Thank you, dear Jen. We miss your face and speaking voice, even as we send you gratitude for your continuing Contrarian essays. Thank you for your forceful writing. Rest your precious voice for as long as it takes to heal. With gratitude, Sandra
"The worst strategic blunder in U.S. history is entirely Trump’s doing, aided and abetted by incompetent Cabinet flunkies and congressional Republicans too cowardly to live up to their oaths to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Booting Republicans from office en masse is the essential first step in addressing this catastrophe."
This ending of today's letter is what WP has lost because of their new owners. WP decline reflects the country's decline. But, Jen also prescribes the step for turning back.
As usual, Trump is trying to distract from his incompetence and corruption by throwing out squirrels, most recently his claim that Venezuela is going to be a huge bonanza for the United States, a claim so absurd it's being easily dismantled (see Krugman today, for example). If I had to pick one issue at the moment that needs sustained focus, it's how he's positioning himself to overthrow our OWN government, via disrupting the mid-term elections. So yeah, "63 days" and glad to hear the Democrats are "war gaming" the threat, but do they really have the chutzpah they've so often lacked to take MAGA to the mat on this one?
It appears that the resistance, not becoming less, is getting stronger. There's even a non-profit group called Leaving Maga that is on the rise, populated by disallusioned Trump followers. It's an interesting development.
"Perhaps the worst strategic blunder in U.S. history is entirely Trump’s doing, aided and abetted by incompetent Cabinet flunkies and congressional Republicans too cowardly to live up to their oaths to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Booting Republicans from office en masse is the essential first step in addressing this catastrophe."
Yes. Only the first (but critically important) step.
We have a long way to climb back up to a minimal level of sanity, let alone full competence and self-respect.
It's daunting, but we must keep our shoulders to the wheel.
Thomas, let's hope they have the guts, but it will be extremely hard since nearly all the money in this election will be with the Trumpians. They already have our media with a few exceptions. They have AI insanity too where they can creat fakes that will have our Democratic candidates say whatever the AIers put into their mouths through the deep fakes. We the People are in trouble, faced with a treasonous crew that has nearly all the weapons on their side.
Money isn't everything, as a couple of state primaries showed. The candidate with the least money but the best message won. People are getting tired of their votes being overshadowed by corporate (read that big money) interests.
Voter anger is too intense right now for money to make that big a difference. People understand what they're angry about and why. So as long as people aren't blocked from voting, we should be OK.
I'm also nervous about how much the Democratic elected officials are going to do in response to disruption of the mid-terms, but Democratic elected officials are not the whole story. Groups like Indivisible (https://indivisible.org) are organizing across the country, along with longer-established voting rights and civil rights groups. The question goes beyond what "the Democrats" are willing to do, and to what we are willing to do at the grassroots level.
The attack on Iran was an ill-considered, incredibly expensive way to distract from the Epstein files that Trump continues to refuse to release, despite the law. "Mission accomplished" indeed. Trump never had a mission in the first place.
To the everlasting shame of the American people, 75+million of us followed their prejudices and generalized unhappiness and actually voted him back into office, despite his lies, despite January 6th, despite the endless litany of anti-democratic rants and actions. He actually won in 2024, and with the previously incomprehensible determination by the corrupt super majority of SCOTUS Trump enablers he has stayed out of jail and he has grifted on a previously unimaginable scale. Given that he’ll likely go to his grave still under the protection of the Roberts Court, we should channel all of our rage-fueled energy into getting rid of him and all of his Republican enablers ASAP!
As hard as it might seem, we must shift our collective focus away from complaining about the orange turd’s countless assaults on our democracy, and bend our collective will to action, not just words.
WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO WIPE THE MAGA SCOURGE FROM THE FACE OF THE WORLD!!!!
The law, it seems, has become irrelevant. So says our Department of "Justice" (Epstein Files Transparency Act). And so says two-thirds of our " Supreme" Court (U.S. Constitution).
That, and to further enrich himself. I feel certain Bibi called him up, told him defeating Iran would be a walk in the park, and then he could take all that oil wealth for himself. And that's all he needed.
“the worst strategic blunder in U.S. history…” was electing Trump. Second worst was electing these small-minded Republicans.
