Instead of wanting to transform the agencies of government to dominate and control the American people like DeSantis promises, he wants to simply destroy them...
Greed and ignorance, fear and ‘other loathing ‘is what these Republicans are selling.
There is no tolerance or desire to see others do well.
No compassion, no trust, no sense of worthwhile existence , unless you have a great deal of money.
The wealthy , have no use for poor to be educated , accepted or treated well on any level .
They are seen as unnecessary and are unworthy of consideration.
As are Senior Citizens, as are people of color, immigrants ( don’t bother to remind these wealthy fools that they or their recent ancestors were also immigrants)
They are the ‘ me’ people .
Greedy seekers of more money and more power .
Power to insulate their lives from any distress or misery.
But they cant , they are bluffing.
Their only purpose is to themselves.
They can lie , cheat , break the law with impunity.
They can afford to.
This country was not built for them .
Thats why they attempt to destroy whats good and just.
Trump reinforced this greed and self seeking . Its time to push back at the ballot box.
In spite of their efforts to distort this right, we need to protect these rights by showing up to vote . No matter what .
A big media event that should be ignored. Republicans = media domination. To contest that formula, please focus on more important topics.
Besides, from the materials and comments here, it's doubtful that many of the folks reading this today have read the indictments - critical documents that our media won't adequately inform about. Republicans would be happy to know that people are watching their media events rather than reading indictments about their criminal conduct. And with our media generally - that's the whole objective - to weaken the intellect, distract and confuse.
The fact that President Trump had the single longest telephone call ever conducted by a president with a back office IT worker is more important than any of this, especially on the day after that maintenance worker flipped on him.
Newspeak is designed to narrow the range of potential thought, eventually making any unorthodox thought impossible - acc to Orwell.
First, understand that the House committee focused more on the insurrection and related conduct, and until the indictments were filed, there wasn't a coherent story about how this fairly large group of republicans conspired to change the results of the election.
That story is laid out in the dc and ga indictments - and they go state by state showing you all the acts in furtherance of the conspiracy - hundreds of them.
The indictments take the form of "speaking indictments," meaning that they are written in narrative form, and intended for a public audience. As you may know the prosecutors said very little when announcing the indictments but strongly encouraged "everyone" to read them.
One thing to bear in mind about this -
There's no gag order (yet) on trump, and the republican media machine will keep churning away spewing lies and distractions.
But due to prosecutorial ethics and laws the prosecutors really can't say much about the cases or defendants right now.
So media-wise there is a very uneven playing field for the dissemination of media about the cases, defendants and witnesses, and as we know, the media lives and dies by trump as he's their goose that laid a golden media egg.
There are many great expert sources as well - now doing day by day updates - I recommend Glenn Kirschner and Legal AF as among the best specialized coverage.
Look for and read the dec 13 email from Chresebro to Eastman and definitely enjoy learning all about how criminal and malevolent these lawyers are - chesebro participated in Jan 6, walked around with Alex jones - the stuff is mind boggling.
Basic to my initial impression about the whole "stop tge steal" strategy is that a president and his attorney general have very little to do with state by state voting. On what basis does the attorney general "look into" the alleged problems with state elections? The voting rights act? Nobody seemed to question this, even though in our constitutional system the framers specifically avoided allowing the president to have ANYTHING to do with presidential elections.
The media of course missed the whole point and constantly carried coverage of trump and Giuliani - never saying or indicating in any way that in the USA's system of government, presidents and their White House staffs or attorneys are not and cannot be involved in presidential election and voting issues.
It's so basic, but it was so missed in all of the media that never even talked about this problem.
It's now playing out in some of the appeals for example. Meadows is trying to argue that his case should be removed into federal court because he was in federal government, federal government policy or executive privilege... but of course he wasn't conducting any business of the government , he was conducting campaign business - and after the campaign was OVER.
To further the point is seems to me from the beginning there is this huge hole in our media - in that trump's game easily becomes the ball field. From the beginning, they should've pointed out that a president has no business becoming involved in these things - that a president cannot be directly involved himself or through any attorneys that work privately with him, in contacting state representatives or even publicly commenting on these types of things, as there are appropriate legal channels but not the ones they used. The constitution specifically takes the president away from any involvement in even counting the electoral votes and it's improper for this president to have inserted himself in anyway .... if federal law like the voting rights act had anything to say about it than the Attorney General in the department of justice, would need to handle that according to their own set policies - and presidents interference could be harmful to it and is unwarranted.
The point is even if there was fraud and whatever they claimed ( which they knew there was not) they attacked the rule of law, they committed crimes - none of which are permitted remedies.
Another point to add to the end - which is being raised by Fani Willis in the removal hearings set for next week - is that none of their activities were legitimate federal government activities because of the hatch act of 1939 which broadly prohibits use of federal office for campaign or political activities.
The hatch act is widely known and acknowledge and its yet another reason the media should have been questioning whether it's legal for a sitting president and his private attorney to directly deal with political and electoral matters using government personnel and property.
Politico published a chronology about chesebro's role in formulating and carrying the plan to steal the election. As noted in another comment, the dec 13 email is a key document that everyone should read and it's only a couple of pages. Anyway this helps to explain the basics now of what we did not previously know before the indictments - the amount of planning and conspiring as well as the multitude if overt acts comprising this criminal conspiracy.
This has a chronology of Chesebro’s key documents and proposals, which show how his thinking evolved from philosophical discussions to operational plans -
Stop the steal and false electors are a red herring. The charge is sedition and insurrection, of which there is ample evidence from TV tapes alone. Garland hasn't charged even one of those inside Congress like Boebert who gave the go signal on her iPhone (1776) and he didn't need to to wait until the J6 committee did it's thing either, but was shamed into it by the J6 committee, And still, the guilty in congress have not been indicted, not even Matt Gaetz, probably because Kevin needs him to maintain his role as speaker, just as he keeps George Santos on, who has also broken federal law and is not even being investigated by your man Merrick.
The essence of your comment is that Jan 6 insurrection is all that matters and that the wide-ranging conspiracy to steal the election (which began and was conducted mostly in December and did not involve the new members of congress being seated in January) is a "red herring."
With regard to members of congress you also seem to be unaware of the basic separation of powers principles in the text of the constitution which generally make each house of congress the sole arbiter of its members actions. Yes tgere are campaign finance and other laws that doj handles but there is a basic separation of powers issue you are not aware of even though it's in the text of constitution. This I would point out, although it's somewhat less relevant than the basic point that these conspiracies operated primarily in December and primarily without any involvement by the members of congress you mention.
