Economists have warned that if Trump is reelected, the "deep recession" or depression will harm those at the bottom of the economic ladder and those on fixed incomes first. Then, those same victims will be used as a distraction and example of how "lazy people" raise taxes. They have perfected their fraud on the public.
And we should stop assuming that it will be all right in the end like 1933. FDR will not save us this time.
To be realistic, this cycle will involve an empire collapse as well. We need to look for ways to salvage bits from the wreckage. Perhaps some new and progressively democratic nations--Pacifica/Cascadia or Atlantica possibly?--should emerge. They would likely be the 4th and 5th largest economies in the world.
We have some blueprints from how the Baltics were stood up as democracies post-USSR.
Time for action not just harkening back to the 1930s!
Baltics a good economic model, but NATO stood behind them. I assume the US military under a maga regime won’t dedend Cascadia or Atlantica. So how might they emerge?
The new nations could certainly develop their own armed forces from existing assets. There are several bases in CA, OR, WA, CO, etc. for the West but less in the East. The remaining bits of the old nation, perhaps renamed the Christian States of America (CSA), would struggle to fund the military without the economies of the departed nations.
Poland stood up what is now the largest and perhaps most capable army in Europe. The little know bit among U.S. pundits is that Poland is ready to take large swaths of the Ukraine for itself if the U.S. withdraws from the war. Lots of surprises it we cast aside conventional thinking.
Wow, I hope you are correct. Poland will wipe Russia's ass. Russia has depleted it's resources in Ukraine, it is like the 9 pin standing alone in a bowling alley, just waiting to be knocked over. Ukraine can't do it by them-self, they too are depleted And I don't believe that Putin's nuclear bluster will intimidate the Poles, having lived under Russian rule, they know what to expect.
Edit added: AS Trump follows through with his acceptance speech, that he will follow through with his promises, It is my hope that the West Coast takes him seriously and secedes, that is our only hope.
The Poles have not forgotten that the invasion of September 1, 1939, was BOTH the Nazi regime AND the USSR. Not to mention the brutal dictatorship under the USSR post 1945.
On standing up (a) new nation(s)--U.S. Constitution was written in 114 days. It can happen faster today because this stuff is not new. Plenty of models and improvements since the 1787 U.S. approach as amended--Switzerland and the EU have well thought out approaches.
The process can begin with three states and follow an accession model such as used by the EU (somewhat copied from the Swiss accession model for Cantons).
They are surrendering en mass and dying en mass. Poorly trained, mal-nourished, and lacking weapons. The worst horrors of a meat grinder.
The U.S. military learned its lesson about volunteering for the meat grinder in WWI when U.S. doughboys were used as cannon fodder for the French front lines against the Germans. North Korea has no such understanding of modern warfare.
The last time Ukraine had to chose between Poland and Russia was 1654. That did not turn out well for Ukraine. I think this time round, Ukraine would rather live under Poland than Russia, having learned their lesson over the past 400 years
The tRump states won't let the Democratic governed states leave. That's where their money comes from. The trumpets will just take them over from the Democratic majority in the name of freedumb.
Let’s think can do rather than put up barriers. Let’s channel the social movement into something new and more fitting to the 21st Century. For one, strict liability for social media companies!
The U.S. military is a cross section of many states. As during the Civil War of the 1860s military people will migrate to their home states or at least general area. These people would be the corps of the seceding states as well as veterans still young enough to serve.. I'd be the first to sign up here in New York but I'll be eighty soon. , Don't know if they could use me. Training maybe.
The conduct of the current military will certainly help decide what is possible in this respect. If their leaders follow the current corrupt Supreme Court, and the troops accept their leader’s decisions, I suspect any dissolution of the current country, even under a President who has run off the Constitutional rails, will fail. This must certainly be considered before anyone tries to start another Civil War. Of course, tRumpists may decide to take matters into their own hands, which might make the current military consider what side is truly most “American,” and I don’t know how that decision (or those decisions) would play out. I very strongly suspect that iDJiT would not allow any part of his fiefdom to part peacefully.
Dr. Gilbert, A very real possibility. We are in uncharted waters. My question is: what will happen to our military? It is the most expensive, powerful force in history and it is financed by Washington D.C.'s national income tax machine. You obviously have some good and daring ideas. Any thoughts here?
The Shock Doctrine . . . And Democracy in Chains. We are finished. The Libertarian Fascists will drain the nation of its wealth and leave us with a government unable to govern. . .
It's been unable to govern for the last three decades. Banking industries.. out of control. Monopolies gobbling up every thing. And a man guilty of treason and fomenting an insurrection, rape and bank fraud is not only free but free to run for President and win. We have no federal government.
THAT has been the LIBERTARIAN influence—all Koch-inspired. This didn’t happen overnight; it took root with Reagan, a puppet for the Kochs. Read Democracy in Chains.
They told us ouright what they were going to do, can't fault them for that, we should have taken it to heart. I thought that SS was sacred but now I'm not so sure. They might have the muscle to attack it. Get ready for for Project 2025.
A further note from HCR- lots of people on X have lost many of their followers. The Russian bots have accomplished their mission and aren't needed anymore.
It has already started. During the next four years, everyone under the sun, according to their disparate points of view, will analyze, dissect, and otherwise pontificate on why the Democrat Party lost in a landslide:
For Palestinians and us sympathizers, it's because the Biden administration enabled Netanyahu's genocide in Gaza; young people and the poor rightfully complain they can't afford adequate housing, transportation, and daycare; blue-collar workers feel left out of Biden's so-called economic recovery, and the price of eggs is too damn high; the rich predictably whine about high taxes as the prime culprit; most conservatives say Kamala is too liberal; most liberals say she isn't liberal enough; unconscious bigots blame a greater than expected percentage of Blacks and Hispanics for deserting Democrats and defecting to Trump (never mind his largest demographic is white males); knowledgeable pundits try to convince us that Kamala's campaign failed to address adequately the many ills of Trump's first term in office; other political buffs confidently declare she focused too much on Trump, who they say was the innocent victim of Democrats' wicked lawfare; those in the know advise us that Kamala is too joyful and positive, or maybe too forceful and negative, or too much of something or another, or not enough of something else; or, perhaps, she simply lost because she is black, Asian, and a woman (Oh, the horror!) — a three-time loser, for sure.
And on and on it goes. Whatever the reason, the Democrats couldn't or wouldn't "capture the mood" of a country juiced up on fear, anger, and hate, and therefore Kamala and Walz deserved to lose, right? It's obvious to the loyal disciples of Fox "News" or anyone connected to the internet.
While all or none of the above may or may not be accurate, one thing shines through unmistakably in the contemplation of navels: Few will now criticize the ugly, lying campaigns of Republicans and Trump since, gee, they must have had the right strategy all along because they won the game. Who argues with the winning hand in poker?
See, in America the beautiful, winning is everything, by hook or by crook. Wealth and prestige flow to the victors; all their crap is forgiven and forgotten. Other than Thom, Bernie, AOC, and perhaps a few others, who can blame greedy billionaires for being greedy billionaires? In our fcked-up, grab-everything-you-can society, they are the winners, and we are the losers. They are the gods, and we are the sinners. How dare we protest their success and our failure!
Please stop believing the propaganda. Our election process was hacked. Pure and simple. And the election "given" to Trump. He told his followers that he would not be needing their votes, and added that this would be the last time they would have to vote. He said it more than once and it's on video. Harris ran the best campaign I've ever experienced and in a short period of time. She was adding followers from all walks of life, every day. Trump was resting and counting on the hacking to stay out of jail and put him in power. There are many discrepancies with the numbers in the different states that no one is caring to examine. Record turnouts but 20 million less fewer votes? Just for starters...
Even if the processes were above board and there were many low-propensity voters coming out, this is a situation 40 years in the making. Social media memes and things like crypto and fantasy football have become the new reality for many. Almost none of in the voting generations have a solid footing in civics, history, and digital literacy. Their operative understanding of "leadership" comes from working in corporate autocracies all their lives. Agreeing to put an autocrat in place, thus, just seems normal.
Unfortunately for them, Mother Earth does not use X or care about fantasy football. Warming to 6 C--which we are on track to do within 15 years--will have dire consequences.
I hope Thom Hartmann or William Farrar or someone knowledgeable will answer this. Trumps vote numbers did not change, yet there were 18 million fewer votes cast for the Democrats. Vote count acuracy was checked and rechecked in 2020. Will it be as thoroughly checked and rechecked this time? If it is and if in fact there is no discrepancy then I will admit Trump won.
On the other hand I saw an item that said that there were odd reports filtering in from a braod cross section of states claiming that people had voted, their vote was registered yet when they checked back it said no vote cast. I do not trust the cloud or any kind of electronic record.
