I negotiate for a living and I told my wife in 2015 that Trump was not an negotiator. He was a “bully”. He doesn’t know how to negotiate. He just knows how to intimidate people and that’s not negotiation. A real negotiation brings people together. Both parties get what they want. It’s a win-win.
Excellent post, Thom. Abortion is a prime example of the bullies never being satisfied. For 50 years we listened to the right-wing decry Roe v. Wade, and when it was finally overturned by our now illegitimate SCOTUS, that wasn't enough. Now, it's attempts to, and some success in, banning abortion completely in some states, and the constant undercurrent of a national ban if Republicans get enough power again. I don't know where the adage, "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" comes from, but it surely had to have been connected to the right-wing. They won't be satisfied until we are a Christian nation, with white men as the fascist leaders, and women as breeder stock. And even then, there will be something MORE they will want, though unimaginable right now. Make America Great Again is their rallying cry, and Gilead is what it means.
Terrorists cannot be appeased and we should not even try. We don't negotiate with Islamic terrorists, for example, and we shouldn't negotiate with MAGA terrorists. Appeasement never works and just makes the bullies stronger. Our courts need to get a spine and stop ruling on the basis of "well, it will hurt the MAGA feelings and they might get violent," but on the basis of law. That is their job and pretending they are in charge of the nation's politics is NOT their job.
The courts are compromised and cowards. Trump appointed 1,500 Federalist Society Judges, and three to SCOTUS. I blame Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate.
Tuberville held up the appoinment of over 300 Generals and Admirals. The Democrats have the same tool to hold up appointments of Judges.
There maybe a legal basis for appointing acting cabinet members, but I never heard of an Acting judge.
And Biden could have appointed acting Generals and flag officers. There is such a thing as brevette a commission giving a military officer higher nominal rank than that for which pay is received. brevet.
Unless an officer is commissioned a member of the Regular armed force (that is a graduate from West Point, Annapolis or AF Academy, they are commissioned as a reserve (brevette) 2nd Lt or Ensign graduates or ROTC or Officer Training courses, who graduate in the top -7% of their class are offered an opportunity to become a Regular Commissioned officer and discharged from their reserve commission if they accept)
Officers have temporary ranks and permanent ranks, but serve in their temporary ranks, thus the Generals and Admirals on the Tuberville hold could have been brevetted by the President to four star ranks, and made permanent later on., assignment to a job or position like Joint Chiefs of Staff could have been made as Acting. Like Trump appointed J6 Conspirators as Acting Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Defense.
We haven't seen it yet. I fully expect the courts to grant Trump immunity, and even if, by a long shot, Bret Kavanaugh rules against Trump, there are five more right wing Catholic Judges on the Court.
My opinion is that if the judges aren't corrupted by religion or money, they are afraid of the consequences of Trump being elected. Remember they too read the papers and watch TV.
The NYS trial is civil not criminal, it has already been decided, Trump was guilty, the trial was about how much damages he had to pay.
The DC Circuit court has three female judges ruling on Trump
Karen L Henderson was appointed by George H. W. Bush and is one of the few Republican appointees. In other cases involving Mr. Trump, she has generally been more willing than many of her colleagues to rule in ways favorable to him.favor, however in Aug 22 2022 she did rule that Trumps IRS files could be turned over to the House of Reps (and we have heard nothing since, have we, ?
In Aug 22 2022 the Democrats controlled Congress, the Republicans took over on November 8, 2022, and yet with 49 days in control the Democrats sat on their ass and could have released Trump's tax records to the media. and the corporate media did not say a thing.. hmmm.
The other two judges , J. Michelle Childs and Florence Y. Pan are Biden Appointees.
I will keep my fingers crossed Unlike a jury verdict, an appellate court decision does not have to be unanimous. Question is will at least one of the other two be intimidated by the Trump cult, who, as we know are violent and SWAT people.
Judge Karen Henderson (the one Bush-appointee on the panel, who is also the only white person) floated the idea of sending the case back to the district court for "untangling" issues These issues, of course, are not "tangled" but very clear. That didn't seem to work on her peers; then she said "How do we make a decision without opening the floodgates," ostensibly wanting to rule based on the feelings of some MAGA who might get upset, as if SHE is responsible for coddling them. She knows she is outnumbered, but is still trying to protect Trump (IMO.). But she is trying to pretend she is neutral. Sending the case back is a stalling maneuver and delays everything, which is what Trump wants. A pablum decision designed to keep the "floodgates" closed is not the law, but ideology. I don't think the panel can grant Trump immunity with causing a serious backlash and complete destruction of the judges' credibility - something SCOTUS does not concern itself with as any justification for their ideology/orders from the Federalists will do, even if we have to go back to the 17th century writings of witch-burners. But with lower-level judges, it is a different matter. Henderson wants to help Trump without appearing to do so; that is not possible. Bring popcorn.
Thanks Suzie, very concise and clear. Thankfully there need be only 2 of the 3 Judges to rule against Trump, but from what I have read, he can appeal to the whole Circuit court of 11 judges.. I hope I read that wrong.
Henderson was appointed by GHW Bush (she's the Trump humper)
Katsas, Rao,Walker were appointed by Trump
Srinivasan, Millet, Pillard, Wilkins were appointed by Obama
Childs, Pan, Garcia were appointed by Biden.
That's 7 Democrat appointees to 4 Republican appointees
Keep the fingers crossed.
Another thing, I don;t understand why some decisions take so long to come down, after they have been heard,, especially with SCOTUS, it is as if the judges were running out the clock.
I don't understand why judges are staying their decision, after ruling, to let the defendant appeal. this is how Trump will win the election, especially with the ballot decision.
The Colorado court of appeals, upheld the lower courts decision, then stayed it, by the time the Colorado supreme court hears it, the ballots would have been printed and the decision is moot.. I smell collusion;.
“Joe would be ripe for Indictment. If I don’t get immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t get immunity.” He added, “By weaponizing the DOJ against his Political Opponent, ME, Joe has opened a giant Pandora’s Box.”
is a sufficient threat to arrest him.
"Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact." https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault
This goes to the judges hearing his immunity case. DOJ can ask for sanctions. To find him in contempt, the court needs to hold a separate hearing.
Besides DOJ, every DA in every state has the capacity to bring criminal charges whenever threats are made. A jury can infer intent from conduct.
Great article Thom. Who would have thought, giving the rich all those tax breaks would have lowered the standard of living for everyone else? The rational thinking liberals that's who! Now the losers want to bully anyone who acts happy that they don't like, just for the fun of it, because they are sadists. They are more sadist, than they are pro-life. Waiting 2 years to begin prosecution, is unforgivable! Liberals better prepare to grow their own food! All the jobs will go to the bullies and social spending will end. Trump has a chance to prove us all wrong, but he won't! There will be very few jobs created with the trickle down theory. Who is going to be able to buy stuff? The maga crowd thinks that they will inherit the wealth. The maga will be used, then replaced by cheaper, healthier, more grateful, immigrant labor.
