TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2025
Of our own pair of Kings George: When the madness surfaces in a King George, the silly stiff may surface first.
So it was yesterday morning! As recorded by an invaluable drummer, here's what pretty much happened first:
After the inauguration . . .
I'm sure I'll have plenty of updates to this, but here's what's happening in Washington DC after Trump's inauguration. First off, Trump has already ordered the Pentagon to remove its portrait of Gen. Mark Milley, which was hung ten days ago next to all the previous chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
You can see the photo of the missing spot on the wall right there at Kevin Drum's site. General Milley's photo was already gone. The childish stuff tends to come first.
After that, it was on to Silly Stuff II. During the inaugural address, such foolishness as this:
TRUMP (1/20/25): A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America...
Such foolishness as that! With the offending photograph gone, the more recent "King George" would be changing a name!
These acts were part of the silliness; they came to us straight from the clown car. That said, the rest of that passage from that inaugural address moved to a more dangerous form of the madness:
TRUMP: A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.
President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent—he was a natural businessman—and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States—I mean, think of this—spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.
We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama's promise to us has been broken.
The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form. And that includes the United States Navy.
And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back...
This latest George is also planning to rename a mountain! The Gulf of Mexico has to go, and so too with Denali.
Before the day is done, we'll entertain you with the history of that mountain's name. But before we provide that service, let it now be said:
With the silly stuff done, this newest manifestation of George was moving into more dangerous territory. He had now officially said that we're going to take Panama back, or maybe just the Canal Zone.
Make Panama A Colony Again! Also, he was repeating his manifest lunacy concerning the nature of tariffs:
TRUMP: I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.
For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources.
The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.
To appearances, whoever polished the final shape of the speech had possibly sanded his language down, if only a tiny tad.
That said, does this madman actually know where the money comes from when a nation imposes a tariff? We know of no reason to assume that he does, or to assume that he doesn't. But President McKinley imposed lots of tariffs, so he has sworn to impose tariffs too.
That evening, this day's madness reached its summit with the release of certain "hostages" from their incarceration. Enrique Tarrio even got to take a hike. As a general matter, let us say this about that:
There are chunks of videotape from the violence of January 6 which Blue America routinely sees.
But if you live in Red America—if you watch the Fox News Channel—you're never shown the videotape of that violence on your favorite TV programs.
The corporate tools who crawl all over the sets of that "cable news" channel know that they must never discuss the violence which occurred on that day. Their handlers will never let the channel's viewers see the videotape of what was done—and at one point, they even let the baldly disordered Tucker Carlson conduct one of the great "journalistic" frauds by showing wholly irrelevant videotape of people just peaceably standing around on that particular day.
In fact, police officers were viciously beaten that day. Their attackers were being released last night. This is the ongoing madness of the current King George—but then too, we Blues have our own prior George, and his apparent enablers.
We've been saying, for quite a few years, that President Trump, to all appearances, seems to be some form of "mentally ill." As it was said in a very old book, that's how it plainly seems.
For better or worse, the major tribunes of Blue America have agreed—virtually to a man and a woman—that this obvious possibility must never be mentioned, evaluated or discussed.
Yesterday, the madness of this modern George was on vivid display. It started with the silly stuff, then moved on toward the suggestion of hemispheric war, in line with our manifest destiny.
That said:
We Blues have been carrying our own George too. Just within the past two weeks, he was (astoundingly) saying this:
Read what Biden said during his interview with USA TODAY
[...]
PAGE (1/5/25): Do you believe you could have won in November?
BIDEN: It's presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling that—
PAGE: Do you think you would've had the vigor to serve another four years in office?
BIDEN: I don't know. That's why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him. But I also wasn't looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton. But I don't know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I'm going to be when I'm 86 years old?
That was President Biden, with Susan Page, less than three weeks ago.
"Who the hell knows," he jauntily said. "Who the hell knows if he could have served out his second term?
"Who the hell knows," he jauntily said. Horribly, he even said "Not a joke" again.
It's well past time for us Blues to come to terms with the madness which has been dogging our own cognition and performance here in Blue America. To wit:
Despite what Acyn unwisely said, the problem which seems to be dogging President Biden is not the same problem which seems to be dogging President Trump. In our view, neither president can necessarily be "blamed," at the end of the day, for the affliction with which he seems to be saddled.
That said, a certain madness has been visible in Blue America too. This madness has belonged to us the Blue American people.
We refer to the way we've refused to see the problem afflicting our own George. By and large, Red America can't see the problem afflicting President Trump. We Blues have refused to see the problem afflicting President Biden.
Yesterday, he did it again, with his own last-minute pardons. No explanation was offered. This was the latest manifestation of The Silence—the silence we've been asked to accept over the several years:
The silence about the southern border. The silence about the cost of living. Most of all, the silence about the apparent or possible loss of cognitive power with which he seemed to be afflicted.
There was plenty of footage suggesting that decline, but now the practice of sifting was reverse:
Viewers of the Fox News Channel were shown this footage again and again. Sometimes, the evidence was embellished. More often, it wasn't.
Viewers of the Fox News Channel were shown that footage again and again. Over here, in Blue America, we were shielded from any such knowledge by the corporate tools who were servicing us—who were servicing us at our own major "news orgs."
Briefly, let's state the obvious. No one on the face of the earth is ever guaranteed "four more years."
(With whatever degree of awareness, Candidate Tsongas tried to gloss the severity of his cancer during Campaign 1992. Because he was running against Bill Clinton, he was cast as the admirable truth teller by the major mainstream orgs. He died in January 1997. Had this good, decent person been elected, he apparently wouldn't have lived out his first term.)
No one is ever guaranteed "four more years!" But in that interview with Page, there was the jaunty President Biden saying who the hell knows if he would have been able to serve a full second term.
