Truth is the first casualty of war…the corollary to that is data and facts are the first casualty of authoritarian power grabs. We cannot be silent on the threats. We the people cannot be buried in some fantasy reality that will leave us all exposed and unprepared individually and collectively. It is impossible to prepare for a major threat if it is ignored as if it does not exist.
Just the fact that the regime is calling all the top brass, the SecDef, and the president* together at a time and place that has been announced publicly is the most stupid thing they could do. They are inviting trouble. I couldn’t believe they would do that.
It shows total cluelessness as to how the professional officer corps likely feels about the clown show, and allows them to talk among themselves and devise a plan to thwart the use of the military by MAGA to carry out their putsch.
For national security it’s dumb. On the other hand it’s for show. It shows him in charge amassing a lot of power. I think it’s also part of cementing the idea the military will do whatever he tells them no matter the legality.
“A draft of the 2025 Global Trends report was carefully reviewed by D.N.I. Gabbard’s team and found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards in an effort to propagate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president’s national security priorities.” In other words: 2 + 2 = 5.
I noticed your use of the word "sadism." I think that's the first time I've heard it used about dt and his regime. It's perfectly appropriate. I will add it to my usual list of words as I rage about what the regime is doing to us.
As each day is reborn, I wonder what fresh hell we’re going to encounter from Trump. Try as I might to see the world from the perspective of this madman, I cannot, although a voice in the back of my mind says I may have to practice doing so if his “Big Brother” regime takes over every aspect of our lives. He’s a dictator in a hurry, as we all know. Time is on his side.
We are tasked now with both seeing our story while driving in the present as if it is already in the rear view mirror and acting accordingly. When we speak out, we win. When we remain silent, we lose another piece of our democratic values. The solution to our dilemma is in the hands and hearts of each of us. If we value free speech, we have to speak out “without fear or favor.” We may not be lawyers, but we can all stand up for the rule of law by speaking truth to power whenever and wherever we can. It’s still a free country and as long as we have breath we can save it.
Actually people hurry when they feel time is Not on their side.
He and the cabal have reason to believe they should hurry. They know dissatisfaction has grown. It was anticipated although I don’t know to what degree. The people don’t like the heavy handed tactics. They really don’t like tariffs and high prices. They weren’t fooled by the Big Ugly Bill. (He’s tried to rename it at least 2x.)
The ones who are the most unhappy are the voters who don’t belong to the maga core. It was reported in May and polling shows disapproval has grown including in Red states. That is the driving force behind the ‘hurry’, the redistricting mid-census, the growing show of force.
As you say we must continue to speak. Take care of one another & look out for neighbors too. Unity is our strength.
he's the little boy screaming "the sky is falling" empty, pathetic but hurting and killing people... Thanks to you 6 supremes ... 330,000,000 people are dying, starving under your decisions to crown trump... what are you seriously afraid of that you must turn your backs on the constitution? Epstein? Pay offs?
They are hungry and greedy for power and money. Soon they will begin to turn on each other. The pressure is too intense to not cause arguments among them.
I am astounded that the legacy media plays right along. Armed though we are with video and live cameras, with delivery means through the Internet and even microwave, we still accept the opinion of something that calls itself “truth social” that a war is raging in several American cities. I am reminded of a television news editor who wanted this same sort of untruth when I was a reporter in the late 60s and early 70s. As demonstrations were announced and he planned our coverage, he told our photographers to “shoot ‘em like a crowd.”
I’m watching MSNBC right now as they show downtown Chicago, perfectly quiet. A few civilians walking across the street among many more in military gear. The Portland ICE building with no one around. It was reported about a dozen protesters have protested there for several months.
Gov. Pritzker is speaking about the real purpose and that a letter to the “Dept of War” says there will be more coming to Chicago. Also the egregious behavior which included shooting chemical munitions at a CBS reporter’s car where there was no protest. Similar unprovoked treatment of peaceful protesters.
ICE and Border Patrol are not known for following all the laws. But there is nothing to prevent them from coming. These cities are all in what is called the Border Zone where they already have more authority & it is hard for people to assert their rights. About 2/3 of the US population live in this zone.
