trump (convicted felon, defamer, insurrectionist, contemnor, and rapist - $537M)

[TheNewSaint]

But it does not matter, because he isn't going to fukken win.

After yesterday, I don't think it matters anymore. Trump and his enablers will cook up some scheme to get himself declared president. Either by winning the election, by "winning" the election, or going tO the SCOTUS with all his bogus claims that worked well enough after 2020.

[p0rtia]

[Dr. Ken]

[Ben-Prime]

You will have to be wary of him trying violence when he does lose.

No, the violence will be well prior to the election results being known. Last time, they engaged in various protests at vote tabulation facilities, but otherwise remained relatively peaceful about it. This time, they will breach those facilities, compromise security of the tabulation, and thus provide grounds for calling the results into question.

They're not going to wait around for January 6.

We're going to have good old-fashioned election violence.

I mean, he's not president NOW, right? So acts he takes before becoming President are in no way official acts.

[Kendra]

I'm waiting for the motion to vacate the E Jean Carroll judgments, since he's now got his immunity.

[sad-cafe]

I am seriously scared

if dotard wins or steals the election I don't know what I will do

[raison de arizona]

Trump: If you have ratings, you can be the meanest, most horrible human being in the world. There's only one thing that matters. Ratings. You can be evil, horrible, cruel, or elegant. There's only one thing that matters and that's ratings…

[TheNewSaint]

I am seriously scared

if dotard wins or steals the election I don't know what I will do

I'm getting a plan together, and it involves becoming a digital nomad. Lots of countries have this kind of visa now (thank you COVID). Fortunately i have a stable job that lets me do that.

[p0rtia]

So I lived in Egypt for 17 years. The western world, especially the US, considers Egypt a republic, and a democracy, but yeah, not really. The military has run the country for decades (mostly); they are a sort of merchant class (think Mubarak) and they keep the politcal class in line. They have elections for state (governorate) and national elections, but for president, there is only one name on the ballot.

The gov't is secular (sort of). IMO More secular that the US is right now. Their constitution is full of liberal views (gender equality, freedom of religion, etc.) which are not really available to the lower classes, but get you a pretty good life if you're middle class or rich. Most women have a hell of a time trying to own property--the poor women have no chance, must have a male relative to sign for them. The Coptic churches are regularly vandalized, along with their priceless treasures dating back to Pharaonic times. Birth control is free. Education is free (to a point--it's also terrible). Jobs are guaranteed (but don't expect to get paid more than egg money). A lot of this reflects Egypt's roots in socialism. Graft is the preferred way to get anything done, or to run a business, because no one has any money otherwise (see above). It's more classist than racist, but either way, you stay in your lane,.

The military rulers routinely jail their opponents, particularly the violent ones, along with their families, more or less forever. So that keeps the streets safe for tourism, the number one economic sector.

The poor people are afraid of the gov't, and of the police--not the guys on the street corners, who are imports from Aswan doing their military service, and are usually asleep, but the "other" police. The smart ones with all the power you don't want to cross.

It's a sort of run of the mill authoritarian system. You're free to do a lot, but not everything. The idea of a political party having a platform and getting elected to implement is is laughable. Society is chaotic and horrifying and wonderful by turns. If you don't like the rules, break them, but break them in private. FTR, there is no comparison with places like North Korea and Afghanistan. Egypt breathes and thrives. I thrived in Egypt,

My point is, you can live in an autocracy and do just fine. The chasm between what the ideals are and what is actually happening is wide, but everyone is aware of that and has a healthy cynicism and scorn. The leaders lie on a massive scale, but no one bothers to listen.

This is what we have in the USA now, IMO. Except the gross lying is still actively annoying. I think when we get to the population just accepting the lies and paying no homage to the Constitution, because it doesn't mean anything, there will be no going back.

[Frater I*I]

This is what we have in the USA now, IMO. Except the gross lying is still actively annoying. I think when we get to the population just accepting the lies and paying no homage to the Constitution, because it doesn't mean anything, there will be no going back.

First thanks for you insight that you provided...

Second, know this, there is myself and many others, vets and civilians, who will not accept fascism and we will fight, if it takes Civil War 2.0 to get our country back on track than so be it, the Tree of Liberty and all....

