Every morning since January 20th, Americans have awakened with foreboding: what new attack on reason and sanity has our tweeter-in-chief launched today? And what excuses for inexcusable behavior will spineless GOP Senators and Representatives offer this time?
Optimists wil predict that this (insert latest outrage) will be the final straw. Realists respond that, given the invertebrates in Congress and the ship of fools that is the cabinet, it won’t be.
Yesterday, we woke to discover that Trump unilaterally and abruptly ended the Obamacare subsidies that make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans. Every single health-care organization in America opposed this action, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Donald Trump, it’s that he’s a know-nothing unwilling to listen to people who actually know something.
Congress failed to “repeal and replace” the ACA, so Trump has evidently decided to simply destroy it. The fact that many people will die is obviously of no importance to Mr. Me Me Me. In his zeal to destroy the ACA (and all vestiges of Obama’s legacy), he had already cut the enrollment period for 2018 in half, cut 90% out of the advertising budget and eviscerated the so-called “navigator program” that helps people through the ACA enrollment process.
President Trump has made a lot of promises on health care.
Somehow, though, I don’t remember him promising stadiums of cheering fans that he’d take away protections for preexisting conditions, increase deductibles, spike premiums, eliminate basic coverage requirements and, more generally, destabilize the individual health-insurance market.
After explaining what yesterday’s Executive Order will and will not do, Rampell concludes that this impulsive and destructive act was “pretty much on brand for this nihilistic president: When you can’t come up with a new system that works, just blow up the old one.”
One of the most maddening aspects of Trump’s Order is that withdrawing the subsidies will actually cost the federal government money. A lot of money. The Kaiser Family Foundation has estimated that “savings” of 10 billion dollars would be offset by a rise in premium tax credits to 12.3 billion. In other words, the federal government will be paying 2.3 billion dollars more by making health insurance unaffordable once again for untold numbers of Americans.
The CBO projects that cutting off the subsidies will cause premiums to rise 20 percent by 2018 and 25 percent by 2020, and will increase the budget deficit by nearly $200 billion by 2026.
It’s really expensive to screw over the American public, but don’t expect the man with the tacky gold toilet to worry about budgets.
A number of people have compared Donald Trump to Richard Nixon. Admittedly, there are parallels: Nixon was also mentally ill, also a bigot, and also willing to sacrifice American lives for political advantage. However, despite his paranoia and some truly unforgivable–even treasonous– decisions, Nixon was intelligent and informed. He knew how government worked and what it was for, and he made some good decisions, including creation of the EPA and opening relations with China.
Trump is profoundly ignorant of government and policy, is clearly uninterested in learning, and is the loosest of loose canons. In ten short months, the man Rex Tillerson has (accurately) described as a “fucking moron” has made America an international laughing-stock, and his irrational behaviors toward North Korea and Iran have brought us dangerously close to nuclear war.
With Trump, I worry that the final straw will be a mushroom cloud.
As for the GOP and the Cabinet, George Will hit the nail on the head in his column this morning:
“The axiom that “Hell is truth seen too late” is mistaken; damnation deservedly comes to those who tardily speak truth that has long been patent. Perhaps there shall be a bedraggled parade of repentant Republicans resembling those supine American communists who, after Stalin imposed totalitarianism, spawned the gulag, engineered the Ukraine famine, launched the Great Terror and orchestrated the show trials, were theatrically disillusioned by his collaboration with Hitler: You, sir, have gone too far.”
The whole column is worth a read. The GOP deserves to be buried at the polls at every election for the foreseeable future. I just hope the Democratic party can get its act together.
…and every day I’m speechless. I’m living a nightmare. I’m actually under duress these past few weeks. I want him gone. Never wanted him there in the first place.
“Another Last Straw”
“It’s really expensive to screw over the American public, but don’t expect the man with the tacky gold toilet to worry about budgets.”
