Regarding Fani Willis, it would be nice if all media, when reporting on this, acknowledged the points Robert makes here BUT ALSO then bring up SCOTUS and asks why Republicans criticize and attack Willis but not Thomas and Alito for their very substantial, persistent conflict of interest and ethical violations? The media needs to learn to connect the dots more effectively and stop falling into this Republican trap.
It doesn't matter whether it's fair or right in the court of public opinion. The fact of the matter is that it's an unforced error, or as Joyce Vance put it in her latest piece, in soccer parlance, an "own goal." This is not Fani's first misstep, but I hope it's her last.
It's a needless distraction that gives the Quadefendant what he craves almost as much as attention - the ability to divert attention and cause chaos and delay. I wish it were otherwise, but to immodestly quote myself, "If wishes were horses, we'd all be up to our necks in horse$#!+"
The media salivates at a story with sexual implications, however no one not even horror maestro Stephen King could evoke a scenario where the ethically corrupt Thomas nor Alito would be engaged in the ‘horizontal mambo’!
Tom Suozzi is my first cards writing since recovering from a broken (dominant hand) wrist. I've been taking only 20 names/addresses at a time, but I just keep plugging away....Every card matters!
Something I haven't seen mentioned here is the crazy comparisons of Trump and Biden. Robert mentioned Trump’s narcissism, and it reminded me that I, unfortunately,
happened upon a Maureen Dowd NYT piece over the weekend that included this gem:
“So we’re stuck with two narcissistic, circa-80 pols in a race most of us don’t want.
One of them has been cut off from a lot of media coverage because of fears about his deteriorating performances. The other has been cut off by some media outlets over fears about his deceptive performances.”
I have always disliked Dowd, but this is beyond the pale. She isn't the first to compare them in this way, but the kind of thing that’s proving difficult to overcome. Even among people working diligently to re-elect him, it’s rare to hear him spoken of positively. I'm not sure how to combat this enthusiasm gap. President Biden is not simply the lesser of two evils; he has actually been an excellent President, but you would never know that from the media or even among many Democrats. It’s maddening.
Dowd is snarky and is a closet Republican and read her brother Kevin to get the full picture. She holds grudges and for years attacked Hillary and I read her only to be aware of the other side. She has attacked Trump but her column has an aura of trying to be too cute.
Ah the devious Ms Dowd, bless her heart! I recall her sniping at Al Gore during the 2000 campaign because she made her money skewering little bush! She wanted four more years of his miserable existence!
I have always disliked Dowd too and so I don't read her, but apparently she's even worse than I thought. We desperately need more non-profit newspapers.
Beyond frustrating. A ridiculous assertion that Biden is comparably narcissistic with the Loser! One could perhaps assert all elected officials at the national level are somewhat narcissistic, but Biden would be on the lower end of that spectrum. The Loser is the absolute extreme.
In 2016 I met Ron DeSantis at a Republican Women's Club luncheon**. He was running for U.S. Senate to replace Marco Rubio who was running for president. I spoke with him personally. After his speech at the club luncheon, I could not find a single woman who thought DeSantis was a good campaigner. He had absolutely no charisma. He didn't take questions from the floor. He didn't stay around after the meeting to greet people. He didn't circulate the tables to meet people. He was in and out without greeting anyone. I knew back then that DeSantis would never make it on the national stage. Nothing has changed except that he is even more offensive than he was 8 years ago.
** I am no longer a Republican. Due to Trump and his co-horts in crime, after over 45 years of voting straight Republican, I am now a Democrat. I no longer recognize the Republican party I used to support.
