Their avarice is stunning. They are willing to be bought by anyone, anyone at all, including enemies of the US. Latin American drug traffickers, Islamic terrorists, Chinese nationals, authoritarian murderers, anyone with cash. Our national security is being sold for their own profit. Holy fuck 🤯
Don’t leave out the Silk Road Ketamine magnate and the porn King Tate brothers. And the Chinese Tech thief.
And so many more.
Can we possibly survive 3 more years of this Shit Show?!?
The only thing keeping me going is to live long enough to see Fat Donnie Two Scoops either Die or be held accountable for all the grift and law breaking he has done, and will surely continue to do the rest of his term.
I'm waiting for "die." That WILL happen. Possibly sooner rather than later. Being held accountable for his crimes? Nah. That ship has sailed a long time ago.
Almost like furiously stuffing their pockets before the shit hits the fan… but no worries - Pelosi gave a powerful speech the other day… on ‘climate change’…🙄
It’s all super-fucked up. But I’ve still got the toothpicks in my eyelids keeping ‘em open. So reading you every day is kinda like important. Thanks for hanging in there for us.
They will never go to jail unless an International Court takes the case and they won't do it because we are not on the losing side. America won't do it because we have the Gang of Six who decides who gets immunity from Murder.
Decline comes in spurts, like growth in infants. FuckFace is entering the "any day now" zone which I recognize from visiting my dad in his final days in a nursing home.
Dear Jeff, I have never once thought "wow, this post is so long" - I am too busy taking it all in and having thoughts about each topic and taking time to watch the videos. If I have something else I need to do, like get ready for work, I just keep it open on my desktop to return to later in the day. -with appreciation, Deb S
I hope the Dems are ahead of all this and are ready for heads to roll. If they aren’t on the starting blocks now the years long investigations, courts, stonewalling, more distractions more courts and lawyers will put any kind of justice or incarcerations well past I would guess a 10 year mark. Dems need to be ahead of this.
I hope the DEMS have enough sense to get that done...I've been disappointed in their messaging but hopeful lately with people like Duckworth, AOC, Crockett... and the "Seditious Six". 😂😂 What a name...they are heroes!
I’m 5’10” and 150lbs my bmi is perfect, his weight is double mine (close) I know that’s out of the acceptable zone and deep into morbid obesity. That alone should put him away!
….”to the happy home with trees and flowers and chirping birds and basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes And they’re coming to take me away..hahaaaaaaa”. Good one Kay-El!
Exercising Asset Forfeiture is one way to compensate US taxpayers for Trump Family grift and graft.
Google AI: "Asset forfeiture is the legal process where a government can seize property connected to criminal activity. Its purpose is to disrupt criminal enterprises by removing their financial resources. Asset forfeiture can occur through civil, criminal, or administrative actions, with each type having different legal requirements, such as a criminal conviction or property being directly involved in a crime."
Not the funny farm - a Dementia Unit is more like it. I am a Long-Term Care Ombudsman and I see stuff like this at my nursing home all the time. Everything in this photo indicates that Trump has advanced dementia. The name card on the table shows him where to sit. He's nodding out - a clear sign that things are going downhill. It's quite possible that later on someone came over to help him feed himself. This is not sustainable. Just imagine what would be going on if Joe Biden was the person in this picture! Why is Trump getting a free pass?? 25th Amendment time, folks! If I felt sorry for Trump, which I don't, I'd be calling his use as a figurehead "elder abuse."
Agreed that it is elder abuse but his sycophantic cabinet will prop him up until he dies. No one in the MAGA Congress will publicly suggest or vote 25th amendment, they’ll just retire to avoid it. I’d like to be wrong.
Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley thinks Trump and Kegbreath are right. He has proved his loyalty enough to become an Admiral! Now he has proved his disloyalty enough to murder.
But, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), announced his early retirement in October 2025, as soon as Kegger decided to start blowing up boats. He's gonna be a witness at the trials!
I think there is standing for International trials once indicted they are toast the orders were illegal and that goes to the top. As I understand it a soldier of any rank can be tried.
The US may not be a member, but that doesn’t mean the ICC can’t try Americans. There’s a reason W, Cheney & Rumsfeld didn’t take the big $ giving speeches overseas. They knew if they gave a speech in say Italy that they could be arrested & tried by the ICC.
Isn't this what Mark Kelly and the other lawmakers warned about? NOT blindly following orders from Kegbreath. And, based on what I know about the Navy SEALS, I thought they were a covert, low profile branch of the Navy. Not in your face blow live men to kingdom come. Navy SEALS can't be intimidated, and I think there's a lot more going on here that we will probably never know. What we do know is Prez. Dumbfuck and Drunken Pete are murderers.
