After reading this post, I suggest you go to THIS BUZZFEED SITE to see what Trump has done to his so-called "Presidential Walk of Fame" at the White House. It is difficult to believe that Trump, our hollow, squalid ogre-in-Chief, could outdo himself in pettiness, but go to the site and see that he absolutely did. It is appalling!
Conservative opinion columnist, Bret Stephens
But the damage that cuts deepest is never financial, legal or institutional. As one of Smith’s greatest contemporaries, Edmund Burke, knew, it lies in something softer and less tangible but also more important: manners. 'Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us,' Burke wrote. It is, he warned, through manners that laws are either made or unmade, upheld or corrupted.
Right now, in every grotesque social media post; in every cabinet meeting devoted, North Korea-like, to adulating him; in every executive-order-signing ceremony intended to make him appear like a Chinese emperor; in every fawning reference to all the peace he’s supposedly brought the world; in every Neronic enlargement of the White House’s East Wing; in every classless dig at his predecessor; in every shady deal his family is striking to enrich itself; in every White House gathering of tech billionaires paying him court (in the literal senses of both 'pay' and 'court'); in every visiting foreign leader who learns to abase himself to avoid some capricious tariff or other punishment — in all this and more, our standards as a nation are being debased, our manners barbarized.
I wonder if we are ever getting them back — and if so, what will it take."
"This is not a country on the cusp of its 'Golden Age,' to quote the president, except in the sense that gold futures are near a record high as a hedge against inflation. It’s a country that feels like a train coming off the rails, led by a driver whose own derangement was again laid bare in that contemptible assault on the Reiners, may their memories be for a blessing."
*****************************
Trump's disgusting Truth Social post about the Reiners is as bad as anything he has done, and he will expose himself as the depraved person that he is again. As hard as it will be to witness another one of his travesties, I believe his next outrage will need to be reported and broadcast widely because this is how all this will end.
The resistance, the pushback, the organizing must continue; but at this point, I think it's become clear that we are witnessing Trump's inevitable self-destruction. The sooner that is complete, the sooner the country can start to heal.
The great Italian director and screen writer, Federico Fellini, supposedly said about television that "it is the mirror in which we see the complete defeat of our culture."
For America, Donald Trump is the mirror in which we see an ongoing debasing and mockery of our culture. He is what the tyranny of the minority adores. They elected him twice, and it appears that he will never lose substantial support from many of them, although some deterioration in that support is happening.
He is them; they are him.
And now, they're getting what they have clamored for, good and hard.
MAGAts are getting what they once decried.
ReplyDeleteTrump thunders, "(Narco) Terrorism", "our oil", and "regime change" in Venezuela.
Dick Cheney and Trump would never lie their way into wars, would they?
We are now being led by the Forces of Ignorance, Hate, Bigotry, and Delusion. Whether this nation recovers from it's embrace of evil (through Trump and MAGA) or not is not yet unknowable. But as Shaw points out it will depend on good and decent people uniting in oneness to overcome the forces now working to destroy our republic and its democratic norms.
ReplyDeleteHere's how LA Times Columnist Gustavo Arellano describes Trump and the Reiner debacle...
ReplyDelete"Our president, of course, is not normal. He’s a weirdo who gets off on being mean. If there was a CruelHub, he’d be on it daily.
And so on the day after Romy Reiner found her parents’ bodies at their Brentwood home, Trump posted on social media that they died not due to stab wounds but 'reportedly due to the anger [Rob] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.' "
He goes on writing about Russell Moore and Rod Dreher...
In the wake of Trump’s selfish sliming of the Reiners, Christianity Today editor at large Russell Moore slammed his “vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior” while conservative commentator and longtime Trump apologist Rod Dreher wrote “something is very, very wrong with this man.”
The commenters at Geez, including Huntington, simply can't accept reality.
This is the crowd that during the Clinton Admin thundered "character cannot be separated from leadership. Leadership requires people of good character".
Go back to the 90s and early 2000s and read any political commentary and you'll see a bright line conservatives used as a light saber against the left.
Now? Not so much.
I mean, they wrote books on it. Anyone remember "The Book of Virtues" by Reagan Cabinet Secretary Bill Bennet? How about James Dobson who wrote that national morality cannot be maintained without religious principles. He viewed a decline in character as a "profound moral crisis" that could lead to national judgment.
President Calvin Coolidge once identified character as “the only secure foundation of the state.”
Peggy Noonan wrote back in the day that “In a president, character is everything. A president doesn’t have to be brilliant … he doesn’t have to be clever; you can hire clever …. You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you cannot buy courage and decency; you can’t rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him.”