I believe America’s children will be the replacement laborers as immigrants are placed in camps near the southern border. Those without lily-white skin will be removed quickly, and violently, if the GOP regains power. Corporations will benefit greatly by hiring children who cannot sue them for any reason, and whose paychecks are half the size of the immigrant laborers.
I believe I was in 7th grade at the time. I was in the school yard when some kid I didn't even know came over to me and pushed me to the ground. Well that was bullying. Not only that, but he then proceeded to kick me. Honestly I saw red. Kicking someone when they are down to me it was a real reprehensible Act. I got up from the ground and bloodied his nose hopefully I think I broke it. On my way home from school lo and behold there's the same bully but this time with his big brother in tow blocking the sidewalk. I could take flight I could freeze or I could fight. I didn't really have to do any of the above. I knew I couldn't run and I knew I couldn't freeze so I walked up to them. Big brother asked me why I bloodied his little brother's nose so I told him. Apparently the big brother had some sense in them because he looked at his little brother and then walked off. In the next week the little brother the bully spent his time trying to make friends with me and be my best bud. Lesson learned if you want to be friends with the bully beat him up. That respect that. I wouldn't be friends with one but they, these bullies, have a hierarchy that they follow. And the hierarchy is who's the biggest bully? Whoever that is these bullies will follow. They are sick people always trying to bully their way to the top of the hill where they can Proclaim themselves Kings of the Hill. It's unfortunate, and it's scary, but the only way to handle the bully is to confront that bully and make it painful enough so that he never ever wants to do it again and instead wants to be your friend.
In 3d grade, I was a too-smart newcomer and became particular target of the class bully. My pony-tail to pull was especially irresistible. Turned out the little classmate bully (he had a reputation, I wasn't alone) was the son of a city cop who lived a few doors down from my family, and the cop had a reputation for family violence. So it goes around....
"It’s way past time for average Americans to fight back."
I am going to keep mentioning a Movement of marches and/or protests. Maybe I am not looking hard enough. The bigger the movement, the more the noise that can be made. Showing up in numbers will show that we won't be bullied. It needs an obvious and singular message. Is there a movement around "Eat the Rich"?
If we lose the election, the bullies will be nearly impossible to stand up to. Dictators have a way of dealing with those that don't agree with them.
Ah, liberals are enamored of marches and protest but they amount to nothing, just a pressure relief valve, which the establishment actually endorses, so long as they turn to action.
Granted BLM forced Minnesota to offer up Derek Chauvin as a sacrifice, but did it change anything.
How about the WTO in Seattle or the antifascist march in Portland?
Did MLK marches change anything? No.
But the riots following his assassination did, as did the Watts Riots following the beating of Rodney King.
The establishment approves of marches, but if they are too threatening they send in agents provacateur, like the "umbrella man" or the black uniform clad "anarchists who break windows and encourage looting, that give the establishment an excuse to send in the thugs.
Mahatma Ghandi is an establishment endorsed myth, his peaceful protests are not what convinced the Brits to leave India.
It was the "ghost" of Subhas Chandra Bose, and the Indian National Army that scared the Brits.
The INA collaborated with the Japanese during WWII, but only to drive the British out of India.
It was not only an Army but an idea with followers and armies don't defeat ideas.
America, England and Russia defeated NAZI's but they didn't defeat the idea, and it is bouncing back strong in Europe and America, ,and with Putin emulating Hitler,minus persecution of Jews
Subhas Chandra Bose was a proto Malcolm X and the Indian National Army was a proto Black Panther, only more numerous, better armed and percieved as more dangerous, and there was no internal conflict of divide and conquer within the INA, like Malcolm X's faction,
Point taken. I wasn't there for the Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights, or Vietnam War Protest movements. They were large enough to get some credit for "change". I don't know how else to fight. There will never be enough money to battle the billionaires, the mainstream media is of little help, and social media and blog posts won't do enough. I would rather try all of it and anything else before worse comes to worst.
1. Women's suffrage. The movement started after the Civil war, it arose out of the abolitionist movement, which was spearheaded by women and Quakers. Frederick Douglas, told the early suffragettes that it was more important for black men to get the vote than women, because males had power, not women.
The 19th Amendment was passed, not so much because of the suffragette movement, but because Congress and enough states were powered by Republicans. Wilson, the President, was a Democrat, but he the president has no say on amendments, not even a veto.
The Republicans rightly figured that the party that gave women the right to vote, would reap the rewards of that decision, and would double their party members and it worked.
2. Civil Rights were not gained by protests, they were gained because of one man, LBJ, who had a bone in his throat about what would later be called Dixiecrats, and possibly the impetus of the power behind the throne (Ladybird)., or assuming good faith, he just saw the injustice and plight of the poor and disenfranchised, which include poor whites.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Stonewall, Texas, in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River.. He was not born of the upper class, probably even had black playmates, and was not inured to suffering and injustice.
But it wasn't protests that wrought the Great Society and Civil Rights act.
3.It wasn't protests that stopped the Vietnam war. I had served in the war, and was stationed in Panama when Nixon ended the war. Protestors were dismissed as commies, and discounted, however what grabbed the hearts and minds of the voting middle class, were daily scences of body bags and coffins.
That vision was so effective that George W.Bush forbade any access to Air Force ramps, by photographers, and any photographs of caskets being unloaded from C-141's, and photographing of military funerals of his wars on Saddam and the Taliban.
The ramp is where aircraft are loaded and unloaded.
They are often mentioned, but I can't argue with you. You post often. What are your recommendations, if anything, that can be done? I worry that not enough is being done to combat this, and we are sleepwalking into a dictatorship, as noted by Liz Cheney.
Gosh, you echo the tragic cry of "Billy" in "The Year of Living Dangerously:" "What, then, shall I do?" Farrar highlights the particular leadership of LBJ, and the later images of caskets returning from Vietnam. Yet today the utter devastation of Gaza seems to have little power to ameliorate the horror. Logically, the aggressor must stand down, Hamas and Russia. But even Farrar has no historical model for the bully to be abashed. Love.
Liz was correct. Mighty forces (money and power) are arrayed against us
Violence is not a solution, but fear is. The Plutocrats will only back off, if they face fear. And how do you install fear in the billionaires and millionaires who can and do,without restraint buy our justice system, a system that starts with our "elected representatives"
As I mentioned the Brits left India out of fear of the "ghosts:" of Subhas Chanda Bosse and the INA.
