Trump is unable to have any kind of sympathy for killing anyone, including our own service men and women, he thinks this is all a game. He’s dangerous and should be removed from office, but that won’t happen because nobody has any backbone to do it. Every morning when I read what is happening, I just want to scream. Where is the empathy for human life? God help us!
I thought the military was compelled to resist orders that are illegal, while suddenly we are bombing people and things, firing torpedoes, losing "boots on the ground", etc. Did I understand the rules wrong? Or is this just another example of missing guardrails while this group does precisely what it wants?
BTW, Jen, how about one of your blistering columns on Hegseth? Everybody focuses on who wears a hat to what, while this untrained lunatic treats the military like his very own video game...
When 40 percent of the top brass are fighting for Armageddon and the resurrection of Jesus because they follow his teachings so well (sarcasm), you have to wonder if white men in positions of powers haven’t all drunk the poisoned Kool-Aid.
Aaah, Susan, I wonder about so many things in this upside-down world! Not much I can do about any of it - just continue calling Congress, signing petitions, writing postcards to swing states, and donating a bit when I can. I've stopped being intrigued by new ways to characterize things. Enough with the blahblah!! (she said, adding some more blahblah to the pile). lol
I wonder if we'll be seeing the exit of Hegseth soon. He's become the face and voice of the war, more so than our Hat-wearer in Chief. While the Hat-wearer is confused about whether this is a war or not (what would he know of war, having dodged it so often?), SecDef routinely calls it war as he gloats and threatens the human beings at the receiving end of his missiles. Secretary Warmonger has pretty much taken over this narrative. And we know how much President Hat-wearer loves to be out-performed. Look what happened to Musk when he tried that.
Good point, Donna, as usual. He does hate being upstaged by anything. The only problem is the do-nothing, know-nothing, warmongering idiot chosen to replace him.
Yet Musk is still funding the right-wing election deniers and worse. I was shocked when he closed off Starlink to the Russian army, and can’t help but wonder what his payout is.
What terrifies me the most - out of a vast selection of terrifying prospects and events - is the fact that Musk has his finger on the Internet with many satellites quietly under his control, which he can disable on his slightest whim. He could totally paralyze everything that depends on it - and what doesn't??
Jen Rubin hits it on the nail yet again. Unlike the current administration and its supporters, her analysis of the morass we are in is painfully accurate. Thank you, Jen, for your valuable work at this time of pending disaster.
YES. The war is stupid beyond all reckoning, and unconstitutional, and has extremely long shadows. The question is "How do we get out of this" Assume a competent leader is in place. What does he /she do? Withdraw and say OOOPS, sorry about that? Pay Iran reparations? Declare victory and go home? Iran and it's next gen hardliners will be targeting US assets for a few generations. And my understanding is that Iran was on the verge of a good Uranium deal in Oman. WAKE UP PEOPLE. Not only does the emperor have no clothes, he has no brain as well. And is owned by Putin.
If we get a competent leader in place because the MAGA folk who know they have been betrayed by their orange idol stay home instead of voting, and enough actually sane folks in Congress, the first step is to get a sane team with appropriate actual expertise in place. The second is to put a hold on as much of the lunacy as possible with a commitment to rethink, recalibrate, reform. Cleaning out the Augean stables is not going to be easy.
We’re living in a constant nightmare daily! Trump attacked and destroyed DEI while simultaneously hiring and giving power to the most incompetent people to be found in America.
Thanks for being part of the growing number of people who are saying this is wrong, this is evil. Call Johnson's office and call out his enabling the Epstein coverup and hypocrisy in not censuring Ogle for his Islamic racism, for trying to enable Christian law upon us all. We can't be afraid of being too harsh or one-sided.
The International CRiminal Court ought to indict both Don the Con and Hegseth for the crime of aggression and for extrajudicial killing by sinking those ships in the Caribbean.
It won't mean anything now, but after Drumpf is out of office, and after Hegseth resigns or is fired, then if they happen to land in any country that belongs to the ICC, they will be arrested and sent in chains to The Hague for trial.
Yes, Trump ultimately seems only interested in money, power, fame, and security for himself and his family - no one else. And the fact that Iran had a plot to kill Trump may have been a key motivation in Trump's war. Hegseth referred to that when he was discussing the assassination of Khamenei, and then he said that Trump or he or the U.S. "had the last laugh" -- i.e. killed Khamenei instead of him being able to have Trump killed. Well, Khamenei's son and others in Iran likely still have that goal in mind, so I doubt that Trump's attacks have eliminated that threat. Thanks to Trump's war, we now also have terrorist threats to all Americans (and America's allies) unlimited by location in the world, and which could go on for decades (or even forever). As I say, MAWA -- Making America Worse Again.
War crimes tribunals await Trump and Hegseth. Trials can occur in absentia. And those two can be arrested if they visit a country that supportd the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, I hope the next Democratic administration finally recognizes the ICC and turns these monsters over to them.