Let’s move back in our recent history for that first straw; the formation of that group of Republican White Nationalists whose agenda had only one issue listed…to stop any and all progress attempted by President Elect Barack Obama. They did an excellent job of behind-the-scenes organizing of the the GOB (Good Old Boy) network of the GOP; including their constituents, to rally with them. We cannot omit the White Nationalist Democrats who agreed with and supported their one-issue agenda on election day, November 2009, allowing the beginning of the full takeover of all three branches of government by the Republicans and are now trying to place all blame on for our life-and-death predicament on Trump.
How many Democratic voters stayed home on election days after President Obama’s election? How many; as we learned in the November 2016 election, either stayed home or voted for a candidate with little, if any, knowledge of national or political issues and a woman who was arrested for painting a bulldozer? How many Bernie Sanders “supporters” ignored his repeated requests to join him and put their support behind Hillary Clinton. I believed, and still believe, that Hillary had too much baggage (beginning with her years as First Lady) to be the best choice of the Democratic party but I voted for her – to use my vote AGAINST Donald Trump. Which was Bernie Sanders goal in repeatedly asking his supporters to JOIN HIM by putting their support behind the Democratic party and against the complete Republican takeover of this government.
We haven’t seen or felt that “final straw” yet; Trump and the Republican Congress are still baling the straws to drop on us, and their own constituents, and the end gets nearer every day. As does the possibility of WWIII with Trump in control of that button of annihilation. We must accept our share of the blame for this situation; but to give us a small amount of credit, there is no way any thinking human being could foresee what evils one man could bring about throughout the world. Who among us could believe the United States of America was nurturing a second Adolph Hitler and willingly go to the polls and elect him president?
There are enough “Last straws” to supply a cattle farm for months. Bring in the baler and start mowing it away.
Shelia,
“With Trump, I worry that the final straw will be a mushroom cloud.”
Better than even money. He won’t have any other choice to stay in power.
It’s been evident from the minute he announced his run for the Presidency. Not everyone has had their head “buried in the sand.”
The “mushroom cloud” means that eventually no one will be in power because no one will be left to wield power.
Most worrisome to me is the thought that a real and true leader will emerge and we will not recognize him/her. And when I think about what qualities such a leader would need in order to put the nation back on course I think of someone akin to a strong and steady plow horse, not flashy and full of himself, but experienced and knowledgeable, dedicated to the constitution, willing to plow back the mess created by the GOP. Someone who truly cares about the people.
Will such a person emerge?
These have only been “last straws” for thinking people, who tend to examine issues independently of Fox News. Since I know a million old saws, I like to drop one every now and then. Today’s is: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” That’s what has happened to the modern Republican Party. They should never be allowed both houses of our legislature and the Presidency.
To everyone,
I’ve mentioned this before. I purchased the domain—-TrumpCard.video one week after Trump announced his run for the Presidency in 2015.
Trump listened to Bannon and Bannon miscalculated. To deflect their early moves, Bannon’s master plan was to play the African-Americans against the Jews, like what happened when the Communists turned against the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 30’s.
Trump started his campaign with anti-Semitism, REMEMBER Move-on’s failure to stop him and ended it on the same note. Earlier, Black Muslim Leader Louis Farrakhan had nodded SEEMINGLY approval to his campaign.
Trump/Bannon had no understanding of the African-American leadership. They might be fools, but that’s not the case with the majority of the African-American leadership or with the demonstrators in the NFL.
Bannon didn’t realize that attempts to CORNER THE JEWS had been tried twice before, however it had failed in both Dallas and in Jacksonville. It was first tried in Dallas in 1991. Later in Jacksonville. Both attempts failed miserably. http://www.TheAlarmReport.info
As a matter of fact, this EARLY INTRIGUE was the gist of my testimony in front of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1992. I was told by an attendee, that my testimony was discussed again by a group of Mayors at the 1995 Black Mayor’s Conference in Washington, D.C.
Trump/Pence/Bannon have lost their Trump Card: CORNERING THE JEWS. Now what?
