This retired Internist thinks tRump appears to be nearing the end of his reserve of stamina. He is quite confused. His speech is stream-of-consciousness word salad. Kim was right to label him a dotard. But, he is a dotard with a mean streak and a hot temper...
I fear his staff and cabinet members are feeding him the executive orders designed to enact his and their white nationalist policies. trump is a bumbling puppet with others keeping his innate narcissistic evil shameless soul juiced up.
And the GOP mouthpieces complain about the cover-up of President Biden's infirmities by his wife and staff. At least they created policies that weren't hateful and destructive to peoples' rights and democracy. This current bunch has a far different agenda.
Yes, and others: Thiel pulling Vance’s strings, E.J. Antoni and other “ luminaries” from the Heritage Foundation nominated for roles in government. It’s important to take down the figurehead, release the Epstein files, etc. But never lose sight that these disgusting, stupid, racist actions by Trump’s administration, have been in the works for decades by the Republican Party and their overlords to dismantle democracy and bring in a fascist oligarchy. Once the pendulum swings back these anti-democratic, capitalism on steroids elements in our country need to have their wings seriously clipped and laws put into place to strengthen democracy and thwart any future attempts to destroy it.
Multiple Constitutional Amendments. Wealth caps. We need a mechanism for a vote of no confidence to force an interim election.we need to eliminate presidential nominations for most government posts. The Justice Department needs to come out from under the Executive Branch. The SCOTUS needs it’s structure and purview altered as well an expansion and term limits.
All worthy changes, but the path to get there is rigged with roadblocks and land mines. None of this is possible within what's left of my generation. I'm actually convinced that this country as geographically and politically configured is simply no longer viable. Once some Democratic governors begin to acknowledge this, then real change may be possible. I fear for my grandchildren.
Hummer and Baer: It goes all the way back to FDR, and even to the muckraker times then hooks up before that with the threads of slavery and tribalism sans its legitimate virtues.
Reading about what's going on today, shows me that republicans have been at this since at least 1890. If you read the history from that year, you will recognize what today's republicans are doing is same old, same old.
Indeed. The nasty-bitchy-whiny-incoherent-incontinent-rutabaga stage of malignant narcissism combined with blotchy dementia (my term) has now formally set in.
I think we may soon be facing a "President Maybellline Asshole" administration filled with small, scurrying toads while the usual cast of grey cardinals shuffles around the West Wing. Not an encouraging thought.
Poor man: He cannot expect both Putin and all those European leaders to love him all at once, and he seems to be having trouble choosing; while, at the same time, trying to develop a police state fueled by big oil funding, and peopled by sycophants and the contemptuous zealotry of "Christian"-Nationalists, not to mention the Heritage people who are shaping up to be copy-cat characters in a Margaret Atwood novel.
Another doctor who mostly agrees with you, altho I see his narcissism just becoming less filtered and restrained. He often sounds confused because it is so complicated to piece together all the lies in a way that makes any sense to the rest of us.
I would have liked to have been a Russian speaking fly on the wall in that meeting and in their ride in The Beast. Karoline Leavitt is reported as appearing ashen afterwards.
I think it’s a safe bet that Putin knows what’s in the Epstein files. I mean, he clearly has only to be alone with Trump for very little time for Trump to do his bidding.
Even if Trump wasn’t directly involved but knew and looked away, that’s scandalous. Including for his MAGA base, though they’d surely find a way to make him look righteous.
If a parrot talking head as Leavitt appeared ashen after listening to few seconds of conversation between the two "presidents" imagine how a real,normal person would have reacted.....Thanks for your Charlie.
Humility to this regime. Really? trump doesn't do humility; it is a totally alien concept for him. He may have to give in to the people he meets with today, but there will be no humility, just grudgingly giving in.
It might help if Zelenskyy and the European leaders detail the Russian murder of civilians and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. As surprising as it may seem from such a selfish, callous person, numerous people who have met with Trump say that war death and destruction really do bother him. Show him how Putin has been systematically murdering civilians. It may not change Trump's mind, but, with his mental capacity greatly diminished, who knows?
Trump rolls out the red carpet for an ICC-indicted war criminal in Alaska. Terrible, and rightly criticized by The Contrarian.
Netanyahu, also an ICC-indicted war criminal, guilty of far worse crimes than even Putin has committed, is welcomed with open arms to the US multiple times by both Democrats and Republicans, who take fun photos with a bipartisan group of Senators and treat him as an honored statesman...while both Democrats and GOP representative take AIPAC paid trips to Israel while Israel commits genocide a few miles away.
The list of the (bipartisan) Senators who took a friendly photo with the indicted war criminal Netanyahu is below.
Only two days after this photo was taken, a 20 years old Palestinian-American was beaten to death by a lynch mob of 'settlers'. Not one of these Senators made any public comment about this.
That's not true, many reps refuse AIPAC funding...while others have been fully attacked by AIPAC and a few were successfully primaried by campaigns led by AIPAC.
The campaign against AIPAC critic Jamaal Bowman was the most expensive congressional Democratic primary ever, entirely because of AIPAC's funds. AIPAC spent an unprececented $14.5. million to oust Bowman.
AIPAC spend many millions to oust Cori Bush as well.
Even of those who accept AIPAC donations, not all of them posed for a photo with an indicted war criminal, at the very moment that criminal was leading a genocide.
Well, it isn't 'only' Dems I critique here, you will find I mention Trump and the GOP several times throughout this thread.
But yes. I do focus on the Democratic support for Israel's genocide in The Contrarian specifically, for the simple reason that The Contrarian completely ignores the culpability of Democrats.
The Contrarian has criticized Trump often for his 'policies' (if you can even call them that) on Israel, and rightly so. There is no shortage of criticism of Trump in these pages, and it's all correct and I agree with it all.
But i have not seen a word here about the either the ongoing support for Israel's crimes by Democrats, or the simple fact that we wouldn't t be here now if not for Biden's steadfast support for Israel's carnage for well over a year, along with the big majority of congressional Dems (with some notable exceptions...who are never mentioned in The Contrarian, like Ilhan Omar, or Rashida Tlaib).
I mentioned in another comment here - in Rubin's last dedicated piece about Gaza, she mentions several Democrats who were 'devoted supporters of Israel' who wrote an open letter criticizing Netanyahu's plan to occupy all of Gaza.
She made them into heroes for..writing a letter. Never mind that every single one of the Democrats she listed have voted over and over to continue sending weapons and money to Israel...never mind that every single one of them has had two years worth of chances to take a stand against Israel's apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and failed to do so.
All this comes back to what you say here, which is accurate....I do think the GOP is basically hopeless in this regard (at least right now) and see no point to debating MAGA supporters at all about anything really. I do think there is hope among The Contrarian readers and writers, most of whom agree on many points...but as it has been for so much recent history, the US relation to Israel and the Occupied Territories is a big exception...
