Yeah, this is needed to remind people for the thousandth time that this whole administration is full of sleaze bags and criminals.
But when will it sink in to the people who only listen to FOX, x, and their pastors? When will the misogynists, the oligarchs, the christian nationalists, and all of the paid for politicians decide that they don’t in fact live in a bubble somewhere in outer space? They live in a country filled with 350 million different people but with certain common needs? And, thankfully for our Constitution, still certain rights?
We need as a country to get excited about a something other than the damn oligarch conspiracy going on, now.
We need to get behind someone not locked into corporate PAC money, who’s truly intelligent not just in degrees but in common sense who believes in this Country and wants to see it prosper. Someone who protects the rights of our people who really support them—NOT just the morbidly rich.
How I wish that Kristin Holmes had fired back loudly so everyone in the room could hear, "Well, will Ivanka and Tiffany eventually be sickened and embarrassed by having a father who is so callous and Vindictive?!" She could still do it in a tweet. What's good for the goose...
There is no factual basis for arguing that Trump is not a lifelong sleaze-ball any more than arguing that he is not racist. Recall his $85K ad campaign demanding that the 5 Black teens called the "Central Park Five" be executed for rape, then the courts found all 5 to be innocent. Trump has not an ounce of empathy, and maybe half an ounce of intelligence. But he does have an 18-wheeler full of ruthlessness, seasoned with dementia and megalomania (insecurity). Trump's bonespurs cowardice appears to have made him terminally insecure in his manhood. That would explain his chronic abuse of women, and his 180 on promises not to invade nations based on false pretences. Iran is no threat to the US. They have a wheelbarrow full of nuclear uranium, not bombs, and they lack a missile that could possibly reach the US.
Of course, the irony is that Americans elect Trump to high office regardless of his lack of morality or his interest in governing. He, like all fascists, only wants to RULE - boss everybody around. Clearly, the 33% (aka MAGAs) will vote for Trump even if he were to shoot the Pope during High Mass on Easter Sunday, or publicly urinate on MLK's grave (Trump endorsed a Black man to run for Florida governor - and he won). The problem is that the Dems are terrified of taking the moral high ground to remind voters who they are voting for... until lately?
It’s odd that one of the weakest players in politics is looked upon as “very strong.”
I imagine part of his inferiority complex comes from an inability to read and absorb info. Must have been laughed at, looked down on at many points of his career.
He knows he’s failed at everything he’s done. He clearly has Daddy issues leading to his admiration and crush on the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea.
The strangest part of it all for me is that we (including me) cannot just accept the obvious
If he was paid to deliberately destroy the United States, he could not have done a better job. But we keep thinking that it’s not deliberate. Just too hard to believe otherwise I guess. Too much like a spy novel.
If it were a mystery story, the question would be “Qui Bono”. Who benefits, and that would be the villain(s) behind it all.
Putin has been bailing Trump out of debt his entire life. Why the MSM has not investigated is likely due to the CIA. KGB murdered Deutsche Bank CEO Herrhaussen to keep him from going public. The RU mob in NYC was funneling money to Citibank and others to Trump INC for laundering and return to Putin's pals. So it seems logical that Trump is tearing down our government under the guise of efficiency and eliminating fraud.
Nicely said, Tom. And he still maintains that the 5 are guilty, so is being sued by them for defamation of character. That "reaching the U.S." is interesting. Occasionally I see news reports that "North Korea could hit us with a missile", which sounds scary but is meaningless. If one of their rickety rockets can make it to Guam or even Hawaii...so what? Kim may be crazy, but he isn't stupid, and he knows any such attack would result in tremendous retaliation. In the same way, some MAGA people have said that the Iran war is being conducted, "So they don't blow us up". It makes no sense, but then many of them couldn't find Hormuz with both hands. (Incidentally, I've been to that strait 4 times and my lesson from various trips to the Middle East is simple: Be polite and don't ever stir anything up.)
I recently posted that the only way Iran could nuke America would be to mail some radioactive dirt to 1600 Penn. This WMD scare is pure Bush2. It was a lie about Iraq, and it is a lie about Iran, as it was a lie about Chinese dominoes before that.
Yes, and regarding the dominoes I’m old enough to remember the lies about Vietnam, which were basically recycled for Iraq. Yet people still fall for these things. When they are told to be afraid emotion will short-circuit reason. It’s easy to see how this works, look at the tone of headlines in Fox, they are always negative. A steady diet of them would make anybody paranoid.