The $64,000 question— Is Donald Trump anymore sane than the mass slayer in Las Vegas? Personally, I doubt it.
ive never been much for fiction, in reality growing up in a city where changes were previlent, and open, it was Martin L Kings era, and the civil rights movement was very much visable in Newark, N.J. i was 8 when Kennady was assassinated, we went home immediatly,and fortunate enough, my grandmother was there. we listen to Walter Cronkite, and his assesments as he got them. in the following years, Mr King died,and Brother Bobby. we had news that was not in my view, telling you something, it was simply running along with a story. tragedy is not for the faint of heart. When we recount at that time, who these men were, we all teared a litte, even the other side had little tolerance for such acts. weve lost some of that, its news without context, decisive judgements by news anchors,for profit, an politicians who now hide from the public,and expect the news media to tote the line or be given its own headlines as fake. seems politicians are not, giving town meetings with any real notice,for all to make arraigments to discuss,in a civil manner, the issues. instead face book is the new norm for avoiding confrontation,and politicians who only make the issue of distrust. in a article from The Nation, 10/12/17 in facebook we antitrust,by Michan Sifry of Civil Hall, in this article, we see now how algorithms are the norm in deciding the news,and information, worthiness and its possible intentions in driving ones thoughts, down to their actions. but check out the comments also, first in line, was kinda a eye opener, Linette Schreiber, said she was hacked by? on facebook?you decide, by a hacker who found she was under a assumed name,and then read on, seems facebook maybe the hacker when her shopping or online somethings probably triggered facebook to access here assumed i,d. to real i.d. and shut her down. anyway, i dont face, like is said previuously, my privacy is above some social network, but, heres what i loose, need to know items that keep me abreast of issues very deep to me,and effect, my rebound against wage disparities or inequality issues. sure i can change, but, somehow i feel my face to face discussions with like or,unlike minded people, seem to bring out the cheap rumors from those who spread them and a person walking away with a diffrent perspective and or view, in that conversation. keep reading, and dont buy into cheap rehtoric,and this totally unfit white house and its guards. keep reading viable journalism,back check,and make sure they are real journalist with some background for their words. lets not loose this, ecause its obvious what facebook ,could,do.
This isn’t a partisan issue or a just a national issue. Trump/Pence/Bannon is a threat to the future of Planet Earth.
“Trump/Bannon had no understanding of the African-American leadership. They might be fools, but that’s not the case with the majority of the African-American leadership or with the demonstrators in the NFL.”
Heavy duty words, Marv; we do have some strong African-Americans in high places and those strong NFL demonstrators, Black and white, are exhibiting their American first amendment rights. The actions against Jews has been a continuing effort in this country, just kept out of the public eye for the most part when it didn’t appear to be working. They have been in a survival mode almost since the beginning of time; experience is their strongest weapon. Cornering African-Americans runs a close second in that battle and has always been a public battle in this country. Where are the Congressional Republican Jews and African-Americans hiding…and why? Where are the humanitarian Congressional members of both parties hiding…and why. Together, they could have the power to oust McConnell and Ryan who are blocking Congress from using their Constitutionalal powers to remove Trump from office due to his blatant “…Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of said office,…” which is known around the world after only eight months of “deconstructing” democracy and alienating all foreign leaders, once our staunch allies.
Let us hope the mushroom cloud is a magic mushroom cloud and people sit around and love each other.
JoAnn,
“Where are the Congressional Republican Jews and African-Americans hiding…and why? Where are the humanitarian Congressional members of both parties hiding…and why?”
Good questions.
One answer might be: They are scared of retaliation….politically, financially, socially & possibly more.
It goes back to what I posted many months ago by John Kampfner in “Freedom for Sale: Why The World Is Trading Democracy For Security”:
“In the last twenty years, nations including India, Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates have disproved the idea that capitalism and democracy are inextricably linked. Emerging middle classes have proven themselves all too willing to sacrifice certain DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS—including free speech, an open media, and free elections—IN EXCHANGE FOR PROSPERITY…But they are not alone. We are ALL doing it. Alarmingly, Western democracy has adopted some of the attributes of that authoritarianism.”
The above was written in 2010. No doubt, the problems outlined, pardon the expression, have MUSHROOMED world-wide since then.
