Does anyone know where someone might be able to place a bet, guessing the exact time Donald Trump will first fall asleep during his next appearance in criminal court?
MTG revealed her character when she chased Parkland survivor, David Hogg, through the streets. Berating him for having the audacity to first survive a school shooting, then to start a national conversation about gun violence, Hogg was a teenager at the time. Since then MTG has consistently been an embarrassment to the state of Georgia, the Republican Party, and the US Congress.
Right up there with Alex Jones bellowing that Sandy Hook was “staged”. I’ll never get over my shock that he said that, over and over. Our “freedom of speech” threatens to kill our freedom.
I want to let The Warning community know that Bob Fleck passed away on April 3rd, 2024, at the age of 88. He had a rich life with a loving wife and family, and decades of rewarding work in communications, including valuable non-profit work that has benefited many people. He was even featured on a Ted Talk. He offered many meaningful insights here on The Warning and he will be missed by many of us, including myself.
Bob sent me the above 'Ballad' (he called it a rant), when I told him about my family in rural Montana having been destroyed by extremist talk radio and then by MAGA (Oath Keepers may still be directly involved with my younger brother, who is one of the biggest gun importers in the state of Montana.) There is a play area in the lobby of the large gun shop for his little children, surrounded by guns of every kind, including pink AR-15s for women. It is hard to imagine what those children see and hear. Children will listen.
Bob Fleck, from Cananda, cared a great deal about our country. One of the last comments he wrote to me on 'The Warning' was, 'Keep it rolling, Lisa'. So, we all need to keep it rolling, and we will do that together and defeat MAGA. We will do 'the right thing'.
Lisa, thank you for letting us know about Bob Fleck's passing. I always appreciated his comments here. My condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.
As a Canadian I am sad to learn that Bob Fleck has passed away. RIP Bob.
But I am also very proud that he was a Canadian, and a great Canadian too.
Like Bob Fleck, we Canadians care so much about our American neighbours, and we worry about you. Please do know that we are here for you , and hoping above all that you keep the Donald and all his MAGA acolytes out of power. We know that for these both stupid and dangerous people to regain power would be a disaster for you and for much of the world.
As Lord Acton famously said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. But Trump and his MAGA sycophants are already so corrupt that it is really hard to see how they could become any more corrupt.
Sometimes I just hope that Donald Trump would fall asleep forever.
Sorry to say such a horrible thing, but it might be the best thing that could happen.
People, I give you the "good" Democrat representatives: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, and Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois."
I will take 20 MTGs over any of these vile America-hating pathetic antisemitic real fascist embarrassments to our country any day.
LOL. I had to look up that word as clearly it is a coastal liberal self-loathing Jewish phrase.
No worries on my end though. I am completely conscious of my morality and since I live in coastal liberal land and live among your species that I have been studying for decades, I probably know you better than you know yourself.
Hitler’s capos were no less ingenuous regarding their anti-Semitic venom. Thanks for putting your true face out there for public consumption and dissection.
Height of even more irony with you Frank. JUST yesterday, in an exchange you and I had, you went on and on about how the Christian National movement was not a real threat because they didn't constitute an electoral number (or very similar verbiage as I didn't bother looking it up and can barely stand to read your ramblings once, let alone a second time). However, you cite the names above as if they wield some power and control, yet they represent a smaller sphere of influence than members of the House who are in either the Freedom Caucus or an obvious Christian Nationalist - or a Venn diagram overlap in both.
Talk about a mass contradiction. But, hey, whatever supports your confused brain's position for today. You're like your boy TFG who forgets what he said at the beginning of a sentence when he gets to the end of it. The implication for him is that his supporters are too stupid to realize it (ALL supporters - hint). For you, it's sheer arrogance and the false belief that you're smarter than everyone else. Simply not true.
Why must you respond with “whataboutisms” ? First of all, the original essay by Steve Schmidt has nothing to do with the characters you mention, secondly can you not see, or do you refuse to acknowledge, how degraded MTG actually is, thirdly, I do not think that you are being intellectually honest in your comparison. MTG is, as Schmidt points out, intellectually vapid, whereas I doubt he would ever make that claim about AOC and the squad. Sit this one out Frank Lee…unless you can somehow argue about MTG’s redeeming qualities.
“ I will take 20 MTGs over any of these vile America-hating pathetic antisemitic real fascist embarrassments to our country any day.”
Yes, you definitely would take 20 MTG’s Frank, over any democrat. We only need to read just one of your plethora of comments to understand where you stand politically. Zzzzzzzzzzz!
That said, MTG is a “know-nothing” flame thrower, who legitimizes, and hangs out with white supremacists (Jews will not replace us). She blamed California wildfires on Jewish space lasers, and is now referred to on Capitol Hill Karen, for her unhinged shenanigans (following AOC around like a stalker), and even more atrocious behavior in hearings; can you say D-picks?