I think it boils down to critical reasoning skills. If learned in HS, it was by accident. I thought I had the skills by college graduation, but 4 years later, after 2 combat tours in Nam, my major professors asked me a question that turned up the brightness of the brainbulb. I asserted that a design error in a study meant to flush it down the toidy. He asked if I thought the demographics table was invalid - NO. Were the correlations between demographics and attitudes were invalid - NO again. "So, then the study was only invalid for testing the hypotheses, right? Wow! I realized that even crap research could still contribute to some meta-analyses. I still suffer from an open mind. LOL
Agreed, This nuclear Iran is a hysteria drummed up by right wing Israeli's especially Netanyahu. At the moment Israel is the regional nuclear hegemon and want to keep it that way.
Pakistan has the bombs, so does India and that fact has kept them from all out war, skirmishes aplenty, especially in the Mountains of Kashmir.
No Korea has a nuke, but only a deterrence, they aren't so stupid and suicidal to use it.
In the modern era, A nuclear weapon is used as the Sampson option.. That is, if really threatened with total annihilation, then take down everyone, including yourself.
William, why are you dismissing Israeli intelligence. It has been respected around the world. Yes, Netanyahu has ulterior motives, but that still doesn't dismiss their intelligence. Although Iran has a stockpile of uranium, it doesn't follow that Iran is in some stage of developing a missile. I wouldn't dismiss entirely n Israeli intelligence because Netanyahu is their prime minister. Their intelligence states Iran is a month away from developing a nuclear bomb.
I am not dismissing Israeli Intelligence. I am just saying that a nuclear armed Iran is not a threat to anyone, anymore than a nuclear armed Pakistan
And don't tie me to terrorist attacks. Such attack would take place anyway, the whole deal in the Levant is that it is actually a religious war
That is some kind of social terrorism Eadie and I don't buy it and I can't be intimidated or controlled.
The latest is a threat from Iran to launch a missile at a NATO base, if they follow through then it is all over. NATO's article 5, an attack on one is an tattack on all, and that includes Turkey.
Which makes the Israel Turkey standoff interesting.
My assessment remains the same, currently Israel is the regions nuclear hegemon, and they want to keep it that way, and I don't blame them
A nuclear armed country, be it Israel or Iran can't be bullied and pushed aroundm example No Korea,India, Pakistan
You should know me by now, I don't choose sides, I am not aligned religiously or ideologically with anyone.
I assess the situation and arrive at my own conclusions, and piss people off in the process, and frankly I don't care.
Trump actually has an inferiority complex, and thus requires adulation, deference and obedience. and women who rebuff him, who confront him, they are the his biggest threat.
The hell for Trump would be circled by women, laughing at him, rebuking him, ricidiculing him, especially the size of his little mushroom penis.
Tom OnTheBeach, I was wondering what evidence you have for how close Iran has for building a nuclear bomb. I am no expert, however, the time it takes to build a missile is debatable. How do you know whether they are already in the process of building a missile?
The only evidence is experience. 32 years in the Navy - much of it doing research for JCS. What do you think is the process for building a missile with the range to hit the US continent from Iran? Even if they had the engineering talent, and materials, and technical know-how, it would take years in peacetime. That is not their motivation to begin with. Turning nuclear junk into bombs is way over their heads in Iran. We've known it for decades. Do you think Trump listens to anybody who knows what they are talking about? I know for a fact that Bush's WMD assertions were pure BS. Cheney barred experts from the WH. Gen Powell was conned. He did not even bother to talk to experts even though they were surely in his Rolodex. Sure enough, no WMDs were found after Hussein was removed. Powell later confessed that he was used.
I've known Thom since way back when. He published a book called "Hunters in a Farmers World" which argued that ADHD, managed properly, was not a disorder but a super-power, which is exactly what I believe..... Since then (which is the reason for this note) Thom has gone on to become the most learned, intelligent, articulate, and incisive of all commentators, pundits, and columnists we have. I get inspired, worked up, and moved to action every time I listen to Thom or read anything he writes. To say he is a national treasure, nay, a Global Treasure, falls far short of what he deserves. But--and in this age of stardom this is a rare and precious trait--Thom is not in the game for stardom or personal gain. He is in it for all of us, doing all he can to save us before it's too late. He and his wife, Louise, are doing what they can (which is A LOT) to rescue our country and the world we pollute and pillage every day in every way. The two of them remind me of James Carville and his wife Mary ?, but unlike James, Thom and Louise are on the same side, our side.
I wish more people would tune in to Thom. I promise you you'll be immeidately transfixed.
I will not let an opportunity pass to remind that the subjugation of women and dominance by males is a central tenet of Christianity and other major religions. "Wives, obey your husbands" is a direct quote from the Bible, and the idea of women submitting to men and remaining silent and submissive is still defended in most American churches. Physical and even sexual abuse of women and girls is common and commonly overlooked in the Bible belt. Why any women in this society willingly participate in any of this medieval horse manure is beyond my comprehension.
