MAGA's Chosen One is just a placeholder for next gen fascists: His much smoother depraved serial liar & running mate is even more dangerous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2TZx5WbOj4
It seems that all this wealth destruction and time suck is not dissimilar (except by degree) to the blood and treasure being expended by Putin’s Russia in Ukraine. Both are a zero sum game. If it doesn’t render MAGAts power in the former or the complete destruction of Ukraine in the latter, both exploits make it likely that each “movement” will be a remnant of their former selves. These are massively destructive in the use of resources and even if “success” is achieved by reaching the respective goals, there will be the long slow bleed of guerrilla warfare that will continue to undermine that success. Unless history is no guide, these don’t look like winning formulas for the long term.
I think a lot about what a second Trump presidency would mean as a father of a son that is of draft age. How many young Russian men have died senselessly on the battlefield? How many more innocent young Ukrainians soldiers and civilians have to die to stop Putin? Trump is more unfit to hold power than Putin in many ways.
I guess I have twi huge concerns, the dangerous case of a 2nd Trump term, pulling all support for Ukraine, and at the same time so obsessed with the power and image that he leads us into some other war in the future. I would hate to be that guy in the military with the football, the one with the codes.
Bruce Springsteen’s message to the World has been shattering! If you have not heard what he stated in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, you must search it out. YouTube has it and it is grand!
Bruce has a way with words and has for years! This will not let you down!
VOTE the Harris-Walz ticket! In fact, vote ALL Blue!
That was a wonderful thing to watch. Thank you for suggesting it. I've never llstened to Springsteen's music, or known much about him, but am now very impressed by his sanity and his humility.
Jack Smith and Lina Khan are two of my heroes of Democracy in these tenuous times. I cheer them on like the stars they are. Thank you for bringing this lucidity to us Ruth! 🙏
It floors me that all these supposedly intelligent congress people got so sucked into trump's cult. I can't figure out if they felt powerless in the face of his presence, or if lust for power made them fall. I am grateful that Jack Smith is dedicated to getting his case against trump to trial, and clearly has the smarts to do so. I hope to see justice for trump and all his minions.
I’ve been thinking about Mike Pence and January 6ty. From those advising him like Dan Quail, former judges, and his lawyers, and his own comments, he actions were based on his own legal liability. In this frame, Pence is better than Senator Lee, but not by much. By not testifying in the impeachment, nor the J6 Committee, never explaining Trump’s role in everything that all to the American people, pence has no future. Is his a case study for ethics professor’s to follow? One can succeed in a legal frame, but fail in an ethical and moral sense to do what is right and just? Pence only did what was legally required, but nothing more. Another example of how a demagogue will never surround himself with true leaders, capable of leadership.
I feel that Pence got sucked into tRump's conscienceless maelstrom, where ethics and moral behavior are abandoned. I do believe that Pence has a conscience but his alliance to tRump had damaged his sense of right and wrong. It's all very cult-like.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: You always write with deep insight, a wide perspective of history, and clarity.
You state it in a nutshell, here:
"Like all strongmen, Trump is unencumbered by moral precepts or other checks on behavior. Such leaders specialize in getting others to do things that were previously unthinkable, like planning an assault on the U.S. Capitol, and they lead their enablers to think that they will get away with everything as long as they stay loyal."
Late yesterday I received word from the PA Department of State (I live in Philadelphia), that my mail in ballot has been received. I took care to follow all of the instructions.
Today I will walk 200 letters to the post office. I will not relax until I see Kamala take the oath of office on January 20th.
As a retired clinical psychologist, I have unfortunately encountered many patients like Trump. They were either court referred or came to therapy to feed their own narratives of being special and victimized by others.
What people fail to understand about such people is that you cannot have any actual relationship with them. You are simply an object there to reinforce their typically grandiose narratives. As soon as you vary slightly from that role, they will turn on you and expel you from their presence, often viciously.
Not exactly. Personality disorders have primary and secondary features, such as Narcissistic Personality with antisocial (sociopathic) features which may well apply here.
What is confusing to the general public is that sociopathy and psychopathy are still used, even though they are no longer clinical terms. Kevin is using terms that are based on DSM-5 and are more current and correct.