Governors have said they don’t want troops. They are sent anyway. SCOTUS has been complicit. Pritzker is say right now we don’t want them or need them as ‘the War Dept’ has a pending request from Noem for 100 soldiers for Chicago.
Ever since, Bush, Jr. declared war on Iraq, we the people, got duped. Then along comes big-mouth and turns the tables on everybody. I know that after 9/11, I paid much more attention to every dang political occurrence. i promised myself that I would question everything much more closely and I have. Been protesting since the late 60’s. Saw Roe v. Wade passed, the Voting Rights Act passed, the end of the 1st 20th Century corrupt president, the first Black American president get elected TWICE, and now a manufactured Russian puppet. He brought Project 2025’s horrid people with him. They want woke, well they’ve got WOKE now! Millions should be in the streets daily but get involved with boycotts against uber-wealthy corporation CEOS and join the rally NO KINGS NO. 2 on October 18th!
Now I know why I’m so exhausted. I’ve been holding my breath for the last 9 months - and counting - until the next disaster, attack or pandemic when we will be wholly taken off guard.
Steven, your analysis is exactly right about the motives and actions of Trump and his band of incompetent stooges. But there is an underlying problem we all need to understand more fully and find a way to address if we are ever to correct course and return to a functioning government doing the work of solving real problems.
That is the fact that millions of Americans actually wanted this. They want to be deceived into a false state of security created by the denial of real threats that will require difficult decisions and hard sacrifice. They want to believe that our country is special and immune to the ills of other societies. They want to believe that inflation and gun violence and deadly pandemics and increasing wealth inequality and genocide and the loss of manufacturing jobs and the rise of opioid deaths and political hatred can all be solved by just wishing them away, by one delusional huckster telling them “I’ve solved it, and America is the hottest country in the world again.”
There is no plausible deniability this time around as there may have been in 2016. They knew exactly who he is, what he would do, and what they were getting. They believe every lying word out of his mouth because they want to. Because they are weak, and ignorant, and afraid, and they know that to face the realities confronting our communities, our nation, and our world will be incredibly difficult and incredibly painful, and they just don’t want to face them.
Republican politicians have known this for decades. It’s the reason they’ve worked so hard to gerrymander districts to give increasing power to those who least deserve to wield it, who are the least equipped to make rational, informed choices. Because doing so gives them a blank check to “Please, just tell me nothing will change and everything will be ok, the way it used to be. I can’t deal with all of these terrible problems.” And when their policies fail, as they inevitably do, since they were never designed to address the real problems anyway, they blame the “others” who didn’t buy into their delusions, who don’t support their vision of the “Real America.” The immigrants; the academics; the liberals; the non-white non-christian non-heartland non-binary “others.” It is cynical, dishonest, and successful.
“E Pluribus Unum” has been replaced with “Ignorance Is Bliss.”
I think you're right, Kyle. It's why I've at least hoped that we cold expand education and particularly civic education to give people a few more tools to engage a democratic society more reasonably. But, yes, there will always be plenty who just want to be lulled into believing their problems can be solved simply and easily--or at least promise to target the people they hate or wish to blame. That's why we need a majority who recognize their duty as citizens...rather than sitting out elections and remaining dangerously silent.
I don’t think people should be believe things just because I say them. 😊
I live on the edge of a blue bubble in a red state. People wanted change. They chose radical change or ‘a pox on both your houses.’
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is portrayed as a pyramid with layers of human needs. Typically people progress from one to the next as each need is achieved. Basic survival followed by safety & security. Candidates who address these issues build trust with voters & can motivate new voters.
Trump’s maga campaign instinctively stuck to the first 2 levels - the source of voter anxiety even if he had to gin it up & present a fake source of those issues. DJT tied his messages to costs & crime. So-called Criminal Immigrants & Criminal Dems are harming you, taking your money & making life miserable and unsafe. Maga was their ‘place’ to ‘belong’. Belonging and connecting is the 3rd level.
