Yes, Tom this is the crux of the matter. So many things have gone wrong.
My grandson (aged 40) blames the mess on Mitch McConnell whom he says has so much power the Democrats could do nothing. While I agree, the Senate Majority leader has too much power - as does the Speaker of the House - and that is by rules, it is not in the Constitution; that did not prevent the Democrats from protesting the appointment of all those judges Supreme and Inferior Courts, who obviously do not believe in the rule of law as written.
Had the Dems paid any attention they could have protested loudly before 2015. They could have gone to the media who, until 2020 were relatively honest, unlike today.
So now we have both a Supreme and Inferior court system with judges who refuse to uphold the Constitution. Who replace both Constitutional and common law with their personal religious beliefs. The Senate is especially guilty since they are the only body that can approve the appointment of judges.
We, the people must take matters in our own hands and tell our legislators in both houses that if they wish to stay in power they'd better damned well, get rid of the filibuster, the ability of ONE person to determine what legislation if any is sent to committee. They must all, both parties and independents agree to WORK a minimum, 100 days per year - not counting travel days, As it is today most of them work at most 3 days a week, when they aren't off fi9shing or playing. (Mondays they travel to DC - Fridays they travel home)
When I was working, traveling the East Coast and midwest, I flew to my desitination on Sunday and returned after noon on Friday - I needed Saturday for laundry an repacking as well as business regarding my home. I was 73 when I started traveling and almost 88 when I retired, if I could do it, so could they,
We're paying them so that lobbyists have something to do and to demonstrate at least 3 times a day that our text message, email, and 'net media systems are working.
At times like these, the warnings of visionary figures like Patrick Henry do take on renewed relevance. Have we reached a crisis point where the checks meant to constrain a lawless executive are no longer sufficient? Will we see further erosion of constitutional limits and democratic traditions? It's a moment that calls for deep reflection on how we preserve the rule of law, democratic institutions and the integrity of our system of government. The stakes could not be higher. I’m beginning to see no way forward.
We're going to need to work like hell to get the vote out this year, and to woo the working class. Timothy Noah makes a strong argument that we can do it
To correct this situation going forward would take another continental congress to repair the constitution and strengthen the bill of rights? Is that something even possible in this current political climate? Barring that, is addressing the Supreme Court issues a viable solution to start correcting the current issues, reaffirming the Supreme Court as the arbiter of the constitution and upholding democratic values?
Until the Democrats have 66 Democratic Senators and a 30 vote majority margin in the House (so the ones with weak knees don't mess things up) there will not be any impeachments of Trump judges. While it would only take 51 votes to "pack the court", as a student of political history and a one-time practitioner and student of the best California Speaker of the Assembly Willie Brown, I wouldn't want to do that without a filibuster-proof majority - not that it would be needed to confirm judges under the current rules, but a narrow majority can become "proof" that it's "just politics" for something that will require popular support if it is to take root and change things. So, not next year.
If we defeat Trump I think the political climate will change for the better. Especially if we take both the House and the Senate. Then we can pack the court, and possibly impeach Alito and Thomas.
You're more optimistic than I am. MAGA is going to have to be beaten like a big bass drum in every election from here to 2036 to pound that crap out of the Trump Prty.
sounds right...it's sure gonna have to go way past 2028 (assuming, for the moment, a loss by TFF, which I refuse to state as an actual possibility because of my very real superstitious streak).
which reminds me again, and delightedly, that the Repugs' pathetic "responses" to TFF's conviction demonstrates that they really are a stupid as they seem to be. and they're such shitty liars, they should hire a consultant to run lines with them until they sound like they're NOT lying...y'know...the way it's done with actors.
Please, don’t give them any helpful suggestions. It’s fun but frustrating to watch them drill holes in the bottom of their life boats to let the water out.
I thought Sunday's Face the Nation "interview" of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum sounded just like all the other Repugs routines. Keep talking over around and through without really answering questions. Maybe its just my take but I wasnt impressed - I'm sure the orange one was!!
