I debated with myself for a couple of hours this afternoon whether or not to share the YouTube video Trump posted on his social media account showing a pickup truck pasted with pro-Trump decals, flying pro-police flags, with a poster of a trussed-up Joe Biden displayed on the tailgate.
Pardon my language but what the actual fuck? This is a threat against the President of the US. Why is that person in the truck not being interviewed and charged with threatening the President? Why does the orange menace always always get a pass?
That SOB should be arrested. i'm glad someone took these pix and identified the perp. (I could think of other words which describe him, but i will not post them as I would be the one in trouble then.)
Credible journalistic citations or, "NO WAY" do they "love Trump," he is a freakin' nightmare on multiple levels and it's bizarre to simply attribute right-wing extremist politics to the Secret Service agents.
35, 000 employees, more or less, it's difficult to lump them together as fungible! "One FBI agent, meh, seen one ya seen 'em all," that's idiotic reasoning.
But yes, Trump finally exhausted their patience (the DOJ leadership and whoever was in charge of negotiations with Trump et. al.) and only then were warrants served.
The political ramifications matter, they didn't want to let Trump play his "martyred victim of a witch hunt" credibly, by rushing the process - seems they went too slow, ok, but it doesn't then become a clearly sound inference they "love Trump"!
I posted this last night on Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, which is where I first saw this video. Based on media reports the Secret Service is aware of this but just in case, feel free to send a tip:
The Secret Service has a tip line. The tip line can be reached by phone at 1-877-242-3375, or by email at tips@usss.dhs.gov
It is truly sad that someone has so sullied the presidency that this abhorrent behavior has become normalized. I look forward to the day when Trump's term in office is looked upon as a four year vacancy.
Me, too, but it's so damn bad for one's mental, physical, intellectual, and spiritual health. I just want it to be over and for him to be silenced permanently.
I agree. I suffered a heart attack this week. Had a stent put in Thursday. 90% blockage in my LAD artery (widowmaker). They couldn’t understand it as I am very healthy otherwise. I think it’s Trump anguish with a sprinkle of MTG, Jordan, Gaetz & Johnson.
It is Easter, but…if he doesn’t come to his senses and bow out…then, what you suggest PLUS a nice, big, deep Kennedy ulcer on his bottom, similar to what my beautiful mother suffered a few months before death. (Always get an alternating air mattress if paralyzed & go for respite). Picture below.
I agree with your scenario; let the bounder go as quickly as possible.
I will admit, however, that the idea of Don Poorleone suffering from epic (albeit relatively minor) annoying medical issues--while definitely a source of agony to the sufferer--is strangely attractive. Not only is the idea attractive, but knowing that orangeboy suffers from hemorrhoids and sciatica is unlikely to arouse much passion in the cultists for making Widdle Donny into a martyr.
NO!!! He must never be forgotten! His name should live in infamy, along with the names of history’s most evil and destructive monsters—Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and others. Admittedly, he hasn’t killed millions, but give him time and power and he will.
Think about it: an atrocious vision sears across the collective American psyche—a mockery of our President, no less, shackled and muzzled on the tailgate of a speeding truck.
In the dust-choked hinterlands, where the whiskey flows as freely as the whispers of dissent, this might be a spectacle to rally around.
It might rattle the cages of the complacent, and in the heartlands, where the rules bend like the willow, it might even be met with a sly nod and a toast to freedom.
But let me lay it down straight—this treasonous effigy of madness doesn't fly with me.
Not now, not ever.
It's a twisted parade that dances too close to the flames, a stark raving signal that we've veered off the map into uncharted territories where
the only rule is there are no rules.
I am unequivocally done with this festering heap of deceit, and I vow to harness every pulsing breath of my soul to combat the treacherous vermin gnawing at the very fabric of my country.
This land, with its sprawling plains and towering ideals, is mine. You will not take it from me. You will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
With a resolve forged in the fires of indignant rage, I will wield my vote, my voice, and the very sinews of my being as weapons to safeguard it from decay.
But let me tell you, I am prepared to go even further. If the grim specter of danger dares to cast its shadow over President Biden, I would not hesitate to use my body as a barricade against harm.
And the spineless charlatan steering this ship of fools, his dickless truck, towards oblivion? Would he display the same unwavering courage for his so-called fuhrer? I'd stake my last dollar on the bet that he'd drench his trousers in cowardice and scurry into the shadows.
this is an excellent discussion on why weaponized propaganda is so dangerous and why trump and his MAGAts, like Vincent Franco, need to be held accountable. This was no small act. If these people get away with this, then we need to hold the Justice System accountable.
Why is DJT not in jail or fined or? Anyone else would have dozens of secret service at their doorstep. Drump ruined Kathy Griffin’s career when he was potus (I can’t dignify his tenure with caps). Someone has to stop this crazed deranged thing posing as a human being.
It seems to be our fate to have raised and coddled one of the most toxic, vile specimens in the history of the human race. He has nothing within him but venom and fear…. partly caused by a cruel, psychopathic father of whom the young Donald was terrified.
