ok, a commenter on Threads explained the "one foot" thing. it's a reference to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, a cold-war-era policy that says that if you escape from Castro's Cuba and can get one foot on US soil, you are then allowed to APPLY for residency. if both feet are in the water, you get sent back to Cuba. it has NOTHING to do with birthright citizenship, but it's probably something Donny heard Nosferatu whining about, and it got lodged in his worm-infested brain
Yeah, I was going to post that it sounded like a garbled version of "wet foot dry foot" (which by the way only applies to boat people *from Cuba* not to Haitian boat people, because reasons).
Exactly Robert, he obviously has limited knowledge as Jeff stated, then again he appears to have limited knowledge of nearly everything, but cons and fraud!
Native Floridian here- I knew exactly what it referred to, “wet foot dry foot” was how we always heard it. But even as a young kid I was so confused how it only applied to Cubans.
The elder anti-Castro faction made a deal with the republicans. The repubs would sanction Castro, and the Cubans would be considered "white" and republican.
Pardon trump?? NO, just no!! WTF James Clyburn? The Democrats will absolutely shred their coalition of voters if they do that, I personally would lose ALL faith in them to ever do the right thing ever again. They had better tread carefully with that utter bullshit.
I can’t speak for all countries because to say only the US is a lie about birth in a foreign country. I live in Costa Rica and not only do the kids get full citizenship but the parents as well. I think lots of countries are like that The Netherlands actually paid my friends from Holland $3000 per kid they ended it at 3. So once again Liar !
And why didn’t the interviewer call out his lie? Now I will have to hear yet another lie repeated and championed by friends and relatives in my Deep South, deep red state.
I still fail to understand WHY any Democratic leader would favor pardoning Donnie. WTF? What am I missing here? For what possible purpose? The more I think about it, the more disturbing it is.
It’s moronic. So tell us how decades of letting crooks get away with crimes has ever been a deterrent to stopping them from committing even worse crimes? Especially Don the Vicious Con? He will not only continue but he will just do it more and call his victims losers and brag how he not only got away with it but made a fortune doing it. Ex: Trump bankruptcies, especially Atlantic City casinos.
At this point any confidence I had in the older leadership of the Dems is gone. Thank you for your service--NEXT! Usher in some younger, stronger, more capable leaders for the party. And no surrendering to fascism! NO PARDONS FOR THE CONVICTED FELON/PRESIDENT ELECT.
I agree 100% with P.J. Schuster. No pardon! I've always had respect for Rep. Jim Clyburn, but he is entirely and wholly WRONG about President Biden or anyone else ever giving a pardon to Donald J. Trump. It is a ridiculous and insulting notion. It would shred the Democrats' coalition of voters. There are absolutely NO positives in issuing a pardon for that guy.
TBH, I know Sir Eyeliner is (slightly) smarter than Trump...but I don't think he has the chops or the credits to control or direct the MAGAs and I don't think they much like him, either. Sir Eyeliner certainly doesn't seem to have that strange, magnetic fascination for them that Trump clearly does.
But, he's buddies with the foreign-born oligarchs taking control through him. He'll play ball with them and do as they tell him. Couchfucker McGee is 100% puppet.
He’s much smarter (and how hard is that?) and would generally be docile, but might also be open to a higher bribe. Not sure what that might be, but how about a lifetime home in some non-extradition country? Depends on whether his jones is for $$ or power. If the latter, he’s going to be watched closely by the real power people.
He is SO planning to ice Trump. Trump is a useful idiot to a whole bunch of people. They’ll be falling all over themselves to steal his throne and cry alligator tears at his tacky funeral. We’re in for a big fat, Who exactly won the presidency parlor game.
Either he gets the 25th out of the gate (wouldn't be surprised if they were working on it already). He has done the one thing they wanted from him: won the election. He is now disposable. Putin's boys spiking the ketchup is not out of the question.
Let’s not forget that the evil schmuck, Kissinger, lived to be 100. I prayed every year that he’d keel over but no! That bastard waited until this year. Sigh…
Not to mention Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, the evil old fascist lived to be 89. But I think Trump won't last the 4 years. If he has Alzheimers, his life expectancy drops. I just have a feeling he will die in office. He doesn't have Biden's good living habits, he's older than Biden was when he took office, and I can also hope he falls down a flight of stairs or chokes on KFC.
And there's always lightning--he golfs in Florida, does he not? Well, Florida averages 7 deaths/ year from lightning and golf is among the listed "deadly dozen" sports for death by electrocution. Florida experiences about 3,500 lightning strikes PER DAY on average...or 112.6 "lightning events" per square kilometer, per year. Surely....
I think JD and Thiel will see to it that the Donvict doesn't survive very long. If the idiot doesn't cheeseburger himself to death in six months, his handlers will "help" him.
I doubt they're murderers. But it would be to JD's advantage if our democracy survives because if there's another election in 2028 JD can run on the MAGA platform and if the Democrats don't run a white male candidate, he'd win. But if Trump succeeds at destroying democracy and survives the next 4 years that's all moot. The empty-headed Trump cult won't care if Trump's in a coma, they'll vote for a third term.
I was amused reading my email from NPR this morning. Another Trump enabler, they took the liberty of actually explaining what Trump said yesterday on Meet the Press. This is what we're going to see more and more of in the future.
Hahahaha. If the press could be relied upon to point out how unhinged the Orange Stinking Diaper Load is, we wouldn't be here now, would we? The MSM are cockroaches reporting on the most evil cockroach in American history.
Brain or abdominal aneurysm? He has no brain and he's just a fat tub of lard so I vote for abdominal. He won't be around in 2028 because they would have invoked the 25th Amendment on him so Vance can take over. Speaking of Vance - where has he been? The most covert VP elect in history. He's really been pushed out. I think I'll go home and tie a yellow ribbon round an old oak tree.
okay, that made me laugh...good one! Vance has been demoted to Escort Services. He has been shopping some of the ridiculously unqualified nominees around to the various Senators, so they can get a real good look at the incredibly stupid choices of their Dear Leader.
Maybe he’s at Ashley furniture looking at couches…….I just love how he just totally disappeared. Trump sending him a message - don’t overshadow me. He was good to use in the campaign, but now he’s just an errand boy. Can’t wait till Musk gets his walking papers. Absolutely abhor that man. I see his face and I want to puke.
I’m betting he’s hiding out & using Wegovy or one of the other weight loss injections. He definitely understands how much value trump places on looking good for the camera. He definitely has been a pretty invisible VP since Election Day.
I have to agree there. The Supremes surely meant that baseless interpretation of the Constitution for that Very Special Boy, Iddle Donny. I'm pretty sure no one else could (or would) use that "official acts immunity" card and get away with it. Most particularly not a Democrat.
Dear God, please, please, please...smite this bloviating blockhead before he takes the (meaningless to him) Oath of Office. And puh-leeze...smite him HARD.
I keeps seeing democrats say "these people are too incompetent to do anything," or "the 14th amendment and the courts will stop them." I want to smack them and say - DICTATORS don't follow rules or "norms."
We are not ready for what's coming. Time to really start thinking outside the box.
Absolute, complete stupidity is going to help stop the Trump administration in its tracks.
Alongside the attorneys general in 21 Democratic states that will sue the **** out of the Trump Administration at every turn. They are consulting with each other to get it done.
Are you willing to bet your life, or the life of your loved ones on that? What happens if they start arresting the AG's in the blue states? What happens if Kash Patel's FBI pays the judge in a case against the trump administration a little "visit."
Hitler's followers were (mostly) hopeless failures in life, until they were put in charge of everything. Then it took 10 years and millions of lives to get rid of them.
You may be right, but we better be ready if you're not. That's the bottom line.
Actually, yes, I am certain. I am 73, and I have been reading history books nonstop for 65 years I have a PHD in history, and my reading in history covers everything from 11,000 BC onward. I just finished reading eight volumes of the Cambridge history of China.
I don't think there is any historical revolutionary event that I haven't read at least 10 books about— I'm not kidding. Reading history is what I do about 4 hours every day.
The United States in 2024 is in a very different position than Germany in 1933, or Russia in 1917, or France in 1789, or Rome in 46 BC.
There can be a will when there is much less of a way. Trump excels at concepts, and is pathetic on execution.
BTW, I hate having to trot out my background to support my opinions, but there is a lot of reading behind my opinions and an enormous amount of thought.
