Lets have a two minute “moment of noise” tribute at the Super Bowl - lead the entire world in a record-breaking “FDT” chant - let him hear it on TV while throwing hamberders at the wall.
An excrutiatingly effective, educational, evocative, excessive, eye-opening execution on national TV. If someone starts a "Go Fund Me" I'm in for a donation.
FWIW, I think there are more people watching at the two minute warning in the 2nd quarter - people tuning in to see the commercials. Viewership tends to go down in the 2nd half, esp if it's not a close game. This is from memory, tho, and I haven't watched the game in years.
Based on Matthew 25: 31 - 46 Trump won’t make it. When has he ever fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited those in prison or cared for the stranger within your midst. He will be among the goats who the Son of Man says be gone form me. These are the criteria which Christ uses for those who qualify for his kingdom . Note it isn’t about how many 5 year olds he deported or how many Haitians he accused of eating cats and dogs or how many illegal aliens he got out of the country period. By these metrics and honestly many more Trump has fallen way short of the glory of God. What an obscene breakfast.
Scene: …a bearded man in long robe holds a clipboard, standing beside massive locked gate - his expression is stern; wisps of cloud like mist in the air; faint sounds of harp.
Trump coughs, spits out what appears to be a whole McDonalds™️ french fry. He speaks: “Whaddaya mean? I learned the fry machine! Handed bags of food out the drive thru window. Lines of cars like they’d never seen. And clothing? I took that lady shopping at Bergdorfs. It was in all the fake media, I was treated very unfairly. Someone says, “oh, he didn’t visit prisoners” - I do better than that, I pardon them! So many pardons…”
I have many questions about the existence of heaven and hell, but this all certainly motivates me to live my life in such a way as to end up in the opposite location of these people, whatever it is.
If Trump is going to Heaven, I'll take Hell, please. But of course Trump isn't going to Heaven so this is nothing to worry about.
Some people believe you create your own afterlife during your life. Imagine the hellscape Trump has created. His Heaven is people bowing to him. Yeah, if I were him, I'd be terrified of death too. Even if reincarnation is correct, he's in trouble.
The thing has always been almost entirely performative, but now it's just bald-faced lying and middle fingers to everything Christ stood for and talked about.
If they're concerned about spending the afterlife in Heaven, they're not acting like it. They don't believe a word of it, they just want to use xtianity as a cudgel on the rest of us.
I like to ask MAGAs to name a single teaching of Christ that Trump displays. Haven't gotten a straight answer yet, usually silence or some weak insult.
Well, the Dems formed a blue-ribbon panel to study the problem and come up with a set of recommendations for how to help the guy. It's still stuck in committee, tho.
I applaud and understand the comment, but at least the Dems know there's a problem and try to do something about it. There's something very human and godly about that.
Too unfair. We can’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “fairly good”. The Dems try, but get held back by GOP, as happened when the public option being removed from the ACA in order to get a few GOP votes.
Obama took the public option and universal care off the table before they even got TO the table.
The Dems went from being the party of labor to just another political arm of the corporatocracy with Clinton (which is when I left the party, tho I never voted R, for anything, ever). They just put a nicer face on it. They're def "better" than the GQP, but still aren't willing to alienate their corporate backers.
Oh bullshit. I am so tired of hearing this. The GOP has the richest people in the world giving them piles of cash, but oh, Dems shouldn't take more than $35 from someone. That New Yorker cover is a perfect example of what is wrong with the left.
I don't want big money in politics either, but it isn't going away anytime soon. So instead of excoriating Dems—who have never not supported labor, and just fyi, a lot of union guys vote R and have for a long time—why not actually take your attacks to the people who are doing us harm.
You may not have ever voted R, but I bet you've stayed home or voted third party.
“I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people.” Who are 'perfect people'? Predicting your own salvation... He's unhinged from actual Christianity.
No kidding. Honestly, my wife and I listen to him and it's just so apparent that he just rambles on with complete BS on whatever topic is in front of him and his supporters lap it up (or just eat the dog food and pretend it tastes good).
That's why I can only handle him for a couple of minutes...it's just too disgusting and obvious!
Certainly not "immigrants" and definitely not any of us.
He is unhinged from reality, period. It's all about the gospel of prosperity, which replaced the actual teachings of Christ whose main function is to take greed off the list of the deadly sins and make it a "virtue" (along with pride and lust, in this case lust for riches and power).
Alas, using "Miller" and "heart" in the same sentence infers that he actually has one (never mind a soul), or uses it if he does. I've seen no evidence of that and won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen.
I used my (imaginary) Skin Tone Meter, and realized Miller’s wife isn’t actually white enough. In fact, she’s fairly tinged. But her explosive hate matched his, so that’s a recognized counter weight.
"Then televangelist Paula White came on to gas Trump up as “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch,” who had “brought religion back to this nation and beyond.”"
< Tim starts vomiting uncontrollably >
White is married to Journey's keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who has been fighting with founding guitarist Neal Schon about (you guessed it) money in court in recent years. Make of that what you will.
With that established, I'd like to know where religion had gone before Trump's second term. Which "religion" did Trump bring back? Can White back this claim with with statistics on church attendance? Can White point to a passage in Holy Scripture that provides justification for killing civilians on the open sea? Better yet, where is the justification for having sex with underage girls in the Good Book? Or committing adultery? Or lying? Or stealing?
There is only one thing that White worships: mammon. Any assertion that Donald Fucking Trump has brought back religion is risible and obscene and should be met with mockery.
I watched about 2 minutes of Trump's remarks before I could no longer handle it, but I think one of the first points he made was saying something along the lines of "Religion is now more popular than ever!"
