There are no swear words strong enough to express my contempt for citizen trump. How dare he compare anything that is happening to him as Navalny? Disgusting!
Even more disgusting is Congress going on vacation when Ukraine needs financial aid. 70% of Americans want that aid to flow to Ukraine. Trump is exporting his chaos to the world. We need to vote in only those who support The Constitution. Full Stop.
That’s not the only thing. This House has to instantly vote on either a budget(which they haven’t even talked about)a CR or shut the country down. Oh, thrill! It’s hard to maintain outrage but it’s easier if one just puts one’s head down and keep on keeping on.
My outrage is affecting my commenting; I see bits and pieces about MAGA MIKE and his Russia Connection and I want to scream, does anyone recall that this whiny looking kid is next in line to Harris to the White House? AND HE IS CONTROLLING THE PURSE. AND THE RULES. AND CONTINUES SENDING THE HOUSE ON VACATION WITH CRITICAL LEGISLATION PENDING. > SHUTDOWN.
We also need to remove from Congress those who are not interested in defending the Constitution— in fact, they should be arrested and jailed. Allowing those persons to remain in Congress is wrong in every sense! Do we have to just hand the government over without a fight?? Seems like the “laws” we fight to maintain are — in fact — handing these a**holes the whole of our country. It is becoming a coup of our own making. And I am. Scared to death.
Yes, whatever happened to Congress working for their constituents. Oh ya, that went out the window long ago, but is quite apparent currently. Vote BLUE!!
His "sudden fate" can't happen soon enough. We know what's at stake if Rump is re-elected. Unfortunately, Johnson & Co. could care less about our democracy. Or our future.
Like Beth Hollaway mentioned, there are many words I would really LOVE to say about Trump. However, my parents would turn over in their graves if they somehow caught wind of it.
I will say that Trump having the AUDACITY to compare himself to Navalny makes my head want to explode! Right now, I'm having the worst migraine. I just want to give HIM one!
Lance, I loved your response and I totally agree with you - but before he dies, he needs to go reside in the same Siberian Penal Colony where Navalny was murdered. I spent about 20 years living and working in Russia and wrote From Democracy to Democrazy - a book that warns the American public about Putin and his intentions toward the U.S. AND Trump's role. Elizabeth www.democrazy2020.org
democrazy… the perfect descriptor for the Trump wing … exploiting our constitutional system to destroy democracy… he shouldn’t be on the ballot … democrazy …
Thank you Carol. I hope that you get a chance to read From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. My story and my time in Russia taught many lessons. My oldest daughter, who learned Russian quickly (along with several other languages) managed a joint venture between Chuck Norris and Mayor Lyushkov in Moscow. The Mayor prevented Norris from returning to Russia by not allowing him to acquire a Russian Entry VISA. The new Russian manager threatened Lize and she escaped Russia via an overnight train to Helsinki. She took with her many JV documents and financial records. They were kept in a storage unit in Arizona and later in my garage. I destroyed these documents when Lize suddenly died at the age of 43. She was working in Japan, and the Tokyo Police ruled her death a homicide by an unknown substance - probably poison. When Navalny was murdered, my heart ached for his family, for all of Russia, and for our country as well. Putin is hell-bent on destroying the US and his tool is Donald Trump - a self-focused, money hungry idiot. Warm wishes and stay well, Elizabeth
My heart to yours, Elizabeth. It’s stories like yours that need to be told every single minute of every single day. It is abominable the way that Putin and his brethren take lives of truth tellers. I am certain you heard of the young Russian pilot who defected from Russia to Ukraine. They didn’t poison him. They ran him over!
Elizabeth, I just listened to your interview with Bill Miller. So interesting, informative, scary, but not at all surprising. I will order and read your book, "From Democracy to Democrazy" and hope that more people will do the same. Thank you for your impressive and incredible work. Be safe!
Me too! Been doing that for a long time. Even a stroke, heart attack, seizure, sudden inability to speak in the middle of a speech. Any physical weakness which might have more impact than moral weaknesses.
I wrote to my complicit congressman this morning and said it was time to choose and stop sitting on their hands. Being complicit to the Putin caucus is being part of the Putin caucus. They all need to be voted out of office.
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy.
Isn’t it ironic that the person who encouraged the January 6th insurrection (and refused to stop the violence for 3 hours), the same person who has 91 indictments, is the SAME person who the House Republicans FEAR for their lives, their families welfare & their jobs, to stand up to him and vote their conscience, and what is best for their constituents and our country?
I find it INCREDIBLE that this corrupt, uneducated LOSER and BULLY (and soon to be FELON), is the STRONG-ARMING the withholding of aide to Ukraine, our ALLY and is essentially siding with our ENEMY, Putin and he isn’t even in office!!
How can his actions not be considered TREASONOUS? Wouldn’t those doing his bidding ACCOMPLICES when they are voting AGAINST what our country stands for - standing with our ALLIES and protecting our country’s democracy - and are putting our country in danger?
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy. Is ANYONE going to do anything about it before it’s too late?
We can thank Garland (and others) for doing nothing at all for at least two years until his hand was forced by the Jan 6th hearings. Investigations into the corruption of trump and his entire corrupt administration and trump’s sedition and treason should have been opened immediately. (Anyone else wondering if Jared’s 2 billion payout by Saudi Arabia will ever be investigated?) Doing nothing to appear as if you weren’t singling trump et al out was a massive mistake which the rest of us have been paying for every day and will do so in devastating ways if he regains the White House.
