And on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his plan Paradise, and said, I need a caretaker. So God gave us Trump.
God said, I need somebody willing to get up before dawn. Fix this country. Work all day. Fight the Marxists. Eat supper. Then go to the Oval Office and stay past midnight. And a meeting of the heads of state. So God made Trump.
I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle the deep state, and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to ruffle the feathers. Tame the cantankerous World Economic Forum. Come home hungry. Have to wait until the First Lady is done with lunch with friends. Then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon and mean it. So God gave us Trump.
It goes on. This man is a lunatic and should be locked into an asylum where he can't do any damage. Then he can pretend to be Napoleon or whatever it is he thinks he is.
Whoever wrote that on "Tooth AntiSocial" has a much more diverse vocabulary & a far different writing style compared to near-illiterate Donald. Still, Trump remains a clear & present danger, unless & until he's incarcerated. (Also, let's pray the SCOTUS gets the Constitution's disqualification clause right.)
Imagine that another human(s) actually wrote that garbage and produced it. I watched it and almost threw up. How have we reached this alternate reality?
On the first day of his presidency the ex-president began his term insinuating the magnitude of his crowd at his inauguration. This crowd was incredibly smaller and visually proven so. Thats when Kellyann Conway introduced "Alternative Facts" into the new rhetoric. This alternative facts narrative was allowed to fester and grow by the media who never debunked forcefully enough the propaganda machine his administration began spewing.
Perhaps better yet, contrast them with the words of Thomas Merton who once commented: "Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in it, and yet must be in it, His place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied status as persons, who are tortured, bombed, and exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world. He is mysteriously present in those for whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its worst."
If this sounds like a psychopath, it should. He's a sadistic, Machiavellian sociopath. He has the Dark Tetrad personality. He will kill if necessary. He is no different from John Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy or Josef Mengele.
I'm glad that your mother is doing better and thank you for sharing the pictures of the pub. It seems that throughout history, as you describe, there are always a group of people who, for reasons of greed and power, stand behind strongmen in the hope of getting the leftovers. I think this will be a long, exhausting year, full of ups and downs, but in the end, democracy will survive. Although not always vocal, I think a lot of people are very tired of Trump and his henchmen; they're tired of the hate and having their rights taken away. They may appear apathetic but I think instead, they're waiting for the November elections to show where they stand.
I agree with you, Patricia. This year is proving already to have its ups and downs. And the fight WILL be exhausting. But I'm in - not with money because of a long medical battle for my life, but because I have my well-being now and the energy to work on SAVING our democracy. Today on Facebook, I posted a long definition of "fascism" because I think most people are familiar with "hearing" about it - but unsure of what it means exactly. I posted examples and a simple dictionary definition. Plus what I've learned from Professor Ben-Ghiat. Hanging in there!!!
Wikipedia - Stephen Miller (born August 23, 1985) is an American political advisor who served as a senior advisor for policy and White House director of speechwriting to
Ruth, please continue to rattle their cages! In my view those GOP thugs who, in actuality, know what really happened on Jan 6 are nothing less than cowards!
God Bless you, Ruth, for being by your Mother’s side, and we hope that she recovers quickly and returns to good health very soon. Your presence with her will definitely hasten her speedy recovery.
Also, thank you, for the very calming photo of the inviting English streetscape! It’s nice to think about and vicariously enjoy these peaceful scenes that you so kindly share.
And, again, Ruth, for yet another crystal clear writing on the absolutely shameful and perilous acceptance of too many GOP members regarding Trump’s authoritarian tactics.
These are frightening times we live in, to say the least. We are hoping that an overwhelming number of democracy loving people will be able to peaceably quell the forces of the Trumpian cult, and justice will win out.
Your voice on all of this is so very vital, Ruth. Thank you!
I like your pics, I’ve never been to England or Europe. Trump, or any authoritarian, sounds like an abusive parent. His enabling apologists sound like the significant other in abusive families. I think this makes sense with Trump’s own life and the lives of those who follow him.
