“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” – Hannah Arendt
That’s how I see it too Tom, I have almost no hope that the senate will stand up to him, although if a dozen of them grew balls, (the men that is) they could put a stop to this and do what they are paid to do. That would defang a lot of the madness. If his ludicrous picks are not satanically inspired I don’t know what is, the less than 50% of the electorate that gave him a very thin majority of the votes cast, never gave a thought to dismantling the entire government, which is exactly what they want to do. If that happens the killing will begin, and once that starts there is no telling how it will end. This is precisely what the bastards want to happen, they have been preparing for it for years. It may well be that our 250th anniversary will mark the end of our democratic republic. 🤬
it does not make for a pleasant day-to-day existence, and that's only after two weeks (actually, a day less).
I'd gotten to a point at which I was absolutely sure that I wouldn't last through another TFF term. now, I'm thinking the rage might just keep me going.
I hope that in a few weeks, after we've all gotten more or less through the shock, we start to figure out how to come together and decide how we might...I dunno...figure out how to change the messaging? it's hard to remain optimistic when you know that there's billions of dollars fighting you (that is to say, us) every step of the way.
I highly recommend Tim Snyder's last Substack post about "The Phantom Election," which beautifully, depressingly talks about this.
For years I have been telling people to watch "The Mortal Storm". I've been beating the drum Trump is Hitler. Watch the damn "Rise of the Third Reich" on the history channel, I would say. The Republican primary was nothing but Kabuki theater. I kept telling people Trump was going to get the nomination. Now he is going to do what he wants and nobody is going to stop him. This is EXACTLY what Hitler did. For the past week I have read and studied all the data. Yes, Trump's numbers rose from 2020, but not by much. What sank Kamala was all the assholes who sat home. Biden got 81 million votes in 2020. Kamala got close to 73 million in 2024 - a loss of 8 million. They didn't vote for Trump. The motherfuckers sat home. The final kicker for me is Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezenski went to Mar-A-Lago and met with Trump. Now they want respect for Trump. Fuck them and every asshole that bends the knee.
again, I recommend Tim Snyder's Substack entry on "The Phantom Election," in which he describes how the psychopathic motherfuckers got so many people to (as a dumb kid I know said) "sit this one out."
I just finished reading "The Phantom Election". We are such sheep. Not one of these people decided to investigate. I didn't watch one ad for anyone. I knew I was voting for Kamala and that was that. The sooner Putin falls out a window the better. Thanks for recommending this.
My mother was 17 when Hitler took her country. I was visiting her in 1973(?), when Nixon’s “war on drugs” got the no-knock warrants approved. She got this strange look on her face and got really quiet, then said “This is how it begins.”
It looks like we are now facing fighting against the end.
Danielle that is chilling. I remember reading about those warrants and thinking nothing of real meaning.
I was in a the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge for four days and tried hard to push politics out of mind. Images of oil wells, bear cubs being shot and theme parks on public lands keep pushing their way into my brain.
As you know, it is far worse than that - if the Senate will not recess, but the House does recess (Mikey will not cross the Messiah), Trump can use Section 3 of Article II and prorogue Congress for as long as he feels necessary. The only upside if that is they won't be passing his agenda while they are out. We are well and truly fucked.....
Thank you Tom. You are now seeing the nightmare I have been living in since November 6, 2024. We now have 57 days until January 20, 2025, to start making serious plans for how to escape the worst scenario possible, then we have 180 days until July 20, 2025 to put those plans into effect. 180 days is what the authors of Project 2025 think it will take them to put into effect the Christian national authoritarian (fascist - not their term, mine) government they intend.
They spent a whole chapter on how, to destroy the Department of Education and dismantle education in ALL 50 States. Fundamentalist (meaning follow John Calvin and John Knox - not Jesus of Nazareth) Christian religion will be taught to all students along with the ability to read Run Jack, Run (or some other such text) and simple arithmetic. In their chapter on religion, only fundamentalist Christian religion will be allowed in the United States [Too bad, Jews, Muslims. Hindus,. Sikhs, and Catholics - you and any other religion missed the cut - I guess I, as a non-theist, will be condemned to whatever the hell they have planned.
