I'd like to believe (in fact I'm pretty sure this would happen) that if such a shooting happened here in Australia politicians from both sides would largely keep their mouths shut. They certainly wouldn't declare the innocence of the shooter before the investigation. The Prime Minister would say nothing beyond expressing deep regret at the death and asking people to withold judgement until an investigation by an imartial, independent and generally respected body was conducted.
The idea that a cabinet Minister would start turning up on police operations in a thinly disguised effort to score favourable media attention would be unthinkable. Politicians that made statements clearly at variance (even to a biased viewer) with widely shown videos would be ridiculed.
Sadly no one can trust the FBI under its present leadership to conduct an independent investigation. As far as I can tell the sort of professional, independent investigator who would be prepared to make an adverse finding on the ICE officer has been encouraged to leave and would be left in no doubt that to make such a finding would be at the very least a career damaging move.
For what it is worth this American friendlly person, looking at things from a distance can only confirm to US citizens who can see clearly, that government services in the USA have sunk very low under this administration with no chance of recovery while the present regime lasts.
With all the bogus justifications and pure out lies, this is the world bully-boys Trump and Miller (and probably Vought) really want—shoot first, don’t bother with questions.
When we think about this killing, it's important to think about what the killer thought and when he thought it. People who have been in this kind of situation--an obviously predictable situation--know what the killer thought. Even the average hunter knows what the killer thought.
The killer's decision--not only to take that shot, but, specifically, to kill--wasn't made (as some misrepresent) "in a split second" any more than most other hunters' shots are the result of a split-second decision. The killer's decision to take that shot--his decision to kill--was made long before he killed. His decision was made even long before he decided to stand in front of that car. His decision was a decision that is made routinely (by law enforcement officers) far in advance of the shot by officers who make the decision to stand in front of cars. The ability to purport to justify taking a shot is why some stand in front of cars.
We also should remember that we have been here before. As we acknowledge the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, we also should acknowledge that this very kind of murder, this very kind of cover-up, this very kind of violation of laws and charters in American colonies were at the heart of our 1776 Declaration. See https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/text.
“He has obstructed the Administration of Justice . . .”
“He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.”
“He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.”
“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
“He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of [the] Trial by Jury [of people responsible for killing Americans]”
Normal police departments train their officers to never stand in front or in back of a vehicle. Obviously, he is either not following training or was not properly trained.
The Department of Homeland Security is now the Department of Noemland Security where cruelty is the point as she is the real-life Cruella DeVil. Cruelty has gotten worse, frankly.
Can this crime be addressed? The lower courts are not persuaded; the question then is, Will SCOTUS follow justice or convenience? I think the six conservatives on the Supine Court will choose to protect their own positions in “power”.
When, not if, the Democrats take over the House, and Hopefully the Senate, the justices who are accepting gifts should be among the first people to be impeached. They have no enforceable ethics code, so they don’t care what the citizens think.
Doubt it. SCOTUS has already pardoned itself with Snyder v. U. S. (2024), the gratuity decision. That sets precedent. Besides, who judges in an impeachment? John Roberts.
Just the optics of impeachment will draw the attention of people who don’t ordinarily think about politics. They won’t be removed, but their authority will be questioned.
We must move to disarm ICE. There is no logical reason for them to be armed. They are not ever shot at and if they were they should stop what they are doing and call the FBI, DEA, ATF or state and local police to take care of it. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/disarm-ice?r=3m1bs
In my education, I spent some time with college level psychology. While formally educated as a scientist (chemist), I am always interested in human and (to some extent) animal behavior. Why do humans behave the way they do? Is it predictable and quantifiable? Why do I behave the way I do? Psychology does answer those questions to some degree, but all things human can be difficult to nail down at an individual level. This is the reason I rattle off the causes of Trump supporter behaviors to maintain perspective and make myself comfortable with “people being humans” (Those behaviors? Confirmation bias, cognitive dissonance, sunk cost fallacy).