Yesterday, he did it again with those unexplained pardons.
We sympathize with the reason for those pardons. On balance, we're inclined to think that they were a bad idea.
That said, no explanation was offered for those highly unusual pardons—and that included the last-minute pardons he gave to five family members. Similarly, no explanation was ever offered for the policy practices which ended up sending Donald J. Trump back to his perch in the White House.
Most likely, our own George wasn't able to offer public explanations. Most likely, his staffers and family, knowing this, kept him out of view.
In Red America, they were more right about this inexcusable state of affairs. In Blue America, we were more wrong. Meanwhile, the silence of our own King George permitted the re-ascension of the madness of theirs.
Yesterday, he started with the silly stuff, the moved in the direction of true madness. Our "highly educated" blue elites still won't discuss the obvious fact that something seems to be clinically wrong with this particular person.
These blue elites today! They don't have a pre-existing language for that discussion, and they simply aren't smart enough to create an acceptable language on their own.
"Sacred Troy must die," Hector tells Andromache, his loyal wife, fairly early in the verses of the Iliad. Years later, Professor Knox described the horrific events on the night Troy finally fell, after ten years of war.
We won't post that account again today. But our own failing nation has been trapped in a pair of dueling madnesses.
Those of us in Blue America are inclined to deny this fact. Millions of people in Red America have that same inclination.
Each group can see the madness, but only in the others. Where does such madness end?
This afternoon: For entertainment purposes only! What the Sam Hill's in a word?
"When you're a bigot, the Roberts Supreme Court lets you get away with it."
ReplyDeleteanon 9:52, you've got that in quotes. who are you quoting? yourself? You are obsessed. Over and over again, ad nauseum, with smug assurance, you claim that everyone who voted for Trump is a bigot. The only reason anyone voted for Trump is bigotry, you say. Black voters who voted for Trump - bigots. Once was stupid enough - but constantly? do you think you're clever? could you please let it go? One reason trump one is people like you.
DeleteThere’s zero evidence that calling out Republican bigotry contributed to Trump winning; if anything, evidence points to the opposite.
DeleteI’m down for 9:52’s repetitive comments, they are pretty much on the nose and done with a humorous flair.
Me too. Why should Republicans be the only trolls here?
Delete“ We refer to the way we've refused to see the problem afflicting our own George.”
ReplyDeleteI noticed that the Republicans did not approach the Trump and prevail upon him to step aside.
With President Musk saluting the voters with a Sieg Heil!, Republicans know its best to keep their mouths shut, if they know what’s good for them.
DeleteSomerby: I can quote Wikipedia, otherwise, I’ve got nothing. No joke (har har har).
ReplyDeleteEveryone else with two or more brain cells: We know!
Fake news, Somerby can also quote Drum, who himself is merely quoting actual journalists, let’s give Somerby his due.
Delete"When the madness surfaces in a King George, the silly stiff may surface first."
DeleteIt would be nice if Somerby would proofread his articles before posting them, as most responsible journalists and bloggers do.
(Silly stiff = silly stuff) That error would have leapt out at Somerby if he had looked twice at what he wrote today.
Somerby’s new book: The Art of Phoning It In
DeleteSomerby, thumb, scale.
ReplyDeleteRinse, repeat.
Ignorance ain’t gonna manufacture itself.
Delete
Delete"Such foolishness as that!"
As long as it triggers us idiot-Democrats, it's positively the greatest thing in the world!
Because, you see, everyone hates us, idiot-Democrats.
Why don’t we elect a man whose only policy is triggering Democrats? Good idea. That won’t fix the price of eggs or pay for grandma’s long term care, but it sure feels good, dudn’t it?
DeleteAnd we know how to fix the price of eggs, since as it turns out, the largest egg producers/distributors were colluding to keep supplies low and prices high, they were price fixing and were found liable in court.
DeleteInflation is primarily caused by companies acquiring enough power to arbitrarily raise prices without consequence.
Biden flooded the country with stimulus money, and at the same time reduced Trump’s inflation spike (due to his grossly incompetent handling of the pandemic) to within normal levels. But wait there’s more, Biden even threw in a reduction of Trump’s immigration spike, free of charge. In America no good deed goes unpunished.
We pray to Jesus our Lord and Savior to save our country from the record unemployment rate, the manufacturing boom occurring in red states and the record setting stock market.
Delete...and Lord, please see that those who attempted to overthrow our government are pardoned.
DeleteI am wondering what Jesus's first major piece of legislation he will be proposing and if he has done a proper whip count in the Congress. Cec? Any idea?
DeleteThe biblical Jesus, granted a myth, is increasingly seen by right wing Christians as too woke, too concerned about equality, and too much of a wuss, so they’ve found themselves a new Jesus in Trump, who absolves them of any guilt over their racism, sexism, laziness, lack of productivity, sexual predation, etc because he embodies all of those things.
DeleteBob incorrectly wrote “The childish stuff tends to come first.” In fact, as we all know, simultaneously with taking down Milley’s picture, Trump did a great many earth-shattering things yesterday, for better or for worse. Bob is childish when he focuses on taking down a picture.
ReplyDeleteTaking down that picture, a petty and childish act of revenge, worthy of a 2-year-old, was among the first things Trump ordered. He is the childish one, not Somerby.
DeleteDavid in Cal,
DeleteCan't wait to see you pushed into the cattle car.
Until then, you keep being you.
"Those pardoned include Julian Khater, who pepper-sprayed Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick in the face (Sicknick died a day later ; Patrick McCaughey, who helped crush D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges in a Capitol doorway; and Jake Lang, a rioter charged with numerous assault counts, including attacking police officers with a bat.
DeleteYou're a real Dick, David. Trump pulls the petty and childish and embarrassing act and you call Bob childish.
DeleteC’mon man. White cop killers are just fine, get with the program.