If we learn nothing from this poisonous, morally bankrupt, emotionally stunted creature and take no action to action to amend and tighten our laws, we will deserve another demagogue… for one will surely come along.
Trump is the inevitable result of America's ignorance and its refusal to face the truth about itself and its history. It's been coming for a very long time.
Trump was outraged and humiliated at Obama roasting him at the press dinner. That instigated him to run for president in 2016. He never thought he would win.
NO! You have to read up on the history of the RNC and the Libertarian/Fascist takeover that has been planned since the 1970’s. James Buchanan, Milton Friedman, Charles KKKoch—and they even pulled it off with Chile and Pinochet. Read “Democracy in Chains” by Nancy MacLean, “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein and “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer. We are seeing the culmination of a takeover by corporate fascists—they install Repug puppets in government. They have their own foreign meddling branch; they are aligned with the Russian Mob Oligarchs. And they have an arm of misinformation and propaganda outlets that target weaponized propaganda. This is NOT simply backlash; this is evil and greed for money and power.
"We" will not deserve another demagogue. Those who learn nothing and who have the power to take action but don't (i.e. Republicans in Congress) will deserve another demagogue.
True, but constitutional amendments require two-thirds of Congress but also three-quarters of the states, so we'll never get rid of it. But we can work around it by enacting the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, under which states agree to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. States that together have a majority of the electoral votes must agree to the compact before it can take effect. According to Wikipedia, it now has 205 electoral votes, which is 76 percent of the 270 it needs.
My youngest sister got the highest SAT score out of the eight of us. She spent hours making me a (machine sewn) quilt for my birthday. When I tried to tell her about the maga nut job running for governor in her State of North Carolina she sent me a "Joe and the Ho got to go" GIF. We've really fallen into the lowest point of public discourse and civil behavior that I can remember. 💔
I am so sorry, Leslie. You just have to take care of yourself. Unfortunately, your sister has fallen prey to Elmer Gantry’s grifting and messaging. You have choices, you know. You can choose to listen to her and say nothing or you can end your conversations. i have friends whose siblings won’t bring politics up in their conversations because they still feel a sense of “family”. Accept her for who she has become.
The dissonance is greater with a family member, but those who ascribe to Trump for whatever reasons are universal in their reflexive response like your sister.
I sent her a meme that was Sherman from "The Big Bang" saying, "You're making it hard to love you right now.". 😉 I was barely speaking to my mom when she passed because of Fox TV so I'm not going to do that again 💔I
I did with mine. MAGAts insist that they can ram misinformation in one direction and never have to seriously answer for it—in fact, they take great umbrage when their lies are exposed. That’s not a relationship I need in my life.
I would call my Mom and get upset with the crap she was spewing. I should have redirected the conversation and asked her questions about family history because now there's no one left to ask. 💔
Enabling manipulative and divisive behavior is the wrong way for a parent to respond. I had a dysfunctional family; your healthiest response is to set limits. My sister doesn’t get to do crazy-making with me and she can take her MAGAt BS and find another audience. I won’t have it.
My mother, when she was alive, thought “little Cynthia” (her “favorite”) was just so cute and funny (Cynthia was in her 50’s). I have learned not to take it personally. So Cynthia thinks it’s okay to be a fascist because she started a successful business.
Today, the 8th anniversary of my mother’s death, I know my mother would be wildly horrified by our descent into fascism. She missed it all—and I envy that. I can assure you: Cynthia doesn’t keep track of such anniversaries. . . Like most MAGAts, she has no respect for anyone or anything outside her little realm.
So, don’t mourn. You’re not stuck in their sandbox.
That is exactly it, just like a toddler who pushes his behavior until someone puts their foot down. But in this case, that probably means someone gets killed before he/it stops.
Don Poorleone craves violence as long as it isn't anywhere near HIM; what he really loves is chaos. He can get away with a lot of grift when there is chaos and confusion everywhere.
Agreed! I remember him making a statement once (maybe ~2016) that whenever there was a fight or conflict between people he would always want to be there to watch but not participate. Sadistic coward.
A long time ago, Trump was the Master of Ceremonies at a WWF match in Madison Square Garden (I do believe it was) and I think he missed his true calling.
He's as vulgar, ignorant and classless as any WWF wrestler out there. Even Hulk Hogan would be an improvement over Trump.
Because he's certainly not fit for any office, (including dogcatcher) and he's not even fit for human interaction.
He's worse than any barbarian, and to think that our fucking tax dollars cover the Secret Service detail this wretch gets by law! He can drop dead any minute, because I'm beyond exhausted of the 2 year old diaper filling slug.
He should be in jail for the threats he's made against Biden, the judge and judge's daughter in his criminal case, and anyone else who has crossed his feeble mind.
It's very obvious to the untrained eye that Trump is in the stage of dementia where he gets angry and menaces everyone. Why are we allowing him to walk free when others who should not be in prison are?