So when you say anti-semites, perhaps you should first look up the word in the dictionary, because you clearly know little of which you speak.
And as far as democrats being anti-American, vile fascists? Seriously Frank, what is more anti-American than wandering through the halls of Congress, spewing pro-Putin talking points and threatening the Speaker of The House with his job, if we send aid to Ukraine?
Last I checked Frank, Russia is still an adversary; hell bent on destroying our republic from within. And Capitol Hill Karen, is nothing more than a useful idiot.
Even Russian TV, Putin’s propaganda arm considers MTG their greatest asset; replacing the formally disgraced and discredited Toucan Tucker. I’d call MTG discredited, but she never had anyone’s respect to begin with. She’s definitely a disgrace and embarrassment though.
You are beset with beliefs that are not facts. You respond in emotive reaction to any challenge to your beliefs no different than does a pious Islamist. Your writing is full of defense over what is symbolic, not fact.
This is the behavior of the secular left. Godless and spiritually aimless... and thus have adopted their ideological beliefs as their religion. That is why you are so heated and angry with any challenge. You cannot control your emotions and have a regular adult conversation about these things. Faith is faith... but your fatal flaw is that you hold your beliefs as fact-based. They are not. This is why the Democrats are sinking...
Ironically the cohort of people that denigrate others that believe certain conspiracies tend to conflate their thinking with what are just other conspiracy beliefs in other topics. Examples include "cops are racist and cause low black socioeconomic circumstances", "men can get pregnant", "young people are at greater risk of suicide if not helped to transform to a gender of their choice", "Hiring and promoting people on the based on their identity in any defined oppressed victim group will make everyone equitable.", "to save humanity from the earth melting we need to force the scarcity of fossil fuels.", "everyone needs to mask up, shelter in place and stop going outside except if protesting indications of racism from police."
And a transformation to a collectivist system away from capitalism will work THIS TIME... "because we the educated white elite coastal and big city liberals will our massive real estate and Wall Street wealth... we know how to do it THIS TIME!" Just ignoring the perfect history of collectivism failing except to murder millions.
All of these things are beliefs and not fully supported by complete facts, yet the rest of us are idiots if we don't believe. We are conspiracy nuts just challenging those modern tenants of left-think... and the disinformation authorities need the power to prevent the proliferation of any dialog that does challenge them.
And you are very easy to manipulate in debate because you have zero emotional control. Your points are basically religious and not rational.
“You are beset with beliefs that are not facts. You respond in emotive reaction to any challenge to your beliefs no different than does a pious Islamist.” Frank Lee
So let me get this straight Frank! MTG wasn’t the Keynote Speaker at the America First Political Action Conference, which was organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes?
And Fuentes wasn’t one of the organizers of the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where James Alex Fields Jr, a neo-Nazi, ran his car into counter protesters, killing one and wounding over 30? Nor did they chant “Jews will not replace us” at that rally while walking with Tiki Torches? Good to know!!!!!
And the Jewish Lasers from Space causing CA wildfires is just a figment of my imagination? Or MTG showing D-Pics of Hunter during a hearing mate more delusions of grandeur, than actual facts?
No Frank, I am neither emotional, nor am I easy to manipulate, since I just brought receipts! You on the other hand should seek help, or better yet, take your meds.
"Incandescently ignorant and intellectually addled" made my morning! Both a spot-on observation and pure poetry. Also, having read Timothy Snyder's books, it comes as no surprise that he is best-suited to serve as our guiding light in this time of terrible darkness. Kudos to both of you for exposing these things for what they are. Never stop telling the truth.
Right. And that little bit of shame of being on the wrong side of history lasts only until the next blowhard comes along waving the flag of grievance giving them cover to crawl out of the sewer again. "The price of freedom IS eternal vigilance".
I agree with every word you said except one. MTG is NOT a Christian. To be a Christian, you have to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and therefore believe in His teachings of love, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion for ALL. Not just white Americans who believe exactly like you do to the detriment of everyone else in this country and in this world. And by the way, Jesus was a brown-skinned Arab Jewish man who would be absolutely shunned and hated by MAGAs if he physically walked among us today.
BTW, your pieces on your visits to the European concentration camps were so moving that it’s taken me this long to find the oxygen to thank you for them.
Timothy Snyder’s commentary is excellent. I read his work often, and today’s newsletter is more than poignant to a conversation I just had with an old friend I haven’t spoken to in about six or seven years. I literally just got off the phone with him.
That said, he’s a very smart, has an MBA from Northwestern, and worked as a CFO for mid sized technology companies for years.
And frankly, I was stunned by our conversation. He voted for Obama twice. Was a liberal his whole life, and now is on the Trump Train: first stop is St. Petersburg. Second stop is straight to hell!
He used to make fun of Tucker and MTG; now he gets them completely, and just laid into me about every thing Tim has said, about Russian and Chinese propaganda that has infiltrated our political system.
