If the next president is a Democrat, there will be nothing but checks with no balance. Trump has absolute immunity from prosecution, but the next Democratic president will be subject to any and all prosecution for even imaginary crimes. Trump can summarily defund entire agencies, but the next Democratic president will be forced by the Supreme Court to put every appropriated penny into every agency. Trump can solicit and collect enormous billion-dollar bribes, but the next Democratic president won't be allowed to accept a free glass of water.
...doing so is the choice left us within the constitutional framework. We are caught in a Constitutional Catch 22" that appears to require extraconstitutional action. God help us.
And those Republicans cower at his feet, waiting to be walked on. Even the ones whom he successfully primaried, like Cornyn and Tillis, who is retiring.
100%. Those who say, "They'd better watch out b/c the next Democratic president will also have immunity from prosecution" doesn't know how this works. We can rest assured that Dems will be fully liable under the law for anything they do - even legal acts that are recast by the Repubs as crimes.
Point taken, but, the next president can also issue an executinve order to have the bum jailed. Won't stick, but will be funny as hell to see him in the heartbreak hotel even overnight
Much depends on whether Democrats wrest control of at least the House and, hopefully, the Senate from them in November and start investigating him and his power grabs, lies and tariffs right away.
But then they have to hold at least one house of Congress in 2028 in order to prevent the travesty you mention, Rena.
To prevent that travesty, we'll have to add justices to SCOTUS. Beyond Congress, they are the ones who gave immunity to Chump and who will take it away from a Democratic president so quickly it will make your head spin.
I don’t think the first thing a Democratic Congress should do, is investigate Trump. Should we at least win the house, we need to begin restoring some of what is broken in our institutions. Half of America voted for the guy. He is unimpeachable without 60Ds in the Senate and control of the house. First move to fix what has been broken. Civil Service to start. Research grants, SNAP. immigration, taxes,etc.
The restoration to democracy the rule of law and equal justice with a New Democrat as president requires arresting prosecuting convicting and imprisonment for all criminal felon violators of the federal law against insurrection who are Trump members of his administration Republicans in Congress six justices on the Supreme Court and billionaire oligarchs including Musk. The law is U.S.C 18 § 2383. That would put a Democratic super majority in Congress and SCOTUS. Then legislation could be passed to raise taxes on billionaires and corporations to fund solutions to affordability including Medicare for All and end Citizens United and other corrupt SCOTUS decisions.
Derelict, I'd be ok with that, if that's how we get back to having each of the 3 branches of government fulfilling their duties and responsibilities while staying in their lanes.
Unfortunately, while the next Democratic president will be hobbled by the rediscovery of the legislative and judicial branches exercising their full power, the next Republican president will be enabled by both of those branches deciding they, meh, no need for oversight since it's a Republican.
The governments and courts were sold to the wealthy and big corporations to serve their interests. At this point the US government is a failed system that doesn't work for anyone except the people who bought it.
Any constitutional change at this point, would end up being a fiasco controlled by a bunch of right wing nut jobs and their billionaire buddies.
This puzzles me as well. It isn’t something new, unfortunately. Obama had signs of this when it came to Ukraine and didn’t act on the consequences of Russian invasion, so of course did Russia continue.
Biden was not uninformed about Trump & Co’s plans, yet, didn’t strengthen the resilience of the juridical institutions and the civil services.
Years ago my morning coffee klatch were dismayed that Democrats were the sort of wimps who would not face the reality that for Republicans politics was a blood sport.
Outside of silent, I don't know what the Democrats are now, in the face of the open and wanton destruction of the country. Sure, the media is largely propaganda networks, but their inability to say anything about everything makes them next to useless. Maybe they are the same party with the same donors who are afraid to turn on their masters by offering a truly progressive platform that goes hard after the oligarchs. In which case, it's over.
Many are calling for change. The question is: Do we have enough people to make tris happens? We have our work cut out for us. And many of us in NY and NJ have this to say about Trump: we don’t like him. He was booed in his NYC polling place the first time he ran, and our opinions haven’t chsnged.
So there are real, smart, serious ideas out there about exactly this - how do we make sure that nothing like this CAN ever happen again, whether it be simply enacting legislation or amending or outright changing (which I don’t really think we have to or should scrap what we have, but it’s out there) our constitution. There are things we can be doing now. Check out both Mitch Jackson and Mike Brock on ideas on reforming SCOTUS specifically. But it’s going to require us all to engage with the process. Not a blue wave, just a blue ant 🐜 swarm, working together. We CAN make change, we are no less capable or courageous than our ancestors. Tbh, I think we’ve just all gotten lazy.
Absolutely. Also Mike Brock and Dino Alonso. If you’re paying attention to the current economy and want real information check out Jason at preparedness and politics, he has a fabulous guide. Jessica with grounded has done yeoman’s work on creating ways to survive, especially regarding the 2 critical issues facing every single American - water and power. And of course this platform right here. We are almost to a tipping point, I think, where prices will rise precipitously and shortages may occur. Any slight disruption will have severe impact. Please everyone get ready, stay strong, and for God’s sake help each other. The biggest weapon is that we aren’t like them, we have “extreme compassion” for each other and even for them. We must lead from the heart
Well, you know how the republicans feel about it. As senator Cornyn recently lamented, there’s nothing they can do to ‘rein him in’. Let that not be misunderstood as there’s nothing in their tool chest available for them to work with but rather as an unwillingness to try. Trump is a lifelong incorrigible, has always wanted his way, and he’ll throw a hissy fit if anyone gets in his way. But he’s not superman.
When will anyone in the media or, omigod, CONGRESS suggest making the contractor who screwed up the reflecting pool REPAY the taxpayers for his faulty work??? Or is that a bridge way too far?
Yes indeed. And why doesn’t somebody let Fox News know that it wasn’t a vandal and the Olympian suspect was declared innocent and released. How does Fox continue holding a licence to broadcast?
Some of us are screaming about it and have been for years but we are all being shadow-banned online and either funneled into prison or driven out of the country.
