tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49099691626886194712024-03-14T11:41:40.205-05:00RussBLib - what the ....Better late than never, in most things.RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.comBlogger4430125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-43246917954139134452024-03-14T11:35:00.001-05:002024-03-14T11:36:04.235-05:00Katie Britt<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>I watched most of Katie Britt's "response" to Joe Biden's State of The Union address last week. Had to keep muting it because she was so overly melodramatic and spooky. This is the best that the GOP could come up with? Wow, the GOP is truly in trouble, and deservedly so.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0px;">The pure emptiness of Katie Britt</h1><div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.42; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">The Republican way of life has emptied her of anything even marginally recognizable as real</h2></div><div><h3 class="writer_name" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-right: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; text-transform: none;">By </span><a href="https://www.salon.com/writer/lucian_k_truscott_iv" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; text-decoration: none;">LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV</a></h3><span class="top_writer_desc" face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Salon Columnist</span></div><div><span class="top_writer_desc" face="Helvetica, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box;">March 12, 2024</span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">If there’s one thing the last 72 hours have taught us, it’s how hard it is to be a woman and a Republican these days. Take the woman who has dominated the news over the weekend, Alabama Senator Katie Britt. She appeared on national TV to give the Republican rebuttal to Joe Biden’s State of the Union Thursday and for her efforts was famously lampooned by <a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/03/10/scarlett-johansson-does-a-perfect-katie-britt-in-snl-cold-open/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Scarlett Johansen on Saturday Night Live</a>.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The phrase “deer caught in the headlights” seemed to have been invented to describe Britt as she posed in front of what appeared to be a greenscreen image of her own kitchen. She went from weepy to ecstatic to inordinately sincere and back again, zig-zagging her way through a script some committee of Trump campaign staffers had lashed together for her to act her way through. The disconnect between the words she read off the teleprompter and her voice and expression was, uh…how can I put this? Jarring isn’t quite right. Annoying? Well, yes, there’s that. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">What’s that feeling I’m reaching for, hovering just out of reach of my consciousness? Okay, I’ve got it. Watching Britt’s face and listening to her whisper her way through the introduction of her remarks, I felt embarrassed for her. Really, I did. She had no sense at all of what she was saying, or how to say it, because she was just reading words, not expressing them, or feeling what she said. She whispered, “our country is less secure,” and then smiled widely into the eye of the camera. That is simply not the way you say those words, and having said them, how you react to what you’ve said. It doesn’t even rise to the level of fake. It’s just…nothing, a pure emptiness knowable only to, yes, Katie Britt.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">I’m going to do something I probably shouldn’t attempt. I’m going to try to figure out why she read the phrase the way she did and then punctuated it with her wide, entirely inappropriate and obviously insincere smile.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Katie Britt is a product of the University of Alabama “Machine,” the informal but hugely powerful group of fraternity and sorority members who run the Student Government Association by proxy, electing presidents of the association each year, and through them influencing and in many cases running student life on the university campus. Being a part of the “Machine” at the University of Alabama is the way you get ahead in the state’s business and politics, which in that tightly-knit southern state are one and the same.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white;">The way you get ahead in the “Machine” is to play along in the university’s “Greek” system, which in the case of fraternities, prizes good old boyism like partying, drinking, adolescent misbehavior and copying what your father did when he was in the same fraternity you’re in, because he got you in. With sororities, it’s a female version of the frat stuff, bottom-lined by whatever passes for this year’s version of antebellum submissiveness. Britt was president of the Student Government Association (SGA) during the 2003-2004 school year, which on the SGA website appears with an unexplained asterisk next to it.</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white;">In Alabama, the “Machine” is thought to have legendary powers: they elect the student body president, the Homecoming Queen, members of the student senate and other student presidents on campus, and many of those same campus officers go on to bigger and more powerful positions in state and federal government, like, for example, Katie Britt. The “Machine” is often compared to Yale’s Skull and Bones, one of those college frat things that nobody will admit to being a member of, but everybody knows how powerful it is, and how powerful you are if you’re associated with it. The power of the “Machine” at the University of Alabama has held since the 1920s, with the sole exception of 1992 through 1996 when the SGA was banned by the university. </span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white;">It's a much longer story, but the banning in 1992 involved the harassment and assault of a non-machine candidate for president of the SGA, who was – you guessed it – a woman. According to “Crimson White,” the student newspaper, a cross was burned on her lawn, and she was assaulted, causing “a golf ball-size bruise on her cheek, a busted lip, and a knife wound on the side of her face.” I couldn’t find any records of arrests for the assault, or what happened after the woman “fled the campus.”</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">On its website, the University of Alabama Student Government Association says its goal is to “strive to continue promoting a culture that instills servant leadership in its members so that its constituents may serve societal needs on a larger scale beyond the institution.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Got that not-so-subtle phrase – “servant leadership” – dripping with Christian theological undertones? Those words also describe the look on Katie Britt’s face and her tone of voice last week as she dutifully read the script written for her by the Trump campaign, masquerading as the Republican National Committee, now co-chaired by one of Trump’s personal servant leaders, his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">There is another word to describe Britt’s manner as she spoke for Republicans last week: smarmy. Speaking from what appears to be her kitchen, Britt described the room as “where we laugh together, and it’s where we hold each other’s hands and pray for God’s guidance.” She then studiously looked away from the camera’s gaze, looked back into the camera’s eye and intoned in a mock whisper: “And it’s where many nights, to be honest, it’s where Wesley and I worry. I know we’re not alone. And so tonight, the American family needs to have a tough conversation.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">It's hard to capture just how blatantly studied and overacted and false Britt’s entire spiel was. But the thing that kept coming across to me was how </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">learned</span></em></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> her delivery was. She was good at it in a way that bad actors are – they deliver lines with what they’ve been taught is just the right emphasis on certain words, with just the right turn of the head, flutter of eyelids, pursing of lips, and in the case of Britt, smile after smile so posed and automatic, any emphasis a real smile would have afforded to an alleged thought or fact in an individual line is lost in a glare of teeth and lips. Following her whispered secrets of what she and her husband Wesley say at their kitchen table, Britt settles into a mock-confidence you can only attain if pretty much everything in your life has been given to you by connections and powerful friends and whispered confidences that began in college dorms or sorority bedrooms: “Because the truth is, we’re all worried about the future of our nation.” Delivered by a woman who probably has yet to feel an actual worry beyond having forgotten to pick up diapers from the store or empty the cat box, the line had all the force of a snowflake landing on a gloved hand.</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/03/08/one-of-our-biggest-disasters-ever-fking-losing-it-over-katie-britt-sotu-response/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The reaction to Britt’s so-called rebuttal has been brutal.</span></u></span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> I compared her mockingly to an alien from another planet. Writer Jonathan M. Katz </span><a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/03/09/katie-britt-seems-to-have-taken-some-liberties-with-that-trafficking-story-she-told/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; text-decoration: none;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">dug into her speech to find the made-up story</span></u></span></a><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> about meeting an immigrant who she indicated had been trafficked and raped under President Biden’s watch when it turned out that it had happened during the presidency of George W. Bush — in Mexico</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">But experiencing the speech again, I think we’re missing the point. Watching her face with even just a smidgen of empathy, you can’t help wondering what it must be like to </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">be </em></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Katie Britt, to have been given what has to be seen as evident ambition and talent and squashed it in service not just to Donald Trump – that’s bad enough – but to an idea and a way of life that has so emptied her of anything even marginally recognizable as real. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">At least an actor in a role on the stage or in a film knows they are delivering lines, picking up a paycheck and moving on to the next role. Katie Britt is playing a self she gave up rights to long ago. The “Machine” ran her at the University of Alabama. Now the Republican Party runs her. Imagine how that must feel. She’s not a shell, or in words we would apply to a man of her ilk, an empty suit. She is a Republican ideal of womanhood. She did what they told her to do. She said the words they gave her to say. She accomplished everything they set out for her to accomplish. The question is, can reality – any reality – penetrate the pretense of life she and the Republican Party are presenting to the American public?</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He has covered stories such as Watergate, the Stonewall riots and wars in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels and several unsuccessful motion pictures. He has three children, lives in rural Pennsylvania and spends his time Worrying About the State of Our Nation and madly scribbling in a so-far fruitless attempt to Make Things Better. You can read his daily columns at </span><a href="http://luciantruscott.substack.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">luciantruscott.substack.com</a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"> and follow him on Twitter @LucianKTruscott and on Facebook at Lucian K. Truscott IV.</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/03/12/the-pure-emptiness-of-katie-britt/">Original.</a></i></b></span></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-78828296081691288112024-03-08T15:32:00.003-06:002024-03-08T15:34:18.300-06:00Paul Krugman<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>For many years, Paul Krugman has been a steady voice of reason for left-leaning economic policy at the New York Times. This time, Paul reminds us of the horrid last year of Traitor Trump's "presidency." How quickly we forget. I think I have determined that many, if not most, of Trump supporters are not necessarily uneducated about or unaware of Trump's badness. No, they LIKE IT. They are racist bully users like Trump, so they just fucking love the guy, and no amount of education is going to change that. As Hillary Clinton suggested, "a basket of deplorable." </i></b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>So this reminder is for those that may have forgotten about how bad Trump was, and for those newer, younger voters who may not have been paying too much attention at the time. Plus, it's just a good idea to try to remember as much as possible about our short time on this planet.</i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(43, 0, 254);"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><b>Reminder: Trump's Last Year in Office Was a National Nightmare</b></span><br /></span><div><br /></div><div>Paul Krugman<br />New York Times Opinion<br />March 7, 2024</div><div><br /><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">One of the amazing political achievements of Republicans in this election cycle has been their ability, at least so far, to send Donald Trump’s last year in office down the memory hole. Voters are supposed to remember the good economy of January 2020, with its combination of low unemployment and low inflation, while forgetting about the plague year that followed.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Since Trump’s romp in the Super Tuesday primaries, however, the ex-president and his surrogates have begun trying to pull off an even more impressive act of revisionism: portraying his entire presidency — even 2020, that awful first pandemic year — as pure magnificence. On Wednesday, Representative Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference, tried <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elise-stefanik-better-off-4-years-ago_n_65e8a1b9e4b0f9d26cad4b4d" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">echoing Ronald Reagan</a>: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">And Trump himself, in his Tuesday night victory speech, reflected wistfully on his time in office as one in which “our country was coming together.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">So let’s set the record straight: 2020 — the fourth quarter, if you will, of Trump’s presidency — was a nightmare. And part of what made it a nightmare was the fact that America was led by a man who responded to a deadly crisis with denial, magical thinking and, above all, total selfishness — focused at every stage not on the needs of the nation but on what he thought would make him look good.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Before I get there, a quick note to Stefanik: When Reagan delivered his famous line, America was suffering from a nasty combination of high <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">unemployment</a> and high <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=1hDyn" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">inflation</a>. March 2024 looks very different. While we, like <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1hBy9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">other major economies</a>, experienced a bout of inflation during the postpandemic recovery, most workers have experienced <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-140402316?source=queue" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">wage gains</a> considerably larger than the price increase. </p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">And President Biden is currently presiding over a remarkable episode of “<a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/17/business/what-is-immaculate-disinflation.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">immaculate disinflation</a>”: rapidly falling inflation with unemployment near a 50-year low.</p><div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-9tf9ac" data-testid="region" id="NYT_MAIN_CONTENT_1_REGION" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="css-9tf9ac" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div></div></div></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">But while even a focus on early 2020 doesn’t tell the story Republicans think it does, what we really should be discussing is what happened to America when the coronavirus arrived.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Once we knew that a deadly virus was on the loose — and we now know that <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/us/politics/coronavirus-trump-response.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">several officials warned Trump</a> about the threat in January 2020 — the appropriate policy response was clear: do whatever we could to slow the rate at which the virus was spreading.</p><div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Even though large numbers of Americans would inevitably suffer from Covid-19 at some point, “<a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/flatten-curve-coronavirus.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">flattening the curve</a>” had two huge advantages. First, it would help avoid the very real possibility that a tsunami of Covid infections would overwhelm our health care system. Second, it bought time for the development of effective vaccines: Since vaccines could greatly reduce mortality from Covid-19, deaths delayed by public health measures would, in many cases, be deaths <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1332663968259829764" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">avoided</a>.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;">What kind of public action was needed? In the early stages of the pandemic, as scientists raced to figure out exactly how the virus spread, blunt measures were required: engaging in social distancing, blocking high-risk interactions as much as possible. </span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;">These measures were costly: In April 2020, unemployment shot up to 14.8 percent. But America is a rich country that could and for the most part did </span><a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/forecasting-monthly-poverty-data" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">mitigate the economic pain</a><span style="background-color: white;"> with financial aid to hard-hit workers and businesses. And once researchers and medical officials keyed in on </span><a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/coronavirus-aerosols.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">the virus’s airborne character</a><span style="background-color: white;">, it became possible to limit its spread by getting people to wear masks, which was annoying but by no means a severe hardship.</span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">And the logic of flattening the curve said that speed was of the essence. Every day spent dithering about whether to take strong action to protect public health meant more Americans dying unnecessarily.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Unfortunately, at the time, the man in charge denied, dithered and delayed at nearly every step of the way.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">It’s well worth reading a <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-masks.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">timeline</a> of Trump’s statements amid the growing pandemic, which some estimates suggest had already caused around <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-deaths-cumulative-economist-single-entity?country=~USA" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="">half a million</a> excess deaths by the time he left office.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">On Jan. 22, Trump said: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">On Feb. 27, he said: “It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">On April 3, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-white-house-face-masks.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">he said</a>: “With the masks, it’s going to be really a voluntary thing. You can do it. You don’t have to do it. I’m choosing not to do it.” At that point, the main purpose of masks was not to protect the wearer but to protect those around him; why should exposing others to the risk of deadly disease be a voluntary choice? And why wouldn’t the president lead by example, by masking up?</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">On May 21, he <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/us/politics/donald-trump-masks.html" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-color: var(--color-signal-editorial,#326891); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="">answered</a> that question, admitting he had worn a mask while visiting a Ford plant, but took it off when he went outside because “I didn’t want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">And there’s much, much more. There’s no real question that thousands of Americans died unnecessarily because of Trump’s dereliction of duty in the face of Covid-19.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">He responded to the only major crisis of his presidency with self-serving fantasies — with utter indifference to other Americans’ lives in an effort to boost his image.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Are we really supposed to feel nostalgic about 2020?</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/opinion/trump-pandemic-president.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bE0.RA6w.fntuDtDl-3vz&smid=url-share">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p></div></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-39746064645783212362024-03-07T23:50:00.001-06:002024-03-08T00:30:58.543-06:00Don't blame Garland<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>So many Monday-morning quarterbacks have been complaining about the "slowness" of the DOJ and specifically Merrick Garland in bringing charges against Trump that it has become a "trope" on the left. As if. I've lost track of how many times I've heard some supposed Democrat or progressive say, "If I were Garland, I would have done this....or I would have done that....or I would have IMMEDIATELY done THIS or done THAT..." as if they are intimately familiar with the laws of evidence gathering, as if they know more about Jan 6 than the DOJ or Merrick Garland does. Well, they don't. Unless you have served in the DOJ, you don't have a fucking clue. The DOJ does not just come out and tell you exactly what they are doing or investigating. </i></b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Since Jan 6, 2021, I have read more than one defense of Garland's alleged slowness written by journalists who probably have a bit more insight into things than armchair analysts on left-leaning websites. But those articles haven't broken through the whirling vortex of anger from the left towards Garland. I have often felt that those critics were being unfair to Garland, but I largely confined my complaints in tactful terms. I don't have all the evidence to convince doubters that Garland has been fighting uphill since he took over the DOJ. </i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Anyway, this column by Marcy Wheeler at MSNBC takes another go at attempting to explain the challenges and obstacles that Garland and the DOJ faced in gathering charges against the offenders at Jan 6. Will this one quiet the critics? Probably not. I don't think they want to admit they were wrong, a common impulse in politics.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="article-hero-headline__htag lh-none-print black-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--color); line-height: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--line-height); margin: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--margin);"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Merrick Garland isn’t to blame for delays in Trump’s election interference case</span></h1></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; font-size: 19px; letter-spacing: -0.30000001192092896px;">The popular narratives attributing delay to Garland ignores real-world obstacles and early moves against Trump’s co-conspirators.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville, serif; font-size: 19px; letter-spacing: -0.30000001192092896px;"><br /></span></div><div>March 6, 2024</div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: FoundersGroteskCond, "Arial Narrow", Arial; font-size: 20px;">By </span><span class="byline-name" data-testid="byline-name" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: FoundersGroteskCond, "Arial Narrow", Arial; font-size: 20px;">Marcy Wheeler, legal and national security journalist at MSNBC</span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/022824zr3_febh.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">delayed consideration</a> of <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/supreme-court-wrong-question-trump-immunity-case-rcna141509" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Donald Trump’s immunity claim until April</a>, some liberals directed considerable outrage not just at the court, but also at a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet. Such attacks act as if the delay were Attorney General Merrick Garland’s fault instead of <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/trump-supreme-court-immunity-review-rcna139183" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">justices like Clarence Thomas</a>. These criticisms are misplaced. The Justice Department, before and after Garland’s delayed confirmation, started investigating key figures in the <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/full-text-trump-indictment-pdf-jack-smith-jan-6-2020-election-rcna96030" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">election interference case against Trump</a> in 2021. And accusations of delay ignore the real-world obstacles that special counsel Jack Smith, his team and their predecessors had to navigate carefully — lest the whole case fall apart in court.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The department took overt investigative steps against three of the six alleged co-conspirators identified in Trump’s Jan. 6 indictment in 2021, long before Garland appointed Smith to the case. Days after <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/us/politics/jeffrey-clark-trump-justice-department-election.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a New York Times report on Jeffrey Clark’s role</a> in Jan. 6, on Jan. 25, 2021, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz <a href="https://oig.justice.gov/news/department-justice-office-inspector-general-announces-initiation-investigation" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">announced</a> an investigation into “whether any former or current DOJ official engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election.” The IG investigators remained involved when FBI agents <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/06/27/jeffrey-clark-physics-takes-over-the-investigation-now/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">seized Clark’s phone</a> June 23, 2022. The department had already, a month earlier, <a href="https://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/sites/dcd/files/ECF%20No.%2032_Order%2022gj28.pdf#page=5" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">obtained a warrant</a> for one of Clark’s private email accounts and would obtain a second one the following day. The August 2023 indictment of Trump <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p4/a2370868" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">describes Clark as co-conspirator 4</a>.