What worries me about the election is the number is people, supposed democrats, saying they won't vote for Biden because of the Israel/Gaza stuff. I'm sick to death of these temper tantrums that will result in the destruction of our country. I also believe that in all of these protests happening around the country, that there are a number of outside agitators ramping up the violence. It'll be interesting to find that out, but I think it's too convenient that these protests started just as Biden's poll numbers were rising especially among younger voters. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I don't trust Republicans, our media or China and Russia. Very troubling post today, Jay, but like you said, we need to know these things so we can fight against them.
I am worried about violence and election theft and non acceptance of results on the part of Republicans. Notice how no one is worried about Democrats behavior.
US classified intelligence on Israeli military operations -> Trump -> Putin -> Hamas -> attack on Israel on Putin's birthday-> Israeli invasion of Gaza -> social unrest in US & other Western nations.
Results: international attention diverted from Russia's invasion of Ukraine; international support for Ukraine waned; tide of war turned in Russia's favor; support for Biden in key constituencies Muslims & youth diminished; chances of Trump winning election enhanced. All these results benefit Putin & some benefit Trump & the GOP.
Let people supporting Palestinians (& also those supporting Israel) know that Putin & Trump should get a good deal of the blame for this conflict, more so than Biden or Democrats.
You got that backwards. What worries me is Biden not listening to the people on something that is clearly important to them (and to the rest of the world).
It is really a shame that Ginni Thomas wasn't listed in the AZ indictments as a co conspirator, unindicted or otherwise, her communications to those that were (Meadows +) seem to indicate some people are above the law and her husband seems willing to be above the law too. Justice and our Democracy are in the balance and suppressing the vote tips the scales unfairly.
To use the banal phrase, there is a lot to unpack here. I've studied Victoria Woodhull ("the first woman to run for President in 1872"). She was the test case for Comstock's new law. Her paper, Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, exposed a prominent Wall Streeter by the name of Luther Challis. [Footnote: many people, including some scholars, think the case derived from her exposure of Henry Ward Beecher in the same issue of the paper. It did not. It was the Challis case.]
What Luther Challis had done was to go to one of the most prominent social events in New York at the time, bringing along a couple of girls, aged around 13, plied them with wine, and then took them to a back room and raped them. Woodhull and her sister, Tennessee Claflin were there and saw this happen. Challis returned to the event, girls in tow -- obviously disheveled. It was Tennessee who wrote the article decrying the behavior. The girls's lives were now ruined and they would have no hope of a good marriage, would be reduced to seeking livelihood where they could find it (in NYC at the time, that was usually prostitution).
Anthony Comstock was a subscriber to Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, and when he received his issue at his home in Connecticut, had Woodhull and Claflin arrested under the new law because "interstate mail" had been used. The trial ruined the sisters, but they ultimately won the case because Comstock had neglected a technicality of not including "newspapers" in the law. The sisters were utterly ruined by the legal fees involved and eventually moved to England to rebuild their lives.
Comstock went on until his death in 1915 to act as an enforcer of "his" law. Radical papers of the time regularly talked about abortion, contraception, and women's rights. He prosecuted all. Because of him, there were suicides and more ruined lives. Fortunately by then the suffrage movement had begun to gain real traction, eventually giving women the vote in 1920.
This is a law that should be repealed and repealed now. The bad players in that "movement" have resurrected it as a last hope to fulfill their dream of subjecting women again. No wonder I feel like I've been teleported to the late 19th century.
All too little known, as were the histories of many of the women pioneers fighting exactly this same battle. It astonishes me how so many were written out, but they were talking about, railing against, exactly the same issues we are today.
The blatantly corrupt judges on the Libertarian end of this Supreme Court tend to “overlook” all kinds of phrases . . . Like “well-regulated militia” or the asinine conclusion that “corporations = people” when “corporations” are actually a tool to prevent assignment of accountability to individuals performing corporate policies. . . So in the minds of corrupt SCOTUS, the philosophy and standards of Constitutional law get bypassed, landing us in the Pre-Magna Carta World of corrupt and incompetent kings.
AND TRAITORS. This country needs to get serious about dealing with treason. Trying to overthrow the Constitution and this democracy are acts of treason. Starting with the Fascist Billionaires installing RNC puppets to sabotage governance, incite violence and division, from SCOTUS on down, these traitors need to be removed from power and influence. They have weaponized propaganda and built a cult; they are using Libertarian (and Leninist) theory to erode this democracy. They are criminals, traitors and need to be swiftly dealt with . . . Before they steal the next election, which is in the works.
Yeah, if he releases the people convicted for Jan6 they will become his foot soldiers - Brownshirts (not to put too fine a point on it). They will start causing political violence leading to martial law. With regards to deportation camps, don't think he will stop with "illegal" immigrants. The 1942 internment camps will look like a holiday compared to what he would do. Let's be honest, if republicans take back the senate (and keep the house); they will nuke the filibuster in a NY minute to pass a total abortion band. With regards to the 2024 election, I'm WAY more concerned about the SCOTUS throwing out ballots from states trump loses than I am about another Jan6. We cannot allow him to be re-elected.
So some red states are bringing back child labor to compensate.
