Sasha - you're truly the best of Substack. You are publicly brave, smart, incredibly articulate, and capable of independent thought. All of these have become incredibly rare in the current climate of smug apologists. Apologists for actual malignant racism. Apologists for elitist vandals who destroy anything that threatens their power, all the while claiming they are the beleaguered underdogs. Apologists for the sacrifice of any human that doesn't keep the cool kids feeling cool. We've become like a dystopian high school, where genuflection to the viciously sadistic top clique has become an art form. But you stand firm - removing yourself from that ugly pack to shine a light on their sickening arrogance.
You put yourself in the firing line - personally and publicly. And you're stronger every day for doing that. Because you know the truth, The sycophants, hungry for crumbs of approval, desperate not to be exiled from their cheap seats at the game, are the weak ones. They are the pathetic ones. And you are seeing a turning coming. Your predictions about the election (regardless of the outcome) are a tiny spark of light in a virulent darkness. I don't know if you're right about that, but I've seen enough other little sparks to hope that if not then, soon.
What nauseates me is the smugness you alluded to, the unquestioning certitude that they're right without fault, and only the Deplorables ( of whom I proudly claim charter membership ) can't see it, not that they'd want us to see it because then we might ally our begrimed selves with them. We are a source of pestilence which must be quarantined and destroyed. This is a class war, and we all know that.
I saw it yesterday in a Facebook group which is supposed to be about classic literature. Some lightweight had posted about Sinclair Lewis' very entertaining mid - 1930s novel, It Can't Happen Here. The post was intended as a warning: Buzz Windrip is Donald Trump. Beware.
If you don't know the novel, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip is a minor political player. ( It's been so long since I read the book, I don't remember his role. I think he's a state governor. ) Windrip has the inexplicable gift of spellbinding oratory, however. My memory is that Lewis is particularly adept at describing the weird quality often seen in truly charismatic public speakers, that they start hesitantly, that people in the audience aren't sure they're going to buy the speaker's argument - in fact, they're pretty sure they're not - but that as the speaker finds his way, at a certain moment, a kindling occurs, the audience gets excited, and before long, the entire crowd is screaming their approval as though they were 12 year old girls at the height of Beatlemania.
There were several of those in the 20th century, Hitler being the obvious first example, but such diverse and non - sinister Americans as Huey Long, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King also had this ability. The consensus of literary critics in the 1930s was that Buzz Windrip was a Huey Long character a clef, if there is such a thing.
Windrip talks his way into the Presidency, and terror begins. No. Windrip talks his way into the Presidency, and being vacuous, hasn't got a clue what to do with it. In this, he bears some resemblance to Trump, who, like George Wallace in 1968, seems to have run in 2016 just to stir things up, then, when he won unexpectedly, seems not to have known what the Hell to do with the job. He did relish the role he'd wandered into, however, tribune of The Forgotten Man, and spent four years as he has spent the last three, stirring things up about it. But Fascist dictator?
I don't remember nationwide torchlit parades or Kristallnacht - inspired destruction inspired by Trump. I do remember it from The Summer of Floyd, and its protagonists were uniformly of the Left. And we've all seen it since October 7, done by people who regard Trump as the summing up of all that is wrong with the country.
But have you noticed that they can never make a case?
Nor do they feel they need to. It's much more satisfying to rip the photos of hostage children down. Someone who knows him said that if you explained the concept of a Fascist dictator to Trump, he'd fancy the idea for a few hours, with himself in the role, of course, then his attention would be captured by something else and he'd forget all about it.
The ones you have to fear are the purposive ones. Psychopaths like Hitler, Ted Bundy, and my cousin, Donald, plan things, and can be patient for months or years at a time. Trump is a clinical narcissist, obviously, but you have to be as pinheaded as the people in the Facebook group to think he's Hitler in waiting.
It is sad that he's the best Americans who rightly hate our Overlords are likely to be able to do. I still retain some hope for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I wish I could be for someone. But for now, Trump will do.
I am a South African who has been following American politics for some time now (since Trump's 1st announcement of Running for President) - due to a medical setback.
I have had plenty of time to listen to both sides and follow the media - normal and social media on both sides of the spectrum.
Please do yourself a favor and go to YouTube and check out Thomas Klingenstein. You can also find some of his articles on the net, if you prefer to read them - I actually really enjoyed his videos, they were more personal.
I also saw a video from someone else on social media - In a fight with Junk Yard Dogs - You Want(Need)Another Junk Yard Dog - Trump is a Junk Yard Dog...
Thank You. In very good health the past 7 years. Just a hiccup in Feb 2016. Good luck with the current political scenario there. You Guys are going to need it
Yes. I laugh at people who say, "Well, at least it's not as bad as 1968 yet." They don't remember 1968. I do, clearly. In 1968, there was nothing like the madness we live in every day in this country.
You would do well to remember 1968. We had the violent and pro-enemy Left running wild in the streets, an early version of Antifa and they caused the crazy Chicago "police riots", the Weathermen/Weather Underground bombers (the Capitol, the Math Lab at the University of Wisconsin, the Brownstone accidental self-bombing), and the weekly commuting service that brought radicals to Hanoi for communing with our enemy while 500,000 young Americans were fighting for their lives a few mile south of them.
Treason ran rampant and unpunished - and the children of those unrepentant traitors are running things today.
I have long said that Trump is a Junkyard Dog - and that only a Junkyard Dog (or better yet, a few or more) will save America at this juncture. I have not wavered in that feeling as I watch this country sink.
Sure, but Trump is by far the most tasteless one. I realize how terribly America has fallen when I consider that I remember when Eisenhower was President and have lived into a country which has tens of millions of citizens who look at Trump, with his childish wrestler's scowl and his Mussolini - like tilts of the head upward, and think, "Yeah! That's my man!"
If I'm alive to vote next year and it's Trump vs just about any Democrat, I'll vote defensively, for Trump, while thinking a Trumpian, "Sad."
Yet it's rather interesting: Speak to anyone who has met privately with him and you're more than likely to hear that he's one of the most gracious people they've ever met. People of all backgrounds come away gobsmacked.
This is because the narrative cannot ever diverge from the approved on that Trump is completely unhinged. Sure he has said some dumb things, but half the things that were supposed to be dumb were just jokes (like him saying he was going to be a dictator). We believe what we are led to believe. Unless you are actually there, you have no idea what is actually happening in this world.
