Am listening to chapter 1 of Niel deGrasse Tyson's Starry Night & he points out that "99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct." The odds are not in our favor.
Tyson's comment has little to do with our fate. Over half a billion years, the length of time that animals and plants have existed, millions of new species have evolve, similar numbers have died out.
The real problem is that the human population explosion. There are now more than 8,000,000,000, as well as the amount of our planet that we use for our own purposes--about half the planet for agriculture and production of cattle and other food animals--have been causing huge amounts of extinction. If there were still only a billion of us--the world's population around 1800, and we were consuming the way we did then--there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Add global warming into the mix and things get a helluva lot worse.
A hundred years ago, there were around 20 million elephants in Africa. Now there are a few hundred thousand at most. This is particularly unfortunate because elephants are among the smartest nonhumans on the planet--a group that we could learn a lot from.
If everyone in the world consumed at the rate Americans do, we'd need five earths to support us.
There is something I've been wondering about since Trump declared his planned tariffs against Mexico and Canada. He says it is to stop illegal immigration and drugs coming across the border. Why Canada? Except to be a bully about it. I consider myself well informed, but I haven't been hearing about hoards of people coming across the Canadian border, or drugs either. Why isn't anyone but me asking this question?
Because he is talking S--t! Which is why Trudeau agreed so easily to put some more guards on the border. That allows Trump to claim a win in the media and then it will be forgotten, but in reality it does not much other than to help Canada keep US citizens out.
Approximately 10% of the people living here in Baghdad By the Sea are from elsewhere, principally Canada. A bit to the north, at the Dade/Broward line is "little Canada." When I practiced law here, several of my colleagues here had dual Canadian citizenship.
Miami is the defacto capitol of the South American financial industry. Many wealthy people are not citizens. I bet Trump won't deport them, even if their visas expired many years ago.
Yes, just like crossings from Mexico have dropped considerably, and Trump will take credit for that too. I'm getting the feeling that by making the trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trudeau was playing Trump. Whatever works.
That's what I was saying. Trudeau was paying lip service to Trump, understanding how Trump works. He makes a big media splash about everything he says he is going to do, and then never goes through with anything to a final point, but the media has dropped it because Trump then dominates the next news cycle with some new distraction. Our media is so pathetic for allowing Trump to get away with that.
That's 45's shickt- he's a carnival barker, a showman, a salesman. He's made himself the lead story every day for a decade. The algorithms now are set to his talking points and propaganda, instead of reality. The damage may not be recoverable.
That has been my supposition since reading Project 2025 with my political reading group. It is one of my support communities. In any case, it seems like even if part of it is done it is a formula for turning the US into a third world country that will be hard to return from. China will come out as the supreme military power that is for sure from what I am reading. What will that mean for us domestically?
Don't forget, the American military is still pretty strong, and Putin will control it through Trump. I think there will be two strong world militaries next year: China's military, and the Putin-controlled American military.
His idol Putin is not doing so well. Unless the US infuses him with some form of help, he is not on the way to winning against Ukraine. Also, Putin stopped backing al-Assad and now al-Assad seems to have fled. This is still unconfirmed, but the rebel forces claim it. They are calling for democratic elections in their country which has been under al-Assad and his father for 50 years. I hope there is no Trump reign for that long.
It's the money, honey. trump will do anything (Chinese Bibles? gold spraypainted sneakers? cheap watches?) for a few bucks. And Elon has a couple dozen billion of them. No divorce!
it’s all smoke and mirrors, he’s just starting a narrative that the average Fox watching, low information American will latch on to despite their being no data to back it up
I think you're right. It's not being said for us. I just wish the media would have said there isn't a Canadian problem. I know that is too much to ask.
Well, I've read and heard that Haitian and Chinese immigrants fly to Central America and then to Canada and DO come down on the northern unguarded borders to the USA. One of my sons lives in Ontario Canada, with dual citizenship, and tells me about things like this.
I agree with the other commenters but I have also heard that Musk has set his sights on other countries, Canada being one of the first. I don't know if this is true but I wouldn't put it past him. He may have infected Trump with his nonsense.
I know that Trudeau is smarter than Trump(who isn't) and knows how to placate him enough to keep him at bay. You can tell that Trump is extremely insecure around Trudeau & knows that Melanoma swoons whenever she's around him, so he has to act tough. I believe that Canadians are smarter than Americans & want to keep Trump at arm's length. Trump's tariffs will hurt us a hell of a lot more than his intended targets.
Perhaps Premier Trudeau should take Trump's ominous words as a warning that his government might not be the friend that previous US governments have been. Trump's thuggish behavior might get aimed northward.
Canada has lived nextdoor to it's unpredictable bully neighbor(who likes to drink beer & target shoot in it's back yard)long enough to know not to draw any negative attention from us. They just wave over the fence or bring a casserole once in awhile to keep us at a safe distance. As long as they don't elect some right-wing nutball they should be okay.
