“You can dye his hair, paint his face, strap a girdle and a diaper on him and pump him full of speed, and he’s still not going to look like a presidential candidate.”
Yes, the dyed orange crop top and the bad makeup job all on daily display by our media do not equal a Presidential contender. He grew out of a manure patch and will end up in one.
While the American media spotlight, ever enthralled by the sensationalism of the moment, remains fixated on Trump's legal issues - A CRUCIAL AND OVERLOOKED DANGER CONTINUES TO UNFOLD IN THE UNITED STATES. The influence of Putin's strategies quietly attempts to reshape the trajectory of American politics and American lives. We are seeing this happening now. We have MAGA elected officials in Congress, who are still taking orders from Trump - who takes his instructions from Putin. These people demanded that the border bill be passed first and foremost, then refused to sign this bill simply because Trump wishes to continue using this issue for a political campaign.
The shadow cast by Putin over the landscape of American democracy, and his influence and CONTROL over Trump grows larger and darker by the moment. Americans simply do not grasp anything outside of our four walls (borders).
Putin spent his spy years in East Germany and absorbed Hitler's methodologies and gruesome concepts. As a reminder, Hitler turned a peaceful nation into mass murderers which resulted in the deaths of over 6 million souls. Putin took these tools back to Russia, and turned a communist country (a form of socialism) into a dictatorship totally ruled by one man and the KGB fraternity. These tools include bribery and coercive mind control (brainwashing) - which is defined as telling lies over and over until it is perceived as the truth. CNN has reported that 70% of the Republicans in the United States STILL believe Trump's big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Biden won that election by over 7 million votes - not by 11,780 votes which is the amount brazenly asked by Trump on a recorded phone call with the State of Georgia.
Stalin was believed to be the most vile dictator to ever live. He murdered an estimated 20 million people, mostly by starvation. Putin is often compared to Stalin. Putin's estimated death toll so far is over one million humans needlessly murdered. This is relevant because Trump admires and wishes to emulate Putin. In the United States, more than one million Americans have died from COVID. A large portion of these deaths could have been prevented if Trump listened to educated physicians, did not recommend the use of Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and even bleach as treatments, or if he wore a mask instead of denied it's essential usefulness to stop the spread of a deadly disease.
In 2008, Trump Jr. spoke at a NY conference and mentioned that the Trump organization was now working with Russian banks and had received $100 million in funds. (www.businessinsider.com). A few years later, Eric Trump verified this information. (www.vanietyfair.com) U.S. banks refused to loan funds to Trump due to his four previous bankruptcies. Russian banks, totally controlled and managed by the Russian KGB/FSB give large sums of money for two reasons: (1) to launder black cash into another country's economy, and (2) to obligate and entrap a foreigner to work for Russia. It is my estimate that about ten years prior to the Russians maneuvering Trump into the job as President of the United States he was on the KGB payroll. Twelve Russians were arrested for U.S. election interference, but they have also promised this will continue.
Microsoft has proved that 58% of all cyber attacks into the U.S. come from Russia. This includes hacking into our food and supply chain, gas and oil, military and security, banking and financial, and yes, our elections and probably our polls. Polls sway voter opinions. So when you said:
"With the POLLS still showing the presidential race way too close for comfort, Public Notice
contributor Thor Benson connected with Rosenberg last week to unpack the reasons why he’s
optimistic about November. Despite the name of his publication, Rosenberg isn’t trying to ply his
audience with false hope. His credibility as an interpreter of polls was enhanced during the 2022
cycle, when he was a voice in the wilderness saying that the red wave predicted by many pundits
was in fact a mirage. He was proven right when Democrats maintained a Senate majority and
nearly held on to the House as well."
Putin, as a Cold War-era spy, blames the United States for the breakup of the Soviet Union. He calls it the largest catastrophe of the last century. He wants revenge. In 1997, a book surfaced in Russia called The Foundations of Geopolitics. This book lists of goals for Putin as the 2nd President of Russia and at the top of this list is the destruction of the United States from within. It should be obvious to all Americans that Donald Trump is aiding Putin in this effort.
2024 is an election year in the U.S. between a madman (and most likely a traitor) or a leader with almost 50 years of experience and public service. We need everyone to vote like their life depends on it - because it does!
