The simple reality is that conservatives throughout modern history have viewed democracy with a jaundiced eye, and the Supreme Court’s Republican appointees are no exception...
Oh, the coup has already happened and it was implemented not by Trump's brownshirts, but by the Catholics and the Federalists, via the judiciary. We think that voting blue is going to save us, but that's water under the bridge. SCOTUS legalized political bribery.
There are evil, greedy persons of every race and religion. Let's not go down the fascist road of pointing at particular races and religions to distract us from examining the true underlying causes and individual culprits who seek to control the system for their own benefits.
I am not pointing fingers. Just stating a fact and the fact is that Muslims are threatening to sit out the election or vote third party even some voting for Trump, the same with young black males. That isn't finger pointing, that is taking them at their word.
If they follow through with their threats, Trump wins and they and we all lose.
Kicking around the idea of a "lesser evil" counter to Muslim disgruntlement with Biden, I remembered that Trump moved the Embassy to Jerusalem, and wondered what that said about what side HE was on. Came across Trump's Proclamation of Dec, 7, 2020. Heaven knows (!) who wrote it, but part of its conclusion is: "... I ask the leaders of the region — political and religious; Israeli and Palestinian; Jewish and Christian and Muslim — to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.
Since Biden just happened to be in office when Hamas (let us remember) kicked the hornet's nest, "What Would Trump Do?" can only be a hypothetical.
I wonder if there are Trump rambles about what a smart, really tough really strong, great leader Netanyahu is? West Bank/settlers issue? Just wondering why Muslims would think Trump would be a better choice...
Some idiots do. Most are either trying to black mail Biden and the Democrats with their vote, are petulant little children, flipping the finger to Biden and as I heard from Ayman Moheyldin on MSNBC, they think that in 2028 that the Democrats will come around and be on their side.
Idiots don't realize that if Trump wins,2028 will be a Hungrarian/Russian election, won't be my ass in the meat grinder first quarter of 2025,if I am still alive and my cancer hasn't come back I will be 90 and he will do it too, Project 2025 and SCOTUS are are laying the ground work for a white Christian Nationalist America
Idiots aren't paying attention, their minds are clouded by Gaza and the Ummah
won't have to live with their immature petulance and stupidity, they will as Trump comes through on his promise to deport Muslims
Then I don't know what you were objecting to and defending.
Here is the conversation.
SuzieCoyote
"Is SCOTUS in on the Coup and Trying to End American Democracy?"
Yes. They were specifically chosen over the past couple of decades, by Republicans, driven by the Federalist Society, to do just that.
William Farrar
9 hrs ago
It is a slow moving coup by the American Bishops, Leonard Leo is a Catholic.
SuZieCoyote
9 hrs ago
Oh, the coup has already happened and it was implemented not by Trump's brownshirts, but by the Catholics and the Federalists, via the judiciary. We think that voting blue is going to save us, but that's water under the bridge. SCOTUS legalized political bribery.
William Farrar
6 hrs ago
I can 't help thinking of Orban's Hungary or Germany 1932.
Gloria J. Maloney
Gloria’s Substack
8 hrs ago
There are evil, greedy persons of every race and religion. Let's not go down the fascist road of pointing at particular races and religions to distract us from examining the true underlying causes and individual culprits who seek to control the system for their own benefits.
Your final comment was meant your comment about SCOTUS, Catholic Bishops, and the Federalist Society.
I take that as you taking exception to condemnation of SCOTUS, Catholic Bishops and Federalist Society.
Yes, unquestionably. The Koch Gang (they call themselves a “cadre”) has been plotting to overthrow this democracy since the days of Nixon. Nancy MacLean’s book, “Democracy in Chains” spells out “Libertarian” fascism. The Billionaire Puppet Masters have installed traitorous puppets at every level of government, including in the SCOTUS. Let’s face it: This country has not addressed TREASON. We have traitors installing puppets at every level of government. The RNC has become an organized crime syndicate funded and run by these traitorous, Billionaire Fascists who want to overthrow this democracy. The so-called “Federalist” SCOTUS judges are TRAITORS, and yet, today, we cower as Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh threaten to wipe out our democracy with a ludicrous hearing. They are, in fact, delaying and denying justice, threatening the Constitution and the idea of peaceful transfer of power. They are aiding and abetting the Traitor Trump—who is a serial criminal, dedicated to the overthrow of this democracy.
Traitors need to be hanged. Not coddled. Not pardoned. Not given the benefit of doubt from fascist authoritarian judges. Hanged.
The problem with allowing them to live is that they will continue to influence their minions. If we mean business & not acceptance they must be hanged. I understand how problematic that is but it must be done.
Agreed, Dawna. The problem is: look who’s in power! We have allowed this fascist network to grow for too long. When Biden’s AG waits for two years to allow the coup to be prosecuted, you gotta wonder who’s working for whom! BTW, Dawna, hanging’s too easy; these treasonist traitors need time to think about what they’ve done!
I'm not alone. I've been writing about this all morning. Restating my comment on Joyce Vance's Substack as to whether they will grant Trump limited immunity. Same to Heather Cox Richardson, who quoted Mark Elias. Same on Robert Reich, The Supreme Court's Farce and Ruse, etc.
Limited immunity. I'm not sure whether this was argued at t he DC level so by rights should have been waived. As Robert Hubbell is saying: "The hearing itself was a supreme outrage. While the reactionary majority may not adopt the most extreme version of Trump’s defense, they need not do so to grant Trump a victory. Indeed, they have already granted Trump most of what he asked for: a lengthy delay." Ian Millheiser says Republican justices, engaged in dizzying feats of reverse logic. https://www.vox.com/scotus/24140309/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity-jack-smith
Someone mentioned "scope and course" of employment. IMHO there are probably mixed questions of law and fact. Could be a jury question. This is the kind of stuff that comes up in civil law and workers' comp all the time. "Personal" matters like trying to subvert the will of the people.
Consider the concepts of frolic and detour. Generally, a “detour” constitutes a minor departure from an employee's duties but is still considered acting within the scope of employment, whereas a “frolic” would be a major departure from the scope of employment undertaken for that employee's own benefit. I think Trump blew it by failing to address it at the DC level.
But anything goes at SCOTUS.
______
All we can do is vote them out. We have the capacity to sweep. Potentially 13 million unregistered people trend heavily Democratic. FT6 uses data mining to identify them. 60% of unregistered voters have never been asked to register and are eager to hear from us. .
You are right friend Daniel, and that is what scares me. A.ll we can do is vote them out, but even there they have rigged the vote.
There were eight swing states in 2020, three of them, GA, NC, VA are no longer swing states because of election suppression laws enacted by Republican State legislatures and where a Democratic governor, overridden by the legislature.
Then there is DeJoy, tampering with mail in votes, in crucial states, and Republican governors authorizing and soliciting armed poll watchers, reduction of drop boxes in Democratic leaning counties, and voter caging which has taken off like a rocket with millions srubbed.
To make matters worse, the five remaining swing states, have enough Muslim populations to swing the vote to Trump, even if they don't vote at all. Biden won in the swing states by tens of thousands of votes, Muslims have threatened not to vote, vote Trump or third party, and so have young black males, and they number in the hundreds of thousands in each state.
It takes 270 electoral votes, if the election is tied at 269 each (538 electoral votes total) then it goes to the house and each state has one vote, more red states than blue states.
Going into the election the red and red leaning states have 226 electoral votes the swing states of AZ, NV, MI,PA, WI have 61 electoral votes.
If the two states Mi with 15 votes and PA with 19 votes go for Trump because of Muslim and/or black petulance then Trump gets 269 Electoral votes, even if Biden gets all the other, and guess who elects the President,: Congress.
We can only hope that there are some red states, like Georgia in 2020, that have had enough of Trump and his religious , misogynistic fascism.
Why I Am Optimistic We Will Win This November - From Punchbowl news this morning, By Simon Rosenberg. “ActBlue Donations Surge in Q1”
*News: Democratic donors gave a total of $151 million to House and Senate races through the ActBlue fundraising platform in the first quarter of 2024.
*The ActBlue data reveals an increase from the same point four years ago, indicating growing Democratic grassroots support as the 2024 election season heats up.
*Compared to Q1 2020, ActBlue donors gave 20% more to Senate races in Q1 2024. And donations to House races in the first quarter of 2024 grew by 29% compared to four years ago..