That does seem to be changing..but it only changes by constantly discussing it and constantly pointing out the horrible crimes that are perpetuated with bipartisan support. It's not enough IMO to only blame trump (or only blame Netanyahu for that matter, even though of course both of them deserve condemnation).
In fact, I think the only reason The Contrarian has written anything about Gaza is because the public pressure has become overwhelming.... for its first several months, The Contrarian did not say a single word about what was happening in Gaza.
And, both my NY Senators voted against Bernie Sander's resolution to cut off military aid to ISrael. This was a little encouraging- more Dems than in the past voted to support..but still many did not.
ps - these congressmen and women do NOT take AIPAC money - note that two of them, Bowman and Bush, both lost their primaries largely due to the unprecedented money AIPAC sent to out them...and the Democratic Party did little to help them) .. this list has expanded since then btw...there are even a few 'centrist' Dems that supported Israel in the past who now refuse AIPAC funds.
For the record, that the list above are Senators who actually posed for a photo with Netanyahu recently. I haven't looked but I'm sure every single one is a major recipient of AIPAC money...certainly Schumer and Booker are.
Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff, Cory Booker, Nancy Pelosi and so many of the other DEm 'fighters' from either house of Congress are big time AIPAC money recipients. Of course , AIPAC gives piles of money to GOP reps too.
So much of our unbounded support for Israel is rooted in our shame over our abject cowardice in refusing to come to the rescue of Jews during the Nazi era. But we did step in, albeit belatedly. And we have been paying--you might call it reparations, since the founding of Israel in 1948. I wonder how much we've given, in monetary aid and arms, since then? What have we given our home-grown victims of genocide, Native American tribes? Of all the countries of the world, Israel seems wealthy enough to care for itself, it if weren't waging an endless war against Palestinians.
Your credibility is ruined when you claim Netanyahu is guiltu of "worse crimes than even Putin has committed." Putin invaded Ukraine. Hamas invaded Israel. That's a critical distinction your blinders shield you from seeing.
Go get your own Substack instead of polluting The Contrarian, Jason.
I know it wouldn't take long for the 'get your own Substack' nonsense from those that get uncomfortable hearing about Israel's genocide.
I didn't think these obvious facts would need to be spelled out, but clearly some people need help.
It is just painfully obvious that, while Putin's invasion of Ukraine deserves forceful condemnation, Israel's genocide in Gaza is not only far worse, it ranks among the worst war crimes this century anywhere.
Start with the obvious fact that Ukraine is an actual country, with full autonomy, its own full scale military, control of its own trade, telecommunications, and everything else.
The Occupied Territories of course, have none of this. All the Occupied Territories (which includes Gaza, despite the weird claims by Israeli defenders that it isn't) have no autonomy of any sort, no control over their own borders, trade, telecommunications, travel, or anything else. All of the Occupied Territories are subject to constant violence from Israel, since long before October 2023. Israel has been killing, abducting, torturing and maiming civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights for many decades.
Another obvious fact is that, as terrible as Putin's invasion has been, the war crimes Israel is committing in Gaza are far worse.
Israel is intentionally starving an entire trapped population, and then massacring unarmed starving civilians near 'aid' sites every single day for months. This is not happening in Ukraine.
Israel has created more child amputees than anywhere in the world in Gaza.
Israel has assassinated nearly 300 journalists in Gaza in the past 22 months. Not only is there nothing comparable like this happening in Ukraine, it is the most journalists murdered in any single 'conflict' anywhere in generations.
Israel has killed hundreds of UN officials in Gaza.
Israel has entirely leveled an entire society in Gaza, targeting hospitals, UN facilities, schools, churches, mosques and all other civil infrastructure. 90% of all the buildings in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. There is nothing comparable in Ukraine, and there are few comparisons to this level of destruction anywhere in the 21st century.
No one is claiming Russia i committing genocide in Ukraine (not yet anyway) ...Lots of credible observers have made this charge against Israel, including Israeli human rights organizations like B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, and American Jewish advocacy organization J Street. UN officials, political leaders and genocide scholars around the world have come to the same conclusion, including many Israeli scholars (see Omer Bartov's piece in the NY Times last month).
So, maybe you should stop reading open comment threads if you don't like what you read.
Anyone who has paid the tiniest bit of attention over the past couple years would know all of this.
(also, just as a reminder to all the willfully blind defenders of Israeli apartheid, Israel is also committing war crimes in the West Bank, where over 1000 Palestinians have been murdered by the IDF and their proxy lynch mob 'settlers'...including a number of Americans in the past 22. months. ...those same willfully blind people may or may not know that Hamas has nothing to do with the West Bank).
I agree, Jason. Hamas may have invaded Israel, but Bibi decided to continue the war on his own. He didn't have to. He chose to attack Gaza and murder thousands of Palestinians. That was a choice!
I know that the US has been a solid ally of Israel for years, but I am ready to stop all arms and funding to Israel.
I am not Jewish or Muslim, I am Catholic and I really am tired of all the hatred surrounding religions.
Insightful. trump constantly hammers that one cannot be truly Jewish, if one does not support the atrocities that Bibi is committing, in the name of the state of Israel. Remember that trump is eager to turn Gaza into his next resort.
Yes, clearly Trump has been awful regarding Israel and the Occupied Territories. I don't think there is any question among anyone reading this that Trump is an abjectly terrible President and shouldn't be anywhere near the White House.
My point is, while Democrats and The Contrarian have no problem pointing this out (and they are right), they ignore that full complicity of elected Democrats regarding Israel's genocide.
If Biden and the Democrat's had taken a forceful stand against Israel years ago, this all might have been stopped, Instead, they continue to support it , to the extent that they warmly welcome this war criminal into the US.
I would remind people of the absurd appearance of Netanyahu in the Congress giving a speech. The Republicans invited him and the Democrats were not invited. I thought it was outrageous when it happened. Of course, compared to the outrageous administration now, it looks mild.
Jason is, like the one-issue-voter, obsessed with Netanyahu, Israel, Hamas, and Gaza. He has been banging on for over a week, inserting opinions into articles relating to other subject matter. If you have objections to what The Contrarian produces, write to them directly instead of filling the comments, which they may or may not read.
Let's face it, there are so many atrocious things going on in our world and country today, it's like "pick one" and it doesn't matter.
Trump, Putin, Bibi- they are all the same. It's all about power and revenge and hate for other human beings. It's all about "THEM". Never about the people who fund them or survive them. All three of them are "criminals". But they lead their countries!
why?
The bigger problem is how do we get rid of people like them.
We who see at the reality of what is happening to the people of Gaza have a moral obligation to speak the truth where we can. Jason is doing that, and suggesting he be quiet or go away at this catastrophic moment does not serve humanity or history. Don't mean to sound pompous or judgmental, but we are witnessing such a staggering crime against humanity...
'We who see at the reality of what is happening to the people of Gaza have a moral obligation to speak the truth where we can....we are witnessing such a staggering crime against humanity' - 100% - a staggering crime that could not happen without our own governments, bipartisan support.
