I loved the story Voltaire passed down to us as fiction. Like much fiction, it's also fact.
It seems to me that many of the most public figures Trump is targeting have the moxie and the means to stand up to his vengeful and perhaps (given it's TRUMP, whose narcissism and sadism might make his actions at least somewhat personal) politically motivated barrage of lawsuits. But that doesn't mean the whole thing doesn't stink to high heaven. Right now I find myself also concerned with his approval of broadcasting a public execution by firing squad, which is barbaric and retrograde to the extreme, putting us in the company of the Taliban, Somalia and North Korea (only). I am reminded of Alexei Navalny, who stayed true and courageous until the end. Might be I should get a picture of him and light a candle to his spirit every day.
1. Donald is beyond insane; he's criminally insane
2. Many wanted a racist; they got one, but he's got baggage
3. He may begin to target cars, like trawlers in the Caribbean Sea, if Putin says to.
#WILL he charge Putin's protection force the same rate as he does the Secret Service, when Putin spends sweet, sweet honeymoon nights w/ the mic-blower-in-chief at Mar-a-Lago
In my estimation trump is the most successful criminal in U.S. history. Threaten the Don and get punished, stay in line or lose your livelihood. He's turned republican house and senate members into capos and soldiers for his use. And add in six members of the supreme court. He's used them successfully to block the release of the Epstein files and Jack Smith's classified documents investigation. Just as with Putin the money flows up to him and some flows down to fellow gang members. He can make you rich or ruin your life the GOP has made their choice.
It might be reassuring to keep in mind that Don Dementiano is ruthless, but dum as a doornail. It is his arrogant stupidity that always trips him up in the end. Diesel Don's Putin deal, a treasonous violation of federal law, was mocked for the fact that Trump arrogantly failed to even have an expert do the arithmetic on whether his treason would lower fuel prices - which it will not. However, it did confirm suspicions across the EU that America is no longer a trustworthy ally. We are not viewed by the rest of the world as a dangerous loose cannon.
Although I don't believe in space aliens. For the simple reason that to be able to perambulate on and live in this gravity and atmosphere, the alien would have to come from an identical planet, it does cross my mind that Trump is an alien or possessed by one, because he is on a mission to destroy this planet and all mammalian life,and the best way to do that is to take over and destroy America and democracy, and he is doing a yeomans job if that is his goal.
Other than that, with the exception of you Thom, readers of Thom, fellow travelers. the innocents , and myself, the rest of the country.deserve Trump and all that follows.
MAGAts will eat their own shit, unfortunately you and I and fellow travelers will have that shit shoved down our throats.
Trump is a stereotypical racketeer. He leads via extortion, not by trust of the led. "Do what I say or I will f-ck you up." Trump will sue you into bankruptcy with legal fees before you ever have a trial, eventually losing 70% of those that do make it to trial, according to NYT. He will publicly accuse you of malfeasance without proof - guilty until proven innocent. Like all MAGAs, unpalatable or disparaging facts about them are lies, whereas their lies to dismiss your accusations of corruption as baseless are, as Kelly Conway put it; "alternative facts." The goal of all racketeers is to exploit by bullying.
Once in power, racketeers can and do weaponize government to enrich themselves and crush opposition to their rule. It is ironic that MAGAs have begun to accuse Democrats of weaponizing government by trying to get Trump to obey court orders and the law (like the Graham law he signed banning fuel purchases from Russia). Just look at the number of cases that Trump brought that failed to get indictments, were tossed out of court, or were lost in court.
It's difficult to imagine the hellish future that Mr. Trump and his circle are itching for. Trump is mortal; only a few (mostly family) briefly sit behind his fire hose of vengefulness, with everyone else scrambling against slipping down the treacherous slope into disfavor and retribution. We see it daily as his loyalists do flip-flops to align with the emperor's declamations, hoping to succeed him (Rubio comes to mind). As the country crumbles, what happens to the flow of consumer-sourced wealth that feeds his billionaire enablers? Who would vote to live that way? This is Stalin's communism, yet Trumpies slander Democrats as being "communist".
Many in the generation that marched in Selma had no power, but resolved to choke the prisons with their bodies. Will those of us who have lived so much more comfortably do as well in resisting?
May many perceive this horror, then vote to disempower him while voting remains within our grasp.
The Trump regime constantly inverts and subverts reality and projects their criminal habits on their critics, or anyone who is merely being honest and just. Thus, the most corrupt administration in history indicts and investigates innocent people for...corruption!
Why aren't the (do-nothing) Democrats screaming their heads off, pounding their shoes and having a fit in congress over this outrageous insult? Every one of them!!! AND, why haven't they tried to DEFUND ICE? THIS IS THE TIME TO DO SOMETHING! All should march down to the Republican chair's office and stand there and scream! There is no HIGH ROAD position to this.
POSOTUS’S many, many victims should be generously compensated from his vast, ill-gotten wealth, the coffers of the RNC, and, finally, federal treasury, in that order. Democratic leaders who fail to aggressively, loudly, forcefully pursue justice should appropriately be seen as spinelessly abetting Repugnican crimes and expelled from their positions. The damage that’s been done is incalculable, its perpetrators deserving of the harshest penalties. Failure to respond accordingly will constitute tacit approval.
What you are proposing might seem like justice, but it also is not that different from how Trump has weaponized our justice system. Bill Maher and several others have reminded their viewers that Democrats will bomb in 2028 if they act like MAGAs once in the majority come January (assuming Trump does not trigger another revolutionary war).
This is such an important essay. May the spirit of Navalny continue to inspire us all!
I loved the story Voltaire passed down to us as fiction. Like much fiction, it's also fact.