Tillerson’s allusion to Trump as a moron is an insult to morons. What we have to realize in trying to figure out what is going on between the ears of Trump is that he occupies two worlds; one that we inhabit and that he occasionally visits and one I have dubbed his otherworld, some sort of narcissistic place where he senses he is God, the Unchallengeable. When he confuses the two and in effect overrules legislative acts via the narrow confines of executive discretion (as with dismantling the ACA, the Iran pact et al.), he is playing God in his otherworld and transporting the result to our world, and we are rightly dismayed and cannot understand such travesties as a part of the real world we inhabit. Trump has, unfortunately, succeeded in attracting many into his surreal and otherworldly version of reality via lying, framing all opposition as fake news or elitist etc. etc. etc.
I am a lawyer and not a shrink though I have three nephews who are M.D.s, two of whom agree with my amateurish diagnosis of our psycho in chief, i.e., what is normal in his world is abnormal in our world and what is normal in our world is abnormal in his and that bizarre results spring from their intersection, as we see with his daily twitters and disregard for any facts that do not accord with his otherworldly views of his self-esteem as he shares his vision of himself in the pool alongside Narcissus.
Thus I think his Bannon-inspired “deconstruction of the administrative state” in our world is in perfect accord with his otherworldly views of reality as he in his sick mind flits between his world and ours. If there are any commentators to this blog who are psychiatrists or psychologists who have differing views of where Trump’s damaged neurons are leading us, I will stand corrected, but we already know where Trump is trying to lead us (to a nihilistic and authoritarian state run by the Kochs and Mercers and their libertarian ilk dedicated to the destruction of the common good); this contribution is designed to guess off how Trump got to where he is between his ears. He has to go and we need not wait for Mueller’s report since we may not have the luxury of time as the world’s laughingstock and our options to catastrophic war continue to decrease.
Perhaps Marv’s “call to action now” bears a new look, starting with the 25th Amendment while simultaneously filing an impeachment petition in the House, and I feel certain that thinking senators of any political stripe (see Corker and others who must either finally fish or cut bait)
will vote to remove this psychopath from power since he represents the demise of both parties with his authoritarian stances on the road to fascism.
Gerald,
“Perhaps Marv’s “call to action now” bears a new look, starting with the 25th Amendment while simultaneously filing an impeachment petition in the House, and I feel certain that thinking senators of any political stripe (see Corker and others who must either finally fish or cut bait)
will vote to remove this psychopath from power since he represents the demise of both parties with his authoritarian stances on the road to fascism.”
You’re right. I’m also confident, like you, that there would be a RAPID bi-partisan congressional REMOVAL under the 25th Amendment if the PUBLIC fully understands all the facts leading up to and during Trump’s presidency, to include his MASK OF SANITY the characteristic of all SOCIOPATHS.
WE ALL LIKE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Gerald,
Trump is coming down. Just read “The Guardian” and today’s lead online article.
But most importantly, we MUST make sure that Trump/Bannon take along Pence/Koch along with them or we will have missed a “golden opportunity” to prevent the coming of FUTURCIDE, not only for America but also for Planet Earth.
You have to make sure the DOMINO effect takes place, but not before all the dominoes, are set IN THE RIGHT ORDER. That takes competent organizational planning.
This article, other articles and the various comments on this blog all point in one direction: We will not survive as a democratic republic with a Trump presidency. He is truly mad. His sycophants do NOT have the courage or the intelligence to pull off a 25th Amendment expulsion. Besides, who would we get in replacement? Mike Pence is even dumber than Trump, more ideological in re, religion in the public sector and of highly questionable moral fiber.
Who’s next? Paul Ryan, the Ayn Rand advocate and acolyte who reads her fiction as reality. So, what has been gained? The Supreme Court? Sure. Those ideologues or backward-thinking fools on the right have NO idea how to come to a consensus on the Constitution. Yes, it’s that bad.