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">In April 2021 — on Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s first day on the job — the Justice Department obtained </span><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24233961-210421-rudy-affidavit" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a warrant</a><span style="background-color: white;"> to seize Rudy Giuliani’s phones. That wasn’t a warrant for Jan. 6; it sought evidence that Trump’s lawyer was doing the bidding of Ukrainians when he convinced Trump to fire Marie Yovanovitch in 2019. But the DOJ used the special master review that Giuliani demanded to look at all the communications seized, not just those relating to Ukraine. In September 2021, the judge in that case </span><a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603.31.0_1.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">granted</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603.43.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">prosecutors’ request</a><span style="background-color: white;">to do the privilege review of materials seized from Giuliani’s devices on all files that post-dated Jan. 1, 2018, irrespective of subject. (The special master even </span><a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603/gov.uscourts.nysd.559603.50.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">prioritized</a><span style="background-color: white;"> the devices that were used through 2021.) </span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Giuliani himself has <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720/gov.uscourts.dcd.238720.60.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">described</a> those materials as including all his Jan. 6-related communications. A <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23888217-230711-privilege-log" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">privilege log</a> he released last year shows pages and pages of communications turned over to the FBI — and available to anyone who had obtained a probable cause warrant for Jan. 6 — <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p13/a2432529" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">by Jan. 19, 2022</a>. There are more than 40 mentions of Giuliani’s actions <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p13/a2432529" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">as co-conspirator 1</a> in Trump’s indictment, as well as a reference to <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p22/a2371112" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a document</a> known to have been available <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23888217-230711-privilege-log#document/p18/a2371106" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">on the devices seized in April 2021</a>. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And in September 2021, prosecutor Molly Gaston — one of two lead prosecutors on the Jan. 6 case against Trump — <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/11/30/sidney-powell-defend-the-republic-criminal-probe/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">subpoenaed</a>associates of Sidney Powell as part of an investigation into her fundraising off false claims of voter fraud. Just <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p12/a2368601" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">one paragraph</a> in the Trump indictment describes Powell’s actions, as co-conspirator 3, in the conspiracies charged against the former president. But that paragraph focuses on a topic related to the subpoenas sent out in 2021: Powell’s relentless attacks on Dominion Systems in lawsuits.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those often ignored early moves against Trump’s co-conspirators — and other investigative developments, such as the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.235647/gov.uscourts.dcd.235647.37.1.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">purported cooperation</a> of Jan. 6 defendant Brandon Straka, investigative steps implicating Roger Stone, and <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.234903/gov.uscourts.dcd.234903.39.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the prosecution of Alex Jones’ sidekick</a>— go unmentioned in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/06/19/fbi-resisted-opening-probe-into-trumps-role-jan-6-more-than-year/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reports that claim</a> Garland delayed the investigation. For good reason: Most happened where reporters and pundits weren’t looking. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">But the popular narratives attributing delay to Garland also ignore several factors that did take time.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consider the impact Covid had on <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">all</em> prosecutions, nationwide, in 2021. A year of pandemic measures created a backlog that delayed not just trials, but also court hearings and grand jury investigations. <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-man-sentenced-87-months-prison-actions-related-capitol-breach" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">It took 14 months</a> to bring the first Jan. 6 defendant to trial, even though that defendant was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-texas-riots-ded87e709176b8b68921cad2597ff2d7" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">identified to the FBI</a> before the attack. <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.227256/gov.uscourts.dcd.227256.46.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The conspiracy indictment</a> of the several rioters who first broke into the Senate chamber — whose GoPro video prosecutors may use to show Trump’s direct influence on rioters at his trial — had to be delayed from April to September 2021 because of Covid challenges. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plus, investigating Trump was like investigating a very corrupt law firm. According to <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149.98.0_2.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a filing</a>from Jack Smith, “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications, and documents based on assertions of the attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the privilege holder appears to be the defendant or his 2020 presidential campaign.” Some of these witnesses are obvious — and central to the plot to steal the election: Giuliani, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro were all described as co-conspirators. Several lawyers worked for Giuliani — people such as Christina Bobb and Jenna Ellis. Others worked for the campaign, or participated in state-level conspiracies or lawsuits. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Regardless of the witnesses’ level of involvement, the Justice Department had no choice: Such privileges must be protected or prosecutors risk blowing the entire case. This process could add much as a year to the investigation of any lawyer’s communications.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even for witnesses who weren’t lawyers, Trump’s executive privilege claims created delays. For example, the Justice Department’s fight to secure former Vice President Mike Pence's testimony <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-questions-top-pence-aides-over-trump-bid-to-overturn-election-11658783628?mod=article_inline" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">started no later than July 2022</a>, well before Smith’s appointment, with Pence’s top aides. It continued at least until April 2023, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/27/mike-pence-testifies-donald-trump-january-6" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">when Pence testified</a>. Even seemingly obvious actions Trump took, such as the tweet he sent targeting Pence while rioters were storming the Capitol, required working through such privilege challenges to prove that Trump, and not someone else, sent the tweet. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally, Trump’s co-conspirators plotted their attack on encrypted apps. At a minimum, Trump’s associates planned their activities on Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, HushMail, and ProtonMail. Barring fully cooperative witnesses, such communications require investigators to seize phones, often one after another, to reconstruct communications.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">The delays created by Covid, use of encryption, attorney-client and executive privilege claims were unavoidable, even for the most obvious evidence. Take <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23894861-230801-trump-j6-indictment#document/p40/a2368867" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the tweet Trump sent</a> at 2:24 p.m. Jan. 6: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage.” It was right there in public! But to present that in court first required the exploitation of at least two phones, nine months of fights over executive privilege, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.39513/gov.uscourts.cadc.39513.1208541751.0.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a 23-day stall</a> from Twitter and two sets of interviews with at least eight different top aides. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">One delay that <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">was unnecessary</em> was caused by some of the people who <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/jan-6-panel-pressures-attorney-general-garland-to-charge-trump-allies" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">most loudly blamed Garland</a>: the Jan. 6 Committee. DOJ first <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/politics/jan-6-committee-transcripts.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">asked the committee</a> for witness transcripts in April 2022. That June, prosecutors in the trial of leaders of the Proud Boys <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22062107-220616-continue-trial" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">agreed to reschedule</a> their trial from August until December <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">because</em> the committee would not release transcripts until September. The prosecutors were vindicated when those transcripts finally came out in December, after three additional months of delay and jury selection had already started. Twice during the trial, prosecutors learned that witnesses had told the committee something they hadn’t told the FBI; in one instance, a committee transcript revealed <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23560116-gpo-j6-transcript-ctrl0000082294#document/p6/a2194551" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">an attorney conflict</a> that threatened prosecutors’ reliance on testimony from their most important cooperating witness. Given that <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149/gov.uscourts.dcd.258149.176.0_9.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">court filings</a> suggest Smith will treat the Proud Boys akin to co-conspirators when this case finally goes to trial, those are the kinds of unnecessary screw-ups that could jeopardize Trump’s trial itself. </span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><span style="font-size: large;">Garland’s record as attorney general is far from flawless: Robert Hur was a poor choice to be special counsel in the <a href="https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/02/19/how-merrick-garland-mistook-a-trump-hitman-for-a-career-prosecutor/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Biden documents investigation</a>. But criticizing him for the timeline of the Trump election interference case is unwarranted. Naysayers will complain that we all saw it happen in public, and they’re right. But behind every one of those public acts lies a chain of evidence without which Trump would win the case, the hunt for which started well before Smith came along.</span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/merrick-garland-isnt-blame-delays-trumps-election-interference-case-rcna141213">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-81210632705900227392024-02-27T12:13:00.001-06:002024-02-28T12:15:41.474-06:00AI Trump is CONSTIPATED!<div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Now this is a pretty good use of A.I. We know it's A.I. but it's OK because much of this rings true. A.I. has unleashed a keg of worms, but if A.I. can be identified as such, it should not be a big problem. But you know some people out there are cooking up ideas to deceive the public into believing what they produce.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/PWqYMYpSbhU?si=lzRySLHfLeL3bGau" width="480"></iframe>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-586564767566377112024-02-26T21:25:00.013-06:002024-02-28T21:36:32.698-06:00A Tale of 2 Brains<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>This is a fantastic article. It's a little long, but worth the read. It's basically an interview of Dr. John Gartner in Salon.</i></b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Dr. John Gartner is a psychologist and former professor at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School. Gartner was a contributor to the 2017 bestseller "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President."</i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div><div><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.5em; margin-bottom: 0.2em; margin-top: 0px;">Dr. John Gartner on a tale of two brains: "Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing"</h1></div><div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6b6b6b; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.42; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"This is a fundamental breakdown in the ability to use language," the renowned mental health expert says of Trump</h2></div><div><h3 class="writer_name" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-right: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 400; text-transform: none;">By </span><a href="https://www.salon.com/writer/chauncey_de_vega" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e42a1d; text-decoration: none;">CHAUNCEY DEVEGA</a></h3><span class="top_writer_desc" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;">Senior Writer in Salon</span></div><div><span class="top_writer_desc" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">Donald Trump has demonstrated, in repeated and dangerous ways, that he appears to be profoundly unwell mentally and emotionally. Some of the country’s and world’s leading mental health professionals have concluded that based on his behavior, Trump is likely a</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/06/27/dr-lance-dodes-is-a-sociopath--but-hes-sane-enough-to-stand-trial/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(228, 42, 29) !important; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sociopath</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;">if not a psychopath. </span></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Whatever one may think about the specifics of his policies, President Joe Biden, on the other hand, is a responsible leader and an institutionalist who believes in America and the democratic experiment. By comparison, Donald Trump hates democracy, attempted a coup on Jan. 6, and is a megalomaniac who <a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/02/22/apocalypse-now-donald-dons-the-armor-of-god/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(228, 42, 29) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">believes that he is some type of god</a> or messiah. Whatever a fence sitter, undecided, or disgruntled Democrat or other member of Biden’s 2020 electoral coalition who is angry at him over a specific policy may think and feel, there is no issue where Donald Trump will be a real improvement. Moreover, Trump and his MAGA movement will punish those people who they view as being members of the Democratic Party's base of support. Ultimately, a “principled” vote against President Biden (or deciding to abstain in protest) is a vote for Trump and American neofascism.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;">“President Biden is old” is an easy, lazy, familiar, and comfortable narrative for the mainstream news media. It is sensational and gossipy (which means more ad revenue and attention), and maintains false balance, “fairness," bothsidesism and “objectivity” in their coverage. This maneuvering also allows the mainstream news media as an institution, or so its leaders incorrectly believe, some measure of protection against retaliation by Trump and his regime, if he takes power in 2025. In all, a focus on Biden’s mental health and age is but another way of normalizing Donald Trump and the neofascist movement and a continuation of the years of failure(s) by the American news media that helped to birth the vile Trumpocene.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;">The claim that President Biden is old and therefore so diminished mentally and physically that he is incapable of being an effective leader has taken on a life of its own. In many ways, this narrative is immune to the facts and evidence and may be a deciding factor in the outcome of the 2024 election and the future of the United States.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;">In this conversation, Gartner argues that it is actually Donald Trump and not President Biden who is showing diminished mental acuity and dangerous behavior related to aging. Gartner explains that Donald Trump’s escalating dangerousness is connected to what he believes is a diseased mind that will only get worse. Gartner warns that given Trump’s dangerous personality and emotional state, (Gartner describes this as “hypomanic” behavior) he is almost certainly plotting revenge and how to make his “enemies” suffer as revenge for finally being held accountable by the courts and the rule of law. At the end of this conversation, Gartner explains how even on his worst day as an older person, President Biden is a far superior leader and decision-maker (and human being) than Donald Trump. </span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>For several years, you have not been commenting publicly about Donald Trump. You shared with me how you are tired and exhausted from being in the fight against him and the MAGA movement and decided to step back. I have talked to other members of “the resistance” and they too have told me similar things. They’re exhausted; they’re tired; they’re spent. <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2024-01-26/mental-acuity-questions-catch-up-with-trump" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(228, 42, 29) !important; text-decoration: none;">You were recently quoted in an article at US News and World Report about Biden and Trump’s mental health and age</a>. Why have you decided to retake your public platform?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I'm not quite coming back to discussing politics publicly as I did before. I went through a similar process like some of the other people you have spoken to who have decided to step away from being active members of "the resistance." For five years I did that work with total energy and commitment. I was sounding the alarm about Trump basically every day. I did hundreds of interviews. I made it my full-time job like I was at war. But after five years, when Biden was inaugurated, I thought, okay, the war's over, I can take off my metaphorical uniform. So, not only are many members of the resistance exhausted, but we disbanded when Biden won in 2020. We had a duty to warn the public about Trump and the MAGA movement and all that danger. We were basically saying, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" At this point the American people must know that the British are here.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I had to speak out now because the 2024 election might turn on this issue of who is cognitively capable: Biden or Trump? It's a major issue that will affect some people's votes. Not enough people are sounding the alarm, that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden's gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains. Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>What evidence do you have for that conclusion?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">"Phonemic paraphasias" —the substitution of non-words for words that sound similar—are not normally seen until a patient enters the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer’s.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Some examples of Trump’s non-words: Beneficiaries becomes “benefishes.” Renovations become “renoversh.” Pivotal became “pivobal." Obama became “obamna.” Missiles became “mishiz.” Christmas became “Crissus.” Bipartisan became “bipars.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">This is a fundamental breakdown in the ability to use language. If you were talking to your father on the phone and he did this you would think he is having a stroke. There is no healthy older person who speaks that way.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Trump also engages in what we call "tangential speech." He just becomes incomprehensible when he engages in free association word salad speech that is all over the place. Again, that's a sign of real brain damage, not being old, not being slow, not losing a step not being, but of severe cognitive deterioration. What I don’t understand is why those clips aren’t replayed over and over in the mainstream media. Isn’t Trump babbling incoherently the most newsworthy part of his rally? You can be sure it would be if it were Biden.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Biden has been excoriated for forgetting names, which can be a normal part of aging. But Trump isn’t just forgetting names, he’s forgetting and combining people. Trump believes Nikki Haley is Nancy Pelosi. He has said repeatedly that Obama is still president. He said his father was born in Germany when that was his grandfather.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">There is also a person's baseline. This is an essential tool for evaluating a person's mental decline. If you look at Trump's interviews and speeches from the 1980s for example, he may have always been a bit of a jerk, but he was articulate and polished. Now if you look at Trump there is great deterioration. By comparison, Biden has never been the most articulate person; he always had a stutter. He always made gaffes. But Biden has a good heart and good judgment. Over the decades we have not seen much evidence of deterioration in Biden's speaking.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>The mainstream news media is now advancing a narrative that President Biden is old, too tired, and needs to retire. By comparison, Trump, who is only a few years younger than the president, is being depicted, inaccurately, like he is some type of Immortal or human fountain of youth and vitality. I have made the intervention that Trump looks to some like he is full of energy and life because he is clearly so unwell and out of control and dangerous. President Biden is deliberate and measured. </i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Trump is what we would clinically describe as "hypomanic." Trump is a man who is sending out messages on what used to be Twitter and also on his Truth Social platform at three in the morning, sometimes dozens of them in a row. A hypomanic personality has certain strengths and weaknesses. But a lot of it is like a vector of force that depends on where you direct it. Trump has directed his energy in purely destructive and hateful ways. What appears to be endless reserves of energy feeds the incorrect impression that somehow Trump is stronger because he has the vitality of someone who is in a crazed state, who's running amok. There's energy in that apparent crazy behavior. But in the end that is not the type of person who we want as a leader. Such a person will not keep us safe. Trump and people who act like him are not going to have good judgment.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>What distinguishes “hypomania" from a high energy personality?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><i><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"></strong></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Bipolarity exists on a spectrum. On the lower end of the spectrum, at the high end of normal limits, it manifests as an exuberant, confident person and energetic person. At the other end of the scale are people with bipolar type 1 who have psychotic delusions of grandeur.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="background-color: white;">As I’ve written about, Trump has a hypomanic temperament as his baseline, but it can become inflamed to the point where he does appear to bear psychotic delusions of grandeur. With Trump, in my opinion, we are seeing this second, very unhealthy and dangerous manifestation of hypomania. There is also a sense of entitlement. Oftentimes arrogance goes with temperament. Charisma as well and a high sex drive. There is also a high drive for dominance. There is also something else very concerning and potentially quite dangerous about hypomania. Those who have that type of personality are also prone to severe hypomanic episodes which escalate in a crisis or when they fixate on something they find exciting. Then they can become even more reckless, impulsive and irritable. Such personalities like Trump show even worse judgment in such moments.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>How is Donald Trump responding to the pressure from his criminal and civil trials? Last week, <a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/02/20/hitting-pockets-is-only-the-first-step/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(228, 42, 29) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">he was fined more than 350 million dollars</a>. He now owes almost 500 million dollars in fines and penalties from his two civil cases.</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Donald Trump is making a list of all the people he's going to punish and get revenge on. He is thinking about all the institutions in our society he is going to destroy. There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. To my eyes, Donald Trump was always an animal — but now he's a wounded animal. Too many Americans — including people in the news media and in politics who should know better — are not comprehending the scale of Trump's revenge. If Trump gets back in power heads are going to roll. There are so many people who are going to be in harm's way. People better wake up and stop being in denial.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Donald Trump’s behavior is wholly predictable. Yet, the mainstream news media, the political class, and the American people as a whole continue to act surprised by his escalating dangerousness, promises of becoming a dictator, violent threats and other pathological behavior. At this point, after at least 8 years of Trump and the MAGA movement and all the horrible things he and they have wrought, one would think the American people and their leaders would be experts on mental pathology.</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 400;">At this point, anybody with an IQ over 90, who isn't brainwashed by Fox News can see that Trump is unwell, dangerously unfit, malignant personality who has reaped massive destruction (have we just forgotten the hundreds of thousands of Covid deaths?) but even "mainstream" news sources have been normalizing Trump's dangerous and aberrant behavior because the corporate owners of the media want the ad money and don’t want to alienate their potential public by telling too much of the truth about the situation. Instead, they waste precious time talking about if President Biden is too old.</span></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Given Trump’s personality type and behavior and now his mountain of debts from the civil cases, there must be real anxiety among the United States government and the national security state and allies about the ex-president having access to top secret and other highly classified information. As others have pointed out, Trump could potentially give away the country’s secrets to hostile foreign governments for money. </i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Donald Trump has absolutely no loyalty to the country. In fact, there's a perverse way in which I think he takes pleasure in destroying America. That is a function of his malignant narcissism. I have no doubt Trump would sell America's secrets and likely already has given his psychopathic behavior. Malignant narcissists take joy in destruction. An emotionally and psychologically healthy person can't understand it.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Trump is now proclaiming that he is basically the Chosen One, a type of emissary and messiah from “god” and “Jesus Christ." As a clinician who has studied Trump’s behavior, how are you making sense of such claims and what they reveal about his mind?