My comment here is directly related to what Rubin has said, as has been every single other comment I have made for weeks. If you have paid any attention, you'd know the Contrarian has published a number of pieces about Gaza, and Rubin has mentioned it often in her 'Coffee' sessions.
I am not a one issue voter, and don't expect you to know or care.
But it is exactly people like you, who think the fact that our country is directly enabling and fully complicit in a genocide is simply some side issue, that are part of the problem.
It shouldn't take explanation to understand that not only is supporting genocide a hugely important issue that need to be addressed and stopped immediately, it impacts so much else about the US, from the pervasive clampdown on free speech to the impact on even local election (Mamdani in NYC being a recent example).to the US's image in the world.
Until everyone speaks out loudly and often, it won't stop. I heard from people just like you during the Iraq War, during the many other times the US has backed Israel while it massacred civilians, and so many other times...those people were just as wrong then.
So, go post somewhere else if you don't like my comments....You may realize anyone can post here. ..you can join the many who only say 'Yay , Jen! way to go!' instead of actually understanding what being a 'contrarian' means.
My comments are meant as much, if not more so, for the readers than for the writers..this is pretty obvious to anyone with a shred of critical thinking skills.
Jason, Contrarian has printed many articles on the horrors of the Israel Gaza war and talked about the war crimes. They may not have mentioned the photographs with Dems that you brought up. No one news source covers everything, that is why you read multiple sources. Good for Zeteo for covering it. And to say Netanyahu is worse than Putin, in any universe they are both horrible, horrible men. I believe your purpose is not to point out helpfully what the Contrarian can write about but rather to discredit them all together bc they have been writing incredibly insightful news that is helping us know what is really going on. So either you are a troll trying to sow division and discredit a great news source, or you are so single issue focused on an issue that it is making you blind to the wider reality and ultimately ineffective on the issue you care about.
The Contrarian has (rightly) condemned the US visit of the ICC indicted war criminal Putin, but does not even mention the fact that the ICC indicted war criminal Netanyahu has been welcomed into the US several times, including by many of the same Democrats who condemn Putin's visit.
You say they are both 'horrible'. OK then, so you think its ok the visit by one is criticized while the other is warmly welcomed by a bipartisan group of legislators into this country, repeatedly?
This is just one example of how the Democratic Party has enabled and has been fully complicit in Israel's carnage (outside of a few notable examples), something The Contrarian has not mentioned even once. In Rubin's last focused article about Gaza, she even praises the 'strongly pro-Israel' Democrats who have only now issued tepid criticisms...every one of those Democrats has voted over and over to fund Israel's war machine, but this is never mentioned.
If you had actually read any of The Contrarian's recent commentary about Israel, you would know that it has been woefully limited and conditioned. Norm Eisen has commented on Israel many times the live conversations, and has never even one time said the word 'Palestinian'. His concern has been entirely about how what he euphemistically called the 'loss of life' has impacted Israelis.
And in Rubin's pieces ( I think she has only written 2 pieces dedicated to Gaza, after many months of not saying a word) and the handful of other (again, only recent) pieces about Gaza by guests writers, the fundamental support for Israel and the limit to criticism is glaringly apparent. I have barely even seen any mention of the fact that Israel is massacring civilians very day, or any mention of Israel's open targeting of journalists...you might think a outlet for journalists might show a little bit of concern for this. I haven't seen a single word. I have seen almost no mention at all of the West Bank.
You and a couple other angry commenters here don't seem to know the difference between a 'troll' (a really weak ad hominem slander in this case), and the actual meaning of 'contrarian'.
This outlet's 'About' page states that 'The Contrarian contributors may not agree on all issues (and, in fact, enjoy lively debate), but we share an unequivocal determination to defend our fundamental freedoms and the values essential to a pluralistic democracy.'
That is exactly what I am doing. I am not 'trolling' - every word I have said is factual and easily verified..my criticisms are valid and based on a careful and thorough reading of this outlet...which does do good work -- and which is precisely why I comment here, instead of wasting time arguing with MAGA fools, or talking to people I agree with about everything. The fact that a genocide is underway, with US help, calls for immediate and sustained opposition.
And, I see plenty of Contrarian readers agree with me, and both 'like' my original statements and my responses.
So, if you don't like it, too bad. You don't have to read my comments.
Well, since you left it at nothing, your statement means nothing.
But, to be specific, I said 'Netanyahu, also an ICC-indicted war criminal, guilty of far worse crimes than even Putin has committed...'
To be mor specific, this is referencing the more recent events, Russian's invasion of Ukraine, and Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Both men are terrible, both are indicted war criminals, both actions deserve condemnation.
And, as any lucid person paying attention can see, Netanyahu's crimes are far worse.
This doesn't mean Putin's crimes aren't real and serious. It 'defies reason' to not understand this.
I'll copy some of that comment again here, since apparently you didn't read that far.
Start with the obvious fact that Ukraine is an actual country, with full autonomy, its own full scale military, control of its own trade, telecommunications, and everything else.
The Occupied Territories of course, have none of this. All the Occupied Territories (which includes Gaza, despite the weird claims by Israeli defenders that it isn't) have no autonomy of any sort, no control over their own borders, trade, telecommunications, travel, or anything else. All of the Occupied Territories are subject to constant violence from Israel, since long before October 2023. Israel has been killing, abducting, torturing and maiming civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights for many decades.
Another obvious fact is that, as terrible as Putin's invasion has been, the war crimes Israel is committing in Gaza are far worse.
Israel is intentionally starving an entire trapped population, and then massacring unarmed starving civilians near 'aid' sites every single day for months. This is not happening in Ukraine.
Israel has created more child amputees than anywhere in the world in Gaza.
Israel has assassinated nearly 300 journalists in Gaza in the past 22 months. Not only is there nothing comparable like this happening in Ukraine, it is the most journalists murdered in any single 'conflict' anywhere in generations.
Israel has killed hundreds of UN officials in Gaza.
Israel has entirely leveled an entire society in Gaza, targeting hospitals, UN facilities, schools, churches, mosques and all other civil infrastructure. 90% of all the buildings in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. There is nothing comparable in Ukraine, and there are few comparisons to this level of destruction anywhere in the 21st century.
No one is claiming Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine (not yet anyway) ...Lots of credible observers have made this charge against Israel, including Israeli human rights organizations like B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, and American Jewish advocacy organization J Street. UN officials, political leaders and genocide scholars around the world have come to the same conclusion, including many Israeli scholars (see Omer Bartov's piece in the NY Times last month).
Trump's newest sleazy ploy to entice followers is to convert normal innocent youth into rabid MAGA worshippers of Trump, as revealed in an article yesterday in USA Today.
Simply stated, the Republican legislature of the State of Oklahoma is now REQUIRING all Oklahoma high schools to teach its students Trump's allegations that the Democrats stole the 2020 Presidential election.