That's one explanation (yet another) that certainly connects the dots. But just as Trump's claim that the Democrats stole the 2020 election, it requires hard evidence to survive the scrutiny of the courts. Gut feelings and accusations that no one is investigating the crimes without some kind of real-world evidence to back them up, won't gain any traction.
I don't think the results were hacked Manuel, though the bots did their jobs on social media. But Trump knew he had in the bag, thanks to Muslim and male anger and fear.
'Whatever the reason, the Democrats couldn't or wouldn't "capture the mood" of a country juiced up on fear, anger, and hate, and therefore Kamala and Walz deserved to lose, right?"
CLARIFICATION: I was being facetious in that awkward sentence. Harris and Walz absolutely deserved to win!
Deep space you are correct about one thing. Palestinians and sympathizers like you said that you would not vote for Harris, because of Biden and Israel, and in deed they didn't the stats, which I have mentioned in a post below, prove it. There were Imam's in Michigan that endorsed Trump, and I take Muslims at their word, just like I take Trump at his.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated, hoped and believed that this would be the outcome – a sweeping victory for Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. The consequences are likely to be complex, even partly contradictory. Trump has always been a riddle wrapped in an enigma: capricious, self-driven and unpredictable. His second administration will probably be a more extreme version of his first term as president. Unlike eight years ago, this time, there are no checks and balances
Muslims, Palestinians can enjoy the fruits of their obstinancy.
Just to be clear, I sympathize with the plight of INNOCENT civilians being slaughtered in GAZA, as any feeling human being should, but I wholeheartedly voted for Kamala and do not agree with Muslims who withheld their vote because of this issue. The policies of Trump and his cohorts obviously will be much worse for Muslims on all fronts. My screed only presents the myriad of plausible reasons a variety of people might believe the Democrats lost this cycle, whether their reasons are true is beyond my opinion. The salient point I was trying to make is that who wins and loses should be understood as a fixed game played by the billionaire class, which pours money into all aspects of elections to influence the outcome they desire in society at the expense of everyone else.
Just to be clear I too sympathize with innocents being killed, but I lay the responsibility for their death and destruction, where it belongs on HAMAS.
Mother fuckers used hostages and their own people as human shields, then flood the zone with photos and videos of suffering women and children. caused by them.
A brilliant strategy because westerners and a lot of Israelis are easily propagandized with tales and pictures of suffering.
Imagine if America was shown images of dead and wounded Germans, how about the incarcerated corpses of the city of Dresden, a historical and open city that didn't even have any anti aircraft defenses, because it was suppose to be a historical city for the west and Christianity
HAMAS had the ability to stop the destruction, at any time, but their policy and religious belief is to use people as martyr's. And Ismael Haniyeh so declared it, "we are a nation of martyr's and will come back again and again, until we achieve our goal".
Marytdom is celebrated, not mourned in Islam, Martyrs are heros, no greater glory than being martyred for Islam and all of those dead women and children are martyrs.
How does one defend against such an ideology.?
American Muslim voters gave democracy the finger, and they got Bibi's brother from another mother as a reward. I do not feel for what is going to rain down upon them.
One can hold two thoughts/feelings at the same time: condemnation of the despicable actions and ideology of the terrorist organization HAMAS, and condemnation of Netanyahu's over-top-response in slaughtering approximately 4,300 Palestinians (so far), mostly innocent women and children. I don't have the answer to this seemingly intractable conflict, and you do make good points. I just know that the senseless slaughter on both sides sickens my soul. But you and I have had this debate before ad nauseam.
Correct you are Deepspace,It was G B Shaw that said,the test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two competing thoughts at the same time and still able to function.
You are correct, What happened to Israel and what is happening to Gaza is a horror story of the sick and insane.
However what one's opinion arrived at based on emotions, determines one's partisanship and if in power, one's decisions as to affect outcomes.
The number is 43,000 Gazans, according to the HAMAS Ministry of Health,and who in their right minds would believe them.,especially when most of the dead and wounded are fighters, Jihadi's, terrorists.
Shift to Lebanon. Israel drops a bomb andtakes out a Hezbollah headquarters and 40 member of the command. The paper reports 40 Lebanese killed,leaving the impression,.cum belief, that Israel killed 40 civilan Lebanese.
Can you not see how statics lie and used for propaganda effect.
Lets cut the HAMAS numbersdown to size,deflate them by half, and that is more realistic. Say they are 26,500, half of which are Islamic Jihad and HAMAS fighters so now we are down to 12,250 that is a lot of death, suffering and destruction, but I can't help but notice that those bleeding hearts that whine for Gaza, have jack shit to say about the genocide perptuated in Ukraine by Putin, and the fact that he targets hospitals, schools, maternity wards as part of his genocidal policies.
Yes Israel has bombed hospitals and evenUN facilities in Gaza andLebanon, but that is because HAMAS and Hezbollah are using them as human shields, because they know that stupids in the west will moan andgrown.
Hezbollah in Lebanon is very astute, the hug the UN, they set up intelligence, rocket and mortar facilities next to the UN, and the UN personnel don't say shit, because they are afraid or sympathetic.
So when the Jews take out a Hezbollah position, the UN gets sprayed with shrapnel. Or you demand that Hezbollah and HAMAS be given a safe zone, because they have used a hospital, school or UN position as a shield.
The whole concept is bullshit, but HAMAS and Hezbollah are playing people like you, like a concert violinist.
We were warned by trump and Musk, at one of his Hate rallies,that it's going to be real difficult and Ruff for Everyone for the first few Years. You have laid down pretty much How it will come to pass. I'll be honest with you, Thom, I really don't know how folks will be able to maintain without a social safety net no longer in place? Thank You for the Head's Up this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯 ( see you soon on Substack Live and FStv )
I'm always taking the path less traveled, but I seem to get a lot of likes from my comments...so here goes: Everyone is in a state of shock and trying to find their feet again as this nightmare unfolds and will continue to unfold. I am also spinning and feeling unbalanced. What I realized this morning is that we are witnessing the culmination of an epic battle that has been going on since they invented clay. This ancient battle is the battle for the self versus being a part of a larger All-Knowing Being who simply wants to provide unconditional love and support our understanding of how we fit into the larger context. Obviously the promotion of the self is winning the battle...all over the globe. Everyone is trying to understand how anyone, much less most of this country, would vote him in. What you have to understand is that his people see the world in one and only one context....the self. Trump represents and confirms this one dimensional perception. This one dimensional perception has won over those who see the world in a larger collective perception. This promotion of the self is all over this culture from the media to the churches. Eventually this had to be addressed. Apparently, that day has arrived. The Better Angels of our world, many of whom read this column, are aghast at what has happened. Stop acting like you didn't know. Everyone knows. Trump and his allies will tear it all down and think that they are going to replace it with their special self-branded solutions, but they will fail also...and probably spectacularly. The Law of the Jungle will become the norm until we come to terms with the actual problem at hand. There are no solutions until the problem is understood. Once the problem is understood, the solutions will appear. All Better Angels need to stop the guilting, blaming, and shaming and turn towards Compassion, Forgiveness, Mercy, Grace and Love and then wait for the solutions to appear. They will. We have no other choice.
Very perceptive! Self-thought springs forth from an isolated, fragmented, and fearful ego and produces nothing but further isolation, fear, and chaos in one's life and the world. The individual is the world.
Life itself is unbounded energy, a universal phenomenon that no one can own as a "prize" to gain. Our petty little thoughts can't touch it or understand it. Only when the mind is still and self-thought ends can a wider consciousness — an indescribable "love" (for lack of a better word) — have a chance to touch our soul and change the world.
I am listening to the pundits trying to figure out how “it’s the economy, stupid” caused the Dems loss. But no one is mentioning that the oligarchs were the ones intentionally raising the cost of living. It was part of Trump’s plan.
I watched the establishment approved MSNBC, hosts last night on Decision 2024, kvetch over the same thing. It wasn't the economy it isn't inflation, those are safe and easy things, for those that want to keep their jobs and their heads under Trump.
They are all backpedaling, Ari Melber read the tea leaves months ago, and started to soften is pitch, using stats and equanimty.
They are afraid to speak their mind, well Joy Reid was, but now she is softening.
It is not just the oligarchs economically raping us, but it is the dying gasp of the patriarchy, that grabbed the edge of the grave and pulled itself out.
It has been, all along, the culture war. yet except in occasional whispers no one wants to say the name.m so the excuse is inflation.
What was the excuse for Trumps win in 2016,it wasn't inflation then, It was the culture war, he sanctified it, gave it legs when he opened his mouth at the bottom of the escalator and condemned Mexicans as rapists, drug mules and murderers.
