
And I'm a very compassionate person too, but but to be more compassionate for illegal alien than a US citizen is insane
Megan, you'd be surprised I already have 900 people that have liked my comments and have been convinced to a certain degree and it's all because of awareness because people are not aware here whatsoever.
If only Heather would tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth, everybody here would be more enlightened and less unhappy
And it's hard to take stubbornness out of someone that's live that way their whole life so I get it but at least they're exposed to realize that there's people that don't think like them at all and there are so many posts here where they think that everybody thinks like everybody else here on the outside world and that's a very sad reality to live in
Would you like me to list some facts about the article above or would you like to remain in denial Megan honestly ? Oh heck, if I can find them, I’ll send them to you anyway. You deserve to hear the truth from time to time
This link above from the far left leading back checker called Snopes confirms that Obama‘s depotees only 25% of them received due process and there are many links to confirm this just so you know I have a similar one from Clinton but why don’t you chew on this one for a while first so all these people talk about Trump‘s not allowing to process they just have the audacity to pretend their historically relevant and have a good memory Because this is what happened
I’ll just send you one from Clinton as well. What the heck? And a couple about there firing federal employees to the tune of almost 750,000 during their terms and we never heard a peep about it from the left. What a surprise.
As I read, I wondered if any of this will move the Supreme Court, do they even know how vehemently this administration is resented, or are they so deeply ensconced in their bubble that they can’t see it?
Those AI videos are not only disgusting , they’re a ginormous middle finger to the millions who marched and the untold millions who were there in spirit.
I just hope and pray when crunch time comes our military leaders will refuse to carry out this Hitler’s orders.
SCOTUS (well, 6 of them anyway), are increasingly out of step with the rest of the judiciary, as evidenced by their readiness to overturn long standing precedents and recent lower court decisions alike. When "crunch time" arrives, they will side with the dictator, rendering themselves irrelevant in the process. I don't get it.
The military, if we're lucky, will do nothing. Many (most, I hope) will refuse to follow illegal orders. Some will, breaking their now 250 year old traditions and over 150 years of settled law in the process. Vigorous, swift prosecution must be brought to bear on all who would destroy our Constitutional Republic.
We have no evidence that they weren't fishing vessels and even if we did we don't know that these were drug runners and if they were it's extremely unlikely that they were headed to the United States and even all of those things were true due process was ignored, not to mention that we are NOT at war with Venezuela and the Constitution says that is under the responsibility of Congress which has NO reason to do that. This is vigilantes shooting first and not even asking questions later. Where the hell is Congress on this, not to mention The Corporate Media. AND If in fact this was in any way has the slightest connection to US drug trafficking this is a Breaking Bad Trump Vigilante shit show! Are U Boats next?
As always, Heather, thank you for sharing your perspectives and sanity. My burning question is, why is there NO news coverage of the fact that the upwards of 8 million Americans took to the streets, and there was NO violence? NO ONE took the bait!! I'm so proud of my fellow Americans!!
BRyan, I have to hand it to you. You guys did it right you were peaceful you were organized and purposeless. Just like her party today Millions of people out there they're not even knowing why they're there other than they hate trump.
I live in a very red state. My local news had a little coverage of Saturday’s protests, but they also seem to have found an incidence of violence that happened somewhere (I can’t recall where). They covered the incident of violence with no detail as to why or what happened. It felt to me like they were actively trying to get people to equate the protests with violence. And I’m sure in this red state, that’s exactly what will happen.
Thank you Ruth. This is helpful. I found myself acting as a crossing guard at the rally I went to because we had a lot of slow moving elderly people there. I happen to have a yellow safety vest and I plan on wearing it at the next rally. Drivers can get impatient no matter matter what their politics are. You can't be too careful.
I think it was great that you had peaceful protest. That was really good but next time you have a protest, you should have a reason for the protest not just hate.
I have you reported your multiple 2025 Terms of Use as a Substack Inc violation of the 2025 TOU that binds us all. Substack Inc agree it is mutually bound by the 2025 TOU.
This time I gave Substack Inc the relevant Jury Instruction on CA Good Faith & Fair Dealing which I have used as a legal foundation to prosecute Violators in court.
Ruth., what I see is the almost lunatic-level of support of the Kirk-bots. We have seen a number of apparently reasonable people lose their jobs over some relatively off-hand expression of criticism, hardly of vile nature. The 'people' who write the news are intimidated by the distinct possibility (probability!) they might lose their source of income (JOB). They hope you and I can read between the lines. The Guardian offers details carefully, but not real-time. So much for a free press.
alex, you nailed it: "...almost lunatic-level of support of the Kirk-bots." Far more meaningful than my description ("butt-hurt Christians) because it does address that insane level of adoration of such a manipulator.
George Washington: It's like they didn't listen at all. Jesus: Bro, same. I wish I could show you my photo of the sign that was on. It had pretty good drawings of George and Jesus
There will now be a chapter of TPUS UUA, and every college and high school campus in the country.
You have a free cast and it's dying because they lie to the public for four years actually maybe even eight years about Russia about Hunter about Joes declining health and finally the public got fed up
Main stream media has been bought by right wing billionaires. I wish and hope that all of those of us who realize the bs that they are peddling and the truth they are overlooking finally wakes us up to cancel any streaming accounts owned by them and also stop paying for cable channels that include their crap. I finally got rid of YouTube tv which was my streaming solution for local channels and cnn etc. I now only get over air channels if I choose to watch them (for free!) and only watch happy stuff of my choosing on Netflix and other streaming channels I haven’t cancelled yet. It’s becoming a smaller and smaller group as I have cancelled Disney paramount Hulu YouTube peacock etc. but I love all the money I’m saving and also not listening to their bs.
Even paid Antifa Terrorists need to take a day off from crime and burning down major cities that are home to Democrats every once once in a while. They even swept up all the ashes.
Did you see the child stabbing an effigy of Donald Trump? Yes overall the protests were very peaceful. Next time you protest, though you should probably have a reason for protesting currently you have none.
How many people follow tRump media page and are a majority of them real fans?
My one’ friend’ who claims to be a serious Maggot seems actually to be less aware of the serious nature of his Dark lord’s intentions and treats the whole thing like a sports affair.
His only source is faux and the first few sentences of stuff I send him.
A complete lack of morality, no common sense and a wide range of psychiatric and social problems, starting with narcissism. That doesn't make him unqualified, but he is.
Donold/Smonold WGAS! What is so upside down is the expressed desire of the MAGA-toonists to rid the country of "the Democrat". Do these morons realize, that means a ONE PARTY system? Is that what they want? Ask one. The real answer is, not really.., they just want to "roll some coal" because they can get away with it. I hope some of you are now familiar with the expression "rolling coal" as it has been an mis-understood item which I have tried to educate us more-gentle readers about over the past day or so. However, I find the expression very mirroring of the present administration.
Misplaced anger. Divide and conquer is the tyrant's supper power which draws from the Dark Art of entropy. Solidarity is curative but requires a lot more effort, and that conflict goes way back.
And he is completely delusional and thinks this is all a reality TV show. It's much like Bruce Almighty or The Truman Show. And of course you know what Jim Carrey called him: LLLLLLLLUUUUUSSSSSEERRRR!
An ugly situation is fast getting worse. It looks like we are at a critical time in this scary unfolding drama. Stay strong and remain calm as our resistance grows.
Remember, it will all feel critical and terrifying, and yes, worsen right up until the very moment it all begins to fall apart. I don’t think anyone knows when that moment will come or in what form, but it will surely come. They’ve built a Rube Goldberg contraption held together with nothing but scotch tape and lies. At some point, the wheezing noises, clinks and clunks, will start to overpower their gaslighting absurdities. It may already be happening.
I am remembering all the velvet revolutions which dislodged one phony communist regime in Central Europe after the other in 1989. It all seemed so completely impossible and out of reach then, right until the moment it all came crashing down. I continue to believe we are replaying that moment here in our own country in real time. Be strong.
You are so right Dr. Richardson, there was very little hate on No Kings Day. Over 7 million people came out to joyfully protest Trump. But there was very little pushback, just 22 Maga arrests. Not even a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of protesters. Where were all the Trump supporters? It's not like his rhetoric wasn't encouraging violence. You gave got to wonder, does he still have a base? He might not. I suspect his base is crumbling.
Its getting to the point where thinking MAGA (I know... oxymoron) can't support this. They have all become "independents." The only supporter of the regime we saw on Saturday was a drunk guy shouting Bible verses. We have reached the tipping point, and its time to push harder.
I saw a number of signs that pointed out the hypocrisy of MAGA in regards to Christianity at our rally. I'm a lifelong Catholic but never memorized books/verse, but I say several with those on their signs.
Yeah J'Net, trouble is..., ICE and the military has become his "base"..., he's in control of them. And they can be as rude, crude, and un-couth as they please. Ram your car, bust your window, kick-down your door..., the force-du-jour! Once a person has their hands zip-tied behind their back, they are essentially done for. And, should the average white-person interfere with ICE, they too will get zipped and shoved into a white Tahoe for an interview. The audience for this circus is at his beck and call. That's his "fan base".
And yet nothing like that happened at the No Kings rallies, and wasn't that the subject? But if you do see something like that at Home Depot don't interfere. Take pictures.
I hope you’re right. The only policy support I see apart from the “it’s the Dems fault that the government is closed“ is “no men in girl’s locker rooms”. That’s not much in the way of policy.
J'net at the Chicago Beverly rally, there were literally thousands of cars honking and waving, thumbs up, peace signs and even some holding signs up to their own car windows in support.
The cracks in the Trump era are widening. But we must not let up! Each of us has to find that one person or two amongst our family, neighbors or friends who are persuadable, and help them come out from under the cult of Trump.
Janette, are you wearing a sign that says blind man. ?