Jesus spoke of picking up your cross and following Him...it wasn't supposed to be a fad.
The more cynical side of my nature thinks that Trump is correct, but not in the way he intended. What I think is "more popular than ever" is using the New Testament as cover to perform unconscionable acts of evil and depravity. Trumpism is syncretic and it allows people to dabble in a little bit of this and a little bit of that without experiencing any cognitive dissonance. This is why, for example, Pete Hegseth can talk a good game about faith while simultaneously behaving in ways that warrant a punch to his face. He's never going to get called out by his own team.
I'm sure I've made this point before, but when they cut the US-AID program...they didn't phase it out...they just told everyone to stop what they were doing and return home. Medical supplies and food spoiled because of this cruel and draconian decision implemented so bluntly.
It hurts my heart to think that Christians are supporting this evil shix.
I dunno, Jeff. I think human beings are capable of rationalizing anything. We're remarkably self serving that way, and when something gets in the way of something we want, we can easily jettison whatever principles we have and then lie to ourselves about it. We *all* do that to some extent with little stuff. In the case of the Trump administration, they're doing it on a global scale so the consequences of it are staggering. And I don't believe for a minute that Marco Rubio is losing a moment's sleep about any of it.
I think the same thing a lot. It's social science and human nature when the worst of us are unconstrained. With more groupthink and power, less accountability would Trump/Miller/Musk/Thiel/Nome stop shorter than third riech germans? I sure hope we don't have to find out.
Yes, Trump brought back religion, while Joe Biden, who attended mass weekly and spent four years helping the sick and the poor, apparently scorned religion.
The part that I can't get over is that people actually believe that.
I relate to Suzie because every morning I, too, am awoken at an early hour and the first thing that comes to my mind is: what damage did Trump cause overnight. And then, as usual, the stress prevents me from falling back to mych-needed sleep.
Reducing ICE's Minneapolis invasion by less than 1/4 is just a sop, nothing else. It will just mean redeployment in another city. All those 'words' about 'softening' ring hollow. Nothing has changed except the appearance, not the substance.
PS Missing from this issue is the reality that (1) the U.S. needs immigrants to reverse the inexorable demographics delivering an aging population and fewer working-age residents, and (2) the failure to enact serious immigration legislation for >30 years, plus the removal of immigration judges who could speed an overwhelmed process. The U.S. was created by 80 million immigrants of every conceivable ethnicity from 100 nations. They (we?) are the nation's strength.
Meantime, Homan's and Noem's goons are traumatizing innocent men, women and (especially) children. One can only wonder at how supposed humans can descend to this level of animalistic savagery. It's who Homan and Noem want, and there are (sub)humans ready to provide it.
I agree. We shouldn’t let up on resistance because we think they are in their back foot. It’s a feint. Scott Galloway’s effort to make it easy to unsubscribe from the tech enablers, for the month of February to send a message is helpful.
just watched an old man yell _uck off, and f___ you, over and over, the sec. punk police broke glass went in some apt bldg, franklin ave, were in there almost an hour, came out empty, I think, they got quite a greeting, so nice to see that one man he must be over 74
yelling, was a great video, many others, a few punk agents slowed, but they sort of behaved, after the breaking full length glass, entering illegally and the human beings ill-----.. call them trespassers, aliens, criminals interlopers, they are not ill ----l, no human is, for fuck's sake, I'm starting to talk like the stupid pathetic president.
Every non-fascist in the United States of America must accept and act on the screamingly obvious reality that the MAGA regime will not accept or allow electoral defeat in the 2026 midterms. Say it again: the MAGA authoritarians will use every deceit, every ‘excuse,’ every lie, every institutional weakness, every anti-democratic measure thought of and enacted by Republicans (read: authoritarians) over the past fifty years to refuse, restrict, and disenfranchise as many non-authoritarians as possible from exercising their democratic right and responsibility to vote; the MAGA authoritarians will use any and every strategy they think they can get away with, including the threat and reality of violence, to refuse and disallow any electoral outcomes that reduce or challenge their power and authority.
Notice that I did not say “Trump.” The Republican Party is now the bootlicking party of MAGA authoritarianism. Regardless of any stated MAGA affiliation, the Republican Party is the legislative arm of the MAGA authoritarian regime, just as the Roberts Supreme Court is the legal arm of the MAGA authoritarian regime. They are functionally fascist, regardless of words or appearances, regardless of any obdurate, delusional wishful thinking on the part of those who should know better, regardless of stuck-in-the-past refusal of this country’s institutions and institutional actants to see the patently obvious. Any other interpretation of observable reality is, and I’m sorry, stupid. But stupid on the scale of catastrophically stupid. As in the end of the line for this country’s 250 year experiment stupid.
MAGA authoritarianism will not allow or accept electoral defeat at any scale, now or ever. Everything non-fascists do from here on out must accept and act on this reality. They will do everything they think they can get away with to not lose power. They will not - willingly or unwillingly - allow any kind of electoral defeat. Everyone needs to prepare for the unthinkable, including refusal to leave office (with, of course, an orchestrated flood of propaganda claiming patently bullshit reasons) because that’s what we’re headed for.
The setup is crystal clear. It’s like a python, slowly closing around and squeezing a little more, a little more, a little more, until there’s no escape, only death. Each ‘unthinkable,’ illegal, unconstitutional act leading to worse ‘unthinkable,’ illegal, unconstitutional acts. Until it’s over. That’s where we are.
They will not accept electoral defeat, or anything that threatens their power. Period.