Good for you getting your PhD. I had intended to do the same, and instead I get a wife and kids :). But, I do believe that I am more well read than the average bear (not the average actual PhD), and I fear that you are too optimistic on what Trump and his lackeys will do.
Can blue state governors sue the shit out of the administration? Of course, at least for now. But then the randomly assigned judges will all turn out to have been appointed by Trump and the cases will just be dismissed. Then the governors and attys general will all be audited or worse, and the states in question will suddenly get no federal money or disaster relief. That is just the start.
I guess optimism is ok, as long as you are prepared to help those you can when things go in the shitter.
Trump has to win on all three levels of the federal court system, not just the initial trial judge— after that you have the appellate court and the SCOTUS. The SCOTUS has not ruled with him on every issue. They could have made him president of the United States in 2020, but they emphatically did not.
But since then they have been emboldened to declare him immune from any sort of criminal prosecution for whatever he does as President. They have thrown out constitutional provisions completely (the emoluments clause, the ban on insurrectionists running) without any regard to original intent or the plain textual meaning. They are no longer acting as a judicial body at all but purely as a political institution, when it comes to such cases. You are imagining that we still live in a rule-of-law society. We do not.
No, they did not, you're correct, Kathleen. However, SCOTUS did give him provisional immunity on a roster of charges, and Cannon effectively let him off, period. Judge shopping can get mango man the outcomes he wants in lower courts, and then SCOTUS will quash any appeals. And there's always the Andrew Jackson response as a next-to-last resort. After that, there's simply doing whatever the hell he wants, and having his enforcers sort it out. Trusting that norms and established rules will hold is extremely optimistic, imo.
I should clarify. I do not think that a Trump judge dismissing a case against him will be a legitimate ruling. (See Cannon, Aileen). But he has judges up and down the judiciary, and while you have a data point in your favor, I am sure that we can agree that there are several judicial rulings that work as data points in my favor as well. (See Trump v US, 2024).
My overarching point is that in an authoritarian take over, the usual rules are dismissed, ignored, or simply changed (See Enabling Act, 1933).
But yes, right now, today, before Trump actually takes over, there are rules.
Well, most Blue States will do just fine money-wise--especially if we stop sending our tax dollars to DC so that they can then send our dollars to Red States. Red States can't survive without Blue State dollars!
I understand AND I hope you're right. I also wish I had your background (I read Heather Cox Richardson everyday). I have read some books about Nazi Germany and watched many documentaries. Now this does NOT match in ANY way your level of learning, and I don't want to imply I have even a tiny bit of your understanding of history. But here is my biggest concern: We have a level of surveillance in this country that would make a cold war East German counter intelligence agent blush. Just look at the tracking of the person who shot the UHC CEO, or Israel Mossad's ability to blow up a persons pager remotely; if they can do that they can blow up your phone. We are all carrying a device capable of not only killing us, but surveilling us. I worry about when will equivalent of an Adolf Eichmann or Reinhard Heydrich or Rudolf Hoss turns up in the trump administration. Men who were far more intelligent and capable than the people who commanded them.
For the record I'm glad you're on our side, and I thank you for your insight. Hopefully one day we can talk about my favorite historical topic - the Roman Empire.
SIDE NOTE: I am also keenly aware that it was incompetence and stupidity that helped bring the Third Reich to an end. I just don't want ours to be as deadly.
Note that it is the Blue New York police department that is tracking the Manhattan killer, possibly with assistance of the FBI.
Mossad is so far above the competence of the Trumpy appointments that you just made my head explode. 🤯
If Trump were both ambitious (he is) and competent (he isn't) he would be devastatingly scary. Something on the level of Genghis Khan or Tamerlane. These guys cut through their times like a flamethrower. Trump just emits scary sounds from his mouth hole—the masses are entertained and career politicians fold like cardboard. "Having concepts” is a million miles away from executing one. Remember Trump 1.0? Infrastructure week, repeal and replace, build the wall.
"Scary sounds from his mouth hole" made me laugh, thank you!
Of course the NYPD have the help of the FBI, a wealthy white man was murdered. That doesn't make it less scary.
Trumpy appointments yes, but what about the people who actually run those type of operations for the CIA or FBI counter intelligence? They are there and you must know that, the question is will they do it or not.
Is trump incompetent, yes of course. But so was Hitler; you of all people know that.
Again, I hope you're right. But I'm not willing to only "hope" your right. My military background forces me to consider all the options, even the ones that scare me the most.
All I want is for us to be ready for all possibilities. At the end of Hamlet there are only two people left alive - A Student, and a Soldier.
Ever think the UHC killer may never be found? They still say they don't know the motive behind the killings in Vegas on 10/1/17, yet we seem to know the motive behind all the other major mass shootings. I find it odd that a city that has cameras practically everywhere, can't seem to find the killer and it's been several days. Maybe he's a paid assassin and he's already out of the country. My son feels that this was because of a business matter within the company, not an angry family member. And why does a man who makes $10 million a year minimum and has been receiving threats, not have security? Makes no sense.
it's a different world than the 30s - makes us LESS able to hide, rebel, whatever - a reading of some science fiction novels might be more useful than history, providing some scenarios to consider
Agree, Gina. I honestly don't think that history knowledge can help us much in this situation, because we're in uncharted waters, especially in regard to technology. The Germans in the '30s didn't live in the surveillance state that we do, as just one example. They couldn't be tracked everywhere they went. A dictator seizing power in an advanced nation in our time has capabilities that Hitler, Stalin, et. al. never dreamed of.
The ‘equivalent ‘ is already in there- Stephen Miller. And the exploding pagers were doctored by Israel before being obtained by Hezbollah- your phone won’t be exploding. It might burst into flames but that would be a battery design flaw, not a targeted attack on you.
And Richardson has turned into a trump sane splainer. Can’t trust her anymore.
Kathleen, your deep knowledge is so valuable to us. While respecting it, have you ever seen any evil leader so off the chart full of hate and retribution, a full blown malignant narcissist, possibly with dementia or insanity? Ty for your informed posts.
Stalin and Hitler were evil leaders so off the chart and full of hate and retribution, and full blown malignant narcissists, but there is not their like in charge of a major country today. Idi Amin ran Uganda in the 80s and 90s and was just as bad, but he tortured only one country. Putin kills the people he has to, he doesn't just kill as a sadist. I believe he thinks that Russia will work less well if everyone realizes he is not as bad as Stalin was.
Way back in history there were Genghis Khan and Tamerlane—2 ruthless military leaders who simply used killing everyone who resisted as their life policy. It is said that Tamerlane created a pyramid with 70,000 human heads.
One reason there is no pushback in the street is that nothing has actually happened yet. I believe that blue states will defend themselves vigorously when Trump starts to do stupid things within their borders. In my in the Blue City of Houston in the red state of Texas, the authorities refused to cooperate with Trump 1.0 by revealing the immigration status of people in county and city jails. The local Texas the local children's Hospital continued to give transgender treatments until they were rattled out. As far as I know they may secretly be continuing anyway.
I agree with you, Kathleen. Remember the Janes doing abortions “underground”? Things may not be seen on the surface but they are continuing to happen. We have to support their efforts.
The Blue States Coalition has been planning for this shitstorm for a while now especially here in CA. Hate to think that the orange inarticulate blabbering imbecile could start a civil war over his proposed mindless and dangerous acts. The idea of sending red state National Guard troops to blue states to enforce insane MAGA policies is one of the many proposals that are frightening as hell.
Trumps modus operandi is domination and raw display of power to bend an entity to his will....he will definitely attempt to dominate blue states thru violent coercion even
These suits will go to judges who are often Trumpies, or at least Fed Society, or in some cases corrupt. If they are lucky enough to get rulings from the approximately half of the judiciary who are still honest, this will go up to the appeals courts, who seem to be quick with rulings that temporarily block the lower-court judge's attempts to stop whatever atrocity the Republicans are trying to do, and very slow to finally hear the case, and if they do hear the case and rule that OK, the atrocity should be blocked, then it goes to the Supremes, who are totally in Trump's pocket.
Because it IS all shit and doom. You don't seem to have been paying much attention to the radical increase in blatant politicization of SCOTUS rulings, with much of the judiciary following their lead, in the past few years, which can only be expected to accelerate now.
