In Johnson, the GOP have found the perfect embodiment of their deplorable basket of hatreds - the only “loves” are rightwing billionaires, the fossil fuel industry & of course Trump’s buddy, Putin...
Primary symptoms of paranoia are an inability to trust, irrational suspicion and a deep conviction the individual is held in contempt by others, and the tendencies to project blame, never accept responsibility, and never relent or relinquish one's dug-in position of correctness and superiority. The Republicans are on an irreversible path. They must destroy or be destroyed. It's scorched earth all the way. No holds are barred. Do or die. We are indeed at a turning point, and if the sane people and the people who treasure their democracy are not stronger, more resolute, and more numerous, the hate and paranoia will win. We can try to spread the word, but it is mostly out of our hands now.
The paranoia to which I made reference is the paranoia on the right fringe which is the clinical disease shared by all of those people. It is much more comprehensive than a fear of malicious forces aligned against the person suffering from the condition. One main feature I did not get to is grandiosity and delusions of superiority or special dispensation such as from a deity which defines their mission to rid the world of imagined evil. No one is out to get R's or conservatives but they see malicious intent and liberal forces motivated by permissiveness and wanton desire which must be suppressed to prevent them from overwhelming the righteous and the godly. Their minds are dominated by vague. irrational, and mostly undefined fear of unknowns and threatening knowns they have exaggerated beyond all reason. I suspect you knew all that already.
Another Jewel Robert. I suggest that underlying the grievances of the right, is insecurity, psycho sexual insecurity. Manifest in the sales of Viagra, homophobia, transphobia and anti abortion, not to mention the fears of fecundity by non whites.
Delusions of superiority are correct, for that is all they are, delusions. They mask a deep seated sense of inferiority, by macho bravado and an exaggerated display of superiority and bigotry.
A truly superior person is self confident, he needs no foil, no scapegoats, no need to proclaim his "superiority", only those with a nagging sense of inferiority, have a need to beat their own drum.
Exactly, same with conspiracy theories, those behind the conspiracies have used their control of the media and entertainment to ridicule anyone with a conspiracy theory, especially those that are close to the truth. Meanwhile the QAnon cult and the MAGA cult, forge ahead with their own unashamed and unabashed conspiracy theories.
BTW, there is a deep state, it is called Civil Service, but Trump in his final days saw to it that Cabinet positions were filled and/or dominated by his Deep State partisans.
Preach it. You are absolutely correct It is destroy the right or be destroyed by the right. The notion of compromise and middle ground is an illusion (listening are you Joe?) Bi partisanship died with Eisenhower. This country has been on a downhill slide, since then, those that live in the past or the airy fairy idea of a greater community is having that bubble burst in front of their bloodshot eyes, but can they see the end of a dream?
Johnson and Co are just grim examples of an anachronistic religious ideology that has long since turned into doctrinaire toxic superstition. A global phenomenon that will prove the death of postwar Pax Americana.
We are all of us ignorant until proven guilty and there are no boundaries to human ignorance or final solutions to it, however, I do take your point. Some individuals are just wilfully ignorant bastards 🐈⬛
It looks like Johnson’s Congressional activities can be divided into 3 categories. First, he has his menu-driven neo theocon grift to frighten and enrage the racist and hate filled chumps that worship Trump. They are our poorly educated citizens who yearn to be regarded as victims of wokeness and crave the acceptance of their cult thus making them easily manipulated into voting for evil whores like Johnson. Second, he will do whatever he can get away with to suppress the votes of citizens who would never vote for an asshole of his caliber.
The third category of his public sector activities serves the morbidly rich sociopaths that do things adverse to our citizens’ rights and our communities’ interests (like the horrible man-made disasters that Thom details every day).
At no time does Johnson engage in satisfying his Constitutional purpose of promoting our general welfare but he is doing a great job of promoting the general welfare of his corporate (and Asian) overlords. And that completes Johnson’s election cycle when the plutocrats give him enough money so he can get reelected by taking part in his Category one and two behaviors I noted above.
Yes , Thom the deplorables are in charge. Time to buy extra popcorn because the s*itshow is really going to escalate with this fascist loving speaker backed by the no nothing- do nothing “free dumb” Republicans. As Sykes said on The Bulwark the “squishies” and “normies” caved and went along with the inmates. Meanwhile their GQP exalted ruler is facing possible prison, forfeiting his business empire and much of his criminal history exposed, but by all means let’s re-elect this monstrous danger to democracy. I could not envision just a few years ago that this would be an American reality but hatred of POC, LGBTG, women and working Americans is embraced by a major political party as their ideology. Hopefully younger voters are paying attention and show up to reject the crazies and vote for rational and responsible representatives to advance policies for all Americans not just fascist billionaires and religious nuts who are trying to impose their narrow restrictive views on the rest of us.