Exactly. If you haven't already, you should listen to Robert Kagan on with Tim yesterday; this is what he said. I'm glad people are finally waking up to this fact; I've been saying it since 2018.
Bannon said it directly! Looking right into the camera! They will not ALLOW anyone to take away the election and the power only they deserve! We'll see in November is stopping them is possible or if we will be a third world country/banana republic, whichever concept we prefer, for decades.
It's hardly a secret. But Americans, especially Americans with power, are not living in reality. You can't win if you're fighting an illusion not based in reality. You will lose.
Keeping in mind that the remaining true believers are, at BEST, protectors of pedophiles, if not guilty themselves. There is NO bottom level they won't stoop to to stay in power.
Yep. As Camus said of the French Resistance, the only moral quality that matters is courage. It's not over. It's never over. But if the levers of non-fascist power - which includes you and me, but speaking especially to institutional Democrats and all other non-fascist institutions - don't make their operating principle that MAGA will not accept or abide by any kind of meaningful electoral defeat whatsoever, then this battle is lost.
So what do we do when the unthinkable happens and they refuse to leave their offices? Do the US Marshalls go in and arrest them? Do the people go in and drag them out?
I really don't believe that they will follow the law at all anymore. The messier they can make it, the better for them.
They are insanely obvious with their corruption now and any reporter who dares ask a question they don't want to answer is verbally abused on air. I'd love to see that little twit Karoline Levitt get a punch directly to her snippy, manufactured nose. Admittedly, I'd love to be the person who gets to punch her, I'd likely get a broken hand I'd hit her so hard.
It sounds like we are stuck with living with fascism, or we find a way to get out and become immigrants ourselves somewhere.
That photo of Colonel Klink (er, Miller) at the top is priceless. It reeks of anger and resentment, his stock in trade, as if to say, "I can't believe I have to take orders from this moron. Just tell everyone already that you get the credit, but I run the show behind the scenes." Fill in the bubble with your own worthy caption, win exciting prizes.
At any rate he is not smiling. There's no small irony in the President abusing a reporter for never smiling when we are extraordinarily hard-pressed to find any photo of him, Melania, and Klink ever doing so themselves. For all of their influence, they seem profoundly unhappy to be where they are at. All of their smiles taken together wouldn't amount to the joy of just one smile from a kid who received a gift ice cream cone on a hot summer day. Wouldn't it be nice if our chief executive mouthed off to someone who actually could fight back? Someone who would knock a load of sense into him for always acting so arrogant and entitled? One can dream.
TBH, I do not think any of these people are actually happy. They seem to be some of the most miserable people in existence, which is likely one of the reasons we have the excrement extravaganza we currently have.
I don't think that Trump is really capable of happiness, given his psychology and neediness. Sure there are probably moments of it when he actually pus the screws to someone in his retirbution campaign--but when you look at the people he is surrounded by and the fact that most of his speech is either about how he has been mistreated or (conversely) how is the greatest whatever it happens to be in the moment (President, CEO, strategist, peacemaker--but, sadly, unrecognized) in the history of the world, there is an empty core there.
I cannot help but think it is a miserable life and then cannot help but think nobody deserves that miserable life more.
Miller is a fascist. Fascists are sadists and delight greatly in watching members of the out-group in suffering, particularly when they know they are the ones inflicting the suffering. It's not enough that they are the "winners", the "losers" need to suffer in order for them to be able to feel anything.
Melania is just another enigmatic character in his life. Smile? Why would she indicate to people what she really thinks as that would ruin her mystic. How dare you be so hostile to the greatest first lady ever who the masses love. I mean what other first lady has had such a lavish documentary made of her?
I've been told that my comparison of Miller to Werner Klemperer (as Klink), based on their visual similarity, does an injustice to the memory of Klemperer and the good person that he was. I do not disagree with that. I simply cannot resist lumping him in with the rube and boob that the TV character was, as long as their looks are close enough to make the connection.
Colonel Klink the character may have been self absorbed, cur his terrible violin playing, but he was also highly neurotic and insecure whose greatest fear is being sent to the Eastern front. The character is complex and deeply human with his foibles visible to all.
This is the difference. As much as a might try, I find nothing human about Steven Miller. The TV character of Colonel Klink is far more human than Steven Miller the person.
That New Yorker cover starts to get at something I am just learning about, the idea of "reactionary centrism," or reflexive criticism and fearfulness with which "centrist" media and pundits talk about anything remotely to the left of center, while accepting even the most egregiously undemocratic right-wing extremes as somehow explained as a necessary correction to that liberal thought. Here's a dry, but clear explainer: https://britbrief.co.uk/politics/westminster/reactionary-centrisms-threat-to-us-democracy.html
And this episode of the Volts podcast is a much more detailed and impassioned discussion of the same. You definitely don't have to listen to the whole thing to get the idea, although to tell the truth, I found it cathartic. https://www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-reactionary-centrism. They give a lot of concrete examples that make it much easier to understand.
Hearing the podcast and then reading more about it has been a real Aha! moment for me (or should I say has made me Woke to the issue?). While I am still wrestling with it, my first reaction is to make sure that I put my criticisms of our Democratic leadership, which I definitely have, in proper perspective. So, for example, I'm going to start my comments with phrases like, 'in the face of unprecedented lawlessness and unconstitutional power grabs by Republicans, I would like to see my representatives....." What I am realizing is that I have basically been taught to disparage the efforts of Democrats without fully accounting for context. I hope this idea will be one that helps those of us resisting authoritarianism to understand the weird asymmetry of mainstream media, and perhaps to push back more effectively.
When are the courts going to wise up and start slapping administration officials with fines and jail time for ignoring their decisions? If they are going to continue to trash the rule of law, there should be some consequences.