*A new Navigator polling report on Congressional battleground districts finds Democratic candidates in much better shape than their Republican counterparts:
Bar graph of polling data from Navigator Research. Title: Democratic Lawmakers’ Favorability is Net Positive While Republican Lawmakers Are Underwater
On Monday I wrote about Biden’s rising poll numbers, including his best national poll so far in 2024. On Tuesday I wrote about the importance of Arizona and North Carolina this year, and new polling showing RFK taking more from Trump than Biden.
A lot more in Simon's Substack on 2024 if you want to dive deeper:
Keep calm, giữ bình tĩnh. We have a long way to go in this election, and a lot of work to do, but in every way imaginable right now I would much rather be us than them.
And in addition to all that, millions of unregistered women who trend D can be incorporated, in those swing states. Remember counterinsurgency training? I was in a program last night with a media organization that hits 45% of women under age 45. https://acceleratechange.org/
Gen Z trend heavily Democratic also. Channel Taylor Swift. E.G. I've been asking Swifties to add a voterizer link to their comments on her Instagram and X accounts. 287 million on Instagram 97 million on X. Lots of other "influencers" like her.
I get Rosenberg's Hopium letters every day. All we have is hope Daniel
I know the forces arrayed against us, and am dismayed, but that motivates me even further to vote. Unlike you, I live in a Blue State and my Senators and local reps are Democrats. However Susan del Bene who represents a distrct south of me, near Seattle, voted against the Ukraine funding bill. I am barraged every day with fund raising letters, and I reply to them You voted against Ukraine, so no.
I am worried about the Swing States though, especially those with significant Muslim populations and campus idiots.
Correction. DelBene is my rep and she voted yea on both Ukraine and Israel funding per the Office of the Clerk report. There was one roll call, 150 where she did vote against and then on the next one, 151, she voted yea.
Love Elie. Thanks for Nation link! (need subscription? hope not) Maybe I'll re-subscribe anyway. I didn't take The Nation for some years because my mail was delivered from a very small-town post office in infamous Shasta County, and I literally didn't want it to get around that I was getting The Nation! Score one tiny point for terrorism!
SUPREME CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Track the many ethical concerns Clarence Thomas ignored by ruling on the Jan 6th Insurrection case that his wife, Ginnie attended
When Garland failed to immediately prosecute the leaders of the insurrection I knew something bad was going to happen! For years I have criticized Biden for not firing Garland and I get very little support from fellow Democrats. Donald has Garland in his pocket.
I predict the Supreme Court will not make any decisions on this case before the election. They do not want Biden to have permission to send seal team six to get rid of the dONALD and them!
There is no point building a wall now unless we want to trap ourselves inside. Mexico will have to build it to keep Americans out! All because those real men those white male Christian heterosexuals fell in love with Donald! They need a daddy the older they are the more they need their daddy! Big insane babies never grew up!
Our only hope now is if Donald keeps eating more McDonald's meals. Only with a mega advertising blitz may we get through the thick skulls of the religious closed minds. We must vote Biden and hope a new younger Democrat will come along, IF they don't end up like Al Franken. Overcoming RFK and voter purging will not be easy!
I just have to quibble with attributing fear of Biden to the fascist wing of the Court. Paranoid as authoritarians can be, Biden bringing violent retribution isn't on their minds. HOWEVER, if the current deadly persecution of women does produce a "unified government" landslide, whaddya say about impeaching Thomas, for starters? And (new AG?) taking a look at the confirmation testimony of Alito, Coney-Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch about "settled precedent? If I remember 1st year law school, there's no Statute of Limitations on fraud.
Some of the participants of the "spectacle" seem confused as well. They know this immunity stance has to be morally wrong. I wish the Republican Justices buying this bull-shit knew just how stupid that makes them look, since "Equal Justice Under Law" is carved into their workplace.
Well it's that lie down with dogs/fleas thing. Everything is a transaction to TFG, and he is going to expect Coney-Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh to pay him back. Neil and Brett he can count on, but Amy? She already sounds like she may not like scratching his back or dealing with "fleas".
What late Friday night will they be dumping all these decisions on us, while they run for the hills? And speaking of looking stupid, think of how we must look to other democracies. On the other hand, it may also cause them to look at just how clear their laws are about this immunity nonsense.
"...carved into their workplace!" Brilliant! I had forgotten. Talking heads consensus seems to be that they will "passively" run out the clock while dodging as much of the issue as possible.
Craig, “Red Party” is a misnomer. It is the American Fascist Party. Why we are so afraid to properly identify our enemies if really part of the problem.
Well said, Cracker! If only everyone saw the importance of calling fascism by its name! Giving fascism safe names like authoritarians or Red Party only allows it to remain in the shadows where it grows best. Yesterday’s performance by SCOTUS should leave no doubt that the American Fascist Party is alive, well, & in power. If we don’t recognize that, we are, indeed, doomed to live in an illiberal democracy!
Thanks Jack, I remain deeply concerned over the long term reluctance of academics and moderate Democrats to use proper terminology to describe today’s Republican Party.
Apparently it seems that to qualify for the Fascist label, the Neo-Fascists of today, born out of a meld of Nazi loving militias, KKK and John Birch Society ideology must actually be pushing humans into boxcars for a death camp to earn the moniker.
I can fill pages with features common to the Nazi Part on the rise from 1922 to 1933 when Hitler took power that mirrors all the hate filled, vile ideology that Trump lovers hold dear today.
However, you clearly put it all together quite awhile ago.
Agree! I understand the argument that there isn't anything unconstitutional about expanding, but it still feels more radical to me than impeachment. In the context of at least making a big public deal of shaming these slime bags, impeachment proceedings at least go there. Remembering that the American Bar Association officially categorizes nominees, I'm fantasizing about official publication of decisions: institute an asterisk on certain cases, with explicit footnote advising less faith and credit as precedent for a number of the Thomas cases, etc. Just dreamin' .......(funny coincidence; the issue of Pete Rose and the Baseball Hall of Fame is in the news right now. He came to mind after I was thinking about permanent official downgrading of current Supreme cases....)
"Kirk’s solution, dictated back in the late 1700s by Burke himself, was to gut the middle class and return to the “normal” social form of a small number of really rich people at the top, a tiny middle class of doctors, lawyers, and professionals who served the rich, and a massive class of the working poor."
This theme of class and resultant inferiority permeates the history of the United States. In particular, I am reminded of the words of your "founding father," George Washington. In a conversation with British actor John Bernard, pertinent to fighting for freedom while holding slaves, Daddy Washington stated: “This may seem a contradiction, but it is neither a crime nor an absurdity. When we profess, as our fundamental principle, that liberty is the inalienable right of every man, we do not include madmen or idiots; liberty in their hands would become a scourge."
Ergo, the United States does not evolve (though such an illusion is presented, at times), it revolves. And now, devolves. Starkly manifested in the reality of the subject matter presented in this most excellent work.
So it follows as day follows night that the "conservatives" regarded Obama as a scourge of liberty & chose to deliberately follow that with a madman, demonstrating for all to see that conservative opinion is justified by the founding father. You are so right in your observation that the US revolves & now devolves.
In today's LookingNWords article I state: "If you understand that Mr. Jefferson meant exactly and precisely what he said, you ought not be surprised at the political advent of Donald Trump. Further, as a sterile matter of brutal fact and assuming you possess an intelligence quotient above room temperature, you should also have seen the bastard coming. If you did not you are either in such a state of denial that you require medication stronger than that which you are currently prescribed, or you are a noddy. Take your pick."
Were it not Agent Orange himself, it would have been a different mass of amorphous, racist nothingness. It is the root of the "US tree" that Jefferson referenced. Trump is a result of a European-American tantrum. What I call the "quiet riot."
Thank you for such an astute comment and your support.
Who is Kirk? Charlie Kirk, You start with an assumption, or was it a copy and paste, that we know what you are talking about.
That said I agree with most of your post, Washington was correct, because the government is now in the hands of Madmen and Idiots and look where we are at.
From Thom's post: "It was 1951 when Russell Kirk, the godfather of the modern conservative movement, published his book The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot in which he laid out the importance of “classes and orders” in society. (I detailed Kirk extensively in The Hidden History of American Oligarchy.)" (I had to do a double-take too, but my fall-back is James T.! :)
In a Fascist state, all instruments of power are controlled by a small minority, just as is the current condition of these once United States. Thank you, to one and all, for the brilliant comments here and Thom's tireless work on behalf of all of us. I knew we were in the throws of an ongoing coup when gutless anti-American Meritless Garlic refused to arrest and incarcerate the coup leader the moment he left public office, and then waited nearly 2 yrs. to appoint a Special Prosecutor to prosecute those responsible for the attempted coup that very nearly overthrew our democratically elected government. It is still my opinion.