Ukraine is filled with Nazi’s and killing innocent Russian civilians in the Donetsk Region. Russia didn’t invade, they were rescuing Russian speaking Ukrainian’s that have been systematically murdered by their Nazi captives.
We’re sending money to Ukraine, while we have open borders. NATO is no longer necessary and is only be used as a cudgel to stifle Russia, so a new world order can emerge. He also thinks that the WHO is adding amendments to existing international treaties so they can control our healthcare, especially during a global pandemic. I told him all amended treaties have to be ratified by Congress, but he believes there are loopholes through the amendment process. HUH???
He even quoted Milton Friedman, who has stated in 1980 that “It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state.”
My point: Social Media and the right-wing ecosystem is alive and well; brainwashing even the intellectuals among us.
So be afraid, the “tin-foil” hat caucus of MTG, Gaetz, Comer, Jordan, and the rest of the GQP clown car is expanding rapidly to a town near you.
Personally, you can either laugh or cry, but currently, I’m all out of tears….:)
Hitler attracted intellectuals as well, whether by fear or by legitimating self-delusion. At bottom, as psychiatric experts on violence, most notably Dr. Bandy X. Lee, along with historian Timothy Snyder, underscore, shared psychotic delusion is the fuel that feeds the metastasizing contagion of fascism.
Like all Trump/MAGA damaged and dangerous souls, your friend needs psychiatric intervention pronto.
I feel your pain, Robert. I had a friend for 20+ years (2 masters, worked in nonprofit), widowed and remarried 5 years ago. After George Floyd murder, she explained to me that Trump had taken on the mantle of Lincoln, Kennedy and MLK, and was eliminating racism in the USA. I was stunned...oh, and everything Trump was doing was pre-ordained by God. I immediately alerted my then 93 yr old father, a retired pastor, and told him to let his pastor friends know what was going on. She and her new husband moved to Prescott, AZ, which seem to be where all the ultra conservatives seem to be moving to from CA.
So sorry Robert. That is truly discouraging. However, how many Dem leaders haver jumped on that "train"? I can't think of one. (Manchin doesn't count). And many Repub leaders have jumped off the train. Not sure how that translates to the masses but I hope that helps.
True. I’m just thinking in terms of the smart but gullible people out there. Some truly believe, others just go along to get along, but I’m starting to hear a lot of people parrot this nonsense.
And the scary part is that it seems to be working about as well as Russia and China could hope for. It’s infested Congress for Christ sakes…:)
Granted, the stupidity level is so bad to begin with, so we shouldn’t really be surprised. We could essentially blame extreme gerrymandering in the red states for this, since only the most incompetent and illiterate can effectively make it through a primary.
I think there is a innate need to belong, to not be alone. Loneliness is a terrible disease that makes people act in detrimental ways-either to themselves or others. The gang member whose family has abandoned them, or the abused spouse who remains, for example.
Awww I'm so sorry about your friend Robert. I hate that for you. Sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle like with my Mom still watching Fox News but we have to keep fighting. Big hugs!!
Steve, you are excellent at providing us the view down the road. It's such a game of three dimensional chess, and I appreciate you keeping us informed. My guess is that the Heritage Foundation or Koch or whoever is driving the MAGA cabal, sees that the polls on Ukraine and Trump slipping away. I see John Bolton, Bill Barr, Chris Sununu making a play (expecting to see Pompeo soon) to step into the void. It will be great to have Putin out of the picture, but having these radicals running things along with the Supreme Court in their hip pocket, is a concern.
The cancer that has been growing for the past several decades is mind boggling. Watching the John Bolton interview on MSNBC last week, then seeing the reverse turn of Bill Barr says that a major powershift is occurring, and that the Christian Nationalists are going to use Trump's trials to bump him out of the way. My guess is that Mike Johnson went down to Florida to deliver a message to Trump. And Nikki Haley is very quiet. (I have included my comment to two other Substacks, if this this looks familiar.)
"Of course I deprecate war, but if it is brought to my door, the bringer will find me home."
I love this quote by James Garfield and is it ever fitting for today.
I read somewhere last fall that election workers were quitting out of fear. At 75 I decided it was time for me to help, so I volunteered to become an election worker in my county. Step up folks, it's now or never, get involved in your local politics. No time like the present to save democracy.
Marjorie “Muscovite” Taylor Greene is clearly intellectually challenged (i.e.stupid), but she’s also a power hungry bully. She’s clearly intoxicated by the power she perceives has been granted to her by the Russian government’s primary American dupe and propaganda conduit, Donald Trump. So, now Muscovite Marge is operating like an “enforcer” in the House for Trump who’s using her to try to run the House using Mike Johnson as a “front” to mask the real House Speaker which is Donald Trump. This is fascist political terrorism in action. Everything is transactional. Everyone uses every one. All these fascists use each other in order to gain what they want more than anything else- power. Maybe Putin has offered Muscovite MTG a seat in the Russian Duma. She’d fit right in.
