and buy aviation fuel from him and stay @ his money losing golf club. He is a crook.

Never will - maybe one day people will sort this out

The world is full of petty, mean-spirited crooks like him. The problem is the kind of people who knowing what he is, still chose him to lead our country. Obviously, we have much bigger problems than one tyrant wannabe.

the Trump voters.

And led an insurrection against the US as a sitting president.

Also many other crimes including rape.

Elected a ruthless criminal psychopath as US president.

We are witnessing the greatest moral collapse in US history.
And greatest civic duty failure.

… for what he most likely did with our nation’s top secrets. Aka sell our give it or sell to Russia/Soviet Union.

It is certain that Trump did not steal classified documents just for fun.
He obviously took classified docs for a reason.

He is about money, and enriching himself.
We also know the Saudis gave Kushner $2B.

Trump is also about power.
Russia and China installed him into the WH twice.
They expect some compensation for their efforts.

The damage Trump did and will do again is incalculable.

This includes not white people that hope he hurts other groups.

but they run on WHITE Identity politics...racism and how much they adore it.

accordion with his hands. He is weird.

Trump succeeds and demolishes the country. From its ashes will rise something that is no longer the United States.

Trump fails spectacularly and the country comes together to re-install the rule-of-law and a Constitutional order with new safeguards from preventing a tyrant ever attaining power again.

Sadly, I'm betting on No. 1. What I've seen in this country is heart-breaking, disgusting and pathetic. The greed, self-righteousness, bigotry, misogyny and stupidity are incomprehensible to me.

I’ve been a political observer since my HS days, so fifty plus years now. I’ve seen, like most of us here, many disturbing and troubling developments in the political world and our government. As bad as it sometimes would get I would never despair as I had faith in the American people to do the right thing and avail themselves to use the power of Democracy to right the ship.

I no longer have that confidence in my fellow Americans. I look around and see vast numbers of grievance filled whiners, self righteous bigots, entitled crybabies, and criminals that use the very laws we live by to aid in their lust for greed and power. It’s stomach turning that so many people turn to a amoral cretin like Trump to lead them and actually gloat about it! It’s revealed a truth about who many of our people really are, and I just don’t see a way that it will correct itself.

And then the cycle starts again.

I guess we need to ruin ourselves every so often in order to appreciate what we had.

Hate is the most manipulated emotion that human beings have.

The US and it's Constitution has helped us weather these cycles, but now they are going after that. We'd better find a way to use it or we will lose it.

It was evident,it was going nowhere fast(and never did ,btw ).
After an extended back and forth,and after he suggested I contact my Congresscritter,(really?),I concluded the discussion with my belief that until voters have actual skin in the game,very little positive change will occur.

They elect such a person because they don’t believe he’s responsible – just as they don’t believe the rest of his crimes and corruption.

That and the fact that America has gone insane, subject to a mass delusional psychosis.

or those incel sites they frequent?

there is in your face lies and hate.

It's in your face lies.
they think migrant gangs are taking over apartment buildings and they think Biden allows it.
they see a video of some guys in a hallway with guns literally 30 times a day and believe it.
they think the economy is a disaster in the tank, and trump will fix it.
they aren't even aware of his crimes because its all totally ignored with a complete focus on hateful criminal democrats.
they think there is an 'open border policy' supported by democrats.
they think cities are lawless post-apocalyptic nightmare zones.
they think trump is a 'shrewd successful business man'.
its pure brainwashing and its voluntary, they need their propaganda.
A relative of mine still doesn't know what his trial was about despite watching their 'news' constantly. They think everyone does these things but hes just being singled out. I have to remind them he paid off a porn star and tried to write it off as a business expense because that tidbit is totally missing from their understanding. Then they have nothing to say but it doesn't matter.
They are very carefully shielded from any negative coverage of him.
they think he has 'good policies' they were virtually unaware of the $trillion tax giveaway for the rich.
they refuse to believe the danger to social security despite the fact they all depend on it. they actually believe its the Democrats trying to take it away. My family member believes they won't ban abortion they 'just want to return the decision to the states'.

Watch fox news for a week you'll understand perfectly there's nothing subliminal about it. It's just rank lies, propaganda, misdirection anger, hatred, and manipulation without even a pretense of objectivity, balance or even an attempt to be honest.

..it's blatant dishonest slanting of the "news". Right-wing media is propaganda. As long as the masses are divided by manufactured culture issues the oligarchs won't be taxed or regulated. It's working perfectly.

Probably seated in a place of “honor” at Satan’s own table.

...shoes. That's it, polishing his shoes.
(Sunday morning civility)

It is full of lies, conspiracy theories, half-truths, and the masses have become addicted to it.

Instead of putting forth effort to accomplish something by reading, working, establishing relationships we can do that simply by engaging in social media. No need to actually learn something just use goggle to give you an answer on-demand.

You would think with the entire knowledge of the world at our fingertips we would be more enlightened but it seems just the opposite. Up has become down, everyone id right and no one is wrong.

I just don't see this ending well - and it will end in some fashion at some point. ☮

I'm old, but it is the youth I worry about. We have left them a mess to deal with.