This is an email I sent to PBS NewsHour regarding the program's latest bout of Trump normalizing. On the whole I love the NewsHour but I wanted to respond to some comments from Brooks and Capehart: Dear PBS NewsHour:
On Friday evening's (January 19, 2024) edition of the PBS NewsHour, I watched a particularly egregious Trump- normalizing commentary with Jonathan Capehart and David Brooks, who were discussing how Republican politicians are now falling all over each other in demonstrating their fealty to the wannabe dictator, since it looks like Trump will easily win the New Hampshire GOP primary. Of course both Capehart and Brooks were treating this as just politics instead of the demoralizing (though not surprising) collapse of the Republican party into the arms of America's Putin. Regarding Senator Tim Scott's just announced endorsement of Trump, surprising since he and primary opponent Nikki Haley are both from South Carolina, Brooks and Capehart added that this was the typical nature of South Carolina politics, where betrayals are common. Then Mr. Brooks added:
"And if Tim Scott becomes vice president, the vice presidential candidate, frankly, I'd be happy... Tim Scott is a pretty good — he's a good senator. He's a good guy. He's a good human being. He would have a — if he was elected, he would have a moderating effect on the Trump administration. And maybe someday there'd be a future President Tim Scott, which would be a lot better than what the Republicans are offering."
I am definitely not a fan of the supposed moderate conservative David Brooks, but this was frankly one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard from him. Does he really believe Tim Scott as vice-president would have a moderating effect on a Trump administration? If so Mr. Brooks is badly out of touch with reality. If Tim Scott has endorsed Trump then he too must be in agreement with Trump's dictatorship project. Mr. Brooks' statements only serve to legitimize Trump and minimize the danger this insurrectionist poses to our country.
I urge PBS News Hour to stop normalizing Trump and instead focus on the facts about why Trump is massively unqualified to be a candidate for the presidency.
Great letter. And this is spot on: " Of course both Capehart and Brooks were treating this as just politics instead of the demoralizing (though not surprising) collapse of the Republican party into the arms of America's Putin."
Thank you, John, for writing your email to PBS NewsHour. More of us should similarly call out all media for not emphasizing and explaining to readers and viewers that the election is about democracy versus fascism/autocracy. Their silence is complicity. This campaign is not a horse race, and they must stop both-sides-ing the candidates' statements and must counter false statements/lies with facts and the truth.
I also saw this session of PBS and was equally aghast at Mr. Brooks' suggestion. Mr. Scott may or may not be a "good guy," but if he were to be tapped to be Trump's VP, its hard to see how his role would be any different than what was expected of Mr. Pence: to support Mr. Trump in all things Trump, but to otherwise remain silent. I am aware, of course, that Ms. Stefanik, who is anything but silent, is currently being touted as a possible VP pick, but in her case, it seems clear that she is fully prepared to say and do anything to support Mr. Trump in all things Trump.
I does appear that the orange monster is laying the groundwork for his get out of jail free card. Not Guilty by reason of insanity must be well documented and he is well on his way.
I don't think the insanity card is any more evident now than it has always been. I would say Trump is a candidate for the memory care section of my mother's senior community. As such, it is a risk for Biden highlighting Trump's aging brain, but at the same time, letting Nikki Haley do it, is brilliant. Haley is trying to double message about age, positioning herself as the young candidate. Biden has to emphasize himself as the wise, capable and experienced candidate. I am convinced, but I never once worried about his age. I am not an ageist. I respect wisdom and experience and I also have a lot of respect for very young thinkers too.
I have young thinkers in my family, and I am inspired by their thinking and about the work they are willing to do on their college campuses to elect Biden, in spite of their concerns about him.
I agree. My 18-year old and her friends have such good thinking and are such ethical, good people. My 25-year old is also a great, careful and caring thinker and so are his friends.
Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
Well... he might be so blitheringly incoherant that they take him away in a straight jacket regardless. We can hope, can't we? I mean, I'm not Jeff Tiedrich.
Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
IMHO the omen of the ides of March has been moved to the 25th. That's when his state criminal case starts in NY. 32 felony counts. No immunity issue. Even if he were to win an election, won't be able to pardon himself.
Playing the role as Uncle Junior Soprano? Vincent "The Chin" Gigante? Unfit to stand trial but not to be president of this country?
Bingo! Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
The problem for the Quadefendant would be proving past insanity in his commission of crimes that his "sicko"phants and "echo"lytes supported, not his current state of mind. Besides, he would never admit any such weakness, 'cuz he's so tough!