Immigrants help our economy & are about half as likely to commit crime as American citizens despite the false claims to the contrary by right-wing propagandists.
Since when did Democrats become so elitist? What if they try to pay Americans more? Do you really think that immigrants are the solution?
The biggest problem in this country is that Democrats prefer to deny all the problems that Trump mentions, because they hate him. It's perfect, hate him... but the problems are still there.
Curiously Biden continues with Trump's protectionist policy, however the average progressive thought continues to be "Trump is an idiot and he was wrong about everything"
Immigrants - legal immigrants - are the solution to a whole lot of problems in this country. As one commenter said, farmers are having problems getting their fields worked on because of the lack of workers. These field jobs are not ones that American citizens are screaming and scrambling to take. We, as a nation, aren't reproducing enough to replace ourselves - we're at a 1.6 replacement rate. Immigrants, who tend to be young, are a perfect solution to that. They will be working, paying taxes, and paying into Medicare and Social Security while the rest of us are getting old and retiring. Finally, the unemployment rate is very low; in many fields and areas of the country, businesses are having a hard time filling all their positions.
Immigrants tend to be young, hungry, and full of ideas about creating new businesses. They are a major reason that productivity in the US is as high as it is and that the economy is doing so well. We need more.
And another thing Agustin Tascon—Trump IS an idiot. He barely got through school; he reads, at best, at a 3rd-grade level; he has been a serial criminal all of his life. He started his real estate career in NYC with his (also criminal) father and was immediately brought up on felony charges for housing discrimination. He has been tied with the Russian mob since his beginning, like his father. So, don’t run around making up a fantasy about Trump when there are people who have been familiar with his BS for over 50 years.
You mentioned construction—I’ve posted links to a Fort Lauderdale law suit that illustrates how Trump DOESN’T PAY HIS CONTRACTORS, RUINS THEM BY REGEGING ON LOANS and commits FRAUD based upon “his Brand”—which is a farce.
I'm not going to respond to your level of bigotry and hate. Who said that Trump is an excellent person? Nobody. I'm not interested in Trump, I just said that he is right about some of the country's problems, even though he hasn't fixed anything. That's not the point!
Finally? Do I have to present proof of everything to you? Where are yours? We are in a comments section, I am not presenting you a thesis for the doctorate...
Now I'll answer you, did Biden remove the tariffs that Trump imposed on China? No!. Did Biden announce subsidies for the production of electric cars? Yes, that is dumping and it is protectionist!
Name-calling, flame-throwing and NO REFERENCES for your over-generalizations and insinuations. You have no credibility. Love the way you high-tail back to “bigotry and hate” while lumping all Democrats into an “elitist” category. Where are my references? They are repeated constantly within posts. But you are just reading for memes and quick headlines. You won’t even have to do the research for references because, IF YOU BOTHER, you’ll find I’ve posted and reposted on the origins of Libertarianism, what the agenda is; the history of trump and his lifetime of fraud and current events linking trump to Russia and fascist billionaires. I could provide a bibliography; you cannot.
Are you not familiar with recent legislation re: pay? What “protectionist policy” are you talking about? You do a lot of generalizing, made some erroneous conclusions and provided ZERO references. I have lived on the border and Texas, and I also understand the President doesn’t have absolute powers to instantly change legislation passed by Repugs under tRump.
Elitist? And what do you call a party that is managed by Billionaires who believe they are above the law and shouldn’t be taxed?
Elitist? Have you read The Shock Doctrine? The Democrats don’t have the agenda that intends to wipe out the middle class and to use the lower class for services. The Democrats aren’t aiming to be oligarchs.
tRump of course just had to include the business of "prosecuting Joe Biden....etc., etc." IF the Supreme Court denies him full immunity for "official acts" done while he was president. In other words, "protect Joe Biden from me or he's going to jail in his retirement"...oh, yeah, protect me as well...haw-haw!"
In the simplest most clear way it can be said — there is one and only one option on election day. Voting for Biden/Harris and Democrats top-to-bottom.
Put bluntly — f_cking around with a third party vote, staying home, whining because of campus protests on the situation in Gaza or because you don't love that inflation remains a bit high.... think about this.
If you don't show up and vote for Joe Biden and democrats; protests in the United States will be illegal because the Constitution wont exist. That is not hyperbole. You see it in his very words. When pushed back on posse comitatus he has the answer for that — which translates to "im a dictator and I will do what I want."
If you show up and vote for a 3rd party / write-in candidate — you are voting for Agent Orange. Mathematically speaking you are. Pure and simple. Nothing more to say here — its mathematical fact.
As for the issues many don't like;
• Yeah, Biden is not perfect and he is old. But he is not insane. In fact, he is fairly predictable and steady and I will take predictable and steady over a dictatorial wanna be Hitlarian nut. Damn right I'm comparing him to Hitler — he wants to build "CONCENTRATION CAMP" in the united states and "DEPORT" people in a mass deportation. Walk up to any Armenian and say "Mass Deportation" and they will share with you the murder of 1.5 million friends and family so as an Armenian huge red sirens....