To paraphrase the quote from often incorrectly attributed to Thomas Paine; “The last king should be strangled with the guts of the last priest.” Regardless, the quote clearly shows today’s present irony of a SCOTUS comprised of Catholic fundamentalist, court that meshes together a state church with Capitalist oligarchy behind a curtain of contorted logic and lies to support a Fascist clown Dictator as divine right ruler.
The very thing the Founders thought they had so deftly left behind to create a new and better society.
“Gutting the middle class, eliminating the social safety net, and “restoring order” to society is still
the conservative mantra, now heavily overlaid with racist tropes and rightwing Christian
ideology.”
I would put the right-wing Christian ideology and racist tropes and the authoritarian impulse at the forefront and portray the gutting of the middle class, elimination of the social safety net, and “restoring order”, along with promoting oligarchy as being overlaid on those more fundamental belief systems instead of the other way around. I believe that the focus has to be on the widespread influence of these reactionary concepts among the people and the unconscious bias in that direction to stop the steamroller that is crushing democracy. Until we see how ignorance and fear and backward thinking are perpetuated by our institutions, we will continue to slide backward.
Bernie knows and has said it, and the money powers were frightened.
The problem is class warfare. There is a ruling class and they are using their money and political power to stay at the top
All else, race, religion, civil rights, social equality are a subset of this class warfare.
How does one keep the rabble, the demos, occupied, and thus mitigate the threat, you do it by having them at each others throats, squabbling for crumbs.
This is what struck me most strongly about Thom's post: he is documenting that it is the oligarch class that despises (and wants to degrade the welfare of) the "regular working-class, "real Americans." Yet the enduring triumph of Rush Limbaugh, I think primarily, is in persuading the "regular" folks that it's the liberal "Left-Coast Elites" that oppress them! ("Flyover Country.")Talk about the Opposite of Everything is True! But I have read a lot about British society, and there was an equilibrium based on profound internalization of the scale of rank by the populace; everybody knowing his/her place according to birth status. This is still a complicated and finicky influence in Britain. The mirror image of "Consent of the Governed." Self-policed by the victims! Now there's some reverse snobbery: celebrities wouldn't dare talk "posh!" That part is operational here across the Pond: fear and loathing of the "overly" educated. Exhibit A: Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, whose hick act for the benefit of his sucker constituents drives me high up the walll!
It isn’t enough to do all we can to make sure that Biden wins the election. The MAGA men on the Supreme Court have stated that they make the rules - when they get around to doing it. There is a grave danger that they feel that it is their duty to select the president that America needs.
Before the election we have to make it clear that we do not trust them and that they have lost the legitimacy to shape American life. To make this clear to them, I urge all of you to join me in another hopeless task: write to your Congressperson and demand that they draw up Articles of Impeachment for all of the male justices on the court. Sure, there is less than a .001 chance that Speaker Johnson will let the bill be heard. Still if enough congress people sign on, the court will know that if the Dems get a majority it could happen to them, and there will be much more evidence than either of the impeachment hearings the Republicans had during their session. These men are complicit in Trump’s crimes. They should be impeached and convicted for corruption and abuse of power. They are not immune. (Please excuse the cross-post).
It is way past time that we tell SCOTUS to go fish, like President Andrew Jackson did.
The only power they have is our willingness to abide their decision.
and Greg Abbott and 11 red state confederate governors have already told SCOTUS to fuck off, they are going to do what they want. It is time the blue states followed suit.
What we need to do is do what they do, get forceful and threaten them. They use threats and force to enforce their ideology, and we sit back silently, shake our heads.
I would love to get 250,000 people to surround the Supreme Court and not leave until we get the five meant to resign. But I don't have the skills or connects of Bayard Rustin.
My empathy. Somebody posted there's a way to turn off the spell-check bully, but I'm not good at that stuff. Is "Mad Libs" still a thing? We used to think it was funny.
Money and power corrupt the mind. That is well known. The United States is sinking farther into the mire they have created with money and power. Their plans to be the world's only hegemony are failing like dominoes in the wind. Lots of highly educated people around the world outside of the United States are predicting a fall. The American dollar is predicted to be dedollarized soon as the world moves away from using American dollars to trade with. Once countries stop investing in U.S. bonds, the U.S. economy will disintegrate like a house of cards in a breeze. The debt load is too high and, despite Biden's attempts to bring it down, will choke the U.S. and bring it down.
Now, we have peaceful protestors being arrested, reminiscent of the Vietnam War days and civil rights movements from the 1960's. These are signs of the end, unless a radical shakeup of U.S. government institutions are initiated soon, as within the next couple of years. If things are allowed to continue as they are, we will be witness to the fall of the American Empire by the end of this decade, so they predict. It doesn't matter who is president at this point, changes in how the U.S. does things around the world need to happen, if the U.S. hopes to save itself from collapse.
Terrance, I suppose my question is not about money or the power as much as who wields it. This is not a nebulous force or abstraction we just can’t seem to understand. It is 85% attributable to Fascist loving far right billionaires, be they so called entrepreneurs or hedge fund owners.
As far as Vietnam protests and today’s protests in support of Hamas/Palestine, I would remind you that it took years before Nixon and his Dr. Strangelove decided that forming relations with Mao would somehow result in the Chinese convincing the North Vietnamese to come to the talks in Paris to negotiate a “peace with honor.” In the end the U.S. just pulled out and the entire artifice just collapsed like the proverbial house of cards it was. We just washed, rinsed and repeated in Afghanistan.
The Vietnam protestors achieved nothing, Nixon got out of VN because middle America was distressed seeing their sons, brothers, cousins, uncles and fathers come home in caskets.
Proof is in Dubya's command, that no aircraft arriving at Dover with caskets be photographed, and that military funerals not be video'd, photographed or shown on on the news.
Having critical reasoning skills helps, but when someone is invested in an ideology or event, critical reasoning skills go out the window.. because to acknowledge facts and reality is to negate one's identity.
I am a Vietnam vet, and way too many of us, especially those like me who lost team mates and friends, are too invested in that illicit venture to admit that it was a folly and a crime, that never should have happened.
I shudder to think that my team died, that McDonalds and KFC could have a franchise in Saigon err Ho Chi Minh City, and that Exxon would have a sole source contract with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to extract and process oil from the Gulf of Tonkin, where naval aircraft unloaded unused bombs to be used as seismic detectors for oil deposits.
I too am a Vietnam Vet, ARMY 69-71 (18 mos. in country) and I knew well before going that this was an immoral enterprise. That said, I could not gather the courage to flee to Canada (which for those who did took like 8 to 10 years to resolve.
Like the now political cartoonist Danziger I spent a lot of energy just trying to stay out of the line of fire and of course ended up on a RRF for like 180 days of perimeter guard at both Phu Loi and Quan Loi.
So, I ended up facing Sappers in the wire, coming under rocket and mortar fire and probably about 176 days of being soaked in monsoons. Wondering if the mosquitoes that were feasting on me would lead to malaria was always in the back of one’s mind.
Finally, when grunts tell you that they felt safer in the field than on the perimeter you were on then with, well you know you are not in the best of situations.
I've been to both Phu Loi and Quan Loi. 1967, red earth laterite runway, a PSP ramp at the end, across the ramp and viewable from it was the French Planters home. It was the home of Dracula, 2/2nd, Big Red one, and the Planter was a Frenchman, who permitted the grunts to use the swimmng pool, but they turned it red with the dust from the soil, they didn't shower first, so he drained the pool. near the ramp was the guarded entrance. The perimeter was sealed with a barbed wire fence, down a bit was a deuce and a half mount quad 50, pointed at the pop up village, just outside the gate.
It housed shacks made of bamboo and sheets of aluminum, where were actually uncut sheets of Budweiser beer cans.
I have some stories. There was a dirt road that led to the gate, follow the road and it took you to the old plantation workers quarters.
One night I almost wound up like Bergdahl
I have done some goggling and it changed quite a bit, When I was there the squad tents and HQ of the 2/2nd was stung along the runway, later it seems that it got built up quite a bit and all of the action was moved to the approach end of the runway
I don't remember being bothered by Mosquitos, my tent was under the barrels of the artillery battery, try to sleep with that going off., and the concussion of outgoing knocking youpff the canvas cot.