Maybe because many women who have objected and tried to fight back have usually lost and could not overcome the system. Those who have succeeded are few and far between.
That is true. Those who take on "the man" or the system directly often meet stiff resistance (in more ways than one). But women, like men are conditioned and taught from the earliest age that this is the correct way to think and act and that they are inferior. Moreover, they find the superstitious elements of religion and belief in a male supernatural creator quite irresistible and need that for a sense of security in a terribly unsafe and insecure world. As with everything else, until education becomes a thing to be valued and replaces the programming and indoctrination of schooling under an authoritarian (and male-dominated) paradigm, nothing will change for the better. Ever our friends here are content with the destructive, competitive, and sclerotic schools we have.
All religions, save now defunct pagan religions. Jewish women are seated in the balcony of the Synagogue. and the rebbe's morning prayer (not kidding) thanks Hashem that I wasn't born a woman. We all know what Islam thinks and requires of women, Buddhism only recently permitted female nuns )and they aren't even monks), and India, the women walks one step behind he man, has no say in who she marries, and only in the 20th Century was the practice of suttee outlawed (still happens in remote tribal areas), where a woman is burnt with her dead husband.
There was a least female PhaRAoh, Hatchseput, even then she had statues made with her sporting a beard.
Pliny the elder wrote, that in the Sarmatians, required of their women, to fight in battle and slay a foe to win the right to marry.
And the kurgas (tumuli) of the steppes and even Siberia contain the remains of warrior women, buried with horses, wagons and weapons.
All changed with agriculture,farming, which produced surplus.
That's a lot of good information. But did that much change with the "agricultural revolution"? AI wants to replace you with even more information. I lack the brainpower or capacity to process it all.
Utterly sickening, but not news. His brand, and that of his male supporters from the get go. Crass, clueless, misogynistic losers. In his case, gifted with money by a grotesque father enabling him to fail constantly and still get rich and become POTUS. As a 78-year old father of three daughters, having helped raise another stepdaughter and been a champion of women in my law firm, I find the denigration of women by the MAGAts beyond loathsome.
And I will add this: ANY woman who supports this creature, indeed any woman consorting with or married to a MAGAt, has no self-respect. Period. I can't say they will deserve the mistreatment and disregard they will get, but it gets close. Only when women refuse to be with men who do not treat them right will this change. We are at present going backwards in that regard, in my view. We aren't yet Afghanistan, but a lot of men here would be happy if we were. We men have a lot to answer for in history and right now.
There have always been camp followers. Women who followed armies,some followed their husbands, some were prostitutes, some cooked, and washed clothes.
Visit any military installation, and just outside the gates, and inside the gates, you will find stores that provide those services.
With right wing wimmen, with the religious fanatics, with trad wives, the motivation is the same, they have hitched their wagon to those that they believe can best provide safety and security for them and their offspring.
Phyliss Schafly, single handedly stopped the ratification of the ERA, because she hitched her wagon to the patriarchy, and for her it paid off very well. She was a Qusiling, but Quislings come in all races, genders ethnicities. Look at the Muslims, the blacks, the Hispanics that voted for Trump, the women who wear T shirts with Trump can grab me by my pussy.
The truth of what you write is the indictment that it is. That should not be. But it will take not only women but men who support, love and rely upon them to change all of that. Our world is one of exploitation, hucksterism, the worship of wealth beyond all else. It is utterly soulless and corrupt. We will change that or perish for our arrogance and disregard for anything or anyone else.
Voters Have A Choice: Moral Depravity Or Established Freedoms
Yes, cost of living is a primary issue in elections. And sadly the misogyny and contempt for women doesn't register with even Republican women. What kind of society have WE the People created to not make this a major political issue? Instead it flies under the radar occasionally mentioned when writing about the Epstein files.
Some voters in the electorate believe that they should follow what candidates say on the campaign trail and vote for the what the candidate says will improve their lives, even though in the same breath they admit that politicians will say anything for their vote.
In this general election particularly a vote for a fascist misogynist Republican is a vote for a dictatorship and loss of freedoms, speech, women's reproductive rights, dissolution of separation of church and state, etc
In this upcoming general election D down ballot is absolutely appropriate due to what the fascist Republicans are trying to do to the country with Project 2025 as their blueprint which is a demand for an authoritarian state. There is no place for ambivalence in this election as fascists feel there is some kind of choice.
The cost of living is not the primary issue in elections, it may be for me, for you, but not for his base.
