2. Blow up your rep and senator’s phones. Nonstop. Tell all your friends to help. Demand nonstop quorum calls and blanket denial of unanimous consent. Party of No time. Act like McConnell did.
Demand, don’t ask. Republicans fear their base; Democrats do not. Democrats dismiss and micturate on their base.
Make them fear you. Script: “This happens or no money at all to the party. But all to challengers. We primary your ass.” Like that.
Alternate script, which I just used: “Will Senate Democrats, who rightly described this as fascism, put in a tenth of the effort fighting it as segregationist senators did for a century keeping Black people down?”
3. Call every union and demand to know why they are not calling for their membership to physically surround DoL—and all the other agencies.
4. Do not comment on this or any other site with anything other than actual actionable ideas for right now. Resist the urge to say “Gee, I find this state of affairs suboptimal” for the six millionth time. It’s hard, but do it.
I love your fire, Doug, and generally agree with your suggestions. I'd like to add a perspective culled from my years as a counselor and therapist for people who were depressed and discouraged: Along with all the calls and the plain talk (yes!) DO make comments that awaken and encourage people to feel their power and agency, too. Without this, nothing happens.
Absolutely, people need to feel their power. Trump and his minions are turning on the social media firehouse to overwhelm people, but we need to counter this message. It's classic bullying magnified by the Internet.
IF we want to defend democracy, part of the work is engaging in real, respectful debates with those who disagree. We cannot just reject them as "trolls" and block them. These are the people controlling DC now...
We're fighting against THE wealthiest man on Earth, so yes, we will definitely need more money, for years to come, so donating will continue to be a very important way to fight back and win.
To Paul: You are mostly correct but somewhat wrong on what the US has done in the world. We destroyed Iran and unleashed religious radicals. Iraq both invasions and for a short while stationing American troops in the Arabias (ya baby what caused 9/11 we caused 9/11) has destabilized the Middle East as well as Western Europe and where it ends no one can guess. It opened the doors to mass migration into Europe, provoked UK to Brexit, has fostered far right movements in Holland, France, Germany and some Nordic nations. We massively crushed independence movement in Puerto Rico. We toppled the government of tiny Granada. Cuba became our perennial enemy. Yes we assassinated heads of state we didn’t like. We invaded Southeast Asia repeatedly. We are just a kinder face of terrorism. Stop being so Americanisticly naive. We led the world post WWII down an unsavory path. But then again, we only competed with the Soviets for grand leaders of The New Doom Machine. Sorry to not be so supportive as I usually am, Paul.
Hello Katz, I believe you regularly post on HCR's Letters. You overlook the point of Krugman's Pax Americana blog. The Marshall Plan represented a new approach to foreign policy. It was a noble effort to create a better world. You must know that most of the highjackers of 9-11 were from Saudi Arabia. Their motivation was probably more from the Clash of Civilizations. Our paranoia over communism was partially ideological (a threat to our capitalists) and partially military as the Soviets really did want to occupy and control. We can and have done better than the current administration.
Macro versus micro. Greed and fear have led us to do stupid, awful things, but as Krugman points out until two weeks ago we were on the whole a positive world leader.
I find it very frightening that the world seems to be descending back towards forcible land seizures. Some people glory in the ideas of past conquests, but they're fools. Those were terrible times. Literally, millions died and that in a population much smaller than we have now.
The Khmer Rouge killed a quarter of the Cambodian population in their idealistic war to achieve an agrarian nirvana. How many could die in the conquering super hero Elon Musk's attempt to go to Mars?
The Yin and Yang of EVERYTHING...! If you live in the best (envied !) economy in the World...and the PREVIOUS Governments were doing good aide or some good or tries to help...you should kiss the ground. Because if you travelled the World - you would know the GREAT differences in freedoms and treatments. There will ALWAYS be mistakes made - that should go without having to say it. But we WORK on recalibrating to the good constantly...and again and again. Because there will always be those that WANT IT ALL...steal from your house or your business or your Government. And we fight against that. And Now we have a President that thinks he can take (steal) from the World, for the US Golden Age. How do you think that will end ?
Oh I forgot to add that my tax dollars have gone into sending American bombs to kill tens of thousands of women and children in Gaza. Oh ya baby. We are doing the killing dance again. Wise up Paul. We do not walk higher moral grounds.
Black American Muslim guy. Arab racism drives the problem in Greater Israel. There will be NO Palestinian state. In the US, if Blacks said whites have to go and we did terrorism and shot rockets at white civilians and raped white women with knives, who in the world would handwring over the poor poor opressed black people? The Arabs either become Israeli citizens or LEAVE....So Trump is right on this. Those are their only options.
Unfortunately, there isn't just Arab racism driving the conflict in the Middle East, Jewish racism plays a role that is equally important. The solution is ending racism, not giving it all to one racist side and then deporting (= inflicting tremendous suffering and trauma) the other side, after launching a genocide against them. History has shown that genocides and mass deportations only lead to more trauma and hatred rather than somehow, mysteriously, erase racism against the perpetrator. So no, Trump couldn't be more wrong. For now, both sides reject a two-state solution because of the massive racism on both sides. That means that there ARE no simple solutions in the first place. Yes, Israel has the right to defend itself. But a genocide goes way beyond that, and it doesn't solve any problem. Similarly, blind Iranian-Palestinian terrorism doesn't solve the problem either. We need REAL, longterm solutions, not more violence (the only thing Trump ever comes up with).
The question is the smart way to resist colonizer oppression. The Jews are going NOWHERE. The Arab violence is why Israeli voters go with Netanyahu. Hamas is a criminal organization. Arab hate has them about to be removed from Israel. Arab macho is they REJECT the PEACEFUL model black Americans show the world, because we are black and they do not see black people as equal. You help Trump when you chase violent Arabs who reject living in peace in Israel.
now you are doing "both sides." Israel is the dominant player. They are NOT the same. The Arabs can only lose when they resort to violence, yet they insist on the stupid dream of chasing the Jews into the sea. While they dream their violent dream, Trump is about to run them out of Gaza.
this talk and tone you have is Pro-Trump. I see too many Americans thinking they are radically anti-white, running behind violent Arabs who refuse to live in peace with the Jews of Israel. There will be NO 2nd state. The real problem is Arabs there are so racist they refuse to imitate the PEACEFUL black American struggle. If my people blew up civilians and raped white women with knives, you would not for one second have this talk. Please stop your racism?
actually very serious...the present Arab path means there will be on Arabs in Greater Israel any longer. History and those who ignore: Great black progress in the 60s was followed by black overreach in the 70s that destroyed the Movement. Need to say this over and over cause this is where we are not bright. The Jews are going NOWHERE....so the real question is Arab integration into the Jewish state...or they LEAVE.
the black American guy says Martin Luther King and Civil Rights make us a beacon for the world. Did we become a utopia in 1964? (smile) We put forth ideas that made us a shining city on a hill. Of course white low achievers (aka trash) will always hate and resent not having an easy way to be lazy and illiterate and still have good money. We often have two steps back, as in Trump, but before South Africa, whites in the United States of America showed the world an unmatched decency and dignity that is found nowhere else in the world.
LBJ and the Civil Rights Movment is an apex moment in world history. A white southerner, openly racist, fighting for black equality. We live with shockwaves from that period even today.
Bill — your point is — I guess — America’s role in world affairs has been at best imperfect. Your statement we led the “Post-WWII down an unsavory path” ignores the fact that after having defeated virulent Nazism and its allies we faced another extremism dictatorial ideological regime in the USSR that sought to (in the name of Lenin under the murderous dictator Stalin) defeat capitalist democracy. What would you have us do? Communist USSR was a true threat to European democracy and we confronted it. Then the confrontation shifted to Asia with the Korean War. Thousands of American lives were lost trying to repel the advance of Communist there. Perhaps we should ask our South Korean friends how much they would want to be under Kim Jung Un or his father Kim Jung Il before that?
I grant that certain factions — especially on the American right — saw anything “non-Western” as a communist threat—including the anti-Shah revolution in Iran and sucked us into Viet Nam as well as undermining other post-colonial nationalistic efforts. Remnants of colonial exploitation abounded in our own Latin American interventions. Being “soft” on communism became a right wing trope to demonize liberalism in the 50s and 60s. Nothing to be proud of here. But today what we see in Trump and his Heritage handlers is the potential undermining of the very basis of the relative stability fostered by US policies with NATO, the UN and our other allies and our humanitarian programs. Krugman is correct in emphasizing these that are at stake with the idiotic foreign policy of Trump and Co.
I just took a quick scan of posters and Paul attracts mostly male posters while Joyce Vance and Heather Cox enjoys a plethora of female posters. I wonder why?
He said the same garbage last night and many of us corrected him and pointed out that we are women and read all of them. You can't tell by handles, who actually is what.
Ok, so the oligarchs have taken over. And with the blessings and support of the white Christian Nationalists.
We also need to target the WCNs by urging them to tithe as the Bible COMMANDs at least 42 times. And the Bible isn't even nice about it. It says to give your BEST assets to GOD. Your best crops, your best livestock. Let's shame these MOFOs into helping pay for groceries, housing and energy. The WCN churches are just as corrupt as the oligarchs. Make the oligarchs pay for destroying our democracy with SHAME. Point out their greed and lack of willingness to help.
We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars in just the billionaires tithed. And even more if they quit cheating on their taxes.
And also, WTF is going on with the Federal minimum wage. Let's raise it to $15 an hour. Who can live on $7.25 an hour or even $15 an hour. The Federal minimum wage is a cruel joke and every Republican is unwilling to make the oligarchs pay a living wage to their slave workers.
The one problem with minimum wages is the wide disparity between locations in the cost of living. I consider $20 an hour the minimum wage. The pay anyone less is insulting and the people you get will be those you don't want to be around.
I agree wholeheartedly. But it can't just be us. We need to get everyone we know to call. Much of this is enabled by a "silent majority" of normie voters who doomscroll, or just lend passive support for their parties but refuse to engage. Getting them to call anyone and everyone at every level is *essential*.
General strikes can really put the GOP on the defensive. Government shut down via budget . Lastly every day in every way possible get this message out to those who aren’t paying attention. Loudly illustrate , with the use of real people’s lives , just how destructive this insanity is. We who are here reading and commenting are not the prime audience. We are alarmed. We do know. Wake up the sleeping masses of Americans .
We are a nation of 335 million people which means there are a lot more of us than them. I agree with the primary threats to Democrats. They are sleepwalking through this shit storm. One last thing start making stuff up and seeing if it sticks. That's what the Republicans do. Put them on their heels. If it makes you feel uncomfortable wake up to the reality. Republicans don't care and are never held accountable. We have a voice!
French Canadian here: Spot on with everything you’ve written, but at the same time, the man is overwhelmingly cheered when shown on the screen at the Super Bowl. I just can’t reconcile how so many Americans view his policies positively, policies that undermine institutions, starve and abandon the world’s poorest, and ostracize and disrespect their closest ally, which has fought alongside Americans in multiple battles. And these are just a few things that come to mind.
This morning my own province should again be attacked as we produce for about 20B of value in aluminium and steel, given our cheep electricity cost, and export almost everything to the US where, speaking of aluminium only, about 140k US workers transform this to multiple finished parts and products. All the while he is cheered on?
