Trump being elected in 2016 and running again in 2020 and 2024 for president should be a joke but sadly is not. That so many Americans are enthralled by his racism and hate and that what used to be the Republican Party is ready to bend over and kiss his butt on command should be a joke but is not. None of it is the least bit funny.
Oct 29·edited Oct 29Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
I must confess that I seldom think of Puerto Rico, but when I do, I think of the only Puerto Rican I have ever gotten to know. That would be Major Pete Ramos. We met in 1968 when he arrived on my Advisory Team to become the new Operations Officer.
Our Commanding Officer, LtCol Bob Henschel asked me if I would allow Major Ramos to share my quarters. I, of course, said yes, and got to know a really good soldier.
Major Pete had joined the Army at age 15, right after Pearl Harbor, having lied about his age.
Sitting in shorts drinking beers, I noticed his body had a bunch of scars, old bullet holes. He got wounded twice in the Pacific. In the Korean War he was a Ranger. He was wounded twice, and got a battlefield commission. Then he got shot in Laos while with the Special Forces. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after we met he got badly wounded leading a helicopter assault when VC/NVA opened up as they disembarked. He had asked me to go with him, but I was going on a different op with the Brigade's CRIP.
So, I thought that I'd probably never see Pete again. To my surprise, a couple of months later he popped into my quarters, with a big grin. His cot was still there in place, as I had never removed it. They had patched him up in Japan. Pete was back in action.
Listen up, Donald and you MAGA shitheads: Puerto Rico is part of America.
Mocking a reporter with a disability is no joke. When he did that in 2016, it should not only have killed his candidacy but caused him to be shunned by all decent people. Maybe the latter occurred.
There was a time when any one of these things would have done him in campaign-wise. Children and young people are watching. The GOP trash talk is what will adversely affect them, not accepting people who aren't the same as you.
It drew the heartless ignorant fools that comprise his base, I spar with them on FB, they have no clue Trump killed the border bill to keep it alive for the completion to follow, they are that stupid.
Agree. If he weren't so dangerous we might pity him. I understand that calling him a joke means that he is not to taken seriously, and I agree with that, but we shouldn't laugh at mentally ill people. It would probably be useless, but maybe he ought to get psychotherapy in prison. I don't know whether prisons offer that, but they should.
I fully understand the comment about mentally ill people, but I think we can all understand that mentall illness covers a very wide spectrum. And when we criticize or laugh at Trump, we are criticizing and laughing at HIM, not his illness. He could do better. He chooses not to.
Ed Gein was a serial killer. He made furniture out of people. And one of the things he made was an armchair with arms. Like, human ones. That was a joke—the kind of joke a serial killer tells. The fact that it was a joke didn’t make Ed Gein somehow not a serial killer. And framing your horrible opinions as jokes doesn't make you somehow not a horrible person.
It saddens me to see so many of our fellow Americans divided, supporting leaders who, in my view, are not upholding the values that have made this country great. I didn’t fight in World War II, standing on the front lines of history, so that we could one day find our country on the brink of dictatorship or authoritarian rule. The freedoms I defended, and believe in, the sacrifices my comrades and I made, were for the preservation of democracy—of freedom, fairness, and the right to live without fear of tyranny.
This is personal for me. It pains me to watch as the values I fought for are being eroded. It’s not about political parties—Republican or Democrat—it’s about the principles that bind us as Americans. I have always believed in the decency and strength of this nation, but I fear we are losing sight of what makes us who we are.
I urge you all to reflect on the long-term consequences of the choices we make. We need leaders who will unite us, not divide us. Leaders who will cherish the freedoms we hold dear, rather than undermine them. Leaders who respect the rule of law, honor the sacrifices of the past, and work for a better, more united future.
We are better than this. We have faced dark times before, and we can rise again—but only if we stand together and remember that we are all Americans first. Please, let’s not allow fear and hatred to define our future.
With love, respect, and deep concern,
George
( World War ll veteran and Purple Heart recipient.) You can see his Facebook page using " Foxhole"
Irony abounds, has anyone ever heard Trump tell a joke or even laugh? He can't do it, yet his entire career and campaign are a sick joke, with JD following behind to complain that the rest of us are taking the fun out of politics by not enjoying the post-truth statements they make. The people whose lives are ruined are just collateral damage, the inevitable result of a vigorous campaign.
👍YES!!! GET OUT AND VOTE and GET OUT THE VOTE !!! NO JOKE. thanks for all your posts Lucian. Dark clouds now. MAGA themes are Pure Evil. Sing ‘We will overcome….”
Eliminating the Constitution is no joke; anti-Semitism is no joke; torching ballots is no joke
Trump being elected in 2016 and running again in 2020 and 2024 for president should be a joke but sadly is not. That so many Americans are enthralled by his racism and hate and that what used to be the Republican Party is ready to bend over and kiss his butt on command should be a joke but is not. None of it is the least bit funny.
This is one of the best articles I have seen about our election. Thank you sir.
Julie, I agree with you about the value of this article. Clarity is powerful, and one of the reasons I so cherish Lucian’s work.
I must confess that I seldom think of Puerto Rico, but when I do, I think of the only Puerto Rican I have ever gotten to know. That would be Major Pete Ramos. We met in 1968 when he arrived on my Advisory Team to become the new Operations Officer.
Our Commanding Officer, LtCol Bob Henschel asked me if I would allow Major Ramos to share my quarters. I, of course, said yes, and got to know a really good soldier.
Major Pete had joined the Army at age 15, right after Pearl Harbor, having lied about his age.