The entire March was about nothing but hate nothing else not about policies not about enforcing the law just about hate Coast To Coast unless you'd like to name four or five policies that are negatively affecting your life currently every day by the way, you'd be about the 60th person here to fail to answer that question
If history, and the current example in Russia, are any indication, much of ICE's huge budget will be siphoned off by corrupt contractors. Much more will be wasted on inept spending decisions. Already this administration is spending many times more (I'd say ~800% more) per arrest and per transport than under the Biden, Obama, or even Trump '45 administrations.
I am privileged to fall asleep to frogsong in the spring, although there seem noticeably fewer voices than 20 years ago. Spring is also more silent by day, with fewer birds and fewer species in residence.
During his first impeachment there were 100 of us in front of our courthouse. Then in April 2025 we had 1,000, in June 2025 we had 4,000 and on October 18 there were about 9,000.
I do not believe his temper tantrum with the AI image of "bombing" Americans helped him any.
Well there were a lot of cars driving by and most of them were honking for us and waving and smiling. One guy gave us a thumbs down. A young lady standing next to me yelled "I love you" to him. It felt like the 60's. It's too bad we haven't saved the world in the meantime, but I saw a lot of people trying. It was good for the heart I'm telling you. But I do understand the skeptics.
Julie, He’s seemed demented for some time. There’s no way he could have created and released that AI video. Why are we not discussing Miller’s role here?
New York is turning itself into assess Pool without Trump's help. I can't wait to have Mamdani get elected and watch New York collapse on itself those pay the taxes will flee by the hundreds of thousands just like California right to Florida Texas and the Carolinas in New York will have nobody to pay for the free anything
How ignorant you guys are he's not honoring himself but more than 100 million people who love what he's doing right now are honoring him for everything he does except one federal judge who just prohibited Trump from cohen continuing to make Peace deals
There is nothing wrong, basically, with satire, even satire coming from our government, which is the entity most in need of satirizing. But Trump has no right to engage in political attacks on his "enemies," our friends in Congress, especially when funded by the U.S. taxpayer and when accompanied by stolen musical excerpts. By dropping sh*t on us, Trump is ratcheting up "stochastic terrorism," where his threats to harm his "enemies" could end up instigating real terror attacks by his deranged constituents.
Can you see that's where you constantly get it wrong and that's why you continually lose the battle. He's not threatening his citizen. He's threatening his enemies all the illegals that Biden let in here and the money spent on them instead of Americans one day you guys will wake up because you have no choice or another three years
The disgusting airplane video and monarchical imagery might jar the sensibilities of some of the Magats. Perhaps a few will start to doubt they can consider themselves good people and still support that. Just maybe
His top lieutenants and wormtongues, undoubtedly. But the base is mostly silent. I suspect there’s a great deal of buyer’s remorse going on out there we hear little of. And that’s what they’re really terrified of, quivering in mock rage like frightened, fright-wing bowls of jello without the bowls.
ICTT, I hope you're right. I do not see that in my cohort of retired cops (that is a long way to type my relationship to them, but that word "friends" is no longer applicable in my eyes). They are doubling down and demanding more.
ally, at my rally, there was a ridiculous dude counter protesting talking into some recording device. I couldn't hear what all he was saying, but the 5 cops stood close by to not let anything happen. I saw one of them shake his head, turn away and crack up. NONE of them looked very happy with this dude.
Trump's only response to every challenge over the past 10 years or so has been to double down on whatever he was doing. Expect more poop videos, outrageous pardons, ignoring court rulings, unjust arrests, and senseless killings. They are all signs that this administration knows they will not win an election, even for dog-catcher. They are getting weaker, we are getting stronger. Time to do some doubling down of our own!
There is so, so much going on. Trump loves chaos and uncertainty.
I can't thank you enough for staying on top of it all; the ugly spin, the lies, the cynical manipulation; but also the solidarity and determination of the millions who believe that the United States can yet find its way back to being a government "of the people, by the people, for the people."
The belatedly hysterical response from Republicans indicates that they are scared shitless.
They are indeed. We mustn’t forget that or overlook it. Yes, being forced to see a deranged, psychotic fruit loop of a conman and his top goons literally churning out AI shit videos against us is horrifying. But beneath that layer lies sheer terror, and they ALL know it. You can feel their fear. It grows by leaps and bounds every day.
Why does Cancun Cruz bellow and wheeze like a scraggly, puffy, enraged Pillsbury Doughboy having a heart attack? Because in some very real, petrified place inside that ghastly, false, prevaricating soul of his, he knows his time is up. Why does Lindsay drink himself into a dumb stupor before appearing before the press, clutching his pearls? Why does our Bobblehead nebbish of a Speaker say transparently stupid shit like “bless her heart” (directed at Rep. Grijalva) at a staged press conference where you can see the beads of sweat start to pop out on his forehead?
Because they know the jig is up. And they know their role in creating and perpetuating this monstrosity won’t be forgotten or forgiven even by their own constituents, whom they attack and strafe from a shit-carrying plane every bit as much as their rancid, crown-wearing boss.
Let’s make absolutely sure their very worst fears materialize.
The problem is that these latest attacks come against the background of the regular cadence of lies and misinformation from right-wing media and propagandists that has left people de-sensitised so that many people consider that sort of thing just part and parcel of the knockabout rivalry of party politics.
The evidence is clear enough - the egregious gerrymandering, the withdrawal of funding for Democratic states, the threats to eliminate what Trump calls 'Democrat programs' (even though Red states are the greatest beneficiaries), the absurd claims that the Democrats harbour actual terrorists as well as terrorist sympathisers and undocumented migrants within their ranks - they all point a Republican party that views the midterm elections with a sense of dread. The trouble is that in your polarised society people don't always see the evidence for what it is and Trump has always counted on that.
There is also the case pending before SCOTUS which will destroy the Voting Rights Act, Louisiana v. Vallais. Roberts first became a U.S. attorney under Reagan, and his job was to wreck citizens’ rights to vote. As Chief Justice, John Roberts will do this and allow Trump to get up to 20 seats racially gerrymandered to benefit white Republicans. Trump is also trying to restore Jim Crow and Juan Crow, to lock in racial discrimination against Black and Latino citizens.
They will also be ruling on Trump's tariffs, conversion therapy, gender-affirming care for minors and gun regulations which gives them plenty of scope to roll back progressive reforms and support Trump. The one case where they have fallen short is their refusal to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal which leaves Trump with the thorny problem of whether he can risk pardoning a paedophile. Go on...you know you want to do it.
He pardoned George Santos.
Mike Johnson is an IDIOT to continue supporting that felon dictator.
If the SC rules that race cannot be used to determine voting rights is it not clear then that whether or not one is white cannot be considered either?
The problem is that the system never gave Black citizens a say in their own government. Whites ran the political system in Louisiana as well as other Southern states. If this goes through, the whole meaning and purpose of the Voting Rights Act would be eviscerated, and the issue of white districts would be irrelevant, as whites still constitute the majority of voters. Black voters have needed to have dedicated districts because for so long they lacked representatives who would represent them. The policies would look race neutral, but in reality, they would favor majority voters over minority voters. Roberts has been totally unwilling to preserve the Voting Rights Act and he and his fellow Federalist Society justices have been aiming to get rid of the.Act for a long time. They truly do not believe government should represent all citizens and think the right to vote should not be a fundamental right, which it always should have been.
The majority of the Supreme Court have shown themselves to be willing to betray a number of established Constitutional to benefit Trump, the morbidly wealthy, and big businesses, and to destroy the rights of ordinary citizens. They have given Trump permission to break the law if carrying out “official duties.” The Founders made it clear the president was subject to the Constitution and the law. They would have been appalled at the result in United States v. Trump. Trump has already done things for which he should have already been impeached and convicted if we had a functioning government. The big problem with the concept about the president being allowed,to break the law is that the whole concept of official duties could stretched beyond any practical limits and nearly everything could be treated being within the scope of presidential duties, especially the baseless indictments and charges against James Comey, Letitia James, and John Bolton. As far as I am concerned, these are illegal and unconstitutional charges brought to harass people who disagreed with him, and without probable cause. These alone could be considered both high crimes and misdemeanors by misusing the department of justice as an instrument of retaliation against critics.
The Supreme Court majority thinks racism is dead in this country, which is categorically untrue. Republicans controlled states are doing everything they can to cement themselves into power, and to unjustly gerrymander state legislative and federal congressional districts for their own benefit. Federal Republicans have introduced legislation which would make it very difficult for,married women and various other groups to register as voters. We have never had more than a miniscuke problem with voter fraud, and it does get caught. We have a much greater problem with deliberate attempts to disenfranchise and suppress voters who don’t vote for Republican candidates. The Supreme Court majority wants to destroy the Voting Rights Act. It is trampling in the memory of people who died to enable Black citizens to vote; such as Martin Luther King, Viola Liuzzo, Vernon Dahmer, Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, Jr., and many others. It also tramples on the memories of Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis, who were severely beaten for the “crime” of demanding the full citizenship they should have had. Up until the late 1960s, the South was not a true democracy, but a herrenvolk republic run by and for white citizens only. Now we seem to be reverting to the worst of the past. Nixon enticed them to join the Republicans, they run the party, and some of them feel free to say the foulest possible things about their fellow humans on social media chats. Vance has it wrong about the people saying these things. These people are adults ranging from their 20s to their early 40s, they are fully accountable for what they say..
Correct Christine. Can't have it both ways. That's a big can of worms!
I trust the voters and so they willl try to undo all that has been accomplished but vote counts, particularly in red states, must be carefully counted and checked as I think many will vote as if their lives as well as our lives depend on a truthful election.
don't forget Jane Crow!
Pauli Murray was a unique individual who worked for the rights of ALL to be their authentic selves. If you've never heard the name, watch the documentary "My Name Is Pauli Murray."