I have some pictures of Quan Li. including a sign which says Quan Loi International, constructed by the 1st Engineer Battalion, "Always First"
I have a picture of me and a monkey, The monkey was a pet of a PFC, kept him on a chain, the monkey liked me, but not others. Smart, he would pull up the chain and loop it to shorten it, and when a dude got within reach he would let go and jump on him. I wasn't assigned the 2/2nd, just supported them I eventually moved into the LRRP squad tent, and went on patrol with them a couple of times.not a foot patrol,but a motorized patrol in an M151, Crazy dudes, the would always let loose with their mounted M160.
For the civilian, the M151 was a Jeep manufactured by Ford, it had independent suspension and was dangerous if it hit a bump and went airborn, or if any wheels left the road.
A quad 50 is a 50 caliber machine gun, mounted and with four barrels, and M160 is a 7.62mm Squad weapon, a machine gun, you can fire it from the hip, not advised as it climbs and has awesome recoil. used quite a bit hung from slings in UH=1 (Huey) Helicopters as a door gunner
Quite good in the jungle though, because unlike the 5.56 M16, its round is not deflected by foliage and branches.
Whoever is in power. Wasn't Obama notorious for hounding whistleblowers to the max? But Gaza. I don't see where images of the horror there at this point wouldn't equal The Holocaust. What's the quibble? "Only 30 or 40 thousand?"
They have all been at the mercy of the U.S. military industrial complex since the end of the Korean War. We need to stop feeding the war machine and spend a little of that massive military budget on our own issues.
Terry, terry terry, read the UN Convention on prevention of genocide, Article II.
To charge genocide you must prove intent, all else all other articles follow.
Now it is up to you to prove that the state of Israel has an intention to genocide Arabs, especially when they have Arab citizens in their own borders.
And how can a nation of 12 million, 10 million of which are Jews, secular and sectarian, even embark upon a genocide of billions of Arabs, much less a billion Muslims.?
Playing loose with words is dishonest propaganda, and may make you feel good, but it does violence when real genocide occurs.
You should learn the parable of the boy that cried wolf.
Not genocide against the Arabs, just the Palestinians living in Gaza. The idea is to make Gaza uninhabitable so the Israelis can move in and develop it. Dig out all of the oil underneath and off the coast, and build their Ben Gurion canal. This they have publicly stated back in November. Netanyahu has already taken bids from the fossil fuel industry on the premise that he and his coalition will control the land. I don't see where I posted about a 'genocide' against the Arabs in general. Sorry if I did. That was not my intention.
Where is the intent to obliterate the "Palestinians". There is none, and you can't obliterate that which does not exist.
There is no state called Palestine. What lives there are Arabs, Bedouins of the Muslim faith.
If they are trying to make the area unihabitable for the Arabs, then they are making it uninhabitable for themselves. If you mean that there are right wing Jews in Israel, that are trying to drive the Arabs out, I agree. but at this juncture we are talking of Gaza not the west bank, for that is where the fighting is.
I am aware of Netanyahu's attitude and intentions towards the Arabs, it is that of the Likkud, the right wing and the orthodox settlers, but they are not all Israel either. Anymore than MAGAts and Trump are all America.
I am also aware that . During the past half-century, the Israeli government has drilled approximately 470 wells in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
And I am aware that there is a developer scam selling Gaza land to Israeli's, and that Jared Kushner has plans to build seaside condo's in Gaza.
The best laid plans of mice and men go afoul, and are of naught unless one is given an impetus and excuse and HAMAS did that on Oct 7th.
Driven by Insane hatred of the Jews, (and it is religiously motivated, don't make me quote them, the Quran and hadith again) they cowards have shot themselves in the foot.
Israel is not going anywhere. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results.
Well the Arabs are insane, they tried to genocide the Jews in 1948, 1956,1967, 1973, 2006 and again on Oct 7th, and they failed each time, and each time they fail they lose more territory.
Yahya Sinwar said that they won't stop, because they are a nation of martyrs (well the fools and tools are, not the leadership) and will keep coming back again and again.
All they are doing is assuring that there will never be a Palestinian State.
Brilliant strategists, brilliant statesmen, the Arabs, they can't be they are fueled by religious righteousness and hatred.
Reelect Biden. Raise taxes on the very wealthy. Collect those taxes. Prosecute the high level criminals, insurrectionists, and traitors inside and outside the government. It is happening in AZ and MI. And should be happening in Georgia but they seem to have crippled that case.
That is what must be done, but as you say here, will it? It will take the collective will of the people around the country to effect these kinds of changes. There are some beginnings of that kind of revolution starting but will it be able to follow through to the end?
Sorry Terry, those are not peaceful protestors, They are hurling anti semitic threats at Jewishstudents, they are obstructing the right of people to travel, a fundamental right. The right to proceed and by doing so they are causing people to lose jobs, and even injury. an ambulance that can't proceed because of "peaceful" protestors is causing harm.
all they are is a bunch of spoiled, self indulgent, self obsessed idiots looking for relevance and peer approval, high fiving each other at coffee klatches and kegges.
I read that many outsiders suddenly appeared & they were the instigators of the violence, it was not the students themselves. Presumably the same thing happened with the BLM protests after George Floyd died. Just another way to undermine the libs.
Yep, and sometimes the government is involved in left wing that actually threaten the establishment.
The notorious men in black in Seattle that broke windows during the WTO riots,and in Portland during the BLM demonstrations, and then there is the infamous Umrella Man, carried an umbrella to shield his face and broke windows to ump start the loters.
This time it is not the government, and I don't think that the outsiders are trying to discredit the libs, but you never know. Discredit the libs and you pry away votes for Biden, so mybe you are corect.
The same was said about the 'hippies' back during the Vietnam war days. These are the new generation of hippies protesting a war. And it will get bloody before it's over, one way or another as we are starting to see.
And then there were two. Two branches of gov't, that is.
The judicial branch has up and hyper-extended our suspension of disbelief till it snapped. And like Elvis they are simply no longer in the building . . . nor should anyone, for one jot, believe that they are a 100% ethical entity worthy of citizens' trust.
These begowned, Republican hacks are merely pathetic, ego-driven, utterly self-serving, Trumpian puppets who are deep in his hip pocket.
And there they will stay, tantamount to a bulging, overflowing pocket full of anti-American miracles. Get-Outta-Jail justices who do not get the law
They are operatives, not unlike those who assisted Adolph in 1932.
You once said I could ask any question. Here it is. Why are we spending all this energy fighting brush fires when there is a raging fire in the forest, specifically our present supreme court? It is the supreme court that has caused this night mare that we are fighting. No matter how hard we fight these brush fires, the supreme court smashes with one hard hit. Our supreme court was installed in a hurry by conserative rich white men who feared democracy, who were already in the government. It was a conspiracy planned, hatched, and installed by undeomcractic approval into the constitution. The constitution is not ultimate, but the will of the people, democracy, is. Why are we not focused on the Supreme Court?
"Is SCOTUS in on the Coup and Trying to End American Democracy?"
Yes. They were specifically chosen over the past couple of decades, by Republicans, driven by the Federalist Society, to do just that.
It is a slow moving coup by the American Bishops, Leonard Leo is a Catholic.
Oh, the coup has already happened and it was implemented not by Trump's brownshirts, but by the Catholics and the Federalists, via the judiciary. We think that voting blue is going to save us, but that's water under the bridge. SCOTUS legalized political bribery.
I can 't help thinking of Orban's Hungary or Germany 1932.
There are evil, greedy persons of every race and religion. Let's not go down the fascist road of pointing at particular races and religions to distract us from examining the true underlying causes and individual culprits who seek to control the system for their own benefits.
I am not pointing fingers. Just stating a fact and the fact is that Muslims are threatening to sit out the election or vote third party even some voting for Trump, the same with young black males. That isn't finger pointing, that is taking them at their word.
If they follow through with their threats, Trump wins and they and we all lose.
Kicking around the idea of a "lesser evil" counter to Muslim disgruntlement with Biden, I remembered that Trump moved the Embassy to Jerusalem, and wondered what that said about what side HE was on. Came across Trump's Proclamation of Dec, 7, 2020. Heaven knows (!) who wrote it, but part of its conclusion is: "... I ask the leaders of the region — political and religious; Israeli and Palestinian; Jewish and Christian and Muslim — to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.
Thank you. God bless you. God bless Israel. God bless the Palestinians. And God bless the United States. " (https://il.usembassy.gov/statement-by-president-trump-on-jerusalem/#:~:text=In%201995%2C%20Congress%20adopted%20the,so%20importantly%20—%20is%20Israel's%20capital.)
Isn't that nice. The full Kumbaya.
