From Hitler to Putin to Orbán and Trump, the first step is always the same: act illegally, dare anyone to stop you, and behave like losing in court is only a delay…
Right out of the Cohen playbook: Declare victory and walk away. That's the last step TRump picked-up from his mentor Roy Cohen.
It's exactly what we saw the last few days when the DOJ said they are done with the Trump-Epstein files. To hell with the law Congress passed and the President signed. It won't work in the court of public opinion. The one that counts.
Donold is having the time of his life. Watch the ever-so slight smile that plays around his mouth when reporters ask him about what he will do when yielding his power. Time to show him we are the lion in the house. Roar! See you in the streets.
It is a tale of INSIDERS and OUTSIDERS. Hard for normal people to understand what stupid, cruel, and insane people with power and money will do. Both Epstein and TRump knew, and they used it.
The states are going to take the lead. This is what New Mexico is doing:
Today depo: Les Wexner, the billionaire business executive who hired Jeffrey Epstein to manage his finances in the 1980s, will sit for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Wexner is scheduled to be deposed at his residence in New Albany, Ohio.
Wexner, the former CEO of L Brands, first met Epstein in the 1980s and gave Epstein power of attorney over his finances. Wexner has said he cut business ties with Epstein in 2007, but emails show the two communicated in 2008.
Wexner has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has never been charged with a crime. But Wexner’s relationship with Epstein has attracted new coverage after the release of a 2019 FBI document that listed Wexner as a co-conspirator in the Epstein investigation.
During last week’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Wexner’s name appears more than 4,000 times in the Epstein files.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) also pressed Bondi to explain why Wexner’s name had originally been redacted in the 2019 document.
A group of Democrats on the House Oversight Committee will hold a news conference in New Albany following the Wexner deposition. Participants include Ranking Member Robert Garcia (Calif.) and Reps. Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.) and Dave Min (Calif.).
The Wexner deposition comes as the fallout over the Epstein files continues to wreak havoc across the globe. On Monday, Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation because of his ties to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Next week, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to sit for depositions before the Oversight Committee about Epstein. The Clintons initially sought to fight the subpoenas and avoid testifying, but they caved after the House moved to hold both in criminal contempt of Congress.
+++++++
I'd hope that the local prosecuting attorney participate. Maria Farmer stated in an affidavit that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell raped her at Les Wexner's compound in New Albany, Ohio.
In Ohio, the criminal statute of limitations for rape and sexual battery is generally 25 years after the offense was committed, with an additional 5-year extension possible if DNA evidence identifies a suspect. For childhood sexual abuse, criminal charges must typically be filed before the victim turns 43.
Key Ohio Sexual Assault Statute of Limitations Details
Criminal Charges (Adult): 25 years.
Criminal Charges (Childhood): Up to age 43.
DNA Evidence Extension: An additional 5 years can be added if DNA evidence identifies a suspect.
Civil Lawsuits (Adult): 1 to 2 years, though this can vary (some cases suggest 1 to 6 years.
Therefore New York prosecutors should also participate. There is no statute of limitations for rape in NY.
+++++++
As I've said previously, there are different levels of culpability. When I was a kid, my "ol Pappy prosecuted for the 3 P's -- pimping , pandering and prostitution.
It could be that these apply in several states. My "ol Pappy also prosecuted many perps under the Mann Act. The Mann Act (18 U.S.C. § 2421 et seq.), enacted in 1910 as the White-Slave Traffic Act, is a federal law prohibiting the transportation of individuals across state or foreign lines for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose. It was designed to combat forced prostitution but has been used to prosecute consensual sexual activities.
Many states and even foreign jurisdictions could be involved.....
The Congressional Republicans did not show for the deposition, not one. Wexner didn't take the 5th, but can't seem to "remember" where his hundreds of millions went. Said he wasn't friends with Epstein, but handed over his family's money for Jeffrey to handle too.
Bottom line they are getting him on the record under oath, and they plan to follow the money. That's what the survivors want.
They said they are going to ask for his financial records. The presser was outside Wexner property where Maria was raped. The Dems mentioned she also was held there for hours after she wanted to go.
An ideology that views empathy as weakness is the beginning of the downward trajectory. For example, the puppy killer, opportunist, who bragged about it to get Trump's attention, understood the new morality, or rather the lack of it.
When I was a kid my mother went to listen to Dr Martin Luther King Jr speak at the march on Washington. When she got home, I asked her what it was all about. She looked at me with love and tears in her eyes. All she said to me was, "A society is judged by how it treats its weakest people."
Almost seventy years later I'm watching the law of the jungle overtaking the rule of law. l spend most of my time each day marching against tyranny, one way or another, following in my mother's footsteps. And when I look at America now, I have the same love and tears in my eyes that she had that day so long ago, when she got home from the march on Washington.
Thom Hartmann describes how this current crisis of democracy is not merely Trump's doing; it is the latest chapter of an unending campaign by the rich to create ever-growing and everlasting control of, and power over, the great masses of humanity. To that end, they see democracy as government by the unworthy, and vigorously oppose it. We have to push back always, and harder.
Sorry, but it appears, that for all political purposes, they DO own us, and even when we expose and defy them, and even (or often) when they lose in court, it's usually only a slight hiccup in their plans. As long as Trump owns most of the people, with most of the weapons, and possibly law enforcement and the military, it's hard to see any change in this state of imbalance.
They thought they owned Canada, Mexico and EUROPE. Seriously, Richard, they backed off the Greenland thing. Europe is sticking with Ukraine. Minneapolis went to work. Podcasters, Kimmel, and Colbert are kicking TRump's ass. We now know that Theil owns Vance. IT IS ALL NEW. It's worldwide.
The Technate of America technocracy movement was just exposed less than a year ago. Dividing the world into hemispheres just came out into the open. It's all backfiring.
Take the wins and multiply them. Look at the stats---how far underwater they are. Know that they cheated. It's about what states and communities are doing.
The Bros wanted the Dark Enlightenment. Not. Gonna. Happen. Quite the opposite!
Eternal (and unrelenting - internal) vigilance is the key, which is what our recent Democratic administrations have failed to practice - leaving to Trump and the MAGA their own perverted version of justice.
LAWSUIT #33 — TRUMP’S ATTACK ON AUTHORIZED IMMIGRANT WORKERS
DATE FILED: February 13, 2026
WHY WE SUED: To challenge a rule from Trump’s Department of Transportation that prohibits asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients — immigrants who are legally authorized to work here — from getting or renewing commercial driver’s licenses.
BACKGROUND: We sued over a preliminary version of this discriminatory rule (see Lawsuit #23 below). The judges sided with us and put the rule on hold while the agency worked on finalizing it. Now, the administration has issued an essentially identical final rule, so we are suing again, asking the court to block the final rule as well. As a reminder, the rule is based solely on the immigration status of workers. The rule threatens the livelihoods of 200,000 truck drivers, bus drivers, and delivery drivers. It will also hurt countless businesses, both large and small — as well as schools and potentially millions of American consumers — that depend on these drivers.