GOP officials and those voting for him don't understand just how vile he really is. He's a cold blooded, reptilian, Machiavellian sociopath, who could care less about society or those that inhabit it. It's the ultimate bamboozle to get his people to believe that he's normal.... and he has done this successfully.
IMHO, Merrick Garland and his DOJ have failed us by NOT charging all the coconspirators and taking too long to charge the Mandarin Mussolini. Thankfully, Fani Willis in Georgia charged many coconspirators and some have plead guilty. There are too many insurrectionists walking the halls of Congress. That may well cost us our democracy.
Deepak Puri's above post's link really shows how DOJ has failed us:
Who’s who in Trump's Jan 6th insurrection? Follow along with this interactive relationship map.
Based on what you have been saying, I am expecting Trump to turn on JD Vance, and make him supplicate because Vance we too slick and much more successful debating against Walz than Trump was against Kamala, a woman and a Black-Asian woman at that.
That could be why Vance has come right out and stated unequivocally that Trump won the 2020 election. It should buy that beardy crypto-fascist some time.
Re: "This lack of care towards those who have served him faithfully […]" It's absolutely nuts that so many working-class Americans believe that Trump actually gives a fig about them! The list of people whom Donald Trump cares about ... starts & ends with himself. ⛳️
There is something millions of Americans who believe in democracy and the rule of law would love to know with certainty.
Which Trumpist politicians actually believe the Big Lie about the 2020 election and all the associated untruths; which office holders are not believers at all but feign belief to avoid incurring Trump's wrath; and which ones don't believe a word of it, don't fear Trump but are going along cynically in pursuit of more power and other gains.
Dr Ben-Ghiat: “Jack Smith's focus on the private and personal nature of Trump's actions highlights the corruption that has overtaken the GOP, which now places Trump over party and country to the detriment of our democracy.”
And they plan to succeed this time! Bannon has been working on their Precinct Strategy. Here’s an entertaining way to learn about that threat: HGA: Trump 2024: https://youtu.be/KHuMjIhS6t0?si=zUwtCorlocAti1gm
The Christofascists will try to steal this election and not just POTUS. I have a friend who was involved with the Trump administration. He feels there is a real threat that red state governors will use all means available to suppress and/or not count votes in blue counties. For instance, D-TX Colin Allred is running against MAGATX Cancun Cruz; my friend believes a possible scenario is MAGATX gov Greg Abbott activates his TX Guard units and sends them into Harris, Bexar, Travis & Dallas counties to stop the vote counts and make sure Rs win House and Senate races. Even if the Rs don't take back the Senate and lose the House, if tRump is POTUS, shielded by the insane immunity granted him by the SCOTUS Trump v US decision, the US as we know it is finished.
July at Oshkosh’s Airventure, the Wisconsin Guard put on a demo of their combined arms capabilities. https://youtu.be/raMOZhHBwg0 As I watched I didn’t know whether the WI Gov was R or D so I immediately googled to discover he is a D! Tony Evers. Dr Timothy Snyder’s Bloodbath Candidate Thinking About immediately came to mind. https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-bloodbath-candidate
What happens if Red State governors send their Army and Air Guard units to support Trump? POTUS needs to activate, or have a plan to immediately activate, all red state governor Guard units from 1 November to 31 January to have them under his command!
Interesting piece by Snyder. tRump is surely using fascist politics and those following him are fascists as well. The sociopath tRump is following his psychopathic hero's (Hitler) fascist dream. Fascism is the politics of the sociopathic/psychopathic mind because it was created by one.
MAGA's Chosen One is just a placeholder for next gen fascists: His much smoother depraved serial liar & running mate is even more dangerous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2TZx5WbOj4
In this time of testing some of the most conservative Republicans have stood up for the constitution, the rule of law, oath & honor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8CK40YTbKk&t=440s
The Boss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmydI1-TSVE
Who’s who in Trump's Jan 6th insurrection? Follow along with this interactive relationship map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/10/03/jack-smith-judge-tany-chutkan-jan-6th-insurrection-relationship-map/
It seems that all this wealth destruction and time suck is not dissimilar (except by degree) to the blood and treasure being expended by Putin’s Russia in Ukraine. Both are a zero sum game. If it doesn’t render MAGAts power in the former or the complete destruction of Ukraine in the latter, both exploits make it likely that each “movement” will be a remnant of their former selves. These are massively destructive in the use of resources and even if “success” is achieved by reaching the respective goals, there will be the long slow bleed of guerrilla warfare that will continue to undermine that success. Unless history is no guide, these don’t look like winning formulas for the long term.
