This country, once a grand, teetering beast, has been gutted like a prizefighter on his last legs—spitting blood, staggering, barely aware the fight was rigged from the start. The coup didn’t come in the dead of night with tanks in the streets; it slithered in through the front door, grinning like a used car salesman with a Bible in one hand and a ballot shredder in the other.
And now, here we are—sitting in the wreckage, wondering how the hell it happened while the architects of the fall feast on their spoils. The ballot box was abandoned, democracy left to rot like a carcass in the desert sun. The fools who cheered it on, who stood idly by, will choke on the ashes of what they let burn. And they should.
Let it sink in. The republic is gone, snuffed out with a whimper and a Fox News banner. The only question left is how deep the wound goes—and whether there’s any goddamn way to sew it back together before the infection sets in.
I’m willing to fight for my country. Are you? Or will you stand there, slack-jawed and docile, watching as they carve up what’s left of the American experiment like a hog at slaughter?
Tom, It’s been a long time since I cried as hard as I have today.
I'm just heartbroken. I have seen a lot in 73 years, and I was at Kent State...but I never thought I'd witness the demise of our democracy. It wasn't about the price of eggs: it was because people decided they wanted the ugliness to win.
Thank you for your powerful writing. My dad was in the Air Force in WW2. I am a student of the American Civil War. The sacrifices that these stooges dishonor cannot be measured.
I keep thinking he can't do any more to lose any trust in America by our allies, and then he does more. One could see this coming as he floats his own dreams of invading other countries to get what he wants. Or god help me, just "taking" Gaza and ousting the residents. In THAT he is bringing to the fore the absolutely worst incarnation of Manifest Destiny. America First has turned into America the Pariah, totally alone.
Next up, booting the UN and turning their building into a trump hotel.
In people like us. In the people I read on Bluesky and in the comments. In people like Chris Murphy of Connecticut. In a corporation like Costco that refuses to end DEI. People are protesting. There are actually green shoots of hope all across the country. My parents endured a Depression and WW2. My father fought. There were dark years of pain and fear, but they persevered. It is going to get much worse here. People will suffer. But I've reached the point it all has to happen to break Maga's hold. At heart I am a cynical person. I've endured pain and hardship. But I also know you keep getting up and putting one foot in front of the other. I would dishonor my parents and grandparents if I did less. And at least if this plane is going to blow up, it gives me pleasure to know we're taking these assholes with us.
Rita, I have always believed it would have to get really bad for the MAGAs to see the light. They had.to see who and what he really is for themselves. They sure as hell weren’t going to take our word for it. My dad was in WWII also. His ashes are offshore of our home. Otherwise he’d be spinning in his grave at what’s happening
Tom, I commend you for your calm and phlegmatic essay. Because honestly, there are no words capable of expressing the feeling of abject shame and humiliation from Trump’s surrender and that drunkard’s bullshit. Loosing honor was our forefathers greatest fear. And yet here we are. Such brave people of Ukraine, now lost. Even though it is a fantasy I so hope that Europeans understand that they now have a choice between becoming Russian satellite states or riding, with honor, to the defense of Ukraine. And the poor Taiwanese. They have striven mightily to form a vibrant democracy and a fun, open, lively culture, and a boon to the modern world. Only for Trump to effectively invite Xi to invade them. Because that is what Trump has done today. Even though Taiwan was never mentioned, Trump and his drunk have telegraphed in no uncertain terms that they are cowards, without honor, and that they will rise to the defense of no decent society. It’s sickening. God, it’s absolutely disgusting.
It is because they have no fucking clue what honor is, or why it is important. "Our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor" is such a foreign concept to them, and yet it was FOUNDATIONAL to our country's beginning.
I gave you a like ❤️ because I agree with everything you said but don’t like it. You are a mensch. Donnie is a putz. He has put together a cabinet of fools and traitors and idiocrats backed by legislators who can’t tell right from wrong. And the lies keep coming. 💔. Remain calm and strong.
As an Aussie leftie I feel your absolutely excruciating pain at what has happened today ... I agree it is one of the very worst days in American history ever, and at least as shameful as getting into Vietnam and Chile.