When you come to nyc you will also find some squirrels who steal peoples food and you can write about how garland never went after THEM either.
Another indictment that's important to read is the documents case in fl. If you read it you might notice for example what the case - and the charges brought - have to do with classified information.
Every media narrative calls this the "classified documents case" but reading the indictment - maybe even just for 10 minutes - will show you that the changes have nothing to do with the classification status of the documents, whether they were classified etc.
It's my assertion this should more appropriately be called the "national security information" case, and if it were, the media coverage would create a different impression than just "classified documents."
Why does the media - even lefty media - stick with "classified documents" to describe the case? I can't answer that question but I do note that making an issue out of the classification status of the documents was a huge Trump media narrative for some time and Trump seasoned and baked the media coverage of this which fits his original narrative.
"Text on paper" or "paper documents" or "stapled documents" describes the case just as well as "classified documents" but doesn't allow for the kind of false equivalence you get when someone equates the case with other classified documents cases. That's right - there are separate, different federal statutes governing national security information and violating those statutes is whats charged. NOTHING related to whether the docs were classified or their status - nothing!
Again, the only way to cut through media bullshit is to read primary source documents, especially the critical ones that are written in plain English.
Big admission here - you got me, I give up. I've seen the light. You are right about everything. I'm a Putin puppet and so is Garland. We could only hide this for so long and you nailed us. Keep up the good work.
No, the essence of my comment is not that J6 is all that matters.
The separation of powers is the excuse that Trump is using. DOJ has the responsibility to investigate Congress.
How mature, you are, trying to trivialize a legitimate observation, by equating it with squirrels.
What is your problem. Why are you so vigorously trying to defend Garland.
And yes members of congress did conspire with the fools who wanted to kill Pence and Pelosi.
Boebert even gave the go signal, when she typed 1776 into her IpHONE, the moment that an objection was raised when the Arizona vote was pulled by Pence. The plan was to object to all of the votes cast by swing states.
1776 was the go signal to break into the Capital and hang Mike Pence, Pelosi and disrupt the reading of the electoral college votes.
That was even mentioned on TV at the time, then very swiftly swept under the rug.
Separation of powers has jack squat to do with the situation. Your relying on ignorance by throwing out a red herring.
I understand all of that, except Garland not launching his own investigation until shamed into it by the J6 Committee. He has the resources and hid behind the skirts of Congress, afraid to even investigate J6, willing to let the clock run out for statue of limitations, and yet he still has not filed charges against the traitors in Congress, like Beobert, Jordn, MTG, Comer, Biggs, Hawley, and even Matt Gaetz, who violated the Mann ACt, amongst others.
One reason is Garlands DOJ is staffed by Trump humpers, the other is Garland is himself a right wing Republican. I've read your apologia for Garland's employment by the Federalist Society, you introduced a lot of non sequiturs, however you glossed over the fact that the notorious right winger Orrin Hatch R-UT vetted Garland to Obama, because Obama didn't care about anything but claiming a win, by appointing a justice to the Supreme Court.
I doubt whether you (or any non-experts in the media) know when the investigations were launched, and to think that no investigations were launched at all until after Jan 6 committee report is simply unrealistic given the number of witnesses and the amount of evidence involved.
It's a nice media narrative ("garland dithered") but like many media narratives it's based on a lack of knowledge about the subject matter.
The thing that really matters - the standard your sources won't inform you of - is whether doj followed its standard policies in terms of opening, investigating and charging these cases. If you or your media sources have no idea that doj even has an enforcement manual and certain policies, it's gonna be kinda hard to know whether their policies were followed.
Instead we get this nonsense media narrative that Merrick Garland is in charge of everything and he can just bring whatever cases he wants - there's no rules really. This is false!
Let alone that to bring conspiracy cases against a large group it's never the case tgat you can just proceed directly against the head of the group. The whole point of RICO law is to deal with situations like this where there's a criminal enterprise and a bunch of different defendants and witnesses involved. That takes a lot of time. This is not just a single event or a single crime - far from it - it's a wide-ranging conspiracy that took place over months and several states.
It took even more time for Fani Willis to finalize her indictments but somehow it was only Garland that "dithered."
Moreover I have repeatedly corrected your statements about doj and the Jan 6 prosecutions - your media-based narratives somehow omit the over-1000 cases brought by doj and the fact that doj has been arguing for tougher / longer sentences for Rhodes and some of the worst perpetrators.
In any event in the end I recognize the futility of trying to discuss this with people who won't even read the operative documents but still think they can base strong opinions on various other aspects of reality, like whether garland ever attended federalist society events, a complete joke - anyone who follows Supreme Court could probably tell you tgat willuam Brennan is listed as a federalist society contributor. What does this tell you about Brennan? NOTHING!
You haven't corrected a thing. Part of my complaint has been that Garland and his Trump Humping DOJ,only prosecuted low level fools, that smashed down doors and broke windows, and even then only recommended what is essentially a slap on the wrist, misdeamenors, yes a handful of the worst actors got charged with felonies and series jail time.
That doesn't count because he hasn't even investigated much less indicted the leaders of the inssurection in Congress.
And as regards his investigation, he did wait until J6 did it's job, and had, while J6 committee was doing it's job, asked the committee to hand over it's records, (I suspect) to hide them.
You are hell bent on defending Garland, why is that, he hasn't even begun to investigate Jared and Ivanka, while appointing a special counsel to prosecute Hunter.
The Kushners are more guilty than Hunter, much more, receiving a 2 billion dollar gift from MBS, and using Trumps name to get copyrights and patents in China.
I took your advice and read the Jack Smith indictment of Trump, all 54 pages, I see nothing in it, that exculpates your constant harrasment.
So I ask you again, and will keep asking until you answer, what is in the indictment that is so important that you insist on trying to shame me and others,
If you're not interested in the conspiracy to steal the election, and associated false statements, perjury and criminal conduct by the highest-level members of the White House, then I agree - there is no need to read the indictment.
You also wouldn't be interested in news from legitimate sources about how the doj opened hundreds of cases while the doj supposedly dithered.
Fred Koch came back from building oil wells and refineries for Stalin, much enamored with Stalin
For instance the USSR was on a 100% gold standard where one ruble was worth .9851 grams fine gold.The Soviet Citizen could not redeem a ruble, but a foreigner could by presenting it to their window to the world, the NordBank in Paris, and trying to sneak rubles out of Russia was a felony if not a capital offense if Russian.