I am confounded when I observe individuals, who were, by outward appearances, seemingly reasonable, rational, objective, notably educated, and caring humans. There are public examples. There are your own observed examples, e.g., family and friends. You do not have to agree with their “ideology” nor my listing of them as examples, as there a huge number of people presenting what I am confused about; Lindsey Graham, Elise Stefanik, JD Vance, et al. Again, maybe these people were horrible to begin with, but that “horrible” was mostly a difference of ideas with detractors.
My psychological confusion. Is there a switch that turns people into sociopaths? Because all kidding aside, the traits of sociopaths (excuse my use of an AI) --Manipulation & Deceit; Lack of Empathy & Remorse; Impulsivity & Irresponsibility; Aggression & Rule-Breaking; and Egocentrism, are all seemingly and suddenly present in their outward behaviors. None of this is new to certain characters who we all know, but you may have observed this switch going off in your own family members (I have!). I just want to understand more deeply this individual deviance. It seems unhinged, and I am always asking myself – “Is it my reality that is in flux?” “Should I be questioning my own perspectives more than I already do?”
My late uncle was a chemist too. I think the switch turns on Dan when they attain money, but mostly the POWER! My father's favorite expression when he spoke about people like this was "drunk with power".
Many of them damaged in childhood. Stephen Miller? Hated from his youth. The ultimate troll. Now he's the shadow president. Trump was mean from birth. I'm a New Yorker. I know where Donnie grew up. In a beautiful area of Queens called Jamaica Estates (surrounded by a bad area) ..but it was still QUEENS...an outer borough When they ship you off to military school at a young age it means you are TROUBLE. He was truly the devil's spawn. I never take anything from Wikipedia as fact. Ironically, it was last edited an hour ago. You can always see on the bottom when it was edited, what they edited, etc. and a lot is whitewashed, but just read this part about his early years and the picture of our Commander-Bone-Spurs. I'm surprised this picture is not blown up in the WH or the Pentagon. It's hard to believe this now 79-year-old sloth, was once an athlete too.
Vance has changed his name 3 times. His sexuality 3 times. His religion 3 times. Elon, Thiel, the tech bros. Mentally and physically abused in childhood. There are people who grow up with horrendous childhoods who are able to rise above it. Maybe the difference is those people had love, or people, teachers, mentors, whoever, that cared enough to put them on the right path. But these others?. Misfits.They grew up with their heads in science fiction, video games, tech...but they never learned empathy or humanity. Regardless or anything, they are gifted with intelligence, but one can use those gifts for good, or for evil. They are "revenge of the nerds" on steroids, and when people like this get rich and powerful, they will make everyone pay for what they suffered. Evil seems to win most of the time.
Lindsey got close to the "Sun". Our King Donnie. How LG spoke about him before Trump 1.0. Now he's yukking it up with his best golf buddy and defending everything he does . It's sickening. . John McCain is turning in his grave. His parents died young and he was left caring for his sister. They don't all start out evil...but they turn. That's why they should not be allowed to be career politicians and why Citizens United and dark money into politics is a curse. . Maybe they go into politics for the.altruistic reasons, but I don't think any of them are 100% honest. It's too easy to be influenced. It's seductive. Look at Marjorie Taylor Greene. She just walked off with a lifetime pension, and $25 million from her insider trading with Planatir (Stephen Miller invested too)
Elon Musk and Thiel are James Bond villains even Ian Fleming himself could not have envisioned. There will never be enough trillions to satiate them. They want control. Elon bought DJT the presidency and Thiel bought Vance the VP. I laughed at JD Vance's awkwardness and stupid jokes at the beginning, but very quickly I saw his cold, dead eyes. I saw how quickly he was loving the power. Greenland, Munich, screaming at Zelensky. He is so close to that seat of power he can taste it. He would push Donnie off a cliff he could hasten his end. He is dangerous. I fear him the most. He is younger and smarter. You know what I think? They know DJT was diminished from the beginning, but he had that " charisma" in the worst sense of the word that autocrats/dictators have. None of them could have gotten in on their own without him. I believe their goal is to overthrow him and take over. I thought that from the start. They want our democracy gone. Their cruelty is a feature, not a bug. And add in religion. I am close to 70. Dying in Nazi Germany was not on my bingo card.