• The situation in Gaza/Israel: The best any president and israeli/mid East leader did was Jimmy Carter. They killed Sadat for that fine work. This is NOT EASY — and it is made massively harder with another lunatic criminal nut in Netenyahu to contend with. This has bad actors everywhere. There are treaties to consider. This is COMPLICATED!!! Do you really think Orange Adolf — a guy who sounds more like Hitler than Hitler is going to somehow make the situation better???????
• Inflation/Economy: Did you really think that shutting the world down for 18 months was not going to have a long term impact on the Country and the world? And I have news for you — the USA has fared better then most. And a large reason why is Biden. Do you really believe the man who made it all MUCH MUCH WORSE — the guy who said don't ware a mask. The guy who said don't social distance. The guy who said inject bleach. Everything he did during covid was exactly the wrong thing to do and he made the situation here far worse and I have always wondered why there were not more wrongful death lawsuits files against him; because what he was saying and doing, likely caused thousands upon thousands of more needless death during covid.
There is one way out of this. ONE. His name is Joe Biden and if you don't take the approach that — warts and all — he is the best and only option to prevent the United States from becoming a 4th Reich — then we are all going to know full well what Germany circa 1930s-1940s was like.
Planning to purchase copies of the TIME issue to distribute to people who need a dose of reality. Already reading the actual interview here online, albeit in small doses to avoid the sick-making effect mentioned in another comment.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Roe decision partially based on the 13th Amendment which ended slavery, using the premise that a person who doesn't own their own body is enslaved? (based on how slave owners frequently 'bred' slaves to get stronger workers). Wouldn't setting women up as second class citizens violate this Amendment? I don't understand why this wasn't taken into account for Dobbs.
Also, simply defeating Trump in '24 isn't going to be enough to end this campaign towards fascism. Even if he's defeated, maybe even locked up, there is still a significant number of voters in this country who believe we need a dictator and are okay with the oppression of people they deem 'inferior.' And don't think for a minute that rounding up 'undocumented' immigrants doesn't mean anyone will be checking the authenticity of documents. Does anyone really think the GOP stormtroopers will actually care about anything other than the color of their skin?
We must somehow defeat the culture behind fascist thinking. How do we do this?
Jay, thank you for this excellent piece laying out Trump’s most heinous plans. I haven’t read the Times interview yet. I’m about halfway through Project 2025. From what I’ve read, I already feel like I’m living Project 2025 here in Alabama. If anybody is curious about what some of these policies will look like when implemented, look no further than my backyard.
AG Steve Marshall is up at his pulpit railing for all pregnant woman’s travel to be monitored like common criminals. Just give them an ankle bracelet Steve. Senator Tuberville wants the military to make available all abortion records and require very specific information on those abortions. He couldn’t get his way with the blockade, so he’s approaching his misogynistic need to punish women (and get a “good boy” from Trump) in a different way. Our Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker (Christian nationalist and 7 Mountains Mandate believing psychopath) banned IVF in his “supremacy.” Look how well that has turned out. By the way, all abortion is illegal in Alabama with one exception-the life of the mother. We’ve seen how well this works.
Apparently, Alabamians have very short memories. We took a very tough stance on immigration in 2011, when Alabama passed the Beason-Hammon Alabama Tax Payer and Citizen Protection Act. We made immigrants illegal, but we forgot to take in account how this would affect our state apparently. Police went after immigrants en force and there was a mass exodus. We lost billions of dollars. It was an economic and humanitarian disaster. Crops rotted in the fields, farmers lost money, and families were torn apart and lives destroyed. Even Governor Bentley (R) realized he had made a huge mistake. We didn’t go as far as detention camps, because it wasn’t necessary. Alabama has already paid the price. I do want to point out that I don’t believe Trump will stop with only putting immigrants into detention camps. The real underlying threat is that he will put all of us there as well. Who will be able to stop him? Hitler reincarnated in America. I hope I don’t live to see this day. The very fact that it’s a possibility should terrify everyone.
Trump plans to pardon all the insurrectionists. Trump calls for political violence. I’m already afraid of my fellow neighbors here in Alabama. Everywhere I go, I see support for Trump - bumper stickers, yard signs, billboards right here in my town, MAGA hats and T-shirts. Many of these are on pick up trucks with gun racks. What you don’t see here are any Biden signs or bumper stickers. I know there are some Democrats in Alabama, but we are in hiding. We keep our mouths shut all the while listening to Trump lovers extol the virtues of their President. He’s still their president here in Alabama. The election was stolen. I’ve received threats and I take them seriously. Needless to say, you don’t hear any of us running around shouting our support for Biden. We’re not stupid. I haven’t been physically harmed, but the threat of violence should be unacceptable in political stances. The fact that it is not, evidences Trump’s already insidious effect on how far people will go (at least in Alabama) to make sure he returns to his throne. January 6th will be the new way to handle political disagreements. I should not fear my fellow citizens because I’m a Democrat, but this is what Trump has done to our country. Sadly, so many people cannot see it though.
