''This is the problem though: If Donald Trump is the standard by which everybody else is judged, by definition nobody can be unqualified. The standards have been set so low that the bar currently resides at the molten core of the earth.''
Some folks would call that hell. I would tend to agree.
He needs his kind around him. And anyone who dares think they are better - Joni Ernst, defender of warrior women who have been sexually assaulted- will cower in fear and relinquish any dignity they ever had.
I think she really is afraid. She showed her reluctance in December and was worked over.
I have been put in some tough spots in my career and my response was to continue to do what's right even if I lost my job, but everyone is not built the same.
Broken manifests itself differently for each and every one of us. I'm disappointed in her, but I pity her as well.
I was always awed by the immensity of the next task placed before me. Yes even afraid. But it made me always go back to the basics of what I know how to do in my sleep. Apply the Scientific process, come up with alternatives for action, see who wants to play which alternative, form the team and go at it without holding back. Make sure you have the best team possible. Don't give a inch, unless it's part of the plan. In Battle, yes there are many forms of battle during implementation. In Battle refer to the best advice of Strategic Warlords of the past while adapting them to the current context. I have fought many such battles in my lifetime...all successful, because I go back to basics, and get very creative on the basis of the context. Being afraid helps.
Sera Bella, I am sorry I can't pity Ernst. She was a military person who had to face the toughness of our military training etc. She should have the guts to face an inept, ignorant old man who blusters and bellows, but is really nothing. If she is so fearful, why did she not get the FBI involved or some other law enforcement to track down anyone who is threatening her? She could have reported Trump. It may not have fixed things, but at least some people would know what was being done to her and wonder if those same a-holes were doing it to any other senators. That is a crime and the perpetrators need to be in jail. I get it that Republicans are pushed to have absolutely no courage, but they don't have to capitulate, not even to Toddler-Trump.
SHE Abdicated Her Responsibility, Both To ALL Women And ALL Members Of The Military. The GOP Are COMPLICIT In Selling Out OUR COUNTRY And OUR DEMOCRACY.
Sera Bella, Trump "broke" Ernst, but she permitted it. She was literally the warrior and Trump the draft dodger, but she capitulated. That is nuts! Absolutely no courage among Republicans in office! Shameful, but Repubs have no shame, just a lot of lies and the expected racism and misogyny which they make sure are on full view at all times.
She is then, incredibly weak. I cannot imagine giving in. For what? 6 more years in WTF job? She could consult, do a dozen other things. Is “power” really THIS intoxicating?? I just don’t get it.
Funny that you mentioned hell; weather on his inauguration day is supposed to be one of the coldest in history, offering gusty winds with a high of 20 degrees, so literally, it will freeze over.
These Democratic women senators showed courage for sure, but sadly they did not bring Pete Hegseth down, thanks to the critical mass of numb and malevolent GOP senators, gender notwithstanding.
Maybe so, but that exemplar of judicial integrity, dear Clarence, has some tough competition on this same current selection of justices for the “Worst if All Time” world record.
Let our reactions be calm and reasonable. Those who are manipulating are doing it to cause chaos and confusion. If the elephant and donkey "mated" to give birth to a porcupine with accusatory fingers, it is because incendiary agitators who want to capitalize on fear and anger want to profit from it. Hang on to your peace and your pocketbook.
Good advice, Bob. I've been feeling so hopeless and depressed, I have become virtually immobilized. THIS IS THE GOAL...once we are too demoralized to fight back, the bulldozers will come out and finish the job.
Be the salt of the earth. Admonish first, let accusation be the last resort. Just because they use vinegar doesn't mean we have to. We can make the pickle jar sweeter by using less acid.
That's exactly right. Bannon said they would totally destroy all Biden's economic conquests so they can then rebuild it in the name of MAGA. Can you imagine? We are the "envy of the world" when it comes to economics, yet they will just destroy it? Makes me furious.
They're going to suck this country's coffers dry because everything they do, is all about the almighty dollar. Nothing is sacred to them against the dollar. I'm renewing my passport right now (it expires in April but I just can't wait that long) just in case we end up having to flee.
I guess we can expect another nasty recession. So much for his "Greatest Economy Evah!" as one of his supporters described it. Little by little, I've seen more and more people have come forward to admit that the economy was horrible.
When CEOs and Economics experts come forward to say that it will get worse, it behooves us all to pay attention. Even Trump, in hearing this probably, had to admit pre-emptively that things could get bad.
Did he expect it would soften the blow to his rabid supporters who have admonished the Democrats for an economy that they have been convinced is terrible despite evidence to the contrary?
Making things no longer functional is the orange stain's claim to fame...Utter failures: trump steaks, trump water, casinos, trump university, trump air and so on and so on...but, oh yeah, a "great" businessman. SMFH!!
Its over, guys. Pack it up, the nation is finished. 250 years wasn't a bad run for a new country. This only ends in dictatorship or civil war. See you all on the front lines when the shooting starts.
I agree with you on this. I am glad I’m sick and old and won’t probably live to see the worst of this truth, the complete destruction of the country that I served.
Im sorry, and thank you for your service. Its quite shameful that this is what this country has become. Both my grandfathers were in WWII, both Officers; one a doctor and one an engineer. Three of one of my grandfather's hrothers also fought in the wr as pilots. I am so glad that they didnt live to see this. They fought to end fascism, Nazism, nd conquest, and now they are here in this country. I have never been more ashamed or embarressed to be an American. It makes me viscerally ill.
