Part of what is so chilling is that it's so obvious. That is, shameless. Errors notwithstanding, that is testament to how confident they are that they can succeed which is, in turn, how long the relevant gang (2025ers, et al) have been planning for every resistance contingency. This is not to be discouraging. But it can be useful to know we are playing multi-dimensional chess and ready to anticipate and block their moves as early, smartly, and strategically/creatively as possible.
The real question isn’t whether democracy can survive lies. It’s whether citizens can still recognize when they’re being lied to, and whether institutions reward that recognition or punish it.
He is in the megalomania and most dangerous phase of his serious emotional disorder. He can no longer help himself from seeking the widest control and most punishing revenge against all those he chooses, known or unknown, who are now in his power to control and hurt. His family and business activities demonstrated this to a lesser degree resulting in divorces, affairs, sexual aggressions, frauds, bankruptcies of both his own businesses and problems for those who he constantly stiffed, and more recently convicted felonies. He cannot help himself and must be stopped. Vote.
Also a shrink. I wish it were "only" Trump. Vance would probably be more dangerous because of his ties to the real power people on the American right. For them, Trump supplies distraction and entertainment. But they'd find another clown for that. Their plans and policy aims run much deeper.
They found Hitler 100 years ago. They know now how to proceed quietly. They failed in 1939 and were tried, but it was declared a mistrial in 1945. Truman told the DOJ to not seek a re-trial for the sake of healing as the war ended. Senator Robert Taft walked free and the GOP started incremenaly with Ronald Reagan as their first serious test horse. The Free Speach Movement led to the Powell memo and with Murdoch's Presidentialy expedited citizenship, the Roger Ailes propaganda machine was off to the races. Reagan started the dumbing down of America as California governor with Howard Jarvis spreading this new taxpayer revolt across the country n the name of eliminating "Frills" in the educational system. History and critical thinking were the greatest threat to their agenda and that became the mantra of patriarchy. That is a short synopsis.
There were other faces to chose from, but Trump's overt racism and againt the grainran antics convinced them the he was the one who could rouse the angry progeny of the soldiers (not officers) of the Confederacy to rise up, as they have. Biola College and other Southern Baptist pro slavery, Tennesseeish Scopes Trial institutions educated the sons and daughters of the John Birch Society and much of the like minded others. I have gone to school with and worked alongside these people. Listening to the daughters of the local JBS laugh and giggle hysterically as the news of the JFK assasination was piped into our classrooms at noon that day, 10-22-63.
He may be nuts, but he's the president. For another three years. But yes, vote, and talk and write to politicians. Especially Republicans. He's their man.
Trump will only be the President for 3 more years because a gaggle of butt-kissing sycophants that are the heart of the current GOP will remain his enablers and prevent any sort of Constitutionally-authorized action to remove him and, hopefully, JD Vance from office. The GOP is THE terrorist organization in all this!
And as they have demonstrated The GOP enables and eagerly supports and promotes any action trump puts in motion to destroy the country, enrich himself and those millionaires around him, and continue to control all aspects of government to be the US dictator.
If he's "nuts," as you say, does that mean we're all a little bit nuts? He wants control and wants to be adored. Don't we all have a little bit of that in us?
I don't know about all of us, "Avoiding Reprisal."
I do know that 77 million of us heard him say of immigrants, legally recognized immigrants, "They're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats" -- and voted for him.
I do know that 77 million Americans heard him brag of grabbing women by the pussy -- and voted for him.
I know that the same 77 million have the evidence of his palling around for many years with the world's worst sex traffickers of underage girls -- and voted for him.
I know these 77 million have seen him befriend, suck up to Putin -- and Netanyahu, and Mohammed bin Salman, and North Korea's Kim, and Egypt's Sisi, and India's Modi, and Turkey's Erdogan, and Hungary's Orban, and El Salvador's Bukele -- and voted for him.
Saw him convicted -- 34 criminal counts -- by a jury of his peers-- and voted for him.
They saw him lead an insurrection against our Congress -- and voted for him.
I think you missed the larger point. He's not sick or psychologically diseased. My point was rhetorical. If he was sick or psychologically "diseased" he would not be in control and he could not be held responsible for his behavior.
