Lucian, you will never know how much I appreciate you for being the type of military veteran I can respect. You and General Jim Mattis, the first people to give me confidence in the U.S. military.
My father, the Trumpster and Fox Noise enthusiast, is a Korean War-era vet of the Army. Born and raised in the interwar years and NSDAP (Nazi) Germany, he is a relic of that culture. As a result, I never had respect for the US military.
The hearing was both riveting and terrifying. Will it and the following hearings make a difference in the minds of any of TFG’s followers? As i have previously mentioned, i only ask that he NEVER hold another office, nor lie in state at the Capitol, nor be allowed burial in Arlington. Probably prison will never happen, but he should bear some responsibility for his actions/inactions of January 6th. Never being afforded the opportunities of a past-president are an acceptable start.
The hearings won't make a difference in the minds of tRumper followers, not even the nice sane ones (and those who just graduated from places like Notre Dame Cultage). Our realistic goal is to reach the Cheney and Kitzinger-type supporters across the country, the good and responsible Republicans who can see the truth, but are waiting for tide-changing, party-splitting leadership.
Murdock's NY Post printed this today! It's happening! The Court of Public Opinion is cracking the GOP! Post wouldn't post unless it was $afe to finally print it!! Except, of course, it may only be to pave the way for Florida's DeSatan to D.C.
The direction of events now seems to almost demand the current Attorney General, Merrick Garland, follow his own oath of office vis-a-vis indicting Trump and other co-conspirators. Some knowledgeable commentators, Norm Eisen for one, expect Garland to follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter who is implicated, and then follow the law.
I think the motto summoned up here is one film viewers heard in Oliver Stone's JFK: "Let justice be done though the heavens fall." Fiat justitia ruat caelum.
As the mountain of relevant, credible evidence mounts higher and higher, indicating numerous provable "beyond a reasonable doubt" legal violations by Trump, directly connected to the January 6 seditious insurrection, it's too early to state with much confidence that "prison will never happen," stay tuned!
I "only" ask that too, but I also add I wish he develops an incurable disease that causes disfiguring, smelly, and painful boils to appear all over his body, including his face. I'm really a nice person most of the time--he just brings out the devil in me.
A bad case of scrofula will be sufficient. Google images of the disease and you'll see it's perfect for Trump, who esteems himself on his 'good looks.'
Could someone please explain to me why Fox "news" plays on every military base to impressionable 18-20 year olds? This indoctrination carries through to police and sheriff departments throughout the country. How can this be stopped?
yeah...what's the deal with that? how is it possible? obviously, there's some kind of contractual thing going on, but does anybody know how it happened? this feels like just another horrible product of that miserable prick Reagan's ending the Fairness Doctrine, which needs to be restored and I'm betting never will be because right-wing media exist as they do entirely as a result of that particular move, and right-wing media is a big enough (and, because of massive donations from the usual suspects, altogether too rich) generator of power, wealth and all the wrong kinds of "influence." my fear (which is obviously shared by a lot of people, most especially the Committee members) is that the Jan. 6th riot is going to be the new normal and everyone who loses an election will be crying "foul." it's already begun. I'm not even talking about the state lawmakers who have pretty much announced their intention to commit treason when and how and where it suits them.
I'm betting 13,643,000 of those will see the truth, and second it at the ballot box. Witnessing the trump erosion beginning among rural Republicans here in Northern Michigan.
Good news! I was driving through rural Indiana yesterday and saw a pickup truck with about 6 flags attached to the bed. Several American flags, at least one with an AR-15. I did not see any MAGA related flags!
What the real problem is-that the military has been slow to weed out the right wing fanatics that are coming out of the military with extremist views that were apparent during their military career and who were allowed to stay in the military.
Racism seems to be rampant, as does extremism of any kind in all branches-so much that Trump was able to 'summon' these gravy seals to act on his 'orders' says that there is a dysfunction in the military that is going unchecked even while they're being booted out at such a slow pace.