Back in the 1980's I had a "friend" a real weirdo, who was a professional instigator, he infiltrated George Lincoln Rockwells American NAZI party, even went up on stage and looked at the crowd and mocked them, he vainly tried to get the old ladies in tennis shoes crowd of the John Birch Society, to commit acts of violence.
I met, on line, the Sheik of Silverdale, WA (that is what the sheriff tagged him). He had been a government agent and provacateur and infiltrated the American Indian Movement (AIM) , but after the slaughter of Wounded Knee II, he left and converted to Islam, and became an Imam, and ran his own day camp in the hills of North East Washington State
From him and news articles I learned that the threatened powers that be, find people, very easily, to infiltrate any organization that they find threatening, and of course the agents provacateurs like the famed"umbrella man" or the black clad "anarchists" that showed up in Portland and Seattle.
They even send in tactical vehicles, to swoop up, these black clad provacateurs, before they are exposed and outed. and the demonstrators mostly naive and feckless students, don't have the presence of mind to intercept and expose them, rathet they consider them allies and hero's.
I don't have an answer, other than vote, and use social media to get the word out and educate, but how do you break through a defensive wall of bullshit
You have seen Saudi funded and inspired demonstrations about "poor Palestinians" and accusing the Jews of genocide, but have you seen any student demonstrations calling out Putin for his genocide and slaughter of innocents and destruction of a nation?
I haven 't. Leftists, liberals are perfect fools and tools, and run at the sound of a car backfire.
Have you seen these fools and tools,block interstates,scribble slogans on walls in protest of the misogynistic and homophobic right wing? I haven't.
I am not conservative, I fear the right, I use to consider myself a progressive and indeed I have a progressive social agenda, and the social agenda includes economics and money, but for the life of me, I have no more use for the left than I do for the right, and in no way am I a libertarian, i no longer have a niche into which I can climb.
Rather than marching, I think we need to show these guys for what they are: insecure, women-fearing (grab them by the pussy because you are otherwise repugnant to them), etc. I would like to organize a national/international movement of women organized according to the following (this was written for surrounding inauguration after 1/6, but could easily apply to polls, in-session legislatures voting on important issues, etc.
the idea being that showing them for being bullies against women who are just standing there is the best way to cut through the bullshit. There’s no story. Either you are assaulting women or you’re not.
what do you think?
Thousands of women |
| dressed formally and impeccably to embody and express pleasure and power |
| seated and spaced with military precision |
| surrounding the Capitol in concentric circles |
| An impenetrable fortress to reveal the vulgarity, sloppiness, and brutality of treasonous insurrectionists |
Every woman on the front lines will have arrived with a network of committed, engaged supporters working behind the scenes to support the action: engaging legal counsel, calling their representatives, ensuring that hospitals are on standby, even praying. This way, those who cannot — physically, logistically, financially, or otherwise — directly participate are part of an intricate and far-reaching network of American women.
I love the sentiment, but agree with Farrar as to history of results. He forgot the history-making anti-Iraq-invasion turn-out. Nothing seen like it before, worldwide, and Cheney and Rumsfeld just laughed at the silly show.
A trenchant column needing reinforcement. Bullies are cowardly losers who bully out of the knowledge they are inferior and the insecurity that brings. While overreaction is a risk, it is unfortunately soon to become necessary if our country is to survive.
That will be personally traumatic for feeble, 75-year old me. I was bullied twice as a child. It is worth briefly recounting what happened.
In the Fifties, I lived in an apartment complex with dozens of other Baby Boomer kids, many from military families, like me. We played cowboys and Indians and WwIi games with our toy weapons all the time. Some enterprising horror of a toy maker sold these little facsimile machine guns that shot BB’s. I was walking up the steps to our apartment block one morning when this kid came up and started shooting me with one, moving ever closer. When he was about two feet away, he got a look on vision face and started marching the BB’s up the middle of my chest, heading toward my face. I was holding a toy rifle with a metal sight, about two inches high. Instinctively, just before his BB’s reached my chin, i basically clacked out andI hit him over the head with my rifle and ran inside my building. I learned later that I had turned my rifle upside down before striking him. The gunsight pierced his skull and caused permanent brain damage that made him a drooling idiot requiring assistance to walk. I was not reprimanded or punished in any way, as there had been too many witnesses. I did encounter him some months later walking home from school, being supported by two of his sisters who yelled “Look what you did to our brother!” I ignored them and moved on.
Years later, at the Catholic school I was then attending on the opposite side of our country, another kid thought it was fun to sneak up behind me and pull out the short hairs at the base of my neck, then run away. He was fast and agile. I was fat, slow, and with bad, then uncorrected vision. Finally, after I don’t know how many such incidents, I turned fast enough to confront him. He laughed and took a swing at me. I blacked out again. When I came back, I was being pulled off of him by four other kids and two adults. Apparently I had knocked him to the ground and was on top of him, beating his face into a pulp. He survived, and was forced to leave the school. Again I was not punished.
My parents had a talk with me about how they were proud I had stood up for myself. My father trained me in fighting techniques in case any such thing happened again.
My own reaction was different. It frightened me to know I had such a demon inside of me. I committed myself then never to let my temper get that bad again. It never has, but only through a conscious, difficulty effort on my part when bullies harassed me a couple of other times in my childhood. Frankly, the ability I developed to bottle up and channel my rage has served me well many times.
The point of my relating these very personal anecdotes? My bet is that there are millions of others out there, women and minorities of all stripes, who have that same demon within. While I don’t want it to happen, more than I can even say, if TFG and his goon squads start using violence to avenge imagined wrongs, to try to intimidate, or just for the charge it gives them, they will be in for a rude awakening that could turn fatal. And they have more guns, but we have more brains, and we outnumber them. I am reminded of an old remark I once read, though I have forgotten the source: “ Even the smallest worm will turn when trodden upon.”
So with apologies for this long, personal post, I end with this thought. Let it be known that the bullies in TFG’s cult are on notice. Those you would dominate will not go lightly into the dark. They will rise up and overwhelm you, and it will be hideous, and ugly, and maybe the end of this country. That is why we MUST get out the vote in November, because while the bullies will engage in violence if they lose, it will be far worse if they win and feel they have that win and the law, to the extent that matters to them, on their side. Be strong. Be united. We can, we will, we must overcome.
Those storm clouds of which you forewarn are already gathering. There are so many guns out there now and with SCOTUS further enabling chaos in the United States pulled down sensible laws regarding them. The MAGAt’s are already being targeted. They are probably just not aware of it. I advised my Congressional Representative of someone I knew, who was incapable of carrying out the threat, but wanted to “take out” a certain MAGAt. She had been military and no nonsense. She told me that the DOJ was acting against the “players” because they didn’t want the people violating the law. There are more of us than there are of them. The American people have been kept in a state of nonstop chaos since the pandemic and there are more guns than people in the US. You are spot on with your warning.