He has agency. He is not "nuts." He knows what he's doing. He is a criminal. He should be help responsible.
You took literally what I intended to be figurative.
It appears you took literally what I meant figuratively or rhetorically. My point was that he is not to be pitied, as a person who is diseased. If a person is diseased, they cannot be held responsible for their behavior. He is a person who has agency. His ego is gargantuan and his lust for attention is different than most humans in degree but not kind. Sometimes these things are hard to explain without writing an essay.
Actually we all ARE a little bit nuts and we all HAVE the capacity within us to do evil. The point and the difference is that those in power are now using their “nuts” to justify the evil they are doing while we, despite the justified rage they induce in us, choose to remain kind and good and obey the law. Our “nuts” are being tested- hopefully together we will endure and thrive. Vote and get out the vote.
I'm not sure if obedience and compliance is the best response in this situation. Compliance makes for a good quiet citizen. Compliance is what everybody seems to want. Good children are compliant and we all want to be good children and get pats on the head. But what if good children don't want to live with bad parents? Should we still be nice and kind and obedient? Being a good citizen of the United States is not about being compliant, it's about being free.
And you're certain we will get that opportunity? That doesn't sound like something a dictator would risk, the vote. I recommend you read, On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder.
I don't think obeying the law means being quiet at all. And yes, I've read On Tyranny and urge everyone to do so as well. His analysis is (as usual) brilliant and succinct. Right now as bad as things are, and getting worse by the minute, I still do have hope that we can stop this onslaught in time to save and rebuild on what is left. Am I terrified about Hegseth's insane call to the armed forces bigwigs? Absolutely, but let's see where that takes us - and them. We are in this together.
I believe your analysis of this situation is specious. Your analysis relieves him of personal responsibility because he may be diagnosable with a "disorder." If he has a disorder he cannot be held completely responsible. In turn, he can only be held responsible for not getting his disorder treated.
Does he have agency?
Has he been diagnosed with a delusional disorder or a thought disorder? Does he have oppositional defiant disorder? I suspect that would be a common disorder that criminals could claim to have.
To clarify: I believe that he has reached a point at which he is NOW out of control of his impulses and compulsions. He has known that many of his choices were evil or criminal but the expansion of power he has achieved put him over the line in terms of control. This doesn’t absolve him of responsibility ethically and probably not legally either.
According to legitimate sources, he has been frightening his whole life, and continues to be frightening. He is one of many who cannot control impulses. He is not unique. This is the reason we have the law. People who have an internal locus of control may not need the law. They can control themselves without needing fear of punishment to be moral and responsible.
Donald Trump, like many people, needs the fear of punishment to control his impulses. But he is the exceptional position of being able to control the law. Therefore, he no longer has external controls limiting his impulses.
He has created a situation where there are no more checks and balances that would normally limit him. He recognizes that he has freedom with no responsibility. This is a criminal's dream.
Punishment? In what form?. The legal circuses he went through did nothing but amplify his gargantuan ego. Punishment is intended to stop bad behavior. He wasn't punished. His behavior was glorified.
And…another shrink here. We need to do nothing more than observe and comment on his behavior. It is beyond dangerous. But I concur that this movement goes far beyond Trump. As he appears to become more demented, and as his associations become wilder and more tangential, I think he will become a puppet for the Project 25 folks. In some ways, he already is, but I have visions of them propping up a drooling old man, making statements they attribute to him. Where does this leave us? While we can’t diagnose him, we sure as hell can talk about behaviors we know are dangerous. And I think it helps a lot to encourage and motivate those whose hope is flagging. We’re in this for the long haul, and we all become weary and discouraged.
Agreed on all points, Dr. Snyder. What we need are people to step into the leadership roles and most of us will willingly follow. Cory Booker, Chris Miller, Adam Schiff we need you now,
The majority of the Democratic Party has failed its constituents horrendously.
When almost 100 of them vote to honour rabid racist Charlie Kirk, at the same time that Republican radicals are casting unwarranted blame on anyone seemingly left, you should know those political hacks don’t represent your salvation from MAGA madness.