Unless you are consistently reading Joyce Vance's sub stack Civil Discourse as well as One First, the sub stack on the Supreme Court, you do not know the details of The occasions that Trump has not got his way with the Supreme Court. Neither of the sub stacks would agree with your assessment.
Joyce Vance is great, I also listen to the paid version of the scotus podcast Amicus Plus with hosts Dahlia Lithwick & Mark Joseph Stern. Keeps me apprised of what scotus rulings mean for our everyday lives
In almost every revolution, and that includes the Nazis and Julius Caesar institutions are taken over rather than destroyed. It is much easier to take over institutions than it is to destroy them. I honestly cannot see Trump and his minions taking over the gigantic institutions that are the 21 Democratic states. BTW, Trump has not even completely taken over the Supreme Court, which does his bidding only some of the time. The Supreme Court did not overturn the 2020 election in Trump's favor when it had the opportunity.
You have to reach back to 2020 for the last time the SCOTUS did not do his bidding. You don't seem to understand the significance of what has happened in the interim.
Unless you are consistently reading Joyce Vance's sub stack Civil Discourse as well as One First, the sub stack on the Supreme Court, you do not know the details of what has happened in the interim. Neither of the sub stacks would agree with your assessment.
The details of what has happened in the interim are in the published opinions. I do not need to read your particular favorite substacks to understand how unparalleled this situation is. Ordinarily, judicial bodies have a high regard for consistency (as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, “A ruling should not only speak to the parties before the court, but to the thousands of parties who will not need to go to court if they understand how a court would rule”) and therefore only depart from precedents if there is an argument that the precedents derive from a serious misunderstanding of the applicable legal principles: often framed in “originalist” or “textualist” styles of argument. In a case like Trump v. Anderson the Court invented a requirement that Congress determine if someone took part in an insurrection: no precedent case applying the cause had imposed such a requirement; the text does not say that (rather, that if someone has been blocked as an insurrectionist, Congress can overrule the determination); and the intent of the drafters was also not considered. The immunity decision, of course, is more frightening because it goes against not just the precedent of our entire history, but against the intentions of the 1776 revolution itself.
I read Joyce Vance every day. However, the fact that the courts are nominally still functional (Cannon and Kacsmaryk aside), is no guarantee that the situation will remain the same six months from now.
he's got minions - and yeah, they don't know how govt works, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! they will simply do things their demented way. (let's compare notes one year from now)
Roberts explained SCOTUS' refusal to overturn the 2020 election by saying that he thought the court had overreached in 2000. In light of the Supremes' actions since 2020, I don't think Roberts is worried about that anymore. See: Dodd, Bruen, Trump v. United States, etc.
Democrats are as incompetent as the NY Jets....who I'll say is owned by another right winger Woody Johnson. But I digress...the reason we are in this catastrophe is much to do with elderly moderate Democrats like Schumer, Biden & Coburn. This is why Americans don't vote for Democrats cause they don't appear to fight for their values they seem to push. And renominating those 2 spineless cowards Schumer & Durbin for 'leadership' is a sign of surrender.
I agree, get some of those old unimaginative fools out of leadership! Sen Sheldon Whitehouse needs to be the lead Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee & I really want AOC to win her bid to be top Dem on Oversight
Chris, yes. Hunter Biden, Joe and Jill and families, HRC, Obama & Michelle, Pelosi, Gen. Milley et al. Pardons will most likely be ignored, for d-con's Most Hated Enemies list.
You can't believe the gigantic amount of incompetence there has been in US history. If you read a history of the war of 1812, it will make you cry. The war stopped only because Britain got tired of slapping us.
The incompetence in 2020 also left a million dead. Do you expect things to be less dire this time around? You really aren't providing any reasons for your insistent optimism.
Are you counting on a 2nd worldwide plague? The world hasn't faced a pathogen as deadly as COVID since 1918. What are the chances of a pathogen of that virulence showing up in the next four years? I'd say one in 25.
I judge Trump in comparison with the others who created dictatorships in history — Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Lenin, Hitler, Mao. And in comparison to these figures, trump is drastically lacking in intelligence and in the ability to focus. The only area in which he equals or surpasses them is his success in speaking, lying, and entertaining a portion of the masses. There is toms of bark but very little bite. I agree with you that his best chance to mess things up is in the health care spear, but the health care sphere is quite messed up already.
I'm 88 and I think he should shut up - I'm totally in favour of however-old-the-turnip-is throwing him (turnip, not clyburn) into a now abandoned Syrian underground hellhole
If the Dems convince Biden to pardon trump, they will absolutely lose any trust & confidence we may have left for them. A pardon for him is an absolute NO from me. Did they not learn their led from the disaster that pardoning Nixon set up?
Also, it was disgusting to see him and Elon at the Notre Dame reopening. Proof there is no god or else lightning would have struck twice and left the church standing.
But he is a straw man! He will be told and instructed what to do and when. He's at Putin's mercy, and God only knows who else's. Who's the alpha dog going to be?
Who’s going to explain to Donny that people who are BORN HERE actuality arrive at a YOUNGER AGE than the people who arrive at “a young age”? I think I may be overdosing on stupidity. And Biden had better not give Trump a fucking pardon! If he does, I may have to move to a saner country. Like Syria.
The people that were born here and are minors are the ones he wants out because the more the merrier. If you deport adult Dreamers, you are only deporting one person, not a family. Besides, what would scare an immigrant the most - threatening to separate them or deporting their young children. He's not going to be able to do it and it's just another stupid, unworkable idea of his. Shame on immigrants that voted for him though. I don't care if you are here legally, these people coming in belong to your heritage and culture and you're perfectly happy to see them thrown out. But then I don't understand why any minority or marginalized group would ever vote for him.
Yep true ....and Donnie's grandpa was a German immigrant a exciled from Germany immigrant after coming to America and being deported same with grandma. But Trump's daddy was born after they illegally jumped ship and came to America .. in other words conceived in Germany but here as a dreamer (😂🤣) then his dad Fred married Mary a Scottish citizen here as a immigrant
Melania was an illegal immigrant during the time she was working on a visa that did not permit her to work. Her citizenship should be revoked and she should be deported, together of course with her family (would hate to break up that lovely family!) including not just her son but her husband as well. Donnie himself is the child of an illegal immigrant (his mother stayed on after her visa expired, regularizing her status by marrying Fred) and the grandchild of another (Fred's father snuck back into the country after being deported for running a brothel on land that belonged to someone else).
And Don, Jr, Eric and Ivanka were all born before Ivana became a Citizen. Sounds like a round Robin to me- deport all these illegals , from the father on down!
And throw Musk on the boat, too. He lied about not working before he got a proper Visa. Tax him back to Millionaire status first, though.
If any of the MAGA morons had the guts or opportunity to take LSD25, they would find their world had changed totally, completely, permanently. This drug causes a much more expansive perspective on many levels, and not just a little more intellectual curiosity. Monitoring is a necessity during the experience, or wandering into unsafe situations can be problematic, but most who have had the privilege to try LSD25 site valuable, mind-opening, expansive experiences.
I'll pass thank you. You're going to take a bigoted, low level IQ person, give them LSD and they're going to be just fine. As a nurse, I've seen and heard of the "problematic" results of experimental drug use like that and that's why I say no thank you.
Michael Pollan writes accurately about exactly the experience and benefits in How To Change Your Mind. Having/creating an open mind is exactly the point.
And what if something goes wrong? All these LSD trips are not successful nor do they all better people’s lives. There is absolutely NO way I would risk my brain health to try something like that. I’ll deal with the brain I was born with without taking drugs to experience an open mind. Why don’t you talk about the trips that didn’t go so well?
1/2 the country is stupid and have few morals … that’s why they act like ignorant children. we should export THEM to Russia… but POOOTAIN wouldn’t want that trash unless he could throw them on the front line in Ukraine… but of course the males would be overweight and/or on drugs
I have an overwhelming desire to have both my parents dug up and reburied anywhere other than here. If alive, they would lose their minds over the impending kakistocracy in Dumbfuckistan. It's horrifying, embarrassing, debilitating, and rage-festering. That's all.
Jeff, you let Trump get away with his statement, re birthright citizenship, “You know we’re the only country that has it." Not true. Shocking, I know. According to World Population Review, "The following countries have unrestricted birthright citizenship: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Child, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela."