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">It's the grandiosity; Trump has delusions of grandeur. That fits both the malignant narcissism and the hypomania. It fits both. Trump is practically declaring that he is God. If someone else was doing such a thing they would likely be hospitalized. Trump's sense of reality testing is very fluid. Yes, Trump is performing for his MAGA followers, but I also am convinced that he actually believes that he has some type of God-like powers.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>What about Trump’s followers who see in him some type of god or superhero?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">At some level their worship of Trump is cartoonish. They idolize him beyond anything that is reasonable. If you get sucked into a cult, there is this psychology of worshipping the Dear Leader, he or she is omniscient, the Messiah. Some people's personalities are also more vulnerable to joining cults. People who have more primitive personality disorders or other such conditions split the world into idealized figures and devalued figures. Such people also tend to have unstable emotional lives and relationships. On a mass movement scale, Trump is able to mobilize many such people. I would also suggest that many of Trump's most die-hard followers are organized psychologically on this more primitive level. Some have the authoritarian personality described by Adorno after World War II in their attempt to understand who was attracted to the Nazis. Charismatic leaders like Donald Trump excite in their followers a kind of frenzy. But because the MAGA movement, like other fascist and authoritarian movements, is a death cult, what Trump is inciting in them is a kind of a dark frenzy and dangerous excitement. We have seen such energies summoned in some of the worst moments of modern history, most notably in Germany.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Returning to my earlier point. Donald Trump is utterly predictable. You have predicted almost everything that Trump would do given his personality type and mind, sometimes years in advance. What are some of your specific predictions that have come true?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">I predicted over a year before the 2020 election that Trump wouldn't surrender power willingly. <a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/02/20/trumps-plan-to-disappear-millions/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(228, 42, 29) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Trump's threats to put immigrants and other "undesirables" in camps</a> is also predictable and not at all surprising. I was warning the public years ago that Trump should be compared to Hitler. The media and other people told me I was exaggerating, and that Trump wouldn't have concentration camps. He did it. He is now promising an even bigger concentration camp system and the largest deportation program in history. When a person tells you who they are, believe them. Trump is now quoting Hitler and Mein Kampf and talking about "vermin" and "poison" in "the blood" of the country. It's not a dog whistle anymore. It's a foghorn. Trump has really beaten us down. We've become so desensitized.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Let’s assume that both Biden's and Trump’s behavior and personalities continue in the same direction. With that assumption, on their worst day, which of these two men would you rather have as President of the United States?</i></strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Even if he was demented, I would rather have Biden than Trump as President of the United States. Dementia brings out the worst in people's character. They become 10 times worse. If Biden really were to mentally decline — and I'm not saying he has or will or is — but he's basically a benign person with good judgment. Biden cares about his fellow human beings. Biden is patriotic, and he actually believes in defending the Constitution and the United States of America. So even if Biden were to become diminished in his cognitive abilities, he's still not going to do something evil or crazy. He just might need more help. By comparison, Donald Trump unleashed would be like Satan unbound.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.salon.com/2024/02/23/dr-john-gartner-on-a-tale-of-two-brains-bidens-brain-is-aging-brain-is-dementing/?fbclid=IwAR38G-IcxN4UYeWsQ21vGGmAkMUjWuuH7ElwFrR6PeFtAIqErM3_54_-j-I" target="_blank">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 20px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><br /></p>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-82314848178045490782024-02-24T20:24:00.000-06:002024-02-27T11:50:39.417-06:00Brian Karem<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Brian Karem is a White House Correspondent and political analyst. Can't say I agree with everything Brian writes, but I can deal with that. It doesn't make me want to throw the guy in jail like Traitor Trump would.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 data-test-locator="headline" id="caas-lead-header-2b7c91c0-1d5e-356a-ad12-15cf5dd09f53" style="color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 2.46em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px;">Joe Biden gives the media a desperately needed lesson about Donald Trump</h1></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Brian Karem</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Feb 24, 2024</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard a president say did not come from <span class="caas-xray-inline-tooltip has-tooltip-click has-wafer-click wafer-tooltip-done wafer-loader-success wafer-destroyed" data-wf-local-storage-key="xray-inline-tooltip" data-wf-reset-every="90" data-wf-template-id="caas-xray-inline-wafer-tooltip-template-with-close-2b7c91c0-1d5e-356a-ad12-15cf5dd09f53" data-wf-tooltip-position="bottom" data-wf-tooltip-text="Get info without <br/> leaving the page." style="--inline-xray-tooltip-arrow-pseudo-marginleft: -41.40625px; position: relative;"><span aria-haspopup="dialog" class="caas-xray-inline caas-xray-entity caas-xray-pill rapid-nonanchor-lt" data-entity-id="Donald_Trump" data-ylk="cid:Donald_Trump;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" style="border-color: transparent transparent rgb(126, 31, 255); border-radius: 0px; border-style: solid solid dashed; border-width: 1px; box-shadow: none; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 28px; min-width: 30px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" tabindex="0"><a class="link" data-i13n="cid:Donald_Trump;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" data-rapid_p="16" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:Donald Trump;cid:Donald_Trump;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" href="https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Donald%20Trump" style="cursor: pointer; pointer-events: none; text-decoration: none;" tabindex="-1">Donald Trump</a></span>.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">It came from Joe Biden. Speaking with reporters in California on Thursday, the president said this <em>about</em> Donald Trump. “Two of your former colleagues not at the same network personally told me if he wins, they will have to leave the country because he’s threatened to put them in jail,” Biden told Katie Couric. “He embraces political violence,” Biden said of Trump “No president since the Civil War has done that. Embrace it. Encourages it.”</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Perhaps I should have been shocked at the revelation that Trump, should he return to power, would jail reporters. I wasn’t of course. I had to fight him (and beat him) three times in court during his first administration to keep my White House press pass. I had already privately heard Trump’s threats. It was just disturbing to hear Joe Biden confirm it publicly. </p><div class="caas-da" style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;"><div id="sda-INARTICLE"></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">I have already been jailed four times trying to defend my First Amendment rights when I covered a criminal case in Texas years ago. I spent a total of about two weeks in jail for that and do not want to repeat my experience. I am not alone. There are at least a dozen reporters in this country who’ve done the same thing: gone to jail to protect their rights. We call ourselves the First Jailbirds Club. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">A few years back we got together at the National Press Club to speak about our experience. The group had never gathered before. We found that while our experiences were very different, we all shared one thing in common: Those who demanded we go to jail, whether they were with a city, county, state or federal government agency, claimed to support the First Amendment. They just didn’t think it applied in <em>our </em>case.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The fate of Alexei Navalny in Russia reminds us of the most extreme example of what can occur when members of the government don’t respect free speech or, for that matter, political opposition. But, the fate of Julian Assange is also a reminder that it isn’t just Trump who is an enemy of the free press. Biden’s Department of Justice could drop the prosecution of Assange picked up under the Trump administration yet has not done so. The Wikileaks founder has been languishing in prison for five years and has been battling extradition and felony charges in the U.S. for nearly 13 years for publishing classified government documents based on the idea that the public had a right to know.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Imagine if Assange were extradited back to the U.S. prior to the November election. Trump would accuse Biden of persecuting journalists while being guilty of the crime himself.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">It boils down to this: For a reporter to trust what any politician says is not only foolish but dangerous. Some won’t jail you. They all will lie to you.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">I have always had a mistrust of authority, since I was a young child and saw our next door neighbor, a police officer, harass and confiscate illegal fireworks from neighbors on the Fourth of July, only to bring them to his house and light them off.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">“My contempt of authority … made me an authority myself,” Albert Einstein <a class="link" data-rapid_p="17" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:said;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=58b_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=%E2%80%9CMy+contempt+of+authority+made+me+an+authority+myself,%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=jhhbrTC7MN&sig=ACfU3U041hv7yYYD6MDPvh13fEjCoOh3RQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyzdK0p8KEAxXiLTQIHfzQDvsQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=snippet&q=authority%20myself&f=false" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #003abc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">said</a>. I know of what he speaks. Experience is the ultimate teacher and only those who have it can understand.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">As an example, as often as I would preach to my oldest son when he was young that he should not stick his finger in a Christmas tree light socket, he didn’t really understand until he suffered the consequences of doing it. He soon became an authority on that subject.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">My experience tells me that Donald Trump means exactly what he says, and there are plenty of politicians who would do the same if they had the chance. Worse, in covering the Hamas war, a record number of reporters have been murdered in an attempt to silence those of us who risk it all to inform others. Those in power do not want us to inform everyone else about what is going on. To do so would be to risk losing control over the masses. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">How long shall we tolerate politicians who are so hungry for power that they will risk destroying us all to get it? </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The press, of course, are rascals in their own right. But the difference is we cannot do anything but report vetted facts, although many times we do that poorly – often because of government intervention – directly and indirectly. We remain trapped by the politician who owns the pulpit and can operate the levers of power. The politician can jail the reporter. The reporter cannot jail the politician. We also remain trapped by the public who’ve been manipulated by the government into thinking we’re the problem.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">To be a reporter you must either have a thick hide if you wish to do your job correctly, or a limited intellect or lack courage if you do not. You can avoid being pilloried, but only if you either play the game with those who wield the power, or are too stupid to understand the game being played. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">While standing outside of President Biden’s appearance at a library in Culver City, California on Wednesday, I saw a protester screaming “Genocide Joe has to Go!” I approached the protester who carried a bullhorn and asked “why do you call him Genocide Joe?” It was a simple question and an obvious one to ask. Instead of answering it, the person I asked became angry and accused me of being stupid, a Zionist, a racist, a CIA operative, and several other choice invectives that caused me to chuckle. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Shortly before Thanksgiving last year, I ran into a protester waving an Israeli flag outside of the White House. He was shouting that all Palestinians were Hamas terrorists. I asked, “Do you really think everyone in Gaza is a terrorist?” I had to ask for obvious reasons, but I was told then I was an anti-Zionist, a Hamas supporter and probably a terrorist. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">I’ve also been called a Trump supporter for asking someone if they thought Biden was old. And called a communist, a fascist, and a Biden supporter for simply pointing out the fact that Trump lost the 2020 election. I can’t help but chuckle at it all. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Since none of those who have said these things about me, <em>or any other reporter</em>, actually knows us, I cannot take the insults seriously. But I do take the <em>emotion</em> behind them seriously.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">America is suffering from a disease. While we can only hope, as Einstein did, that the present crisis can lead to a better world, so far we’ve seen very little evidence of that possibility. We’ve only seen the psychic distemper brought about by excessive nationalism and the equally violent response to it. </p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The extremists at both end of the political spectrum are contributing to a lack of trust of the press, but make no mistake, Trump’s intentions are <em>beyond</em>misunderstanding. He is the catalyst and the driving force behind the disharmony. Remove him and while there may not be a cessation of the stupidity, there will be a calming of the waters.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">That is why the world cannot see Trump back in the White House. He knows nothing but divisiveness. And Biden was right to point out that Trump wants to jail reporters.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Trump supporters don’t care. But I’ve eaten Texas jail food, so I do.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">When Einstein fled Germany he fled the poison of nationalism and longed for a country of civil liberty and tolerance. The closest he found was here in the United States. Where is it today? More importantly, where will it be after the November general election?</p></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/joe-biden-gives-media-desperately-110005932.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVtb2NyYXRpY3VuZGVyZ3JvdW5kLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALrHZeSq2XjcLgB53z2QfjXbzqUK1T-dD_dvwL_CBKnoCaApB5DYXnkUqtBiQqOZqNsznehkpHsWBPPes52uAB4ylFXD7jJnAimCMXvryF-l0r_9a7HAZSBUX5LHKZdo2DwMdnYaQ-p5A9wjtTwEV6OuOeE743uhl3lSSjqBrx5Q">Original.</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-80004980254170351452024-02-23T11:51:00.000-06:002024-02-28T21:24:26.153-06:00Joe Conason<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Joe Conason has been around for years. He is an American journalist, author and liberal political commentator. He founded "<a href="https://www.nationalmemo.com" target="_blank">The National Memo</a>" and since 2006 has served as editor of The Investigative Fund. He has written for the New York Observer, Salon, and Creators.</i></b></span> <div><h1 class="article-title" itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: din-condensed-web; font-size: 36px; line-height: 1.1; margin: 20px 0px 10px;">Over Congressional Republicans, Putin Casts His Dark Shadow</h1></div><h4 itemprop="creator" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: futura-pt, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 500; line-height: 1.1; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;">By <a class="grey-link" href="https://www.creators.com/author/joe-conason" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #29d4c7; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Joe Conason</a></h4><p class="author-read-more date calendar" data-date-format="yy-mm-dd" data-default-date="2024-02-23" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: futura-pt, sans-serif; font-size: 0.7em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: capitalize;"><a href="https://www.creators.com/read/joe-conason/02/24/over-congressional-republicans-putin-casts-his-dark-shadow#" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #29d4c7; margin-right: 15px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><input class="hasDatepicker" id="dp1709054063235" style="border-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out 0s; width: 0px;" type="text" /><span class="top" data-original-title="Tooltip on right" style="box-sizing: border-box;" title="Click to find past articles by date">February 23, 2024</span> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-calendar" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "Glyphicons Halflings"; line-height: 1; position: relative; top: 1px;"></span></a></p><br /><span style="font-size: large;">If you believed that the Republicans in Congress couldn't sink any lower, recent events have proved you sadly mistaken. House Speaker Mike Johnson, in his latest displays of subservience to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, has made his most wretched predecessors seem like statesmen and patriots. For the first time ever in America, a branch of the government, the House of Representatives, appears to be decisively influenced, if not controlled by a hostile foreign power. <br /><br />These are not accusations to be made lightly, but the evidence of Republican complicity in purveying Kremlin espionage against the United States is now overwhelming. <br /><br />On Feb. 23, a federal judge in California ordered marshals to seize Alexander Smirnov at his lawyers' office only days after he had been released on bail by a different judge, with the clear implication that he might be preparing to flee the country. Smirnov is the much touted prime witness in the House Republican impeachment campaign against Joe Biden, accusing the president of having taken $5 million in bribes from Ukrainian oligarchs. It's all a lie manufactured by Russian intelligence.<br /><br />Smirnov's initial arrest was ordered by special counsel David Weiss, the Trump-appointed Republican investigating Hunter Biden, who has indicted the star witness for fabricating his entire story and lying to the FBI. In subsequent court filings, the prosecutor charged that the lies transmitted by Smirnov originated with Russian spies.<br /><br />In other words, the No. 1 Republican witness in the public and repeated smearing of President Biden — on the floor of Congress and in right-wing media — was a knowing conduit for Kremlin disinformation. The intent is nothing less than to help elect Trump.<br /><br />What makes this scandal so much worse — and so embarrassing to Johnson, if he were capable of shame — is that Smirnov's deception emanated from the much broader Russian penetration of American politics that began ... when?<br /><br />Perhaps with that Trump Tower meeting in 2015, when Donald Trump Jr. enthusiastically welcomed the idea of a Russian dossier on Hillary Clinton from a Russian intelligence operative. And then it continued with the Kremlin's cyber assault against Clinton in 2016, and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's secret cooperation with a Russian spy named Konstantin Kilimnik. After Trump became president, he withheld weapons from Ukraine while demanding a phony probe of Biden. Trump's blackmail attempt triggered his first impeachment.<br /><br />Along the way, a gang of Trump associates led by Rudy Giuliani worked with various Putin stooges in Ukraine and elsewhere to invent mendacious nonsense about the Bidens. Giuliani worked closely with Putin crony Andriy Derkach and other dubious characters, who were later indicted for attempting to interfere in the 2020 election.<br /><br />For years, it has been blindingly obvious that the "investigation" of Joe Biden and Ukraine emanated not from any legitimate source but directly from this country's enemies. And yet while those accusers were repeatedly exposed and discredited, congressional Republicans insisted on pursuing the bogus case invented in Moscow.<br /><br />But Johnson's undermining of American security has gone well beyond the assistance he and Republicans have provided to the Kremlin in subverting American democracy. Now refusing to fund U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in its courageous struggle against Russian invaders, they have helped Putin gain a critical victory in the battle of Avdiivka and jeopardized the Western alliance that is fundamental to European and American security. Johnson has admitted he's taking his orders from Trump, who worships Putin. The cowardice of Johnson and the Republicans has become crucial to Putin and his savage war.<br /><br />Johnson has his own little Russian secrets. The speaker must still explain the laundered campaign funds from Konstantin Nikolaev, a Russian oligarch and confederate of confessed convicted Kremlin spy agent Maria Butina. She served a prison sentence here after the exposure of her successful scheme to penetrate the National Rifle Association and other right-wing groups, including some of the "Christian nationalist" outfits that Johnson promotes.<br /><br />What attracts extremists like the House speaker — and his puppet master Trump — to the Russian dictator who looms above them is an authoritarian political orientation that smells of fascism. Putin is a threat from without, and they are a threat from within.<br /><br />To find out more about Joe Conason and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.creators.com/read/joe-conason/02/24/over-congressional-republicans-putin-casts-his-dark-shadow">Original.</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-7822971432274346912024-02-20T23:47:00.002-06:002024-02-20T23:47:40.748-06:00Back in the U.S.S.R.<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>There are a lot of good writers out there these days, and you have to be lucky to catch them all. MSNBC gives a lot of leads to various opinionators from the NYT and WaPo, but there are many good writers beyond those two publications. Check out Substack, Alternet, Mother Jones, and so many others. Even in this era of internet aggregators, it's hard to catch everything worth catching. Damn near impossible. Despair is not an option.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><b>'Back in the U.S.S.R.'</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">by Noel Casler</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Feb 17, 2024</span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Pour one out for Alexei.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I don’t say this to be glib. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I am quite serious that at this moment Americans need to take stock.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Alexei Navalny represented a spirit of bravery and stoicism in standing up to corruption - and the oppression that always follows it - with a steadfast and unwavering resoluteness. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">An example and hero to millions of Russians and freedom-loving people all over the world. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">He was the sort of person that the Republican Party at one point in their existence would have seen as a hero and a role model.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">They would have lauded him from every angle.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Now they will have to laugh along as Trump undoubtedly makes Navalny’s death into some sort of punchline while praising Putin at the next MAGA rally.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">That Navalny’s death came in the same week that Speaker Johnson blocked a vote in the House on the Senate’s Ukraine aid package is no accident.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Nor is it any coincidence that it came on the heels of Tucker Carlson’s fawning and propaganda-filled interview with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And the subsequent pro-Russia content Tucker has been furiously uploading to his twitter account all week.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">His pro-Putin hagiography tour finding an eager hype man in the salivating retweets by Elon Musk.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Carlson’s own comments when confronted this week at the World Governments Summit with Putin’s brutality, ’every leader kills people….’</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It’s disgusting stuff but should sound familiar to anyone paying attention.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Russian talking points always follow the same script: see Trump’s ‘Super Bowl’ interview with Bill O’Reilly in February of 2017 when he was asked about Vladimir’s brutality, ‘You think our country is so innocent..there are lots of killers’.</span></em></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Tucker becoming Russia’s foremost content creator comes as people are being rounded up and arrested in cities all over Russia right now for memorializing and gathering in remembrance of Navalny. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Russian forces are removing the flowers left at monuments and arresting journalists covering the scenes. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Putin wants to make Alexei Navalny disappear from the consciousness of the millions of Russians who supported him - and there are many members of the American conservative movement that would gladly help him. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It’s a sad day indeed: one in which people who value democracy and love freedom need to stand up and take stock of where we are headed as a nation. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The GOP has been in the pocket of Vladimir Putin for some time - this is no secret to even casual observers of American politics. </span></em></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The former Soviet Union started spreading cash around D.C. in the ’90s with no surfeit in sight. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Their investments have paid dividends in the MAGA era. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">So much so that Putin has been able to completely change the narrative around Russia within the Republican Party. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Vladimir Putin is practically celebrated on Fox News and in the halls of the GOP Congress. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Republicans have gone out of their way to both cut support and rhetorically undermine Ukraine and minimize Russia’s horrific invasion.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is accomplished by outright Putin toadstools in the GOP firmament. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In both the Republican House and Senate there are no shortage of Putin apologists.