There needs to be a SHUTDOWN, that is orchestrated by the people. You don’t need politicians to be the flag bearers in your righteous crusade for justice. YOU hold the power.
This needs to be a continuous effort that doesn’t waver until basic human dignities and rights are returned. You can’t pencil in a period of a few days and then relent, expecting there to be any significant impact. The public needs to rise up nationwide. You are the majority several times over. If you are not willing to temporarily sacrifice and suffer now, you had better prepare yourselves, your children and your grandchildren to be permanently under the dictator’s boot. Project 2025 is in hyper drive, but the public is still acting shellshocked. You need to snap out of it. You do not have months to strategize. The time to rise up was yesterday. Haven’t you witnessed enough to realize where the country is headed? The Billionaires are playing you for suckers. They need a shot of cold hard reality, to remind them that this is your damn country. Waiting for elections in 2026/28 is a sucker’s bet, that they are counting on you falling for. Let the politicians squabble endlessly, while they witness the massive swell of the peoples’ outrage in the streets. They need to be reminded that it is YOU who pays their huge salaries, covers all their expenses and gives them the security of lucrative pensions, regardless of how terrible they perform.
They are drunk on their self-inflated importance. They were elected to serve. They have failed miserably. They have sold you out at every turn, while enriching themselves and their cronies. Don’t you believe you deserve better? Don’t you believe it is time for major changes? Don’t you believe the world could be a better place? Don’t you believe this fight is just? It is time to realize that there is no calvary coming in this B grade saga. The only hope of a happy ending is if the collective masses demand to dictate how this drama ends.
Thanks for reading john king! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Very encouraging words by James Comey this morning:
"My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” Comey said.
Referencing the farewell email his daughter, Maureen, sent after she was fired from her job as a federal prosecutor in New York, Comey said: “Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant. And she’s right. But I’m not afraid. And I hope you’re not either.
“I hope instead you are engaged. You are paying attention, and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”
I value what you reason here, in case I AM SELECTED as someone, critical of Trump and an avid LTE writer. I often point out Trump's illogic, immorality, lack of support for our democracy and our Constitution. I am just as apt as anyone else, not-devoted-to-Trump, to be picked out. Thank you for your reasoning here. Just head Jim Comey on Anderson Cooper's show, and he also speaks truth to power today, tonight. Thank you again.
Agree but Trump’s behavior this past week at the UN and today’s treatment of Comey plus the recall of all Generals and Admirals suggest that he has already gone fully into a dictatorship. This must be reversed.
The Dual State, a book by Ernst Fraenkel, originally published in 1941, documents the displacement during the Weimar Republic after February 1933 of the regular, "normative," judiciary and its processes and values by the "prerogative" state that the National Socialists implemented.
Fraenkel cites case reports from appeals courts, demonstrating the arbitrariness of the new superseding system. Ultimately, appeals to normal legal concepts became futile.
Whoever reads Dr Tim Snyder's messages here might consider buying a copy of The Dual State, reading it, and donating it to your local public library or recommending it to law-school professor acquaintances.
Fraenkel subtitled his book, "A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship."
The 2010 English edition is published by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., Clark, New Jersey.
It's a little expensive, but I urge you to buy a copy and to put it into the hands of someone who is in a position to use it well.
And/Or folks could subscribe to and read Seth Abramson whose Substack post yesterday paints vividly how exactly we no longer have a DOJ or FBI… they are fully controlled by Trump. It’s a long read…. Seth has written 7 books on Trump… a most prolific and detailed chronicler.
Given all of the posts I’ve read today, it is tempting to throw up one’s hands - so now will go look for something optimistic to gain my composure and retake the fight.
I see a number of people "like" this comment of mine from yesterday.
The book I recommend, The Dual State, by Ernst Fraenkel, is obscure, but with a little effort, you can get a good bookseller to have a copy printed for you. Expect to pay about $35.
I hope that at least a few of you will find a way to rescue the book from obscurity. Share it with others!