Some maga, white supremacist I stumbled across here on Substack countered that argument by saying that we are the only country that grants birthright citizenship to a child born to parents who are both illegal at the time of birth. He said that in those other countries that at least 1 parent must have legal status. I did not fact check his assertion.
And if course if welker had handed him this list, he would have gone on about all of these places being shithole countries anyway...including Canada, which he clearly thinks is a northern suburb of the US
OMG Jeff…I don’t even know how you can listen to his bullshit! But THANK YOU for fact-checking his ridiculous comments! What would we do without you???
I have unsubscribed to lots of others on substack so that I can disengage and chill the fuckout. I however cannot unsubscribe from Jeff T because his columns are the truly only way that I can live sanely another day through all this insane bs from the orange f'cking imbecile.
Dear Jeff I'm sitting in a walk-in clinic waiting on X-rays and blood work to see what dreaded upper respiratory disease I might be suffering from -- AND YOU STILL MADE ME LAUGH BEHIND MY 😷!! GOD BLESS YOU for being you!! No matter what you create a silver lining for me!😁
Start by drinking mullein tea. Get some golden seal ..and then rest.... lots of rest. They probley won't give you a antibiotic but these things will help you naturally mm Mullein tea breaks up congestion and helps with breathing . Golden seal a natural immune building powder that ...believe it or not ..Cleopatra used to use
Oh how you are doing the work of the Angels! The laughing you have given me today helps during this horrific time. The felon/furher is a moron and ignoramous. Why why why have the good guys lost?
I keep thinking to myself that if the republicans make Americans suffer too much over the next two years that we’ll vote them out and put democrats in control. But then I realize that if Trump really gets his way, there will be no election in two years, or ever again. So fucking depressing.
Elections are held by states, not the federal government. Hard to see how the federal government could stop the holding of elections. State elections elect everything from the governor down to the dog catcher. It's not just about electing a president, a senator, or a US representative.
At this point, 27 states have republican governors, who more than likely would do Trump’s bidding. If he doesn’t want an election they would bend over backwards to not hold an election. I unfortunately live in Texas, where the governor is nothing more than a Trump lap dog and republican loyalist. How would that work if more than half the states don’t hold elections?? It’s never been tested before, and let’s hope it never is.
Doesn't that mean that the Democratic candidate will win the election in states where an election is held? Washington DC is surrounded by Democratic states namely Maryland and Virginia. Without being asked, the governors of Maryland and Virginia were ready to send their National Guards to help defend the capital building on January 6.
There might be some kind of armed standoff of some sort, but Trump is a profound coward—not the kind who wants his to entrust his future to the fortunes of war.
Drawing on inspiration from the past, perhaps the duly elected Democratic president could proceed to Washington in a vast caravan. This is how Mussolini took over Rome in 1922.
ok, a commenter on Threads explained the "one foot" thing. it's a reference to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, a cold-war-era policy that says that if you escape from Castro's Cuba and can get one foot on US soil, you are then allowed to APPLY for residency. if both feet are in the water, you get sent back to Cuba. it has NOTHING to do with birthright citizenship, but it's probably something Donny heard Nosferatu whining about, and it got lodged in his worm-infested brain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_feet,_dry_feet_policy
Yeah, I was going to post that it sounded like a garbled version of "wet foot dry foot" (which by the way only applies to boat people *from Cuba* not to Haitian boat people, because reasons).
It was a heartfelt “fuck you” to Fidel. Designed to please the Cuban refugee demographic in FL.
It was rescinded by Obama. Now Cubans get no special preference
Who were promised political power, if they got all their immigrants to vote republican, once they were citizens.
Exactly Robert, he obviously has limited knowledge as Jeff stated, then again he appears to have limited knowledge of nearly everything, but cons and fraud!
Native Floridian here- I knew exactly what it referred to, “wet foot dry foot” was how we always heard it. But even as a young kid I was so confused how it only applied to Cubans.
The elder anti-Castro faction made a deal with the republicans. The repubs would sanction Castro, and the Cubans would be considered "white" and republican.
Because politics.
Pardon trump?? NO, just no!! WTF James Clyburn? The Democrats will absolutely shred their coalition of voters if they do that, I personally would lose ALL faith in them to ever do the right thing ever again. They had better tread carefully with that utter bullshit.
Clyburn appears to have fallen off the cliff into La La Land.
The wheel's completely off his scooter.
Agree, there is no good outcome from that action.
I can’t speak for all countries because to say only the US is a lie about birth in a foreign country. I live in Costa Rica and not only do the kids get full citizenship but the parents as well. I think lots of countries are like that The Netherlands actually paid my friends from Holland $3000 per kid they ended it at 3. So once again Liar !
Actually, some 30 countries have birthright citizenship. But to the Orange Shitstain, there's only one country in the world that matters.
And why didn’t the interviewer call out his lie? Now I will have to hear yet another lie repeated and championed by friends and relatives in my Deep South, deep red state.
Yes, both our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, offer birthright citizenship, as do 31 other countries.
I still fail to understand WHY any Democratic leader would favor pardoning Donnie. WTF? What am I missing here? For what possible purpose? The more I think about it, the more disturbing it is.
It’s moronic. So tell us how decades of letting crooks get away with crimes has ever been a deterrent to stopping them from committing even worse crimes? Especially Don the Vicious Con? He will not only continue but he will just do it more and call his victims losers and brag how he not only got away with it but made a fortune doing it. Ex: Trump bankruptcies, especially Atlantic City casinos.
At this point any confidence I had in the older leadership of the Dems is gone. Thank you for your service--NEXT! Usher in some younger, stronger, more capable leaders for the party. And no surrendering to fascism! NO PARDONS FOR THE CONVICTED FELON/PRESIDENT ELECT.
I agree 100% with P.J. Schuster. No pardon! I've always had respect for Rep. Jim Clyburn, but he is entirely and wholly WRONG about President Biden or anyone else ever giving a pardon to Donald J. Trump. It is a ridiculous and insulting notion. It would shred the Democrats' coalition of voters. There are absolutely NO positives in issuing a pardon for that guy.
Amen, P.J.
Same thing I was going to mention.
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/DHS%20Fact%20Sheet%20FINAL.pdf
Thanks! Interesting!
Fatal aneurysm as he's taking the oath, before he finishes
But that would leave us with Sir Eyeliner the Vile.
Hillbilly Doughboy
Hillbilli Vanilli
Shillbilly.
Hillbilly Vanilli
Hillbilly Himmler.
😂😂😂
Yeah, not ideal but the cult isn't loyal to him.
But there is a new more well funded cult waiting in the wings…
The billionaires have stepped in.
Ann, you're right, the cult isn't all in on jd. But he's a minor placeholder, right, when putin, hiel, musk, xi, the heritage find are the puppeteers.
He'll deal. Shit, he's in Thiel's pocket
Playing pool, surely.
🤣😆🤣😆🤣😆
Yup, him, Nate Silver, and Blake Masterson, who looks like a younger version of Montgomery Burns on the Simpsons.
I have a hard time believing anyone likes the pudgy pile of putrid porquería Ann!!
TBH, I know Sir Eyeliner is (slightly) smarter than Trump...but I don't think he has the chops or the credits to control or direct the MAGAs and I don't think they much like him, either. Sir Eyeliner certainly doesn't seem to have that strange, magnetic fascination for them that Trump clearly does.
But, he's buddies with the foreign-born oligarchs taking control through him. He'll play ball with them and do as they tell him. Couchfucker McGee is 100% puppet.
He’s much smarter (and how hard is that?) and would generally be docile, but might also be open to a higher bribe. Not sure what that might be, but how about a lifetime home in some non-extradition country? Depends on whether his jones is for $$ or power. If the latter, he’s going to be watched closely by the real power people.
Agree.
Phantom of the Opera
😂😂😂. Sir Eyeliner the Vile! 🤣
Susan, 💖 Sir Eyeliner the Vile. 😂
It will now forever be his name. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
Love that name.
This is hilarious, and sadly true. Love the name.
And that's even more dangerous.
👏🏻😂👏🏻😂👏🏻😂
President JD Vance? Where is that fucking shitweasel anyway?
He's been pushed aside by the dipshit Elon Musk. Trump is no longer in love with Kim Jong Un, and Melania won't fuck him, so there's Elon.
Now that I have that mental picture, how do I bleach my brain?
https://www.facebook.com/reel/577231618032374
yikes. Greed Illustrated.