So, what will be the trigger that launches the next major chapter in our history? Assassination, revolution, civil war? Our choices are getting fewer each day. If the upcoming mid-term elections don’t create a major power shift back to sanity in the Congress, our days as a first-world nation are numbered. Trump has a history of destroying what he touches, walking away from the smoking pile of rubble and blaming his abject failures on somebody else.
I AM DUMBFOUNDED AND HORRIFIED:
– by my seemingly educated friends (male and female) who voted for the bread and circus ringmaster who is destroying our nation systematically and methodically day after day with little or no resistance from our do-nothing elected members of Congress!
– by those same friends who continue to blame the “media” for being “unfair” in reporting the indefensible and destructive actions of the person in the White House. Don’t they suffer from Buyer’s Remorse?
– to see our future in the hands of an immature and petulant five year old bully who throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. and governs by tweet, not
by party cooperation or eve, God forbid, bi-partisanship !
– that a lack of historical knowledge, political experience, common sense,
human decency , morality and compassion – all these negatives were evident during the campaign, yet who is in the White House Have we lost our moral compass???
!
– by the spineless inertia of our elected representatives in the House and the Senate. Have they ever heard the words “removal from office” or “impeachment?”
They have an obligation to protect us and our country by virtual of holding office.
– by the rammed through Senate confirmations of ill-suited Cabinet and a Supreme Court nominees, as well as the Federal Court life appointments that are being made quietly., packing the Court.
– that the Mueller investigation is seen by many of his supporters as a witch hunt, rather than serious allegations of collusion and money laundering and worse.
I AM EVEN MORE DUMBFOUNDED AND HORRIFIED that we have a President who- lost the popular election by 3,000,000 votes, thanks to the Electoral College!
Vernon,
“His sycophants do NOT have the courage or the intelligence to pull off a 25th Amendment expulsion.”
I agree 100% with your statement, however, I would suggest from an analogous SUCCESSFUL experience as an attorney, it will work. It’s not about courage or intelligence, it’s all about HUMAN NATURE… “saving your own ass,” once an IMPORTANT domino falls.
No doubt, you need more than a “lame-duck” or a dying senator to start the DOMINO EFFECT or CHAIN REACTION.
Gerald knows. That’s why he said, what he did. He’s the best and most experienced attorney on the blog. I’m sure he has observed the phenomenon at work many times during the settlement of a multi-opponent case.
Trump only plays to his base which ironically will be a large chunk of those that will likely be hurt the most by this. On top of that you have the invertebrate and nihilistic Congress cut SCHIP so Trump and his crew are equal opportunity destroyers. The are locusts that ravage the land except in this case it’s the American people, particularly the middle class and those further down the economic ladder, that are their targets. To expect anything else from people that leave hurricane ravaged and destitute Puerto Ricans drinking toxic water leaking from equally destroyed USEPA Superfund sites is highly unrealistic.
For the love of God this all has to be stopped and soon. This country may be much further down the road to collapse than anyone actually thinks and we will have allowed it to happen.
Incompetence knows no clock or calendar. With Trump, today’s actions look like yesterday’s and tomorrow’s. Only seasoned heads at the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a few in Congress, honestly more interested in our country than in re-election, have the ability to influence the potentially international tragic bumbling of Trump. Every day we avoid that is a victory….and a day closer to his vacating the office. Take it one day at a time, and use that day to work toward peace….as if it was the last day.
More “Last Straws”:
Could the following all be true? What are we doing about it?
1. HR 861 Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency
2. HR 610 Vouchers for Public Education
3. HR 899 Terminate the Department of Education
4. HJR 69 Repeal Rule Protecting Wildlife
5. HR 370 Another attempt to Repeal Affordable Care Act
6. HR 354 Defund Planned Parenthood
7. HR 785 National Right to Work (this one is devastating to the working class … it ALSO applies to Union members)
8. HR 83 Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Bill
9. HR 147 Criminalizing Abortion (“Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act”)
10. HR 808 Sanctions against Iran
When will we, the people, resist? Send your views to your Congresspeople.