Wow , Elizabeth! Thank you. This is the real news and ought to be printed more. Too many Humans are continuously wrecking because they’re not looking where they’re going/ we’re going..they’re watching the sensational crash , blood n guts, ‘side show’. That so many are duped is the unfortunate affect of progress instead of focusing further on real goals . Entertainment is fine but subscribing to it 24/7 and buying right smack dab into the ploy…here’s your sign folks..and those that write the script are the wealthiest narcissistic con artists ever there was…that I found them funny was a short thrill.
Waking up had best continue this winning roll and codify principle.
When Trump was first running for president, at dinner I used to tell my husband and daughter that Melania was a deep cover spy working for the FSB, and her assignment was to marry an American of influence, get him into the White House so he could wreak havoc with our nation. Then, on other days I would say Trump was a deep cover Russian spy. They would both tell me that I was reading too many spy books. This is true. I had read a couple of books on the Stasi, and articles on the deep cover spies in the USA from Russia and how they were recruited, trained, and their cover stories. So, while they viewed me as being tongue-in-cheek, it was the sort of joking where I felt like it could play itself out like that even if they were not intentionally hired. Now, it is very obvious that Trump serves Putin's interests, and they are not ours. I read from the Stasi archives the discussion of Putin's being a part of the Stasi as well as the KGB. It seemed to me from what I read, that is part of showing his Stasi ID, that he was playing both sides to get what he wanted.
Since Stasi set shows are popular in Germany I started reading on this to see what is true. The same with the show The Americans. Whenever I watch things that address historical events, I like to read to learn what is true and what is fictionalized. Always very interesting. I am finding the lack of analysis of Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson interesting. He has said that he prefers Biden, and that he expected some difficult questions. While I might want to know why his opponents are not allowed to run, and he is killing them, I would prefer not to be defenestrated either, so I can see why TC went for the soft questions, as well as his training at Fox to support the fascists.
Do political analysts factor in the voter suppression tactics put into play since 2021 by gerrymandered R controlled state legislatures? It boggles the mind that any serious political discussion ABOUT VOTERS would omit it. While the media is fighting for clicks, the electorate is getting shut out of choosing their own representatives. Rosenberg talks of “work to do” ... hopefully combating voter suppression is part of said work.
In the back of the book called From Democracy to Democrazy by E. Graham (www.democrazy2020.org) and published July 2023, on page 175, there is a description of the TIME 100 Edition, June 2022 called "The Most Influential Persons of 2021-2022." This edition is described by Edward Felsenthal, the Editor-in-Chief, as "Power for Good." He said "we have one barometer: INFLUENCE. Who stood up? Who stood out? Who shaped this year? Influence, of course, may be for good or for ill - a dichotomy never more visible than in this year's TIME100 which includes the Russian dictator (Putin) behind a brutal war, and his foe, the Ukrainian President (Zelensky) whose leadership has made him a rare heroic figure in our diverse time." The description of Zelensky was written by U.S. President Joe Biden, and the description of Russian President Vladimir Putin was written by Alexei Navalny.
As most of you know, Alexei Navalny, age 47, was murdered this past week in a brutal Penal Colony in Siberia, Russia. A prison where torture, starvation, and cold death were common-place. The world has lost a great hero, and Putin has put another notch in his gun.
The following is Navalny's exact words to describe Putin: "Perhaps Vladimir Putin's true mission is to teach lessons. To everyone - from world leaders and pundits to ordinary people. He has been especially good at this in 2022. He reminded us once again that a path that begins with 'just a little election rigging' ALWAYS ends with a dictatorship."
When I read this statement in TIME100, all I could think of was Donald Trump's call (which was recorded) to Brad Raffensperger (R), the Secretary of State for Georgia pressuring him to "just find 11,780 votes" in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election in their state. As a reminder, Joe Biden won that election by over 7 million votes.
Unfortunately, half our nation are victims of brainwashing who still believe Trump's lies and think the election was stolen. The only person attempting to rig the 2020 election was Trump - and he tried over and over - and eventually staged a coup to attack our Senate and stop our government from operating.
Navalny goes on to say: "Putin has reminded us all of the 'duck test' - if something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. The very same logic should be applied to this case: if someone destroys the independent media, organizes political assassinations, and sticks to his imperial delusions, then he is a madman capable of causing a bloodbath in the center of Europe in the 21st century . . . However, the answer to the main questions he poses - how to stop an evil madman with an army, nuclear weapons, and membership in the U.N. Security Council - is yet to be answered." Guess what folks - Trump as the President of the United States, also had an army, control of nuclear weapons, and a membership in the U.S. Security Council. Would you trust a convicted felon with the button to kill other populations worldwide? I wouldn't.