Garland is a joke. Two years of “slow and cautious “ while doing nothing gave trump plenty of time to lie and defy the rule of law. Thank goodness Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger had the guts to stand up!
I am glad both Cheney and Kinzinger spoke out but I can’t give them a pass on how they voted with trump right up to when they spoke out. The only way to know if they truly mean what they said would be to see their votes if still in office or if they return to office. (I realize they both paid dearly for speaking out - it’s a Catch 22 situation.)
I find Cheney interesting as she continues to speak up and she is 100% correct in everything she says. Yet I wonder if it is patriotism or preparation for a future run for the White House? Perhaps both.
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy!
Isn’t it ironic that the person who encouraged the January 6th insurrection (and refused to stop the violence for 3 hours), the same person who has 91 indictments, is the SAME person who the House Republicans FEAR for their lives, their families welfare & their jobs, to stand up to him and vote their conscience, and what is best for their constituents and our country?
I find it INCREDIBLE that this corrupt, uneducated LOSER and BULLY (and soon to be FELON), is STRONG-ARMING the withholding of aide to Ukraine, OUR ALLY! and is essentially siding with our ENEMY, Putin, and he isn’t even in office!!
HOW can his actions NOT be considered TREASONOUS?
And aren’t those doing his bidding ACCOMPLICES ? By voting AGAINST what our country stands for - standing with our ALLIES and protecting our country’s democracy - they are putting our country in danger!
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy. Isn’t ANYONE going to do anything about it before it’s too late?
Thank you Joyce, justice moves in elephant time, slowly but deliberately. I still cannot understand that people with the benefit of high education and I assume great material wealth would pursue a lie that destroys them in the end. It’s like a modern version of a Greek tragedy.
Agree in part. If you watch videos of stampeding elephants, you see nothing slow or deliberate. They knock down anything in their path. We need some stampeding elephants (but not the GOP breed).
Agree with the "I still cannot understand" part. But I think it's not really a modernized Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy requires a noble or honorable but deeply flawed hero at its center. Nothing heroic or noble or honorable about Trump. Just a vile creature with an infinite variety of infinitely deep flaws.
Nothing heroic in the gop except Liz Chaney and Adam Kinzinger. All these "fine people" were willing to take the glory of Representative or Senator while it was a cushy prestigious affair. When the actual job of representing/protecting the Constitution, protecting our rights, doing the WORK came due they either baled out or joined the coup crowd. A POX on the lot. We hold them in utter contempt.
Why do people pursue that which can - and absolutely will with regard to connection to trump - destroy them? Humans are quite skilled at magical thinking and denial, at justification of the self-serving, nonsensical and absurd and will twist themselves into mental pretzels to maintain whatever illusion they’ve latched onto. (This can apply to those with positive outlooks as well.)
I believe it is -- just not yet codified, however, though it certainly deserves to be. (Although I think those who created the DSM diagnoses would not use the OS initials. IMHO, though, they should!) "Clinical psychologist Jennifer Panning even coined the term 'Trump anxiety disorder' to describe the stress many people were feeling in the weeks and months following the 2016 election. 'People tended to experience things like ruminations, like worries of what’s going to be next' as they awaited each new tweet or action by the president, Panning told Vox." And THAT was back in 2016!
Patris - Class would be in session - but that fractured slip of a human has no class. Better to sue him for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who didn’t need to die (yet perished) due to his bungling of the pandemic. “One case from China” in Feb 2020 soon to become “fifteen cases” that would “disappear”. This America-hating POS has so much to answer for that he clearly never will. The vaccines notwithstanding (he really had little to nothing to do with them after all) his lackadaisical attitude and outright and slanderous lies and ridiculous statements misled the public far too long All of this may seem less important in our rear view mirror but his “presidency of carnage” was far from trivial in retrospect. Thank you, Joyce, for your valuable and informative work every day which saves many of us from ultimate despair for our nation.
I don't think it will ever seem "less important" to me. Since childhood, I have tried to comprehend HOW human beings could possibly allowed Hitler to lead them. I found out, and it's a terrifying knowledge.
And we absolutely should!, Patris! Sue him and the entire R Party, plus idiots like MGT, Gaetz, Boebert, Grassley, Sessions, Stephen Miller, Vance, Stupid Comer and his lyin’ pal, Jordan, etc. etc. etc.
Thank you, Joyce, for relating this retaliation against Sydney Powell and company. At least on this the Supreme Court has upheld the Constitution. However, I am still outraged over the questions asked by members of the Supreme court during the Hearing on whether the trumpster is to be removed from the ballot per Amendment 14, Section 3.
Your statement "The rule of law isn’t just empty words. It is a series of ideas that permitted us to become a democracy, not a monarchy, based on the notion of equal treatment for all before the law"
That the nation's highest court judges, should question the Constitution on the grounds of lack of precedence is disgusting. Of course there is no precedence. No other President, no matter their faults has ever instigated, approved, and given aid and comfort to an insurrection and the insurrectionists. No other President has brought 61 frivolous lawsuits (60 of which he lost, and one was thrown out) in State Courts to try to nullify a legal election. No other President has summoned a crowd to Washington, DC. For the express purpose of interrupting, or destroying, the counting of the electoral college votes. No other President has stolen thousands of documents belonging to the National Archives - some Top Secret, many classified.