DeleteTrump issued a couple of EOs ordering an investigation of anyone in a federal agency that has civil or criminal enforcement powers and anyone in the intelligence community who he thinks might have crossed him.
DeleteAnd get this. He calls it "Ending the Weaponization of Government." The heirs of the Orwell estate are toting up their royalties.
Taking down that picture was a threat against Milley, not a childish thing but a thuggish and bullying act. I am glad Biden pardoned Milley in cash Trump uses his bullying to threaten currently serving military who might be tempted to disobey illegal orders given by Trump to use force against American people doing things like using free speech.
Deletecorrection: in case...
Delete"Such foolishness as that!"
ReplyDeleteAs long as it triggers us idiot-Democrats, it's positively the greatest thing in the world!
Because, you see, everyone hates us, idiot-Democrats.
In the closing days of Biden’s term, he gave a lot of interviews and speeches, making it clear he’s not suffering from cognitive decline, as even the journalists had to admit.
ReplyDeleteMight Biden have died in his second term? Anything is possible, but if so, it’s not a major concern, since the US has robust policies and procedures for just such a circumstance, which has happened several times before and to be frank most Americans would be perfectly fine with Trump dying in office.
Would Biden have won? It’s likely, he is a White male, and unlike his opponent, he’s not a loon or sexual predator or snake oil salesman.
Why did he drop out?
DeleteHe was convinced by party members that he should step aside.
DeleteWhy? What was so convincing? He is in charge not them.
DeleteIt didn’t help that corporate media was hell bent on running Biden out of office, while busily sane washing Trump and the Republicans.
DeleteThey threatened to withhold funding, without which you can’t run a campaign.
Delete“He is in charge not them.” That’s from the Trump playbook. Biden did what he thought was best for the good of the party, not himself.
DeleteWhy did they threaten to withhold funding?
DeleteIf Biden would have won, why would dropping out be for the good of the party?
DeleteBecause Biden was barely progressive, but too progressive for establishment Dems and their neoliberalism, and because the neoliberal corporate media had it out for Biden, for the same reason.
DeleteReagan started the trend, the largest transfer of wealth in history, the $50+ trillion redistribution from the bottom 90% to the top 1%, and every president since has kept it going, until Biden came along and reversed that trend.
Why would these neoliberal forces wait until July before the election to pressure him to drop out?
Delete10:51: I take it they were worried by his debate performance.
DeleteBut he had a cold and was tired is all. They used the debate performance to get rid of Biden because he was too progressive and his policies reversed the trend of wealth redistribution to the top 1%?
DeleteCorrect.
DeleteWho could argue with that logic?
DeleteAgree, you can’t argue.
Delete"But he had a cold and was tired is all."
DeleteMost people with a cold don't wander around with a vacant stare looking like an assisted living patient wondering what channel SpongeBob is on.
To be fair, when Trump does that vacant stare wondering around like a senile assisted living patient, it’s all part of a very clever strategy.
DeleteI love the way the failing “Socratic method” attempt petered out, too funny.
The videos showing Biden supposedly wandering around were edited deep fakes. The original video showed no such wandering or vagueness. Biden did what everyone else did at the appropriate times and in the right way. There were no "imaginary chairs". Somerby never pointed out the deep fakes, even when a Russian organization was caught making them (as a "donation" to Trump's campaign).
DeleteSomerby has never mentioned Biden's comprehensive health exams and the testimonials of those who work with him about his mental competence. Trump has never issued a real health report EVER and lies about his health, but crickets from Somerby. What would it take for Biden to prove he was doing the job? There is nothing he could do to satisfy guys like Somerby and the Pelosi-followers. He had his term's achievements, which are manifest. He had health records and exams (including a daily mental status exam), interactions with staff, Congress members of both parties, foreign visitors, participation at meetings, ongoing negotiations with Israel, Hamas, Qatar, fully competent (even witty) interactions and speeches (including the State of the Union), press interviews and off-hand interactions, and the statements of his staff that he was making his own decisions and running his own administration. Further, his critics never identified any supposed surrogate president (suggestions were Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, etc, not serious stand-ins) and his cabinet never moved to remove him for incompetence (as DID occur during Trump's first term).
Where is there any evidence that Biden was not fully competent and an excellent president? There is none, but that doesn't stop Somerby from maligning Biden, who doesn't deserve that treatment after his service. He stopped Covid and led us to economic prosperity avoiding the predicted recession. Where are the thanks?
Biden negotiated a ceasefire with Israel but Trump put it on hold until his inauguration so he could try to take credit. What is this, 1981 (Reagan holding up the release of the Iranian hostages)? Worse, seems more like the book 1984, yikes!
DeleteWas there really silence on the part of Democrats about about the southern border, the cost of living and the apparent or possible loss of cognitive power of Biden? I remember these topics being fully addressed.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that Biden isn’t the greatest public speaker or communicator. On the other hand, there are people who are impressed by Trump’s constant shooting his mouth off, without knowing or caring that he lies his ass off and is ignorant as hell. The media doesn’t help by amplifying the loudmouth and disappearing Biden.
DeleteNo there wasn’t “silence”, that’s manufactured by Somerby.
DeleteDid Democrats not pay enough attention to issues surrounding the southern border, the cost of living and the apparent or possible loss of cognitive power of Biden?
DeleteFrom what I know, they paid a lot of attention to those issues.
Harris's campaign activities, policy statements, rallies and achievements were "disappeared" by the mainstream press during the campaign. For a while, I was counting the number of Trump articles and the number of Harris articles each morning in the NY Times. Trump coverage far outweighed Harris coverage. Lately the pundits have been saying that Biden didn't communicate his achievements well, but what difference would it make if the press wasn't covering them? I listed the number of "Biden is too old" articles in the NY Times preceding his being shoved off the ticket and they were astonishingly frequent for a paper supposedly responding to current events instead of manufacturing its own campaign against Biden. Awhile back, Somerby would have been all over an imbalance like that. These days he mainly "both sides" whatever Trump does wrong and promotes criticism of the left.
