I don't know that so many of our fellow Americans are unconcerned ("don't give a damn") about what's happening as they just don't see what they're in a position to do about it. With the Democratic "leadership" bailing out without much of a peep, it's hard to tell where to turn.
TC, I am one of your many fans and want to assure you that I will renew my subscription to your column because I need you to keep me sane in the upcoming Dark Age. PS— I am still hoping for the miracle of the election being recalled for massive maga cheating. Never been done before? So what, a president attacking his own government has never been done before either.
The problem, Tom, isn't so much with what's happening now. This is precisely what I feared would happen. Way back in 2023 I started ranting about Amendment 14, Section 3. I wrote monthly emails to my Governor (Newsom), My Senator (Padilla) My Congressman (Bera), my Assemblyman (McCarty) all to no avail. All of us, nearly every citizen (excluding the 30 million brain dead MAGAts) knew trump had texted and posted on social media the infamous "Come to DC Jan 6, it will be wild"
The more than 100 million of us who watched on TV the destructive invasion of OUR Capitol Building. All of us bloody well knew trump had instigated, encouraged and prompted his minions to attack to stop the counting of the electoral college ballots.
Then we heard it all over again as the January 6 televised hearing. There isn't a person in the US that, whether they denied it as an insurrection or not, didn't know.
That being said the only people, with the authority to do anything, and did invoke Amendment 14, Section 3, was the Legislature of the State of Colorado. Not another single State joined nor backed them. That made it easy for the Unsupreme Court lackeys to find for trump.
Every Democrat Governor should be hanging their heads in shame. The lame answer from California was 'they didn't think they had the authority' bullshit! Why do we have a Constitution if only one State in Fifty is willing to use it. And yes I'm angry. No use lamenting now.
The only thing left for us (if we can drag up the courage) is to oppose, resist, defend the Constitution. It would help a hell of a lot if those who have not done so would take the time to read the thirty pages of the Constitution and decided for themselves if it's worth defending.
When I became a citizen I didn't pledge my allegiance to an insensate piece of cloth, I pledged it to the Constitution and the Country which it guides.
I totally agree Fay. January 6 was live on every tv in the country. Legislators were there. All were eye witnesses, and this is the part that is absolutely inexplicable to me. When Tom wrote in today’s column about a “con”, I realized that the con man has conned half the population. Money pouring in, adulation from Richie riches and the media, but the rest of us see him for what he is— the naked emperor, just like in the folk tale. He doesn’t give a 💩 about the USA.
I am with you.The 14th Amendment applies directly to Trump but once again, he has evaded being held accountable for treason.We The People read these quite knowledgeable Substacks and continue to keep ourselves informed but need to know what the hell exactly can we do.Are we expected to just wake up January 21st and watch Trump and company bulldoze over our democracy and vulnerable citizens?I am beyond angry about all of this and I know I am not alone. What gives??
Trump didn't evade the 14th Amendment, ONLY Colorado evoked it, California flat out refused even when I explained why it applied. If we ever get control of our Country again, I sincerely hope we once again teach civics and include reading the Constitution. It is available online, At this time the schools don't even need to buy it, They can show it to the students, have open discussions about what it says and its meaning today. I would guess that far less than half the American population has even read the Constitution, that is pitiful. It would help a great deal if we all pledged allegiance to the Constitution, instead of the flag. We aren't illiterate barbarians that have to follow the banner of our lords and masters into battle.
Didn’t Maine and Illinois remove him from the ballot based on Amendment 14, Section 3? My memory is failing me but why were they not part of the Unsupreme court case? Not that it would have made any difference in the biased pro trump decision that came down so fast… make sure he’s on the ballot. as opposed to the immunity case that took long enough to make sure he couldn’t be tried before the election.
Sorry, Karen, I can't answer your question. I only read about Colorado and to the best of my knowledge only Colorado was on the unsupreme Court case, but who can trust the news anymore? The Colorado case went to court because the Republicans appealed, and the Colorado Supreme Court decided for the State and of course the rethugs took it to the unsupreme Court. They ruled that States could not on their own invoke the Constitution which of course is total BS.