Why should we have the Constitution of the United States, or the body of laws, passed, and signed into law, if we have no intention of following them (or in some cases even of reading them)
I may be a pain in the ass, I don't care. I love the Constitution, I love the protections it gives, specifically against narcissistic would-be dictators like Donald John Trump. I truly resent anyone in authority who tries to abrogate the Constitution to suit their particular prejudices in favor of corruption.
I resent the people I voted for who won't challenge the Constitutionality of Citizens United.
I agree, Sandy. This is the most unconstitutional Supreme Court we have ever had, I question that they have even read the Constitution. Amendment 14, Section 3, clearly prevents any one who having previously sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from ever again holding office anywhere in the United States at ANY level of government who has engaged in or given aid or comfort to insurrection or rebellion. If I know this; and I'm not even a lawyer, let alone a Supreme Court Justice; they sure as hell should know it. I do agree that Trump is not the only person whose name should not appear on a ballot; not a single legislator who refused to accept the electoral college result in 2021 should ever again appear on a ballot in the United States. It isn't that Colorado and Maine went too far in erasing Trump, they didn't go far enough. In Colorado Boebert should not have been on the ballot in 2022 either.
I wish I knew, Pamela, but I do not understand. They seem to say because the President is not singled out by title it may not apply to him. BUT the man who wrote the article (whose name I have temporarily forgotten) clearly wrote at the time his fear that one of the Southern "gentlemen" might try to gain the Office of the Presdent, and the article clearly notes all other offices; because he didn't want ANY insurrectionists holding any office at any level. Amendment 14, section 3 does state "who, having previously taken oath...................as an officer of the United States" The Office of the President is obviously held by an officer of the United States.
Also they aren't certain that January 6, 2021, was an insurrection. What other name could you give it? In a riot some things are stolen, some people are injured and occasionally killed but there is no organized plan. What I watched for nearly 5 hours was planned (advance social media messages as early as November 2020, to come to DC January 6, ('it will be wild') certainly indicates planning, Trump's speech at the White House garden "fight like hell" followed by other MAGA celebrities urging the same. The fact they intended to stop the counting of Electoral College slates, and loudly stated that purpose.
Do they expect the millions of us who watched as they smashed windows, to gain entry, attacked police officers and injured them. Set up a noose, shouting Hang Pence! Find Pelosi!
They desecrated the Halls of OUR Congressional building. What do they expect from us - that we'll have mass memory loss?
If it were up to me I'd impeach all 8, leaving Sotomayor as the new chief and find 8 honest, intelligent Constitutional lawyers, preferably with judicial experience, with no strong political attachments, to fill the Supreme Court with integrity, with the only purpose to assure any law passed is in full agreement with the Constitution AS WRITTEN not as one or two wish it to be. I'd also add term limits maxing out at 20 or 25 years {maybe up to five 5 year terms)
I ooze outrage, Joyce. We live in some bizarro world where the GOP no longer supports democracy and bows to Trump and Putin. I want one judge with some spine who will find Trump in contempt after one of his outbursts and put him in jail. And, how many times can the orange anti-Christ appeal a verdict??
We wouldn’t have to worry for a second about Trump being elected if Dems and independents who aren’t going to vote for Biden weren’t in denial, telling themselves various escapist stories and denying that Trump isn’t a mortal threat to democracy. Those same folks were in denial when they told themselves that Roe would never be overturned, even as Trump kept saying he was going to make it happen.
Denial is an unconscious human response to fear. We fear death and relieve that fear by denying we are at risk of it happening at any moment. We fear the loss of our rights like Roe and relieve that fear by denying it could ever happen.
Denial is the most powerful psychological defense against fear- but it’s rigid, brittle and when it collapses it falls hard- it’s a gut punch of the avoided fear hitting that you’ve been warding off that finally becomes inescapable.
I hope all the sit at home democrats and independents who felt that gut punch of fear hitting them when Row was overturned, will be unable to stay in denial - and will feel such an intense fear of Trump, that the fear of him becoming President again drives them to the polls this time.
Why isn’t 45 a flight risk? Looking back we really underestimated 45’s ability to wield the power he currently does. His delay tactics, his control of Congress, his constant bullhorn tactics with his truth social that keep trumpeting lies upon bizarre statements. It just goes on and on. I keep praying that Jack Smith will finally get the Jan 6 stuff scheduled and then look at our Supremes and think how did this happen?! I am doing what I can do and I see others doing the same. We have no choice. We are in this together.
I think the main reason he wouldn't be a flight risk (yet) is that he's so sure he's above the law, and has such a following, that is he would never be convicted.
Your posts are consistently either best way to end or start my day.- depends on when I read them. Daily recaps so thorough I could totally do without twitter (which any rational thinker would agree) automatically leads to a happier life.
This may sound weird ---- even coming from me ---- but even though I like reading Joyce's posts every day, they're usually more relaxing for me in the evening, because I can count her chickens instead of sheep, AND count all of the people here, none of whom I've ever met before and probably never will, who are on MY side (most of my relatives are Red), and who are probably just as fearful as I am, AND more determined than ever to make sure Trump never gets within 10 miles from the WH. Ever.
