"...when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government..."
We are seeing here the start of that “long train of abuses” and with it we are starting to see that resistance to them. It is our duty as citizens to stand up for our country and her ideals. If we do not, how can we call ourselves American?
Words of advice:
Speaking out:
Showing up In Tennessee:
Protesting In song:
Oh, those trolls:
55 comments:
Our new political reality seems to be that political fantasy reigns supreme in America these days. That does not bode well for the future of the American experiment. So, I'm still working on identifying a guiding principle for the rebellion that stands a reasonable chance of successfully making inroads against the right-winger cult.
A difficult task, indeed. When people make up their minds they can be hard to change. It will have to be something that affects something they really care about.
I am going to the State Fair this weekend. The shirt I am going to wear has that phrase..."When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" written on it. I am curious to see what reaction I get, if any.
Been a week now since Putin meet with Trump.
Clearly, Putin's stalling him once again, playing him.
And just as clearly Trump is reluctant to see it.
(But he did talk to the NewYorkPost and threaten "massive" sanctions and tariffs if there's not a meeting within two weeks. (The ubiquitous 'two weeks' make a reappearance.) Although he wasn't clear about who he thought he was going to punish, if anybody--left that last possibility open as well.)
"I am curious…"
Me too.
You might find this interesting. A daily updated map of Russian military positions and advances (and retreats--too few of those these days) across Ukraine. It's a private enterprise creation, a public service by a couple of enterprising Ukrainians. NewYorkTimes provides a history and an explanation, and a link to the Ukrainians' map.
Note that it does not map out Ukrainian positions nor their movements. Not the sort of thing they'd want to give to the Russians.
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Trump seems to be unhappy with his new hair swirl/style. Can't seem to find a swirl that works. He's increasingly moving to wearing billed caps, even indoors.
Hmmm...there was a letter in my paper talking about the first day of the fair. The writer said there is a booth distributing "Walz lies" fans. I may have to rethink my shirt. I don't want anyone to be confused about which injustices I am talking about. I may have to go with my Equality, Love, Peace and Diversity shirt instead. My Fir, Dogwood and Tamarack one hasn't come yet.
A political review of my State Fair excursion. I wore the T-shirt with the "When injustice becomes law..." quote. It was cold so I had to wear a light jacket over it, but left that open so the t-shirt was still visible.
The first thing I looked for were the Trump signs on the workers campers as we drove by. They were rather up front and obvious last year. This year I saw none. That's not to say they weren't there somewhere, but where I looked there weren't any.
The second thing I noticed was the lady carrying the "Harris/Walz" bag. When I went up to her and said I liked her bag, her reaction was muted. Perhaps still disappointed from the election? Don't know.
The third thing I noticed was the "Walz Lies" booth. It was there last year too, but this year I saw more people in line to spin the wheel and get "Walz Lies" swag. Not huge crowds compared to other venues, but still takers. I did notice a woman who passed me by as I was crowd watching who had put a Walz Lies" fan on top of her hat. I so wanted to go over to the booth operators and tell them they spelled the name wrong, that it was actually spelled "T R U M P". But in the spirit of the Fair I did not.
As for my unscientific poll with regard to my shirt? I doubt many people even noticed it, as they were too busy looking at all the fair food and trinket stands. I am sure some did notice it, but never said anything, such as those I sat across from on the bus. However, I am glad to report that there was at least one who did, and he made the effort of coming over to me and telling me he loved my shirt.
My conclusion is that people are still tired after the election and perhaps either not willing to look too deeply at the road our country is going down or they simply wanted a day of fun. I looked but didn't notice any other politically motivated shirts.
"…didn't notice any other politically motivated shirts."
I'd reckon that marks the major cause of the muted reaction to your shirt. I'd say you guessed it right. Most of the fair goers were avoiding politics at least for the duration of the fair. Whether that translates into a wider political apathy across Minnesota I couldn't guess.
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I noticed that Trump intends to change the name of Department of Defense to the Department of War. (Never mind that the DoD name was assigned in legislation passed way back in the 40's and he can't legally change on his own whim.
This is not a path to that Nobel Peace Prize he's been phishing for.
Democrats flipped an Iowa state Senate seat in a special election breaking the Republican super majority. Every little bit helps.
I noticed that Trump intends to change the name of Department of Defense to the Department of War.
And how much money is he going to spend on changing the title on every little thing?
I note that the Russians have announced their intention to withdraw from the European "Convention for the Prevention of Torture…" which was signed in Moscow in 1996. Reuters
Did they ever really follow it?
Did Trump stop using the hair dye? His swirl seems grayer.
It's thinning out further; his white scalp is increasingly showing through and he hasn't figured out how to orange the top of his head.
Trump's foreign policy is producing results. India and China, in the persons of Prime Minister Modi and President Xi, have declared themselves to be "partners not rivals", during China's Shanghai Summit yesterday. Reuters
The "two weeks" Trump gave Putin to agree to peace talks with Ukraine expired yesterday.