I don’t think it goes to many and they did keep it low profile we won’t get the list unless it is demanded, I am going to ask Marc Alias he will be on it. I’ll be back.
There are a lot of questions. Will we ever see that guy alive again? Doubtful. What happened to the other so-called shooter? They are usually killed on the spot to keep them from talking.
Too driven by greed, and, too stupid to realize that the rage they created to manipulate & exploit us is finally being turned on them as it should be. They won't be able get that genie back in the bottle, they openly declared war on humanity in service to the god of greed. So much for all the cautions in the Christian bible about this.
Here's an excerpt from my latest about how the concentration of wealth has driven our system to the edge of the abyss -and how to "Turn the Tide":
Turning the Tide
If we are serious about rescuing American democracy from its current freefall, then incrementalism is simply not enough. We need a profound shift—one that matches the scale of the crisis created by secretive billionaire PAC donations, extremist politics, corporate lobbying, and a governing class increasingly unmoored from “We, the People”.
Institutional reform alone is too passive for this moment. We must build a massive, nationwide political movement—unbound by political party, uncorrupted by billionaire money, and anchored in integrity, shared purpose, and the fundamental belief that government must work for all people, not just those with vast accumulated wealth.
Then, post-elections, the commitment of the subsequent Congress to the rapid rebuilding of the institutional guardrails that once kept governmental power accountable to the people. This means restoring the independence of Inspector Generals and watchdog agencies, enforcing ethics standards with real penalties for all -including Supreme Court Justices, reestablishing federal norms that constrain executive branch abuse, and modernizing the machinery of governance so it cannot be hijacked by those who treat public service as a tool for private gain.
This movement must be broad, multiracial, cross-generational, and rooted in civic courage rather than partisan loyalty or hat color. America’s future cannot depend any political party; it must depend on the health of what should be a vibrant democracy, its moral imagination, and its willingness to hold power to account. We need a coalition that demands transparency, fairness, and affirms that equality, dignity and justice are fundamental and mandatory.
Addressing the extremism, illegality, and strategic cruelty of the Trump administration, its GOP enablers, and their billionaire backers requires a willingness to establish new guardrails where the old ones have failed. The Supreme Court, compromised by conflicts of interest, political favoritism, and open defiance of precedent and ethical norms, cannot be the final arbiter of democratic integrity. To protect the Republic, we need an independent constitutional tribunal—empowered by Congress, insulated from political interference, and driven to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Its explicit purpose: to evaluate evidence, hold public hearings, and bar all individuals who participated in, supported, or enabled the attempt to overturn the 2020 election from ever again holding public office. A democracy that cannot disqualify insurrectionists cannot defend itself. There must be retroactive taxation consideration given to the societal level fraud of trickle down that has encouraged the unabated accumulation of wealth by the few. No democracy can survive an extreme wealth inequality, and we must understand that policies supporting tax cuts for the wealthy to “encourage investment and job growth” represent a direct attack on a fair and equitable system.
I agree with what you've written George. The question is not "What must we do?" post-Trump but "How will we do it?" I would be very interested in your thoughts.
Incrementalism won't cut it. You're spot on. The current, elderly-led Democratic Party won't cut it. Like him or not, Mamdani wrote an election playbook that will be followed for years IF he can accomplish most of what he promised. And people will pay more attention to the "how", versus the strategy that preceded it.
I was a management consultant most of my career and know first-hand, great strategies can be developed to meet great goals - for business or society. The key is execution/implementation. Or as Nike would say, "Just do it."
Very true Joe -and thank you. There is no question it will require a unified wave of voters who have directed their righteous anger and frustration, not toward a single parent trying to survive, not toward an immigrant or refugee, not toward the BIPOC community, not toward LGBTQ+, and not anywhere Rupert Murdoch, Zuckerberg, Musk, or others in the media are pointing, and certainly not at books in a school library.
If people understand that the wealth of a nation is finite and a handful of people have extracted it -by diminishing all of our lives and that of future generations, there will be a reckoning. If there is a massive, loosely-coupled voter wave demanding bold, short-term fixes that establish the foundation for long-term governance for and by "we the people" (eventually leading toward an educated, informed, and engaged society capable of a fair and just participatory democracy and participatory budgeting) that is, from my perspective, the optimal multi-generational path to a free, fair, and equitable society. We are beyond an inflection point and, as a management consultant you know many clients report "but we've always done it this way" in the face of desperately needed innovation.