This “populist” authoritarian cancer isn’t just a US problem. That is what the self-destructive Brexit was all about — anti-immigration, anti-free trade. That is why Putin interfered in that referendum just like he did our election in 2016. Boris Johnson was very Trumpian.
If the ongoing damage to the UK economy had not been so great the Brits would not have voted in a Labor government. Even now the power of Nigel Farage’s right wing Reform Party is gaining strength and the Tories are moving in its direction instead of moderating their extremism.
"In the Brexit referendum of 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave by 52 percent to 48 percent, although two of the UK's four countries voted to remain. This was most pronounced in Scotland where 62 percent of Scottish people voted to remain, while in Northern Ireland remain won 56 percent of the votes. The leave vote won in both England and Wales at 53 and 52.5 percent of votes respectively."
Please don't tar the whole of the British Isles with that brush.
If a tree falls in the forest, and no hears it, does it matter? For too many, the adage “out of sight, out of mind” is their mantra. We’re dealing with people who clearly lack imagination, and can only compute what’s in front of them, not what’s heading their way.
Furthermore, these people live in an illusionary world, where only the anointed one can fix it. The low information voters, vote on inflation, and immigrations, as though a president can control inflation.
Bottom line: these people are sheeple. And our biggest problem is living in a nation divided, while we are experiencing a failure of imagination on a grand scale; especially when it comes to the long-term damage that Trump, and MAGA Inc., are laying before our feet.
The planet is indeed failing, or at least that part that we call home sweet home. Cognitive dissonance implies the act of cognition. People are not watching the planet fail; they are watching football games and funny cat videos.
I was a teacher. I don't think it's lack of education. Most people aren't interested in life beyond their local. We relied on expert opinion and now social media, our on-line community says to ignore experts and institutions.
We need real life connections and community. People are lonely, confused, scared and angry.
Except that The MAGA King is of a questionable level of education. Just because his certificate says "Wharton" on it doesn't mean he did all that well there. That's why he won't release his transcript.
Yes, but the ONE silver lining in this catastrophe is that Trump has massively boosted the electoral popularity of Mark Carney before he's even been chosen as Liberal leader.
Make that people in general. Most people aren't interested in much beyond their own small existence. Unfortunately, the trust in experts and institutions has collapsed. Billionaires are now experts on everything. Donald Trump sends water to LA after the fires, even though there are no water lines going across the mountain range from the dams he wanted emptied. The water the MAGA farmers rely on during the summer was flushed to the sea. Still, he's a billionaire and knew what was best.
Bla bla bla. That lazy performative leftist nonsense is so easy and old that it's been fully coopted into the MAGA playbook for their wins in '16 and '24. Call us back when self-professed radical leftists score an actual electoral or legislative victory. In the meantime, stop asking "liberals" to win fights you won't even show up to.
At least "Genocide Joe" professed a two-state solution. He never suggested the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, as Convicted Felon Cat Meat has. And he never suggested that the US simply take over Gaza.
LOL! "Verily", as fake leftists go, you're not remotely credible. Chanting "genocide Joe" in 2025 won't cut it I'm afraid.
Like I said, call us back when you score an actual win (outside the GOP column of course). Voters' verdict on radical leftist candidates was quite clear in 2024: a big fat zero, as usual.
I live in a country where NDP (pseudo-socialist) and Green candidates get elected.
I worked on the Green Party leader's campaign, door-knocking in conservative neighbourhoods. More than once, I heard, "Y'know, I've always voted Conservative. But this time, I'm keeping an open mind."
The Conservative had held that seat for a dozen years, never getting more than 40% of the vote. Elizabeth May got 57% of the vote.
Y'see, there's actually a world out there beyond the US border, where people do things differently. If you could see that far, you just might learn something!
Simple: it’s not a political party, it’s a CULT! I talk to people who used to be MAGA diehards; it’s like leaving Scientology, they gaslight you, threaten you, dox you, and excommunicate you from all your friends.
And the teenagers, and college students are being indoctrinated on social media (social engineering). And when you have an entire “right-wing” media ecosystem defending the indefensible, while the MSM is complicit in “sane-washing” the guy, while denigrating an actual president; then how can you expect a different result?
Bottom line: when you can turn violent insurrectionists into hero’s and hostages, then anything is possible! IMHO!….:)
>>but at the same time, the man is overwhelmingly cheered when shown on the screen at the Super Bowl.<<
What's going on at the commanding heights of governance in the United States is utterly horrible. I'm having a hard time keeping from doom scrolling. But I think we have to be careful about drawing overly broad conclusion from...the cheers of 70,000 people at a football game (in a nation of a third of a >billion< souls). I'd be very surprised indeed if NFL fandom doesn't skew pretty strongly MAGA. Also, we're only just starting week four of the Trump regime. Let's see where we are in six months' time...
Even the vote total doesn't suggest overwhelming support for MAGA. About 70% of American adults did >not< vote for Trump—only about 30% did. And even among those who did vote, Trump failed to get a majority. And his poll numbers are absolutely in the tank right now.
It's all terrible, yes, but only so much can be blamed on that amorphous entity called "The American People." Plenty of the blame* lies squarely at the feet of James Madison. I believe America's constitutional structures are the elephant in the room that don't get enough attention. Madisonianism is a hot mess of inefficiency combined with susceptibility to tyranny. The sooner we switch to a parliamentary model, the better.
*A lot of the blame belongs to the institutional Republican Party, as well. For me, the rudest and scariest awakening I've had over the last ten years is the realization that democracy isn't a self-correcting or self-guiding autopilot system: virtuous elites are very much required. There's not reserve of wisdom held by the common people we can rely on. Only one of our two parties is even remotely concerned with civic virtue, or with the national interest. The other party doesn't engage in even a modicum of candidacy vetting. We have thus lost a vital guardrail. I hope things turn out ok, but the sad reality is history doesn't owe any empire a happy ending.
Yes, but not necessarily as per expectations (at least not mine). There are plenty of high income Democrats these days. I just think the ethos of the NFL (extreme brutality, masculinity, its gladiatorial nature, etc) tends to mean it's, uh...more popular among Republicans than Democrats. I mean, does anybody really doubt that the NFL attracts more working class eyeballs than graduate degree eyeballs in the America of the 2020s?
I don't want to push this too far. Clearly plenty of non-conservatives enjoy the NFL. (Like, much of my family). So I doubt it's 90-10 in favor of GOP/MAGA. But 65-35? That doesn't strike me as a stretch. Obviously entirely speculative on my part...
"For me, the rudest and scariest awakening I've had over the last ten years is the realization that democracy isn't a self-correcting or self-guiding autopilot system: virtuous elites are very much required."
Only the last ten years? I've been observing it (with a sick feeling in my gut) for at least the last forty five!
I found Reagan scary. The Iran contra thing to me was an amazing piece of sabotage. However, here we are with Reagan and Bush redeemed by their restraint.
Oh I wouldn't go that far. Neither redeemed nor restraint apply here. What Reagan and Bush (both Bush's) did was evil, and remains evil. Indeed, what we're seeing now is little more than the culmination of what they started.
The answer is simple: FOX News and RW media. Of the roughly 50% of Americans who vote conservative, 85% get some/most/all of their news from FOX News. Of those, 80% willing live in a fabulist fairly tale almost completely divorced from reality.
Trump/GOP and FOX News work symbiotically. FOX will invent or amplify a lie: "The Haitians in Springfield are eating people's dogs and cats." Trump/GOP then repeats it. Or Trump/GOP will lie: "The DC crash was caused by (incompetent) women/black/gay DEI hires at FAA."; and FOX News will then either reinforce the lie, fail to correct it.
Interesting thing, though. I'm not sure how much Murdoch is in favor of Musk's coup. The Wall Street Journal is reporting on his fiddling in the Treasury. I don't know that FOX likes being sidelined by Twitter/X.
WSJ has to editorialize for the Wall Street crowd, and thus takes a more grown-up tone than FOX News. But, yes, you're right that X is a direct competitor. Good call.
Actually, James is a good guy who left the family fold over Fox News being detrimental to society. His brother Lachlan however, is an ex-surfer brain-dead greed-head, and like his dad will hurt anyone with their propaganda, as long as they make money for it.
He is the chaos character in global politics now. In him, Vlad found his ‘Manchurian Candidate’. I maintain the Cold War is ongoing and tRump is trashing our reputation and isolating us from our Friends/Allies just so his hero Vlad can put the Soviet Union back together with him as Tsar. tRump can take whatever he wants in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump is almost certainly an FSB (KGB) thrall; and has been since the 1990's. I'd not be at surprised if his recent alienation of our two closest allies wasn't Putin's idea. And his offer to Netanyahu to occupy Gaza and expel its 2m inhabitants may delight the Smotrich ultra-Right crazies in Israel; but it's toxic for the Diaspora, and to our relationship with all our other allies.
We know. I don't understand either, & I was born here. Makes no sense to me. I have, after 8 yrs of watching this phenomenon, given up trying to make sense of it. All we can do at this point is try to blunt the impact & hold out. On behalf of sane Americans, I apologize.
It is evident that DT & his handlers don’t have a basic understanding of economics.
Neither does the average trumpkin.
I don’t know how to wake them up.
Maybe repackaging reality à la Zelensky, who lets Trump & company know that leaving Ukraine’s resources in occupied territory controled by Russia is not a good idea.
Just wait until the price of MAGA's Natty Lite and high class Busch Light 30 packs go up because the price of the cans will go up! Oh wait - that will be Biden's fault!
That's discouraging. Media has a lot to answer for in the amount of misinformation and outright fantasies that swirl around infecting otherwise normal folks.
Yeah, if you figure it out please let me know. I think a lot of people have been deluded into thinking Trump knows what he is doing on the economic front. The system does need a lot of cleaning up but this?
Viktor Orbin was there and Trump 1 invited the Russian "delegates" into the White House...someone is pulling his puppet strings....when will it show up ?
So far, court rulings seem to be the only way to make any headway on anything with the Trump administration, because the GOP who controls congress, will not do their jobs.
It keeps being mentioned on the news, that if Congress wanted to cut, they can easily do so, with this simple majority budget resolution process they are about to use to cut taxes again. They do not actually need Musk to be getting into any computer systems and closing agencies.
Congress has this power and the GOP have control, if they would use it. Thus, there is no reason to assume that Musk is simply "looking for waste," not that what he could find would even come close to reducing our deficit. Even the entire USAID budget was only about 1% of our spending and they are vital and provide millions with life saving food and medicines.
Are they really willing to kill millions of people to try to justify tax cuts mostly for billionaires, once again?
It seems so.
The GOP congress, who are in control and have the power to send our young folks into war to be potentially killed, can't even stand up for democracy by simply doing their jobs. They can't stand up for starving children and millions who will now die because of Trump and Musk.
They are behaving like slime, in my view.
One wonders if agency computer access by Musk is needed to "cook the books" which reminds me of a recent Trump fraud cases involving nonsensical numbers for valuations.
There is precedent for this type of behavior as a way to line one's own pockets from the man in charge. Elect a fraudster and just maybe you will get fraud. Wasn't the more recent case the 4th fraud case he lost in just over a decade? Remember Trump U and the Trump Foundation?