People wonder why RFK jr who has zero medical background and is loonier than the loony bird, was put in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is next ,after education, on the chopping block. No use of extending the lives of the workers, their main purpose is to provide the new and extended oligarchy with all life's pleasures and preferably to die on the job. (They didn't actually say the latter phrase, it was just implied)
Also on the chopping block are NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) and NWS (National Weather Service) After all who needs to know the expected weather patterns when global warming and man-made climate change are a hoax. In addition, the words Global Warming and Man-made Climate Change, will be a criminal offense if written or broadcast.
There's more, much more. But I was so nauseated I couldn't force my self to read more.
I am willing to increase my monthly if that will help the rent. I used to own a consulting firm - the rent never went down, always up. Seems the world, the country, has forgotten that and has found someone to blame.
It is a good thing to remove fluoride from the water supply. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day and RFK Jr has a couple of good ideas but he doesn't have the knowledge or experience required.
True about RFK Jr although I wonder if that brain worm is still alive.Actually,parasitic worms are a global problem which doesn’t get nearly enough attention so I guess we can thank him for that!
I’m a former public health professional and understand science does change. I’m not against removing fluoride if we have more definitive,US -based,not observational data.Believe it’s UNC doing the controlled trial.Speaking of, this is all about control and so many in these communities having no idea what is happening.One of my MAGA county commissioners removed the fluoride from her municipality that includes a large underserved population. Also, fluoride can be easily removed with appropriate filters.I’m much more concerned about Zeldin heading the EPA and nixing the regulation imposed this year for forever chemicals in our water.
Progress on forever chemicals and hundreds of other issues now the reverse is true. Dems will be forced to do clean up duty again starting in 2028 if we are fortunate to have an election.
If the timeframe syncs, Mr Precedent could be having his "Night of the Long Knives' shortly before the midterms. Sometime in June/July 2026 is my guesstimate. Watch for plenty of strategic obituaries as disloyalty gets punished? Fuggedabout getting them primaried, when he can use the Göring-Himmler maneuver.
The Republican National Committee funneled donations to Trump leaving crumbs for the down ballot campaign. Even then Republicans won house and senate. This is an incredible accomplishment in the face of all the hard work of dems , past history and bad optics from Republicans.
Biden has been unparalleled in his accomplishments, however, leadership from the top seems missing. Looking also at Durbin and Schumer and hearing crickets which was as expected.
Don the Con and friends filling up a Yellow Submarine. (Giant turd) maybe not what Beatles had in mind, but all I can think of when I see that orange self-satisfied smirkface.
The FBI and CIA are on Trump's wipeout list. I certainly hope they are off in the woods where Musk's satellites can't pick them up and are coming up with some ways to scuttle this madness, just as the CIA has done in other countries.
Apropos the earlier comment about Trump's probable use of Article II, Section 3 to force Congress into recess so he can rule as a dictator by executive orders, note that even if the Democrats retake both the House and Senate in 2026, he will still have this power to force recesses on Congress whenever he wants. Since it is a core provision of the Constitution, there probably is nothing to be done at this point, since passing an amendment to correct this gaping hole in the Constitutional checks and balances will be impossible.....
In 1972, the RNC chair was Bob Dole. You remember him. He made a speech before the election about The Washington Post trying to "get" Richard Nixon, and accused them of lying or making up Watergate stories 57 times within an hour. Later, Kay Graham saw him at an airport and mentioned it. He said he just read what was put in front of him.
Today Dole is considered part of the good old days of the republican party. If you want to know about the good old days, they ended when Dwight Eisenhower left office, and he wasn't exactly a bargain, either.
If you consider that back in 1948, Harry Truman observed tht "The only 'good Republicans' re pushing up daisies," they have been bad far longer. Remember how brave Ike was in taking on McCarthy when the scumbag went after George C. Marshall, the man who made Dwight Eisenhower???
That’s how I see it too Tom, I have almost no hope that the senate will stand up to him, although if a dozen of them grew balls, (the men that is) they could put a stop to this and do what they are paid to do. That would defang a lot of the madness. If his ludicrous picks are not satanically inspired I don’t know what is, the less than 50% of the electorate that gave him a very thin majority of the votes cast, never gave a thought to dismantling the entire government, which is exactly what they want to do. If that happens the killing will begin, and once that starts there is no telling how it will end. This is precisely what the bastards want to happen, they have been preparing for it for years. It may well be that our 250th anniversary will mark the end of our democratic republic. 🤬
If not before. We will reach July 4, 2025, after that without concrete plans our democracy will fade into oblivion.
this is the way it feels to me too, Dick.
it does not make for a pleasant day-to-day existence, and that's only after two weeks (actually, a day less).