DeleteWell said.
DeleteBiden's debate performance was cataclysmically horrible. that's what finished him off. aside from that, he hid from the press, and the special prosecutor who interviewed him observed Biden seemed like an old man in mental decline. There's no reason to believe he wasn't being honest. Virtually every democrat who watched the debate was aghast by Biden's performance. There's no way to prove that Biden would have won if he didn't drop out, but the rational conclusion is that he had no chance. People here have their heads in the sand.
DeleteAs far as Trump winning goes, people are attracted to a strong man leader. Look what's happening in so many other countries, and what's happened in history. White fragility, systematic racism, (pronouns of all things!), gender is different than sex -, among all the other wokisms - turns off a lot of voters. Trump didn't win by a landslide. We'll have to see the outcome of his reign and then judge. The pendulum usually swings in the other direction, so there is that possiblity.
Trump’s debate performances were worse than Biden’s, as well as Trump’s bizarre performances during campaign events, yet Trump won. Republicans aren’t put off by bad debate performances and other strange behavior, and they are drawn to Trump’s unabashed racism and sexism. If anything, the Dems were to mealy mouthed in their defense of wokeism, which likely played a role in failing to motivate their voters.
DeleteThe special prosecutor was a Republican loyalist, and his phony observation was debunked by the release of the testimony. That you hew to a Republican’s view of Biden reveals your partisanship.
"...and the special prosecutor who interviewed him observed Biden seemed like an old man in mental decline."
DeleteFalse.
The prosecutor speculated about how a jury might perceive Biden. He did not offer any observations about his own experience with Biden.
"Hur assessed that a jury wouldn't be likely to convict Mr. Biden because he'd be seen as a 'well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.'"
Deletehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-special-counsel-robert-hur-transcript-reviewed/
Biden sat for a five-hour interview with Hur.
It’s not just that it was a Republican prosecutor speculating, the testimony demonstrated that Biden was sharp and had a better memory than the prosecutor himself.
DeleteThat aside, I agree with the earlier commenter, this just goes to show AC/MA is a run of the mill Republican troll, here to stir the pot.
Biden didn't hide from the press. After the debate he gave a strong State of the Union address, with spontaneous comments to attendees and press interaction afterward. That was "disappeared". Few people seem to remember that Obama had a disastrous first debate too. Being middle-aged, no one attributed it to his being too old for the job. They accepted the explanations for what happened. Biden had reasonale explanations too, which were entirely discounted due to the unrelenting smears concerning his age (many of them false videos manufactured by the right with help from Russia, spread by papers such as the Washington Post).
DeleteThat this convinces you AC/MA suggests you are being insufficiently critical of right wing sources and unfair to Biden.
How can anyone consider Trump a "strong man" when he does so many weak things? He is physically unfit, he can't walk down ramps or stairs without help, he has fake hair and wears makeup, he is majorly ignorant and tells the same stories over and over, with hugely embarrrassing gaffes, he is easily manipulated by Putin and Musk, his wife has affairs behind his back and doesn't life with him unless coerced, he hangs around with Laura Loomer because no woman would have anything to do with him these days, he is showing dementia symptoms, he can't think coherently. None of that says "strength" to me. It makes him seem pathetic. The people who create weird memes of Trump as a superhero are fooling themselves and others because he isn't even strong for a 78-year old man. If he was so weak as to allow billionaires and foreign countries to buy our government, then his failure is complete. That is what we on the left think of him and it is all about weakness, not strength.
DeleteHe does nothing but whine and complain on Truth Social. He throws his dinner against the wall if someone gives him bad news. That is weak, not what a strong person does.
DeleteStrong people behave with dignity and treat others with respect, like Biden does.
Delete
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are so proud they’ve elected a serial rapist and convicted felon. They feel unimpeded to oppress whomever they please, they are so excited!
White is Right. Cope.
DeleteWe pray to Jesus our Lord and Savior to deliver us from the record unemployment rate, the manufacturing boom occurring in red states and the record setting stock market.
DeleteTrump didn't put his hand on the Bible when being sworn in at his inauguration. Not sure if he didn't want to accidentally offend God, or if he just didn't understand how the ceremony worked. No one expects him to uphold any of his sworn duties anyway.
DeleteThe preemptive pardons by Biden are really strange. Has that ever been done before? Trump is bad too of course. There are things that can be said about him. But the preemptive pardons by Biden are really strange.
ReplyDeleteI can’t imagine why he would pardon Fauci for instance. Just because Republicans vowed to put him in jail is no reason.
DeleteThe preemptive pardons were unfortunate but necessary.
DeleteWhy would Republicans vow to put Fauci in jail?
Delete10:40: why would you vow to put someone in jail before any investigation or charges had been filed, much less a trial?
DeleteBecause the trumplicans inhabit Crazytowne, USA, that is why.
DeleteBecause they are loons, wounded lost souls.
DeleteBut we don't know the rational Republicans gave with their vow to put Fauci in jail?
Delete"rational" and "Republicans" are contradictory terms
DeleteSieg Heil!
The “rational” for them is a conspiracy theory. You don’t vow to put someone in jail before charging them, and their accusations against fauci were unproven.
DeleteBut we don't know the reasons Republicans gave with their vow to put Fauci in jail? Are we saying they didn't give any?
DeleteNobody said they didn’t give any. Their reasons were pretextual bullshit.
DeleteCorrect, they gave no coherent or credible reasons. For Republicans it all boils down to an obsession with dominance, and anyone they feel challenges their dominance, they will go after.
DeleteWhat were they though? Sounds like you are familiar with them.