Thank you for your service. I served as well, so this is very personal for both of us seeing a place we raised our hands and said we'd die for. I feel you. I'm with you.
I think for those of us who served, seeing this go down is particularly galling. We swore that oath, and we MEANT it. We went willingly, prepared to do what had to be done, whether it was in garrison or in the field.
To see this thoroughly unqualified POS appointed to oversee the men and women who will uphold THEIR oath is one of the most sickening things I've experienced.
ditto - not sick but getting feeble - certainly old...but have retirement-age kids who will spend THEIR old age in an unimaginable (politically and environmentally) world
Absolutely not, Andy. We need to use the next 3 Months to reorganize the DNC, next six months to implement and the next 6 to beat them in the 2026 an then on from there. However, if the DNC does not move into ACTIVE mode, you are right.
I've watched two online interviews of DNC candidates so far and will be contacting mine to recommend Wikler from WI. There is one other that would be OK with me as well. I think it's important we have a strong person with more of an organizing background now at the DNC helm.
The 448 or so current delegates will vote on Feb. 1 (soon!) for a new leader of the DNC.
DNC would need a firebrand to lead them into a winning strategy and magas winning strategy is in place so is the genius who can overcome the majority maga justices, governors, legislatures born yet?
Oh yeah, we just have to find them and build a team of firebrands, leading different aspects of the conflict. I didn't say this was quick, as a matter of fact, I think the time frame may be 10 to 20 years. If we start now. As you say correctly in other words, this parasite is deep within us and is on the rise.
"I am 74 years old; a red diaper baby wannabe. I have lived in San Francisco since 1974. I am proud to be a MAGA nightmare—old, Jew, gay, snark up to here" I never in my life ever thought a Jew could be a fascist.
Yes! I used to suggest that I too was a Red Diaper Baby (actually, grandparents came here in 1840s and 1880s). Also, I am apparently your twin: 74, San Francisco, the rest. At least it’s not lonely here.
No, it's not lonely here, David. The only place I can happily snark to my heart's delight without having to put up with all the incoming "free" speech overflowing my inbox. (Just found my Green Card from 1951 in a stack of old papers. Didn't know I still had it. So now I'm good for whatever happens next.)
Mary, I don’t know how you cope with this continuing decline in US sanity. You’re one in a million, and we appreciate your thoughts and insights. 💕🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
There are those who use the word MAGA to excuse what is happening. It doesn’t work any more. The word is Republicans. Get over what republicans “used to be”. This is who they are. They always were. Get over it. They don’t get a pass.
There is NO Republican party. There is the MAGA party led by a spawn of all that is evil. The Republican party committed suicide in 2016 by exhibiting cowardice and stupidity.
That may be what the MAGAs call themselves out of shame for what they attempted to do, but the rest of us will call them MAGAs until every last one of them is out office, has been displaced and excortiated. Until, they are MAGAs.
I was so stunned by joni ernst's statement that she would support the hedgehog for Director of the DOD that I, literally, was overwhelmed by feelings I have never had before. I never dreamed that I WAS capable of having such feelings. I wanted to get a sharp shooter -- oops, I just looked that up, and it's a person, not a weapon -- I mean a, I was going to write "sniper", but apparently that is a person, too -- so I guess it can be any kind of gun and aim it between her eyeballs. Yes, I wanted to ass-inate her. I wanted her to experience what she is doing to our nation, to experience what she, because of her position of IMMENSE power, is creating for the rest of us. I felt such intense rage toward her -- for her complete and UTTER hypocrisy, her incredible NARCISSISM that her reelection is more important than protecting our nation from invasion by Russia, China, whomever -- that I wanted her to pay. It took me about 20 minutes to move past my blind rage. (BTW, I have never even hit anybody, and only touched a gun once and refused to pick it up.) I didn't know that I was capable of feeling such rage. Intellectually, I know that what the great Sufi master, Russian Irina Tweedie wrote is true: that "we are all capable of the greatest crimes, the greatest ego", but emotionally I have never been there. After the rage burned out, I just cried and cried for hours, cried myself to sleep, am still crying this morning. I am experiencing three of the five stages of grief, as described by the great Elizabeth Kubler Ross: denial, anger, and depression. What I am NOT feeling, nor do I ever intend to feel, is acceptance. (Bargaining, the fifth stage, is, obviously, a non-starter.) The death is of what used to be the United States of America.
You express a lot of emotions that a lot of people are experiencing, not just one loss but many losses that just keep accumulating, along with the slings and arrows of the outrageous Trump machine to twist the knife in the wounds….I think we are all, as a national community, being buffeted from one stage of grief to another and back—not because this is the nature of grief but because the chaos we keep encountering is intentional. I love that, in the midst of your pain, you are persisting in your will to keep going. There’s a sixth stage of grief: transformation. What you, like our heroic friends in Ukraine, are doing is our best hope to make it to the other side of this dark time.
"to twist the knife in the wounds... not because this is the nature of grief but because the chaos we keep encountering is INTENTIONAL". Outstanding analysis. That is the essence of Sadism. The first time I saw the monster come down the escalator in June, 2015 (ten years, OMG, ten years of our lives, wasted), don't tell me why/how, I jumped up to my feet and yelled, "It's Hitler!" Need I say, everybody laughed. Twist the knife, pull limbs apart on the rack. The endpoint is to TORTURE, not to get rid of, somebody (i.e., kill them).
As I threw out my television in the late ‘90s and don’t live in America, I had never heard of Donald Trump…until invited by Trump-supporting neighbors (whom I hardly knew, but it was going to be wine and cheese) to watch the third debate. Only minutes after it began, I jumped out of my seat, pointed at the screen, and yelled: “What? Is? THAT?”