Very informative. The book More Everything Forever delves into this dysfunctional group of tech bros - many of them believe that they will be able to have the content of their brains uploaded to an AI and that AI will eventually colonize the universe. Some plan to be frozen awaiting the technology to do so. Yep, hard to believe. They actually plan to implement the science fiction they read as children. These people are insane.
Thank you Alexandra. I just bought the book. NYT gave it a great review. I always thought that was really what was behind Elon's "Neuralink" because I can't imagine this James Bond villain would do something positive for humanity. Yes, Peter Thiel wants to be frozen (like the Tom Cruise movie "Vanilla Sky") and I hope he gets his wish very soon because he is another curse on humanity. They all think they are living forever including that fossil Larry Ellison who is around 80 with the worst facelift even his billions couldn't buy.him. Have you ever heard of Gil Duran? He writes a newsletter and has Youtube videos called " The Nerd Reich" that a friend turned me on to.. He had a fascinating episode with Karen Hao who wrote a similar book about Sam Altman called "Empire of AI" which I have too but have not read yet, and he had the gentleman who I believe was on the Google team that was inventing AI but resigned when he saw out of control it was going to be. He said these tech bros (most with miserable childhoods and of course, nerds) disappeared into the world of sci-fi, video games, computers, and with all of their intelligence never got to reach empathy. They are horrible people. I'm a senior. I also grew up on sci-fi like "The Twilight Zone" that was so prescient, it is scary. I've lived long enough to see sci-fi become science fact, but this is beyond anyrhing. Fun fact: Elon is NEVER getting to Mars. He's in his 50s and a druggie AND a coward. Even Mrs Bezos and Katy Perry who said "we're putting the " ass" in astronaut, have taken a ride in a rocket. He keeps having these children with different women by IVF (I think 14 by now) to spread his "genius" white Nazi DNA, and the women have to give birth by c-section because of course he knows more than mother nature, and thinks giving birth through the vagina cause brain damage, so they agree, to get their payoff. I think they all live in a compound. They are as nuts as him. I agree totally. They are insane. Unless he gets the "Starship Enterprise" built in a year or two ( "Space. The Final Frontier) he's staying as earthbound as the rest of us...if the AI and Trump don't kill us first.
Thank you for highlighting and vigorously opposing the absurd and obscene assertion by JD Vance that this killing--this murder--by a federal employee is protected by "absolute immunity." Vance's inflammatory assertion should spark a flame. It should (as it has) spark a flame of controversy. It also should spark a flame of thought that spreads like wildfire, not merely burning, but also illuminating.
Too many people are blinded by hate. Too many are too blinded by hate for Trump and hate for some SCOTUS justices. They are so blinded that they cannot see straight. Their hate keeps them from thinking straight. They hate (so they cannot think straight about) how six SCOTUS justices deceitfully pretended that they had the power to grant the President "immunity" from prosecution for crimes that our representatives in Congress (and a prior President) enacted (as our Constitution emphasizes in because such "Laws" were "necessary and proper" (Article I) and because such "Laws" were "made in Pursuance" of our Constitution (Article VI).
When we consider the purported immunity of our public servants (including the President) we should think about prior SCOTUS precedent. We should--we must--think of the greater significance of parts of our Constitution that too often are ignored or misrepresented by our purported public servants (to serve themselves, not us or our Constitution). We must think of the true meaning and power of the Preamble, Article VI (the Supremacy Clause and the Oath Clause), and Amendment X. We must think of the sovereignty of the people and the supremacy of the legal authorities that the people (the supreme (the only) legislative body for the U.S.) in 1788 declared in Article VI of our Constitution.
The sovereignty of the People and the supremacy of our Constitution were addressed in considerable detail by SCOTUS justices in 1999 in Alden v. Maine in both the majority and the dissenting opinions and a crucial opinion of a crucial SCOTUS justice (James Wilson) that the justices in Alden analyzed.
