Love your essays. You analyze the issues brilliantly and with wonderful language. You don’t just tell us the truth of what’s happening, your essays are delightfully rendered. Shanley is another great wit. I thank you both for your wonderful contributions to the political essay. I read everything you publish.
She needs to go the way she went after the Olympic canoe person! She was Mean and obviously didn’t care what was the fucking truth! These stupid magas!
As you point out at the beginning of your letter… the Trump Presidency is modeled after his long running TV show The Apprentice. The difference is this Trump Show is Monday thru Friday with the teaser for the following week dropped on Friday afternoon. That leaves his followers on edge.. and he can drive off to golf at one of his clubs. Maybe conduct some business too. Then return to the ‘show’ on Monday. His minions threaten Senators and House Representatives with Doxing or other abuses leaving republicans in fear of their security. My concern is the security breaches in Minnesota and elsewhere which have not been covered by The Media and are suspected to be of Iranian origin. Trump is in WAY over his head and the country will be left with the financial ruin. I seriously wonder why people are still paying their Federal taxes!!
Trump's life in the clouds--which results in actual pain and suffering for millions of people--should go down in history as the most perfected real-life version of the old fairy-tale: The Emperor's New Clothes... Also, he is, despite the hair dye and tanning powder, and old man; and as a card-carrying old person, I know that short-term memory becomes limited when we reach old age...
And so you have a man who organically is both incapable of retaining hard, complex information upon which presidents are assumed to base their life and death decisions--AND he is also a man, who, as you suggest, constantly confabulates reality...
So, you have a possible end-of-world scenario where the leader of the most powerful (at least for now until we use up our Patriot missiles) nation in the world is living in a fantasy world and listens only to his crazy version of the facts. There has NEVER been a President whose mental condition begged for the 25th Amendment to be enacted more than Trump-- But, alas, he lives in country where half the residents are themselves naked...
I am, admittedly, ignorant of the law and procedure… BUT, isn’t there a process in which an unlawfully accused and indicted individual can sue the entities that wrongly accused him/them and be legally compelled to pay damages and attorney fees?
Midterms are only 92 days away. It’s way past time for this entire BS to change, for all of them to be held accountable. That is the goal flip both House and Senate... that’s the start…
“Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices”: Voltaire
Denying and distorting evidence-based reality is core to MAGA’s strategy. It’s an essential component of tyrannical rule. Lying with malice is often cited as the key attribute of “evil”.
What’s gobsmacking is how willing people are to buy into even the most absurd, easily verified lies.
As but one chilling example, Jews in Germany were less than one percent of the population in 1933 and proud contributors to German culture and society. Once Hitler’s lies and demonizing took hold, empirical truth ceased to matter.
Truth telling based on evidence could not be more important than it is now. Thank you to Mary and Shanley for carrying the heavy burden of insisting that what’s true and real not be buried.
When, oh when will the Joint Chiefs and generals stand up in defense of the men and women they command and say enough! We refuse to follow another order issued by trump. Clearly no other institution is willing to force the constitutional crisis this country must have to rid itself of trump, maybe the military can trigger congress to wake up.
Unfortunately, Hegseth has fired any of the brass who might argue with him or with Trump, so all you have left are right wing ass kissers just like the heads of all the other departments of government under Trump. They cleaned the swamp all right. They got rid of the beavers and refilled it with crocodiles.
There have been numerous instances over the last decade that point to Trump increasingly impaired due to Alzheimer's - very often the "small" things like transcripts of his word-salad speeches. His father had the disease, there's a known genetic risk, and his lifestyle appears to include everything AARP and other institutions suggested we avoid in the name of cognitive health.
That said, in terms of policy decisions it's not easy to know. In 2012 he clearly experimented with the "big lie" as a political tactic in the Obama "birther" nonsense, and since then, it's rare and almost seeming like an accident when he says something that's true.
At the same time, I've seen the progression of Alzheimer's in someone I knew pretty well. In the mid-late stages, the ability to distinguish between imagination and external reality collapses. At one point the man I knew claimed he was fluent in French, when in fact all he knew how to say in French was "oui," "non," and "ou sont les toilettes." I am convinced he wasn't consciously lying, but at that moment believed he did know French.
Which ever it is with Trump at any given moment, the obvious fact he has no business commanding armed forces!
Your article is correct, imo, but may be missing something that was apparent early on in the war that is not a war. Who is making money off of this pattern? At first, it appeared as stock market manipulation with the run-up during the week (driving the market down), then the calming news on Friday (letting the market recover and letting new gains taken). There was valid reporting about this but it has all but stopped. I wonder if the profit taking has stopped? While I enjoy your writing, it also depresses me. It’s not just you. I am tired and have difficulty seeing a way out. Just flipping the House and possibly the Senate will just begin the process of repairing the damage and unless the perpetrators (or just traitors) are allowed to crawl back under their rock, then nothing changes, just gets delayed. Thank you for your reporting and continue to carry the torch!
Love your essays. You analyze the issues brilliantly and with wonderful language. You don’t just tell us the truth of what’s happening, your essays are delightfully rendered. Shanley is another great wit. I thank you both for your wonderful contributions to the political essay. I read everything you publish.
Exactly how I feel.
If Ms. Pirro possessed the slightest degree of personal conscience or professional ethics, she'd…
… Never mind.
She needs to go the way she went after the Olympic canoe person! She was Mean and obviously didn’t care what was the fucking truth! These stupid magas!