Your point is well-made. At the same time, much of the "dumb" things he says are merely that in the context of his refusal to acquiesce to the PC/Woke/Cancel Culture as he stands rather tall and firm, I dare say; speaking his mind regardless what the shrieking class thinks... their
steadfastness is nothing possessed of a sound character, but merely shrillness and manipulation. Trump's "go his own way" mode of expression, and the things he tackles... wow; that is something I truly admire. Rare in any arena... but in the realm of politics? THAT pernicious, feckless, dirty pit of snakes? And Trump strides straight into it, plowing straight forward, caring nothing of the danger and escalating threats. And the bonus(es)? He makes me laugh. He makes them quake... and shake with anger. I honestly think that there is a class of people... ripe for a "re-set"... that they'll suddenly "get" Trump. Sort of a, "NOW I see what you've seen all along." If Trump survives all this (in more ways that one, we know) and is on the ballot, I think things in this country will be beyond even the lunacy of today... and there will be a tsunami that will overwhelm the vote-cheating. That is, save one thing: A total hack into systems and simple flips of "bottom-line" numbers. I'm retired I.T. (and published an MBA-text). Changing bits and bytes is possible. But we'll all know it - to include the recent converts, former Dems, and disaffected Dems. That's going to be "interesting"... in the flavor of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Ever-more people realize that 2020 was stolen (even former "that's a conspiracy theory" types). This next cheat, if successful, is going to be sooooooooo obvious - the Dems don't care, of course - but it will be very, very, very evident. We'll see...
Trump is an outlier. There is no doubt about that. But we have been ruled by outliers for quite some time. This is why we have an open border (enabled by the leadership of BOTH parties) and $40T in debt. But at least Trump was willing to let the American people win for a little while. The "adults" have run our country rapidly into the ground. Tens of millions of us look at Trump and see a very large middle finger pointed at the establishment who has brought us to this very moment.
Besides we need to wait 480 years until Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho reaches 40..
Trump is a businessman. He understands the solid triumvirate of a non-rocking stool/business platform: ROI; TCO; TtV - return-on-investment; total-cost-of-overhead; time-to-value. In maximizing ROI you drive down TCO and you bring TtV forward as much as possible - with all due nods to safety and security. I was an I.T. CIO/CTO in D.C. (of all places - in profits/nons/gov't. agencies) for twenty years (after 12 years Army). Top Secret security clearance. The stuff I dealt with there, as fomented by idiots...
You obviously have too much time on your hands. Charter membership? You either are a deplorable or not...you seem to suggest a hierarchy with you at the top.
Then, though you don't show any qualifications, you give a diagnosis of President Trump based on what???
You're so quick to diagnose people from the President to your cousin Donald...I love that quote "Point one finger and three point back" particularly if family members are involved.
President Trump proved himself to be the best America could do by beating what America offered...and he won despite having to beat the Obama security apparatus as well.. Something that has only been used sparingly against Kennedy Jnr who like Bernie Sanders looks to have given up the ghost...something President Trump has never done.
Exactly young man. You prefer to spend 24 hours locked into the bubble where people stroke your ego, tap you on the head and ruffle your hair.
In my time we were protesting the tyranny of the FBI/CIA/DOJ now you go belly up, take a knee, and kiss their ass. That's the way to protect your freedom.
Fortunately, it's being shown that the President is winning over intelligent 18-30 year old Americans who see the civil war plans of the uniparty, swamp creatures you back from your basement.
I don't know what the Hell you're talking about. Could you explain it?
I don't know if you're being straight or satirical. I don't know which President you're referring to. And that photo of me was a selfie I took on impulse with an Instamatic camera in January, 1980. So, I'm hardly a "young man" anymore.
Well you probably guessed that since the choice is between ex president Obama and President Trump that I support President Trump. I'm assuming that you don't believe that the present occupier of the White House is a president.
All the staff are Obama henchmen and women. The sight of his wife having to rush into view just to guide him off stage and away from very young girls is an embarrassment to the country
The difference is that it isn't the "cool kids" and/or jocks running the school. It's the dweebs, nerds, and those who got locked in their own lockers who are running things and they have every intention of getting even.
The Colorado decision was not an attack on Trump, or MAGA, or Republicans or Democrats. This was a direct attack on all Citizens. It was a statement by the ruling class (who have no 'class') that the ballot must be 'curated' because you, the voter, cannot be trusted with Democracy and deciding who rules. Have you noticed the takeover of the term 'Democracy'? It is now called "Our Democracy". When was the principle of Democracy divided into pieces of property that could be owned by partisan tribes or curated by courts? It is time to send a message back to the ruling class that they have lost the trust of the taxed and the consent of the governed. We started this peaceful process in Canada with the first phase of the Freedom Convoy. Watch carefully for the next phase in 2024.
A most heartfelt thanks, from all of us to all of you. We are in this together. Our planet is a sphere; it has no sides, only frozen lifeless poles. Time to come in from the cold. We all need to find, like Sasha, a little Courage in order to Cure Rage.
Although I did (and will) vote for him because I liked his policies, I have never been a big fanboi. At this point, however, he is a symbol of resistance to all the banana republic stuff that is going on and must be supported for that reason alone. As the man says, "They are really after you. I'm just in the way."
One thing I think you missed about his importance which I understand given your personal political trajectory is that he exposed the soulless void that is the Republican Party. The Bushes, McConnell, Ryan, Romney, the entire donor class which are as culpable as Democrats in the hollowing out of America need be shown the door. This is probably more important than pushing back at the crazy Democrats. Enemies I can deal with, it's the backstabbers that constitute the biggest danger.
Well said, Richard. Yes, Trump is a flawed guy who at times doesn't know when to shut his mouth. But he has taken on the evil forces who seek to both pillage and destroy our country, and for that he deserves our support.
You are right on the money. The turn of the GOP into a more pro worker, pro family, pro national sovereignty crew was a major accomplishment. Back in the 2000s as an economist, I spent more time castigating the Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, American Enterprise Institute wing of the Republican Party than I did Obama. The distance between now and Mitt Romney is more like 5 decades than a decade.
If there was any doubt that the establishment republican party is complicit, one only needs to look at our unchallenged southern border. They think we are going to buy their "only 1 million illegals per year" COMPROMISE. Pathetic.
I voted democrat (of course, I'm Jewish! lol) for 37 ... 37 ... 37 YEARS.
I finally swallowed the 'RED PILL' in 2004 and I'm so glad I did!
Unfortunately my sisters still think this is the 1960s democrats of JFK and LBJ ..... and NOTHING I can say or show them (including the EXPLOSION of Jew hatred by DEMOCRATS on the LEFT) ... is changing their vote. Sad.
Jews have no lock on being too loyal to Democrats; I’m Catholic and between JFK and parochial school we we’re basically indoctrinated into it. Blacks have their own reasons despite the history of Dems and slavery. Best wishes in our 2024, Profile.
“What the Democrats and Never Trumpers want now is to push Trump and MAGA back into the danger zone. They want more violence. They want riots. They want an uprising that they can then bring in the military, weaponize dissent, speech, and ideology, and have the full backing of the American public. We’re almost there now.”
