And a support of ageism which seems to be on the rise. Grandpas are not all “ unaware”. Focusing on age with these two horrible men is cutting them a break. Yes, we all diminish our sharpness and energy with age but these two losers were always sociopathic, narcissistic, cruel and never cared about anything but their own image.
Thank you! We have adjectives to more accurately describe levels of success & achievement for all the younger generations but older humans are usually dismissed as “unaware old grandpas”. Sir Richard Attenborough just made 100: is he then an “aware old grandpa”? What has happened to respect for older & wiser?
A long time since America suffered total defeat? What do you call Vietnam or Afghanistan. Both total defeats. In Korea, the Chinese kicked our rears back near the original border between North and South. Iraq was a cluster--k and while we managed to salvage something from it, you can't call it a victory. Then the Cold War... so much spent and look at Russia now? That was also a failure.
And baecause these two superpwers were in such a great rivalry to win hearts and minds of nations whey wishes to concquer, Kabul had the best sidewalks in that region of the world in the late 1970's.
the russian empire also lost in Afghanistan in the 19th century. the British Empire lost twice in Afghanistan in the 19th century. Says a lot about Afghanistan.
US "leaders" (past, present, & probably future) still haven't learned (& may never learn) that winning militarily on the battlefield doesn't automatically equal victory. Our militarily weaker enemies learned what George Washington knew. Washington knew that as long as he could hold the Continental Army together, and therefore remain a threat, the British could not claim victory. (My 4th great-grandfather was a soldier in Washington's army).
Granted, it is a nebulous term, but Vietnam and Afghanistan were losses, but the US "won" many battles and left because we could not win the asymetric warfare.
However, Iran has beaten us. They have destroyed our military bases across the middle east, they have proven the US cannot defend its allies, we have been unable to materially degrade Iran's ability to fire missiles or drones, and that is just the most publicized problems. Others bode dangerous times ahead for the US.
Consider that US carriers are parked a long way from Iran. That's because as we've seen in Ukraine v Russia, cheap drones can hit and sink ships worth hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars.
The upshot is that Iran will emerge VASTLY more powerful, as the dominant power in the region, with a more hardline government, able to bargain for immense sanctions relief and will likely keep control of the strait of Hormuz, charging tolls to whomever passes through it.
I pray that all the foreign powers who worked to get Trump elected because they thought he could control him are having “I never though the leopard’s would eat MY face” experiences. Or to borrow from the game Portal 2
“Here's a couple of facts: Trump’s not just a regular moron. He's the product of the most corrupt minds of a generation working together with the express purpose of building the dumbest moron who ever lived. And you (Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE, every petrostate dictator) put him in charge.
Much before that he was seduced by his own dick. Other than money, his most overwhelming compulsion is to feel and be seen as the ultimate Macho Man. Most of his male Cult followers have the same affliction.
They're programmed to be that way. It's part of the overall political strategy of the Heritage Foundation, the Christian Nationalists, and the National Rifle Association. In my younger days I served in Vietnam (voluntarily), was an NRA member, & a Republican. I know what the Coolaide tastes like.
Yes but the Trump "brain trust" has wanted war on Iran since Carter days. We might have lost that skirmish with OPEC and hostages but we hadn't lost the war for the minds and hearts of people worldwide who want our kind of freedom so much they "invade" our borders today (right, Miller?). It's weak minded people who thought we were humiliated by Iran. And it's these weak minded people in the current administration and MAGA, a definite minority, TYRANNIZING us today. Bannon and Kushner, and I'd wager Trump, didn't NEED to be persuaded by Netanyahu to make war on Iran. They WANTED to. And now Trump's cry of NO NUKES for IRAN is just today's Iraqi WMD all over again.
They would support Hitler if that keeps them in power. No surprise there Debi. And because they don't have a spine, they are extremely afraid of falling on his wrong side .