One thing that surprised me when I moved to upstate NY was the number of border control vehicles and officers. They’re a big presence along Lake Ontario. They must be finding something to substantiate the budget.
I found the same in Erie, PA (home town) when I visited a few years ago. People who run the State Park where they are housed said they've yet to arrest anyone. Plus, the Coast Guard is already there, why does it need border control too?
Kate. You are so silly. It's not about illegal immigrants. There are virtually zero problems with immigrants, illegal or otherwise. It's a trope designed to enhance Trump's plans to be dictator. It has nothing to do with Canadians or Mexicans. Trump is trying to overthrow world order so he can rule. When he overturns NATO, do you think it will because some fraction of them failed to spend 2% of their GDP on their militaries? No, it will not be. It will because Putin told him to, because Putin wants to take over Ukraine uncontested and unbothered by a strong Europe afraid for its own sovereignty. Kate. Please stop believing that Trump gives factual reasons for anything he does. He wants to be dictator. He wants to overthrow American democracy. Those are the reasons he does anything he does. That may be why no one other than you is asking the question about Canadian immigrants.
Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus? Russia is no longer able to back him. According to Lucien Truscott IV, Russia is losing far too many people for the hectares they gain. Of course Putin, like Hitler can just treat everyone as disposable because to him they are. Ukraine has the kind of stand up to people president that more European countries will need if the EU is to survive Trump intact. If Russia were to lose China's support how long could they last? Will the US under Trump be a factor if he follows through with his Intelligence Communities and DOD appointments? He is setting the US up to be totally unsafe from the world by cutting it off.
Right now Europe is trying the carrot with Trump. I think it is a waste of time. The US and Europe are big trading partners. Here in Germany I have seen the government attempt to build more trading partners the entire time Biden was president, because Biden has had tariffs and restrictions too. This is a trading lesson for all. If you cannot be 100% self-sufficient, you need to diversify your trading partners so you can adjust for changes in governments.
I am not going to speak to the military implications, because the allies of the US are not prepared to lose the alliance, but they should get ready to.
Beverly, I think you're right. Under Trump (and his boss Putin) the US will become a threat to every country in the world who does not obey the Trump/Putin will. With the trillions of dollars that together Musk and Putin can deploy, with project 2025 in effect to crush progressive opposition, and with Trump grabbing dictator power from a flabby and flaccid do-nothing Congress (he's already got the supreme court in the bag), Trump will become an authoritarian dictator too stupid to do anything other than what Putin tells him to and what his billionaires want. And to golf and commit adultery, I guess.
Because he is talking S--t! Which is why Trudeau agreed so easily to put some more guards on the border. That allows Trump to claim a win in the media and then it will be forgotten, but in reality it does not much other than to help Canada keep US citizens out.
I am and have been for decades a huge fan of Auden. I have spent untold devoted hours reading and struggling with "In Praise of Limestone." One of my favorites is the brief but so powerful "That night when joy began". I could talk about Auden forever.
Auden is marvelous. 60 years ago critics were yammering about the Age of Auden, being everything after T.S. Eliot. The whole scene got much more varied than just being the Age of Auden, but that's good news because it allows Auden's own enormous gifts as a poet to shine through. Clear yet profound. Take a couple of minutes this Sunday to check out some of his poems at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-h-auden, the above that Brent Lloyd recommended and "Musee des Beaux Arts," "The More Loving One" and to my mind one of the greatest love poems of all time, sometimes called "Lullaby," which begins, "Lay your sleeping head, my love" and "Epitaph on a Tyrant," For the last two you have to go to poets.org.
Yes to them all. "Musee" and "Lullaby".... " human, on my faithless arm.... in my arms till break of day let the living creature lie, mortal, guilty but to me the entirely beautiful. "
About 10 years ago, FOX was playing in my doctor's waiting room. I told the receptionist that I would be sitting on the floor in the hall, so as not to have to listen to FOX, and to please come out and get me when they were ready for me. More people should have paid attention to Al Franken's book LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM in 2003. (Not that my tiny action did any good!). Yes, turn off the propaganda in public spaces!
Right you are. And Al Franken should not have resigned. I’ll never forgive Kristen Gillebrand and other Democrats who urged him to go. We need him in the Senate now more than ever.
Two things that are on my mind . One... Trump being invited to France for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral ..It turns my stomach that he is invited. He is not even sworn in yet. I think I understand why Macron asked him . He is trying to keep him from siding with Putin on Ukraine and also trying to keep NATO together . Still it turns my stomach to see him over there. I hated when he got to meet the Queen in his first term. It's the little things that push my buttons. The second thing is Jim Clyburn of Soth Carolina pushing for Joe to pardon Trump. This is much worse then going to France .. It is not acceptable . whatever it takes Joe cannot pardon Trump . He sent those people to the capital ..Police were injured and killed . They deficated on the floor of the capital .. They tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power . NO NO NO ...and Trump willfully kept classified docuemnts in Mar a Lago. While he may live there it's a public place. BTW him making it his legal residence is against the law because of the nature of the business . Once again laws don't apply to him. I really think these elder leaders need to step aside and let the younger generation lead now. I am a senior.