There are two ways that people can deal with each other – freedom or force.
You either negotiate with someone to have them see your way or give them something they want….
Or you force them to accede to your will.
One side believes in freedom, the other in force.
You should be able to guess which side of the political spectrum believes in force – that’s the side that is depriving the people of their common-sense civil rights and deciding who you can vote for.
Speaking of riots, the Democratic convention is in Chicago in 2024. The last time Chicago had the democratic convention, in 1968, there were massive riots. When you look at how inherently violent and hateful democrats and their leadership have become, I predict a violent fiasco in Chicago next year.
The dem convention will be the capstone of a summer of fire. They will have the BLM in the streets with antifa again in order to justify more clampdowns and isolation and martial laws. It will be another 1968 when they remove old Joe and put Michelle or Oprah in his place. I don’t see Kamala holding any chance. He dem power elite will trot our raggedy Hillary to lather up the ivy coasts while their cities self destruct. Just hope Maga don’t shoot themselves in the process
While the authoritarians of the fascist far left pretend to care about the people and in particular the downtrodden along with the children…
The actual results of their policies are disastrous for everyone, and especially the people they supposedly care about the most.
Their unleashing of an illegal invasion will push down wages, impacting the lower classes and helping the rich controller classes of the left become even more profitable. Not to mention taking governmental resources away from their supposed constituents to be handed out to the new under class of illegal invader – paid to vote for the ‘Democratic’ controller class.
Authoritarian leftists who obsess over gun grabbing – the Grabbies – endanger everyone and especially children by taking the people’s means of self-defence in order to empower criminals and the government, but they don’t care as long as they enhance their power.
I love it. FWIW, I've defaulted to Trump supporter much like you: he doesn't really seem that bad, while the Democrat alternative (whatever that may be) is absolutely abhorrent. In a relatively binary system, my choice is obvious.
what of the dems who somewhat agree though that we should do better than Biden? Don't you sympathize with us just a little? we did not rig Bernie out and make RFK, Jr. leave. We LIKE those guys.
Ben, I'm a former lifetime Dem, and a former Bernie supporter, and I like RFK. But your party shits on those two guys--it rigged the nomination process against Bernie and won't even let RFK contend for the nomination. Now they want to beat Trump by keeping him off the ballot. Do you see a pattern here? Maybe it's time for you to join the growing numbers of ex-Dems, your party has become an abomination.
Pacifist, lifelong Republican here turned Populist. If Republicans were in charge I have little doubt they would play same/similar games as D’s. I’ve lost trust in most R federal representatives. Look at all the $$ being thrown at Haley, despite her being so far behind Donald. Big PAC $$ chooses ‘who’ we get as nominees. Trump is the aberration to this (which I welcome) and to a lesser degree, Vivek. But are these self funders sustainable?
I like that word, "Pacifist." I also like (who shall we give credit?) whoever came up with and popularized the phrase 'forever Wars.' Of course, that is right. that is what we do/what we are being told all the time we must have, without any permitted rebuttal. The party of the hippies that hated on Nixon, etc. Now, Is it even possible to be anti-war any more, you know, with the peace sign and so forth, if you're on my blue team? but did you guys hear the RFK, Jr. compliment to Vivek on the recent CSPAN aired speech? Like Sasha says, 'Vivek deserves credit because he goes there.' I wish we could do for RFK's "It's Blackrock!" slogan, what has been done with 'forever wars.'
Ben, I'm a former lifetime Dem, and a former Bernie supporter, and I like RFK. But your party shits on those two guys--it rigged the nomination process against Bernie and won't even let RFK contend for the nomination. Now they want to beat Trump by keeping him off the ballot. Do you see a pattern here? Maybe it's time for you to join the growing numbers of ex-Dems, your party has become an abomination.
I know. doggone it. but it's like when even now where I live, I am sometimes told of mask mandates, I complain about it... About to go see a Sasha-recommended movie, 'The Holdovers'. Maskless!
Sasha, what a wonderful piece! Thank you for being a rock solid supporter of “the people who love America”. When I read your writing I feel such solidarity with you and all others who think our country is worthy of our affection.
I gave up watching Stephen Colbert in New Zealand because the Democrats view was so cringeworthy, and reminded me of George Orwells 1984, and their hate sessions. Is this what the greatest democracy in the world has become ? It takes courage from honest people to speak the truth.
I go to bed early--so I never watch. but, Colbert was funny when he did the right wing pundit character. I try and try and try to appreciate Gutfeld, he's a Northern Californian too. Lots of 'I'm such a child molester' jokes. some how, not over my head, just they seem to miss me.
Spot on! EVERY word. I have been cut off by very close relatives for being a Trump supporter. I am actually a supporter of common sense, cause and effect, and thinking what the obvious damaging result would be to dumb policies. President Trump's policies are based on common sense, realistic cause and effect, and sound business principles. He and his entire family have suffered immeasurably for the sake of this country and all of its citizens. And he is willing to go through it again for us. I will be eternally grateful to him for that, and for opening our eyes and exposing the truth of the plot against America.
I am saddened when I see people I know explode in rage over a name, shut down any conversation that might not be approved, become hysterical over the ideas that the US was founded upon. And I am bewildered at how irrational my coworkers have become: "Anyone who supports Trump is crazy!"
Yeah, the anti-Trump people are more than a little tinged with irrationality, many of them are. It is almost a religion with some of them, and you dare not challenge it. It's past politics and into the realm of social psychology. Maybe at some point in the future things will calm down enough where this phenomena can be studied and better understood, 'cuz I don't think we have ever experienced anything like it, at least not in my lifetime.
Brexit and the Trump Presidency open the curtain to our real world. Where an Oligarchy rules and want us to be under the illusion we have a choice. As long as we make the choice they deem proper. Once we make the "wrong" choice then we are not allowed to have it. Brexit doesn't go through because it benefits the powers that be. The will of the people be damned. The same with Trump. He won't rubber stamp the next war so the profiteers have a new Iraq, a new Afghanistan, a new Ukraine. so he must be stopped at all cost.
Bring the Democrats to their knees, or get on your own, that is the choice in 2024.
Preach! It was in 2018 that I reached the same conclusions you have. I spent 2 years astonished by the spin being used every day regarding Trump and his supporters ... many of whom are friends and family members of mine ... now being called racists, nazis and the worst humans alive. They haven't changed a bit. Not one whit. The left tho? My friends on the left ... where I called home for over 30 years? Holy shit have they changed. By 2018 I was openly calling myself a Trump supporter just to stick it in the eyes of many of my "friends" whom I was rapidly losing respect for as I realized that as a liberal ... I have no political philosophies in common. Democracy cannot survive without free speech. And yet free speech is what my friends on the right believe in now ... not my friends on the left.