Look up Vince Gigante, the NY mafia don. While trump may indeed be coupcoup for cocoa puffs, I am sure that trump is very familiar with Gigante. Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
I want to see El Blobbo deteriorate with a massive fatal myocardial infarction, mid-rant in front of the Seething Inadequates, hitting the floor face first, dead as the proverbial doornail. That's the only way we can really Make America Great Again. His permanent removal.
I won't be satisfied until I see him in an orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled behind his back, maybe with a Hannibal Lecter-like muzzle/mask. Then, after a suitable period of gloating on our part, the face plant you described.
Good discussion this morning on GMA at the top of the hour regarding “ he’s confusing Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi as he is telling a lie about Nancy Pelosi”.
Reply by Jonathan Carl : “he is confused about who Nikki Haley is- the person he is running against. And you can see it in that clip that we played just a part of- 'Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley’. It’s like he’s looking to find it in his brain somewhere “
There was more to the discussion this morning and it was covered well.
For quite some time I have dismissed some of trump's most outrageous, intelligence-, decency- and common sense-challenging outbursts as "probably just another element to introduce as evidence in an insanity plea as a last resort not to do time."
With respect, I recently watched an old interview, done with Trump about 25 years ago. Trump was calm, coherent, answered questions with full sentences and he made sensible comparisons. He offered some lies, of course, because he's Trump, but it was braggadocio and not outrageous. Otherwise it was at least watchable and not the cringe-worthy word slaw that he now offers his crazed cult zombies.
I am a NYer. His father was trash, and he’s always been trash. We told people that in 2016, but we were labeled liberal snowflakes. And now his NY properties are being sold off. I’m ready for my I toldya so tshirt.
I don't mean that I liked him or thought anything he said was true...I was looking for a comparison with the memory issues and word stews that he emits these days. My comment was merely to affirm that his cognitive decline is very noticeable when you compare interviews from 20 years ago and now. Years of Adderall and finasteride abuse (and perhaps the family DNA) are really beginning to show. Trump is showing definite early signs of dementia.
Personally, when I watched him lurking behind Hillary in that debate, trying to intimidate her, I wish she had decked him one. I have detested the creature for years.
Yes, he's worthless trash, as was his father and even his grandfather. DJT has spent a lifetime with his nose pressed against the glass door of a room that will never allow him to enter and he is filled with bitter rage that spills out in every direction. I just saw a meme of what used to be Trump Tower re-named E. Jean Carroll Tower (Under New Management) and I had to laugh.
First of all, thank you for including that fabulous Biden interview by Conan! I found myself just laughing and smiling. Joe certainly knows a lot about cars.
Secondly, now that DeSatan is out of the picture and Fake 45 is showing more signs of losing it, Nikki Haley will end up being the frontrunner. It will be very interesting to see Nikki debate Joe.
Nah there’s too many misogynists that will never vote for a woman. I was sure we’d have a woman president before a Black president because Murica, but I underestimated just how much this country hates women.
I must agree that the mainstream media tries to hard to be politically equitable and therefore unwittingly often seems to be hyper critical of Biden while serving as its own megaphone for Trumps baseless claims. So
What should we as citizens do about this? An editorial campaign, write or call those publications?
For example, the NYT published an opinion piece by Maureen Dowd stating that”So we’re stuck with two narcissistic, circa-80 pols in a race most of us don’t want.” Since when is Biden a narcissist and when would anyone make this ststrment particularly when the Biden administration under his careful, pretty humble guidance has performed admirably? Whet makes them do this?
Right wing media is not news, it’s a propaganda machine and mainstream media continually falls in the trap of thinking that they have to strive to be so fair that they hyper criticize Biden and under criticize Trump and therefore help to spread his baseless claims. It is so disappointing.
For DeSantis, let’s all read or listen to FrameLab’s piece and go back and study George Lakoff to understand at least some of the conservative mindset. Lakoff’s research explains this better than most:
I mentioned the Dowd piece above, and yes, it's infuriating. I hear similar things even when talking to fellow Democrats. Biden is not the lesser of two evils; he’s our standard bearer of democracy, both symbolically and realistically. It
To your point about mainstream media, over the weekend there was a ‘piece’ on one of the morning shows which commented on the decline of interest in mainstream media outlets!