"Guilty verdicts supposedly increased his popularity and support. Don’t believe it. Early polling shows the verdicts had an immediate, negative impact on his support. See The Guardian (“A Reuters poll found one in 10 Republicans are less likely to vote for Trump following the conviction. A Morning Consult poll found 49% of independents and 15% of Republicans think Trump should end his presidential campaign as a result of the conviction.”)"
MAGA will have to be beaten every time it turns up, through '36 and long after we're all gone. As much as our job is the re-election of Biden, it's educating the next generations so they don't make the mistake we did of believing when Nixon left the White House the problem had been solved.
Yes but defeating Trump is just the beginning, there are too many “players” behind the curtain. One current issue is a DOJ that is not aggressive enough by half, now’s the time for a Bobby Kennedy. Time to start turning over rocks and see what slithers out.
so where's this Bobby Kennedy? the only one I see is at least half insane on his best day....
and it's lovely that Peter Baker (as much a member of that "Press Corpse" as anyone I can think of) is now being so "sensible." where the fuck was he last year? or the year before??
if I sound a little short of patience, it might have to do with having to put up my oft-remarked-upon conspiracy theory-embracing Italian friend, who's sublet his apartment upstairs. he leaves in two weeks for three months in Japan and his insistence that Biden is the worst president of his lifetime (he's almost fifty and avoids the "lying MSM" to the extent that he knew absolutely nothing about ANY legislation passed since 2021, following the "fake insurrection" etc. etc. ad nauseum) might get intolerable well before two weeks have passed. add this to Daisy's two days of intestinal difficulties and you have a very burned-out, insomniac me.
on the positive side, I watched the new series "Eric" on Netflix and was amazed at how good it turned out to be. terrific writing...every character actually had a different idiolect (as in real life) and I didn't catch anybody "acting" (including and especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who was entirely convincing as an obnoxious NYC drunk with some BIG problems...Gaby Hoffman plays his fed-up wife and I like watching her because she resembles both an old girlfriend (closely) AND Rochelle (less closely). and then we caught the first episode in the last half season of "Billy the Kid," which isn't gonna end well, based on at least seventy years of watching westerns. then, later in the month, the fourth season of "Slow Horses," which might be the best continuing series around.
I agree with your very positive response to 'A Spy Among Friends," about which I have a question. are we supposed to be left with the assumption that the Fifth Man was the guy in charge of MI5? is this close to an established fact? I also love that a big plot device involves one of my favorite poems, Pound's "The Ballad of the Goodly Fere."
The Fifth Man was Sir Anthony Blunt. There's also "Orphan Black: Echoes" starting June 23. If they do it only half as good as the original, it'll be amazing compared to the competition. The 3rd season of "Mayor of Kingstown" arrives tomorrow night (I love Jeremy Renner as a tough guy, plus every 10th word of dialogue is a variation of "fuck")
John Cairncross (born July 25, 1913 - died October 8, 1995) was a British literary scholar and civil servant who was identified in the 1990s as the “fifth man” in the notorious Cambridge spy ring that included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Anthony Blunt.
Trump was defeated in 2020. He did not go out of office quietly. Things have gotten exponentially worse. Trump thinks he's entitled to the attention and power the presidency brings. Trump is toxic to everyone and everything around him. Rick Wilson was SO right when he said, "Everything Trump touches dies."
People generally learn the hard way that toxic people are dangerous. They come to understand that they have to remove themselves from the presence of the toxic person. America needs for Trump's toxic presence to be removed in order to begin to heal.
Trump's mind is going. His word salads are becoming a feature. He has probably attracted all the people he's going to attract. And his mind is going. We still have to fight like hell this election season, but Trump is on his way down.
Here's what just incenses me beyond reason: If I am a convicted felon, I am not allowed to vote in national elections. Why then can a convicted felon run for office???