It’s not just the Patriarchy but also the Monarchy. Monarchs were once oligarchs of sorts. The opposite of a monarch is a serf. Serfs are subhuman in the eyes of a monarch, just resources. The instant billionaires of the internet age want to be monarchs, and the deposed legacy monarch families want to be reinstated. These were the reasons for WWII, only the oligarchs were industrial age oligarchs.
Monarchs are patriarchs. The whole basis of a monarchy is patriarchy. Although there are a few exceptions, and I can explain them, the whole idea of succession was based on patriarchy.
One exception was the PhaRAoh, Hatsheput, a female but even then she had statues of herself carved showing her with a beard.
Chinese, Japanese,Indian, Muslim, European succession were, are based on patriarchal rule.
The Judeo Christian myth precedes from a patriarchal basis, Eve is made from Adams rib, and the joyous innocent life of MANkind, is caused by Eve.
Thom, if all this actually happens, how can we hold on? SSI, mine and hers, is the bulk of our income. It's what we and our dogs live on. Is her nightmare going to be true? Is she going to have to walk the streets to feed our dogs? We've worked all our lives; will they force us back into a job market that doesn't want or need us anyway?
Look at it this way if they deport all those immigrants there will plenty of jobs available. Yes, I'm 76 with cancer & arthritis in my hands but I appear relatively healthy so my guess that field worker would be what I would be selected for in the new/world order.
RTN, the migrants do the work that Americans won't do, not even when they are hungry.
What they do though, is like Sarah Huckabee Sanders did in Arkansas, put children in poultry factories and in the fields to pick fruit and veggies.
To get Trump voters into the field or processing plants will require force of arms
We are on a downward slide, and it will be greased after Jan 21st.
A demoralized population, a disenfranchised population is not a productive population, and the billionaires who supported Trump are due for a harsh day of reckoning.
Perhaps we disagree that some sectarian or secular ideology will come to our rescue.
The tools, the technology, the infrastructure for crowd control are more sophisticated and developed by an order of magnitudes than they were in 1917
Russia or 1933 Germany.
Any change that comes, will come from within the power structure,and that change will benefit the power structure, not the people.
There are lessons to be learned from the fall of the Greek, the Persian, the Babylonian, the Roman and Arab empires.
The ruling elite became fat, lazy,indolent, paranoid and palace intrigue ruled the day.
When an Ottoman sultan died, the first one to get the news, grabbed his retinue of cut throats and ran around the palace and the kingdom, killing all of the other heirs.
Babylon fell because the camel driver merchants from the Indus valley that had set up shop in Babylon figured, this is not my king, these aren't my people, and thus brokered a deal with Cyrus and threw open the gates, his reward was to give them Uru Salem.
Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, because some citizen figured better to side with the invader than die of starvation or be murdered,so he let them in by a back door in the wall.
The Emperor Valentius, our of jealousy and fear, killed the last great general, Flavius Aetius who stopped the advance of Attila at the battle of the Catalaunian fields, and those laid himself open to the Goths.
Trump will take down what remains of the American Empire,which is not much, as it is now transnational and global with investors from it's supposed enemies like China and Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The Russian and Chinese empires will stand so long as their is an enemy at the door. The Arab empire fell in on itself and collapsed because it too grew fat and lazy
In geologic ages, the age of man, the anthropocene is not even a full breath in or out. At my age I can only hope that I last as long as I can wipe my own ass, what comes next is on you all.
Same here. Cancer, arthritis . Just finished building a little sailboat for myself. Can repair computers. Can weld steel. People like us have a lot of skills. It's the young people that will be picking tomatoes. Older people will take the good jobs. We're lucky to make it this far. A lot of people don't.
Lowe's will hire you. I'm a DIY sort. When I go to Lowe's I see people not much younger than myself (80). One man uses a walker another on oxygen. They seem happy to be there doing things and being with people. Losing SS abruptly would be very bad for a lot of people. It will die anyway because of failure to update it. People live longer and Congress refuses to bring the pay cap (maximum income to be taxed) up to date based on inflation. So, don't panic. Stay healthy. Keep your resume up to date.
I hate to imagine America has sunk so low, but honestly I'm thinking seal team 6. Not for being a political opponent, but for stealing and sharing classified documents. He admitted to it on tape. It's hard to imagine Biden embracing the boldness the Supreme Court has said it wants him to have, but as a classified operation the public would never need to know. Even if the public does find out this might be just the thing to get SCOTUS to reverse that decision. 🤔
There is one thing that we can look forward to, a kind of tarnished silver lining of sorts. When this all goes to hell in a hand(maid's) basket & people start complaining our first question to the complainer should be:
"So who'd ya vote for?" If the answer is trump you can just laugh in their face & say:"We told you so!" It will do nothing to solve the problem & it would be frowned upon by Kamala Harris who didn't like things like being said about or to regular people. But it would feel pretty good. And then you can remind them that since trump is now a dictator the chance he will be voted out is non-existent.
I'm going to change the subject a bit, I mean, it's still a complaint about what happened in the election but it is not "about the economy stupid!" It is about how reporters & pundits are expalining the trump victory by saying the Democrats need to find the right talking points & win back the folks that have/are slipping away. A review of current tactics is always an imperative after a loss but really we need some sociologists, psychiatrists & psycologists on these panels. Many of the pundits are talking about trump like he is a normal, though non-traditional & uncouth politician. Stop It!!! Just stop it!!! He is not a normal person, he is a narcisistic/sociopath. What we need to be asking ourselves is how did someone like that get elected/voted for by 1/2 the people who voted. That is the fundamental question here. How could people see how he acts, says what he says, does what he does appeal to so many people? That question is way more important. If we don't get a handle on that it won't make a damn bit of difference what ANYONE says, even republicans will piss these voters off.
I'm always astonished by evangelicals running around beating their breasts about how the morals of the country are being threatened by the LGBTQ community, how they need to be rooted out & punished or in the case of Mark Robinson "Mr. Some People Need Killing!" they need a more permanent fix to their sins. And yet they'll beat those same breasts & raise the Hallelujah hands & talk about trump as being a savior. Talk about rot!
It really is time to reflect, on "we the people" as well as the US!
Most MAGA Trump supporters profess some brand of Christianity, usually their own personal, made-up version of what they think it is, or maybe what their pastor thinks it is, which not so strangely coincides with their fascist view of politics. "God has ordained Trump to be president." (Mein Gott!🙄) They are laboring under the destructive illusion of false religion, which trains the susceptible, authoritarian-follower mind to accept ridiculous untruths. There's a good reason the framers of the Constitution tried to separate religion and government.
The MAGA people are a false front for social engineering fascists behind the scenes, trying to force their will on the rest of us. They’ve been hard at work since the end of WWII while the rest of the world has gloated about “winning the war”.
It will be a glorious time for Capital! For the rest of us, not so much. When people start noticing that they're not keeping up, caravans of dark-skinned gay / transsexual immigrants will take the blame.
This election is the result of the last 35-40 years of the American people being systematically dumbed down both in our classrooms and by the general media.
This escalating trend, much of which is being promoted by self-serving billionaires, who had a definite hand in influencing the election, but so did Russia and China, and also right-wing fundamentalist. They all did their part in influencing the election results. But the bottom line is more than half of this country’s registered voters just weren’t interested in preserving our constitution or Bill of Rights. They don’t care one iota about pollution, environment or what this costs their fellow human beings and inevitably themselves in both tax money and health.
In fact, I’ll also go so far to say that not only do they not give a damn about individual rights being protected they also don’t care about all the holier than thou bull the GOP have been complaining about for decades, deficit spending, either. In addition, they also don’t give a damn about all those values that the right has been throwing up to everyone for decades, nor do they understand or care about the teaching of Christ. In fact, they only seem to care about what they are told to care about and when.
We as a people are being herded like sheep, and it was never so apparent as during this election. Maybe we deserve what we get. I know that over 50% of the American voters who cast their ballots for Republicans do, and yet, at the same time I feel sorry for us all including those who are not just ignorant because of disinterest, just self-absorbed and stupid.
But none of this is new. Yes, the tactics for spreading the message is brand new but the message isn’t.
All through history there have been kings, tyrants and oligarchs who take over and either force or cajole the populace to build them pyramids or take their hard earned money to fight useless bloody wars. The stupid are the ones who die. The rulers enslave the populace and torture them only to die and be replaced by yet another just like the one before.