Finally the tv content producers are realizing what my fellow commentors decided several years ago, pull the plug on the self serving ‘talking heads’!
Write Letters to the Editor about MSM falling short on articles like this. Speak up in comments to an article. Write to the opinion writer and politely hold them accountable. Emphasize the potential consequences of their misrepresentations. You would be one of many people doing so. This isn’t that different from many letters and phone calls going to a politician. It can influence them.
Robert offers an excellent list of what’s at stake in this next election:
"The stakes are enormous—reproductive liberty, foreign policy, immigration, healthcare, voting rights, LGBTQ dignity and liberties, gun safety, environmental protection, and more.” I have thought that focusing on messaging is key. But more important is to drive a movement. To quote Thom Hartmann:
“… if Democrats don’t figure out a way to match the passion and fervor (and organization) of Trump’s MAGA movement — yes, it’s as real a movement as was the Civil Rights movement — with their own passionate, broad-based, slogan- and action-driven movement, things could get very ugly for next year’s elections.”
Hartmann describes the passion that’s captured in a movement and how it drives people to make great efforts and sacrifices. He also warns that every movement has a charismatic leader. We have a competent President, but I think it’s on us to drive this movement. Here’s a link to that article.
“I look forward to continuing the struggle by your side. It is an honor and a privilege.”
To Robert’s close, I imagined myself responding by saying to him and Jill: I look forward to continuing the struggle by your side. It is an honor and a privilege.
Tom Suozzi is extremely well qualified. He's not a fringe politician. He'd be a great help to NY State as well as to his constituency in the 3rd District. He'd be a further balance to the wheel of hard right despotism in Washington. He's a good guy. VOTE for Suozzi in a little over 3 weeks.
He will not testify. Can you imagine if he did? He would open the door to allow all kinds of evidence in that wouldn’t otherwise be admissible. One of the easiest things to do would be to take out the photo he was shown during his deposition when he referred to E. Jean Carroll as Marla (Maples), his second wife. He previously claimed Carroll was “not [his] type.” That is a prior inconsistent statement and is admissible to impeach him. I would have a field day with that if I were cross-examining him, and Roberta Kaplan and her team must be salivating. This is only one small thing. Then there’s the Access Hollywood tape. And there’s more. And if you kept him on the stand for over an hour without a break, he would continue to say stupid things like he does at his rallies. No sane lawyer would let him take the stand.
PS - it was great seeing you on the Suozzi zoom yesterday.
Regarding Fani Willis, it would be nice if all media, when reporting on this, acknowledged the points Robert makes here BUT ALSO then bring up SCOTUS and asks why Republicans criticize and attack Willis but not Thomas and Alito for their very substantial, persistent conflict of interest and ethical violations? The media needs to learn to connect the dots more effectively and stop falling into this Republican trap.
Yes! Thank you for pointing out the blatant hypocrisy!
It doesn't matter whether it's fair or right in the court of public opinion. The fact of the matter is that it's an unforced error, or as Joyce Vance put it in her latest piece, in soccer parlance, an "own goal." This is not Fani's first misstep, but I hope it's her last.
It's a needless distraction that gives the Quadefendant what he craves almost as much as attention - the ability to divert attention and cause chaos and delay. I wish it were otherwise, but to immodestly quote myself, "If wishes were horses, we'd all be up to our necks in horse$#!+"
The media salivates at a story with sexual implications, however no one not even horror maestro Stephen King could evoke a scenario where the ethically corrupt Thomas nor Alito would be engaged in the ‘horizontal mambo’!
Amen.
It seems like mainstream media is part of the Republican trap.
It does feel like that oftentimes, doesn't it.
I just am finishing putting my last stamp on my 100th postcard for Tom Suozzi! Let's fix this! Thanks Robert.
Just took a break from my 100 postcards for Suozzi; planning to start up again this week. "Let's fix this!" indeed, Susan!
I just sent 125 cards yesterday. Let’s fix this!
Tom Suozzi is my first cards writing since recovering from a broken (dominant hand) wrist. I've been taking only 20 names/addresses at a time, but I just keep plugging away....Every card matters!