After they get out of the service, of course, they become cops and other authority figures which is where a lot of them perpetuate their hateful ideology while on duty.
I found it repulsive that these 'patriots' (as they name themselves, without any iota of proof) were actually trying to overthrow the same government they swore to uphold in their oath taking once enlisted in the military, and that they were doing so against other former members of the military who were trying to protect the Capitol. Simply horrific.
I think the military should stop and actually go through all their ranks from the top on down to get rid of these hateful traitors. I don't want to be paying for them to try to overthrow my country just because they're too stupid and gullible to fall for the most miserable con man ever to exist.
You know what's really funny? They did so on behalf of a man who used 5 deferments to get out of serving during the Vietnam War because he was a chickenshit who had bone spurs on the say so of a doctor his father paid to attest to it.
By the way, when is Michael Flynn going to be recalled to service and court-martialed? I want that man to be disgraced the old fashioned way..and you know what I mean. On parade and having his bars stripped of him and his crimes declared in front of all the the troops.
It isn't done any more, but perhaps he makes an exception.
I think your second paragraph gets at the problem: racism and extremism are common in the military, which suggests to me that in many quarters it's socially acceptable and plenty of service members have an incentive to go along even if they don't hold those beliefs, ,at least not to that degree. Which makes it hard to "weed out" the ones who might to on to foment an insurrection or other anti-democratic acts. This is the same dilemma facing anyone who claims that "mental illness" is the most important factor in mass shooters: It's easy to see in retrospect that a mass shooter is mentally ill, but it's difficult, perhaps impossible, to predict which mentally ill individuals might go on to commit a mass shooting (or indeed any homicide). Even if you filter for white + male + age.
Meanwhile, the Ginni and Clarence Thomas activity to subvert this democracy goes unimpeded. I even wrote to the Pope and Ginni Thomas’s Creighton University Jesuit law school ( who allegedly screen their candidates for “strong character”), and it’s total silence from The Church. I guess they have thrown in with the heil-Hitler saluting, “Christian“ nationalists who are so fond of Putin’s “values.”
A tad freaky - believable and/or conceivable. US troops helping Russia smash Ukraine is one nightmare scenario. We have Bad Luck Biden thankfully. He better get more artillery /weapons operating over there soon.
There is something that quite a few of the insurrectionist paramilitary leaders have in common: they are graduates of Harvard Law. I don't have my notes in front of me now, but I remember that "eye patch guy" is one of the Harvard Law graduates turned insurrectionist. You can do your own searches and find more.
Hard to reconcile a three piece suit with camo. I am not sure what the implications of this are. Are these leaders just playacting while plotting an unconventional course to the top, as so many Harvard grads aspire? Or are they embittered Harvard outcasts looking for revenge? Or is Harvard now offering a course on 'How to Overthrow A Democratically Elected Government' ?
Cf. Ted Cruz, yet another living proof that you can graduate with a solid degree from a top law school and, well, look at Cruz's antics over the last years --- who can find the words?
"According to his Facebook page, Rhodes joined the U.S. Army out of high school but was “disabled in a rough terrain parachuting accident during a night jump.” From there, he attended the University of Nevada where he graduated in 1998. During his time there he was also a certified firearms instructor. Rhodes graduated from Yale Law School in 2004 while winning Yale’s Miller Price for his paper “Solving the Puzzle of Enemy Combatant Status.” After that, he worked for Congressman Ron Paul, supporting the Texans run for president in 2008. Rhodes openly accused Rep. Paul of being the victim of a smear campaign during the primary election.
He's also crazier than a shithouse rat, by his children's words. Here's a link to the SPLC's post about this man-who I hope will be given 20 years in prison for his treason.
This is not surprising. A lot of guys joined the military because of its promise of violence and adventure. Those adrenaline junkies love the excitement and the rush they get when they're living dangerously. They're hyperaggressive, and they get themselves into trouble. We see the same characteristics in some law enforcement officers when they get themselves involved in unprovoked shooting incidents.