Read that Washington State law prohibits convicted felons from appearing on ballots. Not that 45 would win there, but I expect a court challenge if that's the case.
Because the Founders' essential mistake was to set up the proposed government would operate on the honor system, since in their experience no one with such a background would get the support of the voters to get into the office.
I can't help wondering if Patrick Henry was so het up about despotism because he was a slaveholder. Slaveholders, need I say, are despots on a small scale. Mini-monarchs, if you will. He and the southern anti-federalists opposed the adoption of the constitution of 1787 in part because they were afraid a strong federal government dominated by northern states would outlaw slavery. (Which, after decades of violence and a bloody war, they eventually did.) Every time someone invokes "Give me liberty or give me death," remind yourself that it applied only to white people, and white men at that.
Yes, but even a failed person can point to a truth, and Henry pointing out there was nothing in the constitution to prevent a criminal taking power was well-taken, as we now see.
I woke up saturday morning with the word obfuscate . Eager to get my chores done so I could confirm a spell check & it's meaning , I found a new daily word to expand beyond projection , lying sack of s##t , & other repetitions . The verdict brought temporary relief but only serves to expose the ongoing fight. Obfuscation is the wannabe king & his loyal subjects messaging system. It really is good vs evil .
If only space aliens would land and threaten everyone everywhere all at once. If only Melania spilled what she knows. If only those psychodelics they plan to use to treat PTSD could be slipped into the drinks sold at the maga rallies. If only the evangelicals would get right with their God and their country and stay out of politics. If only the good among us could be bad ass in unison every now and then. Sigh.
And this is exhibit A as to why, if it all goes to shit, I'm going to shut down everything except email. I urge everyone to get a proton email. It's secure and no one can touch it. I'll drop my phones and get an unlisted land line. I'll look to declare political Asylum or move in with my step-mom in Windsor. I'm not joking. I'm not going to some re-education camp in Idaho and get killed. These people aren't screwing around. Project 2025, better prepare yourselves because it's going to happen if King Donny wins.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the creature that is pushing the boundaries to the breaking point is a cretin of the vilest and most despicable character. Of course he is supported by money and competence. These supports help erase a lot of the negatives and make him a caricature of a human being. That propaganda has been expertly metastasized is another factor that boosts the blimp. Once upon a time, such negatives would have cratered a candidate. Now, it makes him the antihero. His degree of unscrupulous miasma bodes poorly for the survival of the country. A real hero is desperately needed, or at least someone with that image. Seems that image matters more than substance for our population and our MSM, sad to say…
Yes, Tom this is the crux of the matter. So many things have gone wrong.
My grandson (aged 40) blames the mess on Mitch McConnell whom he says has so much power the Democrats could do nothing. While I agree, the Senate Majority leader has too much power - as does the Speaker of the House - and that is by rules, it is not in the Constitution; that did not prevent the Democrats from protesting the appointment of all those judges Supreme and Inferior Courts, who obviously do not believe in the rule of law as written.
Had the Dems paid any attention they could have protested loudly before 2015. They could have gone to the media who, until 2020 were relatively honest, unlike today.
So now we have both a Supreme and Inferior court system with judges who refuse to uphold the Constitution. Who replace both Constitutional and common law with their personal religious beliefs. The Senate is especially guilty since they are the only body that can approve the appointment of judges.
We, the people must take matters in our own hands and tell our legislators in both houses that if they wish to stay in power they'd better damned well, get rid of the filibuster, the ability of ONE person to determine what legislation if any is sent to committee. They must all, both parties and independents agree to WORK a minimum, 100 days per year - not counting travel days, As it is today most of them work at most 3 days a week, when they aren't off fi9shing or playing. (Mondays they travel to DC - Fridays they travel home)
When I was working, traveling the East Coast and midwest, I flew to my desitination on Sunday and returned after noon on Friday - I needed Saturday for laundry an repacking as well as business regarding my home. I was 73 when I started traveling and almost 88 when I retired, if I could do it, so could they,
Fay, you're an inspiration to this 70 year old.