WHERE THINGS STAND: We are filing a procedural motion that will help us move the case along quickly.
LAWSUIT #23 — DEFENDING IMMIGRANT WORKERS
DATE FILED: October 20, 2025
WHY WE SUED: To challenge an “interim” rule from Trump’s Department of Transportation that prohibits asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients — immigrants who are legally authorized to work here — from getting or renewing commercial driver’s licenses.
BACKGROUND: The interim rule was based solely on the immigration status of the workers. The agency offered no evidence of a safety issue or any other rational basis for barring people who have passed the written and road tests, and who have legal work authorization, from working as drivers. The administration put the rule into effect immediately, with no advance notice, directly threatening the livelihoods of 200,000 truck drivers, bus drivers, and delivery drivers. The rule will also hurt countless businesses, both large and small — as well as schools and potentially millions of American consumers — that depend on these drivers.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The court granted our motion asking it to put the rule on hold while the agency works on a “final” rule.***
++++
The way it works on an invdividual basis: Lawyer files a habeas corpus petition.
Thanks Thom: You have clearly shown that reliance on the Federal legal system doesn't work.
It is either corrupt, complicit or cowardly, and where not Trump, his DOJ, DHS, entire cabinet ignore it with impunity.
More than 400 judges across the United States have ruled at least 4,421 times since October that the Trump administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, according to a review by Reuters. The number of people in ICE detention reached about 68,000 this month, up about 75% from when Trump took office last year. Nate Raymond, Kristina Cooke, and Brad Heath report.
"From your article" That arrangement only works so long as everyone agrees that a court’s judgment ends the matter. The moment officials discover they can treat a loss in court as a temporary inconvenience rather than a binding stop sign, the character of the entire system changes from democracy to something else altogether."
It doesn't work because Trump anjd hiegime, ignore rulings, and when they don't it is two steps forward one step back
The Federalist approach fails, it is a non starter. The enemy you wish to fight, controls all of the levers and the tools. Result you wind up shadow boxing.
Christopher Armitage has pointed the way, the fight has to take place via the state level, after all the Constitution acknowledges that the states are sovereign, and only delegated powers to the Federal government.
So lets use those powers and neuter the regime before it rounds us up into concentration camps.
Maybe the states have enough power to challenge Trump's regime - if they all acted together, but they don't have the secretive synchronization of Trump's MAGA, assorted (illegal) militia , and possible military and law enforcement support. So how can the Democratic governors be encouraged to take such politically dangerous counteractive steps?
The electorate needs to put steel in their spines. I have noticed a few like Newsom, Pritzker, Wes Moore, talk tough, but that is all it is... talk. I've tried to stiffen the spine of my governor Bob Ferguson, but not much in thew way of results.
The only recourse is to keep the pressure on, or hope that America goes bankrupt, that the free world isolates us, the world de dollarizes.
If not then we are definitely headed towards a full fledged theocratic, right wing, Christian nationalist dictatorship
Trumps approval rating is 36%, which is his care, the MAGA base, it is a minority, but they have complete control of the levers of power, Congressional, legislative and, for all practical purposes, the legislative.
And he is talking of a third run, if he and Bannon pull off what they are planning there won't be an election
Authoritarian regimes are not defeated internally, it takes an external force.
Chile's Pinochet is a case of being hoisted on his own petard
Pinochet called the 1988 national plebiscite because it was a mandatory requirement of the 1980 Constitution his regime had drafted to institutionalize his rule. He expected to win, thereby legitimizing his authoritarian regime for another eight years with international approval, aiming to transition from a military junta to a,constitutional, yet still authoritarian, government
However he remained Army Command in Chief until 1998
Speaking of Newsom and Pritzger (I don't know about Moore,)I hope I misread or misinterpreted a column stating that both were against increasing taxes for the mega-wealthy...for that is a big part of the battle.
William,thanks for keeping all this information on the front burner. I hope those posting here will absorb and repeat that the info to everyone one they know. It's obvious the courts have lost and the Supreme Court has become an arm of the " Nazi" gov't.
Just read an article from the NY Times 1/17/2026 For Trump,Justice Means Vengeance,it is chilling. Do we start putting together a list of all the absolute worst human trash in this administration and finding a way to go after them. Gloves off,declare war. Become a martyr.
"Justice for us, law for the rest" appears to be a phrase that touches on themes of unequal application of the law, where a select group (the "us") may receive justice, while the general population (the "rest") is subjected to a different standard of law. This often highlights concerns about accountability for the powerful, or disparities in the justice system.
One thing about this accursed country that makes it a bit different from the others that went the dictatorship route: guns. We have way more of them than we do people, in private hands both MAGA and...Not. At some point, when we are overwhelmed by the tedium of the daily gnawing away at our rights by the fascists, our urge to exhaustion and complacency may well lead to a loss of faith in our entire democratic process. Then, rather than numbly watching it fail, we may do what the MAGA folks seem to want, but what they may well regret--take up arms and go with bullets where ballots fail. That will end us as a country, end our ideals, but may be seen as the last resort by people who feel utterly powerless at the ballot box or in the halls of Congress.
I sincerely hope we do not go that route. But the rot is so deep in this country, carefully nurtured by the morbidly rich who profit from it every day in multiple ways, that a massive convulsion may be the only ultimate outcome. For the sake of our grandson, his generation, our idealized notion of America and the world, I hope not. We have been a mixed force in the world, sometimes for the good when it really mattered, often for the bad. Better that imperfection than either of the alternatives I see--fascism or really terrible civil strife.
Remember, remember to vote in November. Spare us gunpowder, treason and plot. Please.
Of the three branches of government, does resistance lie solely in the Judiciary. Is there a congressional opposition in this country capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time? Can they weave all the threats America is facing into one seamless story - tyranny, corruption, lawlessness and the end of working and middle class prosperity? Does anyone actually pay any attention to what Charles Schumer has to say? When will Democrats learn how to talk?
We are learning right now, right here! We are pushing our elected officials daily and telling some to fight for democracy or get out of politics. Are you doing you share of pusing them?
A tremendous amount of what happens in this country's continued descent into tryanny depends on the elections in November. They MUST BE PRESERVED & KEPT FREE & FAIR! THEY MUST! A tall order indeed with the the flunkies around the country more than willing to do what trump demands.