Delete10:8 - They claim, without evidence, he was behind a government cover-up regarding the origins of the coronavirus.
DeleteYou can look it up, their reasons were garbage and not worth repeating.
DeleteTo be fair, this is not an insult, but you’re digging your own grave here with your specious and spurious “questions”.
I am digging my own grave here with my specious and spurious “questions”? What is the grave supposed to represent?
DeleteWhy exactly are they not worth repeating?
DeleteBecause they have no basis in fact.
DeleteThe reasons were garbage, as already stated. The grave represents a self own. More power to you.
DeleteA self own of what?
DeleteIf the Republican reasons for wanting to jail Fauci have no basis in fact, why are they not worth repeating?
DeleteWouldn't repeating them strengthen the argument they are incoherent or not credible?
The what of “self own” is self evidently defined within the phrase.
DeleteRepeating them is not worthwhile because they are not offered in good faith.
"The preemptive pardons by Biden are really strange. Has that ever been done before?"
DeleteMay I suggest you review Trump's pardons as he was leaving office in 2021?
That said, no explanation was offered for those highly unusual pardons—
ReplyDeleteNo explanation is necessary. The country handed the most powerful office in the world to a certified madman. There are no institutions left standing to hold hm in check. Not the courts, not the justice department, not the Congress, not the Fourth Estate. We are now plainly a kleptocracy. Laws only apply to who they say. The country committed suicide. It would have been reckless and crazy not to pardon the persons trump has targeted.
“ That said, no explanation was offered for those highly unusual pardons—”
DeleteAnd this is a lie. Biden explained his reasons: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-issues-preemptive-pardons-milley-fauci-jan-6-panel-members-polic-rcna188368
It would have been reckless and crazy to not preemptively pardon Biden's family members and Liz Cheney for crimes they didn't commit because the country elected a madman who would have invented crimes and prosecuted them even though they were inncocent?
DeleteAre you asking?
DeletePresident-elect Donald Trump says everyone on the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack should “go to jail,” but he would not direct the FBI or DOJ to arrest them.
So why pardon them?
DeleteGee, 10:53, you’re so cute. Do you think Trump saying he wouldn’t “direct” those agencies to prosecute means that they wouldn’t be prosecuted? His hand picked agency directors, like Patel and Bondi, know precisely what he wants them to do.
DeleteI see. Trump who would have invented crimes and prosecuted them even though they were innocent. Therefore not issuing blanket preemptive pardons would be reckless and crazy.
DeleteOk then.
DeleteThat’s right, 11am. You’re catching on. A little slow, but you’re getting there.
DeleteThanks, I just wanted to get the reasoning straight. Trump was going to invent crimes even though they were innocent. So Biden had to issue blanket preemptive pardons. I get it now.
DeleteThat’s right, 11:09. I know it’s shocking, but that’s the times we live in. When the nominee for FBI director draws up a specific enemies list, and Trump publicly stated that these people should go to jail, well, seems ominous. And the Supreme Court says any interaction with DOJ is protected, there you go. Remember, a prosecutor can indict a ham sandwich.
Delete11:09, listen up fuckface, orange Mussolini's definition of crimes is different from the laws of the land. Did you notice who orange chickenshit pardoned yesterday?
DeleteTrump pardoned Jan 6th protesters therefore he would invent crimes against Biden family members even though they were innocent?
DeleteAlways remember this: The snowflakes crying out in pain on January 6, 2021, because black people's votes were counted in the 2020 Presidential election, would never have been pardoned by Trump, if they weren't the voting base of his party.
DeleteTrump is a loon, trying to make sense of him is pure folly.
DeleteJan 6th protesters
Deletehahahahaha! that's right, maggot, they were just protesters who trump pardoned. fuck off
They already invented crimes and investigated Hunter Biden, even though their witnesses were liars paid by Russia and there was no evidence at all against Hunter. The right still believes he and Joe Biden colluded to make money and that Hunter is guilty. That is an example of what would happen to everyone Biden pardoned. The right doesn't need evidence to make accusations. It will manufacture fake evidence to supports its empty investigations and trials. It will persecute their targets with legal defense costs beyond what it is reasonable and what their targets can afford. It will preoccupy their out-of-office lives and preoccupy the press, smearing people who just did their jobs. Biden has accepted the right's howls of outrage and taken the hit to his own reputation over these pardons, in order to spare others the damage the right would attempt to inflict on them. He is a mensch for doing that.
DeleteThe prosecution, and conviction of Trump for "34 felonies" by the New York court could well be characterized as an example of concocting a theory to prosecute political enemies. Due to the pardon, we'll never know if trump [sic] or his appointed prosecutors would have prosecuted Cheney, Fauci, the Jan 6 committee members, or others on some almost assuredly bogus charges. Maybe I'm naive, but I think the courts system does still function - maybe that will go by the wayside - despite trump's bombastic screeds, I doubt it would have happened. I don't think we've devolved into Stalinist show trials. He makes threats all the time, like getting Mexico pay for the wall, that fizzle into dust. But we'll never know because of the pardons. Maybe there are some people who Biden forgot to pardon - we'll see if there are any political prosecutions.
DeleteTrump was convicted of a common crime, indeed, the bread and butter of the NY DA, with hundreds of similar cases.
DeleteTrump committed an unremarkable crime and was convicted by a jury. It was a straightforward case, only Republicans tried to make it seem murky, but it wasn’t, and so far Trump’s appeals have failed, further confirming the legitimacy of the convictions.
Making Mexico pay for the wall wasn’t a threat, it was a promise, one he failed to deliver on because he in reality had no agency in the matter.
Trump now does have the agency to go after his enemies, ignoring this is just putting your head in the sand.