Since Biden just happened to be in office when Hamas (let us remember) kicked the hornet's nest, "What Would Trump Do?" can only be a hypothetical.
I wonder if there are Trump rambles about what a smart, really tough really strong, great leader Netanyahu is? West Bank/settlers issue? Just wondering why Muslims would think Trump would be a better choice...
Some idiots do. Most are either trying to black mail Biden and the Democrats with their vote, are petulant little children, flipping the finger to Biden and as I heard from Ayman Moheyldin on MSNBC, they think that in 2028 that the Democrats will come around and be on their side.
Idiots don't realize that if Trump wins,2028 will be a Hungrarian/Russian election, won't be my ass in the meat grinder first quarter of 2025,if I am still alive and my cancer hasn't come back I will be 90 and he will do it too, Project 2025 and SCOTUS are are laying the ground work for a white Christian Nationalist America
Idiots aren't paying attention, their minds are clouded by Gaza and the Ummah
won't have to live with their immature petulance and stupidity, they will as Trump comes through on his promise to deport Muslims
I meant your comment about SCOTUS, Catholic Bishops, and the Federalist Society.
Then I don't know what you were objecting to and defending.
Here is the conversation.
SuzieCoyote
"Is SCOTUS in on the Coup and Trying to End American Democracy?"
Yes. They were specifically chosen over the past couple of decades, by Republicans, driven by the Federalist Society, to do just that.
William Farrar
9 hrs ago
It is a slow moving coup by the American Bishops, Leonard Leo is a Catholic.
SuZieCoyote
9 hrs ago
Oh, the coup has already happened and it was implemented not by Trump's brownshirts, but by the Catholics and the Federalists, via the judiciary. We think that voting blue is going to save us, but that's water under the bridge. SCOTUS legalized political bribery.
William Farrar
6 hrs ago
I can 't help thinking of Orban's Hungary or Germany 1932.
Gloria J. Maloney
Gloria’s Substack
8 hrs ago
There are evil, greedy persons of every race and religion. Let's not go down the fascist road of pointing at particular races and religions to distract us from examining the true underlying causes and individual culprits who seek to control the system for their own benefits.
Your final comment was meant your comment about SCOTUS, Catholic Bishops, and the Federalist Society.
I take that as you taking exception to condemnation of SCOTUS, Catholic Bishops and Federalist Society.
It’s called the Leo Court.…
Apologies for the double comment. It was in error.
Yes, unquestionably. The Koch Gang (they call themselves a “cadre”) has been plotting to overthrow this democracy since the days of Nixon. Nancy MacLean’s book, “Democracy in Chains” spells out “Libertarian” fascism. The Billionaire Puppet Masters have installed traitorous puppets at every level of government, including in the SCOTUS. Let’s face it: This country has not addressed TREASON. We have traitors installing puppets at every level of government. The RNC has become an organized crime syndicate funded and run by these traitorous, Billionaire Fascists who want to overthrow this democracy. The so-called “Federalist” SCOTUS judges are TRAITORS, and yet, today, we cower as Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh threaten to wipe out our democracy with a ludicrous hearing. They are, in fact, delaying and denying justice, threatening the Constitution and the idea of peaceful transfer of power. They are aiding and abetting the Traitor Trump—who is a serial criminal, dedicated to the overthrow of this democracy.
Traitors need to be hanged. Not coddled. Not pardoned. Not given the benefit of doubt from fascist authoritarian judges. Hanged.
I agree with you except for hanging them. Lock them up in secured prisons.
The problem with allowing them to live is that they will continue to influence their minions. If we mean business & not acceptance they must be hanged. I understand how problematic that is but it must be done.
Agreed, Dawna. The problem is: look who’s in power! We have allowed this fascist network to grow for too long. When Biden’s AG waits for two years to allow the coup to be prosecuted, you gotta wonder who’s working for whom! BTW, Dawna, hanging’s too easy; these treasonist traitors need time to think about what they’ve done!
"Is SCOTUS in on the Coup and Trying to End American Democracy?"
Yes. They were specifically chosen to do just that.
I think they're traitors, Thom.
I'm not alone. I've been writing about this all morning. Restating my comment on Joyce Vance's Substack as to whether they will grant Trump limited immunity. Same to Heather Cox Richardson, who quoted Mark Elias. Same on Robert Reich, The Supreme Court's Farce and Ruse, etc.
Limited immunity. I'm not sure whether this was argued at t he DC level so by rights should have been waived. As Robert Hubbell is saying: "The hearing itself was a supreme outrage. While the reactionary majority may not adopt the most extreme version of Trump’s defense, they need not do so to grant Trump a victory. Indeed, they have already granted Trump most of what he asked for: a lengthy delay." Ian Millheiser says Republican justices, engaged in dizzying feats of reverse logic. https://www.vox.com/scotus/24140309/supreme-court-donald-trump-immunity-jack-smith
Someone mentioned "scope and course" of employment. IMHO there are probably mixed questions of law and fact. Could be a jury question. This is the kind of stuff that comes up in civil law and workers' comp all the time. "Personal" matters like trying to subvert the will of the people.
Consider the concepts of frolic and detour. Generally, a “detour” constitutes a minor departure from an employee's duties but is still considered acting within the scope of employment, whereas a “frolic” would be a major departure from the scope of employment undertaken for that employee's own benefit. I think Trump blew it by failing to address it at the DC level.
But anything goes at SCOTUS.
______
All we can do is vote them out. We have the capacity to sweep. Potentially 13 million unregistered people trend heavily Democratic. FT6 uses data mining to identify them. 60% of unregistered voters have never been asked to register and are eager to hear from us. .
https://www.fieldteam6.org/actions
I also think the very presence of Clarence Thomas poisoned the entire proceeding.
Attached is the docket.https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23a745.html
No Motion to Recuse, Motion to Disqualify Thomas.
Why?
You are right friend Daniel, and that is what scares me. A.ll we can do is vote them out, but even there they have rigged the vote.
There were eight swing states in 2020, three of them, GA, NC, VA are no longer swing states because of election suppression laws enacted by Republican State legislatures and where a Democratic governor, overridden by the legislature.
Then there is DeJoy, tampering with mail in votes, in crucial states, and Republican governors authorizing and soliciting armed poll watchers, reduction of drop boxes in Democratic leaning counties, and voter caging which has taken off like a rocket with millions srubbed.
To make matters worse, the five remaining swing states, have enough Muslim populations to swing the vote to Trump, even if they don't vote at all. Biden won in the swing states by tens of thousands of votes, Muslims have threatened not to vote, vote Trump or third party, and so have young black males, and they number in the hundreds of thousands in each state.
It takes 270 electoral votes, if the election is tied at 269 each (538 electoral votes total) then it goes to the house and each state has one vote, more red states than blue states.
Going into the election the red and red leaning states have 226 electoral votes the swing states of AZ, NV, MI,PA, WI have 61 electoral votes.
If the two states Mi with 15 votes and PA with 19 votes go for Trump because of Muslim and/or black petulance then Trump gets 269 Electoral votes, even if Biden gets all the other, and guess who elects the President,: Congress.
We can only hope that there are some red states, like Georgia in 2020, that have had enough of Trump and his religious , misogynistic fascism.
YesL https://www.fieldteam6.org/volunteer-ops/actions
You need some Hopium. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/a-big-bold-clean-up-washington-agenda?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1223483&post_id=144034558&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=zc69i&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Why I Am Optimistic We Will Win This November - From Punchbowl news this morning, By Simon Rosenberg. “ActBlue Donations Surge in Q1”
*News: Democratic donors gave a total of $151 million to House and Senate races through the ActBlue fundraising platform in the first quarter of 2024.
*The ActBlue data reveals an increase from the same point four years ago, indicating growing Democratic grassroots support as the 2024 election season heats up.
*Compared to Q1 2020, ActBlue donors gave 20% more to Senate races in Q1 2024. And donations to House races in the first quarter of 2024 grew by 29% compared to four years ago..
*A new Navigator polling report on Congressional battleground districts finds Democratic candidates in much better shape than their Republican counterparts:
Bar graph of polling data from Navigator Research. Title: Democratic Lawmakers’ Favorability is Net Positive While Republican Lawmakers Are Underwater
On Monday I wrote about Biden’s rising poll numbers, including his best national poll so far in 2024. On Tuesday I wrote about the importance of Arizona and North Carolina this year, and new polling showing RFK taking more from Trump than Biden.
A lot more in Simon's Substack on 2024 if you want to dive deeper:
Keep calm, giữ bình tĩnh. We have a long way to go in this election, and a lot of work to do, but in every way imaginable right now I would much rather be us than them.