Lesson one for the Reich Wingers...No one gets to be warlord of my neighborhood but me....

[TheNewSaint]

Portia, that's simultaneously encouraging and discouraging. Encouraging, because we as Americans are conditioned to believe living in a "non-free country" is unthinkable, when it can be manageable sometimes. Discouraging because Trumpism undermines long-running democratic norms, in ways that will be hard to come back from.

My hope is that America roundly rejects Trumpism this fall, so much that will be impossible to play the 'rigged elections' card. Which I think we will. Trump and his enablers are a cardboard cutout of everything ordinary Americans hate: trust fund brat, obnoxious "reality TV" personality, corrupt, well-connected, lawsuit-happy, self-entitled, gets away with crimes, Russian apologist, North Korean apologist, religious busybodies, overt fascists, well out of line with mainstream norms, and that January 6 thing. On top of all that, the Republican Party has been overplaying its hand for years. They've been lording their 5-seat majority for two years, even as it disintegrated beneath them as good Republicans quit Congress, and their own party rebelled against them. At the presidential level, 2020 wasn't an aberration: 2016 was the aberration. Hilary Clinton was a historically unlikeable candidate, had 20 years of Fox News agitprop in place, and won the popular vote anyway! Joe Biden may be flawed in his old age, but he isn't overseeing particularly bad times, isn't unlikeable, and certainly isn't evil. Donald Trump is evil. And he's more than happy to announce it to anyone who wants to hear.

So I'm not worried about 9,000 undecided voters in Wisconsin, or whatever the crap the professional overthinkers have decided will be important this fall. If Trump's mere behavior (which includes insulting the city of Milwaukee) hasn't turned off 9,000 Wisconsinites by now, then this nation deserves whatever happens to it as a result. I think Trump and the GOP are shedding votes all over the place, but don't know it yet. There are tons of YouTube videos from people who voted for Trump in the past but won't do so again. There are military-against-Trump, GOP-against-Trump, and other movements. There's no such evidence of Democratic voters turning on Biden, at least not to the extent that they won't vote for him given the alternative. The RFK Jr. campaign is circling the drain, and it will take more votes from Trump then Biden anyway, because Fox News promotes RFK far more than anyone else does. The GOP has been losing in every other election since then. Remember the "red wave" we were supposed to get in 2022?

The difficulty with far-right governments is keeping them out of office in the first place. But once they get in office, you can't rid of them with mere votes. We were lucky to do so in 2020. A second Trump term will pass so many "election integrity" laws it'll be an illegal act to vote Democratic, and legal for Donald Trump to call Georgia and tell them to "find 13,000 votes" - which we all saw him ask them to do. The Supreme Court has already okayed his behavior. Which will just appall the voting public even more.

2024 should be a 1994-level rejection of one party, but it won't be. This is a more politicized and gerrymandered age, and America by its nature is far more tolerant of extreme conservatism than extreme liberalism.

[Mr brolin]

We are now approaching the stage where the flaws in the republican form of government are coming home to roost. It was a compromise that nearly fell apart during the Civil War the inequities of Senate representation are never more apparent, gerrymandering is now seen as a legitimate norm and corruption by politicians is more seen as a requirement of office than a criminal act to name but a few.

My personal preference is the parliamentary form, still hellishly messy but you don't have a God-Emperor in the form of a president, if a Prime Minister starts going off the rails they can get kicked out of office PDQ (Boris and Theresa May as UK examples) the endemic forms of graft that are inherent in the current system are far lower, MP's are far closer to their constituents, the system dampens significant extreme political swings and can you imagine Trump having to do Prime Ministers Questions EVERY SINGLE WEEK.....

The current republican system seems to lead inevitably to massive swings from one edge of the political spectrum to another and bi-partisanship is a fond and fading memory.

It was a good ride whilst it lasted but, time and past for a real look at what government should look and feel like.

YMMV.....

[Res Ipsa]

You will have to be wary of him trying violence when he does lose.

No, the violence will be well prior to the election results being known. Last time, they engaged in various protests at vote tabulation facilities, but otherwise remained relatively peaceful about it. This time, they will breach those facilities, compromise security of the tabulation, and thus provide grounds for calling the results into question.