His art 12 of the 1936 Constitution reads, essentially, "if you don't work you don't eat"
He also criminalized abortions
Stalin's Russia and Ayn Rand, which wasn''t much different, are the Kochian ideals for America.
Vivick Ramasmarmy is the lovechild of Elon Musk and Milton Friedman's undead ghost.
The real world consequences of fascism (DeSantis) or libertarianism (Ramaswarmy) are a matter of nuance, IMO. Both ideologies produce F'ers - clearly. These F'ers (Fanatical Fringe Factions) commit the same crimes, but differ on the strategy used to do so.
As Thom illustrated, fascists takeover existing administrative entity's (ie, government) and reshape them to acquire power and wealth for their F'ers.
Libertarians abolish existing administrative entity's (that's right, gubmint again) and replace them with illegitimate privately operated shams to acquire power and wealth for THEIR F'ers.
For you and I and everyone else not invited to the palaces of fascist/ libertarian overlords - poverty and political impotence will abound. Same end, different route.
I must say, Vivick put on quite an audition Wednesday night. Not for We, the human people - but for the self-anointed kings he hopes to carry water for. Our reviled cartel of anti-Amercan billionaires certainly heard his message, and more troubling, know full well it was for their ears only.
I'd expect a nontrivial amount of heisted cash to find its way into a very smarmy campaign.
Libertarianism is Anarchy with a pretend safety net (figment of their imagination, or lack there of.) Anarchy tends to look good to those currently in power, but quickly looks like a big mistake when a bigger fish comes along...
Chris Christy put it best regarding the youthful Vivek Ramaswamy--ChatGPT. So he punches into ChatGPT’s dialog box: “what are the best ways to destroy America from within?” And AI does his job with the diarrhea of words he came to spew on the debate stage. Forget thoughtful understanding of complex USA.
The mass media in the U.S. have helped to elevate another dangerously-psychotic, morbidly rich predator to the level of a serious person ,legitimately contending for national leadership: Vivek Ramaswamy. Ordinarily I would say that only a science fiction author could create such a character in this country. But "truth is stranger than fiction."
Stark scary future,wealth doesn’t produce benevolence and generosity, instead it produces vicious need for much more than enough. They imagine their hard working employees are ripping them off. They start
Breaking tax laws and using extreme means to lower taxes. As business owners and employers they have a massive advantage yet complain constantly about everything.
Name calling and demonizing people are not usually at all effective in attempting to influence people and advocate for political action or change. I do have to confess though, that I have been guilty on occasions of being strident and even militant in my attacks on certain extreme so-called conservatives and Republicans. I have not had kind words for the libertarians and others on the right who are doing their level best to privatize schooling or government services and agencies.
Nevertheless, placing blame indiscriminately without considering all relevant factors is not wise or responsible. It is bad policy to privatize schooling for the general public. But it must be recognized that the opportunities for exploiting the situation have been created by the massive failures in the arena of public schooling, as I have reiterated a million times. The American people are well aware of the failures, even if they do not talk about it.
Koch revealed his ignorance when he said that “…we condemn compulsory education laws.” “Compulsory education” is an oxymoron if ever there were one. ONCE AGAIN, I REPEAT, EDUCATION CANNOT BE FORCED. This must be the starting point for that part of this discussion. Ignorance about the middle class is not merely the result of ending civics classes by Bill Bennett. That is an inaccurate, meaningless, and tired old excuse. Civics classes were ended because most students (well over 50%) left those classes with a highly truncated and inadequate understanding of anything in that curriculum. Why is that so hard to admit?
A personal example illustrates my point and my extreme dissatisfaction. Livid does not begin to describe my rage right now, in fact. My great grandson did not say a single word until well after his third birthday, which was terribly worrisome because kids usually start talking much earlier. But with the help and advice of a speech therapist paid for through a government program (probably within Medicaid) he has become very talkative and appears to be developing normally. He is clearly very bright, spirited, dynamic, and loving. I have filled in several times as a babysitter for him and his little sister when both parents were working or otherwise occupied and I see them almost daily, since I live within walking distance from them. He is now six and in first grade in a school, also within easy walking distance from where they live in a small apartment.
The reason I am enraged is because a full century after Dewey first proposed significant changes in school practices and policies, followed by thousands of others with progressive and workable ideas for making schools much more safe and hospitable, my beautiful great grandson is being abused and punished for being a vivacious, energetic, and highly social normal child. I will call him Justin here for the sake of anonymity. He has a tendency to talk when the teacher expects silence. He is being treated as a bad kid in class and his parents are being pressured to force him to submit to misanthropic expectations and conditions through threats, browbeating, and punishments. I cannot protect him and neither can they because laws give people who are obsessed with their own importance and with false notions about learning, education, discipline, human behavior, and truth nearly unlimited power over healthy, happy children and their parents.
The teacher MUST have complete control. The other students MUST NOT be distracted. The lesson and the plan for the hour or day MUST be presented on schedule. FOR SIX YEAR-OLD FIRST GRADERS! BULL$HIT!!! What does that teacher need to say to a class of twenty or more kids that is more important than what my grandson has to say in that classroom? She is a teacher, not a prison guard.
I’m going to give you your lesson for today. Kids need to express themselves; they need to feel respected and cared for; they need to move, breathe deeply, exercise, communicate, and learn in an organic manner in a hospitable environment. The teacher will have plenty of opportunity to convey her message in several hours each day in 180 days in the year. Who the hell is kidding whom?????
Yes, I know, pastor. Kids also must learn self-control, social etiquette, respect for adults and their peers. They need to listen to instructions at times and to focus on tasks which allow them to develop skills. A busy boss someday will not have any patience for backtalk. But despite the never-ending stream of platitudes such as those,
“…about half of all American adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level, according to the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. Only 39 percent of Americans can name all three branches of government, leaving our nation vulnerable to racist white nationalists and fascists wanting to transform the democratic experiment our Founders began with our American republic.”
That is from yesterday’s Daily Take. It has been ever thus. I repeat again, who is kidding whom?
Formal schooling, instruction, or “education” are not the only things which contribute to and determine the future of a child or their adulthood. There are innumerable moments, events, and occasions which have meaning and consequences in the life of a child. A child remembers and is affected by hurts, humiliations, and punishments, and those things most often do not result in a more positive attitude or a more productive life.
Furthermore, in a class of six year-old kids, if more than a very few are able to concentrate, comprehend, process, appreciate fully and recall anything which the teacher says at any given moment, that is indeed a rare occasion. That is an argument for training and repetition if you are naïve enough to believe that a teacher frequently offers truly educational and significant data, information, or advice. But teachers should not overestimate their abilities or the power of their admonitions and insights.