Is it possible for you to get another service dog? Obviously physically would help but also mentally to have the company. You shouldnt be alone, Victoria. It had to be so hard to lose your Sadie. As hard as it has been to lose any of my dogs or cats, bringing another home does so much in every way.
I'm 86 - 87 in a couple months. I've been really fortunate with my health so far. How about a foster situation - there are many many dogs and cats living in shelters right now - more than they can handle.
Sorry for being pushy - I have wildlife here too - I feed the deer and birds - whoever happens along in the winter - right now its gotten very cold - little snow - so they are hungry.
I'm not clairvoyant, yet it is true during my many years that I have been able to "sense"some things on occasion before they happen. My mother and I have aways had some weird wavelength that forces us to contact each other just to "check" and it's almost always either in the midst of something momentous happening, just before, or just after.
I woke up this morning with a song and lyrics from the original Wizard of Oz ringing in my head over and over again. Remember "Ding, Dong, the witch is dead"? That one.
Which leads me to a thought - if a whole heap of us were to hum the same tune, might we have a mystical ability to affect the universe? Or is that just foolish dreaming. Or misguided hope? Or wishful thinking? Oh well. I still like the song.
(and then my brain runs the Star Trek Episode where (real) genius but flawed (psychopathic) Khan, shot into space in cryogenic suspension on the Botany Bay; he is awakened and and tries to take over the Enterprise. The crew defeats him and strand him, his adherents (and his new, traitorous girlfriend) on a desolate planet and once again Khan triumphs (for a while) when he meets up with the crew of the Enterprise.)
Never prayed for a blast off failure before. But if he privatizes NASA, that may change. He is the reason the MSM stopped paying attention to the chump threat and focused on the new distraction.
Millions of people believe in sending positive thoughts and energy. But you don’t want to mess up your brain with negative thoughts, so I suggest using tikkun olam, heal the world, and that should get the job done. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼. 👋🏼💩🎃🤡👋🏼
I love it Ellen! Let’s sing it. Then we can sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I love that song. There is so much wisdom and parallels between the Wizard of Oz and our current state. But those flying monkeys scare the crap out of me.
We really should not be surprised by what's been happening. They ran against government, and now they are trying to destroy it. Shouldn't we have expected it? Today, NYT reported that RFK Jr.'s mouthpiece has asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. Which should be grounds for disbarment. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/health/aaron-siri-rfk-jr-vaccines.html?smid=url-share
This is a real time of testing for our democracy, indeed, for whether we shall continue as the United States of America. We just need to keep up the fight. Put one foot in front of the other and keep on keepin' on!
Absolutely! I remembr how happy m,y folks were when Dr. Scott called and told them he had the vaccine and my dad took us over to the office immediately for our shots.
Well RFK, Jr. always was just a bit different but he definitely has been radicalized. He once was a relatively competent environmental lawyer, but he clearly has some serious brain damage from his parasites and consuming roadkill lifestyle
No kidding. I remember when we all had to go to school on Saturday to get vaccinated. Later, I worked with people who had polio as kids. They really suffered.
I know my mother was so happy when they lined us up in school for the vaccine. Let me just say that that needle HURT! I was very happy when booster time rolled around and they gave it to us via a sugar cube!!!!
I wrote a paper in college about Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine. The deaths and disabilities caused by polio understandably caused immense fear before the vaccine was developed. Polio was 99% eradicated in the world in the early 2000’s thanks to WHO and Rotary International’s worldwide vaccination campaigns. We have started to see a reemergence over the last several years. I can only imagine what would happen if the vaccine wasn’t available.
Back in the '80s I was working with a theater director who told me about a restaurant in LA where there was a line outside. Tab Hunter (remember him?) drove up and they let him inside immediately. Jonas Salk was waiting in the line outside.
The animal rights people have a bone to pick with Elmo, or Leon as Trump once called him. The animal research going on with Neuralink is seen as cruel and unethical, you know, kinda like Elmo himself.
