Unfortunately, there seems to be quite a few people out here who are wallowing delightedly in this stupidity and cruelty.
I despair at feeling this way, and I can't believe the number of people proudly participating in the destruction of their own support systems, and betraying their own childrens' futures.
Jill, maybe the time is near that Americans, Congress, and the Judicial system realize he has power over us, ONLY if we give it to him. This morning's headlines: he's going after Harvard (again), will impose 50% tariffs on the EU (again), and 25% on Apple demanding they build iPhones in the US (again). This will never end until he's gone, it will only get worse. It's a time of reckoning for every American. Will we rise or fall?
I despair but I haven't given up! I'm calling my Congresspeople, going to rallies, and talking to people about the risks to our rights and our democracy.
I'm not -- but that's because as a young teenager I watched on TV the contorted white faces of Birmingham and Selma (etc.) and a few years later, as a college student in Washington, D.C., I and several friends attended a Rev. Carl McIntyre "Rally for America" in the shadow of the Washington Monument. The hatred was so palpable we only lasted an hour.
I suspect the right wing would agree with you, though you may not mean "freedom" the same way they do. I live one state over from the state that has LIVE FREE OR DIE on its license plate. Trust me, it wasn't liberals who put it there.
You and I are SO on the same page. I keep wondering why there is not more visible rage against Trump’s set up and ambush of the South African president, more rage against Kristi Noem’s targeting of Harvard’s incredible international reputation that attracts students from all over the world, more and more rage against the budget that will kill off a large portion of Americans and impoverish others. Where is the RAGE in others that I know I feel? I look into the countenances of my fellow Americans and wonder if there is some notion of justice denied brewing in their expressionless faces. I look for traces of what was once American pride and American joy, because American righteous anger is embedded within…or used to be. No amount of timeline cleansing can stop the march of the horror that is this administration. I can’t say anymore, because I am full up…with disgust, anger, grief and disbelief…which are crowding out optimism, fortitude and hope.
Well said, Steve! Some pundits chase every distraction Trump and company throw out there. This is a good summary of the most important stuff. And I appreciate you don’t write it off to cognitive decline. That is a distraction as it suggests that Trump is doing this on his own, when the biggest change from his first administration to this one is the cast around him. Back then, his removal from office would have made a big difference. Not this time.
The whole line of succession is appalling. Once the Dems take back the House, it'll improve a bit, but the horrific JD Vance (who is much younger and presumably healthier than Trump) will still be next in line. I'm disappointed in the liberal types calling for impeachment. Since we've seen two impeachments in the last decade (and a third if you go back to the Clinton administration), they should know how it works.
SIR ANDREAS SCHIFF, born in Hungary in 1953, is pianist winning multiple honors including the International Mozarteum Golden Medal, Germany's Great Cross of Merit and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal, a Knighthood for Services to Music, and a Doctorate from the Royal College of Music. He had concerts planned in the United States for the 2025-2026 Season.
SIR ANDREAS SCIFF CANCELLED HIS APPEARANCECES saying:
"Due to the recent and unprecedented political changes in the United States, I feel morally obligated to withdraw from all engagements in the U.S. for the 2025-2026 season."
I’ll be among the millions taking to the streets on June 14, drawing attention to all these horrors and away from his ridiculous birthday parade. What other power do we have?
What do you suggest? It will be infuriating for him to have media attention drawn away from him and to millions in the streets. If you have a better idea, I'm up for it.
He’s actually trying to kill the country. He has isolated us from our allies, damned the economy with his ignorant tariffs, and, as you, Steve have so well pointed out, used Elon’s chainsaw to fell American democracy, goodness, separation of powers, and the rule of law. Even with massive protests, strikes, and civil disobedience, our beloved country will only be a ghost of the past. But…it will end, there will be a righteous reckoning, and we will rebuild a just, free, and healthy society. Americans are formidable when they finally wake up. Our job is to wake them.
Project 2025 isn't "stupid" it's Sadism, Cruelty and an insatiable greed for power over everyone... it doesn't work but the correction takes decades if not longer...As Robert Reich said today " Ignorance is the Handmaiden of Tyranny" they need to keep MAGAs ignorant but once it hits them with illness, hunger ,neglect, no job, they just may stop being stupid ...too late
You wrote: "Americans have not surrendered their sanity or capacity to know what’s right and wrong, what’s true and false. The pot may be beginning to boil, but we can still see and feel what’s happening. We are still able to take action."