If the issue were that Justin is significantly different from his classmates, or at least from the other boys, we might ask for special treatment or some kind of special arrangement. Every kid is an individual and is therefore different, and Justin may in fact benefit from an approach based on his particular characteristics, disabilities, or problems. However, the issue is that he is a six year-old boy who has enough good sense to know that much of what passes for instruction or learning material is not suited to his mode of learning or of little meaning or interest, or is too slow-moving and abstract to hold his attention. If he is easily distracted or inclined to distract others, one should ask why that should be a problem or why in all fairness it should not be the school’s problem, rather than his problem. He did not ask to go there.
Wednesday, Thom spoke about having been trained as a hypnotist and having trained others. He spoke about how groups can be hypnotized by using techniques and patterns and methods for focusing thinking and directing attention. What do you think a teacher is doing when he repeats a message about “paying attention”, following instructions, following orders, proper behavior and discipline, doing exercises and assignments on time, etc., etc., ad infinitum? I prefer the terms indoctrination or brainwashing, but all that inane garbage is most certainly a form of mass hypnosis, and does not contribute in the least to authentic education or to learning “critical thinking, autonomy, or living free in a democracy.
A rating of “AAA+” for our schools? My foot (or a different part of my anatomy which I am getting tired of sitting on right now). Anyone who is in such denial should check in for rehabilitation and deprogramming. Anyone who is unwilling to speak up loudly and often in defense of innocent children who are being prodded and pushed and silenced in the name of education, in a school where education and intellectual pursuits are as rare as hen’s teeth, should hang their head in shame. There are more books, papers, and articles decrying the destruction of the spirit and the dignity of school children than there are on how to get rich quickly, and there is certainly no shortage of those.
You cannot complain about the economic royalists, rampant deregulation, and privatization if you adamantly defend dysfunctional schools which mass produce indifference and ignorance and forced attendance. A new generation is being undermined today and every day because no one will demand democracy in schools. The billionaires love the school boosters who support that capitalistic indoctrination.
Vivek and the rest of the presidential grifter class need to answer a simple question, “what would be your Constitutional purpose if elected?” Presidents must take the following oath, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." That’s nice and all, but almost impossible to agree on what that means. As a citizen, I submit that their oath to the Constitution must also include that their purpose (their Constitutional purpose) while in office is to satisfy the six (or seven) objectives in the Preamble, and my expectations are that they will use best practice-based principles to meet that purpose. In addition, I want the candidates that I vote for to acknowledge that as long as corporations are persons and money is speech, our democracy will continue its backslide into autocracy.
As far as outsourcing and public/private partnerships to manage our commons, Daphne Greenwood (Professor of Economics at UCCS) wrote in her 2014 book (found at The Decision to Contract Out: Understanding the Full Economic and Social Impacts - In the Public Interest-check out the Key Findings of the full report) “unless there is real innovation that leads to greater efficiency or higher quality, communities will see a net negative effect on the wider social and economic level.”
What amazes me is those who denounce our government are the first to scream for help from the government when tragedy arises. Florida ( hurricanes ), Texas ( hurricanes, extremely cold and heat ) and now Arizona ( extreme heat ). Its amazing when my wife and I go to these free financial seminars and the first thing that's asked or stated is how do you get out from under paying taxes or get the most out of Social Security!!! You should see the looks on the faces around us when we say that we don't mind being taxed as it supports our lives ( ability to receive Social Security, health care, first responder support when its needed, roads, clean air and water, the ability to help those in need and less fortunate than we are ), and in doing so we are honored and privileged. 😊
Ahhh---the magical world of libertarians and the "free market".
Just what America needs---another needy, ego-driven, contrarian billionaire trying to suck up all the oxygen in every room he enters. They are completely disconnected from humanity, ours and theirs.
Seeing Ramaswamey and Trump together in any capacity will be disgusting. Is he different? NOPE!
No doubt the guy is a self-serving sociopath as have been most presidents in recent history to varying degrees. But he is high on the scale. It is interesting to note that the failed states you cite have all become that either directly due to the actions of Democrats, Obama and Hillary Clinton in Libya and the Clintons in Haiti, or the combined efforts of both parties as we see in Afghanstan (if you want to blame only Geroge W I urge you to read the Afghanistan Papers). As for your Putinphobia, you join Nikki Haley in freaking out at the prospect of "abandoning" Afghanistan, as you join the warhawks in spreading the Domino Theory and equating Putin to Hitler. You seem to embrace the neo-Nazis/fascists in Ukraine while being petrified of those in our country. And it's not something to minimize, along with major questions as to where all the weapons we are sending are actually going and at what point Putin will resort to nuclear weapons. I apologize in advance for condemning the Biden administration for failing to pursue any vestige of diplomacy even in the many months leading up to the invasion. But I understand that anyone who wants peace instead of the utter and complete destruction of Ukraine and does not believe its people should be cannon fodder for our desire for global economic domination is working for Putin. Funny how McCarthyism and propaganda and the guilt and shame for supporting imperialism and hegemony to favor your own political party makes for strange bedfellows.
Dr. Kaufman, do not "apologize in advance" for what you said. You spoke truth to power. The U.S. Military- Industrial-Entertainment Complex is determined to fight Russia right down to the last Ukrainian life. It is immensely profitable, financed by the American tax payer. Opposing the war in Ukraine is not the same thing as supporting Putin. Continuing that war is threatening nuclear war and the end of organized human life.
The billionaire autocrats like Putin with nuclear weapons, feel like they can do whatever they want to do. The billionaires and the rich politicians in America don't want a nuclear war, because they have something to live for, most have large families a lot of money a lot of toys. A poor man who has lost his wife and family is a lot quicker to push the button then a bunch of spoiled cupcakes. Better dead than ruled by autocrats.
Greed and ignorance, fear and ‘other loathing ‘is what these Republicans are selling.
There is no tolerance or desire to see others do well.
No compassion, no trust, no sense of worthwhile existence , unless you have a great deal of money.
The wealthy , have no use for poor to be educated , accepted or treated well on any level .
They are seen as unnecessary and are unworthy of consideration.
As are Senior Citizens, as are people of color, immigrants ( don’t bother to remind these wealthy fools that they or their recent ancestors were also immigrants)
They are the ‘ me’ people .
Greedy seekers of more money and more power .
Power to insulate their lives from any distress or misery.