What I ultimately don’t understand is the fact that Alabama has suffered tremendously under these Republican policies. Anyone only has to look at the sad state of Alabama to see the effects of these authoritarian policies. We are next to last or dead last compared to other states when it comes to economic growth, healthcare, education, ect. Yet, Alabamians continue to vote Republican. So many voters have said to me that they will vote Republican even if their policies hurt them. I cannot conceive of this mindset, so I cannot understand how to change it. Unfortunately, it exists here in Alabama. They prove it every time they go to the polls.
Thank you for being on this Substack! It shows that you care about our democracy. I want people to know in blue states what it’s really like in red states. Alabama is already a theocracy. All people that are on the fence about November need only to look at Alabama to see what a Trump future, in its least horrific state, will be like this country.
No. And another thing people often miss about Roe: it was a compromise. SCOTUS explicitly said that they were not deciding when life starts or whether it's about the body of the woman. They said that because this is an essentially unanswerable question, they drew an arbitrary line.
Check this visualization of what Trump's deportation camps might look like, based on where the U.S. internment camps for Japanese were during World War II, and what the living conditions there were.
The 11 million undocumented people he is referring to and not only people who arrived here in the past few years. Many have been here for generations, have children who are American citizens, and are fully integrated into our society, being service workers, laborers, agricultural workers, and even small business owners. Trump wants to deport the servers and owner of your favorite Mexican restaurant!
Based on his own words, he plans on just shipping people out not hold too many in camps. He even referenced Eisenhower's Wetback program. For anyone that doesn't know, Wetback was the program that was promoted as a means to round up illegal immigrants, but in reality also rounded Americans born in the US, Naturalized citizens, and migrant workers invited by American companies to work too. Again based on what he said there won't be time to process if the person is illegal or not.
I have been keeping up elsewhere, I admit I skimmed this because I can’t take much more today. I’m more disturbed by so called friends and family that will still vote for him, it’s a personal betrayal and I am about done associating with any of that ilk that I don’t have to. Always grateful to Jay and this community on days like this!
If anything in current events is new to you, you need to catch up on your reading. The RNC IS an organized crime syndicate, run by Libertarian Fascist billionaires, and they mean to take it all. Trump is a convenient tool; it won’t end with him.
Thank you for encapsulating and analyzing the Times interviews.
The following may seem a non sequitur, but it is intended as an expansion upon the dangers we face.
Back in 2016 one of my great fears was that Trump would engage Erik Prince's Blackwater mercenaries as a pseudo Schutz Staffel (SS) charged with carrying out extra-legal activities that Trump wanted performed. That did not happen, in part because of the level of disorganization of the Trump presidency in its first term. In a second term, Trump and Project 2025 have plans for the US military itself and its role in maintaining the regime that revive that fear.
The US military is now exactly what the Founders did NOT want it to be - a professional standing army. It has become a livelihood for many Americans with its own culture, loyalties, perceptions, and rules. It is a state within a state, and it is authoritarian. Americans have not cared for their veterans they way they should have. In exchange for being in harm's way for the sake of us all, they should have been cared for and helped to reintegrate into civilian life in ways and at a level that both parties within the government have proven unwilling to fund. It has fostered justifiable bitterness, cynicism, and grievance among the extant military and veterans about the government and its institutions, as well as towards non-veterans.
This circumstance creates an enormous risk in the event of an authoritarian takeover of the government and the repopulating of its leadership positions. The military will largely follow orders issued by the duly constituted chain of command. The conscience of Mark Milley saved us in 2021, but we should not have had to count upon that. We won't be able to the next time around.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump called his friend in Israel and told him not to make any deals to get him re-elected and then Trump will let him do whatever he wants.
"Remember, these are wedges of Trump’s own making, and though he means them to sow fear and discord, our response can also build courage and resolve to defeat him."
What worries me about the election is the number is people, supposed democrats, saying they won't vote for Biden because of the Israel/Gaza stuff. I'm sick to death of these temper tantrums that will result in the destruction of our country. I also believe that in all of these protests happening around the country, that there are a number of outside agitators ramping up the violence. It'll be interesting to find that out, but I think it's too convenient that these protests started just as Biden's poll numbers were rising especially among younger voters. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I don't trust Republicans, our media or China and Russia. Very troubling post today, Jay, but like you said, we need to know these things so we can fight against them.
I am worried about violence and election theft and non acceptance of results on the part of Republicans. Notice how no one is worried about Democrats behavior.
A LOT—not all, but a LOT—of the violence in the summer 2020 protests was committed by white right-wing infiltrators. Just saying.
Yes, I was going to mention that & forgot to. It is more than likely the same is happening in these protests, especially any violent acts.
You are definitely not alone with this. It's like 2016 "Bernie or Bust" and "but Hillary's emails" had a baby.
Exactly this. Justin Rosario writes about it almost daily. The Opinionated Ogre. Worth a follow.
US classified intelligence on Israeli military operations -> Trump -> Putin -> Hamas -> attack on Israel on Putin's birthday-> Israeli invasion of Gaza -> social unrest in US & other Western nations.
Results: international attention diverted from Russia's invasion of Ukraine; international support for Ukraine waned; tide of war turned in Russia's favor; support for Biden in key constituencies Muslims & youth diminished; chances of Trump winning election enhanced. All these results benefit Putin & some benefit Trump & the GOP.