'They' will feel forced to do everything possible to fix the elections-that is our greatest concern. We can vote them all out of office IF we can still vote.
The farmers are waking up! I listened to a rather large farmer in Missouri ask his Republican Representive when was that Rep going to due something for his Constituents instead of "Kissing Trump's ass?" The room erupted in cheers! White Rural America is waking up to the threat, making gerrymandering pointless as well. If everyone is against you, where do you draw the line? Their only option is instituting a police state rapidly, which is exactly what Trump is trying to do!
Kudos to that Missouri farmer!
There are more & more 'common' people who are speaking up loud & clear & challenging the republicans to answer them. I hope people report on more & more of them stepping up to the challenge!
Gerrymandering means that although you can still vote it's less likely to count for anything.
Yes, but if the gerrymandering is designed to insure the majority Republicans in enough districts to insure a win for any Republican candidate, and Republican voters turn against the party, then gerrymandering is useless.
Pete Buttigieg says that in Indiana they are trying to gerrymander to the point all of the districts were republican.
It's only effective if Republicans still support the American Facsist Party or the cult of trump.
The Brennan Center for Justice has helpfully set out a timeline of Trump's executive actions that are intended to interfere in elections.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/timeline-trump-administrations-efforts-undermine-elections
It's clearly a concerted effort being run by the White House.
It's a concerted effort being run by Project 2025. trump spends the majority of his time doing photo ops and golfing. Oh, and redecorating.
Russell, I am waiting for the reality of the medical cuts & food assist cuts to become so evident in the 'red' areas that those people's heads will clear enough to understand where the turmoil started- with their own elected shits.
I can tell you that the reality of the food assistance cuts have already been felt. I am a low income senior and before the big beautiful bill my subsidy was $292/month .As of last month my subsidy was $38/month.Today I listened to talking heads on MSNBC pontificating on the money running out for food programs on November 1st,and that would make the Senate Democrats fold. How out of touch they are! $38 dollars doesn't even pay for the cost of my morning coffee a month. As two of my elderly neighbors said that also get food subsidies, it is hardly worth filling all the forms out to prove your eligibility! I immediately thought to email my Senator Elissa Slotkin and tell her and fellow Senators to not be shamed into folding for so called food subsidies, because we had already lost them under that Big Beautiful Ugly Bill!
The food stamp cuts are coming soon to Oregon. I just read an article today about the amount of money cut. Frankly, I have no idea how we can feed people. I see below an account of the problem from Louise.
I think the cuts are scheduled to kick in next year, crucially after the midterm elections, although with the shutdown the SNAP payments will end very soon because the budget will run out.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/18/politics/snap-food-stamps-november-government-shutdown
Blowback is real and when the shit hits the fan anyone in proximity gets hit by it. Karmically Donold deserves to choke on his own caca for shitting on our nation for so long, for defiling the rule of law and the Constitution, for flushing the economy and our nation’s goodwill and standing in the world down the toilet. May the trickle down theory apply to all that are responsible, associated and complicit in this shit show of a regime.
I applaud the fine rhetoric in your comment, horhai, and in other comments here. Concrete, continuous actions are required now. Fascism is not coming -- it is here. We need to shut it down by withdrawing our economic support. Make a personal pledge to reduce your own consumption. Turn off the money spigot. You don't need to wait for an organized national strike.
Damn, indeed. Corporations do understand the money spigot. If the economy depended on our spending, we would be in a depression. We also try to support local businesses, but have a few on our black list.
boycott all big sales places on TG weekend, and Walmart, Amazon and Disney. Companies which do not have good employee benefits. Support local businesses and farmers' markets where you can.
Right now, the Democratic Senators are taking a concrete, continuous action, and 7-8 million people seem to be supporting them. To me the big concern is whether those people will be willing to suffer at all when push comes to shove.
horhai, it's called karma, and it always blows back on the sender multiplied by three. Always.
Well. Like all myths, this one is also not really true. But we can hope. The problem is that anything can happen at any time. So there's no certainty about any one thing happening.
Exactly...all of em
horhai, I like the idea of death star choking on his own shit. Saw a sign from the protests that said his only throne is porcelain. I wish it were an outhouse and he could be bitten on the butt by a cockroach.
I saw a lot of “porcelain throne” comments at our protest.
Michele, grandparents always made us take a big stick to the outhouse in case a snake was in the hole!
I was thinking of the latrines in Sierra Leone which varied widely, but always had cockroaches lining them. Snakes could be a problem there and also other critters.
Karma gets you every time! I'm waiting for the party.
In my regular visits to the Wall Street Journal (that hotbed of liberal thinking:) I note that there is as yet absolutely no mention of the No Kings demonstrations (no surprise). On the other hand, when I asked one commenter on another opinion piece why he though that 7,000,000 people came out to protest Trumpism on Saturday, he remarked that, like the Brown Shirts in 1930’s Germany, they’d been brainwashed.
While the comparison was so far from any sort of reality as to make one wonder on what distant planet the commenter had been living, it does make it clear how MAGA still sees things. They are simply digging in. There is as yet much work to do.
James, what I am seeing from my former work cohort is that they are being fed a constant diet of mis and disinformation that they are eating up like candy. I can tell when a "new topic" is introduced; this past week it was about taxes and they are all over social media complaining about how their "hard earned money" is paying for "undeserving people to get free stuff". Sounds like Reagans welfare queen argument dusted off to me.
How do they feel about their "hard earned money", as in the $20B, possibly $40B being given to Argentina, in part to support a billionaire friend of a cabinet member avoid taking a big investment hit? How do they feel about Argentina then selling soybeans to China, who previously were buying soybeans from US farmers, but don't anymore because of tariffs? Do they show any concern for the "hard working" farmers who now haven't a market for their soybeans?
That $40B would go a long way to paying ACA premiums for healthcare. Instead that $$$ is lost to corruption.
How do these actions fit in with the "America First" ideology they so fervently believe in?
Funny, no complaints about that. I will have to ask!!
You forgot the $10 billion the regime is talking about using to bail out the "hard working" farmers, who overwhelmingly voted for trump
100% !!!
Have you read Heather’s history of the Republican Party, To Set Men Free? It the same old same old, constantly recycled for each new generation of ‘the faithful’.
Ally, I took a look a the page of a cousin of one of my ex-students and it is full of nonsense. She has already told him off, but I note he likes to comment on Next Door where his comment went nowhere as it was about the huge cemetery the VA wants to put on prime farm land east of us. The local people nearby, many of whom are Rs, are up in arms and so hopefully it will not happen. As usual, our county commissioners are trying to hide and not say anything much. Citizens are headed to the next meeting and hopefully will give them an earful.
So Ally, when did your misguided cohorts forget that the values of helping each other were central to the US? How sad for the crap they are digesting. You'd think there would be a run on Pepto Bismol!
Mis and dis information are one thing but what I see as the bigger problem is the MISSING other side of the coin. We all know what FOX is going to do and say and that gets more juvenile as each day passes. But where is the counter messaging? It's what the media DOESN'T DO that is the problem.
Christine, you've identified the issue that helped bring us to where we are, as well as what won't help us get out of this: Corporate Media.
Unfortunately, I'm at a loss for a solution.
The majority of Americans get their news from two (grossly unreliable) sources: TV network news and Facebook. The oligarchs who own these outlets are motivated solely by wealth, truth be damned. The GOP promises them shelter from taxes and Trump promises them audience share, which translates to revenue. They will never abandon these two sources of wealth. Their audiences will never see the truth.
Independent media are doing yeoman's work in telling the truth, but they are still speaking to a minority audience that is already aware of the truth.
These are the facts and I see no way to overcome them.
Use word of mouth - our mouths, our full hearts; talk to those you can, find out what their 'view of reality' is, find things that you can share with them the reality of things, and see how to start to see that this make better sense than the non-sense they are being fed. (like the protest sign; "maga go fact yourself!" ha! The challenge is finding people who we can talk to.. A friend of mine at the rally Saturday told me that she had many repub pals jump ship...and abandon dt&co, I was so glad to hear this! Keep working at it y'all! It really is up to US!
I know of people who, once they got rid of Facebook, started to get a grip on the reality of the shit at the WH & beyond.
Which media are we talking about? There are multiple sources out there which are doing exactly that - counter-messaging. Usually, of course, they are preaching to the choir since hard-core MAGA dismisses anything that runs counter to Trumpist lies.
Terrified people do desperate things. So, I am guessing that Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act. Do you have an idea of what that would look like for all of us “regular people”?
Terry, that's what I fear, too. I could all too easily come to just that.
And I believe most of our military WILL NOT take up against their fellow citizens unless provoked by someone being stupid towards them.
Well said! It must take enormous energy to keep maintaining this monstrous, sh** infested charade. Thankfully, more and more people (and judges) are seeing it for what it is.
If/when this is over, Vought, Miller, Vance, Trump, Johnson must be held accountable. I am not sure how we do that , but they have to pay a price for deliberately undermining our democracy.
The part about Kristi Noem watching ICE blow the door off and detain a pregnant woman conjured up a future image of her cowering in a corner once imprisoned. Bondi has more fortitude to stand her ground, but the other prisoners won’t have it. Neither will fair well. (It’s all Hollywood, for now, but it does help to imagine it.)
I suppose my own image of them in the future being Hollywood-inspired is actually so because of the performative nature of their behavior—all of them, not just Noem and Bondi. I really feel disturbed by this. It seems ridiculous to say that, because of course, but then again, maybe it’s important to keep saying, this is deeply disturbing, inhumane and immoral behavior. Maybe these words really matter because retaliation won’t be performative, Hollywood-style. They’ll have due process and humane conditions.