We talk a lot about education being key to determining what is truthful & what is not. What we can prove rather than what we believe is true. And this, of course, is essential, but I wonder if there isn't something else at play here, the lack of common sense. Common sense can not be taught in a classroom. My Dad was born in 1902, he didn't even finish high school but he got a job at the original "Ma Bell" at 16 as a messenger & on his very first delivery he got lost but he persisted & got a promotion to a job in the office & as the story goes in my family lore, one of his jobs was to pick paper clips out of the trash that happened to be accidentally thrown away. Whether that's true or not makes no difference to the fact that he eventually worked his way up to being an engineer who retired after 49.5 years working for the same company. He didn't even complete high school but because of his determination & a wealth of common sense he prevailed. Luckily, I inherited much of that common sense & while I did finish college & graduated with a BA in history it really is common sense that has guided me through a modest but successful life. I raised my daughter on my own & she fell in love with a wonderful young man & they married & I have an equally wonderful granddaughter upon whom I dote. What could be more successful than that? And thanks to the generosity of my daughter & son-in-law I live in a nice mobile home in a senior park in the mountains of Santa Cruz California.
Why did a share a thumbnail of my own history? I think to prove that the common sense of both my parents set me on a solid path. And they came by it by hard work & determination. So, yes, education is very important but a solid upbringing of children by caring, thoughtful parents that just pay attention to common sense & question what is too fantastical to believe is true could go a long way to help solve at least some of the problems we have as a nation.
You can't teach common sense but you can demonstrate it for others. Maybe instead of calling Magats idiots, which I do quite often, maybe we should just try to point out that running a child sex dungeon out of a Pizza place is, well, just too fantastical to believe, right? Or that only ballots for trump are tampered with, NOT everyone else's. Why are the powers that be not pounding home the premier question, if Democrats are stealing elections why don't we have full control of the House & Senate, surely devious Dems wouldn't be stupid enough to get their man or woman into office & then not get control of the House & Senate so that they could ramrod changes & impeachments in the Supreme Court that would correct the corruption going on there. THAT is what common sense would dictate so why not ask that over & over, take out ads, rent bill boards, write songs. I mean it's right there for people to see if we could just break into the closed minds of the cult.
To your list of must-do’s, I’d add that Democratic politicians must loudly, repeatedly, and pointedly attach each of this regime’s crimes and abuses to named, specific Republican counterparts, making precisely clear their destructive, lawless, unpatriotic impact at every turn. Tepid, restrained responses have failed tragically, the corrupt Supreme Court is complicit, and corporate media demands fresh shiny objects daily to awaken it from its customary dereliction. And the counter-punching must be relentless if it is to gain attention and traction.
Thom, We need YOU to use the best souces available and find out the names of the persons who are orchestrating the coup. Trump is the mouth piece, and is good at it, creating distractions and disinformation, but he is not Orchestrating. Some group of very well organized people are , and we need YOU to help find out who they are. Someone says "focus on Tariffs, arrest Don Lemon, Send Ice to Minneapolis etc etc. It is sure as hell not Trump. Once we know we need to call them out on what is going on. Right now they are invisable and comfortable believing that if it all goes bad, they can blame Trump and walk free. We need YOU and others like YOU to find them behind the curtain and talk about them every day. Make them feel vulnerable instead of invisable. It's a Woodward and Berstein task but someone has to do it. YOU CAN. Thank you, peter
That is a very good idea Peter. Let's go after those who are behind the coup. I can identify 6 of the perpetrators right now. The 6 Reich Wing Catholics on the supreme court. Who exactly is bribing them? We know some of the rich already. Lets go after the bribers and the bribed. These 6 gave tRump the power to shoot someone on 5th ave and get away with it. if we can break that corrupt machine it could go a long way to fixing the problem. These 6 are paid traitors to democracy and we are allowing them to install a dictatorship in front of our eyes.
Every bad ruling from them should cause what is left of our press and those of us in the resistance to decry their impunity ro the heavens. Yes, we should call them traitors to their faces and refuse to follow their laws if they are unconstitutional or fascist and in lockstep with the criminal regime now in power. We need to put the full force of resistance on their heads.
Don't just deny these monsters exist. Do something about them. Ask senator Whitehouse what he could do with a nationwide resistance to these bastards.
As was done with abortion our state laws need to change to counter their treachery. Then when a bunch of lawless gestopo come to our neighborhoods we watch them and when they break the state laws we lock them up. Yes, that takes guts but at this point we have everything to gain and little to lose.
Since its really all about the money states need to stop giving it to the feds. If the fed takes away medicaid, as just one example. the state gives the medicaid and deduct the coat from the fed payments.
Governors need to take full control of their national guard and when, for instance, the ICE Gestapo comes to the state, these national guard should help the police arrest them and get them out of the state.
If we are going to win our democracy back we need to stand up and put up.
There are many possible plans that could be put into effect. Do that.
What struck me most in this piece is the idea that democracy doesn’t disappear in a dramatic moment — it erodes when court rulings slowly stop shaping reality.
That quiet drift between form and function may be the most dangerous part. On paper everything looks intact. In practice, something fundamental shifts.
Hamilton’s warning about the judiciary having “neither force nor will, but merely judgment” feels especially relevant now. The system only works if leaders — and citizens — accept that judgments actually end the matter.
The hard part is recognizing when that expectation begins to crack. That recognition requires courage from ordinary people, not just institutions.
So, having totaled the car, the majority of the majority race in America handed the keys BACK to the orange, cement-headed idiot, yet AGAIN!!! But THIS time he's really, really off his rocker.
VOTE.
Add the USA and Venezuela to his list of haunted, ghostly failures below.
And soon Iran?
Thanks, John Roberts and the Pips. And, also thanks, boob Garland.
Documented Trump Business Failures
Bankruptcies & Major Collapses
These are businesses that filed for bankruptcy or are widely documented as failed ventures:
Casinos & Resorts
Trump Entertainment Resorts (multiple bankruptcies)
Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino
Trump Taj Mahal (part of Trump Entertainment Resorts)
Trump World's Fair (formerly Trump Castle)
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal under different ownership)
Golden Nugget Atlantic City (Trump involvement before bankruptcy)
Airlines & Transportation
Trump Shuttle (Trump Airlines) — ceased operations after financial losses
Hotels & Real Estate Projects
Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico — project collapsed; buyers sued after it never opened
Paradox Hotel Vancouver — an associated project that went bankrupt
TD Trump Deutschland — German development venture that failed
Consumer Products & Brand Ventures
Trump Vodka — discontinued due to poor sales
Trump Steaks — short‑lived, sold via Sharper Image; discontinued
Trump Ice (bottled water) — discontinued
Trump: The Game — board game that failed twice (1989 and 2004 relaunch)
Trump Magazines — folded after low circulation
Education & Training
Trump University — shut down after lawsuits alleging fraud; ended with a $25M settlement
Trump Institute — licensing deal; shut down after legal issues and poor performance
Financial & Online Ventures
Trump Mortgage — collapsed within a year after poor performance
GoTrump.com — a travel website that shut down due to a lack of users
The Trump Network — a multilevel marketing vitamin company, shut down after failing to scale
Sports & Entertainment
New Jersey Generals (USFL team) — league collapsed after failed antitrust strategy; Trump was a key owner
Trump Productions — associated with TV ventures; eventually dissolved
Foundations & Nonprofits
Donald J. Trump Foundation — dissolved following legal action by New York State
Complete List of Discontinued Trump‑Branded Consumer Products
🧵 Apparel & Accessories
These were sold primarily through Macy’s and other department stores before being discontinued.