As for bonafide ignorance, we should settle in and deal with it. The country is semi-literate at best, impatient, frustrated and exhausted. Mississippi showed how to turn it around and other states followed. Yes, really. 40 states have enacted legislation.
States & schools quit teaching reading in an effective manner 2-3 generations ago. Until literacy is addressed we will continue to have an overwhelmed “underclass”.
The heart of your comment: “Because they are weak, and ignorant, and afraid, and they know that to face the realities confronting our communities, our nation, and our world will be incredibly difficult and incredibly painful, and they just don’t want to face them.”
Maybe I’m as ignorant as the people you speak of because I have no idea why you believe people vote to avoid realities you referenced. I hear frustration and cynicism exacerbated by campaigns of both parties making unrealistic promises based on non-existent powers - especially powers of a president.
The voters who chose one of 2 major parties chose a Red Caesar who is actually exercising mythical powers. It is a historical, not just American, fact that when people are frustrated & the security of their lives is uncertain, they turn to a ‘strongman.’ Who turns to a party viewed as weak & disorganized when strength is needed? It is also reflected in comments of people interviewed about how they describe trump.
In 2024, the GOP moved to harvesting the result of Dem neglect and weakness. Neglect of youth (who don’t have much memory of 2016) and registering new voters. Well funded GOP groups focused on disaffected non-voters and youth. They got them to the polls.
There is another historical political truth. Insulting voters is a loser. We didn’t learn it in 2015-16 and it is still a problem 10 yrs later. For the greater good, I believe we need to get past the point of indulging in blame and insults. No one joins with or listens if the premise is the ignorant & weak need to get onboard. Winning candidates listen; they don’t point out why voters are wrong. After all, if public servants don’t hold their potential constituents in enough regard to listen & not insult them, it’s doubted they will work on their behalf. People are not too ignorant to know campaigns focus on those they value (donors & demographic groups viewed as key to success).The rest are too much trouble.
Great article. I have family and friends in Portland, and friends who recently visited. There is no violence, no insurrection, and the city is not war ravaged. This is a figment of Trump’s rotten and worm eaten brain. Tomorrow he will go to Quantico and Hegseth’s gathering of Stars. God help us. There are no good outcomes for tomorrow’s meeting.
If the 800 or so generals and admirals who have been summoned to Quantico tomorrow meant what they said when they swore an oath to the Constitution, they would rise up en masse to arrest Trump and his henchmen as traitors.
“I don’t know how anybody lives there. It’s amazing. It’s anarchy out there.” That's equivalent to saying that trump doesn't have a fucking clue as to what it's like to live on the West Coast. Maybe he's jealous? Last week he made a comment regarding Seattle, saying in effect that things in that city were so bad that he might take action to take soccer's World Cup venue choice away from Seattle. First, where does he actually get any sort of authority to do such a thing. And, as if he doesn't have his head totally up his ass, how would he be able to piss off the soccer world more by basically destroying the event for the millions, perhaps billions of people who are so looking forward to the event in 2026 (Right? Try planning for the incoming 750,000 folks who are counting on this with only about 10 months to prepare!).
Well, trump, I don't know how you actually are able to live inside your own skin being the nasty excuse for a person that you certainly are. I don't want to mess with your calculations of why you're saying such stupid, hateful stuff, but when you mess with Portland and Oregon, Seattle and Washington and the entire region, you're in for a rude surprise. Meddlng will get you nowhere.
Truth is the first casualty of war…the corollary to that is data and facts are the first casualty of authoritarian power grabs. We cannot be silent on the threats. We the people cannot be buried in some fantasy reality that will leave us all exposed and unprepared individually and collectively. It is impossible to prepare for a major threat if it is ignored as if it does not exist.
Just the fact that the regime is calling all the top brass, the SecDef, and the president* together at a time and place that has been announced publicly is the most stupid thing they could do. They are inviting trouble. I couldn’t believe they would do that.
It shows total cluelessness as to how the professional officer corps likely feels about the clown show, and allows them to talk among themselves and devise a plan to thwart the use of the military by MAGA to carry out their putsch.
I sure hope so because I’d bet $$ the objective is the opposite.