Farmers have been hit hard by Trump's polciies and tariffs, yet they still support Trump
What motivates them is the culture war, in particularly "family values", which in reality means the patriarchy or male domination and female submission.
Truthfully economics only becomes a priority, when the bones on the rib cage show.
Maslow's heirarchy of Needs.
The lowest need, the basic need,is food, clothing and shelter. Once those needs are met, people move on to higher needs, and even with inflation the voting American has his and her basic needs not only met,but more than fulfilled
Agree but political people who follow elections will testify to the electorate's voting response when costs go up particularly at the price they see at the gas station.
Maslow's dictum plays out here in that when the voter in a marginally functioning economy their basic needs are threatened with higher costs when barely scrapping by it provokes a vote for pocket book issues.
You are absolutely right, "Protect the Vote"! The choice in this election is simply between "Moral Depravity and Established Freedoms". I'm outraged and so saddened that "misogyny and contempt for women doesn't register even for Republican women" as you so well stated. Furthermore, it's not just Republican women but also Democratic and Independent women who are also, unfortunately, so brainwashed by this patriarchy and vote for the misogynistic Republican candidates. I'm so grateful for Thom's voice and wish all voters and especially my sisters of women could read this particular piece, find their inner voice of truth, trust that voice and intuition, get in touch with rightfully deserved anger and let that anger give you the needed energy to vote for the candidates who genuinely have womens' voices and interests at heart. Thank you and thanks to Thom for his decades of astounding ongoing Truth. I am 80 and can't even begin to say how grateful I am for Thom's lifelong dedication to truth and equality for all. You are one of my heroes Thom.
All the women Trump employs, except Suzie Wiles, fit a physical standard, most are blonde, Tulsi wasn'tbut she was attractive enough. They are safe, so long as they deliver the goods, one bad day, one false step, and they are done. Not so with the men, though.
4 Easy [if Skeevy, meaning morally or physically repulsive; disgusting; sleazy] Pieces:
- Did 1st wife Ivana, throw herself down the stairs ?!!
- Did Ivanka's childhood bed ever support the "Beast with Two Backs" [see Iago] ?!!!
- “Look at "that" piece of ass … I would "love" some of that.” Trump said while watching Michael Cohen's 15-year-old walk off a tennis court. When told she was Cohen’s daughter, Trump responded: “When did she get so hot?” “When did you get such a beautiful figure?”
I have long written that whenever Thump insults a reporter, the entire "press corps" should gather up their things and walk out, en masse. Another tactic would be to "gang up" on him so that when a reporter asks him a question, gets his response of insults, lies, avoidance, that the next reporter asks the same question and getting the same "non response," the next reporter and the next, reporter after reporter asking the same question as the first reporter who had insults and lies thrown at them by that bovine oaf criminal! For crying out loud, stop letting HIM determine the tone and conditions of that situation! The reporters are - allegedly - the fourth estate, not the toadies of a tyrant!!
Stop bowing and scraping to him; he is a sadistic criminal amoral psychopath: why do you take insults and filthy attacks from him?!! Just stop it - and use my suggestions to reclaim some control of YOUR situation!
Where is our Fourth Estate, the journalists? They need to push back, to speak up, to get a spine. Thom, you seem to be one of the few that have the guts to do this. But you can't do this almost. alone.
And it is precisely because of his blatant misogyny that his base of Incels and the Viagra crowd, love him and I include the MAGA adjacent libertarians
Thank you Thom for writing this piece. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for your writings and for this particularly crucial piece right now. I wish that every woman voter could read this particular piece of yours, really listen to your message and take it into their hearts and let their intuition and "inner knowing" guide them to get in touch with their inner power to vote for those who genuinely respect women and have their needs at heart. I have so much respect for you.
How could ANY woman support this POS? I can understand the low-IQ, "own the libs" male crowd. But any woman who could justify this man's behavior and attitude has some serious mental issues.
Thank you for recounting this entire absolutely horrible list of atrocities on women by the guy we call "president". shameful.
Yeah, this is needed to remind people for the thousandth time that this whole administration is full of sleaze bags and criminals.
But when will it sink in to the people who only listen to FOX, x, and their pastors? When will the misogynists, the oligarchs, the christian nationalists, and all of the paid for politicians decide that they don’t in fact live in a bubble somewhere in outer space? They live in a country filled with 350 million different people but with certain common needs? And, thankfully for our Constitution, still certain rights?
We need as a country to get excited about a something other than the damn oligarch conspiracy going on, now.
We need to get behind someone not locked into corporate PAC money, who’s truly intelligent not just in degrees but in common sense who believes in this Country and wants to see it prosper. Someone who protects the rights of our people who really support them—NOT just the morbidly rich.