I’m a retired judge. I’ve always been humbled and impressed by how seriously jurors take their duties. It breaks my heart to see that individuals who want to do their civic duties are deterred (quite understandably) from serving as jurors because they fear for the safety of themselves and their family. This alone should be a wake up call to anyone even undecided about voting for the orange yam.
Great post Steve!! Frightening as hell but more motivation for me.
Always love hearing Dr. Snyder and am so thankful for him. The less I see of MTG the better. Grrrrr.
I think I have finally gotten through to my Mother re: the true evils facing us if DJT is re-elected. Although she swears she saw "recordings" on Fox of Biden taking Bribes. Not sure about that but it wouldn't surprise me if they manufactured something like that. I'll keep working on her. Right after J6 and all the hearings she was totally against him but she hasn't stopped watching Fox either.
Hope you can get some rest this weekend Steve!! ❤️🇺🇸💙
This woman is unstandable. I couldn’t listen to her voice or withstand her poster or look at her proudly ignorant face. Why is she in Congress? She is completely unfit, an embarrassment for the nation, and cringeworthy on the daily. I’m heartbroken for our nation. That someone so proudly stupid and filled with hate and coarseness is making decisions for our lives and the country.
Let’s not forget the Russian stooges in the Senate. Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, and the rest of the Pro-Putin Caucus need to be investigated. Why has the MSM failed to take a hard look at pro-Putin people in the Senate snd the House? What are they afraid of?
I continue to try to fill the gaps of my ignorance of what on earth could make ANYONE listen to the likes of MJT. “Your” 😉 Sarah Palin was at least entertaining! Did you and/or Nicole write her first speech with that amazing line about the lipstick (on a pitbull was it?!). And that “I am not a witch” woman didn’t last long, an encouraging outcome. But this one, all these lame conspiracies, particularly pushing the memes of 3 of the most sadistic and inhumane countries in today’s world, well, that I can’t understand, though I’m told by people I trust that I must try.
You explain everything so incisively Steve. Can you please (again?) try to explain why 50% of voters believe her? Not since Orson Welles announced that the aliens 👽 were coming did so many innocents believe such tripe.
Meanwhile, here's a tidbit from Thom Hartmann. Very interesting.
"multiple press reports, verified by George Conway on X, suggest that when Trump falls asleep he also starts farting, and the smell is so bad that it’s a problem for his attorneys. Noel Casler has repeatedly said that when he worked with Trump on Celebrity Apprentice the billionaire (?) was wearing diapers that were often soiled and smelly, grossing out the NBC film crew. I’m reluctant to make fun of elderly people who are incontinent, but this is another way that the patina of “strongman” gets etched away from Trump because he has to sit in this courtroom all day every day of his trial and, if the reports are true, the smell is extraordinary. "
MTG revealed her character when she chased Parkland survivor, David Hogg, through the streets. Berating him for having the audacity to first survive a school shooting, then to start a national conversation about gun violence, Hogg was a teenager at the time. Since then MTG has consistently been an embarrassment to the state of Georgia, the Republican Party, and the US Congress.
Right up there with Alex Jones bellowing that Sandy Hook was “staged”. I’ll never get over my shock that he said that, over and over. Our “freedom of speech” threatens to kill our freedom.
Thanks for bringing that up. It truly presents a person with no soul.
I don’t live in Georgia but am a supporter of someone trying to rid us of this blemish on our country
https://www.shawnforgeorgia.com/
Exactly!
(By Bob Fleck, long time member of The Warning)
The Ballad of the AR15:
There’s a gun that’s so good it claims its own ballad
For chopping up children like making a salad
It’s made for those guys who think they are genius
For having this thing as a substitute penis
Oh, just hold it real tight and imagine the thrill
Of thinking of how many people you’ll kill
Your name in the papers, your face on TV
As dull as you are, how famous you’ll be
While the public stands stupid, its thumb up its ass
What’s one more mass murder, we’ll give it a pass
So in the annals of history, there’s no country so dumb
With millions of people, their minds have gone numb
They allow this evil and think there’s no way
That they can look forward to a new peaceful day
But not so, there’s a solution so take down this note
You can kill this kill thing just by using your vote
Get everyone you know to vote Democratic
then ban all these guns, even those in the attic
Make it a crime just to own one, melt them all down
And see what a difference this makes in your town
‘Cause nobody needs this killing machine
Put all kinds of pressure on the Court called Supreme
The Founders intended a musket for you
If you’re in a Militia. Read the Second. It’s true
You’re Americans now, restore your own sanity
Stop listening to fools, stop listening to Hannity
Give your kids a fair shake, don’t leave them in fear
You can do all this good in the space of a year
Just gather together and make it your plan
To start a revolution and install this new ban
Then go for the Bump Stocks, and big magazines
Add training and permits and clean up your scene
Your country could benefit from some kind TLC
You can do this, so do this and answer my plea
Your once great country, its luster regain
If you just do the right thing. You’ll be happy again.
