She doesn't seem Native American to me, so that kind'a answers the question. (Technically Native Americans also immigrated from Asia, but at least for them nobody was already here to displace.)
Lmao. Was thinking the same thing. She’s as racist as she is blonde. When the truth comes out about all the pedo stuff, I hope her daughter looks at her differently. She was a failed journalist and was only hired, as MAGA would say, as a DEI hire. Blonde and dumb, almost the same qualifications as the rest of them on The 5 and Fox & Friends.
You know what you get when you switch Red and Hat in MAGAs red hat….
And best song in country today…it’s called Red Hat by Jack Nelson
“What Republicans do not realize is that their actions are actively eroding Americans’ faith in government.”
I have to disagree with you here. I think Republicans actually do realize this. But this is their intention. Reagan was doing this 45 years ago— telling everyone that the government was the enemy. So trust the government—HIS government.
they have turned moral, intellectual, and spiritual bankruptcy into an art form. Now it’s all about what it has always been about: power, money, religious Dominion, and in the age of Trump, revenge on everyone that has ever said anything negative about them, or challeneged their god-like authority..
I am glad you see this with some urgency, endless or not. I think if you were a politically aware gay man, and not a straight man— no offense intended— you would have seen this as clearly as I did 35 or 45 years ago. Reagan sold his political soul to the religious reich, and they were happy to buy it. I listened to their lies about me and mine, and I absolutely believe they knew they were lying. I have been dealing with these people— professional anti-gay bigots— for nearly 50 years. And if there is one thing that I have learned through all of this: you cannot reach people who are irretrievably poisoned by hate, fear, ignorance, toxic religious belief, religious dominionism, bad parenting, stoopidity, traumatic childhood experiences, culture war mentalities, despite, or their very own and very dark issues.
That is what IRRETRIEVABLY means.
And this is precisely what I have seen in the Republican party for the last 30-35 years. There are people who will believe anything, as long as it reassures them that they are better than other people, superior to other people, and god’s BFFF. And above all, in control.
And even worse are the people who know it’s all lies, but they also know their marks.
Hey Ben, I am a straight white elderly woman who has watched the same progression of the republican party since Regan. I agree with you 100%--that Regan used the "fear the government" meme very successfully and his party has run with this ever since. No one in the party denies (privately) that these are all lies. They play the game because they know it's a winner. Control. Greed. Domination. These are their goals and they will pursue them with all the weapons in their arsenal. There is no moral center there. I'm not so sure about the Democrats, either, anymore...they seem to stand and observe thoughtfully.
An excellent synopsis, but I can’t figure out why hardly any news outlets mention the subject of the bribe, as this piece from MSNBS shows:
“he U.S. Attorney’s office in the Western District of Texas, working with the FBI, asked the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section to join its ongoing probe “into the Border Czar and former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan and others based on evidence of payment from FBI undercover agents in exchange for facilitating future contracts related to border enforcement.” Future contracts related to border enforcement.
Part of trump’s agenda is to whip up his followers in demonizing immigrants, but also to pay back his political donors from the prison complex industry, and enable them to gain lucrative contracts to house the immigrants. That this money was intended for Homan to help this industry in further grifting, seems the more important part of the story. And important to accentuate the significance of the prison industrial complex in this imprisoning of anyone caught by ICE.
Grifting always seems the no 1 motive, over racism.
Great post, Mike. I am not buying the gaslighting from Trump and Company. Neither are you. That said we are not alone. We are in fact many. We can take action right now. But we are better advised to proceed peacefully. That means turn out in force for protests and for elections. By taking the House in 2026 by good margins, we can shut down the Senate with impeachment trials one after another. Trump will continue his illegal activity and we should impeach each time. 2027 should be an interesting time.
It's not hard to maintain my belief in truth, science, freedom & ethics. It is very difficult to believe in the American people, as I once did, b/c so many have now proven that they prefer to worship a conman than make the difficult decisions required by a responsible citizen. Was it the 50 years of dumbing down education? The "me" generation? The give every kid a trophy parenting? I don't know, but we have become a remarkably foolish people. & I know I am preaching to the few knowledgeable Americans left!
America has lost touch with its inner Jimmy Cagney. You know...the wise guy who didn't take any BS from blondes or bozos. Chump supporters are as gullible as people who bought Yugos.
Or perhaps our adherence to the capitalist agenda, run amok, above all others that we began to zero in on the accumulation of wealth and status as the primary goals of success in life. We no longer read great literature, revere great art, as it’s all gone to accumulation of it by the wealthiest, great poetry, great cinema, like we had after WWII. Who knows of Shakespeare anymore?
We’re satisfied if we can afford the largest, and status conscious vehicle, the most worthy goal in life. And to be above others, as we show off our status.