I think another feature of the American political system which differs from other democracies (not that the U.S. can really be included in that club anymore) is that there is no recognized ‘leader of the opposition’ around which opponents, strategy and messaging can be effectively organized during the presidential 4 year term. We just held primaries - less than 100 days before the next mid term elections, and no democratic presidential candidate will be finally selected before August 9/10 2028 - about 12 weeks before the actual presidential election!
Mark, It's reached the point that anyone with an IQ higher than their shoe size and paying the least bit of attention just assumes that everything Trump says is a lie. His daily oval office gaslighting sessions are caricatures of his increasing mental irregularity. The editors of respectable news organizations who send reporters to the daily oval office dog-and-pony shows should stop sending them, all his lies can be more efficiently tracked by reading his off-the-rails middle-of-the-night posts.
the standard media tries to be "fair and balanced" and treat the Office of the President with respect but Fox etc do not. It is time for the MSM to find and sharpen their knives, some are beginning to like Collins and Phang.
Years ago I heard Paul Krugman at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC. His comment on media trying to be “fair and balanced” was that if the Republicans said the Earth was flat, the headline would be “opinions on shape of Earth differ”.
Legacy media was mostly newspapers, and many of them have gone out of business. Tech, including the internet, took so much of their revenue they couldn’t survive. Classified ads have moved to help wanted platforms, Craigslist & eBay, mail circulars and shopping apps. As for TV news, we’ve seen how Trump is willing to weaponize the courts & the FCC against networks that criticize him.
Lack of challenges from the political class is due to cowardice. Same with other institutions like law firms, universities, etc., although there are exceptions. The other thing is that Trump lies constantly and people have become inured to it; they go living day to day and hope he eventually goes away. He resembles a wart in this sense.
Media, e.g. CBS WaPo, owned by oligarchs, SC giving him immunity, the Rs, while rich, castrated and fear losing their perks. And, of course obscene amounts of money spent on electing Rs.
Really!!!!! I agree but the people reading these articles in the substacks are indeed speaking out. Democrats running for congress are speaking out. My hope is that people in the US are understanding the absolute , abject stupidity of the republican party. I truly hope people in the US will be able to see through the bullshit billionaires will be throwing at ads in the next few weeks.
It started in post-Soviet Russia with the "Firehose of Disinformation."
Soviet propaganda mostly involved giving an alternative view of the truth.
After the fall of the USSR, the FSB (including Putin) started blasting so much misinformation, some of it contradictory, that the consumers of the propaganda could not keep up with debunking it all, and eventually lost sight of not just the truth, but the very concept of truth.
The George W Bush administration toyed with this a little under Karl Rove (remember this? 'The aide described people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality" as being in "the reality-based community." He further claimed, "That's not the way the world really works anymore... We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."'
But under Trump and Steve Bannon, they opened the gates to "Flood the zone with shit," as a conscious strategy. It takes hours to debunk off the cuff BS that take a few seconds to make. And if you keep that up, day after day, month after month, year after year, the very concept of truth begins to break down. You have a third of the population that thinks that "facts" are just the opinions of people that they despise.
We are 11 years into this, and the concept of objective reality is completely destroyed for a significant portion of the electorate. And as Hannah Arendt pointed out, the death of factuality destroys the collective and makes reality negotiable, making the perfect fascist subjects.
Much of the Trumpist right gets distracted by non-issues. Right now they’re hysterical over Anthony Fauci, who they believe belongs in prison. They ignore Trump and rant about Fauci.
I think a big part of the problem is that there is no designated opposition leader, as you have in the UK. Even minority parties in the UK have leaders who can get media coverage when they criticise the incumbent government.
In the US, there is no clear leader of the Democrats, who can speak for the party, and criticise Trump and the Republicans.
Nor can the Ds even circle the wagons, put aside their differences, and come together with a unified message beyond “Trump is the problem”. That is not a solution, and it only makes his supporters ignore Ds more and latch onto Dear Leader more, furthering the tribalism rooted in lies, delusions, nothing substantial for everyday living.
He has a whole rethug party of DEATH supporting him, a cabinet selected by him to be nothing but sock puppets, and supporters who'd rather give up their livelihood than vote for a decent human who has a working intellect and compassion for other humans.
Agree but I’m hoping the success of Sayed in Michigan and Mamdani in nyc etc betokens a turning of the tide back towards a more tender place……I struggle with what to do..?
Yesterday Timothy Snyder did a piece on communism which included the story of the rise of social democracy in Germany after WW1. The democratic socialists wanted to reform capitalism rather than overthrow it, but as they believed their victory to be inevitable they sat by and watched as the fascists took over. It was terrifying to me because I see the centrist Democrats doing the exact same thing here. And the MSM, having mostly sold out decades ago and now owned by fascist fellow travelers plays the fascist tune.
Of course you’re amazed. Anyone would be, as long as they’re not from the US, Russia, China or Iran, where “strategic deception” is legal. Sadly, we’re so accustomed to lies in this country that it’s become status quo.
Not just Trump flat out lying without being challenged or contradicted. Anthony Fauci, with a lifetime of impeccable service who dared contradict Trump on the latter's ludicrous assertions about the covid virus, is now being persecuted by the Republican majority in the Senate.
Big media is on the side of the Republicans The owners are insanely rich; they believe the Republican Party is 100% on their side, and they are right to think so. So Republicans can do no wrong, and Democrats better watch their step all the time to avoid the media blowing something insignificant up to insane proportions The answer in the US to most questions, is "money." It's a country founded on greed, after all.
As an Afghan who served alongside US forces for years and was left behind, reading this article is painful. Paul Krugman is right: Donald Trump is so focused on political rants, claiming everything is dirty, and demanding punishment that he ignores the real truth. He does not even talk about crime dropping because he needs fear to justify his cruel policies. While politicians in Washington play games and complain about 'blue cities,' thousands of brave Afghans who risked their lives for American troops are left in danger. They talk big about safety and justice, but they completely turned their backs on the allies who truly sacrificed for them.
The personal toll this president has taken in human lives, greed, and broken promises is staggering. I am so sorry for the betrayal to you and our friends around the world who trusted their alliance with the usa and have paid dearly for their
Well, he has at multiple occasions made fun of people that actually do sacrifice their lives for others and those that care. He call them losers.