Highly relevant here, the Alden dissenters also emphasized a crucial aspect of the sovereignty of the people and the Supremacy Clause of our Constitution that governs when our purported public servants violate our Constitution. When any “action” of any public servant “is unconstitutional,” it “is not the word or deed of the” sovereign people. It “is the mere wrong and trespass of those individual persons who falsely speak and act in [their] name.”
The dissenting justices in Alden were quoting SCOTUS precedent in Poindexter v. Greenhow (1885). In Poindexter, SCOTUS was even more emphatic:
“The government is an agent [of the sovereign people], and, within the sphere of the agency, a perfect representative; but outside of that, it is a lawless usurpation. . . . [T]he maxim, that the king can do no wrong, has no place in our system of government. . . . That which, therefore, is unlawful because made so by the supreme law, the Constitution of the United States, is not the word or deed of the [the sovereign people], but is the mere wrong and trespass of those individual persons who falsely speak and act in [their] name. It was upon the ground of this important distinction that” SCOTUS already had decided very important cases.
“This distinction is essential to the idea of constitutional government. To deny it or blot it out obliterates the line of demarcation that separates constitutional government from absolutism, free self-government based on the sovereignty of the people from that despotism, whether of the one or the many, which enables the agent of the State to declare and decree that he is the State; to say [as the French king famously did] ‘L’Etat c’est moi.’ ”
Our Constitution was founded on the foregoing principles. Alexander Hamilton, himself (the purported progenitor of the so-called theory of the Unitary Executive) emphasized this fact (these principles) in The Federalist No. 83: “Wilful abuses of a public authority, to the oppression of” the people “are offenses against the government” (not actions of the government) “for which the persons who commit them may be indicted and punished” (criminally) “according to the circumstances of the case.”
Thanks for this very informative post! Well, that is great if the Republicans actually cared about the Constitution, but they don't appear to at all. They are actively implementing an authoritarian government with a king who has absolute power.
Alexandra, our Constitution wasn't written for people who care about it. It was written and ratified by the people precisely for people who won't care about it. That's the very point of putting the Constitution into writing and having it ratified by the people.
Reality is faster than the Trump Regime liars. By the time the liars cranked up, the videos were online, refuting the lies in advance.
Kudos to the citizens with their videos. They made it impossible for the liars to control the narrative. No one believes Noem, McLaughlin or any other regime murder supporters.
Sadly the billionaire media shoved the lies out for the regime. Especially the absurd Fox News talking heads.
The ghouls of the underworld cannot come soon enough to drag Vance and Noem and Trump to hell for the evil they’ve spread in our land - there will be no mercy on any of their souls. Same goes for the ice agents - no doubt eternal damnation awaits. It did not have to be this way
It is getting to the point where the GOP position is "If you don't agree with us that every migrant is a violent criminal, we are entitled to kill you."
RE: "Given the footage, Trump’s claim that the agent is “lucky to be alive” is mind-bogglingly absurd. No video that has been posted so far even remotely backs up that claim."
HANNAH ARENDT: “Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” ― from 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' (1951)
HANNAH ARENDT (1967): “The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth, and truth be defamed as lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world - and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end - is being destroyed.”
HANNAH ARENDT: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” ― from 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' (1951)
If they are referring to immigrants (and of course they are!), then all of us who are not aboriginal to America fit the definition of foreign invaders.
I'd like to believe (in fact I'm pretty sure this would happen) that if such a shooting happened here in Australia politicians from both sides would largely keep their mouths shut. They certainly wouldn't declare the innocence of the shooter before the investigation. The Prime Minister would say nothing beyond expressing deep regret at the death and asking people to withold judgement until an investigation by an imartial, independent and generally respected body was conducted.
The idea that a cabinet Minister would start turning up on police operations in a thinly disguised effort to score favourable media attention would be unthinkable. Politicians that made statements clearly at variance (even to a biased viewer) with widely shown videos would be ridiculed.
Sadly no one can trust the FBI under its present leadership to conduct an independent investigation. As far as I can tell the sort of professional, independent investigator who would be prepared to make an adverse finding on the ICE officer has been encouraged to leave and would be left in no doubt that to make such a finding would be at the very least a career damaging move.