I hate sId the youth will snap and sort it out

Hypnotize a large group of elderly people who have no social media savvy. They don't regularly use most common social media sources and get most of their news from TV and word of mouth. Though I imagine they do use things like YouTube, look at friends on Facebook and have email.

The biggest difference between the 2 campaigns, aside from wanting democracy or not, was all the Russian social media and corporate media blitzing. The rightwing has a strangle hold on most the easily accessible media. If you want the truth, you have to spend a good amount of effort to get it. There is sooooooo much Trump noise out in our American media today. Its Russian Trump propaganda 24/7.

Propaganda, especially non-stop propaganda that is in your face, is really hard to fight.

For the most part the Oligarchs control the media of all kinds.

Your comment "

There have been previous idiot kings, and evil despots, and tyrants.

Democracy was supposed to eliminate the accidents of Royal succession, and Royal house marriages. But it seems there are always those seeking power for evil and self-centered purposes, and they have boned up on how to soar in the ruling hierarchy. In the past 250 years, since the push for democracy took wing, we have had a series of tyrants in the world of various degree and stripes. Napoleon, and in Europe the Revolutions of 1848 were in response to some despots, there were the Bourbons, wars of independence (Italy, Ireland), and of course Hitler and some fair tyrants that preceded him.

It's our turn. We failed. The safeguards were inadequate. Lawyers and judges hid the damage they were doing. And here we are.

The safeguards were inadequate. Lawyers and judges hid the damage they were doing. And here we are.

The supremes, for example

i 'm still processing how biden is responsible for the deaths of people who refused to take the vaccine..

uneducated is not the 1/2 of it.

So MAGATs aren't even going to get their cheap eggs.

THAT'S a Republican policy.

There is no Walter Cronkite today

when they decided to profit off the news.

the shit out of this country, everything else will work out just fine. Prices are automatically supposed to go down. His other thing is, tariff the shit out of Mexico and China and then we can make it in America. Prices low, manufacturing up. When it all fails, we will be there to pick up the pieces. Providing the planet survives his ass

and the social security fund

...like Project 2025 did until the last two months before the election. Bitcoin will debase the dollar and make a few people (Musk) insanely rich and in control over our new currency.

but count on trump to provide a whole new bottom to the pyramid.

He’s as responsible for inflation than the greedflation corporations. He encouraged the Saudis and Russia to cut production which initiated much of the transportation cost increases.

I did need an a and not an s here - typo

overs million

Im amazed how people still dont understand the massive Russian style propaganda that Republicans push with the most massive radio tv media infrastructure.

Those people you are referring to are either not aware or don’t believe the news from “liberal media”. All media that shows republicans in a bad negative way are liberal media outlets in their minds.

Until we have an answer / counter to this misinformation it wont make a difference what nasty things they do

the baseline, lowest hanging fruit or common denominator, is racism. Welcome to my theory.

Malaise, they literally believe lies, some of which are laughable.

having said all that, I will never get it either, and I don't want to. I care about people, that's who I am. I refuse to lose myself for this fuckery. Which given my age is probably going to continue for the rest of my life and beyond.

My brother is one of them. I have daydreams where I ask him where did he go, who the fuck is he? When did he stop caring about people?! In my fantasy my words fall on him like a pail of ice water and he actually hears me and a change occurs. He is ashamed. He starts to think for himself once again. I know, of course, this will never happen.

I am waiting until my sister passes (Alzheimers) to make a complete break. My heart breaks too, but he is toxic, and basically an enemy. This shit sucks entirely.

He says he solved Covid with vaccines and no one challenges him.

The Democratic party has ceded the center to the GOP and Bibi's Genocide in Gaza suppressed democratic turnout in key areas. That is why and how he got re-elected. The GOP is simply better at national elections then we are, plain and simple.

who let themselves get played by the con and his rapacious billionaires.

History repeats itself when idiots like them refuse to study it because it's "too hard" to do.

Believing and spreading the "conservatives" LIES they see on social media is easier.

Sadly, one third of voters who know what the liars for money and power are up to will also suffer.

Nor do everyone in his circle and government.

This is hard to process, but there it is.

Of unrelenting propaganda now has dumbed down the populace into a fearful and selfless mass. A media completely controlled by the rich elite and a Supreme Court filled with entitled old men who lack empathy, common sense and the ability to see beyond their own biases. I don't think we recover this time and a great collapse is inevitable.

is the dog and pony show that it's easy for them to play on repeat because they own all major media. They're eating dogs and cats, they're migrants who are killing everyone in the street, etc. All a big show to get their boy in.

Democrats need major media.

Sadly but the Supremes opened that door

and will be remembered for their betrayal to democracy.

could vote for a man who doesn't have one redeeming quality. Not a single one. He doesn't even like dogs or his own children. I just don't get it. I guess more people are way more shallow than even I thought.

Frightening

Or even more simply, how does a country elect such an obvious idiot?

