There is no movement advocating political violence on the American left. It is entirely confined to the American right & the media needs to admit that, and the FBI needs to recalibrate their efforts…
It does seem clear that many, many people in power have kept their heads down and complied with #45's vicious threats. What about the Senators who refused to convict him in his two impeachments. Few Republicans had dared to cross him.
Republican leaders have enabled Trump. They’ve given voters license to vote for him. Senators like McConnell, Thune, Rubio, etc. that know what a threat he is but have endorsed him anyway are worse than he is. They are the reason democracy may be over.
It is very interesting that many of the prosecutors of Trumps evil regime are black and brown .
Also interesting that some of the white judges are caving to the defendants spurious accusations .
Judge McAfee sent the wrong message when he took up the defendants lawyers accusations against DA Fani Willis .
Whose business is it who she dates , how is it really relative to the case?
These people are conniving constantly to let Trump the Fascist off the hook for multiple crimes. Judge McAfee not only allowed this intrusion , he was incredibly abusive and condescending to the DA publicly.
Why ? Because he’s chickenshit scared of the defendants .
This accusation did not need to delay the trial . He let that happen and then jumped on the pile.
Here’s a thought .
‘ No we’re not going to go there with this trial ‘ take a lesson from Just say no.
tRump is definitely the useful idiot for the rabid racist bigots, religious zealots and authoritarian millionaire/billionaires. He fits perfectly with their idea of someone to head a mafia style government with the power brokers in the shadows to pull the strings. He is totally transactional without ethics or conscience. And the violence he inspires and condones is part and parcel of the whole plan to keep the low information idiots riled up and swallowing dear leaders idiotic ideas (let’s have a bleach and laser/dewormer cocktail anyone?).
I love irony! And I believe that if and when democracy prevails, history will record that the descendants of former slaves led the way.
The Constitution not only helped to enslave them, but it also confirmed them as citizens with the same legal status as all citizens.
MLK’s entire message was founded on his faith in the Constitution and his demand was that the nation live up to its promise. “I have a dream….”.
Those with the courage to stand up to Trump are those who have lived experience of Democracy’s potential to empower anyone willing to take the risks necessary to make the change necessary to make “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” possible for everyone.
Michael it is more than race hate. It is race hate, misogyny, xenophobia, LGBT phobia, encapslated in one pill, and what is that pill named? What is the singular motivation behind authoritarianism in what ever form it takes and has taken.
I'll give you a clue. Trumpism (authoritarianism) is social Viagra.
Suzie, you are being charitable, Garland is not meek, he is complicity. He is the Fox that Joe brought into the henhouse,maybe not Joe specifically, but one of his advisors like Larry Summers, but as Truman said: The buck stops here. Regardless of how one is advised, the person with the power has the responsibility, at least to be curious and ask Questions.
William, you are absolutely correct. To see Garland as not-complicit is to be willfully blind. I've tried to be tactful in my writing, believing that Biden is truly the lesser of two evils, but I also have said that neither party is independent of the robber barons who own them, courtesy of the High Holy Catholic Federalist Court (HHCFC), formerly SCOTUS. It is possible that Biden never really had the final say in Garland's appointment.
I get dragged by those who still have a belief the Democrats will save us if I so much as criticize the complicity. To me, the only saving grace of the Democrats is that many of them are unwillingly complicit, but cannot achieve office without the money that flows from those robber barons. So who is really to blame? The media, both sides, with their full-throated support of the propaganda, or the citizenry that swallows the swill with delight?
I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer," but the more I look into, the more I have come to the sad realization that the coup has already happened. My son, whose lightening intelligence I deeply admire, will simply state, "We are already a failed state." Trump and the oligarchs are running a shadow government, making deals with right-wing rulers across the globe, calling the shots throughout our government, "justice system" and the media. Alex Jones and Steve Baron are still dancing around, having yet to face any real consequence for their crimes, ruining lives and distracting the mentally feeble with their lurid circus.
To hedge bets against his coming electoral loss,Trump and the likes of MTG and well-funded right media outlets are pumping up the election suspicion and threatening violence should he lose, which he likely will. We can expect more of this hysteria from the right between now and the election. None of this is an accident and there is real teeth in the threats of violence. What does it serve us if Biden wins, but cannot effectively run the country in any manner independent from The Money?
The Washington Post, that supposed bastion of liberal-leaning objectivity, for example, is now run by Will Lewis, former CEO of the WSJ, and one-time coverup henchman for Rupert Murdoch during the hacking scandals. The federal courts are packed at all levels with Federalist loyalists. DOJ is little more than a nest of co-conspirators and organizations such as the FBI, though excoriated by the right (theater) are in on the coup as well. I think the military has tried to stay above the fray, (that might be a personal bias) but many at the general officer level, combined with the historical conservatism of most in the military are plotting to assist when the moment comes. It won't take that many of them. I say this as someone with deep ties to the military and the defense industry. I know who they are and what their ideologies mean.
I like to read Thom, because he seems more optimistic than I am and that is valuable in these awful times.
I have an intellectual crush on you Suzie. I totally agree, notice how I am using your HHCFS instead of SCOTUS, that really needs to get out in the public.
Every paragraph is spot on Suzie.
About the military. I say this. Being a retired Mustang (enlisted to officer) I have experience in both classes. The military is indeed intrinsically conservative. The whites are mainly recruited from rural /red state especially the American south, it is a historic way to escape the economic doldrums of the south and rural America. When most Vets hear "Thank you for your service" there is an inward chuckle, most welcome it because it is the only time in their otherwise banal ;lives that they have done anything or been recognized.
As regards officers. Two distinct classes. Only regular commissioned officers rise to Colonel and General Rank in peace time.
There are three sources of commissioning. The service academies, Reserve Officer Training and a direct commission. say presidentiial appointment, like the National Health Service, NOAA, the Surgeon General is an example as is the Postmaster General. (He could if he wanted wear a uniform)
Graduates of the service academies are commissioned in the regular armed forces.
Graduates of reserve officer courses, and in house officer training classes are commissioned reserve officers, and can serve on active duty and retire as such, they have a different career and promotion path than regular commissioned officers.