It was about 2018 that I also reached a conclusion in talking to my kids about how weird things have gotten. "This isn't the first time humanity has been here. This is just what it's like to live at the end of a golden age."
It's noteworthy that Trump didn't actually target journalists...while Obama did. And yet the histrionics on the left are about Trump not doing it and complete ignorance about Obama actually waging war on the press.
Obama actually jailed journalists and media figures. It's not fascism to say the press is the enemy of the people if the press literally is the enemy of the people.
"Barack Obama’s recent denunciation of President Donald Trump’s treatment of the press overlooks the aggressive steps the Justice Department took to keep information from the public when he was president. "
“This is the most closed, control freak administration I’ve ever covered,” said Sanger in a 2013 CPJ report, “The Obama Administration and the Press.” The report’s author, former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr., declared, “The administration’s war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive I’ve seen since the Nixon administration.” As journalists often note, the Obama administration has prosecuted more leakers under the 1917 Espionage Act than all former presidents combined.
I hear you. Both your original complaint and the new ones you're throwing out to distract from the problems on the left. Problems I've been closely watching and analyzing and raising alarm bells about since the passing of the abysmal NetZDG in Germany that has been spreading to other Western democracies. And sharing articles in private groups on facebook showing outlets like NPR and PBS and the New York Times questioning both the wisdom of "free speech" and the legitimacy of free speech.
Trump did the same "threatening" you are imaginging in 2016. Please provide a list of all the journalists jailed.
And when you're done with that, please tell me why YOU hold Trump up to a standard of protecting the press and free speech that you don't hold the Democrats up to.
Saying "Trump isn't the answer" is as vacuous as saying "Democrats aren't the answer."
There is no answer. There's only the best we can work with. And I can say from personal experience and anecdote and from 35 years of online discussions and debate ... that the left is no longer a home for free speech.
But we actual liberals that have abandoned the left are creating a home for it on the right, as we seek temporary shelter from the religions and cults that have blossomed on the left.
Shawn, to suggest that Trump's words have had a "major chilling effect" on the journalists covering him is laughable given the stories about him in the MSM since 2016...name one journalist who has been "chilled." I'm guessing you can't, just like you can't name one who has been jailed. Fail.
If Trump has routinely threatened to jail journalists but has never done so (what would the crime be?), that in itself is evidence that his threats are not to be taken seriously. Nor did they get him "nice" coverage. I seem to recall that it was OMB and TDS till the day he walked out.
The Left has become disqualifyingy dangerous. Do they make any independent judgments about means, or are all their judgments about means dependent on ends? Within their ideology, is it better to lose a free and fair election or prevent a free and fair election? Is Marcuse's ideal of "temporary" One-Party State to be taken seriously? I think you know the answers to these questions.
You seem to be what I call A Third Way Guy. Like Maher and Sullivan. "We must vote against both the bad evil Leftists and against bad evil Orange Man. Let's all vote for Jill Stein! Or not at all!" That's just bailing out on the fundamental question of our time: are we going to "re-fringe" the Former Far Left, or allow it to take over? Only lack of power, not lack of will, will stop it from doing so. Only re-fringing the Former Far Left will allow politics in this country to go back to being normal.
All the other Repos are about to disappear. Then you will have to decide what to do. The only "radical" thing Trump did (as opposed to said) was to maximize enforcement of immigration laws, which can hardly be considered radical. (Would maximizing enforcement of minimum wage laws be "radical"?) We know what it's like to live under Trump. All hysterics and hand-wringing aside, the result was not dictatorship. And if he is elected again, he knows he cannot run again. As Lefties have rejected the Constitution, non-Lefties have chosen, more than ever, to regard the Constitution has having come wafting down from the heavens. Of course they are not going to hear what the Left says and go "Damn Right!" Just plain human emotions would forbid that.
Our friend has two problems…1) he’s not “defending the left,” he’s ignoring the left. Yeah, Trump said “Lock her up.” but Biden is actually locking them up! 2) he thinks everyone on the right is a “MAGA” Trump lover completely ignoring the fact that there are many on the right (and the left) who are supporting Trump for no better reason than the fact that he is the only one willing to stand up to the “Deep State” who actually has a chance to win. It’s a classic “straw man” argument, a tactic favored by trolls. Ignore him and eventually he’ll go away.
You sure enough have a pair... Idk I’ve been fighting but it’s not easy when you’re out numbered by mindless zombies. People just seem so capture by some darkness that turns them stone cold stupid. But you honestly look at what we are up against. It is very sobering and extremely long odds.
Sasha - you're truly the best of Substack. You are publicly brave, smart, incredibly articulate, and capable of independent thought. All of these have become incredibly rare in the current climate of smug apologists. Apologists for actual malignant racism. Apologists for elitist vandals who destroy anything that threatens their power, all the while claiming they are the beleaguered underdogs. Apologists for the sacrifice of any human that doesn't keep the cool kids feeling cool. We've become like a dystopian high school, where genuflection to the viciously sadistic top clique has become an art form. But you stand firm - removing yourself from that ugly pack to shine a light on their sickening arrogance.
You put yourself in the firing line - personally and publicly. And you're stronger every day for doing that. Because you know the truth, The sycophants, hungry for crumbs of approval, desperate not to be exiled from their cheap seats at the game, are the weak ones. They are the pathetic ones. And you are seeing a turning coming. Your predictions about the election (regardless of the outcome) are a tiny spark of light in a virulent darkness. I don't know if you're right about that, but I've seen enough other little sparks to hope that if not then, soon.
What nauseates me is the smugness you alluded to, the unquestioning certitude that they're right without fault, and only the Deplorables ( of whom I proudly claim charter membership ) can't see it, not that they'd want us to see it because then we might ally our begrimed selves with them. We are a source of pestilence which must be quarantined and destroyed. This is a class war, and we all know that.
I saw it yesterday in a Facebook group which is supposed to be about classic literature. Some lightweight had posted about Sinclair Lewis' very entertaining mid - 1930s novel, It Can't Happen Here. The post was intended as a warning: Buzz Windrip is Donald Trump. Beware.
If you don't know the novel, Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip is a minor political player. ( It's been so long since I read the book, I don't remember his role. I think he's a state governor. ) Windrip has the inexplicable gift of spellbinding oratory, however. My memory is that Lewis is particularly adept at describing the weird quality often seen in truly charismatic public speakers, that they start hesitantly, that people in the audience aren't sure they're going to buy the speaker's argument - in fact, they're pretty sure they're not - but that as the speaker finds his way, at a certain moment, a kindling occurs, the audience gets excited, and before long, the entire crowd is screaming their approval as though they were 12 year old girls at the height of Beatlemania.