All through history great republics die out but most all great republics of the past have one thing in common. Their governors are only interested in educating the few privileged ruling class not the general public. Why? The stupid and ignorant are pliable and easily manipulated. and provide the labor. They usually don’t care about history they just care about their next meal. They are the backbone—the human tools and provide the financing for all the self-aggrandizing plans of their rulers to glorify themselves in the history that only a few are apprised of.
Much like Linus when Lucy routinely grabs the ball at the last moment before he kicks. All right there in history, yet…
It’s not just the unintelligent who are exploited, anyone who is not also a narcissistic greedy megalomaniac like the power glommers are exploited to the extent possible. Perhaps someday we will understand that the power grabbers have mental illness instead of thinking they are superior.
Without the Christian Evangelical support (politicking from the pulpit) Trump would never have made it. As it says in the beatitudes "Blessed are the poor" and we are gonna have a lotta blessed people in the next few years.. in the streets, homeless shelters, and yes, graveyards. Once again I must salute the great true prophet of our time, Christopher Hitchens who wrote "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. And it has poisoned our country... maybe to death. Read the book so at least you can see what happened to us
Typically, religious people have tended to make God in their own image, which is inverted. You can be “religious” about anything. Being fervent doesn’t make you right.
My biggest fear is losing both our social security & government pensions. What’s to stop them from taking our pensions, too. We’d literally be broke if that happened & without health insurance.
Of course, Thom's analysis is correct.... But most of those reading this already knew this. I knew it when I returned to the USA in 1979 and witnessed the joy people had in electing a grade Z actor to begin the dismantling.
At this late date I must ask: Who is mustering a consolidated action plan to stop it???
The national Democratic Party is clueless.
They have pursued a 'Republican lite' plan since the introduction of the Clintons.
Obama had a chance to play hard ball after "W's" 2008-09 financial meltdown. He should have pursued indictments and convictions of at least two dozen financial wizards responsible for the crisis.... Instead, he mumbled something about American needing a financial system.
The opportunity of the grass-roots OCCUPY WALL STREET was left to wither. The TEA PARTY -- the seed of MAGA -- right-wing deflection movement took its place to point the finger at the administration.
The central Dem Party leadership continues to pursue a 'goombaya' it's a small world after all strategy.
Every time they invite the next needy group to the microphone for their 5 minutes of inclusion, the right wing boys at Fox salivate at yet another opportunity to split apart America's working people.
The Dems are busy and distracted embracing group A, and then hurriedly dash off to recover group B that drifts away when attention moves away from them. Etc., etc., etc.
A winning strategy would be to focus upon what all common people have.... well... in common.
'The Handicapped Lesbians with AIDs' will be served only when the community as a whole feels secure in the running of the country.
Obviously, the Democratic Party no longer demonstrates they can securely run the country.
Trump lost in 2020 because he and his "team" so poorly managed the COVID crisis.
Period.
The Dems had four years to quickly re-set. They did nothing to resolve their core weakness so clearly demonstrated by the disaster of H. Clinton.
As an old sales exec, I can tell you that the key to closing a sale is based upon what the customer is buying, NEVER upon what you are selling.
So, who is taking charge now???? Focusing upon what the common American us buying?
What team will be developing young leaders that can win where it matters?
I appreciate someone like AOC, but she will NEVER carry Pennsylvania.
Politics, someone once taught me, is the art of the possible. A party we support must focus upon what IS, not what SHOULD BE, and then move forward toward a commonwealth based platform. FDR and LBJ knew this instinctively.
I am,Donald, reluctant to agree with you because I do believe in DEI, but you are correct Democrats have screwed the goose in trying to placate everyone under their big tent.
Because you can't please everyone, the defection of the Muslim and black male vote has proven that.
The billionaires, the racists, the misogynists, the nativist's are all united behind one thing.. the patriarchy. Protection and perpetuation of patriarchal hegemony has even roped in those that would otherwise be alienated by the racism and xenophobia, and anti Hispanic grind of the Trump coalition
The Democratic party has not been able to find such a unifying factor,democracy is too amorphous, ephemeral, intangible.
In fact democracy works in a homogeneous society, the Iroquois federation was a democracy,and one actually run by women.
The ACLU committed sepiku by chasing every falling leaf, and losing.
Campus protestors are fools,every person with some bright idea or grievance, thinks that all they have to do is marshall a bunch of like minded individuals and make a lot of noise, they do achieve their main goal, attention whores, but not their objective.
I can make the case that the Campus idiots who protested for Palestinians and against Biden, with Fuck Joe Biden, are actually responsible for the election of Trump the day before yesterday, so good work, ya'll. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Bibi thinks you, as does Trump.
Liberals should look closely at the causes they support (many do but many don’t). A lot of problematic issues have a grain of truth in them and a load of BS on top, and it all get promoted together. Case in point- transgenderism: the main problem there is malpractice.
I agree Paul, to the extent that there are too many factions within the Democratic party, clamoring for recognition and priority.
Reminiscent of Rome at the time of Constantine, not only did he have to deal with hundreds of priesthoods clamoring for recognition and of course resources, each wanted their own temples,. Romans had gods for everything from Penis (Priapus) to the itch (Scabies), besides Jupiter, Venus, Mars and the planets.
Then along came the Jewish heresy we know as Christianity, the Roman market place must have been chaos, with disciples haranguing every corner, demanding attention for their version of this heresy.
Constantine wanted a cohesive, unified ideology, so he gathered the biggest loudmouths together, sequestered them in Nicea in isolated Anatolia, plied them with wine and young boys, set guards at the door and would not let them out until they came up with a unified doctrine.
Democrats are like the early Christians, squabbling among themselves for attention, and thus divided.
Republicans are like Christians under Constanine after Nicea. They may each have their own issues and priority but they are unified under the flag of patriarchy.
As regards Transgenderism, perhaps you are in unconscious league with the Trumpers.
There is no malpractice, because their is no medical practise of transgenderism.
Do you believe Trumps claim that Johnny goes to school and come home as Jane?
That is absurd. Kids go through identity questioning. There are effeminate men, who are heterosexual, and masculine women who are heterosexual, and their are girly girls who are bisexual, and masculine men who are gay or bisexual.
There are indeed people born in the wrong bodies, and it is unkind to force them to go through puberty, and then in life as an adult, have to go through the rigors and expense of sexual reassignment surgery.
The problem could be solved if society recognized the situation, and promoted trained professionals that could accurately and definitively, diagnose and treat it,
With some kids it is a passing phase, with others they are faced with lifelong trauma, if not taken serious and assisted.
AS regards adults, there is a process that they have to go through and it takes years, You just don't wake up one morning as John and go to bed that night as Jane with a breasts, a vagina and no body hair, for females to male it is more rigorous and dangerous.
I know this shit because I lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco and had friends of every possible color of the rainbow.. Gay, straight, bi, Male to female Transsexuals, female to male transssexuals, fem lesbians, butch dykes, SDS, Weather underground, I even had lunch with Angela Davis and shook hands with Gloria Steinem.
At this point, there are no viable alternatives, which likely means our democracy is cooked and ready for the fork, especially after the fascist rip everything apart, even more than they already have. The only reasonable hope left is for enough enlightened people to take over the apparatus of the Democratic party machinery, rather than start over from scratch — a fool's errand — and try to use it for the good of the people. Anyway, that's been the idea, the hope, since the party's inception. It's a tall order given the times and the fact that people are all over the board with mostly unworkable solutions. Alas, power corrupts — the curse of politics..
The fascist GOP liked to claim that Antifa was doing a lot of bad stuff, to make their crap smell better, but I doubt there really is an Antifa. There should be some anti-fascist organization…
This article makes a powerful point. Democracy should be regarded as political socialism (one vote per person, equal justice for all); and as politics is strongly influenced by the economy, capitalism must be tempered by socialist economic policies to maintain the vitality and fairness of both the economy and the political system.
Economists have warned that if Trump is reelected, the "deep recession" or depression will harm those at the bottom of the economic ladder and those on fixed incomes first. Then, those same victims will be used as a distraction and example of how "lazy people" raise taxes. They have perfected their fraud on the public.
And we should stop assuming that it will be all right in the end like 1933. FDR will not save us this time.
To be realistic, this cycle will involve an empire collapse as well. We need to look for ways to salvage bits from the wreckage. Perhaps some new and progressively democratic nations--Pacifica/Cascadia or Atlantica possibly?--should emerge. They would likely be the 4th and 5th largest economies in the world.
We have some blueprints from how the Baltics were stood up as democracies post-USSR.
Time for action not just harkening back to the 1930s!
Baltics a good economic model, but NATO stood behind them. I assume the US military under a maga regime won’t dedend Cascadia or Atlantica. So how might they emerge?