To watch this pair of total fuckwits - Trump and Hegseth - with all the power in the world and none of the brains of even yeast - say what they said today, makes me cringe in shame as well.
What are the Demis doing? Not much as usual ... the poor over-worked dears - they must have an important committee or caucus meeting to get to.
The system that exists in congress leaves the minority with little power to influence events. In the Senate, the Democrats are holding another all-nighter against RFK Jr. My congressman Brad Sherman had a phone-in town hall tonight that was overwhelmed by the number who called in. Today Democrats across the country held town halls with similar results.
I guess when you have almost no power, the next best thing is to be "busy" - probably what I would do too. And to top off yesterday's abandonment of Ukraine, today the GOP Senate confirms the anti-vaxxing nut as head of Health.
My own post just disappeared into the ether, so I ditto those I see here. I am ashamed of my country, republicans have made it so. All republicans and too many Democrats have failed to see what was in front of their faces. Nobody wanted to say coup. Nobody wanted to believe that half our citizens are traitors. Nobody wanted to risk war for a stupid carnival barker who has been played by evil that he courted. Yet here we are.
This is heartbreaking. The worst part is the powerlessness we feel. Standing around the Capitol building in Sacramento next Monday won't do sh*t. The worst part is knowing that our fellow Americans are so vapid and ignorant that they voted for this. God help us. As JVL says (echoing that other smart guy) Good Luck, America.
Thanks for posting this document. I hope Europe will recreate the best parts of NATO as an ETO (European Treaty Org), and this makes it clear they are moving in that direction. Ukraine would have to be included as a bulwark against Russian expansion. Collectively Europe has the capacity to defend itself very effectively.
Every time I see his face I am ill. How can one person have so much hate in his heart? It is like a Seinfeld show…..everything is the opposite. I watched Lawrence and last night he talked about the world’s richest man keeping aid from the world’s poorest people. I am sorry but these two do not represent me. After reading your piece, Tom, I felt so embarrassed. And the GOP Congress goes on with the commands. This is a sad day.
Fuckin' A..... I took my blood pressure this morning - I was not happy with the result. Even though I thought I had prepared to face this possibility, the depth of the perfidy still hit me, and I am as angry as I have ever been in my life, even when I lost my first wife to pneumonia. This is not only traitorous - it is stupid. Russia is approaching an economic collapse, and Ukraine was eating away at its economy by crippling its oil and gas industry, the river of black gold that feeds the Russian military machine, and Putin's political ambitions - and the buffoon in the Oval Office gave it all away. How criminally stupid can one be.....
And yet, as Terrence Goggin pointed out, there is a sort of silver lining. Putin gets to claim "victory" in Ukraine, but what does he get - parts of four devastated oblasts in eastern Ukraine, that used to be the industrial heartland of the country but are no more. They also have most of the mines and unexploded ordnance that will hamper attempts to use that land for decades. Russia does not have the resources to rebuild any of that industry, especially if the sanctions stay in place while Russia occupies Ukrainian lands. And I have seen video reports that say that Putin is in serious trouble in trying to back out of the war economy now in place in Russia if he tries to transition to a peacetime consumer economy - it will probably be the end of the Putin regime in Russia due to the economic turmoil and dislocation that will result. Turns out you really can't get off the tiger without being eaten.....
Even Crimea, the crown in Putin's cap of stolen Ukrainian lands, will be a drag on Russia. The Russians many years ago blew up the Nova Kakhkova dam to flood the lower Dnipro river to prevent Ukraine from easily crossing the river to attack Crimea. In doing so, they also eliminated the irrigation canal that supplied all the water the Ukrainians, then the Russians, used to grow crops in Crimea - there is no other source of irrigation water for Crimea. And the "negotiations" have not started yet, so there are still things to be worked out, in spite of the fact that Trump and Hegseth have given away the store to Putin before talks have even begun. If, as rumored, Trump pulls the US out of NATO, he will have no say in whether or not Ukraine gets to join NATO.....