For what it is worth this American friendlly person, looking at things from a distance can only confirm to US citizens who can see clearly, that government services in the USA have sunk very low under this administration with no chance of recovery while the present regime lasts.
With all the bogus justifications and pure out lies, this is the world bully-boys Trump and Miller (and probably Vought) really want—shoot first, don’t bother with questions.
When we think about this killing, it's important to think about what the killer thought and when he thought it. People who have been in this kind of situation--an obviously predictable situation--know what the killer thought. Even the average hunter knows what the killer thought.
The killer's decision--not only to take that shot, but, specifically, to kill--wasn't made (as some misrepresent) "in a split second" any more than most other hunters' shots are the result of a split-second decision. The killer's decision to take that shot--his decision to kill--was made long before he killed. His decision was made even long before he decided to stand in front of that car. His decision was a decision that is made routinely (by law enforcement officers) far in advance of the shot by officers who make the decision to stand in front of cars. The ability to purport to justify taking a shot is why some stand in front of cars.
We also should remember that we have been here before. As we acknowledge the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, we also should acknowledge that this very kind of murder, this very kind of cover-up, this very kind of violation of laws and charters in American colonies were at the heart of our 1776 Declaration. See https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/resources/text.
“He has obstructed the Administration of Justice . . .”
“He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.”
“He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.”
“He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.”
“He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of [the] Trial by Jury [of people responsible for killing Americans]”
Normal police departments train their officers to never stand in front or in back of a vehicle. Obviously, he is either not following training or was not properly trained.
People who want to kill often find a way to kill. It's often not by following the law or rules or actually enforcing them.
The Department of Homeland Security is now the Department of Noemland Security where cruelty is the point as she is the real-life Cruella DeVil. Cruelty has gotten worse, frankly.
Kristi Gnome's puppy is sitting in Dog Heaven shaking its head and saying "I told you so."
Can this crime be addressed? The lower courts are not persuaded; the question then is, Will SCOTUS follow justice or convenience? I think the six conservatives on the Supine Court will choose to protect their own positions in “power”.
When, not if, the Democrats take over the House, and Hopefully the Senate, the justices who are accepting gifts should be among the first people to be impeached. They have no enforceable ethics code, so they don’t care what the citizens think.
Doubt it. SCOTUS has already pardoned itself with Snyder v. U. S. (2024), the gratuity decision. That sets precedent. Besides, who judges in an impeachment? John Roberts.
Just the optics of impeachment will draw the attention of people who don’t ordinarily think about politics. They won’t be removed, but their authority will be questioned.
Perhaps. But questioned by whom? Trump was impeached twice … then re-elected president, hardly reassuring.
We must move to disarm ICE. There is no logical reason for them to be armed. They are not ever shot at and if they were they should stop what they are doing and call the FBI, DEA, ATF or state and local police to take care of it. https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/disarm-ice?r=3m1bs
In my education, I spent some time with college level psychology. While formally educated as a scientist (chemist), I am always interested in human and (to some extent) animal behavior. Why do humans behave the way they do? Is it predictable and quantifiable? Why do I behave the way I do? Psychology does answer those questions to some degree, but all things human can be difficult to nail down at an individual level. This is the reason I rattle off the causes of Trump supporter behaviors to maintain perspective and make myself comfortable with “people being humans” (Those behaviors? Confirmation bias, cognitive dissonance, sunk cost fallacy).
I am confounded when I observe individuals, who were, by outward appearances, seemingly reasonable, rational, objective, notably educated, and caring humans. There are public examples. There are your own observed examples, e.g., family and friends. You do not have to agree with their “ideology” nor my listing of them as examples, as there a huge number of people presenting what I am confused about; Lindsey Graham, Elise Stefanik, JD Vance, et al. Again, maybe these people were horrible to begin with, but that “horrible” was mostly a difference of ideas with detractors.
