Even if they found a video of trump himself admitting he lied, the cult members would still support him. To them it has nothing to do with the facts, or the truth, or even the law; it's all about the cult of personality centered around trump. And, in the end, we all know where that leads
Probably not enough KoolAid powder to go around for the latter, but I do fear the ramifications of the former. Would someone like DeSantis or Abbot call out the National Guard in their states if there were huge MAGA riots that turned ugly and violent when Biden is reelected or TFG convicted and jailed?
All of this is why Trump should be tried for treason. Illinois requires one to take a loyalty oath to not commit an insurrection to be on the ballot. Let us see how that plays out. I think as 2 states have decided that Trump cannot be on the ballot more states are at least considering it. I do not think we should cater to the rioters, who may not have been calmed by the tiny prison sentences they got for trying to overthrow our government, but still, know that they cannot count on getting away scot free with their dangerous actions.
That would be perjury #? He has already committed perjury when he took the oath in 2016, and then again in court, for his numerous trials. Of course, he has a lot of people committing perjury with him, including his defense attorneys.
Yup....he'll swear to uphold the Constitution and see that the laws are obeyed and promptly tear up the Constitution.
He already told us he will be a dictator and that the Constitution should be shredded.
As for his defense attorneys committing perjury, they do that on an hourly basis. The only good thing is that Sid Powell and Rudy Giuliani won't be defending him.
Apparently having one's deepest, darkest prejudices validated by someone in the public eye is far more important to 'thinking, seemingly intelligent' people. Basically, these people are too lazy to seek out and evaluate information for themselves and prefer to let others do their thinking. Many are also evangelicals who much prefer their pastors' versions of the Bible rather than reading the Bible themselves. It's a pattern.
My niece and I were raised by her mother who taught us strict morals especially to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. While she voted for the traitor she tells me that her republican friends and family say that she is really a democrat. I think that she panicked when we were closed down during the pandemic and was afraid of losing everything. She owns her own business.
I worked in Germany during the 80s. One of my employees was a teenager during the 30s and early 40s. I asked him that very question. He replied that the only news they got was from state media. That's not the case now; it's willful ignorance.
Then again, Ignorance to their ignorance is the plight of the ignorant.
Just remember that if Hitler had been killed in 1938, he would have been remembered in Germany as the man who got rid of the internal Communist menace, eliminated crime, put annoying trade unions, college students, and Jews in their place, gave everyone a job, re-armed the military, took back Austria, built the Autobahns, and made the trains run on time.
It was only when the full horror of Hitler and his Nazis was exposed — mostly in 1945 by the Royal Army Signal Corps and US Army Signal Corps footage of the concentration camps — did that opinion change.
We behave the same way in America: we have a “war on crime.” We expect it to be won when Dirty Harry shoots the bad guy. In real life, the “war on crime” takes prisoners. Vast numbers of them.
And unlike the cliche, we do not “lock them up and throw away the key.” We spend vast amounts of tax dollars on providing them with a bed, three squares a day, medical care, and something to do in prison (high school GED classes, rehab programs, and, of course, prison factories).
Then we let most of them out. And then they have to be prevented from going back to old crimes or committing new ones.
But we don’t think about that. We just applaud Clint Eastwood. Excuse me, the HONORABLE Clint Eastwood, former mayor of Carmel, California.
In reading comments on anti Biden anything it's clear people think Biden is doing what Trump actually did and is doing and will do.
They think Biden is an insurrectionist bent on subverting the constitution. Why? Because they are told this over and over by Jesse watters, newsmax, etc and in social media. I used to have a FB feed full of news that I cared about. Now it's all weird videos produced in China with janky ai voiceovers. Add to that fake news type posts to real groups that get "advertised" as "you might like".
It's one thing to cherry pick sports stats to make a preferred player seems like a goat (or to stir up controversy and ignite a comment storm) it's another to pass of blatantly false recountings as fact.
If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.