Have to wonder how much longer Trump will tolerate Leon crowding him out of the limelight because Musk's mug is almost as ubiquitous as Lenin's was back in the day.
He got rid of Bannon for that exact reason! Bannon was--and is--far smarter than Trump or any of the idiots that he surrounds himself with...Bannon's problem was that he couldn't keep himself from reminding Trump that he, Bannon, was the brains of the operation. Trump got tired of that and shitcanned him.
I like David Kurtz’s steepening slope analogy. I will add to that, “angle of repose” definition, “the steepest angle at which a sloping surface of a particular loose material is stable.” The angle is gets steeper as the material gets looser……..
And there is no way to protect ourselves, the system will be rigged in more ways than we can predict.
I lost $30 dollars years ago when a bank president scampered off with bank assets. I only used fed protected banks after that. Now every dime I have can evaporate overnight. They are screwing every citizen, even magats
We have been banking with a small local savings bank for nearly 40 years...but I'm seriously considering stuffing my (pitiful) savings into my mattress.
For me, the concern is not only the not caring or ignoring, it’s the cheering it on, it’s the being happy about Trump tearing it down. They believe it’s needed. Fuck me.
Trouble with that scenario is that quite often bad stuff that needs to go, goes...but so does a lot of good stuff as well. And we have no voice because it seems like the MAGAs absolutely HATE a lot of the good stuff.
The f*cking CNN headline for trump's grocery lie still managed to say that he will "bring them down very soon" first, and then say that it probably wouldn't happen. Carrying water for the fascists. The Monmouth poll is especially disturbing, although typical in that now that trump's in power, they object less to the fuckery.
Without realizing whose Newsletter I was reading, after the first two sentences I knew it had to be TCinLA with his inimitable style. Laughter followed.
But the opportunities for grift and chicanery and enriching himself with fat government contracts is SO much better here in the supine and laxly regulated US. And Trump is SO fekking easy to manipulate...little wonder he attracts every grifter within sniffing distance. The stink of corruption is quite unmistakable and it draws them like bears and blowflies.
If they think they can mess with the FDIC, well they can. It would involve Congressional appointments and approval, and all of the board members of the FDIC can't be republikkkans. If they do away with the CFPB, again subject to the above, it would be easier. A lot of elected officials have to agree, so yeah, entirely possible.
I don't know that so many of our fellow Americans are unconcerned ("don't give a damn") about what's happening as they just don't see what they're in a position to do about it. With the Democratic "leadership" bailing out without much of a peep, it's hard to tell where to turn.
true
TC, I am one of your many fans and want to assure you that I will renew my subscription to your column because I need you to keep me sane in the upcoming Dark Age. PS— I am still hoping for the miracle of the election being recalled for massive maga cheating. Never been done before? So what, a president attacking his own government has never been done before either.
The problem, Tom, isn't so much with what's happening now. This is precisely what I feared would happen. Way back in 2023 I started ranting about Amendment 14, Section 3. I wrote monthly emails to my Governor (Newsom), My Senator (Padilla) My Congressman (Bera), my Assemblyman (McCarty) all to no avail. All of us, nearly every citizen (excluding the 30 million brain dead MAGAts) knew trump had texted and posted on social media the infamous "Come to DC Jan 6, it will be wild"
The more than 100 million of us who watched on TV the destructive invasion of OUR Capitol Building. All of us bloody well knew trump had instigated, encouraged and prompted his minions to attack to stop the counting of the electoral college ballots.
Then we heard it all over again as the January 6 televised hearing. There isn't a person in the US that, whether they denied it as an insurrection or not, didn't know.
That being said the only people, with the authority to do anything, and did invoke Amendment 14, Section 3, was the Legislature of the State of Colorado. Not another single State joined nor backed them. That made it easy for the Unsupreme Court lackeys to find for trump.
Every Democrat Governor should be hanging their heads in shame. The lame answer from California was 'they didn't think they had the authority' bullshit! Why do we have a Constitution if only one State in Fifty is willing to use it. And yes I'm angry. No use lamenting now.