My psychological confusion. Is there a switch that turns people into sociopaths? Because all kidding aside, the traits of sociopaths (excuse my use of an AI) --Manipulation & Deceit; Lack of Empathy & Remorse; Impulsivity & Irresponsibility; Aggression & Rule-Breaking; and Egocentrism, are all seemingly and suddenly present in their outward behaviors. None of this is new to certain characters who we all know, but you may have observed this switch going off in your own family members (I have!). I just want to understand more deeply this individual deviance. It seems unhinged, and I am always asking myself – “Is it my reality that is in flux?” “Should I be questioning my own perspectives more than I already do?”
My late uncle was a chemist too. I think the switch turns on Dan when they attain money, but mostly the POWER! My father's favorite expression when he spoke about people like this was "drunk with power".
Many of them damaged in childhood. Stephen Miller? Hated from his youth. The ultimate troll. Now he's the shadow president. Trump was mean from birth. I'm a New Yorker. I know where Donnie grew up. In a beautiful area of Queens called Jamaica Estates (surrounded by a bad area) ..but it was still QUEENS...an outer borough When they ship you off to military school at a young age it means you are TROUBLE. He was truly the devil's spawn. I never take anything from Wikipedia as fact. Ironically, it was last edited an hour ago. You can always see on the bottom when it was edited, what they edited, etc. and a lot is whitewashed, but just read this part about his early years and the picture of our Commander-Bone-Spurs. I'm surprised this picture is not blown up in the WH or the Pentagon. It's hard to believe this now 79-year-old sloth, was once an athlete too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_life_and_education_of_Donald_Trump
Vance has changed his name 3 times. His sexuality 3 times. His religion 3 times. Elon, Thiel, the tech bros. Mentally and physically abused in childhood. There are people who grow up with horrendous childhoods who are able to rise above it. Maybe the difference is those people had love, or people, teachers, mentors, whoever, that cared enough to put them on the right path. But these others?. Misfits.They grew up with their heads in science fiction, video games, tech...but they never learned empathy or humanity. Regardless or anything, they are gifted with intelligence, but one can use those gifts for good, or for evil. They are "revenge of the nerds" on steroids, and when people like this get rich and powerful, they will make everyone pay for what they suffered. Evil seems to win most of the time.
Lindsey got close to the "Sun". Our King Donnie. How LG spoke about him before Trump 1.0. Now he's yukking it up with his best golf buddy and defending everything he does . It's sickening. . John McCain is turning in his grave. His parents died young and he was left caring for his sister. They don't all start out evil...but they turn. That's why they should not be allowed to be career politicians and why Citizens United and dark money into politics is a curse. . Maybe they go into politics for the.altruistic reasons, but I don't think any of them are 100% honest. It's too easy to be influenced. It's seductive. Look at Marjorie Taylor Greene. She just walked off with a lifetime pension, and $25 million from her insider trading with Planatir (Stephen Miller invested too)
Elon Musk and Thiel are James Bond villains even Ian Fleming himself could not have envisioned. There will never be enough trillions to satiate them. They want control. Elon bought DJT the presidency and Thiel bought Vance the VP. I laughed at JD Vance's awkwardness and stupid jokes at the beginning, but very quickly I saw his cold, dead eyes. I saw how quickly he was loving the power. Greenland, Munich, screaming at Zelensky. He is so close to that seat of power he can taste it. He would push Donnie off a cliff he could hasten his end. He is dangerous. I fear him the most. He is younger and smarter. You know what I think? They know DJT was diminished from the beginning, but he had that " charisma" in the worst sense of the word that autocrats/dictators have. None of them could have gotten in on their own without him. I believe their goal is to overthrow him and take over. I thought that from the start. They want our democracy gone. Their cruelty is a feature, not a bug. And add in religion. I am close to 70. Dying in Nazi Germany was not on my bingo card.
Very informative. The book More Everything Forever delves into this dysfunctional group of tech bros - many of them believe that they will be able to have the content of their brains uploaded to an AI and that AI will eventually colonize the universe. Some plan to be frozen awaiting the technology to do so. Yep, hard to believe. They actually plan to implement the science fiction they read as children. These people are insane.