Navalny was the leading opposition leader and Presidential contender fighting the tightly-held dictatorship of Vladimir Putin. He exposed corruption and opposed Putin's United Russia party. His Russian following exceeded millions, and many if not most Russian citizens watched or learned about the CNN show that detailed the KGB process and the PROOF of how Putin attempted to murder Navalny with poison.
Navalny survived that attempted murder, only to feel the strong need to return to Russia and continue his drive for a free and just Russia. He was immediately arrested and eventually murdered. It was only a week or so ago that I predicted in a blog "that Navalny will not survive the hardships of a Siberian prison." He was sent there to die.
My soul is filled with sorrow and pain - for all of Russia, but also for all of the United States. Our country is on the verge of deciding an election choice between our own "madman" (a convicted sexual predator, a fraud conviction, and 91 criminal felony charges) and a man with almost 50 years experience in public service. The Republicans in Congress have implemented a dishonest and destructive campaign against Biden - all false information and a reflection of how Trump operates - as does Putin.
Biden inherited Trump's fiscal disaster where in his last year in office, Trump spent almost 50% more than our Treasury collected in income. (The Economist) Anyone or any country that spends 50% more than their income is headed for a fiscal disaster and probably Trump's fifth bankruptcy. By his second year in office, Biden's economic policies corrected this situation - the economy is strong, unemployment is down, the stock market is positive, inflation is down, and so on.
Biden is by far, the most qualified person to lead the United States - no matter his age. We need every American to vote for Biden in this next election as if your life depends on it - because it does!!
Please join my Substack group at: From Democracy to Democrazy.
This is a hopeful view. It should not be so close. I notice, reading the NYT, that there are plenty of sheep, comments and contributors going for the idea of replacing Biden on the ballot for 2024 (Ezra Klein's) when I do believe it's unrealistic, a fantasy and harmful at a dangerous time. With who? What the NYT did to Hillary Clinton is being brought up in the comments. We have to get with the program that an older person with all his foibles ( he's bent, gray, and forgets but has done pretty well and is moral) is running again against an also older person but with ill-intentions, hateful, a liar, a divider, knows next to nothing about this country's purpose and vision historically nor cares and who has been treasonous... all proven factually, with due process and convictions looming.
Why is the media treating and judging these two candidates, Biden and Trump with separate standards???
You cannot rehabilitate an 81-year old man. Biden has NOT been a good president. He has been an OKAY president. He was elected as the un-Trump; not because he was the best man for the job. Given his deteriorating cognitive-emotional health due to aging, the administration is not achieving much.
The border remains a mess. Citizens United continues to undermine our democracy. While DOT dithers, trains continue to derail and poison nearby communities with forever chemicals while most of us stand in long TSA inspection lines waiting for planes that never take off due to poor traffic control and worse airline management, or the plane takes off, but has to land prematurely because of some whacko passenger who, once removed, gets a slap on the wrist until his next flight rather than being forced to compensate the airline for their loss.
Internationally, Biden has made the USA a war criminal and an accomplice to genocide. Biden's impulsive knee-jerk rescue of Israel, like his impulsive withdrawal from Afghanistan were both very poor judgment. Things in Gaza are only getting worse. Meanwhile Ukraine is losing territory because Biden cannot get funding to support their defense thereby weakening the EU economy and the US economy along with it.
In my mind, the DNC thinking it can win again by a 2020 rerun insults voter intelligence. Running Biden vs a younger dynamic candidate risks loss in the event Trump is put in prison and the GOP has to run a younger centrist candidate. If that happens, Biden is toast. If Trump does run, but DNC runs a younger candidate - then Trump is toast. So DNC appears to be playing political Russian Roulette by pushing Biden who still has dismal polling. Unless DNC gets woke, I and my Boomer pals all expect to die in a fascist dictatorship or in the middle of a civil war that both parties contributed to.
BTW, the average male life expectancy in the USA is 73.5 - Biden will be 10 years older than that upon term completion - if he does not die in the saddle from the stress of being president. Every voter likely knows that their vote for Biden is likely a vote for Harris who is not remotely qualified to run the country.
I would like to hear Simon Rosenberg's opinion on a What if.....What if Biden stopped supplying military aid to Israel? Would that help him or hurt him in the election?