Let people supporting Palestinians (& also those supporting Israel) know that Putin & Trump should get a good deal of the blame for this conflict, more so than Biden or Democrats.
You got that backwards. What worries me is Biden not listening to the people on something that is clearly important to them (and to the rest of the world).
It is really a shame that Ginni Thomas wasn't listed in the AZ indictments as a co conspirator, unindicted or otherwise, her communications to those that were (Meadows +) seem to indicate some people are above the law and her husband seems willing to be above the law too. Justice and our Democracy are in the balance and suppressing the vote tips the scales unfairly.
She sure should have been....
As usual, excellent piece Jay.
To use the banal phrase, there is a lot to unpack here. I've studied Victoria Woodhull ("the first woman to run for President in 1872"). She was the test case for Comstock's new law. Her paper, Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, exposed a prominent Wall Streeter by the name of Luther Challis. [Footnote: many people, including some scholars, think the case derived from her exposure of Henry Ward Beecher in the same issue of the paper. It did not. It was the Challis case.]
What Luther Challis had done was to go to one of the most prominent social events in New York at the time, bringing along a couple of girls, aged around 13, plied them with wine, and then took them to a back room and raped them. Woodhull and her sister, Tennessee Claflin were there and saw this happen. Challis returned to the event, girls in tow -- obviously disheveled. It was Tennessee who wrote the article decrying the behavior. The girls's lives were now ruined and they would have no hope of a good marriage, would be reduced to seeking livelihood where they could find it (in NYC at the time, that was usually prostitution).
Anthony Comstock was a subscriber to Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly, and when he received his issue at his home in Connecticut, had Woodhull and Claflin arrested under the new law because "interstate mail" had been used. The trial ruined the sisters, but they ultimately won the case because Comstock had neglected a technicality of not including "newspapers" in the law. The sisters were utterly ruined by the legal fees involved and eventually moved to England to rebuild their lives.
Comstock went on until his death in 1915 to act as an enforcer of "his" law. Radical papers of the time regularly talked about abortion, contraception, and women's rights. He prosecuted all. Because of him, there were suicides and more ruined lives. Fortunately by then the suffrage movement had begun to gain real traction, eventually giving women the vote in 1920.
This is a law that should be repealed and repealed now. The bad players in that "movement" have resurrected it as a last hope to fulfill their dream of subjecting women again. No wonder I feel like I've been teleported to the late 19th century.
Thank you for this little known history!
All too little known, as were the histories of many of the women pioneers fighting exactly this same battle. It astonishes me how so many were written out, but they were talking about, railing against, exactly the same issues we are today.
Wow, Christina! This background info re: Comstock is so important. Thanks!
The blatantly corrupt judges on the Libertarian end of this Supreme Court tend to “overlook” all kinds of phrases . . . Like “well-regulated militia” or the asinine conclusion that “corporations = people” when “corporations” are actually a tool to prevent assignment of accountability to individuals performing corporate policies. . . So in the minds of corrupt SCOTUS, the philosophy and standards of Constitutional law get bypassed, landing us in the Pre-Magna Carta World of corrupt and incompetent kings.
AND TRAITORS. This country needs to get serious about dealing with treason. Trying to overthrow the Constitution and this democracy are acts of treason. Starting with the Fascist Billionaires installing RNC puppets to sabotage governance, incite violence and division, from SCOTUS on down, these traitors need to be removed from power and influence. They have weaponized propaganda and built a cult; they are using Libertarian (and Leninist) theory to erode this democracy. They are criminals, traitors and need to be swiftly dealt with . . . Before they steal the next election, which is in the works.
Dawna you said it ALLLLLL
TRAITORS: I just used that in my comment.
Yeah, if he releases the people convicted for Jan6 they will become his foot soldiers - Brownshirts (not to put too fine a point on it). They will start causing political violence leading to martial law. With regards to deportation camps, don't think he will stop with "illegal" immigrants. The 1942 internment camps will look like a holiday compared to what he would do. Let's be honest, if republicans take back the senate (and keep the house); they will nuke the filibuster in a NY minute to pass a total abortion band. With regards to the 2024 election, I'm WAY more concerned about the SCOTUS throwing out ballots from states trump loses than I am about another Jan6. We cannot allow him to be re-elected.
U. S. Agriculture is already struggling to harvest crops due to the lack of migrant labor.
The economic impact on agriculture, housing and road construction, and plants are going to be staggering.
You can not tell me that djt does not employ migrant, legal or not, workers in his properties! He has always talked out of both sides of his mouth.
Frumpie most certainly did. And made them all sign NDAs. Common knowledge in South Florida
I'll bet he's paid for abortions too.
He also decried them of their pay as they were beneath him and didn't deserve compensation for their work. The bastard has done this continually.
So some red states are bringing back child labor to compensate.
Immigrants help our economy & are about half as likely to commit crime as American citizens despite the false claims to the contrary by right-wing propagandists.
Yes and that’s bullshit!
No one on a construction job speaks English except for the foreman.
Depends on where you’re living . . . And many are bilingual and legal residents.
(FL)... I meant that most hard workers are from other countries. Pretty sure most all are legit.
They are! And they form communities that are “the Salt of the Earth.”
