That must be frustrating, to have someone so close to you be so far away (down a rabbit hole).

In ridiculing Trump, the late night comedians have been doing yeoman's work. Fact-based humor is a great antidote for fear mongering and lies.

There was a movement to have eastern Washington secede and join up with Idaho. It sounded pretty wacko to me. Is that still a thing?

@Flyingsaucesir Yes, there are still folks in eastern WA and eastern Oregon that want to form another state with Idaho.

The whole concept of MAGA presupposes that America is not a great country, and Trump's whole message is one of fear and loathing. In another political era he might have been called a nattering nay-bob of negativity. But really he's getting his fear-mongering and "I alone can fix it" tactics straight out of the fascist strong man playbook. But his message rings hollow. Things are not as bad as Trump paints them. America is still a great country. And it's clear that Trump is not equipped to fix what problems we do have. The fact that there are Republicans for Harris but there are no Democrats for Trump is significant and reason for hope. We can win this thing, send the would-be dictator packing, and get on with making America greater.

We're too used to getting our news and entertainment for "free." Actually, it's not free. We pay with our attention to the advertising that is constantly thrust under our noses. I am pretty good with the mute button on my TV's remote control, and pretty fast with the fast-forward button on Apple podcasts, and pretty wise to click bait, so I avoid a good portion of the commercials. And yet I'm still paying with my attention, because my defenses are not perfect, and the onslaught of advertising is relentless. What's the alternative? A complete paradigm shift to subscription-only media. I don't see it happening any time soon.

I think it's fair to say that cowardice is a factor here. It's not the only factor, and maybe not even the most important factor, but it's definitely a factor.

I think this is definitely why the press treatsTrump as they do. Being afraid of him is one thing but then we have to admit that media wants a story. They do a lot of this because they want a story and you here that Trump's bad reaction to something is just "Trump being Trump." The next thing that kicks in is someone saying he might have said this but it was not what he really meant.

@DenoPenno Yes, Trump has made a virtue of being vague, imprecise, hyperbolic, ambiguous, equivocal, unclear, and unintelligible. But when he says he intends to be a dictator, and tells his followers that once he's elected they won't have to vote anymore, we can take him at his word. After all, his actions are right in line with those words. He did refuse to accept the results of a free and fair election. And he did launch a violent insurrection and byzantine plot to overturn that election in an attempt to stay in power. What more do we need to know?

There are several things going on here. First, it has been well known for some time that if you repeat a lie enough times, people begin to believe it. Second, and this is Trump's particular genius, if you sow enough chaos, people, the system, can't keep up with it. It's like trying to drink from a fire hose. Third, as has been roundly demonstrated by Republican members of Congress, as well as by members of the press, people tend to look out for their own interests first. They want to keep their jobs, even if that means debasing their own principles or those of their profession. Again, Trump has a certain genius for switching on people's self-preservation mechanisms. Republican members of Congress fear a primary challenge from their right. Journalists fear being excluded from future press conferences. And so, like a boa constrictor, the relentless demagogue tightens his grip.

@Flyingsaucesir First off tRump and genius is an oxymoron. 2nd, a lot of media's feel it is their duty to present the news truthfully and with a sense of honesty and ethics. NPR and PBS are one example and our Seattle TImes is another. When one cannot get truth in the goings on the world we are lost and I do not and will not believe all media has sunk so low.

@pedigojr You're right, not all the news media have capitulated to Trump. The folks at MSNBC certainly have not. Nor have PBS or NPR. And the Washington Post has been pretty constant. I don't get the Seattle Times, but if you say they're ok,... And some Republican congress people have remained steadfast. Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney put country before party or self interest. And there are plenty of other Republicans who have left office rather than bow down to Trump. So the situation is not hopeless. But if there was ever a time to stand up and be counted, it's right now. Everything is on the line.

As for "genius," I use the word liberally. Hitler had a genius for demagoguery. He learned his chops from Mussolini. Was Mussolini a genius? Well, he had a genius for thuggery...

@Flyingsaucesir Seattle once had two papers, The Seattle Post Intelligencer (public) and the Seattle Times (private). Unfortunately finances forced the P-i to go online and drop their printed form. The owners of the Times felt passionate about honest coverage and actually encourage those with different ideas to speak up and the paper often prints those ideas. This area is a very blue area which includes hearing all sides. A person can be highly intelligent but they can also have a problem with emotions. This is called emotional intelligence. One of my live-in partners was an alcoholic. When we moved to Seattle she went into a detox program and for 5 years was a different person - caring, motivated and a high achiever and on. One drink and back to Ms. Jekyll and it was over between us. Some don't need drugs but some thing in their past has created a monster. Look at Hitlers history (he had some chemical injury in WWI, he was illegitimate (mother's name Schiklgruber) [en.wikipedia.org] and a lot of other personal issues. It was also a time of a global depression and many had it rough. Not to make excuses but to try and see how this shapes people - like tRump.