Our justice system is fucked but good if he gets away with this shit.
His stint with the WWF which lasted awhile, proves to me at least that he has been grooming his cult/supporters for many years. First it was the WWF, then his pathetic reality show then the sick Birther thing. All of it appealed to a low IQ demographic which is now his base. This was calculated folks, no doubt about it and his puppet master Putin showed him the way. This is no accident, it's the fruit of a very long dangerous game.
I agree with everything you said. I can't figure out why he gets treated differently. The problem, I think, is really with his voters, especially the ones who hurl anonymous death threats at people who speak or do anything against Trump. Racism and homophobia at the highest level are the prime motivator for MAGA, that and ignorant, uninformed people who want to blame the world because they chose not to improve their shitty lives.
Golly do I understand the exhausted part. It’s what they’re counting on.
We can all look back on our history and see every 80 years or so, give or take, our democracy faces existential threat from within.
The insurrection against our democracy in the mid 19th century lasted four years in its acute phase, and its defeat refounded America.
During the turmoil of the great depression, inspired leadership, and the good faith of so many millions of Americans, kept our democratic society woven together and up to colossal challenges abroad.
The novel, hybrid and systematic assault our democracy now endures has been underway for a long time. It comes from within, but unfolds in synergy with the old but effective tradecraft of foreign enemies—hypercharged by new technologies of communication.
I don’t think it’s wrong to say we’re in the fight of our lives.
So we don’t have time to be tired as we summon all our agency to resist the grim future our democracy’s domestic and foreign adversaries would usher in.
We are far more powerful than they are…. but must not let our spirit falter.
You’re so right. At this point, for the criminal indictee, it’s all about losing the vote but manipulating our norms and laws to claim power the people haven’t given him.
I’ve been struck by how analog our defense capacity is in the face of this multi-front attack; and, in my naïveté, shocked at how co-opted or corrupted parts of the judiciary, a last guardrail I’ve counted on, have proven to be.
By now it’s not hard to see clearly the stakes, or the terms of engagement.
It has become clear as well that the outcome here is of existential importance to the Russian dictator. He has unleashed the first part of a brutal war against Europe, and counts on being able to knock America out of that struggle by bringing to power here the craven and compliant (even like minded) forces the former guy represents.
It’s our moment to rise to the occasion, with relentless resolve, with all the tools at our disposal.
He has coarsened our politics, our civil discourse and our our reputation. I don't think there is any going back. This is not the country I grew up in and I am ashamed of what we have become. It amazes me that one low-life liar, degenerate, grifter and insurrectionist has the power to influence so many. What had gone wrong that he was so was so easily able to change the trajectory of our society? Historians, if we survive this, will be busy for decades...
I am 74 years old. This is what we have always been and indeed is the country I grew up in. I've been watching it happen for my entire lifetime. It just took Trump to allow the ugliness into the open and make it legitimate and acceptable. There is no going back as long as this country refuses to admit to its own evil.
I'm 73 and grew up in southwestern CT. I may have been lucky to have been shielded from what others experienced, but I never heard or saw such shenanigans from politicians or officials in my fairly small town. No one would have countenanced such behavior, speech or incitement to violence. I'm in no way saying that kind of civil society existed nowhere, but I was not aware or exposed to it.
I'm almost your age. I must have lived a very sheltered life because I genuinely thought things were going in the right direction when we elected Obama. The night Hillary lost was a punch in the face and it's been downhill ever since.
I think that there were a lot of MAGA people roaming the halls of our sacred Capitol lurching in the shadows and under the rocks. How many of those congressmen that are still holding office are wanna be Natzis
It's sad that the usual terms to describe this behavior - coarsened, divisive, improper, belligerent, treasonous - aren't sufficient to capture just how repulsive, regressive, and batshit crazy Trump is. All made worse by a media and political" leaders who normalize him because they're scared of people not liking them... How many times can we say it's bad and yet they say, no it's acceptable political discourse? Enough.
Of course this is a threat. Apparently nobody is going to do a damn thing about it, or about the attacks on Judge Merchan's daughter, and Trump will continue on his rage tour until someone is injured or killed. And even then nothing will happen to the feral hog - apparently everyone is either terrified of him or complicit in his games, or both. We are a completely broken country.
Somebody designed that poster. Somebody else manufactured it, other people put it in inventory, marketed it and sold it. Probably more of them were sold here in Ohio or maybe in Texas than in the New York metropolitan area. Probably more of them have been sold since that clip went online than were sold last month. In the immortal words of Shrub “This is some weird shit.”
And this was on his way to Long Island to the slain Police Officers wake. Which he turned into a campaign rally. Just when you can’t think he can get any lower….his but should be put in jail to await his trials. I bet he would dispense with all of his delay tactics
The evil orange one is coming to my town on Tuesday to spew lies about Biden’s “open borders” because a young woman was killed last week here by her boyfriend who is in this country illegally. It makes me sick to think of the lies he will tell, while failing to mention that he is the reason the bipartisan bill to strengthen our borders will not even be brought up for a vote in the House. 😡😡
Or that he is the reason for everything that is wrong in this country. He has unleashed the cracken, the sleeping giant of hatred and racism that has been lying dormant for the most part for lo these many years....stolen land and slave labor is what this country was built on!