Since when did Democrats become so elitist? What if they try to pay Americans more? Do you really think that immigrants are the solution?
The biggest problem in this country is that Democrats prefer to deny all the problems that Trump mentions, because they hate him. It's perfect, hate him... but the problems are still there.
Curiously Biden continues with Trump's protectionist policy, however the average progressive thought continues to be "Trump is an idiot and he was wrong about everything"
Immigrants - legal immigrants - are the solution to a whole lot of problems in this country. As one commenter said, farmers are having problems getting their fields worked on because of the lack of workers. These field jobs are not ones that American citizens are screaming and scrambling to take. We, as a nation, aren't reproducing enough to replace ourselves - we're at a 1.6 replacement rate. Immigrants, who tend to be young, are a perfect solution to that. They will be working, paying taxes, and paying into Medicare and Social Security while the rest of us are getting old and retiring. Finally, the unemployment rate is very low; in many fields and areas of the country, businesses are having a hard time filling all their positions.
Immigrants tend to be young, hungry, and full of ideas about creating new businesses. They are a major reason that productivity in the US is as high as it is and that the economy is doing so well. We need more.
And another thing Agustin Tascon—Trump IS an idiot. He barely got through school; he reads, at best, at a 3rd-grade level; he has been a serial criminal all of his life. He started his real estate career in NYC with his (also criminal) father and was immediately brought up on felony charges for housing discrimination. He has been tied with the Russian mob since his beginning, like his father. So, don’t run around making up a fantasy about Trump when there are people who have been familiar with his BS for over 50 years.
You mentioned construction—I’ve posted links to a Fort Lauderdale law suit that illustrates how Trump DOESN’T PAY HIS CONTRACTORS, RUINS THEM BY REGEGING ON LOANS and commits FRAUD based upon “his Brand”—which is a farce.
I'm not going to respond to your level of bigotry and hate. Who said that Trump is an excellent person? Nobody. I'm not interested in Trump, I just said that he is right about some of the country's problems, even though he hasn't fixed anything. That's not the point!
Finally? Do I have to present proof of everything to you? Where are yours? We are in a comments section, I am not presenting you a thesis for the doctorate...
Now I'll answer you, did Biden remove the tariffs that Trump imposed on China? No!. Did Biden announce subsidies for the production of electric cars? Yes, that is dumping and it is protectionist!
Have a nice day!
Name-calling, flame-throwing and NO REFERENCES for your over-generalizations and insinuations. You have no credibility. Love the way you high-tail back to “bigotry and hate” while lumping all Democrats into an “elitist” category. Where are my references? They are repeated constantly within posts. But you are just reading for memes and quick headlines. You won’t even have to do the research for references because, IF YOU BOTHER, you’ll find I’ve posted and reposted on the origins of Libertarianism, what the agenda is; the history of trump and his lifetime of fraud and current events linking trump to Russia and fascist billionaires. I could provide a bibliography; you cannot.
Okay, you're right about everything. Congratulations.
Are you not familiar with recent legislation re: pay? What “protectionist policy” are you talking about? You do a lot of generalizing, made some erroneous conclusions and provided ZERO references. I have lived on the border and Texas, and I also understand the President doesn’t have absolute powers to instantly change legislation passed by Repugs under tRump.
Elitist? And what do you call a party that is managed by Billionaires who believe they are above the law and shouldn’t be taxed?
Elitist? Have you read The Shock Doctrine? The Democrats don’t have the agenda that intends to wipe out the middle class and to use the lower class for services. The Democrats aren’t aiming to be oligarchs.
I already gave you an answer in the other comment. Advice, relax... take a painkiller.
No you didn’t. You called me unfounded names and gas lighted everything. You have no credibility. You’re a flame thrower without providing references.
We must, without question, believe Trump! Hope everyone reads the Time article!
tRump of course just had to include the business of "prosecuting Joe Biden....etc., etc." IF the Supreme Court denies him full immunity for "official acts" done while he was president. In other words, "protect Joe Biden from me or he's going to jail in his retirement"...oh, yeah, protect me as well...haw-haw!"
In the simplest most clear way it can be said — there is one and only one option on election day. Voting for Biden/Harris and Democrats top-to-bottom.
Put bluntly — f_cking around with a third party vote, staying home, whining because of campus protests on the situation in Gaza or because you don't love that inflation remains a bit high.... think about this.
If you don't show up and vote for Joe Biden and democrats; protests in the United States will be illegal because the Constitution wont exist. That is not hyperbole. You see it in his very words. When pushed back on posse comitatus he has the answer for that — which translates to "im a dictator and I will do what I want."
If you show up and vote for a 3rd party / write-in candidate — you are voting for Agent Orange. Mathematically speaking you are. Pure and simple. Nothing more to say here — its mathematical fact.
As for the issues many don't like;
• Yeah, Biden is not perfect and he is old. But he is not insane. In fact, he is fairly predictable and steady and I will take predictable and steady over a dictatorial wanna be Hitlarian nut. Damn right I'm comparing him to Hitler — he wants to build "CONCENTRATION CAMP" in the united states and "DEPORT" people in a mass deportation. Walk up to any Armenian and say "Mass Deportation" and they will share with you the murder of 1.5 million friends and family so as an Armenian huge red sirens....