I think my eyes must’ve been popping out of my head with horror as I turned and looked at my fellow viewers. Even more horrifying were their little smiles of contented insouciance, as though they were under the influence of a drug. They thought I was nuts.
I knew too. But I had known so much about that nastyass family since late 70's or very early 80's I never would even watch that idiotic tv show Mark Bernette foisted on the generally unsuspecting American public. All total lies and millions fell for it hook, line and sinker about DonOLD being a "successful businessman". UGH.
I didn't know anything about him or that family, except that he put out a full page ad in the NYT about the Central Park Five, demanding their execution. (Of course, they all turned out to be innocent.) Nothing else. Have you seen what Burnett said recently? "I tried to get several other people to be the 'star', but no one else was interested, so I took him. When we went to his office to film, it was a total DUMP. We had to do a lot of work to make it look decent. I can't say how much I regret doing that show." NOW: having said that, the orange sadist has assigned him to be the "Special Envoy" to Great Britain. Guess that'll shut him up.
Every New Yorker knew. Even many, many people elsewhere with New York ties knew. So many of us tried for the longest time to warn people but we were called every nasty name in the book...conspiracy theorists, liars, Commies, etc.
Hmmm, I was a New Yorker too, tho in his early days. Maybe I can use that as an excuse lol. I remember feeling repelled by the golden staircase shtick and his abhorrent remarks but that nameless dread took a long time to surface and put the pieces together.
Place yourself in the middle of your pain and roll around in it. It hursts less and your mind becomes clearer. Once you do that send supportive messages to the others that are suffering and prepare yourself to fight.
We are all in a deep state of trauma now, k. I can feel this affecting my health. My hair is starting to fall out too. I'm not sure how we're going to get through this.
Are we? Are we going to get through this? Are we for another holocaust? "ethnic cleansing" (which to me is the most horrific term in the English language. Just call it mass murder and torture. "Cleansing"??!)
Only if we let it happen. We are many, we are smart, we are resourceful, and we have right on our side....But only if we actively resist. My biggest concern is that the Democrat leadership still doesn't understand that the "gloves are off". Pretend (you won't have to be too imaginative" that MAGAts are aliens. Are you going to fight or go out with a whimper. You can even fight from outside the country if you have to, but fight.
As soon as I heard Biden say it, I thought "working across the aisle" would no longer apply. Biden turned out to be a great "bridge" president, and he has been a kind and decent human being, along with having international diplomacy expertise. We were lucky to have had him with us for the last four years. But his stubbornness against stepping down from running helped lead to the predicament we're in. I love him, but I'm so disappointed in his huge mistake.
A great bridge president -- if only, if only he'd kept his promise to be in office for four years, and let someone else run. He'd have had to do this in January 2024. He failed to do so. As a result, we can all see what happened.
Bruce, I took a break and thought about what you said. And it came to me, like a ray of sunshine, what H.H. the Dalai Lama said about the Chinese. An interviewers asked him, "Do you hate the Chinese?" Always honest, H.H. paused, then said, "Almost not. What I do is, I take in their hatred, their anger, and I turn it into love and give it to them." Tong Len. The highest form of Buddhist meditation. I'd forgotten. Fear has a way of doing that. I can breathe. Thank you, my friend.
You know, that's actually what I've been (TRYING TO) practice throughout these tumultuous times. However, I think when Ernst went completely and utterly against everything she had ever said, every moral ground she had claim, I went into "shock". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I truly felt horrified, like doom lay ahead of this country in a way that it never has before. I will do my best to practice Tong Len. (A very long story, but my daughter, just before she turned three, explained how she was dealing with her many, many serious illnesses -- and perfectly described Tong Len.)
I've spent my whole life fighting: for Civil Rights, against the VN war, against the Iraq war, the 2017 sham election -- so many different, important causes. I think my age and physical disability are making harder for me to deal with this situation because, for the first time, I feel relatively helpless. Rolling around, though, I can do! For what it's worth, I've been listening to maga teenagers with an open mind, and then sharing "my" perspective (AKA the truth). It's been fascinating to watch their interest.
They seem to be threatened with violence. They already got a taste of it when Jim Jordan wanted to be Speaker. People should have realized where it's going when the Judges, prosecutors, poll workers, election officials and all Democratic candidates were being harassed, doxxed, and threatened with violence. The Republicans thought they were immune but no one is with Fascists. The Republican Senators should vote as a block then they can't primary them all.
Yes, the terror causes even (relatively) decent people to fall into line with what the sadists want. Mitt Romney, a perfectly decent real Republican (conservative, as they all are) has said that he is spending $1,000,000/year for guards for his children and grandchildren. Now WHAT country did you say we are living in?
Can't say I was stunned. I expected her to give in to Trump. This act shows that her position as a senator is what is most important to her: position above country. Very few profiles in courage these days.
Someone else brought up the idea that she may be living in terror, that, if she crosses the sadistic dictator who is about to take over our country, her life may be in danger. When I read that, a lot of pieces fell into place. I think it's very possible that is the motivating factor, rather than greed. She was violently raped. She was the victim of physical and emotional abuse in her marriage. She has a 25-year-old daughter. Imagine if someone threatened to kill/rape your daughter; threatened the same thing about you. I have a very bad feeling that the real story behind what's going on is something far, far worse than any of us has realized.