I dropped 25 cards in the mail last Thursday - my mail by date. “Let’s fix this!”
Mine went in Saturday 🤗
40 cards here for Suozzi!!
40 here, as well, and I’ll be receiving 40 more addresses today from Postcards to Voters.
Something I haven't seen mentioned here is the crazy comparisons of Trump and Biden. Robert mentioned Trump’s narcissism, and it reminded me that I, unfortunately,
happened upon a Maureen Dowd NYT piece over the weekend that included this gem:
“So we’re stuck with two narcissistic, circa-80 pols in a race most of us don’t want.
One of them has been cut off from a lot of media coverage because of fears about his deteriorating performances. The other has been cut off by some media outlets over fears about his deceptive performances.”
I have always disliked Dowd, but this is beyond the pale. She isn't the first to compare them in this way, but the kind of thing that’s proving difficult to overcome. Even among people working diligently to re-elect him, it’s rare to hear him spoken of positively. I'm not sure how to combat this enthusiasm gap. President Biden is not simply the lesser of two evils; he has actually been an excellent President, but you would never know that from the media or even among many Democrats. It’s maddening.
Dowd is snarky and is a closet Republican and read her brother Kevin to get the full picture. She holds grudges and for years attacked Hillary and I read her only to be aware of the other side. She has attacked Trump but her column has an aura of trying to be too cute.
She’s the Queen of Snark.
I thought Kevin was a ventriloquist dummy. He's real?!
She was called out a lot in the comments. It was a disgusting bit of writing.
Maureen "Hillary the Hawk, Donald the Dove" Dowd? Why does she still have a platform?
Ah the devious Ms Dowd, bless her heart! I recall her sniping at Al Gore during the 2000 campaign because she made her money skewering little bush! She wanted four more years of his miserable existence!
Wow!
I don't read her anymore. You are correct about Biden. He's our BEST and ONLY hope!
I have always disliked Dowd too and so I don't read her, but apparently she's even worse than I thought. We desperately need more non-profit newspapers.
Beyond frustrating. A ridiculous assertion that Biden is comparably narcissistic with the Loser! One could perhaps assert all elected officials at the national level are somewhat narcissistic, but Biden would be on the lower end of that spectrum. The Loser is the absolute extreme.
In 2016 I met Ron DeSantis at a Republican Women's Club luncheon**. He was running for U.S. Senate to replace Marco Rubio who was running for president. I spoke with him personally. After his speech at the club luncheon, I could not find a single woman who thought DeSantis was a good campaigner. He had absolutely no charisma. He didn't take questions from the floor. He didn't stay around after the meeting to greet people. He didn't circulate the tables to meet people. He was in and out without greeting anyone. I knew back then that DeSantis would never make it on the national stage. Nothing has changed except that he is even more offensive than he was 8 years ago.
** I am no longer a Republican. Due to Trump and his co-horts in crime, after over 45 years of voting straight Republican, I am now a Democrat. I no longer recognize the Republican party I used to support.
This is an email I sent to PBS NewsHour regarding the program's latest bout of Trump normalizing. On the whole I love the NewsHour but I wanted to respond to some comments from Brooks and Capehart: Dear PBS NewsHour:
On Friday evening's (January 19, 2024) edition of the PBS NewsHour, I watched a particularly egregious Trump- normalizing commentary with Jonathan Capehart and David Brooks, who were discussing how Republican politicians are now falling all over each other in demonstrating their fealty to the wannabe dictator, since it looks like Trump will easily win the New Hampshire GOP primary. Of course both Capehart and Brooks were treating this as just politics instead of the demoralizing (though not surprising) collapse of the Republican party into the arms of America's Putin. Regarding Senator Tim Scott's just announced endorsement of Trump, surprising since he and primary opponent Nikki Haley are both from South Carolina, Brooks and Capehart added that this was the typical nature of South Carolina politics, where betrayals are common. Then Mr. Brooks added:
"And if Tim Scott becomes vice president, the vice presidential candidate, frankly, I'd be happy... Tim Scott is a pretty good — he's a good senator. He's a good guy. He's a good human being. He would have a — if he was elected, he would have a moderating effect on the Trump administration. And maybe someday there'd be a future President Tim Scott, which would be a lot better than what the Republicans are offering."