I think a lot about what a second Trump presidency would mean as a father of a son that is of draft age. How many young Russian men have died senselessly on the battlefield? How many more innocent young Ukrainians soldiers and civilians have to die to stop Putin? Trump is more unfit to hold power than Putin in many ways.
I guess I have twi huge concerns, the dangerous case of a 2nd Trump term, pulling all support for Ukraine, and at the same time so obsessed with the power and image that he leads us into some other war in the future. I would hate to be that guy in the military with the football, the one with the codes.
Yes, well the Russians know full well who their leader is. We know more than we need to know about Trump. And yet …
Bruce Springsteen’s message to the World has been shattering! If you have not heard what he stated in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, you must search it out. YouTube has it and it is grand!
Bruce has a way with words and has for years! This will not let you down!
VOTE the Harris-Walz ticket! In fact, vote ALL Blue!
The Boss has spoken! Love Bruce!
That was a wonderful thing to watch. Thank you for suggesting it. I've never llstened to Springsteen's music, or known much about him, but am now very impressed by his sanity and his humility.
Joseph provided a link!
The Boss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmydI1-TSVE
Jack Smith and Lina Khan are two of my heroes of Democracy in these tenuous times. I cheer them on like the stars they are. Thank you for bringing this lucidity to us Ruth! 🙏
It floors me that all these supposedly intelligent congress people got so sucked into trump's cult. I can't figure out if they felt powerless in the face of his presence, or if lust for power made them fall. I am grateful that Jack Smith is dedicated to getting his case against trump to trial, and clearly has the smarts to do so. I hope to see justice for trump and all his minions.
I’ve been thinking about Mike Pence and January 6ty. From those advising him like Dan Quail, former judges, and his lawyers, and his own comments, he actions were based on his own legal liability. In this frame, Pence is better than Senator Lee, but not by much. By not testifying in the impeachment, nor the J6 Committee, never explaining Trump’s role in everything that all to the American people, pence has no future. Is his a case study for ethics professor’s to follow? One can succeed in a legal frame, but fail in an ethical and moral sense to do what is right and just? Pence only did what was legally required, but nothing more. Another example of how a demagogue will never surround himself with true leaders, capable of leadership.
I feel that Pence got sucked into tRump's conscienceless maelstrom, where ethics and moral behavior are abandoned. I do believe that Pence has a conscience but his alliance to tRump had damaged his sense of right and wrong. It's all very cult-like.
Pence is on a mission for his God; it is that simple.
Even to Pence, god is 3rd, behind $ and legal exposure.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: You always write with deep insight, a wide perspective of history, and clarity.
You state it in a nutshell, here:
"Like all strongmen, Trump is unencumbered by moral precepts or other checks on behavior. Such leaders specialize in getting others to do things that were previously unthinkable, like planning an assault on the U.S. Capitol, and they lead their enablers to think that they will get away with everything as long as they stay loyal."
Thanks!
Late yesterday I received word from the PA Department of State (I live in Philadelphia), that my mail in ballot has been received. I took care to follow all of the instructions.
Today I will walk 200 letters to the post office. I will not relax until I see Kamala take the oath of office on January 20th.
As a retired clinical psychologist, I have unfortunately encountered many patients like Trump. They were either court referred or came to therapy to feed their own narratives of being special and victimized by others.
What people fail to understand about such people is that you cannot have any actual relationship with them. You are simply an object there to reinforce their typically grandiose narratives. As soon as you vary slightly from that role, they will turn on you and expel you from their presence, often viciously.
Agree! I have known a person just like tRump. He was incapable of love and was easily angered. He had the warmth of a robot.
Is narcissistic sociopath an appropriate diagnosis? I believe I have heard Mary Trump use that diagnosis.
Not exactly. Personality disorders have primary and secondary features, such as Narcissistic Personality with antisocial (sociopathic) features which may well apply here.
Thx!
What is confusing to the general public is that sociopathy and psychopathy are still used, even though they are no longer clinical terms. Kevin is using terms that are based on DSM-5 and are more current and correct.