How I wish that Kristin Holmes had fired back loudly so everyone in the room could hear, "Well, will Ivanka and Tiffany eventually be sickened and embarrassed by having a father who is so callous and Vindictive?!" She could still do it in a tweet. What's good for the goose...
There is no factual basis for arguing that Trump is not a lifelong sleaze-ball any more than arguing that he is not racist. Recall his $85K ad campaign demanding that the 5 Black teens called the "Central Park Five" be executed for rape, then the courts found all 5 to be innocent. Trump has not an ounce of empathy, and maybe half an ounce of intelligence. But he does have an 18-wheeler full of ruthlessness, seasoned with dementia and megalomania (insecurity). Trump's bonespurs cowardice appears to have made him terminally insecure in his manhood. That would explain his chronic abuse of women, and his 180 on promises not to invade nations based on false pretences. Iran is no threat to the US. They have a wheelbarrow full of nuclear uranium, not bombs, and they lack a missile that could possibly reach the US.
Of course, the irony is that Americans elect Trump to high office regardless of his lack of morality or his interest in governing. He, like all fascists, only wants to RULE - boss everybody around. Clearly, the 33% (aka MAGAs) will vote for Trump even if he were to shoot the Pope during High Mass on Easter Sunday, or publicly urinate on MLK's grave (Trump endorsed a Black man to run for Florida governor - and he won). The problem is that the Dems are terrified of taking the moral high ground to remind voters who they are voting for... until lately?
It’s odd that one of the weakest players in politics is looked upon as “very strong.”
I imagine part of his inferiority complex comes from an inability to read and absorb info. Must have been laughed at, looked down on at many points of his career.
He knows he’s failed at everything he’s done. He clearly has Daddy issues leading to his admiration and crush on the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea.
The strangest part of it all for me is that we (including me) cannot just accept the obvious
If he was paid to deliberately destroy the United States, he could not have done a better job. But we keep thinking that it’s not deliberate. Just too hard to believe otherwise I guess. Too much like a spy novel.
If it were a mystery story, the question would be “Qui Bono”. Who benefits, and that would be the villain(s) behind it all.
Maybe he’s not as incompetent as we think??
Putin has been bailing Trump out of debt his entire life. Why the MSM has not investigated is likely due to the CIA. KGB murdered Deutsche Bank CEO Herrhaussen to keep him from going public. The RU mob in NYC was funneling money to Citibank and others to Trump INC for laundering and return to Putin's pals. So it seems logical that Trump is tearing down our government under the guise of efficiency and eliminating fraud.
And NATO has been neutralized because it's Secretary General Mark Rutte is a compromised and cowardly sycophant.
My point exactly I believe he knows exactly what he's doing. He is following the project 25 plan exactly.
Nicely said, Tom. And he still maintains that the 5 are guilty, so is being sued by them for defamation of character. That "reaching the U.S." is interesting. Occasionally I see news reports that "North Korea could hit us with a missile", which sounds scary but is meaningless. If one of their rickety rockets can make it to Guam or even Hawaii...so what? Kim may be crazy, but he isn't stupid, and he knows any such attack would result in tremendous retaliation. In the same way, some MAGA people have said that the Iran war is being conducted, "So they don't blow us up". It makes no sense, but then many of them couldn't find Hormuz with both hands. (Incidentally, I've been to that strait 4 times and my lesson from various trips to the Middle East is simple: Be polite and don't ever stir anything up.)
I recently posted that the only way Iran could nuke America would be to mail some radioactive dirt to 1600 Penn. This WMD scare is pure Bush2. It was a lie about Iraq, and it is a lie about Iran, as it was a lie about Chinese dominoes before that.
Yes, and regarding the dominoes I’m old enough to remember the lies about Vietnam, which were basically recycled for Iraq. Yet people still fall for these things. When they are told to be afraid emotion will short-circuit reason. It’s easy to see how this works, look at the tone of headlines in Fox, they are always negative. A steady diet of them would make anybody paranoid.
I think it boils down to critical reasoning skills. If learned in HS, it was by accident. I thought I had the skills by college graduation, but 4 years later, after 2 combat tours in Nam, my major professors asked me a question that turned up the brightness of the brainbulb. I asserted that a design error in a study meant to flush it down the toidy. He asked if I thought the demographics table was invalid - NO. Were the correlations between demographics and attitudes were invalid - NO again. "So, then the study was only invalid for testing the hypotheses, right? Wow! I realized that even crap research could still contribute to some meta-analyses. I still suffer from an open mind. LOL
Agreed, This nuclear Iran is a hysteria drummed up by right wing Israeli's especially Netanyahu. At the moment Israel is the regional nuclear hegemon and want to keep it that way.