The objective of the meeting was undoubtedly different. But the way events have unfolded since this was leaked, indicates it will backfire.
For national security it’s dumb. On the other hand it’s for show. It shows him in charge amassing a lot of power. I think it’s also part of cementing the idea the military will do whatever he tells them no matter the legality.
No brains at all in that group. No interest in national security either!
“A draft of the 2025 Global Trends report was carefully reviewed by D.N.I. Gabbard’s team and found to violate professional analytic tradecraft standards in an effort to propagate a political agenda that ran counter to all of the current president’s national security priorities.” In other words: 2 + 2 = 5.
“Intelligent men are cruel. Stupid men are monstrously cruel.” - Jack London
I noticed your use of the word "sadism." I think that's the first time I've heard it used about dt and his regime. It's perfectly appropriate. I will add it to my usual list of words as I rage about what the regime is doing to us.
As each day is reborn, I wonder what fresh hell we’re going to encounter from Trump. Try as I might to see the world from the perspective of this madman, I cannot, although a voice in the back of my mind says I may have to practice doing so if his “Big Brother” regime takes over every aspect of our lives. He’s a dictator in a hurry, as we all know. Time is on his side.
We are tasked now with both seeing our story while driving in the present as if it is already in the rear view mirror and acting accordingly. When we speak out, we win. When we remain silent, we lose another piece of our democratic values. The solution to our dilemma is in the hands and hearts of each of us. If we value free speech, we have to speak out “without fear or favor.” We may not be lawyers, but we can all stand up for the rule of law by speaking truth to power whenever and wherever we can. It’s still a free country and as long as we have breath we can save it.
Actually people hurry when they feel time is Not on their side.
He and the cabal have reason to believe they should hurry. They know dissatisfaction has grown. It was anticipated although I don’t know to what degree. The people don’t like the heavy handed tactics. They really don’t like tariffs and high prices. They weren’t fooled by the Big Ugly Bill. (He’s tried to rename it at least 2x.)
The ones who are the most unhappy are the voters who don’t belong to the maga core. It was reported in May and polling shows disapproval has grown including in Red states. That is the driving force behind the ‘hurry’, the redistricting mid-census, the growing show of force.
As you say we must continue to speak. Take care of one another & look out for neighbors too. Unity is our strength.
With every pronouncement by Trump about dangerous cities, not one resident of these cities has confirmed or acknowledged his false statements.
We must not allow him to bring us to riots. He is baiting people hoping to have a reason to escalate military rule.
Ignore this man, that’s what makes him crazy. Peaceful protest!
he's the little boy screaming "the sky is falling" empty, pathetic but hurting and killing people... Thanks to you 6 supremes ... 330,000,000 people are dying, starving under your decisions to crown trump... what are you seriously afraid of that you must turn your backs on the constitution? Epstein? Pay offs?
They are hungry and greedy for power and money. Soon they will begin to turn on each other. The pressure is too intense to not cause arguments among them.
I'd love to watch them "eat their own"
I am astounded that the legacy media plays right along. Armed though we are with video and live cameras, with delivery means through the Internet and even microwave, we still accept the opinion of something that calls itself “truth social” that a war is raging in several American cities. I am reminded of a television news editor who wanted this same sort of untruth when I was a reporter in the late 60s and early 70s. As demonstrations were announced and he planned our coverage, he told our photographers to “shoot ‘em like a crowd.”
I’m watching MSNBC right now as they show downtown Chicago, perfectly quiet. A few civilians walking across the street among many more in military gear. The Portland ICE building with no one around. It was reported about a dozen protesters have protested there for several months.
Gov. Pritzker is speaking about the real purpose and that a letter to the “Dept of War” says there will be more coming to Chicago. Also the egregious behavior which included shooting chemical munitions at a CBS reporter’s car where there was no protest. Similar unprovoked treatment of peaceful protesters.
Throwing military into US cities is a Danger to Citizens
The military cannot police legally, cannot be used against citizens, BUT easily in a flare up could Kill our citizens
The cities and states MUST refuse anymore troops or national guard without a proven need.