Just as healthcare requires a systematic and bold shift to a proactive/preventative system, our representative democracy requires a 21st Century update in the face of the erosion of the education system, the unaffordability of higher education, and the consolidation of media entities who no longer inform, they simply "Manufacture Consent".
While I almost think a revised "Contract with America" (conjured by Newt Gingrich or perhaps one of his ex-wives) would be compelling to force Congress to provision a tribunal outside of the current system to hold all who have contributed and conspired to undermine and subvert the system, the law already exists in the Fourteenth Amendment, and Congress is already bound to their Oath of Office. A large, angry society must hold them to account for what they are already responsible to uphold.
We cannot be continued to be blocked and obstructed by the likes of worm-like sycophant Mike Johnson, the so-called "Freedom Caucus" and others.
There are societal and global challenges that demand our immediate attention (Climate, Conflict, and post-AI human labor demand loss economics), or else the political situation, in a couple of generations, won't matter because we will have destroyed our planetary home.
This has to start with the voters. We saw earlier this month just how dissatisfied they are with what is happening in the pubic square. No one seems to be listening to them.
A lot of voters are now up for grabs. They will be won with a promise to make their lives better, and a plan for how to do it.
The Trump administration has strayed very from campaign promises to address inflation and high prices. Rather, they have been fixated on removing every single illegal immigrant with a threatening group of masked ICE agents. Most people find this repulsive.
In the meantime, prices keep climbing. Trump's support for huge data center buildouts to support AI will 1) put data centers where people don't want them and 2) drive energy prices high and place the burden on taxpayers, who get zero benefit.
I believe the midterms will be a continuation of what we saw in early November. By then, energy and health insurance prices will be prohibitive for even middle class families. The Dems are the natural choice here to solve this, but not in their current incarnation.
The Dems need to clear away "lifers" like Schumer and "gasbags" like Cory Booker. It will take a great deal of work to recruit and elect a new, younger breed of Dems. It is, or should be, very doable.
A great Substack on this topic is Crisis and Transition. It outlines a plan for a new form of governance with a democratic economy. Appropriately, the logo is a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Thank you for sharing Paula! If we are able to transcend the dystopian challenges of today, I continue to consider how AI and robotics will displace a massive amount of human labor demand -and how to design a fair and equitable economy predicated on living wages.
And fair lending practices. As long as the monthly interest payment is higher than the principal for mortgages, etc., the consumer will be a voting serf indentured to usury. Also, the speed-of-light adoption of AI to replace labor, including knowledge workers, is possibly the biggest threat to a thriving workforce.
Exactly. Jamie Dimon is smart enough to know that eventually we will have a real DOJ back and that they will prosecute real crimes, like killing survivors. This is not allowed in anybody's rules of war, well except Hitler and Pol Pot I suppose. Oh and Netanyahu. Can't forget that evil piece of offal.
OMG Trump has looked truly awful the last few months, but this pic may be the worst. It looks like he's about to go face down in a pile of ketchup-swamped McDonald's french fries.
You are absolutely right: A hit dog always hollers.
There is precedent here. Exactly 80 years ago today German U-Boat Commander Heinz Wilhelm Eck was executed by firing squad — along with 2 officers under his command — for killing survivors at sea.
A first cousin of my maternal grandfather was a flight engineer/gunner on a B-17, “Windy City.” The 17 was shot down over Germany, the crew bailed out and then split up on the ground. My cousin was with the pilot and co-pilot. They were captured by a local militia unit, taken into the woods, executed and buried. After the war the leader of that unit was tried for war crimes and executed. My cousin, TSGT Milton Erich, was 24, having had a birthday only a week or two before his final mission. He was re-buried in a Lodi, California, his mother lies next to him. His sacrifice has been desecrated.
Note, too, that Hegseth writes "if we are forced to fight." O rly? Does anyone who knows how many beans make ten think that that's what they're waiting for? Being "forced" to fight? No, what he means is, "when we decide we want to go in and take something..."
Kegseth appears to be one of those guys who got a taste of combat and discovered he really, really likes the idea of violence and killing and he can't wait to do more of it. Hence, proclaiming it's the Department of War now: it's what he wants. The guy is seriously unbalanced and bloodthirsty. And he's working hand in hand with President Nosferatu and Donnie Demento, who share the same sadistic impulses.
To them, after the bloodshed they can wallow in, the perk will be Venezuela's oil.
Or, he can't wait to order others to do more of it. I doubt he'd leap at the chance to (as Jack Nicholson says in A Few Good Men) "pick up a weapon and stand a post."
Yes, I follow both of them. But so what if we see that pages have been removed? What will be done about that? Where can the missing pages be found. IDK.