Buried in the bill that just passed the House are: "A small addition to the budget bill House GOPers are pushing upends the tranditional balance of power by forbidding courts to charge Trump and other government officials with contempt for defying court orders. It also blocks court-ordered national injunctions to prevent potential illegal acts posing imminent harm. With the SCOTUS ruling giving Trump immunity, this small part of the bill completes his quest to become America's first dictator." Post by SugarRhi on 5/23/2025)
There is little that an ordinary American citizen can do - other than to write to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and request the Court issue arrest warrants for: Trump, Vance, Musk, Noem, and perhaps Bondi. With the closure of USAID, and his treatment of immigrants - his bigotry against Blacks and Browns is evident. In Africa, thousands of Africans are dying daily due to no food, no meds, or medical treatement. Mother childbirth death had been erradicated - it is again an epidemic. Starvation has turned into a genocide. Trump has sent thousands of immigrants to inhumane prisons in other countries without due process. Apparently, many of these individuals are actually American citizens. The ONLY international organization that can stop this carnage and bloodbath is the ICC.
The ICC has issued 60 arrest warrants, including against: Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi, Omar al-Bashir, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Slobodan Milosevic of the former Yugoslavia. They are all facing arrests. In the past, the ICC has handled several high-profile cases for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocides, and others.
You only think the felon is stupid if you think he is pro America. His intention is to destroy the US government. He is doing a brilliant job. It is us who allowed a US president to have this much power that is stupid. And, the fact we have not stopped him is pretty stupid too,
Trump constantly using words like stupid, or ignorant is a confirmation of his own inferiority complex. Like his mental deteriorating condition repeatedly shown, his ignorance is also repeatedly on display.
It used to be an honor to be invited to the Oval Office, no more, it is now a gaudy showroom. Foreign leaders who are invited to the Oval Office should be prepared to be part of the next performance.
Well, Steve, it is suggested "never to answer a question with a question", but I will! How did we come up with so many stupid people, with one among the stupidest residing in the White House?
I am reminded of Sarah Palin railing against the intelligent and the intellectuals. Since that time things have only worsened. I see the war against values, principles and decency as having begun with Newt Gingrich and his "Contract with America" which to my way of thinking was more akin to a contract AGAINST America. And then there is Wharton Professor Robert Kelly: “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had.” Fair assessment?
Quote: "It’s hard to overstate how much damage Trump, his cabinet and his kowtowing Republican Congress can cause between now and then [2026 midterms)." End quote. Where values, principles and decency/dignity are absent, all hell can (and does) break loose. Our entire nation is at risk. When governance takes on the character of myth, the imaginary and falsities, the nation will suffer and suffer miserably. Already, we are suffering.
Jeff Tiedrich's comment re Peter Alexander bringing up the "grifted plane" was tragically funny. Dump was in essence saying " Hey, I'm trying to do a racism here! And you want to talk about my corruption!"
The only way for us to show our displeasure with the regime is to contact our members of Congress and to protest. There are many events planned for June 14, Flag Day, but also the felon’s birthday. Share photos of President Obama on all social media platforms. Call it President Obama appreciation day.
I am coming to believe that we need an earlier, mass protest against that awful bill which the House has passed and which is now at the Senate. I was glad that at least U.S.A Today called it "Trump's Deficit-Swelling Bill." While RFK Jr. is spouting off about the declining health of children, this bill will reduce their healthcare and their food security. It throws people off of Medicaid. In Indiana, where I live, 40% of the population is on Medicaid. Most of these people are working but they can only afford their insurance through Medicaid. (That's what a so-called right to work state gets you.) I live in a rural area where healthcare is already under pressure.
For those who don’t care about or understand Medicaid:
• We need to add concerns about adding to the debt automatically triggering $530Billion in cuts to Social Security!!
• There there is the provision hidden way that will gut the ability of federal courts to hold defendants like the federal government accountable - retroactively. It reduces the ability of judges to use contempt of court for violating orders & injunctions.
—“The provision applies even to previously issued orders.” (American Bar Association)
— The budget bill provision “appears meant to spare the federal government any legal consequences for even deliberate, continuing and belligerent defiance of court orders,” wrote Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, for Cato at Liberty.
(For those not familiar, Cato is a libertarian group.)
What an incredibly horrible 24 hours. This entire administration is simply against intellect! Facts are a hindrance to them. The actual president of this country showing false photos in the Oval! I was waiting for him to say they were eating the dogs and cats!
It’s exhausting but I for one will never stop being outraged.
Unfortunately, there seems to be quite a few people out here who are wallowing delightedly in this stupidity and cruelty.
I despair at feeling this way, and I can't believe the number of people proudly participating in the destruction of their own support systems, and betraying their own childrens' futures.
I feel the same. But when the feeling comes, we must remember that our despair--and its debilitating power--is what this regime is counting on.
Jill, maybe the time is near that Americans, Congress, and the Judicial system realize he has power over us, ONLY if we give it to him. This morning's headlines: he's going after Harvard (again), will impose 50% tariffs on the EU (again), and 25% on Apple demanding they build iPhones in the US (again). This will never end until he's gone, it will only get worse. It's a time of reckoning for every American. Will we rise or fall?