I'd gotten to a point at which I was absolutely sure that I wouldn't last through another TFF term. now, I'm thinking the rage might just keep me going.
I hope that in a few weeks, after we've all gotten more or less through the shock, we start to figure out how to come together and decide how we might...I dunno...figure out how to change the messaging? it's hard to remain optimistic when you know that there's billions of dollars fighting you (that is to say, us) every step of the way.
I highly recommend Tim Snyder's last Substack post about "The Phantom Election," which beautifully, depressingly talks about this.
For years I have been telling people to watch "The Mortal Storm". I've been beating the drum Trump is Hitler. Watch the damn "Rise of the Third Reich" on the history channel, I would say. The Republican primary was nothing but Kabuki theater. I kept telling people Trump was going to get the nomination. Now he is going to do what he wants and nobody is going to stop him. This is EXACTLY what Hitler did. For the past week I have read and studied all the data. Yes, Trump's numbers rose from 2020, but not by much. What sank Kamala was all the assholes who sat home. Biden got 81 million votes in 2020. Kamala got close to 73 million in 2024 - a loss of 8 million. They didn't vote for Trump. The motherfuckers sat home. The final kicker for me is Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezenski went to Mar-A-Lago and met with Trump. Now they want respect for Trump. Fuck them and every asshole that bends the knee.
again, I recommend Tim Snyder's Substack entry on "The Phantom Election," in which he describes how the psychopathic motherfuckers got so many people to (as a dumb kid I know said) "sit this one out."
I just finished reading "The Phantom Election". We are such sheep. Not one of these people decided to investigate. I didn't watch one ad for anyone. I knew I was voting for Kamala and that was that. The sooner Putin falls out a window the better. Thanks for recommending this.
They screwed us all. Screw them.
My mother was 17 when Hitler took her country. I was visiting her in 1973(?), when Nixon’s “war on drugs” got the no-knock warrants approved. She got this strange look on her face and got really quiet, then said “This is how it begins.”
It looks like we are now facing fighting against the end.
Danielle that is chilling. I remember reading about those warrants and thinking nothing of real meaning.
I was in a the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge for four days and tried hard to push politics out of mind. Images of oil wells, bear cubs being shot and theme parks on public lands keep pushing their way into my brain.
As you know, it is far worse than that - if the Senate will not recess, but the House does recess (Mikey will not cross the Messiah), Trump can use Section 3 of Article II and prorogue Congress for as long as he feels necessary. The only upside if that is they won't be passing his agenda while they are out. We are well and truly fucked.....
Thank you Tom. You are now seeing the nightmare I have been living in since November 6, 2024. We now have 57 days until January 20, 2025, to start making serious plans for how to escape the worst scenario possible, then we have 180 days until July 20, 2025 to put those plans into effect. 180 days is what the authors of Project 2025 think it will take them to put into effect the Christian national authoritarian (fascist - not their term, mine) government they intend.
They spent a whole chapter on how, to destroy the Department of Education and dismantle education in ALL 50 States. Fundamentalist (meaning follow John Calvin and John Knox - not Jesus of Nazareth) Christian religion will be taught to all students along with the ability to read Run Jack, Run (or some other such text) and simple arithmetic. In their chapter on religion, only fundamentalist Christian religion will be allowed in the United States [Too bad, Jews, Muslims. Hindus,. Sikhs, and Catholics - you and any other religion missed the cut - I guess I, as a non-theist, will be condemned to whatever the hell they have planned.
People wonder why RFK jr who has zero medical background and is loonier than the loony bird, was put in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is next ,after education, on the chopping block. No use of extending the lives of the workers, their main purpose is to provide the new and extended oligarchy with all life's pleasures and preferably to die on the job. (They didn't actually say the latter phrase, it was just implied)
Also on the chopping block are NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) and NWS (National Weather Service) After all who needs to know the expected weather patterns when global warming and man-made climate change are a hoax. In addition, the words Global Warming and Man-made Climate Change, will be a criminal offense if written or broadcast.
There's more, much more. But I was so nauseated I couldn't force my self to read more.
Hannah Arendt. YUP. She gets it. Always has.