As you so rightly stated, Jennifer, the only way out of this morass that the Incompetency of the current Clown Show has driven us into is to: VOTE BLUE! No matter what else you do!
Quite a few of the 'small minded Republicans' were already well ensconced in congress before Trump appeared. They saw a powerful clown car that they could exploit and jumped on it. When it veered off course, they stuck with it, and here they are today.
The problem with all this is that Trump WANTS to lose. He is orchestrating a graceless withdrawal from our global commitments so he can construct Imperium Americanum in the Americas. As far as he’s concerned we can do this the easy way (with popular support) or the hard way (national emergency). He has no problem with the hard way. HE MUST BE STOPPED.
I would think that many nations are currently planning their strategy of snuggling up to China. tRump has, indeed, expedited the decline of prestige and financial power of the United States of America on the world stage. Even if it was inevitable, it certainly didn't need to happen by blatant suicide!
All empires rise and fall; the US will be no different. I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime by an incompetent buffoon and his millions of followers.
Frank Bruni NYT 8/31/26 on the moral collapse of Republicans when faced with Trump & Co's epic corruption: Are there any gotchas more damning than all the evidence that Republicans saw Trump clearly — and gasped at the sight — before laundering his lies, parroting his fictions and pretending all is well with his bulldozing of not only Washington but also the foundations of our democracy? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/opinion/democrats-wokeness-republicans.html?smid=url-share
To me, the saddest part is that I suspect that while there are some MAGAt Representatives and Senators, a substantial fraction of the GQP in Congress knows full well that Don the Con is an incompetent, stupid grifter who is wrecking the country. Yet they lack the conscience, backbone and gonads to stand up to him. That's the biggest failure of all.
Yes, but let's be fair. The main stream media, looking at you Washington Post (among others), bears responsibility for its tiptoeing around and sane-washing of this horror of a human being. "Lie," not misleading, alternate fact, etc.
A fantastic column voicing the quiet fury we all feel.
This is what happens (looking at you trump voters and Republicans in this administration who valued proximity to power over fealty to their country)when you give a temper tantrum-throwing 4 year old the keys to your Tesla cyber truck.
One wonders if it can be conveyed to at least some of the base that this mess of tRump’s making was utterly unnecessary. The Orange Imbecile tore up a functioning international treaty which was verifiable and working in his first term and 13 months into his second, launched a war of aggression and choice which we lack the will and the wherewithal to conclude. He has burned well over $100 billion in pursuit of no clear objective. We are running out of pejorative adjectives to describe what this demented madman is doing to us and the world. Somehow we need to penetrate his base and if nothing else, get them to stay home from the election.
That may be and I hope it is so but I'm still confronted cnstantly with "Look what Biden did at the ...". Ot is totally beside the point but they can't seem to get beyond that. Talk about a 'binky' - Trump has Natalie and the GOP has 'Biden.' These are the all purpose responses to any complaint, question, query.
Oh, I disagree. Donald's mission was to wreck the US economy and to destroy our military readiness. He has managed to do that. So, from his viewpoint, and that of Putin, his mission has been accomplished.
Absolutely horrifying that drumpf has elevated Iran to the position of principal player in the Middle East, but then I'm sure all of our nation's past allies are equally horrified that the U.S. citizenry installed drumpf as president of the country that led the free world and now is merely a joke and a threat to democracies.
Indeed, you nailed it. He was elected twice! And given the holes in the cheese, there is no garantee that such a president will not be elected again after the next one or two democratic presidents, unless your Constitution is thoroughly revised. Other countries have lost confidence in their former ally and it will take generations to mend this. With the departure of felon Trump and his administration, the MAGA people will not automatically disappear. I do not envy the good Americans for all the hard work lying ahead.