If a person graduates at in the top 3 to 7% of their class, if ROTC or officer training, they will be offered a Regular commission, not right away, but usually about the time they spend the two years it takes to get promoted from Enisgn (O-1) to Lt Jg (O-2)
Imention this as a way to explain the two different kind of officers, especially General Officers, Lloyd Austin, Gen Milley, came up via ROTC, not the academies,and that is important because
the service academies have been subverted by the insidious right wing Dominion theology.
It happened first in Coloardo Springs,no sooner than the AF Academy was built and the first cadets were enrolled,than the Mega Churches moved in built mega buildings, and worked with the Academy to have cadets sent to Sunday Services.
The military has always had a relationship with religion, you know about Chaplains, but in training they have a thing called Chapel Guides,there job is to inform the trainees in the platoon or flight of Chapel services, march them to chapel on Sundays, and even atheists take advantage of the break away from the barracks.
. Cadets are permitted to attend a church of their choice in the local community, and many volunteer to teach Sunday school classes. This is where they are indoctrinated in Dominion theolgy.
It spread from the Air Force Academy to West Point and Colorado Springs.
These Christian evangelical Dominionists have risen through the ranks. One of them, Martha McSally, became an A-10 pilot, a Squadron Commander, retired was appointed Senator of Arizona and tried and failed to run for her appointed position.She is a prime example of a right winger.
I've checked the bios of the most prominent Generals and Admirals, and see that it is about 50/50 so far as to Academy Grads and ROTC. The current Chief of Staff of the Navy is an ROTC grad
I do not trust Academy grad general and flag officers. Take Lt Gen McChrystal, in charge of Joint Special Ops in Afghanistan, he declared that it was a crusade against Islam, giving the Taliban and ISIS talking points, propaganda and motivation.
It was not of course. the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was the doing of Cheney and Bush for self serving purposes, but that is not what the Ummah (world wide community of Muslims) believed,like that Major Nidal Hassan at Ft Hood that killed 13 and wounded 30 others.
By the way Chaplains and medical doctors are an example of what you can call direct commissioning, they have valuable skills and only go through a familiarization course, taught how to wear a uniform, salute, a brushing acquaintance with the UCMJ, etc.
George W Bush, went through basic training at LacklandAFB,TX with the 3702 Basic Military Training Squadron, a 6 week course. The 3702 is a special squadron for training National Guard, the 2710 trains AF Reserve enlistees.
Upon graduation from basic enlisted training into the Texas ANG,his father the Governor of Texas pinned 2nd Lr brs on him, then sent him to pilot training, he eventually went AWOL and why not, his dad was the commander in chief of the Texas ANG>
He was never trained as an officer, knew nothing of the responsibilities, legalities or law.
Yes. I am also a Mustang - ROTC distinguished grad - the whole nine yards. Gang Ho until I became an officer and hated it. Regular commission. Didn't stay to retirement. Did one tour as an officer and then out. Lived my mother's dream of me enlisting, going to night school (7 years) and the getting a commission. Figured I had given her enough of what she wanted.
Also would point out that I was primary interface with senior officers of all services in my business development role. Represented the company at conferences, symposia, cocktail parties, and carefully choreographed meetings, etc. I actually really liked working with the Marines. They were generally honest and the officers really smart. One thing I will say is that most members of the service I met were decent men and women. At the top, though, it was all politics.
It is the politics I couldn't stomach. I don't like and won't play games Suzie.
For instance at a dining out, we (officers) would show up in mess dress, each commander claimed his own corner, if he had rank over the others, but otherwise there was a ring around the outside, and one's commander would gather around him his subordinates. and at a precise moment, the "supreme" commander" would move to the center, and the subordinate commanders would break off and join the big boss in the center. It's a ritual.
When a superior officer treats you as an inferior you have to put up with it.
I was a witness to something in the office of South Com commanders office, when in Panama. It is now in the US. The general dressed down a Colonel the Colonel assumed the position, literally, of a punished child, his shoulders pulled inwards and he stooped, his testosterone level plummeted,
The Colonel was fuming and when we got back to the outfit, he called in a Major, and dressed him down, the Major shrunk in stature and the Colonel regained his testosterone.
The Major dressed down a Lieutenant, and the poor Lieutenant knew better than to dress down the E-8.
I came close to a court martial at least three times. The closest when I back talked Gen Dean, commander of the 82nd Airborne, just before our jump into the Han River Drop Zone during Operation Focus Retina, the 2nd Korean war BTW.
After I called my troops to attention, we weren't even attached to the 82nd Airborne, and his aide informed him who we were, he said, "oh you are the guys that can't screw up this operation". I replied that's not in the ops plan. His aide said,you can't talk to the general like that, I replied, I already did.
The airborne assault came off seamlessly, except for one trooper whose chute got caught on a horizontal stabilizer, after a couple pass, he finally cut loose and came down safely on his reserve..
IMHO virtually all command level officers and noncoms were Masons.
Some went to officer candidate school, some got direct field commissions and some even got Congressional commissions. Lawyers have a separate Judge Advocate General school at Charlottesville VA where one of my former colleagues was commandant.
Before we went on combat missions we were forced to attend "Chaplain's call" when we were told to kill the yellow devils for Christ. I was forever being proselytized.
Daniel 26 years in the service and I never met a Mason in uniform, officer or non com. I never encountered one until after I retired, BTW I was a Knight of Columbus.
I never experience Chaplains call or being proselytized, then I wasn't a ground pounder, there were no such things in special ops. The closest thing to Chaplain's Call was Beer Call.
I never met a Congressional Commission though. I can well imagine an Adj General school, the UCMJ is way different than civil law. I did sit as a Judge on a special court martial. I voted for acquittal, the others voted for guilty.
Interesting perception. I knew a LOT of officers both when I was in the Air Force and outside in defense. Only knew a few Masons - but perhaps not many wore the ring.
I never knew a Mason in the service. There is one thing that mitigates against it, and that is assignment turnover, or Permanent Change of Station. Then again I was never assigned to a line unit, where one is assigned to a unit and stays there their entire career, like the 82nd Airborne, stationed at Ft Bragg. Fayetteville, NC becomes like a permanent home.