Pakistan has the bombs, so does India and that fact has kept them from all out war, skirmishes aplenty, especially in the Mountains of Kashmir.
No Korea has a nuke, but only a deterrence, they aren't so stupid and suicidal to use it.
In the modern era, A nuclear weapon is used as the Sampson option.. That is, if really threatened with total annihilation, then take down everyone, including yourself.
William, why are you dismissing Israeli intelligence. It has been respected around the world. Yes, Netanyahu has ulterior motives, but that still doesn't dismiss their intelligence. Although Iran has a stockpile of uranium, it doesn't follow that Iran is in some stage of developing a missile. I wouldn't dismiss entirely n Israeli intelligence because Netanyahu is their prime minister. Their intelligence states Iran is a month away from developing a nuclear bomb.
IMO, It's comments like these that are responsible for what happened a week ago at Central Synagogue. https://contrarian.substack.com/p/magas-anti-democratic-assault-threatens?r=bpxdl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I am not dismissing Israeli Intelligence. I am just saying that a nuclear armed Iran is not a threat to anyone, anymore than a nuclear armed Pakistan
And don't tie me to terrorist attacks. Such attack would take place anyway, the whole deal in the Levant is that it is actually a religious war
That is some kind of social terrorism Eadie and I don't buy it and I can't be intimidated or controlled.
The latest is a threat from Iran to launch a missile at a NATO base, if they follow through then it is all over. NATO's article 5, an attack on one is an tattack on all, and that includes Turkey.
Which makes the Israel Turkey standoff interesting.
My assessment remains the same, currently Israel is the regions nuclear hegemon, and they want to keep it that way, and I don't blame them
A nuclear armed country, be it Israel or Iran can't be bullied and pushed aroundm example No Korea,India, Pakistan
You should know me by now, I don't choose sides, I am not aligned religiously or ideologically with anyone.
I assess the situation and arrive at my own conclusions, and piss people off in the process, and frankly I don't care.
Trump actually has an inferiority complex, and thus requires adulation, deference and obedience. and women who rebuff him, who confront him, they are the his biggest threat.
The hell for Trump would be circled by women, laughing at him, rebuking him, ricidiculing him, especially the size of his little mushroom penis.
Tom OnTheBeach, I was wondering what evidence you have for how close Iran has for building a nuclear bomb. I am no expert, however, the time it takes to build a missile is debatable. How do you know whether they are already in the process of building a missile?
The only evidence is experience. 32 years in the Navy - much of it doing research for JCS. What do you think is the process for building a missile with the range to hit the US continent from Iran? Even if they had the engineering talent, and materials, and technical know-how, it would take years in peacetime. That is not their motivation to begin with. Turning nuclear junk into bombs is way over their heads in Iran. We've known it for decades. Do you think Trump listens to anybody who knows what they are talking about? I know for a fact that Bush's WMD assertions were pure BS. Cheney barred experts from the WH. Gen Powell was conned. He did not even bother to talk to experts even though they were surely in his Rolodex. Sure enough, no WMDs were found after Hussein was removed. Powell later confessed that he was used.
I've known Thom since way back when. He published a book called "Hunters in a Farmers World" which argued that ADHD, managed properly, was not a disorder but a super-power, which is exactly what I believe..... Since then (which is the reason for this note) Thom has gone on to become the most learned, intelligent, articulate, and incisive of all commentators, pundits, and columnists we have. I get inspired, worked up, and moved to action every time I listen to Thom or read anything he writes. To say he is a national treasure, nay, a Global Treasure, falls far short of what he deserves. But--and in this age of stardom this is a rare and precious trait--Thom is not in the game for stardom or personal gain. He is in it for all of us, doing all he can to save us before it's too late. He and his wife, Louise, are doing what they can (which is A LOT) to rescue our country and the world we pollute and pillage every day in every way. The two of them remind me of James Carville and his wife Mary ?, but unlike James, Thom and Louise are on the same side, our side.
I wish more people would tune in to Thom. I promise you you'll be immeidately transfixed.
Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD
I will not let an opportunity pass to remind that the subjugation of women and dominance by males is a central tenet of Christianity and other major religions. "Wives, obey your husbands" is a direct quote from the Bible, and the idea of women submitting to men and remaining silent and submissive is still defended in most American churches. Physical and even sexual abuse of women and girls is common and commonly overlooked in the Bible belt. Why any women in this society willingly participate in any of this medieval horse manure is beyond my comprehension.