Thank you Alexandra. I just bought the book. NYT gave it a great review. I always thought that was really what was behind Elon's "Neuralink" because I can't imagine this James Bond villain would do something positive for humanity. Yes, Peter Thiel wants to be frozen (like the Tom Cruise movie "Vanilla Sky") and I hope he gets his wish very soon because he is another curse on humanity. They all think they are living forever including that fossil Larry Ellison who is around 80 with the worst facelift even his billions couldn't buy.him. Have you ever heard of Gil Duran? He writes a newsletter and has Youtube videos called " The Nerd Reich" that a friend turned me on to.. He had a fascinating episode with Karen Hao who wrote a similar book about Sam Altman called "Empire of AI" which I have too but have not read yet, and he had the gentleman who I believe was on the Google team that was inventing AI but resigned when he saw out of control it was going to be. He said these tech bros (most with miserable childhoods and of course, nerds) disappeared into the world of sci-fi, video games, computers, and with all of their intelligence never got to reach empathy. They are horrible people. I'm a senior. I also grew up on sci-fi like "The Twilight Zone" that was so prescient, it is scary. I've lived long enough to see sci-fi become science fact, but this is beyond anyrhing. Fun fact: Elon is NEVER getting to Mars. He's in his 50s and a druggie AND a coward. Even Mrs Bezos and Katy Perry who said "we're putting the " ass" in astronaut, have taken a ride in a rocket. He keeps having these children with different women by IVF (I think 14 by now) to spread his "genius" white Nazi DNA, and the women have to give birth by c-section because of course he knows more than mother nature, and thinks giving birth through the vagina cause brain damage, so they agree, to get their payoff. I think they all live in a compound. They are as nuts as him. I agree totally. They are insane. Unless he gets the "Starship Enterprise" built in a year or two ( "Space. The Final Frontier) he's staying as earthbound as the rest of us...if the AI and Trump don't kill us first.
Thank you for highlighting and vigorously opposing the absurd and obscene assertion by JD Vance that this killing--this murder--by a federal employee is protected by "absolute immunity." Vance's inflammatory assertion should spark a flame. It should (as it has) spark a flame of controversy. It also should spark a flame of thought that spreads like wildfire, not merely burning, but also illuminating.
Too many people are blinded by hate. Too many are too blinded by hate for Trump and hate for some SCOTUS justices. They are so blinded that they cannot see straight. Their hate keeps them from thinking straight. They hate (so they cannot think straight about) how six SCOTUS justices deceitfully pretended that they had the power to grant the President "immunity" from prosecution for crimes that our representatives in Congress (and a prior President) enacted (as our Constitution emphasizes in because such "Laws" were "necessary and proper" (Article I) and because such "Laws" were "made in Pursuance" of our Constitution (Article VI).
When we consider the purported immunity of our public servants (including the President) we should think about prior SCOTUS precedent. We should--we must--think of the greater significance of parts of our Constitution that too often are ignored or misrepresented by our purported public servants (to serve themselves, not us or our Constitution). We must think of the true meaning and power of the Preamble, Article VI (the Supremacy Clause and the Oath Clause), and Amendment X. We must think of the sovereignty of the people and the supremacy of the legal authorities that the people (the supreme (the only) legislative body for the U.S.) in 1788 declared in Article VI of our Constitution.
The sovereignty of the People and the supremacy of our Constitution were addressed in considerable detail by SCOTUS justices in 1999 in Alden v. Maine in both the majority and the dissenting opinions and a crucial opinion of a crucial SCOTUS justice (James Wilson) that the justices in Alden analyzed.
Highly relevant here, the Alden dissenters also emphasized a crucial aspect of the sovereignty of the people and the Supremacy Clause of our Constitution that governs when our purported public servants violate our Constitution. When any “action” of any public servant “is unconstitutional,” it “is not the word or deed of the” sovereign people. It “is the mere wrong and trespass of those individual persons who falsely speak and act in [their] name.”