My experience is limited by constant deployments for exercises and operations, An exercise is usually training and can involve other units, domestic and foreign, operations are real world. I literally spent half of my career on deployment, except for three years in Panama.
Overwhelmingly, 3 outta 5 Whites voted for Trump — twice.
Biden was pummeled by the majority race in 2020.
Indeed, over 7 million more Cultists-for-Trump voted in 2020 than in 2016.
And this, AFTER he proved that he was in fact, an incompetent, egomaniacal psychotic during the Plague's outset. ( "Don't let the cruise ship dock. . . . Makes my plague numbers bad.")
What does that tell us about us?
Are we: Cruel? Vicious? Sick? . . . You'll get no argument from me.
When I see vintage black-and-white photos of Red bodies being shoved into mass graves in the 19th century West of this nation, I am reminded of black-and-white movies of WWII Nazis doing the same type of pushing, but to Jewish corpses.
Trump is a Putin-wannabe, a sad, commie puppet, leading us to where the sun never shines.
We need to take his candidacy and shove it . . . into that same dark place.
Race hate is too high a price to pay, to wind up under not just a dictator, but, a proven doofus failure, to boot. One whose sole political attraction to his cultists, is a personality disorder — race hate..
There is an argument to be made that it's not Trump as much as it's his willing co-dependent minions. Under Jungian theory racism is endemic, not taught.
Collective racial subconscious? The archetypal "Hero with a Thousand Faces." Jung, who btw was "Aryan" himself, analyzed Hitler as a "medicine man" and voice of a German collective unconscious. First, he said two types of strong men existed in primitive society: the chief who was physically powerful and the medicine man who was strong not in himself but by the power people projected onto him.
Unfortunately the media feeds this theory. Trump may be a demagogue, and he may have a limited sense of reality, but as ridiculous his appearance and demeanor, most of his cult members identify with him.
Anecdotally, however, most of them react to "Trump hates dogs," and "Trump stole from kids with cancer." IMHO these memes will eventually turn some of his cult members.
I get great responses when I post Trump hates dogs on animal charity social media sites. Most of the members of Trump's cabinet now say they will not support him. Approximately 81 exMAGATS will testify against the orange antichrist in the DC, Mar a Lago and Hotlanta cases.
Millions of unregistered women can overwhelm MAGA. Register Democrats - Save Democracy. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
It's our national worship of Mammon combined with conscious or unconscious anti-dark skin bigotry! We associate riches with virtue far too much! Lord Acton knew whereof he spake when he said, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." We need to TAX the rich so that they stay rich bur nowhere near as rich as too many of them have become! When a few obscenely rich people can effectively buy our government, then they are too wealthy for the good of their own souls and we should tell them so and act in a way to save their souls!
It is more than money, it is deeper than race, though those are the apparent motives. Drill down to the root cause, pound rocks into sand,then sand into dust to get to the rock bottom motivation. As I said to Michael above.
One aging boomer to another: my take has been that there is a vicarious thrill to his groupies when Trump talks mean, which becomes addictive because it is associated with a physical release of dopamine. It is part of the same pattern that gets teenagers in trouble doing this and that that Momma told them not to. One aspect is, indeed, how much more exciting that smut magazine is because your Dad hid it and you know your Mom doesn't know about it. So my theory (for what it's worth) is that the Trumpies actually get a "hit" from Trump's nastiness. It wears down the veneer of good behavior they were raised to. All those taboos and inhibitions aren't exciting at all. Escaping them gives a sense of power. Some soak the "fix" up passively, but some progress to acting out, just like a junkie needs a higher dose.
That too is part of the toxic mix--but allow me to point out it's largely fueled by 'othering' those with darker skins, different modes of worship or different sexualities. It's the thrill they get from using 'n***er', 'k*ke', 'sp**','ch**k', at least among themselves, ad nauseam.
These accounts of threatened or actual violence remind me a bit of what is now happening in the Ukraine. I thought that the Russians had moved on from the brutal days of Stalin, when so many of their troops ran riot over the civilians of eastern Europe, particularly the Germans, looting, raping and murdering at will. Some of them certainly were and are better than that, but there is still an element that is glad to do terrible damage.
Not that Americans are necessarily any better—my mother (1913-2012) used to disparage the German people for “taking orders” when they were wrong. True, but My Lei, Abu Ghraib and many other black prisons show we can be just like them.
Put such examples together and we may come up with the conclusion that most people are followers and, as the Milgram experiments indicated, will do what they are told. And if they are angry, pushed down, abused or otherwise feel powerless they may take it out on anybody who they have permission to go after.
Whether this means that in America people of color are more courageous than whites is something that I don’t know. But as Thom says as a group they certainly have had to deal with more oppression and maybe that has led to more solidarity in fighting back. But one thing is clear, for anyone who cares being quiet is the worst strategy. And sitting back, not asking questions, and ignoring what is happening elsewhere only works in the short term. For as Thom also wrote, until they are confronted bullies never give up
Doc: As I posted to Thom; Freedom is just another word for nothing else to loose. It has nothing to do with heroism or strength, but fear of loss. Comfortable white middle class Americans like most of us, including moi, have a lot to lose by sticking our necks out.
People of color,not so much. Most, except the house slaves, the Quislings like Thomas, Robinson, Owens, Walker,Kanye, Scott who enjoy sipping brandy with the massah at his fireside, do have something to lose, re enslavement, if not chattle slavery, then the next best thing.
We left, liberal, progressive whites, while distressed over the dire future that we can see, still believe (hope?) that our skin will save us when shit hits the fan. except sexual minorities, which include women who don't want to be Gilead Handmaids.
I've read the 16 comments this morning and I would like to speak to the trembling I feel here.
I am a woman. I have been fighting and contributing to many campaigns. Republicans have gone to far. The rest of America is engaged in a fierce battle to win at the ballot box.
Republicans = violence and fear. Democrats = fierce, yet caring non-violence and hope.