After christening me with a super bully-bait name: "Daphne Dunn" are you kidding me she didn't see "Daffy Duck" coming? And equipping me with a lovely ponytail to jerk... My Mom beat me down with the "sticks and stones...but names will never..." bullshit. she didn't want me to stand up to her, ever, either. Love to you.
Hunter Biden just stood up today to the bullying MAGAt when he showed up at an over site committee hearing. He put the bullies on display and walked out when crazy marge started to talk. I have been living among people who use intimidation (been through the criminal justice system) based on observing their behavior this was a standing up to the MAGAt bullies by the President’s son. Loved it
Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett. I’m going to watch it. But I thought it was hilarious that Mace said Hunter Biden had “no balls” when the lizard bitch showed naked images of him in committee. I applaud Hunter for walking out on that trash hat.
It’s more than political bullying, in the case of Trump. He is a mob boss, or a member of the Russian mafia, and has been for 40 years. The pressure Trump puts some people under, as evidenced by his mob-adjacent lawyers, is life-threatening. Lean on people until they acquiesce to your power. Trump launders money for the Russians and in turn provided Putin with what he needed and needs.
Despite Trump's b.s. that the economy is terrible, he just admitted that the economy is in great shape, because he said that when the economy crashes he doesn't want to be a Herbert Hoover, which is an admission that the economy is in great shape. LOL.
Trump is not only a bully he is a psychopath who bullies because he’s a twisted up orange mess and doesn’t need his lifts in his shoes or his nasty depends when he bullies .
But he ends up seeing the same monster in the mirror and having to go after anyone who can see the truth about Trump.
Trump needs to be held up as the image of what no one should aspire to be. Unfortunately somebody needs to knock him back .
Hopefully the Courts can, if they do their jobs and go by the Constitution of the
USA and not the paltry thoughts and plans of their wealthiest donors and Trumps cadre of foreign bullies. Putin , Orban, and the like.
Sometimes I wish we could allocate the massive amounts of federal money sent to red states to people who want to leave those Christofascist states for a period of time, and then stop ALL federal funds from going to those states. Florida and Texas, etc can wall themselves off and have it their way.
Let’s see how much those toothless cowards who support tRump would like that.
I just don’t see how the entire US stays together with such divergent visions of who we are and what we can be.
Here is the "retribution." dilemma. "Fairness" demands what you say. Who in these informed posts can justify "The Union" when that thing is yet so epically unjust? If Texas can't stand to be unified with the darn power grid when Texans are fleeing to Mexico where the power is on, what does the"Union" mean? Trump's description: "Shit Country" Texas just let people die. Ted Cruz and family (except the poor doggie!) caught a flight. Let us not forget.
The inverse is true also. Bullies create a society rotten to the core, but the current situation is not a "chicken or the egg" scenario. It's easy to tell which came first.
Bullies exist in all societies, all religions, and like in Saudi Arabia, Gaza and Israel they beome heads of state. Ayatollah Khameini and his raft of Ayatollahs and religious police are bullies.
MBS and his Mufti's, Imams and Religious Police are Bullies
Netanyahu and the religious right and it's settlers are bullies
France has it's bullies as well, like Marine le Pen, and Macron
Let us say I agree with you. Then what is the solution?
What form of world government will solve the problems that humans create? How does one go about convincing or imposing this form of government on the world.?
I am not sure there is a solution. This last Empire has evicerated and crucified us to such an extent that we don't even have a common purpose, which to my mind is saving the earth.
To save the earth means we categorically disallow religion of any kind and weapons. The only thing to worship is Earth. This ultimately means we have to give up: everything that makes humans comfortable.
Unfortunately man will then begin inventing stuff again and we will be back to square one!
In the Guardian they did a survey of the French..........probably the most pessimistic people on the planet. However since this was done by the British I would say they are no different which is why we have always been at war!
We love celebrating when things turn out well.
I know you like weird things: The British are now complaining that Europe has left them out of the new rail services we are building. No short flights any more. Since the British brexxittted they have more complaints about Europe................endless.
Look at this way, She is lonely and needs attention, so you inmates controversy. So now I have her talking about her self and nothing else. A win win, and I have the time.
As a court stenographer, I knew my friend had to keep her game-face on. I asked her if she ever lost her cool in court. The point for now is, what did it feel like to be in a court of law where an actual member of the bar said that nothing a president does is a criminal act and they have immunity from prosecution? Did anyone LOL; did anyone in court at least cough the word "king"?
Can't say I was shocked that there was no nuance or finesse in their position. His Royal Hiney and the Cult always double-down by trying to bully some more.
I've had to testify and to sit on a jury, court is as serious as a heart attack. Eventually, one is going to slap these bitches back to reality. And, SCOTUS judges do not live forever--it just feels that way.
My friend answered yes. It had to do with a guy in a wheel-chair, an angry wife, and a steep driveway. A wicked sense of humor can help you cope.
Took me back to my glory days. If any of this s---t can get in front of 12 folks remotely representing anybody's ma and pa..... Even if they thought Fox was same as Scripture! I saw so many juries astounded! by the Rest of the Story! There's a country song: "Most People are Good."
Last night I saw a gutless, spineless Trump, a groveling, sniveling wimp grasping a the last straws like the coward that he really is. What is it about the Lion King generation that they have no confidence in their ability to stand up for bullies. They need a Savior. Why?
I negotiate for a living and I told my wife in 2015 that Trump was not an negotiator. He was a “bully”. He doesn’t know how to negotiate. He just knows how to intimidate people and that’s not negotiation. A real negotiation brings people together. Both parties get what they want. It’s a win-win.
Transactional analysis. https://www.amazon.com/Into-TA-Comprehensive-Textbook-Transactional/dp/1782202064
Excellent post, Thom. Abortion is a prime example of the bullies never being satisfied. For 50 years we listened to the right-wing decry Roe v. Wade, and when it was finally overturned by our now illegitimate SCOTUS, that wasn't enough. Now, it's attempts to, and some success in, banning abortion completely in some states, and the constant undercurrent of a national ban if Republicans get enough power again. I don't know where the adage, "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" comes from, but it surely had to have been connected to the right-wing. They won't be satisfied until we are a Christian nation, with white men as the fascist leaders, and women as breeder stock. And even then, there will be something MORE they will want, though unimaginable right now. Make America Great Again is their rallying cry, and Gilead is what it means.
Terrorists cannot be appeased and we should not even try. We don't negotiate with Islamic terrorists, for example, and we shouldn't negotiate with MAGA terrorists. Appeasement never works and just makes the bullies stronger. Our courts need to get a spine and stop ruling on the basis of "well, it will hurt the MAGA feelings and they might get violent," but on the basis of law. That is their job and pretending they are in charge of the nation's politics is NOT their job.