The timing of the Terror Memo should look more disturbing if the American public considers the implication of ALL the senior military heads now being summoned from around the globe to attend an in-person meeting called by the Secretary of the Department of War. No advance agenda or reason is given for such an extreme measure, for having all the top military command of all military service branches in a closed and confined "meeting."
Will loyalty to their oath to the constitution hold, or is this a planned decapitation of those who refuse a mandatory oath of loyalty to the whims of an American dictator? Is this what is installed while America sleeps? In Canada we have a parliamentary democracy (with many flaws), but Americans have what the founders described as "a republic, if you can keep it".
The rest of the free world may never the opportunity to find out if your courts will hold for the rule of law, if the constitution is subsumed by a military-enforced regime. It would be a sad day for freedom if it is an end of your experiment without a 250th commemoration.
This is such an important point --- the very NON existence of their big left bogeyman is a key tool since it paves the way for the neverending witchhunts they want. If something doesn't exist you can look for it forever, threaten forever, impose emergency measures forever in your hunts for it. There's frightening method to their ridiculous rants about Antifa and The Left.
To what degree are we seeing and likely to see more FALSE FLAG operations to offer justification for this abominable nonsense? This ICE shooting seems tremendously suspicious (and I am generally very disinclined to go to conspiracy theories). Ice officers are everywhere…what is the actual likelihood that detainees would be mistakenly killed if officers were the real target??
Part of what is so chilling is that it's so obvious. That is, shameless. Errors notwithstanding, that is testament to how confident they are that they can succeed which is, in turn, how long the relevant gang (2025ers, et al) have been planning for every resistance contingency. This is not to be discouraging. But it can be useful to know we are playing multi-dimensional chess and ready to anticipate and block their moves as early, smartly, and strategically/creatively as possible.
The real question isn’t whether democracy can survive lies. It’s whether citizens can still recognize when they’re being lied to, and whether institutions reward that recognition or punish it.
Read my last piece to learn more.
—Johan
Former Foreign Service Officer
Well, they are. We're playing checkers
He is in the megalomania and most dangerous phase of his serious emotional disorder. He can no longer help himself from seeking the widest control and most punishing revenge against all those he chooses, known or unknown, who are now in his power to control and hurt. His family and business activities demonstrated this to a lesser degree resulting in divorces, affairs, sexual aggressions, frauds, bankruptcies of both his own businesses and problems for those who he constantly stiffed, and more recently convicted felonies. He cannot help himself and must be stopped. Vote.
Also a shrink. I wish it were "only" Trump. Vance would probably be more dangerous because of his ties to the real power people on the American right. For them, Trump supplies distraction and entertainment. But they'd find another clown for that. Their plans and policy aims run much deeper.
They found Hitler 100 years ago. They know now how to proceed quietly. They failed in 1939 and were tried, but it was declared a mistrial in 1945. Truman told the DOJ to not seek a re-trial for the sake of healing as the war ended. Senator Robert Taft walked free and the GOP started incremenaly with Ronald Reagan as their first serious test horse. The Free Speach Movement led to the Powell memo and with Murdoch's Presidentialy expedited citizenship, the Roger Ailes propaganda machine was off to the races. Reagan started the dumbing down of America as California governor with Howard Jarvis spreading this new taxpayer revolt across the country n the name of eliminating "Frills" in the educational system. History and critical thinking were the greatest threat to their agenda and that became the mantra of patriarchy. That is a short synopsis.
There were other faces to chose from, but Trump's overt racism and againt the grainran antics convinced them the he was the one who could rouse the angry progeny of the soldiers (not officers) of the Confederacy to rise up, as they have. Biola College and other Southern Baptist pro slavery, Tennesseeish Scopes Trial institutions educated the sons and daughters of the John Birch Society and much of the like minded others. I have gone to school with and worked alongside these people. Listening to the daughters of the local JBS laugh and giggle hysterically as the news of the JFK assasination was piped into our classrooms at noon that day, 10-22-63.
Those are the people we are dealing with.
He may be nuts, but he's the president. For another three years. But yes, vote, and talk and write to politicians. Especially Republicans. He's their man.