But they cant , they are bluffing.
Their only purpose is to themselves.
They can lie , cheat , break the law with impunity.
They can afford to.
This country was not built for them .
Thats why they attempt to destroy whats good and just.
Trump reinforced this greed and self seeking . Its time to push back at the ballot box.
In spite of their efforts to distort this right, we need to protect these rights by showing up to vote . No matter what .
A big media event that should be ignored. Republicans = media domination. To contest that formula, please focus on more important topics.
Besides, from the materials and comments here, it's doubtful that many of the folks reading this today have read the indictments - critical documents that our media won't adequately inform about. Republicans would be happy to know that people are watching their media events rather than reading indictments about their criminal conduct. And with our media generally - that's the whole objective - to weaken the intellect, distract and confuse.
The fact that President Trump had the single longest telephone call ever conducted by a president with a back office IT worker is more important than any of this, especially on the day after that maintenance worker flipped on him.
Newspeak is designed to narrow the range of potential thought, eventually making any unorthodox thought impossible - acc to Orwell.
Most of us lack your legal expertise, Could you please inform me what is or is not critical in the indictments. That would help
First, understand that the House committee focused more on the insurrection and related conduct, and until the indictments were filed, there wasn't a coherent story about how this fairly large group of republicans conspired to change the results of the election.
That story is laid out in the dc and ga indictments - and they go state by state showing you all the acts in furtherance of the conspiracy - hundreds of them.
The indictments take the form of "speaking indictments," meaning that they are written in narrative form, and intended for a public audience. As you may know the prosecutors said very little when announcing the indictments but strongly encouraged "everyone" to read them.
One thing to bear in mind about this -
There's no gag order (yet) on trump, and the republican media machine will keep churning away spewing lies and distractions.
But due to prosecutorial ethics and laws the prosecutors really can't say much about the cases or defendants right now.
So media-wise there is a very uneven playing field for the dissemination of media about the cases, defendants and witnesses, and as we know, the media lives and dies by trump as he's their goose that laid a golden media egg.
There are many great expert sources as well - now doing day by day updates - I recommend Glenn Kirschner and Legal AF as among the best specialized coverage.
Look for and read the dec 13 email from Chresebro to Eastman and definitely enjoy learning all about how criminal and malevolent these lawyers are - chesebro participated in Jan 6, walked around with Alex jones - the stuff is mind boggling.
Basic to my initial impression about the whole "stop tge steal" strategy is that a president and his attorney general have very little to do with state by state voting. On what basis does the attorney general "look into" the alleged problems with state elections? The voting rights act? Nobody seemed to question this, even though in our constitutional system the framers specifically avoided allowing the president to have ANYTHING to do with presidential elections.
The media of course missed the whole point and constantly carried coverage of trump and Giuliani - never saying or indicating in any way that in the USA's system of government, presidents and their White House staffs or attorneys are not and cannot be involved in presidential election and voting issues.
It's so basic, but it was so missed in all of the media that never even talked about this problem.
It's now playing out in some of the appeals for example. Meadows is trying to argue that his case should be removed into federal court because he was in federal government, federal government policy or executive privilege... but of course he wasn't conducting any business of the government , he was conducting campaign business - and after the campaign was OVER.
To further the point is seems to me from the beginning there is this huge hole in our media - in that trump's game easily becomes the ball field. From the beginning, they should've pointed out that a president has no business becoming involved in these things - that a president cannot be directly involved himself or through any attorneys that work privately with him, in contacting state representatives or even publicly commenting on these types of things, as there are appropriate legal channels but not the ones they used. The constitution specifically takes the president away from any involvement in even counting the electoral votes and it's improper for this president to have inserted himself in anyway .... if federal law like the voting rights act had anything to say about it than the Attorney General in the department of justice, would need to handle that according to their own set policies - and presidents interference could be harmful to it and is unwarranted.
The point is even if there was fraud and whatever they claimed ( which they knew there was not) they attacked the rule of law, they committed crimes - none of which are permitted remedies.
Another point to add to the end - which is being raised by Fani Willis in the removal hearings set for next week - is that none of their activities were legitimate federal government activities because of the hatch act of 1939 which broadly prohibits use of federal office for campaign or political activities.
The hatch act is widely known and acknowledge and its yet another reason the media should have been questioning whether it's legal for a sitting president and his private attorney to directly deal with political and electoral matters using government personnel and property.
Politico published a chronology about chesebro's role in formulating and carrying the plan to steal the election. As noted in another comment, the dec 13 email is a key document that everyone should read and it's only a couple of pages. Anyway this helps to explain the basics now of what we did not previously know before the indictments - the amount of planning and conspiring as well as the multitude if overt acts comprising this criminal conspiracy.
This has a chronology of Chesebro’s key documents and proposals, which show how his thinking evolved from philosophical discussions to operational plans -
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/09/ken-chesebro-memos-trump-coconspirator-00110458
Stop the steal and false electors are a red herring. The charge is sedition and insurrection, of which there is ample evidence from TV tapes alone. Garland hasn't charged even one of those inside Congress like Boebert who gave the go signal on her iPhone (1776) and he didn't need to to wait until the J6 committee did it's thing either, but was shamed into it by the J6 committee, And still, the guilty in congress have not been indicted, not even Matt Gaetz, probably because Kevin needs him to maintain his role as speaker, just as he keeps George Santos on, who has also broken federal law and is not even being investigated by your man Merrick.
The essence of your comment is that Jan 6 insurrection is all that matters and that the wide-ranging conspiracy to steal the election (which began and was conducted mostly in December and did not involve the new members of congress being seated in January) is a "red herring."
With regard to members of congress you also seem to be unaware of the basic separation of powers principles in the text of the constitution which generally make each house of congress the sole arbiter of its members actions. Yes tgere are campaign finance and other laws that doj handles but there is a basic separation of powers issue you are not aware of even though it's in the text of constitution. This I would point out, although it's somewhat less relevant than the basic point that these conspiracies operated primarily in December and primarily without any involvement by the members of congress you mention.
When you come to nyc you will also find some squirrels who steal peoples food and you can write about how garland never went after THEM either.
So tell me what is it in the Smith Indictment that is such significance
You just refuse to answer that question..
Another indictment that's important to read is the documents case in fl. If you read it you might notice for example what the case - and the charges brought - have to do with classified information.
Every media narrative calls this the "classified documents case" but reading the indictment - maybe even just for 10 minutes - will show you that the changes have nothing to do with the classification status of the documents, whether they were classified etc.