The problem is that the enforcement arm of the courts, the US Marshals Service, is under the executive branch. Also, criminal contempt in Federal court is something the president can pardon.
And they'll soon run out of detention space for the contempt chargees. Hey maybe they can go to the detention centers where lots of other people are getting dragged to these days.
I agree but am unsure about how legally this happens. Could it be more clear that the DOJ has completely ignored and flouted the law with the release of the Epstein files?
Let's get an administrative subpoena and just grab them!
My fantasy of Stephen Miller's departure from the government is a little different than Bill's. Mine involves a C-17 flying over the ocean and the opening of a door on said plane.
While I understand the feeling, I just can’t with this scenario as I am immediately brought to Argentina and all the people who were disappeared and whose children were given to those who facilitated their disappearances. Don’t get me wrong I want to see Miller brought to justice, but dumping him out of a plane is not justice. The generals in Argentina were brought to trial and the proceedings were serialized daily in the newspapers for all to see their crimes and hear their victims testimony. That is the sort of reckoning we should really have and not just sweeping things under the carpet with the phrase we need to move on.
FWI; With the resignations of DOJ attorneys in Mn., they are now down to 17 when there should be at 50. Hey, worst of the worst! This will really help fraud investigations!
So, a pedophile is speaking at the National Breakfast. An adviser to the pedophile is working on ethnic cleansing of the US.
Note to Christian attendees: Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits."
Another note to Christian attendees: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in … Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?” … The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” — Matthew 25:35-40
Trumpy Christians tell us all need to know about them when they applaud Trump speeches.
the new yorker's picture -- as far as i can tell a huge chunk of gop voters literally believe dems are evil incarnate and the actual enemy. they follow(ed) trump not because they want a dictator but because they believe he's the only one willing to really go after them and defeat them once and for all. now i think trump is just a con man, and can sniff out marks like nobodies business for his own ends ... but most of his voters dont see it. some do, recently see mtg -- who is probably indicative of a small percentage of regretful trump voters.
but dems i mean they just dont get that and keep acting like the normals in the room. frankly i see europe behaving similarly.
if it's really just about pure power, then well wield the power you have... or figure out what power you do have, then wield it.
Lets have a two minute “moment of noise” tribute at the Super Bowl - lead the entire world in a record-breaking “FDT” chant - let him hear it on TV while throwing hamberders at the wall.
If someone has a few million laying around, A 30 second Super Bowl commercial of the slow mo execution of Alex Pretti would be very effective. ...
Or run this:
https://youtu.be/nFO9HXlP1Pk
👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼❗❗❗❗❗
An excrutiatingly effective, educational, evocative, excessive, eye-opening execution on national TV. If someone starts a "Go Fund Me" I'm in for a donation.
That would be awesome..! (If I come up with a few million before then, we’ll do it!)
Well if someone sets up a viral go fund me, a few million could be reached in hours.
Guaranteed any ad with Pretti wouldn’t meet the new community rules and standards of today’s improved MSM.
In other words, the truth won’t set us free because it’s being silenced!…:)
From homes all across America— open your doors and scream it out together into the February night: F D T! F D T!
Maybe led by Bad Bunny???
I thought of that, but he’s already got millions of haters (who know nothing about him, other than “Trump told us to hate him”…).
Call it "A National Day of Yelling".
During the two minute warning, 4th quarter! Make it loud!
FWIW, I think there are more people watching at the two minute warning in the 2nd quarter - people tuning in to see the commercials. Viewership tends to go down in the 2nd half, esp if it's not a close game. This is from memory, tho, and I haven't watched the game in years.
Right before the coin toss when the cameras are ON
Based on Matthew 25: 31 - 46 Trump won’t make it. When has he ever fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited those in prison or cared for the stranger within your midst. He will be among the goats who the Son of Man says be gone form me. These are the criteria which Christ uses for those who qualify for his kingdom . Note it isn’t about how many 5 year olds he deported or how many Haitians he accused of eating cats and dogs or how many illegal aliens he got out of the country period. By these metrics and honestly many more Trump has fallen way short of the glory of God. What an obscene breakfast.
Scene: …a bearded man in long robe holds a clipboard, standing beside massive locked gate - his expression is stern; wisps of cloud like mist in the air; faint sounds of harp.
Trump coughs, spits out what appears to be a whole McDonalds™️ french fry. He speaks: “Whaddaya mean? I learned the fry machine! Handed bags of food out the drive thru window. Lines of cars like they’d never seen. And clothing? I took that lady shopping at Bergdorfs. It was in all the fake media, I was treated very unfairly. Someone says, “oh, he didn’t visit prisoners” - I do better than that, I pardon them! So many pardons…”
Touché
Hats off!
If a french fry is his undoing, someone needs to alert Candace Owens to shut up about the Macrons.
Aren’t they ultimately responsible? I mean, what kind of Fry is it?
I have many questions about the existence of heaven and hell, but this all certainly motivates me to live my life in such a way as to end up in the opposite location of these people, whatever it is.
Exactly, I am not sure about a lot of things or any afterlife, but what the words incapsulate are values to live by.
If Trump is going to Heaven, I'll take Hell, please. But of course Trump isn't going to Heaven so this is nothing to worry about.
Some people believe you create your own afterlife during your life. Imagine the hellscape Trump has created. His Heaven is people bowing to him. Yeah, if I were him, I'd be terrified of death too. Even if reincarnation is correct, he's in trouble.
I don't know if hell exists, either, but if it does....he's one heck of a perfect candidate.