The only way that he could safely be near the WH would be in a federal prison plane flying past DC on his way to his isolation cell maybe in our state prison here in Reidsville, GA. Abandon hope all who enter……..😎
Something tells me that this is contagious! It's awkward to say the least, and I'm not courageous enough. I can talk to strangers until the cows come home, but discussing politics with relatives is worse than having a root canal.
The term "in warp speed" comes to mind when I recall Jared K. saying HE would be responsible for getting safety equipment to medical personnel during the first part of COVID.
But I digress. Lady Justice needs to take care of all of this "in warp speed."
Unfortunately, from what I've seen on tonight's news, Smirnov WILL NOT be detained, but has been ordered released. There are conditions, including surrender of his two-nation passports and wearing an ankle bracelet, but who in his right mind believes that will stop Smirnov from fleeing the country in view of the connections to Russian intelligence that he has.
As this election year proceeds, I deeply believe it's time to stop pussyfooting around with euphemistic terminology and start calling Trump and his acolytes what they are: TRAITORS! QUISLINGS! BENEDICT ARNOLDS! - Take your pick.
Trump Airlines is probably down on the flight line right now, engines revving, waiting to take him to "an undisclosed place" that has no extradiction treaty with the US.
It would have taken only a couple of dots in order to connect Smirnov’s ties to Russian Intelligence, yet James Comer was chomping at the bit to bring him before the Oversight Committee as “proof” of Biden family corruption.. Hmmm, I suspect corruption, but not in the Biden family.
Another crucial aspect of the rule of law is that laws ensure that our financial system remains largely stable most of the time. Investors and people with checking, savings, and IRA accounts know their money won't be stolen by governments, officials, or friends of government officials. Businesses won't be suddenly nationalized to benefit rulers, as in the USSR, Russia, and most dictatorships. Even the ultra-wealthy want their money and other holdings protected by the rule of law.
I agree. He's already lied to his own lenders, donors, and accountants. There's no reason to think he won't change finance laws to benefit himself and lie to the rest of us about it. Perhaps Jared Kushner as Secretary of the Treasury?
I could definitely be wrong, but I think I heard something back in late December where there was mention that he wanted to do away with our currency and have something else. Maybe bills with him and his extended family, the ones that are in Russia, N. Korea and ChYnah.
There are no swear words strong enough to express my contempt for citizen trump. How dare he compare anything that is happening to him as Navalny? Disgusting!
Even more disgusting is Congress going on vacation when Ukraine needs financial aid. 70% of Americans want that aid to flow to Ukraine. Trump is exporting his chaos to the world. We need to vote in only those who support The Constitution. Full Stop.
That’s not the only thing. This House has to instantly vote on either a budget(which they haven’t even talked about)a CR or shut the country down. Oh, thrill! It’s hard to maintain outrage but it’s easier if one just puts one’s head down and keep on keeping on.
My outrage is affecting my commenting; I see bits and pieces about MAGA MIKE and his Russia Connection and I want to scream, does anyone recall that this whiny looking kid is next in line to Harris to the White House? AND HE IS CONTROLLING THE PURSE. AND THE RULES. AND CONTINUES SENDING THE HOUSE ON VACATION WITH CRITICAL LEGISLATION PENDING. > SHUTDOWN.
Hopefully Hakeem Jeffries will be next in line... after Biden wins.
OMG! I hope the pres and VP have extraordinary security.
Remember 2022 and how we celebrated the non-appearance of a red wave? Well we lost speaker Pelosi in that election.
GOP: Grovelers Obeying Putin
Righto. Keep on trucking.
We should stage a protest just outside of the House!
putin told them to go on vacation, when the puppet master says jump he pulls the strings hard. putin is running the GOP.
The Russian Party.
They don’t even have to change the initials.
Do you know this for a fact?
It’s the Putin faction in Congress.
I so agree!!
Agreed 1000%. Now that a majority of us see trump as the chump he is, time to start hammering at all his spineless enablers in congress.
Bravo L. Leck! You are absolutely correct.
AMEN 🙏. Like a dear stated “I’m voting for the best candidate for president which is Biden and I’ll say that to anyone no matter what!”
We also need to remove from Congress those who are not interested in defending the Constitution— in fact, they should be arrested and jailed. Allowing those persons to remain in Congress is wrong in every sense! Do we have to just hand the government over without a fight?? Seems like the “laws” we fight to maintain are — in fact — handing these a**holes the whole of our country. It is becoming a coup of our own making. And I am. Scared to death.
To which I say, follow the money!
Yes, whatever happened to Congress working for their constituents. Oh ya, that went out the window long ago, but is quite apparent currently. Vote BLUE!!
Citizens (ha!] United happenef.
I can’t wait to vote.
Here is Harold Myerson writing in TAP on tRump's comparison of his "situation" to the death of Alexei Navalny:
"If he truly believes he’s the same kind of victim as Alexei Navalny, he at least should have the decency to die."
His "sudden fate" can't happen soon enough. We know what's at stake if Rump is re-elected. Unfortunately, Johnson & Co. could care less about our democracy. Or our future.