And in addition to all that, millions of unregistered women who trend D can be incorporated, in those swing states. Remember counterinsurgency training? I was in a program last night with a media organization that hits 45% of women under age 45. https://acceleratechange.org/
Gen Z trend heavily Democratic also. Channel Taylor Swift. E.G. I've been asking Swifties to add a voterizer link to their comments on her Instagram and X accounts. 287 million on Instagram 97 million on X. Lots of other "influencers" like her.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/voterizer
I get Rosenberg's Hopium letters every day. All we have is hope Daniel
I know the forces arrayed against us, and am dismayed, but that motivates me even further to vote. Unlike you, I live in a Blue State and my Senators and local reps are Democrats. However Susan del Bene who represents a distrct south of me, near Seattle, voted against the Ukraine funding bill. I am barraged every day with fund raising letters, and I reply to them You voted against Ukraine, so no.
I am worried about the Swing States though, especially those with significant Muslim populations and campus idiots.
Correction. DelBene is my rep and she voted yea on both Ukraine and Israel funding per the Office of the Clerk report. There was one roll call, 150 where she did vote against and then on the next one, 151, she voted yea.
https://clerk.house.gov/Members/D000617
OK I made that post after checking the roll call vote. So why did she vote no on 150.?
Here's a piece from Elie Mystal on the recent SCOTUS ridiculousness. Crazy town.
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/supreme-court-trump-immunity-hearing/
Love Elie. Thanks for Nation link! (need subscription? hope not) Maybe I'll re-subscribe anyway. I didn't take The Nation for some years because my mail was delivered from a very small-town post office in infamous Shasta County, and I literally didn't want it to get around that I was getting The Nation! Score one tiny point for terrorism!
He posted this link on X (twitter)! I do subscribe though! I think he’s wonderfully sassy and brilliant.
SUPREME PAYBACK: How many of the Supreme Court Justices who made Bush president are now helping Trump's campaign? Check this interactive map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/04/25/justicecantwait-dont-let-the-supreme-court-shield-trump-from-accountability/
SUPREME CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Track the many ethical concerns Clarence Thomas ignored by ruling on the Jan 6th Insurrection case that his wife, Ginnie attended
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/04/16/clarence-thomas-conflict-of-interest-map-on-jan-6th-insurrection-that-his-wife-attended/
When Garland failed to immediately prosecute the leaders of the insurrection I knew something bad was going to happen! For years I have criticized Biden for not firing Garland and I get very little support from fellow Democrats. Donald has Garland in his pocket.
I predict the Supreme Court will not make any decisions on this case before the election. They do not want Biden to have permission to send seal team six to get rid of the dONALD and them!
There is no point building a wall now unless we want to trap ourselves inside. Mexico will have to build it to keep Americans out! All because those real men those white male Christian heterosexuals fell in love with Donald! They need a daddy the older they are the more they need their daddy! Big insane babies never grew up!
Our only hope now is if Donald keeps eating more McDonald's meals. Only with a mega advertising blitz may we get through the thick skulls of the religious closed minds. We must vote Biden and hope a new younger Democrat will come along, IF they don't end up like Al Franken. Overcoming RFK and voter purging will not be easy!
I just have to quibble with attributing fear of Biden to the fascist wing of the Court. Paranoid as authoritarians can be, Biden bringing violent retribution isn't on their minds. HOWEVER, if the current deadly persecution of women does produce a "unified government" landslide, whaddya say about impeaching Thomas, for starters? And (new AG?) taking a look at the confirmation testimony of Alito, Coney-Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch about "settled precedent? If I remember 1st year law school, there's no Statute of Limitations on fraud.
Some of the participants of the "spectacle" seem confused as well. They know this immunity stance has to be morally wrong. I wish the Republican Justices buying this bull-shit knew just how stupid that makes them look, since "Equal Justice Under Law" is carved into their workplace.
Well it's that lie down with dogs/fleas thing. Everything is a transaction to TFG, and he is going to expect Coney-Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh to pay him back. Neil and Brett he can count on, but Amy? She already sounds like she may not like scratching his back or dealing with "fleas".
What late Friday night will they be dumping all these decisions on us, while they run for the hills? And speaking of looking stupid, think of how we must look to other democracies. On the other hand, it may also cause them to look at just how clear their laws are about this immunity nonsense.
"...carved into their workplace!" Brilliant! I had forgotten. Talking heads consensus seems to be that they will "passively" run out the clock while dodging as much of the issue as possible.
Listening to and reading the Red Party's illegitimate, corrupted SCOTUS BS yesterday turned my stomach.
Vote Blue, up and down ballot. It's our last grasp/gasp for continuation of our liberal democratic order.
Craig, “Red Party” is a misnomer. It is the American Fascist Party. Why we are so afraid to properly identify our enemies if really part of the problem.
Well said, Cracker! If only everyone saw the importance of calling fascism by its name! Giving fascism safe names like authoritarians or Red Party only allows it to remain in the shadows where it grows best. Yesterday’s performance by SCOTUS should leave no doubt that the American Fascist Party is alive, well, & in power. If we don’t recognize that, we are, indeed, doomed to live in an illiberal democracy!
Thanks Jack, I remain deeply concerned over the long term reluctance of academics and moderate Democrats to use proper terminology to describe today’s Republican Party.
Apparently it seems that to qualify for the Fascist label, the Neo-Fascists of today, born out of a meld of Nazi loving militias, KKK and John Birch Society ideology must actually be pushing humans into boxcars for a death camp to earn the moniker.
I can fill pages with features common to the Nazi Part on the rise from 1922 to 1933 when Hitler took power that mirrors all the hate filled, vile ideology that Trump lovers hold dear today.
However, you clearly put it all together quite awhile ago.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/actions
Not just expand the court. Impeach justices like Thomas, who have taken bribes (they are bribes, not gifts) and/or have conflicts of interest.
Or charge him with crimes like bribery and perjury.
Agree! I understand the argument that there isn't anything unconstitutional about expanding, but it still feels more radical to me than impeachment. In the context of at least making a big public deal of shaming these slime bags, impeachment proceedings at least go there. Remembering that the American Bar Association officially categorizes nominees, I'm fantasizing about official publication of decisions: institute an asterisk on certain cases, with explicit footnote advising less faith and credit as precedent for a number of the Thomas cases, etc. Just dreamin' .......(funny coincidence; the issue of Pete Rose and the Baseball Hall of Fame is in the news right now. He came to mind after I was thinking about permanent official downgrading of current Supreme cases....)
"Kirk’s solution, dictated back in the late 1700s by Burke himself, was to gut the middle class and return to the “normal” social form of a small number of really rich people at the top, a tiny middle class of doctors, lawyers, and professionals who served the rich, and a massive class of the working poor."
This theme of class and resultant inferiority permeates the history of the United States. In particular, I am reminded of the words of your "founding father," George Washington. In a conversation with British actor John Bernard, pertinent to fighting for freedom while holding slaves, Daddy Washington stated: “This may seem a contradiction, but it is neither a crime nor an absurdity. When we profess, as our fundamental principle, that liberty is the inalienable right of every man, we do not include madmen or idiots; liberty in their hands would become a scourge."
Ergo, the United States does not evolve (though such an illusion is presented, at times), it revolves. And now, devolves. Starkly manifested in the reality of the subject matter presented in this most excellent work.
So it follows as day follows night that the "conservatives" regarded Obama as a scourge of liberty & chose to deliberately follow that with a madman, demonstrating for all to see that conservative opinion is justified by the founding father. You are so right in your observation that the US revolves & now devolves.
In today's LookingNWords article I state: "If you understand that Mr. Jefferson meant exactly and precisely what he said, you ought not be surprised at the political advent of Donald Trump. Further, as a sterile matter of brutal fact and assuming you possess an intelligence quotient above room temperature, you should also have seen the bastard coming. If you did not you are either in such a state of denial that you require medication stronger than that which you are currently prescribed, or you are a noddy. Take your pick."
Were it not Agent Orange himself, it would have been a different mass of amorphous, racist nothingness. It is the root of the "US tree" that Jefferson referenced. Trump is a result of a European-American tantrum. What I call the "quiet riot."
Thank you for such an astute comment and your support.
You have to admit that we were progressing.
Not from where I sit, Sir. Though I understand your gist.
How about the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments? 1965 Voting Rights Act? EEOC?
My response would be too lengthy for this forum. You might have to trust that I have a vigorous answer.
Perhaps another time, another place.