As Neil Armstrong once said that’s one small step for man. Obama Care-ACA was one small step for Heath Care. The giant leap would be Enhanced Medicare for All. The Establishment-Corporate Democrats would rather continue to provide subsidies to the Insurance Industry via ACA, even though it is not 100% coverage for all Americans.
The Establishment Corporate Democratic Party is spineless, when it comes to heath care. Come to think of it they are spineless on gun control too.
All of us have to do everything we can to derail this “runaway train.” It’s time to take action, not talk.
I’m going to go all out with Gerald’s Plan. I know it’s doable. As I have mentioned previously, I’ve successfully executed a similar plan in Texas against a group of politicians with the same POLITICAL mindset. Once a strategic domino falls, the rest will fall with an increasing rate. They are all pretty much alike. That’s why it happens that way.
There’s no such thing as 99% deception. It’s all or nothing. Once the mask or camouflage is removed, it will all come down. It’s explained best on the Military Channel which was on cable TV. I don’t know if it still is. It’s called BATTLEPLAN DECEPTION. Check out YOUTUBE.com showing “Battleplans from the Military Channel.”
I WANT THIS ON RECORD:
Trump, if impeached, will defy orders to vacate the Presidency.
He will do so because HE BELIEVES that he has the support of what he thinks are his FOUR PILLARS OF IMPEACHMENT DEFIANCE:
(1) several leading three- and four-star generals will bring the military to his side,
(2) the rank and file of the military will choose to support him instead of the Constitution,
(3) a large civilian base is willing, even longs for an excuse, to use violence to subdue opposition, and
(4) the opposition is made up of effetes who are EXTREMELY UNLIKELY to mount a counterattack with anything harder, blunter, or sharper than words and piercing cries in the night.
Trump is right on only half of his Four Pillars of Impeachment Defiance. But that will be enough to force the nation–the rest of us–to violent, bloody enforcement of the Constitution and impeachment…if we have the stomach for it.
The 25th Amendment has NO ENFORCEMENT CLAUSE.
A thought…(perhaps wishful thinking …but why not hope?) I noticed that in his tirade about the ineffectiveness of the ACA, he accused the insurance companies of being the the guilty ones in this issue. Am I the only one who caught that? What if, and that’s a big IF, his actual goal is to provide single payer….. What if the smarter democrats talked to him and convinced him that the best idea would be to get the insurance companies out of the equation…and let medicare take over?
We could write him and stroke that ego and tell him that we know he’s got a plan and that he’s really smart about it…Psychology?
I may be a dreamer but I know I’m not the only one……….dee anne moore
Okay. Now. In brief comments, Gerald and Marv and others, what do we do? I want Trump gone ASAP. I don’t want Pence there either but he won’t blow up the world. I’d almost rather have Ryan gone before Pence. What are Pence’s views on climate change? What about foreign policy? Health care? Renewable energy? Public education? Non-profits can overlap with policies from other countries on issues. Example: wind and solar energy. They have been supported by the whole political spectrum and other countries. It would be way better to have support from our country. Is there a way to undo the Koch brothers which have a presence in more than 60 countries. We need Trump gone from his position.
Larry,
It looks like you want to war. Who wins on that one.?
Every morning Americans wake up and braces for the next big and loud and obnoxious F* U from our “acting POTUS.” That’s what this is, right? A big harmful F* U everyday! Acting the fool while he insults fellow citizens with the potential to Kill them by breaking the ACA? He purposely broke our healthcare system and we’re supposed to Let Him?
Not in my reality. This is not for ratings anymore. This is life and death. Isn’t treason enough? Come on Democratic leaders, find your spine, your voice and lead the way. This is not that hard!
Larry,
“The 25th Amendment has NO ENFORCEMENT CLAUSE.”
Not completely true. There’s a clause but the procedure for carrying it out is complicated and would probably involve Congressional action. With the threat of a Nuclear War or a Civil War or both and a very troubled, just look at his facial expressions, President, it might not be as complicated as it appears, if all the facts were known.
Right now, Congress has no pressure to act because there is no organized effort in place that has the power to do that. That might not be the case in the weeks to come.