Both republican voters and their elected representatives support his disgusting actions – or least did initially, before his actions turned ridiculous on them.
and being primaried is a serious threat. Note how Trump lately primaried Indiana senators (was it?) who voted against his redistricting proposals, and almost all of them were defeated. The MAGA base can still be mobilized by Trump, however horrible most of the country/world thinks he is.
Trump, not so much. With any luck, the voters will flip the House (even with gerrymandered seats) and maybe even the Senate. And we can only hope that the stench of Don the Con will be visited on whomever the GQP nominates in 2028.
Jenn makes a good point about being isolated from facts. It was even said on Leave it to Beaver-- Eddie Haskell said it to Beaver in a rare moment of self-reflection:
"It's not good in life when you start to believe your own stories" or something to that effect
The toll of the war has been horrendous and Putin is said to be extremely paranoid and isolating himself, fearing Ukrainian drones in the heart of Moscow and fearing his own aides as well—assassination, in other words.
Why do you think the next guy in Russia will be better? I can only hope the next guy here will be better, but I have frankly lost faith in many of my fellow Americans. Who are these 30 percent who approve of the disaster Trump has been?
I think it's more important to make Netanyahu's role very clear, more important than it is to link the president to Putin, because Netanyahu, unlike Putin, still has the support of so many members of Congress. They may try to cover their support now but they do take donations from AIPAC and in return they soft-pedal the US financing of Israel's military and Netanyahu's war crimes.
because Netenyahu has wide and deep support in Israel for his tactics against Palestinians and Lebanese. Yes, he's corrupt and working hard to avoid a criminal trial, but his genocide is very popular at home.
"No wonder Trump keeps trying to cheer himself up with plans for vulgar monuments to himself. Goodness knows, if he doesn’t build them, no one else will."
Is it permitted for outraged constituents to tear them down?
I'd like to see King Con live long enough to watch all his monuments being repurposed as reminders of the importance of civil rights.....or just torn down and dumped onto the grounds of Mar-a-Lago....
Fear and self preservation are the two main reasons why they still support the scumbag president and his "policies". Besides, they might be making a lot af under the table money. Anything else Alan?🫣
Trump swaggers up to a podium to announce a suspension of federal tax on fuel. A news anchor (on KOIN, Portland) remarks, “only 18 cents, but anything helps”, placing her in the stupid column along with Trump.
Stupid is as stupid does. How many more people have fallen for Trump’s grandstanding? Do they not realize how many millions this will cost the taxpayers.
He drug us into his war, is now asking for billions, no trillions more, and they get ecstatic over 18 cents; what’s become of this country?
it's the beginning of the end...not true, the beginning started with jobs being shipped overseas, rule of the corporations, disrespect of education, racism, and a lot of other factors. actually this is the end...
I mostly agree. I'm not opposed to globalization. But it's the way it was done, with scant consideration for the social consequences here. Pull out for profit, and with no accountability for the damage done at home. And THEN being PRAISED as 1000 points of light. Even more recently, with Trump, the nearly unexamined notion that if you're successful in business then you can do anything, including statecraft. Still, I totally agree with your comments on disrespect of education, and racism etc.
Thank you to all. Unfortunately, the additional problem we face is the corruption of the Republican Party, its tame Congress, obedient governors and their backup, the Roberts Supreme Court. The Civil War never ended. This is its latest incarnation. No John McCains here.
the south won the civil war last week with the sup crt's murder of the voting rights act. I am going to start practicing guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar...
Both are in incredibly precarious positions. Much of the world is experiencing mass reform and revolution and the ones who historically lose the most in these situations are autocrats. The question is how far we Americans will go to make sure we wrestle power back!
What's different about this one? Why is this more dire than the situations faced by all the people who have overthrown authoritarian governments in the past?
number one, americans are idiots and the world is learning maybe our admiration of america is not deserved. and now she cannot be trusted. the world is shocked that the american voter can elect such a leader ...and they are reluctant to put their fate in the hands of such a group. that's what different.