I firmly believe that your writings and that of Joyce Vance, Mary Trump, Heather Cox-Richardson, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Jay Kuo, Simon Rosenberg, the staff at Democracy Docket, and so many others will help build a strong fight against the dark view being sold by Republicans.
In all the elections, up and down the ballots, democracy will prevail. Have hope. Be inspired. Do postcards, make calls, do texts, walk if you can in your neighborhoods, write to the editors of your local newspapers, make your voice heard on social media sites, on YouTube, and in your neighborhood gatherings. Do whatever you can, and together we will defeat this attempt to destroy our democracy. It has been going on for decades and has just broken through like a boil that has suddenly become an open oozing sore. Americans will kill this infection and continue on building and perfecting the America that our forefathers sought for us.
Your astute observations about Black leadership and Black female leadership in prosecuting Trump’s crimes are spot on, but please do acknowledge that Nancy Pelosi was behind the assembling of the January 6th Committee. She picked the courageous Bennie Thompson, and white members of that committee as well as Black and Hispanic ( think Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, Jamie Raskin and really all the rest), and they all are enduring ongoing threats as well as career destruction. Let’s honor Black leadership, women’s courage, and all the great people in public office who buck the right wing obstruction at every turn. Don’t divide us. This struggle transcends all our origins. Expand our reach to overturn the evil of the right.
Garland can do it, he has cause, but we know that he won't because it was he that set the table,by moving the trial to Trump land, onthe pretense that is where the crime occurred, it did not it occurred in DC when Waltine Nauta loaded the boxes unto a truck to move to the airport.
He then used a transparent excuse to appoint Aileen Cannon as judge.
That the media hasn't made this public and a scandal, tells you how cowardly andcomplicit they are including MSNBC, and sad to say it's liberal hosts, Like Hayes, Maddow, Reid,Psaki, .
No one is coming to clean my home. I must do it my self. And I hate to clean the bathtub. I really hate to clean the bathtub.
Donald J.Trump is many things but he is especially a traitor to the United States of America who is still walking around a free man spewing his hate and bile. How fast were lesser known beings who leaked classified documents arrested, tried and imprisoned?
How many appeals did Alexei Navalny get before he was imprisoned? Two months after Yergeny Prigoshin challenged Putin on his war plans for Ukraine, his plane blew up. Look what Viktor Orban, Prime Minister (read dictator) of Hungary has being doing to those who speak out against him.
If Trump is in the White House again, this will happen here. He has told us what he will do. Believe him.
No one is coming to help us clean up this mess. Don't look to the officials, not our Senators or
Representatives or Governors or Secretaries of State. It is up to us, the voters. Do what you can do at this time. Vote but what else.
Once again, Thomm doesn't hold back the pucnches and he's courages enough to tell the truth. He asks thought provoking questions and provides evidence to back up his points. I hope he provides a follow up piece about the courageous republican women who stood up against 45 including; Lynnn Cheney, Sarah Matthew and Cassidy Hutchinson. Will these women (and others like them) save the republican party?
That rage and anger addiction are self justifying should b clear to any outsider looking at what American culture has become: a celebration of rage and violence, with endless war, a gun for every American, incessantly violent "entertainment" like profootball, MMA, "prize" fighting, and now political violence. Afterall, it's not called the "fight-flight" reaction for no reason. Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald was schooled by the iconic furious madman, Adolph Hitler, and Vince McMahon of WWE infamy, and has attracted every pissed-off entitled white guy/gal in the country. Rage is central to our survival emotions/behaviors and highly rewarding through outpouring of dopamine and endorphins, among other stress hormones. Unfortunately for our constitutional Republic, rage is highly addicting, you know, like an I-phone, or the Lotteries, or gambling of any sort. To a retired psychiatrist, it makes perfect sense, but your excellent writing/analysis is very accurate as well. Thanks for all you do!
I'm old enough to remember Trump buddying up to Mike Tyson. Can anyone imagine Trump himself in a physical fight? He's just a pitiful potty-mouth coward, far as I can tell. "i'll be behind you all the way" seems to be his motto.
My fairly extensive analysis of the developmental history of Our Mad King (wannabe)Donald has left me with the belief that his deep psychological development arrested at 2 yo due to the traumatic shock of his mother's suddenly being rushed to the hospital after his younger brother, Robert's, complicated birth. Ever heard of the "terrible twos"? A 2yo is grandiose, combative, obstinate, self-centered, without empathy or conscience, possessive, prone to tantrums, impulsive, sadistic, and given to pouting. Remind you of anyone we know?
Those of us loved and protected at the time outgrow and moderate these characteristics. Trump is largely stuck there. He is best understood as a 2yo in a grown man's body.
While I continue to urge a blue vote everywhere, for everyone, and to do all you can to maximize that, Thom’s contribution today tells me two things. First, for too many non-white people, a blue vote is a risky act of courage, especially in deep red areas of the country (Idaho panhandle, anyone?). Second, if TFG wins in November, and maybe even if he doesn’t, the sad truth is that all who oppose him and his cultists, but especially non-white Americans, red to exercise their “Second Amendment rights” the cultists bleat about so intensely. Hopefully not to have to use them, but so that the cultists pay if they start to use violence to try to get their way.
I will not be among them. I am too old and infirm. But some younger extended family members are already prepared. That we have come to this is a tragedy. Never forget: this is the world the morbidly rich want. May they reap what they have sown.
It does seem clear that many, many people in power have kept their heads down and complied with #45's vicious threats. What about the Senators who refused to convict him in his two impeachments. Few Republicans had dared to cross him.
Republican leaders have enabled Trump. They’ve given voters license to vote for him. Senators like McConnell, Thune, Rubio, etc. that know what a threat he is but have endorsed him anyway are worse than he is. They are the reason democracy may be over.
It is very interesting that many of the prosecutors of Trumps evil regime are black and brown .
Also interesting that some of the white judges are caving to the defendants spurious accusations .
Judge McAfee sent the wrong message when he took up the defendants lawyers accusations against DA Fani Willis .
Whose business is it who she dates , how is it really relative to the case?