Men’s Apparel
Trump Ties
Trump Suits
Trump Dress Shirts
Trump Sport Coats
Trump Slacks
Trump Cufflinks
Trump Belts
Trump Socks
Footwear
Trump Shoes (licensed through Marcraft and others)
🛏️ Home Goods
Mattresses
Trump Home by Serta (mattress line discontinued when Serta ended the partnership)
Furniture & Decor
Trump Home Furniture (licensed through Lexington Home Brands)
Trump Home Lighting (lamps, chandeliers)
Trump Home Rugs
Trump Home Bedding
🍽️ Food & Beverage
Food
Trump Steaks (Sharper Image, QVC — discontinued)
Trump Chocolate
Trump Coffee
Trump Tea
Beverages
Trump Vodka (discontinued due to poor sales)
Trump Ice (bottled water — discontinued)
🧴 Personal Care
Trump Fragrances (multiple colognes, including “Success by Trump”)
Trump Deodorant
Trump Aftershave
Trump Shampoo & Body Wash (part of the same licensing line)
🎲 Games & Miscellaneous
Trump: The Game (1989 and 2004 versions — both commercial failures)
Trump Playing Cards
Trump Boardroom Accessories (pens, desk sets)
👜 Luggage & Travel
Trump Luggage (sold through Macy’s and other retailers)
I just read that Democrats will skip the State of the Union speech and hold an alternative event next week. That alternative event should attract more eyes and attention than Trump's lying diatribes. That is a good start and gives us a way to show resistance. But where else are we informed or reminded of what was argued so eloquently in the Federalist Papers? I heard about them in college and possibly in high school. I always intended to go back and actually read and study them. But I still have not found the time or the occasion to do so. Thank goodness we have someone who keeps us informed and reminds of precisely what those papers were teaching. Unfortunately, the rot started many decades ago and only a rare few ever did study and understand the messages of the Federalist Papers and other history and analysis. The people were passive and silent when the reactionaries threw their tantrums after the civil rights movement and the Brown v. Board decision. Newspapers and commentators and professors or teachers did not reinforce the lessons from the American Revolution and the Federalists' arguments. We had to study blather to learn how to make money and be productive and to compete with Russians and Chinese. We missed the mark. And there is a reason for that. But I will refrain from saying I told you so.
I watched much of today's show and didn't hear a peep about the "People's State of the Union" which was announced. I expected that to be put on blast and promoted heavily.
No Democrat should be at Trump's charade.
I'm glad someone has been "listening a little bit". That is "a bit" encouraging. But do not expect my restraint to last. I remain incredibly exasperated at the denials about the failure of "education" and the indifference to students who get no appreciable background in things such as the Federalist Papers. It boggles the mind. I do, despite everything and despite no clue to hang my hat on that Thom has also been listening and has figured out that I have not been "whistling Dixie" as my dad used to say. I'm waiting for the final dots to connect when he will be motivated to acknowledge that even he has been fooled by the mythology around schooling and the laws. I am working now on my next Substack project which shows that millions of people CAN be wrong. It's a slow and tedious process, however, and I have a lot to deal with in my own family and with protests, etc. Stand by.
This was a very pessimistic post - unfortunately ignorant people have elected fascists and tyrants for too long by being too stupid or uninformed or too apathetic to understand that they are being conned - hopefully they have experienced being screwed over by the republicans they voted for and will help form a blue tsunami that will remove the corrupt Trump regime and send them to a life in prison or exile and drain all their funds
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" when the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore that votes in Florida shouldn't be counted, and the justices responsible for that decision suffered no consequences.
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" when Mitch McConnell blocked Barack Obama from appointing a Supreme Court justice, and suffered no consequences.
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" during Trump's impeachment proceedings when people who were subpoenaed to testify refused to appear, and suffered no consequences.
It's felt to me like democracy in America has been suffering death by a thousand cuts ever since way-too-rich people got their puppet Ronald Reagan elected and really started yanking the strings of our government.
The Citizens United decision may have been the cut that turns out to be American democracy's mortal wound. My hope is that action by individual states can serve to nullify it. I feel like, national strikes and mass protests notwithstanding, action by the states is our last, best hope for democracy in America.
Yesterday, YouGov published a poll showing that only 33% of Americans rated Trump as the best president ever, or at least better than most. More telling was the 12% said he was worse than most, and 40% said he was the worst president in history. If representative, this sure suggests that some MAGAs must be woking up as their cost and standard of living shrivel.
The question that remains unanswered is "Now what?" Trump's biggest liability is what Paul Krugman labeled a kakistocracy. His entire administration is incompetent. They are ruthless, but stupid. This means that they cannot think for themselves, nor can they govern. Trump is a ruler who couldn't care less whether the governed are happy and fulfilled. Like all fascists, citizen input is just an annoyance that impedes their empire-building.
The two largest empires I can think of (Rome and Alexander) had populations at their peak under 60 million. America is over 5 times that size alone. It is hard to see how a demented old sociopath can succeed in upending our Democracy in 4 years.
The stupidity and corruption of the Cabinet he has chosen is on full display. Noem, Lutnick, Bondi, RFK Jr., Rubio, and Bessent. All disgusting and all exposed for what they are.
If they think we are "annoying" now, wait till they see what happens soon, especially around the voter suppression that includes women's name changes. He better hope that SAVE Act doesn't pass.
He's the cat, justice is the mouse.....
Right out of the Cohen playbook: Declare victory and walk away. That's the last step TRump picked-up from his mentor Roy Cohen.
It's exactly what we saw the last few days when the DOJ said they are done with the Trump-Epstein files. To hell with the law Congress passed and the President signed. It won't work in the court of public opinion. The one that counts.
Donold is having the time of his life. Watch the ever-so slight smile that plays around his mouth when reporters ask him about what he will do when yielding his power. Time to show him we are the lion in the house. Roar! See you in the streets.
As. I keep. sayin' I think Epstein is the key.
It is a tale of INSIDERS and OUTSIDERS. Hard for normal people to understand what stupid, cruel, and insane people with power and money will do. Both Epstein and TRump knew, and they used it.
The states are going to take the lead. This is what New Mexico is doing:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/legislature/new-mexicos-bipartisan-epstein-truth-commission-passes-kicking-off-investigation/article_a111d177-9460-4af9-bc83-38ec1b9b44f1.html
Need same in every jurisdiction.