Thanks, I loved seeing that!
Two tons of blubber fun! ya hoooooo
Exactly.. bleach please
Do you mean Elonia?
Ugh! But true
Yes, now Trump is “into” “Elonia”!
Maybe he's hiding in the weeds planning a coup
He is SO planning to ice Trump. Trump is a useful idiot to a whole bunch of people. They’ll be falling all over themselves to steal his throne and cry alligator tears at his tacky funeral. We’re in for a big fat, Who exactly won the presidency parlor game.
Either he gets the 25th out of the gate (wouldn't be surprised if they were working on it already). He has done the one thing they wanted from him: won the election. He is now disposable. Putin's boys spiking the ketchup is not out of the question.
"Try Uncle Vladimir's special polonium-blend catsup!"
But it will be the walking oil slick on the seat.
He will be sacrificed.
If he’s hiding in the woods, it’s not for a coup, something that rhymes is more likely Denise!!
Yes please🙏🏻✌🏻💙
No such luck. He is so “special “ that he will live to one hundred. Sucky fascist has immunity to death
he'll be like his dad (or my grandmother): live to be a hundred, and be demented for the last 25 years of his life
So that means he's in year 3 already
that's what my math tells me
Let’s not forget that the evil schmuck, Kissinger, lived to be 100. I prayed every year that he’d keel over but no! That bastard waited until this year. Sigh…
Yep
and that's what my ears tell me
And your eyes and ears
Facts bear that out. "Illegal anglithins". "Raydoh." "Missuria."
Not to mention Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, the evil old fascist lived to be 89. But I think Trump won't last the 4 years. If he has Alzheimers, his life expectancy drops. I just have a feeling he will die in office. He doesn't have Biden's good living habits, he's older than Biden was when he took office, and I can also hope he falls down a flight of stairs or chokes on KFC.
And there's always lightning--he golfs in Florida, does he not? Well, Florida averages 7 deaths/ year from lightning and golf is among the listed "deadly dozen" sports for death by electrocution. Florida experiences about 3,500 lightning strikes PER DAY on average...or 112.6 "lightning events" per square kilometer, per year. Surely....
Tampa is the lightning capital, unfortunately he is much further south, and on the opposite coast.
I think JD and Thiel will see to it that the Donvict doesn't survive very long. If the idiot doesn't cheeseburger himself to death in six months, his handlers will "help" him.
I doubt they're murderers. But it would be to JD's advantage if our democracy survives because if there's another election in 2028 JD can run on the MAGA platform and if the Democrats don't run a white male candidate, he'd win. But if Trump succeeds at destroying democracy and survives the next 4 years that's all moot. The empty-headed Trump cult won't care if Trump's in a coma, they'll vote for a third term.
I was amused reading my email from NPR this morning. Another Trump enabler, they took the liberty of actually explaining what Trump said yesterday on Meet the Press. This is what we're going to see more and more of in the future.
Putin's boys and the ketchup
Oh your post gave me the warm and fuzzies Marycat!! Just the thought makes me smile!!
He’s a fucking cockroach. Where’s a fucking sledgehammer when you need one? I fucking hate that guy.
All you need to kill a cockroach - an adult size flip-flop. WHAM! Done. I too want him out!! Out Out Out I don’t care how
Only reason I pay attention to Breaking News notifications: to see if he's gone.
I've posted this before, but when my Ma was alive, we would talk every day. She invariably opened every call with, "Guess who died?" No, not him.
I miss her.
Forget the sledgehammer. Let’s use poison that makers of “Round-Up” provide to kill dogs, cats, people off with!
Polonium is certainly tried and true Marlene!!
Agree!
Agreed Jodi!!
If he's really a cockroach, a rubber flip-flop will do the job.
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone in the news business would point out how unhinged this is?
Hahahaha. If the press could be relied upon to point out how unhinged the Orange Stinking Diaper Load is, we wouldn't be here now, would we? The MSM are cockroaches reporting on the most evil cockroach in American history.
They TRY!
Who tries, other than Welker?
Well, that IS true. But - RACHEL!!! That’s who
Laurence O'Donnell.
I think that was a typo. “They’re trying.”
Not Dana!!
Fat chance.
We can damn well try.. I hope he chokes on a fucking cheeseburger
Yeah, then the couch fucker takes over...
JV has not even 1/100ths the whatever it is that Dumpty has. Take Dumpty and the thing collapses, I hope.
That’s what I think, too, Doc, we just need to wait for Mother Nature to take over.
...and Karma, that bitch is always late!
Brain or abdominal aneurysm? He has no brain and he's just a fat tub of lard so I vote for abdominal. He won't be around in 2028 because they would have invoked the 25th Amendment on him so Vance can take over. Speaking of Vance - where has he been? The most covert VP elect in history. He's really been pushed out. I think I'll go home and tie a yellow ribbon round an old oak tree.
Tony Orlando just puked in his grave.
okay, that made me laugh...good one! Vance has been demoted to Escort Services. He has been shopping some of the ridiculously unqualified nominees around to the various Senators, so they can get a real good look at the incredibly stupid choices of their Dear Leader.
Maybe he’s at Ashley furniture looking at couches…….I just love how he just totally disappeared. Trump sending him a message - don’t overshadow me. He was good to use in the campaign, but now he’s just an errand boy. Can’t wait till Musk gets his walking papers. Absolutely abhor that man. I see his face and I want to puke.
Oh same here--can't stand the skippy dipshit.
I’m betting he’s hiding out & using Wegovy or one of the other weight loss injections. He definitely understands how much value trump places on looking good for the camera. He definitely has been a pretty invisible VP since Election Day.
Bingo! P. J., I do believe you’ve hit on the most likely answer.
Probably a good idea since Thiel will foot the bill.
Audibly pooting as his soul speeds downward to its forever home
Or the last thing that Joe does is order a Seal Team to take him out.
Which, thanks to SCOTUS, he can
Don't bet on that for a nanosecond.
I have to agree there. The Supremes surely meant that baseless interpretation of the Constitution for that Very Special Boy, Iddle Donny. I'm pretty sure no one else could (or would) use that "official acts immunity" card and get away with it. Most particularly not a Democrat.
I agree, but it's fun to daydream.
That would be great!! 😊
I wish...but that really would be a Constitutional crisis.
Susan: From your lips to…
Dear God, please, please, please...smite this bloviating blockhead before he takes the (meaningless to him) Oath of Office. And puh-leeze...smite him HARD.
I hate to say this but I pray for something like that daily.
You're not the only one hoping for Seal Team Six. Or the CIA, FBI, NSA may be planning an event.
🙏🙏🙏🙏
He either does it or listens to me bitch for all eternity. He knows the deal.
From your mouth to God’s ear Susan🙌🏽
Piece of Skylab.
👍
Lol 😆
Your lips to God’s ears!
I keeps seeing democrats say "these people are too incompetent to do anything," or "the 14th amendment and the courts will stop them." I want to smack them and say - DICTATORS don't follow rules or "norms."
We are not ready for what's coming. Time to really start thinking outside the box.
Absolute, complete stupidity is going to help stop the Trump administration in its tracks.
Alongside the attorneys general in 21 Democratic states that will sue the **** out of the Trump Administration at every turn. They are consulting with each other to get it done.
Are you willing to bet your life, or the life of your loved ones on that? What happens if they start arresting the AG's in the blue states? What happens if Kash Patel's FBI pays the judge in a case against the trump administration a little "visit."
Hitler's followers were (mostly) hopeless failures in life, until they were put in charge of everything. Then it took 10 years and millions of lives to get rid of them.
You may be right, but we better be ready if you're not. That's the bottom line.
Actually, yes, I am certain. I am 73, and I have been reading history books nonstop for 65 years I have a PHD in history, and my reading in history covers everything from 11,000 BC onward. I just finished reading eight volumes of the Cambridge history of China.
I don't think there is any historical revolutionary event that I haven't read at least 10 books about— I'm not kidding. Reading history is what I do about 4 hours every day.
The United States in 2024 is in a very different position than Germany in 1933, or Russia in 1917, or France in 1789, or Rome in 46 BC.
There can be a will when there is much less of a way. Trump excels at concepts, and is pathetic on execution.
BTW, I hate having to trot out my background to support my opinions, but there is a lot of reading behind my opinions and an enormous amount of thought.