@pedigojr We hear that Fred Trump, who, if he wasn't a member of the KKK was at least a fervent sympathizer, taught Donald to be a "killer" in business. So squeeze every nickel out of poor tenants, keep the "colored" ones out, scrimp on building maintenance, screw contractors who do work for you, cheat cheat cheat on your taxes,... that's where Donald got his start.

Helpless? Not exactly. Unable to deal with the situation? No, not that either. In fact, I think O'Donnell's show, and Bolling's cartoon, and this post demonstrate that we are not helpless, and not unable to deal with the lies and the capitulation to chaos. This is what dealing with it looks like. Calling it out, placing it front and center in the day's dialogue is how we begin to force change.

Laziness, cowardice, apathy, self interest,... it's all there.

As time goes on, Trump's schtick becomes more and more predictable, and more shopworn, more recognizable for what it is. It's been running uphill under it's own inertia for a while now. But as they say, what goes up must come down. The Trump Tower of Babble will fall. The only question is whether we will allow it to take down our democracy with it.

That's a perfect example of what Lawrence O'Donnell, Ruben Bolling (the author of the cartoon), and others are talking about. The press were all over Biden for having once again put his foot in his mouth. (At least Biden acknowledged that he misspoke. Unlike Trump, who never admits an error.) If they treated Trump the same way, the political landscape might look very different than it does today.

Oh, and as for the USA's sticking by an ally who is surrounded by hostile powers that deny her right to exist, even when that ally oversteps, well, at least you can't say America is just a fair weather friend. By the way, Israel is a sovereign nation, and if their leadership decides on a course of action there is very little any outsider can do to change that. Do you think for one second that Israel's policy vis-a-vis Hamas would be any different if the USA abandoned her? All that would do is encourage Israel's enemies, and force the Israelis to ramp up their own production and sourcing from other suppliers. Biden did cut off Israel's supply of large bombs, and has exhorted Israel to show restraint from the git go. But ultimately, the way forward in Gaza up to Israel and Hamas. And Hamas continues to fight from behind a civilian population that is apparently all in with Hamas's quasi-suicidal project.

@Flyingsaucesir Ever been to a bar and been confronted by an aggressive group? There is usually a little arsehole who stirs up all the shit and when it comes to fisty cuffs, runs behind their big mate after throwing the first punch.
If the US did not enable Zionist Israel with weapons and especially at the UN/ ICC/ ICJ through veto's and sanctioning judges/ investigators. If they enforced the rule of law...................
The Knesset recently voted to not recognise a state of Palestine which means the Palestinian people do not even exist to them. So who wants to wipe others off the map?

@puff That's all very nice, but I don't believe for a second that you really care about the Palestinians. You're just using thier issue to tear down the USA. How do I know this? Because you have made it abundantly clear that you fully support Putin's genocidal project in Ukraine. If you really cared about the Palestinians, you couldn't also be for the extermination of Ukraine. The two things don't go together. No, you're a Russian troll if ever there was one, whatever your first language happens to be. Now go back to Gonad Gully and climb a tall weed.

@Flyingsaucesir That I eagerly await the US empire to implode is quite true. That I see NATO as the foreign legion of imperial power is also true.
The American empire has never been peaceful with what is it? About 40 years of the existence where the US was not at war with someone? A nation built on the extermination of the native society then built on the back of slaves?
I'm Australian and I am sure you understand my position as the US constantly bleats about it. Very simply, I disapprove of foreign interference in other nations political affairs. The USA constantly interferes in Australian politics by corrupting our politicians to do US bidding to the detriment of my country.
As for Ukraine, never supported Russian forces going past Crimea but understand it was done to force talks as diplomatically NATO nations refused to engage, refused to even talk. Flooding Ukraine with NATO weapons and trainers after the 2014 coup was never going to improve chances of peace and that was known, known that Russia has genuine security concerns. Once entering Ukraine, the discovery of biolabs and CIA bases, all confirmed by the US govt mouthpieces, kinda justifies what they did.
The indisputable truth is this is NATO's war of expansion. There should have been peace early 2022.

I do not like religious extremists, theist nations or crimes against humanity. Apartheid not my cup of tea either. If quiet, I support so not shutting up.

@puff There you go again

No matter how much lipstick you put on a pig,
it's still a pig.

@Flyingsaucesir Not a very nice way to talk about your wannabe future president.
I am more consistent than the US. Big countries attacking small countries bad, freedom and democracy, Ukraine. But not Israel/ Palestine nor all the other little countries US forces have fucked over.
Ukraine had a peace early 2022 which Zelenskyy rejected at the last moment. My sympathy for them stopped at that moment.
Honestly, if people don't conclude Zionist's in Israel are the self declared "Master Race" who are carrying out their "final solution" on "undesirables" watch too much CNN et al.

@puff Trying to twist your opponent's meaning or put words in his/her/their mouth is a schoolyard tactic and a sure sign of failure. (sound of dusting off hands)