Agreed for a change, we better do it while we still have the military on our side!
The courts are compromised and cowards. Trump appointed 1,500 Federalist Society Judges, and three to SCOTUS. I blame Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate.
Tuberville held up the appoinment of over 300 Generals and Admirals. The Democrats have the same tool to hold up appointments of Judges.
There maybe a legal basis for appointing acting cabinet members, but I never heard of an Acting judge.
And Biden could have appointed acting Generals and flag officers. There is such a thing as brevette a commission giving a military officer higher nominal rank than that for which pay is received. brevet.
Unless an officer is commissioned a member of the Regular armed force (that is a graduate from West Point, Annapolis or AF Academy, they are commissioned as a reserve (brevette) 2nd Lt or Ensign graduates or ROTC or Officer Training courses, who graduate in the top -7% of their class are offered an opportunity to become a Regular Commissioned officer and discharged from their reserve commission if they accept)
Officers have temporary ranks and permanent ranks, but serve in their temporary ranks, thus the Generals and Admirals on the Tuberville hold could have been brevetted by the President to four star ranks, and made permanent later on., assignment to a job or position like Joint Chiefs of Staff could have been made as Acting. Like Trump appointed J6 Conspirators as Acting Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Defense.
Hopefully some appointed by Trump will honor the oath of office.
https://www.newsweek.com/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-trump-rulings-colorado-1854448
We haven't seen it yet. I fully expect the courts to grant Trump immunity, and even if, by a long shot, Bret Kavanaugh rules against Trump, there are five more right wing Catholic Judges on the Court.
My opinion is that if the judges aren't corrupted by religion or money, they are afraid of the consequences of Trump being elected. Remember they too read the papers and watch TV.
My sense is the opposite. If the DC Cir decision is unanimous, SOTUS may deny cert and that case would go to trial.
Meanwhile the NYS criminal trial is set for late March and doesn't involve immunity.
The NYS trial is civil not criminal, it has already been decided, Trump was guilty, the trial was about how much damages he had to pay.
The DC Circuit court has three female judges ruling on Trump
Karen L Henderson was appointed by George H. W. Bush and is one of the few Republican appointees. In other cases involving Mr. Trump, she has generally been more willing than many of her colleagues to rule in ways favorable to him.favor, however in Aug 22 2022 she did rule that Trumps IRS files could be turned over to the House of Reps (and we have heard nothing since, have we, ?
In Aug 22 2022 the Democrats controlled Congress, the Republicans took over on November 8, 2022, and yet with 49 days in control the Democrats sat on their ass and could have released Trump's tax records to the media. and the corporate media did not say a thing.. hmmm.
The other two judges , J. Michelle Childs and Florence Y. Pan are Biden Appointees.
I will keep my fingers crossed Unlike a jury verdict, an appellate court decision does not have to be unanimous. Question is will at least one of the other two be intimidated by the Trump cult, who, as we know are violent and SWAT people.
Judge Karen Henderson (the one Bush-appointee on the panel, who is also the only white person) floated the idea of sending the case back to the district court for "untangling" issues These issues, of course, are not "tangled" but very clear. That didn't seem to work on her peers; then she said "How do we make a decision without opening the floodgates," ostensibly wanting to rule based on the feelings of some MAGA who might get upset, as if SHE is responsible for coddling them. She knows she is outnumbered, but is still trying to protect Trump (IMO.). But she is trying to pretend she is neutral. Sending the case back is a stalling maneuver and delays everything, which is what Trump wants. A pablum decision designed to keep the "floodgates" closed is not the law, but ideology. I don't think the panel can grant Trump immunity with causing a serious backlash and complete destruction of the judges' credibility - something SCOTUS does not concern itself with as any justification for their ideology/orders from the Federalists will do, even if we have to go back to the 17th century writings of witch-burners. But with lower-level judges, it is a different matter. Henderson wants to help Trump without appearing to do so; that is not possible. Bring popcorn.
Thanks Suzie, very concise and clear. Thankfully there need be only 2 of the 3 Judges to rule against Trump, but from what I have read, he can appeal to the whole Circuit court of 11 judges.. I hope I read that wrong.
Henderson was appointed by GHW Bush (she's the Trump humper)
Katsas, Rao,Walker were appointed by Trump
Srinivasan, Millet, Pillard, Wilkins were appointed by Obama
Childs, Pan, Garcia were appointed by Biden.
That's 7 Democrat appointees to 4 Republican appointees
Keep the fingers crossed.
Another thing, I don;t understand why some decisions take so long to come down, after they have been heard,, especially with SCOTUS, it is as if the judges were running out the clock.
I don't understand why judges are staying their decision, after ruling, to let the defendant appeal. this is how Trump will win the election, especially with the ballot decision.
The Colorado court of appeals, upheld the lower courts decision, then stayed it, by the time the Colorado supreme court hears it, the ballots would have been printed and the decision is moot.. I smell collusion;.
Based on my experience the post:
“Joe would be ripe for Indictment. If I don’t get immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t get immunity.” He added, “By weaponizing the DOJ against his Political Opponent, ME, Joe has opened a giant Pandora’s Box.”
is a sufficient threat to arrest him.
"Assault is generally defined as an intentional act that puts another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact. No physical injury is required, but the actor must have intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with the victim and the victim must have thereby been put in immediate apprehension of such a contact." https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/assault
This goes to the judges hearing his immunity case. DOJ can ask for sanctions. To find him in contempt, the court needs to hold a separate hearing.
Besides DOJ, every DA in every state has the capacity to bring criminal charges whenever threats are made. A jury can infer intent from conduct.
Let’s all send this to the media & maybe the prosecutors will use it! (I don’t know how to contact the prosecutors).
I did just that!
Great article Thom. Who would have thought, giving the rich all those tax breaks would have lowered the standard of living for everyone else? The rational thinking liberals that's who! Now the losers want to bully anyone who acts happy that they don't like, just for the fun of it, because they are sadists. They are more sadist, than they are pro-life. Waiting 2 years to begin prosecution, is unforgivable! Liberals better prepare to grow their own food! All the jobs will go to the bullies and social spending will end. Trump has a chance to prove us all wrong, but he won't! There will be very few jobs created with the trickle down theory. Who is going to be able to buy stuff? The maga crowd thinks that they will inherit the wealth. The maga will be used, then replaced by cheaper, healthier, more grateful, immigrant labor.
I believe America’s children will be the replacement laborers as immigrants are placed in camps near the southern border. Those without lily-white skin will be removed quickly, and violently, if the GOP regains power. Corporations will benefit greatly by hiring children who cannot sue them for any reason, and whose paychecks are half the size of the immigrant laborers.