These people are conniving constantly to let Trump the Fascist off the hook for multiple crimes. Judge McAfee not only allowed this intrusion , he was incredibly abusive and condescending to the DA publicly.
Why ? Because he’s chickenshit scared of the defendants .
This accusation did not need to delay the trial . He let that happen and then jumped on the pile.
Here’s a thought .
‘ No we’re not going to go there with this trial ‘ take a lesson from Just say no.
tRump is definitely the useful idiot for the rabid racist bigots, religious zealots and authoritarian millionaire/billionaires. He fits perfectly with their idea of someone to head a mafia style government with the power brokers in the shadows to pull the strings. He is totally transactional without ethics or conscience. And the violence he inspires and condones is part and parcel of the whole plan to keep the low information idiots riled up and swallowing dear leaders idiotic ideas (let’s have a bleach and laser/dewormer cocktail anyone?).
I love irony! And I believe that if and when democracy prevails, history will record that the descendants of former slaves led the way.
The Constitution not only helped to enslave them, but it also confirmed them as citizens with the same legal status as all citizens.
MLK’s entire message was founded on his faith in the Constitution and his demand was that the nation live up to its promise. “I have a dream….”.
Those with the courage to stand up to Trump are those who have lived experience of Democracy’s potential to empower anyone willing to take the risks necessary to make the change necessary to make “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” possible for everyone.
Michael it is more than race hate. It is race hate, misogyny, xenophobia, LGBT phobia, encapslated in one pill, and what is that pill named? What is the singular motivation behind authoritarianism in what ever form it takes and has taken.
I'll give you a clue. Trumpism (authoritarianism) is social Viagra.
And Merrick the Meek Garland sits on his hands....
Suzie, you are being charitable, Garland is not meek, he is complicity. He is the Fox that Joe brought into the henhouse,maybe not Joe specifically, but one of his advisors like Larry Summers, but as Truman said: The buck stops here. Regardless of how one is advised, the person with the power has the responsibility, at least to be curious and ask Questions.
William, you are absolutely correct. To see Garland as not-complicit is to be willfully blind. I've tried to be tactful in my writing, believing that Biden is truly the lesser of two evils, but I also have said that neither party is independent of the robber barons who own them, courtesy of the High Holy Catholic Federalist Court (HHCFC), formerly SCOTUS. It is possible that Biden never really had the final say in Garland's appointment.
I get dragged by those who still have a belief the Democrats will save us if I so much as criticize the complicity. To me, the only saving grace of the Democrats is that many of them are unwillingly complicit, but cannot achieve office without the money that flows from those robber barons. So who is really to blame? The media, both sides, with their full-throated support of the propaganda, or the citizenry that swallows the swill with delight?
I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer," but the more I look into, the more I have come to the sad realization that the coup has already happened. My son, whose lightening intelligence I deeply admire, will simply state, "We are already a failed state." Trump and the oligarchs are running a shadow government, making deals with right-wing rulers across the globe, calling the shots throughout our government, "justice system" and the media. Alex Jones and Steve Baron are still dancing around, having yet to face any real consequence for their crimes, ruining lives and distracting the mentally feeble with their lurid circus.
To hedge bets against his coming electoral loss,Trump and the likes of MTG and well-funded right media outlets are pumping up the election suspicion and threatening violence should he lose, which he likely will. We can expect more of this hysteria from the right between now and the election. None of this is an accident and there is real teeth in the threats of violence. What does it serve us if Biden wins, but cannot effectively run the country in any manner independent from The Money?
The Washington Post, that supposed bastion of liberal-leaning objectivity, for example, is now run by Will Lewis, former CEO of the WSJ, and one-time coverup henchman for Rupert Murdoch during the hacking scandals. The federal courts are packed at all levels with Federalist loyalists. DOJ is little more than a nest of co-conspirators and organizations such as the FBI, though excoriated by the right (theater) are in on the coup as well. I think the military has tried to stay above the fray, (that might be a personal bias) but many at the general officer level, combined with the historical conservatism of most in the military are plotting to assist when the moment comes. It won't take that many of them. I say this as someone with deep ties to the military and the defense industry. I know who they are and what their ideologies mean.
I like to read Thom, because he seems more optimistic than I am and that is valuable in these awful times.
I have an intellectual crush on you Suzie. I totally agree, notice how I am using your HHCFS instead of SCOTUS, that really needs to get out in the public.
Every paragraph is spot on Suzie.
About the military. I say this. Being a retired Mustang (enlisted to officer) I have experience in both classes. The military is indeed intrinsically conservative. The whites are mainly recruited from rural /red state especially the American south, it is a historic way to escape the economic doldrums of the south and rural America. When most Vets hear "Thank you for your service" there is an inward chuckle, most welcome it because it is the only time in their otherwise banal ;lives that they have done anything or been recognized.
As regards officers. Two distinct classes. Only regular commissioned officers rise to Colonel and General Rank in peace time.
There are three sources of commissioning. The service academies, Reserve Officer Training and a direct commission. say presidentiial appointment, like the National Health Service, NOAA, the Surgeon General is an example as is the Postmaster General. (He could if he wanted wear a uniform)
Graduates of the service academies are commissioned in the regular armed forces.
Graduates of reserve officer courses, and in house officer training classes are commissioned reserve officers, and can serve on active duty and retire as such, they have a different career and promotion path than regular commissioned officers.
If a person graduates at in the top 3 to 7% of their class, if ROTC or officer training, they will be offered a Regular commission, not right away, but usually about the time they spend the two years it takes to get promoted from Enisgn (O-1) to Lt Jg (O-2)
Imention this as a way to explain the two different kind of officers, especially General Officers, Lloyd Austin, Gen Milley, came up via ROTC, not the academies,and that is important because
the service academies have been subverted by the insidious right wing Dominion theology.
It happened first in Coloardo Springs,no sooner than the AF Academy was built and the first cadets were enrolled,than the Mega Churches moved in built mega buildings, and worked with the Academy to have cadets sent to Sunday Services.