I want to let The Warning community know that Bob Fleck passed away on April 3rd, 2024, at the age of 88. He had a rich life with a loving wife and family, and decades of rewarding work in communications, including valuable non-profit work that has benefited many people. He was even featured on a Ted Talk. He offered many meaningful insights here on The Warning and he will be missed by many of us, including myself.
Bob sent me the above 'Ballad' (he called it a rant), when I told him about my family in rural Montana having been destroyed by extremist talk radio and then by MAGA (Oath Keepers may still be directly involved with my younger brother, who is one of the biggest gun importers in the state of Montana.) There is a play area in the lobby of the large gun shop for his little children, surrounded by guns of every kind, including pink AR-15s for women. It is hard to imagine what those children see and hear. Children will listen.
Bob Fleck, from Cananda, cared a great deal about our country. One of the last comments he wrote to me on 'The Warning' was, 'Keep it rolling, Lisa'. So, we all need to keep it rolling, and we will do that together and defeat MAGA. We will do 'the right thing'.
Lisa, thank you for letting us know about Bob Fleck's passing. I always appreciated his comments here. My condolences to his family, friends and all who knew him.
As a Canadian I am sad to learn that Bob Fleck has passed away. RIP Bob.
But I am also very proud that he was a Canadian, and a great Canadian too.
Like Bob Fleck, we Canadians care so much about our American neighbours, and we worry about you. Please do know that we are here for you , and hoping above all that you keep the Donald and all his MAGA acolytes out of power. We know that for these both stupid and dangerous people to regain power would be a disaster for you and for much of the world.
As Lord Acton famously said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. But Trump and his MAGA sycophants are already so corrupt that it is really hard to see how they could become any more corrupt.
Sometimes I just hope that Donald Trump would fall asleep forever.
Sorry to say such a horrible thing, but it might be the best thing that could happen.
Thank you, as a former ELA teacher I appreciate this!
Timely, with April 20th being the 25th anniversary of the Columbine massacre.
David Hogg, and others like him, vote now. Thank goodness.
And he did a great job of ignoring her making an ass of herself.
Marjorie Greene is the most vile member of Congress I have ever witnessed in my life. Truly a loathsome and pathetic embarrassment to our country.
Wonderful and compelling quote from President Garfield, Steve. Candice Millard wrote a great book about him — Destiny of the Republic.
Right.
People, I give you the "good" Democrat representatives: "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. They have since been joined by Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri following the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections, and Greg Casar of Texas, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, and Delia Ramirez of Illinois."
I will take 20 MTGs over any of these vile America-hating pathetic antisemitic real fascist embarrassments to our country any day.
Your moral compass, Frank Lee, has gone completely haywire beyond practical utility and redemption.
My moral compass is more than fine. It is sad that you cannot see how far off yours has gone.
A shonda is a shonda, whether conscious or subconscious.
LOL. I had to look up that word as clearly it is a coastal liberal self-loathing Jewish phrase.
No worries on my end though. I am completely conscious of my morality and since I live in coastal liberal land and live among your species that I have been studying for decades, I probably know you better than you know yourself.
Hitler’s capos were no less ingenuous regarding their anti-Semitic venom. Thanks for putting your true face out there for public consumption and dissection.
Try not to be triggered by foolishness. It's not worth your time.
Height of even more irony with you Frank. JUST yesterday, in an exchange you and I had, you went on and on about how the Christian National movement was not a real threat because they didn't constitute an electoral number (or very similar verbiage as I didn't bother looking it up and can barely stand to read your ramblings once, let alone a second time). However, you cite the names above as if they wield some power and control, yet they represent a smaller sphere of influence than members of the House who are in either the Freedom Caucus or an obvious Christian Nationalist - or a Venn diagram overlap in both.
Talk about a mass contradiction. But, hey, whatever supports your confused brain's position for today. You're like your boy TFG who forgets what he said at the beginning of a sentence when he gets to the end of it. The implication for him is that his supporters are too stupid to realize it (ALL supporters - hint). For you, it's sheer arrogance and the false belief that you're smarter than everyone else. Simply not true.
Punch that troll!!👍👍💪💪
Why must you respond with “whataboutisms” ? First of all, the original essay by Steve Schmidt has nothing to do with the characters you mention, secondly can you not see, or do you refuse to acknowledge, how degraded MTG actually is, thirdly, I do not think that you are being intellectually honest in your comparison. MTG is, as Schmidt points out, intellectually vapid, whereas I doubt he would ever make that claim about AOC and the squad. Sit this one out Frank Lee…unless you can somehow argue about MTG’s redeeming qualities.