The new nations could certainly develop their own armed forces from existing assets. There are several bases in CA, OR, WA, CO, etc. for the West but less in the East. The remaining bits of the old nation, perhaps renamed the Christian States of America (CSA), would struggle to fund the military without the economies of the departed nations.
Poland stood up what is now the largest and perhaps most capable army in Europe. The little know bit among U.S. pundits is that Poland is ready to take large swaths of the Ukraine for itself if the U.S. withdraws from the war. Lots of surprises it we cast aside conventional thinking.
Wow, I hope you are correct. Poland will wipe Russia's ass. Russia has depleted it's resources in Ukraine, it is like the 9 pin standing alone in a bowling alley, just waiting to be knocked over. Ukraine can't do it by them-self, they too are depleted And I don't believe that Putin's nuclear bluster will intimidate the Poles, having lived under Russian rule, they know what to expect.
Edit added: AS Trump follows through with his acceptance speech, that he will follow through with his promises, It is my hope that the West Coast takes him seriously and secedes, that is our only hope.
The Poles have not forgotten that the invasion of September 1, 1939, was BOTH the Nazi regime AND the USSR. Not to mention the brutal dictatorship under the USSR post 1945.
On standing up (a) new nation(s)--U.S. Constitution was written in 114 days. It can happen faster today because this stuff is not new. Plenty of models and improvements since the 1787 U.S. approach as amended--Switzerland and the EU have well thought out approaches.
The process can begin with three states and follow an accession model such as used by the EU (somewhat copied from the Swiss accession model for Cantons).
Russia is getting troops from North
Korea.
They are surrendering en mass and dying en mass. Poorly trained, mal-nourished, and lacking weapons. The worst horrors of a meat grinder.
The U.S. military learned its lesson about volunteering for the meat grinder in WWI when U.S. doughboys were used as cannon fodder for the French front lines against the Germans. North Korea has no such understanding of modern warfare.
10,000 per Military Times, most are in rear, so far three at least have defected.
The last time Ukraine had to chose between Poland and Russia was 1654. That did not turn out well for Ukraine. I think this time round, Ukraine would rather live under Poland than Russia, having learned their lesson over the past 400 years
Mr. Hingston, didn't Peter The Great have some troubles along these lines?
That I would have to check
The tRump states won't let the Democratic governed states leave. That's where their money comes from. The trumpets will just take them over from the Democratic majority in the name of freedumb.
Let’s think can do rather than put up barriers. Let’s channel the social movement into something new and more fitting to the 21st Century. For one, strict liability for social media companies!
Dr. Gilbert, OK I see. Good answer.
The U.S. military is a cross section of many states. As during the Civil War of the 1860s military people will migrate to their home states or at least general area. These people would be the corps of the seceding states as well as veterans still young enough to serve.. I'd be the first to sign up here in New York but I'll be eighty soon. , Don't know if they could use me. Training maybe.
The conduct of the current military will certainly help decide what is possible in this respect. If their leaders follow the current corrupt Supreme Court, and the troops accept their leader’s decisions, I suspect any dissolution of the current country, even under a President who has run off the Constitutional rails, will fail. This must certainly be considered before anyone tries to start another Civil War. Of course, tRumpists may decide to take matters into their own hands, which might make the current military consider what side is truly most “American,” and I don’t know how that decision (or those decisions) would play out. I very strongly suspect that iDJiT would not allow any part of his fiefdom to part peacefully.
Dr. Gilbert, A very real possibility. We are in uncharted waters. My question is: what will happen to our military? It is the most expensive, powerful force in history and it is financed by Washington D.C.'s national income tax machine. You obviously have some good and daring ideas. Any thoughts here?
The Shock Doctrine . . . And Democracy in Chains. We are finished. The Libertarian Fascists will drain the nation of its wealth and leave us with a government unable to govern. . .
It's been unable to govern for the last three decades. Banking industries.. out of control. Monopolies gobbling up every thing. And a man guilty of treason and fomenting an insurrection, rape and bank fraud is not only free but free to run for President and win. We have no federal government.
THAT has been the LIBERTARIAN influence—all Koch-inspired. This didn’t happen overnight; it took root with Reagan, a puppet for the Kochs. Read Democracy in Chains.
They told us ouright what they were going to do, can't fault them for that, we should have taken it to heart. I thought that SS was sacred but now I'm not so sure. They might have the muscle to attack it. Get ready for for Project 2025.
A further note from HCR- lots of people on X have lost many of their followers. The Russian bots have accomplished their mission and aren't needed anymore.
It has already started. During the next four years, everyone under the sun, according to their disparate points of view, will analyze, dissect, and otherwise pontificate on why the Democrat Party lost in a landslide:
For Palestinians and us sympathizers, it's because the Biden administration enabled Netanyahu's genocide in Gaza; young people and the poor rightfully complain they can't afford adequate housing, transportation, and daycare; blue-collar workers feel left out of Biden's so-called economic recovery, and the price of eggs is too damn high; the rich predictably whine about high taxes as the prime culprit; most conservatives say Kamala is too liberal; most liberals say she isn't liberal enough; unconscious bigots blame a greater than expected percentage of Blacks and Hispanics for deserting Democrats and defecting to Trump (never mind his largest demographic is white males); knowledgeable pundits try to convince us that Kamala's campaign failed to address adequately the many ills of Trump's first term in office; other political buffs confidently declare she focused too much on Trump, who they say was the innocent victim of Democrats' wicked lawfare; those in the know advise us that Kamala is too joyful and positive, or maybe too forceful and negative, or too much of something or another, or not enough of something else; or, perhaps, she simply lost because she is black, Asian, and a woman (Oh, the horror!) — a three-time loser, for sure.
And on and on it goes. Whatever the reason, the Democrats couldn't or wouldn't "capture the mood" of a country juiced up on fear, anger, and hate, and therefore Kamala and Walz deserved to lose, right? It's obvious to the loyal disciples of Fox "News" or anyone connected to the internet.
While all or none of the above may or may not be accurate, one thing shines through unmistakably in the contemplation of navels: Few will now criticize the ugly, lying campaigns of Republicans and Trump since, gee, they must have had the right strategy all along because they won the game. Who argues with the winning hand in poker?
See, in America the beautiful, winning is everything, by hook or by crook. Wealth and prestige flow to the victors; all their crap is forgiven and forgotten. Other than Thom, Bernie, AOC, and perhaps a few others, who can blame greedy billionaires for being greedy billionaires? In our fcked-up, grab-everything-you-can society, they are the winners, and we are the losers. They are the gods, and we are the sinners. How dare we protest their success and our failure!
Please stop believing the propaganda. Our election process was hacked. Pure and simple. And the election "given" to Trump. He told his followers that he would not be needing their votes, and added that this would be the last time they would have to vote. He said it more than once and it's on video. Harris ran the best campaign I've ever experienced and in a short period of time. She was adding followers from all walks of life, every day. Trump was resting and counting on the hacking to stay out of jail and put him in power. There are many discrepancies with the numbers in the different states that no one is caring to examine. Record turnouts but 20 million less fewer votes? Just for starters...
Well said!
Even if the processes were above board and there were many low-propensity voters coming out, this is a situation 40 years in the making. Social media memes and things like crypto and fantasy football have become the new reality for many. Almost none of in the voting generations have a solid footing in civics, history, and digital literacy. Their operative understanding of "leadership" comes from working in corporate autocracies all their lives. Agreeing to put an autocrat in place, thus, just seems normal.
Unfortunately for them, Mother Earth does not use X or care about fantasy football. Warming to 6 C--which we are on track to do within 15 years--will have dire consequences.
Agreed: planet Earth is the biggest loser in this election.
I hope Thom Hartmann or William Farrar or someone knowledgeable will answer this. Trumps vote numbers did not change, yet there were 18 million fewer votes cast for the Democrats. Vote count acuracy was checked and rechecked in 2020. Will it be as thoroughly checked and rechecked this time? If it is and if in fact there is no discrepancy then I will admit Trump won.
On the other hand I saw an item that said that there were odd reports filtering in from a braod cross section of states claiming that people had voted, their vote was registered yet when they checked back it said no vote cast. I do not trust the cloud or any kind of electronic record.
That's one explanation (yet another) that certainly connects the dots. But just as Trump's claim that the Democrats stole the 2020 election, it requires hard evidence to survive the scrutiny of the courts. Gut feelings and accusations that no one is investigating the crimes without some kind of real-world evidence to back them up, won't gain any traction.
I hope there are patriots quietly and diligently working to resist this mess. At this moment the optics are America giving up.
Hard evidence one way or another will only be found if the votes are forensically recounted
Which would need to be done immediately
I don't think the results were hacked Manuel, though the bots did their jobs on social media. But Trump knew he had in the bag, thanks to Muslim and male anger and fear.