However, it is unclear if the Trump administration is even complying with these court orders that have been issued, or if they are already simply operating not only outside the bounds of the law, but completely above it with no intent to stop.
If so, congress would need to act, and the GOP who control it are 100% spineless.
They are treating their jobs like Gollum treated his "Precious" ring.
It seems that the Trump administration might end up throwing the rule of law out the window, and if so, very few businesses will want to set up shop here, or remain here, if there are other alternatives to move to.
Also, no one wants to have too many trade ties and do business with a nation considered unreliable and unfriendly where court remedies may be in question, as well.
Russia's economy is not very large for a reason, and is much smaller than that of the state of CA despite its large geographic size.
I wonder if Trump's 1% who prop him up realize they are dooming a lot of their own wealth and businesses by supporting him?
People and businesses may try to flee this nation in large numbers as the economy falters.
They can cut spending, but if GDP falters and shrinks, revenue will be decimated along with the decline (and add in tax cuts to this) and the deficit will grow no matter what they do, due to lost revenue.
If they keep cutting as a remedy for this loss and make us an unfriendly place to do business, the economy will keep shrinking and the deficit will keep growing.
I think this is why Trump wants a big reconciliation bill because it can pass with a simple majority in the Senate. This is how the GOP passed the tax cuts last time and then they complained when Biden and the Dems wanted to use the same process to pass BBB. The hypocrisy is pretty think, but they assume their voting base won't know the difference, and do not know how any of this works and sadly they are often correct. But yes, one can also see the end to the filibuster, as well.
I think the more sociopathic, “conservative” wealthy elite, though, don’t view the US’s collapse as a catastrophe; they’ve got well constructed moats and a collapse would be a great buying opportunity.
What they do not realize, but may soon, is that their wealth comes from a thriving economy which creates, and is created by, the purchasing power of millions of Americans.
They could buy up all the houses and find that people can no longer afford the rent and as they suck up all of a paycheck for rents, other businesses will not have purchasers, etc.
Even if they are in the business of selling higher dollar items, their own customers, the upper classes and upper middle class, derive their incomes from the economic activity at the middle and bottom of the economy, and so on.
People forget that an economy is not zero sum and that dollars are place holders so we do not have to barter (Krugman's straw hats and coconut example). The "movement" of those dollars simply "represents" all the economic activity taking place and the speed and it is the overall level of activity that is the income and expenditures of millions of people and that then represents the size of our economy and its ability to also generate wealth.
Thus, an economy can expand and contract like hot air molecules bouncing around inside a hot air balloon expands a balloon.
Dry up the ability of people to consume due to higher prices and tariffs and cutting aid to the poor, and the whole economy shrinks and cools and slows activity. Deflated economy.
Trump and the GOP seem to be poised to shrink our economy big time. The wealthy few spend the smallest percentage of their incomes in the economy and they are also "few" so they can never make up for this, and they tend to park their wealth in already created assets that are not a part of GDP and do not create jobs. Thus things slow. GDP shrinks and so does revenue and thus deficits will grow and so will the debt/GDP ratio.
One reason we have a progressive tax system is to keep things moving and the majority able to spend and drive the economy and get what they need to survive, etc. Make things tougher on these folks and even corporate profits will shrink and also the middle class, as well, and the whole economic balloon shrinks and stagnates.
They will be drying up the fountain and its ability to cycle as the pump at the bottom starts to run dry and as its activity and ability to cycle economic activity is reduced and jobs are lost.
A downward spiral.
If people can't spend, businesses will not want to produce, and this drying up works its way up the chain - as the dominoes fall - we get recessions and depressions.
I wonder about the normal business community. This is fantastic for Musk and some tech bros; though they've got to be worried about his ability to crush them now that he's taken over the Ministry of Magic. Bezo's Blue Origins...toast. But what about all of the other American businesses? I know they see tax cuts, but business requires rule of law and predictability. That's gone now.
As Andrew Jackson pointed out, the courts have no troops. The only mechanism for throttling presidents is removing them from office through the impeachment process. No Congress has ever done that, and this one certainly won’t. This Congress won’t even dare to ask FOTUS to enforce the laws it has passed.
I wonder if the crisis could ultimately result in a military coup. I'm not suggesting it would necessarily be desirable, but if the whole governmental system collapsed then I could see it happening. Trump under house arrest at Margo-Largo. Install a popular Hollywood celebrity to serve as a non partisan president. Lift tariffs in return for foreign recognition. Give some freebies to the public to gain their trust. Let things cool off. Americans seem to have a high regard for their military and might well accept generals promising to restore constitutional rule. Of course, the military might not want to give up power once they had it.
Are the millions of children starving and in need of life saving aid "waste?"
This is how Trump and Musk seem to see it. I see intentional genocide. If we wanted to reduce our spending so others could fill the gap that would have been different, but that is not what they did. Thus, people will die, and they know it.
Glad you used Humpty Dumpty as an example of where this will take us. I used that reference a lot when chump was 45. The reference is still appropriate, but alas a tad too late.
JD Trump #45 was judged, by a distinguished panel of historians/political scientists the worst president in American history. Now this Humpty Dumpty—already a mess of scrambled eggs—has, as #47, has surpassed #45 as the worst, with a
Well put. For years I have been saying, “ when something crumbles, it crumbles from within.” America is collectively walking down a very dark path and could crumble. But, I believe, we ARE the government. Fight back, good people. Boycott, get out in the streets, call your and other people’s representatives. I , for one, am not going down without one helluva fight. Buoy good people and their efforts to do the same.
As an Italian, I'm frustraded in witnessing all this destruction in the US. But things were very much predictable before the election day. So what ? Did american people really wanted all this to happen or were they blinded by misinformation ? both scenarios are quite ugly and require a deep revision on how we (free democratic world) see America and how to save our democracies from far-right tsunami !
Trump did not campaign on most of what he is doing now. In facf, he distances himself from “Project 25,” a booklet of policies for his hypotheticL future administration written by his supporters, and the media did not press him on this.
It doesn’t matter though. Many Trump supporters assume, after the fact, that whatever Trump is doing must be smart because he is doing it.
Massimo I’m afraid we are at a point where social media propaganda, greed, stupidity and fear have combined to create a poision that has infected our body politic.
And I am damn sick and tired of acts like the ‘Save Act’ being presented as though we have done something wrong. In fact everything is presented with this clever slant - using the premise of freedom through the creation of an imaginary problem to destroy a freedom.
American democracy has fallen because its entrenched cult of money gave oligarchs the means to buy politicians, elections, Supreme Court judges, and the tools for unchecked manipulation of information. Unlike the USA (where congressional Republicans have made sure that social media misinformation and disinformation cannot be studied, flagged or fact checked, let alone prosecuted), Europe has the regulatory framework and socio-cultural traditions to fight this rise of oligarchy and information warfare, but that will not be enough. The EU may need to build itself as the United States of Europe in order to resist hostile empires, like the USA did in the 18th century. Let's hope that being more clearly under attack from abroad helps Europeans focus their minds and "build a more perfect union". Speaking from Canada, we will need you badly.
100% agree. Europe may be the last democratic refuge and it needs to wake up to this new reality. Fortunately it is rearming, but must also confront the fascist threat within its own ranks.
Mis information jammed over the "internet air waves " for four ++ years AND Now even worse...the main stream media is hiding his acts....they too are afraid, since the ABC lawsuit .... Trump New York mob tactic still working. But it's growing more diabolical, we just saw on Airforce One the larger plan..renaming AND the taking of Sovereign lands is now, Adolf Trump. Very UGLY and also true. Immobilize, gather, nurture ! and move , on your American values today, and every day, until victory. The alternative is unthinkable.
Longer than that. Right wing radio has been going strong since the 80s. Wherever you drove in rural areas your only option was Rush Limbaugh and his fellow travelers.
The fusion of entertainment with fearmongering and anger over decades has been a potent weapon. The educated have totally ignored it, until now.
It’s a mix of an unpopular incumbent, inflation fatigue, and a last minute replacement that really couldn’t give people a strong non contrarian reason to vote for her other than she is better than Trump (which should be sufficient for a sane person but apparently not enough for many voters.)
The Biden administration basically produced policies that were compromises by committee. It didn’t provide strong singular focuses or easy to digest narratives. If we look at the waffling on Ukraine aid and restrictions we placed on their use of weapons, it is a prime example. We should have been training Ukrainians on F16s on day one of the invasion.
America's moral authority . . . is gone because we elected a completely amoral imbecile. His immorality is legendary. His top sidekick is also completely amoral. And his entire political Party which now controls the government is made up of amoral individuals and groups.
Can't have moral authority when your leadership is utterly lacking in morals!
Which means what, do you think? That they're focused on the unborn? Their compassion for the unborn is such that they must reluctantly entirely control women's choices over their own bodies?
Not reluctantly at all. Indeed, they're downright enthusiastic about sacrificing a woman's life to save a fetus - or even an embryo for that matter. But that's really just the beginning. They want to eliminate all birth control.
Where have we seen this movie before? Oh wait; tariffs (raise revenue), isolationism, rise of the far-right, rising inflation, and decoupling ourselves from the world order.
Right, it was post WW1-mid-20’s; another republican was president, and we started the Great Depression. Then, because of our incompetent president, and “know nothing” Congress; the tariffs and isolationism made it worse!
Mark my words, by 2030, if we stay on this trajectory, we won’t exist as nation anymore. This division during the next economic downturn, with the debt we have, and current account deficits that will exceed $ 2.5 trillion; should Trump get his tax cuts, will be our final death kneel.
America first, is America alone. And America alone is a lonely place; unless your warmonger!
And as Napoleon famously said, “never interfere with your adversary, when they are in the process of destroying themselves.”
Not only, one fears, will China fill the voids which the new president is creating abroad, but he may also succeed in weakening the unity of the United States. How much longer will right-minded Americans put up with this behavior before they look for alternatives?
China currently has a foreign aid budget of $5bn annually. While ours has gone from $60bn to close to zero. Well, except for the $5bn we give Israel + Egypt.
I don’t have any alternatives specifically in mind, except that I would not advocate armed struggle. But some US states might consider secession, possibly joining other such states to form an alternative grouping. Maybe Canada would be interested in a North American Union of independent states governed by a common legal and economic framework?
Personally I think the courts & persistant resistance by the Democrats accompanied by inevitable defection by saner Republicans will eventually be very effective.
China is positioned to do well out of the void Trump and his followers are eagerly creating. It probably won't pick up all the pieces the US is so eagerly dropping, but it has the major advantage that it has no imperialist history outside of Asia. Africans and South Americans don't hate them, and some of those countries were only able to get e.g. Covid vaccines *from China*.
Frankly, I wish China well. There are plenty of problems with their regime, and I certainly wouldn't want to be e.g. Tibetan. But those who are not their neighbours may find them easier to live with, even as "the world's sole superpower", than the US has been, let alone what the US is becoming.
Trump and musk will create such a mess! To try to save their sorry asses they’ll have to create a big war, as a decoy, with the support of the billionaires media, as usual. Just wait a bit more. Around the second term? Get rid of these fascists pdq.
Even Republicans are turning against Musk according to a recent YouGov/Economist poll. The media should be shining a spotlight on it so Trump will see Musk is weakening him:
“GOP support for Musk influence with Trump falls dramatically”
No. Musk doesn't have the cult of personality that Trump does. Musk is far more vulnerable because he isn't likeable at all. He's way too far out there. Six years ago he was a Democrat. He's not a 2025 MAGA, he's out on his own with his own weird agenda.