Excerpted from Wiki (sorry, I don't have time to read "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" for the third time right now)>>The phrase "big lie" was used in a report prepared around 1943[17] by Walter C. Langer for the United States Office of Strategic Services in describing Hitler's psychological profile. The report was later published in book form as The Mind of Adolf Hitler in 1972. Langer stated of the dictator:
His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.[18]
A somewhat similar quote appears in the 1943 Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behaviour and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany's Surrender, by Henry A. Murray:
... never to admit a fault or wrong; never to accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time; blame that enemy for everything that goes wrong; take advantage of every opportunity to raise a political whirlwind.
Same here, as recently as over the weekend, when I had a crazy texting exchange with someone I've been friends with for 25 years (and worked with, too). Once he started sending me links from a certain social media platform that platforms Nazis, about ghost buses and Tucker Carlson...I had to give up on him...again. It just boggles the mind. Its cult behavior one on one.
Through the years I've watched various documentaries on extremist and religious cults and would be amazed how people, could fall under their leaders' "spell," no matter how bizzare, brutal, and damaging that cult is - both to themselves and their families.
But especially since 2020, I understand now, how hard it is for families that have tried to bring loved ones back to reality. Or have had to grudgingly and sadly give up on what can be a herculean task.
Stevens,, Unfortunately I've had a similar experience with a very close friend since the fifth grade. I had to cut her out of my life because she couldn't help herself. Everytime we spoke on the phone, she would talk over me and scream at me in T's defense and it just got to be too much for me. It's been at least 5 years since we spoke and I often wonder if she still supports that pos.
The brain will tie itself in knots to protect one's self image as a rational, sensible person. The more someone has fallen down the rabbit hole, the more invested they become in justifying their previous decisions. It really is remarkable how much the brain will ignore or contort facts to maintain that sense of self rather than admit they were hoodwinked.
They say the MAGAts are a cult, and this is exactly how cults recruit and keep people.
Yes Flic, you've hit the nail on the head. It's just that they're too stubborn to admit they've been scammed and don't realize that their image of "self" has already been destroyed by what others think of them.
I’m finding that some just don’t pay attention to politics. Their husbands or friends tell them something and they believe it. I’ve tried to discuss it with them and they shut me down mostly.
The SCOTUS Justices had better do their jobs and rule quickly and decisively that Trump does NOT have immunity. I want trump convicted, broke, and in prison. I live in one of the states where the false elector scheme was propagated. And I am still furious! That is my vote you tried to invalidate you evil fascist Orange Monster.
"So what?" so explains both tRump's state of mind and dereliction of duty re: Jan6 that it should be the epitaph carved on the POS's tombstone. In fact, "So what?" is a succinct summary of tRump's attitude toward morality and ethics when spoken by a serial violator and traducer..."So what?" indeed.
This is how “elections” operate in the countries Trump openly prefers to this one. And yet people who are highly paid to cover national politics act like it’s not clear.
The already monumental stack of evidence implicating Trump as the criminal mastermind behind this constitutional subversion is a thing to behold. And it mounts all the time.
But it will only have real meaning if Trump is brought to trial and convicted before the November election. And THAT is the only genuine concern at this point.
The courts must, must, must break through Trump’s stalling tactics immediately and allow the necessary trials to begin soon.
It feels like the wheels of justice are rolling sooo slowly. I wish that he would have already recieved at least one conviction by this point, out of the 91 indictments that have also slowly built up!
This article presents details about the possibilities under the EC. It’s worth a read everyone, if only to get a deep look at how fragile the EC system is and the absolute importance for voting in all elections is today.
I just felt a little less anxious-who would have thought the Detroit News? Bravo! 👏 👏👏 thanks for all these connections to so many dots! Great start to the week.
What Gretchen said! In another example, had a major newspaper picked up the articles that a small Long Island local paper was publishing about George Santos, that idiot might never have made it through the Republican primary, let alone to a seat in Congress. Gratefully, he’s gone, but we could’ve avoided him all together.
Jack Smith has so much. So much. And now another critical piece for the puzzlemaster. I never thought I would celebrate sickening news like this. But that's where we are. Thanks for this.