The only thing left for us (if we can drag up the courage) is to oppose, resist, defend the Constitution. It would help a hell of a lot if those who have not done so would take the time to read the thirty pages of the Constitution and decided for themselves if it's worth defending.
When I became a citizen I didn't pledge my allegiance to an insensate piece of cloth, I pledged it to the Constitution and the Country which it guides.
I totally agree Fay. January 6 was live on every tv in the country. Legislators were there. All were eye witnesses, and this is the part that is absolutely inexplicable to me. When Tom wrote in today’s column about a “con”, I realized that the con man has conned half the population. Money pouring in, adulation from Richie riches and the media, but the rest of us see him for what he is— the naked emperor, just like in the folk tale. He doesn’t give a 💩 about the USA.
I am with you.The 14th Amendment applies directly to Trump but once again, he has evaded being held accountable for treason.We The People read these quite knowledgeable Substacks and continue to keep ourselves informed but need to know what the hell exactly can we do.Are we expected to just wake up January 21st and watch Trump and company bulldoze over our democracy and vulnerable citizens?I am beyond angry about all of this and I know I am not alone. What gives??
Trump didn't evade the 14th Amendment, ONLY Colorado evoked it, California flat out refused even when I explained why it applied. If we ever get control of our Country again, I sincerely hope we once again teach civics and include reading the Constitution. It is available online, At this time the schools don't even need to buy it, They can show it to the students, have open discussions about what it says and its meaning today. I would guess that far less than half the American population has even read the Constitution, that is pitiful. It would help a great deal if we all pledged allegiance to the Constitution, instead of the flag. We aren't illiterate barbarians that have to follow the banner of our lords and masters into battle.
They plan to make us more helpless, broke and surrounded by evil
Didn’t Maine and Illinois remove him from the ballot based on Amendment 14, Section 3? My memory is failing me but why were they not part of the Unsupreme court case? Not that it would have made any difference in the biased pro trump decision that came down so fast… make sure he’s on the ballot. as opposed to the immunity case that took long enough to make sure he couldn’t be tried before the election.
Sorry, Karen, I can't answer your question. I only read about Colorado and to the best of my knowledge only Colorado was on the unsupreme Court case, but who can trust the news anymore? The Colorado case went to court because the Republicans appealed, and the Colorado Supreme Court decided for the State and of course the rethugs took it to the unsupreme Court. They ruled that States could not on their own invoke the Constitution which of course is total BS.
Most of you know I'm
disabled. I have a progressive
neuromuscular disease.
Physically, I've been on some
steep slopes in my life, but
always found a way to get
back up to my power chair.
I had a wonderful dual
purpose service dog,
because I'm deaf too, and
she was beside me every
inch I crawled up. Sadie's
gone now and I have to do
this by myself, but I'll be
damned if I give up and in.
I fell out of my chair and
down the hill behind my
home last week but managed
to get back up. We WILL
manage, if we stick together.1
Do not give up!
You are amazing. We all must be
Yes JD, we all ARE and MUST
continue to be.
Don’t know if I will live long enough for even one MAGAt I know to jump the ship of fools…
Victoria,you inspire me to keep fighting….💙
Bless you!You are an inspiration.I will think of you when I feel a weak moment of which I have had plenty during these trying days.
Is it possible for you to get another service dog? Obviously physically would help but also mentally to have the company. You shouldnt be alone, Victoria. It had to be so hard to lose your Sadie. As hard as it has been to lose any of my dogs or cats, bringing another home does so much in every way.
It wouldn't be fair to the
service dog, Maggie. I'm 76
and my future is limited.
Thank you for thinking of me.
I have the mountain cats and
other creatures here that
come every day, so I'm not
really alone. And I have
Sadie's enduring spirit. I'm
ok.👍
I'm 86 - 87 in a couple months. I've been really fortunate with my health so far. How about a foster situation - there are many many dogs and cats living in shelters right now - more than they can handle.