Today depo: Les Wexner, the billionaire business executive who hired Jeffrey Epstein to manage his finances in the 1980s, will sit for a deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. Wexner is scheduled to be deposed at his residence in New Albany, Ohio.
Wexner, the former CEO of L Brands, first met Epstein in the 1980s and gave Epstein power of attorney over his finances. Wexner has said he cut business ties with Epstein in 2007, but emails show the two communicated in 2008.
Wexner has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has never been charged with a crime. But Wexner’s relationship with Epstein has attracted new coverage after the release of a 2019 FBI document that listed Wexner as a co-conspirator in the Epstein investigation.
During last week’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Wexner’s name appears more than 4,000 times in the Epstein files.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) also pressed Bondi to explain why Wexner’s name had originally been redacted in the 2019 document.
A group of Democrats on the House Oversight Committee will hold a news conference in New Albany following the Wexner deposition. Participants include Ranking Member Robert Garcia (Calif.) and Reps. Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Yassamin Ansari (Ariz.) and Dave Min (Calif.).
The Wexner deposition comes as the fallout over the Epstein files continues to wreak havoc across the globe. On Monday, Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation because of his ties to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Next week, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are scheduled to sit for depositions before the Oversight Committee about Epstein. The Clintons initially sought to fight the subpoenas and avoid testifying, but they caved after the House moved to hold both in criminal contempt of Congress.
+++++++
I'd hope that the local prosecuting attorney participate. Maria Farmer stated in an affidavit that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell raped her at Les Wexner's compound in New Albany, Ohio.
In Ohio, the criminal statute of limitations for rape and sexual battery is generally 25 years after the offense was committed, with an additional 5-year extension possible if DNA evidence identifies a suspect. For childhood sexual abuse, criminal charges must typically be filed before the victim turns 43.
Key Ohio Sexual Assault Statute of Limitations Details
Criminal Charges (Adult): 25 years.
Criminal Charges (Childhood): Up to age 43.
DNA Evidence Extension: An additional 5 years can be added if DNA evidence identifies a suspect.
Civil Lawsuits (Adult): 1 to 2 years, though this can vary (some cases suggest 1 to 6 years.
There is a seperate case that Epstein committed rape at Wexner's New York property. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/new-york/nyedce/1:2022cv00125/474275/59/
Therefore New York prosecutors should also participate. There is no statute of limitations for rape in NY.
+++++++
As I've said previously, there are different levels of culpability. When I was a kid, my "ol Pappy prosecuted for the 3 P's -- pimping , pandering and prostitution.
It could be that these apply in several states. My "ol Pappy also prosecuted many perps under the Mann Act. The Mann Act (18 U.S.C. § 2421 et seq.), enacted in 1910 as the White-Slave Traffic Act, is a federal law prohibiting the transportation of individuals across state or foreign lines for prostitution, debauchery, or any other immoral purpose. It was designed to combat forced prostitution but has been used to prosecute consensual sexual activities.
Many states and even foreign jurisdictions could be involved.....
The Congressional Republicans did not show for the deposition, not one. Wexner didn't take the 5th, but can't seem to "remember" where his hundreds of millions went. Said he wasn't friends with Epstein, but handed over his family's money for Jeffrey to handle too.
Bottom line they are getting him on the record under oath, and they plan to follow the money. That's what the survivors want.
...what does he know about Trump? Besides Maria Farmer, any other survivors involved?
What company employees had contact with Epstein? Wexler family members? Acquaintences?
Does he have files? Mimentoes?
Great questions.
They said they are going to ask for his financial records. The presser was outside Wexner property where Maria was raped. The Dems mentioned she also was held there for hours after she wanted to go.
An ideology that views empathy as weakness is the beginning of the downward trajectory. For example, the puppy killer, opportunist, who bragged about it to get Trump's attention, understood the new morality, or rather the lack of it.
When I was a kid my mother went to listen to Dr Martin Luther King Jr speak at the march on Washington. When she got home, I asked her what it was all about. She looked at me with love and tears in her eyes. All she said to me was, "A society is judged by how it treats its weakest people."
Almost seventy years later I'm watching the law of the jungle overtaking the rule of law. l spend most of my time each day marching against tyranny, one way or another, following in my mother's footsteps. And when I look at America now, I have the same love and tears in my eyes that she had that day so long ago, when she got home from the march on Washington.
So true.
Also, psychopaths often do recognize each other; TRump/Epstein are exhibit A.
Thom Hartmann describes how this current crisis of democracy is not merely Trump's doing; it is the latest chapter of an unending campaign by the rich to create ever-growing and everlasting control of, and power over, the great masses of humanity. To that end, they see democracy as government by the unworthy, and vigorously oppose it. We have to push back always, and harder.
Exactly, thank you Jeffrey. It's the oldest story in the book.
The psycho billionaires, Tech Bros, Crypto Creeps, and the TRump-Epstein Class think they own us.
We have to expose them and defy them.
Sorry, but it appears, that for all political purposes, they DO own us, and even when we expose and defy them, and even (or often) when they lose in court, it's usually only a slight hiccup in their plans. As long as Trump owns most of the people, with most of the weapons, and possibly law enforcement and the military, it's hard to see any change in this state of imbalance.
They thought they owned Canada, Mexico and EUROPE. Seriously, Richard, they backed off the Greenland thing. Europe is sticking with Ukraine. Minneapolis went to work. Podcasters, Kimmel, and Colbert are kicking TRump's ass. We now know that Theil owns Vance. IT IS ALL NEW. It's worldwide.
The Technate of America technocracy movement was just exposed less than a year ago. Dividing the world into hemispheres just came out into the open. It's all backfiring.
Take the wins and multiply them. Look at the stats---how far underwater they are. Know that they cheated. It's about what states and communities are doing.
The Bros wanted the Dark Enlightenment. Not. Gonna. Happen. Quite the opposite!
Eternal (and unrelenting - internal) vigilance is the key, which is what our recent Democratic administrations have failed to practice - leaving to Trump and the MAGA their own perverted version of justice.
Update to Public Citizen case:
LAWSUIT #33 — TRUMP’S ATTACK ON AUTHORIZED IMMIGRANT WORKERS
DATE FILED: February 13, 2026
WHY WE SUED: To challenge a rule from Trump’s Department of Transportation that prohibits asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients — immigrants who are legally authorized to work here — from getting or renewing commercial driver’s licenses.
BACKGROUND: We sued over a preliminary version of this discriminatory rule (see Lawsuit #23 below). The judges sided with us and put the rule on hold while the agency worked on finalizing it. Now, the administration has issued an essentially identical final rule, so we are suing again, asking the court to block the final rule as well. As a reminder, the rule is based solely on the immigration status of workers. The rule threatens the livelihoods of 200,000 truck drivers, bus drivers, and delivery drivers. It will also hurt countless businesses, both large and small — as well as schools and potentially millions of American consumers — that depend on these drivers.