I think a huge security wall should be built around Mara Lago so it can be used as a prison for Vought, Miller, Vance, T, Johnson. Add Mitch, Lindsey & a few others to the mix. Oh yeah, NO media access.
Our problem is they are not breaking the law when the President orders their actions.
Are the things he is ordering lawful? I don’t think so in many instances. He must own a lot of judges. The so called supremes on the court who are republican should review the oaths they have taken for our Country, not for Trump, and at some time be held responsible for the damage to so many.
The military have a duty not to carry out unlawful orders. Civilian officers surely have a right to resist. I worry about underlings committing murder on the high seas. Assault and uncalled for detention on land should not be good either.
But they are Rickey. I just have no comprehension of their thought patterns when they follow illegal orders. Don't know how to fix this shit!
They are afraid.
Don‘T agree. You know when something is wrong. You can refuse to do it. If you go along, you become responsible for your actions.
Maybe when all those poor red state folks have no health insurance they will wake up...I'm not counting on it however, they are as dumb as that shit flowing out of the plane.
Don’t count on it. Some of these people are ignorant enough to be indifferent to not having health insurance as long as someone they think undeserving doesn’t have health insurance either. It’s a classic example of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
These pretend power brokers still rule. As TCinLA quoted Billy Wilder “the people who told me Nazis were clowns are dead, killed by those clowns.” Duh
It's kind of amusing that when these republican leaders look in the mirror, they see terrorist (themselves) and fear in their own faces, good for them. Let's keep up the cycle of fear in their eyes, it's good for my soul and makes me smile and not afraid of my fellow citizens. Carry on and get louder, next protest please.
It's, Nicely put as usual. I am truly amazed at the memes coming from the regime. They are so well, immature, like toddlers pooping in the sandbox. I note the little johnson is always sweaty. I think it is the hard work he puts in to repress his sexual feelings and that's why he freaked out over the naked bike ride in Portland.
You need to take into account that some times the drowning man will pull down anyone near him.
As long as they are all like him. Then they would deserve. It.
I wonder who made the AI video. It wasn’t Trump. How much are they telling him? Does he know the size of the No Kings rallies?
AMEN ICTT. What a theatrical show they are giving us.
Hello ICTT... "Then last night, after the protests, the president’s social media account posted an AI-generated video showing Trump in a fighter jet with “KING TRUMP” painted on the side. The president sits in the airplane in front of something round that could be seen as a halo. He is wearing a gold crown; weirdly, the oxygen mask is over his mouth and chin, rather than mouth and nose. Once in the air, the plane drops excrement on American cities, including what seems to be New York City. The excrement drenches protesters,"... This Pretty much expresses how DJT views himself, and how DJT views the majority of US Citizens... Pray fo Divine Intervention...
It's coming Apache. No one knows when or how but, it's coming.
Hello Cindy... Thanks... It will be a Major Medical Event... It almost happened in DJT 1.0 when DJT got COVID... The Horseman Rides.... Pray For Divine Intervention...
👏👏👏
& so completely full of shit, just the ridiculous nonsense Mikey Johnson is spouting is like an overflowing cesspool of bullshit and lies.
In an interview on ABC's This Week, Johnson was pressed on why he wouldn't swear in Adelita Grijalva and he claimed that there was a precedent for this set by Nancy Pelosi in 2021, When it was pointed out to him that the new Representative had requested a later swearing in date due to Covid protocols and Pelosi had not refused to swaer her in he quickly pivoted to other even less relevant examples. He's a weasel, pure and simple.
He is the embodiment of the nightmarish Chucky doll. Maybelline has that same distinctive telltale essence. Ever notice that some people give you that sense of the creeps keeping you facing them and feeling a shudder warning your defense mechanisms? Chucky and Maybelline are kissing cousins. I guess I’m searching for the word, bristle. With many of trumps trollops I find a low growl and a bristling come over me. I’ll be doggoned if can understand why.
He's a doormat, that's all. He owes his job as Speaker to Trump and is forever in his thrall.
It’s indeed apropos that you would use thrall as that is what Vikings used for the term slave. Of course , or is that coarse, that immediately brings to mind Mary’s definition of her uncle as prehistoric. One can not fail to connect the northern Germanic ancestral ties to the Viking precursive bloodlines.Thus Trump as having the probable genetic predisposition of the mushroom eating crazed berserkers has no difficulty shedding his suit and tie and enthralling the weak and vulnerable. Going somewhat further back in time we might bring up sharks and fins. You know those crazy Finns.
fake piety real pedophile protecter - probably a child rapist himself...
I think one should be careful here about such allegations. What is abundantly clear that Trump is worried that his long and close association with that reprobate Epstein is something that hurts his image and for Trump image is everything.
I don’t know… I do know that little johnson has a young black man who he calls his son, but never adopted legally who lives with him… I don’t trust these criminals as far as I could throw them. And pedophilia is rampant in the retrumpian party.
My call today to my reps is going to be about the AI cartoon of pilot Trump. "I am disturbed by...."
I am energized by "No Kings" to call today. I have been calling once a week and now I want to do so twice a week. (I also work 40 hrs a week). In my opinion, my calls should be civil. We are up against the height of immaturity. Yes, other adjectives fit, but I see at the base of this narcissist a warped childhood, and at the base of Congress, a cowardly Republican representation. We must keep the heat on the reps.
I am retired and call most days. Currently I am focusing my calls on extending ACA tax credits.
#PublicHealthHaiku
Hooray for Anne B /
Calling reps, speaking her mind /
She's a patriot!
Thank you, Elizabeth :)
I agree, Anne. The more the Republicans resort to stupid lies and silly memes on social media the harder it should be for them to persuade people that they're serious and that the shutdown is entirely the fault of the Democratic party. The polls however show that many Americans are blaming both parties more or less equally and a disturbing number don't seem to care at all.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/whos-winning-the-blame-game-over-the-shutdown-heres-what-a-new-ap-norc-poll-shows
Yes, it's hard to see that most people don't care.
Perhaps many are preoccupied with the daily vicissitudes of life and no longer believe that the system works for them. It's a problem not confined to America, we see the same thing all across democracies and this apathy is being actively encouraged by bad actors.
Nobody benefits more from the collapse fo American democracy than Vladimir Putin. His plan was to secure a lucrative partnership between Rosneft and Exxon to exploit Siberia, the Arctic and the Baltic sea. That would have been impossible if Clinton had won in 2016, so he supported Trump. Trump obliged first by appointing Paul Manafort as his chief of staff and then when elected Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state (the former was an aide to Putin stooge Victor Yanukovich in Ukraine; the latter received the Order of Friendship from Putin). The Russians have flooded social media with bots and trolls undermining western democracies. Trump shares Putin's transactional approach to power politics.
It was fairly evident from Trump’s juvenile video.
Positively junior high school level tops. Maybe more like grade school.
Yes, because at his most mature, Trump behaves as a 14-15 junior high school boy, while at his least mature, Trump behaves as a whiny toddler deprived of something he wants at that very moment. His embarrassing lobbying for the Nobel Peace Prize was Trump at his immature worst. Trump’s fundamental reasoning is that the can never forgive President Obama for getting to the White House before Trump did, and Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize because President Obama received one. Trump has always been insanely jealous of President Obama.
All of Trump’s begging made it more likely that the Nobel Committee would never award Trump a Nobel Peace Prize. I have to say that María Corina Machado disappointed me with her thanks to Trump. Maduro is incompetent and a lousy leader, but Trump envies his power. Ms. Machado is going to have to learn the hard way that Trump cares for no one but himself, he doesn’t care about Venezuela, and he is even more authoritarian than Maduro.
Kathy, you've correctly identified Donald's jealousy of Obama, but didn't mention why.
Donald is the ultimate racist. He cannot get past the idea of an "unworthy" Black man living in the White House "where he did not belong."
You’re correct that I failed to mention why. Trump’s racism is definitely part of the reason why. He thinks as a mediocre white guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’s more valuable than President Obama. The other factor at play is Trump’s extreme narcissism. Trump thinks he should have been elected president before Obama, even though he didn’t run until President Obama’s term was over.
6th to 8th grade humor tops.
He is not much removed from the sophisticated toddler who throws food in a temper tantrum.
How long before the US has financial problems? Fox is reporting on Trump’s Mexican wall; Mexico won’t pay for it this time, either.
Trump is claiming that there is no problem at the border any more.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oZ19PursGeo
He's reduced the US labour force by around 1.2 million people, many leaving voluntarily.
What's more worrying was the news following the collapse of Tricolor and First Brands that 186 banks (and not all of them in the so-called shadow banking sector) in the US are at risk of failure due to rising interest rates and a high proportion of uninsured deposits.
In DTs first term he visited some Native Americans who gave him the honorary name of Walking Eagle. When a reporter asked one of the tribe what that meant, the reply was: A walking bird is so full of shit it can't fly! Seems (in)appropriate that he is dumping shit on the Stature of Liberty and the No Kings protesters! In Solidarity!
After his testy Oval Office meeting with South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa in May at which he falsely accused the South African government of genocide of white farmers, Trump has been accorded a designation commensurate with his standing in the eyes of South Africans (one that needs no explaining): Uwanka.
It's obvious Russell. I wish more people could believe the truth in your ststement.
Sadly, the expression 'post-truth' is now in dictionaries and we have Trump to thank for that. 'Alternative facts' hasn't quite made it yet probably because there aren't any such things.
Russell, literally, it would appear. That stupid childish frat-boy video says everything we need to know about this "administration."
They may be scared, but I can't help reminding myself that scared dogs bite.
They're currently behaving more like a rabid dog.
I watched that with my jaw rolling in such embarrassment my heart broke a little bit more.
Apparently 47 is using all their s*** to dump on Americans. He is a disgusting disgrace.
It was clearly not a well-chosen metaphor.