I respect the anger here; I feel it too. I just think that dictators have been defeated by people with less power than us. And I refuse to let myself give in to the despair they want me to feel.
The problem in the US are the people supporting Trump, the ones really calling the shots. They’ll still be around, I don’t think they will recede when Trump goes. Stephen Miller, Vance, the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 will be alive and well. It remains to be seen if democrats can win anything. If those 78 million stay at home voters from the last election do so again then the same old same old will continue. The Democrats need to punch new young blood into leadership positions. If the old guard truly cares about pushing Trump and crew out, they need to step away. I have mt doubts, hope I’m wrong.
Desperation + imbecilic level stupidity + access to nuclear weapons make tRump unbelievably dangerous. He definitely needs to spend more time at his bedbug-infested golf motels. Welcome back, Jen! Your absence was keenly felt! But, mazel tov!
Putin's position is more desperate since Russia has been known to assassinate failed leaders. Trump will probably die quietly in bed still thinking he 'won'.
"With an approval rating in the 30’s.... his Truth Social rants have become even more unhinged."
Others here probably read HCR's Letter this morning, in which she outlines Trump's recent rants, and frankly, I was shocked - shocked that it gets so little mention!
The MSM and Congress have normalized it to the point where his calling himself “WITHOUT A DOUBT THE GREATEST PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN,” and bragging about his "Excellent Poll Numbers" - when they are NOT - doesn't receive any official pushback in terms of his state of fitness to be president.
Imagine any other POTUS evidencing this level of disconnection with objective reality. WE recognize it, where is the media?
Most Americans say Trump is mentally, physically unfit to serve effectively: Poll
As folks like G. Elliott Morris and other experts report RCP puts a very heavy “thumb on the scales” by including lots of right wing junk polls in its purported “average.” It’s a Republican echo chamber and has been for years.
There are plenty of sites like that. You might want to look at “Strength in Numbers” and “The Down Ballot” on Substack. As an Economist subscriber, one can look at all their trended data—I do so most every week.
At some point, current allies in Congress and in business circles will say or do something that will unleash the built up frustration and fear for their own power positions, breaking the logjams that have prevented progress and change. Like a horse race, even a stumbler can move to the front and demonstrate that with a little patience and determination a new leader can emerge. Courage is contagious in athletics and Congress. A weak leader is doomed.
Unaware old grandpas??? That's a defamation of Grandpas everywhere. Call them what they are: decrepit, old monsters.
And a support of ageism which seems to be on the rise. Grandpas are not all “ unaware”. Focusing on age with these two horrible men is cutting them a break. Yes, we all diminish our sharpness and energy with age but these two losers were always sociopathic, narcissistic, cruel and never cared about anything but their own image.
How about decrepit, old evil monsters?
That works too.
Thanks, this somewhat aware old grandpa appreciates that!
Thank you! We have adjectives to more accurately describe levels of success & achievement for all the younger generations but older humans are usually dismissed as “unaware old grandpas”. Sir Richard Attenborough just made 100: is he then an “aware old grandpa”? What has happened to respect for older & wiser?
Well,older and wiser, T**** and Putin are not. They are just mean and cruel.
A long time since America suffered total defeat? What do you call Vietnam or Afghanistan. Both total defeats. In Korea, the Chinese kicked our rears back near the original border between North and South. Iraq was a cluster--k and while we managed to salvage something from it, you can't call it a victory. Then the Cold War... so much spent and look at Russia now? That was also a failure.
Do you remember which superpower tried for years to defeat Afghanistan? and failed? before USA moved in and did the same thing?
And baecause these two superpwers were in such a great rivalry to win hearts and minds of nations whey wishes to concquer, Kabul had the best sidewalks in that region of the world in the late 1970's.
the russian empire also lost in Afghanistan in the 19th century. the British Empire lost twice in Afghanistan in the 19th century. Says a lot about Afghanistan.