The military has always had a relationship with religion, you know about Chaplains, but in training they have a thing called Chapel Guides,there job is to inform the trainees in the platoon or flight of Chapel services, march them to chapel on Sundays, and even atheists take advantage of the break away from the barracks.
. Cadets are permitted to attend a church of their choice in the local community, and many volunteer to teach Sunday school classes. This is where they are indoctrinated in Dominion theolgy.
It spread from the Air Force Academy to West Point and Colorado Springs.
These Christian evangelical Dominionists have risen through the ranks. One of them, Martha McSally, became an A-10 pilot, a Squadron Commander, retired was appointed Senator of Arizona and tried and failed to run for her appointed position.She is a prime example of a right winger.
I've checked the bios of the most prominent Generals and Admirals, and see that it is about 50/50 so far as to Academy Grads and ROTC. The current Chief of Staff of the Navy is an ROTC grad
I do not trust Academy grad general and flag officers. Take Lt Gen McChrystal, in charge of Joint Special Ops in Afghanistan, he declared that it was a crusade against Islam, giving the Taliban and ISIS talking points, propaganda and motivation.
It was not of course. the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan was the doing of Cheney and Bush for self serving purposes, but that is not what the Ummah (world wide community of Muslims) believed,like that Major Nidal Hassan at Ft Hood that killed 13 and wounded 30 others.
By the way Chaplains and medical doctors are an example of what you can call direct commissioning, they have valuable skills and only go through a familiarization course, taught how to wear a uniform, salute, a brushing acquaintance with the UCMJ, etc.
George W Bush, went through basic training at LacklandAFB,TX with the 3702 Basic Military Training Squadron, a 6 week course. The 3702 is a special squadron for training National Guard, the 2710 trains AF Reserve enlistees.
Upon graduation from basic enlisted training into the Texas ANG,his father the Governor of Texas pinned 2nd Lr brs on him, then sent him to pilot training, he eventually went AWOL and why not, his dad was the commander in chief of the Texas ANG>
He was never trained as an officer, knew nothing of the responsibilities, legalities or law.
Yes. I am also a Mustang - ROTC distinguished grad - the whole nine yards. Gang Ho until I became an officer and hated it. Regular commission. Didn't stay to retirement. Did one tour as an officer and then out. Lived my mother's dream of me enlisting, going to night school (7 years) and the getting a commission. Figured I had given her enough of what she wanted.
Also would point out that I was primary interface with senior officers of all services in my business development role. Represented the company at conferences, symposia, cocktail parties, and carefully choreographed meetings, etc. I actually really liked working with the Marines. They were generally honest and the officers really smart. One thing I will say is that most members of the service I met were decent men and women. At the top, though, it was all politics.
It is the politics I couldn't stomach. I don't like and won't play games Suzie.
For instance at a dining out, we (officers) would show up in mess dress, each commander claimed his own corner, if he had rank over the others, but otherwise there was a ring around the outside, and one's commander would gather around him his subordinates. and at a precise moment, the "supreme" commander" would move to the center, and the subordinate commanders would break off and join the big boss in the center. It's a ritual.
When a superior officer treats you as an inferior you have to put up with it.
I was a witness to something in the office of South Com commanders office, when in Panama. It is now in the US. The general dressed down a Colonel the Colonel assumed the position, literally, of a punished child, his shoulders pulled inwards and he stooped, his testosterone level plummeted,
The Colonel was fuming and when we got back to the outfit, he called in a Major, and dressed him down, the Major shrunk in stature and the Colonel regained his testosterone.
The Major dressed down a Lieutenant, and the poor Lieutenant knew better than to dress down the E-8.
I came close to a court martial at least three times. The closest when I back talked Gen Dean, commander of the 82nd Airborne, just before our jump into the Han River Drop Zone during Operation Focus Retina, the 2nd Korean war BTW.
After I called my troops to attention, we weren't even attached to the 82nd Airborne, and his aide informed him who we were, he said, "oh you are the guys that can't screw up this operation". I replied that's not in the ops plan. His aide said,you can't talk to the general like that, I replied, I already did.
The airborne assault came off seamlessly, except for one trooper whose chute got caught on a horizontal stabilizer, after a couple pass, he finally cut loose and came down safely on his reserve..
The
IMHO virtually all command level officers and noncoms were Masons.
Some went to officer candidate school, some got direct field commissions and some even got Congressional commissions. Lawyers have a separate Judge Advocate General school at Charlottesville VA where one of my former colleagues was commandant.
Before we went on combat missions we were forced to attend "Chaplain's call" when we were told to kill the yellow devils for Christ. I was forever being proselytized.
Daniel 26 years in the service and I never met a Mason in uniform, officer or non com. I never encountered one until after I retired, BTW I was a Knight of Columbus.
I never experience Chaplains call or being proselytized, then I wasn't a ground pounder, there were no such things in special ops. The closest thing to Chaplain's Call was Beer Call.
I never met a Congressional Commission though. I can well imagine an Adj General school, the UCMJ is way different than civil law. I did sit as a Judge on a special court martial. I voted for acquittal, the others voted for guilty.
Masonry used to be top secret.
Masons in the military started with Washington, Hamilton, etc. The biggest lodge is in Alexandria, not far from the Pentagon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Masonic_National_Memorial
Here's a list of 5 stars. https://www.travelingtemplar.com/2017/03/five-stars-and-freemasonry.html Not current.
Several members of Congress gave themselves commissions -- starting as Captains
I suffered through several Chaplain's calls.
Interesting perception. I knew a LOT of officers both when I was in the Air Force and outside in defense. Only knew a few Masons - but perhaps not many wore the ring.
I never knew a Mason in the service. There is one thing that mitigates against it, and that is assignment turnover, or Permanent Change of Station. Then again I was never assigned to a line unit, where one is assigned to a unit and stays there their entire career, like the 82nd Airborne, stationed at Ft Bragg. Fayetteville, NC becomes like a permanent home.
My experience is limited by constant deployments for exercises and operations, An exercise is usually training and can involve other units, domestic and foreign, operations are real world. I literally spent half of my career on deployment, except for three years in Panama.
Agree completely. I also have the feeling that the military has tried to stay above the fray.