Thank-you for sharing those links. I read somewhere that France has copies of the Epstein files. Don't ask me where I read it. I am sure many eyes have viewed these documents and files also.
It would be very difficult for tampering to happen and not be detected. I dunno... I still think that the files will eventually be shared and what we see will be damning to the felon and plenty of other people. Just me hoping.
Merrick Garland was/is a good man. He was simply the wrong man for the job. The next Democratic AG has to restore the DoJ and prosecute whomever the facts and the law indicate in the current maladministration, starting with Hegseth and Noem.
I hadn’t even considered how a Smith appointment as AG would put whatever remains of the MAGA mob would leave them foaming at the whatever. Bonus point!
Yes, but my advice would be not take anyone from Congress and risk losing the seat in a special election given that margins are likely to be close for some time to come. Kirschner would be good but I'm not sure he'd want the job.
"which side are these fuckers on?"
Their own. Always, forever, and only their own.
Their avarice is stunning. They are willing to be bought by anyone, anyone at all, including enemies of the US. Latin American drug traffickers, Islamic terrorists, Chinese nationals, authoritarian murderers, anyone with cash. Our national security is being sold for their own profit. Holy fuck 🤯
Don’t leave out the Silk Road Ketamine magnate and the porn King Tate brothers. And the Chinese Tech thief.
And so many more.
Can we possibly survive 3 more years of this Shit Show?!?
The only thing keeping me going is to live long enough to see Fat Donnie Two Scoops either Die or be held accountable for all the grift and law breaking he has done, and will surely continue to do the rest of his term.
I'm waiting for "die." That WILL happen. Possibly sooner rather than later. Being held accountable for his crimes? Nah. That ship has sailed a long time ago.
The first thing I do every morning is check the news to see if he's still on the planet.... I look forward to the day gravity stops working for him.
I vote for a debilitating stroke which renders him mute and unable to use his hands. If he lives to 100, pushed around in a wheelchair and perpetually filling his size XXXL Depends©️, that’ll make me very happy.
I wonder how/if we will survive this every single day. So tiring.
Indeed yet they love to beat their chests and chant USA!USA! when they’re completely traitors to their country
Almost like furiously stuffing their pockets before the shit hits the fan… but no worries - Pelosi gave a powerful speech the other day… on ‘climate change’…🙄
And right out in the open. No fear of reprisal whatsoever.
It’s all super-fucked up. But I’ve still got the toothpicks in my eyelids keeping ‘em open. So reading you every day is kinda like important. Thanks for hanging in there for us.
I actually imagined I was going to write a short one today, and give us all a break. but once I got going, there was too much to tell
Until these idiots are in jail…I think your posts are going to be lengthy! (which is fine!)
They will never go to jail unless an International Court takes the case and they won't do it because we are not on the losing side. America won't do it because we have the Gang of Six who decides who gets immunity from Murder.
I have to hope that you are wrong. My sanity requires it.
Maybe 13 Justices would help.
13 Justices and term limits. Maybe rotate in judges from the circuit courts.
We are not on the losing side???
Even idiots in DC can finally "get the message."
Don’t ever cut yourself short! We enjoy every word, trust me!
That downhill acceleration.
Decline comes in spurts, like growth in infants. FuckFace is entering the "any day now" zone which I recognize from visiting my dad in his final days in a nursing home.
I hope to hell you are right. 'Is it dead yet' is my daily existential question.
I'm manifesting that like crazy. May his final day be coming soon.
THANK you for this and for what you do every day. And thanks for including all the links!
Seconded
Dear Jeff, I have never once thought "wow, this post is so long" - I am too busy taking it all in and having thoughts about each topic and taking time to watch the videos. If I have something else I need to do, like get ready for work, I just keep it open on my desktop to return to later in the day. -with appreciation, Deb S
Well there’s so much ratfuckery to unpack on a daily basis!
I am revamping my social calendar . Remind me Jeff--what day and what time is the tickertape parade for Jamie Dimon ?
and with this administration , there will always be too much to tell .
I agree 100%.
No more wars he said
I’ll be tougher on China than Joe he said
He knows nothing about Project 2025 he said
“Only the criminals” he said
Stepped away from the family business he said
Vermin scum fake stupid ugly fat pig he said
“Only the best people” he said…
You can't me he actually LIED? In the words of Inspector Reynaud from Casablanca, "I am shocked, SHOCKED!"
“When you’re a star they let you do it” he said. (Under oath;)
And the all-time classic:
The 90’s were a ‘different time’ he said
Trump's crypto memecoin.
Multi-million dinners with CEOs.
Firing independent officials in charge of rooting out corruption.
Giant tax cuts to Trump's billionaire friends.
Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in our nation's history.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren
Tearing down the East Wing (After No Kings)…
Looks like we’re going to be utilizing those concentration camps to house Trump and friends once there’s accountability. We might need bigger camps.
To quote Chief Brody from Jaws, "You're gonna need a bigger camp."
Someone get the T-shirts made! I am so beyond ready.
Government of, by, and for the predators.
I hope the Dems are ahead of all this and are ready for heads to roll. If they aren’t on the starting blocks now the years long investigations, courts, stonewalling, more distractions more courts and lawyers will put any kind of justice or incarcerations well past I would guess a 10 year mark. Dems need to be ahead of this.
YES!! And moving forward with removing Schumer and the other geriatric proceduralists from their stranglehold on the Democratic Party.
I hope the DEMS have enough sense to get that done...I've been disappointed in their messaging but hopeful lately with people like Duckworth, AOC, Crockett... and the "Seditious Six". 😂😂 What a name...they are heroes!
From your words to God's ears.
Where are the Epstein files!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And where is the MRI?
Can you imagine the medical history file?
268 lbs, LDL of 195, Frontotemporal dementia, etc
T💩p’s NY arrest records show that he is actually 5’10” and 287#.
I’m 5’10” and 150lbs my bmi is perfect, his weight is double mine (close) I know that’s out of the acceptable zone and deep into morbid obesity. That alone should put him away!
Wow! But he’s so handsome in the AI version!
Quick, somebody put the pudding cup under his chin to catch the drool. He belongs in a memory care unit. Come on Congress, do your fucking job!
We’ll never know.
The deadline is Dec. 19.
Being “reviewed” for 30 days, per the latest ruling.
After review , the only words remaining : a , an , the . Then , after further review , those articles will be redacted .
1. That’s not a doctor peering at Gramps Poopypants, it’s an orderly waiting to take him away haha heehee hoho to the funny farm.
2. These assholes don’t care if we screw Ukraine, fuck up Venezuela and people get killed on a whim? It’s always about the money grift
….”to the happy home with trees and flowers and chirping birds and basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes And they’re coming to take me away..hahaaaaaaa”. Good one Kay-El!
Our age is showing
With age comes wisdom!🙂
That song freaked me out when I first heard it OH SO MANY years ago! 😂😂
https://music.apple.com/us/album/theyre-coming-to-take-me-away-ha-haaa-single/1483333861
Exercising Asset Forfeiture is one way to compensate US taxpayers for Trump Family grift and graft.
Google AI: "Asset forfeiture is the legal process where a government can seize property connected to criminal activity. Its purpose is to disrupt criminal enterprises by removing their financial resources. Asset forfeiture can occur through civil, criminal, or administrative actions, with each type having different legal requirements, such as a criminal conviction or property being directly involved in a crime."
They get a fuck-ton of money in the court system I thought it went to Ginny Thomas.
Sounds great to me!!
" . . . where life is beautiful all the time . . . "
Boy, that brings back memories! I was 11 and I loved that song.
Just saw this comment and had to repeat it:
"I've never seen a Brinks truck following a hearse".
Not the funny farm - a Dementia Unit is more like it. I am a Long-Term Care Ombudsman and I see stuff like this at my nursing home all the time. Everything in this photo indicates that Trump has advanced dementia. The name card on the table shows him where to sit. He's nodding out - a clear sign that things are going downhill. It's quite possible that later on someone came over to help him feed himself. This is not sustainable. Just imagine what would be going on if Joe Biden was the person in this picture! Why is Trump getting a free pass?? 25th Amendment time, folks! If I felt sorry for Trump, which I don't, I'd be calling his use as a figurehead "elder abuse."
Agreed that it is elder abuse but his sycophantic cabinet will prop him up until he dies. No one in the MAGA Congress will publicly suggest or vote 25th amendment, they’ll just retire to avoid it. I’d like to be wrong.
Why is the military blindly following Kegstand's orders? The officers know better.
hasn't Kegstand already fired all the leaders who would have balked at illegal orders?
Along with the entire Jag Corps
Admiral Frank "Mitch" Bradley thinks Trump and Kegbreath are right. He has proved his loyalty enough to become an Admiral! Now he has proved his disloyalty enough to murder.
But, Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), announced his early retirement in October 2025, as soon as Kegger decided to start blowing up boats. He's gonna be a witness at the trials!
I think there is standing for International trials once indicted they are toast the orders were illegal and that goes to the top. As I understand it a soldier of any rank can be tried.
The US is not a member of the International Criminal Court.
Where is all this Justice going to be meted out?