President Truman once said “A man cannot have character unless he lives within a fundamental system of morals that creates character.”
Al Mohler, leader of the Southern Baptists has written “Americans have retained enough moral sense to know that personal character still matters in the choice of a babysitter. If this is true, we can hardly claim with a straight face that character is irrelevant to those who hold high positions of political leadership. In the end, our concept of character must be filled with specific content if it is to be meaningful."
To accept Sam Huntington's analysis, we have to conclude that all of these people were wrong, or either lying in their understanding of the importance of character.
The followers at Geez long for a return to honesty, truth, justice and the "American Way". It's a central plank of MAGA. The problem is they've elected a leader who does not himself embody those traits they once claimed to admire and expect in our politicians.
The right for years, indeed, generations was a useful counterweight to the excesses of the left. No longer. They have so discredited their movement and surrendered to MAGA that they cease to even try to exercise grace, work for unity or bipartisan common ground and as their savior calls them to do, "serve the least of these".
What are we to do?
We turn to the "experts in journalism" to get our "fix of information" when in reality all the information needed to determine what is ethical behavior rest within each of us.
ReplyDeleteIf we remain open and un-attached to the beliefs and conditioning that the people with money, influence, and power spend their time and energy convincing folks like us that their belief in their own infallibility is what we should accept without question.
Unfortunately 35 to 40 percent of this nation's voting public have swallowed hook line and sinker the delusions and ignorance of the current power structure in this nation.
The future is unknowable as it never exists. But given all indications it's going to be a bumpy, rocky, and dangerous flow forward. Thanks to Project 2025, Trump, Christian Nationalism, the MAGA GOP, the corrupt SCOTUS, and our ever present systemic racism. Mow elevated through Trump and Christian Nationalism.
BTW... Bret Stephens self identifies as a conservative. Not MAGA, but a conservative.
ReplyDeleteObviously not MAGA because he reacted like a normal human being to Trump’s depraved response to the Reiners’ deaths. There are many honorable conservatives in this country.
ReplyDeleteFollow the link to see just how totally depraved President Trump is.
ReplyDeleteWhile the country struggles with inflation and high prices, US troops are in action in the Atlantic and our European allies worry about our seriousness, the President is busy writing BS text for his Presidential Wall of Fame...
Do you all feel safer?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/white-house-portraits-biden-obama-trump-b2886535.html
The descriptions on the plaques under the photos of past presidents were written by Trump, and they indicate a deteriorating mind. Why can't his people talk him out of debasing himself and our country when he gets these insane ideas?
DeleteBret Stephens aptly described Trump: "Our petty, hollow, squalid ogre in chief!"
ReplyDeleteLeavitt is a ridiculous woman:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”
“Sleepy Joe was, by far, the worst President in American History,” the plaque underneath Biden’s portrait, which is an autopen as opposed to his official portrait, reads. “Taking office as a result of the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States.”
When journalist, Terry Moran, interviewed Trump in the Oval Office, he asked him what the Declaration of Independence meant to him. This what the "student of history" answered: "It was a "declaration of unity and love and respect".
Trump is a functioning illiterate, and Leavitt is a joke.
It is quite likely, aa well as most probable, that most functioning illiterate are far less unbalanced than is Trump
ReplyDeleteLeavitt is likely not dumb, but she sold her integrity and reputation to a narcissistic moron who believes he's infallible. Not dumb, just ignorant.
The next President should make sure he or she erases all lying, and misinformation this clown did. History needs to record the absolute disgrace he brought to the office with all his failures. He is nothing but a joke and a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteTrump will probably have a very sore shoulder tonight from patting his own back over his avalanche of lies.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's narcissistic moron feeding America a boatload of rancid lies. Unfortunately much of America is likely to swallow his rancid bull**it hook line and sinker.
Trump's opinion is worth sh*t to anyone with a functioning brain.
I read the link provided in another post concerning the differences in an Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis and what is truly happening with our demented orange excuse for a human. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) it's called and the article is written by Frank George, Ph.D. A very good read and explains so much. Also set my mind at ease because with my mom's descent into dementia I could tell her journey didn't align with Trumps so.. I had questions.
ReplyDeleteFTD is actually worse than Alzheimer's because in the latter on simply loses the memories. They don't "make stuff up" to fill in the gaps because they don't have the tools to do so. FTD patients very much make stuff up as their brain turns to mush.
Brains are crazy things that work on issues when we aren't even aware they are turned on. So when Trump says the lie that he stopped a bamzillion wars he believes it. And because he believes what he says his followers believe it too. With the cultists sinking everything into their Trump adjacent identities they are going through FTD symptoms without the disease to make "sense" of it all. No wonder MAGA is so cranky here/now.