The thing has always been almost entirely performative, but now it's just bald-faced lying and middle fingers to everything Christ stood for and talked about.
So are their professions of wanting to spend the afterlife with him merely performative?
If they're concerned about spending the afterlife in Heaven, they're not acting like it. They don't believe a word of it, they just want to use xtianity as a cudgel on the rest of us.
I like to ask MAGAs to name a single teaching of Christ that Trump displays. Haven't gotten a straight answer yet, usually silence or some weak insult.
Trump displays this teaching of Christ:
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34)
Well, the first part, anyway...
Trump's dead serious about going to Heaven... the streets there are made of gold, aren't they?
I recently saw a cartoon of Jesus reciting the Sermon on the Mount, and one red-hatted listener says, “What the hell kind of Christian is THAT?”.
And the next scene would have them doing a January 6 on Jesus.
That happened.
Many of them in attendance drove right passed the beat up guy on the road while the Dem provided him shelter and food.
Well, the Dems formed a blue-ribbon panel to study the problem and come up with a set of recommendations for how to help the guy. It's still stuck in committee, tho.
I applaud and understand the comment, but at least the Dems know there's a problem and try to do something about it. There's something very human and godly about that.
Too unfair. We can’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “fairly good”. The Dems try, but get held back by GOP, as happened when the public option being removed from the ACA in order to get a few GOP votes.
Obama took the public option and universal care off the table before they even got TO the table.
The Dems went from being the party of labor to just another political arm of the corporatocracy with Clinton (which is when I left the party, tho I never voted R, for anything, ever). They just put a nicer face on it. They're def "better" than the GQP, but still aren't willing to alienate their corporate backers.
I do understand. But this is how we go down in sizzling defeat. Infighting is the specialty of the resistance. Identity politics dogs the grave.
Oh bullshit. I am so tired of hearing this. The GOP has the richest people in the world giving them piles of cash, but oh, Dems shouldn't take more than $35 from someone. That New Yorker cover is a perfect example of what is wrong with the left.
I don't want big money in politics either, but it isn't going away anytime soon. So instead of excoriating Dems—who have never not supported labor, and just fyi, a lot of union guys vote R and have for a long time—why not actually take your attacks to the people who are doing us harm.
You may not have ever voted R, but I bet you've stayed home or voted third party.
“I really think I probably should make it. I mean, I’m not a perfect candidate, but I did a hell of a lot of good for perfect people.” Who are 'perfect people'? Predicting your own salvation... He's unhinged from actual Christianity.
No kidding. Honestly, my wife and I listen to him and it's just so apparent that he just rambles on with complete BS on whatever topic is in front of him and his supporters lap it up (or just eat the dog food and pretend it tastes good).
That's why I can only handle him for a couple of minutes...it's just too disgusting and obvious!
I gave up trying to listen. I read a lot.
It boggles the mind doesn't it? I can't figure out how people are so enamored with him
Exactly what I'd like to know.
Certainly not "immigrants" and definitely not any of us.
He is unhinged from reality, period. It's all about the gospel of prosperity, which replaced the actual teachings of Christ whose main function is to take greed off the list of the deadly sins and make it a "virtue" (along with pride and lust, in this case lust for riches and power).
What timing. ! You gotta read this. Sam Freedman has written a chilling and detailed profile of Stephen Miller, the dark heart of the Trump regime.
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/the-most-dangerous-man-in-america
Alas, using "Miller" and "heart" in the same sentence infers that he actually has one (never mind a soul), or uses it if he does. I've seen no evidence of that and won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen.
Miller is and always has been DJT's ID.
in reality miller will be the last one on the box CAR, looking rather exasperated ... but he's blind to that.
which makes one wonder -- how the eff duke did you let this moron in?
Same way Yale let in Vance. Need-blind admissions are recent; sociopathy-blind admissions have a long, rich history.
Excellent, but chilling, piece on Miller. Thanks for sharing!
I used my (imaginary) Skin Tone Meter, and realized Miller’s wife isn’t actually white enough. In fact, she’s fairly tinged. But her explosive hate matched his, so that’s a recognized counter weight.
None of this is surprising but it sure is chilling, and important to realize. Thanks for the link, I guess...
"Then televangelist Paula White came on to gas Trump up as “the greatest champion of faith that we have ever had in the executive branch,” who had “brought religion back to this nation and beyond.”"
< Tim starts vomiting uncontrollably >
White is married to Journey's keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who has been fighting with founding guitarist Neal Schon about (you guessed it) money in court in recent years. Make of that what you will.
With that established, I'd like to know where religion had gone before Trump's second term. Which "religion" did Trump bring back? Can White back this claim with with statistics on church attendance? Can White point to a passage in Holy Scripture that provides justification for killing civilians on the open sea? Better yet, where is the justification for having sex with underage girls in the Good Book? Or committing adultery? Or lying? Or stealing?
There is only one thing that White worships: mammon. Any assertion that Donald Fucking Trump has brought back religion is risible and obscene and should be met with mockery.
I watched about 2 minutes of Trump's remarks before I could no longer handle it, but I think one of the first points he made was saying something along the lines of "Religion is now more popular than ever!"
Jesus spoke of picking up your cross and following Him...it wasn't supposed to be a fad.
I want NOTHING to do with this type of religion.
The more cynical side of my nature thinks that Trump is correct, but not in the way he intended. What I think is "more popular than ever" is using the New Testament as cover to perform unconscionable acts of evil and depravity. Trumpism is syncretic and it allows people to dabble in a little bit of this and a little bit of that without experiencing any cognitive dissonance. This is why, for example, Pete Hegseth can talk a good game about faith while simultaneously behaving in ways that warrant a punch to his face. He's never going to get called out by his own team.