The Queen thought he was rude. I think that's hilarious.
I can't see how Biden can pardon Trump. There would be such an uprising if he did that it wouldn't be funny. And I hope he understands that Ford pardoning Nixon is what got us here.
I have to respectfully disagree with you on Ford pardoning Nixon. If he did I don't think it would have stopped Trump from doing all the things he has done. Trump is a psychopath. Nothing will stop him. He is a really sick man.
He said, something like, it would put an end to the strife and bitterness in the country and that a pardon would keep things from spinning out of control. I mean it wouldn't matter if joe did pardon him ,he will still go after his "enemies" .
If Clymer said that, he's insane. Everytime a progressive says something insane (Ro Hanna? Moskowitz?) I assume it's because Trump has threatened him with (a) political and professional ruin/blackballing; and (b) death (for the politico or his/her near and dear).
I’m amazed by the news coming out of Syria tonight — fallen regime, Assad flees on a plan only to be denied by Lebanon and shot down. Meanwhile, back at home, some pretty big names failed to vote for the release of the Gaetz report: Porter! Swalwell! Gallego! Lieu! Crockett! Just wow.
I'm sorry. Did you say that Eric Swalwell voted against releasing the Gaetz report? And Ruben? Jasmine? What's up their sleeves? Doesn't make any sense?
Probably Trump called them up to say he'd ruin them politically and professionally if they don't do what he tells them to do, and if they try to stand up against that, he'll kill their children and spouses. Don't put it past him. He has a long history of death threats, buried and whitewashed by the media.
Assad’s whereabouts or status are unconfirmed anywhere that I can find, but there was word overnight that a plane had disappeared. Unfortunately, our lawmakers not taking this vote seriously is very true.
1. Keep current on the truth through mostly substack subscriptions for national news and my very local news sources for local news. I've dropped online subscriptions to the New York Tmes, Washington Post and, if I would have had it, the LA Times.
2. Everytime someone complains about what is going on, I plan to start every sentence with: "If you voted for Trump..." or "The people who voted for Trump...." and then answer whatever was in the nature of the complaint. Every single disasterous thing that happens needs to be tied back to Trump over and over and over and....
Today’s Guardian includes an article on why many farmers in California supported Trump despite his promises of deportation and threatened tariffs. They hate many of the environment-protecting regulations put in place by the Biden administration. Finally, something makes sense about why somebody would vote for Trump, since he has promised to largely dismantle many protections and regulations that the business community hates. So while the farmers’ position makes sense, it’s of course deeply depressing - almost apocalyptic - that the response to regulations that are urgently needed to protect the environment are an asthma to farmers. See the current animated film Flow.
Today join a movement! Support independent media they need money and readership to grow stronger. Some examples: MeidasTouch, The Guardian. List your favorite independent media sources so we can support them with our $$.
Also please support ProPublica and the lesser known Marshall Project, which is a critical voice for criminal (in)justice. I also recently subscribed to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which seems to do far less sane-washing than NYT and WaPo.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is owned by a non-profit foundation that protects them from having to do what some owner says. They can just report the news. I subscribed. If more of us from other states keep subscribing, we can perhaps persuade them to do more national news. Become the independent source for national and world news we need and no longer have. The Inquirer has been around since 1829; they know what they're doing, and have the chops.
It’s been a week both politically and personally. I enjoy your nebula photograph tonight. If you look long enough I see a man’s face in the middle on top of the green. To the left I see a greyhound or maybe a deer. With this I bid you goodnight. Thank you Robert for being the calm reassurance I often need and for your beautiful photographs.
For those of you who are interested in what the Christian Wrong has in store for you during the Trump Administration check out the Nov-Dec issue of Mother Jones https://www.motherjones.com/mag/2024/11/toc/ (if that doesn't link directly, go to the MoJo website and scroll way down to the Under God issue) Read the first three articles. Synopsis, for women, know where the steps to the church basement are, learn how to bake cookies and make tuna noodle casserole, and say "Yes sir. How can I serve you" when a man enters the room.
If you're bored during half time, Google the worth of the top ten Evangelical preachers. Several are worth over $100M. One even has fleeced his flock for two private jets because only one doesn't make him seem important enough when he attends conferences. Whatever happened to the vow of poverty.
From Handel's Messiah, which I sang for many years at this time of year: Why do the nation's so furiously rage together, why do the people imagine a vain thing? Or, rather, their rulers. I am so glad that Assad is gone. And that the Ducks are the Big 10 champions. What a game, what a season, what a team.
Completely understood. I did not mean to suggest you were happy about the orange hair return. Just that Assad is such a smaller player, unless you happen to be Syrian. Assad could screw up Syria; Trump will seemingly, through arrogance or ignorance or both, screw up the world.