That probably says enough of that man to not expect much from him, nor his friends. When working for society is considered a weakness and when being able to exploit others is considered a virtue… Yepp, they are not the good guys.
You risked your life to help us and you deserve far better from us than you got. The GOP hates our own soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines too, though. They get injured in war and then Republicans have to fund their VA care, which is why they prefer their heroes dead. They hate spending money on anything they don’t get kickbacks — sorry, “PAC donations” — for. So they love spending money on military contracts. Without those contracts, we’d have a military as lousy as our K-12 school system, not to mention roads, bridges and food safety.
Yes. The facts tell the story. But one never sees it all written or addressed in a speech by a politician. Well to be fair, that would be political suicide.
But wait , Elizabeth - our Mango Coated Menace has a plan to “ fix “ health care .
Although they say they have a plan - they haven’t revealed it to us yet - it’s sooo simple :
1. Don’t get sick
2. If you do get sick - die quickly
So kind of them to remind us that we are all going to die - Especially when they have gold plated insurance coverage . I suppose that if the regime doesn’t want to take credit for lower violent crime numbers they CAN own their contribution to our failed health outcomes .
Out health care system is the best in the world to enrich physicians and insurance companies it is near the bottom of Western developed countries for patient outcomes-start with life expectancy very poor rank among developed countries.
Dead apparently don’t matter anymore either, as they reclassify those deaths so their illegal war can appear to have fewer casualties. Not only is this an insult to those who serve, their sacrifice for his vanity and delusion, their loved ones, and the people still serving, but it has the real world ramifications of losing certain benefits. But hey! no biggie, what’s a little honor and integrity when you (think you) can make Trump and his band of miscreants look better and save money on those combat deaths too.
I agree with you on the insult to our service members and their family, but I am not clear on what benefits are lost. When my Army husband died in an auto accident on a US military base, our small children and I got VA benefits, insurance payments and continued use of military health and shopping facilities. Granted that was 52 years ago, but it's hard to imagine that those benefits no longer apply. He even received a posthumous promotion.
Oh yes, I should have said they lose certain honors/recognition. I hope the benefits remain! But I wouldn’t put anything past these uncaring, cheap mofos.
Freedom loving people in your country are part of a world-wide club. After all "help is on the way" in Iran. President Trump said so. Greenland is still on the menu. In my country of Canada our troops fought and died in Afghanistan for America, honouring our Article 5 NATO pledge. Now we are treated to "51st state" taunts and casual laughter from millions of Americans at "the joke". Our PM Mark Carney is respected across the globe but referred to as "Governor Carney" by the President. We are burdened with illegal tariffs that blatantly violate signed trade agreements approved by Congress. The visceral disgust across the planet for this version of America is palpable wherever I travel.
I believe millions of Americans recognize Carney’s integrity, experience and intelligence and can only dream that it was he running our country! Only MAGA would choose a convicted fraud and serial bankrupt as president and make fun of a respected economist who has run both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England!
It's shameful how this terror gang disguised as a legitimate government has abandoned its allies. On a related note, wouldn't this obsession with killing and inflicting pain be catalogued somewhere in the DSM psychiatric manual? Anyone other than Trump would be forbidden to own a firearm under state red-flag laws. He owns an army, an armed secret police force (ICE) and a nuclear arsenal.
Sure, there's a diagnosis to cover this, but that is immaterial to anyone who is not treating him. We need to focus on the behavior, not the psychiatric labels that are constructs, a sort of shorthand to example clusters of behavior and/or symptoms.
While I agree that Trump shouldn't be anywhere near nuclear weapons and the like, practically speaking, we must rely on whatever generals/admirals/etc., still on active duty to prevent him from using such powers, because the Cabinet will not invoke the 25th Amendment and the Republican-owned Congress continues to kowtow to him.
As an American watching this happen to our allies who risked their lives for us based on an understanding of America that no longer seems to apply as Trump destroys our nation, I am ashamed of our behavior.
You and your compatriots should be honored and protected for the sacrifices that you made and the dangers that you experienced on behalf of assisting Americans in Afghanistan— and I know that you’re still in danger. This is so shameful and wrong! I hope that you manage to safely survive and someday, somehow be compensated for your service.
Yes, it was DJT who said all troops should be out of Afghanistan by October, but it was BIDEN who upped the date to close much sooner, and caught everyone by surprise! I was saddened and even sickened to see the Afghan civilians outside the gate to the tarmac seeing the huge transport airplanes loading up with our soldiers and some of our equipment. We even left some of the newest jet fighter aircraft in Afghanistan, but I was told they destroyed the ignition system.
But to see people suffering without food, or water, or a place to stand that wasn't in a "cesspool" due to "no leaving to find a bathroom or their place at the gate would be taken," was abject cruelty! It was so awful to see some men on the airplanes falling to their death when the airplanes took off knowing that people were trying desperately to get a place on board!
As you probably know, we did the same thing in Vietnam! We abandoned the very people who helped us as translators and in other capacities that put their lives on the line! And seeing the people on the roof trying to grab the helicopters as they were leaving Saigon, was just so heartbreaking. Thankfully our government found room for them in this "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave," that is no longer "free" and certainly not "brave!"
The agreement that Trump signed was to have ALL US troops out by May1 2021-Biden actually delayed it to mid August 2021. Good argument that Biden should not have followed disastrous Trump agreement-but that agreement had us leaving even sooner than we did
As trump knows, there are all sorts of crimes. Bad crimes, committed by “those people” in cities, are dirty and deserving of harsh punishment. Good crimes, like voter suppression or tax cheating, or best of all, money laundering, are good crimes. Laundering is clean by definition, right?
I spent the 1958-59 school year in Manhattan. Coal was still the major heating fuel. Central Park was lovely when it snowed - for about a day. Then the soot started to form a layer on top of the snow. After a week, the snow was nearly black on top. That may be one of Trump's fond memories of his childhood.
"Trump refuses to this day to acknowledge that he was wrong." Paul made this statement about the Central Park Five, but it could apply to everything Trump has ever said. Everything he has ever said has been wrong (out of ignorance or because he lied) and he is too psychologically insecure every to admit that he has been wrong about anything.