Indeed, your point is well taken. For example, even if we assume that there is a Blue Wave in November and the Democrats retake control of both houses of Congress, what do they do (Reminiscent of Redford in the Candidate who wins the election to the Senate and turns to the Campaign Manager and asks "What do we do now?"). Where does one even start? What are the priorities? Id it exacting accountability against a lawless regime? Is it sidelining the GOP and attempt to offset the economic damage that Trump has created? Abolish Tariffs? Raise individual and corporate taxes as well as cut down on tax cheating? Rebuild the social safety net? Get rid of the ballroom and all the other atrocious decorations that makes the people 's house look like an overstuffed bordello? This list can go on almost forever - reform the Court system? Stop this mass deportation mess? Close down deportation centers? Get ICE and DHS under control? Not to mention the need to reform our foreign policy, rebuild our alliances and start the hard work of rebuilding our image and place in the world. I survived Vietnam to return to a U.S. that would have to deal with Watergate and remember just how long it took the military to rebuild itself from the ashes of that misbegotten war --a minimum of 20 years. All of this lies on the board and I've sat and thought where do we start? I'd settle for starting somewhere, anywhere as long as it results in concrete actions that can be presented to the American people as a sign that we've regained ground and deserve the trifecta that will allow us to pursue more ambitious goals in 2029.
True. We must be prepared to vote in person to boot all the lackey and flunkies out, too. Recent reporting indicates Trump continues to implement his Postal Service-implemented mail-in balloting suppression program. It’s time to show up in person and kick them out at the polls this fall.
Thanks Jen for the run down on all the Trump screw ups regarding this war. I had heard about this on MSNOW very briefly yesterday. It is so difficult for me to get why keeping an inept Pete Hegseth in as Defense Secretary. He is utterly unfit for that job. The fact that the resources are running low is enough to question his lack of experience and integrity to be over our armed services.
“ It is so difficult for me to get why keeping an inept Pete Hegseth in as Defense Secretary. He is utterly unfit for that job.”
His qualifications, to the president, is his unswerving loyalty to Trump. That is the ONLY qualification that all of his cabinet members have, and all that they need. That is why they were chosen in the first place.
I think that Don the Con sees the military as a bunch of toy soldiers, sailors and pilots. It's like a game, a cartoon or an adventure movie. It's beyond his infantile comprehension to understand that these are real people, with real families, putting their lives and limbs on the line for an ill-defined cause. It's also beyond his comprehension to see that wars have consequences both to the parties directly involved and to bystanders around the world. To him it's all a game (and an opportunity to make an ill-gotten buck).
And Iran can cause all this chaos long after Trump and his toady Hegseth are gone. What incentive —short of another war — could future US administrations offer Iran to stop attacking our economy (gasoline prices at several stations near me rose $0.20-$0.30 OVERNIGHT)? Not a silly ballroom (that will be torn down by 2030), nor an arch, nor the torture of millions of God-created human beings thru the mass deportation fever dream of the human pimple Stephen Miller will be Trump’s legacy. The legacy will be nation-destroying chaos.
It would be higher if we depended on Iran for our oil, which we don't. Most of that goes to Asia. However, there's an issue of refining capacity. I'm not sure on all the details, but essentially we can't refine the light sweet crude oil that we produce. We used to until we couldn't extract it any more decades ago, so our refineries switched to heavy crude, which we have to import. Now with fracking we're producing more of that light crude, and at least one refinery is being built to handle some of our production.
The oil deal with Venezuela will have the benefit of being shipped and stored in our nearly-depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
For those who are into the sweep of America's history in the Middle East, George Friedman wrote a book in 2004 after our brilliant performance in Iraq and Afghanistan -- America's Secret War. I saw much of it following 9/11 from a senior position at the Department of Defense. Friedman explained better than anyone I've read what our government's thinking was at the time. None of Trump's sycophantic advisors understood that history and those problems and led us into an even worse dilemma and none of them should be around any political office in the future. Our military understood it,, as well, I am sure, much of our Intelligence agencies. But, alas, the President believes he is smarter than all of them.
Thank you, dear Jen. We miss your face and speaking voice, even as we send you gratitude for your continuing Contrarian essays. Thank you for your forceful writing. Rest your precious voice for as long as it takes to heal. With gratitude, Sandra
"The worst strategic blunder in U.S. history is entirely Trump’s doing, aided and abetted by incompetent Cabinet flunkies and congressional Republicans too cowardly to live up to their oaths to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Booting Republicans from office en masse is the essential first step in addressing this catastrophe."
This ending of today's letter is what WP has lost because of their new owners. WP decline reflects the country's decline. But, Jen also prescribes the step for turning back.