I am definitely not a fan of the supposed moderate conservative David Brooks, but this was frankly one of the dumbest statements I have ever heard from him. Does he really believe Tim Scott as vice-president would have a moderating effect on a Trump administration? If so Mr. Brooks is badly out of touch with reality. If Tim Scott has endorsed Trump then he too must be in agreement with Trump's dictatorship project. Mr. Brooks' statements only serve to legitimize Trump and minimize the danger this insurrectionist poses to our country.
I urge PBS News Hour to stop normalizing Trump and instead focus on the facts about why Trump is massively unqualified to be a candidate for the presidency.
Great letter. And this is spot on: " Of course both Capehart and Brooks were treating this as just politics instead of the demoralizing (though not surprising) collapse of the Republican party into the arms of America's Putin."
Thank you, John, for writing your email to PBS NewsHour. More of us should similarly call out all media for not emphasizing and explaining to readers and viewers that the election is about democracy versus fascism/autocracy. Their silence is complicity. This campaign is not a horse race, and they must stop both-sides-ing the candidates' statements and must counter false statements/lies with facts and the truth.
I’m surprised at Jonathan Capehart.
And not surprised by David Brooks. I think the guy needs a sabbatical.
He needs to retire.
I also saw this session of PBS and was equally aghast at Mr. Brooks' suggestion. Mr. Scott may or may not be a "good guy," but if he were to be tapped to be Trump's VP, its hard to see how his role would be any different than what was expected of Mr. Pence: to support Mr. Trump in all things Trump, but to otherwise remain silent. I am aware, of course, that Ms. Stefanik, who is anything but silent, is currently being touted as a possible VP pick, but in her case, it seems clear that she is fully prepared to say and do anything to support Mr. Trump in all things Trump.
I agree completely and thank you for wring to PBS.
I does appear that the orange monster is laying the groundwork for his get out of jail free card. Not Guilty by reason of insanity must be well documented and he is well on his way.
I don't think the insanity card is any more evident now than it has always been. I would say Trump is a candidate for the memory care section of my mother's senior community. As such, it is a risk for Biden highlighting Trump's aging brain, but at the same time, letting Nikki Haley do it, is brilliant. Haley is trying to double message about age, positioning herself as the young candidate. Biden has to emphasize himself as the wise, capable and experienced candidate. I am convinced, but I never once worried about his age. I am not an ageist. I respect wisdom and experience and I also have a lot of respect for very young thinkers too.
I have young thinkers in my family, and I am inspired by their thinking and about the work they are willing to do on their college campuses to elect Biden, in spite of their concerns about him.
I agree. My 18-year old and her friends have such good thinking and are such ethical, good people. My 25-year old is also a great, careful and caring thinker and so are his friends.
Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
His ego would never allow for a sanity plea. Never mind that they are rarely accepted.
Well... he might be so blitheringly incoherant that they take him away in a straight jacket regardless. We can hope, can't we? I mean, I'm not Jeff Tiedrich.
Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
IMHO the omen of the ides of March has been moved to the 25th. That's when his state criminal case starts in NY. 32 felony counts. No immunity issue. Even if he were to win an election, won't be able to pardon himself.
Playing the role as Uncle Junior Soprano? Vincent "The Chin" Gigante? Unfit to stand trial but not to be president of this country?
Bingo! Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
The problem for the Quadefendant would be proving past insanity in his commission of crimes that his "sicko"phants and "echo"lytes supported, not his current state of mind. Besides, he would never admit any such weakness, 'cuz he's so tough!
Look up Vince Gigante, the NY mafia don. While trump may indeed be coupcoup for cocoa puffs, I am sure that trump is very familiar with Gigante. Per Wikipedia: For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail. Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself.
YEs Yes Yes... We know, but a bit of humor is necessary to frighten off self important evil.