GOTV failed. The data supported Harris. At least 7 mil registered Dems failed to vote.
Yep and I bet that most them were Muslims and black men, mostly Gen x'ers they are the ones that have a hair in their ass.
'Whatever the reason, the Democrats couldn't or wouldn't "capture the mood" of a country juiced up on fear, anger, and hate, and therefore Kamala and Walz deserved to lose, right?"
CLARIFICATION: I was being facetious in that awkward sentence. Harris and Walz absolutely deserved to win!
Deep space you are correct about one thing. Palestinians and sympathizers like you said that you would not vote for Harris, because of Biden and Israel, and in deed they didn't the stats, which I have mentioned in a post below, prove it. There were Imam's in Michigan that endorsed Trump, and I take Muslims at their word, just like I take Trump at his.
So enjoy
From Haaretz: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-11-07/ty-article/.premium/with-trump-in-and-gallant-out-netanyahu-is-left-with-few-constraints/00000193-02a0-d384-adbf-d3bb62fd0000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=0e4aff91dd
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu estimated, hoped and believed that this would be the outcome – a sweeping victory for Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. The consequences are likely to be complex, even partly contradictory. Trump has always been a riddle wrapped in an enigma: capricious, self-driven and unpredictable. His second administration will probably be a more extreme version of his first term as president. Unlike eight years ago, this time, there are no checks and balances
Muslims, Palestinians can enjoy the fruits of their obstinancy.
Just to be clear, I sympathize with the plight of INNOCENT civilians being slaughtered in GAZA, as any feeling human being should, but I wholeheartedly voted for Kamala and do not agree with Muslims who withheld their vote because of this issue. The policies of Trump and his cohorts obviously will be much worse for Muslims on all fronts. My screed only presents the myriad of plausible reasons a variety of people might believe the Democrats lost this cycle, whether their reasons are true is beyond my opinion. The salient point I was trying to make is that who wins and loses should be understood as a fixed game played by the billionaire class, which pours money into all aspects of elections to influence the outcome they desire in society at the expense of everyone else.
Just to be clear I too sympathize with innocents being killed, but I lay the responsibility for their death and destruction, where it belongs on HAMAS.
Mother fuckers used hostages and their own people as human shields, then flood the zone with photos and videos of suffering women and children. caused by them.
A brilliant strategy because westerners and a lot of Israelis are easily propagandized with tales and pictures of suffering.
Imagine if America was shown images of dead and wounded Germans, how about the incarcerated corpses of the city of Dresden, a historical and open city that didn't even have any anti aircraft defenses, because it was suppose to be a historical city for the west and Christianity
HAMAS had the ability to stop the destruction, at any time, but their policy and religious belief is to use people as martyr's. And Ismael Haniyeh so declared it, "we are a nation of martyr's and will come back again and again, until we achieve our goal".
Marytdom is celebrated, not mourned in Islam, Martyrs are heros, no greater glory than being martyred for Islam and all of those dead women and children are martyrs.
How does one defend against such an ideology.?
American Muslim voters gave democracy the finger, and they got Bibi's brother from another mother as a reward. I do not feel for what is going to rain down upon them.
They earned it.
One can hold two thoughts/feelings at the same time: condemnation of the despicable actions and ideology of the terrorist organization HAMAS, and condemnation of Netanyahu's over-top-response in slaughtering approximately 4,300 Palestinians (so far), mostly innocent women and children. I don't have the answer to this seemingly intractable conflict, and you do make good points. I just know that the senseless slaughter on both sides sickens my soul. But you and I have had this debate before ad nauseam.
Correct you are Deepspace,It was G B Shaw that said,the test of a first rate mind is the ability to hold two competing thoughts at the same time and still able to function.
You are correct, What happened to Israel and what is happening to Gaza is a horror story of the sick and insane.
However what one's opinion arrived at based on emotions, determines one's partisanship and if in power, one's decisions as to affect outcomes.
The number is 43,000 Gazans, according to the HAMAS Ministry of Health,and who in their right minds would believe them.,especially when most of the dead and wounded are fighters, Jihadi's, terrorists.
Shift to Lebanon. Israel drops a bomb andtakes out a Hezbollah headquarters and 40 member of the command. The paper reports 40 Lebanese killed,leaving the impression,.cum belief, that Israel killed 40 civilan Lebanese.
Can you not see how statics lie and used for propaganda effect.
Lets cut the HAMAS numbersdown to size,deflate them by half, and that is more realistic. Say they are 26,500, half of which are Islamic Jihad and HAMAS fighters so now we are down to 12,250 that is a lot of death, suffering and destruction, but I can't help but notice that those bleeding hearts that whine for Gaza, have jack shit to say about the genocide perptuated in Ukraine by Putin, and the fact that he targets hospitals, schools, maternity wards as part of his genocidal policies.
Yes Israel has bombed hospitals and evenUN facilities in Gaza andLebanon, but that is because HAMAS and Hezbollah are using them as human shields, because they know that stupids in the west will moan andgrown.
Hezbollah in Lebanon is very astute, the hug the UN, they set up intelligence, rocket and mortar facilities next to the UN, and the UN personnel don't say shit, because they are afraid or sympathetic.
So when the Jews take out a Hezbollah position, the UN gets sprayed with shrapnel. Or you demand that Hezbollah and HAMAS be given a safe zone, because they have used a hospital, school or UN position as a shield.
The whole concept is bullshit, but HAMAS and Hezbollah are playing people like you, like a concert violinist.
We were warned by trump and Musk, at one of his Hate rallies,that it's going to be real difficult and Ruff for Everyone for the first few Years. You have laid down pretty much How it will come to pass. I'll be honest with you, Thom, I really don't know how folks will be able to maintain without a social safety net no longer in place? Thank You for the Head's Up this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯 ( see you soon on Substack Live and FStv )
I'm always taking the path less traveled, but I seem to get a lot of likes from my comments...so here goes: Everyone is in a state of shock and trying to find their feet again as this nightmare unfolds and will continue to unfold. I am also spinning and feeling unbalanced. What I realized this morning is that we are witnessing the culmination of an epic battle that has been going on since they invented clay. This ancient battle is the battle for the self versus being a part of a larger All-Knowing Being who simply wants to provide unconditional love and support our understanding of how we fit into the larger context. Obviously the promotion of the self is winning the battle...all over the globe. Everyone is trying to understand how anyone, much less most of this country, would vote him in. What you have to understand is that his people see the world in one and only one context....the self. Trump represents and confirms this one dimensional perception. This one dimensional perception has won over those who see the world in a larger collective perception. This promotion of the self is all over this culture from the media to the churches. Eventually this had to be addressed. Apparently, that day has arrived. The Better Angels of our world, many of whom read this column, are aghast at what has happened. Stop acting like you didn't know. Everyone knows. Trump and his allies will tear it all down and think that they are going to replace it with their special self-branded solutions, but they will fail also...and probably spectacularly. The Law of the Jungle will become the norm until we come to terms with the actual problem at hand. There are no solutions until the problem is understood. Once the problem is understood, the solutions will appear. All Better Angels need to stop the guilting, blaming, and shaming and turn towards Compassion, Forgiveness, Mercy, Grace and Love and then wait for the solutions to appear. They will. We have no other choice.
Death precedes Resurrection
The Greeks spoke of Fate and Tragedy
They spoke of Plutus
And then there was Mammon
This is an old story we are living.
Very perceptive! Self-thought springs forth from an isolated, fragmented, and fearful ego and produces nothing but further isolation, fear, and chaos in one's life and the world. The individual is the world.
Life itself is unbounded energy, a universal phenomenon that no one can own as a "prize" to gain. Our petty little thoughts can't touch it or understand it. Only when the mind is still and self-thought ends can a wider consciousness — an indescribable "love" (for lack of a better word) — have a chance to touch our soul and change the world.
Yawn, a paen to submission.
I am listening to the pundits trying to figure out how “it’s the economy, stupid” caused the Dems loss. But no one is mentioning that the oligarchs were the ones intentionally raising the cost of living. It was part of Trump’s plan.
I watched the establishment approved MSNBC, hosts last night on Decision 2024, kvetch over the same thing. It wasn't the economy it isn't inflation, those are safe and easy things, for those that want to keep their jobs and their heads under Trump.
They are all backpedaling, Ari Melber read the tea leaves months ago, and started to soften is pitch, using stats and equanimty.
They are afraid to speak their mind, well Joy Reid was, but now she is softening.
It is not just the oligarchs economically raping us, but it is the dying gasp of the patriarchy, that grabbed the edge of the grave and pulled itself out.