Hi Linda: First, please read From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. It tells my story of living and working in Communist and dictator-led countries. I began my life right out of high school with a Top Secret clearance and worked undercover for the CIA. My father was the manager of their west-coast office. We performed contracts that put microphones in cats and then let them loose near the Kremlin.
The Cold War era never died for Putin and his KGB associates. He blamed the U.S. for the fall of the USSR and he has loudly proclaimed revenge. Americans, in our massive ignorance, believed Bush that the Cold War-era was over. IT WASN'T and I have been saying this since 1995. As you know, Putin spent his early KGB years in East Germany and learned all the tools of the trade there. He returned to Russia with an entire shopping cart filled with Hitler's methodologies of brainwashing, bribery, murder, and so on. Lo and behold, these exact same tools of coercive mind control and brainwashing are used by Donald Trump and they have worked. Half our nation are blind and ignorant cult followers who behave just like the Jim Jones followers who drank KoolAid laced with poison - just because their cult leader tells them to do this. All 900 died.
This is how Hitler converted a peaceful society into a country of mass murderers who butchered over six million humans. Once a cult leader uses hatred in his/her repetitive lies, it releases a chemical in the human brain to enact violence - what we saw on January 6th. This same form of brainwashing was just used by Trump on the House Republicans. For the last eight years, Trump has used the border crisis as a mainstay to enlist Republicans to vote for him. Once a bi-partisan bill is written to resolve the border issues, Trump tells the MAGA people to stop its approval process. They all jumped when Trump gave his marching orders.
I was at a book signing event at a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, AZ. A middle-aged woman came up to me and said "I believe that Putin is a smart and great leader." I opened my mouth to respond, but was too shocked and nothing came out. These were the exact same words spoken by Trump the previous week and immediately after Putin invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Once a person is brainwashed - which is the current state of half our country - it becomes difficult to have independent thought.
Putin is a trained spy who knows how to manipulate and control his kompromat (compromised) subjects. He is not a friend to Donald Trump - which is what Trump would like our country to believe - but an expert handler.
The lies Putin said to Tucker Carlson are comical at best. Of course he doesn't favor Trump and is just deflecting the truth from his Trump oversight. Russians use three tools to convert a foreigner to support Russia: flattery, money, and beautiful women. We can never prove that Trump slept with KGB prostitutes, but considering his history as a convicted sexual predator - I would assume he did. Every hotel room in Russia where a foreigner stays has cameras and listening devices in the walls and ceiling. More importantly, the Trump organization was in dire need of cash since American banks refused to loan him money due to his four bankruptcies. in 2008, Trump Jr. states in a NY conference that the Trump organization had received a large influx of money from Russian banks. (www.businessinsider.com) Eric Trump later confirmed his brother's remarks and confirmed that the "organization" had received $100 million from a Russian bank. In Russia, (1) all Russian banks are controlled and operated by the KGB/FSB, and (2) they give money to a foreigner to launder black cash into another country's economy, or they give money to obligate, compromise, and entrap the foreigner to work with Russia. Interest on a loan of $100 million is impossible to repay - just like ole Al Capone. So about ten years before the Russians helped maneuver Trump into the White House, the Trump organization (and Trump himself) was on the KGB payroll.
As for Melania, she was born in Slovenia (the former Yugoslavia) which was a Soviet controlled country. People from Slovenia were not allowed to travel outside of their country (like all communist/Soviet controlled countries) unless they were KGB. One of the requirements of the KGB was to report weekly (every Friday) regarding any contact with a foreigner. Since she too spoke fluent German - like Putin - I am sure the two of them had much to talk about.
So Linda, you were probably correct about Melania and about Putin's control of Trump.
I hope that few people are such one issue voters although with re Israel there are plenty and they are so-called "pro-Israel" unconditional supporters. Biden/Blinken of late have moved away at least in rhetoric from unconditional support re this war but not nearly enough. Action is required. That's where Biden's fearfulness politically is disturbing. I think he wrong politically and morally, but he is sincere, I believe about supporting Israel. Only not being hard on Israel is not supporting Israel. The "two state solution" is far away and uphill. But it may be enough to save him politically here, at least regarding Israel.
Yes, the dyed orange crop top and the bad makeup job all on daily display by our media do not equal a Presidential contender. He grew out of a manure patch and will end up in one.