Cohn no doubt helped him along, but Trump achieved his massive degree of ignorance and his pathological lying on his own. Give him credit where it is due.
Trump evidently went to Las Vegas yesterday to talk up the economy at a time when that tourist-dependent city has been devastated by his policies. He and his advisers are living in an alternate reality.
Loved the tree pic. And wasn't that a little kid frolicking along among the walkers? Here in the 'Burgh we have so many trees that the fall leaf collection is a mega-endeavor. But besides the lying, grifting and incompetence he gifts us with daily there is the cruelty. Another word for a person who enjoys the suffering of others is a sadist. And sadism, as some people might know is one of the personality deficits listed in the so-called Dark Tetrad of severe personality disorders, along with manipulative tendencies, psychopathy and malignant narcissism. Trump could be its poster boy.
D ranting about 'crooked & corrupt' is his subconscious revealing itself....as well ALL know now every accusation by him and his tribe is a CONFESSION.
It's been obvious for a decade that his most consistent trait is projection - it's right up there with lying, maybe ahead. From the time he was talking about "crooked Hillary" and "lying Ted" and "liddle Marco" - it was all projection.
Trump actually deserves credit for Operation Warp Speed. It was created by his administration. He later backed off that impressive accomplishment when he realized his base was anti-vax — but he certainly got all his vaccines and also received cutting edge treatment — not Ivermectin — when he became dangerously ill with covid.
When I was 14 I found '1984' terrifying for many reasons, but perhaps the most disturbing feature of the Party's realm was how thorough it was in finding nothing too insignificant to lie about. Trump--though far less subtle than the Inner Party intellectuals of the book--is almost as thorough-going in his relentless hunt for non-existent grievances to denounce and to punish, while perfectly mimicking Big Brother's boastful, endlessly triumphal and utterly mendacious perversion of reality.
Stacy - 100%. If I hear another word about trying to win them over b/c they're misunderstood or maybe financially struggling, I'll spit. They're in it for the racism, and as long as that - and the misogyny - are being pushed front and center, they'll be all in.
Indeed, January 6 was a day of love. DJT pardoned every single one of those patriots for their cop-beating, Pence-hanging ways. And of late, wants to compensate them for the most horrendous and grievous ills in history (in typical Trumpian understatement) they suffered under Biden. Pirro may have folded like an umbrella but DJT lies like a rug.
Trump lies like breathing air. His cruelty is in his bones, and his treachery is in his genes. This cesspool of a human is our president, and the American people voted for him. We owe you our gratitude and the world an apology.
Someone he went to school with commented that he would lie when there was no benefit in it for himself - as if just for the practice. He's an f'ed up individual.
that's not why they are there, start by building CCs, deporting aliens to desenitize the population to mass incarcination, then fill it with domestic "enemies of the state" mainly democrats
Willie Horton. The face of urban crime, at least in stereotype, is a man of color. Pretty much the whole GOP messaging. Look at that POC robbing you and attacking white women! (to distract you while I pass tax legislation that benefits gazillionaires.)
The violent crime rate is half of what it was during the Reagan-Bush 1 era, Trump is just another part of the right wing who have hyped up crime for over 70 years in order to scare the gullible into voting for them. It's always part of the GOP playbook.
Meanwhile the GOP refuses to prioritize white collar crimes which are always underreported, underinvestigated and underprosecuted.
I’m British and I’m still amazed by how Trump can flat out lie without being challenged or contradicted. What checks? . What balances?
They are gone.
Yet no voice raised for constitutional or institutional change as if everyone just hoping the next president will behave
If the next president is a Democrat, there will be nothing but checks with no balance. Trump has absolute immunity from prosecution, but the next Democratic president will be subject to any and all prosecution for even imaginary crimes. Trump can summarily defund entire agencies, but the next Democratic president will be forced by the Supreme Court to put every appropriated penny into every agency. Trump can solicit and collect enormous billion-dollar bribes, but the next Democratic president won't be allowed to accept a free glass of water.
Thus will balance be restored.
We don't have to allow five or six unelected judicial bureaucrats to run our country like a dictatorship. Doing so is a choice we make.
...doing so is the choice left us within the constitutional framework. We are caught in a Constitutional Catch 22" that appears to require extraconstitutional action. God help us.
God fights on the side with the heaviest artillery. - Old U.S. Navy Saying.
And those Republicans cower at his feet, waiting to be walked on. Even the ones whom he successfully primaried, like Cornyn and Tillis, who is retiring.
2/3 needed to convict and remove. It'll never happen unless he actually shoots someone on 5th Avenue (and then maybe not...)
100%. Those who say, "They'd better watch out b/c the next Democratic president will also have immunity from prosecution" doesn't know how this works. We can rest assured that Dems will be fully liable under the law for anything they do - even legal acts that are recast by the Repubs as crimes.
Incarcerate 6 fascist judges?
Heaven forbid!
Point taken, but, the next president can also issue an executinve order to have the bum jailed. Won't stick, but will be funny as hell to see him in the heartbreak hotel even overnight
Much depends on whether Democrats wrest control of at least the House and, hopefully, the Senate from them in November and start investigating him and his power grabs, lies and tariffs right away.
But then they have to hold at least one house of Congress in 2028 in order to prevent the travesty you mention, Rena.
To prevent that travesty, we'll have to add justices to SCOTUS. Beyond Congress, they are the ones who gave immunity to Chump and who will take it away from a Democratic president so quickly it will make your head spin.
I don’t think the first thing a Democratic Congress should do, is investigate Trump. Should we at least win the house, we need to begin restoring some of what is broken in our institutions. Half of America voted for the guy. He is unimpeachable without 60Ds in the Senate and control of the house. First move to fix what has been broken. Civil Service to start. Research grants, SNAP. immigration, taxes,etc.
Derelict
The restoration to democracy the rule of law and equal justice with a New Democrat as president requires arresting prosecuting convicting and imprisonment for all criminal felon violators of the federal law against insurrection who are Trump members of his administration Republicans in Congress six justices on the Supreme Court and billionaire oligarchs including Musk. The law is U.S.C 18 § 2383. That would put a Democratic super majority in Congress and SCOTUS. Then legislation could be passed to raise taxes on billionaires and corporations to fund solutions to affordability including Medicare for All and end Citizens United and other corrupt SCOTUS decisions.