I hope somebody calls him out on that one. Ask him if his friend Elon Musk should be sent back to Africa since he lived here illegally for more than a decade as an undocumented immigrant??
I grew up in suburban NJ. In the Sixties I saw a male friend with long hair beaten up, and the local cops laughed at him when he tried to file a complain against the assholes who attacked him. The John Birch Society was a presence in my rich white town. Another male friend had the shit kicked out of him in the parking lot of a local pizzeria and again the cops did nothing. I helped run a local coffeehouse while in high school in 1968; the wrestling team threw a boulder through our front door and there were absolutely no consequences. I was teargassed and clubbed while protesting the Vietnam War. You were damn lucky not to have experienced any of that bullshit. This is what America is and always has been, unless you are fortunate enough to be rich, white, straight and male and know enough to keep your mouth shut and your eyes closed in the face of incipient fascism.
Unlucky? Is that how you see it? Because we were outside the narrow, rigid norm? Because we were exercising our right to protest? Must be nice to have lived a protected life.
A Daily Kos diary entry says that the pig driver has been identified. His name is Vincent Franco III and his passenger was Ernie Caramanico. Franco owns Custom Choice Builders in Long Beach, NY. Got 'em.
Pardon my language but what the actual fuck? This is a threat against the President of the US. Why is that person in the truck not being interviewed and charged with threatening the President? Why does the orange menace always always get a pass?
I agree! Look what happened to Kathy Griffin for joking about Trump. He crucified her. She lost her job. It affected her health.
I’m sure the owner of that truck will shortly receive a knock on the door from the Secret Service and/or the FBI.
I pray you are right!! ENOUGH!!!
Do you mean Vincent Franco of Amityville, NY?
https://twitter.com/SleuthNetwork/status/1774150414541205807
Whoops! What the hell's the matter with Long Island? It produces a lot of these chumps.
that's great!! Pass it on to the authorities, they won't be as swift as you!
Not me, one of the "sedition hunters" on Twitter.
I heard that the site that sells them has taken them offline. Not the kind of publicity they wanted I guess.
Good Job!
The Amityville Horror??
That SOB should be arrested. i'm glad someone took these pix and identified the perp. (I could think of other words which describe him, but i will not post them as I would be the one in trouble then.)
Yes, thank you for the mind refresh!! That has been driving me crazy!! I like to have my facts ready to go if I need to prove a fact.
I sure hope so!
I hope you’re right. Secret Service loves Trump.
Credible journalistic citations or, "NO WAY" do they "love Trump," he is a freakin' nightmare on multiple levels and it's bizarre to simply attribute right-wing extremist politics to the Secret Service agents.
That the FBI was hesitant to serve the warrant at mara lagoon is troubling. 🙄
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation
35, 000 employees, more or less, it's difficult to lump them together as fungible! "One FBI agent, meh, seen one ya seen 'em all," that's idiotic reasoning.
But yes, Trump finally exhausted their patience (the DOJ leadership and whoever was in charge of negotiations with Trump et. al.) and only then were warrants served.
The political ramifications matter, they didn't want to let Trump play his "martyred victim of a witch hunt" credibly, by rushing the process - seems they went too slow, ok, but it doesn't then become a clearly sound inference they "love Trump"!
Point taken 👍
Not bloody likely.
I agree Linda. Don Poorleone and his boot lickers always seem to get a pass.
I hope so.
I posted this last night on Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, which is where I first saw this video. Based on media reports the Secret Service is aware of this but just in case, feel free to send a tip:
The Secret Service has a tip line. The tip line can be reached by phone at 1-877-242-3375, or by email at tips@usss.dhs.gov
The Secret Service loves Trump
It is truly sad that someone has so sullied the presidency that this abhorrent behavior has become normalized. I look forward to the day when Trump's term in office is looked upon as a four year vacancy.
I look forward to his succumbing to a fast natural death.
Why fast, dear? I'd wish for him a good long time to review his many misfortunes. And there must be many, because he a self-pitying 💩.
A massive stroke that leaves him conscious but enable to speak or type.
And his kids pull the plug to charge their phones!!
Also bed bound, incontinent, unable to feed himself
Yes, that's the best. Will Melania bail?
I think she already has
I have been hoping for that every day since he took office! Every day.
Me, too, but it's so damn bad for one's mental, physical, intellectual, and spiritual health. I just want it to be over and for him to be silenced permanently.
I agree. I suffered a heart attack this week. Had a stent put in Thursday. 90% blockage in my LAD artery (widowmaker). They couldn’t understand it as I am very healthy otherwise. I think it’s Trump anguish with a sprinkle of MTG, Jordan, Gaetz & Johnson.