While the American media spotlight, ever enthralled by the sensationalism of the moment, remains fixated on Trump's legal issues - A CRUCIAL AND OVERLOOKED DANGER CONTINUES TO UNFOLD IN THE UNITED STATES. The influence of Putin's strategies quietly attempts to reshape the trajectory of American politics and American lives. We are seeing this happening now. We have MAGA elected officials in Congress, who are still taking orders from Trump - who takes his instructions from Putin. These people demanded that the border bill be passed first and foremost, then refused to sign this bill simply because Trump wishes to continue using this issue for a political campaign.
The shadow cast by Putin over the landscape of American democracy, and his influence and CONTROL over Trump grows larger and darker by the moment. Americans simply do not grasp anything outside of our four walls (borders).
Putin spent his spy years in East Germany and absorbed Hitler's methodologies and gruesome concepts. As a reminder, Hitler turned a peaceful nation into mass murderers which resulted in the deaths of over 6 million souls. Putin took these tools back to Russia, and turned a communist country (a form of socialism) into a dictatorship totally ruled by one man and the KGB fraternity. These tools include bribery and coercive mind control (brainwashing) - which is defined as telling lies over and over until it is perceived as the truth. CNN has reported that 70% of the Republicans in the United States STILL believe Trump's big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Biden won that election by over 7 million votes - not by 11,780 votes which is the amount brazenly asked by Trump on a recorded phone call with the State of Georgia.
Stalin was believed to be the most vile dictator to ever live. He murdered an estimated 20 million people, mostly by starvation. Putin is often compared to Stalin. Putin's estimated death toll so far is over one million humans needlessly murdered. This is relevant because Trump admires and wishes to emulate Putin. In the United States, more than one million Americans have died from COVID. A large portion of these deaths could have been prevented if Trump listened to educated physicians, did not recommend the use of Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and even bleach as treatments, or if he wore a mask instead of denied it's essential usefulness to stop the spread of a deadly disease.
In 2008, Trump Jr. spoke at a NY conference and mentioned that the Trump organization was now working with Russian banks and had received $100 million in funds. (www.businessinsider.com). A few years later, Eric Trump verified this information. (www.vanietyfair.com) U.S. banks refused to loan funds to Trump due to his four previous bankruptcies. Russian banks, totally controlled and managed by the Russian KGB/FSB give large sums of money for two reasons: (1) to launder black cash into another country's economy, and (2) to obligate and entrap a foreigner to work for Russia. It is my estimate that about ten years prior to the Russians maneuvering Trump into the job as President of the United States he was on the KGB payroll. Twelve Russians were arrested for U.S. election interference, but they have also promised this will continue.
Microsoft has proved that 58% of all cyber attacks into the U.S. come from Russia. This includes hacking into our food and supply chain, gas and oil, military and security, banking and financial, and yes, our elections and probably our polls. Polls sway voter opinions. So when you said:
"With the POLLS still showing the presidential race way too close for comfort, Public Notice
contributor Thor Benson connected with Rosenberg last week to unpack the reasons why he’s
optimistic about November. Despite the name of his publication, Rosenberg isn’t trying to ply his
audience with false hope. His credibility as an interpreter of polls was enhanced during the 2022
cycle, when he was a voice in the wilderness saying that the red wave predicted by many pundits
was in fact a mirage. He was proven right when Democrats maintained a Senate majority and
nearly held on to the House as well."
Putin, as a Cold War-era spy, blames the United States for the breakup of the Soviet Union. He calls it the largest catastrophe of the last century. He wants revenge. In 1997, a book surfaced in Russia called The Foundations of Geopolitics. This book lists of goals for Putin as the 2nd President of Russia and at the top of this list is the destruction of the United States from within. It should be obvious to all Americans that Donald Trump is aiding Putin in this effort.
2024 is an election year in the U.S. between a madman (and most likely a traitor) or a leader with almost 50 years of experience and public service. We need everyone to vote like their life depends on it - because it does!
Elizabeth Graham, www.democrazy2020.com
Wow , Elizabeth! Thank you. This is the real news and ought to be printed more. Too many Humans are continuously wrecking because they’re not looking where they’re going/ we’re going..they’re watching the sensational crash , blood n guts, ‘side show’. That so many are duped is the unfortunate affect of progress instead of focusing further on real goals . Entertainment is fine but subscribing to it 24/7 and buying right smack dab into the ploy…here’s your sign folks..and those that write the script are the wealthiest narcissistic con artists ever there was…that I found them funny was a short thrill.
Waking up had best continue this winning roll and codify principle.