" His physician said Trump remained in excellent health and fully fit to serve."
That is not evidence. That is his physician talking out his ass.
As you point out at the beginning of your letter… the Trump Presidency is modeled after his long running TV show The Apprentice. The difference is this Trump Show is Monday thru Friday with the teaser for the following week dropped on Friday afternoon. That leaves his followers on edge.. and he can drive off to golf at one of his clubs. Maybe conduct some business too. Then return to the ‘show’ on Monday. His minions threaten Senators and House Representatives with Doxing or other abuses leaving republicans in fear of their security. My concern is the security breaches in Minnesota and elsewhere which have not been covered by The Media and are suspected to be of Iranian origin. Trump is in WAY over his head and the country will be left with the financial ruin. I seriously wonder why people are still paying their Federal taxes!!
Agree 100% Susan.
And I suggested a year ago that States withhold federal taxes.
The inability of the US government to remove tDump from office is a crime against humanity.
From the very first physical trump had in his first term I’ve believed that the Dr publicly reports only what trump tells him.
Trump's life in the clouds--which results in actual pain and suffering for millions of people--should go down in history as the most perfected real-life version of the old fairy-tale: The Emperor's New Clothes... Also, he is, despite the hair dye and tanning powder, and old man; and as a card-carrying old person, I know that short-term memory becomes limited when we reach old age...
And so you have a man who organically is both incapable of retaining hard, complex information upon which presidents are assumed to base their life and death decisions--AND he is also a man, who, as you suggest, constantly confabulates reality...
So, you have a possible end-of-world scenario where the leader of the most powerful (at least for now until we use up our Patriot missiles) nation in the world is living in a fantasy world and listens only to his crazy version of the facts. There has NEVER been a President whose mental condition begged for the 25th Amendment to be enacted more than Trump-- But, alas, he lives in country where half the residents are themselves naked...
It is truly amazing what a metaphor the whole Reflecting Pool Saga has become for the entire Trump administration.
I am, admittedly, ignorant of the law and procedure… BUT, isn’t there a process in which an unlawfully accused and indicted individual can sue the entities that wrongly accused him/them and be legally compelled to pay damages and attorney fees?
He can and hopefully he will.
Midterms are only 92 days away. It’s way past time for this entire BS to change, for all of them to be held accountable. That is the goal flip both House and Senate... that’s the start…
“Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices”: Voltaire
Denying and distorting evidence-based reality is core to MAGA’s strategy. It’s an essential component of tyrannical rule. Lying with malice is often cited as the key attribute of “evil”.
What’s gobsmacking is how willing people are to buy into even the most absurd, easily verified lies.
As but one chilling example, Jews in Germany were less than one percent of the population in 1933 and proud contributors to German culture and society. Once Hitler’s lies and demonizing took hold, empirical truth ceased to matter.
Truth telling based on evidence could not be more important than it is now. Thank you to Mary and Shanley for carrying the heavy burden of insisting that what’s true and real not be buried.
They need to demand a psychological evaluation specifically for fronto-temporal dementia.
When, oh when will the Joint Chiefs and generals stand up in defense of the men and women they command and say enough! We refuse to follow another order issued by trump. Clearly no other institution is willing to force the constitutional crisis this country must have to rid itself of trump, maybe the military can trigger congress to wake up.
Unfortunately, Hegseth has fired any of the brass who might argue with him or with Trump, so all you have left are right wing ass kissers just like the heads of all the other departments of government under Trump. They cleaned the swamp all right. They got rid of the beavers and refilled it with crocodiles.
Thank you, Mary. What is obvious or should be obvious is that trump's reality is dangerous to us all.
There have been numerous instances over the last decade that point to Trump increasingly impaired due to Alzheimer's - very often the "small" things like transcripts of his word-salad speeches. His father had the disease, there's a known genetic risk, and his lifestyle appears to include everything AARP and other institutions suggested we avoid in the name of cognitive health.
That said, in terms of policy decisions it's not easy to know. In 2012 he clearly experimented with the "big lie" as a political tactic in the Obama "birther" nonsense, and since then, it's rare and almost seeming like an accident when he says something that's true.
At the same time, I've seen the progression of Alzheimer's in someone I knew pretty well. In the mid-late stages, the ability to distinguish between imagination and external reality collapses. At one point the man I knew claimed he was fluent in French, when in fact all he knew how to say in French was "oui," "non," and "ou sont les toilettes." I am convinced he wasn't consciously lying, but at that moment believed he did know French.
Which ever it is with Trump at any given moment, the obvious fact he has no business commanding armed forces!
Another great sentence. “ Each story begins with a Trump claim and ends with reality refusing to cooperate.” Dammit, reality.
Your article is correct, imo, but may be missing something that was apparent early on in the war that is not a war. Who is making money off of this pattern? At first, it appeared as stock market manipulation with the run-up during the week (driving the market down), then the calming news on Friday (letting the market recover and letting new gains taken). There was valid reporting about this but it has all but stopped. I wonder if the profit taking has stopped? While I enjoy your writing, it also depresses me. It’s not just you. I am tired and have difficulty seeing a way out. Just flipping the House and possibly the Senate will just begin the process of repairing the damage and unless the perpetrators (or just traitors) are allowed to crawl back under their rock, then nothing changes, just gets delayed. Thank you for your reporting and continue to carry the torch!
Don’t forget how the wash, rinse, repeat cycle will be increased once he begins sell advance notice of his posts on truth social.