The lying king AI shitting on America--now who is it that hates America and loves puttin" Putin First? Why, it's the Turd Reich-Making America a Shithole.
Trump has undoubtedly chosen an unhappy metaphor for his contempt.
Yeah, they think they're funny.
That's what Vance said, true to form.
They say stupid stuff because they all live by the same mentality as tRump and that is as he as said, "you tell them and they will just believe you they just do." 'They' ain't us!!
Someone once said that science is based on facts, religion on faith and politics on repetition and nobody understands the last part of the dictum better than Trump. If you're going to lie, lie big and bold and lie relentlessly. Thus, the 2020 election was rigged, Trump is the most victimised president in US history, the January 6 Capitol rioters were patriots, Trump's inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's, black is white, right is wrong and and farty is fresh. The post-truth world seems an understatement to describe this dystopian mirror world.
Joseph Goebbels: the Nazi propaganda minister, is often quoted as saying, "If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth."
“The big joke on democracy,” he observed, “is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction."
Oh, Mrs Goebbels, why your boy turn out so bad?!!
tRump's lies are the exact truth in reverse. It is a rare comment from him that is true because almost every comment is the exact opposite of the truth. It does suggest that he knows the truth but must convey the opposite for his cultists. For he knows that, "you tell them and they just believe you, they just do". 'They' ain't us!!!!
That sounds like a Kellyanne Conway explanation - 'look, the president wasn't lying, he was just telling the truth in reverse.' Some of Trump's anecdotes are almost complete confabulations ("untethered to the facts" as judge Ellis recently put it) like the story about his uncle and the Unabomber.
Not scared enough. They remain in line.
Perhaps because they're more scared of Trump.
or they agree with him?
Yes, of course the MAGA Republicans who he can count on for enthusiastic support; and those whose interests he protects, a more diffuse group who don't support everything he does. But they are all cowed into submission, as Senator Murkowski as much as admitted earlier this year.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9gM1YHu4uWY
With respect to the excrement vid., I wonder; really REALLY wonder; REALLY REALLY REALLY wonder *if the poofillanimous Pretender-in-Chief 🙄 and his venomous, amoral side-kick, liar-liar-Vance-on-fire🤥, have a private wager on whether one or both can come up with something more outlandishly outrageous than the nastiest post of the day before. 🤢
Somewhere inside that rotten little bearded, maybellined, phony three-dollar bill soul of his, JD Wanker must know none of this will end well for him.
The more these assholes bellow and swagger, beat their chests and stick out their lower jaws like enraged old chimpanzee males being challenged, the closer some Republican Night of The Long Knives dawns. It’s not going to be a pretty sight when that happens.
You know who the jutting jaw describes? That loathsome POS Tom Homan. He LOOKS like he’s dying to punch someone, anyone.
I can think of any number of macho mouths that qualify.
Agreed 111%, It's Come To This. 🫱🏻🫲🏼 I keep hoping, foolishly perhaps or likely, that this is the last gasp of this scheiße that has been creeping around the republic since day-1. 🤢
So right
Hi Ned, there is no way the P-I-C has the capability of coming up with the idea or actually creating the AI stuff that comes out on Truth Social. I strongly suspect it originates from a) stuck in adolescence, ambitious staffers, vying for his approval; b) " loomering" unelected,twisted hangers-on ; or, c) spawned from the rancid, flammable anger of the bald Nazi -whisperer in his ear.
What do you think?
Yes
As I stated to It's Come To This, above, I agree with you 111%, Carol. 🙏🏾 What stuns me is how sadistic, hollow people can rise so high in the echelons of power.😳 What also stuns me is that Trump approves these twisted images. 😠
Ned, I feel pretty certain that Donald has given others access to his social account. They post content without his prior approval, with the understanding that they can always delete it if he doesn't like it. I judge Carol's first theory to be the correct one.
Ambitious staffers who know how to use AI (Donald doesn't) keep pushing the envelope to get his attention and approval.
Very well stated, there, Dale. 💡 The storm-trumpers -- thank-you, Jimmy Kimmel ✌🏼-- may think they do not need therapy; 🙄 at this point, an electroshock does not sound so bad for me. 🤭 Maybe I will wake up and understand that I have been in a nightmarishly psychotic break.😇
Definitely the bald nazi
Whose ancestors migrated to the United States to escape anti-Semitic pogroms!🤢
On March 4, 1801, the first peaceful transfer of power in world history occurred right here in the United States. Federalist John Adams turned the reins of government over to the leader of the opposition, Thomas Jefferson, whom Adams despised. That peaceful transfer of power not only protected the people, it protected leaders who had lost the support of voters, giving them a way to leave office safely and either retire or regroup to make another run at power.
And now? At the Believers' Summit on July 26, 2024, a gathering hosted by Charlie Kirk's group, Turning Point Action, Trump told the assembled gathering: "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, it'll be fixed, it'll be fine, you won't have to vote anymore my beautiful Christians." (Wall Street Journal News, You Tube July 27, 2024.) "You won't have to do it [vote] anymore . . ." "It'll be fixed." Let that sink in.
Oh, it sank in the first time I heard of it.
Those who are relieved by the thought of not having to vote anymore will find themselves ruled by Caesar and fed to the lions for their beliefs. And maybe that will suit them - better to die by mauling because one believes correctly than to follow Jesus into touching lepers, healing hurting folks, and hanging out with the "out" crowd.
Hypocrites all
The King and His Flying Toilet: A Love Letter to Authoritarian Chic
America, congratulations. We’ve reached the “AI dictator with a gold crown dumping excrement on his own citizens” stage of our democracy. Somewhere, George Orwell is chain-smoking in the afterlife, muttering, “I didn’t mean it literally.”
Millions of peaceful Americans flooded the streets for the “No Kings” protests, waving flags, singing, and defending democracy. The administration responded like a jealous prom king, posting deepfake videos of Trump flying a fighter jet labeled KING TRUMP and dropping digital feces on protestors. Because nothing says “strong leadership” like a royal tantrum rendered in 4K.
While citizens danced for freedom, the president cosplayed as Louis XIV with Wi-Fi, complete with sword, robe, and AI subjects kneeling at his golden feet. His followers cheered. “Finally, a king who tweets!”
Meanwhile, real Americans are being detained without cause, a democratically elected representative is barred from taking her seat, and the government wants to deploy troops in Chicago. But sure, let’s focus on the cool graphics.
The White House motto now seems to be: When in doubt, post propaganda. The new American dream is to be ruled by a man whose idea of “draining the swamp” involves dumping on his own country from above.
So yes, the frogs, unicorns, and glittered protestors are the sane ones here. History is watching—and laughing through tears... https://essayx.substack.com/p/the-king-and-his-flying-toilet-a
Like the arsonist setting the fire and then leading the fire department.
Hitler used chaos and uncertainty to solidify power. It worked for him, seemed to be working for trump until dementia came and, thanks to trump's confabulations, is working well for the regime.
#ChaosCrueltyCorruption = The Republican Party
It is by now obvious that when increased numbers of ICE and occasionally with local and or state police leads to more violent confrontations with the public than were occurring prior to the increase of ICE and police forces. This is why city officials do not want National Guard deployed to their cities as history has shown that it typically increases rather than decreases violent encounters
I don't want anymore explaining about why Trump is who he is. I just want his actions to be curtailed. Scotus can do that. They're responsible for his actions. Make him stop now.
Dream on. We are in this fix because Mitch McConnell gave us those RW extremists.
TOTALLY agree!!!!!👍
I’m afraid that he may be responsible for THEIR actions now.
Too much is never enough.
That is true of Trump, which is why she titled her first book about her uncle “Too Much and Never Enough.”
Most accurate and best description i have ever read!
Whewwwww!!!
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
I added a calendar on my spreadsheet (3rd tab) so maybe we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Amazing Megan - thank you!
Megan is a hero!
Massive Congressional visits November 18.
https://www.instagram.com/flare.usa/p/DP_mdOyjdiG/
Visit Congressional Republicans.https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/851451/
My Senator, Susan Collins, quit responding to emails years ago. Her weekly newsletter has devolved into photo-ops with a few constituents where she praises them for some minor accomplishment of theirs.
Since not a single Republican will attend the protests, next time we need to have protests at their homes and invite the local press. A few of them may bother to come out of the hides-holes but not many. And especially protest outside the MAGA far-right SCOTUS's homes.
I’d also recommend a protest in front of Leonard Leo’s home, since he’s in charge of the dark money.
Also the headquarters of every company owned by Thiel. He's bankrolling this.
Might as well do all 3 of his homes. He may have more, not sure.
I was thinking of any one of his homes where he was in residence, but picketing all three is a good idea.
That’s like my republican congressman. Although he replies to emails, just so late I don’t know which one he is responding to. And uses such GOP talking points is ridiculous. He also only does photo ops. Such a waste of tax payer dollars.
Mike Turner is my congresscritter from Ohio. He refuses to have town halls because he thinks there is an organized group protesting him. That is incorrect. What Turner’s support for MAGA has done is created a group of his constituents who are united in their discontent with the ruin Trump,and MAGA are inflicting on ordinary citizens. There is no organized antifa either. Antifa is a philosophical stance, not an organized party or group.
Sounds like Burchett 🤬❓️
sounds like Ernst
I'm with you in spirit GJ. It's like bringing the mountain to Mohammed. But I won't be attending. I am aware though that trespassing is illegal in my state. I know someone is going to say that's Good Trouble, but I'm getting too old for that 💩. I'll stick to the NO KINGS rallys, which are legal.