There were several of those in the 20th century, Hitler being the obvious first example, but such diverse and non - sinister Americans as Huey Long, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King also had this ability. The consensus of literary critics in the 1930s was that Buzz Windrip was a Huey Long character a clef, if there is such a thing.
Windrip talks his way into the Presidency, and terror begins. No. Windrip talks his way into the Presidency, and being vacuous, hasn't got a clue what to do with it. In this, he bears some resemblance to Trump, who, like George Wallace in 1968, seems to have run in 2016 just to stir things up, then, when he won unexpectedly, seems not to have known what the Hell to do with the job. He did relish the role he'd wandered into, however, tribune of The Forgotten Man, and spent four years as he has spent the last three, stirring things up about it. But Fascist dictator?
I don't remember nationwide torchlit parades or Kristallnacht - inspired destruction inspired by Trump. I do remember it from The Summer of Floyd, and its protagonists were uniformly of the Left. And we've all seen it since October 7, done by people who regard Trump as the summing up of all that is wrong with the country.
But have you noticed that they can never make a case?
Nor do they feel they need to. It's much more satisfying to rip the photos of hostage children down. Someone who knows him said that if you explained the concept of a Fascist dictator to Trump, he'd fancy the idea for a few hours, with himself in the role, of course, then his attention would be captured by something else and he'd forget all about it.
The ones you have to fear are the purposive ones. Psychopaths like Hitler, Ted Bundy, and my cousin, Donald, plan things, and can be patient for months or years at a time. Trump is a clinical narcissist, obviously, but you have to be as pinheaded as the people in the Facebook group to think he's Hitler in waiting.
It is sad that he's the best Americans who rightly hate our Overlords are likely to be able to do. I still retain some hope for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I wish I could be for someone. But for now, Trump will do.
I am a South African who has been following American politics for some time now (since Trump's 1st announcement of Running for President) - due to a medical setback.
I have had plenty of time to listen to both sides and follow the media - normal and social media on both sides of the spectrum.
Please do yourself a favor and go to YouTube and check out Thomas Klingenstein. You can also find some of his articles on the net, if you prefer to read them - I actually really enjoyed his videos, they were more personal.
I also saw a video from someone else on social media - In a fight with Junk Yard Dogs - You Want(Need)Another Junk Yard Dog - Trump is a Junk Yard Dog...
Well, all I can say is that if you follow American politics, your health is likely to get only worse. But my strongest wishes for good health for you!
Thank You. In very good health the past 7 years. Just a hiccup in Feb 2016. Good luck with the current political scenario there. You Guys are going to need it
Yes. I laugh at people who say, "Well, at least it's not as bad as 1968 yet." They don't remember 1968. I do, clearly. In 1968, there was nothing like the madness we live in every day in this country.
You would do well to remember 1968. We had the violent and pro-enemy Left running wild in the streets, an early version of Antifa and they caused the crazy Chicago "police riots", the Weathermen/Weather Underground bombers (the Capitol, the Math Lab at the University of Wisconsin, the Brownstone accidental self-bombing), and the weekly commuting service that brought radicals to Hanoi for communing with our enemy while 500,000 young Americans were fighting for their lives a few mile south of them.
Treason ran rampant and unpunished - and the children of those unrepentant traitors are running things today.
I’ve been saying that for a long time. The comparison is laughable.
I have long said that Trump is a Junkyard Dog - and that only a Junkyard Dog (or better yet, a few or more) will save America at this juncture. I have not wavered in that feeling as I watch this country sink.
I’ve always termed Trump as a New York street fighter. Exactly what we needed in 2016....2020 & today.
That works!
I have some old (but fresh, relevant) columns at https://plainsenseandsanity.substack.com/archive
Get well soon
Thank You. In very good health the past 7 years. Just a hiccup in Feb 2016
Trump is hardly the only narcissist in Washington. It is shot through with them including the current POTUS.
Joe is the worst kind of narcissist. One with a low IQ. It's stunning how unintelligent he is. Add arrogance and it equals Joe the Despot.
Sure, but Trump is by far the most tasteless one. I realize how terribly America has fallen when I consider that I remember when Eisenhower was President and have lived into a country which has tens of millions of citizens who look at Trump, with his childish wrestler's scowl and his Mussolini - like tilts of the head upward, and think, "Yeah! That's my man!"
If I'm alive to vote next year and it's Trump vs just about any Democrat, I'll vote defensively, for Trump, while thinking a Trumpian, "Sad."
Yet it's rather interesting: Speak to anyone who has met privately with him and you're more than likely to hear that he's one of the most gracious people they've ever met. People of all backgrounds come away gobsmacked.
This is because the narrative cannot ever diverge from the approved on that Trump is completely unhinged. Sure he has said some dumb things, but half the things that were supposed to be dumb were just jokes (like him saying he was going to be a dictator). We believe what we are led to believe. Unless you are actually there, you have no idea what is actually happening in this world.
Your point is well-made. At the same time, much of the "dumb" things he says are merely that in the context of his refusal to acquiesce to the PC/Woke/Cancel Culture as he stands rather tall and firm, I dare say; speaking his mind regardless what the shrieking class thinks... their
steadfastness is nothing possessed of a sound character, but merely shrillness and manipulation. Trump's "go his own way" mode of expression, and the things he tackles... wow; that is something I truly admire. Rare in any arena... but in the realm of politics? THAT pernicious, feckless, dirty pit of snakes? And Trump strides straight into it, plowing straight forward, caring nothing of the danger and escalating threats. And the bonus(es)? He makes me laugh. He makes them quake... and shake with anger. I honestly think that there is a class of people... ripe for a "re-set"... that they'll suddenly "get" Trump. Sort of a, "NOW I see what you've seen all along." If Trump survives all this (in more ways that one, we know) and is on the ballot, I think things in this country will be beyond even the lunacy of today... and there will be a tsunami that will overwhelm the vote-cheating. That is, save one thing: A total hack into systems and simple flips of "bottom-line" numbers. I'm retired I.T. (and published an MBA-text). Changing bits and bytes is possible. But we'll all know it - to include the recent converts, former Dems, and disaffected Dems. That's going to be "interesting"... in the flavor of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Ever-more people realize that 2020 was stolen (even former "that's a conspiracy theory" types). This next cheat, if successful, is going to be sooooooooo obvious - the Dems don't care, of course - but it will be very, very, very evident. We'll see...