I despair but I haven't given up! I'm calling my Congresspeople, going to rallies, and talking to people about the risks to our rights and our democracy.
I am still shocked at how many utterly mean and ignorant citizens live in America.
I'm not -- but that's because as a young teenager I watched on TV the contorted white faces of Birmingham and Selma (etc.) and a few years later, as a college student in Washington, D.C., I and several friends attended a Rev. Carl McIntyre "Rally for America" in the shadow of the Washington Monument. The hatred was so palpable we only lasted an hour.
“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.” - Robert A. Heinlein
Let’s choose freedom first. Then we can work on peace.
I suspect the right wing would agree with you, though you may not mean "freedom" the same way they do. I live one state over from the state that has LIVE FREE OR DIE on its license plate. Trust me, it wasn't liberals who put it there.
💯correct. The right has perverted the meaning of many things we once thought foundational.
You and I are SO on the same page. I keep wondering why there is not more visible rage against Trump’s set up and ambush of the South African president, more rage against Kristi Noem’s targeting of Harvard’s incredible international reputation that attracts students from all over the world, more and more rage against the budget that will kill off a large portion of Americans and impoverish others. Where is the RAGE in others that I know I feel? I look into the countenances of my fellow Americans and wonder if there is some notion of justice denied brewing in their expressionless faces. I look for traces of what was once American pride and American joy, because American righteous anger is embedded within…or used to be. No amount of timeline cleansing can stop the march of the horror that is this administration. I can’t say anymore, because I am full up…with disgust, anger, grief and disbelief…which are crowding out optimism, fortitude and hope.
I agree with you. There does not seem to be enough RAGE to save our country anymore. Do not recognize my country.
Well said, Steve! Some pundits chase every distraction Trump and company throw out there. This is a good summary of the most important stuff. And I appreciate you don’t write it off to cognitive decline. That is a distraction as it suggests that Trump is doing this on his own, when the biggest change from his first administration to this one is the cast around him. Back then, his removal from office would have made a big difference. Not this time.
Thanks, Paul. No guardrails…
JD Vance (or whomever he really is) is also dangerous, in a different way.
The whole line of succession is appalling. Once the Dems take back the House, it'll improve a bit, but the horrific JD Vance (who is much younger and presumably healthier than Trump) will still be next in line. I'm disappointed in the liberal types calling for impeachment. Since we've seen two impeachments in the last decade (and a third if you go back to the Clinton administration), they should know how it works.
SIR ANDREAS SCHIFF, born in Hungary in 1953, is pianist winning multiple honors including the International Mozarteum Golden Medal, Germany's Great Cross of Merit and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal, a Knighthood for Services to Music, and a Doctorate from the Royal College of Music. He had concerts planned in the United States for the 2025-2026 Season.
SIR ANDREAS SCIFF CANCELLED HIS APPEARANCECES saying:
"Due to the recent and unprecedented political changes in the United States, I feel morally obligated to withdraw from all engagements in the U.S. for the 2025-2026 season."
theviolinchannel.com
I’ll be among the millions taking to the streets on June 14, drawing attention to all these horrors and away from his ridiculous birthday parade. What other power do we have?
We need more than that because the politicians live in a golden bubble and can pretend not to even notice.
What do you suggest? It will be infuriating for him to have media attention drawn away from him and to millions in the streets. If you have a better idea, I'm up for it.
Here's a map of all the planned protest locations so far: https://www.nokings.org/#map
Thanks for the map. It's heartening to see how many "dots" there are all over the country!
He’s actually trying to kill the country. He has isolated us from our allies, damned the economy with his ignorant tariffs, and, as you, Steve have so well pointed out, used Elon’s chainsaw to fell American democracy, goodness, separation of powers, and the rule of law. Even with massive protests, strikes, and civil disobedience, our beloved country will only be a ghost of the past. But…it will end, there will be a righteous reckoning, and we will rebuild a just, free, and healthy society. Americans are formidable when they finally wake up. Our job is to wake them.
Yes, indeed.
And this: “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.” - Mark Twain
Project 2025 isn't "stupid" it's Sadism, Cruelty and an insatiable greed for power over everyone... it doesn't work but the correction takes decades if not longer...As Robert Reich said today " Ignorance is the Handmaiden of Tyranny" they need to keep MAGAs ignorant but once it hits them with illness, hunger ,neglect, no job, they just may stop being stupid ...too late
You wrote: "Americans have not surrendered their sanity or capacity to know what’s right and wrong, what’s true and false. The pot may be beginning to boil, but we can still see and feel what’s happening. We are still able to take action."