In a move that evokes memories of Galileo being punished for heresy in positing that the earth revolves around the sun, rather than the opposite, and memories of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" in which John Scopes was convicted of violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution instead of the Biblical account of creation, Oklahoma's Republican controlled legislature has enacted a law requiring all of its high schools to teach all of the allegations that Trump has made in support of his contention that the Democrats stole the 2020 election from him.
Not only is there no requirement that these teachers also teach their students the evidence that caused 80 courts throughout the United States to find that there was absolutely no evidence that the Democrats stole the election from Trump, but the teachers are implicitly required not to teach this.
It is my opinion that the requirement to teach this far right-wing totally debunked conspiracy theory lifts this "teaching", or rather enforced inculcation, out of the realm of education and into the realm of mandatory partisan propaganda that has been totally discredited by our courts throughout the United States.
The enactment of this statute converts these schools into incubation institutions to indoctrinate our unsuspecting and unquestioning youth at an early age into the world of far right-wing dogma and bold-faced lies. This perversion of state legislative enactments to promote discredited lies and doctrinaire falsities calls into question the legitimacy of the degrees conferred by such high schools
Therefore, I believe that all colleges and universities in the United States, including the organization that accredits diplomas issued by high schools, decertify any high school diploma that includes credit for having taken Oklahoma's required propaganda courses. I also believe that universities and colleges throughout the United States should boycott accepting students graduating from these high schools and that potential employers also boycott hiring these graduates.
This is what happens when an intellectually challenged and entirely corrupt man is elected President. Trump does not have the capacity to understand even the basic issues that encompass the Ukraine/Russia conflict. I am sure that he was given his 10-point bulleted list to follow, but we all know that even this is something that is out of reach for an aging President battling ill health, fatigue, and political strife. Putin was smug and barely able to hide his elation at the total capitulation by an American President at the summit. Ukraine and Europe need to reset negotiation's today and ease us out of the picture. With Trump in office nothing good will come of any future meeting between Russia and the US.
Christine: . . . Miller and Vought and that banking guy who looks like he is straight out of Hollywood casting for a soulless CEO, and some very big funders who don't care WHO (Trump or Vance or whomever) but just want to keep their funding streams going, regardless if the planet burns up and becomes polluted in the meantime.
Thanks Jennifer, for verifying that I was not wrong to be relieved that we came away from the meeting with Alaska still in one of our fifty states. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
It’s great to have a Trump regime revolt. Great to have Texans out protesting the steal that Abbott is pushing. I hope it backfires on them royally. That summit was a joke on Trump. Putin has him by the short hairs.
Excellent item, Jen. As you note in closing, the only Trumpian response to negative poll results and financial news is to accelerate the march to totalitarianism. "Beatings will be increased until morale improves."
Not enough to criticize what Trump does. We have to offer something. Suggest the Dems cobble together a shadow cabinet and make daily pronouncements on what should be done. For starters, suggest treating people with respect and embracing Life, Liberty, an d the Pursuit of Happiness. They aren’t just pretty words, they represent our soul.
I think someone, perhaps you, suggested the shadow government concept before, and I agree. Too bad the Dem Party still hasn't come up with a coordinated strategy, leaving individual senators and congresspeople to try individually !
Wolf was asked by Epstein to write a biography, but he says he never did. Wolf hung out with him for quite some time while "deciding". I figure he'll come out with a book about Epstein eventually. Meantime, maybe I heard this in one of his interviews, that Alex Acosta was told Epstein was some kind of agent for the US to both explain his Moscow trip and why there should be a plea deal on sex charges. The real estate deal is at the center of trump and epstein's breakup and how epstein ended up prosecuted in FL.
Maybe. The Miami Herald was all over this. The public needs to hear from Acosta. Among the federal prosecutors were Acosta’s former top assistant, Jeffrey Sloman; ex-criminal chief Matthew Menchel; former case prosecutor Marie Villafaña, who had prepared a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein that was not filed; and her boss, Andrew Lourie. All should be questioned as to unindicted co-conspirators.
Also there were roughly 1000 victims. Many if not most, were involved in cvil litigation. All should be asked whethwer they were farmed out by Epstein.
This retired Internist thinks tRump appears to be nearing the end of his reserve of stamina. He is quite confused. His speech is stream-of-consciousness word salad. Kim was right to label him a dotard. But, he is a dotard with a mean streak and a hot temper...
I fear his staff and cabinet members are feeding him the executive orders designed to enact his and their white nationalist policies. trump is a bumbling puppet with others keeping his innate narcissistic evil shameless soul juiced up.
And the GOP mouthpieces complain about the cover-up of President Biden's infirmities by his wife and staff. At least they created policies that weren't hateful and destructive to peoples' rights and democracy. This current bunch has a far different agenda.
Agreed. Trump is their useful idiot as Republicans attempt to entrench themselves in power.
Trump is effectively a figurehead in order to keep the MAGAts on board. I believe the real "brains" of the operation are Vought and Miller.
Yes, and others: Thiel pulling Vance’s strings, E.J. Antoni and other “ luminaries” from the Heritage Foundation nominated for roles in government. It’s important to take down the figurehead, release the Epstein files, etc. But never lose sight that these disgusting, stupid, racist actions by Trump’s administration, have been in the works for decades by the Republican Party and their overlords to dismantle democracy and bring in a fascist oligarchy. Once the pendulum swings back these anti-democratic, capitalism on steroids elements in our country need to have their wings seriously clipped and laws put into place to strengthen democracy and thwart any future attempts to destroy it.
Multiple Constitutional Amendments. Wealth caps. We need a mechanism for a vote of no confidence to force an interim election.we need to eliminate presidential nominations for most government posts. The Justice Department needs to come out from under the Executive Branch. The SCOTUS needs it’s structure and purview altered as well an expansion and term limits.
All worthy changes, but the path to get there is rigged with roadblocks and land mines. None of this is possible within what's left of my generation. I'm actually convinced that this country as geographically and politically configured is simply no longer viable. Once some Democratic governors begin to acknowledge this, then real change may be possible. I fear for my grandchildren.
Right on Hummer. It is a decades long story, from Nixon to Reagan to Gingrich to Bush v Gore to Citizens United, to Mitch McConnell, etc.
The writing was on the wall as soon as Trump said "good people on both sides..."
and then he got re-elected.
We will send these cockroaches back to the shadows and then strenghen the guardrails, just as you say.
Hummer and Baer: It goes all the way back to FDR, and even to the muckraker times then hooks up before that with the threads of slavery and tribalism sans its legitimate virtues.
Reading about what's going on today, shows me that republicans have been at this since at least 1890. If you read the history from that year, you will recognize what today's republicans are doing is same old, same old.
They have been on the side of the oligarchs since then.
I challenge the word effectively, Charles. He is becoming a wisp of his former self. and .... EPSTEIN is a real problem for the Maga base.
I think that they are also puppets.
Indeed. The nasty-bitchy-whiny-incoherent-incontinent-rutabaga stage of malignant narcissism combined with blotchy dementia (my term) has now formally set in.