I agree 1000%. It's all very performative.
I'm sure I've made this point before, but when they cut the US-AID program...they didn't phase it out...they just told everyone to stop what they were doing and return home. Medical supplies and food spoiled because of this cruel and draconian decision implemented so bluntly.
It hurts my heart to think that Christians are supporting this evil shix.
I dunno, Jeff. I think human beings are capable of rationalizing anything. We're remarkably self serving that way, and when something gets in the way of something we want, we can easily jettison whatever principles we have and then lie to ourselves about it. We *all* do that to some extent with little stuff. In the case of the Trump administration, they're doing it on a global scale so the consequences of it are staggering. And I don't believe for a minute that Marco Rubio is losing a moment's sleep about any of it.
Spot on...and it's even easier if a million people are doing/thinking the same thing.
Never have I had such a deep understanding of how Hitler came to power.
I think the same thing a lot. It's social science and human nature when the worst of us are unconstrained. With more groupthink and power, less accountability would Trump/Miller/Musk/Thiel/Nome stop shorter than third riech germans? I sure hope we don't have to find out.
I think about Hitler vis-a-vis this moment, too. Scary as hell.
Nah, his naked ambition justifies all of it.
They support it because 2 gay men in Mozambique got a free condom. That makes the entire program evil.
It’s not a “religion”. It’s a dominance-hate cult.
He has helped with a tremendous rise in ‘tech bros for bestiality’, which is like never before
He pioneered a new sex act called "The MUSKet". Whatever that is is left to the reader's imagination.
Please, I haven't had breakfast yet, Tim!
LOL! Sorry, dude.
Yes, Trump brought back religion, while Joe Biden, who attended mass weekly and spent four years helping the sick and the poor, apparently scorned religion.
The part that I can't get over is that people actually believe that.
Once you accept that the median American voter is an amoral halfwit, you'll get over it in no time.
All these “Christians” care about is stopping abortion.
Or more specifically, all "Christians" care about is white birth rates.
Tim - ummm… regarding enlightened behaviors towards women and about sexcapades in the bible… you might want to be sitting down before I continue…
😱
Maybe they are thinking of the religion behind the Inquisition?
You're probably right, David.
Thanks, 🍻
I relate to Suzie because every morning I, too, am awoken at an early hour and the first thing that comes to my mind is: what damage did Trump cause overnight. And then, as usual, the stress prevents me from falling back to mych-needed sleep.
Reducing ICE's Minneapolis invasion by less than 1/4 is just a sop, nothing else. It will just mean redeployment in another city. All those 'words' about 'softening' ring hollow. Nothing has changed except the appearance, not the substance.
PS Missing from this issue is the reality that (1) the U.S. needs immigrants to reverse the inexorable demographics delivering an aging population and fewer working-age residents, and (2) the failure to enact serious immigration legislation for >30 years, plus the removal of immigration judges who could speed an overwhelmed process. The U.S. was created by 80 million immigrants of every conceivable ethnicity from 100 nations. They (we?) are the nation's strength.
Homan probably told them “Stop shooting people. You can do everything else the same, but no killing.”
The sordid truth, Frau Katze.
Meantime, Homan's and Noem's goons are traumatizing innocent men, women and (especially) children. One can only wonder at how supposed humans can descend to this level of animalistic savagery. It's who Homan and Noem want, and there are (sub)humans ready to provide it.
It was probably more like "Stop shooting people on camera."
I agree. We shouldn’t let up on resistance because we think they are in their back foot. It’s a feint. Scott Galloway’s effort to make it easy to unsubscribe from the tech enablers, for the month of February to send a message is helpful.
https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com/
just watched an old man yell _uck off, and f___ you, over and over, the sec. punk police broke glass went in some apt bldg, franklin ave, were in there almost an hour, came out empty, I think, they got quite a greeting, so nice to see that one man he must be over 74
yelling, was a great video, many others, a few punk agents slowed, but they sort of behaved, after the breaking full length glass, entering illegally and the human beings ill-----.. call them trespassers, aliens, criminals interlopers, they are not ill ----l, no human is, for fuck's sake, I'm starting to talk like the stupid pathetic president.
Every non-fascist in the United States of America must accept and act on the screamingly obvious reality that the MAGA regime will not accept or allow electoral defeat in the 2026 midterms. Say it again: the MAGA authoritarians will use every deceit, every ‘excuse,’ every lie, every institutional weakness, every anti-democratic measure thought of and enacted by Republicans (read: authoritarians) over the past fifty years to refuse, restrict, and disenfranchise as many non-authoritarians as possible from exercising their democratic right and responsibility to vote; the MAGA authoritarians will use any and every strategy they think they can get away with, including the threat and reality of violence, to refuse and disallow any electoral outcomes that reduce or challenge their power and authority.
Notice that I did not say “Trump.” The Republican Party is now the bootlicking party of MAGA authoritarianism. Regardless of any stated MAGA affiliation, the Republican Party is the legislative arm of the MAGA authoritarian regime, just as the Roberts Supreme Court is the legal arm of the MAGA authoritarian regime. They are functionally fascist, regardless of words or appearances, regardless of any obdurate, delusional wishful thinking on the part of those who should know better, regardless of stuck-in-the-past refusal of this country’s institutions and institutional actants to see the patently obvious. Any other interpretation of observable reality is, and I’m sorry, stupid. But stupid on the scale of catastrophically stupid. As in the end of the line for this country’s 250 year experiment stupid.