It seems to be a resume requirement. Basically you have a Criminal hirering criminals and the criminals making their crimes legal while making human rights illegal.
Ever consider, Paula....these proposed cabinet members without portfolio to begin with are trump's way to set our country up for failure...for takeover? No pretension to finding The Best for the position...but certainly fealty to the man himself....and his minions?
‘ I did not think he had a snowball’s chance in hell of being confirmed—even with this Republican majority in the Senate.’
I’m surprised that anyone can still be surprised by the overall rot in our political, legal and societal landscapes. The stench permeates our entire existence.
Think of the Ukrainian citizens under constant attack under the direction of one of Trumps angry boy circle jerk buddies. They may have sorrow but do not have the luxury of attending to broken hearts. They must stay focused and resist.
He's worried about the military lowering its standards because of women and yet he's lowering their standards by even being considered to be their leader. Typical Republican hypocrisy.
I was listening to them trying to figure out how to get them rethink their positions, I think they know they are not heard and that their position is correct and no one else’s matter. They are in lockstep, educated but have been brainwashed into ranting and hating. I heard every maga talking point on Sunday. There is no common ground. Very sad.
As long as the candidate is a white, heterosexual male or female and vows loyalty to DJt, the repubs will let him or her get away with any and all vices and crimes, and lack of relevant inexperience — probably even if that person shot someone on 5th Avenue in broad daylight.
The most consequential crime scene ever witnessed in the U.S. will be the White House on January 20, 2025.
Believe all women! Senators Hirono, Gillibrand, and Duckworth were so brave to take down predator Pete. Female government workers like me will also resist Trump's MAGA Christofascism: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/the-resistance-is-strong-and-deep
- Pulled Quote -
''This is the problem though: If Donald Trump is the standard by which everybody else is judged, by definition nobody can be unqualified. The standards have been set so low that the bar currently resides at the molten core of the earth.''
Some folks would call that hell. I would tend to agree.
Lowest bar ever
I used to think I would suffer from brain fog for the rest of my life..."𝐛𝐮𝐭" this changed everything.... https://t.co/4hDhEIcbee
Ban this spam.
No bar actually
Clancy's Bar.
Gregg, we don't know which bar is Bondi's but I know it ain
't high or even if she is.
Sad, but true.
chuckle
He needs his kind around him. And anyone who dares think they are better - Joni Ernst, defender of warrior women who have been sexually assaulted- will cower in fear and relinquish any dignity they ever had.
He broke her.
Swear to god - how does she (and others like her) sleep at night?
I think she really is afraid. She showed her reluctance in December and was worked over.
I have been put in some tough spots in my career and my response was to continue to do what's right even if I lost my job, but everyone is not built the same.
Broken manifests itself differently for each and every one of us. I'm disappointed in her, but I pity her as well.
I was always awed by the immensity of the next task placed before me. Yes even afraid. But it made me always go back to the basics of what I know how to do in my sleep. Apply the Scientific process, come up with alternatives for action, see who wants to play which alternative, form the team and go at it without holding back. Make sure you have the best team possible. Don't give a inch, unless it's part of the plan. In Battle, yes there are many forms of battle during implementation. In Battle refer to the best advice of Strategic Warlords of the past while adapting them to the current context. I have fought many such battles in my lifetime...all successful, because I go back to basics, and get very creative on the basis of the context. Being afraid helps.
Sera Bella, I am sorry I can't pity Ernst. She was a military person who had to face the toughness of our military training etc. She should have the guts to face an inept, ignorant old man who blusters and bellows, but is really nothing. If she is so fearful, why did she not get the FBI involved or some other law enforcement to track down anyone who is threatening her? She could have reported Trump. It may not have fixed things, but at least some people would know what was being done to her and wonder if those same a-holes were doing it to any other senators. That is a crime and the perpetrators need to be in jail. I get it that Republicans are pushed to have absolutely no courage, but they don't have to capitulate, not even to Toddler-Trump.
I don't pity her! She has brought this on herself. So whatever happens to her happens!
She's all about keeping her job. That's it.
Yes, same with Susan Collins. Totally worthless.
i don't think they let it bother them. or it'd be damn the torpedoes. full speed ahead and sink em.
SHE Abdicated Her Responsibility, Both To ALL Women And ALL Members Of The Military. The GOP Are COMPLICIT In Selling Out OUR COUNTRY And OUR DEMOCRACY.
Sera Bella, Trump "broke" Ernst, but she permitted it. She was literally the warrior and Trump the draft dodger, but she capitulated. That is nuts! Absolutely no courage among Republicans in office! Shameful, but Repubs have no shame, just a lot of lies and the expected racism and misogyny which they make sure are on full view at all times.
She is then, incredibly weak. I cannot imagine giving in. For what? 6 more years in WTF job? She could consult, do a dozen other things. Is “power” really THIS intoxicating?? I just don’t get it.
Great analogy
Funny that you mentioned hell; weather on his inauguration day is supposed to be one of the coldest in history, offering gusty winds with a high of 20 degrees, so literally, it will freeze over.
Indeed, but the thaw is coming, is it not?
Indeed.
Indeed.
These Democratic women senators showed courage for sure, but sadly they did not bring Pete Hegseth down, thanks to the critical mass of numb and malevolent GOP senators, gender notwithstanding.
It's the same dynamic that sunk Anita Hill and left us with that creep Clarence Thomas the most unqualified person to ever sit on the high court.
Maybe so, but that exemplar of judicial integrity, dear Clarence, has some tough competition on this same current selection of justices for the “Worst if All Time” world record.