AgingLGirl, “This is life and death. Isn’t treason enough? Come on Democratic leaders, find your spine, your voice and lead the way. This is not that hard!”
Listen to her. Organize and put the pressure on Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike.
Lesson #1: Don’t mimic the U.S.media or we all might end up dead.
Congressional leaders need to also…HAVE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
Dee; I’m sure Trump believes the insurance companies to be guilty for much different reasons than we KNOW they are. He probably places their guilt in following the guidelines and laws in the ACA.
I’ve always been thankful our constitution provides civilian control of the military, but if Trump were impeached or otherwise stopped by the 25th amendment, I believe the military personnel in the White House and Pentagon and the Secret Service would bodily remove him from the premises if necessary and take his tweeting secured phone from him.
Between Trump’s election and inauguration, the military reportedly was in consultation with their legal staff on their obligations to follow the constitution and Geneva conventions rather than an erratic president should he choose to take UNwarranted military action.
Unfortunately we have a line up of domestically dangerous alternatives to step into his shoes if Trump is removed. The Koch brothers control Mike Pence and Paul Ryan, but aside from that danger – which is huge – either of them appears less reckless and dangerous on international issues than Trump. Woe is us.
I’m an insurance broker, working specifically in the health insurance sector. I have clients that are panicking that they won’t be able to afford medical care. And they’re correct…they won’t.
The entire thing is insane. Last night I woke up thinking that if Trump provokes North Korea into nuking California, it’ll only increase his support base.
To my friends who just could not vote for Hillary, I ask them to tell me how much worse she would be and please be specific.
Trump will not be impeached. If anyone needed to be impeached,it was that bastard GW Bush for going to war in Iraq by using the FALSE pretense Iraq had WMD’s. Where in the hell were you people when that went down? Iraq and Afghanistan–let me guess,you were for it before you were against it?
Speaking of BS,the McResistance is a farce.If only OWS had been allowed to evolve into something more….Of course that couldn’t be allowed. Obama crushed the OWS movement because of…..Obama’s admiration of the donor-class. Of course,Obama Love is thick around these neoliberal parts!
No matter how crazy, how impractical….The right genuinely believes in its ideals…They’re for real–no matter how misguided . Democrats don’t have any beliefs….Democrats just like to piss and moan and play the role of contrarian. Hell,the ACA is/was a REPUBLICAN plan. Democrats have no more ideas. Democrats are so G’Damned impotent they have been relegated to only playing the role as defender of a Republican plan to suit the donor-class (insurance/pharma execs) instead of offering to bring forth REAL HEALTHCARE reform. What are Democrats doing? Nothing more than virtue signaling. Because virtue signaling is so effective.
Rant over. Now,we can get back to the usual glad-handing amongst ourselves and continue to pontificate as to how the rest of the country is stupid and how we’re the smartest and coolest kids in the room! Oh,and speak ruefully of the days when Republicans were virtuous,principled and serious …..Goldwater…..Nixon.
“To my friends who just could not vote for Hillary, I ask them to tell me how much worse she would be and please be specific.”
Her promise of a no fly zone in Syria.
She was such a philanthropist when it came to Honduras and Libya. Mother is a warHawk. And yes,I’m well aware the members of the Democratic Party reading this blog are WarHawks….Actually, ChickenHawks just like their Republican counterparts.
I demur to Marv’s designation of me as the best and most experienced attorney on this blog. I think Sheila deserves that designation, and I think that Marv has a lot of experience and has had a lot of success in the practice as well. What a good lawyer is is subject to much subjectivity, and I think Sheila meets all of my subjective and objective tests in providing a forum for discussion of important events of the day and with her service in the ACLU. My blogs, for instance, are based usually on my views emanating from the intersection of economics with law, which inevitably involves politics. Sheila’s blogs are wide-ranging and thoughtful. I vote for Sheila.
I have hated war since my brothers could have been drafted in the Vietnam war. I have hated politics since Nixon was impeached and quit as he should have. I didn’t think, we as a nation, could elect just a F*ng moron for POTUS and yet, here we are.