I think he's more dangerous because he cares nothing about people beyond a vague sense of "humanity" which is a species like himself.
The Christian Nationalists, though I stridently disagree with them on many, many things...aren't interested in sacrificing most of us to go to Mars.
"Pax Americana" was propaganda. Rex Americana is closer to reality. This piece sounds awfully NYTy, Paul. We honored our agreements? Not really. We tried hard to make sure no one knew they were subject of the US? They knew. So that's not equality. At all. America is a bully. Plain and simple.
What they're doing is treasonous, illegal, and reckless. But if Pax Americana was ever real, that time is long over. The American Empire has overseen and/or sponsored more bloodshed than any time in history. The American Empire undermined democracy worldwide and any attempt by a citizenry to "elect" people-centered governments was suppressed.
We were the bad guys, Paul. We consolidated power and then bullied the world into our likeness: greedy, materialistic, and beholden to an economic system that intentionally keeps the poors poor while the rich grow richer by exploiting labor and resources.
I don’t dislike it. It’s irrelevant. I’ve already said myself that my country has done horrible things. You aren’t a serious person is what gets in my craw. You’re trolling. Find a better hobby.
There are probably 100 things that prove your point unserious, but I’ll just write one that has saved millions of lives in the last 50 or so years: vaccinations.
AMERICA FALLING ON ITS SELF-INTEREST AND HUMANITARIAN SWORD
Trust and respect are essential in any long-term, two-way self-interest relationship. This is as true with humans as it is for nations.
Even in imperial Rome, there was trust in the inviolability of Roman citizenship, despite the occasional exception.
As a Foreign Service Officer, I was proud to represent the United States of America. We certainly were not perfect, but, on balance, were were honorable and reliable on the world scene.
At. 91, I vividly remember post-WW II. Unscarred by battles, America had over 45% of the world’s GDP. Selfishly, we launched the Marshall Plan to resurrect post-war Europe. The cost, as a % of US GDP, was extraordinary.
In more recent years, we have used a minuscule amount of our GDP in USAID for many countries globally. Whether it is to partner with health, educational, or other bottom-up operations, USAID has been a major and dependable’ soft’ development source for diverse countries.
The breakthrough in ongoing health programs is matched by the provision of food to starving populations. While the Chinese had been leaders in ‘hard’ development projects, these have been sharply reduced in recent years. By contrast, our ‘soft’ development projects, linking with thousands of local nonprofits, remain a win-win for giver and receiver.
Stupid and asinine are my words to describe the Musk (and then Trump) assassination of USAID and virtually all of its own going projects.
IT IS FAR EASIER TO DESTROY THAN TO CREATE, AS DEMONSTRATED BY TRUMP/MUSK.
What has been done with USAID globally is mirrored in the killing of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
What possibly could be wrong with an organization that has recovered, from the financial sector, $20,000,000,000 for over 30,000,000 American consumers in refunds and cancelled debts?
Recent settlements for ‘bait and switch’ include $3 billion with TD Bank and $2 billion from Wells Fargo.
In the Musk Stormtrooper Blitzkrieg, the killing of the CFPB so Farr is the greatest loss to the American consumer. The loss is measurable and despicable.
Bravo, Keith. You really hit the two most immediate disgraceful cuts to our soft power and our purses. Given that we are “commanded” by two sociopaths it’s hardly surprising. May everyone affected protest loudly and immediately.
A while ago all senior federal government managers were sent a very detailed survey on their program/ policy preferences. Not surprisingly, the military generals responses were often quite different than non military managers. But there was one area of striking agreement. They all agreed by wide majorities that spending money on foreign aid was far more beneficial for gaining allies and preventing wars than spending money on the military.
Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?
each other through social media propaganda, money laundering, direct corrupt investment ( buying real estate, development deals, pump and dump stock fraud, licensee deals, money laundering, crypto hiding, meme coin, etc). Doge is nothing g new, even the name goes back to Venice. The Doge of Venice was the supreme leader.
I think there’s something to this. They have become so disconnected to the rest of us that they are becoming more than a club. And Putin, along with China, has been sucking them in.
“Billionaires of the world have more in common with each other, than with everyday Americans.”-Tim Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom
Autocracy Inc. Anne Applebaum
The Paradise and Panama Papers
Red Notice Bill Browder
Corruption in America Sarah Chayse
Offshore and Moneyland
And so many more…. We have authors, researchers, journalists who describe a whole other world most Americans are totally oblivious to. Mueller warned us 20 years ago.
You’re right, we are so unaware of what’s been happening. Whatever news we’d get was an oligarch “falling” out a window or a monster yacht being impounded.
Excellent summary Professor Krugman! After the Great Depression, the Smoot-Hawley “collapse of International Trade,” and the travesty of World War II, we had the “Marshall Plan which was a large aid program designed to help both our allies and our former enemies get back on their feet. At its peak in 1949, the U.S. government spent about 17 percent of its budget on foreign aid.”………”these days aid is only around 1 percent of the budget. But humanitarian aid to other nations is still a vital part of U.S. diplomacy”……….and it is very
INEXPENSIVE and very EFFECTIVE……..”SOFT POWER and is an important role in supporting America’s moral authority, in maintaining our image as a mostly benevolent power.” Very little waste here and currently mostly coming from American farmers!
“Beyond providing aid, America set out to create an international trading system that would foster widespread prosperity. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed in 1947, set up rules designed to foster gradual tariff reductions and block any reversion to protectionism. These rules constrained the United States the same way they constrained everyone else — that is, we deliberately chose not to rig the system in our own favor.”
This eventually became the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and became more involved in “SHORT RUN” balance of payments problems worldwide and between countries’ monetary systems.
Also shortly after GATT there was the formation of the WORLD BANK where the emphasis was on and continues to focus on, “LONG RUN” development projects especially involving developing countries.
We should identify, separate out and explore the connects between the WORLD BANK and USAID………including for “developing countries’ projects” and “humanitarian aid.” There is probably a significant SHORT RUN and LONG RUN difference here is explore as well including involving budgets!
OK, what to do:
1. Join https://indivisible.org/.
2. Blow up your rep and senator’s phones. Nonstop. Tell all your friends to help. Demand nonstop quorum calls and blanket denial of unanimous consent. Party of No time. Act like McConnell did.
Demand, don’t ask. Republicans fear their base; Democrats do not. Democrats dismiss and micturate on their base.
Make them fear you. Script: “This happens or no money at all to the party. But all to challengers. We primary your ass.” Like that.
Alternate script, which I just used: “Will Senate Democrats, who rightly described this as fascism, put in a tenth of the effort fighting it as segregationist senators did for a century keeping Black people down?”
3. Call every union and demand to know why they are not calling for their membership to physically surround DoL—and all the other agencies.
4. Do not comment on this or any other site with anything other than actual actionable ideas for right now. Resist the urge to say “Gee, I find this state of affairs suboptimal” for the six millionth time. It’s hard, but do it.
I love your fire, Doug, and generally agree with your suggestions. I'd like to add a perspective culled from my years as a counselor and therapist for people who were depressed and discouraged: Along with all the calls and the plain talk (yes!) DO make comments that awaken and encourage people to feel their power and agency, too. Without this, nothing happens.
Agreed! And there are plenty other useful things to do, I’m sure: this was just a start.
Breaking through the learned helplessness is paramount.
Absolutely, people need to feel their power. Trump and his minions are turning on the social media firehouse to overwhelm people, but we need to counter this message. It's classic bullying magnified by the Internet.
Donate to organizations that are suing the administration.
Good idea. Anyone have any links?
ACLU for one. Easy to Google, or search in your favorite app.
The last email I got from Public Citizen said they'd filed 15 lawsuits against the regime. Here's a link to their donations page: https://www.citizen.org/article/public-citizen-and-public-citizen-foundation/
Human Rights Campaign: https://www.hrc.org/
Block the troll. We have work to do.
IF we want to defend democracy, part of the work is engaging in real, respectful debates with those who disagree. We cannot just reject them as "trolls" and block them. These are the people controlling DC now...
We're fighting against THE wealthiest man on Earth, so yes, we will definitely need more money, for years to come, so donating will continue to be a very important way to fight back and win.
To Paul: You are mostly correct but somewhat wrong on what the US has done in the world. We destroyed Iran and unleashed religious radicals. Iraq both invasions and for a short while stationing American troops in the Arabias (ya baby what caused 9/11 we caused 9/11) has destabilized the Middle East as well as Western Europe and where it ends no one can guess. It opened the doors to mass migration into Europe, provoked UK to Brexit, has fostered far right movements in Holland, France, Germany and some Nordic nations. We massively crushed independence movement in Puerto Rico. We toppled the government of tiny Granada. Cuba became our perennial enemy. Yes we assassinated heads of state we didn’t like. We invaded Southeast Asia repeatedly. We are just a kinder face of terrorism. Stop being so Americanisticly naive. We led the world post WWII down an unsavory path. But then again, we only competed with the Soviets for grand leaders of The New Doom Machine. Sorry to not be so supportive as I usually am, Paul.
Hello Katz, I believe you regularly post on HCR's Letters. You overlook the point of Krugman's Pax Americana blog. The Marshall Plan represented a new approach to foreign policy. It was a noble effort to create a better world. You must know that most of the highjackers of 9-11 were from Saudi Arabia. Their motivation was probably more from the Clash of Civilizations. Our paranoia over communism was partially ideological (a threat to our capitalists) and partially military as the Soviets really did want to occupy and control. We can and have done better than the current administration.
Trying to understand paradoxes, like how the U.S. is both a force for good and has done atrocious things, requires critical thought.
Macro versus micro. Greed and fear have led us to do stupid, awful things, but as Krugman points out until two weeks ago we were on the whole a positive world leader.
I find it very frightening that the world seems to be descending back towards forcible land seizures. Some people glory in the ideas of past conquests, but they're fools. Those were terrible times. Literally, millions died and that in a population much smaller than we have now.
The Khmer Rouge killed a quarter of the Cambodian population in their idealistic war to achieve an agrarian nirvana. How many could die in the conquering super hero Elon Musk's attempt to go to Mars?
The Yin and Yang of EVERYTHING...! If you live in the best (envied !) economy in the World...and the PREVIOUS Governments were doing good aide or some good or tries to help...you should kiss the ground. Because if you travelled the World - you would know the GREAT differences in freedoms and treatments. There will ALWAYS be mistakes made - that should go without having to say it. But we WORK on recalibrating to the good constantly...and again and again. Because there will always be those that WANT IT ALL...steal from your house or your business or your Government. And we fight against that. And Now we have a President that thinks he can take (steal) from the World, for the US Golden Age. How do you think that will end ?
It will end with extinction.
"Drill baby, drill! Fuck global warming."
"Let Big Agra keep fattening up livestock with antibiotics! If people die, it's the sacrifice for maximizing profit"
"Another pandemic? We don't need a vaccine, and we don't need masks, let the poor and weak croak!"
"We need more nukes!"
"Autonomous everything - especially weapons! Maybe they'll turn on us, maybe they won't."
Yes. I think some insights emerge if, when reading it, one replaces Krugman's references to (American) "moral authority" simply with "money."