“ I will take 20 MTGs over any of these vile America-hating pathetic antisemitic real fascist embarrassments to our country any day.”
Yes, you definitely would take 20 MTG’s Frank, over any democrat. We only need to read just one of your plethora of comments to understand where you stand politically. Zzzzzzzzzzz!
That said, MTG is a “know-nothing” flame thrower, who legitimizes, and hangs out with white supremacists (Jews will not replace us). She blamed California wildfires on Jewish space lasers, and is now referred to on Capitol Hill Karen, for her unhinged shenanigans (following AOC around like a stalker), and even more atrocious behavior in hearings; can you say D-picks?
So when you say anti-semites, perhaps you should first look up the word in the dictionary, because you clearly know little of which you speak.
And as far as democrats being anti-American, vile fascists? Seriously Frank, what is more anti-American than wandering through the halls of Congress, spewing pro-Putin talking points and threatening the Speaker of The House with his job, if we send aid to Ukraine?
Last I checked Frank, Russia is still an adversary; hell bent on destroying our republic from within. And Capitol Hill Karen, is nothing more than a useful idiot.
Even Russian TV, Putin’s propaganda arm considers MTG their greatest asset; replacing the formally disgraced and discredited Toucan Tucker. I’d call MTG discredited, but she never had anyone’s respect to begin with. She’s definitely a disgrace and embarrassment though.
IMHO….:)
You are beset with beliefs that are not facts. You respond in emotive reaction to any challenge to your beliefs no different than does a pious Islamist. Your writing is full of defense over what is symbolic, not fact.
This is the behavior of the secular left. Godless and spiritually aimless... and thus have adopted their ideological beliefs as their religion. That is why you are so heated and angry with any challenge. You cannot control your emotions and have a regular adult conversation about these things. Faith is faith... but your fatal flaw is that you hold your beliefs as fact-based. They are not. This is why the Democrats are sinking...
Ironically the cohort of people that denigrate others that believe certain conspiracies tend to conflate their thinking with what are just other conspiracy beliefs in other topics. Examples include "cops are racist and cause low black socioeconomic circumstances", "men can get pregnant", "young people are at greater risk of suicide if not helped to transform to a gender of their choice", "Hiring and promoting people on the based on their identity in any defined oppressed victim group will make everyone equitable.", "to save humanity from the earth melting we need to force the scarcity of fossil fuels.", "everyone needs to mask up, shelter in place and stop going outside except if protesting indications of racism from police."
And a transformation to a collectivist system away from capitalism will work THIS TIME... "because we the educated white elite coastal and big city liberals will our massive real estate and Wall Street wealth... we know how to do it THIS TIME!" Just ignoring the perfect history of collectivism failing except to murder millions.
All of these things are beliefs and not fully supported by complete facts, yet the rest of us are idiots if we don't believe. We are conspiracy nuts just challenging those modern tenants of left-think... and the disinformation authorities need the power to prevent the proliferation of any dialog that does challenge them.
And you are very easy to manipulate in debate because you have zero emotional control. Your points are basically religious and not rational.
“You are beset with beliefs that are not facts. You respond in emotive reaction to any challenge to your beliefs no different than does a pious Islamist.” Frank Lee
So let me get this straight Frank! MTG wasn’t the Keynote Speaker at the America First Political Action Conference, which was organized by white nationalist Nick Fuentes?
And Fuentes wasn’t one of the organizers of the 2017 white nationalist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where James Alex Fields Jr, a neo-Nazi, ran his car into counter protesters, killing one and wounding over 30? Nor did they chant “Jews will not replace us” at that rally while walking with Tiki Torches? Good to know!!!!!
https://georgiarecorder.com/2022/03/01/marjorie-taylor-greene-spoke-at-an-event-led-by-a-white-nationalist-and-has-no-regrets/
And MTG didn’t stalk OAC in Congress in 2021? I guess Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast and YouTube videos got it wrong!
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/marjorie-taylor-greene-aoc-stalking-through-the-capitol
And the Jewish Lasers from Space causing CA wildfires is just a figment of my imagination? Or MTG showing D-Pics of Hunter during a hearing mate more delusions of grandeur, than actual facts?
No Frank, I am neither emotional, nor am I easy to manipulate, since I just brought receipts! You on the other hand should seek help, or better yet, take your meds.
Good day Sir!….:)
😂😂💪💪
"Incandescently ignorant and intellectually addled" made my morning! Both a spot-on observation and pure poetry. Also, having read Timothy Snyder's books, it comes as no surprise that he is best-suited to serve as our guiding light in this time of terrible darkness. Kudos to both of you for exposing these things for what they are. Never stop telling the truth.
As always, I wonder if she is truly ignorant, or is she evil and cunning?
I think the former
How about both?! That's possible too. She is despicable either way.
