Thomas Zimmer: Ignoring what Trump says won't work. Constant outrage is not a viable strategy either. We must find a more productive way to engage Trump's dangerous outlandishness. read more
Will Bunch: As the second-largest U.S. city burns, the president-elect brings deluded imperial dreams and a disastrous retreat on climate change. read more
George Lakoff & Gil Duran: Advice for defeating the authoritarian threat. read more
Despite Q's long silence, QAnon beliefs have never been more prevalent--and as Donald Trump prepares to reenter the White House, excitement among the faithful is at an all-time high. read more
They probably put Barack next to Trump because they knew he would be polite, but politeness can be over-rated:
Politicians past and present gathered in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. President-elect Trump and his wife, Melania, walked past his former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, who were sitting alongside another former vice president, Al Gore.
Gore and Pence both stood up to greet Trump and Melania, shaking their hands and saying a few words. But Karen Pence stayed seated, staring ahead icily instead of greeting the couple.
newrepublic.com
When Bush entered the pew with the other presidents, Obama stood for him, but President-elect Trump and the incoming first lady, Melania Trump, both stayed seated.
As Bush went to take the seat near Obama, the older president gave Obama a brief backhand belly tap. Obama in turn patted Bush's back, returning the friendly gesture.
Bush did not interact in that moment with Trump, seemingly ignoring him.
thehill.com
They probably put Barack next to Trump because they knew he would be polite, but politeness can be over-rated:
Politicians past and present gathered in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter. President-elect Trump and his wife, Melania, walked past his former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, who were sitting alongside another former vice president, Al Gore.
Gore and Pence both stood up to greet Trump and Melania, shaking their hands and saying a few words. But Karen Pence stayed seated, staring ahead icily instead of greeting the couple.
newrepublic.com
When Bush entered the pew with the other presidents, Obama stood for him, but President-elect Trump and the incoming first lady, Melania Trump, both stayed seated.
As Bush went to take the seat near Obama, the older president gave Obama a brief backhand belly tap. Obama in turn patted Bush's back, returning the friendly gesture.
Bush did not interact in that moment with Trump, seemingly ignoring him.
thehill.com
Now, how does it exactly work that Donald and MAGA can plot for enormous territorial expansion and still claim to be the peacemakers?
It doesn't. Issues of war are one of the prime things that Donald and MAGA simply lie about, without a second thought.
Some of you may recall that the -------- discussed making Iraq an American protectorate back in the not-so-distant past.
That's when MAGA were known as neo-cons.
Now, how does it exactly work that modern MAGA now distances themselves from the neo-cons and professes loathing for them?
It doesn't. Issues of war are one of the prime things that Donald and MAGA simply lie about, without a second thought.
#28 | Posted by Zed
You've nailed it, Zed. This is just the old GOP imperialist w(h)ine in new Trumpia/MAGA w(h)ine skins:
Trump's bizarre insistence on "territorial expansion," as the mainstream media describes it in rather euphemistic fashion, can similarly serve as a window into how the MAGA Right sees the world and America's place in it. The Trumpists are definitely all in: Marjorie Taylor Greene has already announced she will introduce legislation to make the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America." Senator Tommy Tuberville says "We've gotta take the Panama Canal back." Fox News propaganda is emphasizing the need to annex Greenland "for war purposes," Elon Musk is X-tweeting about Greenland, and the wannabe-thought leaders on the extreme Right are running with the idea that acquiring Greenland should be "a major priority" for Trump.thomaszimmer.substack.com
This is partly just the work of sycophants who are hoping to curry favor with their Dear Leader. But this isn't just about Trump and his bonkers ideas. One reason why his imperialist ramblings resonate so much with the Right is that there is a long tradition of such expansionist desires. . . .
To the extent Trumpism has a clear idea about America's role in the world, it is in line with this "America First" tradition. I doubt Trump's obsession with Greenland comes from reading Buchanan--or reading anything at all. But it doesn't necessitate much sophisticated analysis to understand why such dreams of territorial expansion would appeal to him. As a political project, Trumpism promises to restore former glory by purging dangerous outsiders and the "enemy within" from the nation--and by ruthlessly asserting dominance in the world wherever and whenever America wants.
Trumpism is, in many ways, much more a continuation of long-standing ideas and impulses on the radical Right --an exacerbation and radicalization, yes, but not a departure. If we pay attention, his most outlandish ramblings can help us identify those dangerous tendencies and impulses more clearly.
LOL Gal. Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove the rented pickup truck across the border into Texas. ISIS Flag in the truck. Prior social postings about terror. Trump made his comment based off of information given as our next president. It's cute how quick you and corky arrive with the Poo-Pourri to spray the stink, stank, stunk posts by Zed and others.
#135 | Posted by gracieamazed
That's not what the reporting I've read indicates:
Some Texas officials seized on the incident to call for tighter immigration controls, after Fox News reported that the truck used in the attack had recently entered the country at the southern border. The network later retracted the report, saying the truck entered the country in November " earlier than first reported " and was driven by someone who "does not appear to be the shooter." Patrick, who is acting governor with Abbott out of the state, said Jabbar rented the truck on Dec. 30.www.texastribune.org
But before Fox's update, the narrative was promoted by conservative social media influencers and some Texas lawmakers. Texans for Strong Borders, a group that has pushed lawmakers to adopt hardline border policies, posted on social media that, "if it turn[s] out to be the case that this was an ISIS ramming attack in which the suspect crossed the U.S.-Mexico border," it would be "EXACTLY the nightmare scenario border security experts have been warning about for years."
Texas does not have partisan voting registration. But when he lived in NC he was a registered democrat. Shocked.
#70 | Posted by gracieamazed
When did he live in NC? I wonder if it was around the same time Trump was also registered as a Democrat?
Trump in 04: I probably identify more as Democratwww.cnn.com
Before Donald Trump was a front-running Republican presidential candidate, the real estate mogul believed that the nation's economy ran better when Democrats were in control and that Hillary Clinton would be a strong negotiator with foreign nations.
"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a 2004 interview. "It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn't be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats. ... But certainly we had some very good economies under Democrats, as well as Republicans. But we've had some pretty bad disaster under the Republicans."
Trump was registered as a Democrat for more than eight years in the 2000s, according to New York City voter records made public during his 2016 campaign for president.
www.thoughtco.com
They will be worse off if they lose benefits like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP. They will be worse off if prices don't go down and the wealth inequality increases after the billionaires get their tax breaks. They will be worse off if deregulation increases pollution and unchecked climate change causes more severe natural disasters. They will be worse off if they lose their health insurance, abortion bans keep killing women who don't need to die and anti-vax mandates bring back diseases that were under control. To name just a few things that could get worse under Trump 2.0.