As these people come forward it continues to baffle me how all these people contributed to what ended being the Jan 6 insurrection. For months these people coddled him, gave him ways of potentially staying in power and the entire time knowing what they were concocting was illegal. It's infuriating how many were complicit in this scheme even though none of them believed he won. If only these people had the balls to just tell him enough was enough instead of giving him what he wanted, I know he flies off the handle and fires anyone who is not a yes man but every one of these people had done the right thing I wonder how different things would have turned out. I don't think any of these people should walk scott free, everyone of them played their part in egging on a sociopath.
ABC News has come up with some nuggets the past few weeks...their team has cultivated several good sources for our edification...or, at least for those of us who really care about preserving democracy.
Even if they found a video of trump himself admitting he lied, the cult members would still support him. To them it has nothing to do with the facts, or the truth, or even the law; it's all about the cult of personality centered around trump. And, in the end, we all know where that leads
We can only hope to sway the persuadables.
It leads to a Branch Davidian or Jonestown type ending and it won’t be pretty!
They're welcome to have that ending for themselves, but I do wish they wouldn't drag the rest of the country down with them.
Probably not enough KoolAid powder to go around for the latter, but I do fear the ramifications of the former. Would someone like DeSantis or Abbot call out the National Guard in their states if there were huge MAGA riots that turned ugly and violent when Biden is reelected or TFG convicted and jailed?
Good question.
🤞
Justice keeps receipts. They may support, but they have a spectrum of support, and the least MAGA currently are the first to switch with more proof.
All of this is why Trump should be tried for treason. Illinois requires one to take a loyalty oath to not commit an insurrection to be on the ballot. Let us see how that plays out. I think as 2 states have decided that Trump cannot be on the ballot more states are at least considering it. I do not think we should cater to the rioters, who may not have been calmed by the tiny prison sentences they got for trying to overthrow our government, but still, know that they cannot count on getting away scot free with their dangerous actions.
Bear in mind, when the Bloated Yam takes that oath on January 20, 2025, swearing to uphold the Constitution, he will be committing perjury.
That would be perjury #? He has already committed perjury when he took the oath in 2016, and then again in court, for his numerous trials. Of course, he has a lot of people committing perjury with him, including his defense attorneys.
Yup....he'll swear to uphold the Constitution and see that the laws are obeyed and promptly tear up the Constitution.
He already told us he will be a dictator and that the Constitution should be shredded.
As for his defense attorneys committing perjury, they do that on an hourly basis. The only good thing is that Sid Powell and Rudy Giuliani won't be defending him.
Exactly.
I ask myself daily: how can thinking, seemingly intelligent people (people I know) still support him. I have no answer other than brainwashing.
Apparently having one's deepest, darkest prejudices validated by someone in the public eye is far more important to 'thinking, seemingly intelligent' people. Basically, these people are too lazy to seek out and evaluate information for themselves and prefer to let others do their thinking. Many are also evangelicals who much prefer their pastors' versions of the Bible rather than reading the Bible themselves. It's a pattern.
Yup. Willfully ignorant sheep (i.e. Fox Noise's key demographic . . . )
Religion books, history books, civics books...
My niece and I were raised by her mother who taught us strict morals especially to do unto others as we would have others do unto us. While she voted for the traitor she tells me that her republican friends and family say that she is really a democrat. I think that she panicked when we were closed down during the pandemic and was afraid of losing everything. She owns her own business.
😢
Just think back in time to the "seemingly intelligent people" who supported Adolf Hitler. No one has a "good" answer to "why."
I worked in Germany during the 80s. One of my employees was a teenager during the 30s and early 40s. I asked him that very question. He replied that the only news they got was from state media. That's not the case now; it's willful ignorance.
Then again, Ignorance to their ignorance is the plight of the ignorant.
Thank you for sharing
Just remember that if Hitler had been killed in 1938, he would have been remembered in Germany as the man who got rid of the internal Communist menace, eliminated crime, put annoying trade unions, college students, and Jews in their place, gave everyone a job, re-armed the military, took back Austria, built the Autobahns, and made the trains run on time.
It was only when the full horror of Hitler and his Nazis was exposed — mostly in 1945 by the Royal Army Signal Corps and US Army Signal Corps footage of the concentration camps — did that opinion change.