Like Beth Hollaway mentioned, there are many words I would really LOVE to say about Trump. However, my parents would turn over in their graves if they somehow caught wind of it.
I will say that Trump having the AUDACITY to compare himself to Navalny makes my head want to explode! Right now, I'm having the worst migraine. I just want to give HIM one!
Dianne, tens of millions of Americans gleefully echo Harold Myerson's wishes with a hearty AMEN!
See below: "Orange Sadist Anxiety Disorder".
Lance, I loved your response and I totally agree with you - but before he dies, he needs to go reside in the same Siberian Penal Colony where Navalny was murdered. I spent about 20 years living and working in Russia and wrote From Democracy to Democrazy - a book that warns the American public about Putin and his intentions toward the U.S. AND Trump's role. Elizabeth www.democrazy2020.org
democrazy… the perfect descriptor for the Trump wing … exploiting our constitutional system to destroy democracy… he shouldn’t be on the ballot … democrazy …
Thank you Carol. I hope that you get a chance to read From Democracy to Democrazy by Graham. My story and my time in Russia taught many lessons. My oldest daughter, who learned Russian quickly (along with several other languages) managed a joint venture between Chuck Norris and Mayor Lyushkov in Moscow. The Mayor prevented Norris from returning to Russia by not allowing him to acquire a Russian Entry VISA. The new Russian manager threatened Lize and she escaped Russia via an overnight train to Helsinki. She took with her many JV documents and financial records. They were kept in a storage unit in Arizona and later in my garage. I destroyed these documents when Lize suddenly died at the age of 43. She was working in Japan, and the Tokyo Police ruled her death a homicide by an unknown substance - probably poison. When Navalny was murdered, my heart ached for his family, for all of Russia, and for our country as well. Putin is hell-bent on destroying the US and his tool is Donald Trump - a self-focused, money hungry idiot. Warm wishes and stay well, Elizabeth
www.democrazy2020.org
My heart to yours, Elizabeth. It’s stories like yours that need to be told every single minute of every single day. It is abominable the way that Putin and his brethren take lives of truth tellers. I am certain you heard of the young Russian pilot who defected from Russia to Ukraine. They didn’t poison him. They ran him over!
Elizabeth, I just listened to your interview with Bill Miller. So interesting, informative, scary, but not at all surprising. I will order and read your book, "From Democracy to Democrazy" and hope that more people will do the same. Thank you for your impressive and incredible work. Be safe!
Great interview, by the way!
💔
Just ordered your book.
😜 the first thing I do ever morning since November 2016, is check my phone to see if he died..one can hope…
Me too! Been doing that for a long time. Even a stroke, heart attack, seizure, sudden inability to speak in the middle of a speech. Any physical weakness which might have more impact than moral weaknesses.
Yes, a health event. I can't wish for someone to lose their life.
Sandy, I can. He's done so much damage. He deserves the worst.
I understand your feeling, Margaret.
I do too
Absolutely
Perfect, Lance. Thanks for sharing!
Sudden Death Syndrome.
An extra Big Mac or two might help with that.
It would actually be terrible--he'd become a martyr! To what I don't know, though. However, it's a great idea!
WOW
Close on the name. Trhump.
I wrote to my complicit congressman this morning and said it was time to choose and stop sitting on their hands. Being complicit to the Putin caucus is being part of the Putin caucus. They all need to be voted out of office.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼
Yes, that made me mad, too.
He feels entitled because he is a crazy narcissist. And he IS disgusting!
Donald’s Vanity Tantrums.
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy.
Isn’t it ironic that the person who encouraged the January 6th insurrection (and refused to stop the violence for 3 hours), the same person who has 91 indictments, is the SAME person who the House Republicans FEAR for their lives, their families welfare & their jobs, to stand up to him and vote their conscience, and what is best for their constituents and our country?
I find it INCREDIBLE that this corrupt, uneducated LOSER and BULLY (and soon to be FELON), is the STRONG-ARMING the withholding of aide to Ukraine, our ALLY and is essentially siding with our ENEMY, Putin and he isn’t even in office!!
How can his actions not be considered TREASONOUS? Wouldn’t those doing his bidding ACCOMPLICES when they are voting AGAINST what our country stands for - standing with our ALLIES and protecting our country’s democracy - and are putting our country in danger?
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy. Is ANYONE going to do anything about it before it’s too late?
We can thank Garland (and others) for doing nothing at all for at least two years until his hand was forced by the Jan 6th hearings. Investigations into the corruption of trump and his entire corrupt administration and trump’s sedition and treason should have been opened immediately. (Anyone else wondering if Jared’s 2 billion payout by Saudi Arabia will ever be investigated?) Doing nothing to appear as if you weren’t singling trump et al out was a massive mistake which the rest of us have been paying for every day and will do so in devastating ways if he regains the White House.
Garland is a joke. Two years of “slow and cautious “ while doing nothing gave trump plenty of time to lie and defy the rule of law. Thank goodness Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger had the guts to stand up!
I am glad both Cheney and Kinzinger spoke out but I can’t give them a pass on how they voted with trump right up to when they spoke out. The only way to know if they truly mean what they said would be to see their votes if still in office or if they return to office. (I realize they both paid dearly for speaking out - it’s a Catch 22 situation.)