I think we may soon be facing a "President Maybellline Asshole" administration filled with small, scurrying toads while the usual cast of grey cardinals shuffles around the West Wing. Not an encouraging thought.
I would add that he has the thinnest of skins on Planet Earth
Not to mention a dotard playing with the power of the presidency.
Poor man: He cannot expect both Putin and all those European leaders to love him all at once, and he seems to be having trouble choosing; while, at the same time, trying to develop a police state fueled by big oil funding, and peopled by sycophants and the contemptuous zealotry of "Christian"-Nationalists, not to mention the Heritage people who are shaping up to be copy-cat characters in a Margaret Atwood novel.
Another doctor who mostly agrees with you, altho I see his narcissism just becoming less filtered and restrained. He often sounds confused because it is so complicated to piece together all the lies in a way that makes any sense to the rest of us.
Instead of MAGA we are getting MAPA - Make America Poor Again.
And many sycophants in Congress willing to put up with whatever Steven miller and his ilk want him to do
a dotard with far too much power and a bunch of asslicking toadies willing to do his bidding (and some bidding of their own, like brainworm kennedy)
He doesn't do his rallies anymore. Probably because he can't mount the steps to the podium and doesn't have the energy.
He is developing a gait and balance disorder. I was watching him on his red carpet…
good - I wish extreme suffering for him.
I doubt he can draw the crowds any more--and he knows it.
...and with the nuclear codes at his fingertips.
And lately, after any extensive meeting or abroad his plane, he looks puffy, winded, and exhausted.
Not nearly enough!
I would have liked to have been a Russian speaking fly on the wall in that meeting and in their ride in The Beast. Karoline Leavitt is reported as appearing ashen afterwards.
If even a loyal dimwit like Leavitt thought the Alaska show was a train wreck, it was.
Roger, I was just working toward an assessment of both the Alaska fiasco and Leavitt's apparently mental capacity. You nailed it!
Perhaps she was at a loss as to how to spin this disaster into anything positive. She has been amazingly silent since.
For anyone who saw "Animal House" Leavitt is moving into her "All is well!" mode
Good one!
I prefer her amazingly silent. You should listen to her answer when she was questioned at her "beauty pageant" , it will explain everything.
Missed that one (thankfully) but have heard her squawk, deflect and lie on many other occasions. Silence would indeed be an improvement.
I think it’s a safe bet that Putin knows what’s in the Epstein files. I mean, he clearly has only to be alone with Trump for very little time for Trump to do his bidding.
I think Putin has his own videos. Miss Universe - tRump was in Russia for that !
Maybe there are videos of more than pee face washes. Could there be a snuff video?
The things I learn by sharing my thoughts on Substack! 🫣
Even if Trump wasn’t directly involved but knew and looked away, that’s scandalous. Including for his MAGA base, though they’d surely find a way to make him look righteous.
If a parrot talking head as Leavitt appeared ashen after listening to few seconds of conversation between the two "presidents" imagine how a real,normal person would have reacted.....Thanks for your Charlie.
Well summarized
But keep feet to the fire WITH Epstein ,all this outrageous dangerous distractions.
Hopefully Zelenskyy with European allies brings some humility to the regime.
Not expecting anything in way of results from corrupt , narcissistic one
Trump doesn't do "humility". I prefer that the European Allies sit him down and shout at him the way he shouted at Zelensky in February.
You know he just wants the Nobel Peace Prize because Obama received one.
Plus he wants the Epstein mess to go away.
Humility to this regime. Really? trump doesn't do humility; it is a totally alien concept for him. He may have to give in to the people he meets with today, but there will be no humility, just grudgingly giving in.
It might help if Zelenskyy and the European leaders detail the Russian murder of civilians and the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. As surprising as it may seem from such a selfish, callous person, numerous people who have met with Trump say that war death and destruction really do bother him. Show him how Putin has been systematically murdering civilians. It may not change Trump's mind, but, with his mental capacity greatly diminished, who knows?
Telling trump about putin’s war crimes will just give him ideas.
Creating daily memes with just that in mind. Keeps me from simply screaming at my TV screen.
Trump rolls out the red carpet for an ICC-indicted war criminal in Alaska. Terrible, and rightly criticized by The Contrarian.
Netanyahu, also an ICC-indicted war criminal, guilty of far worse crimes than even Putin has committed, is welcomed with open arms to the US multiple times by both Democrats and Republicans, who take fun photos with a bipartisan group of Senators and treat him as an honored statesman...while both Democrats and GOP representative take AIPAC paid trips to Israel while Israel commits genocide a few miles away.
No word from The Contrarian on this.
The list of the (bipartisan) Senators who took a friendly photo with the indicted war criminal Netanyahu is below.
Only two days after this photo was taken, a 20 years old Palestinian-American was beaten to death by a lynch mob of 'settlers'. Not one of these Senators made any public comment about this.
Adam Schiff (D-California)
Chuck Schumer (D-New York)
Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada)
Maria Cantwell (D-Washington)
Chris Coons (D-Delaware)
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)
Cory Booker (D-New Jersey)
Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
Jim Risch (R-Idaho)
Steve Daines (R-Montana)
Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana)
Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania)
John Thune (R-South Dakota)
Jon Husted (R-Ohio)
Here's the photo:
https://zeteo.com/p/14-senators-posed-with-netanyahu
'Everybody' wants AIPAC's financial contributions.
That's not true, many reps refuse AIPAC funding...while others have been fully attacked by AIPAC and a few were successfully primaried by campaigns led by AIPAC.
The campaign against AIPAC critic Jamaal Bowman was the most expensive congressional Democratic primary ever, entirely because of AIPAC's funds. AIPAC spent an unprececented $14.5. million to oust Bowman.
AIPAC spend many millions to oust Cori Bush as well.
Even of those who accept AIPAC donations, not all of them posed for a photo with an indicted war criminal, at the very moment that criminal was leading a genocide.
Why is it only Dems that you critique in relation to Israel?
Is it because you hold zero hope for being heard by republicans?
Well, it isn't 'only' Dems I critique here, you will find I mention Trump and the GOP several times throughout this thread.
But yes. I do focus on the Democratic support for Israel's genocide in The Contrarian specifically, for the simple reason that The Contrarian completely ignores the culpability of Democrats.
The Contrarian has criticized Trump often for his 'policies' (if you can even call them that) on Israel, and rightly so. There is no shortage of criticism of Trump in these pages, and it's all correct and I agree with it all.
But i have not seen a word here about the either the ongoing support for Israel's crimes by Democrats, or the simple fact that we wouldn't t be here now if not for Biden's steadfast support for Israel's carnage for well over a year, along with the big majority of congressional Dems (with some notable exceptions...who are never mentioned in The Contrarian, like Ilhan Omar, or Rashida Tlaib).
I mentioned in another comment here - in Rubin's last dedicated piece about Gaza, she mentions several Democrats who were 'devoted supporters of Israel' who wrote an open letter criticizing Netanyahu's plan to occupy all of Gaza.