They we're out numbered, why even be there, they have no say anyway. It's all a joke
But then again we must resist or all is lost.
Let our reactions be calm and reasonable. Those who are manipulating are doing it to cause chaos and confusion. If the elephant and donkey "mated" to give birth to a porcupine with accusatory fingers, it is because incendiary agitators who want to capitalize on fear and anger want to profit from it. Hang on to your peace and your pocketbook.
Good advice, Bob. I've been feeling so hopeless and depressed, I have become virtually immobilized. THIS IS THE GOAL...once we are too demoralized to fight back, the bulldozers will come out and finish the job.
Be the salt of the earth. Admonish first, let accusation be the last resort. Just because they use vinegar doesn't mean we have to. We can make the pickle jar sweeter by using less acid.
Tysm!
MP!
It’s all about turning this country into a dictatorship
On November 5, Americans chose:
Lies over truth,
Ignorance over knowledge,
Chaos over order,
Malice over good will,
Division over unity,
Cowardice over courage,
Sleaze over character,
The criminal over the law,
And billionaires over ordinary people.
Proud to be a liberal woman, more than ever!
Proud to wear this totally unhinged radical liberal t-shirt in front of Republicans 👇
https://libtees-2.creator-spring.com/listing/radlib
Trump and co want to make the government NO longer functional!
That's exactly right. Bannon said they would totally destroy all Biden's economic conquests so they can then rebuild it in the name of MAGA. Can you imagine? We are the "envy of the world" when it comes to economics, yet they will just destroy it? Makes me furious.
They're going to suck this country's coffers dry because everything they do, is all about the almighty dollar. Nothing is sacred to them against the dollar. I'm renewing my passport right now (it expires in April but I just can't wait that long) just in case we end up having to flee.
I guess we can expect another nasty recession. So much for his "Greatest Economy Evah!" as one of his supporters described it. Little by little, I've seen more and more people have come forward to admit that the economy was horrible.
When CEOs and Economics experts come forward to say that it will get worse, it behooves us all to pay attention. Even Trump, in hearing this probably, had to admit pre-emptively that things could get bad.
Did he expect it would soften the blow to his rabid supporters who have admonished the Democrats for an economy that they have been convinced is terrible despite evidence to the contrary?
Me, too!!! Its disgusting and horrifying!!!
Bannon is correct:
DEI - OUT!
EV's - OUT!
Climate scam - OUT!
Overspending - OUT!
Sexualizing Children - OUT!
Woke politicians - OUT!
Gavin Newsom - OUT!
DOJ Weaponization - OUT!
Government Bureaucracy - OUT!
Wasting Money - OUT!
Biden - OUT!
Kamala - OUT!
Dem Senate majority - OUT!
Bidens woke admin - OUT!
Main stream media - OUT!
Propaganda - OUT!
China - OUT!
Illegal aliens - OUT!
On the winning side
President Trump - IN!
Republican majorities - IN!
Massive spending cuts - IN!
Trumps Cabinet - IN! (100% confirmed)
MAGA - IN!
Elon Musk - IN!
Tech Titans - IN!
Tax cuts for working class - IN!
America first tariffs - IN!
Panama Canal - IN! (We're taking it back)
Greenland - IN!
DOGE - IN!
Prosperity for working class - IN!
Jobs for Americans first - IN!
What's not to like?
Making things no longer functional is the orange stain's claim to fame...Utter failures: trump steaks, trump water, casinos, trump university, trump air and so on and so on...but, oh yeah, a "great" businessman. SMFH!!
Love the t-shirt!
It would seem impossible for a casino to go bankrupt! Especially for the first one in a major city in the eastern US!
But Trump showed how it could be down in Atlantic City!
Robert...he's saying to us.all..." If I let the foxes.in the hen house...the feathers
won't fly! TRUST ME !" 🙄
Don’t give up so easily! We owe it to all who gave their lives for this country. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
Exactly!!!
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
Thank you!!! You, as well!!!
Its over, guys. Pack it up, the nation is finished. 250 years wasn't a bad run for a new country. This only ends in dictatorship or civil war. See you all on the front lines when the shooting starts.
I agree with you on this. I am glad I’m sick and old and won’t probably live to see the worst of this truth, the complete destruction of the country that I served.
Im sorry, and thank you for your service. Its quite shameful that this is what this country has become. Both my grandfathers were in WWII, both Officers; one a doctor and one an engineer. Three of one of my grandfather's hrothers also fought in the wr as pilots. I am so glad that they didnt live to see this. They fought to end fascism, Nazism, nd conquest, and now they are here in this country. I have never been more ashamed or embarressed to be an American. It makes me viscerally ill.
I too am sick to my stomach. My uncle was WWII, his father WWI, my cousin Vietnam. My uncle liberated a Nazi death camp(cannot remember which).
Thank you for your service. I served as well, so this is very personal for both of us seeing a place we raised our hands and said we'd die for. I feel you. I'm with you.
God Bless you both....and all the honorable.men & women who served this beloved country ! We salute you!
I think for those of us who served, seeing this go down is particularly galling. We swore that oath, and we MEANT it. We went willingly, prepared to do what had to be done, whether it was in garrison or in the field.
To see this thoroughly unqualified POS appointed to oversee the men and women who will uphold THEIR oath is one of the most sickening things I've experienced.
I am so sorry. This is even worse for you. Thank you for your service.
ditto - not sick but getting feeble - certainly old...but have retirement-age kids who will spend THEIR old age in an unimaginable (politically and environmentally) world
I understand completely.