MAGA authoritarianism will not allow or accept electoral defeat at any scale, now or ever. Everything non-fascists do from here on out must accept and act on this reality. They will do everything they think they can get away with to not lose power. They will not - willingly or unwillingly - allow any kind of electoral defeat. Everyone needs to prepare for the unthinkable, including refusal to leave office (with, of course, an orchestrated flood of propaganda claiming patently bullshit reasons) because that’s what we’re headed for.
The setup is crystal clear. It’s like a python, slowly closing around and squeezing a little more, a little more, a little more, until there’s no escape, only death. Each ‘unthinkable,’ illegal, unconstitutional act leading to worse ‘unthinkable,’ illegal, unconstitutional acts. Until it’s over. That’s where we are.
They will not accept electoral defeat, or anything that threatens their power. Period.
Exactly. If you haven't already, you should listen to Robert Kagan on with Tim yesterday; this is what he said. I'm glad people are finally waking up to this fact; I've been saying it since 2018.
Bannon said it directly! Looking right into the camera! They will not ALLOW anyone to take away the election and the power only they deserve! We'll see in November is stopping them is possible or if we will be a third world country/banana republic, whichever concept we prefer, for decades.
It's hardly a secret. But Americans, especially Americans with power, are not living in reality. You can't win if you're fighting an illusion not based in reality. You will lose.
He's bombastically stating what is probably already in someone's head who is actually in the White House.
Keeping in mind that the remaining true believers are, at BEST, protectors of pedophiles, if not guilty themselves. There is NO bottom level they won't stoop to to stay in power.
They sure are NOT acting like people who fear any consequences for their lawlessness and cruelty.
No, they're not. Data point par example.
We still have to try. No giving up in advance .
Yep. As Camus said of the French Resistance, the only moral quality that matters is courage. It's not over. It's never over. But if the levers of non-fascist power - which includes you and me, but speaking especially to institutional Democrats and all other non-fascist institutions - don't make their operating principle that MAGA will not accept or abide by any kind of meaningful electoral defeat whatsoever, then this battle is lost.
So what do we do when the unthinkable happens and they refuse to leave their offices? Do the US Marshalls go in and arrest them? Do the people go in and drag them out?
I really don't believe that they will follow the law at all anymore. The messier they can make it, the better for them.
They are insanely obvious with their corruption now and any reporter who dares ask a question they don't want to answer is verbally abused on air. I'd love to see that little twit Karoline Levitt get a punch directly to her snippy, manufactured nose. Admittedly, I'd love to be the person who gets to punch her, I'd likely get a broken hand I'd hit her so hard.
It sounds like we are stuck with living with fascism, or we find a way to get out and become immigrants ourselves somewhere.
It seems like fleeing is no longer an option, since the rest of the world hates us, legitimately. Doors slammed closed, with Trump’s cruel antics.
Perhaps the French Revolution serves as a reminder of what might happen.
That photo of Colonel Klink (er, Miller) at the top is priceless. It reeks of anger and resentment, his stock in trade, as if to say, "I can't believe I have to take orders from this moron. Just tell everyone already that you get the credit, but I run the show behind the scenes." Fill in the bubble with your own worthy caption, win exciting prizes.
At any rate he is not smiling. There's no small irony in the President abusing a reporter for never smiling when we are extraordinarily hard-pressed to find any photo of him, Melania, and Klink ever doing so themselves. For all of their influence, they seem profoundly unhappy to be where they are at. All of their smiles taken together wouldn't amount to the joy of just one smile from a kid who received a gift ice cream cone on a hot summer day. Wouldn't it be nice if our chief executive mouthed off to someone who actually could fight back? Someone who would knock a load of sense into him for always acting so arrogant and entitled? One can dream.
Most of the GOP since Trump's arrival have been saying this mantra "I see nothing, I know nothing!"
Even when Trump smiles...it's sort of an evil grimace enjoying someone else's misfortune or a "I only laugh at my own jokes" thing.
I always think his camera smile makes him look like someone pretending he didn't just sit down on a hedgehog.
TBH, I do not think any of these people are actually happy. They seem to be some of the most miserable people in existence, which is likely one of the reasons we have the excrement extravaganza we currently have.
I don't think that Trump is really capable of happiness, given his psychology and neediness. Sure there are probably moments of it when he actually pus the screws to someone in his retirbution campaign--but when you look at the people he is surrounded by and the fact that most of his speech is either about how he has been mistreated or (conversely) how is the greatest whatever it happens to be in the moment (President, CEO, strategist, peacemaker--but, sadly, unrecognized) in the history of the world, there is an empty core there.
I cannot help but think it is a miserable life and then cannot help but think nobody deserves that miserable life more.
I would guess that Miller finds Trump to be incredibly weak.
He is not wrong.
Miller is a fascist. Fascists are sadists and delight greatly in watching members of the out-group in suffering, particularly when they know they are the ones inflicting the suffering. It's not enough that they are the "winners", the "losers" need to suffer in order for them to be able to feel anything.
Melania is just another enigmatic character in his life. Smile? Why would she indicate to people what she really thinks as that would ruin her mystic. How dare you be so hostile to the greatest first lady ever who the masses love. I mean what other first lady has had such a lavish documentary made of her?
Klink was better looking. And funny too!
I've been told that my comparison of Miller to Werner Klemperer (as Klink), based on their visual similarity, does an injustice to the memory of Klemperer and the good person that he was. I do not disagree with that. I simply cannot resist lumping him in with the rube and boob that the TV character was, as long as their looks are close enough to make the connection.
Colonel Klink the character may have been self absorbed, cur his terrible violin playing, but he was also highly neurotic and insecure whose greatest fear is being sent to the Eastern front. The character is complex and deeply human with his foibles visible to all.