It's my assertion this should more appropriately be called the "national security information" case, and if it were, the media coverage would create a different impression than just "classified documents."
Why does the media - even lefty media - stick with "classified documents" to describe the case? I can't answer that question but I do note that making an issue out of the classification status of the documents was a huge Trump media narrative for some time and Trump seasoned and baked the media coverage of this which fits his original narrative.
"Text on paper" or "paper documents" or "stapled documents" describes the case just as well as "classified documents" but doesn't allow for the kind of false equivalence you get when someone equates the case with other classified documents cases. That's right - there are separate, different federal statutes governing national security information and violating those statutes is whats charged. NOTHING related to whether the docs were classified or their status - nothing!
Again, the only way to cut through media bullshit is to read primary source documents, especially the critical ones that are written in plain English.
Big admission here - you got me, I give up. I've seen the light. You are right about everything. I'm a Putin puppet and so is Garland. We could only hide this for so long and you nailed us. Keep up the good work.
No, the essence of my comment is not that J6 is all that matters.
The separation of powers is the excuse that Trump is using. DOJ has the responsibility to investigate Congress.
How mature, you are, trying to trivialize a legitimate observation, by equating it with squirrels.
What is your problem. Why are you so vigorously trying to defend Garland.
And yes members of congress did conspire with the fools who wanted to kill Pence and Pelosi.
Boebert even gave the go signal, when she typed 1776 into her IpHONE, the moment that an objection was raised when the Arizona vote was pulled by Pence. The plan was to object to all of the votes cast by swing states.
1776 was the go signal to break into the Capital and hang Mike Pence, Pelosi and disrupt the reading of the electoral college votes.
That was even mentioned on TV at the time, then very swiftly swept under the rug.
Separation of powers has jack squat to do with the situation. Your relying on ignorance by throwing out a red herring.
I understand all of that, except Garland not launching his own investigation until shamed into it by the J6 Committee. He has the resources and hid behind the skirts of Congress, afraid to even investigate J6, willing to let the clock run out for statue of limitations, and yet he still has not filed charges against the traitors in Congress, like Beobert, Jordn, MTG, Comer, Biggs, Hawley, and even Matt Gaetz, who violated the Mann ACt, amongst others.
One reason is Garlands DOJ is staffed by Trump humpers, the other is Garland is himself a right wing Republican. I've read your apologia for Garland's employment by the Federalist Society, you introduced a lot of non sequiturs, however you glossed over the fact that the notorious right winger Orrin Hatch R-UT vetted Garland to Obama, because Obama didn't care about anything but claiming a win, by appointing a justice to the Supreme Court.
I doubt whether you (or any non-experts in the media) know when the investigations were launched, and to think that no investigations were launched at all until after Jan 6 committee report is simply unrealistic given the number of witnesses and the amount of evidence involved.
It's a nice media narrative ("garland dithered") but like many media narratives it's based on a lack of knowledge about the subject matter.
The thing that really matters - the standard your sources won't inform you of - is whether doj followed its standard policies in terms of opening, investigating and charging these cases. If you or your media sources have no idea that doj even has an enforcement manual and certain policies, it's gonna be kinda hard to know whether their policies were followed.
Instead we get this nonsense media narrative that Merrick Garland is in charge of everything and he can just bring whatever cases he wants - there's no rules really. This is false!
Let alone that to bring conspiracy cases against a large group it's never the case tgat you can just proceed directly against the head of the group. The whole point of RICO law is to deal with situations like this where there's a criminal enterprise and a bunch of different defendants and witnesses involved. That takes a lot of time. This is not just a single event or a single crime - far from it - it's a wide-ranging conspiracy that took place over months and several states.
It took even more time for Fani Willis to finalize her indictments but somehow it was only Garland that "dithered."
Moreover I have repeatedly corrected your statements about doj and the Jan 6 prosecutions - your media-based narratives somehow omit the over-1000 cases brought by doj and the fact that doj has been arguing for tougher / longer sentences for Rhodes and some of the worst perpetrators.
In any event in the end I recognize the futility of trying to discuss this with people who won't even read the operative documents but still think they can base strong opinions on various other aspects of reality, like whether garland ever attended federalist society events, a complete joke - anyone who follows Supreme Court could probably tell you tgat willuam Brennan is listed as a federalist society contributor. What does this tell you about Brennan? NOTHING!
You haven't corrected a thing. Part of my complaint has been that Garland and his Trump Humping DOJ,only prosecuted low level fools, that smashed down doors and broke windows, and even then only recommended what is essentially a slap on the wrist, misdeamenors, yes a handful of the worst actors got charged with felonies and series jail time.
That doesn't count because he hasn't even investigated much less indicted the leaders of the inssurection in Congress.
And as regards his investigation, he did wait until J6 did it's job, and had, while J6 committee was doing it's job, asked the committee to hand over it's records, (I suspect) to hide them.
You are hell bent on defending Garland, why is that, he hasn't even begun to investigate Jared and Ivanka, while appointing a special counsel to prosecute Hunter.
The Kushners are more guilty than Hunter, much more, receiving a 2 billion dollar gift from MBS, and using Trumps name to get copyrights and patents in China.
I took your advice and read the Jack Smith indictment of Trump, all 54 pages, I see nothing in it, that exculpates your constant harrasment.
So I ask you again, and will keep asking until you answer, what is in the indictment that is so important that you insist on trying to shame me and others,
If you're not interested in the conspiracy to steal the election, and associated false statements, perjury and criminal conduct by the highest-level members of the White House, then I agree - there is no need to read the indictment.
You also wouldn't be interested in news from legitimate sources about how the doj opened hundreds of cases while the doj supposedly dithered.
Pathetic, really.
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/12/956145727/doj-opens-nearly-200-cases-into-pro-trump-riot-on-capitol-hill
A couple of top scholars, federalist society members -writing that trump can be barred from running under the 14th amendment.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-08-16/donald-trump-constitution-federalist-society-14th-amendment-insurrection
Here's a story about the chesebro email. I do suggest reading the actual email too.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-news-giuliani-kenneth-chesebro-email-plan-january-6/
https://www.justice.gov/jm/jm-9-27000-principles-federal-prosecution
Fred Koch came back from building oil wells and refineries for Stalin, much enamored with Stalin
For instance the USSR was on a 100% gold standard where one ruble was worth .9851 grams fine gold.The Soviet Citizen could not redeem a ruble, but a foreigner could by presenting it to their window to the world, the NordBank in Paris, and trying to sneak rubles out of Russia was a felony if not a capital offense if Russian.