Me either
Hang on to watch it all unfold and then tell your grandchildren
You are a BOT
Absolutely not, Andy. We need to use the next 3 Months to reorganize the DNC, next six months to implement and the next 6 to beat them in the 2026 an then on from there. However, if the DNC does not move into ACTIVE mode, you are right.
I've watched two online interviews of DNC candidates so far and will be contacting mine to recommend Wikler from WI. There is one other that would be OK with me as well. I think it's important we have a strong person with more of an organizing background now at the DNC helm.
The 448 or so current delegates will vote on Feb. 1 (soon!) for a new leader of the DNC.
The DNC is the OPPOSITE of transparent. https://prospect.org/politics/2025-01-10-opening-dncs-black-box/ At prospect.org you can find a recent article on the process and a list of YOUR state reps to the DNC. First time I've ever seen this.
You will have to Google around (plus possibly call your state Demo office) to get addresses though as most are not published.
DNC would need a firebrand to lead them into a winning strategy and magas winning strategy is in place so is the genius who can overcome the majority maga justices, governors, legislatures born yet?
Oh yeah, we just have to find them and build a team of firebrands, leading different aspects of the conflict. I didn't say this was quick, as a matter of fact, I think the time frame may be 10 to 20 years. If we start now. As you say correctly in other words, this parasite is deep within us and is on the rise.
Agree
See you there, Andy
Yup!
Agree. If a dictatorship it would probably emulate Nazi Germany.
I’m sure
True
Those rascally women and uppity Negroes have had their day! Jesus says so.
If that was sarcasm, David, please flag if for us. Cuts down on reading the rest of the replies.
Yes, one-liners can be difficult. Otherwise, if you see the young lad saluting, pass on by.
What the hell
Indeed … through the very portals of hell, merrily we go
You first
See above.
I was a child in the Fifties … so already been there
You certainly aren’t the only one
"I am 74 years old; a red diaper baby wannabe. I have lived in San Francisco since 1974. I am proud to be a MAGA nightmare—old, Jew, gay, snark up to here" I never in my life ever thought a Jew could be a fascist.
I've seen my share of self-hating Jews. But Miller is another level and terrifying. I will not watch him anymore for stress management purposes.
He even looks evil!
Yes! I used to suggest that I too was a Red Diaper Baby (actually, grandparents came here in 1840s and 1880s). Also, I am apparently your twin: 74, San Francisco, the rest. At least it’s not lonely here.
No, it's not lonely here, David. The only place I can happily snark to my heart's delight without having to put up with all the incoming "free" speech overflowing my inbox. (Just found my Green Card from 1951 in a stack of old papers. Didn't know I still had it. So now I'm good for whatever happens next.)
Yes is it an oxymoron? He s definitely a moron...I guess he wants to be running the machine when he thinks the machine persecuted the Jews.
No rascally women or uppity negroes in the GOP, right?
I read it as snark, not a for real statement
As pure, and white, as the driven snow
Are you actually claiming that Jesus spoke these words to you?
Why not? Nice Jewish boy …
Old farts man the barricades (again)
But we’re getting fewer—Time is a cruel master
We will be there in a month
Mary, I don’t know how you cope with this continuing decline in US sanity. You’re one in a million, and we appreciate your thoughts and insights. 💕🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
You were in the Mm
There are those who use the word MAGA to excuse what is happening. It doesn’t work any more. The word is Republicans. Get over what republicans “used to be”. This is who they are. They always were. Get over it. They don’t get a pass.
There is NO Republican party. There is the MAGA party led by a spawn of all that is evil. The Republican party committed suicide in 2016 by exhibiting cowardice and stupidity.
You mean being themselves.
Until they retire the name Republican they are the Republican Party.
No. If people start calling them what they are, the name will pass into history the same way the Whigs did.
Yes, they will be called the Republican Party unless they retire the name to MAGA or something else.
That may be what the MAGAs call themselves out of shame for what they attempted to do, but the rest of us will call them MAGAs until every last one of them is out office, has been displaced and excortiated. Until, they are MAGAs.
MAGAs don’t have shame. And you can call them whatever you want but they call themselves Republicans.
I think it was 1980’s. Reagan. That did it. Laid the groundwork most certainly
I was so stunned by joni ernst's statement that she would support the hedgehog for Director of the DOD that I, literally, was overwhelmed by feelings I have never had before. I never dreamed that I WAS capable of having such feelings. I wanted to get a sharp shooter -- oops, I just looked that up, and it's a person, not a weapon -- I mean a, I was going to write "sniper", but apparently that is a person, too -- so I guess it can be any kind of gun and aim it between her eyeballs. Yes, I wanted to ass-inate her. I wanted her to experience what she is doing to our nation, to experience what she, because of her position of IMMENSE power, is creating for the rest of us. I felt such intense rage toward her -- for her complete and UTTER hypocrisy, her incredible NARCISSISM that her reelection is more important than protecting our nation from invasion by Russia, China, whomever -- that I wanted her to pay. It took me about 20 minutes to move past my blind rage. (BTW, I have never even hit anybody, and only touched a gun once and refused to pick it up.) I didn't know that I was capable of feeling such rage. Intellectually, I know that what the great Sufi master, Russian Irina Tweedie wrote is true: that "we are all capable of the greatest crimes, the greatest ego", but emotionally I have never been there. After the rage burned out, I just cried and cried for hours, cried myself to sleep, am still crying this morning. I am experiencing three of the five stages of grief, as described by the great Elizabeth Kubler Ross: denial, anger, and depression. What I am NOT feeling, nor do I ever intend to feel, is acceptance. (Bargaining, the fifth stage, is, obviously, a non-starter.) The death is of what used to be the United States of America.