I made some educated leaps in my comment. While based in fact I did connect a few dots that didn't appear to be connectable. But once I read the article they appeared to me to not only be connected but important to share.
The speech...
ReplyDeleteGas in $1.99 a gallon... Maybe somewhere. But the gold standard AAA survey says the average price of gas in the US is $2.99, so Trump is wrong, or lying.
Drug prices have been lowered 400, 500, 600%... Maybe the president skipped math in elementary school or at Wharton. You cannot lower prices more than 100% without people being paid when they get their medicines.
The check is in the mail... $1776.00 for our soldiers... The check is not in the mail. In fact, the Constitution says only Congress can appropriate money. So if the check is in fact in the mail, Trump has betrayed his oath, committed an illegal act and should be impeached and removed from office.
Inflation is lower than it has ever been... According to Trump's own White House, this is not true. Sorry MAGA, facts matter.
What can we do with all of this? Nothing at all. Look, I actually like giving our soldiers a Christmas bonus. But the White House, any White House, cannot, by law, just send $$$ to people. All expenditures like this must, according to the Constitution, must be approved by Congress. It's just as Schoolhouse Rock explained it back in the 70s.
But here's the larger issue and Grey touched on it. Trump is losing it. And before you "what about" folks start, I said the same about Biden. Any objective person can see Trump is nowhere near the campaigner, showman or communicator he was in the first term.
People at some blogs I am sure will write posts asking why Trump doesn't just better explain to the American what he is doing. If he does so they claim, America will understand all the great stuff he's trying to do.
Well, this was his chance. And he whiffed. His speech was full of lies, obfuscations and outright mistakes. The delivery was rushed, at times seemed shouted and almost comical.
And that's before we get to his Biden obsession. The MAGA crowd simultaneously sees Biden as both an evil genius and a dithering idiot during his time in office. Apparently, so does Trump as evidenced by his speech where everything is/was Biden's fault. MAGA folks lap this up.
But at some point they're going have to face facts... They elected Trump, he's hurting America, he's a liar and in their blind support of him, they have surrendered their ability in the future to credibly complain about presidents and candidates lying to the American people.
What a night.
The beat goes on. Just as it always has. Just as it always will.
ReplyDeleteEverything in existence is impermanent and things are in a constant state if flow (change).
As the present flow reflects the ignorance of a very large share of America.
The Kennedy Center has been re-named the Trump- Kenney Center.
ReplyDeleteSieg HELL !
Trump is nothing more than a living, breathing id with orange make-up and the ability to make noises with its mouth.
ReplyDeleteWhen he's gone, and he will be sooner or later, we can scratch his revolting image and name off our buildings and out of our memories.
The Trump Center for World Peace... let's not forget that.
ReplyDeleteRemember when some in the MAGA crowd hated Obama because in their minds he was a narcissist? Apparently that doesn't matter right now, but will again when the next Dem is elected.
Trump replaced the board there. Otherwise it would have been -
ReplyDeleteBone spurs - PT 109 Center.
ReplyDeleteWhat a surprise! Karoline Leavitt, like her boss, is a lying liar.
From Occupy Democrats:
BREAKING: Rep. Joyce Beatty calls out Karoline Leavitt for lying about the “unanimous vote” to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center and reveals how they silenced her for speaking out!
After Trump succeeded in his ridiculously narcissistic quest to get his name added to the Kennedy Center this afternoon, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt took to social media to brag about the “unanimous” decision in a truly pathetic show of boot-licking.
“I have just been informed that the highly respected Board of the Kennedy Center, some of the most successful people from all parts of the world, have just voted unanimously to rename the Kennedy Center to the Trump-Kennedy Center, because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation. Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur.”
But it turns out this was not the case at all, and the Trump administration was lying…AGAIN. Rep. Joyce Beatty serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center and shared a very different version of events.
“I'm Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. I'm sitting here in my congressional office in Washington, DC, just ending a call with the Kennedy Center, where I serve as an ex-officio member. I am bringing this to you live today because what you may hear is that there was a unanimous vote to rename the Kennedy Center, the Trump Center.”
“Be clear. I was on that call. And as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted.”
“Each time I tried to speak, I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online. Yet it was said at the end, it was a unanimous vote.”
“Clearly Congress has a say in this. This center, the Kennedy Center, was created by Congress. I think it's important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”
“As a strong supporter of the arts, as someone during my entire time here in Congress, I have participated in the Kennedy Center's programs and I salute all the artists who have performed there.”
The deceitfulness of the Trump regime knows no depth of depravity.
Delete