Sorry for being pushy - I have wildlife here too - I feed the deer and birds - whoever happens along in the winter - right now its gotten very cold - little snow - so they are hungry.
Just be careful - stay safe and keep posting!!
You are amazing Victoria. If I can help in any way I will. I don’t know where you live but I’m in Oregon so please let me know if I can help.
I'm not clairvoyant, yet it is true during my many years that I have been able to "sense"some things on occasion before they happen. My mother and I have aways had some weird wavelength that forces us to contact each other just to "check" and it's almost always either in the midst of something momentous happening, just before, or just after.
I woke up this morning with a song and lyrics from the original Wizard of Oz ringing in my head over and over again. Remember "Ding, Dong, the witch is dead"? That one.
Which leads me to a thought - if a whole heap of us were to hum the same tune, might we have a mystical ability to affect the universe? Or is that just foolish dreaming. Or misguided hope? Or wishful thinking? Oh well. I still like the song.
Better hurry. Muskrat wants to rule the universe
He wants to colonize Mars??? I say ship him there right now. Let him figure out how to survive.
(and then my brain runs the Star Trek Episode where (real) genius but flawed (psychopathic) Khan, shot into space in cryogenic suspension on the Botany Bay; he is awakened and and tries to take over the Enterprise. The crew defeats him and strand him, his adherents (and his new, traitorous girlfriend) on a desolate planet and once again Khan triumphs (for a while) when he meets up with the crew of the Enterprise.)
Not a Trekkie but I know the plot, daughter is one on steroids.
Never prayed for a blast off failure before. But if he privatizes NASA, that may change. He is the reason the MSM stopped paying attention to the chump threat and focused on the new distraction.
Millions of people believe in sending positive thoughts and energy. But you don’t want to mess up your brain with negative thoughts, so I suggest using tikkun olam, heal the world, and that should get the job done. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼. 👋🏼💩🎃🤡👋🏼
I love it Ellen! Let’s sing it. Then we can sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I love that song. There is so much wisdom and parallels between the Wizard of Oz and our current state. But those flying monkeys scare the crap out of me.
That cartoon is great!
We really should not be surprised by what's been happening. They ran against government, and now they are trying to destroy it. Shouldn't we have expected it? Today, NYT reported that RFK Jr.'s mouthpiece has asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine. Which should be grounds for disbarment. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/health/aaron-siri-rfk-jr-vaccines.html?smid=url-share
And the Ohio Senate is voting on a measure that would require doctors to prescribe Ivermectin (horse de-wormer) for patients who want it. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/12/buffoons-in-ohios-legislature-really-are-passing-an-anti-science-bill-forcing-hospitals-to-use-worm-medicine-for-covid-today-in-ohio.html
This is a real time of testing for our democracy, indeed, for whether we shall continue as the United States of America. We just need to keep up the fight. Put one foot in front of the other and keep on keepin' on!
That's it.
I thought that polio vaccine crap was crap. Silly me. I read that earlier today and can't quite wrap my head around it.
I can remember the polio epidemics of the early '50s. They were terrifying. News of the Salk vaccine was a gift from the Almighty.
Absolutely! I remembr how happy m,y folks were when Dr. Scott called and told them he had the vaccine and my dad took us over to the office immediately for our shots.
I'm beginning to think the wrong RFK got shot.
That's cruel, even if it's true.
I'll bet his father is spinning fast enough to achieve orbital velocity. That a guy so good could have a kid so shitty.
Well RFK, Jr. always was just a bit different but he definitely has been radicalized. He once was a relatively competent environmental lawyer, but he clearly has some serious brain damage from his parasites and consuming roadkill lifestyle
No kidding. I remember when we all had to go to school on Saturday to get vaccinated. Later, I worked with people who had polio as kids. They really suffered.
I know my mother was so happy when they lined us up in school for the vaccine. Let me just say that that needle HURT! I was very happy when booster time rolled around and they gave it to us via a sugar cube!!!!