I find Cheney interesting as she continues to speak up and she is 100% correct in everything she says. Yet I wonder if it is patriotism or preparation for a future run for the White House? Perhaps both.
I agree. Self-interest and votes that harmed others and the earth right up until the harm came to her very own skin.
Wouldn’t mind having a patriot, as opposed to a traitorous narcissist, running for Prez.
It also puts us close enough to election day that endless delays could work.
That is exactly what they are doing and a Republican Senate commitee found the connection to Putinback in 2016 or 17, wasn't it?
If I may, I'd like to post this on my FB page, with credit to you of course.
Post this:
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy!
Isn’t it ironic that the person who encouraged the January 6th insurrection (and refused to stop the violence for 3 hours), the same person who has 91 indictments, is the SAME person who the House Republicans FEAR for their lives, their families welfare & their jobs, to stand up to him and vote their conscience, and what is best for their constituents and our country?
I find it INCREDIBLE that this corrupt, uneducated LOSER and BULLY (and soon to be FELON), is STRONG-ARMING the withholding of aide to Ukraine, OUR ALLY! and is essentially siding with our ENEMY, Putin, and he isn’t even in office!!
HOW can his actions NOT be considered TREASONOUS?
And aren’t those doing his bidding ACCOMPLICES ? By voting AGAINST what our country stands for - standing with our ALLIES and protecting our country’s democracy - they are putting our country in danger!
An insurrectionist is aiding and abetting our enemy. Isn’t ANYONE going to do anything about it before it’s too late?
Yes but please correct my grammatical errors so it makes sense! Or ask Substack to include an edit button.
If you open this article in "Browser" instead of in Substack, one of the 3 dots to the right of your comment should be "edit".
Absolutely, dead on! How is this even possible in our country? 😡
(I should have proofread my post. I apologize for the grammatical errors but I can’t edit it).
To edit, open this in Browser rather than in Substack. The 3 dots on the right should then include "edit" function.
Amen!
Thank you Joyce, justice moves in elephant time, slowly but deliberately. I still cannot understand that people with the benefit of high education and I assume great material wealth would pursue a lie that destroys them in the end. It’s like a modern version of a Greek tragedy.
Agree in part. If you watch videos of stampeding elephants, you see nothing slow or deliberate. They knock down anything in their path. We need some stampeding elephants (but not the GOP breed).
Agree with the "I still cannot understand" part. But I think it's not really a modernized Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy requires a noble or honorable but deeply flawed hero at its center. Nothing heroic or noble or honorable about Trump. Just a vile creature with an infinite variety of infinitely deep flaws.
Nothing heroic in the gop except Liz Chaney and Adam Kinzinger. All these "fine people" were willing to take the glory of Representative or Senator while it was a cushy prestigious affair. When the actual job of representing/protecting the Constitution, protecting our rights, doing the WORK came due they either baled out or joined the coup crowd. A POX on the lot. We hold them in utter contempt.
Deep flaws, indeed. Former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly has called Donald Trump "the most flawed person I have ever known."
It's terrifying to think that this flawed person could ever again have access to our nuclear codes.
CSW A more Shakespearean than Greek tragedy? Some of his characters had no apparent redeeming grace like Trump.
I’m constantly in a state of bewilderment that this is actually happening 🥺 WTAF?
🤔🤯🙃
Why do people pursue that which can - and absolutely will with regard to connection to trump - destroy them? Humans are quite skilled at magical thinking and denial, at justification of the self-serving, nonsensical and absurd and will twist themselves into mental pretzels to maintain whatever illusion they’ve latched onto. (This can apply to those with positive outlooks as well.)
Damaged people come in all money categories.
Ired. Tired he is still in a swamp mired
Cruel - fool- what did he learn in school?
Mocking shocking important deals blocking
Women’s rights Gun sites on the wrong side of every fight
Putin killing by nerve gas and worse
Feel like screaming he should be cursed
Why are we allowing this man to exist
Hope Biden will make plans to more than resist
Trump’s plans to take over and do away with our rights
Hope his ideas never come to light
This is NOT a Christian country
but you are free to be a Christian
Please let’s join forces and be the opposition
Love it!
Very nice.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏
Imagine if we could bring a class action suit against Trump for giving millions of us a freaking headache every.single.day.
Worse than a headache is the "Orange Sadist Anxiety Disorder". If you want to get a class action suit going, Petris, I'll sign up.
I like the sound of that better OSAD. It should be a diagnosis by now.
I believe it is -- just not yet codified, however, though it certainly deserves to be. (Although I think those who created the DSM diagnoses would not use the OS initials. IMHO, though, they should!) "Clinical psychologist Jennifer Panning even coined the term 'Trump anxiety disorder' to describe the stress many people were feeling in the weeks and months following the 2016 election. 'People tended to experience things like ruminations, like worries of what’s going to be next' as they awaited each new tweet or action by the president, Panning told Vox." And THAT was back in 2016!
I can’t even.
They would need a separate DSM volume just for conditions related not to Trump's mental issues, but rather the issues WE are having because of him!
Yeah, they already HAVE one that's about the Orange Sadist.
Count me in, too! Maybe my headache is OSAD, and not a migraine/eyeball headache.
LOL!!!