💙💙VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT💙💙
When Trump was first running for president, at dinner I used to tell my husband and daughter that Melania was a deep cover spy working for the FSB, and her assignment was to marry an American of influence, get him into the White House so he could wreak havoc with our nation. Then, on other days I would say Trump was a deep cover Russian spy. They would both tell me that I was reading too many spy books. This is true. I had read a couple of books on the Stasi, and articles on the deep cover spies in the USA from Russia and how they were recruited, trained, and their cover stories. So, while they viewed me as being tongue-in-cheek, it was the sort of joking where I felt like it could play itself out like that even if they were not intentionally hired. Now, it is very obvious that Trump serves Putin's interests, and they are not ours. I read from the Stasi archives the discussion of Putin's being a part of the Stasi as well as the KGB. It seemed to me from what I read, that is part of showing his Stasi ID, that he was playing both sides to get what he wanted.
https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/ddr/politik-gesellschaft/stasi/putin-stasi-ausweis-entdeckt-102.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/11/valdimir-putin-east-german-identity-card-found-in-stasi-archives-report
Since Stasi set shows are popular in Germany I started reading on this to see what is true. The same with the show The Americans. Whenever I watch things that address historical events, I like to read to learn what is true and what is fictionalized. Always very interesting. I am finding the lack of analysis of Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson interesting. He has said that he prefers Biden, and that he expected some difficult questions. While I might want to know why his opponents are not allowed to run, and he is killing them, I would prefer not to be defenestrated either, so I can see why TC went for the soft questions, as well as his training at Fox to support the fascists.
You bring knowledge to us all Elizabeth. I appreciate it.
Do political analysts factor in the voter suppression tactics put into play since 2021 by gerrymandered R controlled state legislatures? It boggles the mind that any serious political discussion ABOUT VOTERS would omit it. While the media is fighting for clicks, the electorate is getting shut out of choosing their own representatives. Rosenberg talks of “work to do” ... hopefully combating voter suppression is part of said work.
Excellent piece/interview!
We stay on this positive roll!
Vote in November!
Here is my latest substack addition.
In the back of the book called From Democracy to Democrazy by E. Graham (www.democrazy2020.org) and published July 2023, on page 175, there is a description of the TIME 100 Edition, June 2022 called "The Most Influential Persons of 2021-2022." This edition is described by Edward Felsenthal, the Editor-in-Chief, as "Power for Good." He said "we have one barometer: INFLUENCE. Who stood up? Who stood out? Who shaped this year? Influence, of course, may be for good or for ill - a dichotomy never more visible than in this year's TIME100 which includes the Russian dictator (Putin) behind a brutal war, and his foe, the Ukrainian President (Zelensky) whose leadership has made him a rare heroic figure in our diverse time." The description of Zelensky was written by U.S. President Joe Biden, and the description of Russian President Vladimir Putin was written by Alexei Navalny.
As most of you know, Alexei Navalny, age 47, was murdered this past week in a brutal Penal Colony in Siberia, Russia. A prison where torture, starvation, and cold death were common-place. The world has lost a great hero, and Putin has put another notch in his gun.
The following is Navalny's exact words to describe Putin: "Perhaps Vladimir Putin's true mission is to teach lessons. To everyone - from world leaders and pundits to ordinary people. He has been especially good at this in 2022. He reminded us once again that a path that begins with 'just a little election rigging' ALWAYS ends with a dictatorship."
When I read this statement in TIME100, all I could think of was Donald Trump's call (which was recorded) to Brad Raffensperger (R), the Secretary of State for Georgia pressuring him to "just find 11,780 votes" in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election in their state. As a reminder, Joe Biden won that election by over 7 million votes.
Unfortunately, half our nation are victims of brainwashing who still believe Trump's lies and think the election was stolen. The only person attempting to rig the 2020 election was Trump - and he tried over and over - and eventually staged a coup to attack our Senate and stop our government from operating.
Navalny goes on to say: "Putin has reminded us all of the 'duck test' - if something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. The very same logic should be applied to this case: if someone destroys the independent media, organizes political assassinations, and sticks to his imperial delusions, then he is a madman capable of causing a bloodbath in the center of Europe in the 21st century . . . However, the answer to the main questions he poses - how to stop an evil madman with an army, nuclear weapons, and membership in the U.N. Security Council - is yet to be answered." Guess what folks - Trump as the President of the United States, also had an army, control of nuclear weapons, and a membership in the U.S. Security Council. Would you trust a convicted felon with the button to kill other populations worldwide? I wouldn't.