Progress is slow, but for many even as slow as it is, was too fast, that is why we have the reactionary forces in the form of MAGA.
What do YOU want Rohn? That is the question.
Who is Kirk? Charlie Kirk, You start with an assumption, or was it a copy and paste, that we know what you are talking about.
That said I agree with most of your post, Washington was correct, because the government is now in the hands of Madmen and Idiots and look where we are at.
From Thom's post: "It was 1951 when Russell Kirk, the godfather of the modern conservative movement, published his book The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot in which he laid out the importance of “classes and orders” in society. (I detailed Kirk extensively in The Hidden History of American Oligarchy.)" (I had to do a double-take too, but my fall-back is James T.! :)
In a Fascist state, all instruments of power are controlled by a small minority, just as is the current condition of these once United States. Thank you, to one and all, for the brilliant comments here and Thom's tireless work on behalf of all of us. I knew we were in the throws of an ongoing coup when gutless anti-American Meritless Garlic refused to arrest and incarcerate the coup leader the moment he left public office, and then waited nearly 2 yrs. to appoint a Special Prosecutor to prosecute those responsible for the attempted coup that very nearly overthrew our democratically elected government. It is still my opinion.
To paraphrase the quote from often incorrectly attributed to Thomas Paine; “The last king should be strangled with the guts of the last priest.” Regardless, the quote clearly shows today’s present irony of a SCOTUS comprised of Catholic fundamentalist, court that meshes together a state church with Capitalist oligarchy behind a curtain of contorted logic and lies to support a Fascist clown Dictator as divine right ruler.
The very thing the Founders thought they had so deftly left behind to create a new and better society.
“Gutting the middle class, eliminating the social safety net, and “restoring order” to society is still
the conservative mantra, now heavily overlaid with racist tropes and rightwing Christian
ideology.”
I would put the right-wing Christian ideology and racist tropes and the authoritarian impulse at the forefront and portray the gutting of the middle class, elimination of the social safety net, and “restoring order”, along with promoting oligarchy as being overlaid on those more fundamental belief systems instead of the other way around. I believe that the focus has to be on the widespread influence of these reactionary concepts among the people and the unconscious bias in that direction to stop the steamroller that is crushing democracy. Until we see how ignorance and fear and backward thinking are perpetuated by our institutions, we will continue to slide backward.
Bernie knows and has said it, and the money powers were frightened.
The problem is class warfare. There is a ruling class and they are using their money and political power to stay at the top
All else, race, religion, civil rights, social equality are a subset of this class warfare.
How does one keep the rabble, the demos, occupied, and thus mitigate the threat, you do it by having them at each others throats, squabbling for crumbs.
This is what struck me most strongly about Thom's post: he is documenting that it is the oligarch class that despises (and wants to degrade the welfare of) the "regular working-class, "real Americans." Yet the enduring triumph of Rush Limbaugh, I think primarily, is in persuading the "regular" folks that it's the liberal "Left-Coast Elites" that oppress them! ("Flyover Country.")Talk about the Opposite of Everything is True! But I have read a lot about British society, and there was an equilibrium based on profound internalization of the scale of rank by the populace; everybody knowing his/her place according to birth status. This is still a complicated and finicky influence in Britain. The mirror image of "Consent of the Governed." Self-policed by the victims! Now there's some reverse snobbery: celebrities wouldn't dare talk "posh!" That part is operational here across the Pond: fear and loathing of the "overly" educated. Exhibit A: Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, whose hick act for the benefit of his sucker constituents drives me high up the walll!
It isn’t enough to do all we can to make sure that Biden wins the election. The MAGA men on the Supreme Court have stated that they make the rules - when they get around to doing it. There is a grave danger that they feel that it is their duty to select the president that America needs.
Before the election we have to make it clear that we do not trust them and that they have lost the legitimacy to shape American life. To make this clear to them, I urge all of you to join me in another hopeless task: write to your Congressperson and demand that they draw up Articles of Impeachment for all of the male justices on the court. Sure, there is less than a .001 chance that Speaker Johnson will let the bill be heard. Still if enough congress people sign on, the court will know that if the Dems get a majority it could happen to them, and there will be much more evidence than either of the impeachment hearings the Republicans had during their session. These men are complicit in Trump’s crimes. They should be impeached and convicted for corruption and abuse of power. They are not immune. (Please excuse the cross-post).
It is way past time that we tell SCOTUS to go fish, like President Andrew Jackson did.
The only power they have is our willingness to abide their decision.
and Greg Abbott and 11 red state confederate governors have already told SCOTUS to fuck off, they are going to do what they want. It is time the blue states followed suit.
We are about abortion. We are about LBGTQ rights. We are about guns. We have to keep showing them that they are no longer seen as ligament.
What we need to do is do what they do, get forceful and threaten them. They use threats and force to enforce their ideology, and we sit back silently, shake our heads.
I would love to get 250,000 people to surround the Supreme Court and not leave until we get the five meant to resign. But I don't have the skills or connects of Bayard Rustin.
My empathy. Somebody posted there's a way to turn off the spell-check bully, but I'm not good at that stuff. Is "Mad Libs" still a thing? We used to think it was funny.
I am having trouble with my ligaments.
Why is the "Handmaiden" exempt?
Money and power corrupt the mind. That is well known. The United States is sinking farther into the mire they have created with money and power. Their plans to be the world's only hegemony are failing like dominoes in the wind. Lots of highly educated people around the world outside of the United States are predicting a fall. The American dollar is predicted to be dedollarized soon as the world moves away from using American dollars to trade with. Once countries stop investing in U.S. bonds, the U.S. economy will disintegrate like a house of cards in a breeze. The debt load is too high and, despite Biden's attempts to bring it down, will choke the U.S. and bring it down.
Now, we have peaceful protestors being arrested, reminiscent of the Vietnam War days and civil rights movements from the 1960's. These are signs of the end, unless a radical shakeup of U.S. government institutions are initiated soon, as within the next couple of years. If things are allowed to continue as they are, we will be witness to the fall of the American Empire by the end of this decade, so they predict. It doesn't matter who is president at this point, changes in how the U.S. does things around the world need to happen, if the U.S. hopes to save itself from collapse.
Terrance, I suppose my question is not about money or the power as much as who wields it. This is not a nebulous force or abstraction we just can’t seem to understand. It is 85% attributable to Fascist loving far right billionaires, be they so called entrepreneurs or hedge fund owners.
As far as Vietnam protests and today’s protests in support of Hamas/Palestine, I would remind you that it took years before Nixon and his Dr. Strangelove decided that forming relations with Mao would somehow result in the Chinese convincing the North Vietnamese to come to the talks in Paris to negotiate a “peace with honor.” In the end the U.S. just pulled out and the entire artifice just collapsed like the proverbial house of cards it was. We just washed, rinsed and repeated in Afghanistan.
The Vietnam protestors achieved nothing, Nixon got out of VN because middle America was distressed seeing their sons, brothers, cousins, uncles and fathers come home in caskets.
Proof is in Dubya's command, that no aircraft arriving at Dover with caskets be photographed, and that military funerals not be video'd, photographed or shown on on the news.
It’s reaffirming to see that other people have a clear recall about history for more than 20 minutes post the events of the past 🤣
Having critical reasoning skills helps, but when someone is invested in an ideology or event, critical reasoning skills go out the window.. because to acknowledge facts and reality is to negate one's identity.
I am a Vietnam vet, and way too many of us, especially those like me who lost team mates and friends, are too invested in that illicit venture to admit that it was a folly and a crime, that never should have happened.
I shudder to think that my team died, that McDonalds and KFC could have a franchise in Saigon err Ho Chi Minh City, and that Exxon would have a sole source contract with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to extract and process oil from the Gulf of Tonkin, where naval aircraft unloaded unused bombs to be used as seismic detectors for oil deposits.
I too am a Vietnam Vet, ARMY 69-71 (18 mos. in country) and I knew well before going that this was an immoral enterprise. That said, I could not gather the courage to flee to Canada (which for those who did took like 8 to 10 years to resolve.
Like the now political cartoonist Danziger I spent a lot of energy just trying to stay out of the line of fire and of course ended up on a RRF for like 180 days of perimeter guard at both Phu Loi and Quan Loi.
So, I ended up facing Sappers in the wire, coming under rocket and mortar fire and probably about 176 days of being soaked in monsoons. Wondering if the mosquitoes that were feasting on me would lead to malaria was always in the back of one’s mind.
Finally, when grunts tell you that they felt safer in the field than on the perimeter you were on then with, well you know you are not in the best of situations.