ICE and Border Patrol are not known for following all the laws. But there is nothing to prevent them from coming. These cities are all in what is called the Border Zone where they already have more authority & it is hard for people to assert their rights. About 2/3 of the US population live in this zone.
Governors have said they don’t want troops. They are sent anyway. SCOTUS has been complicit. Pritzker is say right now we don’t want them or need them as ‘the War Dept’ has a pending request from Noem for 100 soldiers for Chicago.
https://www.southernborder.org/100_mile_border_enforcement_zone
Thank you for this thoughtful post.
Ever since, Bush, Jr. declared war on Iraq, we the people, got duped. Then along comes big-mouth and turns the tables on everybody. I know that after 9/11, I paid much more attention to every dang political occurrence. i promised myself that I would question everything much more closely and I have. Been protesting since the late 60’s. Saw Roe v. Wade passed, the Voting Rights Act passed, the end of the 1st 20th Century corrupt president, the first Black American president get elected TWICE, and now a manufactured Russian puppet. He brought Project 2025’s horrid people with him. They want woke, well they’ve got WOKE now! Millions should be in the streets daily but get involved with boycotts against uber-wealthy corporation CEOS and join the rally NO KINGS NO. 2 on October 18th!
Now I know why I’m so exhausted. I’ve been holding my breath for the last 9 months - and counting - until the next disaster, attack or pandemic when we will be wholly taken off guard.
Steven, your analysis is exactly right about the motives and actions of Trump and his band of incompetent stooges. But there is an underlying problem we all need to understand more fully and find a way to address if we are ever to correct course and return to a functioning government doing the work of solving real problems.
That is the fact that millions of Americans actually wanted this. They want to be deceived into a false state of security created by the denial of real threats that will require difficult decisions and hard sacrifice. They want to believe that our country is special and immune to the ills of other societies. They want to believe that inflation and gun violence and deadly pandemics and increasing wealth inequality and genocide and the loss of manufacturing jobs and the rise of opioid deaths and political hatred can all be solved by just wishing them away, by one delusional huckster telling them “I’ve solved it, and America is the hottest country in the world again.”
There is no plausible deniability this time around as there may have been in 2016. They knew exactly who he is, what he would do, and what they were getting. They believe every lying word out of his mouth because they want to. Because they are weak, and ignorant, and afraid, and they know that to face the realities confronting our communities, our nation, and our world will be incredibly difficult and incredibly painful, and they just don’t want to face them.
Republican politicians have known this for decades. It’s the reason they’ve worked so hard to gerrymander districts to give increasing power to those who least deserve to wield it, who are the least equipped to make rational, informed choices. Because doing so gives them a blank check to “Please, just tell me nothing will change and everything will be ok, the way it used to be. I can’t deal with all of these terrible problems.” And when their policies fail, as they inevitably do, since they were never designed to address the real problems anyway, they blame the “others” who didn’t buy into their delusions, who don’t support their vision of the “Real America.” The immigrants; the academics; the liberals; the non-white non-christian non-heartland non-binary “others.” It is cynical, dishonest, and successful.
“E Pluribus Unum” has been replaced with “Ignorance Is Bliss.”
I think you're right, Kyle. It's why I've at least hoped that we cold expand education and particularly civic education to give people a few more tools to engage a democratic society more reasonably. But, yes, there will always be plenty who just want to be lulled into believing their problems can be solved simply and easily--or at least promise to target the people they hate or wish to blame. That's why we need a majority who recognize their duty as citizens...rather than sitting out elections and remaining dangerously silent.
All good points. Thank you for sharing them, even if I don’t agree with all of them.
I don’t think people should be believe things just because I say them. 😊
I live on the edge of a blue bubble in a red state. People wanted change. They chose radical change or ‘a pox on both your houses.’
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is portrayed as a pyramid with layers of human needs. Typically people progress from one to the next as each need is achieved. Basic survival followed by safety & security. Candidates who address these issues build trust with voters & can motivate new voters.