You may like some of what I've posted here: https://plainsenseandsanity.substack.com/archive
Trump is an outlier. There is no doubt about that. But we have been ruled by outliers for quite some time. This is why we have an open border (enabled by the leadership of BOTH parties) and $40T in debt. But at least Trump was willing to let the American people win for a little while. The "adults" have run our country rapidly into the ground. Tens of millions of us look at Trump and see a very large middle finger pointed at the establishment who has brought us to this very moment.
Besides we need to wait 480 years until Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho reaches 40..
Trump is a businessman. He understands the solid triumvirate of a non-rocking stool/business platform: ROI; TCO; TtV - return-on-investment; total-cost-of-overhead; time-to-value. In maximizing ROI you drive down TCO and you bring TtV forward as much as possible - with all due nods to safety and security. I was an I.T. CIO/CTO in D.C. (of all places - in profits/nons/gov't. agencies) for twenty years (after 12 years Army). Top Secret security clearance. The stuff I dealt with there, as fomented by idiots...
A businessman is laughable. Man he’s a conman who has screwed so many Americans. The Guy doesn’t pay his bills.
Exactly!
You obviously have too much time on your hands. Charter membership? You either are a deplorable or not...you seem to suggest a hierarchy with you at the top.
Then, though you don't show any qualifications, you give a diagnosis of President Trump based on what???
You're so quick to diagnose people from the President to your cousin Donald...I love that quote "Point one finger and three point back" particularly if family members are involved.
President Trump proved himself to be the best America could do by beating what America offered...and he won despite having to beat the Obama security apparatus as well.. Something that has only been used sparingly against Kennedy Jnr who like Bernie Sanders looks to have given up the ghost...something President Trump has never done.
One thing I don't have time enough on my hands for is to take you seriously.
Exactly young man. You prefer to spend 24 hours locked into the bubble where people stroke your ego, tap you on the head and ruffle your hair.
In my time we were protesting the tyranny of the FBI/CIA/DOJ now you go belly up, take a knee, and kiss their ass. That's the way to protect your freedom.
Fortunately, it's being shown that the President is winning over intelligent 18-30 year old Americans who see the civil war plans of the uniparty, swamp creatures you back from your basement.
I don't know what the Hell you're talking about. Could you explain it?
I don't know if you're being straight or satirical. I don't know which President you're referring to. And that photo of me was a selfie I took on impulse with an Instamatic camera in January, 1980. So, I'm hardly a "young man" anymore.
Well you probably guessed that since the choice is between ex president Obama and President Trump that I support President Trump. I'm assuming that you don't believe that the present occupier of the White House is a president.
All the staff are Obama henchmen and women. The sight of his wife having to rush into view just to guide him off stage and away from very young girls is an embarrassment to the country
Great article, good comments Thoughtful reader!
Your “high school clique” analogy was spot on! Well done.
The difference is that it isn't the "cool kids" and/or jocks running the school. It's the dweebs, nerds, and those who got locked in their own lockers who are running things and they have every intention of getting even.
💯
Excellent response!
The Colorado decision was not an attack on Trump, or MAGA, or Republicans or Democrats. This was a direct attack on all Citizens. It was a statement by the ruling class (who have no 'class') that the ballot must be 'curated' because you, the voter, cannot be trusted with Democracy and deciding who rules. Have you noticed the takeover of the term 'Democracy'? It is now called "Our Democracy". When was the principle of Democracy divided into pieces of property that could be owned by partisan tribes or curated by courts? It is time to send a message back to the ruling class that they have lost the trust of the taxed and the consent of the governed. We started this peaceful process in Canada with the first phase of the Freedom Convoy. Watch carefully for the next phase in 2024.
Excellent point about the hijacking of the word “democracy”. These politicians and media pundits use carefully crafted words for a reason: propaganda.
To my many, many Canadian friends...I truly wish you luck!
A most heartfelt thanks, from all of us to all of you. We are in this together. Our planet is a sphere; it has no sides, only frozen lifeless poles. Time to come in from the cold. We all need to find, like Sasha, a little Courage in order to Cure Rage.
Although I did (and will) vote for him because I liked his policies, I have never been a big fanboi. At this point, however, he is a symbol of resistance to all the banana republic stuff that is going on and must be supported for that reason alone. As the man says, "They are really after you. I'm just in the way."
One thing I think you missed about his importance which I understand given your personal political trajectory is that he exposed the soulless void that is the Republican Party. The Bushes, McConnell, Ryan, Romney, the entire donor class which are as culpable as Democrats in the hollowing out of America need be shown the door. This is probably more important than pushing back at the crazy Democrats. Enemies I can deal with, it's the backstabbers that constitute the biggest danger.
Well said, Richard. Yes, Trump is a flawed guy who at times doesn't know when to shut his mouth. But he has taken on the evil forces who seek to both pillage and destroy our country, and for that he deserves our support.
Yes that’s pretty much my feeling about him as well. A flawed man, but at least he appears to be standing up for us Americans.
You are right on the money. The turn of the GOP into a more pro worker, pro family, pro national sovereignty crew was a major accomplishment. Back in the 2000s as an economist, I spent more time castigating the Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, American Enterprise Institute wing of the Republican Party than I did Obama. The distance between now and Mitt Romney is more like 5 decades than a decade.
If there was any doubt that the establishment republican party is complicit, one only needs to look at our unchallenged southern border. They think we are going to buy their "only 1 million illegals per year" COMPROMISE. Pathetic.
Last I heard it was 2M but you may be more current.
Spot on, Richard. The RINOS are every bit as bad.
GREAT ARTICLE, Sasha!
I read every word.
I voted democrat (of course, I'm Jewish! lol) for 37 ... 37 ... 37 YEARS.
I finally swallowed the 'RED PILL' in 2004 and I'm so glad I did!
Unfortunately my sisters still think this is the 1960s democrats of JFK and LBJ ..... and NOTHING I can say or show them (including the EXPLOSION of Jew hatred by DEMOCRATS on the LEFT) ... is changing their vote. Sad.
Jews have no lock on being too loyal to Democrats; I’m Catholic and between JFK and parochial school we we’re basically indoctrinated into it. Blacks have their own reasons despite the history of Dems and slavery. Best wishes in our 2024, Profile.
“What the Democrats and Never Trumpers want now is to push Trump and MAGA back into the danger zone. They want more violence. They want riots. They want an uprising that they can then bring in the military, weaponize dissent, speech, and ideology, and have the full backing of the American public. We’re almost there now.”
There are two ways that people can deal with each other – freedom or force.
You either negotiate with someone to have them see your way or give them something they want….
Or you force them to accede to your will.
One side believes in freedom, the other in force.
You should be able to guess which side of the political spectrum believes in force – that’s the side that is depriving the people of their common-sense civil rights and deciding who you can vote for.