Also, I hope your mother is ok. My dad had Parkinson’s from environmental factors at his workplace at ORNL, toxins. His disease seemed converse, his body gave out yet his mind was sharp. I’m glad you’re getting to see your mom.
I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. And I am enraged that the owners and managers of his workplace created maintained a toxic environment for your father and his work mates. Union Yes!
Thank you for this super clear description of authoritarian manipulation of truth. It’s despicable, infuriating, and I hate to admit this, but sometimes it feels like an evil so powerful and tricky that I doubt our ability to overcome it. But shining a light on it, a glaring light, is the ONLY way to expose it, to amplify our understanding of it, and to make strong plans for weakening and beating it.
Also, my empathy for your situation with your mother. I was the main caregiver for my mother, who had Alzheimer’s. She died late this past summer at age 90. The distorted thinking of dementia is heartbreaking to experience. I’m glad my mother is no longer confused. At least she had Alzheimer’s as an excuse!
" . . . frightened subalterns who live in authoritarian regimes or work in organized crime (two worlds that overlap considerably)." huge topic - thanks
I've been watching the Italian series "The Mafia Only Kills in Summer". While viewing I continually think of our conversations, under Ruth's masterful guidance, of Trump's criminality and that of his lackeys.
I’m sorry your mom fell, Ruth, and hope she will recover and not fall again. Perhaps a walker would be helpful. I loved your pub photos. The indoor stone walls remind me of a pub in the London area our friends from Muswell Hill brought us to on our last visit.
The GOP must take Americans for complete idiots. Who can ever forget experiencing Jan. 6th in real time? The fear, the chaos, the monstrous takeover of our Capitol, Pence running for his life down the stairs with his family, the noose, the desecration, the search for Pelosi, all of it. In defense we must shout back, “Quit the lies! We know what we saw with our own eyes.” If I were a politician caught between Trump’s lies and the fear of death threats for myself and my family, I would have no alternative but to leave government rather than be a member of the cult. If ALL the GOP stood up to Trump, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on and I doubt it would have gotten this far.
If the war on women in this country doesn’t bring especially women to the polls and the men who love them, and the young people whose lives are at stake both in the classroom and the bedroom, I just don’t know what to say. This 2024 vote for president shouldn’t even be close. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does!
On most days, I ask myself, or someone asks me, "How can someone of reasonable intelligence believe the lies and false realities that Trump and his minions spin?" Since my reading interests encompasses pre-World War II Germany these days, unsurprisingly, I thought of the quote that we have all heard, to paraphrase, "If you tell the big lie often enough people will begin to accept it as truth." My assumption was this quote was likely generated by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist. However, to my surprise, Goebbels cannot lay claim to this quote. The quote is attributed to Edward Bernays, the father of American advertising and public relations, in his book" Propaganda". The exact quote is "If you tell a lie big enough and keeping repeating it, people will eventually come to believe." Bernays propaganda work has been called the leading reason why the US entered World War I when most American citizens wanted to remain out of foreign wars.
If Trump is anything he is a serial liar, media guru, and master marketeer. He understands and practices that marketing and lying are effective if the message is repeated ad nauseum.
Since I was disappointed that Goebbels did not author the Big Lie, quote, one of the Doctor's colleagues, Hermann Goering did say, in terms of bending the public to an authoritarian will, "the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
How many outside attackers have been blamed by Trump as a source of our woes?
Perhaps one day, the eyes of a child will be required to remind us that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.
I'm glad you mentioned this, David, because Edward Bernays was a nephew of Sigmund Freud. He used his famous uncle's theories of the unconscious to learn how to manipulate people. Sadly, he came to America and got wealthy teaching advertisers how to appeal to unconscious needs and people's vanity. He suggested that "liberated women" be seen as smokers because before the flapper era, it was considered unseemly for a woman to smoke. But Bernays trained advertisers to make smoking seem modern, enviable, fashionable, and he and the advertisers made millions.