I think he meant to cover those in the "Were we always the good guys? Of course not" paragraph where the U.S. fell short of it stated ideals.
Oh I forgot to add that my tax dollars have gone into sending American bombs to kill tens of thousands of women and children in Gaza. Oh ya baby. We are doing the killing dance again. Wise up Paul. We do not walk higher moral grounds.
Black American Muslim guy. Arab racism drives the problem in Greater Israel. There will be NO Palestinian state. In the US, if Blacks said whites have to go and we did terrorism and shot rockets at white civilians and raped white women with knives, who in the world would handwring over the poor poor opressed black people? The Arabs either become Israeli citizens or LEAVE....So Trump is right on this. Those are their only options.
Unfortunately, there isn't just Arab racism driving the conflict in the Middle East, Jewish racism plays a role that is equally important. The solution is ending racism, not giving it all to one racist side and then deporting (= inflicting tremendous suffering and trauma) the other side, after launching a genocide against them. History has shown that genocides and mass deportations only lead to more trauma and hatred rather than somehow, mysteriously, erase racism against the perpetrator. So no, Trump couldn't be more wrong. For now, both sides reject a two-state solution because of the massive racism on both sides. That means that there ARE no simple solutions in the first place. Yes, Israel has the right to defend itself. But a genocide goes way beyond that, and it doesn't solve any problem. Similarly, blind Iranian-Palestinian terrorism doesn't solve the problem either. We need REAL, longterm solutions, not more violence (the only thing Trump ever comes up with).
The question is the smart way to resist colonizer oppression. The Jews are going NOWHERE. The Arab violence is why Israeli voters go with Netanyahu. Hamas is a criminal organization. Arab hate has them about to be removed from Israel. Arab macho is they REJECT the PEACEFUL model black Americans show the world, because we are black and they do not see black people as equal. You help Trump when you chase violent Arabs who reject living in peace in Israel.
now you are doing "both sides." Israel is the dominant player. They are NOT the same. The Arabs can only lose when they resort to violence, yet they insist on the stupid dream of chasing the Jews into the sea. While they dream their violent dream, Trump is about to run them out of Gaza.
this talk and tone you have is Pro-Trump. I see too many Americans thinking they are radically anti-white, running behind violent Arabs who refuse to live in peace with the Jews of Israel. There will be NO 2nd state. The real problem is Arabs there are so racist they refuse to imitate the PEACEFUL black American struggle. If my people blew up civilians and raped white women with knives, you would not for one second have this talk. Please stop your racism?
actually very serious...the present Arab path means there will be on Arabs in Greater Israel any longer. History and those who ignore: Great black progress in the 60s was followed by black overreach in the 70s that destroyed the Movement. Need to say this over and over cause this is where we are not bright. The Jews are going NOWHERE....so the real question is Arab integration into the Jewish state...or they LEAVE.
the black American guy says Martin Luther King and Civil Rights make us a beacon for the world. Did we become a utopia in 1964? (smile) We put forth ideas that made us a shining city on a hill. Of course white low achievers (aka trash) will always hate and resent not having an easy way to be lazy and illiterate and still have good money. We often have two steps back, as in Trump, but before South Africa, whites in the United States of America showed the world an unmatched decency and dignity that is found nowhere else in the world.
What do you mean by "before South Africa, whites in the United States of America showed the world an unmatched decency and dignity"?
LBJ and the Civil Rights Movment is an apex moment in world history. A white southerner, openly racist, fighting for black equality. We live with shockwaves from that period even today.
Bill — your point is — I guess — America’s role in world affairs has been at best imperfect. Your statement we led the “Post-WWII down an unsavory path” ignores the fact that after having defeated virulent Nazism and its allies we faced another extremism dictatorial ideological regime in the USSR that sought to (in the name of Lenin under the murderous dictator Stalin) defeat capitalist democracy. What would you have us do? Communist USSR was a true threat to European democracy and we confronted it. Then the confrontation shifted to Asia with the Korean War. Thousands of American lives were lost trying to repel the advance of Communist there. Perhaps we should ask our South Korean friends how much they would want to be under Kim Jung Un or his father Kim Jung Il before that?
I grant that certain factions — especially on the American right — saw anything “non-Western” as a communist threat—including the anti-Shah revolution in Iran and sucked us into Viet Nam as well as undermining other post-colonial nationalistic efforts. Remnants of colonial exploitation abounded in our own Latin American interventions. Being “soft” on communism became a right wing trope to demonize liberalism in the 50s and 60s. Nothing to be proud of here. But today what we see in Trump and his Heritage handlers is the potential undermining of the very basis of the relative stability fostered by US policies with NATO, the UN and our other allies and our humanitarian programs. Krugman is correct in emphasizing these that are at stake with the idiotic foreign policy of Trump and Co.
Thank you Doug.
I just took a quick scan of posters and Paul attracts mostly male posters while Joyce Vance and Heather Cox enjoys a plethora of female posters. I wonder why?
Blocked. We have work to do. Ignore the divider-trolls.
You block people who question the dominant paradigm?
I only block people who are rude and abusive, while not really contributing to the discussion.
I think @Bill Katz asked a legitimate question.
He said the same thing yesterday, and many of us women spoke up and said they read all of them. It's some weird bee he has in his bonnet.
Is there a way to block individual posters on substack?
Click on their name. Tap the ellipsis in the corner of that page. You can mute and block from there. Don’t feed the trolls, and limit their reach.
Thank you. I didn't know how to block the trolls and I just got that last one.
He said the same garbage last night and many of us corrected him and pointed out that we are women and read all of them. You can't tell by handles, who actually is what.
I dunno, Bill. I'm female & prefer Paul to Heather. Personal preference, word choice . . .? Who cares & what difference does it make?
Same. but generally read both, and Robert Reich.
Really Bill? What is your purpose today? So testy…
Go forth and spread the word! All I’m doing here; nothing special about me!
Ok, so the oligarchs have taken over. And with the blessings and support of the white Christian Nationalists.
We also need to target the WCNs by urging them to tithe as the Bible COMMANDs at least 42 times. And the Bible isn't even nice about it. It says to give your BEST assets to GOD. Your best crops, your best livestock. Let's shame these MOFOs into helping pay for groceries, housing and energy. The WCN churches are just as corrupt as the oligarchs. Make the oligarchs pay for destroying our democracy with SHAME. Point out their greed and lack of willingness to help.
We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars in just the billionaires tithed. And even more if they quit cheating on their taxes.
And also, WTF is going on with the Federal minimum wage. Let's raise it to $15 an hour. Who can live on $7.25 an hour or even $15 an hour. The Federal minimum wage is a cruel joke and every Republican is unwilling to make the oligarchs pay a living wage to their slave workers.
It's a nice idea. Unfortunately, it won't work on them because they have no shame. They're psychopaths.
The one problem with minimum wages is the wide disparity between locations in the cost of living. I consider $20 an hour the minimum wage. The pay anyone less is insulting and the people you get will be those you don't want to be around.
I agree wholeheartedly. But it can't just be us. We need to get everyone we know to call. Much of this is enabled by a "silent majority" of normie voters who doomscroll, or just lend passive support for their parties but refuse to engage. Getting them to call anyone and everyone at every level is *essential*.
https://publis324843.substack.com/p/focus-on-the-normies?r=7av8t
General strikes can really put the GOP on the defensive. Government shut down via budget . Lastly every day in every way possible get this message out to those who aren’t paying attention. Loudly illustrate , with the use of real people’s lives , just how destructive this insanity is. We who are here reading and commenting are not the prime audience. We are alarmed. We do know. Wake up the sleeping masses of Americans .
AGREED...I also think the Union's will be STRONG Force and intricate part of the success of regaining America !!!!
ZU BEFEHL, MEIN KOMMANDANT! Also, classy use of "micturate" (to avoid getting censored, I suspect, for use of the vulgar synonym).
Honestly, some words deserve a higher profile. You look to send ‘em into the game. 😊
We are a nation of 335 million people which means there are a lot more of us than them. I agree with the primary threats to Democrats. They are sleepwalking through this shit storm. One last thing start making stuff up and seeing if it sticks. That's what the Republicans do. Put them on their heels. If it makes you feel uncomfortable wake up to the reality. Republicans don't care and are never held accountable. We have a voice!
Remember how easy it was to create a successful meme that Vance had carnal relations with a sofa...maybe we can do that for more important matters.
Maybe because he looks like carnal couch molester.
Yes to "actual actionable ideas for right now." It's what my Substack, uniquely, is all about. Here's today's:
To getting organized
Can you see a Trump dump?
https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/to-getting-organized
Please don’t tell people what to write or not write. Thank you for your opinion.
Great. What are you doing? What do you recommend?
Doug, here are some of the groups that I support at the national level:
ACLU - Guardian of Liberty since 2001
HRC - Human Rights Campaign since 2007
NAACP supporter
Giffords PAC supporter since its inception
Public Citizen - new supporter
All good (I support some of them) but we need to do things that stop Musk now.
Yes, actually, fucko, but you’re here to troll, so block et vous. The adults are talking.
French Canadian here: Spot on with everything you’ve written, but at the same time, the man is overwhelmingly cheered when shown on the screen at the Super Bowl. I just can’t reconcile how so many Americans view his policies positively, policies that undermine institutions, starve and abandon the world’s poorest, and ostracize and disrespect their closest ally, which has fought alongside Americans in multiple battles. And these are just a few things that come to mind.
This morning my own province should again be attacked as we produce for about 20B of value in aluminium and steel, given our cheep electricity cost, and export almost everything to the US where, speaking of aluminium only, about 140k US workers transform this to multiple finished parts and products. All the while he is cheered on?
Many Americans are not very smart.
This “populist” authoritarian cancer isn’t just a US problem. That is what the self-destructive Brexit was all about — anti-immigration, anti-free trade. That is why Putin interfered in that referendum just like he did our election in 2016. Boris Johnson was very Trumpian.
If the ongoing damage to the UK economy had not been so great the Brits would not have voted in a Labor government. Even now the power of Nigel Farage’s right wing Reform Party is gaining strength and the Tories are moving in its direction instead of moderating their extremism.
At least Johnson didn't let a maniac loose to destroy the Treasury.
"In the Brexit referendum of 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave by 52 percent to 48 percent, although two of the UK's four countries voted to remain. This was most pronounced in Scotland where 62 percent of Scottish people voted to remain, while in Northern Ireland remain won 56 percent of the votes. The leave vote won in both England and Wales at 53 and 52.5 percent of votes respectively."
Please don't tar the whole of the British Isles with that brush.
I also wonder at the cognitive dissonance between people watching the planet fail yet never even acknowledging it.
If a tree falls in the forest, and no hears it, does it matter? For too many, the adage “out of sight, out of mind” is their mantra. We’re dealing with people who clearly lack imagination, and can only compute what’s in front of them, not what’s heading their way.
Furthermore, these people live in an illusionary world, where only the anointed one can fix it. The low information voters, vote on inflation, and immigrations, as though a president can control inflation.
Bottom line: these people are sheeple. And our biggest problem is living in a nation divided, while we are experiencing a failure of imagination on a grand scale; especially when it comes to the long-term damage that Trump, and MAGA Inc., are laying before our feet.