Well said!
That’s why the first thing a Democratic administration must do is to add four liberal justices to the Supreme Court.
"Trump showed us the harm an unchecked President with unitary executive powers can do. Lesson learned."
Derelict, I'd be ok with that, if that's how we get back to having each of the 3 branches of government fulfilling their duties and responsibilities while staying in their lanes.
Unfortunately, while the next Democratic president will be hobbled by the rediscovery of the legislative and judicial branches exercising their full power, the next Republican president will be enabled by both of those branches deciding they, meh, no need for oversight since it's a Republican.
Oh Lord!
The next president can do whatever he deems proper, the Supreme court says it is so.
Read the fine print: "Offer not valid if president's name followed by (D)."
Well, then, I propose we "undeclare" his immunity. Why not? This regime can declare things and we have to respect them? Seriously?
The governments and courts were sold to the wealthy and big corporations to serve their interests. At this point the US government is a failed system that doesn't work for anyone except the people who bought it.
Any constitutional change at this point, would end up being a fiasco controlled by a bunch of right wing nut jobs and their billionaire buddies.
And you kept electing Republicans. Never forget that Americans did this to themselves. No one else got to vote.
Well, entirely too many fools among us, thus.
This puzzles me as well. It isn’t something new, unfortunately. Obama had signs of this when it came to Ukraine and didn’t act on the consequences of Russian invasion, so of course did Russia continue.
Biden was not uninformed about Trump & Co’s plans, yet, didn’t strengthen the resilience of the juridical institutions and the civil services.
Congress wouldn't let him, and Americans were foolish enough to leave the GOP in power in too many places.
Years ago my morning coffee klatch were dismayed that Democrats were the sort of wimps who would not face the reality that for Republicans politics was a blood sport.
Outside of silent, I don't know what the Democrats are now, in the face of the open and wanton destruction of the country. Sure, the media is largely propaganda networks, but their inability to say anything about everything makes them next to useless. Maybe they are the same party with the same donors who are afraid to turn on their masters by offering a truly progressive platform that goes hard after the oligarchs. In which case, it's over.
And no thanks to Merrick Garland.
He was the definition of useless.......
Many are calling for change. The question is: Do we have enough people to make tris happens? We have our work cut out for us. And many of us in NY and NJ have this to say about Trump: we don’t like him. He was booed in his NYC polling place the first time he ran, and our opinions haven’t chsnged.
So there are real, smart, serious ideas out there about exactly this - how do we make sure that nothing like this CAN ever happen again, whether it be simply enacting legislation or amending or outright changing (which I don’t really think we have to or should scrap what we have, but it’s out there) our constitution. There are things we can be doing now. Check out both Mitch Jackson and Mike Brock on ideas on reforming SCOTUS specifically. But it’s going to require us all to engage with the process. Not a blue wave, just a blue ant 🐜 swarm, working together. We CAN make change, we are no less capable or courageous than our ancestors. Tbh, I think we’ve just all gotten lazy.
And Christopher Armitage: Existentialist Republic.
https://cmarmitage.substack.com/
Absolutely. Also Mike Brock and Dino Alonso. If you’re paying attention to the current economy and want real information check out Jason at preparedness and politics, he has a fabulous guide. Jessica with grounded has done yeoman’s work on creating ways to survive, especially regarding the 2 critical issues facing every single American - water and power. And of course this platform right here. We are almost to a tipping point, I think, where prices will rise precipitously and shortages may occur. Any slight disruption will have severe impact. Please everyone get ready, stay strong, and for God’s sake help each other. The biggest weapon is that we aren’t like them, we have “extreme compassion” for each other and even for them. We must lead from the heart
Well, you know how the republicans feel about it. As senator Cornyn recently lamented, there’s nothing they can do to ‘rein him in’. Let that not be misunderstood as there’s nothing in their tool chest available for them to work with but rather as an unwillingness to try. Trump is a lifelong incorrigible, has always wanted his way, and he’ll throw a hissy fit if anyone gets in his way. But he’s not superman.
We're hearing some voices but seeing little action.
Lotsa voices being raised for these changes. I see them every day in The Contrarian & in the newspaper headlines at my drug store…
The US Constitution is obsolete.
The oaths of office are ignored.
We can only come to one conclusion: The US is unfit for a democracy.
As opposed to whom, really? It's not as if there's better sort of state, if people vote responsibly. The rub.
When will anyone in the media or, omigod, CONGRESS suggest making the contractor who screwed up the reflecting pool REPAY the taxpayers for his faulty work??? Or is that a bridge way too far?
Yes indeed. And why doesn’t somebody let Fox News know that it wasn’t a vandal and the Olympian suspect was declared innocent and released. How does Fox continue holding a licence to broadcast?
Fox is well aware of the truth. Telling them only shows ignorance.
Some of us are screaming about it and have been for years but we are all being shadow-banned online and either funneled into prison or driven out of the country.
I think another feature of the American political system which differs from other democracies (not that the U.S. can really be included in that club anymore) is that there is no recognized ‘leader of the opposition’ around which opponents, strategy and messaging can be effectively organized during the presidential 4 year term. We just held primaries - less than 100 days before the next mid term elections, and no democratic presidential candidate will be finally selected before August 9/10 2028 - about 12 weeks before the actual presidential election!
The Fake News White House gets away with Trump's outrageous lies while Republicans whistle past the graveyard. Where are the torches and pitchforks?
And, the republican party just confirmed Blanche’s position of AG.
Mark, It's reached the point that anyone with an IQ higher than their shoe size and paying the least bit of attention just assumes that everything Trump says is a lie. His daily oval office gaslighting sessions are caricatures of his increasing mental irregularity. The editors of respectable news organizations who send reporters to the daily oval office dog-and-pony shows should stop sending them, all his lies can be more efficiently tracked by reading his off-the-rails middle-of-the-night posts.
the standard media tries to be "fair and balanced" and treat the Office of the President with respect but Fox etc do not. It is time for the MSM to find and sharpen their knives, some are beginning to like Collins and Phang.