The US may not be a member, but that doesn’t mean the ICC can’t try Americans. There’s a reason W, Cheney & Rumsfeld didn’t take the big $ giving speeches overseas. They knew if they gave a speech in say Italy that they could be arrested & tried by the ICC.
Isn't this what Mark Kelly and the other lawmakers warned about? NOT blindly following orders from Kegbreath. And, based on what I know about the Navy SEALS, I thought they were a covert, low profile branch of the Navy. Not in your face blow live men to kingdom come. Navy SEALS can't be intimidated, and I think there's a lot more going on here that we will probably never know. What we do know is Prez. Dumbfuck and Drunken Pete are murderers.
Never forget that over 500,000 Americans died needlessly because of
T💩p’s Covid-19 lies and BS.
I will always maintain that T had Epstein killed.
I think that is patently obvious. Did you see the pics of the "suicide" scene. It was laughable.
I don’t think it goes to many and they did keep it low profile we won’t get the list unless it is demanded, I am going to ask Marc Alias he will be on it. I’ll be back.
Right? It’s infuriating.
There are at least 2 who quit. An admiral & a colonel.
Rinse and repeat:
The National Guard shooter was granted asylum by Trump. Trump pardoned the ex-president of Honduras, a drug-trafficker (aka: terrorist)
Rinse and repeat
The shooter may have been under orders. Trump is fully willing to target guardsmen to create an incident.
Charlie Kirk, for example.
There are a lot of questions. Will we ever see that guy alive again? Doubtful. What happened to the other so-called shooter? They are usually killed on the spot to keep them from talking.
They are too busy trying to cement their own place on top of post-Trump MAGA to care what the rest of us know.
The Orange Obscenity won't live to run in 2028. He may not make it to the midterms, despite his handlers best efforts.
From your lips....
Too driven by greed, and, too stupid to realize that the rage they created to manipulate & exploit us is finally being turned on them as it should be. They won't be able get that genie back in the bottle, they openly declared war on humanity in service to the god of greed. So much for all the cautions in the Christian bible about this.
As Elvis used to sing, "If I can dream . . . "
I sure hope you're right!
Thank you Jeff.
Here's an excerpt from my latest about how the concentration of wealth has driven our system to the edge of the abyss -and how to "Turn the Tide":
Turning the Tide
If we are serious about rescuing American democracy from its current freefall, then incrementalism is simply not enough. We need a profound shift—one that matches the scale of the crisis created by secretive billionaire PAC donations, extremist politics, corporate lobbying, and a governing class increasingly unmoored from “We, the People”.
Institutional reform alone is too passive for this moment. We must build a massive, nationwide political movement—unbound by political party, uncorrupted by billionaire money, and anchored in integrity, shared purpose, and the fundamental belief that government must work for all people, not just those with vast accumulated wealth.
Then, post-elections, the commitment of the subsequent Congress to the rapid rebuilding of the institutional guardrails that once kept governmental power accountable to the people. This means restoring the independence of Inspector Generals and watchdog agencies, enforcing ethics standards with real penalties for all -including Supreme Court Justices, reestablishing federal norms that constrain executive branch abuse, and modernizing the machinery of governance so it cannot be hijacked by those who treat public service as a tool for private gain.
This movement must be broad, multiracial, cross-generational, and rooted in civic courage rather than partisan loyalty or hat color. America’s future cannot depend any political party; it must depend on the health of what should be a vibrant democracy, its moral imagination, and its willingness to hold power to account. We need a coalition that demands transparency, fairness, and affirms that equality, dignity and justice are fundamental and mandatory.
Addressing the extremism, illegality, and strategic cruelty of the Trump administration, its GOP enablers, and their billionaire backers requires a willingness to establish new guardrails where the old ones have failed. The Supreme Court, compromised by conflicts of interest, political favoritism, and open defiance of precedent and ethical norms, cannot be the final arbiter of democratic integrity. To protect the Republic, we need an independent constitutional tribunal—empowered by Congress, insulated from political interference, and driven to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Its explicit purpose: to evaluate evidence, hold public hearings, and bar all individuals who participated in, supported, or enabled the attempt to overturn the 2020 election from ever again holding public office. A democracy that cannot disqualify insurrectionists cannot defend itself. There must be retroactive taxation consideration given to the societal level fraud of trickle down that has encouraged the unabated accumulation of wealth by the few. No democracy can survive an extreme wealth inequality, and we must understand that policies supporting tax cuts for the wealthy to “encourage investment and job growth” represent a direct attack on a fair and equitable system.
https://bomdia.substack.com/p/democracys-hostile-takeover
I agree with what you've written George. The question is not "What must we do?" post-Trump but "How will we do it?" I would be very interested in your thoughts.