I hope to know for sure someday. That level of ignorance beggars belief.
I think all three! And I don’t know how she does it, but she must work at being visually grotesque!!!
They have always been here - just hiding under a rock until trump made it OK to come out and be the belligerent Assholes that we all know + hate
Right. And that little bit of shame of being on the wrong side of history lasts only until the next blowhard comes along waving the flag of grievance giving them cover to crawl out of the sewer again. "The price of freedom IS eternal vigilance".
I agree with every word you said except one. MTG is NOT a Christian. To be a Christian, you have to believe that Jesus was the Son of God and therefore believe in His teachings of love, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion for ALL. Not just white Americans who believe exactly like you do to the detriment of everyone else in this country and in this world. And by the way, Jesus was a brown-skinned Arab Jewish man who would be absolutely shunned and hated by MAGAs if he physically walked among us today.
Indeed.
BTW, your pieces on your visits to the European concentration camps were so moving that it’s taken me this long to find the oxygen to thank you for them.
Timothy Snyder’s commentary is excellent. I read his work often, and today’s newsletter is more than poignant to a conversation I just had with an old friend I haven’t spoken to in about six or seven years. I literally just got off the phone with him.
That said, he’s a very smart, has an MBA from Northwestern, and worked as a CFO for mid sized technology companies for years.
And frankly, I was stunned by our conversation. He voted for Obama twice. Was a liberal his whole life, and now is on the Trump Train: first stop is St. Petersburg. Second stop is straight to hell!
He used to make fun of Tucker and MTG; now he gets them completely, and just laid into me about every thing Tim has said, about Russian and Chinese propaganda that has infiltrated our political system.
Ukraine is filled with Nazi’s and killing innocent Russian civilians in the Donetsk Region. Russia didn’t invade, they were rescuing Russian speaking Ukrainian’s that have been systematically murdered by their Nazi captives.
We’re sending money to Ukraine, while we have open borders. NATO is no longer necessary and is only be used as a cudgel to stifle Russia, so a new world order can emerge. He also thinks that the WHO is adding amendments to existing international treaties so they can control our healthcare, especially during a global pandemic. I told him all amended treaties have to be ratified by Congress, but he believes there are loopholes through the amendment process. HUH???
He even quoted Milton Friedman, who has stated in 1980 that “It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state.”
My point: Social Media and the right-wing ecosystem is alive and well; brainwashing even the intellectuals among us.
So be afraid, the “tin-foil” hat caucus of MTG, Gaetz, Comer, Jordan, and the rest of the GQP clown car is expanding rapidly to a town near you.
Personally, you can either laugh or cry, but currently, I’m all out of tears….:)
Hitler attracted intellectuals as well, whether by fear or by legitimating self-delusion. At bottom, as psychiatric experts on violence, most notably Dr. Bandy X. Lee, along with historian Timothy Snyder, underscore, shared psychotic delusion is the fuel that feeds the metastasizing contagion of fascism.
Like all Trump/MAGA damaged and dangerous souls, your friend needs psychiatric intervention pronto.
Agreed..:)
I feel your pain, Robert. I had a friend for 20+ years (2 masters, worked in nonprofit), widowed and remarried 5 years ago. After George Floyd murder, she explained to me that Trump had taken on the mantle of Lincoln, Kennedy and MLK, and was eliminating racism in the USA. I was stunned...oh, and everything Trump was doing was pre-ordained by God. I immediately alerted my then 93 yr old father, a retired pastor, and told him to let his pastor friends know what was going on. She and her new husband moved to Prescott, AZ, which seem to be where all the ultra conservatives seem to be moving to from CA.
So sorry Robert. That is truly discouraging. However, how many Dem leaders haver jumped on that "train"? I can't think of one. (Manchin doesn't count). And many Repub leaders have jumped off the train. Not sure how that translates to the masses but I hope that helps.
True. I’m just thinking in terms of the smart but gullible people out there. Some truly believe, others just go along to get along, but I’m starting to hear a lot of people parrot this nonsense.
And the scary part is that it seems to be working about as well as Russia and China could hope for. It’s infested Congress for Christ sakes…:)
Granted, the stupidity level is so bad to begin with, so we shouldn’t really be surprised. We could essentially blame extreme gerrymandering in the red states for this, since only the most incompetent and illiterate can effectively make it through a primary.
Good times…:)
I think there is a innate need to belong, to not be alone. Loneliness is a terrible disease that makes people act in detrimental ways-either to themselves or others. The gang member whose family has abandoned them, or the abused spouse who remains, for example.
Awww I'm so sorry about your friend Robert. I hate that for you. Sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle like with my Mom still watching Fox News but we have to keep fighting. Big hugs!!