His art 12 of the 1936 Constitution reads, essentially, "if you don't work you don't eat"
He also criminalized abortions
Stalin's Russia and Ayn Rand, which wasn''t much different, are the Kochian ideals for America.
Vivick Ramasmarmy is the lovechild of Elon Musk and Milton Friedman's undead ghost.
The real world consequences of fascism (DeSantis) or libertarianism (Ramaswarmy) are a matter of nuance, IMO. Both ideologies produce F'ers - clearly. These F'ers (Fanatical Fringe Factions) commit the same crimes, but differ on the strategy used to do so.
As Thom illustrated, fascists takeover existing administrative entity's (ie, government) and reshape them to acquire power and wealth for their F'ers.
Libertarians abolish existing administrative entity's (that's right, gubmint again) and replace them with illegitimate privately operated shams to acquire power and wealth for THEIR F'ers.
For you and I and everyone else not invited to the palaces of fascist/ libertarian overlords - poverty and political impotence will abound. Same end, different route.
I must say, Vivick put on quite an audition Wednesday night. Not for We, the human people - but for the self-anointed kings he hopes to carry water for. Our reviled cartel of anti-Amercan billionaires certainly heard his message, and more troubling, know full well it was for their ears only.
I'd expect a nontrivial amount of heisted cash to find its way into a very smarmy campaign.
And... 23 hours later, this:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/26/vivek-ramaswamy-elon-musk-presidential-adviser
Lessee...
Professional liar - check
Obnoxious asshole - check
Dreadful person - check
Someone you want to punch in the face, repeatedly - check
Braindead moron who thinks he's a genius - check
Malevolent shitbird - check
Shameless idiot - check
Publicly celebrates his moron stupidity - check
Complete shithead - check
Nope, nothing new here. Just another Standard-Issue Modern Republican.
Libertarianism is Anarchy with a pretend safety net (figment of their imagination, or lack there of.) Anarchy tends to look good to those currently in power, but quickly looks like a big mistake when a bigger fish comes along...
Chris Christy put it best regarding the youthful Vivek Ramaswamy--ChatGPT. So he punches into ChatGPT’s dialog box: “what are the best ways to destroy America from within?” And AI does his job with the diarrhea of words he came to spew on the debate stage. Forget thoughtful understanding of complex USA.
The mass media in the U.S. have helped to elevate another dangerously-psychotic, morbidly rich predator to the level of a serious person ,legitimately contending for national leadership: Vivek Ramaswamy. Ordinarily I would say that only a science fiction author could create such a character in this country. But "truth is stranger than fiction."
Stark scary future,wealth doesn’t produce benevolence and generosity, instead it produces vicious need for much more than enough. They imagine their hard working employees are ripping them off. They start
Breaking tax laws and using extreme means to lower taxes. As business owners and employers they have a massive advantage yet complain constantly about everything.
Name calling and demonizing people are not usually at all effective in attempting to influence people and advocate for political action or change. I do have to confess though, that I have been guilty on occasions of being strident and even militant in my attacks on certain extreme so-called conservatives and Republicans. I have not had kind words for the libertarians and others on the right who are doing their level best to privatize schooling or government services and agencies.
Nevertheless, placing blame indiscriminately without considering all relevant factors is not wise or responsible. It is bad policy to privatize schooling for the general public. But it must be recognized that the opportunities for exploiting the situation have been created by the massive failures in the arena of public schooling, as I have reiterated a million times. The American people are well aware of the failures, even if they do not talk about it.
Koch revealed his ignorance when he said that “…we condemn compulsory education laws.” “Compulsory education” is an oxymoron if ever there were one. ONCE AGAIN, I REPEAT, EDUCATION CANNOT BE FORCED. This must be the starting point for that part of this discussion. Ignorance about the middle class is not merely the result of ending civics classes by Bill Bennett. That is an inaccurate, meaningless, and tired old excuse. Civics classes were ended because most students (well over 50%) left those classes with a highly truncated and inadequate understanding of anything in that curriculum. Why is that so hard to admit?
A personal example illustrates my point and my extreme dissatisfaction. Livid does not begin to describe my rage right now, in fact. My great grandson did not say a single word until well after his third birthday, which was terribly worrisome because kids usually start talking much earlier. But with the help and advice of a speech therapist paid for through a government program (probably within Medicaid) he has become very talkative and appears to be developing normally. He is clearly very bright, spirited, dynamic, and loving. I have filled in several times as a babysitter for him and his little sister when both parents were working or otherwise occupied and I see them almost daily, since I live within walking distance from them. He is now six and in first grade in a school, also within easy walking distance from where they live in a small apartment.
The reason I am enraged is because a full century after Dewey first proposed significant changes in school practices and policies, followed by thousands of others with progressive and workable ideas for making schools much more safe and hospitable, my beautiful great grandson is being abused and punished for being a vivacious, energetic, and highly social normal child. I will call him Justin here for the sake of anonymity. He has a tendency to talk when the teacher expects silence. He is being treated as a bad kid in class and his parents are being pressured to force him to submit to misanthropic expectations and conditions through threats, browbeating, and punishments. I cannot protect him and neither can they because laws give people who are obsessed with their own importance and with false notions about learning, education, discipline, human behavior, and truth nearly unlimited power over healthy, happy children and their parents.
The teacher MUST have complete control. The other students MUST NOT be distracted. The lesson and the plan for the hour or day MUST be presented on schedule. FOR SIX YEAR-OLD FIRST GRADERS! BULL$HIT!!! What does that teacher need to say to a class of twenty or more kids that is more important than what my grandson has to say in that classroom? She is a teacher, not a prison guard.
I’m going to give you your lesson for today. Kids need to express themselves; they need to feel respected and cared for; they need to move, breathe deeply, exercise, communicate, and learn in an organic manner in a hospitable environment. The teacher will have plenty of opportunity to convey her message in several hours each day in 180 days in the year. Who the hell is kidding whom?????
Yes, I know, pastor. Kids also must learn self-control, social etiquette, respect for adults and their peers. They need to listen to instructions at times and to focus on tasks which allow them to develop skills. A busy boss someday will not have any patience for backtalk. But despite the never-ending stream of platitudes such as those,
“…about half of all American adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level, according to the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. Only 39 percent of Americans can name all three branches of government, leaving our nation vulnerable to racist white nationalists and fascists wanting to transform the democratic experiment our Founders began with our American republic.”
That is from yesterday’s Daily Take. It has been ever thus. I repeat again, who is kidding whom?