"It appears... "
I want to see El Blobbo deteriorate with a massive fatal myocardial infarction, mid-rant in front of the Seething Inadequates, hitting the floor face first, dead as the proverbial doornail. That's the only way we can really Make America Great Again. His permanent removal.
I won't be satisfied until I see him in an orange jumpsuit with his hands shackled behind his back, maybe with a Hannibal Lecter-like muzzle/mask. Then, after a suitable period of gloating on our part, the face plant you described.
That works.
Never going to happen, I’d much prefer him six feet under with Ivana.
That would be my second choice, although I'm not sure 6' is deep enough.
Good discussion this morning on GMA at the top of the hour regarding “ he’s confusing Nikki Haley for Nancy Pelosi as he is telling a lie about Nancy Pelosi”.
Reply by Jonathan Carl : “he is confused about who Nikki Haley is- the person he is running against. And you can see it in that clip that we played just a part of- 'Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley’. It’s like he’s looking to find it in his brain somewhere “
There was more to the discussion this morning and it was covered well.
Good.
For quite some time I have dismissed some of trump's most outrageous, intelligence-, decency- and common sense-challenging outbursts as "probably just another element to introduce as evidence in an insanity plea as a last resort not to do time."
Looks like he doesn't have to fake it anymore.
Trump has never been able to string two coherent sentences together. What emanates from him is oral dysentery!
With respect, I recently watched an old interview, done with Trump about 25 years ago. Trump was calm, coherent, answered questions with full sentences and he made sensible comparisons. He offered some lies, of course, because he's Trump, but it was braggadocio and not outrageous. Otherwise it was at least watchable and not the cringe-worthy word slaw that he now offers his crazed cult zombies.
I am a NYer. His father was trash, and he’s always been trash. We told people that in 2016, but we were labeled liberal snowflakes. And now his NY properties are being sold off. I’m ready for my I toldya so tshirt.
I don't mean that I liked him or thought anything he said was true...I was looking for a comparison with the memory issues and word stews that he emits these days. My comment was merely to affirm that his cognitive decline is very noticeable when you compare interviews from 20 years ago and now. Years of Adderall and finasteride abuse (and perhaps the family DNA) are really beginning to show. Trump is showing definite early signs of dementia.
Personally, when I watched him lurking behind Hillary in that debate, trying to intimidate her, I wish she had decked him one. I have detested the creature for years.
Yes, he's worthless trash, as was his father and even his grandfather. DJT has spent a lifetime with his nose pressed against the glass door of a room that will never allow him to enter and he is filled with bitter rage that spills out in every direction. I just saw a meme of what used to be Trump Tower re-named E. Jean Carroll Tower (Under New Management) and I had to laugh.
First of all, thank you for including that fabulous Biden interview by Conan! I found myself just laughing and smiling. Joe certainly knows a lot about cars.
Secondly, now that DeSatan is out of the picture and Fake 45 is showing more signs of losing it, Nikki Haley will end up being the frontrunner. It will be very interesting to see Nikki debate Joe.
She still hasn't told voters that Trump stole from kids with cancer and disabled war veterans.
Not. Gonna. Happen. I’d love it if if she could pull an upset tomorrow, but she’s not going to get the nomination.
Well, let’s see what happens. Fake 45’s mental decline is pretty clearly at stake for him. As the saying goes “God works in mysterious ways.”
She is more dangerous to Biden than Trump and as long as she is trying to get the Trump voters she is toast.
Nah there’s too many misogynists that will never vote for a woman. I was sure we’d have a woman president before a Black president because Murica, but I underestimated just how much this country hates women.
I must agree that the mainstream media tries to hard to be politically equitable and therefore unwittingly often seems to be hyper critical of Biden while serving as its own megaphone for Trumps baseless claims. So
What should we as citizens do about this? An editorial campaign, write or call those publications?
For example, the NYT published an opinion piece by Maureen Dowd stating that”So we’re stuck with two narcissistic, circa-80 pols in a race most of us don’t want.” Since when is Biden a narcissist and when would anyone make this ststrment particularly when the Biden administration under his careful, pretty humble guidance has performed admirably? Whet makes them do this?