All of this only works because many people are not conscious of being played. And that explains how TFG manipulates others...he's learned by experience that a large number of people fall for a guy who appears charming at one moment, commanding at another moment, and always king of the hill. As a boy he observed his self-centered, commanding father and learned to emulate that persona. He learned that many people are taken in by a guy who thinks "he's everything." They don't recognize the con-man, the arrogant, entitled sociopath who will use them for his own purposes then discard them when they no longer meet his needs. He's learned how to have an impact on people by making himself the undisputed center of attention, relentlessly. Like advertising, he markets himself. He's full of false promises that, unfortunately, many Americans buy.
Doesn't the comb over tell the whole story? Its like hes saying im pretending not to be bald and now you have to as well, because to point out how ridiculous the combed over hair looks would feel cruel. And along the same lines, the hair style looks shockingly similar to his mothers!!
I loved the photos of the pub. The Orange Don and his caporegime. As I've said, it's organized crime 2.0. Trump and MAGA, Putin, Orban, and the rest. I hope your mother is well.
Trump posted this on his social media:
And on June 14th, 1946, God looked down on his plan Paradise, and said, I need a caretaker. So God gave us Trump.
God said, I need somebody willing to get up before dawn. Fix this country. Work all day. Fight the Marxists. Eat supper. Then go to the Oval Office and stay past midnight. And a meeting of the heads of state. So God made Trump.
I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle the deep state, and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to ruffle the feathers. Tame the cantankerous World Economic Forum. Come home hungry. Have to wait until the First Lady is done with lunch with friends. Then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon and mean it. So God gave us Trump.
It goes on. This man is a lunatic and should be locked into an asylum where he can't do any damage. Then he can pretend to be Napoleon or whatever it is he thinks he is.
Whoever wrote that on "Tooth AntiSocial" has a much more diverse vocabulary & a far different writing style compared to near-illiterate Donald. Still, Trump remains a clear & present danger, unless & until he's incarcerated. (Also, let's pray the SCOTUS gets the Constitution's disqualification clause right.)
P.S. Hope all's well with Ruth's mum.
Imagine that another human(s) actually wrote that garbage and produced it. I watched it and almost threw up. How have we reached this alternate reality?
On the first day of his presidency the ex-president began his term insinuating the magnitude of his crowd at his inauguration. This crowd was incredibly smaller and visually proven so. Thats when Kellyann Conway introduced "Alternative Facts" into the new rhetoric. This alternative facts narrative was allowed to fester and grow by the media who never debunked forcefully enough the propaganda machine his administration began spewing.
As Tom Reese, SJ commented on that post, Blasphemy! Take his words in, all you most holy christian soldiers of January 6.
Perhaps better yet, contrast them with the words of Thomas Merton who once commented: "Into this world, this demented inn, in which there is absolutely no room for Him at all, Christ has come uninvited. But because He cannot be at home in it, because He is out of place in it, and yet must be in it, His place is with those others for whom there is no room. His place is with those who do not belong, who are rejected by power because they are regarded as weak, those who are discredited, who are denied status as persons, who are tortured, bombed, and exterminated. With those for whom there is no room, Christ is present in the world. He is mysteriously present in those for whom there seems to be nothing but the world at its worst."
Was going to thank you for posting this, but I’ll have to stop wretching, first 🤮
If this sounds like a psychopath, it should. He's a sadistic, Machiavellian sociopath. He has the Dark Tetrad personality. He will kill if necessary. He is no different from John Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy or Josef Mengele.
Deliver his own grandchild?? Sick and creepy.
Yeah. WTF?!
If anything needed to be flushed down the toilet, it’s this piece of *garbage.
And will Trump ever face up to his criminality in a courtroom?
Doubtful
I'm glad that your mother is doing better and thank you for sharing the pictures of the pub. It seems that throughout history, as you describe, there are always a group of people who, for reasons of greed and power, stand behind strongmen in the hope of getting the leftovers. I think this will be a long, exhausting year, full of ups and downs, but in the end, democracy will survive. Although not always vocal, I think a lot of people are very tired of Trump and his henchmen; they're tired of the hate and having their rights taken away. They may appear apathetic but I think instead, they're waiting for the November elections to show where they stand.