Executive order signed yesterday:
Delete"The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of all departments and agencies of the United States, shall take appropriate action to review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States, including, but not limited to, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, over the last 4 years.... The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of the appropriate departments and agencies within the Intelligence Community, shall take all appropriate action to review the activities of the Intelligence Community over the last 4 years...."
But no, no. There's no "enemies list."
The SEC recently opened yet another investigation into Musk scamming his investors, guess that’s going away now. Who knew?
DeleteDidn't we argue all of this with AC/MA back when Trump was convicted? Does he, like David, ignore everything said by others here in order to repeat the same old tired garbage?
DeleteSomerby likes to make sweeping generalizations about corporate media, Blue America, and the impact of media on Blue America without bothering to offer any credible, coherent substantiation for his views.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, data indicates that a majority of voters that closely or moderately follow news media, voted for Harris.
Sure, corporate media is garbage and enjoys an outsized influence among politicians and pundits, but it has little significant influence over the electorate, and is not significantly determinative in elections.
I voted for Trump because he was willing to…
ReplyDelete…offer funds to pay for an abortion…
Delete…after he raped a 13yo girl that reminded him of his own daughter.
DeleteI voted for Trump because he was willing to demonstrate, even in front of Republican children - you know, the ones Republicans pretend to care about but are actually abusing, how to fellate a man.
DeleteTrump puts the “demon” in “demonstrate”.
DeleteTrump’s offer is unsurprising, he paid for his daughter Ivanka’s two abortions when she was a teen, which was at the height of Trump’s sexual interest in his own daughter.
DeleteTrump voters are so edgy cool.
In a blind poll, a majority of Republicans preferred Harris’ policies over Trump’s.
ReplyDeleteTypical of Republicans, lacking integrity is a feature, not a bug.
DeleteTrump could only muster about 30% of the electorate, he could not even get 50% of those that voted - most people voted for a candidate other than Trump.
ReplyDeleteHarris lost due to a low turnout for Dems, for which the main reasons are: lack of universal mail in ballots, sexism (and racism to a lesser degree) among Dems, and increasingly sophisticated Republican dirty tricks/voter suppression.
Republicans are defined by their racism and sexism, but that’s of no electoral consequence to Dems, since elections are primarily about motivation, not persuasion.
Republican racism and sexism are highly consequential for society, as we continue to live in a society where women are coerced to be servile to the patriarchy and deal with rampant rape culture, and Black people have to keep smiling while they are thrown 15 cents for every dollar a White person gets, even though women and people of color shoulder way more than their share of labor.
Canada has, unofficially, offered to annex California; an offer many Californians find appealing, with Canada’s universal healthcare etc.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans should take care to avoid irritating CA.
California is the 2nd largest economy in the world by per capita (5th overall). CA provides most of the labor and produces most of the gdp that Republicans in the rest of America parasitically live off of, as they laze around in their McMansions and trailer parks, high off of Fox News and meth.
Investigating whether there is a connection between meth addiction and being a white supremacist will not lead to Trump giving media corporations more tax breaks, so here we are.
DeleteIt is not unamusing to observe the right wing trolls inadvertently kill off this right wing blog; too clever by half.
ReplyDeleteHow the media misinform us:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.eschatonblog.com/2025/01/your-liberal-media.html
1984’s critique of fascism and similar right wing shenanigans is being dramatized by the Republican Party, as Americans have been anesthetized by decades of perniciously mind numbing storytelling, from the Bible to advertising to reality tv.
DeleteTrump is a madman in all the right ways. Icing on the cake that he has ruined the mental health of the entire Democrat party.
ReplyDeleteThere is no right way to be out of touch with reality.
DeleteTrump with executive orders restored the federal death penalty and made it easier to fire federal employees. Then he went to church.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Harvard settled because we're now in the Trump era.
ReplyDeleteBREAKING: Harvard has settled two antisemitism lawsuits. Among other policies, Harvard will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Association's definition of antisemitism and start an official partnership with a university in Israel.
The sun rose in the east this morning!
DeletePerhaps because we're now in the Trump era.
You realize you are a fucking fascist, Dickhead?
By the way, Dickhead in Cal, it seems the ADL is just fine and dandy with Elon's Nazi salutes. Curiouser and curiouser.
DeleteMaybe that university in Israel suggested the redefinition of antisemitism. That makes more sense than Trump having any influence over Harvard. The bigger influence with places like Harvard is the power wielded by donors and prospective donors. Keeping them happy is the role of university presidents and boards. Trump is not a donor to Harvard. Trump has never been accused of being a philanthropist. He is a reverse-philanthropist in the sense that any involvement he has with a non-profit or charity is to take from their coffers for his own use, not to donate anything.
Delete@2:16 It's totally incorrect to claim that Trump has never been accused of being a philanthropist. On the contrary, Trump has received awards for his philanthropy, including the Jewish National Fund's prestigious Tree of Life Award.
Delete@2:13 You've been fooled by a Rupar. The video supposedly showing Musk making a Nazi salute was doctored to omit what really happened: Musk touched his heart as he used the word "heart".
DeleteEven without seeing the full video, it should have been obvious that Musk wouldn't have chosen to make a Nazi salute at that moment.
David, in the world of philanthropy it is well known that you give an award to someone who you want to do you favors and donate money, not someone who has already done it.
DeleteThe video I saw of Elon included him touching his heart and that didn't make it any different from what the Nazis did. If anything, it made it seem like he might be saying he loves his Nazi bros out there. Google how someone blows a kiss. Then compare that to the palm down, arm outstretched salute that Elon gave, then look at some video of German's giving that same salute to Hitler. There is no mistaking Elon's intent. You don't offer love and support to a crowd using a Nazi salute, even if you first touch your heart.
The Nazi salute is illegal in many countries around the world. Elon surely knows that, given his current involvement in European politics. This was intended to be a gesture of unity with right wing extremists and an affirmation of support for their cause.