If talks do begin, I'd expect Russia to increase its attacks with all forces - infantry, tanks, missiles, bombs, etc. - to gain as much additional territory as possible. Thus Russian casualties will continue to increase and Kyiv will continue its attempts to destroy the Russian energy industry, possibly leaving Russia with a severely damaged economy. There will be no winners in the coming months or years, but the price paid by Russia may be higher than that of Ukraine. The Kerch bridge still stands, but is a prime target for Ukraine, and the loss of the oil industry would devastate Russia more than defeat. (Defeat in Ukraine would not cause Russia to collapse - loss of the oil income would.) If the Ukrainians apply enough pressure on those points, Putin might see the light and negotiate in relatively good faith.....
Devastated. We must support opposition. Just read Tim Mak of the Counteroffensive [substack[ out of Ukraine as he related the fight Finland had to mount just as our revolutionaries endured here. All I can think of is how we must support Ukraine & our own democracy through the groups who are willing to fight on for all the beautiful people who still stand up for freedom. We can't let the evil forces bury us. They are seizing power but we outnumber them, do we not ? "I feel as low down as a snake in a wagon wheel track." Slava Ukraini .
It feels so strange to "Like" your post today, Tom, especially after reading HRC'S and commenting there with a sadness similar to your. I too see February 12, 2024 as the date my America became unhinged and foreign to that I knew an loved all my 82 years.
This country, once a grand, teetering beast, has been gutted like a prizefighter on his last legs—spitting blood, staggering, barely aware the fight was rigged from the start. The coup didn’t come in the dead of night with tanks in the streets; it slithered in through the front door, grinning like a used car salesman with a Bible in one hand and a ballot shredder in the other.
And now, here we are—sitting in the wreckage, wondering how the hell it happened while the architects of the fall feast on their spoils. The ballot box was abandoned, democracy left to rot like a carcass in the desert sun. The fools who cheered it on, who stood idly by, will choke on the ashes of what they let burn. And they should.
Let it sink in. The republic is gone, snuffed out with a whimper and a Fox News banner. The only question left is how deep the wound goes—and whether there’s any goddamn way to sew it back together before the infection sets in.
I’m willing to fight for my country. Are you? Or will you stand there, slack-jawed and docile, watching as they carve up what’s left of the American experiment like a hog at slaughter?
Tom, It’s been a long time since I cried as hard as I have today.
Keep writing. I’ll keep reading. ❤️
I'm just heartbroken. I have seen a lot in 73 years, and I was at Kent State...but I never thought I'd witness the demise of our democracy. It wasn't about the price of eggs: it was because people decided they wanted the ugliness to win.
Not to mention the racism and misogyny
That's part of the ugliness!
Thank you for your inspiring words, Gloria.
Well said, Gloria.
Thank you for your powerful writing. My dad was in the Air Force in WW2. I am a student of the American Civil War. The sacrifices that these stooges dishonor cannot be measured.
I keep thinking he can't do any more to lose any trust in America by our allies, and then he does more. One could see this coming as he floats his own dreams of invading other countries to get what he wants. Or god help me, just "taking" Gaza and ousting the residents. In THAT he is bringing to the fore the absolutely worst incarnation of Manifest Destiny. America First has turned into America the Pariah, totally alone.
Next up, booting the UN and turning their building into a trump hotel.
You're a bright spot in America, Tom. As long as there are people like you, there is hope.
Rita, I am respectfully asking where do you see hope?
In people like us. In the people I read on Bluesky and in the comments. In people like Chris Murphy of Connecticut. In a corporation like Costco that refuses to end DEI. People are protesting. There are actually green shoots of hope all across the country. My parents endured a Depression and WW2. My father fought. There were dark years of pain and fear, but they persevered. It is going to get much worse here. People will suffer. But I've reached the point it all has to happen to break Maga's hold. At heart I am a cynical person. I've endured pain and hardship. But I also know you keep getting up and putting one foot in front of the other. I would dishonor my parents and grandparents if I did less. And at least if this plane is going to blow up, it gives me pleasure to know we're taking these assholes with us.
Solid post, Rita.
Rita, you are a inspiration. We do not gove up, we fight back. Thank you for reminding all of us to do that.