It has been, all along, the culture war. yet except in occasional whispers no one wants to say the name.m so the excuse is inflation.
What was the excuse for Trumps win in 2016,it wasn't inflation then, It was the culture war, he sanctified it, gave it legs when he opened his mouth at the bottom of the escalator and condemned Mexicans as rapists, drug mules and murderers.
It’s not just the Patriarchy but also the Monarchy. Monarchs were once oligarchs of sorts. The opposite of a monarch is a serf. Serfs are subhuman in the eyes of a monarch, just resources. The instant billionaires of the internet age want to be monarchs, and the deposed legacy monarch families want to be reinstated. These were the reasons for WWII, only the oligarchs were industrial age oligarchs.
Monarchs are patriarchs. The whole basis of a monarchy is patriarchy. Although there are a few exceptions, and I can explain them, the whole idea of succession was based on patriarchy.
One exception was the PhaRAoh, Hatsheput, a female but even then she had statues of herself carved showing her with a beard.
Chinese, Japanese,Indian, Muslim, European succession were, are based on patriarchal rule.
The Judeo Christian myth precedes from a patriarchal basis, Eve is made from Adams rib, and the joyous innocent life of MANkind, is caused by Eve.
Thom, if all this actually happens, how can we hold on? SSI, mine and hers, is the bulk of our income. It's what we and our dogs live on. Is her nightmare going to be true? Is she going to have to walk the streets to feed our dogs? We've worked all our lives; will they force us back into a job market that doesn't want or need us anyway?
Look at it this way if they deport all those immigrants there will plenty of jobs available. Yes, I'm 76 with cancer & arthritis in my hands but I appear relatively healthy so my guess that field worker would be what I would be selected for in the new/world order.
RTN, the migrants do the work that Americans won't do, not even when they are hungry.
What they do though, is like Sarah Huckabee Sanders did in Arkansas, put children in poultry factories and in the fields to pick fruit and veggies.
To get Trump voters into the field or processing plants will require force of arms
We are on a downward slide, and it will be greased after Jan 21st.
A demoralized population, a disenfranchised population is not a productive population, and the billionaires who supported Trump are due for a harsh day of reckoning.
Yes Mr. Farrar, on this, we agree "a harsh day of reckoning" in which we all will suffer.
Perhaps we disagree that some sectarian or secular ideology will come to our rescue.
The tools, the technology, the infrastructure for crowd control are more sophisticated and developed by an order of magnitudes than they were in 1917
Russia or 1933 Germany.
Any change that comes, will come from within the power structure,and that change will benefit the power structure, not the people.
There are lessons to be learned from the fall of the Greek, the Persian, the Babylonian, the Roman and Arab empires.
The ruling elite became fat, lazy,indolent, paranoid and palace intrigue ruled the day.
When an Ottoman sultan died, the first one to get the news, grabbed his retinue of cut throats and ran around the palace and the kingdom, killing all of the other heirs.
Babylon fell because the camel driver merchants from the Indus valley that had set up shop in Babylon figured, this is not my king, these aren't my people, and thus brokered a deal with Cyrus and threw open the gates, his reward was to give them Uru Salem.
Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, because some citizen figured better to side with the invader than die of starvation or be murdered,so he let them in by a back door in the wall.
The Emperor Valentius, our of jealousy and fear, killed the last great general, Flavius Aetius who stopped the advance of Attila at the battle of the Catalaunian fields, and those laid himself open to the Goths.
Trump will take down what remains of the American Empire,which is not much, as it is now transnational and global with investors from it's supposed enemies like China and Russia and Saudi Arabia.
The Russian and Chinese empires will stand so long as their is an enemy at the door. The Arab empire fell in on itself and collapsed because it too grew fat and lazy
In geologic ages, the age of man, the anthropocene is not even a full breath in or out. At my age I can only hope that I last as long as I can wipe my own ass, what comes next is on you all.
There's a thought. Plenty of work in season and maybe they'll let us take enough home for the family
Funny- I just read “Grapes of Wrath”…
Same here. Cancer, arthritis . Just finished building a little sailboat for myself. Can repair computers. Can weld steel. People like us have a lot of skills. It's the young people that will be picking tomatoes. Older people will take the good jobs. We're lucky to make it this far. A lot of people don't.
Lowe's will hire you. I'm a DIY sort. When I go to Lowe's I see people not much younger than myself (80). One man uses a walker another on oxygen. They seem happy to be there doing things and being with people. Losing SS abruptly would be very bad for a lot of people. It will die anyway because of failure to update it. People live longer and Congress refuses to bring the pay cap (maximum income to be taxed) up to date based on inflation. So, don't panic. Stay healthy. Keep your resume up to date.
I hate to imagine America has sunk so low, but honestly I'm thinking seal team 6. Not for being a political opponent, but for stealing and sharing classified documents. He admitted to it on tape. It's hard to imagine Biden embracing the boldness the Supreme Court has said it wants him to have, but as a classified operation the public would never need to know. Even if the public does find out this might be just the thing to get SCOTUS to reverse that decision. 🤔
There is one thing that we can look forward to, a kind of tarnished silver lining of sorts. When this all goes to hell in a hand(maid's) basket & people start complaining our first question to the complainer should be:
"So who'd ya vote for?" If the answer is trump you can just laugh in their face & say:"We told you so!" It will do nothing to solve the problem & it would be frowned upon by Kamala Harris who didn't like things like being said about or to regular people. But it would feel pretty good. And then you can remind them that since trump is now a dictator the chance he will be voted out is non-existent.
I'm going to change the subject a bit, I mean, it's still a complaint about what happened in the election but it is not "about the economy stupid!" It is about how reporters & pundits are expalining the trump victory by saying the Democrats need to find the right talking points & win back the folks that have/are slipping away. A review of current tactics is always an imperative after a loss but really we need some sociologists, psychiatrists & psycologists on these panels. Many of the pundits are talking about trump like he is a normal, though non-traditional & uncouth politician. Stop It!!! Just stop it!!! He is not a normal person, he is a narcisistic/sociopath. What we need to be asking ourselves is how did someone like that get elected/voted for by 1/2 the people who voted. That is the fundamental question here. How could people see how he acts, says what he says, does what he does appeal to so many people? That question is way more important. If we don't get a handle on that it won't make a damn bit of difference what ANYONE says, even republicans will piss these voters off.
I'm always astonished by evangelicals running around beating their breasts about how the morals of the country are being threatened by the LGBTQ community, how they need to be rooted out & punished or in the case of Mark Robinson "Mr. Some People Need Killing!" they need a more permanent fix to their sins. And yet they'll beat those same breasts & raise the Hallelujah hands & talk about trump as being a savior. Talk about rot!
It really is time to reflect, on "we the people" as well as the US!
Most MAGA Trump supporters profess some brand of Christianity, usually their own personal, made-up version of what they think it is, or maybe what their pastor thinks it is, which not so strangely coincides with their fascist view of politics. "God has ordained Trump to be president." (Mein Gott!🙄) They are laboring under the destructive illusion of false religion, which trains the susceptible, authoritarian-follower mind to accept ridiculous untruths. There's a good reason the framers of the Constitution tried to separate religion and government.
Read "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything". Christopher Hitchens
The MAGA people are a false front for social engineering fascists behind the scenes, trying to force their will on the rest of us. They’ve been hard at work since the end of WWII while the rest of the world has gloated about “winning the war”.
It will be a glorious time for Capital! For the rest of us, not so much. When people start noticing that they're not keeping up, caravans of dark-skinned gay / transsexual immigrants will take the blame.
Already happening
This election is the result of the last 35-40 years of the American people being systematically dumbed down both in our classrooms and by the general media.
This escalating trend, much of which is being promoted by self-serving billionaires, who had a definite hand in influencing the election, but so did Russia and China, and also right-wing fundamentalist. They all did their part in influencing the election results. But the bottom line is more than half of this country’s registered voters just weren’t interested in preserving our constitution or Bill of Rights. They don’t care one iota about pollution, environment or what this costs their fellow human beings and inevitably themselves in both tax money and health.
In fact, I’ll also go so far to say that not only do they not give a damn about individual rights being protected they also don’t care about all the holier than thou bull the GOP have been complaining about for decades, deficit spending, either. In addition, they also don’t give a damn about all those values that the right has been throwing up to everyone for decades, nor do they understand or care about the teaching of Christ. In fact, they only seem to care about what they are told to care about and when.
We as a people are being herded like sheep, and it was never so apparent as during this election. Maybe we deserve what we get. I know that over 50% of the American voters who cast their ballots for Republicans do, and yet, at the same time I feel sorry for us all including those who are not just ignorant because of disinterest, just self-absorbed and stupid.