Maybe because many women who have objected and tried to fight back have usually lost and could not overcome the system. Those who have succeeded are few and far between.
That is true. Those who take on "the man" or the system directly often meet stiff resistance (in more ways than one). But women, like men are conditioned and taught from the earliest age that this is the correct way to think and act and that they are inferior. Moreover, they find the superstitious elements of religion and belief in a male supernatural creator quite irresistible and need that for a sense of security in a terribly unsafe and insecure world. As with everything else, until education becomes a thing to be valued and replaces the programming and indoctrination of schooling under an authoritarian (and male-dominated) paradigm, nothing will change for the better. Ever our friends here are content with the destructive, competitive, and sclerotic schools we have.
All religions, save now defunct pagan religions. Jewish women are seated in the balcony of the Synagogue. and the rebbe's morning prayer (not kidding) thanks Hashem that I wasn't born a woman. We all know what Islam thinks and requires of women, Buddhism only recently permitted female nuns )and they aren't even monks), and India, the women walks one step behind he man, has no say in who she marries, and only in the 20th Century was the practice of suttee outlawed (still happens in remote tribal areas), where a woman is burnt with her dead husband.
There was a least female PhaRAoh, Hatchseput, even then she had statues made with her sporting a beard.
Pliny the elder wrote, that in the Sarmatians, required of their women, to fight in battle and slay a foe to win the right to marry.
And the kurgas (tumuli) of the steppes and even Siberia contain the remains of warrior women, buried with horses, wagons and weapons.
All changed with agriculture,farming, which produced surplus.
That's a lot of good information. But did that much change with the "agricultural revolution"? AI wants to replace you with even more information. I lack the brainpower or capacity to process it all.
Utterly sickening, but not news. His brand, and that of his male supporters from the get go. Crass, clueless, misogynistic losers. In his case, gifted with money by a grotesque father enabling him to fail constantly and still get rich and become POTUS. As a 78-year old father of three daughters, having helped raise another stepdaughter and been a champion of women in my law firm, I find the denigration of women by the MAGAts beyond loathsome.
And I will add this: ANY woman who supports this creature, indeed any woman consorting with or married to a MAGAt, has no self-respect. Period. I can't say they will deserve the mistreatment and disregard they will get, but it gets close. Only when women refuse to be with men who do not treat them right will this change. We are at present going backwards in that regard, in my view. We aren't yet Afghanistan, but a lot of men here would be happy if we were. We men have a lot to answer for in history and right now.
There have always been camp followers. Women who followed armies,some followed their husbands, some were prostitutes, some cooked, and washed clothes.
Visit any military installation, and just outside the gates, and inside the gates, you will find stores that provide those services.
With right wing wimmen, with the religious fanatics, with trad wives, the motivation is the same, they have hitched their wagon to those that they believe can best provide safety and security for them and their offspring.
Phyliss Schafly, single handedly stopped the ratification of the ERA, because she hitched her wagon to the patriarchy, and for her it paid off very well. She was a Qusiling, but Quislings come in all races, genders ethnicities. Look at the Muslims, the blacks, the Hispanics that voted for Trump, the women who wear T shirts with Trump can grab me by my pussy.
The truth of what you write is the indictment that it is. That should not be. But it will take not only women but men who support, love and rely upon them to change all of that. Our world is one of exploitation, hucksterism, the worship of wealth beyond all else. It is utterly soulless and corrupt. We will change that or perish for our arrogance and disregard for anything or anyone else.
Voters Have A Choice: Moral Depravity Or Established Freedoms
Yes, cost of living is a primary issue in elections. And sadly the misogyny and contempt for women doesn't register with even Republican women. What kind of society have WE the People created to not make this a major political issue? Instead it flies under the radar occasionally mentioned when writing about the Epstein files.
Some voters in the electorate believe that they should follow what candidates say on the campaign trail and vote for the what the candidate says will improve their lives, even though in the same breath they admit that politicians will say anything for their vote.
In this general election particularly a vote for a fascist misogynist Republican is a vote for a dictatorship and loss of freedoms, speech, women's reproductive rights, dissolution of separation of church and state, etc
In this upcoming general election D down ballot is absolutely appropriate due to what the fascist Republicans are trying to do to the country with Project 2025 as their blueprint which is a demand for an authoritarian state. There is no place for ambivalence in this election as fascists feel there is some kind of choice.
The cost of living is not the primary issue in elections, it may be for me, for you, but not for his base.
Farmers have been hit hard by Trump's polciies and tariffs, yet they still support Trump
What motivates them is the culture war, in particularly "family values", which in reality means the patriarchy or male domination and female submission.