As usual, Trump is trying to distract from his incompetence and corruption by throwing out squirrels, most recently his claim that Venezuela is going to be a huge bonanza for the United States, a claim so absurd it's being easily dismantled (see Krugman today, for example). If I had to pick one issue at the moment that needs sustained focus, it's how he's positioning himself to overthrow our OWN government, via disrupting the mid-term elections. So yeah, "63 days" and glad to hear the Democrats are "war gaming" the threat, but do they really have the chutzpah they've so often lacked to take MAGA to the mat on this one?
It appears that the resistance, not becoming less, is getting stronger. There's even a non-profit group called Leaving Maga that is on the rise, populated by disallusioned Trump followers. It's an interesting development.
Do you have the chutzpah to pull it off? Are you a Democrat?
If so, then Yes - we’ve got this.
Together we can make it so - everyone push forward and drop the concern - accelerate.
"Perhaps the worst strategic blunder in U.S. history is entirely Trump’s doing, aided and abetted by incompetent Cabinet flunkies and congressional Republicans too cowardly to live up to their oaths to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Booting Republicans from office en masse is the essential first step in addressing this catastrophe."
Yes. Only the first (but critically important) step.
We have a long way to climb back up to a minimal level of sanity, let alone full competence and self-respect.
It's daunting, but we must keep our shoulders to the wheel.
Thomas, let's hope they have the guts, but it will be extremely hard since nearly all the money in this election will be with the Trumpians. They already have our media with a few exceptions. They have AI insanity too where they can creat fakes that will have our Democratic candidates say whatever the AIers put into their mouths through the deep fakes. We the People are in trouble, faced with a treasonous crew that has nearly all the weapons on their side.
Money isn't everything, as a couple of state primaries showed. The candidate with the least money but the best message won. People are getting tired of their votes being overshadowed by corporate (read that big money) interests.
Voter anger is too intense right now for money to make that big a difference. People understand what they're angry about and why. So as long as people aren't blocked from voting, we should be OK.
I'm also nervous about how much the Democratic elected officials are going to do in response to disruption of the mid-terms, but Democratic elected officials are not the whole story. Groups like Indivisible (https://indivisible.org) are organizing across the country, along with longer-established voting rights and civil rights groups. The question goes beyond what "the Democrats" are willing to do, and to what we are willing to do at the grassroots level.
Great question!
The attack on Iran was an ill-considered, incredibly expensive way to distract from the Epstein files that Trump continues to refuse to release, despite the law. "Mission accomplished" indeed. Trump never had a mission in the first place.
Yes he did. He ran for the presidency in order to stay out of jail… and to grift.
He and Netanyahu would make great cellmates!
I think they would look great up on the gallows together.
that thing would have to be reinforced...
I dream of a tiny three-person cell that also includes Putin.
To the everlasting shame of the American people, 75+million of us followed their prejudices and generalized unhappiness and actually voted him back into office, despite his lies, despite January 6th, despite the endless litany of anti-democratic rants and actions. He actually won in 2024, and with the previously incomprehensible determination by the corrupt super majority of SCOTUS Trump enablers he has stayed out of jail and he has grifted on a previously unimaginable scale. Given that he’ll likely go to his grave still under the protection of the Roberts Court, we should channel all of our rage-fueled energy into getting rid of him and all of his Republican enablers ASAP!
As hard as it might seem, we must shift our collective focus away from complaining about the orange turd’s countless assaults on our democracy, and bend our collective will to action, not just words.
WE MUST DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO WIPE THE MAGA SCOURGE FROM THE FACE OF THE WORLD!!!!
The law, it seems, has become irrelevant. So says our Department of "Justice" (Epstein Files Transparency Act). And so says two-thirds of our " Supreme" Court (U.S. Constitution).
That, and to further enrich himself. I feel certain Bibi called him up, told him defeating Iran would be a walk in the park, and then he could take all that oil wealth for himself. And that's all he needed.
Except to enrich himself by using the country as his cash cow.
“the worst strategic blunder in U.S. history…” was electing Trump. Second worst was electing these small-minded Republicans.
As you so rightly stated, Jennifer, the only way out of this morass that the Incompetency of the current Clown Show has driven us into is to: VOTE BLUE! No matter what else you do!