The healthy white children who will work for $2 an hour will be hired first of course.
I believe I was in 7th grade at the time. I was in the school yard when some kid I didn't even know came over to me and pushed me to the ground. Well that was bullying. Not only that, but he then proceeded to kick me. Honestly I saw red. Kicking someone when they are down to me it was a real reprehensible Act. I got up from the ground and bloodied his nose hopefully I think I broke it. On my way home from school lo and behold there's the same bully but this time with his big brother in tow blocking the sidewalk. I could take flight I could freeze or I could fight. I didn't really have to do any of the above. I knew I couldn't run and I knew I couldn't freeze so I walked up to them. Big brother asked me why I bloodied his little brother's nose so I told him. Apparently the big brother had some sense in them because he looked at his little brother and then walked off. In the next week the little brother the bully spent his time trying to make friends with me and be my best bud. Lesson learned if you want to be friends with the bully beat him up. That respect that. I wouldn't be friends with one but they, these bullies, have a hierarchy that they follow. And the hierarchy is who's the biggest bully? Whoever that is these bullies will follow. They are sick people always trying to bully their way to the top of the hill where they can Proclaim themselves Kings of the Hill. It's unfortunate, and it's scary, but the only way to handle the bully is to confront that bully and make it painful enough so that he never ever wants to do it again and instead wants to be your friend.
In 3d grade, I was a too-smart newcomer and became particular target of the class bully. My pony-tail to pull was especially irresistible. Turned out the little classmate bully (he had a reputation, I wasn't alone) was the son of a city cop who lived a few doors down from my family, and the cop had a reputation for family violence. So it goes around....
"It’s way past time for average Americans to fight back."
I am going to keep mentioning a Movement of marches and/or protests. Maybe I am not looking hard enough. The bigger the movement, the more the noise that can be made. Showing up in numbers will show that we won't be bullied. It needs an obvious and singular message. Is there a movement around "Eat the Rich"?
If we lose the election, the bullies will be nearly impossible to stand up to. Dictators have a way of dealing with those that don't agree with them.
Ah, liberals are enamored of marches and protest but they amount to nothing, just a pressure relief valve, which the establishment actually endorses, so long as they turn to action.
What happened to the Women's March in DC on 2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women%27s_March#:~:text=The%20crowds%20were%20peaceful%3A%20no,of%20the%20Civil%20Rights%20movement%22.
How about Occupy Wall Street?
Granted BLM forced Minnesota to offer up Derek Chauvin as a sacrifice, but did it change anything.
How about the WTO in Seattle or the antifascist march in Portland?
Did MLK marches change anything? No.
But the riots following his assassination did, as did the Watts Riots following the beating of Rodney King.
The establishment approves of marches, but if they are too threatening they send in agents provacateur, like the "umbrella man" or the black uniform clad "anarchists who break windows and encourage looting, that give the establishment an excuse to send in the thugs.
Mahatma Ghandi is an establishment endorsed myth, his peaceful protests are not what convinced the Brits to leave India.
It was the "ghost" of Subhas Chandra Bose, and the Indian National Army that scared the Brits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subhas_Chandra_Bose and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Army
The INA collaborated with the Japanese during WWII, but only to drive the British out of India.
It was not only an Army but an idea with followers and armies don't defeat ideas.
America, England and Russia defeated NAZI's but they didn't defeat the idea, and it is bouncing back strong in Europe and America, ,and with Putin emulating Hitler,minus persecution of Jews
Subhas Chandra Bose was a proto Malcolm X and the Indian National Army was a proto Black Panther, only more numerous, better armed and percieved as more dangerous, and there was no internal conflict of divide and conquer within the INA, like Malcolm X's faction,
Point taken. I wasn't there for the Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights, or Vietnam War Protest movements. They were large enough to get some credit for "change". I don't know how else to fight. There will never be enough money to battle the billionaires, the mainstream media is of little help, and social media and blog posts won't do enough. I would rather try all of it and anything else before worse comes to worst.
Let me give you some background on:
1. Women's suffrage. The movement started after the Civil war, it arose out of the abolitionist movement, which was spearheaded by women and Quakers. Frederick Douglas, told the early suffragettes that it was more important for black men to get the vote than women, because males had power, not women.
The 19th Amendment was passed, not so much because of the suffragette movement, but because Congress and enough states were powered by Republicans. Wilson, the President, was a Democrat, but he the president has no say on amendments, not even a veto.
The Republicans rightly figured that the party that gave women the right to vote, would reap the rewards of that decision, and would double their party members and it worked.
2. Civil Rights were not gained by protests, they were gained because of one man, LBJ, who had a bone in his throat about what would later be called Dixiecrats, and possibly the impetus of the power behind the throne (Ladybird)., or assuming good faith, he just saw the injustice and plight of the poor and disenfranchised, which include poor whites.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908, near Stonewall, Texas, in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River.. He was not born of the upper class, probably even had black playmates, and was not inured to suffering and injustice.
But it wasn't protests that wrought the Great Society and Civil Rights act.
3.It wasn't protests that stopped the Vietnam war. I had served in the war, and was stationed in Panama when Nixon ended the war. Protestors were dismissed as commies, and discounted, however what grabbed the hearts and minds of the voting middle class, were daily scences of body bags and coffins.
That vision was so effective that George W.Bush forbade any access to Air Force ramps, by photographers, and any photographs of caskets being unloaded from C-141's, and photographing of military funerals of his wars on Saddam and the Taliban.
The ramp is where aircraft are loaded and unloaded.
They are often mentioned, but I can't argue with you. You post often. What are your recommendations, if anything, that can be done? I worry that not enough is being done to combat this, and we are sleepwalking into a dictatorship, as noted by Liz Cheney.
Gosh, you echo the tragic cry of "Billy" in "The Year of Living Dangerously:" "What, then, shall I do?" Farrar highlights the particular leadership of LBJ, and the later images of caskets returning from Vietnam. Yet today the utter devastation of Gaza seems to have little power to ameliorate the horror. Logically, the aggressor must stand down, Hamas and Russia. But even Farrar has no historical model for the bully to be abashed. Love.
Liz was correct. Mighty forces (money and power) are arrayed against us
Violence is not a solution, but fear is. The Plutocrats will only back off, if they face fear. And how do you install fear in the billionaires and millionaires who can and do,without restraint buy our justice system, a system that starts with our "elected representatives"
As I mentioned the Brits left India out of fear of the "ghosts:" of Subhas Chanda Bosse and the INA.
Back in the 1980's I had a "friend" a real weirdo, who was a professional instigator, he infiltrated George Lincoln Rockwells American NAZI party, even went up on stage and looked at the crowd and mocked them, he vainly tried to get the old ladies in tennis shoes crowd of the John Birch Society, to commit acts of violence.