She made them into heroes for..writing a letter. Never mind that every single one of the Democrats she listed have voted over and over to continue sending weapons and money to Israel...never mind that every single one of them has had two years worth of chances to take a stand against Israel's apartheid and ethnic cleansing, and failed to do so.
All this comes back to what you say here, which is accurate....I do think the GOP is basically hopeless in this regard (at least right now) and see no point to debating MAGA supporters at all about anything really. I do think there is hope among The Contrarian readers and writers, most of whom agree on many points...but as it has been for so much recent history, the US relation to Israel and the Occupied Territories is a big exception...
That does seem to be changing..but it only changes by constantly discussing it and constantly pointing out the horrible crimes that are perpetuated with bipartisan support. It's not enough IMO to only blame trump (or only blame Netanyahu for that matter, even though of course both of them deserve condemnation).
In fact, I think the only reason The Contrarian has written anything about Gaza is because the public pressure has become overwhelming.... for its first several months, The Contrarian did not say a single word about what was happening in Gaza.
AIPAC should be outlawed IMO
If Dems and GOPS reps stopped taking their money, their influence would fade.
Well, my two Democratic Senators are NOT there. Thank you for that list. I am a bit surprised by some of those listed however.
Neither are mine, here in Illinois.
I am sad to say one of mine is (Schumer).
And, both my NY Senators voted against Bernie Sander's resolution to cut off military aid to ISrael. This was a little encouraging- more Dems than in the past voted to support..but still many did not.
https://truthout.org/articles/24-senators-vote-for-sanders-resolution-to-stop-bombs-sale-to-israel/
Thank you. Please keep circulating information on whose campaigns take money from AIPAC.
ps - these congressmen and women do NOT take AIPAC money - note that two of them, Bowman and Bush, both lost their primaries largely due to the unprecedented money AIPAC sent to out them...and the Democratic Party did little to help them) .. this list has expanded since then btw...there are even a few 'centrist' Dems that supported Israel in the past who now refuse AIPAC funds.
https://www.rejectaipac.org/rejecters
Gladly.
For the record, that the list above are Senators who actually posed for a photo with Netanyahu recently. I haven't looked but I'm sure every single one is a major recipient of AIPAC money...certainly Schumer and Booker are.
Hakeem Jeffries, Adam Schiff, Cory Booker, Nancy Pelosi and so many of the other DEm 'fighters' from either house of Congress are big time AIPAC money recipients. Of course , AIPAC gives piles of money to GOP reps too.
So much of our unbounded support for Israel is rooted in our shame over our abject cowardice in refusing to come to the rescue of Jews during the Nazi era. But we did step in, albeit belatedly. And we have been paying--you might call it reparations, since the founding of Israel in 1948. I wonder how much we've given, in monetary aid and arms, since then? What have we given our home-grown victims of genocide, Native American tribes? Of all the countries of the world, Israel seems wealthy enough to care for itself, it if weren't waging an endless war against Palestinians.
Well, like isn't the right response, but yes to you calling shame is!
Your credibility is ruined when you claim Netanyahu is guiltu of "worse crimes than even Putin has committed." Putin invaded Ukraine. Hamas invaded Israel. That's a critical distinction your blinders shield you from seeing.
Go get your own Substack instead of polluting The Contrarian, Jason.
I know it wouldn't take long for the 'get your own Substack' nonsense from those that get uncomfortable hearing about Israel's genocide.
I didn't think these obvious facts would need to be spelled out, but clearly some people need help.
It is just painfully obvious that, while Putin's invasion of Ukraine deserves forceful condemnation, Israel's genocide in Gaza is not only far worse, it ranks among the worst war crimes this century anywhere.
Start with the obvious fact that Ukraine is an actual country, with full autonomy, its own full scale military, control of its own trade, telecommunications, and everything else.
The Occupied Territories of course, have none of this. All the Occupied Territories (which includes Gaza, despite the weird claims by Israeli defenders that it isn't) have no autonomy of any sort, no control over their own borders, trade, telecommunications, travel, or anything else. All of the Occupied Territories are subject to constant violence from Israel, since long before October 2023. Israel has been killing, abducting, torturing and maiming civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights for many decades.
Another obvious fact is that, as terrible as Putin's invasion has been, the war crimes Israel is committing in Gaza are far worse.
Israel is intentionally starving an entire trapped population, and then massacring unarmed starving civilians near 'aid' sites every single day for months. This is not happening in Ukraine.
Israel has created more child amputees than anywhere in the world in Gaza.
Israel has assassinated nearly 300 journalists in Gaza in the past 22 months. Not only is there nothing comparable like this happening in Ukraine, it is the most journalists murdered in any single 'conflict' anywhere in generations.
Israel has killed hundreds of UN officials in Gaza.
Israel has entirely leveled an entire society in Gaza, targeting hospitals, UN facilities, schools, churches, mosques and all other civil infrastructure. 90% of all the buildings in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. There is nothing comparable in Ukraine, and there are few comparisons to this level of destruction anywhere in the 21st century.
No one is claiming Russia i committing genocide in Ukraine (not yet anyway) ...Lots of credible observers have made this charge against Israel, including Israeli human rights organizations like B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, and American Jewish advocacy organization J Street. UN officials, political leaders and genocide scholars around the world have come to the same conclusion, including many Israeli scholars (see Omer Bartov's piece in the NY Times last month).
So, maybe you should stop reading open comment threads if you don't like what you read.
Anyone who has paid the tiniest bit of attention over the past couple years would know all of this.
(also, just as a reminder to all the willfully blind defenders of Israeli apartheid, Israel is also committing war crimes in the West Bank, where over 1000 Palestinians have been murdered by the IDF and their proxy lynch mob 'settlers'...including a number of Americans in the past 22. months. ...those same willfully blind people may or may not know that Hamas has nothing to do with the West Bank).
I agree, Jason. Hamas may have invaded Israel, but Bibi decided to continue the war on his own. He didn't have to. He chose to attack Gaza and murder thousands of Palestinians. That was a choice!
I know that the US has been a solid ally of Israel for years, but I am ready to stop all arms and funding to Israel.
I am not Jewish or Muslim, I am Catholic and I really am tired of all the hatred surrounding religions.
Insightful. trump constantly hammers that one cannot be truly Jewish, if one does not support the atrocities that Bibi is committing, in the name of the state of Israel. Remember that trump is eager to turn Gaza into his next resort.
Yes, clearly Trump has been awful regarding Israel and the Occupied Territories. I don't think there is any question among anyone reading this that Trump is an abjectly terrible President and shouldn't be anywhere near the White House.
My point is, while Democrats and The Contrarian have no problem pointing this out (and they are right), they ignore that full complicity of elected Democrats regarding Israel's genocide.
If Biden and the Democrat's had taken a forceful stand against Israel years ago, this all might have been stopped, Instead, they continue to support it , to the extent that they warmly welcome this war criminal into the US.