You express a lot of emotions that a lot of people are experiencing, not just one loss but many losses that just keep accumulating, along with the slings and arrows of the outrageous Trump machine to twist the knife in the wounds….I think we are all, as a national community, being buffeted from one stage of grief to another and back—not because this is the nature of grief but because the chaos we keep encountering is intentional. I love that, in the midst of your pain, you are persisting in your will to keep going. There’s a sixth stage of grief: transformation. What you, like our heroic friends in Ukraine, are doing is our best hope to make it to the other side of this dark time.
"to twist the knife in the wounds... not because this is the nature of grief but because the chaos we keep encountering is INTENTIONAL". Outstanding analysis. That is the essence of Sadism. The first time I saw the monster come down the escalator in June, 2015 (ten years, OMG, ten years of our lives, wasted), don't tell me why/how, I jumped up to my feet and yelled, "It's Hitler!" Need I say, everybody laughed. Twist the knife, pull limbs apart on the rack. The endpoint is to TORTURE, not to get rid of, somebody (i.e., kill them).
You knew right away. How I wish more of us had known what you saw then!
Don't ask me how I knew. I just knew.
you're not alone. I found his evil to be palpable....a sense of horror.
As I threw out my television in the late ‘90s and don’t live in America, I had never heard of Donald Trump…until invited by Trump-supporting neighbors (whom I hardly knew, but it was going to be wine and cheese) to watch the third debate. Only minutes after it began, I jumped out of my seat, pointed at the screen, and yelled: “What? Is? THAT?”
I think my eyes must’ve been popping out of my head with horror as I turned and looked at my fellow viewers. Even more horrifying were their little smiles of contented insouciance, as though they were under the influence of a drug. They thought I was nuts.
You and I must have the same receptors for evil.
I knew too. But I had known so much about that nastyass family since late 70's or very early 80's I never would even watch that idiotic tv show Mark Bernette foisted on the generally unsuspecting American public. All total lies and millions fell for it hook, line and sinker about DonOLD being a "successful businessman". UGH.
I didn't know anything about him or that family, except that he put out a full page ad in the NYT about the Central Park Five, demanding their execution. (Of course, they all turned out to be innocent.) Nothing else. Have you seen what Burnett said recently? "I tried to get several other people to be the 'star', but no one else was interested, so I took him. When we went to his office to film, it was a total DUMP. We had to do a lot of work to make it look decent. I can't say how much I regret doing that show." NOW: having said that, the orange sadist has assigned him to be the "Special Envoy" to Great Britain. Guess that'll shut him up.
Every New Yorker knew. Even many, many people elsewhere with New York ties knew. So many of us tried for the longest time to warn people but we were called every nasty name in the book...conspiracy theorists, liars, Commies, etc.
Hmmm, I was a New Yorker too, tho in his early days. Maybe I can use that as an excuse lol. I remember feeling repelled by the golden staircase shtick and his abhorrent remarks but that nameless dread took a long time to surface and put the pieces together.
Yes, the cruelty is the point. Republicans have been waiting for this for 150+ years and now they have it. My heart is broken.
Place yourself in the middle of your pain and roll around in it. It hursts less and your mind becomes clearer. Once you do that send supportive messages to the others that are suffering and prepare yourself to fight.
Thank you, Bruce. Wise words from a wise man.
Don't know ya, but love ya for that, Cate.
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
Thanks, back atcha!
Thanks!
We are all in a deep state of trauma now, k. I can feel this affecting my health. My hair is starting to fall out too. I'm not sure how we're going to get through this.
Are we? Are we going to get through this? Are we for another holocaust? "ethnic cleansing" (which to me is the most horrific term in the English language. Just call it mass murder and torture. "Cleansing"??!)
Only if we let it happen. We are many, we are smart, we are resourceful, and we have right on our side....But only if we actively resist. My biggest concern is that the Democrat leadership still doesn't understand that the "gloves are off". Pretend (you won't have to be too imaginative" that MAGAts are aliens. Are you going to fight or go out with a whimper. You can even fight from outside the country if you have to, but fight.
This entrenched "work across the aisle mentality." Wonder what it will take for Demo leaders to realize this no longer applies.
As soon as I heard Biden say it, I thought "working across the aisle" would no longer apply. Biden turned out to be a great "bridge" president, and he has been a kind and decent human being, along with having international diplomacy expertise. We were lucky to have had him with us for the last four years. But his stubbornness against stepping down from running helped lead to the predicament we're in. I love him, but I'm so disappointed in his huge mistake.
A great bridge president -- if only, if only he'd kept his promise to be in office for four years, and let someone else run. He'd have had to do this in January 2024. He failed to do so. As a result, we can all see what happened.
So sad... also, so scary.
Bruce, I took a break and thought about what you said. And it came to me, like a ray of sunshine, what H.H. the Dalai Lama said about the Chinese. An interviewers asked him, "Do you hate the Chinese?" Always honest, H.H. paused, then said, "Almost not. What I do is, I take in their hatred, their anger, and I turn it into love and give it to them." Tong Len. The highest form of Buddhist meditation. I'd forgotten. Fear has a way of doing that. I can breathe. Thank you, my friend.
YAAAY
P.S. I love you!