Years ago I heard Paul Krugman at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC. His comment on media trying to be “fair and balanced” was that if the Republicans said the Earth was flat, the headline would be “opinions on shape of Earth differ”.
Very good example. 👍
So, why just a few, like Paul Krugman, can tell that the king is naked?
Where is legacy media? There is so much it’s exhausting and yet they still ask him softball questions. Just ignore him.
Legacy media was mostly newspapers, and many of them have gone out of business. Tech, including the internet, took so much of their revenue they couldn’t survive. Classified ads have moved to help wanted platforms, Craigslist & eBay, mail circulars and shopping apps. As for TV news, we’ve seen how Trump is willing to weaponize the courts & the FCC against networks that criticize him.
Lack of challenges from the political class is due to cowardice. Same with other institutions like law firms, universities, etc., although there are exceptions. The other thing is that Trump lies constantly and people have become inured to it; they go living day to day and hope he eventually goes away. He resembles a wart in this sense.
Media, e.g. CBS WaPo, owned by oligarchs, SC giving him immunity, the Rs, while rich, castrated and fear losing their perks. And, of course obscene amounts of money spent on electing Rs.
I agree. The British establishment made the same mistake with Hitler : they assumed he was a normal person who shared their values!
Really!!!!! I agree but the people reading these articles in the substacks are indeed speaking out. Democrats running for congress are speaking out. My hope is that people in the US are understanding the absolute , abject stupidity of the republican party. I truly hope people in the US will be able to see through the bullshit billionaires will be throwing at ads in the next few weeks.
And the Democrats already in Congress are speaking out wherever they can.
It is an effective propaganda technique.
It started in post-Soviet Russia with the "Firehose of Disinformation."
Soviet propaganda mostly involved giving an alternative view of the truth.
After the fall of the USSR, the FSB (including Putin) started blasting so much misinformation, some of it contradictory, that the consumers of the propaganda could not keep up with debunking it all, and eventually lost sight of not just the truth, but the very concept of truth.
The George W Bush administration toyed with this a little under Karl Rove (remember this? 'The aide described people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality" as being in "the reality-based community." He further claimed, "That's not the way the world really works anymore... We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."'
But under Trump and Steve Bannon, they opened the gates to "Flood the zone with shit," as a conscious strategy. It takes hours to debunk off the cuff BS that take a few seconds to make. And if you keep that up, day after day, month after month, year after year, the very concept of truth begins to break down. You have a third of the population that thinks that "facts" are just the opinions of people that they despise.
We are 11 years into this, and the concept of objective reality is completely destroyed for a significant portion of the electorate. And as Hannah Arendt pointed out, the death of factuality destroys the collective and makes reality negotiable, making the perfect fascist subjects.
Much of the Trumpist right gets distracted by non-issues. Right now they’re hysterical over Anthony Fauci, who they believe belongs in prison. They ignore Trump and rant about Fauci.
It’s like two different planets.
"A lie travels around the world before the truth can get its boots on."
I think a big part of the problem is that there is no designated opposition leader, as you have in the UK. Even minority parties in the UK have leaders who can get media coverage when they criticise the incumbent government.
In the US, there is no clear leader of the Democrats, who can speak for the party, and criticise Trump and the Republicans.
Nor can the Ds even circle the wagons, put aside their differences, and come together with a unified message beyond “Trump is the problem”. That is not a solution, and it only makes his supporters ignore Ds more and latch onto Dear Leader more, furthering the tribalism rooted in lies, delusions, nothing substantial for everyday living.
He has a whole rethug party of DEATH supporting him, a cabinet selected by him to be nothing but sock puppets, and supporters who'd rather give up their livelihood than vote for a decent human who has a working intellect and compassion for other humans.
Agree but I’m hoping the success of Sayed in Michigan and Mamdani in nyc etc betokens a turning of the tide back towards a more tender place……I struggle with what to do..?
We can hope!
Yesterday Timothy Snyder did a piece on communism which included the story of the rise of social democracy in Germany after WW1. The democratic socialists wanted to reform capitalism rather than overthrow it, but as they believed their victory to be inevitable they sat by and watched as the fascists took over. It was terrifying to me because I see the centrist Democrats doing the exact same thing here. And the MSM, having mostly sold out decades ago and now owned by fascist fellow travelers plays the fascist tune.
Of course you’re amazed. Anyone would be, as long as they’re not from the US, Russia, China or Iran, where “strategic deception” is legal. Sadly, we’re so accustomed to lies in this country that it’s become status quo.
https://www.prosek.com/unboxed-thoughts/bridging-the-atlantic-navigating-the-key-differences-in-us-and-uk-marketing/
You'll figure out what it's like with the Reform Party
Across the spectrum they cannot fathom changing anything because they're all told that they're the greatest country that has ever existed.
They've been destroyed, my friend. The barbarians are inside the gates and have captured all of our strongholds.
Oh, he’s contradicted all the time, sometime by his next sentence.
Not just Trump flat out lying without being challenged or contradicted. Anthony Fauci, with a lifetime of impeccable service who dared contradict Trump on the latter's ludicrous assertions about the covid virus, is now being persecuted by the Republican majority in the Senate.
Big media is on the side of the Republicans The owners are insanely rich; they believe the Republican Party is 100% on their side, and they are right to think so. So Republicans can do no wrong, and Democrats better watch their step all the time to avoid the media blowing something insignificant up to insane proportions The answer in the US to most questions, is "money." It's a country founded on greed, after all.
As an Afghan who served alongside US forces for years and was left behind, reading this article is painful. Paul Krugman is right: Donald Trump is so focused on political rants, claiming everything is dirty, and demanding punishment that he ignores the real truth. He does not even talk about crime dropping because he needs fear to justify his cruel policies. While politicians in Washington play games and complain about 'blue cities,' thousands of brave Afghans who risked their lives for American troops are left in danger. They talk big about safety and justice, but they completely turned their backs on the allies who truly sacrificed for them.