This is the difference. As much as a might try, I find nothing human about Steven Miller. The TV character of Colonel Klink is far more human than Steven Miller the person.
Hogan’s Hero’s Klink right? That character was kinda funny. Inept but rather likable. Sort of like “how did I get here and when will it end?”.
Miller is cold pure evil.
And resembles the devil.
I'd cast him as Nosferatu if a new film version were planned. A hand-and-glove fit.
I wonder who the last person who knocked a load of sense into him was? Old man Fred? Roy Boy?
That New Yorker cover starts to get at something I am just learning about, the idea of "reactionary centrism," or reflexive criticism and fearfulness with which "centrist" media and pundits talk about anything remotely to the left of center, while accepting even the most egregiously undemocratic right-wing extremes as somehow explained as a necessary correction to that liberal thought. Here's a dry, but clear explainer: https://britbrief.co.uk/politics/westminster/reactionary-centrisms-threat-to-us-democracy.html
And this episode of the Volts podcast is a much more detailed and impassioned discussion of the same. You definitely don't have to listen to the whole thing to get the idea, although to tell the truth, I found it cathartic. https://www.volts.wtf/p/all-about-reactionary-centrism. They give a lot of concrete examples that make it much easier to understand.
Hearing the podcast and then reading more about it has been a real Aha! moment for me (or should I say has made me Woke to the issue?). While I am still wrestling with it, my first reaction is to make sure that I put my criticisms of our Democratic leadership, which I definitely have, in proper perspective. So, for example, I'm going to start my comments with phrases like, 'in the face of unprecedented lawlessness and unconstitutional power grabs by Republicans, I would like to see my representatives....." What I am realizing is that I have basically been taught to disparage the efforts of Democrats without fully accounting for context. I hope this idea will be one that helps those of us resisting authoritarianism to understand the weird asymmetry of mainstream media, and perhaps to push back more effectively.
"Democrats, who want elections..." vs "Republicans, who don't want elections..."
Oh, that's a great, concise one, James.
When are the courts going to wise up and start slapping administration officials with fines and jail time for ignoring their decisions? If they are going to continue to trash the rule of law, there should be some consequences.
The problem is that the enforcement arm of the courts, the US Marshals Service, is under the executive branch. Also, criminal contempt in Federal court is something the president can pardon.
And they'll soon run out of detention space for the contempt chargees. Hey maybe they can go to the detention centers where lots of other people are getting dragged to these days.
I agree but am unsure about how legally this happens. Could it be more clear that the DOJ has completely ignored and flouted the law with the release of the Epstein files?
Let's get an administrative subpoena and just grab them!
The POTUS character lines have even more punch if read them with the South Park styled voice.
"Relax, guy!"
My fantasy of Stephen Miller's departure from the government is a little different than Bill's. Mine involves a C-17 flying over the ocean and the opening of a door on said plane.
Or deportation to Africa where there isn't a single white person within 1000 miles.
First blanket the territory with fliers explaining the next delivery, so they know exactly who he is.
While I understand the feeling, I just can’t with this scenario as I am immediately brought to Argentina and all the people who were disappeared and whose children were given to those who facilitated their disappearances. Don’t get me wrong I want to see Miller brought to justice, but dumping him out of a plane is not justice. The generals in Argentina were brought to trial and the proceedings were serialized daily in the newspapers for all to see their crimes and hear their victims testimony. That is the sort of reckoning we should really have and not just sweeping things under the carpet with the phrase we need to move on.
Thank you. We're already a lot more like Argentina than I ever thought I'd see. The good guys don't need to pick up where the bad ones leave off.
It has been known to have happened.
rabid dogs, why not
FWI; With the resignations of DOJ attorneys in Mn., they are now down to 17 when there should be at 50. Hey, worst of the worst! This will really help fraud investigations!
In other words, their plan is working.
So, a pedophile is speaking at the National Breakfast. An adviser to the pedophile is working on ethnic cleansing of the US.
Note to Christian attendees: Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, "You will know them by their fruits."
Another note to Christian attendees: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in … Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?” … The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” — Matthew 25:35-40
Trumpy Christians tell us all need to know about them when they applaud Trump speeches.
Jesus would have never made the cut to get invited to this prayer breakfast. Far too woke.
And a dang "furiner" to boot.
Yup. Wrong skin color, has empathy for the poor, no invite.
Took me a second to get that...yup...he would have definitely been picked up by ICE.
Trump apologists actually believe that the fruits of Trump policy are wholesome and delicious.
In my 73 years, I have known many loud “Christians”, but I can only think of two quiet Christians.
Check out "Separation of Church and Hate" by John Fugelsang
the new yorker's picture -- as far as i can tell a huge chunk of gop voters literally believe dems are evil incarnate and the actual enemy. they follow(ed) trump not because they want a dictator but because they believe he's the only one willing to really go after them and defeat them once and for all. now i think trump is just a con man, and can sniff out marks like nobodies business for his own ends ... but most of his voters dont see it. some do, recently see mtg -- who is probably indicative of a small percentage of regretful trump voters.
but dems i mean they just dont get that and keep acting like the normals in the room. frankly i see europe behaving similarly.
if it's really just about pure power, then well wield the power you have... or figure out what power you do have, then wield it.
Re Miller: From your keyboard …
(Though I’m sure there’s someone just as awful waiting in the wings. Does Lewandowski want a new job? His lover is also on thin ice.)
Love the ‘thin ice’ reference…Kristi must be on, ‘thin’ ice as it has been diluted by ozempic
Lewandowski is one tough hombre to get past that over-worked face, on his journey.