The dissenting justices in Alden were quoting SCOTUS precedent in Poindexter v. Greenhow (1885). In Poindexter, SCOTUS was even more emphatic:
“The government is an agent [of the sovereign people], and, within the sphere of the agency, a perfect representative; but outside of that, it is a lawless usurpation. . . . [T]he maxim, that the king can do no wrong, has no place in our system of government. . . . That which, therefore, is unlawful because made so by the supreme law, the Constitution of the United States, is not the word or deed of the [the sovereign people], but is the mere wrong and trespass of those individual persons who falsely speak and act in [their] name. It was upon the ground of this important distinction that” SCOTUS already had decided very important cases.
“This distinction is essential to the idea of constitutional government. To deny it or blot it out obliterates the line of demarcation that separates constitutional government from absolutism, free self-government based on the sovereignty of the people from that despotism, whether of the one or the many, which enables the agent of the State to declare and decree that he is the State; to say [as the French king famously did] ‘L’Etat c’est moi.’ ”
Our Constitution was founded on the foregoing principles. Alexander Hamilton, himself (the purported progenitor of the so-called theory of the Unitary Executive) emphasized this fact (these principles) in The Federalist No. 83: “Wilful abuses of a public authority, to the oppression of” the people “are offenses against the government” (not actions of the government) “for which the persons who commit them may be indicted and punished” (criminally) “according to the circumstances of the case.”
Thanks for this very informative post! Well, that is great if the Republicans actually cared about the Constitution, but they don't appear to at all. They are actively implementing an authoritarian government with a king who has absolute power.
Alexandra, our Constitution wasn't written for people who care about it. It was written and ratified by the people precisely for people who won't care about it. That's the very point of putting the Constitution into writing and having it ratified by the people.
Americans ARE saying "enough". And Randy Fine is quite the garbage human
Garbage? "Toxic sewage" would be a better description. How on earth did people like this ever get elected? (rhetorical question, of course).
Reality is faster than the Trump Regime liars. By the time the liars cranked up, the videos were online, refuting the lies in advance.
Kudos to the citizens with their videos. They made it impossible for the liars to control the narrative. No one believes Noem, McLaughlin or any other regime murder supporters.
Sadly the billionaire media shoved the lies out for the regime. Especially the absurd Fox News talking heads.
The ghouls of the underworld cannot come soon enough to drag Vance and Noem and Trump to hell for the evil they’ve spread in our land - there will be no mercy on any of their souls. Same goes for the ice agents - no doubt eternal damnation awaits. It did not have to be this way
It is getting to the point where the GOP position is "If you don't agree with us that every migrant is a violent criminal, we are entitled to kill you."
RE: "Given the footage, Trump’s claim that the agent is “lucky to be alive” is mind-bogglingly absurd. No video that has been posted so far even remotely backs up that claim."
HANNAH ARENDT: “Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.” ― from 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' (1951)
HANNAH ARENDT (1967): “The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lie will now be accepted as truth, and truth be defamed as lie, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world - and the category of truth versus falsehood is among the mental means to this end - is being destroyed.”
HANNAH ARENDT: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.” ― from 'The Origins of Totalitarianism' (1951)
When I read her book years ago, I struggled to understand how that could be. Unfortunately, now I know.
Repelling what foreign invasion?
If they are referring to immigrants (and of course they are!), then all of us who are not aboriginal to America fit the definition of foreign invaders.
Speaking of the de-humanizing machine, the video that we've seen makes me want to know what videos we haven't yet seen.
From Indivisible Call about Lawlessness of ICE:
DONATING:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-renee-goods-wife-and-son
https://www.ilcm.org/donate/
https://unidos-mn.org/
https://immigrantdefensenetwork.org/donate/
PETITION:
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/rejecticefunding?source=direct_link
PROTESTS:
https://action.womensmarch.com/calendars/free-america-weekend
https://www.mobilize.us/mayday/
FRI 1/9 Training:
https://act.aclu.org/a/aclukyr
OTHER TRAINING:
https://indivisible.org/indivisible-trainings
https://platform.winnable.app/events/local-listeners-bootcamp-ji9l4