Formal schooling, instruction, or “education” are not the only things which contribute to and determine the future of a child or their adulthood. There are innumerable moments, events, and occasions which have meaning and consequences in the life of a child. A child remembers and is affected by hurts, humiliations, and punishments, and those things most often do not result in a more positive attitude or a more productive life.
Furthermore, in a class of six year-old kids, if more than a very few are able to concentrate, comprehend, process, appreciate fully and recall anything which the teacher says at any given moment, that is indeed a rare occasion. That is an argument for training and repetition if you are naïve enough to believe that a teacher frequently offers truly educational and significant data, information, or advice. But teachers should not overestimate their abilities or the power of their admonitions and insights.
If the issue were that Justin is significantly different from his classmates, or at least from the other boys, we might ask for special treatment or some kind of special arrangement. Every kid is an individual and is therefore different, and Justin may in fact benefit from an approach based on his particular characteristics, disabilities, or problems. However, the issue is that he is a six year-old boy who has enough good sense to know that much of what passes for instruction or learning material is not suited to his mode of learning or of little meaning or interest, or is too slow-moving and abstract to hold his attention. If he is easily distracted or inclined to distract others, one should ask why that should be a problem or why in all fairness it should not be the school’s problem, rather than his problem. He did not ask to go there.
Wednesday, Thom spoke about having been trained as a hypnotist and having trained others. He spoke about how groups can be hypnotized by using techniques and patterns and methods for focusing thinking and directing attention. What do you think a teacher is doing when he repeats a message about “paying attention”, following instructions, following orders, proper behavior and discipline, doing exercises and assignments on time, etc., etc., ad infinitum? I prefer the terms indoctrination or brainwashing, but all that inane garbage is most certainly a form of mass hypnosis, and does not contribute in the least to authentic education or to learning “critical thinking, autonomy, or living free in a democracy.
A rating of “AAA+” for our schools? My foot (or a different part of my anatomy which I am getting tired of sitting on right now). Anyone who is in such denial should check in for rehabilitation and deprogramming. Anyone who is unwilling to speak up loudly and often in defense of innocent children who are being prodded and pushed and silenced in the name of education, in a school where education and intellectual pursuits are as rare as hen’s teeth, should hang their head in shame. There are more books, papers, and articles decrying the destruction of the spirit and the dignity of school children than there are on how to get rich quickly, and there is certainly no shortage of those.
You cannot complain about the economic royalists, rampant deregulation, and privatization if you adamantly defend dysfunctional schools which mass produce indifference and ignorance and forced attendance. A new generation is being undermined today and every day because no one will demand democracy in schools. The billionaires love the school boosters who support that capitalistic indoctrination.
Vivek and the rest of the presidential grifter class need to answer a simple question, “what would be your Constitutional purpose if elected?” Presidents must take the following oath, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." That’s nice and all, but almost impossible to agree on what that means. As a citizen, I submit that their oath to the Constitution must also include that their purpose (their Constitutional purpose) while in office is to satisfy the six (or seven) objectives in the Preamble, and my expectations are that they will use best practice-based principles to meet that purpose. In addition, I want the candidates that I vote for to acknowledge that as long as corporations are persons and money is speech, our democracy will continue its backslide into autocracy.
As far as outsourcing and public/private partnerships to manage our commons, Daphne Greenwood (Professor of Economics at UCCS) wrote in her 2014 book (found at The Decision to Contract Out: Understanding the Full Economic and Social Impacts - In the Public Interest-check out the Key Findings of the full report) “unless there is real innovation that leads to greater efficiency or higher quality, communities will see a net negative effect on the wider social and economic level.”
What amazes me is those who denounce our government are the first to scream for help from the government when tragedy arises. Florida ( hurricanes ), Texas ( hurricanes, extremely cold and heat ) and now Arizona ( extreme heat ). Its amazing when my wife and I go to these free financial seminars and the first thing that's asked or stated is how do you get out from under paying taxes or get the most out of Social Security!!! You should see the looks on the faces around us when we say that we don't mind being taxed as it supports our lives ( ability to receive Social Security, health care, first responder support when its needed, roads, clean air and water, the ability to help those in need and less fortunate than we are ), and in doing so we are honored and privileged. 😊
Ahhh---the magical world of libertarians and the "free market".
Just what America needs---another needy, ego-driven, contrarian billionaire trying to suck up all the oxygen in every room he enters. They are completely disconnected from humanity, ours and theirs.
Seeing Ramaswamey and Trump together in any capacity will be disgusting. Is he different? NOPE!
Tom, don’t waste your words on Vivek…nothing to see there.
No doubt the guy is a self-serving sociopath as have been most presidents in recent history to varying degrees. But he is high on the scale. It is interesting to note that the failed states you cite have all become that either directly due to the actions of Democrats, Obama and Hillary Clinton in Libya and the Clintons in Haiti, or the combined efforts of both parties as we see in Afghanstan (if you want to blame only Geroge W I urge you to read the Afghanistan Papers). As for your Putinphobia, you join Nikki Haley in freaking out at the prospect of "abandoning" Afghanistan, as you join the warhawks in spreading the Domino Theory and equating Putin to Hitler. You seem to embrace the neo-Nazis/fascists in Ukraine while being petrified of those in our country. And it's not something to minimize, along with major questions as to where all the weapons we are sending are actually going and at what point Putin will resort to nuclear weapons. I apologize in advance for condemning the Biden administration for failing to pursue any vestige of diplomacy even in the many months leading up to the invasion. But I understand that anyone who wants peace instead of the utter and complete destruction of Ukraine and does not believe its people should be cannon fodder for our desire for global economic domination is working for Putin. Funny how McCarthyism and propaganda and the guilt and shame for supporting imperialism and hegemony to favor your own political party makes for strange bedfellows.
Dr. Kaufman, do not "apologize in advance" for what you said. You spoke truth to power. The U.S. Military- Industrial-Entertainment Complex is determined to fight Russia right down to the last Ukrainian life. It is immensely profitable, financed by the American tax payer. Opposing the war in Ukraine is not the same thing as supporting Putin. Continuing that war is threatening nuclear war and the end of organized human life.
The billionaire autocrats like Putin with nuclear weapons, feel like they can do whatever they want to do. The billionaires and the rich politicians in America don't want a nuclear war, because they have something to live for, most have large families a lot of money a lot of toys. A poor man who has lost his wife and family is a lot quicker to push the button then a bunch of spoiled cupcakes. Better dead than ruled by autocrats.