Good for you getting your PhD. I had intended to do the same, and instead I get a wife and kids :). But, I do believe that I am more well read than the average bear (not the average actual PhD), and I fear that you are too optimistic on what Trump and his lackeys will do.
Can blue state governors sue the shit out of the administration? Of course, at least for now. But then the randomly assigned judges will all turn out to have been appointed by Trump and the cases will just be dismissed. Then the governors and attys general will all be audited or worse, and the states in question will suddenly get no federal money or disaster relief. That is just the start.
I guess optimism is ok, as long as you are prepared to help those you can when things go in the shitter.
Trump has to win on all three levels of the federal court system, not just the initial trial judge— after that you have the appellate court and the SCOTUS. The SCOTUS has not ruled with him on every issue. They could have made him president of the United States in 2020, but they emphatically did not.
THE RULES WILL NOT APPLY
But since then they have been emboldened to declare him immune from any sort of criminal prosecution for whatever he does as President. They have thrown out constitutional provisions completely (the emoluments clause, the ban on insurrectionists running) without any regard to original intent or the plain textual meaning. They are no longer acting as a judicial body at all but purely as a political institution, when it comes to such cases. You are imagining that we still live in a rule-of-law society. We do not.
No, they did not, you're correct, Kathleen. However, SCOTUS did give him provisional immunity on a roster of charges, and Cannon effectively let him off, period. Judge shopping can get mango man the outcomes he wants in lower courts, and then SCOTUS will quash any appeals. And there's always the Andrew Jackson response as a next-to-last resort. After that, there's simply doing whatever the hell he wants, and having his enforcers sort it out. Trusting that norms and established rules will hold is extremely optimistic, imo.
I should clarify. I do not think that a Trump judge dismissing a case against him will be a legitimate ruling. (See Cannon, Aileen). But he has judges up and down the judiciary, and while you have a data point in your favor, I am sure that we can agree that there are several judicial rulings that work as data points in my favor as well. (See Trump v US, 2024).
My overarching point is that in an authoritarian take over, the usual rules are dismissed, ignored, or simply changed (See Enabling Act, 1933).
But yes, right now, today, before Trump actually takes over, there are rules.
Well, most Blue States will do just fine money-wise--especially if we stop sending our tax dollars to DC so that they can then send our dollars to Red States. Red States can't survive without Blue State dollars!
States do not pay taxes at all people and companies in the states pay the "blue state" taxes. So that will just continue to happen.
That said, I love your idea and wish it were doable
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
I understand AND I hope you're right. I also wish I had your background (I read Heather Cox Richardson everyday). I have read some books about Nazi Germany and watched many documentaries. Now this does NOT match in ANY way your level of learning, and I don't want to imply I have even a tiny bit of your understanding of history. But here is my biggest concern: We have a level of surveillance in this country that would make a cold war East German counter intelligence agent blush. Just look at the tracking of the person who shot the UHC CEO, or Israel Mossad's ability to blow up a persons pager remotely; if they can do that they can blow up your phone. We are all carrying a device capable of not only killing us, but surveilling us. I worry about when will equivalent of an Adolf Eichmann or Reinhard Heydrich or Rudolf Hoss turns up in the trump administration. Men who were far more intelligent and capable than the people who commanded them.
For the record I'm glad you're on our side, and I thank you for your insight. Hopefully one day we can talk about my favorite historical topic - the Roman Empire.
SIDE NOTE: I am also keenly aware that it was incompetence and stupidity that helped bring the Third Reich to an end. I just don't want ours to be as deadly.
Note that it is the Blue New York police department that is tracking the Manhattan killer, possibly with assistance of the FBI.
Mossad is so far above the competence of the Trumpy appointments that you just made my head explode. 🤯
If Trump were both ambitious (he is) and competent (he isn't) he would be devastatingly scary. Something on the level of Genghis Khan or Tamerlane. These guys cut through their times like a flamethrower. Trump just emits scary sounds from his mouth hole—the masses are entertained and career politicians fold like cardboard. "Having concepts” is a million miles away from executing one. Remember Trump 1.0? Infrastructure week, repeal and replace, build the wall.
but the turnip will not be doing anything - it's the Millers and Vances and Musks that will be doing the actual doing
"Scary sounds from his mouth hole" made me laugh, thank you!
Of course the NYPD have the help of the FBI, a wealthy white man was murdered. That doesn't make it less scary.
Trumpy appointments yes, but what about the people who actually run those type of operations for the CIA or FBI counter intelligence? They are there and you must know that, the question is will they do it or not.
Is trump incompetent, yes of course. But so was Hitler; you of all people know that.
Again, I hope you're right. But I'm not willing to only "hope" your right. My military background forces me to consider all the options, even the ones that scare me the most.
All I want is for us to be ready for all possibilities. At the end of Hamlet there are only two people left alive - A Student, and a Soldier.
Ever think the UHC killer may never be found? They still say they don't know the motive behind the killings in Vegas on 10/1/17, yet we seem to know the motive behind all the other major mass shootings. I find it odd that a city that has cameras practically everywhere, can't seem to find the killer and it's been several days. Maybe he's a paid assassin and he's already out of the country. My son feels that this was because of a business matter within the company, not an angry family member. And why does a man who makes $10 million a year minimum and has been receiving threats, not have security? Makes no sense.
it's a different world than the 30s - makes us LESS able to hide, rebel, whatever - a reading of some science fiction novels might be more useful than history, providing some scenarios to consider
Agree, Gina. I honestly don't think that history knowledge can help us much in this situation, because we're in uncharted waters, especially in regard to technology. The Germans in the '30s didn't live in the surveillance state that we do, as just one example. They couldn't be tracked everywhere they went. A dictator seizing power in an advanced nation in our time has capabilities that Hitler, Stalin, et. al. never dreamed of.
The ‘equivalent ‘ is already in there- Stephen Miller. And the exploding pagers were doctored by Israel before being obtained by Hezbollah- your phone won’t be exploding. It might burst into flames but that would be a battery design flaw, not a targeted attack on you.
And Richardson has turned into a trump sane splainer. Can’t trust her anymore.
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
Kathleen, your deep knowledge is so valuable to us. While respecting it, have you ever seen any evil leader so off the chart full of hate and retribution, a full blown malignant narcissist, possibly with dementia or insanity? Ty for your informed posts.
Stalin and Hitler were evil leaders so off the chart and full of hate and retribution, and full blown malignant narcissists, but there is not their like in charge of a major country today. Idi Amin ran Uganda in the 80s and 90s and was just as bad, but he tortured only one country. Putin kills the people he has to, he doesn't just kill as a sadist. I believe he thinks that Russia will work less well if everyone realizes he is not as bad as Stalin was.
Way back in history there were Genghis Khan and Tamerlane—2 ruthless military leaders who simply used killing everyone who resisted as their life policy. It is said that Tamerlane created a pyramid with 70,000 human heads.
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
It is so nice to read about someone who reads more than I do. But I will say, I don't think T knows what a concept is.
I appreciate your bona fides, and thanks for the encouragement.
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
but what about the passive and supportive populations? they seem to far outnumber the alarmed, and there is no push-back in the streets
One reason there is no pushback in the street is that nothing has actually happened yet. I believe that blue states will defend themselves vigorously when Trump starts to do stupid things within their borders. In my in the Blue City of Houston in the red state of Texas, the authorities refused to cooperate with Trump 1.0 by revealing the immigration status of people in county and city jails. The local Texas the local children's Hospital continued to give transgender treatments until they were rattled out. As far as I know they may secretly be continuing anyway.
I agree with you, Kathleen. Remember the Janes doing abortions “underground”? Things may not be seen on the surface but they are continuing to happen. We have to support their efforts.
Kathleen, thanks. That Houston, or anywhere in TX, was blue, was new-to-me news. A TX city pushed back on 1.0?! Fantastic.
Thank you for putting context around your comment. It’s important for people to know.
You read! I like you. And I AM NOT betting my life on that
The Blue States Coalition has been planning for this shitstorm for a while now especially here in CA. Hate to think that the orange inarticulate blabbering imbecile could start a civil war over his proposed mindless and dangerous acts. The idea of sending red state National Guard troops to blue states to enforce insane MAGA policies is one of the many proposals that are frightening as hell.
Trumps modus operandi is domination and raw display of power to bend an entity to his will....he will definitely attempt to dominate blue states thru violent coercion even
We’ll be ready
You are far more optimistic than I am. Having said that, OH! How I hope you are right!