I would remind people of the absurd appearance of Netanyahu in the Congress giving a speech. The Republicans invited him and the Democrats were not invited. I thought it was outrageous when it happened. Of course, compared to the outrageous administration now, it looks mild.
Jason is, like the one-issue-voter, obsessed with Netanyahu, Israel, Hamas, and Gaza. He has been banging on for over a week, inserting opinions into articles relating to other subject matter. If you have objections to what The Contrarian produces, write to them directly instead of filling the comments, which they may or may not read.
Let's face it, there are so many atrocious things going on in our world and country today, it's like "pick one" and it doesn't matter.
Trump, Putin, Bibi- they are all the same. It's all about power and revenge and hate for other human beings. It's all about "THEM". Never about the people who fund them or survive them. All three of them are "criminals". But they lead their countries!
why?
The bigger problem is how do we get rid of people like them.
It certainly is a bigger question..How did we elect Trump...twice? How did Netanyahu become the longest serving prime minister in Israel's history?
We who see at the reality of what is happening to the people of Gaza have a moral obligation to speak the truth where we can. Jason is doing that, and suggesting he be quiet or go away at this catastrophic moment does not serve humanity or history. Don't mean to sound pompous or judgmental, but we are witnessing such a staggering crime against humanity...
'We who see at the reality of what is happening to the people of Gaza have a moral obligation to speak the truth where we can....we are witnessing such a staggering crime against humanity' - 100% - a staggering crime that could not happen without our own governments, bipartisan support.
Thank you.
You are quite welcome to also ignore my comments.
My comment here is directly related to what Rubin has said, as has been every single other comment I have made for weeks. If you have paid any attention, you'd know the Contrarian has published a number of pieces about Gaza, and Rubin has mentioned it often in her 'Coffee' sessions.
I am not a one issue voter, and don't expect you to know or care.
But it is exactly people like you, who think the fact that our country is directly enabling and fully complicit in a genocide is simply some side issue, that are part of the problem.
It shouldn't take explanation to understand that not only is supporting genocide a hugely important issue that need to be addressed and stopped immediately, it impacts so much else about the US, from the pervasive clampdown on free speech to the impact on even local election (Mamdani in NYC being a recent example).to the US's image in the world.
Until everyone speaks out loudly and often, it won't stop. I heard from people just like you during the Iraq War, during the many other times the US has backed Israel while it massacred civilians, and so many other times...those people were just as wrong then.
So, go post somewhere else if you don't like my comments....You may realize anyone can post here. ..you can join the many who only say 'Yay , Jen! way to go!' instead of actually understanding what being a 'contrarian' means.
My comments are meant as much, if not more so, for the readers than for the writers..this is pretty obvious to anyone with a shred of critical thinking skills.
Please--let's do more "comparative genocides."
Jason, Contrarian has printed many articles on the horrors of the Israel Gaza war and talked about the war crimes. They may not have mentioned the photographs with Dems that you brought up. No one news source covers everything, that is why you read multiple sources. Good for Zeteo for covering it. And to say Netanyahu is worse than Putin, in any universe they are both horrible, horrible men. I believe your purpose is not to point out helpfully what the Contrarian can write about but rather to discredit them all together bc they have been writing incredibly insightful news that is helping us know what is really going on. So either you are a troll trying to sow division and discredit a great news source, or you are so single issue focused on an issue that it is making you blind to the wider reality and ultimately ineffective on the issue you care about.
The point I made here is obvious and clear.
The Contrarian has (rightly) condemned the US visit of the ICC indicted war criminal Putin, but does not even mention the fact that the ICC indicted war criminal Netanyahu has been welcomed into the US several times, including by many of the same Democrats who condemn Putin's visit.
You say they are both 'horrible'. OK then, so you think its ok the visit by one is criticized while the other is warmly welcomed by a bipartisan group of legislators into this country, repeatedly?
This is just one example of how the Democratic Party has enabled and has been fully complicit in Israel's carnage (outside of a few notable examples), something The Contrarian has not mentioned even once. In Rubin's last focused article about Gaza, she even praises the 'strongly pro-Israel' Democrats who have only now issued tepid criticisms...every one of those Democrats has voted over and over to fund Israel's war machine, but this is never mentioned.
If you had actually read any of The Contrarian's recent commentary about Israel, you would know that it has been woefully limited and conditioned. Norm Eisen has commented on Israel many times the live conversations, and has never even one time said the word 'Palestinian'. His concern has been entirely about how what he euphemistically called the 'loss of life' has impacted Israelis.
And in Rubin's pieces ( I think she has only written 2 pieces dedicated to Gaza, after many months of not saying a word) and the handful of other (again, only recent) pieces about Gaza by guests writers, the fundamental support for Israel and the limit to criticism is glaringly apparent. I have barely even seen any mention of the fact that Israel is massacring civilians very day, or any mention of Israel's open targeting of journalists...you might think a outlet for journalists might show a little bit of concern for this. I haven't seen a single word. I have seen almost no mention at all of the West Bank.
You and a couple other angry commenters here don't seem to know the difference between a 'troll' (a really weak ad hominem slander in this case), and the actual meaning of 'contrarian'.
This outlet's 'About' page states that 'The Contrarian contributors may not agree on all issues (and, in fact, enjoy lively debate), but we share an unequivocal determination to defend our fundamental freedoms and the values essential to a pluralistic democracy.'
That is exactly what I am doing. I am not 'trolling' - every word I have said is factual and easily verified..my criticisms are valid and based on a careful and thorough reading of this outlet...which does do good work -- and which is precisely why I comment here, instead of wasting time arguing with MAGA fools, or talking to people I agree with about everything. The fact that a genocide is underway, with US help, calls for immediate and sustained opposition.
And, I see plenty of Contrarian readers agree with me, and both 'like' my original statements and my responses.
So, if you don't like it, too bad. You don't have to read my comments.
To say Netanyahu is worse than Putin defies reason and is grossly false. I’ll leave it at that.
Well, since you left it at nothing, your statement means nothing.
But, to be specific, I said 'Netanyahu, also an ICC-indicted war criminal, guilty of far worse crimes than even Putin has committed...'
To be mor specific, this is referencing the more recent events, Russian's invasion of Ukraine, and Israel's genocide in Gaza.
Both men are terrible, both are indicted war criminals, both actions deserve condemnation.
And, as any lucid person paying attention can see, Netanyahu's crimes are far worse.
This doesn't mean Putin's crimes aren't real and serious. It 'defies reason' to not understand this.
I'll copy some of that comment again here, since apparently you didn't read that far.
Start with the obvious fact that Ukraine is an actual country, with full autonomy, its own full scale military, control of its own trade, telecommunications, and everything else.
The Occupied Territories of course, have none of this. All the Occupied Territories (which includes Gaza, despite the weird claims by Israeli defenders that it isn't) have no autonomy of any sort, no control over their own borders, trade, telecommunications, travel, or anything else. All of the Occupied Territories are subject to constant violence from Israel, since long before October 2023. Israel has been killing, abducting, torturing and maiming civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights for many decades.