Trump's "severe consequences" for Putin's failure to agree to said talks have failed to materialize. Trump doesn't talk about those anymore. They just went away.
The United States' Navy has just attacked a civilian Venezuelan cargo ship off the coast of Venezuela. Supposedly eleven dead. Trump claims it was carrying drugs to the United States, which would seem to be cause to board it and inspect it for contraband. Attacking it as a first move doesn't strike me as compliant with the International Law of the Sea.
Do bullies need a reason to do anything?
Or perhaps his reason has something to do with ginning up a conflict with Venezuela to get people's attention off how badly he is screwing up the country?
I suspect it was mostly just a casual macho display to keep his dedicated Trumpkins ginned up. A little scrap of red meat to the howlers, just 'cause the opportunity presented itself. It will reverberate among the dedicated Trumpkins long after the Democrats have forgotten it.
It will be remembered and begrudged even longer in Latin America.
Hmmm...it seems that Senate panel grilling RFK, Jr. Is getting rather heated. We have Senator Cartwell calling him a charlatan and Senator Warner calling him ignorant. Both true IMHO.
I don't blame Latin America for getting pissed.
It seems that Kennedy has been takin' some flak from the Republicans as well. They're praising Trump while they take shots at Kennedy. (The praise for Trump is a request for a public permission slip to excuse their taking shots at a Trump nominee.)
People have called for RFK, Jr. to resign. I doubt that will happen, just like I doubt Trump will replace him. At heart is the misconception by average American Trump supporters that Trump cares about them. They have always been only a means to an end, that being more power and money for Trump and his family.
BTW, I notice the Tesla boycott did not affect Musk's raise in pay to trillionaire status.
I think we're more likely to see some more government statisticians fired than to see Kennedy get axed. Review of America's employment statistics since June is revealing that the preliminary statistics were a bit optimistic, and hiring is way off of what was earlier reported. Gonna be some more "kill the messenger" stuff happen is my guess. (On the other hand, that'll likely help get that interest rate cut that Trump's been howling for.)
The mandarin oranges I buy at Costco went up about 9% since the last time I bought them. I assume other things are higher as well.
There's a reasonable likelihood we'll see that rare economic double whammy of consumer inflation during an economic recession. That hasn't happened since Jimmy Carter was President and we got hit with the Arab Oil Embargo.
The Immigration Appeals Court (which is a special Article I court, something like the federal Tax Court, rather than a traditional Article III court) has just held that illegal immigrants who've not been "inspected" (i.e. those who sneaked in, not those who overstayed their visas) must be held in detention, no parol, no bail, until they can be deported. This will massively increase the number of detainees in federal custody. It will not increase the number of jail beds, defense counsel, or judges available to deal with the massive backlog in the immigration courts. Politico
And it seems it's directly in conflict with prior decisions by the Article III federal courts.
Yes, I always thought we had a good change of sinking into stagflation with Trump's incompetent policies.
It's really amazing how quickly a country can decline when you put ignorant, incompetent people in charge. It's not just foreign affairs, or the economy that are crumbling, but the basics that were set up to allow the country to function.
Kudos to those who are trying their best to hang on to what we had. Credit must be given to the judges who are trying so hard to maintain a fair judicial system in the face of Trump's and the Republican's lies and machinations.
The Supreme Trumpkins just lifted the 9th Circuit injunction prohibiting "roving raids" by ICE enforcers against sites where they think illegal immigrants "might" be located within groups of Hispanic American citizens and legal immigrants, allowing the arrest of said legal citizens and legal immigrants (physically subduing them if ICE suspects resistance might be offered) while ICE officers search among them for illegal immigrants or other persons who might be deportable.
The decision was 6-3 along predictable lines, on the Court's "shadow docket", meaning no explanation was given for how the Hell this might be legal.
If this were Obama's FBI or Homeland Security looking for homegrown Christer or Nativist terrorists the civil war would be on already.
The fact that the voters are taking this with equanimity does not bode well for the day when Trump declares nationwide martial law and cancels the next presidential elections.
I don't know, I think even the most uninformed, head in the sand American, would notice if an election were canceled.
Whether they would stand up and fight I don't know. The 60's this isn't.
Well, the plot thickens. Israel struck at Hamas inside Qatar.
Netanyahu is in the same boat as Putin. Domestic political realities impel him to continue the war. Backing out is not really an option for him.
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"I think even the most uninformed, head in the sand
American, would notice if an election were canceled."
Of course they would. The way things are going they'd likely just shrug it off. There would, of course, be a minority who'd resist, but Trump's accumulating the power of government in his own hands, and he'll have a majority who's willing to allow him take down The Republic.
I didn't think it could happen here, but it IS happening here. The "hippy generation" forgot to Teach [Their] Children.
Trump is asking the Supreme Trumpkins to basically give him the purse strings, allowing him to cut off foreign funding as he wants to do.