Agree, Michael. It's a scope and scale thing. Trump's election is on a scale of disaster millions of miles beyond the status of some two-penny dictator and a transient sport team of some kind.
Robert, I hope you can exert some influence and ideas for some group to create a fund to which we can donate that will provide money for legal defenses to those whom Trump will try to ruin through misuse of the FBI and the Justice Department. People like Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, Liz Chaney and others should not be financially ruined because they are patriots. I think of all the money raised during the campaign; surely, we Democrats can come to the rescue of Trump's targets. It would have to be fairly sophisticated and standards for participation set, but these people should not be left in the lurch. Ideas, Anyone?
I don't know if this is an okay comment but I woke up this morning very clear headed about the fact that our election was stolen. Nobody's really talking about it. In a way like that they're not saying the election was stolen from Kamala harris. They're saying that Elon musk bought his way into the power group and they're going into all the different ways that the oligarchs and Russians stole our election but no one's using that label. And I don't think our our system is nimble enough to even address what's happened! And so I have a heavy heart this morning. I hope people will call their senators and even senators that are not there and demand that they do not support Tulsi gabbard for her appointment. She's dangerous. She's very very dangerous.
Ivy, I don't disagree with you. But it's water under the dam. No one is going to fight. We had four years of well-documented evidence that the 2016 election was stolen, and we did nothing--neither us citizens, nor our democratic government--to protect against it happening in 2024. We did nothing to harden our systems. The fact that it happened again is meaningless. We are left with the results, and must fight those as best we can. I'm concerned, though, that we're all too complacent and will just sit around doing nothing again. For my part, I'm going to join the League of Women Voters in the nearest town (hour and a half away) and try to work positively through them. It ain't much, but it's something.
Friday night the Morehead Planetarium hosted a Skywatching event.
Inspired by your Daily Dose of Perspective, I braved the cold and enjoyed being in awe again.
Let's all make sure to look up and look around every once in a while.
There is no Planet B. At least, not yet.
Just a point of reference, this is part of the UNC Chapel Hill campus. It is a lovely place to watch the heavens.
Not to mention that the sky is not just azure, but more specifically Carolina bleu👣♾️
It’s stunning.
there will almost certainly never be a Planet B. We can take care of Earth or we can go extinct, perhaps along with the rest of life on Earth.
Am listening to chapter 1 of Niel deGrasse Tyson's Starry Night & he points out that "99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct." The odds are not in our favor.
Tyson's comment has little to do with our fate. Over half a billion years, the length of time that animals and plants have existed, millions of new species have evolve, similar numbers have died out.
The real problem is that the human population explosion. There are now more than 8,000,000,000, as well as the amount of our planet that we use for our own purposes--about half the planet for agriculture and production of cattle and other food animals--have been causing huge amounts of extinction. If there were still only a billion of us--the world's population around 1800, and we were consuming the way we did then--there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Add global warming into the mix and things get a helluva lot worse.
A hundred years ago, there were around 20 million elephants in Africa. Now there are a few hundred thousand at most. This is particularly unfortunate because elephants are among the smartest nonhumans on the planet--a group that we could learn a lot from.
If everyone in the world consumed at the rate Americans do, we'd need five earths to support us.
https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/how-many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/#:~:text=Here's%20how%20we%20calculate%20that,if%20everyone%20lived%20like%20Americans.
Tyson is not a biologist.
There is something I've been wondering about since Trump declared his planned tariffs against Mexico and Canada. He says it is to stop illegal immigration and drugs coming across the border. Why Canada? Except to be a bully about it. I consider myself well informed, but I haven't been hearing about hoards of people coming across the Canadian border, or drugs either. Why isn't anyone but me asking this question?
Because he is talking S--t! Which is why Trudeau agreed so easily to put some more guards on the border. That allows Trump to claim a win in the media and then it will be forgotten, but in reality it does not much other than to help Canada keep US citizens out.
I know more fretful people considering moving to Canada than I do Canadians wanting to move down here, that’s for sure.
Approximately 10% of the people living here in Baghdad By the Sea are from elsewhere, principally Canada. A bit to the north, at the Dade/Broward line is "little Canada." When I practiced law here, several of my colleagues here had dual Canadian citizenship.
Miami is the defacto capitol of the South American financial industry. Many wealthy people are not citizens. I bet Trump won't deport them, even if their visas expired many years ago.
I’m sure you’re right that he won’t touch Florida.
I don't think Canadians, as white people, who speak english, and have money have anything to worry about.
Yep!
Yes, just like crossings from Mexico have dropped considerably, and Trump will take credit for that too. I'm getting the feeling that by making the trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trudeau was playing Trump. Whatever works.