Speaking of riots, the Democratic convention is in Chicago in 2024. The last time Chicago had the democratic convention, in 1968, there were massive riots. When you look at how inherently violent and hateful democrats and their leadership have become, I predict a violent fiasco in Chicago next year.
The dem convention will be the capstone of a summer of fire. They will have the BLM in the streets with antifa again in order to justify more clampdowns and isolation and martial laws. It will be another 1968 when they remove old Joe and put Michelle or Oprah in his place. I don’t see Kamala holding any chance. He dem power elite will trot our raggedy Hillary to lather up the ivy coasts while their cities self destruct. Just hope Maga don’t shoot themselves in the process
“Just hope Maga don’t shoot themselves in the process”...
Yes, and IMHO, that’s exactly what “they” are hoping for. Why, they might even be inclined to help MAGS out...
And this time, they will also add islamic terrorists and drug cartel gangster military forces.
Sen, Abraham Ribicoff's speech to the convention in 68 was a classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj9TkjL87Rk
The left is free to burn their cities to the ground. Guess who loses in that. The poor people.
That’s the thing about it.
While the authoritarians of the fascist far left pretend to care about the people and in particular the downtrodden along with the children…
The actual results of their policies are disastrous for everyone, and especially the people they supposedly care about the most.
Their unleashing of an illegal invasion will push down wages, impacting the lower classes and helping the rich controller classes of the left become even more profitable. Not to mention taking governmental resources away from their supposed constituents to be handed out to the new under class of illegal invader – paid to vote for the ‘Democratic’ controller class.
Authoritarian leftists who obsess over gun grabbing – the Grabbies – endanger everyone and especially children by taking the people’s means of self-defence in order to empower criminals and the government, but they don’t care as long as they enhance their power.
What?
Why don’t you try re-writing that so everyone can figure out your point.
Hey D Parker, please don’t feed the trolls; they crave attention and get worse the more they’re given it. Thanks!
I love it. FWIW, I've defaulted to Trump supporter much like you: he doesn't really seem that bad, while the Democrat alternative (whatever that may be) is absolutely abhorrent. In a relatively binary system, my choice is obvious.
what of the dems who somewhat agree though that we should do better than Biden? Don't you sympathize with us just a little? we did not rig Bernie out and make RFK, Jr. leave. We LIKE those guys.
Ben, I'm a former lifetime Dem, and a former Bernie supporter, and I like RFK. But your party shits on those two guys--it rigged the nomination process against Bernie and won't even let RFK contend for the nomination. Now they want to beat Trump by keeping him off the ballot. Do you see a pattern here? Maybe it's time for you to join the growing numbers of ex-Dems, your party has become an abomination.
Pacifist, lifelong Republican here turned Populist. If Republicans were in charge I have little doubt they would play same/similar games as D’s. I’ve lost trust in most R federal representatives. Look at all the $$ being thrown at Haley, despite her being so far behind Donald. Big PAC $$ chooses ‘who’ we get as nominees. Trump is the aberration to this (which I welcome) and to a lesser degree, Vivek. But are these self funders sustainable?
I like that word, "Pacifist." I also like (who shall we give credit?) whoever came up with and popularized the phrase 'forever Wars.' Of course, that is right. that is what we do/what we are being told all the time we must have, without any permitted rebuttal. The party of the hippies that hated on Nixon, etc. Now, Is it even possible to be anti-war any more, you know, with the peace sign and so forth, if you're on my blue team? but did you guys hear the RFK, Jr. compliment to Vivek on the recent CSPAN aired speech? Like Sasha says, 'Vivek deserves credit because he goes there.' I wish we could do for RFK's "It's Blackrock!" slogan, what has been done with 'forever wars.'
If RFK and Vivek teamed up, it would be a huge 3rd party upset.
Not. It’d put Biden or his stand-in in office w/ less than a majority. Assuming it’s a fair election which is a longshot in itself.
Ben, I'm a former lifetime Dem, and a former Bernie supporter, and I like RFK. But your party shits on those two guys--it rigged the nomination process against Bernie and won't even let RFK contend for the nomination. Now they want to beat Trump by keeping him off the ballot. Do you see a pattern here? Maybe it's time for you to join the growing numbers of ex-Dems, your party has become an abomination.
I know. doggone it. but it's like when even now where I live, I am sometimes told of mask mandates, I complain about it... About to go see a Sasha-recommended movie, 'The Holdovers'. Maskless!
I think someone is on the verge of being red-pilled!
Sasha, what a wonderful piece! Thank you for being a rock solid supporter of “the people who love America”. When I read your writing I feel such solidarity with you and all others who think our country is worthy of our affection.
I gave up watching Stephen Colbert in New Zealand because the Democrats view was so cringeworthy, and reminded me of George Orwells 1984, and their hate sessions. Is this what the greatest democracy in the world has become ? It takes courage from honest people to speak the truth.
Colbert is way worse. Despicable scum. Along with all the panicked “comedians” on TV who see what’s coming next.
Alice, I urge you to ignore this troll. Give him nothing.
Hey Alice, please don’t feed the trolls.
I go to bed early--so I never watch. but, Colbert was funny when he did the right wing pundit character. I try and try and try to appreciate Gutfeld, he's a Northern Californian too. Lots of 'I'm such a child molester' jokes. some how, not over my head, just they seem to miss me.
Spot on! EVERY word. I have been cut off by very close relatives for being a Trump supporter. I am actually a supporter of common sense, cause and effect, and thinking what the obvious damaging result would be to dumb policies. President Trump's policies are based on common sense, realistic cause and effect, and sound business principles. He and his entire family have suffered immeasurably for the sake of this country and all of its citizens. And he is willing to go through it again for us. I will be eternally grateful to him for that, and for opening our eyes and exposing the truth of the plot against America.
You are not alone; many of us here were ostracized from family members.
Sasha, those 2 paragraphs of ‘Make America again’ brought tears to my eyes. Thank you dear… thank you
Thank you.
I am saddened when I see people I know explode in rage over a name, shut down any conversation that might not be approved, become hysterical over the ideas that the US was founded upon. And I am bewildered at how irrational my coworkers have become: "Anyone who supports Trump is crazy!"
That’s exactly what the propaganda has done- shut down any rational conversation- and to shame everyone affiliated with or supporting Trump
Yeah, the anti-Trump people are more than a little tinged with irrationality, many of them are. It is almost a religion with some of them, and you dare not challenge it. It's past politics and into the realm of social psychology. Maybe at some point in the future things will calm down enough where this phenomena can be studied and better understood, 'cuz I don't think we have ever experienced anything like it, at least not in my lifetime.