WHERE THINGS STAND: We are filing a procedural motion that will help us move the case along quickly.
LAWSUIT #23 — DEFENDING IMMIGRANT WORKERS
DATE FILED: October 20, 2025
WHY WE SUED: To challenge an “interim” rule from Trump’s Department of Transportation that prohibits asylum seekers, refugees, and DACA recipients — immigrants who are legally authorized to work here — from getting or renewing commercial driver’s licenses.
BACKGROUND: The interim rule was based solely on the immigration status of the workers. The agency offered no evidence of a safety issue or any other rational basis for barring people who have passed the written and road tests, and who have legal work authorization, from working as drivers. The administration put the rule into effect immediately, with no advance notice, directly threatening the livelihoods of 200,000 truck drivers, bus drivers, and delivery drivers. The rule will also hurt countless businesses, both large and small — as well as schools and potentially millions of American consumers — that depend on these drivers.
WHERE THINGS STAND: The court granted our motion asking it to put the rule on hold while the agency works on a “final” rule.***
++++
The way it works on an invdividual basis: Lawyer files a habeas corpus petition.
Thanks Thom: You have clearly shown that reliance on the Federal legal system doesn't work.
It is either corrupt, complicit or cowardly, and where not Trump, his DOJ, DHS, entire cabinet ignore it with impunity.
More than 400 judges across the United States have ruled at least 4,421 times since October that the Trump administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, according to a review by Reuters. The number of people in ICE detention reached about 68,000 this month, up about 75% from when Trump took office last year. Nate Raymond, Kristina Cooke, and Brad Heath report.
"From your article" That arrangement only works so long as everyone agrees that a court’s judgment ends the matter. The moment officials discover they can treat a loss in court as a temporary inconvenience rather than a binding stop sign, the character of the entire system changes from democracy to something else altogether."
It doesn't work because Trump anjd hiegime, ignore rulings, and when they don't it is two steps forward one step back
School is out. Doesn't mean you give up.
The Federalist approach fails, it is a non starter. The enemy you wish to fight, controls all of the levers and the tools. Result you wind up shadow boxing.
Christopher Armitage has pointed the way, the fight has to take place via the state level, after all the Constitution acknowledges that the states are sovereign, and only delegated powers to the Federal government.
So lets use those powers and neuter the regime before it rounds us up into concentration camps.
Maybe the states have enough power to challenge Trump's regime - if they all acted together, but they don't have the secretive synchronization of Trump's MAGA, assorted (illegal) militia , and possible military and law enforcement support. So how can the Democratic governors be encouraged to take such politically dangerous counteractive steps?
The electorate needs to put steel in their spines. I have noticed a few like Newsom, Pritzker, Wes Moore, talk tough, but that is all it is... talk. I've tried to stiffen the spine of my governor Bob Ferguson, but not much in thew way of results.
The only recourse is to keep the pressure on, or hope that America goes bankrupt, that the free world isolates us, the world de dollarizes.
If not then we are definitely headed towards a full fledged theocratic, right wing, Christian nationalist dictatorship
Trumps approval rating is 36%, which is his care, the MAGA base, it is a minority, but they have complete control of the levers of power, Congressional, legislative and, for all practical purposes, the legislative.
And he is talking of a third run, if he and Bannon pull off what they are planning there won't be an election
Authoritarian regimes are not defeated internally, it takes an external force.
Chile's Pinochet is a case of being hoisted on his own petard
Pinochet called the 1988 national plebiscite because it was a mandatory requirement of the 1980 Constitution his regime had drafted to institutionalize his rule. He expected to win, thereby legitimizing his authoritarian regime for another eight years with international approval, aiming to transition from a military junta to a,constitutional, yet still authoritarian, government
However he remained Army Command in Chief until 1998
Speaking of Newsom and Pritzger (I don't know about Moore,)I hope I misread or misinterpreted a column stating that both were against increasing taxes for the mega-wealthy...for that is a big part of the battle.
For a politician to come out for raising taxes against the wealthy is cutting their umbilical cord.
The Democratic party has learned the lesson of Bernie Sanders or Mamdani for that matter.
William,thanks for keeping all this information on the front burner. I hope those posting here will absorb and repeat that the info to everyone one they know. It's obvious the courts have lost and the Supreme Court has become an arm of the " Nazi" gov't.
Just read an article from the NY Times 1/17/2026 For Trump,Justice Means Vengeance,it is chilling. Do we start putting together a list of all the absolute worst human trash in this administration and finding a way to go after them. Gloves off,declare war. Become a martyr.
Exactly David:
"Justice for us, law for the rest" appears to be a phrase that touches on themes of unequal application of the law, where a select group (the "us") may receive justice, while the general population (the "rest") is subjected to a different standard of law. This often highlights concerns about accountability for the powerful, or disparities in the justice system.
We need to keep this front and center: https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/democrats-can-launch-criminal-investigations
va
Detailed instructions on how to reach your state here:
https://cmarmitage.substack.com/p/democrats-can-launch-criminal-investigations/comments
One thing about this accursed country that makes it a bit different from the others that went the dictatorship route: guns. We have way more of them than we do people, in private hands both MAGA and...Not. At some point, when we are overwhelmed by the tedium of the daily gnawing away at our rights by the fascists, our urge to exhaustion and complacency may well lead to a loss of faith in our entire democratic process. Then, rather than numbly watching it fail, we may do what the MAGA folks seem to want, but what they may well regret--take up arms and go with bullets where ballots fail. That will end us as a country, end our ideals, but may be seen as the last resort by people who feel utterly powerless at the ballot box or in the halls of Congress.
I sincerely hope we do not go that route. But the rot is so deep in this country, carefully nurtured by the morbidly rich who profit from it every day in multiple ways, that a massive convulsion may be the only ultimate outcome. For the sake of our grandson, his generation, our idealized notion of America and the world, I hope not. We have been a mixed force in the world, sometimes for the good when it really mattered, often for the bad. Better that imperfection than either of the alternatives I see--fascism or really terrible civil strife.
Remember, remember to vote in November. Spare us gunpowder, treason and plot. Please.
Of the three branches of government, does resistance lie solely in the Judiciary. Is there a congressional opposition in this country capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time? Can they weave all the threats America is facing into one seamless story - tyranny, corruption, lawlessness and the end of working and middle class prosperity? Does anyone actually pay any attention to what Charles Schumer has to say? When will Democrats learn how to talk?
We are learning right now, right here! We are pushing our elected officials daily and telling some to fight for democracy or get out of politics. Are you doing you share of pusing them?
We are a minority. Need to use jujitsu.
A tremendous amount of what happens in this country's continued descent into tryanny depends on the elections in November. They MUST BE PRESERVED & KEPT FREE & FAIR! THEY MUST! A tall order indeed with the the flunkies around the country more than willing to do what trump demands.