That's what I was saying. Trudeau was paying lip service to Trump, understanding how Trump works. He makes a big media splash about everything he says he is going to do, and then never goes through with anything to a final point, but the media has dropped it because Trump then dominates the next news cycle with some new distraction. Our media is so pathetic for allowing Trump to get away with that.
That's 45's shickt- he's a carnival barker, a showman, a salesman. He's made himself the lead story every day for a decade. The algorithms now are set to his talking points and propaganda, instead of reality. The damage may not be recoverable.
That has been my supposition since reading Project 2025 with my political reading group. It is one of my support communities. In any case, it seems like even if part of it is done it is a formula for turning the US into a third world country that will be hard to return from. China will come out as the supreme military power that is for sure from what I am reading. What will that mean for us domestically?
Don't forget, the American military is still pretty strong, and Putin will control it through Trump. I think there will be two strong world militaries next year: China's military, and the Putin-controlled American military.
imo it's just his inherent bully posture, trying to look big against our nearest neighbors.
He never plays nice. Unless it's for the attention of his idol, Putin.
His idol Putin is not doing so well. Unless the US infuses him with some form of help, he is not on the way to winning against Ukraine. Also, Putin stopped backing al-Assad and now al-Assad seems to have fled. This is still unconfirmed, but the rebel forces claim it. They are calling for democratic elections in their country which has been under al-Assad and his father for 50 years. I hope there is no Trump reign for that long.
Or his new wife, Elon.
I’m guessing a divorce is imminent.
I wish, but what Trump loves more than anything is money, and Musk has bought him with a quarter of a billion, and there is probably more to come.
It's the money, honey. trump will do anything (Chinese Bibles? gold spraypainted sneakers? cheap watches?) for a few bucks. And Elon has a couple dozen billion of them. No divorce!
You can't make rational sense in what Trump does. There is a quid pro quo or nefarious intent in many things he does.
Everything Trump does is for the benefit of Trump. If anything of any good to others comes out of it it is totally by accident.
That was the first question that came to my mind as well. I wasn't hearing of any influx of immigrants or drugs coming in from Canada.
it’s all smoke and mirrors, he’s just starting a narrative that the average Fox watching, low information American will latch on to despite their being no data to back it up
I think you're right. It's not being said for us. I just wish the media would have said there isn't a Canadian problem. I know that is too much to ask.
Well, I've read and heard that Haitian and Chinese immigrants fly to Central America and then to Canada and DO come down on the northern unguarded borders to the USA. One of my sons lives in Ontario Canada, with dual citizenship, and tells me about things like this.
I've heard the same, but it is not hoards of people.
Me, too. At the moment if you get into Canada, there is a likelihood you would prefer to stay there.
Amen to that.
I agree with the other commenters but I have also heard that Musk has set his sights on other countries, Canada being one of the first. I don't know if this is true but I wouldn't put it past him. He may have infected Trump with his nonsense.
Trump did tell Trudeau that Canada could become another state.
Proof of what I heard. Terrible!
I know that Trudeau is smarter than Trump(who isn't) and knows how to placate him enough to keep him at bay. You can tell that Trump is extremely insecure around Trudeau & knows that Melanoma swoons whenever she's around him, so he has to act tough. I believe that Canadians are smarter than Americans & want to keep Trump at arm's length. Trump's tariffs will hurt us a hell of a lot more than his intended targets.
Perhaps Premier Trudeau should take Trump's ominous words as a warning that his government might not be the friend that previous US governments have been. Trump's thuggish behavior might get aimed northward.
Canada has lived nextdoor to it's unpredictable bully neighbor(who likes to drink beer & target shoot in it's back yard)long enough to know not to draw any negative attention from us. They just wave over the fence or bring a casserole once in awhile to keep us at a safe distance. As long as they don't elect some right-wing nutball they should be okay.
Agree, one right-wing nutball in the neighborhood is enough.
One thing that surprised me when I moved to upstate NY was the number of border control vehicles and officers. They’re a big presence along Lake Ontario. They must be finding something to substantiate the budget.
I found the same in Erie, PA (home town) when I visited a few years ago. People who run the State Park where they are housed said they've yet to arrest anyone. Plus, the Coast Guard is already there, why does it need border control too?
I have made that same point, asking that same question. T does not like Justin, for starters. It's as you say, a bully move.
Kate. You are so silly. It's not about illegal immigrants. There are virtually zero problems with immigrants, illegal or otherwise. It's a trope designed to enhance Trump's plans to be dictator. It has nothing to do with Canadians or Mexicans. Trump is trying to overthrow world order so he can rule. When he overturns NATO, do you think it will because some fraction of them failed to spend 2% of their GDP on their militaries? No, it will not be. It will because Putin told him to, because Putin wants to take over Ukraine uncontested and unbothered by a strong Europe afraid for its own sovereignty. Kate. Please stop believing that Trump gives factual reasons for anything he does. He wants to be dictator. He wants to overthrow American democracy. Those are the reasons he does anything he does. That may be why no one other than you is asking the question about Canadian immigrants.