I sincerely hope you are correct!
Me too.
I agree with you, Patricia. This year is proving already to have its ups and downs. And the fight WILL be exhausting. But I'm in - not with money because of a long medical battle for my life, but because I have my well-being now and the energy to work on SAVING our democracy. Today on Facebook, I posted a long definition of "fascism" because I think most people are familiar with "hearing" about it - but unsure of what it means exactly. I posted examples and a simple dictionary definition. Plus what I've learned from Professor Ben-Ghiat. Hanging in there!!!
Wishing you well, and a return to health.💙
Trump's not capable of writing anything but it was posted in his name.
I'm thinking Stephen Miller
Miller is “Trump’s Brain”. Someone has to serve in that position!
Miller is an evil little slimeworm, just like Goebbels
Looks pure evil!
He gives me the creeps.
Wikipedia - Stephen Miller (born August 23, 1985) is an American political advisor who served as a senior advisor for policy and White House director of speechwriting to
XXX President Donald Trump.
It strikes me as a plagiarized version of a Super Bowl XLVII commercial for a Dodge Ram pickup truck that repeated “So God made a farmer”.
Ruth, please continue to rattle their cages! In my view those GOP thugs who, in actuality, know what really happened on Jan 6 are nothing less than cowards!
God Bless you, Ruth, for being by your Mother’s side, and we hope that she recovers quickly and returns to good health very soon. Your presence with her will definitely hasten her speedy recovery.
Also, thank you, for the very calming photo of the inviting English streetscape! It’s nice to think about and vicariously enjoy these peaceful scenes that you so kindly share.
And, again, Ruth, for yet another crystal clear writing on the absolutely shameful and perilous acceptance of too many GOP members regarding Trump’s authoritarian tactics.
These are frightening times we live in, to say the least. We are hoping that an overwhelming number of democracy loving people will be able to peaceably quell the forces of the Trumpian cult, and justice will win out.
Your voice on all of this is so very vital, Ruth. Thank you!
Thank you Mike!
Unlawfulness must become unfashionable again.
I like your pics, I’ve never been to England or Europe. Trump, or any authoritarian, sounds like an abusive parent. His enabling apologists sound like the significant other in abusive families. I think this makes sense with Trump’s own life and the lives of those who follow him.
Also, I hope your mother is ok. My dad had Parkinson’s from environmental factors at his workplace at ORNL, toxins. His disease seemed converse, his body gave out yet his mind was sharp. I’m glad you’re getting to see your mom.
I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. And I am enraged that the owners and managers of his workplace created maintained a toxic environment for your father and his work mates. Union Yes!
Thank you. He passed a few years ago. ORNL is Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge Tennessee.
OMGosh!
Sorry to hear about your father. Thanks for reading.
The very best to your mom!
Ahhh Mitt we knew you in Massachusetts. Talk about a horse that never made to the starting gate. Saty in Utah, do penance, and shut up!
🤣🤣
Thank you for this super clear description of authoritarian manipulation of truth. It’s despicable, infuriating, and I hate to admit this, but sometimes it feels like an evil so powerful and tricky that I doubt our ability to overcome it. But shining a light on it, a glaring light, is the ONLY way to expose it, to amplify our understanding of it, and to make strong plans for weakening and beating it.
Also, my empathy for your situation with your mother. I was the main caregiver for my mother, who had Alzheimer’s. She died late this past summer at age 90. The distorted thinking of dementia is heartbreaking to experience. I’m glad my mother is no longer confused. At least she had Alzheimer’s as an excuse!
Thank you for this compassionate, beautiful, and lucid comment.
Thanks for that!
Thank you Pamela
music from their youth can help people with dementia to interact: https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/08/music-helps-patients-with-dementia-connect-with-loved-ones/
" . . . frightened subalterns who live in authoritarian regimes or work in organized crime (two worlds that overlap considerably)." huge topic - thanks
I've been watching the Italian series "The Mafia Only Kills in Summer". While viewing I continually think of our conversations, under Ruth's masterful guidance, of Trump's criminality and that of his lackeys.