I never would have thought it could happen here either. I have no sympathy for those who voted this crap into office or who stood by and watched.
Trump is rewrittng foreign aid this week. Last month it was domestic spending that he was reallocating (under a claim of 'emergency' powers).
And the Supreme Trumpkins have just granted him an "expedited" appeal of last weeks' appellate court decision (7-4 from the appellate court en banc), consolidating other federal court cases making the same holding.
They're allowing the so-called "reciprocal" tariffs to remain in effect, while they schedule their review for early November.
Hamas is claiming the Israeli attack on their negotiating team failed; i.e. they missed the Hamas negotiators they were hoping to kill, and killed a handful of Qatari citizens instead.
I also heard that it was actuall one of the Hamas leaders sons that was killed along with the Qatari citizens.
On another note, the special election in Virginia for an open US House seat was won by a Democrat. It was a Democratic leaning district, so not surprising. But it does cut the GOP majority in the House. Now Johnson can only afford to lose 2 Republican votes.
The price of gasoline is predicted to hit 20 year lows this fall, according to the Dept. of Energy (inflation adjusted). Politico
Meanwhile most other consumer prices are clearly rising.
Don't take an expert to read that as an ominous economic sign.
I wonder if crashing the economy will get people's attention?
Maybe war with Russia?
What's up with the Russian drones over Poland?
Trump's been musing about imposing more sanctions against Russia.
I think the drones over Poland are Putin's warning to Trump.
Charlie Kirk, who was apparently a conservative activist, has been shot and killed during an outdoor rally.
He is big in MAGA world.
So now the question is, does Trump wimp out on sanctions?
The person who killed Kirk only fired one shot. Kirk was the only one hit. Assuming Kirk was his target he was a very good shot. He also managed to get away even though there was a large crowd there. The person they detained originally did not match the description.
"…he was a very good shot."
Kirk was shot through the neck; the shooter was probably aiming for a hit high on his head.
Utah entertains the death penalty for "aggravated" murder. None of the "aggravating" circumstances appear to exist in the case of Kirk. Killing the head of a political action committee ain't on the list. Wikipedia
If they find the guy I would guess Trump will sign an executive order allowing for the death penalty in the case.
I've noticed that controversy over Trump's strike last week on a Venezualan speedboat is not going away.
There are reports that the boat had turned back to Venezuala befor it was struck, and that it was hit repeatedly after it was disabled. And 11 people in the boat would suggest refugees fleeing Venezuala, not drug smugglers. Don't need that many people to crew a small drug boat; and if they weren't crew, they were passengers.
We're talking about potential murder charges against the President of the United States. Unlikely to ever be filed (the Supreme Trumpkins could simply broaden their "immunity for Trump" ruling if it were), but maybe it'll be proved anyway in the coming days. Nobody's saying that part out loud yet, but it's in there.
There are already conspiracy theories that Trump was behind the shooting of Kirk to create a distraction.
I guess rumors will fly until a suspect is caught and we can find out a motive.
And while the neck shot might have been a little off he did hit his mark, unlike the kid who shot at Trump.
"The former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been
found guilty of plotting a military coup.
"Brazil's Supreme Court reached the majority of three votes
needed to find him guilty. One judge voted to acquit him, and
another is yet to vote.
"The 70-year-old has been convicted of leading a conspiracy
aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election
to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
"While the plot failed to enlist enough support from the
military to go ahead, it did culminate in the storming of
government buildings by Bolsonaro's supporters on 8 January
2023, the justices found."
BBC
They were interviewing some young witnesses to the Kirk shooting. Next to them was a woman who I presume was their mother. She was wearing a shirt that said " Pro Life, Pro Guns, Pro Trump".
Yup. Good for you lady. I am sure she will never see the irony.
“I think it’s worth [it] to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun
deaths every single year so that we can have the Second
Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
Charlie Kirk, as quoted in the NewYorkTimes
KIrk's quote kind of reminds me of all of those Covid deniers who ended up dead after contracting Covid.
Looking at the pic's of the "person of interest" he looks about 16. I am sure he is not, but still very young.
I messed up the link to the NYT article on Kirk.
Proper link here.
Worth a look. I won't dance on his grave, but I'll not be mourning the loss either.
Third time's the charm they say. So I'll try one more time to get the link right.
"President Trump on Thursday brushed off Russian drones
that flew into Poland’s airspace earlier this week as a possible
mistake, while European leaders have described it as an
intentional provocation by Moscow.
"‛Could have been a mistake. Could have been a mistake,’
Trump told reporters as he left the White House for New York
City."
TheHill
I might point out that even the Russians aren't claiming it was a mistake. If they mention it all all they're just denying it even happened.
Trump has concocted his own, unsolicited excuse for Putin's conduct.
I won't dance on his grave, but I'll not be mourning the loss either.
I read the article (the last link worked). I would agree with you on this.
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