To be a nobody, down on your luck, makes one a pariah. No room for redemption here.
The technical term for this is "florid psychosis": florid means "in full flower" referring to the stage at which the delusional beliefs untethered to reality, typically about grand conspiracies aimed at persecuting the victim, completely take over the thought process resulting in constant regurgitations and disjointed rambling. It is extraordinarily disturbing that this diagnosis, once a rarity, is now true of a double-digit percentage of the population.
Too late, the Right accepted Cheeto as their sole arbiter of all that is good and holy awhile ago. We have to realize they are on a doomed voyage and it is up to us still with reality to lash them to the mast and abandon ship. We have to rebuild a different system. The current one is rotten to the core.
Generally, I watch you (without fail) but this is the first I've read from you and I like it. Earlier this morning I was reading Jess Piper who led me to Michele Hornish and I suddenly thought it might just be pertinent to note that, since every State is either a deeper or lighter shade of purple, to get people used to and aware of Democrats it really, really is important for every partisan election to have capable Democrats running, even if, at first, for a while at least, all voters will realize that the current sole defender of the American experiment is not conceding anything to the one that has lost its way in that experiment.
I like that you keep bringing your dad on. Your conversations are....intense, but good. My BFF is MAGA, but isn't remotely willing to have a conversation with me about Dear Leader. She's deep into the cult, and so is her entire family. It makes me very sad, because she used to be reasonable.
What Republicans do not realize is that their actions are actively eroding Americans’ faith in government.
I Disagree: They Have Been Convincing Americans To Hate Their Government For At Least 50 Years, Because THEY (The Rich) Hate Democracy, & Taxes In Particular. Note The Fact That Time & Again These Are 2nd Generation (or Less) Billionaires Who Act As A Cancer & Ought To Be Shown The Door.
Wonder if Megan Kelly's ancestors were immigrants at one time... just asking for a friend.
She doesn't seem Native American to me, so that kind'a answers the question. (Technically Native Americans also immigrated from Asia, but at least for them nobody was already here to displace.)
Lmao. Was thinking the same thing. She’s as racist as she is blonde. When the truth comes out about all the pedo stuff, I hope her daughter looks at her differently. She was a failed journalist and was only hired, as MAGA would say, as a DEI hire. Blonde and dumb, almost the same qualifications as the rest of them on The 5 and Fox & Friends.
You know what you get when you switch Red and Hat in MAGAs red hat….
And best song in country today…it’s called Red Hat by Jack Nelson
You may be jumping to conclusions about "blonde".
No, he specified "blonde and dumb" recognizing that these are two separate traits. Fox requires both traits for preferential hiring.
“What Republicans do not realize is that their actions are actively eroding Americans’ faith in government.”
I have to disagree with you here. I think Republicans actually do realize this. But this is their intention. Reagan was doing this 45 years ago— telling everyone that the government was the enemy. So trust the government—HIS government.
they have turned moral, intellectual, and spiritual bankruptcy into an art form. Now it’s all about what it has always been about: power, money, religious Dominion, and in the age of Trump, revenge on everyone that has ever said anything negative about them, or challeneged their god-like authority..
I am glad you see this with some urgency, endless or not. I think if you were a politically aware gay man, and not a straight man— no offense intended— you would have seen this as clearly as I did 35 or 45 years ago. Reagan sold his political soul to the religious reich, and they were happy to buy it. I listened to their lies about me and mine, and I absolutely believe they knew they were lying. I have been dealing with these people— professional anti-gay bigots— for nearly 50 years. And if there is one thing that I have learned through all of this: you cannot reach people who are irretrievably poisoned by hate, fear, ignorance, toxic religious belief, religious dominionism, bad parenting, stoopidity, traumatic childhood experiences, culture war mentalities, despite, or their very own and very dark issues.
That is what IRRETRIEVABLY means.
And this is precisely what I have seen in the Republican party for the last 30-35 years. There are people who will believe anything, as long as it reassures them that they are better than other people, superior to other people, and god’s BFFF. And above all, in control.
And even worse are the people who know it’s all lies, but they also know their marks.
Hey Ben, I am a straight white elderly woman who has watched the same progression of the republican party since Regan. I agree with you 100%--that Regan used the "fear the government" meme very successfully and his party has run with this ever since. No one in the party denies (privately) that these are all lies. They play the game because they know it's a winner. Control. Greed. Domination. These are their goals and they will pursue them with all the weapons in their arsenal. There is no moral center there. I'm not so sure about the Democrats, either, anymore...they seem to stand and observe thoughtfully.
Thanks, Lexine.
I agree with you. The democratic party, though usually on the right side, also seems to stand for everything…
…by which I mean, they stand for not very much.