We behave the same way in America: we have a “war on crime.” We expect it to be won when Dirty Harry shoots the bad guy. In real life, the “war on crime” takes prisoners. Vast numbers of them.
And unlike the cliche, we do not “lock them up and throw away the key.” We spend vast amounts of tax dollars on providing them with a bed, three squares a day, medical care, and something to do in prison (high school GED classes, rehab programs, and, of course, prison factories).
Then we let most of them out. And then they have to be prevented from going back to old crimes or committing new ones.
But we don’t think about that. We just applaud Clint Eastwood. Excuse me, the HONORABLE Clint Eastwood, former mayor of Carmel, California.
In reading comments on anti Biden anything it's clear people think Biden is doing what Trump actually did and is doing and will do.
They think Biden is an insurrectionist bent on subverting the constitution. Why? Because they are told this over and over by Jesse watters, newsmax, etc and in social media. I used to have a FB feed full of news that I cared about. Now it's all weird videos produced in China with janky ai voiceovers. Add to that fake news type posts to real groups that get "advertised" as "you might like".
It's one thing to cherry pick sports stats to make a preferred player seems like a goat (or to stir up controversy and ignite a comment storm) it's another to pass of blatantly false recountings as fact.
We are literally in a spot truth society
If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.
Excerpted from Wiki (sorry, I don't have time to read "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" for the third time right now)>>The phrase "big lie" was used in a report prepared around 1943[17] by Walter C. Langer for the United States Office of Strategic Services in describing Hitler's psychological profile. The report was later published in book form as The Mind of Adolf Hitler in 1972. Langer stated of the dictator:
His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.[18]
A somewhat similar quote appears in the 1943 Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behaviour and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany's Surrender, by Henry A. Murray:
... never to admit a fault or wrong; never to accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time; blame that enemy for everything that goes wrong; take advantage of every opportunity to raise a political whirlwind.
Same here, as recently as over the weekend, when I had a crazy texting exchange with someone I've been friends with for 25 years (and worked with, too). Once he started sending me links from a certain social media platform that platforms Nazis, about ghost buses and Tucker Carlson...I had to give up on him...again. It just boggles the mind. Its cult behavior one on one.
Through the years I've watched various documentaries on extremist and religious cults and would be amazed how people, could fall under their leaders' "spell," no matter how bizzare, brutal, and damaging that cult is - both to themselves and their families.
But especially since 2020, I understand now, how hard it is for families that have tried to bring loved ones back to reality. Or have had to grudgingly and sadly give up on what can be a herculean task.
Stevens,, Unfortunately I've had a similar experience with a very close friend since the fifth grade. I had to cut her out of my life because she couldn't help herself. Everytime we spoke on the phone, she would talk over me and scream at me in T's defense and it just got to be too much for me. It's been at least 5 years since we spoke and I often wonder if she still supports that pos.
The brain will tie itself in knots to protect one's self image as a rational, sensible person. The more someone has fallen down the rabbit hole, the more invested they become in justifying their previous decisions. It really is remarkable how much the brain will ignore or contort facts to maintain that sense of self rather than admit they were hoodwinked.
They say the MAGAts are a cult, and this is exactly how cults recruit and keep people.
Yes Flic, you've hit the nail on the head. It's just that they're too stubborn to admit they've been scammed and don't realize that their image of "self" has already been destroyed by what others think of them.
I’m finding that some just don’t pay attention to politics. Their husbands or friends tell them something and they believe it. I’ve tried to discuss it with them and they shut me down mostly.
It is not just women, as you imply with "their husbands". I have relatives of both sexes
who have what I always thought good brains, but the truth be out.
Yeah, my phrasing sounded pretty sexist. Sorry about that.
It appears to be a mass hypnosis. I always thought there were subliminal messages in his videos.
The SCOTUS Justices had better do their jobs and rule quickly and decisively that Trump does NOT have immunity. I want trump convicted, broke, and in prison. I live in one of the states where the false elector scheme was propagated. And I am still furious! That is my vote you tried to invalidate you evil fascist Orange Monster.