🤞
These suits will go to judges who are often Trumpies, or at least Fed Society, or in some cases corrupt. If they are lucky enough to get rulings from the approximately half of the judiciary who are still honest, this will go up to the appeals courts, who seem to be quick with rulings that temporarily block the lower-court judge's attempts to stop whatever atrocity the Republicans are trying to do, and very slow to finally hear the case, and if they do hear the case and rule that OK, the atrocity should be blocked, then it goes to the Supremes, who are totally in Trump's pocket.
Really interesting that you are not willing to wait and see. I wonder why it's all shit and doom is your go to position.
Because it IS all shit and doom. You don't seem to have been paying much attention to the radical increase in blatant politicization of SCOTUS rulings, with much of the judiciary following their lead, in the past few years, which can only be expected to accelerate now.
Unless you are consistently reading Joyce Vance's sub stack Civil Discourse as well as One First, the sub stack on the Supreme Court, you do not know the details of The occasions that Trump has not got his way with the Supreme Court. Neither of the sub stacks would agree with your assessment.
https://www.stevevladeck.com/
https://joycevance.substack.com/
Joyce Vance is great, I also listen to the paid version of the scotus podcast Amicus Plus with hosts Dahlia Lithwick & Mark Joseph Stern. Keeps me apprised of what scotus rulings mean for our everyday lives
No. Incompetence will destroy it. Once there are no institutions, there is no foundation left to hold up the country. This includes the courts.
In almost every revolution, and that includes the Nazis and Julius Caesar institutions are taken over rather than destroyed. It is much easier to take over institutions than it is to destroy them. I honestly cannot see Trump and his minions taking over the gigantic institutions that are the 21 Democratic states. BTW, Trump has not even completely taken over the Supreme Court, which does his bidding only some of the time. The Supreme Court did not overturn the 2020 election in Trump's favor when it had the opportunity.
You have to reach back to 2020 for the last time the SCOTUS did not do his bidding. You don't seem to understand the significance of what has happened in the interim.
Unless you are consistently reading Joyce Vance's sub stack Civil Discourse as well as One First, the sub stack on the Supreme Court, you do not know the details of what has happened in the interim. Neither of the sub stacks would agree with your assessment.
https://www.stevevladeck.com/
https://joycevance.substack.com/
The details of what has happened in the interim are in the published opinions. I do not need to read your particular favorite substacks to understand how unparalleled this situation is. Ordinarily, judicial bodies have a high regard for consistency (as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, “A ruling should not only speak to the parties before the court, but to the thousands of parties who will not need to go to court if they understand how a court would rule”) and therefore only depart from precedents if there is an argument that the precedents derive from a serious misunderstanding of the applicable legal principles: often framed in “originalist” or “textualist” styles of argument. In a case like Trump v. Anderson the Court invented a requirement that Congress determine if someone took part in an insurrection: no precedent case applying the cause had imposed such a requirement; the text does not say that (rather, that if someone has been blocked as an insurrectionist, Congress can overrule the determination); and the intent of the drafters was also not considered. The immunity decision, of course, is more frightening because it goes against not just the precedent of our entire history, but against the intentions of the 1776 revolution itself.
I read Joyce Vance every day. However, the fact that the courts are nominally still functional (Cannon and Kacsmaryk aside), is no guarantee that the situation will remain the same six months from now.
Like
early days - he's not even in office yet
But he is still the same old incompetent buffoon that he always was. When he was president the first time he spent 6 hours a day watching TV.
he's got minions - and yeah, they don't know how govt works, BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! they will simply do things their demented way. (let's compare notes one year from now)
Roberts explained SCOTUS' refusal to overturn the 2020 election by saying that he thought the court had overreached in 2000. In light of the Supremes' actions since 2020, I don't think Roberts is worried about that anymore. See: Dodd, Bruen, Trump v. United States, etc.
Exactly right! Competence is not needed if all you want to do is destroy everything that competent, intelligent people built.
It’s time we realize the 2nd Amendment is available to all of us, not just MAGAts. It was drafted for just such times as this.
"DICTATORS don't follow rules or "norms." TRUTH!!
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
Democrats are as incompetent as the NY Jets....who I'll say is owned by another right winger Woody Johnson. But I digress...the reason we are in this catastrophe is much to do with elderly moderate Democrats like Schumer, Biden & Coburn. This is why Americans don't vote for Democrats cause they don't appear to fight for their values they seem to push. And renominating those 2 spineless cowards Schumer & Durbin for 'leadership' is a sign of surrender.
I agree, get some of those old unimaginative fools out of leadership! Sen Sheldon Whitehouse needs to be the lead Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee & I really want AOC to win her bid to be top Dem on Oversight
I love her, but I think Jamie Raskin is perfectly positioned as the top Dem there. He takes it to those sorry GQP motherfuckers better than anybody.
Raskin is one smart dude!
Ansofuckinglutely Douglas!! Dump the blue, and grey haired of the party already, time for change is now!
I fear that even former POTUSes with SS protection will be vulnerable.
you got that right! we've seen this krappy drama play out TOO many times already.
it's ALL OLD NEWS!
yesterday suked today is gonna suck more and tomorrow?
how long until donnie's maggots realize they have to live in donnieworld also?!?!
or ?
holograph hall passes will be available starting as soon as hiz biznezz peeps seize the opportunity when they re-discover america!
all for 6 easy payments each year at cost to be yet determined ... all in its own time.
it's still a concept but ...
Chris, yes. Hunter Biden, Joe and Jill and families, HRC, Obama & Michelle, Pelosi, Gen. Milley et al. Pardons will most likely be ignored, for d-con's Most Hated Enemies list.
Incompetence is the greatest danger to a democracy. America has survived for 240 years because of wisdom, not stupidity.
You can't believe the gigantic amount of incompetence there has been in US history. If you read a history of the war of 1812, it will make you cry. The war stopped only because Britain got tired of slapping us.
Yes, didn't Lincoln ask McClellan if he could use the army for a while?
I thought your position was that incompetence can't do us any damage?
I was pointing out that government incompetence has not yet been FATAL to the United States of America. There has been tons of it along the way.
The incompetence in 2020 also left a million dead. Do you expect things to be less dire this time around? You really aren't providing any reasons for your insistent optimism.
Are you counting on a 2nd worldwide plague? The world hasn't faced a pathogen as deadly as COVID since 1918. What are the chances of a pathogen of that virulence showing up in the next four years? I'd say one in 25.
I judge Trump in comparison with the others who created dictatorships in history — Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Lenin, Hitler, Mao. And in comparison to these figures, trump is drastically lacking in intelligence and in the ability to focus. The only area in which he equals or surpasses them is his success in speaking, lying, and entertaining a portion of the masses. There is toms of bark but very little bite. I agree with you that his best chance to mess things up is in the health care spear, but the health care sphere is quite messed up already.
The incompetence in the 1850s-60s left a stack of a million corpses.
No kidding! You got it right!
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
yeah - *rules* *constitution* *laws* *next election* sure Charley
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
Please check out my new post exploring whether Trump 2025 will repeat Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/will-trump-2025-hitler-1933
Jim Clyburn, what the hell is wrong with you? No pardons for Trump by President Biden!
Everyone is sucking up to Donny. What the actual fuck is that?
Fear and ignorance, the stuff of dictatorships.
They are breaking the first rule of fighting an autocracy: DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE. Groveling now in hopes they will be spared donnie's jails.
My thought exactly - DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE
EVERYTHING TRUMP SUKS!
Appeasement is cowardice.
Appeasement. The democrat way, which really fucking pisses me off.
Jim Clyburn is eighty-four years old. Sometimes that makes a difference.
I'm 88 and I think he should shut up - I'm totally in favour of however-old-the-turnip-is throwing him (turnip, not clyburn) into a now abandoned Syrian underground hellhole
I second that. No pardon for anus mouth
It's a concept!
You are still plenty crusty! Keep it up.
💯💯💯You took the words from my mind…
No pardons for Drumpf! Never ever give that burst trash bag personality disorders a god damn thing !
If the Dems convince Biden to pardon trump, they will absolutely lose any trust & confidence we may have left for them. A pardon for him is an absolute NO from me. Did they not learn their led from the disaster that pardoning Nixon set up?