Patris - Class would be in session - but that fractured slip of a human has no class. Better to sue him for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who didn’t need to die (yet perished) due to his bungling of the pandemic. “One case from China” in Feb 2020 soon to become “fifteen cases” that would “disappear”. This America-hating POS has so much to answer for that he clearly never will. The vaccines notwithstanding (he really had little to nothing to do with them after all) his lackadaisical attitude and outright and slanderous lies and ridiculous statements misled the public far too long All of this may seem less important in our rear view mirror but his “presidency of carnage” was far from trivial in retrospect. Thank you, Joyce, for your valuable and informative work every day which saves many of us from ultimate despair for our nation.
I don't think it will ever seem "less important" to me. Since childhood, I have tried to comprehend HOW human beings could possibly allowed Hitler to lead them. I found out, and it's a terrifying knowledge.
Incomprehensible that he walks around showering hate wherever he speaks.
And we absolutely should!, Patris! Sue him and the entire R Party, plus idiots like MGT, Gaetz, Boebert, Grassley, Sessions, Stephen Miller, Vance, Stupid Comer and his lyin’ pal, Jordan, etc. etc. etc.
Thank you, Joyce, for relating this retaliation against Sydney Powell and company. At least on this the Supreme Court has upheld the Constitution. However, I am still outraged over the questions asked by members of the Supreme court during the Hearing on whether the trumpster is to be removed from the ballot per Amendment 14, Section 3.
Your statement "The rule of law isn’t just empty words. It is a series of ideas that permitted us to become a democracy, not a monarchy, based on the notion of equal treatment for all before the law"
That the nation's highest court judges, should question the Constitution on the grounds of lack of precedence is disgusting. Of course there is no precedence. No other President, no matter their faults has ever instigated, approved, and given aid and comfort to an insurrection and the insurrectionists. No other President has brought 61 frivolous lawsuits (60 of which he lost, and one was thrown out) in State Courts to try to nullify a legal election. No other President has summoned a crowd to Washington, DC. For the express purpose of interrupting, or destroying, the counting of the electoral college votes. No other President has stolen thousands of documents belonging to the National Archives - some Top Secret, many classified.
Why should we have the Constitution of the United States, or the body of laws, passed, and signed into law, if we have no intention of following them (or in some cases even of reading them)
I may be a pain in the ass, I don't care. I love the Constitution, I love the protections it gives, specifically against narcissistic would-be dictators like Donald John Trump. I truly resent anyone in authority who tries to abrogate the Constitution to suit their particular prejudices in favor of corruption.
I resent the people I voted for who won't challenge the Constitutionality of Citizens United.
You are not alone, Fay.
I agree, Sandy. This is the most unconstitutional Supreme Court we have ever had, I question that they have even read the Constitution. Amendment 14, Section 3, clearly prevents any one who having previously sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution from ever again holding office anywhere in the United States at ANY level of government who has engaged in or given aid or comfort to insurrection or rebellion. If I know this; and I'm not even a lawyer, let alone a Supreme Court Justice; they sure as hell should know it. I do agree that Trump is not the only person whose name should not appear on a ballot; not a single legislator who refused to accept the electoral college result in 2021 should ever again appear on a ballot in the United States. It isn't that Colorado and Maine went too far in erasing Trump, they didn't go far enough. In Colorado Boebert should not have been on the ballot in 2022 either.
Re 14/3, what's going on with Kagan and Katanji?
I wish I knew, Pamela, but I do not understand. They seem to say because the President is not singled out by title it may not apply to him. BUT the man who wrote the article (whose name I have temporarily forgotten) clearly wrote at the time his fear that one of the Southern "gentlemen" might try to gain the Office of the Presdent, and the article clearly notes all other offices; because he didn't want ANY insurrectionists holding any office at any level. Amendment 14, section 3 does state "who, having previously taken oath...................as an officer of the United States" The Office of the President is obviously held by an officer of the United States.
Also they aren't certain that January 6, 2021, was an insurrection. What other name could you give it? In a riot some things are stolen, some people are injured and occasionally killed but there is no organized plan. What I watched for nearly 5 hours was planned (advance social media messages as early as November 2020, to come to DC January 6, ('it will be wild') certainly indicates planning, Trump's speech at the White House garden "fight like hell" followed by other MAGA celebrities urging the same. The fact they intended to stop the counting of Electoral College slates, and loudly stated that purpose.
Do they expect the millions of us who watched as they smashed windows, to gain entry, attacked police officers and injured them. Set up a noose, shouting Hang Pence! Find Pelosi!
They desecrated the Halls of OUR Congressional building. What do they expect from us - that we'll have mass memory loss?
If it were up to me I'd impeach all 8, leaving Sotomayor as the new chief and find 8 honest, intelligent Constitutional lawyers, preferably with judicial experience, with no strong political attachments, to fill the Supreme Court with integrity, with the only purpose to assure any law passed is in full agreement with the Constitution AS WRITTEN not as one or two wish it to be. I'd also add term limits maxing out at 20 or 25 years {maybe up to five 5 year terms)
Thank you for your thoughtful response Fay.
I ooze outrage, Joyce. We live in some bizarro world where the GOP no longer supports democracy and bows to Trump and Putin. I want one judge with some spine who will find Trump in contempt after one of his outbursts and put him in jail. And, how many times can the orange anti-Christ appeal a verdict??