To the attractions I'd add, for both the military and law enforcement, that despite the many women in both, they and their image is still homosocial. Male bonding is a big attraction, and those excited by violence and adventure, firearms and uniforms, will absolutely find each other, whereupon their excitement will increase exponentially while their inhibitions decrease to the same extent.
As a retired Gunnery Sergeant the number of active and retired military who stormed our capitol is depressing. They not only forgot the 2nd half of the oaths they took about enemies " foreign and domestic", but became those very enemies.
Each member who participated should get the maximum sentence for they dishonored their service, unfortunately judges apparently in too many cases noted their service as a mitigating factor.
If you asked any of these so called patriots where the term "a day that will live in infamy" came from they would have no idea.
Exactly my reaction when I read that phrase. It would seem to accurately reflect their understanding of U.S. history in general.
Lucian, you will never know how much I appreciate you for being the type of military veteran I can respect. You and General Jim Mattis, the first people to give me confidence in the U.S. military.
My father, the Trumpster and Fox Noise enthusiast, is a Korean War-era vet of the Army. Born and raised in the interwar years and NSDAP (Nazi) Germany, he is a relic of that culture. As a result, I never had respect for the US military.
Now I do, thanks to you and General Mattis.
My deepest thanks to you.
My Dad was a Republican career Army officer, my Mom a Massachusetts Democrat, and, a Woman Marine WWII.
I have always been a liberal.
The hearing was both riveting and terrifying. Will it and the following hearings make a difference in the minds of any of TFG’s followers? As i have previously mentioned, i only ask that he NEVER hold another office, nor lie in state at the Capitol, nor be allowed burial in Arlington. Probably prison will never happen, but he should bear some responsibility for his actions/inactions of January 6th. Never being afforded the opportunities of a past-president are an acceptable start.
And his post-presidential retirement payments must end.
The hearings won't make a difference in the minds of tRumper followers, not even the nice sane ones (and those who just graduated from places like Notre Dame Cultage). Our realistic goal is to reach the Cheney and Kitzinger-type supporters across the country, the good and responsible Republicans who can see the truth, but are waiting for tide-changing, party-splitting leadership.
Murdock's NY Post printed this today! It's happening! The Court of Public Opinion is cracking the GOP! Post wouldn't post unless it was $afe to finally print it!! Except, of course, it may only be to pave the way for Florida's DeSatan to D.C.
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2022%2F06%2F10%2Ftrump-and-dems-remain-obsessed-with-2020-republicans-should-look-to-the-future-instead%2F&h=AT0iPZAEqwdB7bDkDlxu5pwvyppedumZo3q6CpSEc7U0-ixNLtV8OBApXbu6fKCECK6VpwfAUD2Sm2vOYMl2LSgT9l1yTRE5a6nMiZFxdrgoNMsluLQq6SgHrxcJqxVnHw
The direction of events now seems to almost demand the current Attorney General, Merrick Garland, follow his own oath of office vis-a-vis indicting Trump and other co-conspirators. Some knowledgeable commentators, Norm Eisen for one, expect Garland to follow the evidence wherever it leads, no matter who is implicated, and then follow the law.
I think the motto summoned up here is one film viewers heard in Oliver Stone's JFK: "Let justice be done though the heavens fall." Fiat justitia ruat caelum.
As the mountain of relevant, credible evidence mounts higher and higher, indicating numerous provable "beyond a reasonable doubt" legal violations by Trump, directly connected to the January 6 seditious insurrection, it's too early to state with much confidence that "prison will never happen," stay tuned!
I’m thinking really positive thoughts.
I "only" ask that too, but I also add I wish he develops an incurable disease that causes disfiguring, smelly, and painful boils to appear all over his body, including his face. I'm really a nice person most of the time--he just brings out the devil in me.
A bad case of scrofula will be sufficient. Google images of the disease and you'll see it's perfect for Trump, who esteems himself on his 'good looks.'