Incrementalism won't cut it. You're spot on. The current, elderly-led Democratic Party won't cut it. Like him or not, Mamdani wrote an election playbook that will be followed for years IF he can accomplish most of what he promised. And people will pay more attention to the "how", versus the strategy that preceded it.
I was a management consultant most of my career and know first-hand, great strategies can be developed to meet great goals - for business or society. The key is execution/implementation. Or as Nike would say, "Just do it."
Alas, easier said than done.
Very true Joe -and thank you. There is no question it will require a unified wave of voters who have directed their righteous anger and frustration, not toward a single parent trying to survive, not toward an immigrant or refugee, not toward the BIPOC community, not toward LGBTQ+, and not anywhere Rupert Murdoch, Zuckerberg, Musk, or others in the media are pointing, and certainly not at books in a school library.
If people understand that the wealth of a nation is finite and a handful of people have extracted it -by diminishing all of our lives and that of future generations, there will be a reckoning. If there is a massive, loosely-coupled voter wave demanding bold, short-term fixes that establish the foundation for long-term governance for and by "we the people" (eventually leading toward an educated, informed, and engaged society capable of a fair and just participatory democracy and participatory budgeting) that is, from my perspective, the optimal multi-generational path to a free, fair, and equitable society. We are beyond an inflection point and, as a management consultant you know many clients report "but we've always done it this way" in the face of desperately needed innovation.
Just as healthcare requires a systematic and bold shift to a proactive/preventative system, our representative democracy requires a 21st Century update in the face of the erosion of the education system, the unaffordability of higher education, and the consolidation of media entities who no longer inform, they simply "Manufacture Consent".
While I almost think a revised "Contract with America" (conjured by Newt Gingrich or perhaps one of his ex-wives) would be compelling to force Congress to provision a tribunal outside of the current system to hold all who have contributed and conspired to undermine and subvert the system, the law already exists in the Fourteenth Amendment, and Congress is already bound to their Oath of Office. A large, angry society must hold them to account for what they are already responsible to uphold.
We cannot be continued to be blocked and obstructed by the likes of worm-like sycophant Mike Johnson, the so-called "Freedom Caucus" and others.
There are societal and global challenges that demand our immediate attention (Climate, Conflict, and post-AI human labor demand loss economics), or else the political situation, in a couple of generations, won't matter because we will have destroyed our planetary home.
That’s a lot of work and dare I say incrementalism?
Yes I think you're right Douglas.
This has to start with the voters. We saw earlier this month just how dissatisfied they are with what is happening in the pubic square. No one seems to be listening to them.
A lot of voters are now up for grabs. They will be won with a promise to make their lives better, and a plan for how to do it.
The Trump administration has strayed very from campaign promises to address inflation and high prices. Rather, they have been fixated on removing every single illegal immigrant with a threatening group of masked ICE agents. Most people find this repulsive.
In the meantime, prices keep climbing. Trump's support for huge data center buildouts to support AI will 1) put data centers where people don't want them and 2) drive energy prices high and place the burden on taxpayers, who get zero benefit.
I believe the midterms will be a continuation of what we saw in early November. By then, energy and health insurance prices will be prohibitive for even middle class families. The Dems are the natural choice here to solve this, but not in their current incarnation.
The Dems need to clear away "lifers" like Schumer and "gasbags" like Cory Booker. It will take a great deal of work to recruit and elect a new, younger breed of Dems. It is, or should be, very doable.
A great Substack on this topic is Crisis and Transition. It outlines a plan for a new form of governance with a democratic economy. Appropriately, the logo is a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
Thank you for sharing Paula! If we are able to transcend the dystopian challenges of today, I continue to consider how AI and robotics will displace a massive amount of human labor demand -and how to design a fair and equitable economy predicated on living wages.
And fair lending practices. As long as the monthly interest payment is higher than the principal for mortgages, etc., the consumer will be a voting serf indentured to usury. Also, the speed-of-light adoption of AI to replace labor, including knowledge workers, is possibly the biggest threat to a thriving workforce.
Kegsbreath ordering murder on the high seas and those who launched those drones and fired those rockets are guilty of war crimes.Full stop.
Exactly. Jamie Dimon is smart enough to know that eventually we will have a real DOJ back and that they will prosecute real crimes, like killing survivors. This is not allowed in anybody's rules of war, well except Hitler and Pol Pot I suppose. Oh and Netanyahu. Can't forget that evil piece of offal.
And Dimon is the fucking devil—we are in the upside-down now…
Trust me, Dimon and all the other robber barons will help generously fund the next Republican presidential campaign. He's no fan of Mamdani's vision.