I met, on line, the Sheik of Silverdale, WA (that is what the sheriff tagged him). He had been a government agent and provacateur and infiltrated the American Indian Movement (AIM) , but after the slaughter of Wounded Knee II, he left and converted to Islam, and became an Imam, and ran his own day camp in the hills of North East Washington State
From him and news articles I learned that the threatened powers that be, find people, very easily, to infiltrate any organization that they find threatening, and of course the agents provacateurs like the famed"umbrella man" or the black clad "anarchists" that showed up in Portland and Seattle.
They even send in tactical vehicles, to swoop up, these black clad provacateurs, before they are exposed and outed. and the demonstrators mostly naive and feckless students, don't have the presence of mind to intercept and expose them, rathet they consider them allies and hero's.
I don't have an answer, other than vote, and use social media to get the word out and educate, but how do you break through a defensive wall of bullshit
You have seen Saudi funded and inspired demonstrations about "poor Palestinians" and accusing the Jews of genocide, but have you seen any student demonstrations calling out Putin for his genocide and slaughter of innocents and destruction of a nation?
I haven 't. Leftists, liberals are perfect fools and tools, and run at the sound of a car backfire.
Have you seen these fools and tools,block interstates,scribble slogans on walls in protest of the misogynistic and homophobic right wing? I haven't.
I am not conservative, I fear the right, I use to consider myself a progressive and indeed I have a progressive social agenda, and the social agenda includes economics and money, but for the life of me, I have no more use for the left than I do for the right, and in no way am I a libertarian, i no longer have a niche into which I can climb.
Rather than marching, I think we need to show these guys for what they are: insecure, women-fearing (grab them by the pussy because you are otherwise repugnant to them), etc. I would like to organize a national/international movement of women organized according to the following (this was written for surrounding inauguration after 1/6, but could easily apply to polls, in-session legislatures voting on important issues, etc.
the idea being that showing them for being bullies against women who are just standing there is the best way to cut through the bullshit. There’s no story. Either you are assaulting women or you’re not.
what do you think?
Thousands of women |
| dressed formally and impeccably to embody and express pleasure and power |
| seated and spaced with military precision |
| surrounding the Capitol in concentric circles |
| An impenetrable fortress to reveal the vulgarity, sloppiness, and brutality of treasonous insurrectionists |
Every woman on the front lines will have arrived with a network of committed, engaged supporters working behind the scenes to support the action: engaging legal counsel, calling their representatives, ensuring that hospitals are on standby, even praying. This way, those who cannot — physically, logistically, financially, or otherwise — directly participate are part of an intricate and far-reaching network of American women.
I love the sentiment, but agree with Farrar as to history of results. He forgot the history-making anti-Iraq-invasion turn-out. Nothing seen like it before, worldwide, and Cheney and Rumsfeld just laughed at the silly show.
A trenchant column needing reinforcement. Bullies are cowardly losers who bully out of the knowledge they are inferior and the insecurity that brings. While overreaction is a risk, it is unfortunately soon to become necessary if our country is to survive.
That will be personally traumatic for feeble, 75-year old me. I was bullied twice as a child. It is worth briefly recounting what happened.
In the Fifties, I lived in an apartment complex with dozens of other Baby Boomer kids, many from military families, like me. We played cowboys and Indians and WwIi games with our toy weapons all the time. Some enterprising horror of a toy maker sold these little facsimile machine guns that shot BB’s. I was walking up the steps to our apartment block one morning when this kid came up and started shooting me with one, moving ever closer. When he was about two feet away, he got a look on vision face and started marching the BB’s up the middle of my chest, heading toward my face. I was holding a toy rifle with a metal sight, about two inches high. Instinctively, just before his BB’s reached my chin, i basically clacked out andI hit him over the head with my rifle and ran inside my building. I learned later that I had turned my rifle upside down before striking him. The gunsight pierced his skull and caused permanent brain damage that made him a drooling idiot requiring assistance to walk. I was not reprimanded or punished in any way, as there had been too many witnesses. I did encounter him some months later walking home from school, being supported by two of his sisters who yelled “Look what you did to our brother!” I ignored them and moved on.
Years later, at the Catholic school I was then attending on the opposite side of our country, another kid thought it was fun to sneak up behind me and pull out the short hairs at the base of my neck, then run away. He was fast and agile. I was fat, slow, and with bad, then uncorrected vision. Finally, after I don’t know how many such incidents, I turned fast enough to confront him. He laughed and took a swing at me. I blacked out again. When I came back, I was being pulled off of him by four other kids and two adults. Apparently I had knocked him to the ground and was on top of him, beating his face into a pulp. He survived, and was forced to leave the school. Again I was not punished.
My parents had a talk with me about how they were proud I had stood up for myself. My father trained me in fighting techniques in case any such thing happened again.
My own reaction was different. It frightened me to know I had such a demon inside of me. I committed myself then never to let my temper get that bad again. It never has, but only through a conscious, difficulty effort on my part when bullies harassed me a couple of other times in my childhood. Frankly, the ability I developed to bottle up and channel my rage has served me well many times.
The point of my relating these very personal anecdotes? My bet is that there are millions of others out there, women and minorities of all stripes, who have that same demon within. While I don’t want it to happen, more than I can even say, if TFG and his goon squads start using violence to avenge imagined wrongs, to try to intimidate, or just for the charge it gives them, they will be in for a rude awakening that could turn fatal. And they have more guns, but we have more brains, and we outnumber them. I am reminded of an old remark I once read, though I have forgotten the source: “ Even the smallest worm will turn when trodden upon.”
So with apologies for this long, personal post, I end with this thought. Let it be known that the bullies in TFG’s cult are on notice. Those you would dominate will not go lightly into the dark. They will rise up and overwhelm you, and it will be hideous, and ugly, and maybe the end of this country. That is why we MUST get out the vote in November, because while the bullies will engage in violence if they lose, it will be far worse if they win and feel they have that win and the law, to the extent that matters to them, on their side. Be strong. Be united. We can, we will, we must overcome.
Those storm clouds of which you forewarn are already gathering. There are so many guns out there now and with SCOTUS further enabling chaos in the United States pulled down sensible laws regarding them. The MAGAt’s are already being targeted. They are probably just not aware of it. I advised my Congressional Representative of someone I knew, who was incapable of carrying out the threat, but wanted to “take out” a certain MAGAt. She had been military and no nonsense. She told me that the DOJ was acting against the “players” because they didn’t want the people violating the law. There are more of us than there are of them. The American people have been kept in a state of nonstop chaos since the pandemic and there are more guns than people in the US. You are spot on with your warning.