• The situation in Gaza/Israel: The best any president and israeli/mid East leader did was Jimmy Carter. They killed Sadat for that fine work. This is NOT EASY — and it is made massively harder with another lunatic criminal nut in Netenyahu to contend with. This has bad actors everywhere. There are treaties to consider. This is COMPLICATED!!! Do you really think Orange Adolf — a guy who sounds more like Hitler than Hitler is going to somehow make the situation better???????
• Inflation/Economy: Did you really think that shutting the world down for 18 months was not going to have a long term impact on the Country and the world? And I have news for you — the USA has fared better then most. And a large reason why is Biden. Do you really believe the man who made it all MUCH MUCH WORSE — the guy who said don't ware a mask. The guy who said don't social distance. The guy who said inject bleach. Everything he did during covid was exactly the wrong thing to do and he made the situation here far worse and I have always wondered why there were not more wrongful death lawsuits files against him; because what he was saying and doing, likely caused thousands upon thousands of more needless death during covid.
There is one way out of this. ONE. His name is Joe Biden and if you don't take the approach that — warts and all — he is the best and only option to prevent the United States from becoming a 4th Reich — then we are all going to know full well what Germany circa 1930s-1940s was like.
Planning to purchase copies of the TIME issue to distribute to people who need a dose of reality. Already reading the actual interview here online, albeit in small doses to avoid the sick-making effect mentioned in another comment.
My thought too! Do you know when it will come out in print?
I checked at BAM and clerk said they would get delivery today but I should wait until Friday morning to pick up copies.
Anne, I wasn’t able to find any print copies today. Not sure whether they have been issued. I hope so.
I just saw a copy of the cover, and it's dated May 27 - so may not be in print for a few weeks.
Thanks, Anne. Patience is a virtue I haven’t yet mastered!
Thanks for letting me know.
Good idea!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the Roe decision partially based on the 13th Amendment which ended slavery, using the premise that a person who doesn't own their own body is enslaved? (based on how slave owners frequently 'bred' slaves to get stronger workers). Wouldn't setting women up as second class citizens violate this Amendment? I don't understand why this wasn't taken into account for Dobbs.
Also, simply defeating Trump in '24 isn't going to be enough to end this campaign towards fascism. Even if he's defeated, maybe even locked up, there is still a significant number of voters in this country who believe we need a dictator and are okay with the oppression of people they deem 'inferior.' And don't think for a minute that rounding up 'undocumented' immigrants doesn't mean anyone will be checking the authenticity of documents. Does anyone really think the GOP stormtroopers will actually care about anything other than the color of their skin?
We must somehow defeat the culture behind fascist thinking. How do we do this?
I think if we reduce inequality that will go a long way. When people are content they don't need to hate. That would be a start anyway.
Sorry, Mel. According to oyez.org, the original lawsuit was based on the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18
Jay, thank you for this excellent piece laying out Trump’s most heinous plans. I haven’t read the Times interview yet. I’m about halfway through Project 2025. From what I’ve read, I already feel like I’m living Project 2025 here in Alabama. If anybody is curious about what some of these policies will look like when implemented, look no further than my backyard.
AG Steve Marshall is up at his pulpit railing for all pregnant woman’s travel to be monitored like common criminals. Just give them an ankle bracelet Steve. Senator Tuberville wants the military to make available all abortion records and require very specific information on those abortions. He couldn’t get his way with the blockade, so he’s approaching his misogynistic need to punish women (and get a “good boy” from Trump) in a different way. Our Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker (Christian nationalist and 7 Mountains Mandate believing psychopath) banned IVF in his “supremacy.” Look how well that has turned out. By the way, all abortion is illegal in Alabama with one exception-the life of the mother. We’ve seen how well this works.
Apparently, Alabamians have very short memories. We took a very tough stance on immigration in 2011, when Alabama passed the Beason-Hammon Alabama Tax Payer and Citizen Protection Act. We made immigrants illegal, but we forgot to take in account how this would affect our state apparently. Police went after immigrants en force and there was a mass exodus. We lost billions of dollars. It was an economic and humanitarian disaster. Crops rotted in the fields, farmers lost money, and families were torn apart and lives destroyed. Even Governor Bentley (R) realized he had made a huge mistake. We didn’t go as far as detention camps, because it wasn’t necessary. Alabama has already paid the price. I do want to point out that I don’t believe Trump will stop with only putting immigrants into detention camps. The real underlying threat is that he will put all of us there as well. Who will be able to stop him? Hitler reincarnated in America. I hope I don’t live to see this day. The very fact that it’s a possibility should terrify everyone.