This is called a "locked-in stroke." Old Joe Kennedy had it. He was certainly deserving...
It is Easter, but…if he doesn’t come to his senses and bow out…then, what you suggest PLUS a nice, big, deep Kennedy ulcer on his bottom, similar to what my beautiful mother suffered a few months before death. (Always get an alternating air mattress if paralyzed & go for respite). Picture below.
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fusercontent1.hubstatic.com%2F13118804.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=eef4f617087e236a191b3823ef9e9e8f17ff6587a6512628158ee2eb0fec5a4b&ipo=images
Those photos were intense. Sorry for your mother and thanks for the tips... K
So, a long and agonizing death is what he deserves.
Epic hemorrhoids, shingles and unending sciatica; he’ll beg to die…but since he IS the devil, he won’t.
Love your take!
Nope.
Never make martyrs out of your enemies.
Besides, the American taxpayer is paying his medical bills. Let a lifetime of cheeseburgers stroke him out quickly.
I agree with your scenario; let the bounder go as quickly as possible.
I will admit, however, that the idea of Don Poorleone suffering from epic (albeit relatively minor) annoying medical issues--while definitely a source of agony to the sufferer--is strangely attractive. Not only is the idea attractive, but knowing that orangeboy suffers from hemorrhoids and sciatica is unlikely to arouse much passion in the cultists for making Widdle Donny into a martyr.
They've ignored every other truth about him -- I don't have faith that hemorrhoids will do it.
My version of schadenfreude is different.
I like to imagine Don Jr., Eric and their wives/gf living in trailers in central Florida trying to survive on various small cons.
Because once the money's gone, those two have nothing to fall back on.
No brains, no character, no charm.
They've never worked for anyone else and they have too much ego to start now.
Every 20 years someone will send a reporter to listen to them moan and groan but otherwise no one will care.
That's what I want.
There is nothing "natural" about that man, but we'll take it in whatever form it comes. How many times can you use spray tan before it becomes toxic?
Or unnatural, I really don't care as long as it's fast.
The sooner the better.
Exactly! I hope he gets another indictment for that nasty political ad.
Me, too! And soon.
Fast, slow, or in between: works for me.
🤣
The ancient Roman practice of damnatio memoriae would be very appropriate for that creature and his monstrous regime.
NO!!! He must never be forgotten! His name should live in infamy, along with the names of history’s most evil and destructive monsters—Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and others. Admittedly, he hasn’t killed millions, but give him time and power and he will.
He certainly did, by responding slowly to COVID.
Being remembered as some monstrous evil would titillate him.
Let's let him be as inconsequential as James Buchanan. An asterisk between Obama and Biden.
I totally agree. Never forget. That is how we learn to defend against this.
Unfortunately, the MTG’s don’t seem to know history or they would realize how crucial it is we AIDE Ukraine
Oh yes, he has.....
Righto!
Think about it: an atrocious vision sears across the collective American psyche—a mockery of our President, no less, shackled and muzzled on the tailgate of a speeding truck.
In the dust-choked hinterlands, where the whiskey flows as freely as the whispers of dissent, this might be a spectacle to rally around.
It might rattle the cages of the complacent, and in the heartlands, where the rules bend like the willow, it might even be met with a sly nod and a toast to freedom.
But let me lay it down straight—this treasonous effigy of madness doesn't fly with me.
Not now, not ever.
It's a twisted parade that dances too close to the flames, a stark raving signal that we've veered off the map into uncharted territories where
the only rule is there are no rules.
I am unequivocally done with this festering heap of deceit, and I vow to harness every pulsing breath of my soul to combat the treacherous vermin gnawing at the very fabric of my country.
This land, with its sprawling plains and towering ideals, is mine. You will not take it from me. You will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
With a resolve forged in the fires of indignant rage, I will wield my vote, my voice, and the very sinews of my being as weapons to safeguard it from decay.
But let me tell you, I am prepared to go even further. If the grim specter of danger dares to cast its shadow over President Biden, I would not hesitate to use my body as a barricade against harm.
And the spineless charlatan steering this ship of fools, his dickless truck, towards oblivion? Would he display the same unwavering courage for his so-called fuhrer? I'd stake my last dollar on the bet that he'd drench his trousers in cowardice and scurry into the shadows.
And God forbid he wins the election, he would pardon this POS!
Wow! So descriptive! thanks.
Let’s set this poetry to music!
Me, too, Sista’.
https://youtu.be/ljWJutVqXew?si=leiPqFDfY4F4GjZ5
this is an excellent discussion on why weaponized propaganda is so dangerous and why trump and his MAGAts, like Vincent Franco, need to be held accountable. This was no small act. If these people get away with this, then we need to hold the Justice System accountable.
Why is DJT not in jail or fined or? Anyone else would have dozens of secret service at their doorstep. Drump ruined Kathy Griffin’s career when he was potus (I can’t dignify his tenure with caps). Someone has to stop this crazed deranged thing posing as a human being.