And may his orange jumpsuit clash with his complexion!
Will match! Perfect
Still, it's totally worrisome that the Proud Boys have become such a strong force in Miami-Dade Republican politics. This isn't play-acting.
Remember, a lot of South Florida energy is tied to Cuban right wingers who accuse the Dems of being Commies...go figure.
It's ongoing political drama melding tragedy and farce, very dangerous and deadly games on the world stage.
Could someone please explain to me why Fox "news" plays on every military base to impressionable 18-20 year olds? This indoctrination carries through to police and sheriff departments throughout the country. How can this be stopped?
yeah...what's the deal with that? how is it possible? obviously, there's some kind of contractual thing going on, but does anybody know how it happened? this feels like just another horrible product of that miserable prick Reagan's ending the Fairness Doctrine, which needs to be restored and I'm betting never will be because right-wing media exist as they do entirely as a result of that particular move, and right-wing media is a big enough (and, because of massive donations from the usual suspects, altogether too rich) generator of power, wealth and all the wrong kinds of "influence." my fear (which is obviously shared by a lot of people, most especially the Committee members) is that the Jan. 6th riot is going to be the new normal and everyone who loses an election will be crying "foul." it's already begun. I'm not even talking about the state lawmakers who have pretty much announced their intention to commit treason when and how and where it suits them.
Wondering if the blinders will ever fall off of the millions of citizens who continue to support insurrection in our Capital.
The 74,000,000 ignore the truth.
I'm betting 13,643,000 of those will see the truth, and second it at the ballot box. Witnessing the trump erosion beginning among rural Republicans here in Northern Michigan.
For three years I have watched a gaggle of pleasure craft with MAGA and Trump flags near the Boca Grande bridge.
I call that area Dumb Kirk.
Last few weeks, all banners gone.
Good news! I was driving through rural Indiana yesterday and saw a pickup truck with about 6 flags attached to the bed. Several American flags, at least one with an AR-15. I did not see any MAGA related flags!
and not a second too damn soon!
The first hearing was riveting and terrifying. I can only imagine what is to come.
What the real problem is-that the military has been slow to weed out the right wing fanatics that are coming out of the military with extremist views that were apparent during their military career and who were allowed to stay in the military.
Racism seems to be rampant, as does extremism of any kind in all branches-so much that Trump was able to 'summon' these gravy seals to act on his 'orders' says that there is a dysfunction in the military that is going unchecked even while they're being booted out at such a slow pace.
After they get out of the service, of course, they become cops and other authority figures which is where a lot of them perpetuate their hateful ideology while on duty.
I found it repulsive that these 'patriots' (as they name themselves, without any iota of proof) were actually trying to overthrow the same government they swore to uphold in their oath taking once enlisted in the military, and that they were doing so against other former members of the military who were trying to protect the Capitol. Simply horrific.
I think the military should stop and actually go through all their ranks from the top on down to get rid of these hateful traitors. I don't want to be paying for them to try to overthrow my country just because they're too stupid and gullible to fall for the most miserable con man ever to exist.
You know what's really funny? They did so on behalf of a man who used 5 deferments to get out of serving during the Vietnam War because he was a chickenshit who had bone spurs on the say so of a doctor his father paid to attest to it.
By the way, when is Michael Flynn going to be recalled to service and court-martialed? I want that man to be disgraced the old fashioned way..and you know what I mean. On parade and having his bars stripped of him and his crimes declared in front of all the the troops.
It isn't done any more, but perhaps he makes an exception.
I think your second paragraph gets at the problem: racism and extremism are common in the military, which suggests to me that in many quarters it's socially acceptable and plenty of service members have an incentive to go along even if they don't hold those beliefs, ,at least not to that degree. Which makes it hard to "weed out" the ones who might to on to foment an insurrection or other anti-democratic acts. This is the same dilemma facing anyone who claims that "mental illness" is the most important factor in mass shooters: It's easy to see in retrospect that a mass shooter is mentally ill, but it's difficult, perhaps impossible, to predict which mentally ill individuals might go on to commit a mass shooting (or indeed any homicide). Even if you filter for white + male + age.