It's the culmination of a plan that's been in place for 50 years. Every GOP administration purges and we appease. Every cabinet-level department changes its focus from protecting 'consumers' to protecting corporations, FCC, FTC, EPA, etc.

Koch and Buchanan plan origins:
https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

Last edited Sun Dec 15, 2024, 02:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Harris executed the chosen campaign to perfection. She literally didn't have a single bad appearance. She and Walz hit the chosen messages solidly every day.

It was a difficult task for 100 days, but even so, this should not have been close.

So we need to ask what we missed.

I really don't think it is that complicated. Maybe we could not all see it before, but in the aftermath of the killing of Brian Thompson, and America's "baffling" response, it is all perfectly clear. Americans have been getting screwed royally since Reagan. There has been a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class to the 0.1% This makes everybody's lives unstable. Jobs are fleeting Higher education costs are unbearable. Health care is ridiculous. And we can all see that the billionaires have taken complete control over our government.

People are angry as hell. They don't know why because the major media is controlled by that selfsame 0.1% and they are bombarding the country with propaganda. Biden did many good things, but refused to talk about it; the fewest news conferences -- by far -- of any modern President. So Americans did the only thing that made sense to them. Throw the incumbents out.

The response to the Thompson killing gives us the clear answer. America is really fed up with the huge corporations and billionaires. Going forward, we must take that ground. Our unifying message should be (internally) "Eat the rich". Of course for messaging purposes, this must be wrapped in less vulgar terms, but we should be pushing for windfall profits taxes, wealth taxes, a return to top tax rates above 50% for the super-rich, blocking new monopolies and breaking up the old ones. Dismantling the social media cesspools, holding their operators accountable for the content they broadcast.

This is what will reconnect us with where the American public is. I hope Democrats can change, because otherwise it will require a new party and that could take 25 years,

So please, let's stop with all the "I just can't believe this happened." It did happen and for very good reasons. It is time we stopped letting our messages be defined by the single-issue interests and really get right to the heart of what Americans are so angry about.

He is just an excellent "politician" that owns the "libs".

added to the very long list. I consider the undermining of our democracy and the rule of law is just as serious as that particular crime.

That’s my point here

We've had a laundry list of how to be the worst human being on planet Earth and the country says "hey! I'll take another!"

By social media and right wing "news" stations like Fox. I'm legitimately convinced Fox News is an organization that hates its' own customers.

Others partially blamed him, but gave him a pass since it was like nothing seen in our lifetimes.

I know.....I won't either........ I'm just absolutely stunned...

And he gives bad people his blessings to be their worst possible selves.

Sometimes it's no more complicated than that...

Rec

I turned 70 in October, and I did not think I would see this day in my lifetime. when Reagan ran, I told
friends that if he was elected you would witness the beginning of the end of the middle class as we
knew it and if he completed the marriage of the Republican Party to the Moral Majority that would be
a deal with the Devil that leave us all smelling of stench and smell of smoke for a very long time. Sad
say the first one has happened and still continuing forward still and the second one is a raging inferno
that has not gotten the smoldering smoking phase yet. The reason I see is because Republicans played
marriage and democrats play one-night stands, all politics is local, they started county by county and
the state and now they are going state by state. the way they do it is by knowing who their audience is
and how to manipulate them.
To quote Forrest Gump "STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES."
We are on the verge of possibly being.
To quote Padme Amidala, "So this is how liberty dies. To thunderous applause."
The best way forward? Be smart, choose the best places, times and conditions to counterattack. Stop
short-term thinking and start playing the long game better than they do. We did not get here overnight
and are not going to get out of it overnight.

“We did not get here overnight
and are not going to get out of it overnight.“

But that’s NO reason not to START getting out of it, in ways both big and small.

what has happened to this country is (imho) impossible to process for folks that have a normal brain.
This has been an excellent thread to read. So much good input. It is like we get stuck trying to process something that cannot be processed because none of it makes any sense to the normal brain. Forgive me for using the only word I can think of by the word 'normal.'

None of this is normal. None of it ever will be normal.

Social media or just 'media' via the internet is more than a normal brain can process. We have leapt forward past what our brains are capable of processing. Along with the slamming of s**t 24/7/365. That we are still standing is amazing, individually and collectively.

We are in Information Warfare.

One response was to get over the "I can't believes" and being so stunned any of this has happened at all.
What we are all experiencing who see the facts of what has occurred is the processing of grief. That takes time.
I have followed this at the 30,000-foot view. Many of you have commented that it is way bigger than this country.
I believe it is a world-wide take down of the worst of the worst kind of human being.

I was wrong because I said Harris would win.
This is larger than anything any of us has lived through in our lifetimes.

Thanks for all of you being here and participating in any way you are able.

We are in Information Warfare.

He has no empathy. He could care less. It never even crosses his mind. He takes no responsibility for anything bad. All he wants is the attention.

Let's see here... What about being a fascist, rapist, con man, and so on and so forth. It never ends with this POS.

finance him, encourage him and vote for him.

So if Citizens United was revoked, wouldn't that fix this too?

Of that I am sure.
Some of the judges are corrupt partisans

A major weakness.