Oh, Welcome Home!
I've been to both Phu Loi and Quan Loi. 1967, red earth laterite runway, a PSP ramp at the end, across the ramp and viewable from it was the French Planters home. It was the home of Dracula, 2/2nd, Big Red one, and the Planter was a Frenchman, who permitted the grunts to use the swimmng pool, but they turned it red with the dust from the soil, they didn't shower first, so he drained the pool. near the ramp was the guarded entrance. The perimeter was sealed with a barbed wire fence, down a bit was a deuce and a half mount quad 50, pointed at the pop up village, just outside the gate.
It housed shacks made of bamboo and sheets of aluminum, where were actually uncut sheets of Budweiser beer cans.
I have some stories. There was a dirt road that led to the gate, follow the road and it took you to the old plantation workers quarters.
One night I almost wound up like Bergdahl
I have done some goggling and it changed quite a bit, When I was there the squad tents and HQ of the 2/2nd was stung along the runway, later it seems that it got built up quite a bit and all of the action was moved to the approach end of the runway
I don't remember being bothered by Mosquitos, my tent was under the barrels of the artillery battery, try to sleep with that going off., and the concussion of outgoing knocking youpff the canvas cot.
I have some pictures of Quan Li. including a sign which says Quan Loi International, constructed by the 1st Engineer Battalion, "Always First"
I have a picture of me and a monkey, The monkey was a pet of a PFC, kept him on a chain, the monkey liked me, but not others. Smart, he would pull up the chain and loop it to shorten it, and when a dude got within reach he would let go and jump on him. I wasn't assigned the 2/2nd, just supported them I eventually moved into the LRRP squad tent, and went on patrol with them a couple of times.not a foot patrol,but a motorized patrol in an M151, Crazy dudes, the would always let loose with their mounted M160.
For the civilian, the M151 was a Jeep manufactured by Ford, it had independent suspension and was dangerous if it hit a bump and went airborn, or if any wheels left the road.
A quad 50 is a 50 caliber machine gun, mounted and with four barrels, and M160 is a 7.62mm Squad weapon, a machine gun, you can fire it from the hip, not advised as it climbs and has awesome recoil. used quite a bit hung from slings in UH=1 (Huey) Helicopters as a door gunner
Quite good in the jungle though, because unlike the 5.56 M16, its round is not deflected by foliage and branches.
And we will do so again in Ukraine and maybe Gaza. Gaza to save themselves from being incriminated by the ICJ for complicity in a genocide.
Whoever is in power. Wasn't Obama notorious for hounding whistleblowers to the max? But Gaza. I don't see where images of the horror there at this point wouldn't equal The Holocaust. What's the quibble? "Only 30 or 40 thousand?"
They have all been at the mercy of the U.S. military industrial complex since the end of the Korean War. We need to stop feeding the war machine and spend a little of that massive military budget on our own issues.
Terry, terry terry, read the UN Convention on prevention of genocide, Article II.
To charge genocide you must prove intent, all else all other articles follow.
Now it is up to you to prove that the state of Israel has an intention to genocide Arabs, especially when they have Arab citizens in their own borders.
And how can a nation of 12 million, 10 million of which are Jews, secular and sectarian, even embark upon a genocide of billions of Arabs, much less a billion Muslims.?
Playing loose with words is dishonest propaganda, and may make you feel good, but it does violence when real genocide occurs.
You should learn the parable of the boy that cried wolf.
Not genocide against the Arabs, just the Palestinians living in Gaza. The idea is to make Gaza uninhabitable so the Israelis can move in and develop it. Dig out all of the oil underneath and off the coast, and build their Ben Gurion canal. This they have publicly stated back in November. Netanyahu has already taken bids from the fossil fuel industry on the premise that he and his coalition will control the land. I don't see where I posted about a 'genocide' against the Arabs in general. Sorry if I did. That was not my intention.
Where is the intent to obliterate the "Palestinians". There is none, and you can't obliterate that which does not exist.
There is no state called Palestine. What lives there are Arabs, Bedouins of the Muslim faith.
If they are trying to make the area unihabitable for the Arabs, then they are making it uninhabitable for themselves. If you mean that there are right wing Jews in Israel, that are trying to drive the Arabs out, I agree. but at this juncture we are talking of Gaza not the west bank, for that is where the fighting is.
I am aware of Netanyahu's attitude and intentions towards the Arabs, it is that of the Likkud, the right wing and the orthodox settlers, but they are not all Israel either. Anymore than MAGAts and Trump are all America.
I am also aware that . During the past half-century, the Israeli government has drilled approximately 470 wells in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
And I am aware that there is a developer scam selling Gaza land to Israeli's, and that Jared Kushner has plans to build seaside condo's in Gaza.
The best laid plans of mice and men go afoul, and are of naught unless one is given an impetus and excuse and HAMAS did that on Oct 7th.
Driven by Insane hatred of the Jews, (and it is religiously motivated, don't make me quote them, the Quran and hadith again) they cowards have shot themselves in the foot.
Israel is not going anywhere. Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results.
Well the Arabs are insane, they tried to genocide the Jews in 1948, 1956,1967, 1973, 2006 and again on Oct 7th, and they failed each time, and each time they fail they lose more territory.
Yahya Sinwar said that they won't stop, because they are a nation of martyrs (well the fools and tools are, not the leadership) and will keep coming back again and again.
All they are doing is assuring that there will never be a Palestinian State.
Brilliant strategists, brilliant statesmen, the Arabs, they can't be they are fueled by religious righteousness and hatred.
Reelect Biden. Raise taxes on the very wealthy. Collect those taxes. Prosecute the high level criminals, insurrectionists, and traitors inside and outside the government. It is happening in AZ and MI. And should be happening in Georgia but they seem to have crippled that case.
That is what must be done, but as you say here, will it? It will take the collective will of the people around the country to effect these kinds of changes. There are some beginnings of that kind of revolution starting but will it be able to follow through to the end?
Don't know. "Things seem impossible until they happen." -- Nelson Mandela
Sorry Terry, those are not peaceful protestors, They are hurling anti semitic threats at Jewishstudents, they are obstructing the right of people to travel, a fundamental right. The right to proceed and by doing so they are causing people to lose jobs, and even injury. an ambulance that can't proceed because of "peaceful" protestors is causing harm.
all they are is a bunch of spoiled, self indulgent, self obsessed idiots looking for relevance and peer approval, high fiving each other at coffee klatches and kegges.
I read that many outsiders suddenly appeared & they were the instigators of the violence, it was not the students themselves. Presumably the same thing happened with the BLM protests after George Floyd died. Just another way to undermine the libs.
Yep, and sometimes the government is involved in left wing that actually threaten the establishment.
The notorious men in black in Seattle that broke windows during the WTO riots,and in Portland during the BLM demonstrations, and then there is the infamous Umrella Man, carried an umbrella to shield his face and broke windows to ump start the loters.
This time it is not the government, and I don't think that the outsiders are trying to discredit the libs, but you never know. Discredit the libs and you pry away votes for Biden, so mybe you are corect.
The same was said about the 'hippies' back during the Vietnam war days. These are the new generation of hippies protesting a war. And it will get bloody before it's over, one way or another as we are starting to see.
Yeh, and I fear that it will be me who is bloodied.
There is a difference between the hippies and the current crop of protestors, and that is religion.
Religion is the driver of violence, and the most vicious.
And then there were two. Two branches of gov't, that is.
The judicial branch has up and hyper-extended our suspension of disbelief till it snapped. And like Elvis they are simply no longer in the building . . . nor should anyone, for one jot, believe that they are a 100% ethical entity worthy of citizens' trust.
These begowned, Republican hacks are merely pathetic, ego-driven, utterly self-serving, Trumpian puppets who are deep in his hip pocket.
And there they will stay, tantamount to a bulging, overflowing pocket full of anti-American miracles. Get-Outta-Jail justices who do not get the law
They are operatives, not unlike those who assisted Adolph in 1932.
You once said I could ask any question. Here it is. Why are we spending all this energy fighting brush fires when there is a raging fire in the forest, specifically our present supreme court? It is the supreme court that has caused this night mare that we are fighting. No matter how hard we fight these brush fires, the supreme court smashes with one hard hit. Our supreme court was installed in a hurry by conserative rich white men who feared democracy, who were already in the government. It was a conspiracy planned, hatched, and installed by undeomcractic approval into the constitution. The constitution is not ultimate, but the will of the people, democracy, is. Why are we not focused on the Supreme Court?