It is accurate to say that Trump only uses philanthropy as a ruse to make money for himself, he was even fined in a court of law for this and banned from engaging in charity work, that’s how phony Trump’s ‘’philanthropy” is.
DeleteMusk did not touch his heart as he used the word “heart”, this is a flat out lie.
Musk did the Nazi salute twice, many in the audience saluted similarly back, and wildly cheered, and then later, after the cheering subsided Musk said “thank you, my heart goes out to you”, and this phrase was clearly disconnected from his Nazi salute but was in reality thanking the audience for cheering him on in response to his nazi salutes.
This is also confirmed by the positive reactions from neo Nazis, and further confirmed by Musk’s both familial history with Nazis as well as his recent endorsement of and monetary contributions to neo nazi/fascist political parties in Germany and Italy.
When you have to lie to make your point, you’ve lost the plot.
DeleteI served the Nazi Reich for years, in Budapest, doing thousands of Nazi salutes over that time. There's nothing wrong with it at all.
I am George Soros, and I am your Lord.
@David
DeleteSo videos need context? That's not how I remember it.
@4:01 The Nazi salute is illegal in Budapest. Soros is Jewish, so why would he give such a salute?
DeleteSoros was age 17 when he fled to London to escape the Nazis. But this is a great example of how offensive right wingers are, accusing a man who lived through the Holocaust of being a Nazi in Budapest (where he was born but had to leave with his parents to escape persecution). Nothing matters to trolls like this. Somerby is in danger of becoming a similarly offensive troll, given the obnoxious things he has been saying recently.
DeleteLet's GOOOOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteWhite Power!
DeleteIf Somerby now thinks that Trump is mad, silly and resembles a King (which "George" is unspecified but there have been six Georges ruling Great Britain so far), maybe Somerby shouldn't have worked so hard to get Trump elected. This is harsher criticism of Trump than anything Somerby said before the election.
ReplyDeleteGeorge III.
DeleteOut of respect for the memories of the other 5 Georges, Somerby should specify which King he considers to have been mad (even though modern science doesn't think he was insane, especially not in the way Trump is).
DeleteI find it offensive whenever Somerby starts hinting that Trump is King or "Commander" as if he had already become an autocrat and not an elected public servant. We need to keep reminding our people that we DO NOT HAVE FUCKING KINGS IN THE USA, and those yearning for one are not supporting the ideals of our democracy. Acting to make Trump a king would be treason because it aids enemies of our state and violates our constitution.
This isn't cute or funny, any more than Elon's Hitler salute and dog whistle to white supremacism was accidental or bro foolery or anything but an affront to those who fought WWII to prevent what these guys seem bent on reviving.
If Somerby is trolling, he should reconsider what he is doing. This stuff is deadly serious. Trump's stoopid immigrant roundup may cost people their lives, destroy families, and cause incarceration in camps as surely as Hitler's policies did. It isn't funny and Somerby should not joke about it, if that's what he thinks he is doing. If he is writing this stuff because he sides with Elon's Hitler-wannabes, then he belongs to the devil and can go to hell.
anon 3:26, you find every TDH post offensive; your posts are absurd.
DeleteWell said, 3:16.
DeleteSomerby is an offensive guy, as are many Trump supporters. We're not supposed to notice or say anythinng that might hurt their feelings, says Somerby.
Delete"Make Panama A Colony Again!" Somerby says about the threat voiced in Trump's latest speech.
ReplyDeletePanama has never been a colony of the US. It was a colony of Colombia, revolted and won independence (with US support). Then the US negotiated a treaty with Panama designating the canal zone as a territory of the US. The US then built the canal and operated it until we negotiated a new treaty with Panama in 1977, returning the zone (1977) and the operation of the canal itself (1979) to the nation of Panama. This idea that we ever owned Panama is incorrect.
rarely reported in the legacy media, Trump has business interests in Panama under litigation.
DeleteTrump Organization Accused of Tax Evasion in Panama: What We Know
Panama was a province of Colombia, not a colony.
Delete"A "province" is a geographic region within a country, typically with its own local government, while a "colony" is a territory under the political control of a different country, often with a significant population of settlers from the controlling nation, implying a power imbalance and less autonomy than a province; essentially, a province is part of a nation, while a colony is controlled by another nation." Says AI
DeletePanama and Colombia are now adjacent so it makes sense for it to have been a province instead of a colony. But it did revolt and gain its independence, much as several US states adjacent to Canada could revolt and join Canada, becoming provinces there, if Trump doesn't play his cards right.
ReplyDelete"Yesterday, he started with the silly stuff, the moved in the direction of true madness. Our "highly educated" blue elites still won't discuss the obvious fact that something seems to be clinically wrong with this particular person. "
So much has been happening in the last couple of days, Bob. Some much interesting, important, exciting shit.
And with these dumb rantings and ravings of yours, do you find yourself (together with your love-hate Soros-bot comrades) increasingly irrelevant? Like a pathetic confused grumbling drunk. It's really sad, you know.
It is anti-semitic to refer to anyone here as a Soros-bot when each of us is unknown to you and most likely just a political junkie with too much time on our hands. Why is it necessary to invoke a global Jewish conspiracy (involving space lasers and weather control) to say you disagree with something. Aside from that, I agree with your assessment of Somerby.
DeleteThe rest of us who comment at this blog are far from irrelevant. Those of us who are not on European troll farms vote in elections, which means we determine the future of politics in the USA. That is never irrelevant.
The misplaced pride 2:35 has in contributing to the downfall of this right wing blog, is nearly a laugh.
Delete"This is the ongoing madness of the current King George—but then too, we Blues have our own prior George, and his apparent enablers."
ReplyDeleteIt is an insult to characterize King George III (who had porphyria intermittently) was "mad" simply because the people of his times did not understand the nature of his physical problem and couldn't effectively treat it. We are far luckier today, but Biden is not made and does not have a disorder affecting his ability to govern our nation (as King George did, periodically relieved by a regent).