Hey Tom:
I am willing to increase my monthly if that will help the rent. I used to own a consulting firm - the rent never went down, always up. Seems the world, the country, has forgotten that and has found someone to blame.
That would be very nice, sir. Thank you!
I've looked at the app...how do I do this?
Click the "subscribed" note on one of my posts, and you can choose one of the other options.
Regarding RFK Jr ,the “movement”has already started…Winter Haven, Fl voted to remove fluoride from the water supply.People need to know !!🦷📣
https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2024/11/15/winter-haven-rfk-trump-fluoride-water
It is a good thing to remove fluoride from the water supply. Even a broken clock is correct twice a day and RFK Jr has a couple of good ideas but he doesn't have the knowledge or experience required.
True about RFK Jr although I wonder if that brain worm is still alive.Actually,parasitic worms are a global problem which doesn’t get nearly enough attention so I guess we can thank him for that!
I’m a former public health professional and understand science does change. I’m not against removing fluoride if we have more definitive,US -based,not observational data.Believe it’s UNC doing the controlled trial.Speaking of, this is all about control and so many in these communities having no idea what is happening.One of my MAGA county commissioners removed the fluoride from her municipality that includes a large underserved population. Also, fluoride can be easily removed with appropriate filters.I’m much more concerned about Zeldin heading the EPA and nixing the regulation imposed this year for forever chemicals in our water.
Progress on forever chemicals and hundreds of other issues now the reverse is true. Dems will be forced to do clean up duty again starting in 2028 if we are fortunate to have an election.
Ha, optimist, aren’t you
If the timeframe syncs, Mr Precedent could be having his "Night of the Long Knives' shortly before the midterms. Sometime in June/July 2026 is my guesstimate. Watch for plenty of strategic obituaries as disloyalty gets punished? Fuggedabout getting them primaried, when he can use the Göring-Himmler maneuver.
The Republican National Committee funneled donations to Trump leaving crumbs for the down ballot campaign. Even then Republicans won house and senate. This is an incredible accomplishment in the face of all the hard work of dems , past history and bad optics from Republicans.
Biden has been unparalleled in his accomplishments, however, leadership from the top seems missing. Looking also at Durbin and Schumer and hearing crickets which was as expected.
Shumer is working his as off on judicial appointments, which is the best use of the limited time Dems have left.
Don the Con and friends filling up a Yellow Submarine. (Giant turd) maybe not what Beatles had in mind, but all I can think of when I see that orange self-satisfied smirkface.
As we live a life of ease
Every one of us
Has all we need
Sky of blue
And sea of green
In our yellow Submarine.
The FBI and CIA are on Trump's wipeout list. I certainly hope they are off in the woods where Musk's satellites can't pick them up and are coming up with some ways to scuttle this madness, just as the CIA has done in other countries.
It’s been Hitler’s playbook from start to finish. Still to be determined is what our finish will be. No Ike in sight.
The republican house and
senate are already discussing
ways to scuttle Medicaid and
SNAP in 2025. Going to be a
lot of hurting people in this
country. Wonder how all
these no voters will be
feeling when boom is lowered
on them too.
Not scuttle - cut - which almost makes it worse.
It won’t really matter how they feel
Apropos the earlier comment about Trump's probable use of Article II, Section 3 to force Congress into recess so he can rule as a dictator by executive orders, note that even if the Democrats retake both the House and Senate in 2026, he will still have this power to force recesses on Congress whenever he wants. Since it is a core provision of the Constitution, there probably is nothing to be done at this point, since passing an amendment to correct this gaping hole in the Constitutional checks and balances will be impossible.....
A story.
In 1972, the RNC chair was Bob Dole. You remember him. He made a speech before the election about The Washington Post trying to "get" Richard Nixon, and accused them of lying or making up Watergate stories 57 times within an hour. Later, Kay Graham saw him at an airport and mentioned it. He said he just read what was put in front of him.
Today Dole is considered part of the good old days of the republican party. If you want to know about the good old days, they ended when Dwight Eisenhower left office, and he wasn't exactly a bargain, either.
If you consider that back in 1948, Harry Truman observed tht "The only 'good Republicans' re pushing up daisies," they have been bad far longer. Remember how brave Ike was in taking on McCarthy when the scumbag went after George C. Marshall, the man who made Dwight Eisenhower???