I do.
We Americans DO seem to have a very high opinion of ourselves.
US "leaders" (past, present, & probably future) still haven't learned (& may never learn) that winning militarily on the battlefield doesn't automatically equal victory. Our militarily weaker enemies learned what George Washington knew. Washington knew that as long as he could hold the Continental Army together, and therefore remain a threat, the British could not claim victory. (My 4th great-grandfather was a soldier in Washington's army).
In fact, even though the Union won the Civil War, the Confederacy was not eradicated. It has been reborn as the GOP.
Yes.
Granted, it is a nebulous term, but Vietnam and Afghanistan were losses, but the US "won" many battles and left because we could not win the asymetric warfare.
However, Iran has beaten us. They have destroyed our military bases across the middle east, they have proven the US cannot defend its allies, we have been unable to materially degrade Iran's ability to fire missiles or drones, and that is just the most publicized problems. Others bode dangerous times ahead for the US.
Consider that US carriers are parked a long way from Iran. That's because as we've seen in Ukraine v Russia, cheap drones can hit and sink ships worth hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars.
The upshot is that Iran will emerge VASTLY more powerful, as the dominant power in the region, with a more hardline government, able to bargain for immense sanctions relief and will likely keep control of the strait of Hormuz, charging tolls to whomever passes through it.
That's why this is a total defeat.
tRump was tragically seduced by Netanyahu.
I pray that all the foreign powers who worked to get Trump elected because they thought he could control him are having “I never though the leopard’s would eat MY face” experiences. Or to borrow from the game Portal 2
“Here's a couple of facts: Trump’s not just a regular moron. He's the product of the most corrupt minds of a generation working together with the express purpose of building the dumbest moron who ever lived. And you (Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE, every petrostate dictator) put him in charge.
Much before that he was seduced by his own dick. Other than money, his most overwhelming compulsion is to feel and be seen as the ultimate Macho Man. Most of his male Cult followers have the same affliction.
I almost feel sorry for guys who suffer from this disorder. Almost. They just don't realize that they come off as pathetic.
They're programmed to be that way. It's part of the overall political strategy of the Heritage Foundation, the Christian Nationalists, and the National Rifle Association. In my younger days I served in Vietnam (voluntarily), was an NRA member, & a Republican. I know what the Coolaide tastes like.
One of the best answers I've ever read, Bob Egbert.
Yes but the Trump "brain trust" has wanted war on Iran since Carter days. We might have lost that skirmish with OPEC and hostages but we hadn't lost the war for the minds and hearts of people worldwide who want our kind of freedom so much they "invade" our borders today (right, Miller?). It's weak minded people who thought we were humiliated by Iran. And it's these weak minded people in the current administration and MAGA, a definite minority, TYRANNIZING us today. Bannon and Kushner, and I'd wager Trump, didn't NEED to be persuaded by Netanyahu to make war on Iran. They WANTED to. And now Trump's cry of NO NUKES for IRAN is just today's Iraqi WMD all over again.
And why did it happen? I see that Bonnie Boyce answers that question.
Hard to understand how the Republicans in Congress can support this reprehensible person and his disgusting actions.
They would support Hitler if that keeps them in power. No surprise there Debi. And because they don't have a spine, they are extremely afraid of falling on his wrong side .
Both republican voters and their elected representatives support his disgusting actions – or least did initially, before his actions turned ridiculous on them.
Unenlightened self interest!
Fear of being primaried. Life in the Congressional majority is good for the wallet and expectations are low.
and being primaried is a serious threat. Note how Trump lately primaried Indiana senators (was it?) who voted against his redistricting proposals, and almost all of them were defeated. The MAGA base can still be mobilized by Trump, however horrible most of the country/world thinks he is.
FWIW, Putin ain't going anywhere anytime soon!
Trump, not so much. With any luck, the voters will flip the House (even with gerrymandered seats) and maybe even the Senate. And we can only hope that the stench of Don the Con will be visited on whomever the GQP nominates in 2028.