Buried in the bill that just passed the House are: "A small addition to the budget bill House GOPers are pushing upends the tranditional balance of power by forbidding courts to charge Trump and other government officials with contempt for defying court orders. It also blocks court-ordered national injunctions to prevent potential illegal acts posing imminent harm. With the SCOTUS ruling giving Trump immunity, this small part of the bill completes his quest to become America's first dictator." Post by SugarRhi on 5/23/2025)
There is little that an ordinary American citizen can do - other than to write to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and request the Court issue arrest warrants for: Trump, Vance, Musk, Noem, and perhaps Bondi. With the closure of USAID, and his treatment of immigrants - his bigotry against Blacks and Browns is evident. In Africa, thousands of Africans are dying daily due to no food, no meds, or medical treatement. Mother childbirth death had been erradicated - it is again an epidemic. Starvation has turned into a genocide. Trump has sent thousands of immigrants to inhumane prisons in other countries without due process. Apparently, many of these individuals are actually American citizens. The ONLY international organization that can stop this carnage and bloodbath is the ICC.
The ICC has issued 60 arrest warrants, including against: Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi, Omar al-Bashir, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, and Slobodan Milosevic of the former Yugoslavia. They are all facing arrests. In the past, the ICC has handled several high-profile cases for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocides, and others.
I want to restack this comment but I'm not sure how to do it. What you said is really important.
You only think the felon is stupid if you think he is pro America. His intention is to destroy the US government. He is doing a brilliant job. It is us who allowed a US president to have this much power that is stupid. And, the fact we have not stopped him is pretty stupid too,
Trump constantly using words like stupid, or ignorant is a confirmation of his own inferiority complex. Like his mental deteriorating condition repeatedly shown, his ignorance is also repeatedly on display.
It used to be an honor to be invited to the Oval Office, no more, it is now a gaudy showroom. Foreign leaders who are invited to the Oval Office should be prepared to be part of the next performance.
Looks like most of those “golden” decorations were purchased at a Dollar Store sale.
Well, Steve, it is suggested "never to answer a question with a question", but I will! How did we come up with so many stupid people, with one among the stupidest residing in the White House?
I am reminded of Sarah Palin railing against the intelligent and the intellectuals. Since that time things have only worsened. I see the war against values, principles and decency as having begun with Newt Gingrich and his "Contract with America" which to my way of thinking was more akin to a contract AGAINST America. And then there is Wharton Professor Robert Kelly: “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had.” Fair assessment?
Quote: "It’s hard to overstate how much damage Trump, his cabinet and his kowtowing Republican Congress can cause between now and then [2026 midterms)." End quote. Where values, principles and decency/dignity are absent, all hell can (and does) break loose. Our entire nation is at risk. When governance takes on the character of myth, the imaginary and falsities, the nation will suffer and suffer miserably. Already, we are suffering.
Jeff Tiedrich's comment re Peter Alexander bringing up the "grifted plane" was tragically funny. Dump was in essence saying " Hey, I'm trying to do a racism here! And you want to talk about my corruption!"
The only way for us to show our displeasure with the regime is to contact our members of Congress and to protest. There are many events planned for June 14, Flag Day, but also the felon’s birthday. Share photos of President Obama on all social media platforms. Call it President Obama appreciation day.
I am coming to believe that we need an earlier, mass protest against that awful bill which the House has passed and which is now at the Senate. I was glad that at least U.S.A Today called it "Trump's Deficit-Swelling Bill." While RFK Jr. is spouting off about the declining health of children, this bill will reduce their healthcare and their food security. It throws people off of Medicaid. In Indiana, where I live, 40% of the population is on Medicaid. Most of these people are working but they can only afford their insurance through Medicaid. (That's what a so-called right to work state gets you.) I live in a rural area where healthcare is already under pressure.
Here Medicaid stats put out this month for KY. https://files.kff.org/attachment/fact-sheet-medicaid-state-KY
For those who don’t care about or understand Medicaid:
• We need to add concerns about adding to the debt automatically triggering $530Billion in cuts to Social Security!!
• There there is the provision hidden way that will gut the ability of federal courts to hold defendants like the federal government accountable - retroactively. It reduces the ability of judges to use contempt of court for violating orders & injunctions.
—“The provision applies even to previously issued orders.” (American Bar Association)
— The budget bill provision “appears meant to spare the federal government any legal consequences for even deliberate, continuing and belligerent defiance of court orders,” wrote Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, for Cato at Liberty.
(For those not familiar, Cato is a libertarian group.)
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/proposal-to-limit-courts-contempt-power-part-of-spending-bill-is-terrible-idea-chemerinsky-says
Anything we can do to shield ourselves from the plague of the orange-u-tan!
What an incredibly horrible 24 hours. This entire administration is simply against intellect! Facts are a hindrance to them. The actual president of this country showing false photos in the Oval! I was waiting for him to say they were eating the dogs and cats!
It’s exhausting but I for one will never stop being outraged.