* Lesson
Oh, he is the House version of Chuck Schumer.
Notice no one is talking about groceries anymore?
Also, it was disgusting to see him and Elon at the Notre Dame reopening. Proof there is no god or else lightning would have struck twice and left the church standing.
1. All you people wanting to come here who have just one leg better hurry on over to the US before it’s too late!
2. Trump 1.0 - Doesn’t know how government works. *Four years later*
Trump 2.0 - Doesn’t know how government works. The upgrade is just as fucked up as the original roll out.
2.0 even more so
Sounds like a Tesla!
Burns like one, too
But he is a straw man! He will be told and instructed what to do and when. He's at Putin's mercy, and God only knows who else's. Who's the alpha dog going to be?
I imagine there will be a dog fight involved to determine that.
Russia is seriously falling and failing they have borrowed too much and everybody is sanctioning the mother.
Who’s going to explain to Donny that people who are BORN HERE actuality arrive at a YOUNGER AGE than the people who arrive at “a young age”? I think I may be overdosing on stupidity. And Biden had better not give Trump a fucking pardon! If he does, I may have to move to a saner country. Like Syria.
The people that were born here and are minors are the ones he wants out because the more the merrier. If you deport adult Dreamers, you are only deporting one person, not a family. Besides, what would scare an immigrant the most - threatening to separate them or deporting their young children. He's not going to be able to do it and it's just another stupid, unworkable idea of his. Shame on immigrants that voted for him though. I don't care if you are here legally, these people coming in belong to your heritage and culture and you're perfectly happy to see them thrown out. But then I don't understand why any minority or marginalized group would ever vote for him.
Someone on threads mentioned that Barron was born a few months Melania before Melania became a US citizen. Don’t know if that’s true though.
Yep true ....and Donnie's grandpa was a German immigrant a exciled from Germany immigrant after coming to America and being deported same with grandma. But Trump's daddy was born after they illegally jumped ship and came to America .. in other words conceived in Germany but here as a dreamer (😂🤣) then his dad Fred married Mary a Scottish citizen here as a immigrant
Melania was an illegal immigrant during the time she was working on a visa that did not permit her to work. Her citizenship should be revoked and she should be deported, together of course with her family (would hate to break up that lovely family!) including not just her son but her husband as well. Donnie himself is the child of an illegal immigrant (his mother stayed on after her visa expired, regularizing her status by marrying Fred) and the grandchild of another (Fred's father snuck back into the country after being deported for running a brothel on land that belonged to someone else).
And Don, Jr, Eric and Ivanka were all born before Ivana became a Citizen. Sounds like a round Robin to me- deport all these illegals , from the father on down!
And throw Musk on the boat, too. He lied about not working before he got a proper Visa. Tax him back to Millionaire status first, though.
https://substack.com/@jaykuo/note/c-80781930?r=3nv7i4&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
It’s like Deja Vu all over again. It's like Groundhog Day on steroids. Like one long assed nightmare we can’t wake up from.
And it never changes. And half the country still digs it. Wallows in it. Stuff it into their pie hole like the last supper.
It’s a galloping case of Cognitive Dissonance.
Fuck putting fluoride in the water. How about Thorazine?
I've been thinking LSD for quite a while now...
If any of the MAGA morons had the guts or opportunity to take LSD25, they would find their world had changed totally, completely, permanently. This drug causes a much more expansive perspective on many levels, and not just a little more intellectual curiosity. Monitoring is a necessity during the experience, or wandering into unsafe situations can be problematic, but most who have had the privilege to try LSD25 site valuable, mind-opening, expansive experiences.
I'll pass thank you. You're going to take a bigoted, low level IQ person, give them LSD and they're going to be just fine. As a nurse, I've seen and heard of the "problematic" results of experimental drug use like that and that's why I say no thank you.
Michael Pollan writes accurately about exactly the experience and benefits in How To Change Your Mind. Having/creating an open mind is exactly the point.
And what if something goes wrong? All these LSD trips are not successful nor do they all better people’s lives. There is absolutely NO way I would risk my brain health to try something like that. I’ll deal with the brain I was born with without taking drugs to experience an open mind. Why don’t you talk about the trips that didn’t go so well?
Yes, the magas could definitely benefit from some mind opening & expansion
1/2 the country is stupid and have few morals … that’s why they act like ignorant children. we should export THEM to Russia… but POOOTAIN wouldn’t want that trash unless he could throw them on the front line in Ukraine… but of course the males would be overweight and/or on drugs
I have an overwhelming desire to have both my parents dug up and reburied anywhere other than here. If alive, they would lose their minds over the impending kakistocracy in Dumbfuckistan. It's horrifying, embarrassing, debilitating, and rage-festering. That's all.
My folks too. I’m glad they’re not seeing this happen.
Jeff, you let Trump get away with his statement, re birthright citizenship, “You know we’re the only country that has it." Not true. Shocking, I know. According to World Population Review, "The following countries have unrestricted birthright citizenship: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Child, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Lesotho, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela."
Some maga, white supremacist I stumbled across here on Substack countered that argument by saying that we are the only country that grants birthright citizenship to a child born to parents who are both illegal at the time of birth. He said that in those other countries that at least 1 parent must have legal status. I did not fact check his assertion.
No,no P J that is not it read my comment to Lisa…brain fart I think Neiman and she’s a friend apologies.
😛
And if course if welker had handed him this list, he would have gone on about all of these places being shithole countries anyway...including Canada, which he clearly thinks is a northern suburb of the US
OMG Jeff…I don’t even know how you can listen to his bullshit! But THANK YOU for fact-checking his ridiculous comments! What would we do without you???
I have unsubscribed to lots of others on substack so that I can disengage and chill the fuckout. I however cannot unsubscribe from Jeff T because his columns are the truly only way that I can live sanely another day through all this insane bs from the orange f'cking imbecile.
Dear Jeff I'm sitting in a walk-in clinic waiting on X-rays and blood work to see what dreaded upper respiratory disease I might be suffering from -- AND YOU STILL MADE ME LAUGH BEHIND MY 😷!! GOD BLESS YOU for being you!! No matter what you create a silver lining for me!😁
Start by drinking mullein tea. Get some golden seal ..and then rest.... lots of rest. They probley won't give you a antibiotic but these things will help you naturally mm Mullein tea breaks up congestion and helps with breathing . Golden seal a natural immune building powder that ...believe it or not ..Cleopatra used to use
Yeah, but Cleopatra died, right?
Yep but it was a snake bite ....the golden seal gave her.....her immunity and good looks .
Thanks for this. Never heard of mullein tea but I will look for it
Oh how you are doing the work of the Angels! The laughing you have given me today helps during this horrific time. The felon/furher is a moron and ignoramous. Why why why have the good guys lost?
“Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you”
I keep thinking to myself that if the republicans make Americans suffer too much over the next two years that we’ll vote them out and put democrats in control. But then I realize that if Trump really gets his way, there will be no election in two years, or ever again. So fucking depressing.
Elections are held by states, not the federal government. Hard to see how the federal government could stop the holding of elections. State elections elect everything from the governor down to the dog catcher. It's not just about electing a president, a senator, or a US representative.
At this point, 27 states have republican governors, who more than likely would do Trump’s bidding. If he doesn’t want an election they would bend over backwards to not hold an election. I unfortunately live in Texas, where the governor is nothing more than a Trump lap dog and republican loyalist. How would that work if more than half the states don’t hold elections?? It’s never been tested before, and let’s hope it never is.
Doesn't that mean that the Democratic candidate will win the election in states where an election is held? Washington DC is surrounded by Democratic states namely Maryland and Virginia. Without being asked, the governors of Maryland and Virginia were ready to send their National Guards to help defend the capital building on January 6.
There might be some kind of armed standoff of some sort, but Trump is a profound coward—not the kind who wants his to entrust his future to the fortunes of war.
Drawing on inspiration from the past, perhaps the duly elected Democratic president could proceed to Washington in a vast caravan. This is how Mussolini took over Rome in 1922.
Plus even if Democrats were elected, they could never restore Social Security & Medicare in this political clumate
Yep. Got that right. He already said it!
Trump is a paper tiger. Stinky & smelly, but he will never be in charge. He will 🪟 if he disobeys. I'm sure his diseased mind knows this.
Don’t think that way.
I... I just can't anymore.
I wish he was smart enough to know how loathsome he is.