Brexit and the Trump Presidency open the curtain to our real world. Where an Oligarchy rules and want us to be under the illusion we have a choice. As long as we make the choice they deem proper. Once we make the "wrong" choice then we are not allowed to have it. Brexit doesn't go through because it benefits the powers that be. The will of the people be damned. The same with Trump. He won't rubber stamp the next war so the profiteers have a new Iraq, a new Afghanistan, a new Ukraine. so he must be stopped at all cost.
Bring the Democrats to their knees, or get on your own, that is the choice in 2024.
Change out a few RINO's while you are at it. We have at least 10 in the Senate (probably more) and lots more in the House.
Preach! It was in 2018 that I reached the same conclusions you have. I spent 2 years astonished by the spin being used every day regarding Trump and his supporters ... many of whom are friends and family members of mine ... now being called racists, nazis and the worst humans alive. They haven't changed a bit. Not one whit. The left tho? My friends on the left ... where I called home for over 30 years? Holy shit have they changed. By 2018 I was openly calling myself a Trump supporter just to stick it in the eyes of many of my "friends" whom I was rapidly losing respect for as I realized that as a liberal ... I have no political philosophies in common. Democracy cannot survive without free speech. And yet free speech is what my friends on the right believe in now ... not my friends on the left.
It was about 2018 that I also reached a conclusion in talking to my kids about how weird things have gotten. "This isn't the first time humanity has been here. This is just what it's like to live at the end of a golden age."
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/30/opinion/sunday/if-donald-trump-targets-journalists-thank-obama.html
It's noteworthy that Trump didn't actually target journalists...while Obama did. And yet the histrionics on the left are about Trump not doing it and complete ignorance about Obama actually waging war on the press.
Obama actually jailed journalists and media figures. It's not fascism to say the press is the enemy of the people if the press literally is the enemy of the people.
https://www.cato.org/commentary/barack-obamas-war-free-press#
https://apnews.com/article/9d9a76067d5b47e5a290dc9832369c92
"Barack Obama’s recent denunciation of President Donald Trump’s treatment of the press overlooks the aggressive steps the Justice Department took to keep information from the public when he was president. "
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-edition-for-may-5-2019-1.5121509/barack-obama-was-a-greater-enemy-of-the-free-press-than-trump-michael-s-essay-1.5121514
https://www.cjr.org/criticism/barack_obamas_press_freedom_legacy.php
“This is the most closed, control freak administration I’ve ever covered,” said Sanger in a 2013 CPJ report, “The Obama Administration and the Press.” The report’s author, former Washington Post Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr., declared, “The administration’s war on leaks and other efforts to control information are the most aggressive I’ve seen since the Nixon administration.” As journalists often note, the Obama administration has prosecuted more leakers under the 1917 Espionage Act than all former presidents combined.
Then you're a fool, drinking the kool-aid.
I hear you. Both your original complaint and the new ones you're throwing out to distract from the problems on the left. Problems I've been closely watching and analyzing and raising alarm bells about since the passing of the abysmal NetZDG in Germany that has been spreading to other Western democracies. And sharing articles in private groups on facebook showing outlets like NPR and PBS and the New York Times questioning both the wisdom of "free speech" and the legitimacy of free speech.
Trump did the same "threatening" you are imaginging in 2016. Please provide a list of all the journalists jailed.
And when you're done with that, please tell me why YOU hold Trump up to a standard of protecting the press and free speech that you don't hold the Democrats up to.
Saying "Trump isn't the answer" is as vacuous as saying "Democrats aren't the answer."
There is no answer. There's only the best we can work with. And I can say from personal experience and anecdote and from 35 years of online discussions and debate ... that the left is no longer a home for free speech.
But we actual liberals that have abandoned the left are creating a home for it on the right, as we seek temporary shelter from the religions and cults that have blossomed on the left.
Shawn, to suggest that Trump's words have had a "major chilling effect" on the journalists covering him is laughable given the stories about him in the MSM since 2016...name one journalist who has been "chilled." I'm guessing you can't, just like you can't name one who has been jailed. Fail.
If Trump has routinely threatened to jail journalists but has never done so (what would the crime be?), that in itself is evidence that his threats are not to be taken seriously. Nor did they get him "nice" coverage. I seem to recall that it was OMB and TDS till the day he walked out.
The Left has become disqualifyingy dangerous. Do they make any independent judgments about means, or are all their judgments about means dependent on ends? Within their ideology, is it better to lose a free and fair election or prevent a free and fair election? Is Marcuse's ideal of "temporary" One-Party State to be taken seriously? I think you know the answers to these questions.
You seem to be what I call A Third Way Guy. Like Maher and Sullivan. "We must vote against both the bad evil Leftists and against bad evil Orange Man. Let's all vote for Jill Stein! Or not at all!" That's just bailing out on the fundamental question of our time: are we going to "re-fringe" the Former Far Left, or allow it to take over? Only lack of power, not lack of will, will stop it from doing so. Only re-fringing the Former Far Left will allow politics in this country to go back to being normal.
All the other Repos are about to disappear. Then you will have to decide what to do. The only "radical" thing Trump did (as opposed to said) was to maximize enforcement of immigration laws, which can hardly be considered radical. (Would maximizing enforcement of minimum wage laws be "radical"?) We know what it's like to live under Trump. All hysterics and hand-wringing aside, the result was not dictatorship. And if he is elected again, he knows he cannot run again. As Lefties have rejected the Constitution, non-Lefties have chosen, more than ever, to regard the Constitution has having come wafting down from the heavens. Of course they are not going to hear what the Left says and go "Damn Right!" Just plain human emotions would forbid that.
Talk to me Shawn...who are the journalists who Trump "jailed"?
Our friend has two problems…1) he’s not “defending the left,” he’s ignoring the left. Yeah, Trump said “Lock her up.” but Biden is actually locking them up! 2) he thinks everyone on the right is a “MAGA” Trump lover completely ignoring the fact that there are many on the right (and the left) who are supporting Trump for no better reason than the fact that he is the only one willing to stand up to the “Deep State” who actually has a chance to win. It’s a classic “straw man” argument, a tactic favored by trolls. Ignore him and eventually he’ll go away.
And don't forget the Independents... or, as in my case, a few of us Bohemian Libertarians.
Well Shawn, tell me the journalists who Trump "jailed." I'm waiting.
This is a very important article and I am forwarding it around. Well done.
You sure enough have a pair... Idk I’ve been fighting but it’s not easy when you’re out numbered by mindless zombies. People just seem so capture by some darkness that turns them stone cold stupid. But you honestly look at what we are up against. It is very sobering and extremely long odds.
Wazup doc, actually betting odds are very heavy on Trump now. Hedge accordingly.
Spot on, Libertarian. I would definitely hedge any bet on Trump, I don't care what the professional bookies are saying.
Wow, incredible ... You are one of the best evaluators of the edge of dystopia that we are at by far ... !!!