The personal toll this president has taken in human lives, greed, and broken promises is staggering. I am so sorry for the betrayal to you and our friends around the world who trusted their alliance with the usa and have paid dearly for their
friendship.
Thank you for this reminder—and for your service. Trump has brought shame on my country.
The world, in fact,
Well, he has at multiple occasions made fun of people that actually do sacrifice their lives for others and those that care. He call them losers.
That probably says enough of that man to not expect much from him, nor his friends. When working for society is considered a weakness and when being able to exploit others is considered a virtue… Yepp, they are not the good guys.
You risked your life to help us and you deserve far better from us than you got. The GOP hates our own soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines too, though. They get injured in war and then Republicans have to fund their VA care, which is why they prefer their heroes dead. They hate spending money on anything they don’t get kickbacks — sorry, “PAC donations” — for. So they love spending money on military contracts. Without those contracts, we’d have a military as lousy as our K-12 school system, not to mention roads, bridges and food safety.
you forgot one of the worst health care outcomes among developed countries .
For the highest amount spent.
Yes. The facts tell the story. But one never sees it all written or addressed in a speech by a politician. Well to be fair, that would be political suicide.
But wait , Elizabeth - our Mango Coated Menace has a plan to “ fix “ health care .
Although they say they have a plan - they haven’t revealed it to us yet - it’s sooo simple :
1. Don’t get sick
2. If you do get sick - die quickly
So kind of them to remind us that we are all going to die - Especially when they have gold plated insurance coverage . I suppose that if the regime doesn’t want to take credit for lower violent crime numbers they CAN own their contribution to our failed health outcomes .
Out health care system is the best in the world to enrich physicians and insurance companies it is near the bottom of Western developed countries for patient outcomes-start with life expectancy very poor rank among developed countries.
Dead apparently don’t matter anymore either, as they reclassify those deaths so their illegal war can appear to have fewer casualties. Not only is this an insult to those who serve, their sacrifice for his vanity and delusion, their loved ones, and the people still serving, but it has the real world ramifications of losing certain benefits. But hey! no biggie, what’s a little honor and integrity when you (think you) can make Trump and his band of miscreants look better and save money on those combat deaths too.
I agree with you on the insult to our service members and their family, but I am not clear on what benefits are lost. When my Army husband died in an auto accident on a US military base, our small children and I got VA benefits, insurance payments and continued use of military health and shopping facilities. Granted that was 52 years ago, but it's hard to imagine that those benefits no longer apply. He even received a posthumous promotion.
Oh yes, I should have said they lose certain honors/recognition. I hope the benefits remain! But I wouldn’t put anything past these uncaring, cheap mofos.
Freedom loving people in your country are part of a world-wide club. After all "help is on the way" in Iran. President Trump said so. Greenland is still on the menu. In my country of Canada our troops fought and died in Afghanistan for America, honouring our Article 5 NATO pledge. Now we are treated to "51st state" taunts and casual laughter from millions of Americans at "the joke". Our PM Mark Carney is respected across the globe but referred to as "Governor Carney" by the President. We are burdened with illegal tariffs that blatantly violate signed trade agreements approved by Congress. The visceral disgust across the planet for this version of America is palpable wherever I travel.
I believe millions of Americans recognize Carney’s integrity, experience and intelligence and can only dream that it was he running our country! Only MAGA would choose a convicted fraud and serial bankrupt as president and make fun of a respected economist who has run both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England!
It's shameful how this terror gang disguised as a legitimate government has abandoned its allies. On a related note, wouldn't this obsession with killing and inflicting pain be catalogued somewhere in the DSM psychiatric manual? Anyone other than Trump would be forbidden to own a firearm under state red-flag laws. He owns an army, an armed secret police force (ICE) and a nuclear arsenal.
Sure, there's a diagnosis to cover this, but that is immaterial to anyone who is not treating him. We need to focus on the behavior, not the psychiatric labels that are constructs, a sort of shorthand to example clusters of behavior and/or symptoms.
While I agree that Trump shouldn't be anywhere near nuclear weapons and the like, practically speaking, we must rely on whatever generals/admirals/etc., still on active duty to prevent him from using such powers, because the Cabinet will not invoke the 25th Amendment and the Republican-owned Congress continues to kowtow to him.
As an American watching this happen to our allies who risked their lives for us based on an understanding of America that no longer seems to apply as Trump destroys our nation, I am ashamed of our behavior.
You and your compatriots should be honored and protected for the sacrifices that you made and the dangers that you experienced on behalf of assisting Americans in Afghanistan— and I know that you’re still in danger. This is so shameful and wrong! I hope that you manage to safely survive and someday, somehow be compensated for your service.
Yes, it was DJT who said all troops should be out of Afghanistan by October, but it was BIDEN who upped the date to close much sooner, and caught everyone by surprise! I was saddened and even sickened to see the Afghan civilians outside the gate to the tarmac seeing the huge transport airplanes loading up with our soldiers and some of our equipment. We even left some of the newest jet fighter aircraft in Afghanistan, but I was told they destroyed the ignition system.
But to see people suffering without food, or water, or a place to stand that wasn't in a "cesspool" due to "no leaving to find a bathroom or their place at the gate would be taken," was abject cruelty! It was so awful to see some men on the airplanes falling to their death when the airplanes took off knowing that people were trying desperately to get a place on board!
As you probably know, we did the same thing in Vietnam! We abandoned the very people who helped us as translators and in other capacities that put their lives on the line! And seeing the people on the roof trying to grab the helicopters as they were leaving Saigon, was just so heartbreaking. Thankfully our government found room for them in this "Land of the Free and Home of the Brave," that is no longer "free" and certainly not "brave!"
The agreement that Trump signed was to have ALL US troops out by May1 2021-Biden actually delayed it to mid August 2021. Good argument that Biden should not have followed disastrous Trump agreement-but that agreement had us leaving even sooner than we did
Yeah blame DJT. It is Trump's fault. He failed in Iran too.
As trump knows, there are all sorts of crimes. Bad crimes, committed by “those people” in cities, are dirty and deserving of harsh punishment. Good crimes, like voter suppression or tax cheating, or best of all, money laundering, are good crimes. Laundering is clean by definition, right?