Will Johnson screw up the certification when Biden/Harris win re-election?
What bills will he hold up between now and then?
Lord help us.
Is the one person to call to vacate the chair still in place?
If so, in the coming weeks, maybe there will be enough blow back that some sane republicans will work with democrats to elect someone more amenable to governing.
The situation in the Middle East is fraught with pathos and blame on both sides. A solution is way above my pay grade.
I do feel that support for Israel is the third rail, and I don’t like the knee jerk reaction. I also am concerned that the Hamas-Israel conflict has sucked the oxygen out of the news about the Ukrainian conflict. At this point my opinion is that if we have to choose between Israel and Ukraine as to whom we give aid, it should go to Ukraine. The defeat of Ukraine by Russia will have more serious and long reaching consequences for the USA than the current escalation of the chronic dysfunction in the Middle East.
Both you and Carolyn misrepresent Biden and owe him an apology. "President Joe Biden defended Israel’s right to defend itself after the deadly attack by Hamas but said the country also had a responsibility to operate in line with the rules of war. He called for a two-state solution that would ensure a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as he sought to keep the conflict in the Middle East from escalating. He spoke at the White House." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TVSePFCJ4Y
Hamas does not represent the majority. However they and groups like Islamic Jihad have intimidated the current Palestinian Authority. Here is the Hamas position.
Soooo, I never even mentioned Biden so not sure what you think I should apologize for. The Biden administration is working hard to walk a very difficult path. the recent attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli response is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation for the administration. One of those situations where no one will be happy whatever is done. It is the type of situation that Biden excels at. I trust him to do the best that is humanly possible. I am a consistent and vocal supporter of the Biden/Harris administration.
My hope for the current situation is that the suffering of all sentient beings is minimized. And that despite all odds, there will be a peaceful solution. As I said, that solution is way above my pay grade.
I admit that the current iteration of Israel is not my favorite. On the other hand, the current iteration of the USA is not my favorite either, due to the collapse of the GOP and the rise of the MAGA RFP which threatens our democracy as well as the ascendency of the morbidly rich and their willingness to use their wealth to buy influence with politicians and judges. But I digress. I know that passions run deep on the subject of the Middle East. I have no ideas about how to achieve a solution where all can live in peace and prosperity. I truly hope that someone (or more likely a group of someones) figure it out soon.
I am strongly supportive of Ukraine. If Ukraine falls, I expect that Russia will invade a NATO ally next. Which will not be good (major understatement).
There is only so much money and weapons to go around.
Josh Harley called the Hamas attack “an existential threat to Israel” and said “All aid to Ukraine should be immediately diverted to Israel”.
What the heck does he think Russia’s invasion is for Ukraine?
Once again, I feel compelled to restate the appropriate categorization of this minion of agent orange - he is a “despicable bigot of the highest order”. Fanatics like him are the reason so many people fled Europe for the New World - to get away from religious persecution. Now these zealots are trying to force their dominance and control over others, funded by the ultra rich. Time to push back - big time!
FDR and the liberals gave the right wingers the highest standard of living ever and they turn around and blame the liberals for all the problems that the right have created. Like the trickle down theory, free trade, offshore banking, buying up the Democratic party, union busting immigrant labor, capitalist healthcare, unfunded wars... That is not only ungrateful, but stupid or insane as well. All your excellent writing Thom, needs to be read by the Trump bumpers. But the billionaires created their own news networks to brainwash the humans with a slight grasp on reality and who hate truth. Strangely, almost all of them went to church as children? Even my posts are being censored on other sites. Saying that a dictator can torture you, harvest your organs and chop you up in a bathroom, is not permitted? Censor the truth and promote lies and hatred is what the right wing media is about. The left will have to mount a massive media campaign, hopefully we can get some millionaires and billionaires to donate some money to get it all started! The sooner the better, everyday they keep getting more hateful. I overheard one of their talk shows and the angry sounding male was saying that Obama was telling Biden what to do? I have to give him credit for knowing how to stir up the lane brains. I think Charles Manson would have been a better speaker of the House then this Mike Johnson.
White, "Christian", conservative Mike Johnson never met a social injustice he did not LIKE. It really is amazing someone can study our laws and have that mindset.