Trump’s maga campaign instinctively stuck to the first 2 levels - the source of voter anxiety even if he had to gin it up & present a fake source of those issues. DJT tied his messages to costs & crime. So-called Criminal Immigrants & Criminal Dems are harming you, taking your money & making life miserable and unsafe. Maga was their ‘place’ to ‘belong’. Belonging and connecting is the 3rd level.
As for bonafide ignorance, we should settle in and deal with it. The country is semi-literate at best, impatient, frustrated and exhausted. Mississippi showed how to turn it around and other states followed. Yes, really. 40 states have enacted legislation.
States & schools quit teaching reading in an effective manner 2-3 generations ago. Until literacy is addressed we will continue to have an overwhelmed “underclass”.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/kids-reading-scores-have-soared-in-mississippi-miracle
• 79% of U.S. adults nationwide are literate, 2024. The US ranks 36th in literacy.
• 54% of adults - literacy rate below a 6th-grade level
The heart of your comment: “Because they are weak, and ignorant, and afraid, and they know that to face the realities confronting our communities, our nation, and our world will be incredibly difficult and incredibly painful, and they just don’t want to face them.”
Maybe I’m as ignorant as the people you speak of because I have no idea why you believe people vote to avoid realities you referenced. I hear frustration and cynicism exacerbated by campaigns of both parties making unrealistic promises based on non-existent powers - especially powers of a president.
The voters who chose one of 2 major parties chose a Red Caesar who is actually exercising mythical powers. It is a historical, not just American, fact that when people are frustrated & the security of their lives is uncertain, they turn to a ‘strongman.’ Who turns to a party viewed as weak & disorganized when strength is needed? It is also reflected in comments of people interviewed about how they describe trump.
In 2024, the GOP moved to harvesting the result of Dem neglect and weakness. Neglect of youth (who don’t have much memory of 2016) and registering new voters. Well funded GOP groups focused on disaffected non-voters and youth. They got them to the polls.
There is another historical political truth. Insulting voters is a loser. We didn’t learn it in 2015-16 and it is still a problem 10 yrs later. For the greater good, I believe we need to get past the point of indulging in blame and insults. No one joins with or listens if the premise is the ignorant & weak need to get onboard. Winning candidates listen; they don’t point out why voters are wrong. After all, if public servants don’t hold their potential constituents in enough regard to listen & not insult them, it’s doubted they will work on their behalf. People are not too ignorant to know campaigns focus on those they value (donors & demographic groups viewed as key to success).The rest are too much trouble.
We need a plan solutions with a plan.
Steven,
Great article. I have family and friends in Portland, and friends who recently visited. There is no violence, no insurrection, and the city is not war ravaged. This is a figment of Trump’s rotten and worm eaten brain. Tomorrow he will go to Quantico and Hegseth’s gathering of Stars. God help us. There are no good outcomes for tomorrow’s meeting.
All the best, and as always, watch your six.
Steve Dundas
No good outcomes, indeed. Thanks.
If the 800 or so generals and admirals who have been summoned to Quantico tomorrow meant what they said when they swore an oath to the Constitution, they would rise up en masse to arrest Trump and his henchmen as traitors.
“I don’t know how anybody lives there. It’s amazing. It’s anarchy out there.” That's equivalent to saying that trump doesn't have a fucking clue as to what it's like to live on the West Coast. Maybe he's jealous? Last week he made a comment regarding Seattle, saying in effect that things in that city were so bad that he might take action to take soccer's World Cup venue choice away from Seattle. First, where does he actually get any sort of authority to do such a thing. And, as if he doesn't have his head totally up his ass, how would he be able to piss off the soccer world more by basically destroying the event for the millions, perhaps billions of people who are so looking forward to the event in 2026 (Right? Try planning for the incoming 750,000 folks who are counting on this with only about 10 months to prepare!).
Well, trump, I don't know how you actually are able to live inside your own skin being the nasty excuse for a person that you certainly are. I don't want to mess with your calculations of why you're saying such stupid, hateful stuff, but when you mess with Portland and Oregon, Seattle and Washington and the entire region, you're in for a rude surprise. Meddlng will get you nowhere.