You know, that's actually what I've been (TRYING TO) practice throughout these tumultuous times. However, I think when Ernst went completely and utterly against everything she had ever said, every moral ground she had claim, I went into "shock". I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I truly felt horrified, like doom lay ahead of this country in a way that it never has before. I will do my best to practice Tong Len. (A very long story, but my daughter, just before she turned three, explained how she was dealing with her many, many serious illnesses -- and perfectly described Tong Len.)
I've spent my whole life fighting: for Civil Rights, against the VN war, against the Iraq war, the 2017 sham election -- so many different, important causes. I think my age and physical disability are making harder for me to deal with this situation because, for the first time, I feel relatively helpless. Rolling around, though, I can do! For what it's worth, I've been listening to maga teenagers with an open mind, and then sharing "my" perspective (AKA the truth). It's been fascinating to watch their interest.
I don't know.
This is how cults work
"Join the crowd!" You mean how joni threw away all morality in order to still be part of the club?
They seem to be threatened with violence. They already got a taste of it when Jim Jordan wanted to be Speaker. People should have realized where it's going when the Judges, prosecutors, poll workers, election officials and all Democratic candidates were being harassed, doxxed, and threatened with violence. The Republicans thought they were immune but no one is with Fascists. The Republican Senators should vote as a block then they can't primary them all.
Yes, the terror causes even (relatively) decent people to fall into line with what the sadists want. Mitt Romney, a perfectly decent real Republican (conservative, as they all are) has said that he is spending $1,000,000/year for guards for his children and grandchildren. Now WHAT country did you say we are living in?
😞
Can't say I was stunned. I expected her to give in to Trump. This act shows that her position as a senator is what is most important to her: position above country. Very few profiles in courage these days.
Someone else brought up the idea that she may be living in terror, that, if she crosses the sadistic dictator who is about to take over our country, her life may be in danger. When I read that, a lot of pieces fell into place. I think it's very possible that is the motivating factor, rather than greed. She was violently raped. She was the victim of physical and emotional abuse in her marriage. She has a 25-year-old daughter. Imagine if someone threatened to kill/rape your daughter; threatened the same thing about you. I have a very bad feeling that the real story behind what's going on is something far, far worse than any of us has realized.
Get yourself up, have a coffee, and do some mindfullness around your grief...Then get going and resist. It ain't over til I sing!
I don't drink coffee, but some tea sounds great! I'll be listening for your song!
P.S. Clues re how to do some mindfulness around this issue will be much appreciated. ((( )))
Yeah, I’ve about had it too.
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
Most people have no idea how this whole administration is triggering PTSD for sexual violence survivors. Rape is ok.
It seems to be a resume requirement. Basically you have a Criminal hirering criminals and the criminals making their crimes legal while making human rights illegal.
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
Excellent point. I don't know what we can do about this.
Ever consider, Paula....these proposed cabinet members without portfolio to begin with are trump's way to set our country up for failure...for takeover? No pretension to finding The Best for the position...but certainly fealty to the man himself....and his minions?
I have thought of this, Lynn. His obsequiousness regarding Putin is very worrisome and does make me wonder.
And even celebrated.
Yes I meant "the Republican Party’s imperative to put country over party." :)
Thank you for the clarification, Mary :)
What will it take for ppl to wake up and recognize that T is owned by a foreign adversary?
‘ I did not think he had a snowball’s chance in hell of being confirmed—even with this Republican majority in the Senate.’
I’m surprised that anyone can still be surprised by the overall rot in our political, legal and societal landscapes. The stench permeates our entire existence.
The rot is deep
And wide.
Yeah, and my heart is broken for the failure of the USA.
Think of the Ukrainian citizens under constant attack under the direction of one of Trumps angry boy circle jerk buddies. They may have sorrow but do not have the luxury of attending to broken hearts. They must stay focused and resist.
My Odyssey
I have listened to the sirens’s song
I have playfully ridden the waves
Of temptation with their enchantment
I have felt the bodies of many Circes
Delaying my journey home
I have navigated between Scylla and Charybdis
Losing many friends in the vortex or picked off
By the attacking talons of American culture
Now, alone, I find so many vortexes
And find myself swirling around
In the flux whirlpool of society
Trying to suck me into the drain
To be deposited into the cesspool
Of American greed and ignorance
into a steel tank constructed by the gods
Of capitalism and religious zealotry
Mary, did you mean to say "putting country over party" rather than "party over country"?
I can't believe that this scumbag may be our Secretary of Defense.
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
He's worried about the military lowering its standards because of women and yet he's lowering their standards by even being considered to be their leader. Typical Republican hypocrisy.
Will he be the first domino to fall or the first nail in the coffin of our democracy and liberty?
All of the above, Raymond.
evil is at work
There is a nominee cabinet full of white supremacists and Christian nationalists.
One, or two down more to go
My maga relatives are pissing themselves with joy.
A few of mine are conspiracy maga cult followers
They are pushing the lies on the fires in LA
I was listening to them trying to figure out how to get them rethink their positions, I think they know they are not heard and that their position is correct and no one else’s matter. They are in lockstep, educated but have been brainwashed into ranting and hating. I heard every maga talking point on Sunday. There is no common ground. Very sad.
Merry Christmas Happy New Year. May the new year bring you many blessings and good health and fortune
Make America White Again—promise kept
As long as the candidate is a white, heterosexual male or female and vows loyalty to DJt, the repubs will let him or her get away with any and all vices and crimes, and lack of relevant inexperience — probably even if that person shot someone on 5th Avenue in broad daylight.
The most consequential crime scene ever witnessed in the U.S. will be the White House on January 20, 2025.