Incoming pardons in 3....2....1..................
OMG Trump has looked truly awful the last few months, but this pic may be the worst. It looks like he's about to go face down in a pile of ketchup-swamped McDonald's french fries.
Come to think of it, that would be a fitting end.
I love to contemplate that end. Or he could die on the pot like poor Elvis, another guy who was manipulated and drugged by his handlers. Sadly.
You are absolutely right: A hit dog always hollers.
There is precedent here. Exactly 80 years ago today German U-Boat Commander Heinz Wilhelm Eck was executed by firing squad — along with 2 officers under his command — for killing survivors at sea.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/11/30/2356144/-A-History-of-Murder-on-the-High-Seas-The-Execution-of-Captain-Heinz-Eck
He was sentenced to death for doing what Hegseth did.
Well, this certainly gives me a glimmer of hope! Thank you for your post and the link.🙂👍
Hope always belongs to us. If they take that from us, they win.
Remember that.
HA! He was on the losing side. As long as America is powerful and strong, International courts will not touch these murderers.
A first cousin of my maternal grandfather was a flight engineer/gunner on a B-17, “Windy City.” The 17 was shot down over Germany, the crew bailed out and then split up on the ground. My cousin was with the pilot and co-pilot. They were captured by a local militia unit, taken into the woods, executed and buried. After the war the leader of that unit was tried for war crimes and executed. My cousin, TSGT Milton Erich, was 24, having had a birthday only a week or two before his final mission. He was re-buried in a Lodi, California, his mother lies next to him. His sacrifice has been desecrated.
Note, too, that Hegseth writes "if we are forced to fight." O rly? Does anyone who knows how many beans make ten think that that's what they're waiting for? Being "forced" to fight? No, what he means is, "when we decide we want to go in and take something..."
Kegseth appears to be one of those guys who got a taste of combat and discovered he really, really likes the idea of violence and killing and he can't wait to do more of it. Hence, proclaiming it's the Department of War now: it's what he wants. The guy is seriously unbalanced and bloodthirsty. And he's working hand in hand with President Nosferatu and Donnie Demento, who share the same sadistic impulses.
To them, after the bloodshed they can wallow in, the perk will be Venezuela's oil.
Or, he can't wait to order others to do more of it. I doubt he'd leap at the chance to (as Jack Nicholson says in A Few Good Men) "pick up a weapon and stand a post."
He'd shoot his own nuts off, as evidenced by his physical aptitude with the skateboard, axe throwing, and chin ups in the gym.
Ellis, how many beans make ten? 🤣🤣
What’s happening with the Epstein files? Can we expect a simultaneous invasion of Venezuela to coincide with their release?
I am convinced that those files have been so redacted that there will be no content. That's how Donnie rolls. He is a criminal.
Jay Kuo and Joyce Vance disagree. They say it is very difficult to alter ... I'll try to find that link.
Yes, I follow both of them. But so what if we see that pages have been removed? What will be done about that? Where can the missing pages be found. IDK.
From November 19th: https://open.substack.com/pub/statuskuo/p/everyone-take-a-victory-lapand-a?r=39x24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thank-you for sharing those links. I read somewhere that France has copies of the Epstein files. Don't ask me where I read it. I am sure many eyes have viewed these documents and files also.
Well, I'm pretty sure that Putin has them, not that he would share them with USA.
It would be very difficult for tampering to happen and not be detected. I dunno... I still think that the files will eventually be shared and what we see will be damning to the felon and plenty of other people. Just me hoping.
I'm hoping, too. We shall see.
Merrick Garland was/is a good man. He was simply the wrong man for the job. The next Democratic AG has to restore the DoJ and prosecute whomever the facts and the law indicate in the current maladministration, starting with Hegseth and Noem.
I’d pick Jack Smith for AG. He already knows so much.
That would be a great choice with the added benefit of driving the MAGAts crazy.
I hadn’t even considered how a Smith appointment as AG would put whatever remains of the MAGA mob would leave them foaming at the whatever. Bonus point!
Jasmine Crockett. Glenn Kerscner
Yes, but my advice would be not take anyone from Congress and risk losing the seat in a special election given that margins are likely to be close for some time to come. Kirschner would be good but I'm not sure he'd want the job.
Daniel
I agree with the slim margin.
Maybe Pete Buttegieg (sp)
Kirschner would not want the top DOJ job. He would make a great number 2 or 3. He is so experienced and wise.
Definitely need someone aggressive and not passive such as Merrick Garland.
Jack Smith?
Mayor Pete would be more useful in other roles. Jack Smith, if he would take it on.