Thanks, David, I hope I can live up to such praise.
Sounds like you already do live up to the praise.
Fay, I couldn’t agree with you more! Reps and Senators have the cushiest jobs, most of them. And WE provide their pay!
At this point in time - I wonder exactly WHAT we are paying them FOR!!
We're paying them so that lobbyists have something to do and to demonstrate at least 3 times a day that our text message, email, and 'net media systems are working.
My comment was facetious - yours is right on the nose!
I wish mine was as facetious as yours.
A GOOD Rep or Senator works very hard, long hours and is never really off. I have known many good ones in my lobbying days.
Good is gone, for the most part
Amazing, Dems got to kick arse non-stop if they get the chance. No more kumbaya or treating repubs as worthy opponents
If the Army stays loyal we might avoid Rwanda v2.0.
The maggats cannot be reasoned with any more than the Hutus in the 90s
At times like these, the warnings of visionary figures like Patrick Henry do take on renewed relevance. Have we reached a crisis point where the checks meant to constrain a lawless executive are no longer sufficient? Will we see further erosion of constitutional limits and democratic traditions? It's a moment that calls for deep reflection on how we preserve the rule of law, democratic institutions and the integrity of our system of government. The stakes could not be higher. I’m beginning to see no way forward.
See: https://newrepublic.com/article/180441/joe-biden-working-class-vote-2024
We're going to need to work like hell to get the vote out this year, and to woo the working class. Timothy Noah makes a strong argument that we can do it
https://newrepublic.com/article/180441/joe-biden-working-class-vote-2024
To correct this situation going forward would take another continental congress to repair the constitution and strengthen the bill of rights? Is that something even possible in this current political climate? Barring that, is addressing the Supreme Court issues a viable solution to start correcting the current issues, reaffirming the Supreme Court as the arbiter of the constitution and upholding democratic values?
Until the Democrats have 66 Democratic Senators and a 30 vote majority margin in the House (so the ones with weak knees don't mess things up) there will not be any impeachments of Trump judges. While it would only take 51 votes to "pack the court", as a student of political history and a one-time practitioner and student of the best California Speaker of the Assembly Willie Brown, I wouldn't want to do that without a filibuster-proof majority - not that it would be needed to confirm judges under the current rules, but a narrow majority can become "proof" that it's "just politics" for something that will require popular support if it is to take root and change things. So, not next year.
If we defeat Trump I think the political climate will change for the better. Especially if we take both the House and the Senate. Then we can pack the court, and possibly impeach Alito and Thomas.
You're more optimistic than I am. MAGA is going to have to be beaten like a big bass drum in every election from here to 2036 to pound that crap out of the Trump Prty.
sounds right...it's sure gonna have to go way past 2028 (assuming, for the moment, a loss by TFF, which I refuse to state as an actual possibility because of my very real superstitious streak).
which reminds me again, and delightedly, that the Repugs' pathetic "responses" to TFF's conviction demonstrates that they really are a stupid as they seem to be. and they're such shitty liars, they should hire a consultant to run lines with them until they sound like they're NOT lying...y'know...the way it's done with actors.
Please, don’t give them any helpful suggestions. It’s fun but frustrating to watch them drill holes in the bottom of their life boats to let the water out.
I thought Sunday's Face the Nation "interview" of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum sounded just like all the other Repugs routines. Keep talking over around and through without really answering questions. Maybe its just my take but I wasnt impressed - I'm sure the orange one was!!
Sunday shows turned to crap long ago
That one is the only one I watch. I record it - so I can fast-forward whenever I feel it!!
I do a lot of fast forwarding these days. Also, dont watch anything live anymore.