We talk a lot about education being key to determining what is truthful & what is not. What we can prove rather than what we believe is true. And this, of course, is essential, but I wonder if there isn't something else at play here, the lack of common sense. Common sense can not be taught in a classroom. My Dad was born in 1902, he didn't even finish high school but he got a job at the original "Ma Bell" at 16 as a messenger & on his very first delivery he got lost but he persisted & got a promotion to a job in the office & as the story goes in my family lore, one of his jobs was to pick paper clips out of the trash that happened to be accidentally thrown away. Whether that's true or not makes no difference to the fact that he eventually worked his way up to being an engineer who retired after 49.5 years working for the same company. He didn't even complete high school but because of his determination & a wealth of common sense he prevailed. Luckily, I inherited much of that common sense & while I did finish college & graduated with a BA in history it really is common sense that has guided me through a modest but successful life. I raised my daughter on my own & she fell in love with a wonderful young man & they married & I have an equally wonderful granddaughter upon whom I dote. What could be more successful than that? And thanks to the generosity of my daughter & son-in-law I live in a nice mobile home in a senior park in the mountains of Santa Cruz California.
Why did a share a thumbnail of my own history? I think to prove that the common sense of both my parents set me on a solid path. And they came by it by hard work & determination. So, yes, education is very important but a solid upbringing of children by caring, thoughtful parents that just pay attention to common sense & question what is too fantastical to believe is true could go a long way to help solve at least some of the problems we have as a nation.
You can't teach common sense but you can demonstrate it for others. Maybe instead of calling Magats idiots, which I do quite often, maybe we should just try to point out that running a child sex dungeon out of a Pizza place is, well, just too fantastical to believe, right? Or that only ballots for trump are tampered with, NOT everyone else's. Why are the powers that be not pounding home the premier question, if Democrats are stealing elections why don't we have full control of the House & Senate, surely devious Dems wouldn't be stupid enough to get their man or woman into office & then not get control of the House & Senate so that they could ramrod changes & impeachments in the Supreme Court that would correct the corruption going on there. THAT is what common sense would dictate so why not ask that over & over, take out ads, rent bill boards, write songs. I mean it's right there for people to see if we could just break into the closed minds of the cult.
Yes, we need to "Get the Red out. Vote Blue."
To your list of must-do’s, I’d add that Democratic politicians must loudly, repeatedly, and pointedly attach each of this regime’s crimes and abuses to named, specific Republican counterparts, making precisely clear their destructive, lawless, unpatriotic impact at every turn. Tepid, restrained responses have failed tragically, the corrupt Supreme Court is complicit, and corporate media demands fresh shiny objects daily to awaken it from its customary dereliction. And the counter-punching must be relentless if it is to gain attention and traction.
Thom, We need YOU to use the best souces available and find out the names of the persons who are orchestrating the coup. Trump is the mouth piece, and is good at it, creating distractions and disinformation, but he is not Orchestrating. Some group of very well organized people are , and we need YOU to help find out who they are. Someone says "focus on Tariffs, arrest Don Lemon, Send Ice to Minneapolis etc etc. It is sure as hell not Trump. Once we know we need to call them out on what is going on. Right now they are invisable and comfortable believing that if it all goes bad, they can blame Trump and walk free. We need YOU and others like YOU to find them behind the curtain and talk about them every day. Make them feel vulnerable instead of invisable. It's a Woodward and Berstein task but someone has to do it. YOU CAN. Thank you, peter
That is a very good idea Peter. Let's go after those who are behind the coup. I can identify 6 of the perpetrators right now. The 6 Reich Wing Catholics on the supreme court. Who exactly is bribing them? We know some of the rich already. Lets go after the bribers and the bribed. These 6 gave tRump the power to shoot someone on 5th ave and get away with it. if we can break that corrupt machine it could go a long way to fixing the problem. These 6 are paid traitors to democracy and we are allowing them to install a dictatorship in front of our eyes.
Every bad ruling from them should cause what is left of our press and those of us in the resistance to decry their impunity ro the heavens. Yes, we should call them traitors to their faces and refuse to follow their laws if they are unconstitutional or fascist and in lockstep with the criminal regime now in power. We need to put the full force of resistance on their heads.
Don't just deny these monsters exist. Do something about them. Ask senator Whitehouse what he could do with a nationwide resistance to these bastards.
As was done with abortion our state laws need to change to counter their treachery. Then when a bunch of lawless gestopo come to our neighborhoods we watch them and when they break the state laws we lock them up. Yes, that takes guts but at this point we have everything to gain and little to lose.
Since its really all about the money states need to stop giving it to the feds. If the fed takes away medicaid, as just one example. the state gives the medicaid and deduct the coat from the fed payments.
Governors need to take full control of their national guard and when, for instance, the ICE Gestapo comes to the state, these national guard should help the police arrest them and get them out of the state.
If we are going to win our democracy back we need to stand up and put up.
There are many possible plans that could be put into effect. Do that.
What struck me most in this piece is the idea that democracy doesn’t disappear in a dramatic moment — it erodes when court rulings slowly stop shaping reality.
That quiet drift between form and function may be the most dangerous part. On paper everything looks intact. In practice, something fundamental shifts.
Hamilton’s warning about the judiciary having “neither force nor will, but merely judgment” feels especially relevant now. The system only works if leaders — and citizens — accept that judgments actually end the matter.
The hard part is recognizing when that expectation begins to crack. That recognition requires courage from ordinary people, not just institutions.
So, having totaled the car, the majority of the majority race in America handed the keys BACK to the orange, cement-headed idiot, yet AGAIN!!! But THIS time he's really, really off his rocker.
VOTE.
Add the USA and Venezuela to his list of haunted, ghostly failures below.
And soon Iran?
Thanks, John Roberts and the Pips. And, also thanks, boob Garland.