After christening me with a super bully-bait name: "Daphne Dunn" are you kidding me she didn't see "Daffy Duck" coming? And equipping me with a lovely ponytail to jerk... My Mom beat me down with the "sticks and stones...but names will never..." bullshit. she didn't want me to stand up to her, ever, either. Love to you.
Hunter Biden just stood up today to the bullying MAGAt when he showed up at an over site committee hearing. He put the bullies on display and walked out when crazy marge started to talk. I have been living among people who use intimidation (been through the criminal justice system) based on observing their behavior this was a standing up to the MAGAt bullies by the President’s son. Loved it
I tried to Google the amazing Congresswoman from Texas who totally called the hypocrites out, showed on Chris Hayes MSNBC. Wow!
Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett. I’m going to watch it. But I thought it was hilarious that Mace said Hunter Biden had “no balls” when the lizard bitch showed naked images of him in committee. I applaud Hunter for walking out on that trash hat.
Thanks so much. Jasmine Crockett. The Bomb!
Yes, she is!! I think she’s going to be around for a long time. Vote Blue🌊
I will find it. I happened to “tape” the episode.
It’s more than political bullying, in the case of Trump. He is a mob boss, or a member of the Russian mafia, and has been for 40 years. The pressure Trump puts some people under, as evidenced by his mob-adjacent lawyers, is life-threatening. Lean on people until they acquiesce to your power. Trump launders money for the Russians and in turn provided Putin with what he needed and needs.
I think the "Russian Mafia" laugh at clown Trump all the way to the banks.
Read Craig Unger’s books on Trump and Putin, and… Bush and the Saudis. Unger’s “American Kompromat” says it All!
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Absolutely great essay, Thom.
Despite Trump's b.s. that the economy is terrible, he just admitted that the economy is in great shape, because he said that when the economy crashes he doesn't want to be a Herbert Hoover, which is an admission that the economy is in great shape. LOL.
Trump is not only a bully he is a psychopath who bullies because he’s a twisted up orange mess and doesn’t need his lifts in his shoes or his nasty depends when he bullies .
But he ends up seeing the same monster in the mirror and having to go after anyone who can see the truth about Trump.
Trump needs to be held up as the image of what no one should aspire to be. Unfortunately somebody needs to knock him back .
Hopefully the Courts can, if they do their jobs and go by the Constitution of the
USA and not the paltry thoughts and plans of their wealthiest donors and Trumps cadre of foreign bullies. Putin , Orban, and the like.
Sometimes I wish we could allocate the massive amounts of federal money sent to red states to people who want to leave those Christofascist states for a period of time, and then stop ALL federal funds from going to those states. Florida and Texas, etc can wall themselves off and have it their way.
Let’s see how much those toothless cowards who support tRump would like that.
I just don’t see how the entire US stays together with such divergent visions of who we are and what we can be.
Here is the "retribution." dilemma. "Fairness" demands what you say. Who in these informed posts can justify "The Union" when that thing is yet so epically unjust? If Texas can't stand to be unified with the darn power grid when Texans are fleeing to Mexico where the power is on, what does the"Union" mean? Trump's description: "Shit Country" Texas just let people die. Ted Cruz and family (except the poor doggie!) caught a flight. Let us not forget.
A society 'rotten to the core' creates bullies.
The inverse is true also. Bullies create a society rotten to the core, but the current situation is not a "chicken or the egg" scenario. It's easy to tell which came first.
Bullies exist in all societies, all religions, and like in Saudi Arabia, Gaza and Israel they beome heads of state. Ayatollah Khameini and his raft of Ayatollahs and religious police are bullies.
MBS and his Mufti's, Imams and Religious Police are Bullies
Netanyahu and the religious right and it's settlers are bullies
France has it's bullies as well, like Marine le Pen, and Macron
Are the blinders you wear, by choice?
Off again William.
I do not wear 'binders.' I know exactly what is going on here in Europe and France probably more than YOU do. It's not pretty.
The problem has always been with "American exceptionalism."
America has to win.
I am aware that we in Europe are 'vassals' to the USA
Let us say I agree with you. Then what is the solution?
What form of world government will solve the problems that humans create? How does one go about convincing or imposing this form of government on the world.?
Can nations even exist without governance?
I am not sure there is a solution. This last Empire has evicerated and crucified us to such an extent that we don't even have a common purpose, which to my mind is saving the earth.
To save the earth means we categorically disallow religion of any kind and weapons. The only thing to worship is Earth. This ultimately means we have to give up: everything that makes humans comfortable.
Unfortunately man will then begin inventing stuff again and we will be back to square one!
I am not an optimist with regard to humans.
Neither am I Jenny.
I remain steadfast a pessimist, which is (in this society) a slur, but a pessimist is a realist, they don't cling to faith and hope.
When a pessimist finds his or her pessimism refuted, they joyously celebrate.
Whenan optimist finds their hope and faith refuted they sink into depression. and play the "what if" and blame game.
That's so funny.
Yes it is a slur in America.
In the Guardian they did a survey of the French..........probably the most pessimistic people on the planet. However since this was done by the British I would say they are no different which is why we have always been at war!
We love celebrating when things turn out well.
I know you like weird things: The British are now complaining that Europe has left them out of the new rail services we are building. No short flights any more. Since the British brexxittted they have more complaints about Europe................endless.
well, do you have to ask? Can't we quit stroking the Jenny beast?
LOL, Gotcha, will do
Look at this way, She is lonely and needs attention, so you inmates controversy. So now I have her talking about her self and nothing else. A win win, and I have the time.
As a court stenographer, I knew my friend had to keep her game-face on. I asked her if she ever lost her cool in court. The point for now is, what did it feel like to be in a court of law where an actual member of the bar said that nothing a president does is a criminal act and they have immunity from prosecution? Did anyone LOL; did anyone in court at least cough the word "king"?
Can't say I was shocked that there was no nuance or finesse in their position. His Royal Hiney and the Cult always double-down by trying to bully some more.
I've had to testify and to sit on a jury, court is as serious as a heart attack. Eventually, one is going to slap these bitches back to reality. And, SCOTUS judges do not live forever--it just feels that way.
My friend answered yes. It had to do with a guy in a wheel-chair, an angry wife, and a steep driveway. A wicked sense of humor can help you cope.
Took me back to my glory days. If any of this s---t can get in front of 12 folks remotely representing anybody's ma and pa..... Even if they thought Fox was same as Scripture! I saw so many juries astounded! by the Rest of the Story! There's a country song: "Most People are Good."
Last night I saw a gutless, spineless Trump, a groveling, sniveling wimp grasping a the last straws like the coward that he really is. What is it about the Lion King generation that they have no confidence in their ability to stand up for bullies. They need a Savior. Why?