They believe in sweeping reality under the rug.
Your handle fits the situation perfectly.
Well said!…:)
The planet is indeed failing, or at least that part that we call home sweet home. Cognitive dissonance implies the act of cognition. People are not watching the planet fail; they are watching football games and funny cat videos.
Our beautiful planet is now just a backdrop rather than an integral part of so many lives.
lack of education does that. Before general basic education around the world, a small minority of educated controled extensive empires.
Trump & his handlers are trying to return to that bygone age.
I was a teacher. I don't think it's lack of education. Most people aren't interested in life beyond their local. We relied on expert opinion and now social media, our on-line community says to ignore experts and institutions.
We need real life connections and community. People are lonely, confused, scared and angry.
Except that The MAGA King is of a questionable level of education. Just because his certificate says "Wharton" on it doesn't mean he did all that well there. That's why he won't release his transcript.
My husband who went to Penn, said, "Did anyone see him in class?"
To be fair, Canadians also. We shall see if we can walk the walk.
Poilieve is favoured by Trump
Yes, but the ONE silver lining in this catastrophe is that Trump has massively boosted the electoral popularity of Mark Carney before he's even been chosen as Liberal leader.
Make that people in general. Most people aren't interested in much beyond their own small existence. Unfortunately, the trust in experts and institutions has collapsed. Billionaires are now experts on everything. Donald Trump sends water to LA after the fires, even though there are no water lines going across the mountain range from the dams he wanted emptied. The water the MAGA farmers rely on during the summer was flushed to the sea. Still, he's a billionaire and knew what was best.
Bla bla bla. That lazy performative leftist nonsense is so easy and old that it's been fully coopted into the MAGA playbook for their wins in '16 and '24. Call us back when self-professed radical leftists score an actual electoral or legislative victory. In the meantime, stop asking "liberals" to win fights you won't even show up to.
At least "Genocide Joe" professed a two-state solution. He never suggested the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, as Convicted Felon Cat Meat has. And he never suggested that the US simply take over Gaza.
LOL! "Verily", as fake leftists go, you're not remotely credible. Chanting "genocide Joe" in 2025 won't cut it I'm afraid.
Like I said, call us back when you score an actual win (outside the GOP column of course). Voters' verdict on radical leftist candidates was quite clear in 2024: a big fat zero, as usual.
I live in a country where NDP (pseudo-socialist) and Green candidates get elected.
I worked on the Green Party leader's campaign, door-knocking in conservative neighbourhoods. More than once, I heard, "Y'know, I've always voted Conservative. But this time, I'm keeping an open mind."
The Conservative had held that seat for a dozen years, never getting more than 40% of the vote. Elizabeth May got 57% of the vote.
Y'see, there's actually a world out there beyond the US border, where people do things differently. If you could see that far, you just might learn something!
Simple: it’s not a political party, it’s a CULT! I talk to people who used to be MAGA diehards; it’s like leaving Scientology, they gaslight you, threaten you, dox you, and excommunicate you from all your friends.
And the teenagers, and college students are being indoctrinated on social media (social engineering). And when you have an entire “right-wing” media ecosystem defending the indefensible, while the MSM is complicit in “sane-washing” the guy, while denigrating an actual president; then how can you expect a different result?
Bottom line: when you can turn violent insurrectionists into hero’s and hostages, then anything is possible! IMHO!….:)
Yeah, you nailed it. The capacity for social media to indoctrinate people is scary. We need to realize what we're up against.
That's not an exaggeration either. You nailed it.
👆👆👆🎯
>>but at the same time, the man is overwhelmingly cheered when shown on the screen at the Super Bowl.<<
What's going on at the commanding heights of governance in the United States is utterly horrible. I'm having a hard time keeping from doom scrolling. But I think we have to be careful about drawing overly broad conclusion from...the cheers of 70,000 people at a football game (in a nation of a third of a >billion< souls). I'd be very surprised indeed if NFL fandom doesn't skew pretty strongly MAGA. Also, we're only just starting week four of the Trump regime. Let's see where we are in six months' time...
Even the vote total doesn't suggest overwhelming support for MAGA. About 70% of American adults did >not< vote for Trump—only about 30% did. And even among those who did vote, Trump failed to get a majority. And his poll numbers are absolutely in the tank right now.
It's all terrible, yes, but only so much can be blamed on that amorphous entity called "The American People." Plenty of the blame* lies squarely at the feet of James Madison. I believe America's constitutional structures are the elephant in the room that don't get enough attention. Madisonianism is a hot mess of inefficiency combined with susceptibility to tyranny. The sooner we switch to a parliamentary model, the better.
*A lot of the blame belongs to the institutional Republican Party, as well. For me, the rudest and scariest awakening I've had over the last ten years is the realization that democracy isn't a self-correcting or self-guiding autopilot system: virtuous elites are very much required. There's not reserve of wisdom held by the common people we can rely on. Only one of our two parties is even remotely concerned with civic virtue, or with the national interest. The other party doesn't engage in even a modicum of candidacy vetting. We have thus lost a vital guardrail. I hope things turn out ok, but the sad reality is history doesn't owe any empire a happy ending.
People at the Super Bowl report lots of booing. Fox overrode the transmission for Tv and entered cheering instead.
Yeah. That doesn't surprise me.
Sounds about right. Please put up some links please.
That’s what I heard as well. There was more booing than cheering.
This is a bold claim that is easily supported with cell phone footage of the booing. Do we have that footage?
Right. That's what they call "Fair and Balanced". AKA, propaganda. The precursor to Newspeak.
Did FOX amplify the brewing for Taylor Swift? Because on Reddit, there is quite a lot of post the booing of her
With an average ticket price of $4700.00 it’s pretty safe to say the demographics of the fans in the seats was rather skewed.
Yes, but not necessarily as per expectations (at least not mine). There are plenty of high income Democrats these days. I just think the ethos of the NFL (extreme brutality, masculinity, its gladiatorial nature, etc) tends to mean it's, uh...more popular among Republicans than Democrats. I mean, does anybody really doubt that the NFL attracts more working class eyeballs than graduate degree eyeballs in the America of the 2020s?
I don't want to push this too far. Clearly plenty of non-conservatives enjoy the NFL. (Like, much of my family). So I doubt it's 90-10 in favor of GOP/MAGA. But 65-35? That doesn't strike me as a stretch. Obviously entirely speculative on my part...
"For me, the rudest and scariest awakening I've had over the last ten years is the realization that democracy isn't a self-correcting or self-guiding autopilot system: virtuous elites are very much required."
Only the last ten years? I've been observing it (with a sick feeling in my gut) for at least the last forty five!
I found Reagan scary. The Iran contra thing to me was an amazing piece of sabotage. However, here we are with Reagan and Bush redeemed by their restraint.
Oh I wouldn't go that far. Neither redeemed nor restraint apply here. What Reagan and Bush (both Bush's) did was evil, and remains evil. Indeed, what we're seeing now is little more than the culmination of what they started.
Well, certainly self appointed spokespeople for "God".
The answer is simple: FOX News and RW media. Of the roughly 50% of Americans who vote conservative, 85% get some/most/all of their news from FOX News. Of those, 80% willing live in a fabulist fairly tale almost completely divorced from reality.
Trump/GOP and FOX News work symbiotically. FOX will invent or amplify a lie: "The Haitians in Springfield are eating people's dogs and cats." Trump/GOP then repeats it. Or Trump/GOP will lie: "The DC crash was caused by (incompetent) women/black/gay DEI hires at FAA."; and FOX News will then either reinforce the lie, fail to correct it.
Interesting thing, though. I'm not sure how much Murdoch is in favor of Musk's coup. The Wall Street Journal is reporting on his fiddling in the Treasury. I don't know that FOX likes being sidelined by Twitter/X.
WSJ has to editorialize for the Wall Street crowd, and thus takes a more grown-up tone than FOX News. But, yes, you're right that X is a direct competitor. Good call.
Deport the Murdoch's! Now!
Actually, James is a good guy who left the family fold over Fox News being detrimental to society. His brother Lachlan however, is an ex-surfer brain-dead greed-head, and like his dad will hurt anyone with their propaganda, as long as they make money for it.
Well, looks like on Fox TV he was cheers, on German and other country he was booed.... I
He is the chaos character in global politics now. In him, Vlad found his ‘Manchurian Candidate’. I maintain the Cold War is ongoing and tRump is trashing our reputation and isolating us from our Friends/Allies just so his hero Vlad can put the Soviet Union back together with him as Tsar. tRump can take whatever he wants in the Western Hemisphere.
Trump is almost certainly an FSB (KGB) thrall; and has been since the 1990's. I'd not be at surprised if his recent alienation of our two closest allies wasn't Putin's idea. And his offer to Netanyahu to occupy Gaza and expel its 2m inhabitants may delight the Smotrich ultra-Right crazies in Israel; but it's toxic for the Diaspora, and to our relationship with all our other allies.
Few Americans know history or anything else.
We know. I don't understand either, & I was born here. Makes no sense to me. I have, after 8 yrs of watching this phenomenon, given up trying to make sense of it. All we can do at this point is try to blunt the impact & hold out. On behalf of sane Americans, I apologize.
It is evident that DT & his handlers don’t have a basic understanding of economics.
Neither does the average trumpkin.
I don’t know how to wake them up.
Maybe repackaging reality à la Zelensky, who lets Trump & company know that leaving Ukraine’s resources in occupied territory controled by Russia is not a good idea.
Just wait until the price of MAGA's Natty Lite and high class Busch Light 30 packs go up because the price of the cans will go up! Oh wait - that will be Biden's fault!
Republicans (aka Trump supporters) fall in two buckets. The Stupid bucket and the Greedy bucket. There ain't no third bucket.
That's because they're idiots. Worse yet, they're guzzling too much Schlitz.
And they revel in their stupidly. We are depraved.
I don't get your thing with Schlitz. It was a bad beer. Does it still exist?
I think it does, but to get it you'd have to go to a trailer park, or a NASCAR event. Or a Trump rally.
That's discouraging. Media has a lot to answer for in the amount of misinformation and outright fantasies that swirl around infecting otherwise normal folks.
Because around half of us are dumb, angry, and selfish. And it's getting worse.
He actually was booed too, but the us stations never showed that, he was cheered but many football fans are not known for critical thinking.
Yeah, if you figure it out please let me know. I think a lot of people have been deluded into thinking Trump knows what he is doing on the economic front. The system does need a lot of cleaning up but this?
Will we see Putin visiting Mar-a-Lago soon?
Viktor Orbin was there and Trump 1 invited the Russian "delegates" into the White House...someone is pulling his puppet strings....when will it show up ?
No. Trump will travel to the Kremlin to genuflect and kiss the ring.
Is Putin able to leave Russia or would he risk being arrested by the international court for war crimes?
It appears Trump cares very little about the international court...
Any court for that matter!
Let us dream of it, but I suppose Putin is very careful on where he goes to avoid problems.
Only if Trump provides an after dinner Naked Lady Golden Shower Evening.
So far, court rulings seem to be the only way to make any headway on anything with the Trump administration, because the GOP who controls congress, will not do their jobs.
It keeps being mentioned on the news, that if Congress wanted to cut, they can easily do so, with this simple majority budget resolution process they are about to use to cut taxes again. They do not actually need Musk to be getting into any computer systems and closing agencies.