Brava Rita!💜
Rita, I have always believed it would have to get really bad for the MAGAs to see the light. They had.to see who and what he really is for themselves. They sure as hell weren’t going to take our word for it. My dad was in WWII also. His ashes are offshore of our home. Otherwise he’d be spinning in his grave at what’s happening
Brava, Rita!
Tom, I commend you for your calm and phlegmatic essay. Because honestly, there are no words capable of expressing the feeling of abject shame and humiliation from Trump’s surrender and that drunkard’s bullshit. Loosing honor was our forefathers greatest fear. And yet here we are. Such brave people of Ukraine, now lost. Even though it is a fantasy I so hope that Europeans understand that they now have a choice between becoming Russian satellite states or riding, with honor, to the defense of Ukraine. And the poor Taiwanese. They have striven mightily to form a vibrant democracy and a fun, open, lively culture, and a boon to the modern world. Only for Trump to effectively invite Xi to invade them. Because that is what Trump has done today. Even though Taiwan was never mentioned, Trump and his drunk have telegraphed in no uncertain terms that they are cowards, without honor, and that they will rise to the defense of no decent society. It’s sickening. God, it’s absolutely disgusting.
It is because they have no fucking clue what honor is, or why it is important. "Our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor" is such a foreign concept to them, and yet it was FOUNDATIONAL to our country's beginning.
I gave you a like ❤️ because I agree with everything you said but don’t like it. You are a mensch. Donnie is a putz. He has put together a cabinet of fools and traitors and idiocrats backed by legislators who can’t tell right from wrong. And the lies keep coming. 💔. Remain calm and strong.
Musk is a putz also.
"Putz" (Yiddish): "A penis that thinks it's a person."
Dilbert and Douche!!!
You are not alone Tom it is indeed a dark and bleak day. 🤬
As an Aussie leftie I feel your absolutely excruciating pain at what has happened today ... I agree it is one of the very worst days in American history ever, and at least as shameful as getting into Vietnam and Chile.
To watch this pair of total fuckwits - Trump and Hegseth - with all the power in the world and none of the brains of even yeast - say what they said today, makes me cringe in shame as well.
What are the Demis doing? Not much as usual ... the poor over-worked dears - they must have an important committee or caucus meeting to get to.
The system that exists in congress leaves the minority with little power to influence events. In the Senate, the Democrats are holding another all-nighter against RFK Jr. My congressman Brad Sherman had a phone-in town hall tonight that was overwhelmed by the number who called in. Today Democrats across the country held town halls with similar results.
I guess when you have almost no power, the next best thing is to be "busy" - probably what I would do too. And to top off yesterday's abandonment of Ukraine, today the GOP Senate confirms the anti-vaxxing nut as head of Health.
My own post just disappeared into the ether, so I ditto those I see here. I am ashamed of my country, republicans have made it so. All republicans and too many Democrats have failed to see what was in front of their faces. Nobody wanted to say coup. Nobody wanted to believe that half our citizens are traitors. Nobody wanted to risk war for a stupid carnival barker who has been played by evil that he courted. Yet here we are.
It seems to me that DonOLD, since even before 2015, has been evil incarnate.
This is heartbreaking. The worst part is the powerlessness we feel. Standing around the Capitol building in Sacramento next Monday won't do sh*t. The worst part is knowing that our fellow Americans are so vapid and ignorant that they voted for this. God help us. As JVL says (echoing that other smart guy) Good Luck, America.
It's one of those times when I find myself thinking it's a damn shame all the real crazies are on the other side.
This was also released in Dublin yesterday:
https://alcideproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ALCIDE-Policy-Brief.pdf
I never thought I would see this day. I am so ashamed of what America has done. My heart is with the European Union. May they be strong!
Thanks for posting this document. I hope Europe will recreate the best parts of NATO as an ETO (European Treaty Org), and this makes it clear they are moving in that direction. Ukraine would have to be included as a bulwark against Russian expansion. Collectively Europe has the capacity to defend itself very effectively.
Holy Moly!