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">From the obvious lap dogs like the poodle-permed Rand Paul, to the lasciviously greedy like Ron Johnson</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Over on the house side of the Hill it’s smarmy frat bros like Matt Gaetz who proclaim things like ‘Russia’s never done anything to me…”; using his stalling of Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership to leverage cutting Ukraine aid (to the detriment of his own state and constituents, as Florida earns billions from manufacturing weapons used by Ukraine). </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We should also remember the recent snub of President Zelensky when he requested to address Congress on a U.S. visit in September and was denied by then Speaker McCarthy.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Bravery isn’t a good look for the modern GOP so they try to avoid any examples of it at all costs.</span></em></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Men like Zelensky and Navalny are examples of real leadership and selfless service - which is the polar opposite of the cult of personality that has formed around Donald Trump. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The GOP’s aim is the constant massaging of Trump’s delicate and very damaged ego. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">‘Trump works for Putin and we work for Trump’ could be the modern Republican mantra. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There is no easier way to distill what I am trying to say than saying it like that. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I do feel it is important to meditate on this moment and see very clearly what many of our fellow countrymen have become and where we are heading collectively as a nation. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For anyone that lived through the Cold War era this turnaround in the Republican Party is quite shocking. </span></em></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’m in my early fifties now, so I only caught the last 20 years of the Cold War but it was enough of a taste to realize - it is hard to believe we are even talking about the same Republican Party. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">But we are not talking about the same party and I guess that is the point. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The party of Rambo and Ronnie Reagan has become the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and a thousand other Russian sycophants looking to suck up and follow the model of Putin’s kleptocracy and set up shop for an American oligarchy. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Trump will of course assert himself at the top of that food chain and his minions will become his version of the Russian billionaires who bled their country dry while their daughters shop in Palm Beach and buy apartments in New York City that cost more than most Russians will make in a lifetime. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal;" /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">If you have spent anytime in Monte Carlo or Mayfair or Miami you can find them everywhere, the duck-lips and Balenciaga bags, bleached blonde, plucked and coiffed with that dead-eyed look that always comes from placing money above morality. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">That recipe looks pretty tasty if you’re in line to become an oligarch yourself. Many of the billionaires who bought up judges and politicians at Trump’s behest have no problem with the conspicuous consumption of other people’s money. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Jared Kushner, who lives the high life with Vanky on Indian Creek, a private island in Miami designed solely for billionaires, will play an outsized role in this burgeoning kleptocracy.</em></span></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">He was the chief architect of the initial Trump administration’s designs on turning the USA into an oligarchy - and also the one who has seemingly gotten away with it.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">He can now direct his evil minions with the smugness of a hairless cat luxuriating the in the South Florida sun. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Many forget that while Trump was still just a president-elect, Jared set up a back channel with the Kremlin, going around U.S. intelligence agencies. Naturally this came to light, so when Trump assumed office Kushner’s original security clearance was denied, only to be overridden, against our intelligence and security agencies wishes by Trump himself. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0; text-align: left;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Kushner then steered his father-in-law’s foreign policy decisions based on how much they would benefit Vladimir Putin and of course MBS.</span></em></p></div></blockquote><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Given Trump’s recent comments on NATO and allowing Putin’s Russia to “do whatever the hell they want….” when it comes to invading European allies, the GOP’s blocking of Ukraine aid and Putin’s murderous impulses and imperialistic designs, we are quite clearly in a moment of peril and pathos.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Brave men do not die in vain: Alexei Navalny was astoundingly brave and not unaware of how his story would end. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">His life should serve as an example to all of us to light and stoke the fires of fierce non-violent, political opposition to any and all enemies of freedom.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></em></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Even when those threats appear to be homegrown.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I will stop writing now and let Alexei Navalny’s words speak for themselves: </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“Listen, I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong.” </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And this quote from a letter he wrote upon his return to Russia, “Everything will be all right. Even if it isn’t we’ll have the consolation of having lived honest lives.” </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">May his memory inspire and guide us all, rest easy, Alexei Navalny.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://noelcasler.substack.com/p/back-in-the-ussr?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1098727&post_id=141759651&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1psx3o&utm_medium=email">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-51896743609840606902024-02-13T21:13:00.000-06:002024-02-13T21:13:31.495-06:00Jamelle Bouie<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Jamelle Bouie is an Opinion Columnist for the New York Times. </i></b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>I would say Jamelle has a progressive bent. Many on the left have turned on the New York Times and have cancelled their subscriptions apparently because the NYT has been "hard" and "unfair" on the topic of Biden's age. Some purists reach back to the NYT's checkered past - as in being somewhat sympathetic to Hitler in the 1930's (like a whole lot of Americans were); pushing the Whitewater bullshit about Bill and Hillary Clinton; helping, intentionally or inadvertently, Bush promote his lies about WMD; and flogging Hillary Clinton in the much-ado-about-nothing emails episode - to justify their disgust. Sure, they have published some bullshit as news before, and they have apologized in some cases and not apologized in others. </i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Still, to me, the NYT is a valuable asset to have available. Some of their Board and Opinion Columnists may have a right-wing axe to grind, but certainly not all of them. And so what? It helps to see what garbage is coming from the right. </i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="css-xkf25q e1h9rw200" data-testid="headline" dir="rtl" id="link-5b3fc60d" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-primary,#121212); font-family: nyt-cheltenham-cond, nyt-cheltenham, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 3.75rem; margin: 0px auto 1.125rem; max-width: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Trump Is Losing It</span></h1></div><div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4ybDDWYiu1A8Zwo3zflgK5u7aqFXr2vyiPG3GAdZWFzbigEgHIrNWiUNrAHP28Au-zK578p6E1bTMJrt147v5Po57t-Dwx7w8Yjgge6JnND6gjwQ-6Xe2dIoUy0NofvuoKLBh2GqSJiPXgy106Q-2ifesvvwnDa7DCwNzrFBJbGOLoB4M9m68nz02xKs/s150/Bouie%20Jamelle%20thumbnail.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="150" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4ybDDWYiu1A8Zwo3zflgK5u7aqFXr2vyiPG3GAdZWFzbigEgHIrNWiUNrAHP28Au-zK578p6E1bTMJrt147v5Po57t-Dwx7w8Yjgge6JnND6gjwQ-6Xe2dIoUy0NofvuoKLBh2GqSJiPXgy106Q-2ifesvvwnDa7DCwNzrFBJbGOLoB4M9m68nz02xKs/w113-h113/Bouie%20Jamelle%20thumbnail.png" width="113" /></a></div><p></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">by <b>Jamalle Bouie</b>, Opinion Columnist</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Feb 13, 2024</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">It is unclear whether Donald Trump has forgotten the precise nature of NATO or whether he ever fully grasped it in the first place.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">What is clear, however, is that Trump — who ostensibly spent four years as president of the United States — has little clue about what NATO is or what NATO does. And when he spoke on the subject at a rally in South Carolina over the weekend, what he said was less a cogent discussion of foreign policy than it was gibberish — the kind of outrageous nonsense that flows without interruption from an empty and unreflective mind.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">“One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’” Trump said, recalling an implausible conversation with an unnamed, presumably European head of state. “‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted responding. “‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">The former president’s message was clear: If NATO members do not pay up, then he will leave them to the mercy of a continental aggressor who has already plunged one European country into death, destruction and devastation.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Except NATO isn’t a mafia protection racket. NATO, in case anyone needs to be reminded, is a mutual defense organization, formed by treaty in 1949 as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union hardened into conflict. “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all,” states Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">According to the terms of an agreement reached last year, member states will work to spend at least 2 percent of national G.D.P. on military investment.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">But let’s set this bit of fact-checking aside for a moment and look at the big picture.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">It is not just that Trump is ignorant on this and other vital questions; it is that he is incoherent.</p><div style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Consider his remarks at a recent gathering of the National Rifle Association in Harrisburg, Pa. “We have to win in November, or we’re not going to have Pennsylvania. They’ll change the name. They’re going to change the name of Pennsylvania,” Trump said.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Who, exactly, is going to change the name of Pennsylvania? And to what? I don’t know. I doubt Trump does either.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Or consider the time, last November, when Trump confused China and North Korea, telling an audience of supporters in Florida that “Kim Jong Un leads 1.4 billion people, and there is no doubt about who the boss is. And they want me to say he’s not an intelligent man.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">There was also the time that Trump mistook Nikki Haley, his former ambassador to the United Nations, for Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">“Nikki Haley, you know they, do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it. All of it, because of lots of things like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people,” Trump said, repeating his false claim that Pelosi was responsible for the failure of Capitol security on Jan. 6.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">If you would like, you can also try to make sense of the former president’s recent attempt to describe a missile defense system:</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">“I will build an Iron Dome over our country, a state-of-the-art missile defense shield made in the U.S.A.,” Trump said, before taking an unusual detour. “These are not muscle guys here, they’re muscle guys up here, right,” he continued, gesturing to his arms and his head to emphasize, I guess, that the people responsible for building such systems are capable and intelligent.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">“And they calmly walk to us, and ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. They’ve only got 17 seconds to figure this whole thing out. Boom. OK. Missile launch. Whoosh. Boom,” he added.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">I assume Trump is describing the pressure of actually manning a missile defense system. Even so, one would think that a former president — currently vying to be the next president — would at least try to be a little more articulate.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">But this gets to one of the oddest things about this election cycle so far. There is no shortage of coverage of President Biden’s age, even if there’s no evidence that his age has been an obstacle to his ability to perform his duties. Indeed, it is plainly true that Biden has been an unusually successful president in areas, like legislative negotiations, that require skill and mental acuity.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Coverage of Biden’s age, in other words, has more to do with the vibes of an “elderly” president — he isn’t as outwardly vigorous and robust as we would like — than it does with any particular issue with his performance.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">In contrast to the obsessive coverage of Biden’s age, there is comparatively little coverage of Trump’s obvious deficiencies in that department. If we are going to use public comments as the measure of mental fitness, then the former president is clearly at a disadvantage.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Unfortunately for Biden, Trump benefits from something akin to the soft bigotry of low expectations. Because no one expected Trump, in the 2016 election, to speak and behave like a normal candidate, he was held to a lower effective standard than his rivals in both parties. Because no one expected him, during his presidency, to be orderly and responsible, his endless scandals were framed as business as usual. And because no one now expects him to be a responsible political figure with a coherent vision for the country, it’s as if no one blinks an eye when he rants and raves on the campaign trail.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><br /></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px 0px 0.9375rem; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">It’s not that there aren’t legitimate reasons to be concerned about Biden’s age. He is already the oldest person to serve in the Oval Office. The issue here is one of proportion and consequence. Biden may be unable to do the job at some point in the future; Trump, it seems to me, already is.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;">One of those is a lot more concerning than the other. </span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; color: var(--color-content-secondary,#363636); font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 1.25rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/13/opinion/trump-campaign-biden-aging.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VU0.2CIT.fzBarCkTtdIQ&smid=url-share">Gifted Original.</a></i></b></span></span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 20px;">Based in Charlottesville, VA., and Washington, Jamelle Bouie became a New York Times Opinion columnist in 2019. Before that he was the chief political correspondent for Slate magazine.</span></p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0" style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(54, 54, 54); color: #363636; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span></p></div></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-53694100582443378362024-02-10T15:54:00.001-06:002024-02-11T15:56:27.787-06:00Jill Biden<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Even First Lady Jill Biden had a few things to say about this recent hit job, I mean, Special Counsel report:</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Friend,</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve heard from so many of you asking about the Special Counsel's report this week. Thank you for your love and support. </span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You probably know the basics: Joe cooperated fully with a Special Counsel’s investigation and they found he did nothing wrong -- no criminal charges were warranted. <span style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 8px;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/mw31GZsW-tYdpIw-ePlYv6bq_QxxjplU1kJ0CoCnLsDkROKYid79RHT9EZgTXxFVV0yd5F1Dz_m4LP8TSwxPOWom0uxsFeivj-mhBiRLQ_Fk1TEbEyi_5OBR6T2djZveSM31eAD17nUzQp4YoLMeFvhCwfK75Ibjvmx16LTHwBBUmYGL3mCniMchNaRD_ZT4eUMMcBqxR7DZNUqxPFAoX96jhsZXTbqdBXju9JcDhkR3Xjq4Nn7E5pMRfBsv9UE4VF2VfmykEQIkR3L9LH75eFnaV9Y_JS_IO07KI5nYDWGlxbPLdI2tJwWxzOb4w2dchWQ9nQZXfXRi_TmX9MG1PD9ctjfZr3u7wTk5_kzvDJI/43r/F1fWg11SQGuuB0X3fczthQ/h0/PdurznAU0qnUcMQ6CewZH42w-peGFpCk5cypI8e6T4U&source=gmail&ust=1707774678884000&usg=AOvVaw1CsL0xGlIjvLRCQRDI43Bv" href="https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/mw31GZsW-tYdpIw-ePlYv6bq_QxxjplU1kJ0CoCnLsDkROKYid79RHT9EZgTXxFVV0yd5F1Dz_m4LP8TSwxPOWom0uxsFeivj-mhBiRLQ_Fk1TEbEyi_5OBR6T2djZveSM31eAD17nUzQp4YoLMeFvhCwfK75Ibjvmx16LTHwBBUmYGL3mCniMchNaRD_ZT4eUMMcBqxR7DZNUqxPFAoX96jhsZXTbqdBXju9JcDhkR3Xjq4Nn7E5pMRfBsv9UE4VF2VfmykEQIkR3L9LH75eFnaV9Y_JS_IO07KI5nYDWGlxbPLdI2tJwWxzOb4w2dchWQ9nQZXfXRi_TmX9MG1PD9ctjfZr3u7wTk5_kzvDJI/43r/F1fWg11SQGuuB0X3fczthQ/h0/PdurznAU0qnUcMQ6CewZH42w-peGFpCk5cypI8e6T4U" style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 27.30000114440918px;" target="_blank"><strong>I thought Heather Cox Richardson wrote about it eloquently here.</strong></a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The reason I’m writing is because of what else was in the report: Inaccurate and personal political attacks about Joe. Rather than just saying the case was closed, as they have for others, the Special Counsel claimed that Joe “couldn’t remember the year his son died.” Believe me, like anyone who has lost a child, Beau and his death never leave him.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope you can imagine how it felt to read that attack -- not just as Joe’s wife, but as Beau’s mother.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I don’t know what this Special Counsel was trying to achieve. We should give everyone grace, and I can’t imagine someone would try to use our son’s death to score political points. If you’ve experienced a loss like that, you know that you don’t measure it in years -- you measure it in grief.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May 30th is a day forever etched on our hearts. It shattered me, it shattered our family.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So many of you know that feeling after you lose a loved one, where you feel like you can’t get off the floor. What helped me, and what helped Joe, was to find purpose. That’s what keeps Joe going, serving you and the country we love.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Joe is 81, that’s true, but he’s 81 doing more in an hour than most people do in a day. Joe has wisdom, empathy, and vision. He has delivered on so many of his promises as President precisely because he’s learned a lot in those 81 years. His age, with his experience and expertise, is an incredible asset and he proves it every day.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Look at all he’s accomplished: He brought our country back from COVID. He brought our economy back from the brink. He created 14 million jobs. Gas prices are down. Inflation is down. Energy costs are down. He got bipartisan legislation passed -- even in the midst of this hyper-partisan environment. The media may not give him credit, but I’m thankful you realize all he’s done for this country.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Joe is the most resilient person I’ve ever known. When he gets knocked down, he gets back up and gets back to work. That’s what he’s doing.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is just so meaningful to both of us to have you behind us. Your support is what keeps this campaign moving forward.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At some point in our lives, we’ll all experience grief or loss. We’ll go through challenging moments and twists and turns. But we find joy together, we persevere together, and ultimately we’ll prevail together.</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Thank you for being part of our campaign. </span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Love,</span></p><p style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 1em 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jill</span></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-71793679185705844222024-02-01T16:58:00.000-06:002024-02-03T16:59:11.268-06:00Heather Cox Richardson<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Heather Cox Richardson is an American academic historian, a political historian, author, and educator. She has a large following on Facebook and other platforms and frequently writes great stuff. This one is no exception, driving the point home that Democrats policies do the most for the most people, unlike the Republicans, who only seem to care about making the already-rich get richer.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thursday, Feb 1, 2024</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">One of the biggest stories of 2023 is that the U.S. economy grew faster than any other economy in the Group of 7 nations, made up of democratic countries with the world’s largest advanced economies. By a lot. The International Monetary Fund yesterday reported that the U.S. gross domestic product—the way countries estimate their productivity—grew by 2.5%, significantly higher than the GDP of the next country on the list: Japan, at 1.9%.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">IMF economists <span style="font-family: inherit;"><a style="color: #385898; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit;" tabindex="-1"></a></span>predict U.S. growth next year of 2.1%, again, higher than all the other G7 countries. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta projects growth of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every time I write about the booming economy, people accurately point out that these numbers don’t necessarily reflect the experiences of everyone. But they have enormous political implications.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Democrats embraced the idea that using the government to support ordinary Americans—those on the “demand” side of the economy—would nurture strong economic growth. Republicans have insisted since the 1980s that the way to expand the economy is the opposite: to invest in the “supply side,” investors who use their capital to build businesses. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the first two years of the Biden-Harris administration, while the Democrats had control of the House and Senate, they passed a range of laws to boost American manufacturing, rebuild infrastructure, protect consumers, and so on. They did so almost entirely with Democratic votes, as Republicans insisted that such investments would destroy growth, in part through inflation. </span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Now that the laws are beginning to take effect, their results have proved that demand-side economic policies like those in place between 1933 and 1981, when President Ronald Reagan ushered in supply-side economics, work. Even inflation, which ran high, appears to have been driven by supply chain issues, as the administration said, and by “greedflation,” in which corporations raised prices far beyond cost increases, padding payouts for their shareholders.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The demonstration that the Democrats' policies work has put Republicans in an awkward spot. Projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, are so popular that Republicans are claiming credit for new projects or, as Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) did on Sunday, claiming they don’t remember how they voted on the infrastructure measure and other popular bills like the CHIPS and Science Act (she voted no). When the infrastructure measure passed in 2021, just 13 House Republicans supported it. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, Medicare sent its initial offers to the drug companies that manufacture the first ten drugs for which the government will negotiate prices under the Inflation Reduction Act, another hugely popular measure that passed without Republican votes. The Republicans have called for repealing this act, but their stance against what they have insisted is “socialized medicine” is showing signs of softening. In Politico yesterday, Megan Messerly noted that in three Republican-dominated states—Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi—House speakers are saying they are now open to the idea of expanding healthcare through Medicaid expansion.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">In another sign that some Republicans recognize that the Democrats’ economic policies are popular, the House last night passed bipartisan tax legislation that expanded the Child Tax Credit, which had expired last year after Senate Republicans refused to extend it. Democrats still provided most of the yea votes—188 to 169—and Republicans most of the nays—47 to 23—but, together with a tax cut for businesses in the bill, the measure was a rare bipartisan victory. If it passes the Senate, it is expected to lift at least half a million children out of poverty and help about 5 million more. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">But Republicans have a personnel problem as well as a policy problem. Since the 1980s, party leaders have maintained that the federal government needs to be slashed, and their determination to just say no has elevated lawmakers whose skill set features obstruction rather than the negotiation required to pass bills. Their goal is to stay in power to stop legislation from passing.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, for example, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee and used to chair it, told a reporter not to have too much faith that the child tax credit measure would pass the Senate, where Republicans can kill it with the filibuster. “Passing a tax bill that makes the president look good…means he could be reelected, and then we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts,” Grassley said.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the same time, the rise of right-wing media, which rewards extremism, has upended the relationship between lawmakers and voters. In CNN yesterday, Oliver Darcy explained that “the incentive structure in conservative politics has gone awry. The irresponsible and dishonest stars of the right-wing media kingdom are motivated by vastly different goals than those who are actually trying to advance conservative causes, get Republicans elected, and then ultimately govern in office.” </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Right-wing influencers want views and shares, which translate to more money and power, Darcy wrote. So they spread “increasingly outlandish, attention-grabbing junk,” and more established outlets tag along out of fear they will lose their audience. But those influencers and media hosts don’t have to govern, and the anger they generate in the base makes it hard for anyone else to, either. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">This dynamic has shown up dramatically in the House Republicans’ refusal to consider a proposed border measure on which a bipartisan group of senators had worked for four months because Trump and his extremist base turned against the idea—one that Republicans initially demanded. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since they took control of the House in 2023, House Republicans have been able to conduct almost no business as the extremists are essentially refusing to govern unless all their demands are met. Rather than lawmaking, they are passing extremist bills to signal to their base, holding hearings to push their talking points, and trying to find excuses to impeach the president and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which is firmly on the right, warned House Republicans that “Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing” other than “political symbolism,” and urged them to work to get a border bill passed. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Grandstanding is easier than governing, and Republicans have to decide whether to accomplish anything other than impeaching Democrats,” it said. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today in the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin called the Republicans’ behavior “nihilism and performative politics.”</span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">On CNN this morning, Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) identified the increasing isolation of the MAGA Republicans from a democratic government. “Here we are both on immigration and now on this tax bill where President Biden and a bipartisan group of Congress are trying to actually solve problems for the American people,” Goldman said, “and Chuck Grassley, Donald Trump, Mike Johnson—they are trying to kill solutions just for political gain."</span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heather_Cox_Richardson" target="_blank">Heather Cox Richardson on Wikipedia</a></i></b></span></div><div><br /></div></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-54795780303807202742024-01-28T22:09:00.005-06:002024-01-28T22:09:46.699-06:00Roy Zimmerman<div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Haven't heard from Roy Zimmerman in a long while!</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/kCyQLa-dxqI?si=dK8EXHFKVmh9lRZ8" width="480"></iframe>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-14842284823092835472024-01-27T13:53:00.000-06:002024-01-27T13:53:29.273-06:00Vote for destruction<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Eugene Robinson has been a favorite writer of mine for several years. Here, Eugene is trying to convince conservative voters to vote for Biden, to crush their broken and diseased party, so it can be purged of its worst elements and reborn. Provided, of course, that whoever gets elected after its annihilation isn't worse than what we have now. You takes your chances.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="PJLV PJLV-ikmtGxl-css overrideStyles" data-qa="headline" data-testid="headline" id="main-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray20); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-headline); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-110); margin-bottom: var(--wpds-space-100); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 1000px;"><span class="gold" data-qa="headline-opinion-prefix" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gold60); font-size: var(--wpds-fontSizes-350);">Opinion<span aria-hidden="true" role="separator" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> <div class="wpds-c-PTvWd" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; height: 2.8rem; margin: 0px 10px -5px; width: 1px;"></div></span> </span><span class="PJLV" data-qa="headline-opinion-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Vote for destruction in November</span></span></h1></div><div><div class="PJLV PJLV-ihSmMVC-css" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Franklin, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div class="PJLV PJLV-iPJLV-css mb-xxs overrideStyles" data-qa="author-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box; column-gap: 0.5rem; margin-bottom: 4px; row-gap: 0.5rem;"><span class="wpds-c-PJLV" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="flex" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex;"><div class="dib font-xxs" data-cy="name-with-optional-link" data-qa="name-with-optional-link" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-size: 1rem;"><span class="wpds-c-cNdzuP" data-qa="attribution-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40);">By </span><a class="wpds-c-cNdzuP wpds-c-cNdzuP-jZcdxj-isLink-true" data-qa="author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/eugene-robinson/?itid=ai_top_robinsoneh" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-color: var(--wpds-colors-gold60) !important; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-underline-offset: 1px;">Eugene Robinson</a></div></div></span></div></div><div class="wpds-c-kgabfe wpds-c-kgabfe-ieEDlgV-css" data-testid="timestamp" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray80); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-subhead); font-size: var(--wpds-fontSizes-087); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-125); margin-bottom: var(--wpds-space-200);"><span class="wpds-c-iKQyrV" data-testid="display-date" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray80); font-size: var(--wpds-fontSizes-087); margin-top: var(--wpds-space-025);">January 25, 2024</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Anyone who genuinely cares about </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/25/gop-primary-alternative-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">the future of the Republican Party</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> — and you should if you care about strengthening democracy — has only one option in November: Vote to destroy the party to save it.</span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I care about the GOP. No one has ever mistaken me for a conservative, but I believe our democracy functions best when there is healthy, fact-based competition between liberal and conservative viewpoints. Progressive ideas and policy positions are improved by being challenged, and the best decisions are forged from vigorous debate.</span></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, however, we have the Democratic Party on one side and the Republican dumpster fire on the other. The </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/21/trump-gop-division-new-hampshire/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">GOP is a cult</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, held in thrall by an </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/25/trump-charisma-moderation-ideology/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">unstable bully and would-be authoritarian</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Held captive by a man who sent </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2024/steve-brodner-politicians-jan-6/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">armed insurrectionists to the Capitol</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> in a violent attempt to overturn his defeat in a free and fair election. Held hostage by </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/13/trump-threaten-punish-enemies-president/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">a man who punishes any perceived disloyalty</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> with political execution.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="wpds-c-PJLV article-body" data-qa="article-body" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At the 2020 Republican National Convention, </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-no-party-platform-rnc/2020/08/24/a56c057c-e61c-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_8" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">the GOP didn’t even offer a party platform</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Instead, it simply affirmed its “strong support for President Donald Trump” and his “America-first agenda,” whatever that might be at any given moment.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The nation would be foolish, at this point, to expect Republicans to rise up and free themselves. Look at how the </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/25/congress-border-security-ukraine-trump/99a0293c-bbb9-11ee-b176-fe5fd794e716_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">congressional negotiations over border security</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and Ukraine aid have changed since Trump’s New Hampshire victory on Tuesday. Just last week, GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), were optimistic that the package would swiftly be approved by the Senate. But on Wednesday, McConnell told a closed-door meeting of his caucus that there might no longer be </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/25/ukraine-funding-border-deal-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">a path forward for the bill</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> — because Trump opposes any remedy for the border crisis that </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/immigration-border-deal-republicans-johnson-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">might make President Biden look good</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is insanity. Democrats are offering something Republicans have wanted for years, and might never be offered again: tougher border security without a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country, including “dreamers.” But Dear Leader Trump says no and, suddenly, GOP senators are afraid to say yes.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Republicans in Congress, clearly, will not free their party. And it looks doubtful that the GOP base has any intention of breaking the chains that bind it.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Former U.N. ambassador </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/23/nikki-haley-woman-campaign-2024/?itid=lk_inline_manual_15" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Nikki Haley finished a strong second</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> in New Hampshire, becoming the anti-Trump by default. But the next contested primary is a month away, and it is in her home state, which might not feel very welcoming. For four long weeks, she will have to survive withering personal attacks from Trump and calls from powerful Republicans to drop out of the race in the name of party unity. And then, if she makes it to Feb. 24, she will need a miracle.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The RealClearPolitics </span><a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/2024gop.html" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">average of polls in South Carolina</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> shows Trump with a 30-point lead. Those surveys were taken before the other GOP candidates dropped out, so Haley can be expected to close the gap. But virtually all of the state’s Republican elected officials have fallen in line behind Trump — </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/13/tim-scott-republican-presidential-campaign/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">including Sen. Tim Scott</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, whom Haley first appointed to the Senate in 2013 when she was governor, and who obsequiously </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykuEtKJ2D7A" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">told Trump “I just love you”</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> during Trump’s New Hampshire victory speech.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is also wrong to expect the justice system to come to the party’s rescue. It is possible </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/19/trump-defamation-trial-jury-instructions-satire/?itid=lk_inline_manual_19" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">that one or two</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> of the criminal </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/18/trump-civil-trials-strategy/?itid=lk_inline_manual_19" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">cases against Trump</a> <span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">could end — in conviction or acquittal — before November. But that seems to me increasingly unlikely. And even if the former president is a felon, I find it hard to imagine his party throwing him overboard.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What can save the GOP from itself? Defeat. Crushing, unambiguous defeat.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our political parties reform and reconstitute themselves after being soundly rebuked by the voters. After the disaster of President </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm?itid=lk_inline_manual_21" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Richard M. Nixon’s resignation</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and the aimlessness of the Gerald Ford administration, Republicans regrouped and </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/08/reaganism-outpolls-right-wing/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">became the party of Ronald Reagan</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">; his policies were not those I agreed with, but they were coherent and could be negotiated with. After </span><a class="contextual_link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/jimmy-carter/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">Jimmy Carter</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis lost successive presidential elections, </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/clintons-political-brilliance-on-full-display/2012/09/06/4f5da282-f7d5-11e1-8b93-c4f4ab1c8d13_blog.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_21" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; text-decoration-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-thickness: 0.0625em; text-decoration: none; text-underline-offset: 0.125em;" target="_blank">their party turned to Bill Clinton</a><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and the “new Democrats,” whose ideas were a break with the past — and, again, held together as an ideology.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you want the GOP to be a serious conservative political party and not a MAGA cult, send Republicans into the wilderness. Vote for Biden. Take away Republicans’ control of the House. Give Democrats a bigger majority in the Senate. Vote Republican officials out of statehouses, city halls and school boards.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Make the metaphorical ashes from which a new GOP can rise.</span></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://wapo.st/47Wf8Ey">Original.</a> (This is a Gifted article)</i></b></span></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><br /></p><p class="wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css overrideStyles font-copy" data-el="text" data-testid="drop-cap-letter" dir="null" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wpds-colors-gray40); font-family: var(--wpds-fonts-body); font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: var(--wpds-lineHeights-160); margin: 0px; padding-bottom: var(--wpds-space-150);"><br /></p></div></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-83960258421334610222024-01-25T12:10:00.000-06:002024-01-25T12:10:09.835-06:00A serious country?<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Normally, I don't publish any writings by conservatives, because they tend to lie about just about everything. But there are a few GOPers that also cannot stand Donald Trump and are unhappy about the direction of their party (headed to hell). Matt Lewis, who I have cursed at before when he parroted the party line of lies, seems to have seen the light. This column is worth the read.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="StandardHeader__title" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(2, 20, 31); color: #02141f; font-family: "Druk Web Italic", ArialNarrow-bold, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 70px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.6px; line-height: 75px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 3px;">New Hampshire Primary Takeaway: We Are Not a Serious Country</h1></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px;">by Matt Lewis</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px;">Daily Beast</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px;">Jan 23, 2024</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the words of the unfortunately named </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00016970" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Dick Tuck</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, “The people have spoken—the bastards.”</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the first time that a Republican non-incumbent has ever won both </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/iowa" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Iowa</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">and </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/new-hampshire" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">New Hampshire</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Barring some unforeseen miracle or major exogenous event, </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/donald-j-trump" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Donald Trump</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, for the third consecutive time, will be the Republican nominee for President of the United States of America.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Let’s stop for a second and appreciate the gravity of this moment. The </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-promise-to-pardon-jan-6-rioters-is-worse-than-watergate" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Jan. 6 Capitol riot</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> occurred three years ago, and the first chance the Republican Party had to rebuke this atrocity in a presidential election resulted in their endorsing it, via nominating the man responsible for inciting said riot.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Now, I don’t want to conflate the GOP with the rest of America. But we </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">are</em><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> talking about one of our two major political parties here. It stands to reason that the kind of people we choose to lead us says something about who we are, too. And what does Trump’s success suggest? We are not a serious country. We love entertainment. We are </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-didnt-cause-americas-bitter-partisanship-alone-but-he-made-it-a-lot-worse" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">tribalistic</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, and we crave an exciting strongman.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But I’ll reserve most of my criticism for the party that just (effectively) renominated Trump as its standard bearer.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">It’s time to drop the crap about reluctantly making a “binary choice” or Trump being the “lesser of two evils” when compared to </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/hillary-clinton" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Hillary Clinton</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/joe-biden" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Joe Biden</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Having rejected the options of Florida Gov. </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/ron-desantis" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Ron DeSantis</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> or U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, you</span><strong style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </strong><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">decided to </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/LUK.23.18-25" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">give us Barabbas</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Again.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Republican voters aren’t merely </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">settling</em><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> for Trump. For many, his chaotic behavior is a feature, not a bug. Perhaps it’s no surprise that, </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/23/politics/exit-poll-new-hampshire-primary/index.html" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">according to CNN exit polls</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, “about eight in ten of Trump’s voters denied the legitimacy of Biden’s election win in 2020…”</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is telling that the biggest moment of the 2024 GOP primary campaign came, not after Trump did something heroic or said something inspiring, but rather, </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://news.yahoo.com/trump-indictment-poll-surges-lead-desantis-151150006.html" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">the moment he was indicted</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">What does it say about a political party when being indicted boosts you in the polls?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Party of Lincoln has metastasized into a decadent and perverse cult of personality that </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://biblehub.com/isaiah/5-20.htm" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">calls evil good and good evil</a></b><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b>.</b> This metamorphosis is sometimes rationalized by a victimhood complex that sees America as fundamentally evil and her institutions (the justice system, the media, the FBI, the </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">establishment</em><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, etc.) as out to get them. In many ways, it’s everything I hated about the Democratic Party of my youth.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Keep in mind that </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikki-haley-and-ron-desantis-say-theyll-pardon-trump-why-bother-running" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Trump’s primary opponents did not run the aggressive races</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">that they were capable of running. Neither had the guts or the talent to run an assertive and effective campaign that might have wrested control of the GOP from Trump. I would love to see what might have happened if </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/7-reasons-ron-desantis-campaign-was-dead-on-arrival" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Ron had a heart</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/nikki-haleys-slavery-gaffe-shows-how-scared-she-is-of-maga-republicans" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Nikki had courage</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, but it’s also possible that a “</span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.illuminidol.com/products/ronald-reagan" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Jesus-Reagan</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, ‘24,” ticket still would have fallen short of beating Trump within the current GOP electorate.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Perhaps, if </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-needs-to-act-like-his-house-is-on-fire-because-it-is" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Joe Biden wasn’t so unpopular and old</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, Republicans may have been more inclined to elect someone like Haley. These counterfactuals are impossible to prove, and, in any event, they shouldn’t be used to absolve Republican voters of their sins.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Regardless of how Republicans </span><em style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">perceive </em><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Biden, he may prove to be more formidable than they suspect, in part because—outside the safe confines of the Republican primary electorate—Trump may prove to be weaker than they think.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’m not saying that Trump cannot win in November; he definitely can. But his (re)election is anything but a foregone conclusion.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">For one thing, it’s possible a conviction will come down before election day. Although it might perversely motivate his adoring fans, it will </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/20/us/politics/trump-poll-conviction-trials.html" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">cost him support among some Republicans</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, not to mention independents and swing voters.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Likewise, because Trump’s entire instinct is honed toward fan service, not persuasion or coalition building, he is likely to </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/23/trump-moderate-republicans-problem-00137112" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">leave some votes on the table from people who were once-reliable Republican enthusiasts</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Case in point: While Granite Staters were headed to the polls, I saw two tweets that illustrated this point. The first was a video montage of </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1749493928200429870" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Haley voters saying they probably wouldn’t vote for Trump again in 2024</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">. The second was an interview with Rep. </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/marjorie-taylor-greene" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, in which </span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=eradicating%20from%20the%20party&src=typed_query" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">she said that any</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">“Republican that isn’t willing to adapt [Trump’s] policies, we are completely eradicating from the party.”</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am reminded of the time Arizona gubernatorial candidate </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/kari-lake" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">Kari Lake</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> told supporters of former Sen. </span><a aria-label="" class="TrackingLink LinkWrapper" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/john-mccain" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">John McCain</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> to “</span><a class="LinkWrapper LinkWrapper--external" href="https://azdem.org/kari-lake-tells-mccain-republicans-to-get-the-hell-out-and-calls-white-nationalist-state-senator-wendy-rogers-a-hero/" style="caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; transition: color 0.15s ease 0s;">get the hell out</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">.” As you might recall, Lake lost. Well, with this presumptive nomination, the Republican Party is effectively saying the same thing to a ton of sane conservative voters.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The party’s over folks. Lock up when you leave. And will the last normie in the Republican Party please turn out the lights?</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65); color: #283741; font-family: Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-hampshire-primary-takeaway-we-are-not-a-serious-country">Original.</a></i></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(40, 55, 65);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-51614794529526561622024-01-17T11:12:00.004-06:002024-01-17T11:12:39.401-06:00God Made a Dictator<div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>This ad is a bit of a parody of that idiotic "God Made Trump" ad that recently polluted the airwaves. This one is much better.