Another obvious fact is that, as terrible as Putin's invasion has been, the war crimes Israel is committing in Gaza are far worse.
Israel is intentionally starving an entire trapped population, and then massacring unarmed starving civilians near 'aid' sites every single day for months. This is not happening in Ukraine.
Israel has created more child amputees than anywhere in the world in Gaza.
Israel has assassinated nearly 300 journalists in Gaza in the past 22 months. Not only is there nothing comparable like this happening in Ukraine, it is the most journalists murdered in any single 'conflict' anywhere in generations.
Israel has killed hundreds of UN officials in Gaza.
Israel has entirely leveled an entire society in Gaza, targeting hospitals, UN facilities, schools, churches, mosques and all other civil infrastructure. 90% of all the buildings in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged. There is nothing comparable in Ukraine, and there are few comparisons to this level of destruction anywhere in the 21st century.
No one is claiming Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine (not yet anyway) ...Lots of credible observers have made this charge against Israel, including Israeli human rights organizations like B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, and American Jewish advocacy organization J Street. UN officials, political leaders and genocide scholars around the world have come to the same conclusion, including many Israeli scholars (see Omer Bartov's piece in the NY Times last month).
Trump appears to have succeeded in moving the Epstein files off the radar. Let's not allow that to happen, folks.
No Sleaze is Too Warped for Donald Trump
Trump's newest sleazy ploy to entice followers is to convert normal innocent youth into rabid MAGA worshippers of Trump, as revealed in an article yesterday in USA Today.
Simply stated, the Republican legislature of the State of Oklahoma is now REQUIRING all Oklahoma high schools to teach its students Trump's allegations that the Democrats stole the 2020 Presidential election.
In a move that evokes memories of Galileo being punished for heresy in positing that the earth revolves around the sun, rather than the opposite, and memories of the Scopes "Monkey Trial" in which John Scopes was convicted of violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution instead of the Biblical account of creation, Oklahoma's Republican controlled legislature has enacted a law requiring all of its high schools to teach all of the allegations that Trump has made in support of his contention that the Democrats stole the 2020 election from him.
Not only is there no requirement that these teachers also teach their students the evidence that caused 80 courts throughout the United States to find that there was absolutely no evidence that the Democrats stole the election from Trump, but the teachers are implicitly required not to teach this.
It is my opinion that the requirement to teach this far right-wing totally debunked conspiracy theory lifts this "teaching", or rather enforced inculcation, out of the realm of education and into the realm of mandatory partisan propaganda that has been totally discredited by our courts throughout the United States.
The enactment of this statute converts these schools into incubation institutions to indoctrinate our unsuspecting and unquestioning youth at an early age into the world of far right-wing dogma and bold-faced lies. This perversion of state legislative enactments to promote discredited lies and doctrinaire falsities calls into question the legitimacy of the degrees conferred by such high schools
Therefore, I believe that all colleges and universities in the United States, including the organization that accredits diplomas issued by high schools, decertify any high school diploma that includes credit for having taken Oklahoma's required propaganda courses. I also believe that universities and colleges throughout the United States should boycott accepting students graduating from these high schools and that potential employers also boycott hiring these graduates.
say the people of okla from stolen land...not our smartest state
This is what happens when an intellectually challenged and entirely corrupt man is elected President. Trump does not have the capacity to understand even the basic issues that encompass the Ukraine/Russia conflict. I am sure that he was given his 10-point bulleted list to follow, but we all know that even this is something that is out of reach for an aging President battling ill health, fatigue, and political strife. Putin was smug and barely able to hide his elation at the total capitulation by an American President at the summit. Ukraine and Europe need to reset negotiation's today and ease us out of the picture. With Trump in office nothing good will come of any future meeting between Russia and the US.
My concern is that Vance and Murdoch are colluding on next steps when, not if, Trump is removed from office.
maybe, but vance has not the "power" of trump to seduce
I agree, Vance does not have the popularity or power that Trump has over members of Congress. I don't think many even like him.
But there will always be Miller and Vought in the background.
Christine: . . . Miller and Vought and that banking guy who looks like he is straight out of Hollywood casting for a soulless CEO, and some very big funders who don't care WHO (Trump or Vance or whomever) but just want to keep their funding streams going, regardless if the planet burns up and becomes polluted in the meantime.
Thanks Jennifer, for verifying that I was not wrong to be relieved that we came away from the meeting with Alaska still in one of our fifty states. Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian
for now...maybe Alaska is sorry they voted for orangeass ?
Unless there is a leap in self awareness among comfortable Americans and men begin to vocalize support for Dem women, I don’t see a way out.
It’s great to have a Trump regime revolt. Great to have Texans out protesting the steal that Abbott is pushing. I hope it backfires on them royally. That summit was a joke on Trump. Putin has him by the short hairs.
Excellent item, Jen. As you note in closing, the only Trumpian response to negative poll results and financial news is to accelerate the march to totalitarianism. "Beatings will be increased until morale improves."
Not enough to criticize what Trump does. We have to offer something. Suggest the Dems cobble together a shadow cabinet and make daily pronouncements on what should be done. For starters, suggest treating people with respect and embracing Life, Liberty, an d the Pursuit of Happiness. They aren’t just pretty words, they represent our soul.
I think someone, perhaps you, suggested the shadow government concept before, and I agree. Too bad the Dem Party still hasn't come up with a coordinated strategy, leaving individual senators and congresspeople to try individually !
Thank you, Jen. There is no one better in the business at devastatingly clear summaries of the truth.
It’s a wonderful summary, but will any of it amount to anything if congressional Republicans remain completely spineless?
Michael Wolff on Daily Beast, Epstein's biographer--says Epstein had a secret meeting with Putin in Moscow. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-circles-drop-f-bomb-after-failure-putin-summit-wolff/
MAGA is spinning the summit as a success. "Trump Circles Drop F-Bomb After ‘Failure’ Putin Summit: Wolff."
Wolf was asked by Epstein to write a biography, but he says he never did. Wolf hung out with him for quite some time while "deciding". I figure he'll come out with a book about Epstein eventually. Meantime, maybe I heard this in one of his interviews, that Alex Acosta was told Epstein was some kind of agent for the US to both explain his Moscow trip and why there should be a plea deal on sex charges. The real estate deal is at the center of trump and epstein's breakup and how epstein ended up prosecuted in FL.
Maybe. The Miami Herald was all over this. The public needs to hear from Acosta. Among the federal prosecutors were Acosta’s former top assistant, Jeffrey Sloman; ex-criminal chief Matthew Menchel; former case prosecutor Marie Villafaña, who had prepared a sex-trafficking indictment against Epstein that was not filed; and her boss, Andrew Lourie. All should be questioned as to unindicted co-conspirators.
Also there were roughly 1000 victims. Many if not most, were involved in cvil litigation. All should be asked whethwer they were farmed out by Epstein.