From Robert Hubbell this AM:
"Guilty verdicts supposedly increased his popularity and support. Don’t believe it. Early polling shows the verdicts had an immediate, negative impact on his support. See The Guardian (“A Reuters poll found one in 10 Republicans are less likely to vote for Trump following the conviction. A Morning Consult poll found 49% of independents and 15% of Republicans think Trump should end his presidential campaign as a result of the conviction.”)"
Woohoo, but they will still appeal til hell freezes over
Hopefully hell will freeze over quickly
Been waiting
MAGA will have to be beaten every time it turns up, through '36 and long after we're all gone. As much as our job is the re-election of Biden, it's educating the next generations so they don't make the mistake we did of believing when Nixon left the White House the problem had been solved.
MAGA is a cult of personality. Trump's mind is going. I think it will be gone well before '28.
Repubs will replace him long before 2026
And he bears a genetic component for that given that his father had Alzheimer's.
That's right!
You are right, they have dug in
Yes but defeating Trump is just the beginning, there are too many “players” behind the curtain. One current issue is a DOJ that is not aggressive enough by half, now’s the time for a Bobby Kennedy. Time to start turning over rocks and see what slithers out.
I take it you're talking about RFK Sr - because Jr is so useless he's an oxygen thief.
Neither I nor his family would refer to Jr as anything sane or useful
my point as well.
so where's this Bobby Kennedy? the only one I see is at least half insane on his best day....
and it's lovely that Peter Baker (as much a member of that "Press Corpse" as anyone I can think of) is now being so "sensible." where the fuck was he last year? or the year before??
if I sound a little short of patience, it might have to do with having to put up my oft-remarked-upon conspiracy theory-embracing Italian friend, who's sublet his apartment upstairs. he leaves in two weeks for three months in Japan and his insistence that Biden is the worst president of his lifetime (he's almost fifty and avoids the "lying MSM" to the extent that he knew absolutely nothing about ANY legislation passed since 2021, following the "fake insurrection" etc. etc. ad nauseum) might get intolerable well before two weeks have passed. add this to Daisy's two days of intestinal difficulties and you have a very burned-out, insomniac me.
on the positive side, I watched the new series "Eric" on Netflix and was amazed at how good it turned out to be. terrific writing...every character actually had a different idiolect (as in real life) and I didn't catch anybody "acting" (including and especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who was entirely convincing as an obnoxious NYC drunk with some BIG problems...Gaby Hoffman plays his fed-up wife and I like watching her because she resembles both an old girlfriend (closely) AND Rochelle (less closely). and then we caught the first episode in the last half season of "Billy the Kid," which isn't gonna end well, based on at least seventy years of watching westerns. then, later in the month, the fourth season of "Slow Horses," which might be the best continuing series around.
I agree with your very positive response to 'A Spy Among Friends," about which I have a question. are we supposed to be left with the assumption that the Fifth Man was the guy in charge of MI5? is this close to an established fact? I also love that a big plot device involves one of my favorite poems, Pound's "The Ballad of the Goodly Fere."
The Fifth Man was Sir Anthony Blunt. There's also "Orphan Black: Echoes" starting June 23. If they do it only half as good as the original, it'll be amazing compared to the competition. The 3rd season of "Mayor of Kingstown" arrives tomorrow night (I love Jeremy Renner as a tough guy, plus every 10th word of dialogue is a variation of "fuck")
Blunt was fourth. Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt...right? am I missing someone?
Oh, you're right.
John Cairncross (born July 25, 1913 - died October 8, 1995) was a British literary scholar and civil servant who was identified in the 1990s as the “fifth man” in the notorious Cambridge spy ring that included Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Anthony Blunt.
Trump was defeated in 2020. He did not go out of office quietly. Things have gotten exponentially worse. Trump thinks he's entitled to the attention and power the presidency brings. Trump is toxic to everyone and everything around him. Rick Wilson was SO right when he said, "Everything Trump touches dies."
People generally learn the hard way that toxic people are dangerous. They come to understand that they have to remove themselves from the presence of the toxic person. America needs for Trump's toxic presence to be removed in order to begin to heal.