They say he is a listener. He has a measured tone. He seems to be polite. He's been married 24 years and has four children---not much in common with Gaetz. He's not Gym Jordan, who is mean. He's not Steve Scalise; Wiki says he and the wife took in an African American boy. Does he get points for all that? I am going to give him a point for not being abrasive. Of course that won't create a better future for Americans and the world---it just means he won't drag us down while he is screaming about his self-righteous attitudes, but we'll still feel the effects. UGH!
Thanks for the full details of this man, Mike Johnson. Pretty Sad and am very scared what these rethugs could do. I hope dems are up to the tasks that need to be done.
First of all, don't know why these fanatics don't get it that gay is NORMAL. I have studied a lot of history and culture, and have not come across any time or place in which there were not gay people. The evidence of all the societies and religions trying to get rid of them is evidence that they are ALWAYS AMONG US! After all the known millennia of whackamole, why can't the bigots come up for air and recognize, it just ain't workin', and wonder why? Oh, well.
Second; it's not original to continue to be utterly perplexed by the devotion of Jesus-professing people to Trump. It's like the second coming of The Golden Calf, only if Moses showed up they'd sacrifice him. One can only pray according to Acts 26:18: "To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Amen.
I beg to differ what the root of all evil is. Say someone shoots a stop sign full of holes, it's called vandalism. Is that evil? Someone abuses an animal or human for no monetary gain, is that evil? In other words most evil Acts are not related to money. But they are ALL related to a lack of a conscience and caring, and without conscience and caring you can't have rational thought, and you can't be intelligent. So I have to say the lack of a conscience is the root of all evil. We need a maximum wage on money for sure, because like pornography and drugs and gambling etc, greedy humans can't control themselves. The holy books were wrote and edited, by evil men, from what I can tell.
Primary symptoms of paranoia are an inability to trust, irrational suspicion and a deep conviction the individual is held in contempt by others, and the tendencies to project blame, never accept responsibility, and never relent or relinquish one's dug-in position of correctness and superiority. The Republicans are on an irreversible path. They must destroy or be destroyed. It's scorched earth all the way. No holds are barred. Do or die. We are indeed at a turning point, and if the sane people and the people who treasure their democracy are not stronger, more resolute, and more numerous, the hate and paranoia will win. We can try to spread the word, but it is mostly out of our hands now.
Not paranoia if they're out to get you.
The paranoia to which I made reference is the paranoia on the right fringe which is the clinical disease shared by all of those people. It is much more comprehensive than a fear of malicious forces aligned against the person suffering from the condition. One main feature I did not get to is grandiosity and delusions of superiority or special dispensation such as from a deity which defines their mission to rid the world of imagined evil. No one is out to get R's or conservatives but they see malicious intent and liberal forces motivated by permissiveness and wanton desire which must be suppressed to prevent them from overwhelming the righteous and the godly. Their minds are dominated by vague. irrational, and mostly undefined fear of unknowns and threatening knowns they have exaggerated beyond all reason. I suspect you knew all that already.
Another Jewel Robert. I suggest that underlying the grievances of the right, is insecurity, psycho sexual insecurity. Manifest in the sales of Viagra, homophobia, transphobia and anti abortion, not to mention the fears of fecundity by non whites.
Delusions of superiority are correct, for that is all they are, delusions. They mask a deep seated sense of inferiority, by macho bravado and an exaggerated display of superiority and bigotry.
A truly superior person is self confident, he needs no foil, no scapegoats, no need to proclaim his "superiority", only those with a nagging sense of inferiority, have a need to beat their own drum.
Sure. But I'm out to get them.
Me too Daniel
Exactly, same with conspiracy theories, those behind the conspiracies have used their control of the media and entertainment to ridicule anyone with a conspiracy theory, especially those that are close to the truth. Meanwhile the QAnon cult and the MAGA cult, forge ahead with their own unashamed and unabashed conspiracy theories.
BTW, there is a deep state, it is called Civil Service, but Trump in his final days saw to it that Cabinet positions were filled and/or dominated by his Deep State partisans.
Preach it. You are absolutely correct It is destroy the right or be destroyed by the right. The notion of compromise and middle ground is an illusion (listening are you Joe?) Bi partisanship died with Eisenhower. This country has been on a downhill slide, since then, those that live in the past or the airy fairy idea of a greater community is having that bubble burst in front of their bloodshot eyes, but can they see the end of a dream?