It seems to me that many of the most public figures Trump is targeting have the moxie and the means to stand up to his vengeful and perhaps (given it's TRUMP, whose narcissism and sadism might make his actions at least somewhat personal) politically motivated barrage of lawsuits. But that doesn't mean the whole thing doesn't stink to high heaven. Right now I find myself also concerned with his approval of broadcasting a public execution by firing squad, which is barbaric and retrograde to the extreme, putting us in the company of the Taliban, Somalia and North Korea (only). I am reminded of Alexei Navalny, who stayed true and courageous until the end. Might be I should get a picture of him and light a candle to his spirit every day.
1. Donald is beyond insane; he's criminally insane
2. Many wanted a racist; they got one, but he's got baggage
3. He may begin to target cars, like trawlers in the Caribbean Sea, if Putin says to.
#WILL he charge Putin's protection force the same rate as he does the Secret Service, when Putin spends sweet, sweet honeymoon nights w/ the mic-blower-in-chief at Mar-a-Lago
#KIDDIE Rapists must ATONE
#VOTE for Strong Democrats
It is very important to know the history -- both of repressive authoritarian regimes, and how and when they were broken.
Equally essential is that we show up -- with our voices, with our protests, in our conversations.
However, if the captive media doesn't cover it, doesn't show up to do their constitutional designed function, it will matter not.
Thanks for the chilling, but necessary, reminder of how dire the current situation really is.
In my estimation trump is the most successful criminal in U.S. history. Threaten the Don and get punished, stay in line or lose your livelihood. He's turned republican house and senate members into capos and soldiers for his use. And add in six members of the supreme court. He's used them successfully to block the release of the Epstein files and Jack Smith's classified documents investigation. Just as with Putin the money flows up to him and some flows down to fellow gang members. He can make you rich or ruin your life the GOP has made their choice.
It might be reassuring to keep in mind that Don Dementiano is ruthless, but dum as a doornail. It is his arrogant stupidity that always trips him up in the end. Diesel Don's Putin deal, a treasonous violation of federal law, was mocked for the fact that Trump arrogantly failed to even have an expert do the arithmetic on whether his treason would lower fuel prices - which it will not. However, it did confirm suspicions across the EU that America is no longer a trustworthy ally. We are not viewed by the rest of the world as a dangerous loose cannon.
Although I don't believe in space aliens. For the simple reason that to be able to perambulate on and live in this gravity and atmosphere, the alien would have to come from an identical planet, it does cross my mind that Trump is an alien or possessed by one, because he is on a mission to destroy this planet and all mammalian life,and the best way to do that is to take over and destroy America and democracy, and he is doing a yeomans job if that is his goal.
Other than that, with the exception of you Thom, readers of Thom, fellow travelers. the innocents , and myself, the rest of the country.deserve Trump and all that follows.
MAGAts will eat their own shit, unfortunately you and I and fellow travelers will have that shit shoved down our throats.
Trump is a stereotypical racketeer. He leads via extortion, not by trust of the led. "Do what I say or I will f-ck you up." Trump will sue you into bankruptcy with legal fees before you ever have a trial, eventually losing 70% of those that do make it to trial, according to NYT. He will publicly accuse you of malfeasance without proof - guilty until proven innocent. Like all MAGAs, unpalatable or disparaging facts about them are lies, whereas their lies to dismiss your accusations of corruption as baseless are, as Kelly Conway put it; "alternative facts." The goal of all racketeers is to exploit by bullying.
Once in power, racketeers can and do weaponize government to enrich themselves and crush opposition to their rule. It is ironic that MAGAs have begun to accuse Democrats of weaponizing government by trying to get Trump to obey court orders and the law (like the Graham law he signed banning fuel purchases from Russia). Just look at the number of cases that Trump brought that failed to get indictments, were tossed out of court, or were lost in court.
It's difficult to imagine the hellish future that Mr. Trump and his circle are itching for. Trump is mortal; only a few (mostly family) briefly sit behind his fire hose of vengefulness, with everyone else scrambling against slipping down the treacherous slope into disfavor and retribution. We see it daily as his loyalists do flip-flops to align with the emperor's declamations, hoping to succeed him (Rubio comes to mind). As the country crumbles, what happens to the flow of consumer-sourced wealth that feeds his billionaire enablers? Who would vote to live that way? This is Stalin's communism, yet Trumpies slander Democrats as being "communist".
Many in the generation that marched in Selma had no power, but resolved to choke the prisons with their bodies. Will those of us who have lived so much more comfortably do as well in resisting?
May many perceive this horror, then vote to disempower him while voting remains within our grasp.
The Trump regime constantly inverts and subverts reality and projects their criminal habits on their critics, or anyone who is merely being honest and just. Thus, the most corrupt administration in history indicts and investigates innocent people for...corruption!
Why aren't the (do-nothing) Democrats screaming their heads off, pounding their shoes and having a fit in congress over this outrageous insult? Every one of them!!! AND, why haven't they tried to DEFUND ICE? THIS IS THE TIME TO DO SOMETHING! All should march down to the Republican chair's office and stand there and scream! There is no HIGH ROAD position to this.
POSOTUS’S many, many victims should be generously compensated from his vast, ill-gotten wealth, the coffers of the RNC, and, finally, federal treasury, in that order. Democratic leaders who fail to aggressively, loudly, forcefully pursue justice should appropriately be seen as spinelessly abetting Repugnican crimes and expelled from their positions. The damage that’s been done is incalculable, its perpetrators deserving of the harshest penalties. Failure to respond accordingly will constitute tacit approval.
What you are proposing might seem like justice, but it also is not that different from how Trump has weaponized our justice system. Bill Maher and several others have reminded their viewers that Democrats will bomb in 2028 if they act like MAGAs once in the majority come January (assuming Trump does not trigger another revolutionary war).