Flynn and his brother needed to be investigated.
You are absolutely right there, sir.
He can come out swinging when it comes to Apple though.
Overwhelmingly, 3 outta 5 Whites voted for Trump — twice.
Biden was pummeled by the majority race in 2020.
Indeed, over 7 million more Cultists-for-Trump voted in 2020 than in 2016.
And this, AFTER he proved that he was in fact, an incompetent, egomaniacal psychotic during the Plague's outset. ( "Don't let the cruise ship dock. . . . Makes my plague numbers bad.")
What does that tell us about us?
Are we: Cruel? Vicious? Sick? . . . You'll get no argument from me.
When I see vintage black-and-white photos of Red bodies being shoved into mass graves in the 19th century West of this nation, I am reminded of black-and-white movies of WWII Nazis doing the same type of pushing, but to Jewish corpses.
Trump is a Putin-wannabe, a sad, commie puppet, leading us to where the sun never shines.
We need to take his candidacy and shove it . . . into that same dark place.
Race hate is too high a price to pay, to wind up under not just a dictator, but, a proven doofus failure, to boot. One whose sole political attraction to his cultists, is a personality disorder — race hate..
There is an argument to be made that it's not Trump as much as it's his willing co-dependent minions. Under Jungian theory racism is endemic, not taught.
Collective racial subconscious? The archetypal "Hero with a Thousand Faces." Jung, who btw was "Aryan" himself, analyzed Hitler as a "medicine man" and voice of a German collective unconscious. First, he said two types of strong men existed in primitive society: the chief who was physically powerful and the medicine man who was strong not in himself but by the power people projected onto him.
Unfortunately the media feeds this theory. Trump may be a demagogue, and he may have a limited sense of reality, but as ridiculous his appearance and demeanor, most of his cult members identify with him.
Anecdotally, however, most of them react to "Trump hates dogs," and "Trump stole from kids with cancer." IMHO these memes will eventually turn some of his cult members.
I get great responses when I post Trump hates dogs on animal charity social media sites. Most of the members of Trump's cabinet now say they will not support him. Approximately 81 exMAGATS will testify against the orange antichrist in the DC, Mar a Lago and Hotlanta cases.
Millions of unregistered women can overwhelm MAGA. Register Democrats - Save Democracy. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
It's our national worship of Mammon combined with conscious or unconscious anti-dark skin bigotry! We associate riches with virtue far too much! Lord Acton knew whereof he spake when he said, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." We need to TAX the rich so that they stay rich bur nowhere near as rich as too many of them have become! When a few obscenely rich people can effectively buy our government, then they are too wealthy for the good of their own souls and we should tell them so and act in a way to save their souls!
It is more than money, it is deeper than race, though those are the apparent motives. Drill down to the root cause, pound rocks into sand,then sand into dust to get to the rock bottom motivation. As I said to Michael above.
Trumpism (authoritarianism) is social Viagra.
Could you please expound on that further? I'm not quite sure of what you mean, but I'm only an aging Boomer.
One aging boomer to another: my take has been that there is a vicarious thrill to his groupies when Trump talks mean, which becomes addictive because it is associated with a physical release of dopamine. It is part of the same pattern that gets teenagers in trouble doing this and that that Momma told them not to. One aspect is, indeed, how much more exciting that smut magazine is because your Dad hid it and you know your Mom doesn't know about it. So my theory (for what it's worth) is that the Trumpies actually get a "hit" from Trump's nastiness. It wears down the veneer of good behavior they were raised to. All those taboos and inhibitions aren't exciting at all. Escaping them gives a sense of power. Some soak the "fix" up passively, but some progress to acting out, just like a junkie needs a higher dose.
That too is part of the toxic mix--but allow me to point out it's largely fueled by 'othering' those with darker skins, different modes of worship or different sexualities. It's the thrill they get from using 'n***er', 'k*ke', 'sp**','ch**k', at least among themselves, ad nauseam.
I read somewhere the term “morbidly rich”. Imho, that is a perfect description.
I invented that phrase! ;)
Now we know! If imitation is the highest form of flattery, boy are you one of the flatterdest!
It’s perfect! Thank you.
I couldn't agree more!
Where is the brave man / woman who will send this wannabe deranged hitler meme back to his maker? I wonder. Future will tell.
Paraphrasing Henry II's remark about Thomas a Beckett you are.
These accounts of threatened or actual violence remind me a bit of what is now happening in the Ukraine. I thought that the Russians had moved on from the brutal days of Stalin, when so many of their troops ran riot over the civilians of eastern Europe, particularly the Germans, looting, raping and murdering at will. Some of them certainly were and are better than that, but there is still an element that is glad to do terrible damage.
Not that Americans are necessarily any better—my mother (1913-2012) used to disparage the German people for “taking orders” when they were wrong. True, but My Lei, Abu Ghraib and many other black prisons show we can be just like them.
Put such examples together and we may come up with the conclusion that most people are followers and, as the Milgram experiments indicated, will do what they are told. And if they are angry, pushed down, abused or otherwise feel powerless they may take it out on anybody who they have permission to go after.
Whether this means that in America people of color are more courageous than whites is something that I don’t know. But as Thom says as a group they certainly have had to deal with more oppression and maybe that has led to more solidarity in fighting back. But one thing is clear, for anyone who cares being quiet is the worst strategy. And sitting back, not asking questions, and ignoring what is happening elsewhere only works in the short term. For as Thom also wrote, until they are confronted bullies never give up
Doc: As I posted to Thom; Freedom is just another word for nothing else to loose. It has nothing to do with heroism or strength, but fear of loss. Comfortable white middle class Americans like most of us, including moi, have a lot to lose by sticking our necks out.
People of color,not so much. Most, except the house slaves, the Quislings like Thomas, Robinson, Owens, Walker,Kanye, Scott who enjoy sipping brandy with the massah at his fireside, do have something to lose, re enslavement, if not chattle slavery, then the next best thing.
We left, liberal, progressive whites, while distressed over the dire future that we can see, still believe (hope?) that our skin will save us when shit hits the fan. except sexual minorities, which include women who don't want to be Gilead Handmaids.