Johnson and Co are just grim examples of an anachronistic religious ideology that has long since turned into doctrinaire toxic superstition. A global phenomenon that will prove the death of postwar Pax Americana.
Check the collective racist subconscious of all so concerned.
We are all of us ignorant until proven guilty and there are no boundaries to human ignorance or final solutions to it, however, I do take your point. Some individuals are just wilfully ignorant bastards 🐈⬛
It looks like Johnson’s Congressional activities can be divided into 3 categories. First, he has his menu-driven neo theocon grift to frighten and enrage the racist and hate filled chumps that worship Trump. They are our poorly educated citizens who yearn to be regarded as victims of wokeness and crave the acceptance of their cult thus making them easily manipulated into voting for evil whores like Johnson. Second, he will do whatever he can get away with to suppress the votes of citizens who would never vote for an asshole of his caliber.
The third category of his public sector activities serves the morbidly rich sociopaths that do things adverse to our citizens’ rights and our communities’ interests (like the horrible man-made disasters that Thom details every day).
At no time does Johnson engage in satisfying his Constitutional purpose of promoting our general welfare but he is doing a great job of promoting the general welfare of his corporate (and Asian) overlords. And that completes Johnson’s election cycle when the plutocrats give him enough money so he can get reelected by taking part in his Category one and two behaviors I noted above.
Yes , Thom the deplorables are in charge. Time to buy extra popcorn because the s*itshow is really going to escalate with this fascist loving speaker backed by the no nothing- do nothing “free dumb” Republicans. As Sykes said on The Bulwark the “squishies” and “normies” caved and went along with the inmates. Meanwhile their GQP exalted ruler is facing possible prison, forfeiting his business empire and much of his criminal history exposed, but by all means let’s re-elect this monstrous danger to democracy. I could not envision just a few years ago that this would be an American reality but hatred of POC, LGBTG, women and working Americans is embraced by a major political party as their ideology. Hopefully younger voters are paying attention and show up to reject the crazies and vote for rational and responsible representatives to advance policies for all Americans not just fascist billionaires and religious nuts who are trying to impose their narrow restrictive views on the rest of us.
Ans. Yes.
Thom: Please ask your House member guests to ask Johnson as a matter of personal privilege whether he accepts Biden as his president.
How many months until Jan 2025?
Will we make it that far.
Will Johnson screw up the certification when Biden/Harris win re-election?
What bills will he hold up between now and then?
Lord help us.
Is the one person to call to vacate the chair still in place?
If so, in the coming weeks, maybe there will be enough blow back that some sane republicans will work with democrats to elect someone more amenable to governing.
The situation in the Middle East is fraught with pathos and blame on both sides. A solution is way above my pay grade.
I do feel that support for Israel is the third rail, and I don’t like the knee jerk reaction. I also am concerned that the Hamas-Israel conflict has sucked the oxygen out of the news about the Ukrainian conflict. At this point my opinion is that if we have to choose between Israel and Ukraine as to whom we give aid, it should go to Ukraine. The defeat of Ukraine by Russia will have more serious and long reaching consequences for the USA than the current escalation of the chronic dysfunction in the Middle East.
Our policy since 1967 has been land for peace.
Both you and Carolyn misrepresent Biden and owe him an apology. "President Joe Biden defended Israel’s right to defend itself after the deadly attack by Hamas but said the country also had a responsibility to operate in line with the rules of war. He called for a two-state solution that would ensure a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as he sought to keep the conflict in the Middle East from escalating. He spoke at the White House." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TVSePFCJ4Y
Hamas does not represent the majority. However they and groups like Islamic Jihad have intimidated the current Palestinian Authority. Here is the Hamas position.
https://mondoweiss.net/2017/04/translated-leaked-charter/?fbclid=IwAR3LB29txnkNKdEe0xjpUorUf2UfVilUduHobRQvXPgiemQ8nES5z3_Qdps
IMHO Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Arab countries could end this in a minute.
In a perfect world Arab countries would form a peace corps and send them to Gaza.
Biden is undermined by a Putin/Trump Republican Party. But many of them, especially in the Senate agree to fund both Ukraine and Israel.
Soooo, I never even mentioned Biden so not sure what you think I should apologize for. The Biden administration is working hard to walk a very difficult path. the recent attack by Hamas and the subsequent Israeli response is a damned if you do and damned if you don’t situation for the administration. One of those situations where no one will be happy whatever is done. It is the type of situation that Biden excels at. I trust him to do the best that is humanly possible. I am a consistent and vocal supporter of the Biden/Harris administration.