But none of this is new. Yes, the tactics for spreading the message is brand new but the message isn’t.
All through history there have been kings, tyrants and oligarchs who take over and either force or cajole the populace to build them pyramids or take their hard earned money to fight useless bloody wars. The stupid are the ones who die. The rulers enslave the populace and torture them only to die and be replaced by yet another just like the one before.
All through history great republics die out but most all great republics of the past have one thing in common. Their governors are only interested in educating the few privileged ruling class not the general public. Why? The stupid and ignorant are pliable and easily manipulated. and provide the labor. They usually don’t care about history they just care about their next meal. They are the backbone—the human tools and provide the financing for all the self-aggrandizing plans of their rulers to glorify themselves in the history that only a few are apprised of.
Much like Linus when Lucy routinely grabs the ball at the last moment before he kicks. All right there in history, yet…
The growing assessment that the United States is probably entering the final stages of a failed democracy seems more accurate after this election.
Also called "end stage capitalism."
It’s not just the unintelligent who are exploited, anyone who is not also a narcissistic greedy megalomaniac like the power glommers are exploited to the extent possible. Perhaps someday we will understand that the power grabbers have mental illness instead of thinking they are superior.
Without the Christian Evangelical support (politicking from the pulpit) Trump would never have made it. As it says in the beatitudes "Blessed are the poor" and we are gonna have a lotta blessed people in the next few years.. in the streets, homeless shelters, and yes, graveyards. Once again I must salute the great true prophet of our time, Christopher Hitchens who wrote "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. And it has poisoned our country... maybe to death. Read the book so at least you can see what happened to us
Typically, religious people have tended to make God in their own image, which is inverted. You can be “religious” about anything. Being fervent doesn’t make you right.
My biggest fear is losing both our social security & government pensions. What’s to stop them from taking our pensions, too. We’d literally be broke if that happened & without health insurance.
Of course, Thom's analysis is correct.... But most of those reading this already knew this. I knew it when I returned to the USA in 1979 and witnessed the joy people had in electing a grade Z actor to begin the dismantling.
At this late date I must ask: Who is mustering a consolidated action plan to stop it???
The national Democratic Party is clueless.
They have pursued a 'Republican lite' plan since the introduction of the Clintons.
Obama had a chance to play hard ball after "W's" 2008-09 financial meltdown. He should have pursued indictments and convictions of at least two dozen financial wizards responsible for the crisis.... Instead, he mumbled something about American needing a financial system.
The opportunity of the grass-roots OCCUPY WALL STREET was left to wither. The TEA PARTY -- the seed of MAGA -- right-wing deflection movement took its place to point the finger at the administration.
The central Dem Party leadership continues to pursue a 'goombaya' it's a small world after all strategy.
Every time they invite the next needy group to the microphone for their 5 minutes of inclusion, the right wing boys at Fox salivate at yet another opportunity to split apart America's working people.
The Dems are busy and distracted embracing group A, and then hurriedly dash off to recover group B that drifts away when attention moves away from them. Etc., etc., etc.
A winning strategy would be to focus upon what all common people have.... well... in common.
'The Handicapped Lesbians with AIDs' will be served only when the community as a whole feels secure in the running of the country.
Obviously, the Democratic Party no longer demonstrates they can securely run the country.
Trump lost in 2020 because he and his "team" so poorly managed the COVID crisis.
Period.
The Dems had four years to quickly re-set. They did nothing to resolve their core weakness so clearly demonstrated by the disaster of H. Clinton.
As an old sales exec, I can tell you that the key to closing a sale is based upon what the customer is buying, NEVER upon what you are selling.
So, who is taking charge now???? Focusing upon what the common American us buying?
What team will be developing young leaders that can win where it matters?
I appreciate someone like AOC, but she will NEVER carry Pennsylvania.
Politics, someone once taught me, is the art of the possible. A party we support must focus upon what IS, not what SHOULD BE, and then move forward toward a commonwealth based platform. FDR and LBJ knew this instinctively.
And, if not the Democratic Party, who?
Where can we turn?
Ideas??
DL
I am,Donald, reluctant to agree with you because I do believe in DEI, but you are correct Democrats have screwed the goose in trying to placate everyone under their big tent.
Because you can't please everyone, the defection of the Muslim and black male vote has proven that.
The billionaires, the racists, the misogynists, the nativist's are all united behind one thing.. the patriarchy. Protection and perpetuation of patriarchal hegemony has even roped in those that would otherwise be alienated by the racism and xenophobia, and anti Hispanic grind of the Trump coalition
The Democratic party has not been able to find such a unifying factor,democracy is too amorphous, ephemeral, intangible.
In fact democracy works in a homogeneous society, the Iroquois federation was a democracy,and one actually run by women.
The ACLU committed sepiku by chasing every falling leaf, and losing.
Campus protestors are fools,every person with some bright idea or grievance, thinks that all they have to do is marshall a bunch of like minded individuals and make a lot of noise, they do achieve their main goal, attention whores, but not their objective.
I can make the case that the Campus idiots who protested for Palestinians and against Biden, with Fuck Joe Biden, are actually responsible for the election of Trump the day before yesterday, so good work, ya'll. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Bibi thinks you, as does Trump.
Liberals should look closely at the causes they support (many do but many don’t). A lot of problematic issues have a grain of truth in them and a load of BS on top, and it all get promoted together. Case in point- transgenderism: the main problem there is malpractice.
I agree Paul, to the extent that there are too many factions within the Democratic party, clamoring for recognition and priority.
Reminiscent of Rome at the time of Constantine, not only did he have to deal with hundreds of priesthoods clamoring for recognition and of course resources, each wanted their own temples,. Romans had gods for everything from Penis (Priapus) to the itch (Scabies), besides Jupiter, Venus, Mars and the planets.
Then along came the Jewish heresy we know as Christianity, the Roman market place must have been chaos, with disciples haranguing every corner, demanding attention for their version of this heresy.
Constantine wanted a cohesive, unified ideology, so he gathered the biggest loudmouths together, sequestered them in Nicea in isolated Anatolia, plied them with wine and young boys, set guards at the door and would not let them out until they came up with a unified doctrine.
Democrats are like the early Christians, squabbling among themselves for attention, and thus divided.
Republicans are like Christians under Constanine after Nicea. They may each have their own issues and priority but they are unified under the flag of patriarchy.
As regards Transgenderism, perhaps you are in unconscious league with the Trumpers.
There is no malpractice, because their is no medical practise of transgenderism.
Do you believe Trumps claim that Johnny goes to school and come home as Jane?
That is absurd. Kids go through identity questioning. There are effeminate men, who are heterosexual, and masculine women who are heterosexual, and their are girly girls who are bisexual, and masculine men who are gay or bisexual.
There are indeed people born in the wrong bodies, and it is unkind to force them to go through puberty, and then in life as an adult, have to go through the rigors and expense of sexual reassignment surgery.
The problem could be solved if society recognized the situation, and promoted trained professionals that could accurately and definitively, diagnose and treat it,
With some kids it is a passing phase, with others they are faced with lifelong trauma, if not taken serious and assisted.
AS regards adults, there is a process that they have to go through and it takes years, You just don't wake up one morning as John and go to bed that night as Jane with a breasts, a vagina and no body hair, for females to male it is more rigorous and dangerous.
I know this shit because I lived in the Bay Area of San Francisco and had friends of every possible color of the rainbow.. Gay, straight, bi, Male to female Transsexuals, female to male transssexuals, fem lesbians, butch dykes, SDS, Weather underground, I even had lunch with Angela Davis and shook hands with Gloria Steinem.
I've been exposed to the rainbow, have you?
At this point, there are no viable alternatives, which likely means our democracy is cooked and ready for the fork, especially after the fascist rip everything apart, even more than they already have. The only reasonable hope left is for enough enlightened people to take over the apparatus of the Democratic party machinery, rather than start over from scratch — a fool's errand — and try to use it for the good of the people. Anyway, that's been the idea, the hope, since the party's inception. It's a tall order given the times and the fact that people are all over the board with mostly unworkable solutions. Alas, power corrupts — the curse of politics..
The fascist GOP liked to claim that Antifa was doing a lot of bad stuff, to make their crap smell better, but I doubt there really is an Antifa. There should be some anti-fascist organization…
This article makes a powerful point. Democracy should be regarded as political socialism (one vote per person, equal justice for all); and as politics is strongly influenced by the economy, capitalism must be tempered by socialist economic policies to maintain the vitality and fairness of both the economy and the political system.
We need to clarify the differences between socialism and communism, and the authoritarian vs democratic versions of both.