Or the Google link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
I'm glad to see people going out in the street and gathering in opposition to this fascist takeover. I was at the protest in LA, and if anyone want to see some of the day's photos they can do so here.
https://bsky.app/profile/mathewforesta.bsky.social/post/3m3ktnk64mk2m
It had a carnivalesque atmosphere, but I was heartened to see so many people continuing to center the struggle for Palestinian liberation and the Native American Land Back Movement. We cannot look to go back to business as usual. That is what brought us to our current misery. We have to forge a new path, one that breaks from imperialism, settler colonialism, and Capitalism to show an egalitarian future that is in every way the inverse of Fascism.
It is good to go to protests. They build community, show the Fascists they are not in complete control, and inspire further resistance. That said, marching with a sign cannot be the end of it. Let this drive you to militancy. Get in community not just certain days, but all days. Organize your workplace, plan strikes, work towards a general strike. Learn and practice community self-defense, practice mutual aid.
This country's blood is money, and its heart is banks. If we clog those arteries, if we jam up commerce, we can deprive the Fascist Regime of power.
Stay strong and organized everyone. Be brave.
-Mathew
https://bettergracesandliberations.substack.com/
(BTW, if you can, help a struggling writer out and subscribe. I'd really appreciate it.)
The General Strike is the obvious next step. Watching us have fun during mass protests only inflames their disdain. We now need to hit them where it REALLY hurts- their wallets!
Excellent idea Daniel. Holidays are coming. What if millions drop Amazon and other billionaires and go local for gifts or give donations to non-profits which have lost funding or perform acts of kindness for family and friends and ask them to pay it forward. 💙
✨✨🩷⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️🩷✨✨
Gigi you have read my mind!
I gift to a number of people of various relationships, some of whom are MAGA over the holidays. (I do it in spite of their opinions because I'm just that person.)
THIS year, I'm thinking of making contributions to various safety net non-profits. I'd like to find one that would send them notifications of the gifts, not just my word that I did it. Anyone got any ideas?
The Heifer project used to let people know that money had been given in their name. Betting that this year there will be many charitable organizations who will do the same. Charities are trying to make up for the loss of federal help.
That is a great idea. I can’t think of any off hand but hopefully others will respond. Mostly I try to give locally and our conservation and animal rescue groups publish lists of contributions.
Gigi, my best friend and I exchange what most people would call "stocking-stuffers" on Christmas just to have some little thing to open. The •real• gifts are charitable donations in our names. She always gives a donation to Heifer International. Last year, I got a goat.
https://www.heifer.org
If one celebrates Christmas, giving – not exchanging – gifts is the way to do it.
I cancelled my WaPo digital subscription and deleted the Amazon shopping app from my phone.
I have used Amazon only once or twice since 2024
Suggest you read up on the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine, also known as the Revolution of Dignity. Ukraine and the US are, vof course very different places, but the next step for the US may look something like that. (I read the Wikipedia article today.)
That was quite a read, Talia! I remember the coverage here in the states, but it doesn't compare to the 'play by play' you gave me. I don't want to be negative about anything, so I'll simply say that I hope we never reach the point the Ukrainians had to face. Which is why, at this moment, I'm advocating for the general strike. It's non-violent, very pointed, and, as said by a few others here, the holidays will be upon us soon, and many of the 'swells', as I call them, count on this time of year for their millions.
Again, thank you for the link. My respect for the Ukrainian people went up a couple more notches after reading all the details.
Yes. Either they give us the 25th amendment and get rid of felon 47 or we stop buying:working. No Christmas for the oligarchs!
That BlueSky account wouldn’t let me see anything. Said had to login. I’ve not seen that before.
BlueSky has an option members can use to hide their posts from those not logged in. Mathew must have it turned on.
Not a good idea if he wants to link to them here.
My fault. I'm doing a post later with all the pictures so I'll link that here.
Thank you. I bailed on BlueSky. There are trolls there.
I would love to but my senators and congress witch-Propaganda Beth are apart of this scheme........ they just keep repeating the demonization of democrats....
I don’t think we’ll see many big waves (like a major MAGA Congress member changing their opinions), however I think we can cause little ripples. I’m thinking staff members who hear the same thing over and over via voicemail, phone calls, letter after letter, email after email - maybe they’ll be a little more receptive each time they hear from us. Maybe they’ll talk more about our talking points to friends and family, maybeeee they’ll vote differently. I think we can cause ripples to push news organizations to be more honest and maybe even a bit accusatory about what’s happening. As a collective, our volume matters. And, at the end of the day, if we just annoy and overwhelm some staffers working for people hurting the average American, I’m ok with that too 🙃
Megan, reading what you've written in the paragraph reminds me of the line in Paul Simon's "The Boxer": "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest". That describes perfectly what I see in my retired cop cohort who are eating up what they are being served by their propaganda sources and going back for seconds.
That line is one of the many reasons "The Boxer" is one of my all-time favorite songs. Thanks for pointing that out, Ally!!
Ally, I subscribe to Dan Rather's "Steady" Substack. On Sundays, he publishes "A Reason to Smile." Sunday, a week ago ... well, here:
https://steady.substack.com/p/simon-and-garfunkel
I had seen that. Probably why S&G were in my brain.
Ally, I've heard you talk about these guys for awhile now. I wonder about them, as my b.i.l. who is a retired cop is very racist and misogynistic. And also in moderate stages of dementia now.
What do you gage is the average age of these dudes, and how do you think the bad times coming economically will impact them? Wondering if ANYTHING might finally change their minds.
They range in age from about 55-70, or thereabouts. My guess is that the ratio of "conservative" (them) to "liberal" (us) is 10-1 if not greater. I do not know how the looming "bad times" will impact them. Most of us have a very good pension from the PERS retirement system, but the loss of Medicare and SS income will sting them.
My off the cuff guess is that they will blame our state government (recent uptick in bitching about our Governor and the Democratic state officials). It is pretty funny, put in this context. They are apparently being manipulated by their "information" sources to be primed for what is coming.
Ally, by nature I'm a peace loving, and loving person. I hate to say this as I know innocent people will be hurt as well, but I am waiting for the economy to bottom out and I hope those who drink the kool-aid really feel it. I take "Belle" seriously, and I have been stocking up for the last six months. I can weather the storm for awhile, and help a few chosen family as well.
I have not heard that song but yes, that seems to fit unfortunately to a tee
I’ve been off Amazon since last Nov.
You don't even know why you protesting Megan other than you hate Trump not one policy is punishing you or is negatively affecting you from Trump's administration it's so sad
You’re right, nothing is negatively impacting me directly, but I care about other people, and so I will continue to speak up for others.
Megan, here's the problem. I have never seen a larger group of negative in advanced human beings. What happened in Obama administration by administration Clinton administration Bush administration, etc. if you can name me some things I would like to hear them if you're talking about Medicaid or Medicare nothing has happened yet nor is that anything different in one specific instance, Bill Clinton did exactly the same thing
And the more I post the more I realize people are unaware absolutely unaware people actually talk about due process when I've just sent leaks a little while earlier Obama had only 25% of his deportees have due process, and Clinton's percentage was a lot less factual go look it up just an example Medicaid issue people who were capable of working should work that's exactly came from Bill Clinton's playbook. Tell me what else is happening so I can address it.
And I'm a very compassionate person too, but but to be more compassionate for illegal alien than a US citizen is insane
You’re not convincing anyone on here Rick. Have a good day.
Megan, you'd be surprised I already have 900 people that have liked my comments and have been convinced to a certain degree and it's all because of awareness because people are not aware here whatsoever.
If only Heather would tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth, everybody here would be more enlightened and less unhappy
And it's hard to take stubbornness out of someone that's live that way their whole life so I get it but at least they're exposed to realize that there's people that don't think like them at all and there are so many posts here where they think that everybody thinks like everybody else here on the outside world and that's a very sad reality to live in
Would you like me to list some facts about the article above or would you like to remain in denial Megan honestly ? Oh heck, if I can find them, I’ll send them to you anyway. You deserve to hear the truth from time to time
.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/obama-deportations-court/
This link above from the far left leading back checker called Snopes confirms that Obama‘s depotees only 25% of them received due process and there are many links to confirm this just so you know I have a similar one from Clinton but why don’t you chew on this one for a while first so all these people talk about Trump‘s not allowing to process they just have the audacity to pretend their historically relevant and have a good memory Because this is what happened
I’ll just send you one from Clinton as well. What the heck? And a couple about there firing federal employees to the tune of almost 750,000 during their terms and we never heard a peep about it from the left. What a surprise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_Immigrant_Responsibility_Act_of_1996
https://ballotpedia.org/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_Immigrant_Responsibility_Act_of_1996
Try some factual information for a change. And a fax don’t change your mind. You know the rest.
As I read, I wondered if any of this will move the Supreme Court, do they even know how vehemently this administration is resented, or are they so deeply ensconced in their bubble that they can’t see it?
Those AI videos are not only disgusting , they’re a ginormous middle finger to the millions who marched and the untold millions who were there in spirit.
I just hope and pray when crunch time comes our military leaders will refuse to carry out this Hitler’s orders.
The Supreme Court majority will do nothing….
That's been their playbook so far.
Trump can rape whatever he chooses.
SCOTUS (well, 6 of them anyway), are increasingly out of step with the rest of the judiciary, as evidenced by their readiness to overturn long standing precedents and recent lower court decisions alike. When "crunch time" arrives, they will side with the dictator, rendering themselves irrelevant in the process. I don't get it.
The military, if we're lucky, will do nothing. Many (most, I hope) will refuse to follow illegal orders. Some will, breaking their now 250 year old traditions and over 150 years of settled law in the process. Vigorous, swift prosecution must be brought to bear on all who would destroy our Constitutional Republic.
The fact that the military is killing people in boats makes me dubious about their willing to stand up to Trump.
I see far too much acquiescence in the shooting down of fishing vessels to have much hope for the military.