"So what?" so explains both tRump's state of mind and dereliction of duty re: Jan6 that it should be the epitaph carved on the POS's tombstone. In fact, "So what?" is a succinct summary of tRump's attitude toward morality and ethics when spoken by a serial violator and traducer..."So what?" indeed.
It’s a perfect refrain for the jury.
Yes, a perfect case theme.
And once again Miles is the hippest.
This is how “elections” operate in the countries Trump openly prefers to this one. And yet people who are highly paid to cover national politics act like it’s not clear.
The already monumental stack of evidence implicating Trump as the criminal mastermind behind this constitutional subversion is a thing to behold. And it mounts all the time.
But it will only have real meaning if Trump is brought to trial and convicted before the November election. And THAT is the only genuine concern at this point.
The courts must, must, must break through Trump’s stalling tactics immediately and allow the necessary trials to begin soon.
It feels like the wheels of justice are rolling sooo slowly. I wish that he would have already recieved at least one conviction by this point, out of the 91 indictments that have also slowly built up!
YESSSSS!
I truly hope with all that is coming out they have enough to get a conviction he is a true danger to our national security and our democracy
https://electiondeniers.org/
This article presents details about the possibilities under the EC. It’s worth a read everyone, if only to get a deep look at how fragile the EC system is and the absolute importance for voting in all elections is today.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/danger-in-plain-sight-the-risk-of-triggering-a-contingent-election-in-2024
This should be required reading for anyone considering a third party candidate in November 2024.
The wild card permutations are scary. Better to get everyone to vote.
Fantastic resource, thanks!
The outcome of the upcoming election will be determined by who wins the swing states!
Democrats, Independents and Moderate Republicans need to focus their efforts and money on electing Democrats in SWING states!
- Get unregistered people registered to vote!
- Ensure that voters understand why liar fraud con traitor Trump is a disgrace.
- Make sure that all voters are aware of what MAGAt Republicans are doing to suppress voter turnout.
- Get all registered voters to the polls!
Please copy and post this everywhere!
Well said. Keep it up!
I just felt a little less anxious-who would have thought the Detroit News? Bravo! 👏 👏👏 thanks for all these connections to so many dots! Great start to the week.
Local news is the hero we need.
What Gretchen said! In another example, had a major newspaper picked up the articles that a small Long Island local paper was publishing about George Santos, that idiot might never have made it through the Republican primary, let alone to a seat in Congress. Gratefully, he’s gone, but we could’ve avoided him all together.
Local journalists rule! We wouldn't have had Epstein finally behind bars if not for The Miami Herald's reporting.
Agree! And in the George Santos case too! 👏👏👏👏👏
Jack Smith has so much. So much. And now another critical piece for the puzzlemaster. I never thought I would celebrate sickening news like this. But that's where we are. Thanks for this.
same
Very well written piece. Thanks for connecting these points
As these people come forward it continues to baffle me how all these people contributed to what ended being the Jan 6 insurrection. For months these people coddled him, gave him ways of potentially staying in power and the entire time knowing what they were concocting was illegal. It's infuriating how many were complicit in this scheme even though none of them believed he won. If only these people had the balls to just tell him enough was enough instead of giving him what he wanted, I know he flies off the handle and fires anyone who is not a yes man but every one of these people had done the right thing I wonder how different things would have turned out. I don't think any of these people should walk scott free, everyone of them played their part in egging on a sociopath.
ABC News has come up with some nuggets the past few weeks...their team has cultivated several good sources for our edification...or, at least for those of us who really care about preserving democracy.
About a year or so ago, Rachel Maddow had a show on fake electors, pointing out that some different states had identical font, etc.
What does it take to abolish the electoral college and should it become a thing of the past? Is it really needed? None of this would of happened.
We could maybe accomplish it through the National Popular Vote Compact.
2/3 House, 2/3 Senate, 3/4 states are needed for an amendment to abolish the EC.
Same as it would to ADD the Equal Rights Amendment.
That's already done (except the adding part, for reasons which do not escape any of us).