Sitting in shorts drinking beers, I noticed his body had a bunch of scars, old bullet holes. He got wounded twice in the Pacific. In the Korean War he was a Ranger. He was wounded twice, and got a battlefield commission. Then he got shot in Laos while with the Special Forces. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after we met he got badly wounded leading a helicopter assault when VC/NVA opened up as they disembarked. He had asked me to go with him, but I was going on a different op with the Brigade's CRIP.
So, I thought that I'd probably never see Pete again. To my surprise, a couple of months later he popped into my quarters, with a big grin. His cot was still there in place, as I had never removed it. They had patched him up in Japan. Pete was back in action.
Listen up, Donald and you MAGA shitheads: Puerto Rico is part of America.
Great guy, great story, Rich.
Well said, Rich!!
You, sir, are the reason to vote for Kamala Harris❤️
Rich Hope, you have some of the best stories, and reading them makes me wish like hell that you were my neighbor
Mocking a reporter with a disability is no joke. When he did that in 2016, it should not only have killed his candidacy but caused him to be shunned by all decent people. Maybe the latter occurred.
There was a time when any one of these things would have done him in campaign-wise. Children and young people are watching. The GOP trash talk is what will adversely affect them, not accepting people who aren't the same as you.
For the life of me I cannot figure out why people can vote for someone who does that. Yes why wasn't that the end of him?
Every racist and every school bully approved of Trump that day, he delayed his hate for women.
It drew the heartless ignorant fools that comprise his base, I spar with them on FB, they have no clue Trump killed the border bill to keep it alive for the completion to follow, they are that stupid.
They are gullible, maybe not out and out stupid.
Sexually assaulting and raping women is not a joke. I feel that the list Lucian started could continue indefinitely.
YES
Mocking Prisoners of War is NOT a joke … my father was a Prisoner of War for 3-1/2 years and it is NOT a joke!
So was my sister-in-law’s father, in Japan, during WWII. He came out a shell of a human but survived by having faith he’d be saved. He was.
Trump IS a joke!!!!
Yeah, but there’s nothing funny about him.
Agree. If he weren't so dangerous we might pity him. I understand that calling him a joke means that he is not to taken seriously, and I agree with that, but we shouldn't laugh at mentally ill people. It would probably be useless, but maybe he ought to get psychotherapy in prison. I don't know whether prisons offer that, but they should.
No cure for a narcissistic Psychopath.
He fails ever part of
The Psychopath test.
Read the book.
I fully understand the comment about mentally ill people, but I think we can all understand that mentall illness covers a very wide spectrum. And when we criticize or laugh at Trump, we are criticizing and laughing at HIM, not his illness. He could do better. He chooses not to.
...reading the comment below, maybe he can't do better.
Bubba therapy is my prescription for 45.
I have a hard time saying he’s mentally ill. He is mean and cruel and was groomed not only by his dad, but by Putin, for many years.
Bubba Therapy?
I'd amend that to not intentionally funny. SNL, the Onion, Andy Borowitz, et al think he's a pretty good joke.
A very bad joke
👍👍👍
That’s it, every single line. And Liberty is not a joke and never has been.
Ed Gein was a serial killer. He made furniture out of people. And one of the things he made was an armchair with arms. Like, human ones. That was a joke—the kind of joke a serial killer tells. The fact that it was a joke didn’t make Ed Gein somehow not a serial killer. And framing your horrible opinions as jokes doesn't make you somehow not a horrible person.
Well said, Stephen.
From Foxhole:
It saddens me to see so many of our fellow Americans divided, supporting leaders who, in my view, are not upholding the values that have made this country great. I didn’t fight in World War II, standing on the front lines of history, so that we could one day find our country on the brink of dictatorship or authoritarian rule. The freedoms I defended, and believe in, the sacrifices my comrades and I made, were for the preservation of democracy—of freedom, fairness, and the right to live without fear of tyranny.
This is personal for me. It pains me to watch as the values I fought for are being eroded. It’s not about political parties—Republican or Democrat—it’s about the principles that bind us as Americans. I have always believed in the decency and strength of this nation, but I fear we are losing sight of what makes us who we are.
I urge you all to reflect on the long-term consequences of the choices we make. We need leaders who will unite us, not divide us. Leaders who will cherish the freedoms we hold dear, rather than undermine them. Leaders who respect the rule of law, honor the sacrifices of the past, and work for a better, more united future.
We are better than this. We have faced dark times before, and we can rise again—but only if we stand together and remember that we are all Americans first. Please, let’s not allow fear and hatred to define our future.
With love, respect, and deep concern,
George
( World War ll veteran and Purple Heart recipient.) You can see his Facebook page using " Foxhole"
Irony abounds, has anyone ever heard Trump tell a joke or even laugh? He can't do it, yet his entire career and campaign are a sick joke, with JD following behind to complain that the rest of us are taking the fun out of politics by not enjoying the post-truth statements they make. The people whose lives are ruined are just collateral damage, the inevitable result of a vigorous campaign.
I've always wondered why are there no comedy shows that are ritgh leaning AND funny. These people have no sense of humor.
Archie Bunker the standard of RW excellence.
Amen Lucian!
👍YES!!! GET OUT AND VOTE and GET OUT THE VOTE !!! NO JOKE. thanks for all your posts Lucian. Dark clouds now. MAGA themes are Pure Evil. Sing ‘We will overcome….”
The clarity and scale of this list -- powerful.
I really, really, REALLY hate this timeline we're in.