Jenn makes a good point about being isolated from facts. It was even said on Leave it to Beaver-- Eddie Haskell said it to Beaver in a rare moment of self-reflection:
"It's not good in life when you start to believe your own stories" or something to that effect
"Putin ain't going anywhere anytime soon!"
Why do you think that?
The toll of the war has been horrendous and Putin is said to be extremely paranoid and isolating himself, fearing Ukrainian drones in the heart of Moscow and fearing his own aides as well—assassination, in other words.
Why do you think the next guy in Russia will be better? I can only hope the next guy here will be better, but I have frankly lost faith in many of my fellow Americans. Who are these 30 percent who approve of the disaster Trump has been?
When did I say I think that? I was asking the OP why HE thought Putin wasn't going anywhere.
Not surprising. He's trained them up in assassination techniques.
The third weakening strongman was left out of this piece: Benjamin Netanyahoo. Why is he not up there with our president and Putin?
The description is exactly the same, including the support from "religious leaders" who don't seem to have read and understood their sacred texts.
I think it's more important to make Netanyahu's role very clear, more important than it is to link the president to Putin, because Netanyahu, unlike Putin, still has the support of so many members of Congress. They may try to cover their support now but they do take donations from AIPAC and in return they soft-pedal the US financing of Israel's military and Netanyahu's war crimes.
They also take donations from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Muslim countries.
Yes they do. All of it corrupts our members of Congress. And our president most of all.
Actually, tRump has always been corrupt.
Yes, the way that Christians believe we're all born into sin, "he" was born into corruption.
because Netenyahu has wide and deep support in Israel for his tactics against Palestinians and Lebanese. Yes, he's corrupt and working hard to avoid a criminal trial, but his genocide is very popular at home.
Netanyahu is different. He made a deal with the devils to stay in power. Here the GOP and MAGAs made a deal with the devil.
"No wonder Trump keeps trying to cheer himself up with plans for vulgar monuments to himself. Goodness knows, if he doesn’t build them, no one else will."
Is it permitted for outraged constituents to tear them down?
I'd like to see King Con live long enough to watch all his monuments being repurposed as reminders of the importance of civil rights.....or just torn down and dumped onto the grounds of Mar-a-Lago....
Hungary put all its Soviet-era statuary in a park, away from the Budapest city center, and called it "Heroes Park". (That was before Orban).
just like the Berlin wall
You are totally correct, Ms. Rubin. But that matters little if the Republicans in Congress continue to cower in fear of "Grandpa" Trump.
Fear and self preservation are the two main reasons why they still support the scumbag president and his "policies". Besides, they might be making a lot af under the table money. Anything else Alan?🫣
Fine turn of phrase="as he [Trump] frantically tries to dispel the stench of failure."
Trump swaggers up to a podium to announce a suspension of federal tax on fuel. A news anchor (on KOIN, Portland) remarks, “only 18 cents, but anything helps”, placing her in the stupid column along with Trump.
Stupid is as stupid does. How many more people have fallen for Trump’s grandstanding? Do they not realize how many millions this will cost the taxpayers.
He drug us into his war, is now asking for billions, no trillions more, and they get ecstatic over 18 cents; what’s become of this country?
it's the beginning of the end...not true, the beginning started with jobs being shipped overseas, rule of the corporations, disrespect of education, racism, and a lot of other factors. actually this is the end...
I mostly agree. I'm not opposed to globalization. But it's the way it was done, with scant consideration for the social consequences here. Pull out for profit, and with no accountability for the damage done at home. And THEN being PRAISED as 1000 points of light. Even more recently, with Trump, the nearly unexamined notion that if you're successful in business then you can do anything, including statecraft. Still, I totally agree with your comments on disrespect of education, and racism etc.
Not to mention that the prez can not just suspend that tax. Only Congress can do do it by passing legislation.