They're not going to wait around for January 6.

We're going to have good old-fashioned election violence.

I mean, he's not president NOW, right? So acts he takes before becoming President are in no way official acts.

I’m not sure I understand. He’s not going to do anything other than to promise immunity and pardons for anyone who does anything - anything - to get him into office.

He’s already promised that to his Jan 6 mob. His followers understand the implicit deal being offered.

So it’s not as if he’s going to plan or do anything. He’ll leave that up to Erik Pirince and his merry band.

[TheNewSaint]

We are now approaching the stage where the flaws in the republican form of government are coming home to roost.

The current republican system seems to lead inevitably to massive swings from one edge of the political spectrum to another and bi-partisanship is a fond and fading memory.

It was a good ride whilst it lasted but, time and past for a real look at what government should look and feel like.

I think the problem is that the American form of government relies on certain conditions that don't exist anymore. One is good faith. Bi-partisanship is dying because the major parties increasingly see each other as some kind of evil regime that must be isolated and eradicated, rather than people they have to work with to get anything done. It's contrary to how government is supposed to work.

Another problem is being our society's inability to manage disinformation. When 35% of Americans choose to believe the 2020 election was unfairly awarded to Joe BIden when there isn't a shred of evidence of this - and mountains of evidence that Donald Trump and his friends were actively tampering with the results - we have a problem that freedom and democracy won't solve. We need some kind of regulation of news media, but that kind of prior restraint goes against this nation's most basic value, and every First Amendment ruling in history.

I think gerontocracy is getting be a problem. There are plenty of thinkpieces about that that are better than anything I could say about it.

So I don't know what we do, other than wait a generational shift to younger leaders. It's already well overdue.

[p0rtia]

This is what we have in the USA now, IMO. Except the gross lying is still actively annoying. I think when we get to the population just accepting the lies and paying no homage to the Constitution, because it doesn't mean anything, there will be no going back.

First thanks for you insight that you provided...

Second, know this, there is myself and many others, vets and civilians, who will not accept fascism and we will fight, if it takes Civil War 2.0 to get our country back on track than so be it, the Tree of Liberty and all....

Lesson one for the Reich Wingers...No one gets to be warlord of my neighborhood but me....

Alas, it's sort of already happened. The rule of law, cracked as it has always been, is gone. Banon may be the last of the kleptocrats to pay a price.

Anyway, thanks reading my musings. When i say its not so bad to live in an autocrasy, it's the saddest thing I.ve ever said.

[raison de arizona]

WATCH : President Trump says when in office he will investigate rise in autism, auto-immune disorders, infertility, and more, especially in children.

“It’s time to ask what is going on? Is it the food that they eat? … the over prescription of certain medications?”

[RTH10260]

"He will investigate"

"infertility especially in children"

[Dr. Ken]

"He will investigate"

"infertility especially in children"

Lol what? Is that what he was doing with Epstein?

[raison de arizona]

Hawking his $60 bibles again.

► Show Spoiler

Worth noting is that while the bible does contain the King James Version scriptures along with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the lyrics to God Bless the USA, and the original Constitution, it is missing all the amendments past the Bill of Rights. So it's missing the amendments doing things like, I dunno, ending slavery, women's suffrage, and the right to vote for Blacks. Wonder why that is? "Every patriot should have one" though, tfg states.

[raison de arizona]

LEAKED VIDEO: Trump on Biden he’s “quitting the race.. I got him out” he’s an “old broken-down pile of crap… Now we have Kamala. She’s so f—king bad”

[raison de arizona]

Biden/Harris response to above video.

[raison de arizona]

In this episode, tfg wishes everyone a happy 4th, even…

► Show Spoiler

IMG_8389.png (339.26 KiB) Viewed 257 times

[pipistrelle]

There we have it-the cognitively impaired criminal mastermind, "Crooked Joe." Amazing man.

[neonzx]

He couldn't even take one day off the attacks. Your 4th of July message sucks, Donald.

[AndyinPA]

I wondered how long it would be before this showed up. Nasty POS>