Bashar al-Assad has fled Damascus? Russia is no longer able to back him. According to Lucien Truscott IV, Russia is losing far too many people for the hectares they gain. Of course Putin, like Hitler can just treat everyone as disposable because to him they are. Ukraine has the kind of stand up to people president that more European countries will need if the EU is to survive Trump intact. If Russia were to lose China's support how long could they last? Will the US under Trump be a factor if he follows through with his Intelligence Communities and DOD appointments? He is setting the US up to be totally unsafe from the world by cutting it off.
tRump 2.0 will not only make the USA LESS safe
The USA will become the threat, the enemy, of EVERY country and government in the world.
He thought "making Allies pay" for cooperation was "good business" with no concept that you need friends, and together you're better, stronger.
He's demonstrated his goal to be a dictator. He only wants the power, not to do the actual job.
Project 2025 will give him EOs to sign, so he can make his tee time.
“Making the allies pay” just shows how incredibly stupid and ignorant 45 is.
Right now Europe is trying the carrot with Trump. I think it is a waste of time. The US and Europe are big trading partners. Here in Germany I have seen the government attempt to build more trading partners the entire time Biden was president, because Biden has had tariffs and restrictions too. This is a trading lesson for all. If you cannot be 100% self-sufficient, you need to diversify your trading partners so you can adjust for changes in governments.
I am not going to speak to the military implications, because the allies of the US are not prepared to lose the alliance, but they should get ready to.
So true. Arnold Palmer is looking down form golf heaven and wondering what the heck?
Beverly, I think you're right. Under Trump (and his boss Putin) the US will become a threat to every country in the world who does not obey the Trump/Putin will. With the trillions of dollars that together Musk and Putin can deploy, with project 2025 in effect to crush progressive opposition, and with Trump grabbing dictator power from a flabby and flaccid do-nothing Congress (he's already got the supreme court in the bag), Trump will become an authoritarian dictator too stupid to do anything other than what Putin tells him to and what his billionaires want. And to golf and commit adultery, I guess.
Because he is talking S--t! Which is why Trudeau agreed so easily to put some more guards on the border. That allows Trump to claim a win in the media and then it will be forgotten, but in reality it does not much other than to help Canada keep US citizens out.
Mar A Lago will become grift heaven Deja vu.
Become?
Bordello A Lago
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-is-the
Yeats sums up it up in his usual incomparable way:
“Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.”
Recently acquired a rather nice limited first edition of W.H. Auden's poems.
Perchance some have read Auden?
'September 1st, 1939'
"A low dishonest decade"
or how about these perfect lines written upon the death of Yeats?
"Earth receive an honored guest,
William Yeats is laid to rest"
I am and have been for decades a huge fan of Auden. I have spent untold devoted hours reading and struggling with "In Praise of Limestone." One of my favorites is the brief but so powerful "That night when joy began". I could talk about Auden forever.
Auden is marvelous. 60 years ago critics were yammering about the Age of Auden, being everything after T.S. Eliot. The whole scene got much more varied than just being the Age of Auden, but that's good news because it allows Auden's own enormous gifts as a poet to shine through. Clear yet profound. Take a couple of minutes this Sunday to check out some of his poems at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-h-auden, the above that Brent Lloyd recommended and "Musee des Beaux Arts," "The More Loving One" and to my mind one of the greatest love poems of all time, sometimes called "Lullaby," which begins, "Lay your sleeping head, my love" and "Epitaph on a Tyrant," For the last two you have to go to poets.org.
Yes to them all. "Musee" and "Lullaby".... " human, on my faithless arm.... in my arms till break of day let the living creature lie, mortal, guilty but to me the entirely beautiful. "
Yeats perfectly if horribly apposite. Thank you. At least beauty, like humor, can nourish my heart and soul in these parlous times.
Fox will soon essentially be Trump State TV.
FOX [not “News”] will soon be, in essence, Trump State TV.
We can all do ONE SIMPLE THING to PUSH BACK AGAINST FOX’s lies:
SPEAK UP whenever you see FOX playing in any public space – a café, gym, doctor’s office – wherever.
SPEAK UP and say CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
Staying silent when Fox plays in public normalizes its poison.
It’s easy and it WORKS. So, SPEAK UP and STOP FOX’S LIES. www.TruthTuesdays.org
About 10 years ago, FOX was playing in my doctor's waiting room. I told the receptionist that I would be sitting on the floor in the hall, so as not to have to listen to FOX, and to please come out and get me when they were ready for me. More people should have paid attention to Al Franken's book LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM in 2003. (Not that my tiny action did any good!). Yes, turn off the propaganda in public spaces!
Right you are. And Al Franken should not have resigned. I’ll never forgive Kristen Gillebrand and other Democrats who urged him to go. We need him in the Senate now more than ever.
Good for you!!
Yes, change the channel.
Stand for truth.