My favorite insult for this ilk was posted last year somewhere:
Gravy Seals
Meanwhile, the Ginni and Clarence Thomas activity to subvert this democracy goes unimpeded. I even wrote to the Pope and Ginni Thomas’s Creighton University Jesuit law school ( who allegedly screen their candidates for “strong character”), and it’s total silence from The Church. I guess they have thrown in with the heil-Hitler saluting, “Christian“ nationalists who are so fond of Putin’s “values.”
There is more than one way to make a Faustian pact!
We know the Church's view on Roe vs. Wade.
😖
“January 6 will be a day in infamy.”
Got that right anyway even if they’re totally lacking in self-awareness.
Yes, that made me laugh in the midst of all the serious nonsense they have brought about. Where do they find these geniuses, anyway?
Can't help believing that Putin's adventure was prompted by the belief that Former would remain at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Does this scare anyone?
A tad freaky - believable and/or conceivable. US troops helping Russia smash Ukraine is one nightmare scenario. We have Bad Luck Biden thankfully. He better get more artillery /weapons operating over there soon.
There is something that quite a few of the insurrectionist paramilitary leaders have in common: they are graduates of Harvard Law. I don't have my notes in front of me now, but I remember that "eye patch guy" is one of the Harvard Law graduates turned insurrectionist. You can do your own searches and find more.
Hard to reconcile a three piece suit with camo. I am not sure what the implications of this are. Are these leaders just playacting while plotting an unconventional course to the top, as so many Harvard grads aspire? Or are they embittered Harvard outcasts looking for revenge? Or is Harvard now offering a course on 'How to Overthrow A Democratically Elected Government' ?
Cf. Ted Cruz, yet another living proof that you can graduate with a solid degree from a top law school and, well, look at Cruz's antics over the last years --- who can find the words?
Stewart Rhodes graduated from Yale Law School;
"According to his Facebook page, Rhodes joined the U.S. Army out of high school but was “disabled in a rough terrain parachuting accident during a night jump.” From there, he attended the University of Nevada where he graduated in 1998. During his time there he was also a certified firearms instructor. Rhodes graduated from Yale Law School in 2004 while winning Yale’s Miller Price for his paper “Solving the Puzzle of Enemy Combatant Status.” After that, he worked for Congressman Ron Paul, supporting the Texans run for president in 2008. Rhodes openly accused Rep. Paul of being the victim of a smear campaign during the primary election.
He's also crazier than a shithouse rat, by his children's words. Here's a link to the SPLC's post about this man-who I hope will be given 20 years in prison for his treason.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/elmer-stewart-rhodes
Has the Harvard Lampoon mentality been overtaken by autocrats in training?
This is not surprising. A lot of guys joined the military because of its promise of violence and adventure. Those adrenaline junkies love the excitement and the rush they get when they're living dangerously. They're hyperaggressive, and they get themselves into trouble. We see the same characteristics in some law enforcement officers when they get themselves involved in unprovoked shooting incidents.
To the attractions I'd add, for both the military and law enforcement, that despite the many women in both, they and their image is still homosocial. Male bonding is a big attraction, and those excited by violence and adventure, firearms and uniforms, will absolutely find each other, whereupon their excitement will increase exponentially while their inhibitions decrease to the same extent.
As a retired Gunnery Sergeant the number of active and retired military who stormed our capitol is depressing. They not only forgot the 2nd half of the oaths they took about enemies " foreign and domestic", but became those very enemies.
Each member who participated should get the maximum sentence for they dishonored their service, unfortunately judges apparently in too many cases noted their service as a mitigating factor.
Nice short video here showing that Army "stack" formation and how training is done for urban warfare using the Rolling T formation by four-man teams. https://www.insider.com/army-recruits-rolling-t-combat-formation-mout-boot-camp-2020-7