Trump is sick. That sickness and the unique position of power he holds imperil humanity itself. Republicans could check Trump, reduce the threat his sickness imposes but they steadfastly refuse to. Why? … Why? … Why, America?
Yes, DJT is a toxic narcissist who lacks all empathy. Yes he's diagnosable with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, NPD. But what in our culture gave birth to DJT and all the other monster bros running our government? What accounts for the Republican leaders who don't have NPD who line up behind him and give him the thumbs up and refuse to stop his cruelty? This is a much larger problem in our society and pointing the finger at DJT will not help solve it. The real monster giving birth to DJT and his monster bros is the progeny of the marriage between unregulated capitalism and Western Individualism.
You're entirely right, Kathleen. The problem has its roots in what we give priority to, our value system. Maybe the human race never had a truly humane value system, one which honors shared well-being over personal enrichment. But for sure we don't now.
For some good news about humans' capacity for shared well-being, read "The Dawn of Everything," a brilliant book by two anthropologists who contend we have overlooked the sophisticated social systems of interconnection and care in Indigenous cultures for thousands of years.
The guy upped the ante big time. And with his obvious, gruesome efforts to cheat in the midterms, this is a 6-alarm fire.
Before now five was highest. A sixth alarm had to be created to capture the gravity of the threat this demented freak poses to the Republic.
Trump is unable to have any kind of sympathy for killing anyone, including our own service men and women, he thinks this is all a game. He’s dangerous and should be removed from office, but that won’t happen because nobody has any backbone to do it. Every morning when I read what is happening, I just want to scream. Where is the empathy for human life? God help us!
Every morning Trump/Epstein should be the headline.
Oh, the Humanity! (Herbert Morrison, 5/6/37.)
Me too Rose!
To paraphrase the elected convicted felon.
Your comment is a 15 on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest.
Just look at Trump's picture and tell me if that was a Dignified Transfer. This guy is a disgrace and an insult to every decent American.
“a war without end”, Amen
“ imagine a boot, stepping on a human face, forever.”
- George Orwell, 1984
What are the powers that be waiting for to what is necessary to "Lock him up"?
I've been around narcissists too much in my life. I understand who pays, and we are all paying ginormous costs for this group.
I'm grateful for your clarity, Jen. Keep standing for each other and for humanity, Friends. You matter, and it matters.
I thought the military was compelled to resist orders that are illegal, while suddenly we are bombing people and things, firing torpedoes, losing "boots on the ground", etc. Did I understand the rules wrong? Or is this just another example of missing guardrails while this group does precisely what it wants?
BTW, Jen, how about one of your blistering columns on Hegseth? Everybody focuses on who wears a hat to what, while this untrained lunatic treats the military like his very own video game...
When 40 percent of the top brass are fighting for Armageddon and the resurrection of Jesus because they follow his teachings so well (sarcasm), you have to wonder if white men in positions of powers haven’t all drunk the poisoned Kool-Aid.
At this point, and from the evidence available, it's hard to believe that they have not all drunk the Kool-Aid, poisoned by personal wealth and power.
Aaah, Susan, I wonder about so many things in this upside-down world! Not much I can do about any of it - just continue calling Congress, signing petitions, writing postcards to swing states, and donating a bit when I can. I've stopped being intrigued by new ways to characterize things. Enough with the blahblah!! (she said, adding some more blahblah to the pile). lol
I wonder if we'll be seeing the exit of Hegseth soon. He's become the face and voice of the war, more so than our Hat-wearer in Chief. While the Hat-wearer is confused about whether this is a war or not (what would he know of war, having dodged it so often?), SecDef routinely calls it war as he gloats and threatens the human beings at the receiving end of his missiles. Secretary Warmonger has pretty much taken over this narrative. And we know how much President Hat-wearer loves to be out-performed. Look what happened to Musk when he tried that.
Good point, Donna, as usual. He does hate being upstaged by anything. The only problem is the do-nothing, know-nothing, warmongering idiot chosen to replace him.
Yet Musk is still funding the right-wing election deniers and worse. I was shocked when he closed off Starlink to the Russian army, and can’t help but wonder what his payout is.
What terrifies me the most - out of a vast selection of terrifying prospects and events - is the fact that Musk has his finger on the Internet with many satellites quietly under his control, which he can disable on his slightest whim. He could totally paralyze everything that depends on it - and what doesn't??
True WE still have his interfering ways, but he's not at the center of this president's orbit. Or maybe he is...
Jen Rubin hits it on the nail yet again. Unlike the current administration and its supporters, her analysis of the morass we are in is painfully accurate. Thank you, Jen, for your valuable work at this time of pending disaster.
He is Hitler times 2. A crazy man losing, willing to burn the house down.