Steve, you are excellent at providing us the view down the road. It's such a game of three dimensional chess, and I appreciate you keeping us informed. My guess is that the Heritage Foundation or Koch or whoever is driving the MAGA cabal, sees that the polls on Ukraine and Trump slipping away. I see John Bolton, Bill Barr, Chris Sununu making a play (expecting to see Pompeo soon) to step into the void. It will be great to have Putin out of the picture, but having these radicals running things along with the Supreme Court in their hip pocket, is a concern.
The cancer that has been growing for the past several decades is mind boggling. Watching the John Bolton interview on MSNBC last week, then seeing the reverse turn of Bill Barr says that a major powershift is occurring, and that the Christian Nationalists are going to use Trump's trials to bump him out of the way. My guess is that Mike Johnson went down to Florida to deliver a message to Trump. And Nikki Haley is very quiet. (I have included my comment to two other Substacks, if this this looks familiar.)
"Of course I deprecate war, but if it is brought to my door, the bringer will find me home."
I love this quote by James Garfield and is it ever fitting for today.
I read somewhere last fall that election workers were quitting out of fear. At 75 I decided it was time for me to help, so I volunteered to become an election worker in my county. Step up folks, it's now or never, get involved in your local politics. No time like the present to save democracy.
Marjorie “Muscovite” Taylor Greene is clearly intellectually challenged (i.e.stupid), but she’s also a power hungry bully. She’s clearly intoxicated by the power she perceives has been granted to her by the Russian government’s primary American dupe and propaganda conduit, Donald Trump. So, now Muscovite Marge is operating like an “enforcer” in the House for Trump who’s using her to try to run the House using Mike Johnson as a “front” to mask the real House Speaker which is Donald Trump. This is fascist political terrorism in action. Everything is transactional. Everyone uses every one. All these fascists use each other in order to gain what they want more than anything else- power. Maybe Putin has offered Muscovite MTG a seat in the Russian Duma. She’d fit right in.
www.tomthedemocratist.com
I’m a retired judge. I’ve always been humbled and impressed by how seriously jurors take their duties. It breaks my heart to see that individuals who want to do their civic duties are deterred (quite understandably) from serving as jurors because they fear for the safety of themselves and their family. This alone should be a wake up call to anyone even undecided about voting for the orange yam.
Great post Steve!! Frightening as hell but more motivation for me.
Always love hearing Dr. Snyder and am so thankful for him. The less I see of MTG the better. Grrrrr.
I think I have finally gotten through to my Mother re: the true evils facing us if DJT is re-elected. Although she swears she saw "recordings" on Fox of Biden taking Bribes. Not sure about that but it wouldn't surprise me if they manufactured something like that. I'll keep working on her. Right after J6 and all the hearings she was totally against him but she hasn't stopped watching Fox either.
Hope you can get some rest this weekend Steve!! ❤️🇺🇸💙
This woman is unstandable. I couldn’t listen to her voice or withstand her poster or look at her proudly ignorant face. Why is she in Congress? She is completely unfit, an embarrassment for the nation, and cringeworthy on the daily. I’m heartbroken for our nation. That someone so proudly stupid and filled with hate and coarseness is making decisions for our lives and the country.
Let’s not forget the Russian stooges in the Senate. Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, and the rest of the Pro-Putin Caucus need to be investigated. Why has the MSM failed to take a hard look at pro-Putin people in the Senate snd the House? What are they afraid of?
I continue to try to fill the gaps of my ignorance of what on earth could make ANYONE listen to the likes of MJT. “Your” 😉 Sarah Palin was at least entertaining! Did you and/or Nicole write her first speech with that amazing line about the lipstick (on a pitbull was it?!). And that “I am not a witch” woman didn’t last long, an encouraging outcome. But this one, all these lame conspiracies, particularly pushing the memes of 3 of the most sadistic and inhumane countries in today’s world, well, that I can’t understand, though I’m told by people I trust that I must try.
You explain everything so incisively Steve. Can you please (again?) try to explain why 50% of voters believe her? Not since Orson Welles announced that the aliens 👽 were coming did so many innocents believe such tripe.
Snyder really took that idiot to school.
Meanwhile, here's a tidbit from Thom Hartmann. Very interesting.
"multiple press reports, verified by George Conway on X, suggest that when Trump falls asleep he also starts farting, and the smell is so bad that it’s a problem for his attorneys. Noel Casler has repeatedly said that when he worked with Trump on Celebrity Apprentice the billionaire (?) was wearing diapers that were often soiled and smelly, grossing out the NBC film crew. I’m reluctant to make fun of elderly people who are incontinent, but this is another way that the patina of “strongman” gets etched away from Trump because he has to sit in this courtroom all day every day of his trial and, if the reports are true, the smell is extraordinary. "
According to Casler, Trump's years of doing cocaine and Adderall has something to do with this condition. Check this out: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/18sa3cl/whats_going_on_with_trump_and_diaperssmells/
I guess we will find out for sure when the press is in the courtroom, beginning on Monday.