Trump needs the pervasive notion of urban crime to keep the people in fear. Fear is the “trump card” of any authoritarian.
according to the SC getting $ and then doing the deed is a bribe but doing the deed then getting the $ is a gift.
Ironically, Trump supports polluting our air and water by rolling back EPA regulations that have helped make America clean for almost 50 years.
While the world is literally on fire all around us.
I spent the 1958-59 school year in Manhattan. Coal was still the major heating fuel. Central Park was lovely when it snowed - for about a day. Then the soot started to form a layer on top of the snow. After a week, the snow was nearly black on top. That may be one of Trump's fond memories of his childhood.
"Trump refuses to this day to acknowledge that he was wrong." Paul made this statement about the Central Park Five, but it could apply to everything Trump has ever said. Everything he has ever said has been wrong (out of ignorance or because he lied) and he is too psychologically insecure every to admit that he has been wrong about anything.
he learned that from his mentor the evil roy cohn
Cohn no doubt helped him along, but Trump achieved his massive degree of ignorance and his pathological lying on his own. Give him credit where it is due.
That's how pathological liars with narcissism roll.
Trump evidently went to Las Vegas yesterday to talk up the economy at a time when that tourist-dependent city has been devastated by his policies. He and his advisers are living in an alternate reality.
He spent much of that talk criticizing Canada; Canadians used to visit Las Vegas regularly and don't any more.
I wonder why not . . . 😉
While the crime rate is falling in cities and across the country it is soaring in Washington, in the White House particularly
🙂… Cue up Neil Young’s “There’s Crime In DC, the Whitehouse”. Great song again, Neil💗
Loved the tree pic. And wasn't that a little kid frolicking along among the walkers? Here in the 'Burgh we have so many trees that the fall leaf collection is a mega-endeavor. But besides the lying, grifting and incompetence he gifts us with daily there is the cruelty. Another word for a person who enjoys the suffering of others is a sadist. And sadism, as some people might know is one of the personality deficits listed in the so-called Dark Tetrad of severe personality disorders, along with manipulative tendencies, psychopathy and malignant narcissism. Trump could be its poster boy.
his menacing photo should be in the DSM next to the Dark Tetrad
What a grand idea!
Indeed. And sadism is deriving pleasure from the suffering of others.
Trump and Miller look at that photo and see people running for their lives from the Woke Commie hordes...
Egads and gadzooka, where, oh where is my flintlock and powder horn?
D ranting about 'crooked & corrupt' is his subconscious revealing itself....as well ALL know now every accusation by him and his tribe is a CONFESSION.
It's been obvious for a decade that his most consistent trait is projection - it's right up there with lying, maybe ahead. From the time he was talking about "crooked Hillary" and "lying Ted" and "liddle Marco" - it was all projection.
The best lies are the ones closest to the truth.
If only “all” of us knew that. The best we can hope for is that some independent voters have learned a few facts.
He did try to take credit for Operation Warpspeed. That didn’t last very long.
Trump actually deserves credit for Operation Warp Speed. It was created by his administration. He later backed off that impressive accomplishment when he realized his base was anti-vax — but he certainly got all his vaccines and also received cutting edge treatment — not Ivermectin — when he became dangerously ill with covid.
But he clearly can’t take the credit because of his crazy MAGA base.
Yes. When Trump tried out taking credit for Warp Speed, his base boo’d. He straightened up real fast, to march to their drum.
Understood. I feel that it was something he decided not to meddle with, for once. I don’t give him credit for that.
When I was 14 I found '1984' terrifying for many reasons, but perhaps the most disturbing feature of the Party's realm was how thorough it was in finding nothing too insignificant to lie about. Trump--though far less subtle than the Inner Party intellectuals of the book--is almost as thorough-going in his relentless hunt for non-existent grievances to denounce and to punish, while perfectly mimicking Big Brother's boastful, endlessly triumphal and utterly mendacious perversion of reality.
Excellent comment, Stacy.
Sadly, today, at a bit more than 14, the fantasy is being acted in truth. It’s even more frightening.
Regards, Anthony
The Big Q is when will his supporters stop gripping fast to their grievances and start voting for a better Future.
Not gonna happen. They came for--and stayed for-- the racism. All the other explanations for Trumpism are distractions from this fundamental truth.
Stacy - 100%. If I hear another word about trying to win them over b/c they're misunderstood or maybe financially struggling, I'll spit. They're in it for the racism, and as long as that - and the misogyny - are being pushed front and center, they'll be all in.
Indeed, January 6 was a day of love. DJT pardoned every single one of those patriots for their cop-beating, Pence-hanging ways. And of late, wants to compensate them for the most horrendous and grievous ills in history (in typical Trumpian understatement) they suffered under Biden. Pirro may have folded like an umbrella but DJT lies like a rug.
Pirro did Trump a favor by making the pool prosecutions go away. Trump is just too dumb to realize it.
Trump lies like breathing air. His cruelty is in his bones, and his treachery is in his genes. This cesspool of a human is our president, and the American people voted for him. We owe you our gratitude and the world an apology.
Trump lies even when there’s no discernible benefit to himself. I think lying is a lifelong reflex for him.
Someone he went to school with commented that he would lie when there was no benefit in it for himself - as if just for the practice. He's an f'ed up individual.
I’ll say.
I agree.
If crime is dropping there is no need to have one of the world's largest armies patrolling american streets without id wearing masks.
that's not why they are there, start by building CCs, deporting aliens to desenitize the population to mass incarcination, then fill it with domestic "enemies of the state" mainly democrats
ICE has already started knocking on the doors of protesters. Next year, they'll be breaking those doors down.
Willie Horton. The face of urban crime, at least in stereotype, is a man of color. Pretty much the whole GOP messaging. Look at that POC robbing you and attacking white women! (to distract you while I pass tax legislation that benefits gazillionaires.)
The violent crime rate is half of what it was during the Reagan-Bush 1 era, Trump is just another part of the right wing who have hyped up crime for over 70 years in order to scare the gullible into voting for them. It's always part of the GOP playbook.
Meanwhile the GOP refuses to prioritize white collar crimes which are always underreported, underinvestigated and underprosecuted.