YES. The war is stupid beyond all reckoning, and unconstitutional, and has extremely long shadows. The question is "How do we get out of this" Assume a competent leader is in place. What does he /she do? Withdraw and say OOOPS, sorry about that? Pay Iran reparations? Declare victory and go home? Iran and it's next gen hardliners will be targeting US assets for a few generations. And my understanding is that Iran was on the verge of a good Uranium deal in Oman. WAKE UP PEOPLE. Not only does the emperor have no clothes, he has no brain as well. And is owned by Putin.
Let's not forget that he is also apparently owned by Benjamin Netanyahu.
The great Lawrence O'Donnell frequently refers to Drumpf as "the stupidest person to ever be president" and an "ignoramus."
In the first Trump administration, Rex Tillerson, a member of his cabinet at the time, made another pointed observation. True then; true now.
Let’s not forget his longtime boss, Vladimir PUTIN.
If we get a competent leader in place because the MAGA folk who know they have been betrayed by their orange idol stay home instead of voting, and enough actually sane folks in Congress, the first step is to get a sane team with appropriate actual expertise in place. The second is to put a hold on as much of the lunacy as possible with a commitment to rethink, recalibrate, reform. Cleaning out the Augean stables is not going to be easy.
We’re living in a constant nightmare daily! Trump attacked and destroyed DEI while simultaneously hiring and giving power to the most incompetent people to be found in America.
Thanks for being part of the growing number of people who are saying this is wrong, this is evil. Call Johnson's office and call out his enabling the Epstein coverup and hypocrisy in not censuring Ogle for his Islamic racism, for trying to enable Christian law upon us all. We can't be afraid of being too harsh or one-sided.
The International CRiminal Court ought to indict both Don the Con and Hegseth for the crime of aggression and for extrajudicial killing by sinking those ships in the Caribbean.
It won't mean anything now, but after Drumpf is out of office, and after Hegseth resigns or is fired, then if they happen to land in any country that belongs to the ICC, they will be arrested and sent in chains to The Hague for trial.
Yes, Trump ultimately seems only interested in money, power, fame, and security for himself and his family - no one else. And the fact that Iran had a plot to kill Trump may have been a key motivation in Trump's war. Hegseth referred to that when he was discussing the assassination of Khamenei, and then he said that Trump or he or the U.S. "had the last laugh" -- i.e. killed Khamenei instead of him being able to have Trump killed. Well, Khamenei's son and others in Iran likely still have that goal in mind, so I doubt that Trump's attacks have eliminated that threat. Thanks to Trump's war, we now also have terrorist threats to all Americans (and America's allies) unlimited by location in the world, and which could go on for decades (or even forever). As I say, MAWA -- Making America Worse Again.
Three infographics to illustrate Trump's grift from the war he started and the price Americans have to pay for it.
Starving for Strikes: How the GOP Slashed School Lunches to Fund Tomahawks to kill Iranian girls
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/03/09/raytheon-profits-iran-war-tomahawk-missiles-school-lunch-cuts/
War Tax: Live Dashboard For $100 Oil And Billions In Military Costs For Trump's War On Iran
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/03/08/trump-iran-war-tax-100-barrel-gas-dashboard-war-spending/
The Ultimate Disrespect: Trump peddles $55 baseball cap at funeral for soldiers killed in Iran
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/03/08/trump-selling-caps-military-funerals-iran-war/
War crimes tribunals await Trump and Hegseth. Trials can occur in absentia. And those two can be arrested if they visit a country that supportd the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, I hope the next Democratic administration finally recognizes the ICC and turns these monsters over to them.
Trump is sick. That sickness and the unique position of power he holds imperil humanity itself. Republicans could check Trump, reduce the threat his sickness imposes but they steadfastly refuse to. Why? … Why? … Why, America?
Excellent commentary!!
Please keep repeating this is new ways to try to influence those MAGA who may still be human and reachable!!
Yes, DJT is a toxic narcissist who lacks all empathy. Yes he's diagnosable with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, NPD. But what in our culture gave birth to DJT and all the other monster bros running our government? What accounts for the Republican leaders who don't have NPD who line up behind him and give him the thumbs up and refuse to stop his cruelty? This is a much larger problem in our society and pointing the finger at DJT will not help solve it. The real monster giving birth to DJT and his monster bros is the progeny of the marriage between unregulated capitalism and Western Individualism.
You're entirely right, Kathleen. The problem has its roots in what we give priority to, our value system. Maybe the human race never had a truly humane value system, one which honors shared well-being over personal enrichment. But for sure we don't now.
For some good news about humans' capacity for shared well-being, read "The Dawn of Everything," a brilliant book by two anthropologists who contend we have overlooked the sophisticated social systems of interconnection and care in Indigenous cultures for thousands of years.
Thank you, will look for this book. It's true that more 'primitive' cultures show greater appreciation for community-wide benefits.
The authors of this book make a great argument that these cultures were not primitive, but that we have misinterpreted their complexity.