Navalny was the leading opposition leader and Presidential contender fighting the tightly-held dictatorship of Vladimir Putin. He exposed corruption and opposed Putin's United Russia party. His Russian following exceeded millions, and many if not most Russian citizens watched or learned about the CNN show that detailed the KGB process and the PROOF of how Putin attempted to murder Navalny with poison.
Navalny survived that attempted murder, only to feel the strong need to return to Russia and continue his drive for a free and just Russia. He was immediately arrested and eventually murdered. It was only a week or so ago that I predicted in a blog "that Navalny will not survive the hardships of a Siberian prison." He was sent there to die.
My soul is filled with sorrow and pain - for all of Russia, but also for all of the United States. Our country is on the verge of deciding an election choice between our own "madman" (a convicted sexual predator, a fraud conviction, and 91 criminal felony charges) and a man with almost 50 years experience in public service. The Republicans in Congress have implemented a dishonest and destructive campaign against Biden - all false information and a reflection of how Trump operates - as does Putin.
Biden inherited Trump's fiscal disaster where in his last year in office, Trump spent almost 50% more than our Treasury collected in income. (The Economist) Anyone or any country that spends 50% more than their income is headed for a fiscal disaster and probably Trump's fifth bankruptcy. By his second year in office, Biden's economic policies corrected this situation - the economy is strong, unemployment is down, the stock market is positive, inflation is down, and so on.
Biden is by far, the most qualified person to lead the United States - no matter his age. We need every American to vote for Biden in this next election as if your life depends on it - because it does!!
Please join my Substack group at: From Democracy to Democrazy.
Warm wishes, Elizabeth
www.democrazy2020.org
This is a hopeful view. It should not be so close. I notice, reading the NYT, that there are plenty of sheep, comments and contributors going for the idea of replacing Biden on the ballot for 2024 (Ezra Klein's) when I do believe it's unrealistic, a fantasy and harmful at a dangerous time. With who? What the NYT did to Hillary Clinton is being brought up in the comments. We have to get with the program that an older person with all his foibles ( he's bent, gray, and forgets but has done pretty well and is moral) is running again against an also older person but with ill-intentions, hateful, a liar, a divider, knows next to nothing about this country's purpose and vision historically nor cares and who has been treasonous... all proven factually, with due process and convictions looming.
Why is the media treating and judging these two candidates, Biden and Trump with separate standards???
What are you referring to? Elizabeth
You cannot rehabilitate an 81-year old man. Biden has NOT been a good president. He has been an OKAY president. He was elected as the un-Trump; not because he was the best man for the job. Given his deteriorating cognitive-emotional health due to aging, the administration is not achieving much.
The border remains a mess. Citizens United continues to undermine our democracy. While DOT dithers, trains continue to derail and poison nearby communities with forever chemicals while most of us stand in long TSA inspection lines waiting for planes that never take off due to poor traffic control and worse airline management, or the plane takes off, but has to land prematurely because of some whacko passenger who, once removed, gets a slap on the wrist until his next flight rather than being forced to compensate the airline for their loss.
Internationally, Biden has made the USA a war criminal and an accomplice to genocide. Biden's impulsive knee-jerk rescue of Israel, like his impulsive withdrawal from Afghanistan were both very poor judgment. Things in Gaza are only getting worse. Meanwhile Ukraine is losing territory because Biden cannot get funding to support their defense thereby weakening the EU economy and the US economy along with it.
In my mind, the DNC thinking it can win again by a 2020 rerun insults voter intelligence. Running Biden vs a younger dynamic candidate risks loss in the event Trump is put in prison and the GOP has to run a younger centrist candidate. If that happens, Biden is toast. If Trump does run, but DNC runs a younger candidate - then Trump is toast. So DNC appears to be playing political Russian Roulette by pushing Biden who still has dismal polling. Unless DNC gets woke, I and my Boomer pals all expect to die in a fascist dictatorship or in the middle of a civil war that both parties contributed to.
BTW, the average male life expectancy in the USA is 73.5 - Biden will be 10 years older than that upon term completion - if he does not die in the saddle from the stress of being president. Every voter likely knows that their vote for Biden is likely a vote for Harris who is not remotely qualified to run the country.
I would like to hear Simon Rosenberg's opinion on a What if.....What if Biden stopped supplying military aid to Israel? Would that help him or hurt him in the election?