Trump will only be the President for 3 more years because a gaggle of butt-kissing sycophants that are the heart of the current GOP will remain his enablers and prevent any sort of Constitutionally-authorized action to remove him and, hopefully, JD Vance from office. The GOP is THE terrorist organization in all this!
Standley, I agree.
And as they have demonstrated The GOP enables and eagerly supports and promotes any action trump puts in motion to destroy the country, enrich himself and those millionaires around him, and continue to control all aspects of government to be the US dictator.
If he's "nuts," as you say, does that mean we're all a little bit nuts? He wants control and wants to be adored. Don't we all have a little bit of that in us?
I don't know about all of us, "Avoiding Reprisal."
I do know that 77 million of us heard him say of immigrants, legally recognized immigrants, "They're eating the dogs. They're eating the cats" -- and voted for him.
I do know that 77 million Americans heard him brag of grabbing women by the pussy -- and voted for him.
I know that the same 77 million have the evidence of his palling around for many years with the world's worst sex traffickers of underage girls -- and voted for him.
I know these 77 million have seen him befriend, suck up to Putin -- and Netanyahu, and Mohammed bin Salman, and North Korea's Kim, and Egypt's Sisi, and India's Modi, and Turkey's Erdogan, and Hungary's Orban, and El Salvador's Bukele -- and voted for him.
Saw him convicted -- 34 criminal counts -- by a jury of his peers-- and voted for him.
They saw him lead an insurrection against our Congress -- and voted for him.
I think you missed the larger point. He's not sick or psychologically diseased. My point was rhetorical. If he was sick or psychologically "diseased" he would not be in control and he could not be held responsible for his behavior.
He has agency. He is not "nuts." He knows what he's doing. He is a criminal. He should be help responsible.
You took literally what I intended to be figurative.
Please recycle this post again again in various contexts -- and there will be plenty of them.
I certainly do not want seek control or to be adored by others.
It appears you took literally what I meant figuratively or rhetorically. My point was that he is not to be pitied, as a person who is diseased. If a person is diseased, they cannot be held responsible for their behavior. He is a person who has agency. His ego is gargantuan and his lust for attention is different than most humans in degree but not kind. Sometimes these things are hard to explain without writing an essay.
He is not mentally ill. He is a criminal.
Right, he is a criminal. And so is the GOP Congress that goes along with him ‘till the death- or better said ‘till the enrichment …
for the love of pete....we are humans, but some of us carry the nuclear codes 24.7
Your point?
Actually we all ARE a little bit nuts and we all HAVE the capacity within us to do evil. The point and the difference is that those in power are now using their “nuts” to justify the evil they are doing while we, despite the justified rage they induce in us, choose to remain kind and good and obey the law. Our “nuts” are being tested- hopefully together we will endure and thrive. Vote and get out the vote.
I'm not sure if obedience and compliance is the best response in this situation. Compliance makes for a good quiet citizen. Compliance is what everybody seems to want. Good children are compliant and we all want to be good children and get pats on the head. But what if good children don't want to live with bad parents? Should we still be nice and kind and obedient? Being a good citizen of the United States is not about being compliant, it's about being free.
And you're certain we will get that opportunity? That doesn't sound like something a dictator would risk, the vote. I recommend you read, On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder.
I don't think obeying the law means being quiet at all. And yes, I've read On Tyranny and urge everyone to do so as well. His analysis is (as usual) brilliant and succinct. Right now as bad as things are, and getting worse by the minute, I still do have hope that we can stop this onslaught in time to save and rebuild on what is left. Am I terrified about Hegseth's insane call to the armed forces bigwigs? Absolutely, but let's see where that takes us - and them. We are in this together.
I believe your analysis of this situation is specious. Your analysis relieves him of personal responsibility because he may be diagnosable with a "disorder." If he has a disorder he cannot be held completely responsible. In turn, he can only be held responsible for not getting his disorder treated.
Does he have agency?
Has he been diagnosed with a delusional disorder or a thought disorder? Does he have oppositional defiant disorder? I suspect that would be a common disorder that criminals could claim to have.
To clarify: I believe that he has reached a point at which he is NOW out of control of his impulses and compulsions. He has known that many of his choices were evil or criminal but the expansion of power he has achieved put him over the line in terms of control. This doesn’t absolve him of responsibility ethically and probably not legally either.