We have no evidence that they weren't fishing vessels and even if we did we don't know that these were drug runners and if they were it's extremely unlikely that they were headed to the United States and even all of those things were true due process was ignored, not to mention that we are NOT at war with Venezuela and the Constitution says that is under the responsibility of Congress which has NO reason to do that. This is vigilantes shooting first and not even asking questions later. Where the hell is Congress on this, not to mention The Corporate Media. AND If in fact this was in any way has the slightest connection to US drug trafficking this is a Breaking Bad Trump Vigilante shit show! Are U Boats next?
Don't worry, ally he's only killed the drug trafficker that potentially could hurt one of your family members so don't pay it any mind
A bit upside down there Steve three are out step
And a federal judge just entered out an idiot that Trump is no longer athorized nor permitted to make or cuase any peace deals with any one lmfao
And you should want swift prosecution for all the illegal criminals as well, but you don't
You're Colossus, aren't you?
Just your average human being that loves America a lot more than the people here
It will move nothing. It was all futile at a national embarrassment . Trump will only push his policies harder.
As always, Heather, thank you for sharing your perspectives and sanity. My burning question is, why is there NO news coverage of the fact that the upwards of 8 million Americans took to the streets, and there was NO violence? NO ONE took the bait!! I'm so proud of my fellow Americans!!
I suspect the answer to your question involves the biases and loyalties of those who now control the so-called “mainstream” legacy media. 🤬
Follow the money.
Always
Corporate Media would be more on point.
And, exactly ZERO arrests in San Diego, New York & other cities.
BRyan, I have to hand it to you. You guys did it right you were peaceful you were organized and purposeless. Just like her party today Millions of people out there they're not even knowing why they're there other than they hate trump.
I live in a very red state. My local news had a little coverage of Saturday’s protests, but they also seem to have found an incidence of violence that happened somewhere (I can’t recall where). They covered the incident of violence with no detail as to why or what happened. It felt to me like they were actively trying to get people to equate the protests with violence. And I’m sure in this red state, that’s exactly what will happen.
According to The New Republic there was some violence here and there, all of it coming from MAGAts. https://newrepublic.com/post/202008/trump-supporters-violence-no-kings-protests-hit-and-run
Thank you Ruth. This is helpful. I found myself acting as a crossing guard at the rally I went to because we had a lot of slow moving elderly people there. I happen to have a yellow safety vest and I plan on wearing it at the next rally. Drivers can get impatient no matter matter what their politics are. You can't be too careful.
I think it was great that you had peaceful protest. That was really good but next time you have a protest, you should have a reason for the protest not just hate.
I have you reported your multiple 2025 Terms of Use as a Substack Inc violation of the 2025 TOU that binds us all. Substack Inc agree it is mutually bound by the 2025 TOU.
This time I gave Substack Inc the relevant Jury Instruction on CA Good Faith & Fair Dealing which I have used as a legal foundation to prosecute Violators in court.
😂
Ruth., what I see is the almost lunatic-level of support of the Kirk-bots. We have seen a number of apparently reasonable people lose their jobs over some relatively off-hand expression of criticism, hardly of vile nature. The 'people' who write the news are intimidated by the distinct possibility (probability!) they might lose their source of income (JOB). They hope you and I can read between the lines. The Guardian offers details carefully, but not real-time. So much for a free press.
alex, you nailed it: "...almost lunatic-level of support of the Kirk-bots." Far more meaningful than my description ("butt-hurt Christians) because it does address that insane level of adoration of such a manipulator.
George Washington: It's like they didn't listen at all. Jesus: Bro, same. I wish I could show you my photo of the sign that was on. It had pretty good drawings of George and Jesus
There will now be a chapter of TPUS UUA, and every college and high school campus in the country.
You have a free cast and it's dying because they lie to the public for four years actually maybe even eight years about Russia about Hunter about Joes declining health and finally the public got fed up
Main stream media has been bought by right wing billionaires. I wish and hope that all of those of us who realize the bs that they are peddling and the truth they are overlooking finally wakes us up to cancel any streaming accounts owned by them and also stop paying for cable channels that include their crap. I finally got rid of YouTube tv which was my streaming solution for local channels and cnn etc. I now only get over air channels if I choose to watch them (for free!) and only watch happy stuff of my choosing on Netflix and other streaming channels I haven’t cancelled yet. It’s becoming a smaller and smaller group as I have cancelled Disney paramount Hulu YouTube peacock etc. but I love all the money I’m saving and also not listening to their bs.
This is how they keep the gullible and the poor from knowing the truth.
“Scenes From a Day of Mass Protests”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/politics/no-kings-protests-trump.html
‘No More Trump!’: Protesters Denouncing the President Unite Across the Country
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/protests-trump-no-kings.html
👆🏻 Click on these links!
Thank you so much Frau♥️ for taking us to these big cities. I miss the Times but can't afford it now.
Exactly my take-away too Ruth!
Even paid Antifa Terrorists need to take a day off from crime and burning down major cities that are home to Democrats every once once in a while. They even swept up all the ashes.
And now MAGAts can come and sweep up after their leader's epic AI BM. What will he stoop to next. . .
Did you see the child stabbing an effigy of Donald Trump? Yes overall the protests were very peaceful. Next time you protest, though you should probably have a reason for protesting currently you have none.
He never did understand how to wear a mask properly.
Sooo
How many people follow tRump media page and are a majority of them real fans?
My one’ friend’ who claims to be a serious Maggot seems actually to be less aware of the serious nature of his Dark lord’s intentions and treats the whole thing like a sports affair.
His only source is faux and the first few sentences of stuff I send him.
Before the last election I heard more than one Trump supporter claim that all the crazy stuff was just the way Trump talks. But no, he's doing it.
If Joe McCarthy had 'no decency" what does Trump have?
Scrambled shit for brains and a heart full of bile.
Joe and Roy taught chump well, after Fred that is…
And the whole Powell Plutocrats for Plutocracy team.
Yes, Powell Plutocrats for Plutocracy fits to a tee
A complete lack of morality, no common sense and a wide range of psychiatric and social problems, starting with narcissism. That doesn't make him unqualified, but he is.
Donold makes no effort to understand such things because he's an ignorant, incurious, deranged lout.
Donold/Smonold WGAS! What is so upside down is the expressed desire of the MAGA-toonists to rid the country of "the Democrat". Do these morons realize, that means a ONE PARTY system? Is that what they want? Ask one. The real answer is, not really.., they just want to "roll some coal" because they can get away with it. I hope some of you are now familiar with the expression "rolling coal" as it has been an mis-understood item which I have tried to educate us more-gentle readers about over the past day or so. However, I find the expression very mirroring of the present administration.
Misplaced anger. Divide and conquer is the tyrant's supper power which draws from the Dark Art of entropy. Solidarity is curative but requires a lot more effort, and that conflict goes way back.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/ebay-rolling-coal-fine-environment-b2427796.html
Answer to third Q, well of course it is. One party is all a king needs. No jokester here…
As are his supporters.
They let you do that when you're born to money.
And he is completely delusional and thinks this is all a reality TV show. It's much like Bruce Almighty or The Truman Show. And of course you know what Jim Carrey called him: LLLLLLLLUUUUUSSSSSEERRRR!
Like all his inbred Peckerwood white trash MAGAts during COVID.
It's a wonder he hasn't gone blind from staring at the sun.
An ugly situation is fast getting worse. It looks like we are at a critical time in this scary unfolding drama. Stay strong and remain calm as our resistance grows.
Remember, it will all feel critical and terrifying, and yes, worsen right up until the very moment it all begins to fall apart. I don’t think anyone knows when that moment will come or in what form, but it will surely come. They’ve built a Rube Goldberg contraption held together with nothing but scotch tape and lies. At some point, the wheezing noises, clinks and clunks, will start to overpower their gaslighting absurdities. It may already be happening.
I am remembering all the velvet revolutions which dislodged one phony communist regime in Central Europe after the other in 1989. It all seemed so completely impossible and out of reach then, right until the moment it all came crashing down. I continue to believe we are replaying that moment here in our own country in real time. Be strong.
It’s Oz behind the curtain. And we all know what happened.
Salud, fellow Munchkins, Winkies, Quadlings, Gillikins, and Residents of the Emerald City.
🗽💜
You guys should just be honest call it what it is let's have a 7 million person I hate Trump rally with no reason whatsoever. Call it what it is.
Get a grip Trump is a duly elected president and has a little bit more than three years three beautiful years to serve.
Getting worse fast, ya think…
My eyes are wide open 😳
But it can get better. First step, attend a NO KINGS rally and you will see. It's like a trip to the 60's man!
AMERICA is the love of my life. My sign and proclamation
Resistance? To what? Why resist democracy I don't understand.
Are you obviously don't understand Trump the more you resist the more he pushes so keep it up
You are so right Dr. Richardson, there was very little hate on No Kings Day. Over 7 million people came out to joyfully protest Trump. But there was very little pushback, just 22 Maga arrests. Not even a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of protesters. Where were all the Trump supporters? It's not like his rhetoric wasn't encouraging violence. You gave got to wonder, does he still have a base? He might not. I suspect his base is crumbling.
Its getting to the point where thinking MAGA (I know... oxymoron) can't support this. They have all become "independents." The only supporter of the regime we saw on Saturday was a drunk guy shouting Bible verses. We have reached the tipping point, and its time to push harder.
I saw a number of signs that pointed out the hypocrisy of MAGA in regards to Christianity at our rally. I'm a lifelong Catholic but never memorized books/verse, but I say several with those on their signs.
Right on!
Yeah J'Net, trouble is..., ICE and the military has become his "base"..., he's in control of them. And they can be as rude, crude, and un-couth as they please. Ram your car, bust your window, kick-down your door..., the force-du-jour! Once a person has their hands zip-tied behind their back, they are essentially done for. And, should the average white-person interfere with ICE, they too will get zipped and shoved into a white Tahoe for an interview. The audience for this circus is at his beck and call. That's his "fan base".