Seems to me, Bernie proposed Single Payer and had many Dems signing up. William, Why so angry? This whole screed of yours…smh. I guess we can all go to the ER now since no one will be able to afford healthcare insurance – by the Heritage Group. What do you think we should have?
Gerald,
I vote for Sheila too. I was making a comparison between the two of us. Which I stick too.
Who can compete with Sheila as an attorney? No contest.
To be honest, I see myself as an ENGINEER, not an attorney.
Koch sees himself as a super engineer. So do I. Let’s see who wins that contest.
Again. As Yogi Berra said, “it’s not over until its over.” One thing for sure, and I’m sure Yogi would agree…… “You’re not going to hit Marv’s fastball.” Surely Koch can’t.
To better understand what has happened to our democracy, I would suggest a reading of “German Big Business & The Rise of Hitler,” by Henry Ashby Turner, Jr. (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985)p. 358
CONCLUSIONS
“One of the most basic premises of the professional study of history is that events of history are not directly caused by abstract concepts, whether those be “the hand of God,” manifest destiny,” or “monopoly capital.” The concrete events of history occur because of the ACTIONS OF HUMAN BEINGS, who carry out their will, to be sure, through institutions of their own creation. Unless the proximate form of causation can be convincingly demonstrated, the invocation of more REMOTE levels of causation remains empty speculation, bereft of any foundation in the realities of history.”
“Reflecting in 1940 upon his experiences in seeking to identify the reasons for the collapse of the Third French Republic in the face of the onslaught of the Third Reich, the brilliant historian, Marc Bloch, who himself soon fell victim to Nazism, wrote these words: ” … the ABC of my trade consists in avoiding big-sounding abstract terms [like the 1%]. Those who teach history should be continually concerned with the task of seeking the solid and the concrete behind the empty and the abstract. In other words, it is on MEN rather than FUNCTIONS that they should CONCENTRATE their attention.” Those intellectuals who have explained the rise of Adolph Hitler and his party by recourse to “higher planes of anaylsis have long displayed, and continue to display, great RELUCTANCE to think in such CONCRETE TERMS.”
To all,
There can be no effective organizational effort against Trump/Pence/Banner unless it is created at a level equal too or greater than the power of Charles Koch. That’s called….THE REAL TRUTH.
Anything less is a waste of time. It will be CLOBBERED.
clob-ber (klab’er) vt. [<?] (Slang) 1. To beat or hit repeatedly 2. To defeat decisively
AgingLgirl…smh? No,constructive criticism. Do you think the Kochs use online petitions for congress to grant their wishes? Do the pharma execs tweet for hours to gain the eyes and ears of the senate?
As far as the McResistance is concerned….it was sabotaged the moment it was being led by those such as Neera Tanden.
Republicans are nuts but effective. Democrats have become nothing more than an ineffective contrarian organization. The Democrat will scream and holler about the misogyny and bigotry of Republicans….But will gladly accept the bigotry and misogyny of Biden. And the DNC acts as if it wonders why so many have abandoned the party. Is Trump more of an embarrassment than GW Bush? No. America is a laughing stock–as it should be– because of lousy policies domestic and foreign. America is an ineffective paper-tiger. And this seems to be the biggest problem among the readers and writers of this blog. With all of the problems facing this country,the biggest among the folks here seems to be the inability to brag we’re number one at cocktail parties.
William: I don’t know what to tell you because my thoughts about politics could fill a book with “What About (fill in the blank)” and that’s why it’s so frustrating. I don’t know what to make of your statements sometimes and I should probably just ignore them but I’m really curious. You say that we are just sitting back and shaking our heads when actually, some of us are very active. I even went to protest Tom Halleran’s (D Rep) vote against Democratic principals this month. What else are we supposed to do? We can’t get the DNC to do anything we want them to do and that’s to have the elders step aside and let a younger generation take the lead. I don’t know what you mean about Biden because I don’t focus on every single Dem out there. The only reason I follow the conservatives is because they continue to make the headlines and the media coverage is a joke. Have a good Sunday.