Every time I see his face I am ill. How can one person have so much hate in his heart? It is like a Seinfeld show…..everything is the opposite. I watched Lawrence and last night he talked about the world’s richest man keeping aid from the world’s poorest people. I am sorry but these two do not represent me. After reading your piece, Tom, I felt so embarrassed. And the GOP Congress goes on with the commands. This is a sad day.
Fuckin' A..... I took my blood pressure this morning - I was not happy with the result. Even though I thought I had prepared to face this possibility, the depth of the perfidy still hit me, and I am as angry as I have ever been in my life, even when I lost my first wife to pneumonia. This is not only traitorous - it is stupid. Russia is approaching an economic collapse, and Ukraine was eating away at its economy by crippling its oil and gas industry, the river of black gold that feeds the Russian military machine, and Putin's political ambitions - and the buffoon in the Oval Office gave it all away. How criminally stupid can one be.....
And yet, as Terrence Goggin pointed out, there is a sort of silver lining. Putin gets to claim "victory" in Ukraine, but what does he get - parts of four devastated oblasts in eastern Ukraine, that used to be the industrial heartland of the country but are no more. They also have most of the mines and unexploded ordnance that will hamper attempts to use that land for decades. Russia does not have the resources to rebuild any of that industry, especially if the sanctions stay in place while Russia occupies Ukrainian lands. And I have seen video reports that say that Putin is in serious trouble in trying to back out of the war economy now in place in Russia if he tries to transition to a peacetime consumer economy - it will probably be the end of the Putin regime in Russia due to the economic turmoil and dislocation that will result. Turns out you really can't get off the tiger without being eaten.....
Even Crimea, the crown in Putin's cap of stolen Ukrainian lands, will be a drag on Russia. The Russians many years ago blew up the Nova Kakhkova dam to flood the lower Dnipro river to prevent Ukraine from easily crossing the river to attack Crimea. In doing so, they also eliminated the irrigation canal that supplied all the water the Ukrainians, then the Russians, used to grow crops in Crimea - there is no other source of irrigation water for Crimea. And the "negotiations" have not started yet, so there are still things to be worked out, in spite of the fact that Trump and Hegseth have given away the store to Putin before talks have even begun. If, as rumored, Trump pulls the US out of NATO, he will have no say in whether or not Ukraine gets to join NATO.....
If talks do begin, I'd expect Russia to increase its attacks with all forces - infantry, tanks, missiles, bombs, etc. - to gain as much additional territory as possible. Thus Russian casualties will continue to increase and Kyiv will continue its attempts to destroy the Russian energy industry, possibly leaving Russia with a severely damaged economy. There will be no winners in the coming months or years, but the price paid by Russia may be higher than that of Ukraine. The Kerch bridge still stands, but is a prime target for Ukraine, and the loss of the oil industry would devastate Russia more than defeat. (Defeat in Ukraine would not cause Russia to collapse - loss of the oil income would.) If the Ukrainians apply enough pressure on those points, Putin might see the light and negotiate in relatively good faith.....
Devastated. We must support opposition. Just read Tim Mak of the Counteroffensive [substack[ out of Ukraine as he related the fight Finland had to mount just as our revolutionaries endured here. All I can think of is how we must support Ukraine & our own democracy through the groups who are willing to fight on for all the beautiful people who still stand up for freedom. We can't let the evil forces bury us. They are seizing power but we outnumber them, do we not ? "I feel as low down as a snake in a wagon wheel track." Slava Ukraini .
It feels so strange to "Like" your post today, Tom, especially after reading HRC'S and commenting there with a sadness similar to your. I too see February 12, 2024 as the date my America became unhinged and foreign to that I knew an loved all my 82 years.
I'm 82 also, Fred, and I do not see our democracy recovering from this coup in whatever years I have left. I hope I'm wrong.
Hopeful but uncertain in ways I have never been. Thanks, Mim. Have been enjoying your comments for some time. Be well.
You too, Fred. Thanks. We MUST stay hopeful and determined, I keep telling myself.
Sorry I didn’t reply right away. Substack doesn’t always work on my various devices. It is at the moment