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/xOi2cYz5nXE?si=VWeTN6MeyZZjj2eH" width="480"></iframe>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-51342864314579986452024-01-15T21:09:00.001-06:002024-01-15T21:09:29.310-06:00silence is complicity<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Silence is complicity is a phrase we've heard now and then, and it rings true. By not protesting or opposing something, you are, in essence, complicit in it. Same goes for Trump. Trump's silence about all the death threats his supporters make against his opponents says Trump is complicit in it, and it even approving of it. Stochastic violence is his method. The guy is unfit for any elected office in this country. People will clear minds agree.</span></i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: "IM Fell English"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2024/01/trumps-silence-on-death-threats-is.html" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Trump's Silence on Death Threats Is Evidence Against Him</span></a></h3></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rude Pundit<br />Jan 14, 2024</span></h2><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I remember, as I'm sure you do, in the years after the 9/11 attacks, that every time some violence was committed by someone who was Muslim, the entire Muslim community in the United States was <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/american-muslims-san-bernardino-attack" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">expected</a>, if not forced, by the right and by the media to make a statement condemning the violence. It's always been an absolutely ludicrous thing since it presumes that a Muslim who committed a shooting represented all Muslims if the denouncement didn't happen. It also takes away focus from the very real Islamophobia and violence against Muslims in this country. But even though the local imam had nothing to do with a shooter, that imam always had to say on camera that Islam is a religion of peace and the shooter was really degrading his faith.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I also remember, as I'm sure you do, the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin. Sometimes, some people connected to the protests (very few people in the context of how huge the marches and rallies were) rioted and committed violence, looting and starting fires (allowing that some this might also have been caused by infiltrators). Any leaders who <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/13/fact-check-democrats-have-condemned-violence-linked-protests/3317862001/" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">supported</a> Black Lives Matter, any politician, especially Black politicians, had to get in front of reporters to condemn the violence and call on supporters to stop. This actually made sense. When some in your nonviolent movement get violent, you say something to try to end it or distance yourself from it, even if it's being blown out of proportion. A burning police station is never a good look. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So it's fascinating and horrific and entirely expected that former president/charity thief and current indicted felon/rapist/GOP frontrunner Donald Trump has not said a word to denounce the death threats, swatting incidents, and actual violence, including murder, done in his name. And that goes across the board. The regularity with which anyone who <a href="https://www.vox.com/23899688/2024-election-republican-primary-death-threats-trump" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">opposes</a> Trump gets death threats against them and their families means that it's a feature, not a bug, in the polluted MAGA ecosystem. We know that Republicans stay in line at least partly because they don't want to deal with the flood of violent crazies calling, messaging, and posting about the harm that will come to those heretical to the MAGA mob. And it's not just members of Congress or other elected officials who are the targets. We know that regular <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/10/election-workers-threats-political-violence" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">election</a> workers and regular federal government workers get called out by name by President Trump or one of his cabal of lickspittles, goons, and lackeys, and then their lives are made intolerable by the threats against them. Trump knows exactly what's going to happen, and he gleefully participates in it. It's why Judge Engoron in his fraud trial placed a gag order on Trump because he was making a clerk's life a nightmare.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In recent weeks, hoax calls to law enforcement have led to swatting against judges in Trump's cases (yet oddly not against Trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon), as well as against Special Counsel Jack Smith. Swatting is especially insidious because of the potential for such incidents to lead to unintended <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wichita-officer-who-killed-andrew-finch-swatting-mistake-won-t-n865626" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">death</a> and destruction. And, sorry, but I can't help but think of some MAGA cop using the opportunity to "accidentally" gun down someone who might put Trump behind bars. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This doesn't even get into the actual <a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/10/05/donald-trump-normalizes-political-violence-in-america" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">violence</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-politics-violence-far-right/" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">committed</a> by Trump supporters and MAGA redhats, from mass shootings to racist and homophobic <a href="https://americasvoice.org/trumphatemap/" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">attacks</a>. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And before you even say it, yes, there are incidents where someone on the left is to blame, like the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/police-confirm-christmas-swatting-incident-marjorie-taylor-greenes-hou-rcna131131" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">recent</a> swatting of Marjorie Taylor Greene. But, if asked, any leader on the left will call it out and condemn anyone who does it. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Trump revels in the bullying of anyone who breathes a negative thing about him. Over on his worthless Truth Toilet, he regularly, savagely degrades the judges and prosecutors and opposing attorneys and rape victim E. Jean Carroll. He recently <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/111747036118133959" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">posted </a>a clip of an interview with convicted Mafia member and murderer Sammy "the Bull" Gravano where the mobster said he couldn't "get" Trump, implying Trump was too honest. Trump implored, "Thank you to Sammy the Bull. I hope Judges Engoron & Kaplan see this. We need fairness, strength and honesty in our New York Courts. We don’t have it now!" That's right. A guy who had a hit list is a character witness. How is that not an implied threat? Trump <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/02/trump-call-violence-presidency" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">advocates</a> for violent people and threatens that violence will occur if he's not acquitted and re-elected. And he is perfectly content to let others suffer from the violence and the threats from his cult members. He can't be bothered to tell them to knock it off because it's part of a strategy of sowing chaos into the legal system.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Frankly, this silence on those committing or promising violence in his name, as well as his own threats, implied or otherwise, are of a piece with his inaction for most of January 6, 2021. Trump watched the insurrectionists riot and attack the Capitol. He could have immediately called for it to end and denounced everyone involved. But, as we know, he didn't. He <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/special-counsel-probe-uncovers-new-details-trumps-inaction/story?id=106131854" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">stayed</a> quiet for hours and watched to see if it would pay off in his favor, only grudgingly telling them to go home but assuring them that "we love you," thus giving them license to continue violently agitating. That's what he wants: others to do his bidding while he does nothing to stop them. His continuing silence should be used as evidence in his January 6 trial. It's a pattern of behavior to allow people to be hurt in his name.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It works both ways: if you have to condemn violence in your movement to prove you're nonviolent, then if you're not condemning violence in your movement, it means your movement is violent. And your followers. And you. And the justice system should deal with you as such.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2024/01/trumps-silence-on-death-threats-is.html">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-87887383269051706212024-01-12T16:58:00.000-06:002024-01-12T16:58:11.916-06:00Jamie Raskin Is DONE<div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Jamie Raskin unleashes a righteous rant against the GOP. Maybe some of it will get thru to these Trump cult members and prick their conscience. Maybe.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/hU5CPQOIWRE?si=bUQpDK9fHORH4uzN" width="480"></iframe>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-33859969672194812982024-01-11T20:58:00.005-06:002024-01-11T20:58:59.950-06:00Hunter Biden<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Here's Jeff Tiedrich on the recent appearance of Hunter Biden at the House committee hearing on the verge of holding him in contempt for not showing up...at the House committee hearing.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="post-title unpublished" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); line-height: var(--line-height-36); margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hunter Biden is just fucking with House Republicans now, and it’s a glorious sight to behold</span></h1></div><div><h3 class="subtitle" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: var(--print_secondary, var(--print_secondary_on_web_bg_color, var(--print_secondary, var(--color-secondary)))); font-family: var(--font_family_headings, var(--font_family_headings_preset, "SF Compact Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol")); font-size: var(--font-size-18); font-weight: 400; line-height: var(--line-height-24); margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: var(--size-12);">panicked Republicans had no clue how to react</h3></div><div><div class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__color-pub-primary-text--RzL7j frontend-pencraft-Text-module__line-height-20--p0dP8 frontend-pencraft-Text-module__font-meta--U_nxy frontend-pencraft-Text-module__size-11--k1e8b frontend-pencraft-Text-module__weight-medium--x7khA frontend-pencraft-Text-module__transform-uppercase--IDkUL frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ frontend-pencraft-Text-module__meta--jzHdd" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: var(--font-family-meta); font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 20px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><div class="profile-hover-card-target frontend-reader2-ProfileAndPublicationHoverCard-module__profileHoverCardTarget--Od_YL" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; display: inline-block;"><a class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__decoration-hover-underline--BEYAn frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ" href="https://substack.com/@jefftiedrich" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_on_web_bg_color, var(--color-primary)); list-style: none; margin: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: 0px; text-decoration: unset;">JEFF TIEDRICH</a></div></div><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-4 pc-reset" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; column-gap: 4px; display: flex; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; list-style: none; row-gap: 4px;"><div class="pencraft pc-reset frontend-pencraft-Text-module__color-pub-secondary-text--OzRTa frontend-pencraft-Text-module__line-height-20--p0dP8 frontend-pencraft-Text-module__font-meta--U_nxy frontend-pencraft-Text-module__size-11--k1e8b frontend-pencraft-Text-module__weight-medium--x7khA frontend-pencraft-Text-module__transform-uppercase--IDkUL frontend-pencraft-Text-module__reset--dW0zZ frontend-pencraft-Text-module__meta--jzHdd" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--color-secondary-themed); font-family: var(--font-family-meta); font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 20px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; text-decoration: unset; text-transform: uppercase;">JAN 11, 2024</div></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScid4U202LLXRbrellVP-eJnWV1PlnyaFQnXKkTIjDvNo4SHEJXCmb4khfHhgagqj_11xknmRzqfS1f5LJku07fhwoVjBgyPDYVxKllmNz-dRHhcf0IQzUHRMDvbAl5ULKZDO5X6H02zrIaJSRQQp4uQDbjGsxRGRHQwDzpLy0pM9_1mU8LgPmCd-0dLr/s1456/Hunter%20Biden%20leaving%20House%20hearing.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="1456" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScid4U202LLXRbrellVP-eJnWV1PlnyaFQnXKkTIjDvNo4SHEJXCmb4khfHhgagqj_11xknmRzqfS1f5LJku07fhwoVjBgyPDYVxKllmNz-dRHhcf0IQzUHRMDvbAl5ULKZDO5X6H02zrIaJSRQQp4uQDbjGsxRGRHQwDzpLy0pM9_1mU8LgPmCd-0dLr/w473-h266/Hunter%20Biden%20leaving%20House%20hearing.jpeg" width="473" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;">Hunter Biden is fresh out of fucks, and he just grabbed the GOP by the scruff of their necks and rubbed their faces in their own clownish stupidity.</span></p><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></div><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Wednesday started out perfectly normal enough. House Republicans, instead of actually working to solve any of America’s looming problems — for instance, there’s that held-together-with-spit-and-baling-wire budget agreement that expires in eight days — chose instead to focus on the all-important task of holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to show up for their bullshit closed-door kabuki hearings.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">and so everyone assembled, all the usual suspects took their places, cameras started rolling, and everyone got ready for James Comer to start </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">yap-yap-yapping</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> about </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">canceled checks</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> and </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">secret phone calls</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> like some fucked-up Elmer Fudd on meth —</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">when all of a sudden, </span><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">who saunters right onto the floor of the committee room but Hunter Fucking Biden himself. </strong><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">he elbowed his way through the crowd and sat right down in the front row and was all </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">hey assholes, get a load of me</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">. </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">anybody want to see my freakishly ginormous dick?</em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">ok, I may have made that last part up.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">did chaos ensue? oh my dear friends, fuck yes, it absolutely did — and it was a glorious thing to behold.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">nobody saw it coming — Hunter’s appearance was unanounced — and panicked Republicans had no clue how to react. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">dude, we’re trying hold you in contempt for not showing up, and you just showed up. bro, what the fuck?</em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Nancy Mace, the </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/11/nancy-mace-republican-scarlet-letter-t-shirt" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">scarlet moron</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> from South Carolina, called Biden “</span><a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1745103167379914901" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">the epitome of white privilege</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">,” because apparently words no longer have meanings.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">she also accused Hunter of having no balls — something she knows is false, because Marjorie Taylor Green showed everyone a photo of Hunter’s balls a few months ago.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">speaking of Old Three Toes, Hunter chose the moment she opened her braying mouth to </span><a href="https://twitter.com/BidensWins/status/1745120225962455154" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">get up and walk out of the room</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">, taking all the cameras and attention with him, leaving Sporky to sputter incoherently about how unfair it all was.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="background-color: white;">at that point, the hearing descended into total pandemonium, with Marge caterwauling at the top of her lungs while committee members argued with each other.</span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">and god love Jared Moskowitz, because that was the moment he chose </span><a href="https://twitter.com/MaxwellFrostFL/status/1745122782281666910" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">to hold up a poster-size photo</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> of Jeffrey Epstein cavorting with a well-known sex offender.</span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15qXwxyyhy8pVORvyfSyi-wCkkGqqBeMT9j5bCladbnoQIZojlA5amEQCbRMQGy0ZvKmd4NN5wvsTXHFfQ-ms3cbrfcXTtv1HVRCNAToIUlQ9pY8-37XdSktb3NpWj3-yBKle1hgvTJjiSikNmz_ANUrkM94Ppx9-b6v_W7Fagaay6IISFLBa_N7CcnRv/s1245/7ca7cfde-e5ee-4c01-95c1-3cfaea6d857c_1245x700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1245" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15qXwxyyhy8pVORvyfSyi-wCkkGqqBeMT9j5bCladbnoQIZojlA5amEQCbRMQGy0ZvKmd4NN5wvsTXHFfQ-ms3cbrfcXTtv1HVRCNAToIUlQ9pY8-37XdSktb3NpWj3-yBKle1hgvTJjiSikNmz_ANUrkM94Ppx9-b6v_W7Fagaay6IISFLBa_N7CcnRv/w480-h270/7ca7cfde-e5ee-4c01-95c1-3cfaea6d857c_1245x700.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Moskowitz also took </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1745104669695684780" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">a well-aimed shot</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> at the GOP’s clownfoolery.</span></span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">“so I’m listening to the gentle lady from South Carolina about the witness being afraid to come in front of the committee. that’s interesting. he’s here. he doesn’t seem to be too afraid.”</em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></span></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">in all seriousness, can no one get Paul Gosar the help he obviously needs? he’s a fucking mess.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">let’s get back back to Marjorie Taylor Greene, because she had one more unforced self-own up her sleeve. she demanded to be allowed to introduce “evidence,” at which point Jamie Raskin objected, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/HeartlandSignal/status/1745126606136307823" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">for obvious reasons</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Raskin: “in the past, she’s displayed pornography. are pornographic photos allowed to be displayed in this comittee room?” </span><br style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;" /><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Greene: “it’s not pornography.”</span><br style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;" /><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Raskin: “ok well you’re the expert.”</span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">social media took this ball and ran with it. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarjorieTaylorPeen?src=hashtag_click" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">#MarjorieTaylorPeen</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> trended on not-twitter for most of the day.</span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">this is how you do it, folks. these are not serious people, and there is no reason to take their bullshit seriously. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">the only way to deal with these full-of-themselves Republicans is to mock them right to their faces, and point out their hypocrisy.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">these incompetent clownsticks can’t even manage to name a post office, must less get any actual legislating done.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">they have earned our utter contempt, so let’s keep showing it to them.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><div style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px;"><hr style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background: var(--color-detail-themed); border: 0px; height: 1px; margin: var(--size-32) 0; padding: 0px;" /></div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">note: this post only scratches the surface of the wall-to-wall insanity of yesterday’s hearing. it was a complete shit-show from beginning to end. Aaron Rupar’s video clips of the whole enchilada </span><a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1745101685012210161?refresh=1704908604" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">can be found here</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">.</span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 18px; text-align: center;"><strong style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">everyone is entitled to my own opinion</strong></em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"> is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</span></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/hunter-biden-is-just-fucking-with?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1162742&post_id=140553934&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1psx3o&utm_medium=email&fbclid=IwAR1QjnG93gY2vHk1mbA5kBHVUiZXwU6iW6362cPmuUirNUOW6DztvW7lY9s">Original.</a> </i></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">(There are some videos and pictures at the Original link)</span></b></i></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-21039885945514768292024-01-08T23:51:00.004-06:002024-01-08T23:51:52.812-06:00Loser<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Noel Casler, who worked with Trump during "The Apprentice" (another totally fake show), has some insight into the orange slobfather.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Loser</b></span></div><div>by Noel Casler</div><div>January 8, 2024</div><div><br /></div><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Much of Donald Trump’s business model, for lack of a better term, has been derived from picking on ‘poor people’.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"> </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">His father, Fred Trump, received subsidized ‘New Deal’ era FHA loans to build housing for low income NYC residents and returning WWII G.I.s and their families. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Fred then spent the subsequent decades ripping off his tenants, passing building upgrades on to the renters and cheating the city and federal government out of their share of the taxes. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Without an ounce of remorse or obligation to the government or communities that helped him build his real estate empire. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Donnie’s dad also racially discriminated in his housing that was designed for working class families by not allowing Black tenants to rent apartments.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">This culminated in a 1973 lawsuit brought by the DOJ against Trump Management in which both Donald and his father were defendants.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Fred Trump was so notorious in his day that he had even earned the ire of none other than Woody Guthrie, perhaps America’s greatest chronicler of the poor and disenfranchised. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Written in 1954, Guthrie’s song titled ‘Old Man Trump’ was about Fred Trump’s racially discriminatory rental policies - that Guthrie himself witnessed living in a Trump property in Gravesend, Brooklyn. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Guthrie also revised another song “Ain’t Got No Home” with the lyrics: </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">‘Beach Haven is Trump’s Tower/Where no Black folks come to roam/ No no, Old Man Trump!/Old Beach Haven ain’t my home!’</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Woody Guthrie had an eye for the truth and a penchant for speaking out against injustice - a tradition carried on by the ensuing generations of Guthrie family folk singers, several of whom I count as personal friends. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The two clans provide an example of what we can choose to pass on to future generations: progress and equality, progressive artistic expression and a righteous belief in a better land or in the case of the Trump’s, greed and racism in service of self-gain. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">After being banished from Germany on charges of cowardice for refusing to serve in the Bavarian army, Trump’s grandfather came to the U.S. and opened brothels in the Pacific Northwest. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">A fitting prologue for the grandson who would receive no less than five draft deferments during the Vietnam war and would allow the Russian mob to operate brothels in Trump Tower beginning in the late 1980s. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Trump’s grandfather happily took the earnings of those who sought their fortunes in the Klondike Gold Rush era and ventured into his brothels. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Tempting men with vice and exploiting the women lured into prostitution. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">A morally dubious a business venture if ever there was one.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">A hundred years between the two men and the same character defects and cowardice are on display.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">It’s in the Trump DNA as much as a receding hairline and a propensity towards addictive behavior and compulsive mendacity.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump’s father was arrested at a KKK riot in 1927 that involved over a thousand men dressed in white robes and attempting to disrupt a Memorial Day parade in Queens, New York. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump grew up in the affluent community of Jamaica Estates, Queens in a five bedroom Tudor-style home, replete with blackface lawn jockeys lining the approach to his columned front door. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Every bit a ‘McMansion’ in its day. The garish and gaudy with an undercurrent of white supremacy has always been a family aesthetic. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The image of the lawn jockeys, first reported by a University of Pennsylvania classmate who visited the Trump home for the weekend, speaks volumes about the character and climate that Donald was raised in and how he has subsequently carried those malignant traditions into his life since boyhood.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump even made his own coat of arms when he opened his Aberdeen, Scotland golf course; pilfering the imagery from another clan - his bloodline is in no way aristocratic no matter what fantasies he harbors. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Trump is a second generation immigrant like so many of the Americans he knowingly seduces with xenophobia and outright bigotry towards migrants. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">When his mother, Mary Anne McLeod, was seventeen she immigrated to the U.S. on a ship from Glasgow, Scotland with $50 dollars to her name. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Mary Anne worked for several years as a domestic servant before meeting Trump’s father. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Nothing shameful or uncommon about that story (though Donald conveniently leaves it out of personal mythology) and it certainly echoes the lineage of hardworking folks who continue to follow a similar path today.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The difference being they are not coming so much from European countries as they are from Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East, all regions that the Republican Party, led by Trump, has built their ideology around demonizing. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">The Trump real estate empire that began under his forefathers has now morphed into a political one - driven by the branding and blatant racism that Trump has unleashed on the American public. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">There was a huge market for this: the fields had been plowed and fertilized in advance by Fox News and the deregulations, dog-whistle racism and outsourcing of America’s manufacturing economy during the Reagan Era. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The ‘Rust Belt’ rather quickly devolving into the ‘Racist Belt’ after a couple decades of a pharmaceutical company-backed opioid epidemic and the tsunami of guns that have poured into American communities thanks to the NRA and its vice grip on GOP politicians. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump’s aims are for personal profit. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He has masterfully exploited the ignorance and greed of not only the politicians and businessmen that helped build MAGA into the tumor it now represents in the body politic but also married the movement with conservative evangelical Christianity so that it has now achieved cult-like fervor in most of red state America. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump of course hopes to return to office to avoid the 91 felony counts in the four criminal indictments he now faces after his disastrous first term in office. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">His adult children are also complicit and at least partially on the hook for the NYC criminal fraud cases involving his corporate malfeasance at the Trump Organization both during and before he was in office. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">This is not even mentioning the decades of sexual assault accusations that have always swirled around him like the flies that follow his fetid funk on the golf course in July. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">When Donald Trump owned his eponymous casinos in Atlantic City he was one of the innovators of busing his customers in from states west of New Jersey.</em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Places like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky received casino coaches that would ferry mostly older, mostly retired, fixed-income pensioners and Social Security recipients back to the Jersey shore for a day of gambling. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">After they poured their monthly stipend into Trump’s slot machines (which by the way had the lowest payouts of any in Atlantic City) he would send them back home broke without so much as a free lunch. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The enticement and excitement of glamour more often than not ended in empty hours and empty bellies while the miles rolled away on rainy turnpikes and highways as the come-down settled in like the rust and rot that was already attacking their communities from within. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Perhaps a metaphor for things to come when the MAGA circus pulled into town and set up its big tent a few decades later. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Same promise, same zero payout. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Rinse and repeat - a scam’s a scam in the Trump clan.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump was of course not alone among casino operators in these practices -and the gamblers themselves surely bear some responsibility - but it sure does speak to the lack of moral character of the man who profited from it. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Knowingly taking money from folks who can’t afford to lose it and specifically targeting those people is the definition of predatory - Trump’s modus operandi as a political leader. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">It also says a lot about the businesses Trump likes to brand himself as successfully piloting. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Most of them ending in bankruptcies, including the casinos that also operated as fronts for mob-backed, money laundering operations.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Most notably, Trump Taj Mahal, which when it opened, ignored all financial laws and regulations designed to prevent money laundering, later resulting in a 10 million dollar FinCEN fine imposed in 2015. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">In 1989, at the height of his boom years of casino money laundering, three Atlantic City Trump Organization executives were summoned to NYC by Donald to appear at a press conference for a boxing match - at the same time they were rumored to be cooperating with a federal investigation into money laundering at Trump’s casinos.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump chartered a rental helicopter to ferry his executives back home despite owning his own Sikorsky helicopters with his name emblazoned on the side in giant silver letters. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The helicopter went down in the Pine Barrens on its return trip to Atlantic City killing everyone on board. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">After the deaths of his executives, Trump lied and said he himself was supposed to be on board the flight which his executive V.P. Barbara Res later said was an outright lie. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The deaths of the executives ended any cooperation that may have been taking place between the federal investigators and the Trump organization. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He’s always been lucky like that; the folks caught up in crimes, not so much. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Trump has now placed his political future in the same demographic he exploited in his casino days. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Inundating them with constant barrages of texts and emails pleading for cash for his campaign and legal defense. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Often signing them up for recurring payments through pre-checked boxes and digital sleight of hand fine print. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Predatory, like every other facet of his life and business.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He then diverts the money into his clubs and personal accounts and asks for more and more. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Rinse and repeat. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Preying on so-called Christian Evangelicals with limited incomes and educations. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Culturally reactionary folks who have been brainwashed for generations by preachers and pundits that have never had their best interest at heart. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Offering salvation and redemption for a low, low monthly payment but they must give now lest they suffer the purgatory of liberalism and the heathens who threaten the patriotic way of life.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Trump has added retribution into this narrative and its become irresistible manna for the well-armed militants in the MAGA army. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">All the while exploiting those around him and serving foreign interests to the tune of $7.8 billion poured into his private businesses from foreign entities during his last term in office. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Trump is, by a country mile, the most corrupt individual to ever serve as President of the United States. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He has built an empire out of a misinformed base and the spineless GOP politicians that genuflect to him daily. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">In the end, there may be no greater victims of his misdeeds and malfeasance than his own followers when and if the smoke finally clears. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">MAGA has so far rewarded him with subservience and violence, two things he hungers for from deep inside his battered psyche.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Their actions on January 6th, 2021 may be the opening battle in the war he is waging on Democracy itself. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Of course, I pray this is not the case but judging by how well armed his followers are and how he has been able to rewrite the history of that awful day’s events, I fear there may be greater violence and upheaval to come. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">I also believe that would be Trump’s greatest wish - he was never really a builder but always a destroyer.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">A broken man from birth who has cajoled and exploited ignorance and avarice with equal measure. </em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></em></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">And has found no shortage of awful men and women willing to go along with his plans. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He has branded chaos and contempt, turning his followers against the very principles that once defined us as a people. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">He must be stopped: this November and every day up until that point, it is incumbent on all of us to make sure this awful chapter in our collective history finally comes to an end. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Be well.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; 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--tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://noelcasler.substack.com/p/loser?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1098727&post_id=140494342&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1psx3o&utm_medium=email">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: "SF Pro Display", -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Inter, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-3257806720900168012024-01-05T22:11:00.003-06:002024-01-05T22:11:45.481-06:00President Biden<div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>President Biden's remarks for the (ugly) anniversary of January 6, 2021. Thank goodness we kicked out that shitty clown. Now we have to put him away.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/ictnsmrAntc?si=G08K8CeAVeBTl5ns" width="400"></iframe>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-9193958420651673712024-01-04T22:59:00.000-06:002024-01-04T22:59:08.291-06:00Trump Blocked<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Those of us with normally-functioning brains knew that there was minimal fraud in the 2020 presidential election, certainly not enough to affect the outcome. Yet Trump persisted with the "stolen election" myth. After all, he was raking in the bucks from the stupid rubes by lying his ass off. While we normal people have know this all along, it's always good to hear Republicans admit that there was no fraud. This article appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 data-test-locator="headline" style="color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 2.46em; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 1.25; margin: 0px;">Trump’s Voter Fraud Investigator: We Proved There Was No Fraud</h1></div><div><div class="caas-attr-item-author" style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 16px; position: relative;"><span class="caas-author-byline-collapse" data-id="m-0">Adam Rawnsley</span></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;"><span class="lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-012"><span style="color: #6e7780; font-size: 14px;">Tue, January 2, 2024</span></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;"><span class="lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-012">When former President</span> <span aria-haspopup="dialog" class="caas-xray-inline caas-xray-entity caas-xray-pill rapid-nonanchor-lt" data-entity-id="Donald_Trump" data-ylk="cid:Donald_Trump;pos:1;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" style="border-color: transparent transparent rgb(126, 31, 255); border-radius: 0px; border-style: solid solid dashed; border-width: 1px; box-shadow: none; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 28px; min-width: 30px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="0"><a class="link " data-i13n="cid:Donald_Trump;pos:1;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" data-rapid_p="15" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:Donald Trump;cid:Donald_Trump;pos:1;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:Politician;" href="https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Donald%20Trump" style="cursor: pointer; pointer-events: none; text-decoration: none;" tabindex="-1">Donald Trump</a></span> lost the 2020 election, he hired Ken Block’s data mining firm to try and find evidence to back up the wild allegations Trump and his campaign were making about voter fraud. Instead, Block found none, and now his work could be used to help prosecute Trump.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">“I’ve received subpoenas from both Jack Smith’s federal investigation into potential crimes related to Jan. 6 and also Fani Willis’ investigation of potential election crimes committed in Georgia,” Block told <em>Rolling Stone</em> in an interview. “All of my work and all of my work product for the campaign is in the hands of both of those investigations. And the totality of that work shows and proves no voter fraud was found.”</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The Trump campaign hired Block’s firm, Simpatico Software Systems, shortly after the election, as it was trying — and failing — to investigate 15 different categories of voter fraud claims with the goal of finding evidence it could use in court. Trump’s campaign <a class="link " data-rapid_p="16" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:reported;elm:context_link;itc:0" href="https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&recipient_name=Simpatico+Systems&max_date=12%2F31%2F2024" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #003abc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reported</a> paying the firm $755,000 in November 2020.</p><div class="caas-da" style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;"><div id="sda-INARTICLE"></div></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">In a new <a class="link " data-rapid_p="17" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:opinion piece;elm:context_link;itc:0" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2024/01/02/trump-lies-voter-fraud-2020-impact-2024-election/72057016007/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #003abc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">opinion piece</a> published Tuesday, Block says his firm found only a tiny amount of voter fraud spread almost equally between Democratic and Republican voters. None of it, he wrote, was significant enough to have affected the election.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">“Those findings were communicated to the top of Trump’s campaign apparatus,” Block now says in an interview. As the Trump campaign struggled to vet fraud claims, campaign staff briefed an incredulous White House chief of staff <span aria-haspopup="dialog" class="caas-xray-inline caas-xray-entity caas-xray-pill rapid-nonanchor-lt" data-entity-id="Mark_Meadows" data-ylk="cid:Mark_Meadows;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;" style="border-color: transparent transparent rgb(126, 31, 255); border-radius: 0px; border-style: solid solid dashed; border-width: 1px; box-shadow: none; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 28px; min-width: 30px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="0"><a class="link " data-i13n="cid:Mark_Meadows;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;" data-rapid_p="18" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:Mark Meadows;cid:Mark_Meadows;pos:2;elmt:wiki;sec:pill-inline-entity;elm:pill-inline-text;itc:1;cat:OfficeHolder;" href="https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Mark%20Meadows" style="cursor: pointer; pointer-events: none; text-decoration: none;" tabindex="-1">Mark Meadows</a></span>. Meadows, in turn, eventually told Trump himself in December of 2020 that the voter fraud allegations from top campaign attorney Rudy Giuliani <a class="link " data-rapid_p="19" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:were all bogus;elm:context_link;itc:0" href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/chief-staff-mark-meadows-granted-immunity-tells-special/story?id=104231281" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #003abc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">were all bogus</a>.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">The Trump campaign leveraged a number of false voter fraud conspiracy theories to fuel its litigation efforts to overturn election results, including a December 2020 lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. But Block says that, even as some in the Trump campaign were eager to pursue the most outlandish theories, his firm’s methodical work disproving voter fraud claims helped block multiple lawsuits.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">“We stopped lawsuits whose foundation was terrible data. More than once,” Block says.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Even as many in the campaign, like Giuliani, pressed ahead with wild conspiracy claims, “the non-reckless side of the campaign did conduct due diligence, wanted to know the honest truth about the data and what it told us, and they did the right thing in communicating that information up the chain,” Block recalls.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">Block’s book, “Disproven,” is <a class="link " data-rapid_p="20" data-v9y="1" data-ylk="slk:scheduled for release in March;elm:context_link;itc:0" href="https://www.amazon.com/Disproven-Unbiased-Campaign-Improve-Elections/dp/1637632851/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1N8OHWCT19GGK&keywords=ken+block+trump&qid=1704225877&sprefix=ken+block+trump%2Caps%2C94&sr=8-1&asc_source=yahoo-politics&asc_campaign=yahoo-politics&asc_refurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rollingstone.com%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitics-news%2Ftrump-voter-fraud-investigator-proved-there-was-no-fraud-1234939275%2F&tag=rollingstoneyahoo-20" rel="nofollow noopener" style="color: #003abc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">scheduled for release in March</a>, and he says the memoir of his work on the 2020 campaign also contains data on why Trump lost the election.</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); color: #232a31; font-family: "YahooSans VF", "Yahoo Sans", YahooSans, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.385em; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;">“There is data now available that shows exactly why Trump lost the election,” he says. “I did that analysis. I have the results. A lot of people will be very surprised by what is, in effect, a very logical reason for why he lost, but I go through an entire proof that shows what happened.”</p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/trump-voter-fraud-investigator-proved-223724996.html">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(35, 42, 49); line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-73551078581121732282024-01-02T11:22:00.003-06:002024-01-02T11:22:41.911-06:00year to double down<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>This is a post by Adam Kinzinger, the Illinois Republican who served with Liz Cheney as the only 2 Republicans on the January 6 Committee. For that, both of them were drummed out of the GOP. You could say they were the only 2 Republicans with actual integrity.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 class=" serif-600b mb-2 mx-4 leading-500 text-spidertooth-1000 dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " data-testid="article-excerpt-modal-view" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 1rem 0.5rem; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">2024: The Year to Double Down</span></h2><div class="relative" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(69, 76, 94); position: relative;"><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 27px;">By </span><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 27px;">Adam Kinzinger</span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">There has been a reality that has existed probably since the beginning of humanity, but has been evident in recent years in American politics. The forces of chaos are exhausting, depressing, and can drive us to a feeling of helplessness. We try to talk logic and truth into a portion of the population which feels threatened by such things, and our temptation is to throw up our hands, and give up.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is exactly what the forces of chaos are counting on. You see, the chaos that drains us- energizes them.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">I often think back to my Grandfathers service in World War 2. Joining the Army Air Corps at the old age of 24, he trained over a year stateside before entering Europe to operate behind German lines after Normandy. My grandpa could never talk about the war, the one time her tried with me he broke down in tears. Many of his stories died with him, but we have recently begun knitting together the snippets of what he told various kids, and now we have a better picture. His story is his, but I know that in the vigor of battle he operated heroically, often taking missions himself because he felt an affection for the guys he led, and worried about their lives. But we also know he hit a wall, and his letters after the war revealed a man ready to come home, and somewhat disillusioned with his country leaving him to occupy Europe into 1946. Regardless, I know when he returned he was proud of his service even if he could not revisit it in his mind.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I was in Iraq, we were proud of our missions, but a significant amount of time was spent complaining about missed birthdays, holidays, 120 degree heat, etc. Complaining is a soldier’s favorite past time, how else can you defeat shear boredom (besides turning curse words into verbs and adjectives). We wanted to be home.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In those moments, my grandpa, my men in Iraq and I, felt exhausted. Yet when we think back to those moments, we don’t remember that. We miss those days. The complaining seems trivial now, and in my discussions with my guys we often revisit those days with humor and a sense of longing.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Such is human nature. And this is the moment we find ourselves in today. Granted, our lives are not on the line, we aren’t surrounded by (much) danger, but we are tired. We feel like we can’t make a difference, but we can, we are, and we will.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This year will bring many days where we feel defeated and like the fight for America’s soul isn’t worth the cost. But it is. In a decade or two we will tell our kids and grandkids about this moment and how we stepped up to be the bulwark against the forces of evil in the nation seeking to tear us down.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">We will prevail, I am confident of that. Not because of polls, or anything that can shift on a daily basis. I am confident because I know and have seen that in this time, Americans of all background and philosophies have put aside their differences in defense of what we hold close…freedom, and self-governance. We are not whiners, complainers, and victims, as the former President wants us to be. We are strivers, innovators, and self-sufficient winners.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark italic" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-style: italic; line-height: 27px;">This will be the year of the winner, and the year the whiner finally goes away forever</span><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;">.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, buckle up. Sign up to join me in this battle. We are going to have quite a few days where we shake our head, and wonder if it’s time to give up. It isn’t, and the rewards will be great when we hold the line, and retake ground for our nation. More importantly, we will be able to tell our kids and grandkids about how WE were part of the battle to take our nation back.</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark font-bold" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-weight: 700; line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And we won!</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"></span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); line-height: 27px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Happy new year! Let’s get ready for battle, there is no other fight I’d rather engage in together!</span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><span class=" serif-500 leading-[150%] text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://post.news/@/adamkinzinger/2aJcj68wJeBEXI9Mx8udCH8RRPQ">Original.</a></i></b></span></span></p><p class=" serif-500 mx-4 pb-3 text-spidertooth-1000-light dark:text-spidertooth-1000-dark leading-[150%] " style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-text-opacity: 1; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0 0 0 / var(--tw-text-opacity)); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 1rem; padding-bottom: 0.75rem; word-break: break-word;"><br /></p></div></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-70345852655324486582023-12-29T15:52:00.003-06:002023-12-29T15:52:48.766-06:00Hope in 2024<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Looking for some optimism for 2024? Simon Rosenberg has some.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="article-hero-headline__htag lh-none-print black-print" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--color); font-family: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--font-family); line-height: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--line-height); margin: var(--article-hero-headline--htag--margin);"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Biden’s 2024 chances are much stronger than people realize</span></h1></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: PublicoHeadline, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; font-size: 24px;">Two things have happened to Trump since 2020 that are going to make it very hard for him to win in 2024</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: FoundersGroteskCond, "Arial Narrow", Arial; font-size: 20px;">By </span><span class="byline-name" data-testid="byline-name" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: FoundersGroteskCond, "Arial Narrow", Arial; font-size: 20px;">Simon Rosenberg, Democratic strategist</span></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"><span style="font-size: large;">As we head into 2024, the <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/chris-matthews-biden-has-to-grow-the-minority-and-youth-vote-200944197565" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">conventional wisdom</a> is that <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/youth-poll-harvard-biden-rcna128134" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Democrats are on the back foot</a> for <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/2024-presidential-election" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">next year’s elections</a>. But there are three reasons I am optimistic that 2024 is going to be a good year for Democrats:</span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">First, President<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-content-strong);"> </strong>Joe Biden has kept his central promise in the 2020 election: that he would lead the nation to the other side of Covid, successfully. The <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/coronavirus" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">pandemic has receded</a>. Our economic recovery <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/7-reasons-the-u-s-economy-is-among-the-strongest-in-the-g7/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">has been better than any other G7 nation</a>. GDP grew <a href="https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-state-and-personal-income-state-3rd-quarter-2023" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">at an annual rate of 4.9%</a> last quarter, and more than<a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> 3% for the Biden presidency</a>. We have <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the best job market since the 1960s</a> and <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/08/03/new-hhs-report-shows-national-uninsured-rate-reached-all-time-low-2023-after-record-breaking-aca-enrollment-period.