Was (2017-Jan 2021) and will be again.
Two things that are on my mind . One... Trump being invited to France for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral ..It turns my stomach that he is invited. He is not even sworn in yet. I think I understand why Macron asked him . He is trying to keep him from siding with Putin on Ukraine and also trying to keep NATO together . Still it turns my stomach to see him over there. I hated when he got to meet the Queen in his first term. It's the little things that push my buttons. The second thing is Jim Clyburn of Soth Carolina pushing for Joe to pardon Trump. This is much worse then going to France .. It is not acceptable . whatever it takes Joe cannot pardon Trump . He sent those people to the capital ..Police were injured and killed . They deficated on the floor of the capital .. They tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power . NO NO NO ...and Trump willfully kept classified docuemnts in Mar a Lago. While he may live there it's a public place. BTW him making it his legal residence is against the law because of the nature of the business . Once again laws don't apply to him. I really think these elder leaders need to step aside and let the younger generation lead now. I am a senior.
It was bad enough that tRump was invited to France, but to then have Elon show up too? That was disgusting.
The Queen thought he was rude. I think that's hilarious.
I can't see how Biden can pardon Trump. There would be such an uprising if he did that it wouldn't be funny. And I hope he understands that Ford pardoning Nixon is what got us here.
I have to respectfully disagree with you on Ford pardoning Nixon. If he did I don't think it would have stopped Trump from doing all the things he has done. Trump is a psychopath. Nothing will stop him. He is a really sick man.
I definitely agree with that!
I love Jim Clyburn. But, no.
Why in the world is Jim Clyburn asking Joe to pardon him?
He said, something like, it would put an end to the strife and bitterness in the country and that a pardon would keep things from spinning out of control. I mean it wouldn't matter if joe did pardon him ,he will still go after his "enemies" .
If Clymer said that, he's insane. Everytime a progressive says something insane (Ro Hanna? Moskowitz?) I assume it's because Trump has threatened him with (a) political and professional ruin/blackballing; and (b) death (for the politico or his/her near and dear).
What is Jim Clyburn thinking? He has been a huge hero of mine forever!
I’m amazed by the news coming out of Syria tonight — fallen regime, Assad flees on a plan only to be denied by Lebanon and shot down. Meanwhile, back at home, some pretty big names failed to vote for the release of the Gaetz report: Porter! Swalwell! Gallego! Lieu! Crockett! Just wow.
I'd be curious to know why they voted against it.
Did they vote against or fail to vote? The end result is the same but the motivation might not be.
THEY DID NOT VOTE
THEY DID NOT VOTE
THEY DID NOT VOTE AT ALL
Where did you see that they voted against releasing the report? I ours only find reports that all Democrats voted to release it. https://www.newsweek.com/matt-gaetz-ethics-report-vote-full-list-republicans-1996497
https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll490.xml THEY DID NOT VOTE AT ALL
I don't think that is accurate. See Rene's link.
Regardless, what do we think the chances are that someone will be angry enough to leak the Gaetz report?
This will be too juicy to hide for long. Maybe some "staffer" will sneak a copy and get it out to the public someday...
Someone already leaked it! Mid-November.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/matt-gaetz-depositions-leak-investigations/
It's out there. No one cares.
THEY DID NOT VOTE AT ALL
I trust all those House members you list. I would like to hear their thinking before reacting. Did any of them explain?
THEY DID NOT VOTE AT ALL
For you guys confused, please see the NOT VOTING section at the bottom: https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll490.xml
I'm sorry. Did you say that Eric Swalwell voted against releasing the Gaetz report? And Ruben? Jasmine? What's up their sleeves? Doesn't make any sense?
Probably Trump called them up to say he'd ruin them politically and professionally if they don't do what he tells them to do, and if they try to stand up against that, he'll kill their children and spouses. Don't put it past him. He has a long history of death threats, buried and whitewashed by the media.
Jesus
Assad’s whereabouts or status are unconfirmed anywhere that I can find, but there was word overnight that a plane had disappeared. Unfortunately, our lawmakers not taking this vote seriously is very true.
My plan for the time Trump is in office is to:
1. Keep current on the truth through mostly substack subscriptions for national news and my very local news sources for local news. I've dropped online subscriptions to the New York Tmes, Washington Post and, if I would have had it, the LA Times.
2. Everytime someone complains about what is going on, I plan to start every sentence with: "If you voted for Trump..." or "The people who voted for Trump...." and then answer whatever was in the nature of the complaint. Every single disasterous thing that happens needs to be tied back to Trump over and over and over and....
Someone somewhere also suggested, “Well, I hope you are getting what you voted for.”
Today’s Guardian includes an article on why many farmers in California supported Trump despite his promises of deportation and threatened tariffs. They hate many of the environment-protecting regulations put in place by the Biden administration. Finally, something makes sense about why somebody would vote for Trump, since he has promised to largely dismantle many protections and regulations that the business community hates. So while the farmers’ position makes sense, it’s of course deeply depressing - almost apocalyptic - that the response to regulations that are urgently needed to protect the environment are an asthma to farmers. See the current animated film Flow.