Trump's mind is going. His word salads are becoming a feature. He has probably attracted all the people he's going to attract. And his mind is going. We still have to fight like hell this election season, but Trump is on his way down.
Wait till he gets the mental health test from the NY probation department. It won't be that "test" he crowed about.
Charles Koch just waiting for an amendment opportunity.
If we can wrap the
presidency, house and senate
we can bring pressure to our
President and representatives to start
cleaning up the cesspool
that currently exists.
It will be our time, money and
votes that secure their seats
and they need to be
reminded of that and that we,
the people, expect a return
on our investments. We'll
need to be loud and proud
about it. No more kicking the
can down the road!
Any of them, either side, either house, that decide they're going to throw their
punified weight around and
sign "Not Working" letters,
get fired on the spot; lose
all pay and benefits. It's what
happens in the "real world"!
Of, by and for the people!
Remember that!
Here's what just incenses me beyond reason: If I am a convicted felon, I am not allowed to vote in national elections. Why then can a convicted felon run for office???
Read that Washington State law prohibits convicted felons from appearing on ballots. Not that 45 would win there, but I expect a court challenge if that's the case.
Because the Founders' essential mistake was to set up the proposed government would operate on the honor system, since in their experience no one with such a background would get the support of the voters to get into the office.
That needs to be changed...
I can't help wondering if Patrick Henry was so het up about despotism because he was a slaveholder. Slaveholders, need I say, are despots on a small scale. Mini-monarchs, if you will. He and the southern anti-federalists opposed the adoption of the constitution of 1787 in part because they were afraid a strong federal government dominated by northern states would outlaw slavery. (Which, after decades of violence and a bloody war, they eventually did.) Every time someone invokes "Give me liberty or give me death," remind yourself that it applied only to white people, and white men at that.
Yes, but even a failed person can point to a truth, and Henry pointing out there was nothing in the constitution to prevent a criminal taking power was well-taken, as we now see.
Sure, but context matters, and context too often gets lost. Not least when it comes to the American pantheon.
I woke up saturday morning with the word obfuscate . Eager to get my chores done so I could confirm a spell check & it's meaning , I found a new daily word to expand beyond projection , lying sack of s##t , & other repetitions . The verdict brought temporary relief but only serves to expose the ongoing fight. Obfuscation is the wannabe king & his loyal subjects messaging system. It really is good vs evil .
If only space aliens would land and threaten everyone everywhere all at once. If only Melania spilled what she knows. If only those psychodelics they plan to use to treat PTSD could be slipped into the drinks sold at the maga rallies. If only the evangelicals would get right with their God and their country and stay out of politics. If only the good among us could be bad ass in unison every now and then. Sigh.
And this is exhibit A as to why, if it all goes to shit, I'm going to shut down everything except email. I urge everyone to get a proton email. It's secure and no one can touch it. I'll drop my phones and get an unlisted land line. I'll look to declare political Asylum or move in with my step-mom in Windsor. I'm not joking. I'm not going to some re-education camp in Idaho and get killed. These people aren't screwing around. Project 2025, better prepare yourselves because it's going to happen if King Donny wins.
America’s worse nightmare, from the git go. And it’s on us to overcome.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing that the creature that is pushing the boundaries to the breaking point is a cretin of the vilest and most despicable character. Of course he is supported by money and competence. These supports help erase a lot of the negatives and make him a caricature of a human being. That propaganda has been expertly metastasized is another factor that boosts the blimp. Once upon a time, such negatives would have cratered a candidate. Now, it makes him the antihero. His degree of unscrupulous miasma bodes poorly for the survival of the country. A real hero is desperately needed, or at least someone with that image. Seems that image matters more than substance for our population and our MSM, sad to say…
Joyce (Civil Discourse) included a link to this article last night. Very interesting!!
The members of the 27 October 1962 executive committee meeting realized the presidency was vulnerable.
I can't even imagine Donald in that office again.