My hope for the current situation is that the suffering of all sentient beings is minimized. And that despite all odds, there will be a peaceful solution. As I said, that solution is way above my pay grade.
I admit that the current iteration of Israel is not my favorite. On the other hand, the current iteration of the USA is not my favorite either, due to the collapse of the GOP and the rise of the MAGA RFP which threatens our democracy as well as the ascendency of the morbidly rich and their willingness to use their wealth to buy influence with politicians and judges. But I digress. I know that passions run deep on the subject of the Middle East. I have no ideas about how to achieve a solution where all can live in peace and prosperity. I truly hope that someone (or more likely a group of someones) figure it out soon.
I am strongly supportive of Ukraine. If Ukraine falls, I expect that Russia will invade a NATO ally next. Which will not be good (major understatement).
There is only so much money and weapons to go around.
Josh Harley called the Hamas attack “an existential threat to Israel” and said “All aid to Ukraine should be immediately diverted to Israel”.
What the heck does he think Russia’s invasion is for Ukraine?
Once again, I feel compelled to restate the appropriate categorization of this minion of agent orange - he is a “despicable bigot of the highest order”. Fanatics like him are the reason so many people fled Europe for the New World - to get away from religious persecution. Now these zealots are trying to force their dominance and control over others, funded by the ultra rich. Time to push back - big time!
FDR and the liberals gave the right wingers the highest standard of living ever and they turn around and blame the liberals for all the problems that the right have created. Like the trickle down theory, free trade, offshore banking, buying up the Democratic party, union busting immigrant labor, capitalist healthcare, unfunded wars... That is not only ungrateful, but stupid or insane as well. All your excellent writing Thom, needs to be read by the Trump bumpers. But the billionaires created their own news networks to brainwash the humans with a slight grasp on reality and who hate truth. Strangely, almost all of them went to church as children? Even my posts are being censored on other sites. Saying that a dictator can torture you, harvest your organs and chop you up in a bathroom, is not permitted? Censor the truth and promote lies and hatred is what the right wing media is about. The left will have to mount a massive media campaign, hopefully we can get some millionaires and billionaires to donate some money to get it all started! The sooner the better, everyday they keep getting more hateful. I overheard one of their talk shows and the angry sounding male was saying that Obama was telling Biden what to do? I have to give him credit for knowing how to stir up the lane brains. I think Charles Manson would have been a better speaker of the House then this Mike Johnson.
Well, electing Mike Johnson to Speaker of the House was apparently the preferred MAGA method in signing the Republican party's suicide note...
Hope so.
White, "Christian", conservative Mike Johnson never met a social injustice he did not LIKE. It really is amazing someone can study our laws and have that mindset.
They say he is a listener. He has a measured tone. He seems to be polite. He's been married 24 years and has four children---not much in common with Gaetz. He's not Gym Jordan, who is mean. He's not Steve Scalise; Wiki says he and the wife took in an African American boy. Does he get points for all that? I am going to give him a point for not being abrasive. Of course that won't create a better future for Americans and the world---it just means he won't drag us down while he is screaming about his self-righteous attitudes, but we'll still feel the effects. UGH!
Thanks for the full details of this man, Mike Johnson. Pretty Sad and am very scared what these rethugs could do. I hope dems are up to the tasks that need to be done.
First of all, don't know why these fanatics don't get it that gay is NORMAL. I have studied a lot of history and culture, and have not come across any time or place in which there were not gay people. The evidence of all the societies and religions trying to get rid of them is evidence that they are ALWAYS AMONG US! After all the known millennia of whackamole, why can't the bigots come up for air and recognize, it just ain't workin', and wonder why? Oh, well.
Second; it's not original to continue to be utterly perplexed by the devotion of Jesus-professing people to Trump. It's like the second coming of The Golden Calf, only if Moses showed up they'd sacrifice him. One can only pray according to Acts 26:18: "To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Amen.
I beg to differ what the root of all evil is. Say someone shoots a stop sign full of holes, it's called vandalism. Is that evil? Someone abuses an animal or human for no monetary gain, is that evil? In other words most evil Acts are not related to money. But they are ALL related to a lack of a conscience and caring, and without conscience and caring you can't have rational thought, and you can't be intelligent. So I have to say the lack of a conscience is the root of all evil. We need a maximum wage on money for sure, because like pornography and drugs and gambling etc, greedy humans can't control themselves. The holy books were wrote and edited, by evil men, from what I can tell.