It helps to be reminded of the not so obvious ways that a run amok presidency has damaged our system of government. It's sad in a way that doesn't provoke white-hot fury like the issues around immigration enforcement and the Iran war do. Those issues will win the election for the Ds. The work will begin to address the other issues that will take a long time to recover from. I wish enough people would finally recognize the pattern that when Rs get into office, all they do is destroy. They don't know how to build.
I so agree with you, Thomas, except for one thing: In 2025, Trump and the GOP increased the national debt by $2.2 trillion. That Trump sure is a master at construction.
RE: "But Trump contradicts himself so often that we’ve become accustomed to disregarding it as nothing but background noise, conveying nothing meaningful. It’s not worth trying to separate fact from fiction when it might all be fiction."
COMMENT:
In a 1974 interview, Hannah Arendt described how lying as a political strategy has a profound impact on people: "If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. … And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.
Autocracies thrive on befuddled, ill-informed populations. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt noted, “In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.”
The billionaire media is still sane-washing the bizarre ramblings of the the demented old man as if they could decipher his gibberish. I doubt they'd do that for their own relatives caught up in the coils of this terrible disease. I think they'd probably grab the car keys and move their loved ones to a safe place.
They aren't doing that with Trump. Instead they normalize the insanity and let our nation deteriorate.
If there are people documenting events and historians are still around to write the stories, this will be the account of how the richest, most dominant country in the world put itself in the hands of an obviously ignorant and immature madman and stood back as he destroyed the institutions of government, education, the media, the environment, the rule of law, while brazenly enriching himself, his family and friends at the public expense. His poison is spreading around the globe, such that I'm not sure any of us will survive. And still, no one stands up and says "No, enough!"
I do want to emphasize that Democrats should not authorize DHS funding unless ICE is prohibited during this Fall's Election from being within 1 mile of any Polling Location. There is absolutely no reason for ICE to be anywhere near people trying to vote. All voters are already legally registered American voters, and ICE has no justifiable reason to interact with Republican or Democrats at the polls.
ICE should not be used as President DJT or the Republican Party's private Police Force. DJT and the Republicans have already stated their intention to lower voter turnout this year. Make sure "no funding for Homeland Security unless we have guardrails for Voting Rights" with no ICE intimidation at the Polls.
Not the point, but Trump didn't write “tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations which will continue throughout the week”.
It's like his social media surrogate isn't even trying.
No wonder Trump & Ilk want to end the DoE—his people, like Trump, do not read, are not interested in history - unless it involves war - and just want to be entertained.
Your columns are full of insight. They should be in wider distribution, if not in traditional newspapers, maybe local papers. The small ones chalked full of ads and coupons. The weekly county papers. Folks read them. And they are the voters who should see these. Only we elites do now.
Everything Trump says and does goes to what will enrich him or give him attention. He owns the republicans. The only ones who speak out against him are safe in this election by not running, not being primaried by MAGA, or retiring from office.
It helps to be reminded of the not so obvious ways that a run amok presidency has damaged our system of government. It's sad in a way that doesn't provoke white-hot fury like the issues around immigration enforcement and the Iran war do. Those issues will win the election for the Ds. The work will begin to address the other issues that will take a long time to recover from. I wish enough people would finally recognize the pattern that when Rs get into office, all they do is destroy. They don't know how to build.
I so agree with you, Thomas, except for one thing: In 2025, Trump and the GOP increased the national debt by $2.2 trillion. That Trump sure is a master at construction.
Perhaps partly why Nixon ended conscription.
RE: "But Trump contradicts himself so often that we’ve become accustomed to disregarding it as nothing but background noise, conveying nothing meaningful. It’s not worth trying to separate fact from fiction when it might all be fiction."
COMMENT:
In a 1974 interview, Hannah Arendt described how lying as a political strategy has a profound impact on people: "If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer. … And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.
Autocracies thrive on befuddled, ill-informed populations. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt noted, “In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.”
Memorable quote, I've seen it before
The billionaire media is still sane-washing the bizarre ramblings of the the demented old man as if they could decipher his gibberish. I doubt they'd do that for their own relatives caught up in the coils of this terrible disease. I think they'd probably grab the car keys and move their loved ones to a safe place.
They aren't doing that with Trump. Instead they normalize the insanity and let our nation deteriorate.
If there are people documenting events and historians are still around to write the stories, this will be the account of how the richest, most dominant country in the world put itself in the hands of an obviously ignorant and immature madman and stood back as he destroyed the institutions of government, education, the media, the environment, the rule of law, while brazenly enriching himself, his family and friends at the public expense. His poison is spreading around the globe, such that I'm not sure any of us will survive. And still, no one stands up and says "No, enough!"
I do want to emphasize that Democrats should not authorize DHS funding unless ICE is prohibited during this Fall's Election from being within 1 mile of any Polling Location. There is absolutely no reason for ICE to be anywhere near people trying to vote. All voters are already legally registered American voters, and ICE has no justifiable reason to interact with Republican or Democrats at the polls.
ICE should not be used as President DJT or the Republican Party's private Police Force. DJT and the Republicans have already stated their intention to lower voter turnout this year. Make sure "no funding for Homeland Security unless we have guardrails for Voting Rights" with no ICE intimidation at the Polls.
Not the point, but Trump didn't write “tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations which will continue throughout the week”.
It's like his social media surrogate isn't even trying.
I also wonder if Trump thought this would be Grenada 2.0?
No wonder Trump & Ilk want to end the DoE—his people, like Trump, do not read, are not interested in history - unless it involves war - and just want to be entertained.
Your columns are full of insight. They should be in wider distribution, if not in traditional newspapers, maybe local papers. The small ones chalked full of ads and coupons. The weekly county papers. Folks read them. And they are the voters who should see these. Only we elites do now.
Vote them out!
America First = Trump First.
Everything Trump says and does goes to what will enrich him or give him attention. He owns the republicans. The only ones who speak out against him are safe in this election by not running, not being primaried by MAGA, or retiring from office.
One can only hope that someone committed to truth backed up that climate data somewhere inaccessible to these fascists. Ditto for the Factbook.