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the lowest uninsured rate</a> in U.S. history. The Dow Jones <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-rallies-500-points-record-closes-37000-first-time-rcna129612" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">broke 37,000 this month for the first time</a>. Wage growth, <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BABATOTALSAUS" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">new business formation</a> and <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/02/jobs-report-workers-prime-age-labor-force-participation" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">prime-age labor participation rates</a> are all at historically elevated levels. Prices <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/26/stock-markets-inflation-mission-accomplished.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">fell — yes, fell — last month</a>. Rents <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/26/stock-markets-inflation-mission-accomplished.html#:~:text=So%20when%20the%20report%20says,headline%20figure's%20just%202.6%25%20higher." style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">are softening</a>, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gas-prices-fall-demand-oil-decline-ea4138be69adca872301ce9721770aa9" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">gas prices</a> and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/people-think-crime-rate-up-actually-down-rcna129585" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">crime rates are falling</a>. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2023/10/08/doubters-beware-us-oil-production-is-setting-new-records/?sh=53f8492c6767" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Domestic oil</a> and <a href="https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">renewable production</a> are at record levels. The annual deficit, which <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/200410/surplus-or-deficit-of-the-us-governments-budget-since-2000/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">exploded under Trump</a>, is trillions less today. </span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consumer sentiment <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/consumer-confidence-at-highest-level-in-months-survey-finds-200928837822" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">has risen sharply in recent weeks</a>, and measures of life, job and income satisfaction <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-economy-is-remarkably-strong__;!!PIZeeW5wscynRQ!q-BTqk2KR2eWOG1kvKubmSmUwwof23eatyHBqU6VMvpgxDBzzQpmqy4XLDyFdzEIYq4Ps2H66GZ-oJIhjD8BeQ$" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">are remarkably high</a>. There is no doubt that recent years have been hard — Covid, an insurrection at the Capitol, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, repeated OPEC price hikes, global and domestic inflation — but it is increasingly clear that America is getting to the other side of this challenging period, and are in a far better place than when President Biden took office. </span></p><div id="taboolaReadMoreBelow" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville;"></div><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Second, the strength of the president’s record is only matched by the strength of his party.<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-content-strong);"> </strong>I don’t think it is widely understood how strong the Democratic Party is right now. The party has won more votes in seven of the past eight presidential elections, something no party has done in modern American history. Over the last four presidential elections, Democrats have averaged 51% of the popular vote, their best showing over four national elections since the 1930s.</span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In both 2022 and 2023, Democrats prevented the historical down ballot struggle of the party in power and had two remarkably successful elections. In <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/2022-midterm-elections/results/live-blog/midterm-elections-live-updates-2022-results-rcna52821" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the 2022 midterms</a>, Democrats’ statewide margins were greater than the 2020 presidential margins in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania — all recent battleground states. That showing led the party to pick up a Senate seat, four state legislative chambers and two governorships, and helped keep the House of Representatives close, making it far more likely Republicans lose it in 2024. </span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This year, Democrats <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/wisconsin-election-results-abortion-court-rcna78143" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">flipped a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin</a>; <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/ohio-issue-1-abortion-results-rcna123793" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">defeated a six-week abortion ban in Ohio</a>; <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/virginia-election-results-flipped-democratic-wins-rcna124152" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">kept the Virginia state house</a>, debunking the idea that Republicans could hide behind a 15-week abortion ban; and took state legislative seats, municipalities and school board seats across the country. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kentucky-election-results-governor-andy-beshear-rcna123391" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">grew his margin of victory from 2019</a>, and Republicans lost mayoral elections in <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/05/22/colorado-springs-yemi-mobolade/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Colorado Springs</a>, Colorado, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrat-donna-deegan-flips-jacksonville-mayors-office-major-upset-rcna84791" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jacksonville</a>, Florida, two of the largest GOP-controlled cities in the country. And in over three dozen state legislative special elections around the country, <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ajyphWQru9TgDDiBe8kvEmApBEXND2wl9MVaxi1dndk/edit?pli=1#gid=0" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Democrats outperformed 2020</a><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-content-strong);"> </strong>– an election we won by 4.5 percentage points — by an average of 5 percentage points. </span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">While in 2022, Republicans could point to gains in <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/03/1139399457/republican-house-wins-new-york" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-11-21/california-role-2022-midterm-elections" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">California</a> to offset their losses in the battleground states, there were no places in 2023 where they outperformed expectations. A blue wave washed across the U.S. in 2023, and this ongoing strong performance of the Democratic Party in election after election, in all parts of the country, should fill Biden’s supporters with confidence.</span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally, while Democrats keep winning, conventional wisdom continues to overly discount Trump’s historic baggage and MAGA’s repeated electoral failures. Despite these repeated failures, Republicans are on the cusp of nominating Trump again, who this time is an even more degraded and dangerous version of MAGA than he was in 2020.</span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Two things have happened to Trump since 2020 that are going to make it very hard for him to win in 2024 — the stripping away of women’s reproductive rights, and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election and end American democracy for all time. Additionally, this year courts have <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">already</em> determined that he <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/e-jean-carroll-trump-rape-defamation-trial-verdict-rcna83447" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">sexually abused</a>journalist E. Jean Carroll in a department store; oversaw <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/full-text-trump-civil-fraud-ruling-new-york-pdf-rcna117499" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a yearslong financial fraud</a>; and <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-colorado-ballot-supreme-court-rcna130626" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">led a party-wide effort</a>, involving hundreds of Republican leaders and thousands of willing allies, to overturn the last election, culminating in a violent attack on Congress. </span></p><p class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin: 1.5rem 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Democrats will be able to argue that no one is more responsible for <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/watch-trump-brags-about-killing-roe-v-wade-197374021914" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">overturning Roe v. Wade</a> than Trump; that his mishandling of classified documents is to blame for the <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/read-trump-indictment-jack-smith-documents-probe-rcna84343" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">most serious security breach in American history</a>; that in concert with Russian President Vladimir Putin he will end the global liberal order that has brought America and the world unprecedented prosperity and peace; that he supports <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/trump-suggests-arming-teachers-to-deal-with-school-shootings-at-cnn-town-hall-174062661537" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--article-body-list-link-color); outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">more dead kids in schools</a>, a faster warming planet, lost health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and the end of American democracy for all time. Trump represents an unprecedented threat to the country, is even more extreme than 2020, and has, in political parlance, the highest “negatives” of any candidate perhaps in our history. It is going to be very hard for him to win next year. </span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><span style="font-size: large;">For all these reasons, as we head into 2024, I am optimistic that Joe Biden and the Democrats will once again beat Donald Trump, and hopefully, this time, send MAGA into the dustbin of history where it belongs.</span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-2024-election-polls-strong-rcna130507?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p class="endmark" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(42, 42, 42); color: #2a2a2a; font-family: PublicoText, Georgia, "Publico Text", "Times New Roman", Times, Baskerville; margin-bottom: var(--article-body-last-paragraph-margin-btm); margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1.5rem;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-21736012787967680302023-12-24T10:36:00.005-06:002023-12-24T10:36:44.764-06:00You're a Nazi<span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>...if you still support Trump.</i></b></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>If You Support Donald Trump, You're a Nazi</b></span></div><div>by The Rude Pundit</div><div>12/23/23</div><div><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I said what I said.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've been thinking, as former president and current inevitable doom of the republic Donald Trump <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-says-immigrants-poison-blood-nation-1234934092/" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">proudly</a> goes full Hitler in his speeches and social media pronouncements: do MAGA redcaps pause between filling their kids' Never Surrender Christmas <a href="https://secure.winred.com/save-america-joint-fundraising-committee/storefront/never-surrender-christmas-stocking/details" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">stocking</a> with Trump candy <a href="https://www.trumpstore.com/product/trump-chocolate-bullion-set-of-3/?utm_source=Google%20Shopping&utm_campaign=T%20Retail%20Google%20Feed&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=1900&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyq1FUVpkJZTo4POg7j1MNBf9ywbkjJwTU6YPnQhXlWPtuf7FMqsQEzBoC_QsQAvD_BwE" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">bullion</a> and wiping their dicks with a Mar-a-Lago <a href="https://www.trumpstore.com/product/mar-a-lago-golden-skyline-kitchen-towel/" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">towel</a> after jacking off to their iPhone videos of when they went into the Capitol on January 6 (and still haven't been arrested yet, motherfuckers) and think, "Am I a Nazi? And if I am, am I okay with that?" </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I mean, sure, sure, I know that this straw MAGA moron doesn't believe what the wackos in the fake, failing lamestream media are saying about Trump. But the orange goon himself is giving credence to the Hitler comparisons by insisting that "I never read <i>Mein Kampf</i>" and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/us/politics/trump-blood-comments.html?unlocked_article_code=1.H00.6Vj9.eBu7Lh0JcWSd&hpgrp=ar-abar&smid=url-share" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">saying </a>to lipless fuck weasel Hugh Hewitt, "I know nothing about Hitler. I’m not a student of Hitler. I never read his works." (You just know that behind all that is that Trump doesn't want anyone to get credit for the shit he says. I'm sure he's told one of his lickspittles, "Hitler wasn't as smart as me" or some such fuckery.)</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To be a loyal redcap stormtrooper, you gotta go along with Trump no matter which way his insistent madness drives his rhetoric. And, truly, you don't disagree with him when says, "They’re coming from all over the world. People all over the world, we have no idea. They could be healthy. They could be very unhealthy. They could bring in disease that’s going to catch on in our country, but they do bring in crime, but they have them coming from all over the world and they're destroying the blood of our country." But what you're agreeing with is Nazi shit. It's flat out Nazi shit. Trump can say, as he told Hewitt, that it's not the same as what Hitler said, but it is the same as what Hitler said, except Hitler was talking about Jews and Trump's talking about undocumented migrants. And Trump wants to round them up and put them in camps before deporting them by the millions. And he wants laws passed that would allow authorities to check the papers of anyone they "suspect" of not being American. It's absolute insanity that would fundamentally alter the fabric of the country. It will cause upheaval and violence and economic ruin. But Nazis don't give a shit about that kind of thing because purity matters above all. The rest will take care of itself once the blood is purified. Or, you know, un-poisoned. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm gonna bet that your average redcap doesn't give a shit if they're called "Nazis." Indeed, many of them are likely to embrace it because they think it drives the liberals crazy. They'll post memes of that screaming bespectacled woman as a snarky reaction to how the left thinks mass execution of undocumented migrants at the Trump concentration camps is wrong and tweet out to the Nazis on Elon's Internet Bullshit Factory that we should be rounding up liberals and hanging them. Oh, wait. They already do that last part.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sure, sure, some Trump supporters, desperately hoping to rationalize away the stink of Nazi, will try to say that they know the "rhetoric" Trump uses is over the top and even problematic, but they just think what he did for the country was so awesome that they have to support him and, hey, he can't do all those bad things. You know what you call someone who tries to justify what a Nazi says? You call them a "Nazi." (You also call them "fucking brain damaged" if they don't remember how Trump gave this nation a bloody ass fisting during Covid.)</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That's where we are right now in the United States as we watch the MAGA redcaps goosestep closer and closer to mass violence. Trump promises to abuse the criminal justice system: "What I’m going to do is give indemnifications to any police officer that gets in trouble for pursuing a criminal because that’s what we have to do." And to have mass purges of perceived enemies: "We will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media." And he declares that America under Biden is a nightmare: "We are a failing nation. We are a nation that has lost its confidence, its willpower and its strength. We are a nation that has lost its way, but we are not going to allow this horror to continue." Man, Nazis know how to use propaganda to keep the rubes all pissed off and ready for action.</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So, yeah, I'll call these sick motherfuckers "Nazis." If you're gonna follow someone whose l<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trumps-history-adolf-hitler-nazi-writings-analysis/story?id=105810745" style="color: #0c62ac; text-decoration: none;">anguage</a> lines up with Hitler, who has praised dictators and who wants to bring their methods to the United States, who promises to round up millions of people just trying to live their lives, who threatens to attack our neighbors and break our alliances, who sees non-white people as invaders or criminals who must be dealt with harshly, who wants to "cleanse" the country of people who don't believe the same shit he does, fuck, yeah, you're a Nazi. I don't wanna wait around until gas chambers are built to finally sound an alarm. </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And that's how the 2024 campaign should go. You can be with the Nazis or you can be with the people who think Nazis deserved to have their asses kicked into the garbage heap. Indeed, history teaches us that we are obligated to kick Nazi asses. If only there was a short, punchy word we could use for anti-facist...</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2023/12/if-you-support-donald-trump-youre-nazi.html">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4909969162688619471.post-54443481139824668052023-12-06T22:36:00.004-06:002023-12-06T22:36:54.060-06:00Dan Rather<bold><italic><verdana></verdana></italic></bold><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>We live in strange times. The GOP has sold their soul to Donald Trump, perhaps the most menacing public figure in decades. They are scared of Trump and Trump's rabid supporters, who make all types of threats against people who dare oppose Trump. </i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Very few elected Republicans had the temerity and spine to oppose Trump, and for that they were drummed out of the party. But you know as well as I know that not every regular Republican out there thinks that Trump is the second messiah. Many think he is demented and a threat to democracy, but they lurk undetected in the shadows. Come election time, I trust them to do the right thing, and if Donald Trump is on the ballot, to vote for Democrats. The nation depends on it. I find it hard to believe that the GOP is willing to toss 230+ years of democracy for this orange illiterate piece of shit.</i></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="post-title unpublished" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; line-height: var(--line-height-36); margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Can These Two Women Help Save America?</span></h1></div><div>by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner</div><div>Dec 6, 2023</div><div><br /></div><div><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">If you’ve been near a TV news program or newspaper in recent days, you might know that former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney is on a book tour. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">If you’ve been anywhere on Earth this year, you probably know that music superstar Taylor Swift is on a concert tour. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">And if you have even the most rudimentary awareness of politics, you probably know that Joe Biden is president of the United States and running for reelection. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">What do these three have in common, other than that they sound like the setup to a joke (Cheney, Swift, and Biden walk into a bar…)? Maybe the rescue of American democracy. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">It is surely a sign that we are in very strange and dangerous times that anyone would write a column putting these three people together. But here we are. And that’s because another person, whom we will leave unnamed, looms ominously over the future of our country.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Recently, coverage has increased (including here at </span><a href="https://steady.substack.com/p/dictatorship" rel="" style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; color: var(--print_pop); text-decoration: none;">Steady</a><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">) about how America’s most famous criminal defendant and only twice-impeached former president is running for office again on an explicit promise to destroy our constitutional system of government and the rule of law. And one of the people raising that alarm is Cheney. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and until recently, an exemplar of extreme conservative politics in the United States, Liz Cheney famously became a pariah in her party because she called the former president the dangerous disgrace that he is. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Her service on the House committee that investigated the violent insurrection of January 6 cemented her role as enemy to many Republicans. It also earned her appreciation and even plaudits from Democrats who had previously clashed with her on almost every imaginable policy issue. On Monday evening, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow introduced a cordial interview with Cheney by explaining how absurd it would have seemed at one point for the two of them to sit down and agree on anything.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">But that is what a threat to destroy America will do. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">And this brings us to Taylor Swift, who was just named </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Time</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> magazine’s Person of the Year. Her Eras Tour is estimated to have brought in over $850 million and boosted the U.S. economy by $5 billion, according to </span><em style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">Forbes</em><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"> magazine. Swift’s legions of fans, called Swifties, are drawn not only to her music but to her message of female empowerment. They respect Swift as someone who has stood up for herself in what can be a brutal and demeaning business. She is an entrepreneur and an innovator. And increasingly, she has emerged as someone eager to lend her voice to political causes. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;">She endorsed Democrats for election in Tennessee in 2018 and Biden for president in 2020. A single recent Instagram post encouraging her fans to register to vote drove 35,000 new registrations. She is a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. </span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0;"><br /></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Swift’s new boyfriend, NFL superstar Travis Kelce, is also no stranger to political issues. He famously took a knee during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” in solidarity with Black players protesting police violence. And he has been a strong supporter of the COVID vaccine, to the outrage of anti-vaxxers. He also endorsed Bud Light beer after the brand was boycotted by conservatives because it had featured a transgender internet celebrity in one of its ads. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">What might it look like if both Swift and Cheney lend their names and energy to Biden’s reelection campaign? Obviously, the two cases would be very different. But they could add up to a big difference. That is, if Cheney stops flirting with the idea of her own presidential run — a prospect she has teased in some interviews. Such a bid would increase the chances of a former president’s return to power. And it’s difficult to imagine her making that choice. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Cheney speaks to disaffected Republicans and moderates who might not like Biden or his policies but legitimately fear a second term for his likely opponent. That Cheney is working to elect Democrats says a lot. It says that there will be a time for us to debate policies again, but now is not that time. Because if we lose American democracy, nothing else will matter. It’s a powerful argument that could sway some voters on the margins or encourage those who might have stayed home to come out and vote. That could be enough to swing elections in battleground states. </p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">As for Swift, the effects could be even greater. She is extremely popular with young voters (although she has millions of older fans, as well). Standing alongside Biden could help assuage fears about his age. She could highlight the right’s potential harm on race, gender, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. She could also entice new voters to register and encourage them to show up on Election Day. Swift’s fanbase is so large that it encompasses many who are conservative and Republican. Might she even change some minds?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">We have already seen the modus operandi of the former president when he is criticized. His instinct is to lash out and insult, demean and degrade. How will that play with the Swifties? It would certainly reaffirm Liz Cheney’s point: that he is supremely unfit, morally and emotionally, to be president.</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;">Taylor Swift, Liz Cheney, and Joe Biden campaign for the presidency. That’s not the start of a joke. Could it be an unlikely alliance to save the United States of America?</p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i><a href="https://steady.substack.com/p/can-these-two-women-help-save-america?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=247881&post_id=139516760&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1psx3o&utm_medium=email">Original.</a></i></b></span></p><p style="--tw-border-spacing-x: 0; --tw-border-spacing-y: 0; --tw-ring-color: rgb(59 130 246 / 0.5); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-rotate: 0; --tw-scale-x: 1; --tw-scale-y: 1; --tw-scroll-snap-strictness: proximity; --tw-shadow-colored: 0 0 #0000; --tw-shadow: 0 0 #0000; --tw-skew-x: 0; --tw-skew-y: 0; --tw-translate-x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; caret-color: rgb(64, 64, 64); color: #404040; font-family: Spectral, serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 19px; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 var(--size-20) 0;"><br /></p></div>RussBLibhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05609779321054677541noreply@blogger.com0