87 Comments

So well written Lucian that I can think of only one thing to add. Among Trump's manifold flaws as a human being there is one that isn't as often talked about: He is a sadist He likes to see people suffer. Remember him exhorting his campaign attendees to beat up a dissenter?

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And childishly mocking and humiliating a disabled reporter. Beyond belief. Feral comes to mind.

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No-/ feral means like a wild animal, and no animal could sink to the-Rumps’s level of cruelty and evil.

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T-Rump makes the Marquis de Sade look like Martin Luther King.

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I will never fathom how so many people can worship at the feet of this monster. But I suppose history is full of such creatures, and we all know of an infamous fellow in Germany not long ago who demonstrated exactly how easily masses of people will surrender their will to an evil madman. This is a question for philosophers and poets, not just historians.

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It boggles the mind daily and even more with these J6 hearings revealing one monstrosity after another. "We have a lot of theories, but no evidence." Gad. I've worked with attorneys all my adult life and that statement is as simple as it gets. And says, well, there's no there there, but we'll find something. And then one lawyer who had been told after every court defeat there was no there there and some of the voting officials said, so what now? And he said, well, I see there's no evidence but there's just got to be. I just feel they're cheating. A lawyer using emotion in place of facts and logic. This country is in a lot more trouble than we ever imagined if you have people in law who don't understand any more than they seem to now understand.

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Exactly. My wife worked at the UT Law School, and the faculty there knows the score (apart from a few notorious Federalist Society members).

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That s absolutely true.

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I watched every minute, again. My wife said to me over dinner tonight that there should be a requirement for all politicians that they first pass an exam in basic civics and government. These are not even required high school courses any longer. Every witness today demonstrated more understanding of duty, the law, and doing the right thing than half the US Congress demonstrates in a year of politicking. Sad.

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Civics should be a mandated course nationally. It was in the 60’s when I attended school in Connecticut

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Same here.

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it's not that those courses aren't REQUIRED, they're not OFFERED.

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Why? When a clod like Trump who has no interest in governance can become POTUS?

Bannon ran the country while Trump drooled at Fox!

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This family was amazing. Her testimony was so heartbreaking. I hope they come out of the other side of this stronger, because they are wounded right now. Trump and Giuliani are such evil pricks.

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Targeted by the president. Forced to leave home for two months certainly at her expense. Home broken into. Threats, slurs, harassment all initiated by the fat, orange shitgibbon. Kavanaugh has demonstrators outside of his house and the Senate approves $ millions to protect him. This is fucked up and it just gets deeper and deeper. I’m a 70 year old father with a 13 year old daughter. I fear for her future; even more so because she’s bi-racial and these racist fucks get bolder and bolder every day.

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Masterfully written summary.

Trump was after everyone, everyone to break laws for him and demeaned them as cowards for not doing so. But, he knew all along if they broke laws they were going to be the ones punished and he was never going to face any consequences. Total mob boss behavior.

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The most damning line was Rudy Giuliani’s: “We have lots of theories, but we just don’t have the evidence.”

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that's a great one...it's already entered the special lexicon I share with a few very close friends. fabulous. lots of theories, no evidence. change a few words and you have a description of how a lot of us feel about the villains in question.

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And, he sounded sober!

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drunks, when drunk, often sound perfectly sober. and I don't remember if we actually heard him say it or got it second-hand. my assumption is that he's virtually never sober in public...going out without a few belts undoubtedly makes him anxious. plus you gotta steady those shakes.

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And the way trump libeled Shaye Moss, as we heard in the recordings. Your writing of these four heroic individuals was masterful. May their light rise as surely as trump’s falls…and may his gang of winged monkeys go down with him.

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An excellent summation of the hearing today. All the Republicans who testified had voted for Trump so there would be no reason to thwart his re-election, yet all were called RINO's and essentially considered traitors to the party because they would not yield under pressure to cheat.. All stated allegiance to the Constitution and .the law. But Trump has no use for men and women of integrity and honesty because they stand in his way. So he trashes them and tries to destroy their reputations, hence the threats on them and their families by the most igmorant and crude of his supporters. He also di destroy the life of that dedicated poll worker and her mother by falsely accusing her of voter fraud. not only by tweet but directly thereby triggering the savage racially laced attack on her character as well as on her mother and even her grandmother. Imagine, a United States president attacking an ordinary citizen that way? Incomprehensible, More on that: https://www.yahoo.com/news/black-woman-trump-falsely-accused-152803145.html

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I watched most of it and was so moved by these brave Americans. Trump's followers have lost their minds. They're as crazy as he is.

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much crazier....he's trying to hold on to power, but they just want to hold on to HIM. power is, at least, SOMETHING. he is nothing (of any real human substance). ergo, they are crazier. and, having been part of various mobs at various times, I have a much better idea than TFF of what mobs are capable of, which means that any of these people confronted by a few armed guys who are "on a mission" are always in real danger. these people are genuinely brave. but I have a really hard time with all that bible-thumping because (and I can be convinced that I'm wrong here, but no one has yet been able to do it) I can honestly state that I don't know a single person who has actually been made better by their religious faith. I know plenty of religious people who are amazingly great and attribute this to their religion. I maintain that they'd be amazingly great if they had no particular religion. and we all know people who dismiss their unconscionable, soulless behavior because they go to church or keep four (or even five) sets of dishes. Jared has his yarmulke and the Saudi Royal Family are pretty devout. it'd be great if there was no more god talk for the rest of these hearings.

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Great piece.... but I am so depressed by this . Even as these hearings continue and more and more horrors come to light, we see the lies and propaganda machine revved up to un-thought of levels and we see Txxxp backed candidates win in elections. Scary shit.

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Painful to watch, but necessary. Lessons for all of us. Thank you Lucian.

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So far we have been lucky that none of these gun toting MAGA morons has killed anyone after being primed by Trump and his sleazy minions and their incessant lies. I fear that sooner or later, there will be bloodshed. I am both angry and sad about this, as I no longer recognize what this country has become, and am afraid that it is beyond repair.

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All four people who testified today are Profiles In Courage.

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Very nice, Lucian. Lovely piece ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Trump has got a septic mind

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No mind at all, an empty vessel.

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Well, filled with bile to ruin everything that's thrown in there.

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it's pretty funny, Dane. I started to comment (or "correct") your observation, but demurred, lest you think it was a dick move. but the two comments below, taken more or less together, constitute the essence of the comment that wasn't commented.

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Is it time to bring Treason into the conversation; giving aide and comfort to an enemy? The one who benefits most from our divided country is Putin, as he makes war against our allies, and us through the Ukrainians. If DJT calls for civil war to protect himself from arrest, should that not be treason as well as insurrection. Putin is banking on it, if not coordinating it. And DJT’s corrupted supports are complicit.

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