Congress has this power and the GOP have control, if they would use it. Thus, there is no reason to assume that Musk is simply "looking for waste," not that what he could find would even come close to reducing our deficit. Even the entire USAID budget was only about 1% of our spending and they are vital and provide millions with life saving food and medicines.
Are they really willing to kill millions of people to try to justify tax cuts mostly for billionaires, once again?
It seems so.
The GOP congress, who are in control and have the power to send our young folks into war to be potentially killed, can't even stand up for democracy by simply doing their jobs. They can't stand up for starving children and millions who will now die because of Trump and Musk.
They are behaving like slime, in my view.
One wonders if agency computer access by Musk is needed to "cook the books" which reminds me of a recent Trump fraud cases involving nonsensical numbers for valuations.
There is precedent for this type of behavior as a way to line one's own pockets from the man in charge. Elect a fraudster and just maybe you will get fraud. Wasn't the more recent case the 4th fraud case he lost in just over a decade? Remember Trump U and the Trump Foundation?
However, it is unclear if the Trump administration is even complying with these court orders that have been issued, or if they are already simply operating not only outside the bounds of the law, but completely above it with no intent to stop.
If so, congress would need to act, and the GOP who control it are 100% spineless.
They are treating their jobs like Gollum treated his "Precious" ring.
It seems that the Trump administration might end up throwing the rule of law out the window, and if so, very few businesses will want to set up shop here, or remain here, if there are other alternatives to move to.
Also, no one wants to have too many trade ties and do business with a nation considered unreliable and unfriendly where court remedies may be in question, as well.
Russia's economy is not very large for a reason, and is much smaller than that of the state of CA despite its large geographic size.
I wonder if Trump's 1% who prop him up realize they are dooming a lot of their own wealth and businesses by supporting him?
People and businesses may try to flee this nation in large numbers as the economy falters.
They can cut spending, but if GDP falters and shrinks, revenue will be decimated along with the decline (and add in tax cuts to this) and the deficit will grow no matter what they do, due to lost revenue.
If they keep cutting as a remedy for this loss and make us an unfriendly place to do business, the economy will keep shrinking and the deficit will keep growing.
Lose - lose.
"So far, court rulings seem to be the only way to make any headway on anything with the Trump administration"
There are two serious stress tests coming up:
1. Will Trump abide by a Supreme Court ruling he doesn't like?
2. What happens the first time the Democrats filibuster a bill that Trump demands be passed?
I can't say I'm particularly optimistic about the outcome of either of those things.
From an article I read in the Economist, it looks like Musk is ignoring court orders. Vance is giving him cover and saying the judge is wrong.
I think this is why Trump wants a big reconciliation bill because it can pass with a simple majority in the Senate. This is how the GOP passed the tax cuts last time and then they complained when Biden and the Dems wanted to use the same process to pass BBB. The hypocrisy is pretty think, but they assume their voting base won't know the difference, and do not know how any of this works and sadly they are often correct. But yes, one can also see the end to the filibuster, as well.
1. No. He'd ignore it. Assuming his SCOTUS cronies/acolytes issue a ruling he doesn't like - which I wouldn't bet on.
2. He'll push his Senate sycophants to hide it in the next budget resolution. And if that doesn't work, issue an illegal executive order.
Very well said.
I think the more sociopathic, “conservative” wealthy elite, though, don’t view the US’s collapse as a catastrophe; they’ve got well constructed moats and a collapse would be a great buying opportunity.
What they do not realize, but may soon, is that their wealth comes from a thriving economy which creates, and is created by, the purchasing power of millions of Americans.
They could buy up all the houses and find that people can no longer afford the rent and as they suck up all of a paycheck for rents, other businesses will not have purchasers, etc.
Even if they are in the business of selling higher dollar items, their own customers, the upper classes and upper middle class, derive their incomes from the economic activity at the middle and bottom of the economy, and so on.
People forget that an economy is not zero sum and that dollars are place holders so we do not have to barter (Krugman's straw hats and coconut example). The "movement" of those dollars simply "represents" all the economic activity taking place and the speed and it is the overall level of activity that is the income and expenditures of millions of people and that then represents the size of our economy and its ability to also generate wealth.
Thus, an economy can expand and contract like hot air molecules bouncing around inside a hot air balloon expands a balloon.
Dry up the ability of people to consume due to higher prices and tariffs and cutting aid to the poor, and the whole economy shrinks and cools and slows activity. Deflated economy.
Trump and the GOP seem to be poised to shrink our economy big time. The wealthy few spend the smallest percentage of their incomes in the economy and they are also "few" so they can never make up for this, and they tend to park their wealth in already created assets that are not a part of GDP and do not create jobs. Thus things slow. GDP shrinks and so does revenue and thus deficits will grow and so will the debt/GDP ratio.
One reason we have a progressive tax system is to keep things moving and the majority able to spend and drive the economy and get what they need to survive, etc. Make things tougher on these folks and even corporate profits will shrink and also the middle class, as well, and the whole economic balloon shrinks and stagnates.
They will be drying up the fountain and its ability to cycle as the pump at the bottom starts to run dry and as its activity and ability to cycle economic activity is reduced and jobs are lost.
A downward spiral.
If people can't spend, businesses will not want to produce, and this drying up works its way up the chain - as the dominoes fall - we get recessions and depressions.
"Are they really willing to kill millions of people to try to justify tax cuts mostly for billionaires, once again?"
Yes. The answer to this question is an unequivocal yes.
I wonder about the normal business community. This is fantastic for Musk and some tech bros; though they've got to be worried about his ability to crush them now that he's taken over the Ministry of Magic. Bezo's Blue Origins...toast. But what about all of the other American businesses? I know they see tax cuts, but business requires rule of law and predictability. That's gone now.
Many proposed changes require legislation, and courts are willing to enforce that.
That give Democrats, with almost half of both houses, considerable power to delay and maybe stop these changes.
Much as a minority of Republicans were able to delay support for Ukraine by 8 months, against a clear majority supporting Ukraine
"That give Democrats, with almost half of both houses, considerable power to delay and maybe stop these changes."
If they can grow a pair. If only.
As Andrew Jackson pointed out, the courts have no troops. The only mechanism for throttling presidents is removing them from office through the impeachment process. No Congress has ever done that, and this one certainly won’t. This Congress won’t even dare to ask FOTUS to enforce the laws it has passed.
It is clearly a fact that “ the Trump administration might end up throwing the rule of law out the window….” It already has! Their rules = their laws
I wonder if the crisis could ultimately result in a military coup. I'm not suggesting it would necessarily be desirable, but if the whole governmental system collapsed then I could see it happening. Trump under house arrest at Margo-Largo. Install a popular Hollywood celebrity to serve as a non partisan president. Lift tariffs in return for foreign recognition. Give some freebies to the public to gain their trust. Let things cool off. Americans seem to have a high regard for their military and might well accept generals promising to restore constitutional rule. Of course, the military might not want to give up power once they had it.
One person's waste is another's income.
Are the millions of children starving and in need of life saving aid "waste?"
This is how Trump and Musk seem to see it. I see intentional genocide. If we wanted to reduce our spending so others could fill the gap that would have been different, but that is not what they did. Thus, people will die, and they know it.
I think you misunderstood the intent of my comment.
Glad you used Humpty Dumpty as an example of where this will take us. I used that reference a lot when chump was 45. The reference is still appropriate, but alas a tad too late.
Trumpty Dumpty.
JD Trump #45 was judged, by a distinguished panel of historians/political scientists the worst president in American history. Now this Humpty Dumpty—already a mess of scrambled eggs—has, as #47, has surpassed #45 as the worst, with a
Musky odor.
Well put. For years I have been saying, “ when something crumbles, it crumbles from within.” America is collectively walking down a very dark path and could crumble. But, I believe, we ARE the government. Fight back, good people. Boycott, get out in the streets, call your and other people’s representatives. I , for one, am not going down without one helluva fight. Buoy good people and their efforts to do the same.
Nor should ANY American roll over and let them TAKE our Country ! Wrong country to steal
I've been boycotting since the pandemic - as much as humanly possible at least. I still have to eat!
As an Italian, I'm frustraded in witnessing all this destruction in the US. But things were very much predictable before the election day. So what ? Did american people really wanted all this to happen or were they blinded by misinformation ? both scenarios are quite ugly and require a deep revision on how we (free democratic world) see America and how to save our democracies from far-right tsunami !
Trump did not campaign on most of what he is doing now. In facf, he distances himself from “Project 25,” a booklet of policies for his hypotheticL future administration written by his supporters, and the media did not press him on this.
It doesn’t matter though. Many Trump supporters assume, after the fact, that whatever Trump is doing must be smart because he is doing it.
"In fact, he distances himself from “Project 25,...”
Most of us knew he was lying.
"Many Trump supporters assume, after the fact, that whatever Trump is doing must be smart because he is doing it."
Which only proves they're idiocy.
Massimo I’m afraid we are at a point where social media propaganda, greed, stupidity and fear have combined to create a poision that has infected our body politic.
And I am damn sick and tired of acts like the ‘Save Act’ being presented as though we have done something wrong. In fact everything is presented with this clever slant - using the premise of freedom through the creation of an imaginary problem to destroy a freedom.
American democracy has fallen because its entrenched cult of money gave oligarchs the means to buy politicians, elections, Supreme Court judges, and the tools for unchecked manipulation of information. Unlike the USA (where congressional Republicans have made sure that social media misinformation and disinformation cannot be studied, flagged or fact checked, let alone prosecuted), Europe has the regulatory framework and socio-cultural traditions to fight this rise of oligarchy and information warfare, but that will not be enough. The EU may need to build itself as the United States of Europe in order to resist hostile empires, like the USA did in the 18th century. Let's hope that being more clearly under attack from abroad helps Europeans focus their minds and "build a more perfect union". Speaking from Canada, we will need you badly.
100% agree. Europe may be the last democratic refuge and it needs to wake up to this new reality. Fortunately it is rearming, but must also confront the fascist threat within its own ranks.
Mis information jammed over the "internet air waves " for four ++ years AND Now even worse...the main stream media is hiding his acts....they too are afraid, since the ABC lawsuit .... Trump New York mob tactic still working. But it's growing more diabolical, we just saw on Airforce One the larger plan..renaming AND the taking of Sovereign lands is now, Adolf Trump. Very UGLY and also true. Immobilize, gather, nurture ! and move , on your American values today, and every day, until victory. The alternative is unthinkable.
Longer than that. Right wing radio has been going strong since the 80s. Wherever you drove in rural areas your only option was Rush Limbaugh and his fellow travelers.
The fusion of entertainment with fearmongering and anger over decades has been a potent weapon. The educated have totally ignored it, until now.
Orwell referred to this as "rectification of borders".
I'd say most of us didn't (and don't) want this to happen. The remainder were indeed blindsided by mis/disinformation.
Blinded by ignorance and misinformation. The right wing propaganda is incredibly strong.
It’s a mix of an unpopular incumbent, inflation fatigue, and a last minute replacement that really couldn’t give people a strong non contrarian reason to vote for her other than she is better than Trump (which should be sufficient for a sane person but apparently not enough for many voters.)