GOP officials and those voting for him don't understand just how vile he really is. He's a cold blooded, reptilian, Machiavellian sociopath, who could care less about society or those that inhabit it. It's the ultimate bamboozle to get his people to believe that he's normal.... and he has done this successfully.
When will those republican senators and representatives be held accountable? They should be expelled at the very least. Like that will ever happen.
I wonder the same thing Nancy.
IMHO, Merrick Garland and his DOJ have failed us by NOT charging all the coconspirators and taking too long to charge the Mandarin Mussolini. Thankfully, Fani Willis in Georgia charged many coconspirators and some have plead guilty. There are too many insurrectionists walking the halls of Congress. That may well cost us our democracy.
Deepak Puri's above post's link really shows how DOJ has failed us:
Who’s who in Trump's Jan 6th insurrection? Follow along with this interactive relationship map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/10/03/jack-smith-judge-tany-chutkan-jan-6th-insurrection-relationship-map/
Based on what you have been saying, I am expecting Trump to turn on JD Vance, and make him supplicate because Vance we too slick and much more successful debating against Walz than Trump was against Kamala, a woman and a Black-Asian woman at that.
That could be why Vance has come right out and stated unequivocally that Trump won the 2020 election. It should buy that beardy crypto-fascist some time.
We shall see!
Re: "This lack of care towards those who have served him faithfully […]" It's absolutely nuts that so many working-class Americans believe that Trump actually gives a fig about them! The list of people whom Donald Trump cares about ... starts & ends with himself. ⛳️
It's all a part of his demigod self-image. He actually believes that he is some kind of supreme being. He's not that different from David Koresh.
There is something millions of Americans who believe in democracy and the rule of law would love to know with certainty.
Which Trumpist politicians actually believe the Big Lie about the 2020 election and all the associated untruths; which office holders are not believers at all but feign belief to avoid incurring Trump's wrath; and which ones don't believe a word of it, don't fear Trump but are going along cynically in pursuit of more power and other gains.
Will we ever know?
W
Dr Ben-Ghiat: “Jack Smith's focus on the private and personal nature of Trump's actions highlights the corruption that has overtaken the GOP, which now places Trump over party and country to the detriment of our democracy.”
And they plan to succeed this time! Bannon has been working on their Precinct Strategy. Here’s an entertaining way to learn about that threat: HGA: Trump 2024: https://youtu.be/KHuMjIhS6t0?si=zUwtCorlocAti1gm
The Christofascists will try to steal this election and not just POTUS. I have a friend who was involved with the Trump administration. He feels there is a real threat that red state governors will use all means available to suppress and/or not count votes in blue counties. For instance, D-TX Colin Allred is running against MAGATX Cancun Cruz; my friend believes a possible scenario is MAGATX gov Greg Abbott activates his TX Guard units and sends them into Harris, Bexar, Travis & Dallas counties to stop the vote counts and make sure Rs win House and Senate races. Even if the Rs don't take back the Senate and lose the House, if tRump is POTUS, shielded by the insane immunity granted him by the SCOTUS Trump v US decision, the US as we know it is finished.
July at Oshkosh’s Airventure, the Wisconsin Guard put on a demo of their combined arms capabilities. https://youtu.be/raMOZhHBwg0 As I watched I didn’t know whether the WI Gov was R or D so I immediately googled to discover he is a D! Tony Evers. Dr Timothy Snyder’s Bloodbath Candidate Thinking About immediately came to mind. https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-bloodbath-candidate
What happens if Red State governors send their Army and Air Guard units to support Trump? POTUS needs to activate, or have a plan to immediately activate, all red state governor Guard units from 1 November to 31 January to have them under his command!
Dr Timothy Snyder has a new Thinking About: Trump's Hitlerian Month. It is well worth your time! https://snyder.substack.com/p/trumps-hitlerian-month
Drs Ben-Ghiat and Snyder are sounding the alarm. I sure hope POTUS is listening.
Interesting piece by Snyder. tRump is surely using fascist politics and those following him are fascists as well. The sociopath tRump is following his psychopathic hero's (Hitler) fascist dream. Fascism is the politics of the sociopathic/psychopathic mind because it was created by one.
True!