I've read the 16 comments this morning and I would like to speak to the trembling I feel here.
I am a woman. I have been fighting and contributing to many campaigns. Republicans have gone to far. The rest of America is engaged in a fierce battle to win at the ballot box.
Republicans = violence and fear. Democrats = fierce, yet caring non-violence and hope.
I firmly believe that your writings and that of Joyce Vance, Mary Trump, Heather Cox-Richardson, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Jay Kuo, Simon Rosenberg, the staff at Democracy Docket, and so many others will help build a strong fight against the dark view being sold by Republicans.
In all the elections, up and down the ballots, democracy will prevail. Have hope. Be inspired. Do postcards, make calls, do texts, walk if you can in your neighborhoods, write to the editors of your local newspapers, make your voice heard on social media sites, on YouTube, and in your neighborhood gatherings. Do whatever you can, and together we will defeat this attempt to destroy our democracy. It has been going on for decades and has just broken through like a boil that has suddenly become an open oozing sore. Americans will kill this infection and continue on building and perfecting the America that our forefathers sought for us.
Your astute observations about Black leadership and Black female leadership in prosecuting Trump’s crimes are spot on, but please do acknowledge that Nancy Pelosi was behind the assembling of the January 6th Committee. She picked the courageous Bennie Thompson, and white members of that committee as well as Black and Hispanic ( think Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney, Jamie Raskin and really all the rest), and they all are enduring ongoing threats as well as career destruction. Let’s honor Black leadership, women’s courage, and all the great people in public office who buck the right wing obstruction at every turn. Don’t divide us. This struggle transcends all our origins. Expand our reach to overturn the evil of the right.
Thom is not dividing us, but yo are Maria with your interpretation and insinuation.
You missed the message Maria.
The message is that only Black and Brown jurists have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to the right wing.
This is not about Pelosi, Cheney, Schiff, et al.
Canon should have been removed from the bench long ago.
She has not been on the bench very long, but it's too long.
Garland can do it, he has cause, but we know that he won't because it was he that set the table,by moving the trial to Trump land, onthe pretense that is where the crime occurred, it did not it occurred in DC when Waltine Nauta loaded the boxes unto a truck to move to the airport.
He then used a transparent excuse to appoint Aileen Cannon as judge.
That the media hasn't made this public and a scandal, tells you how cowardly andcomplicit they are including MSNBC, and sad to say it's liberal hosts, Like Hayes, Maddow, Reid,Psaki, .
No one is coming to clean my home. I must do it my self. And I hate to clean the bathtub. I really hate to clean the bathtub.
Donald J.Trump is many things but he is especially a traitor to the United States of America who is still walking around a free man spewing his hate and bile. How fast were lesser known beings who leaked classified documents arrested, tried and imprisoned?
How many appeals did Alexei Navalny get before he was imprisoned? Two months after Yergeny Prigoshin challenged Putin on his war plans for Ukraine, his plane blew up. Look what Viktor Orban, Prime Minister (read dictator) of Hungary has being doing to those who speak out against him.
If Trump is in the White House again, this will happen here. He has told us what he will do. Believe him.
No one is coming to help us clean up this mess. Don't look to the officials, not our Senators or
Representatives or Governors or Secretaries of State. It is up to us, the voters. Do what you can do at this time. Vote but what else.
Okay, I am going to go clean my bathtub.
Once again, Thomm doesn't hold back the pucnches and he's courages enough to tell the truth. He asks thought provoking questions and provides evidence to back up his points. I hope he provides a follow up piece about the courageous republican women who stood up against 45 including; Lynnn Cheney, Sarah Matthew and Cassidy Hutchinson. Will these women (and others like them) save the republican party?
That rage and anger addiction are self justifying should b clear to any outsider looking at what American culture has become: a celebration of rage and violence, with endless war, a gun for every American, incessantly violent "entertainment" like profootball, MMA, "prize" fighting, and now political violence. Afterall, it's not called the "fight-flight" reaction for no reason. Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald was schooled by the iconic furious madman, Adolph Hitler, and Vince McMahon of WWE infamy, and has attracted every pissed-off entitled white guy/gal in the country. Rage is central to our survival emotions/behaviors and highly rewarding through outpouring of dopamine and endorphins, among other stress hormones. Unfortunately for our constitutional Republic, rage is highly addicting, you know, like an I-phone, or the Lotteries, or gambling of any sort. To a retired psychiatrist, it makes perfect sense, but your excellent writing/analysis is very accurate as well. Thanks for all you do!
I'm old enough to remember Trump buddying up to Mike Tyson. Can anyone imagine Trump himself in a physical fight? He's just a pitiful potty-mouth coward, far as I can tell. "i'll be behind you all the way" seems to be his motto.
My fairly extensive analysis of the developmental history of Our Mad King (wannabe)Donald has left me with the belief that his deep psychological development arrested at 2 yo due to the traumatic shock of his mother's suddenly being rushed to the hospital after his younger brother, Robert's, complicated birth. Ever heard of the "terrible twos"? A 2yo is grandiose, combative, obstinate, self-centered, without empathy or conscience, possessive, prone to tantrums, impulsive, sadistic, and given to pouting. Remind you of anyone we know?
Those of us loved and protected at the time outgrow and moderate these characteristics. Trump is largely stuck there. He is best understood as a 2yo in a grown man's body.
While I continue to urge a blue vote everywhere, for everyone, and to do all you can to maximize that, Thom’s contribution today tells me two things. First, for too many non-white people, a blue vote is a risky act of courage, especially in deep red areas of the country (Idaho panhandle, anyone?). Second, if TFG wins in November, and maybe even if he doesn’t, the sad truth is that all who oppose him and his cultists, but especially non-white Americans, red to exercise their “Second Amendment rights” the cultists bleat about so intensely. Hopefully not to have to use them, but so that the cultists pay if they start to use violence to try to get their way.
I will not be among them. I am too old and infirm. But some younger extended family members are already prepared. That we have come to this is a tragedy. Never forget: this is the world the morbidly rich want. May they reap what they have sown.