I’m sorry your mom fell, Ruth, and hope she will recover and not fall again. Perhaps a walker would be helpful. I loved your pub photos. The indoor stone walls remind me of a pub in the London area our friends from Muswell Hill brought us to on our last visit.
The GOP must take Americans for complete idiots. Who can ever forget experiencing Jan. 6th in real time? The fear, the chaos, the monstrous takeover of our Capitol, Pence running for his life down the stairs with his family, the noose, the desecration, the search for Pelosi, all of it. In defense we must shout back, “Quit the lies! We know what we saw with our own eyes.” If I were a politician caught between Trump’s lies and the fear of death threats for myself and my family, I would have no alternative but to leave government rather than be a member of the cult. If ALL the GOP stood up to Trump, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on and I doubt it would have gotten this far.
If the war on women in this country doesn’t bring especially women to the polls and the men who love them, and the young people whose lives are at stake both in the classroom and the bedroom, I just don’t know what to say. This 2024 vote for president shouldn’t even be close. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does!
On most days, I ask myself, or someone asks me, "How can someone of reasonable intelligence believe the lies and false realities that Trump and his minions spin?" Since my reading interests encompasses pre-World War II Germany these days, unsurprisingly, I thought of the quote that we have all heard, to paraphrase, "If you tell the big lie often enough people will begin to accept it as truth." My assumption was this quote was likely generated by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist. However, to my surprise, Goebbels cannot lay claim to this quote. The quote is attributed to Edward Bernays, the father of American advertising and public relations, in his book" Propaganda". The exact quote is "If you tell a lie big enough and keeping repeating it, people will eventually come to believe." Bernays propaganda work has been called the leading reason why the US entered World War I when most American citizens wanted to remain out of foreign wars.
If Trump is anything he is a serial liar, media guru, and master marketeer. He understands and practices that marketing and lying are effective if the message is repeated ad nauseum.
Since I was disappointed that Goebbels did not author the Big Lie, quote, one of the Doctor's colleagues, Hermann Goering did say, in terms of bending the public to an authoritarian will, "the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
How many outside attackers have been blamed by Trump as a source of our woes?
Perhaps one day, the eyes of a child will be required to remind us that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.
Don't get saucy with me, Bernays! 🤣
Ha!
Btw, Edward Bernays is a nephew of Sigmund Freud. He’s a pioneer of marketing.
I'm glad you mentioned this, David, because Edward Bernays was a nephew of Sigmund Freud. He used his famous uncle's theories of the unconscious to learn how to manipulate people. Sadly, he came to America and got wealthy teaching advertisers how to appeal to unconscious needs and people's vanity. He suggested that "liberated women" be seen as smokers because before the flapper era, it was considered unseemly for a woman to smoke. But Bernays trained advertisers to make smoking seem modern, enviable, fashionable, and he and the advertisers made millions.
All of this only works because many people are not conscious of being played. And that explains how TFG manipulates others...he's learned by experience that a large number of people fall for a guy who appears charming at one moment, commanding at another moment, and always king of the hill. As a boy he observed his self-centered, commanding father and learned to emulate that persona. He learned that many people are taken in by a guy who thinks "he's everything." They don't recognize the con-man, the arrogant, entitled sociopath who will use them for his own purposes then discard them when they no longer meet his needs. He's learned how to have an impact on people by making himself the undisputed center of attention, relentlessly. Like advertising, he markets himself. He's full of false promises that, unfortunately, many Americans buy.
Doesn't the comb over tell the whole story? Its like hes saying im pretending not to be bald and now you have to as well, because to point out how ridiculous the combed over hair looks would feel cruel. And along the same lines, the hair style looks shockingly similar to his mothers!!
Haha! Point well-taken!
=]
I loved the photos of the pub. The Orange Don and his caporegime. As I've said, it's organized crime 2.0. Trump and MAGA, Putin, Orban, and the rest. I hope your mother is well.