We wouldn’t have to worry for a second about Trump being elected if Dems and independents who aren’t going to vote for Biden weren’t in denial, telling themselves various escapist stories and denying that Trump isn’t a mortal threat to democracy. Those same folks were in denial when they told themselves that Roe would never be overturned, even as Trump kept saying he was going to make it happen.
Denial is an unconscious human response to fear. We fear death and relieve that fear by denying we are at risk of it happening at any moment. We fear the loss of our rights like Roe and relieve that fear by denying it could ever happen.
Denial is the most powerful psychological defense against fear- but it’s rigid, brittle and when it collapses it falls hard- it’s a gut punch of the avoided fear hitting that you’ve been warding off that finally becomes inescapable.
I hope all the sit at home democrats and independents who felt that gut punch of fear hitting them when Row was overturned, will be unable to stay in denial - and will feel such an intense fear of Trump, that the fear of him becoming President again drives them to the polls this time.
Why isn’t 45 a flight risk? Looking back we really underestimated 45’s ability to wield the power he currently does. His delay tactics, his control of Congress, his constant bullhorn tactics with his truth social that keep trumpeting lies upon bizarre statements. It just goes on and on. I keep praying that Jack Smith will finally get the Jan 6 stuff scheduled and then look at our Supremes and think how did this happen?! I am doing what I can do and I see others doing the same. We have no choice. We are in this together.
I believe that he is being carefully watched.
Polly, absolutely being watched--by his Secret Service detail.
I think the main reason he wouldn't be a flight risk (yet) is that he's so sure he's above the law, and has such a following, that is he would never be convicted.
Secret Service “protection”
We are in this together. I call it "safety in numbers" these days.
Joyce, it seems like everything is upside down! Getting harder and harder to maintain equalibrium.
Yes Pamela, agreed. A terrible rip in the time-space continuum. Dizzying.
Continuing with the Star Trek metaphors, would it be okay to refer to Trump as a “big bag of mostly nonsense”?
Big bag of treasonous pus, more like it.
Is this reference to "ugly bag of water"?
Your posts are consistently either best way to end or start my day.- depends on when I read them. Daily recaps so thorough I could totally do without twitter (which any rational thinker would agree) automatically leads to a happier life.
This may sound weird ---- even coming from me ---- but even though I like reading Joyce's posts every day, they're usually more relaxing for me in the evening, because I can count her chickens instead of sheep, AND count all of the people here, none of whom I've ever met before and probably never will, who are on MY side (most of my relatives are Red), and who are probably just as fearful as I am, AND more determined than ever to make sure Trump never gets within 10 miles from the WH. Ever.
The only way that he could safely be near the WH would be in a federal prison plane flying past DC on his way to his isolation cell maybe in our state prison here in Reidsville, GA. Abandon hope all who enter……..😎
Ah Red relatives. Many can relate to that!
Pamela,
Something tells me that this is contagious! It's awkward to say the least, and I'm not courageous enough. I can talk to strangers until the cows come home, but discussing politics with relatives is worse than having a root canal.
So true! I second that!
The drum beat is rising and the lies are beginning to be revealed. Steady, steady, is the March To Freedom!!
Justice needs a faster cadence.
The term "in warp speed" comes to mind when I recall Jared K. saying HE would be responsible for getting safety equipment to medical personnel during the first part of COVID.
But I digress. Lady Justice needs to take care of all of this "in warp speed."
Indeed!
Unfortunately, from what I've seen on tonight's news, Smirnov WILL NOT be detained, but has been ordered released. There are conditions, including surrender of his two-nation passports and wearing an ankle bracelet, but who in his right mind believes that will stop Smirnov from fleeing the country in view of the connections to Russian intelligence that he has.
As this election year proceeds, I deeply believe it's time to stop pussyfooting around with euphemistic terminology and start calling Trump and his acolytes what they are: TRAITORS! QUISLINGS! BENEDICT ARNOLDS! - Take your pick.
Trump Airlines is probably down on the flight line right now, engines revving, waiting to take him to "an undisclosed place" that has no extradiction treaty with the US.
Trump needs to be in a jail cell. The end.
It would have taken only a couple of dots in order to connect Smirnov’s ties to Russian Intelligence, yet James Comer was chomping at the bit to bring him before the Oversight Committee as “proof” of Biden family corruption.. Hmmm, I suspect corruption, but not in the Biden family.
Another crucial aspect of the rule of law is that laws ensure that our financial system remains largely stable most of the time. Investors and people with checking, savings, and IRA accounts know their money won't be stolen by governments, officials, or friends of government officials. Businesses won't be suddenly nationalized to benefit rulers, as in the USSR, Russia, and most dictatorships. Even the ultra-wealthy want their money and other holdings protected by the rule of law.
I do have concerns about the corruption of our money system if Trump is elected.
I agree. He's already lied to his own lenders, donors, and accountants. There's no reason to think he won't change finance laws to benefit himself and lie to the rest of us about it. Perhaps Jared Kushner as Secretary of the Treasury?
Our money system meaning? I'm confused.
I could definitely be wrong, but I think I heard something back in late December where there was mention that he wanted to do away with our currency and have something else. Maybe bills with him and his extended family, the ones that are in Russia, N. Korea and ChYnah.