Thank you to all. Unfortunately, the additional problem we face is the corruption of the Republican Party, its tame Congress, obedient governors and their backup, the Roberts Supreme Court. The Civil War never ended. This is its latest incarnation. No John McCains here.
the south won the civil war last week with the sup crt's murder of the voting rights act. I am going to start practicing guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar...
Both are in incredibly precarious positions. Much of the world is experiencing mass reform and revolution and the ones who historically lose the most in these situations are autocrats. The question is how far we Americans will go to make sure we wrestle power back!
I don't think we will see the return of our power anytime soon by any amount of wrestlemania moves.
My reading of history says that it happens all the time.
not this time
What's different about this one? Why is this more dire than the situations faced by all the people who have overthrown authoritarian governments in the past?
number one, americans are idiots and the world is learning maybe our admiration of america is not deserved. and now she cannot be trusted. the world is shocked that the american voter can elect such a leader ...and they are reluctant to put their fate in the hands of such a group. that's what different.
I respect the anger here; I feel it too. I just think that dictators have been defeated by people with less power than us. And I refuse to let myself give in to the despair they want me to feel.
The problem in the US are the people supporting Trump, the ones really calling the shots. They’ll still be around, I don’t think they will recede when Trump goes. Stephen Miller, Vance, the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 will be alive and well. It remains to be seen if democrats can win anything. If those 78 million stay at home voters from the last election do so again then the same old same old will continue. The Democrats need to punch new young blood into leadership positions. If the old guard truly cares about pushing Trump and crew out, they need to step away. I have mt doubts, hope I’m wrong.
Desperation + imbecilic level stupidity + access to nuclear weapons make tRump unbelievably dangerous. He definitely needs to spend more time at his bedbug-infested golf motels. Welcome back, Jen! Your absence was keenly felt! But, mazel tov!
Putin's position is more desperate since Russia has been known to assassinate failed leaders. Trump will probably die quietly in bed still thinking he 'won'.
If Ukraine doesn't decide to get him.
"With an approval rating in the 30’s.... his Truth Social rants have become even more unhinged."
Others here probably read HCR's Letter this morning, in which she outlines Trump's recent rants, and frankly, I was shocked - shocked that it gets so little mention!
The MSM and Congress have normalized it to the point where his calling himself “WITHOUT A DOUBT THE GREATEST PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN,” and bragging about his "Excellent Poll Numbers" - when they are NOT - doesn't receive any official pushback in terms of his state of fitness to be president.
Imagine any other POTUS evidencing this level of disconnection with objective reality. WE recognize it, where is the media?
Most Americans say Trump is mentally, physically unfit to serve effectively: Poll
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5862406-trump-mental-fitness-physical-health-poll/
In times past, when Trump stayed off social media, his poll numbers went up.
Speaking of polling:
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/approval-rating
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/favorability/republican-party
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/favorability/democratic-party
RCP is a well known right-wing shill. Go look at something more neutral like “The Economist”/YouGov poll that comes out every week.
If you look at the websites I listed you'll see that RCP is an aggregate of several polls, including The Economist/YouGov.
As folks like G. Elliott Morris and other experts report RCP puts a very heavy “thumb on the scales” by including lots of right wing junk polls in its purported “average.” It’s a Republican echo chamber and has been for years.
I would rather see a trend among several polls than rely too heavily on one, regardless of their political leanings.
There are plenty of sites like that. You might want to look at “Strength in Numbers” and “The Down Ballot” on Substack. As an Economist subscriber, one can look at all their trended data—I do so most every week.
At some point, current allies in Congress and in business circles will say or do something that will unleash the built up frustration and fear for their own power positions, breaking the logjams that have prevented progress and change. Like a horse race, even a stumbler can move to the front and demonstrate that with a little patience and determination a new leader can emerge. Courage is contagious in athletics and Congress. A weak leader is doomed.
We hope and hope and hope.