Here is the trailer to the film, Flow that Sherry mentioned:
https://youtu.be/ZgZccxuj2RY?feature=shared
Today join a movement! Support independent media they need money and readership to grow stronger. Some examples: MeidasTouch, The Guardian. List your favorite independent media sources so we can support them with our $$.
Meidas Touch is doing an amazing job! They've come out of nowhere and are really cooking.
Also please support ProPublica and the lesser known Marshall Project, which is a critical voice for criminal (in)justice. I also recently subscribed to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which seems to do far less sane-washing than NYT and WaPo.
The Philadelphia Inquirer is owned by a non-profit foundation that protects them from having to do what some owner says. They can just report the news. I subscribed. If more of us from other states keep subscribing, we can perhaps persuade them to do more national news. Become the independent source for national and world news we need and no longer have. The Inquirer has been around since 1829; they know what they're doing, and have the chops.
Democracy Docket
It’s been a week both politically and personally. I enjoy your nebula photograph tonight. If you look long enough I see a man’s face in the middle on top of the green. To the left I see a greyhound or maybe a deer. With this I bid you goodnight. Thank you Robert for being the calm reassurance I often need and for your beautiful photographs.
For those of you who are interested in what the Christian Wrong has in store for you during the Trump Administration check out the Nov-Dec issue of Mother Jones https://www.motherjones.com/mag/2024/11/toc/ (if that doesn't link directly, go to the MoJo website and scroll way down to the Under God issue) Read the first three articles. Synopsis, for women, know where the steps to the church basement are, learn how to bake cookies and make tuna noodle casserole, and say "Yes sir. How can I serve you" when a man enters the room.
If you're bored during half time, Google the worth of the top ten Evangelical preachers. Several are worth over $100M. One even has fleeced his flock for two private jets because only one doesn't make him seem important enough when he attends conferences. Whatever happened to the vow of poverty.
We are witnessing the global Rise of the Swindlers, er, capitalism with zero guardrails.
From Handel's Messiah, which I sang for many years at this time of year: Why do the nation's so furiously rage together, why do the people imagine a vain thing? Or, rather, their rulers. I am so glad that Assad is gone. And that the Ducks are the Big 10 champions. What a game, what a season, what a team.
Assad is gone and Trump (furious rage personified) is back. That's supposed to be good? Not on this planet.
I did not say that it was good that Trump was back. I was just reflecting on the numerous world conflicts.
Completely understood. I did not mean to suggest you were happy about the orange hair return. Just that Assad is such a smaller player, unless you happen to be Syrian. Assad could screw up Syria; Trump will seemingly, through arrogance or ignorance or both, screw up the world.
Agree, Michael. It's a scope and scale thing. Trump's election is on a scale of disaster millions of miles beyond the status of some two-penny dictator and a transient sport team of some kind.
Every little victory is a positive thing.
Robert, I hope you can exert some influence and ideas for some group to create a fund to which we can donate that will provide money for legal defenses to those whom Trump will try to ruin through misuse of the FBI and the Justice Department. People like Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, Liz Chaney and others should not be financially ruined because they are patriots. I think of all the money raised during the campaign; surely, we Democrats can come to the rescue of Trump's targets. It would have to be fairly sophisticated and standards for participation set, but these people should not be left in the lurch. Ideas, Anyone?
Someone with credibility, like Robert or Jessica Craven, could create GoFundMes for them. Just an idea.
We must write our senators. Raise a rabble. We cannot have these nomination abominations. I drafted a forceful but respectful letter with a link to Robert’s December 2 post. https://open.substack.com/pub/hotbuttons/p/what-is-our-next-job?r=3m1bs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
I don't know if this is an okay comment but I woke up this morning very clear headed about the fact that our election was stolen. Nobody's really talking about it. In a way like that they're not saying the election was stolen from Kamala harris. They're saying that Elon musk bought his way into the power group and they're going into all the different ways that the oligarchs and Russians stole our election but no one's using that label. And I don't think our our system is nimble enough to even address what's happened! And so I have a heavy heart this morning. I hope people will call their senators and even senators that are not there and demand that they do not support Tulsi gabbard for her appointment. She's dangerous. She's very very dangerous.
Ivy, I don't disagree with you. But it's water under the dam. No one is going to fight. We had four years of well-documented evidence that the 2016 election was stolen, and we did nothing--neither us citizens, nor our democratic government--to protect against it happening in 2024. We did nothing to harden our systems. The fact that it happened again is meaningless. We are left with the results, and must fight those as best we can. I'm concerned, though, that we're all too complacent and will just sit around doing nothing again. For my part, I'm going to join the League of Women Voters in the nearest town (hour and a half away) and try to work positively through them. It ain't much, but it's something.