Trump plans to pardon all the insurrectionists. Trump calls for political violence. I’m already afraid of my fellow neighbors here in Alabama. Everywhere I go, I see support for Trump - bumper stickers, yard signs, billboards right here in my town, MAGA hats and T-shirts. Many of these are on pick up trucks with gun racks. What you don’t see here are any Biden signs or bumper stickers. I know there are some Democrats in Alabama, but we are in hiding. We keep our mouths shut all the while listening to Trump lovers extol the virtues of their President. He’s still their president here in Alabama. The election was stolen. I’ve received threats and I take them seriously. Needless to say, you don’t hear any of us running around shouting our support for Biden. We’re not stupid. I haven’t been physically harmed, but the threat of violence should be unacceptable in political stances. The fact that it is not, evidences Trump’s already insidious effect on how far people will go (at least in Alabama) to make sure he returns to his throne. January 6th will be the new way to handle political disagreements. I should not fear my fellow citizens because I’m a Democrat, but this is what Trump has done to our country. Sadly, so many people cannot see it though.
What I ultimately don’t understand is the fact that Alabama has suffered tremendously under these Republican policies. Anyone only has to look at the sad state of Alabama to see the effects of these authoritarian policies. We are next to last or dead last compared to other states when it comes to economic growth, healthcare, education, ect. Yet, Alabamians continue to vote Republican. So many voters have said to me that they will vote Republican even if their policies hurt them. I cannot conceive of this mindset, so I cannot understand how to change it. Unfortunately, it exists here in Alabama. They prove it every time they go to the polls.
Thank you, dear Lost in Alabama. I really appreciate your speaking out here to give us a clearer sense of the present danger.
Thank you for being on this Substack! It shows that you care about our democracy. I want people to know in blue states what it’s really like in red states. Alabama is already a theocracy. All people that are on the fence about November need only to look at Alabama to see what a Trump future, in its least horrific state, will be like this country.
No. And another thing people often miss about Roe: it was a compromise. SCOTUS explicitly said that they were not deciding when life starts or whether it's about the body of the woman. They said that because this is an essentially unanswerable question, they drew an arbitrary line.
It's worth reading the actual text of Roe.
Check this visualization of what Trump's deportation camps might look like, based on where the U.S. internment camps for Japanese were during World War II, and what the living conditions there were.
https://thedemlabs.org/2023/11/27/trump-fascist-detention-camps-visualized/
The 11 million undocumented people he is referring to and not only people who arrived here in the past few years. Many have been here for generations, have children who are American citizens, and are fully integrated into our society, being service workers, laborers, agricultural workers, and even small business owners. Trump wants to deport the servers and owner of your favorite Mexican restaurant!
Based on his own words, he plans on just shipping people out not hold too many in camps. He even referenced Eisenhower's Wetback program. For anyone that doesn't know, Wetback was the program that was promoted as a means to round up illegal immigrants, but in reality also rounded Americans born in the US, Naturalized citizens, and migrant workers invited by American companies to work too. Again based on what he said there won't be time to process if the person is illegal or not.
I literally feel physically ill after reading this.
I have been keeping up elsewhere, I admit I skimmed this because I can’t take much more today. I’m more disturbed by so called friends and family that will still vote for him, it’s a personal betrayal and I am about done associating with any of that ilk that I don’t have to. Always grateful to Jay and this community on days like this!
The Shock Doctrine-Naomi Klein
Democracy in Chains-Nancy MacLean
Dark Money-Jane Mayer
If anything in current events is new to you, you need to catch up on your reading. The RNC IS an organized crime syndicate, run by Libertarian Fascist billionaires, and they mean to take it all. Trump is a convenient tool; it won’t end with him.
Not new to me, just sickening to see it so bluntly published while knowing it won't make any difference to his supporters.
The Time Mag article was
helpful in pointing out
Trump's inner circle. These
are his influencers and
involved with Heritage
Foundation as well. Pay
attention to them as well.
I don't know what will
wake-up the people of this
country in the next 6 months.
Not enough are paying
attention!
Thank you for encapsulating and analyzing the Times interviews.
The following may seem a non sequitur, but it is intended as an expansion upon the dangers we face.
Back in 2016 one of my great fears was that Trump would engage Erik Prince's Blackwater mercenaries as a pseudo Schutz Staffel (SS) charged with carrying out extra-legal activities that Trump wanted performed. That did not happen, in part because of the level of disorganization of the Trump presidency in its first term. In a second term, Trump and Project 2025 have plans for the US military itself and its role in maintaining the regime that revive that fear.
The US military is now exactly what the Founders did NOT want it to be - a professional standing army. It has become a livelihood for many Americans with its own culture, loyalties, perceptions, and rules. It is a state within a state, and it is authoritarian. Americans have not cared for their veterans they way they should have. In exchange for being in harm's way for the sake of us all, they should have been cared for and helped to reintegrate into civilian life in ways and at a level that both parties within the government have proven unwilling to fund. It has fostered justifiable bitterness, cynicism, and grievance among the extant military and veterans about the government and its institutions, as well as towards non-veterans.
This circumstance creates an enormous risk in the event of an authoritarian takeover of the government and the repopulating of its leadership positions. The military will largely follow orders issued by the duly constituted chain of command. The conscience of Mark Milley saved us in 2021, but we should not have had to count upon that. We won't be able to the next time around.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump called his friend in Israel and told him not to make any deals to get him re-elected and then Trump will let him do whatever he wants.
"Remember, these are wedges of Trump’s own making, and though he means them to sow fear and discord, our response can also build courage and resolve to defeat him."
We Can Do It. <3