Because we have been complacent.
It seems to be our fate to have raised and coddled one of the most toxic, vile specimens in the history of the human race. He has nothing within him but venom and fear…. partly caused by a cruel, psychopathic father of whom the young Donald was terrified.
If we learn nothing from this poisonous, morally bankrupt, emotionally stunted creature and take no action to action to amend and tighten our laws, we will deserve another demagogue… for one will surely come along.
Trump is the inevitable result of America's ignorance and its refusal to face the truth about itself and its history. It's been coming for a very long time.
I often think it's backlash because we dared elect a Black President...🤬
You are exactly right.
Trump was outraged and humiliated at Obama roasting him at the press dinner. That instigated him to run for president in 2016. He never thought he would win.
NO! You have to read up on the history of the RNC and the Libertarian/Fascist takeover that has been planned since the 1970’s. James Buchanan, Milton Friedman, Charles KKKoch—and they even pulled it off with Chile and Pinochet. Read “Democracy in Chains” by Nancy MacLean, “The Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein and “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer. We are seeing the culmination of a takeover by corporate fascists—they install Repug puppets in government. They have their own foreign meddling branch; they are aligned with the Russian Mob Oligarchs. And they have an arm of misinformation and propaganda outlets that target weaponized propaganda. This is NOT simply backlash; this is evil and greed for money and power.
I think you may be right. It was bound to happen.
"We" will not deserve another demagogue. Those who learn nothing and who have the power to take action but don't (i.e. Republicans in Congress) will deserve another demagogue.
Yes, but we are the ones who will suffer.
The Electoral College must go! That is something we HAVE learned. But nothing can change with Republicans in charge of the House or Senate.
True, but constitutional amendments require two-thirds of Congress but also three-quarters of the states, so we'll never get rid of it. But we can work around it by enacting the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, under which states agree to award their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote. States that together have a majority of the electoral votes must agree to the compact before it can take effect. According to Wikipedia, it now has 205 electoral votes, which is 76 percent of the 270 it needs.
He's going to keep pushing the stochastic terrorism button until he gets the violence he so desperately craves.
My youngest sister got the highest SAT score out of the eight of us. She spent hours making me a (machine sewn) quilt for my birthday. When I tried to tell her about the maga nut job running for governor in her State of North Carolina she sent me a "Joe and the Ho got to go" GIF. We've really fallen into the lowest point of public discourse and civil behavior that I can remember. 💔
I am so sorry, Leslie. You just have to take care of yourself. Unfortunately, your sister has fallen prey to Elmer Gantry’s grifting and messaging. You have choices, you know. You can choose to listen to her and say nothing or you can end your conversations. i have friends whose siblings won’t bring politics up in their conversations because they still feel a sense of “family”. Accept her for who she has become.
I decided not to tell her about the maga nut job running for school superintendent in NC after all. 😉 Thank you for your kind words 💕
I live in NC. That nut job running for state superintendent is horrible. She was not even Phil Berger's choice.
The dissonance is greater with a family member, but those who ascribe to Trump for whatever reasons are universal in their reflexive response like your sister.
It's a shame that so many otherwise intelligent people seem to have abandoned reason for madness.
What an absolutely disgusting comment! I hope you disown your sister and never speak to her again .
I sent her a meme that was Sherman from "The Big Bang" saying, "You're making it hard to love you right now.". 😉 I was barely speaking to my mom when she passed because of Fox TV so I'm not going to do that again 💔I
It hurts to be estranged from a family member you love. Estranged because of politics is especially tragic.
I did with mine. MAGAts insist that they can ram misinformation in one direction and never have to seriously answer for it—in fact, they take great umbrage when their lies are exposed. That’s not a relationship I need in my life.
I would call my Mom and get upset with the crap she was spewing. I should have redirected the conversation and asked her questions about family history because now there's no one left to ask. 💔
Enabling manipulative and divisive behavior is the wrong way for a parent to respond. I had a dysfunctional family; your healthiest response is to set limits. My sister doesn’t get to do crazy-making with me and she can take her MAGAt BS and find another audience. I won’t have it.
My mother, when she was alive, thought “little Cynthia” (her “favorite”) was just so cute and funny (Cynthia was in her 50’s). I have learned not to take it personally. So Cynthia thinks it’s okay to be a fascist because she started a successful business.
Today, the 8th anniversary of my mother’s death, I know my mother would be wildly horrified by our descent into fascism. She missed it all—and I envy that. I can assure you: Cynthia doesn’t keep track of such anniversaries. . . Like most MAGAts, she has no respect for anyone or anything outside her little realm.
So, don’t mourn. You’re not stuck in their sandbox.
She needs to read Heather Vox Richardson’s newsletters. She is not educating herself.
My only quarrel with the headline is that those who seek to mobilize stochastic terrorists are NOT ignorant about what they're up to.
He definitely understands what he is doing with regard to inflaming fear and anger to violence.