Truthfully economics only becomes a priority, when the bones on the rib cage show.
Maslow's heirarchy of Needs.
The lowest need, the basic need,is food, clothing and shelter. Once those needs are met, people move on to higher needs, and even with inflation the voting American has his and her basic needs not only met,but more than fulfilled
Agree but political people who follow elections will testify to the electorate's voting response when costs go up particularly at the price they see at the gas station.
Maslow's dictum plays out here in that when the voter in a marginally functioning economy their basic needs are threatened with higher costs when barely scrapping by it provokes a vote for pocket book issues.
You are absolutely right, "Protect the Vote"! The choice in this election is simply between "Moral Depravity and Established Freedoms". I'm outraged and so saddened that "misogyny and contempt for women doesn't register even for Republican women" as you so well stated. Furthermore, it's not just Republican women but also Democratic and Independent women who are also, unfortunately, so brainwashed by this patriarchy and vote for the misogynistic Republican candidates. I'm so grateful for Thom's voice and wish all voters and especially my sisters of women could read this particular piece, find their inner voice of truth, trust that voice and intuition, get in touch with rightfully deserved anger and let that anger give you the needed energy to vote for the candidates who genuinely have womens' voices and interests at heart. Thank you and thanks to Thom for his decades of astounding ongoing Truth. I am 80 and can't even begin to say how grateful I am for Thom's lifelong dedication to truth and equality for all. You are one of my heroes Thom.
Trump’s behaviour towards 3 key women appointed to Cabinet is another example of disrespect.
Kristi Noem, Tulsi Gabbard, and Bondi were all dispensed with and replaced by men pretty quickly.
Arguably they did not do a stellar job, but then neither does Kennedy, FBI head, Pete Hegseth and many if not most others.
But it must have given Trump a power thrill to have the women dependent upon him, and then thrown out.
All the women Trump employs, except Suzie Wiles, fit a physical standard, most are blonde, Tulsi wasn'tbut she was attractive enough. They are safe, so long as they deliver the goods, one bad day, one false step, and they are done. Not so with the men, though.
4 Easy [if Skeevy, meaning morally or physically repulsive; disgusting; sleazy] Pieces:
- Did 1st wife Ivana, throw herself down the stairs ?!!
- Did Ivanka's childhood bed ever support the "Beast with Two Backs" [see Iago] ?!!!
- “Look at "that" piece of ass … I would "love" some of that.” Trump said while watching Michael Cohen's 15-year-old walk off a tennis court. When told she was Cohen’s daughter, Trump responded: “When did she get so hot?” “When did you get such a beautiful figure?”
- Katie (13 yo) Johnson's 30-minute video, 2016, pre-election: https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1rp1d33/katie_johnsons_full_testimony_of_donald_trump/
#VOTE OUT the DIAPERED BRUTE KIDDIE RAPIST
#STOP Jared's imminent cuckolding by his father-in-law [maybe it's too late]
I have long written that whenever Thump insults a reporter, the entire "press corps" should gather up their things and walk out, en masse. Another tactic would be to "gang up" on him so that when a reporter asks him a question, gets his response of insults, lies, avoidance, that the next reporter asks the same question and getting the same "non response," the next reporter and the next, reporter after reporter asking the same question as the first reporter who had insults and lies thrown at them by that bovine oaf criminal! For crying out loud, stop letting HIM determine the tone and conditions of that situation! The reporters are - allegedly - the fourth estate, not the toadies of a tyrant!!
Stop bowing and scraping to him; he is a sadistic criminal amoral psychopath: why do you take insults and filthy attacks from him?!! Just stop it - and use my suggestions to reclaim some control of YOUR situation!
Where is our Fourth Estate, the journalists? They need to push back, to speak up, to get a spine. Thom, you seem to be one of the few that have the guts to do this. But you can't do this almost. alone.
And it is precisely because of his blatant misogyny that his base of Incels and the Viagra crowd, love him and I include the MAGA adjacent libertarians
Thank you Thom for writing this piece. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am for your writings and for this particularly crucial piece right now. I wish that every woman voter could read this particular piece of yours, really listen to your message and take it into their hearts and let their intuition and "inner knowing" guide them to get in touch with their inner power to vote for those who genuinely respect women and have their needs at heart. I have so much respect for you.
How could ANY woman support this POS? I can understand the low-IQ, "own the libs" male crowd. But any woman who could justify this man's behavior and attitude has some serious mental issues.
Thank you
Follow Trump's "insults, the threats, the humiliation of women" against 36 other women with this infographic.
https://embed.kumu.io/05e022634100efd6d44b5621ec02a5b9#trump-insults-women