I wrote a paper in college about Jonas Salk and the development of the polio vaccine. The deaths and disabilities caused by polio understandably caused immense fear before the vaccine was developed. Polio was 99% eradicated in the world in the early 2000’s thanks to WHO and Rotary International’s worldwide vaccination campaigns. We have started to see a reemergence over the last several years. I can only imagine what would happen if the vaccine wasn’t available.
Back in the '80s I was working with a theater director who told me about a restaurant in LA where there was a line outside. Tab Hunter (remember him?) drove up and they let him inside immediately. Jonas Salk was waiting in the line outside.
Hollywood always pays attention to the important stuff. (As in Hah! and Hah! again)
Yeah, leave it to “Shallow-wood” to honor Tab Hunter over Jonas Salk.
The animal rights people have a bone to pick with Elmo, or Leon as Trump once called him. The animal research going on with Neuralink is seen as cruel and unethical, you know, kinda like Elmo himself.
Have to wonder how much longer Trump will tolerate Leon crowding him out of the limelight because Musk's mug is almost as ubiquitous as Lenin's was back in the day.
He got rid of Bannon for that exact reason! Bannon was--and is--far smarter than Trump or any of the idiots that he surrounds himself with...Bannon's problem was that he couldn't keep himself from reminding Trump that he, Bannon, was the brains of the operation. Trump got tired of that and shitcanned him.
Bannon is smarter and therefore more evil. He runs on cunning, while Trump runs on id. They both appear to smell bad.
I like David Kurtz’s steepening slope analogy. I will add to that, “angle of repose” definition, “the steepest angle at which a sloping surface of a particular loose material is stable.” The angle is gets steeper as the material gets looser……..
And there is no way to protect ourselves, the system will be rigged in more ways than we can predict.
I lost $30 dollars years ago when a bank president scampered off with bank assets. I only used fed protected banks after that. Now every dime I have can evaporate overnight. They are screwing every citizen, even magats
Luckily, my dimes are limited.
We have been banking with a small local savings bank for nearly 40 years...but I'm seriously considering stuffing my (pitiful) savings into my mattress.
My husbands’s small town had a local bank open up and all put their money in. Not us. It probably was ok, but my $30 loss bought me risk aversion.
For me, the concern is not only the not caring or ignoring, it’s the cheering it on, it’s the being happy about Trump tearing it down. They believe it’s needed. Fuck me.
Trouble with that scenario is that quite often bad stuff that needs to go, goes...but so does a lot of good stuff as well. And we have no voice because it seems like the MAGAs absolutely HATE a lot of the good stuff.
I forgot. That poll, I believe it .
The f*cking CNN headline for trump's grocery lie still managed to say that he will "bring them down very soon" first, and then say that it probably wouldn't happen. Carrying water for the fascists. The Monmouth poll is especially disturbing, although typical in that now that trump's in power, they object less to the fuckery.
Without realizing whose Newsletter I was reading, after the first two sentences I knew it had to be TCinLA with his inimitable style. Laughter followed.
But I stopped laughing after that
That Yurt is looking better and better.
So are mine, why I need to hang on to every one. Glad I’m old
Does anyone here know why Muck became a US citizen? I keep th8nking he would have had more power in South Africa....
Because he's an Unreconstructed Afrikaner White Supremacist and didn't like the government down there any more.
Pretty sure he saw it as his
grocery store. Twitter for sale
in aisle 3, Tesla discount in 5,
and so on. His family have
the market in S. Africa
wrapped and he needed to
hook his talons in new prey.
But the opportunities for grift and chicanery and enriching himself with fat government contracts is SO much better here in the supine and laxly regulated US. And Trump is SO fekking easy to manipulate...little wonder he attracts every grifter within sniffing distance. The stink of corruption is quite unmistakable and it draws them like bears and blowflies.
If they think they can mess with the FDIC, well they can. It would involve Congressional appointments and approval, and all of the board members of the FDIC can't be republikkkans. If they do away with the CFPB, again subject to the above, it would be easier. A lot of elected officials have to agree, so yeah, entirely possible.
They are patient