👍
Damn right—they know exactly what they are doing and they need to be held accountable.
That is exactly it, just like a toddler who pushes his behavior until someone puts their foot down. But in this case, that probably means someone gets killed before he/it stops.
Why would that make him stop? 🤷♀️
Only if he gets arrested for felony inciting violence, but we haven't had much luck with that so far.
I guess EVERYTHING he says is free speech... doesn't work for the rest of us 🤷♀️
Don Poorleone craves violence as long as it isn't anywhere near HIM; what he really loves is chaos. He can get away with a lot of grift when there is chaos and confusion everywhere.
Agreed! I remember him making a statement once (maybe ~2016) that whenever there was a fight or conflict between people he would always want to be there to watch but not participate. Sadistic coward.
A long time ago, Trump was the Master of Ceremonies at a WWF match in Madison Square Garden (I do believe it was) and I think he missed his true calling.
He's as vulgar, ignorant and classless as any WWF wrestler out there. Even Hulk Hogan would be an improvement over Trump.
Because he's certainly not fit for any office, (including dogcatcher) and he's not even fit for human interaction.
He's worse than any barbarian, and to think that our fucking tax dollars cover the Secret Service detail this wretch gets by law! He can drop dead any minute, because I'm beyond exhausted of the 2 year old diaper filling slug.
He should be in jail for the threats he's made against Biden, the judge and judge's daughter in his criminal case, and anyone else who has crossed his feeble mind.
It's very obvious to the untrained eye that Trump is in the stage of dementia where he gets angry and menaces everyone. Why are we allowing him to walk free when others who should not be in prison are?
Our justice system is fucked but good if he gets away with this shit.
His stint with the WWF which lasted awhile, proves to me at least that he has been grooming his cult/supporters for many years. First it was the WWF, then his pathetic reality show then the sick Birther thing. All of it appealed to a low IQ demographic which is now his base. This was calculated folks, no doubt about it and his puppet master Putin showed him the way. This is no accident, it's the fruit of a very long dangerous game.
Well, half the population has below-average IQ. And there has to be 35% at the bottom
The smart ones are just in it to hang on to their money. Good luck with that if maga Mussolini wins.
I agree with everything you said. I can't figure out why he gets treated differently. The problem, I think, is really with his voters, especially the ones who hurl anonymous death threats at people who speak or do anything against Trump. Racism and homophobia at the highest level are the prime motivator for MAGA, that and ignorant, uninformed people who want to blame the world because they chose not to improve their shitty lives.
He’s above the law, don’t ya know?
And beneath contempt. Tough combination.
Golly do I understand the exhausted part. It’s what they’re counting on.
We can all look back on our history and see every 80 years or so, give or take, our democracy faces existential threat from within.
The insurrection against our democracy in the mid 19th century lasted four years in its acute phase, and its defeat refounded America.
During the turmoil of the great depression, inspired leadership, and the good faith of so many millions of Americans, kept our democratic society woven together and up to colossal challenges abroad.
The novel, hybrid and systematic assault our democracy now endures has been underway for a long time. It comes from within, but unfolds in synergy with the old but effective tradecraft of foreign enemies—hypercharged by new technologies of communication.
I don’t think it’s wrong to say we’re in the fight of our lives.
So we don’t have time to be tired as we summon all our agency to resist the grim future our democracy’s domestic and foreign adversaries would usher in.
We are far more powerful than they are…. but must not let our spirit falter.
It doesn't help that Biden could win by 10 million votes and still lose the electoral college 🤬
You’re so right. At this point, for the criminal indictee, it’s all about losing the vote but manipulating our norms and laws to claim power the people haven’t given him.
I’ve been struck by how analog our defense capacity is in the face of this multi-front attack; and, in my naïveté, shocked at how co-opted or corrupted parts of the judiciary, a last guardrail I’ve counted on, have proven to be.
By now it’s not hard to see clearly the stakes, or the terms of engagement.
It has become clear as well that the outcome here is of existential importance to the Russian dictator. He has unleashed the first part of a brutal war against Europe, and counts on being able to knock America out of that struggle by bringing to power here the craven and compliant (even like minded) forces the former guy represents.
It’s our moment to rise to the occasion, with relentless resolve, with all the tools at our disposal.
Total effort now.
He has coarsened our politics, our civil discourse and our our reputation. I don't think there is any going back. This is not the country I grew up in and I am ashamed of what we have become. It amazes me that one low-life liar, degenerate, grifter and insurrectionist has the power to influence so many. What had gone wrong that he was so was so easily able to change the trajectory of our society? Historians, if we survive this, will be busy for decades...
I am 74 years old. This is what we have always been and indeed is the country I grew up in. I've been watching it happen for my entire lifetime. It just took Trump to allow the ugliness into the open and make it legitimate and acceptable. There is no going back as long as this country refuses to admit to its own evil.