Ice is the biggest domestic terrorist organization in the US. There is no doubt about it.
Hey Alex, try to get a grip on this. OK what you were saying to Trump is a Mr. Trump if you stop enforcing the law will stop protesting. Ooops
Ohh eat me Rick!
A typical well-thought-out analytical response by a liberal no facts no analysis no thought and no purpose
That's why your party keeps losing day after day. Don't worry, though you only have three more years to enjoy this.
And yet nothing like that happened at the No Kings rallies, and wasn't that the subject? But if you do see something like that at Home Depot don't interfere. Take pictures.
I hope you’re right. The only policy support I see apart from the “it’s the Dems fault that the government is closed“ is “no men in girl’s locker rooms”. That’s not much in the way of policy.
And yet you don't see anything about keep Trump out of girls pants either
J'net at the Chicago Beverly rally, there were literally thousands of cars honking and waving, thumbs up, peace signs and even some holding signs up to their own car windows in support.
The cracks in the Trump era are widening. But we must not let up! Each of us has to find that one person or two amongst our family, neighbors or friends who are persuadable, and help them come out from under the cult of Trump.
Good approach. I like it.
The chickens are running away. I'm going to have a chicken taco to celebrate.
Janette, are you wearing a sign that says blind man. ?
The entire March was about nothing but hate nothing else not about policies not about enforcing the law just about hate Coast To Coast unless you'd like to name four or five policies that are negatively affecting your life currently every day by the way, you'd be about the 60th person here to fail to answer that question
Reading this has me thinking about preparing to defend myself 😢The only good thing I saw is the point that “there are more of us than them.”
I agree. 7+ million protestors is too many for ICE to arrest even with its gigantic budget 👊🇺🇸
Solidarity against the usurpers of power.
If history, and the current example in Russia, are any indication, much of ICE's huge budget will be siphoned off by corrupt contractors. Much more will be wasted on inept spending decisions. Already this administration is spending many times more (I'd say ~800% more) per arrest and per transport than under the Biden, Obama, or even Trump '45 administrations.
Thank you for making this point. Yes, this is the most corrupt administration in American history
My take after reading the comments is that we have to STOP ORDERING FROM AMAZON. Now and forever.
Love the idea of donating to nonprofits or others in need over gifts!
“The optics screamed, “Your fear campaign is now a parade float.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/closertotheedge/p/the-inflatable-rebellion?r=kxzps&utm_medium=ios
“…The President wanted to look like a general. Instead, he looks like a man losing an argument to a frog.”
The Inflatable Rebellion
CLOSER TO THE EDGE
by Rook T Winchester
OCT 17 2025 | Substack
Frogs give me reason to hop.
"No hope without hop" on a frog's sign that I saw.
I went to see the frogs (and for civic duty) and found joy and peace and wonderful people and danced with unicorns😊
I am privileged to fall asleep to frogsong in the spring, although there seem noticeably fewer voices than 20 years ago. Spring is also more silent by day, with fewer birds and fewer species in residence.
Same here, JL. Far fewer species than even 5 years ago.
😉
❤️👏🎶
I have been saying this for years: There are more of us than them. And we will win.
“every single rally (including in the small towns) was bigger than the surrounding police force available.
My favorite protest was in Polebridge, Montana. Population 100, demonstrators 60.
My favorite sign was ,one made by a grey haired woman declaring:" I am Aunt Tifa.".
There were an awful lot of Grandtifas as well!
My favorite protest shirt: Grantifa!!
True. Opposition to Trump is stronger than it was in June, far stronger than it was in January. His support has only gotten weaker.
During his first impeachment there were 100 of us in front of our courthouse. Then in April 2025 we had 1,000, in June 2025 we had 4,000 and on October 18 there were about 9,000.
I do not believe his temper tantrum with the AI image of "bombing" Americans helped him any.
That will definitely not play well. Most people will find it — and him — just disgusting.
Heather: https://substack.com/@louisezeringue123105/note/c-167843120?r=2wztb&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
I love this so much! Thank you taking the time to show this.
Well there were a lot of cars driving by and most of them were honking for us and waving and smiling. One guy gave us a thumbs down. A young lady standing next to me yelled "I love you" to him. It felt like the 60's. It's too bad we haven't saved the world in the meantime, but I saw a lot of people trying. It was good for the heart I'm telling you. But I do understand the skeptics.
Just proves over and over again that trump and his maga cult regime are just low class BULLIES!
NEVER EVER BACK DOWN TO A BULLY or they will continue to chase you FOREVER!!!
And NEVER EVER TRUST A BULLY because they are so insecure narcissistic and paranoid that sooner than later EVERYONE becomes one of their TARGETS!!!
Can't wait to VOTE ALL maga OUT during the MANY November 4th 2025 elections! Many Propositions are being voted on, too...like Prop 50 in California!
Make sure you read up on the ones in your community!!
WE SHALL OVERCOME IF WE VOTE!
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
Um,Johnson isn't seating the last elected official. What will be different in the midterm elections?
They are in the future, Marj, and though I share your concerns, I continue to have HOPE!
Because when you give up HOPE...
You quit FIGHTING BACK!
Will Russel still rule. This stalemate may still be in effect. He is serious as a heart attack
He can’t keep doing that. It’s too unpopular. It will backfire.
From this account of trump’s reaction on social media to our gatherings, he does seem demented.
Julie, He’s seemed demented for some time. There’s no way he could have created and released that AI video. Why are we not discussing Miller’s role here?
Agree. These are likely created by Miller.
You're right Bonnie you will be talking about this for the next three years so settle in and start supporting your president. And love America.
Yes, the term I have started using, too: Demented.
We passed that stage some time ago. Now we’re dealing with a six-month-old playing with his baby shit.
Hey don't forget he's got three more beautiful years was great to have a peaceful March. I gotta give you that next time have a reason for it.Lol
He never had "ment" to "de"
And so childish! I can't believe a president would act this way, and his followers lap it up.
The childishness boggles the mind. What kind of jollies do they get out of acting like angry toddlers?
“Once in the air, the plane drops excrement on American cities, including what seems to be New York City.”
Who hates America, again?
Excellent point!
New York is turning itself into assess Pool without Trump's help. I can't wait to have Mamdani get elected and watch New York collapse on itself those pay the taxes will flee by the hundreds of thousands just like California right to Florida Texas and the Carolinas in New York will have nobody to pay for the free anything
"The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end, Highness.”
We don’t need validation or even recognition from clowns in crowns. Yesterday was, quite simply, GREAT.
I’m posting an analogy tomorrow morning about the cruel absurdity of seeing a doctor who practices in such a fascist way. *update: here you go:
https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/the-fascist-doctor-will-see-you-now
No one, I mean no one, would.
Well, there's the US Navy doctor who regularly violates his Hippocratic Oath to give Dilbert the "A-OK" health reports.
How ignorant you guys are he's not honoring himself but more than 100 million people who love what he's doing right now are honoring him for everything he does except one federal judge who just prohibited Trump from cohen continuing to make Peace deals
There is nothing wrong, basically, with satire, even satire coming from our government, which is the entity most in need of satirizing. But Trump has no right to engage in political attacks on his "enemies," our friends in Congress, especially when funded by the U.S. taxpayer and when accompanied by stolen musical excerpts. By dropping sh*t on us, Trump is ratcheting up "stochastic terrorism," where his threats to harm his "enemies" could end up instigating real terror attacks by his deranged constituents.
Some of Trump's choices call his ongoing maintenance of the dignity of his office into question.
Every frick'n day.
Some?
Dignity of his office, gone, gone, gone
Dignity has departed. He’s been like this since the election although it does seem to be getting worse.
I would suspect he sold is soul to the devil in utero, but he would have been to young to sign a binding contract.
Can you see that's where you constantly get it wrong and that's why you continually lose the battle. He's not threatening his citizen. He's threatening his enemies all the illegals that Biden let in here and the money spent on them instead of Americans one day you guys will wake up because you have no choice or another three years
The disgusting airplane video and monarchical imagery might jar the sensibilities of some of the Magats. Perhaps a few will start to doubt they can consider themselves good people and still support that. Just maybe
I appreciate your optimism. From what I see they are doubling down on his cruelty and malice
His top lieutenants and wormtongues, undoubtedly. But the base is mostly silent. I suspect there’s a great deal of buyer’s remorse going on out there we hear little of. And that’s what they’re really terrified of, quivering in mock rage like frightened, fright-wing bowls of jello without the bowls.
ICTT, I hope you're right. I do not see that in my cohort of retired cops (that is a long way to type my relationship to them, but that word "friends" is no longer applicable in my eyes). They are doubling down and demanding more.
ally, at my rally, there was a ridiculous dude counter protesting talking into some recording device. I couldn't hear what all he was saying, but the 5 cops stood close by to not let anything happen. I saw one of them shake his head, turn away and crack up. NONE of them looked very happy with this dude.
The one police contact at the Redmond demonstration was 3 cops take off in foot pursuit of a vehicle that did an "intentional backfire". They got him!
Trump's only response to every challenge over the past 10 years or so has been to double down on whatever he was doing. Expect more poop videos, outrageous pardons, ignoring court rulings, unjust arrests, and senseless killings. They are all signs that this administration knows they will not win an election, even for dog-catcher. They are getting weaker, we are getting stronger. Time to do some doubling down of our own!
Yes, it kinda went under the radar about Santos commutation,
I would agree. They seem to think all his AI videos are just funny. And those of us that don’t see them that way have no sense of humor (or brains).
Pretty much. I'm going to go fly out the balloon "If he's not a King, why does he portray himself with a crown and "King" lettering?"
Exactly, we want a king rally coming up, betcha