The Biden administration basically produced policies that were compromises by committee. It didn’t provide strong singular focuses or easy to digest narratives. If we look at the waffling on Ukraine aid and restrictions we placed on their use of weapons, it is a prime example. We should have been training Ukrainians on F16s on day one of the invasion.
It sucks. This all sucks.
America's moral authority . . . is gone because we elected a completely amoral imbecile. His immorality is legendary. His top sidekick is also completely amoral. And his entire political Party which now controls the government is made up of amoral individuals and groups.
Can't have moral authority when your leadership is utterly lacking in morals!
Their "morality" is strictly focused on ending abortion.
Which means what, do you think? That they're focused on the unborn? Their compassion for the unborn is such that they must reluctantly entirely control women's choices over their own bodies?
Not reluctantly at all. Indeed, they're downright enthusiastic about sacrificing a woman's life to save a fetus - or even an embryo for that matter. But that's really just the beginning. They want to eliminate all birth control.
Where have we seen this movie before? Oh wait; tariffs (raise revenue), isolationism, rise of the far-right, rising inflation, and decoupling ourselves from the world order.
Right, it was post WW1-mid-20’s; another republican was president, and we started the Great Depression. Then, because of our incompetent president, and “know nothing” Congress; the tariffs and isolationism made it worse!
Mark my words, by 2030, if we stay on this trajectory, we won’t exist as nation anymore. This division during the next economic downturn, with the debt we have, and current account deficits that will exceed $ 2.5 trillion; should Trump get his tax cuts, will be our final death kneel.
America first, is America alone. And America alone is a lonely place; unless your warmonger!
And as Napoleon famously said, “never interfere with your adversary, when they are in the process of destroying themselves.”
Putin and Xi are in heaven! IMHO!…:)
Not only, one fears, will China fill the voids which the new president is creating abroad, but he may also succeed in weakening the unity of the United States. How much longer will right-minded Americans put up with this behavior before they look for alternatives?
China currently has a foreign aid budget of $5bn annually. While ours has gone from $60bn to close to zero. Well, except for the $5bn we give Israel + Egypt.
What alternatives are you referring to?
I don’t have any alternatives specifically in mind, except that I would not advocate armed struggle. But some US states might consider secession, possibly joining other such states to form an alternative grouping. Maybe Canada would be interested in a North American Union of independent states governed by a common legal and economic framework?
These are not viable alternatives. Trump controls the military and the budget, so secession is a non-starter.
Canada is battling political instability, and has neither the means, nor the will to form a new union.
What we can do is mass protest, pressure Congresspeople, mass strike, mass boycott.
Clearly, things haven't reached critical horror yet, since none of those things are happening.
"Clearly, things haven't reached critical horror yet, since none of those things are happening."
They will, in due time. It's already percolating. When the time comes, it will be explosive.
"Trump controls the military" in the absolute sense you seem to suggest is not something I accept, yet.
My comment was in the context of an attempted secession.
Whether it's accurate by the end of Trump's term will depend upon the extent and success of the ongoing purges of officers and generals.
There are always the Putin & Madero methods.
Personally I think the courts & persistant resistance by the Democrats accompanied by inevitable defection by saner Republicans will eventually be very effective.
After a period of chaos.
With a bit of luck, DT will be impeached again.
"With a bit of luck, DT will be impeached again."
Wouldn't that be too good to be true.
China is positioned to do well out of the void Trump and his followers are eagerly creating. It probably won't pick up all the pieces the US is so eagerly dropping, but it has the major advantage that it has no imperialist history outside of Asia. Africans and South Americans don't hate them, and some of those countries were only able to get e.g. Covid vaccines *from China*.
Frankly, I wish China well. There are plenty of problems with their regime, and I certainly wouldn't want to be e.g. Tibetan. But those who are not their neighbours may find them easier to live with, even as "the world's sole superpower", than the US has been, let alone what the US is becoming.
Unpopular opinion: is it really a bad thing that China influence increases?
Unlike the US, they don't invade countries whose foreign policy don't align with them every 5 years.
Trump and musk will create such a mess! To try to save their sorry asses they’ll have to create a big war, as a decoy, with the support of the billionaires media, as usual. Just wait a bit more. Around the second term? Get rid of these fascists pdq.
Even Republicans are turning against Musk according to a recent YouGov/Economist poll. The media should be shining a spotlight on it so Trump will see Musk is weakening him:
“GOP support for Musk influence with Trump falls dramatically”
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5129353-gop-support-for-musk-influence-with-trump-falls-dramatically-poll/
Shouldn’t we be blaming Trump for everything Musk does? Wouldn’t that help turn the Repugnants against blind obedience?
No. Musk doesn't have the cult of personality that Trump does. Musk is far more vulnerable because he isn't likeable at all. He's way too far out there. Six years ago he was a Democrat. He's not a 2025 MAGA, he's out on his own with his own weird agenda.
I think he's more dangerous because he cares nothing about people beyond a vague sense of "humanity" which is a species like himself.
The Christian Nationalists, though I stridently disagree with them on many, many things...aren't interested in sacrificing most of us to go to Mars.
I suspect Trump is hoping to take Musk's money by letting him go too far, then "nationalizing" his money for crimes against the U.S.
"Pax Americana" was propaganda. Rex Americana is closer to reality. This piece sounds awfully NYTy, Paul. We honored our agreements? Not really. We tried hard to make sure no one knew they were subject of the US? They knew. So that's not equality. At all. America is a bully. Plain and simple.
What they're doing is treasonous, illegal, and reckless. But if Pax Americana was ever real, that time is long over. The American Empire has overseen and/or sponsored more bloodshed than any time in history. The American Empire undermined democracy worldwide and any attempt by a citizenry to "elect" people-centered governments was suppressed.
We were the bad guys, Paul. We consolidated power and then bullied the world into our likeness: greedy, materialistic, and beholden to an economic system that intentionally keeps the poors poor while the rich grow richer by exploiting labor and resources.
And yet, under Pax Americana, global poverty, starvation, disease, and wars are all much lower than they have ever been. Go figure.
Reality is complicated. Black and white thinking will never help you understand it.
If you can’t grasp the scale of what we’re talking about you’re not a serious person
I don’t dislike it. It’s irrelevant. I’ve already said myself that my country has done horrible things. You aren’t a serious person is what gets in my craw. You’re trolling. Find a better hobby.
There are probably 100 things that prove your point unserious, but I’ll just write one that has saved millions of lives in the last 50 or so years: vaccinations.
QED
Certainly there were periods when this applied.
Unfortunately, DT & handlers are bent on returning to this with a vengence, to the detriment of the average citizen.
AMERICA FALLING ON ITS SELF-INTEREST AND HUMANITARIAN SWORD
Trust and respect are essential in any long-term, two-way self-interest relationship. This is as true with humans as it is for nations.
Even in imperial Rome, there was trust in the inviolability of Roman citizenship, despite the occasional exception.
As a Foreign Service Officer, I was proud to represent the United States of America. We certainly were not perfect, but, on balance, were were honorable and reliable on the world scene.
At. 91, I vividly remember post-WW II. Unscarred by battles, America had over 45% of the world’s GDP. Selfishly, we launched the Marshall Plan to resurrect post-war Europe. The cost, as a % of US GDP, was extraordinary.
In more recent years, we have used a minuscule amount of our GDP in USAID for many countries globally. Whether it is to partner with health, educational, or other bottom-up operations, USAID has been a major and dependable’ soft’ development source for diverse countries.
The breakthrough in ongoing health programs is matched by the provision of food to starving populations. While the Chinese had been leaders in ‘hard’ development projects, these have been sharply reduced in recent years. By contrast, our ‘soft’ development projects, linking with thousands of local nonprofits, remain a win-win for giver and receiver.
Stupid and asinine are my words to describe the Musk (and then Trump) assassination of USAID and virtually all of its own going projects.
IT IS FAR EASIER TO DESTROY THAN TO CREATE, AS DEMONSTRATED BY TRUMP/MUSK.
What has been done with USAID globally is mirrored in the killing of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
What possibly could be wrong with an organization that has recovered, from the financial sector, $20,000,000,000 for over 30,000,000 American consumers in refunds and cancelled debts?
Recent settlements for ‘bait and switch’ include $3 billion with TD Bank and $2 billion from Wells Fargo.
In the Musk Stormtrooper Blitzkrieg, the killing of the CFPB so Farr is the greatest loss to the American consumer. The loss is measurable and despicable.
I would say the same about assassinating USAID.
Bravo, Keith. You really hit the two most immediate disgraceful cuts to our soft power and our purses. Given that we are “commanded” by two sociopaths it’s hardly surprising. May everyone affected protest loudly and immediately.
A while ago all senior federal government managers were sent a very detailed survey on their program/ policy preferences. Not surprisingly, the military generals responses were often quite different than non military managers. But there was one area of striking agreement. They all agreed by wide majorities that spending money on foreign aid was far more beneficial for gaining allies and preventing wars than spending money on the military.
Federalist #68
Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?
Oligarchs of the world have united. Supporting
each other through social media propaganda, money laundering, direct corrupt investment ( buying real estate, development deals, pump and dump stock fraud, licensee deals, money laundering, crypto hiding, meme coin, etc). Doge is nothing g new, even the name goes back to Venice. The Doge of Venice was the supreme leader.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_of_Venice
I think there’s something to this. They have become so disconnected to the rest of us that they are becoming more than a club. And Putin, along with China, has been sucking them in.
“Billionaires of the world have more in common with each other, than with everyday Americans.”-Tim Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom
Autocracy Inc. Anne Applebaum
The Paradise and Panama Papers
Red Notice Bill Browder
Corruption in America Sarah Chayse
Offshore and Moneyland
And so many more…. We have authors, researchers, journalists who describe a whole other world most Americans are totally oblivious to. Mueller warned us 20 years ago.
You’re right, we are so unaware of what’s been happening. Whatever news we’d get was an oligarch “falling” out a window or a monster yacht being impounded.
Excellent summary Professor Krugman! After the Great Depression, the Smoot-Hawley “collapse of International Trade,” and the travesty of World War II, we had the “Marshall Plan which was a large aid program designed to help both our allies and our former enemies get back on their feet. At its peak in 1949, the U.S. government spent about 17 percent of its budget on foreign aid.”………”these days aid is only around 1 percent of the budget. But humanitarian aid to other nations is still a vital part of U.S. diplomacy”……….and it is very
INEXPENSIVE and very EFFECTIVE……..”SOFT POWER and is an important role in supporting America’s moral authority, in maintaining our image as a mostly benevolent power.” Very little waste here and currently mostly coming from American farmers!
“Beyond providing aid, America set out to create an international trading system that would foster widespread prosperity. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), signed in 1947, set up rules designed to foster gradual tariff reductions and block any reversion to protectionism. These rules constrained the United States the same way they constrained everyone else — that is, we deliberately chose not to rig the system in our own favor.”
This eventually became the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and became more involved in “SHORT RUN” balance of payments problems worldwide and between countries’ monetary systems.
Also shortly after GATT there was the formation of the WORLD BANK where the emphasis was on and continues to focus on, “LONG RUN” development projects especially involving developing countries.
We should identify, separate out and explore the connects between the WORLD BANK and USAID………including for “developing countries’ projects” and “humanitarian aid.” There is probably a significant SHORT RUN and LONG RUN difference here is explore as well including involving budgets!