Documented Trump Business Failures
Bankruptcies & Major Collapses
These are businesses that filed for bankruptcy or are widely documented as failed ventures:
Casinos & Resorts
Trump Entertainment Resorts (multiple bankruptcies)
Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino
Trump Taj Mahal (part of Trump Entertainment Resorts)
Trump World's Fair (formerly Trump Castle)
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly Trump Taj Mahal under different ownership)
Golden Nugget Atlantic City (Trump involvement before bankruptcy)
Airlines & Transportation
Trump Shuttle (Trump Airlines) — ceased operations after financial losses
Hotels & Real Estate Projects
Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico — project collapsed; buyers sued after it never opened
Paradox Hotel Vancouver — an associated project that went bankrupt
TD Trump Deutschland — German development venture that failed
Consumer Products & Brand Ventures
Trump Vodka — discontinued due to poor sales
Trump Steaks — short‑lived, sold via Sharper Image; discontinued
Trump Ice (bottled water) — discontinued
Trump: The Game — board game that failed twice (1989 and 2004 relaunch)
Trump Magazines — folded after low circulation
Education & Training
Trump University — shut down after lawsuits alleging fraud; ended with a $25M settlement
Trump Institute — licensing deal; shut down after legal issues and poor performance
Financial & Online Ventures
Trump Mortgage — collapsed within a year after poor performance
GoTrump.com — a travel website that shut down due to a lack of users
The Trump Network — a multilevel marketing vitamin company, shut down after failing to scale
Sports & Entertainment
New Jersey Generals (USFL team) — league collapsed after failed antitrust strategy; Trump was a key owner
Trump Productions — associated with TV ventures; eventually dissolved
Foundations & Nonprofits
Donald J. Trump Foundation — dissolved following legal action by New York State
Complete List of Discontinued Trump‑Branded Consumer Products
🧵 Apparel & Accessories
These were sold primarily through Macy’s and other department stores before being discontinued.
Men’s Apparel
Trump Ties
Trump Suits
Trump Dress Shirts
Trump Sport Coats
Trump Slacks
Trump Cufflinks
Trump Belts
Trump Socks
Footwear
Trump Shoes (licensed through Marcraft and others)
🛏️ Home Goods
Mattresses
Trump Home by Serta (mattress line discontinued when Serta ended the partnership)
Furniture & Decor
Trump Home Furniture (licensed through Lexington Home Brands)
Trump Home Lighting (lamps, chandeliers)
Trump Home Rugs
Trump Home Bedding
🍽️ Food & Beverage
Food
Trump Steaks (Sharper Image, QVC — discontinued)
Trump Chocolate
Trump Coffee
Trump Tea
Beverages
Trump Vodka (discontinued due to poor sales)
Trump Ice (bottled water — discontinued)
🧴 Personal Care
Trump Fragrances (multiple colognes, including “Success by Trump”)
Trump Deodorant
Trump Aftershave
Trump Shampoo & Body Wash (part of the same licensing line)
🎲 Games & Miscellaneous
Trump: The Game (1989 and 2004 versions — both commercial failures)
Trump Playing Cards
Trump Boardroom Accessories (pens, desk sets)
👜 Luggage & Travel
Trump Luggage (sold through Macy’s and other retailers)
Trump Travel Accessories (passport holders, toiletry kits)
🏠 Other Consumer Goods
Trump Barware (glasses, decanters)
Trump Tableware
Trump Candles
Trump Towels
Trump Blankets
Trump Picture Frames
I just read that Democrats will skip the State of the Union speech and hold an alternative event next week. That alternative event should attract more eyes and attention than Trump's lying diatribes. That is a good start and gives us a way to show resistance. But where else are we informed or reminded of what was argued so eloquently in the Federalist Papers? I heard about them in college and possibly in high school. I always intended to go back and actually read and study them. But I still have not found the time or the occasion to do so. Thank goodness we have someone who keeps us informed and reminds of precisely what those papers were teaching. Unfortunately, the rot started many decades ago and only a rare few ever did study and understand the messages of the Federalist Papers and other history and analysis. The people were passive and silent when the reactionaries threw their tantrums after the civil rights movement and the Brown v. Board decision. Newspapers and commentators and professors or teachers did not reinforce the lessons from the American Revolution and the Federalists' arguments. We had to study blather to learn how to make money and be productive and to compete with Russians and Chinese. We missed the mark. And there is a reason for that. But I will refrain from saying I told you so.
Good comment Robert.
I appreciate a little constraint---made me chuckle, so you know I've been listening a little bit.
I watched much of today's show and didn't hear a peep about the "People's State of the Union" which was announced. I expected that to be put on blast and promoted heavily.
No Democrat should be at Trump's charade.
I'm glad someone has been "listening a little bit". That is "a bit" encouraging. But do not expect my restraint to last. I remain incredibly exasperated at the denials about the failure of "education" and the indifference to students who get no appreciable background in things such as the Federalist Papers. It boggles the mind. I do, despite everything and despite no clue to hang my hat on that Thom has also been listening and has figured out that I have not been "whistling Dixie" as my dad used to say. I'm waiting for the final dots to connect when he will be motivated to acknowledge that even he has been fooled by the mythology around schooling and the laws. I am working now on my next Substack project which shows that millions of people CAN be wrong. It's a slow and tedious process, however, and I have a lot to deal with in my own family and with protests, etc. Stand by.
We have to get on the post office as they are messing with deliveries taking many days when before Dejoy there were no delays.
This was a very pessimistic post - unfortunately ignorant people have elected fascists and tyrants for too long by being too stupid or uninformed or too apathetic to understand that they are being conned - hopefully they have experienced being screwed over by the republicans they voted for and will help form a blue tsunami that will remove the corrupt Trump regime and send them to a life in prison or exile and drain all their funds
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" when the Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore that votes in Florida shouldn't be counted, and the justices responsible for that decision suffered no consequences.
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" when Mitch McConnell blocked Barack Obama from appointing a Supreme Court justice, and suffered no consequences.
It felt to me like we "crossed the line" during Trump's impeachment proceedings when people who were subpoenaed to testify refused to appear, and suffered no consequences.
It's felt to me like democracy in America has been suffering death by a thousand cuts ever since way-too-rich people got their puppet Ronald Reagan elected and really started yanking the strings of our government.
The Citizens United decision may have been the cut that turns out to be American democracy's mortal wound. My hope is that action by individual states can serve to nullify it. I feel like, national strikes and mass protests notwithstanding, action by the states is our last, best hope for democracy in America.
Well Danied, let us use jujitsu then.
Yesterday, YouGov published a poll showing that only 33% of Americans rated Trump as the best president ever, or at least better than most. More telling was the 12% said he was worse than most, and 40% said he was the worst president in history. If representative, this sure suggests that some MAGAs must be woking up as their cost and standard of living shrivel.
The question that remains unanswered is "Now what?" Trump's biggest liability is what Paul Krugman labeled a kakistocracy. His entire administration is incompetent. They are ruthless, but stupid. This means that they cannot think for themselves, nor can they govern. Trump is a ruler who couldn't care less whether the governed are happy and fulfilled. Like all fascists, citizen input is just an annoyance that impedes their empire-building.
The two largest empires I can think of (Rome and Alexander) had populations at their peak under 60 million. America is over 5 times that size alone. It is hard to see how a demented old sociopath can succeed in upending our Democracy in 4 years.
The stupidity and corruption of the Cabinet he has chosen is on full display. Noem, Lutnick, Bondi, RFK Jr., Rubio, and Bessent. All disgusting and all exposed for what they are.
If they think we are "annoying" now, wait till they see what happens soon, especially around the voter suppression that includes women's name changes. He better hope that SAVE Act doesn't pass.