Hi Linda: First, please read From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. It tells my story of living and working in Communist and dictator-led countries. I began my life right out of high school with a Top Secret clearance and worked undercover for the CIA. My father was the manager of their west-coast office. We performed contracts that put microphones in cats and then let them loose near the Kremlin.
The Cold War era never died for Putin and his KGB associates. He blamed the U.S. for the fall of the USSR and he has loudly proclaimed revenge. Americans, in our massive ignorance, believed Bush that the Cold War-era was over. IT WASN'T and I have been saying this since 1995. As you know, Putin spent his early KGB years in East Germany and learned all the tools of the trade there. He returned to Russia with an entire shopping cart filled with Hitler's methodologies of brainwashing, bribery, murder, and so on. Lo and behold, these exact same tools of coercive mind control and brainwashing are used by Donald Trump and they have worked. Half our nation are blind and ignorant cult followers who behave just like the Jim Jones followers who drank KoolAid laced with poison - just because their cult leader tells them to do this. All 900 died.
This is how Hitler converted a peaceful society into a country of mass murderers who butchered over six million humans. Once a cult leader uses hatred in his/her repetitive lies, it releases a chemical in the human brain to enact violence - what we saw on January 6th. This same form of brainwashing was just used by Trump on the House Republicans. For the last eight years, Trump has used the border crisis as a mainstay to enlist Republicans to vote for him. Once a bi-partisan bill is written to resolve the border issues, Trump tells the MAGA people to stop its approval process. They all jumped when Trump gave his marching orders.
I was at a book signing event at a Barnes and Noble in Tucson, AZ. A middle-aged woman came up to me and said "I believe that Putin is a smart and great leader." I opened my mouth to respond, but was too shocked and nothing came out. These were the exact same words spoken by Trump the previous week and immediately after Putin invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Once a person is brainwashed - which is the current state of half our country - it becomes difficult to have independent thought.
Putin is a trained spy who knows how to manipulate and control his kompromat (compromised) subjects. He is not a friend to Donald Trump - which is what Trump would like our country to believe - but an expert handler.
The lies Putin said to Tucker Carlson are comical at best. Of course he doesn't favor Trump and is just deflecting the truth from his Trump oversight. Russians use three tools to convert a foreigner to support Russia: flattery, money, and beautiful women. We can never prove that Trump slept with KGB prostitutes, but considering his history as a convicted sexual predator - I would assume he did. Every hotel room in Russia where a foreigner stays has cameras and listening devices in the walls and ceiling. More importantly, the Trump organization was in dire need of cash since American banks refused to loan him money due to his four bankruptcies. in 2008, Trump Jr. states in a NY conference that the Trump organization had received a large influx of money from Russian banks. (www.businessinsider.com) Eric Trump later confirmed his brother's remarks and confirmed that the "organization" had received $100 million from a Russian bank. In Russia, (1) all Russian banks are controlled and operated by the KGB/FSB, and (2) they give money to a foreigner to launder black cash into another country's economy, or they give money to obligate, compromise, and entrap the foreigner to work with Russia. Interest on a loan of $100 million is impossible to repay - just like ole Al Capone. So about ten years before the Russians helped maneuver Trump into the White House, the Trump organization (and Trump himself) was on the KGB payroll.
As for Melania, she was born in Slovenia (the former Yugoslavia) which was a Soviet controlled country. People from Slovenia were not allowed to travel outside of their country (like all communist/Soviet controlled countries) unless they were KGB. One of the requirements of the KGB was to report weekly (every Friday) regarding any contact with a foreigner. Since she too spoke fluent German - like Putin - I am sure the two of them had much to talk about.
So Linda, you were probably correct about Melania and about Putin's control of Trump.
Warm wishes, Elizabeth
www.democrazy2020.org
It’s hard to take this seriously when there’s no discussion of Israel and its negative impact on Biden’s support.
But no one can possibly believe that Trump is fully informed and has a clear understanding of all issues related to the Israel situation, can they??
I hope that few people are such one issue voters although with re Israel there are plenty and they are so-called "pro-Israel" unconditional supporters. Biden/Blinken of late have moved away at least in rhetoric from unconditional support re this war but not nearly enough. Action is required. That's where Biden's fearfulness politically is disturbing. I think he wrong politically and morally, but he is sincere, I believe about supporting Israel. Only not being hard on Israel is not supporting Israel. The "two state solution" is far away and uphill. But it may be enough to save him politically here, at least regarding Israel.