Biden was an excellent president and Somerby has yet to acknowledge that. Instead he equates Biden with Trump, who has been judged the worst president in our nation's history, by the same people who are calling Biden the best president since FDR. These are the judgments of historians and scholars, not partisans.
But Somerby bothsides madness, when neither president has been diagnosed as mad. Trump has major personality disorders and Biden is merely aging normally (not suffering from dementia or nebulous cognitive decline, as Somerby has hinted and others have more blatantly claimed. Somerby buys into the right wing propaganda about Biden without examination of it.
As a Democrat, I support Biden and admire his accomplishments, not least saving hundreds of thousands of people that Trump was letting die of covid. As a citizen, I love this country and I dislike the cavalier dismissal of our president as "mad" whether it is Biden or Trump. If Somerby has criticisms of the president, he should discuss them, but not engage in this puerile name-calling, especially not when he wants to dismiss both presidents as incompetent, when only one comes anywhere close to being such.
Somerby is lazy and he likes to take the easy way out, calling Trump mad instead of assessing his actual performance and discussing the political implications. When he does the same to Biden, who has done nothing to justify it, he crosses a line between being lazy and joining the right wing in its attempts to verbally assassinate Biden. I already know that Somerby is rotten, but his calling himself a liberal is not only a lie but it may confuse other people. No one who cares about Truth enough to blog should be lying as blatantly as Somerby does while pretending to be liberal.
"We blues?" Somerby couldn't be blue if he held his breath forever. He doesn't share the values, ideals and political positions of anyone blue. That makes him a liar.
DeleteIf you vote blue, you are blue.
DeleteDuh.
We have no idea how Somerby actually voted, or anyone for that matter. We have a secret ballot in America.
DeleteWhy would a sane person vote for a candidate about which he cannot say anything positive?
Much of corporate media pretends that they dislike Trump, but it’s obvious they love him. The billionaire that got him elected (the one whose products keep failing) just gave the Nazi salute, twice, and the media is just silently looking off in the distance, whistling without a care.
ReplyDeleteI see. "The major tribunes of Blue America" are to blame for not harping on DJT's mental incapacity. At the same time, "the major tribunes of Blue America" have been blamed for prosecuting DJT for his criminal behavior, which, we are told, made more people support him. Is there any reason to think that his supporters--those good, deeply misunderstood folks--would have voted differently if a team of 100 psychologists pronounced DJT a non-functional sociopath? Is there even any reason to think that Somerby thinks this? No, I didn't think so, either.
ReplyDeleteBob wrote, "...President Biden saying who the hell knows if he would have been able to serve a full second term. Yesterday, he did it again with those unexplained pardons."
ReplyDeleteI have a different interpterion. IMO Biden pardoned his family because they and he had engaged in big-time influence peddling, going back to the Biden's VP days. He pardoned them because he knew they were guilty. And, prosecuting Biden's relatives would exposed Joe Biden's guilt.
Yes, this is the right wing fantasy, entirely unsupported by any evidence despite extensive investigations that only proved their Russia witness was lying.
DeleteYou don't get to assume someone is guilty without evidence to support your accusation. When someone takes the 5th in a trial, as is their constitutional right, the judge instructs the jury not to assume guilty simply because they have declined to testify against themselves. Similarly, it is Biden's right to pardon whoever he wants, for whatever reasons he wishes. Assuming he is pardoning them preemptively because they are guilty is committing the same mistake. Why should any person have to submit themselves to a series of politically motivated false accusations which must be defended, when they have done nothing wrong? Why wouldn't someone want to spare others that disruption of their lives when he could pardon them and let them go forward without being tormented by a vindictive right?
Your deisre to blame Biden for imaginary crimes illustrates the nuisances other right wingers would make of themselves, simply because the right told lies about all of the Bidens, for their own personal gain.
You probably believe it when Gutfeld says that Jill Biden is sleeping with Hunter, even though that is as ridiculous as claiming that Hunter would abandon a computer full of incriminating info about his criminal enterprises with his father, and a bunch of party photos and dick pics. Criminal masterminds don't tend to do that, but a political opportunist might put all sorts of fake stuff on an abandoned computer of Hunter Biden's, just as they might try to steal the President's daughter's diary of going through rehab, in order to put nasty stories about inappropriate showering in a handwriting that didn't even match his daughter's. The right makes up stuff and you, like the lapdog you are, believe every word and then come here for hours each day to smear a president, his wife, his son and daughter with ugly "narratives" (as Somerby might call them) when they have done nothing wrong except the everyday mistakes of living and their unfortunate choices to be related to a Democrat president during a time when the right has abandoned all decency and restraint.
You should be ashamed of yourself, David. But you won't be. You'll just come back tomorrow and repeat the same ugly smears.
D in C - any comments from you about Trump's pardons?
DeleteDid you buy any $TRUMP meme coin, David?
DeleteDavid, you might read the example in Yastreblansky's substack today, debunking the idea that Biden must be corrupt because how could he buy two expensive houses. Yastreblansky explains where the money came from -- all above-board from book deals. These accusations may sound superficially plausible but you have to dig deeper, because right wing propagandists are so deceptive:
Deletehttps://yastreblyansky.substack.com/p/la-clemenza-di-trumpo
Skip past the Glen Miller video, unless you are a jazz fan.
The only other thing to instruct DiC on is this breaking news: 'influence peddling' is not illegal.
DeleteRepublicans are hell bent on destroying our country.
ReplyDeleteThey spent four years and millions going after Biden and his family, yet all they accomplished was outing their star witness as a Russian plant.
Yet Bob here keeps whistling his same dumb tune, without a sincere, coherent, genuine care in the world.