Right wing media is not news, it’s a propaganda machine and mainstream media continually falls in the trap of thinking that they have to strive to be so fair that they hyper criticize Biden and under criticize Trump and therefore help to spread his baseless claims. It is so disappointing.
For DeSantis, let’s all read or listen to FrameLab’s piece and go back and study George Lakoff to understand at least some of the conservative mindset. Lakoff’s research explains this better than most:
https://open.substack.com/pub/framelab/p/desantis-disaster-why-the-wannabe-dictator?r=1vvozp&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I mentioned the Dowd piece above, and yes, it's infuriating. I hear similar things even when talking to fellow Democrats. Biden is not the lesser of two evils; he’s our standard bearer of democracy, both symbolically and realistically. It
To your point about mainstream media, over the weekend there was a ‘piece’ on one of the morning shows which commented on the decline of interest in mainstream media outlets!
Finally the tv content producers are realizing what my fellow commentors decided several years ago, pull the plug on the self serving ‘talking heads’!
Write Letters to the Editor about MSM falling short on articles like this. Speak up in comments to an article. Write to the opinion writer and politely hold them accountable. Emphasize the potential consequences of their misrepresentations. You would be one of many people doing so. This isn’t that different from many letters and phone calls going to a politician. It can influence them.
Robert offers an excellent list of what’s at stake in this next election:
"The stakes are enormous—reproductive liberty, foreign policy, immigration, healthcare, voting rights, LGBTQ dignity and liberties, gun safety, environmental protection, and more.” I have thought that focusing on messaging is key. But more important is to drive a movement. To quote Thom Hartmann:
“… if Democrats don’t figure out a way to match the passion and fervor (and organization) of Trump’s MAGA movement — yes, it’s as real a movement as was the Civil Rights movement — with their own passionate, broad-based, slogan- and action-driven movement, things could get very ugly for next year’s elections.”
Hartmann describes the passion that’s captured in a movement and how it drives people to make great efforts and sacrifices. He also warns that every movement has a charismatic leader. We have a competent President, but I think it’s on us to drive this movement. Here’s a link to that article.
https://hartmannreport.com/p/will-a-democracy-movement-emerge-555
✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻 Robert / Thanks for being on the Zoom today even while feeling lousy. I’ll just leave this gem here. https://youtu.be/HrKs1gYWB6Y?si=VjhcgMUK491iqIOT
Great performance by the Grateful Dead! and, again, my apologies to Deadheads for suggesting that Migratory MAGA-its are following similar behavior!
Robert sure was a “ US Blues “ lifter yesterday !💙 I’m sure he’ll appreciate your gem,Erica😏
Thank you Erica we all needed that. 1989 was a very good Dead Year. Ace was killin it too. That should perk Robert up quite well.
“I look forward to continuing the struggle by your side. It is an honor and a privilege.”
To Robert’s close, I imagined myself responding by saying to him and Jill: I look forward to continuing the struggle by your side. It is an honor and a privilege.
Tom Suozzi is extremely well qualified. He's not a fringe politician. He'd be a great help to NY State as well as to his constituency in the 3rd District. He'd be a further balance to the wheel of hard right despotism in Washington. He's a good guy. VOTE for Suozzi in a little over 3 weeks.
He’s not my first, second, or third choice, but I’m not a naive fauxgressive. So dozens of postcards to voters in NY3 I did.
He will not testify. Can you imagine if he did? He would open the door to allow all kinds of evidence in that wouldn’t otherwise be admissible. One of the easiest things to do would be to take out the photo he was shown during his deposition when he referred to E. Jean Carroll as Marla (Maples), his second wife. He previously claimed Carroll was “not [his] type.” That is a prior inconsistent statement and is admissible to impeach him. I would have a field day with that if I were cross-examining him, and Roberta Kaplan and her team must be salivating. This is only one small thing. Then there’s the Access Hollywood tape. And there’s more. And if you kept him on the stand for over an hour without a break, he would continue to say stupid things like he does at his rallies. No sane lawyer would let him take the stand.
PS - it was great seeing you on the Suozzi zoom yesterday.