According to legitimate sources, he has been frightening his whole life, and continues to be frightening. He is one of many who cannot control impulses. He is not unique. This is the reason we have the law. People who have an internal locus of control may not need the law. They can control themselves without needing fear of punishment to be moral and responsible.
Donald Trump, like many people, needs the fear of punishment to control his impulses. But he is the exceptional position of being able to control the law. Therefore, he no longer has external controls limiting his impulses.
He has created a situation where there are no more checks and balances that would normally limit him. He recognizes that he has freedom with no responsibility. This is a criminal's dream.
But he can and has been punished civilly.
Punishment? In what form?. The legal circuses he went through did nothing but amplify his gargantuan ego. Punishment is intended to stop bad behavior. He wasn't punished. His behavior was glorified.
Yes, VOTE!
And you believe that opportunity will occur? Tell me you're not smoking hopium again.
And…another shrink here. We need to do nothing more than observe and comment on his behavior. It is beyond dangerous. But I concur that this movement goes far beyond Trump. As he appears to become more demented, and as his associations become wilder and more tangential, I think he will become a puppet for the Project 25 folks. In some ways, he already is, but I have visions of them propping up a drooling old man, making statements they attribute to him. Where does this leave us? While we can’t diagnose him, we sure as hell can talk about behaviors we know are dangerous. And I think it helps a lot to encourage and motivate those whose hope is flagging. We’re in this for the long haul, and we all become weary and discouraged.
Agreed on all points, Dr. Snyder. What we need are people to step into the leadership roles and most of us will willingly follow. Cory Booker, Chris Miller, Adam Schiff we need you now,
There are no others. We are all there is.
Fortunately, many of us are feisty.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR
THE TIME FOR ACTION WAS YESTERDAY
Let’s cut to the chase.
The majority of the Democratic Party has failed its constituents horrendously.
When almost 100 of them vote to honour rabid racist Charlie Kirk, at the same time that Republican radicals are casting unwarranted blame on anyone seemingly left, you should know those political hacks don’t represent your salvation from MAGA madness.
There needs to be a SHUTDOWN, that is orchestrated by the people. You don’t need politicians to be the flag bearers in your righteous crusade for justice. YOU hold the power.
This needs to be a continuous effort that doesn’t waver until basic human dignities and rights are returned. You can’t pencil in a period of a few days and then relent, expecting there to be any significant impact. The public needs to rise up nationwide. You are the majority several times over. If you are not willing to temporarily sacrifice and suffer now, you had better prepare yourselves, your children and your grandchildren to be permanently under the dictator’s boot. Project 2025 is in hyper drive, but the public is still acting shellshocked. You need to snap out of it. You do not have months to strategize. The time to rise up was yesterday. Haven’t you witnessed enough to realize where the country is headed? The Billionaires are playing you for suckers. They need a shot of cold hard reality, to remind them that this is your damn country. Waiting for elections in 2026/28 is a sucker’s bet, that they are counting on you falling for. Let the politicians squabble endlessly, while they witness the massive swell of the peoples’ outrage in the streets. They need to be reminded that it is YOU who pays their huge salaries, covers all their expenses and gives them the security of lucrative pensions, regardless of how terrible they perform.
They are drunk on their self-inflated importance. They were elected to serve. They have failed miserably. They have sold you out at every turn, while enriching themselves and their cronies. Don’t you believe you deserve better? Don’t you believe it is time for major changes? Don’t you believe the world could be a better place? Don’t you believe this fight is just? It is time to realize that there is no calvary coming in this B grade saga. The only hope of a happy ending is if the collective masses demand to dictate how this drama ends.
Thanks for reading john king! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
👏🏼. Midterms are going to reign him in some if it goes our way, but we must do what you have said as well in a peaceful way.
"We all have a roll. It can be stopped."
Very encouraging words by James Comey this morning:
"My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn’t imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either,” Comey said.