Quite a few of the 'small minded Republicans' were already well ensconced in congress before Trump appeared. They saw a powerful clown car that they could exploit and jumped on it. When it veered off course, they stuck with it, and here they are today.
The problem with all this is that Trump WANTS to lose. He is orchestrating a graceless withdrawal from our global commitments so he can construct Imperium Americanum in the Americas. As far as he’s concerned we can do this the easy way (with popular support) or the hard way (national emergency). He has no problem with the hard way. HE MUST BE STOPPED.
I would think that many nations are currently planning their strategy of snuggling up to China. tRump has, indeed, expedited the decline of prestige and financial power of the United States of America on the world stage. Even if it was inevitable, it certainly didn't need to happen by blatant suicide!
All empires rise and fall; the US will be no different. I just didn't think it would happen in my lifetime by an incompetent buffoon and his millions of followers.
Lincoln warned us. We didn't pay attention.
Frank Bruni NYT 8/31/26 on the moral collapse of Republicans when faced with Trump & Co's epic corruption: Are there any gotchas more damning than all the evidence that Republicans saw Trump clearly — and gasped at the sight — before laundering his lies, parroting his fictions and pretending all is well with his bulldozing of not only Washington but also the foundations of our democracy? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/opinion/democrats-wokeness-republicans.html?smid=url-share
#VoteBlue
To me, the saddest part is that I suspect that while there are some MAGAt Representatives and Senators, a substantial fraction of the GQP in Congress knows full well that Don the Con is an incompetent, stupid grifter who is wrecking the country. Yet they lack the conscience, backbone and gonads to stand up to him. That's the biggest failure of all.
the biggest failure was in a lot of american voters who fell for the Trojan horse named trump
Yes, but let's be fair. The main stream media, looking at you Washington Post (among others), bears responsibility for its tiptoeing around and sane-washing of this horror of a human being. "Lie," not misleading, alternate fact, etc.
remember, Wash Post is owned by bezo
Indeed I do....the reason I cancelled my subscription.
A fantastic column voicing the quiet fury we all feel.
This is what happens (looking at you trump voters and Republicans in this administration who valued proximity to power over fealty to their country)when you give a temper tantrum-throwing 4 year old the keys to your Tesla cyber truck.
One wonders if it can be conveyed to at least some of the base that this mess of tRump’s making was utterly unnecessary. The Orange Imbecile tore up a functioning international treaty which was verifiable and working in his first term and 13 months into his second, launched a war of aggression and choice which we lack the will and the wherewithal to conclude. He has burned well over $100 billion in pursuit of no clear objective. We are running out of pejorative adjectives to describe what this demented madman is doing to us and the world. Somehow we need to penetrate his base and if nothing else, get them to stay home from the election.
I think he's getting through to them through their wallets.
That may be and I hope it is so but I'm still confronted cnstantly with "Look what Biden did at the ...". Ot is totally beside the point but they can't seem to get beyond that. Talk about a 'binky' - Trump has Natalie and the GOP has 'Biden.' These are the all purpose responses to any complaint, question, query.
Oh, I disagree. Donald's mission was to wreck the US economy and to destroy our military readiness. He has managed to do that. So, from his viewpoint, and that of Putin, his mission has been accomplished.
Absolutely horrifying that drumpf has elevated Iran to the position of principal player in the Middle East, but then I'm sure all of our nation's past allies are equally horrified that the U.S. citizenry installed drumpf as president of the country that led the free world and now is merely a joke and a threat to democracies.
Indeed, you nailed it. He was elected twice! And given the holes in the cheese, there is no garantee that such a president will not be elected again after the next one or two democratic presidents, unless your Constitution is thoroughly revised. Other countries have lost confidence in their former ally and it will take generations to mend this. With the departure of felon Trump and his administration, the MAGA people will not automatically disappear. I do not envy the good Americans for all the hard work lying ahead.