I'm 73 and grew up in southwestern CT. I may have been lucky to have been shielded from what others experienced, but I never heard or saw such shenanigans from politicians or officials in my fairly small town. No one would have countenanced such behavior, speech or incitement to violence. I'm in no way saying that kind of civil society existed nowhere, but I was not aware or exposed to it.
No one would countenance such behavior in the places where they work either. They would be fired.
I'm almost your age. I must have lived a very sheltered life because I genuinely thought things were going in the right direction when we elected Obama. The night Hillary lost was a punch in the face and it's been downhill ever since.
~brava~
I think that there were a lot of MAGA people roaming the halls of our sacred Capitol lurching in the shadows and under the rocks. How many of those congressmen that are still holding office are wanna be Natzis
All of them.
I love to listen to the historians like Timothy Snyder talk about the history.
It's sad that the usual terms to describe this behavior - coarsened, divisive, improper, belligerent, treasonous - aren't sufficient to capture just how repulsive, regressive, and batshit crazy Trump is. All made worse by a media and political" leaders who normalize him because they're scared of people not liking them... How many times can we say it's bad and yet they say, no it's acceptable political discourse? Enough.
Of course this is a threat. Apparently nobody is going to do a damn thing about it, or about the attacks on Judge Merchan's daughter, and Trump will continue on his rage tour until someone is injured or killed. And even then nothing will happen to the feral hog - apparently everyone is either terrified of him or complicit in his games, or both. We are a completely broken country.
Some have been killed...and what happened?
Absolutely nothing happened and nothing will happen in the future.
This makes me physically sick. It’s depraved behavior. Imagine if he were your father or grandfather or husband, let alone our president.
From Twitter user Andrea Junker. "Here’s the deal: We stop saying history will judge them. We judge them now. With judges."
stealing...
Somebody designed that poster. Somebody else manufactured it, other people put it in inventory, marketed it and sold it. Probably more of them were sold here in Ohio or maybe in Texas than in the New York metropolitan area. Probably more of them have been sold since that clip went online than were sold last month. In the immortal words of Shrub “This is some weird shit.”
And this was on his way to Long Island to the slain Police Officers wake. Which he turned into a campaign rally. Just when you can’t think he can get any lower….his but should be put in jail to await his trials. I bet he would dispense with all of his delay tactics
The evil orange one is coming to my town on Tuesday to spew lies about Biden’s “open borders” because a young woman was killed last week here by her boyfriend who is in this country illegally. It makes me sick to think of the lies he will tell, while failing to mention that he is the reason the bipartisan bill to strengthen our borders will not even be brought up for a vote in the House. 😡😡
Or that he is the reason for everything that is wrong in this country. He has unleashed the cracken, the sleeping giant of hatred and racism that has been lying dormant for the most part for lo these many years....stolen land and slave labor is what this country was built on!
I hope somebody calls him out on that one. Ask him if his friend Elon Musk should be sent back to Africa since he lived here illegally for more than a decade as an undocumented immigrant??
I too am from Michigan. I can honestly say I won’t be anywhere near the orange monster
Me too. Kazoo is about 2/5 hours from me. I would go as a protester but I think I'll have to rely on my vote.
I grew up in suburban NJ. In the Sixties I saw a male friend with long hair beaten up, and the local cops laughed at him when he tried to file a complain against the assholes who attacked him. The John Birch Society was a presence in my rich white town. Another male friend had the shit kicked out of him in the parking lot of a local pizzeria and again the cops did nothing. I helped run a local coffeehouse while in high school in 1968; the wrestling team threw a boulder through our front door and there were absolutely no consequences. I was teargassed and clubbed while protesting the Vietnam War. You were damn lucky not to have experienced any of that bullshit. This is what America is and always has been, unless you are fortunate enough to be rich, white, straight and male and know enough to keep your mouth shut and your eyes closed in the face of incipient fascism.
😥
That was your town and too many more, but not mine or most.
You were lucky.
Or you were unlucky.
Unlucky? Is that how you see it? Because we were outside the narrow, rigid norm? Because we were exercising our right to protest? Must be nice to have lived a protected life.
Indeed it is.
Arrogance.
Has he already said he knew “nothing about it and it’s free speech isn’t it”?
That’s what he will say if confronted.
I agree the person driving that truck needs to be under the jail right now. And the people who planned it need to be there too.
Sickening doesn’t even touch this.
The License Plate is TRUMP 4US.
It was in Long Island, and may be a NY license plate.
It would be a real shame if something happened to a nice truck like that.
A Daily Kos diary entry says that the pig driver has been identified. His name is Vincent Franco III and his passenger was Ernie Caramanico. Franco owns Custom Choice Builders in Long Beach, NY. Got 'em.
Oh, they’re not mobbed up concrete guys are they?
Holy shit.
Googled this guy Franco - Vincent Franco III in NY. He's a loud-mouthed bully and big Trump fanboy who is always battling his neighbors.
Well he chose exactly the right hero, didn’t he? Wonder how many misdemeanors and felonies HE has….
Google him. He's been busy pissing off a lot of people in Amityvillle, NY.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