Referencing the farewell email his daughter, Maureen, sent after she was fired from her job as a federal prosecutor in New York, Comey said: “Somebody that I love dearly recently said that fear is the tool of a tyrant. And she’s right. But I’m not afraid. And I hope you’re not either.
“I hope instead you are engaged. You are paying attention, and you will vote like your beloved country depends upon it. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system and I’m innocent. So let’s have a trial. And keep the faith.”
I value what you reason here, in case I AM SELECTED as someone, critical of Trump and an avid LTE writer. I often point out Trump's illogic, immorality, lack of support for our democracy and our Constitution. I am just as apt as anyone else, not-devoted-to-Trump, to be picked out. Thank you for your reasoning here. Just head Jim Comey on Anderson Cooper's show, and he also speaks truth to power today, tonight. Thank you again.
Agree but Trump’s behavior this past week at the UN and today’s treatment of Comey plus the recall of all Generals and Admirals suggest that he has already gone fully into a dictatorship. This must be reversed.
I just had a thought.
The Dual State, a book by Ernst Fraenkel, originally published in 1941, documents the displacement during the Weimar Republic after February 1933 of the regular, "normative," judiciary and its processes and values by the "prerogative" state that the National Socialists implemented.
Fraenkel cites case reports from appeals courts, demonstrating the arbitrariness of the new superseding system. Ultimately, appeals to normal legal concepts became futile.
Whoever reads Dr Tim Snyder's messages here might consider buying a copy of The Dual State, reading it, and donating it to your local public library or recommending it to law-school professor acquaintances.
Fraenkel subtitled his book, "A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship."
The 2010 English edition is published by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., Clark, New Jersey.
It's a little expensive, but I urge you to buy a copy and to put it into the hands of someone who is in a position to use it well.
\Vince S
And/Or folks could subscribe to and read Seth Abramson whose Substack post yesterday paints vividly how exactly we no longer have a DOJ or FBI… they are fully controlled by Trump. It’s a long read…. Seth has written 7 books on Trump… a most prolific and detailed chronicler.
Given all of the posts I’ve read today, it is tempting to throw up one’s hands - so now will go look for something optimistic to gain my composure and retake the fight.
I see a number of people "like" this comment of mine from yesterday.
The book I recommend, The Dual State, by Ernst Fraenkel, is obscure, but with a little effort, you can get a good bookseller to have a copy printed for you. Expect to pay about $35.
I hope that at least a few of you will find a way to rescue the book from obscurity. Share it with others!
Thank you.
\Vince S
The timing of the Terror Memo should look more disturbing if the American public considers the implication of ALL the senior military heads now being summoned from around the globe to attend an in-person meeting called by the Secretary of the Department of War. No advance agenda or reason is given for such an extreme measure, for having all the top military command of all military service branches in a closed and confined "meeting."
Will loyalty to their oath to the constitution hold, or is this a planned decapitation of those who refuse a mandatory oath of loyalty to the whims of an American dictator? Is this what is installed while America sleeps? In Canada we have a parliamentary democracy (with many flaws), but Americans have what the founders described as "a republic, if you can keep it".
The rest of the free world may never the opportunity to find out if your courts will hold for the rule of law, if the constitution is subsumed by a military-enforced regime. It would be a sad day for freedom if it is an end of your experiment without a 250th commemoration.
Say it ain't so, Joe!
This is such an important point --- the very NON existence of their big left bogeyman is a key tool since it paves the way for the neverending witchhunts they want. If something doesn't exist you can look for it forever, threaten forever, impose emergency measures forever in your hunts for it. There's frightening method to their ridiculous rants about Antifa and The Left.
The purge begins. I heard that explicit threat from a Pam Bondi clip ... This means we can go for anybody
Left out word: he is a great threat to democracy regardless of his type of mental illness. Put him in a special category— malignant dictators.
Thank you so much!!! Your deep wisdom always provides hope and renewed strength for the fight. 💙
To what degree are we seeing and likely to see more FALSE FLAG operations to offer justification for this abominable nonsense? This ICE shooting seems tremendously suspicious (and I am generally very disinclined to go to conspiracy theories). Ice officers are everywhere…what is the actual likelihood that detainees would be mistakenly killed if officers were the real target??