Indeed, your point is well taken. For example, even if we assume that there is a Blue Wave in November and the Democrats retake control of both houses of Congress, what do they do (Reminiscent of Redford in the Candidate who wins the election to the Senate and turns to the Campaign Manager and asks "What do we do now?"). Where does one even start? What are the priorities? Id it exacting accountability against a lawless regime? Is it sidelining the GOP and attempt to offset the economic damage that Trump has created? Abolish Tariffs? Raise individual and corporate taxes as well as cut down on tax cheating? Rebuild the social safety net? Get rid of the ballroom and all the other atrocious decorations that makes the people 's house look like an overstuffed bordello? This list can go on almost forever - reform the Court system? Stop this mass deportation mess? Close down deportation centers? Get ICE and DHS under control? Not to mention the need to reform our foreign policy, rebuild our alliances and start the hard work of rebuilding our image and place in the world. I survived Vietnam to return to a U.S. that would have to deal with Watergate and remember just how long it took the military to rebuild itself from the ashes of that misbegotten war --a minimum of 20 years. All of this lies on the board and I've sat and thought where do we start? I'd settle for starting somewhere, anywhere as long as it results in concrete actions that can be presented to the American people as a sign that we've regained ground and deserve the trifecta that will allow us to pursue more ambitious goals in 2029.
True. We must be prepared to vote in person to boot all the lackey and flunkies out, too. Recent reporting indicates Trump continues to implement his Postal Service-implemented mail-in balloting suppression program. It’s time to show up in person and kick them out at the polls this fall.
Thanks Jen for the run down on all the Trump screw ups regarding this war. I had heard about this on MSNOW very briefly yesterday. It is so difficult for me to get why keeping an inept Pete Hegseth in as Defense Secretary. He is utterly unfit for that job. The fact that the resources are running low is enough to question his lack of experience and integrity to be over our armed services.
“ It is so difficult for me to get why keeping an inept Pete Hegseth in as Defense Secretary. He is utterly unfit for that job.”
His qualifications, to the president, is his unswerving loyalty to Trump. That is the ONLY qualification that all of his cabinet members have, and all that they need. That is why they were chosen in the first place.
I think that Don the Con sees the military as a bunch of toy soldiers, sailors and pilots. It's like a game, a cartoon or an adventure movie. It's beyond his infantile comprehension to understand that these are real people, with real families, putting their lives and limbs on the line for an ill-defined cause. It's also beyond his comprehension to see that wars have consequences both to the parties directly involved and to bystanders around the world. To him it's all a game (and an opportunity to make an ill-gotten buck).
To Kegsbreath, too--all just a game.
If "Kegsbreath" is trying to maintain his legitimacy, he's going about it the wrong way.
duh
And the lies just keep on coming.
And Iran can cause all this chaos long after Trump and his toady Hegseth are gone. What incentive —short of another war — could future US administrations offer Iran to stop attacking our economy (gasoline prices at several stations near me rose $0.20-$0.30 OVERNIGHT)? Not a silly ballroom (that will be torn down by 2030), nor an arch, nor the torture of millions of God-created human beings thru the mass deportation fever dream of the human pimple Stephen Miller will be Trump’s legacy. The legacy will be nation-destroying chaos.
keep hearing america is the world's largest producer of oil, OK, so why is gas $4 per gallon ??
In the golden age, producers shop a good deal of it overseas! Drill, baby, drill becomes sell, baby sell. Ya gotta love it.
more like gilded age...
It would be higher if we depended on Iran for our oil, which we don't. Most of that goes to Asia. However, there's an issue of refining capacity. I'm not sure on all the details, but essentially we can't refine the light sweet crude oil that we produce. We used to until we couldn't extract it any more decades ago, so our refineries switched to heavy crude, which we have to import. Now with fracking we're producing more of that light crude, and at least one refinery is being built to handle some of our production.
The oil deal with Venezuela will have the benefit of being shipped and stored in our nearly-depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
More details can be found here:
https://www.britannica.com/money/crude-oil-benchmarks
For those who are into the sweep of America's history in the Middle East, George Friedman wrote a book in 2004 after our brilliant performance in Iraq and Afghanistan -- America's Secret War. I saw much of it following 9/11 from a senior position at the Department of Defense. Friedman explained better than anyone I've read what our government's thinking was at the time. None of Trump's sycophantic advisors understood that history and those problems and led us into an even worse dilemma and none of them should be around any political office in the future. Our military understood it,, as well, I am sure, much of our Intelligence agencies. But, alas, the President believes he is smarter than all of them.