I don’t have an answer. Like you, I am old. I will do what I can, but the young people have to take this one up, if they want any future at all.
If this had happened during President Obama’s or President Biden’s presidency they would be howling at the moon 🌕!
An excellent synopsis, but I can’t figure out why hardly any news outlets mention the subject of the bribe, as this piece from MSNBS shows:
“he U.S. Attorney’s office in the Western District of Texas, working with the FBI, asked the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section to join its ongoing probe “into the Border Czar and former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan and others based on evidence of payment from FBI undercover agents in exchange for facilitating future contracts related to border enforcement.” Future contracts related to border enforcement.
Part of trump’s agenda is to whip up his followers in demonizing immigrants, but also to pay back his political donors from the prison complex industry, and enable them to gain lucrative contracts to house the immigrants. That this money was intended for Homan to help this industry in further grifting, seems the more important part of the story. And important to accentuate the significance of the prison industrial complex in this imprisoning of anyone caught by ICE.
Grifting always seems the no 1 motive, over racism.
Great post, Mike. I am not buying the gaslighting from Trump and Company. Neither are you. That said we are not alone. We are in fact many. We can take action right now. But we are better advised to proceed peacefully. That means turn out in force for protests and for elections. By taking the House in 2026 by good margins, we can shut down the Senate with impeachment trials one after another. Trump will continue his illegal activity and we should impeach each time. 2027 should be an interesting time.
It's not hard to maintain my belief in truth, science, freedom & ethics. It is very difficult to believe in the American people, as I once did, b/c so many have now proven that they prefer to worship a conman than make the difficult decisions required by a responsible citizen. Was it the 50 years of dumbing down education? The "me" generation? The give every kid a trophy parenting? I don't know, but we have become a remarkably foolish people. & I know I am preaching to the few knowledgeable Americans left!
America has lost touch with its inner Jimmy Cagney. You know...the wise guy who didn't take any BS from blondes or bozos. Chump supporters are as gullible as people who bought Yugos.
Or perhaps our adherence to the capitalist agenda, run amok, above all others that we began to zero in on the accumulation of wealth and status as the primary goals of success in life. We no longer read great literature, revere great art, as it’s all gone to accumulation of it by the wealthiest, great poetry, great cinema, like we had after WWII. Who knows of Shakespeare anymore?
We’re satisfied if we can afford the largest, and status conscious vehicle, the most worthy goal in life. And to be above others, as we show off our status.
To be a nobody, down on your luck, makes one a pariah. No room for redemption here.
The technical term for this is "florid psychosis": florid means "in full flower" referring to the stage at which the delusional beliefs untethered to reality, typically about grand conspiracies aimed at persecuting the victim, completely take over the thought process resulting in constant regurgitations and disjointed rambling. It is extraordinarily disturbing that this diagnosis, once a rarity, is now true of a double-digit percentage of the population.
Too late, the Right accepted Cheeto as their sole arbiter of all that is good and holy awhile ago. We have to realize they are on a doomed voyage and it is up to us still with reality to lash them to the mast and abandon ship. We have to rebuild a different system. The current one is rotten to the core.
Generally, I watch you (without fail) but this is the first I've read from you and I like it. Earlier this morning I was reading Jess Piper who led me to Michele Hornish and I suddenly thought it might just be pertinent to note that, since every State is either a deeper or lighter shade of purple, to get people used to and aware of Democrats it really, really is important for every partisan election to have capable Democrats running, even if, at first, for a while at least, all voters will realize that the current sole defender of the American experiment is not conceding anything to the one that has lost its way in that experiment.
would love to see Jess and Mike talk about this on Endless Urgency
A single source of truth... and morality, who wouldn't recognize either even if they smacked him in the face.
Thank you for continuing to remind us, and them, of Melissa Hortman. She deserves to be remembered!
I like that you keep bringing your dad on. Your conversations are....intense, but good. My BFF is MAGA, but isn't remotely willing to have a conversation with me about Dear Leader. She's deep into the cult, and so is her entire family. It makes me very sad, because she used to be reasonable.
MAGA has so much hate in their hearts. 😢
What Republicans do not realize is that their actions are actively eroding Americans’ faith in government.
I Disagree: They Have Been Convincing Americans To Hate Their Government For At Least 50 Years, Because THEY (The Rich) Hate Democracy, & Taxes In Particular. Note The Fact That Time & Again These Are 2nd Generation (or Less) Billionaires Who Act As A Cancer & Ought To Be Shown The Door.
I love that you bring your dad on. He would never give up on you, and you’re not giving up on him. Cherish that relationship, man.
Thanks for telling it like it is.
Perhaps you can find out.
How many people have been deported?
How many people have landed?
How many people have disappeared into the ocean?
And how do you know?