70 Comments

You know what one joy of quitting Twitter is (I think today might actually be the 12 month anniversary, if not it’s close) anyway, you know what the joy is, that until today I had completely forgotten that Dan McGlaughlin existed, this is true or nearly true (you just go months not remembering that Glenn Greenwald is a person who exists in the world) but with Dan I had truly literally forgotten that he existed for that whole 12 months and it took me a second to remember why his existence and totally bad faith arguing used to anger me so much

Just another reminder why quitting Elons hellscape is good for you

Expand full comment
founding

Interesting article. Wouldn't it be great if we each could trademark our own writing voice to interact in an AI program to talk to each other and build an article including knowledge of politics, writing, psychology, feminism, theater and law. We each would make a contribution to the project that would be reflected in points. We could trade these points for making a movie, article or podcast. Some people could have a voice contribution (like voiceover artists contribute an actual voice. Screenwriters could be involved and so it could be turned into a movie. In the case of another pandemic. We could each earn money this way when anything is turned into a viable product.

Expand full comment

I worry about tRUmp and his rabid supporters, but I don’t think he can win with just their support. They represent the worst of our American society, and should be reminded of that at every opportunity. I worry more about the people who just won’t face the reality of what tRUmp is saying. I know a middle-aged man who was brought here as a child. Naturalized, married, kids, educated, good job, fully integrated into our society. I asked him how he felt when he heard tRUmp’s comments about immigrants “poisoning the lifeblood” of our country. He kind of brushed it off, said he doesn’t really like the things tRUmp says. He couldn’t process that tRUmp was talking about him. He said he likes Republican economic policies. It really is “the economy, stupid”. And “America (me) First”. Which is how Germany got Hitler, and why I’m so worried now.

Expand full comment

The sad fact is that a growing number of Americans have normalized all of this.

We're living through our Goldhagen Moment. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen in 1996 wrote the provocative "Hitler's Willing Executioners" and since then his oeuvre has expanded to genocides all over the world. Goldhagen has an especially dark view of Nazism.

He didn't believe Hitler was spellbindingly charismatic or the Nazis were so fierce and determined that by force of will Germans were dragged along. He noted that the German people were eager and willing supporters of Nazism, and what Hitler and the NSDAP did was braid together strands that had long existed within German culture into what became the history of 1933-45.

Antisemitism is as old as Judaism itself, and long hung over European society. The militarization of culture and the idea of a national project was a product of Otto von Bismarck. The cult of the Aryan race was from Hitler watching Wagner's operas too closely (just like how the alt-right bases its self-concept on tropes introduced in "Fight Club" and "The Matrix"). Even the German tradition of idealistic philosophy led its brilliant minds on a quest for profundity that made insanity an occupational hazard for the philosopher.

These are all features of German society that pre-dated Hitler and the Nazis. What happened in 1933 was what Mary Trump, Donald's niece and a clinical psychologist, says is happening with Trumpism: The leaders give people permission to be their worst selves.

Expand full comment

Today's post put me over the edge - I now have a paid subscription to Rick's substack. Thank you Rick for what you do!

Expand full comment

One would think after watching Trump do 4 years of Whitehouse Apprentice and his closing out the show with his middle finger salute on 1/6, that yeah he will DO everything he says he would do given the chance by being elected. Elected as the last president but a Hitler dictator from day one? Believe it.

Wake the F-up GOP voters and pundits. The Trump campaign and the crazies like Bannon or Charlie Kirk are evil and motivated. Can we please call it out and fight back already? Sheesh...

Expand full comment

Great expo! Remember the 1970s column that Nixon sympathizers used as a template to defend and deflect us liberals, citing what-aboutisms, and "everyone lies; he just got caught" redirects?

Timeless.

You've nailed it, man.

Expand full comment

Dan "court cam" Abrams.

GM at MSNBC for about 16 months. Has a "show" now? On "News Nation"? Abrams' got a high rating only 25% better than Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" podcast on the intar-fk'n-net.

This is like saying, my cat only beats me at chess 25% of the time.

Expand full comment

It’s funny that when the Repugs and Maga nuts repeat things over and over they seem to stick... matter of fact that is TFG main tactic... repetition... just say things over and over and eventually even if it is an untruth/lie it will stick.

Those loyal to that big piece of shite are so impervious to him that he could sit there and babble and then wouldn’t care one iota.

I say , call a spade a spade... fascist is as fascist does .. especially since he’s stealing all of

Adolf ‘s lines anyway.

Expand full comment

It’s more than that, I think. It’s a little step further over the line each time. Eventually, the ones before look less and less problematic.

Expand full comment

Again, I ask about Dan abrams and the others really pushing Dean Phillips now. Going to have him on his show. It's crazy

Expand full comment

Dean Phillips got smoke blown up his arse by Steve Schmidt ( and maybe a reach around) and actually thinks his "run for the highest office" is a real goal. What a turnip. What a moron! But when you are a millionaire you can afford flights of fancy, i suppose. He just pisses me off as MN03 is my congressional seat and he just took a big smelly dump in it.

Expand full comment
founding

I was just about to post the same thing. Here’s the news alert from Colorado Public Radio:

https://www.cpr.org/2023/12/19/colorado-supreme-court-disqualifies-trump-from-ballot/

It is, of course, headed for the Supreme Court.

Expand full comment

Where of course, the obvious answer to "the originalists or constructionist" or however the "conservatives" on the bench call themselves these days would be to find per the 14th amendment, section 3, that LLDF isn't qualified for ANY office. Especially the presidency. But they will probably wiggle out of that easy answer. Ruling against Trump would put a fast and unassailable end to this monster and not just a protection of the democratic process but could rejuvenate the Courts' reputation. Will they do it, even a 5-4 decision? Nah, too easy!.

Expand full comment

May this be the beginning of "wake the fuck UP!"

Cue: rage against the machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thQ8rpkY3Ps

Expand full comment

Well, if you’re a rage fan, you must know they recently got inducted into the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame. Michael Moore recently published Tom Morello‘s speech.

Expand full comment

Come on

Come on, although you try to discredit

You'll still never edit

The needle, I'll thread it

Radically poetic

Standing with the fury that they had in '66

And like E-Double, I'm mad

Still knee-deep in the system's shit

Hoover, he was a body remover

I'll give you a dose

But it will never come close

To the rage built up inside of me

Fist in the air, in the land of hypocricy

Movements come and movements go

Leaders speak, movements cease

When their heads are flown

'Cause all these punks got bullets in their heads

Departments of police (what?) the judges (what?) the feds

Networks at work, keeping people calm

You know they went after King

When he spoke out on Vietnam

He turned the power to the have-nots

And then came the shot

Yeah

Yeah, back in this

With poetry, my mind I flex

Flip like Wilson, vocals never lacking that finesse

Who I got to, who I got to do to wake you up?

To shake you up, to break the structure up

'Cause blood still flows in the gutter

I'm like taking photos

Mad boy kicks open the shutter

Set the groove

Then stick and move like I was Cassius

Rep the stutter step and left a bomb upon the fascists

Yeah, the several federal man

Who pulled schemes on the dream

And put it to an end

You better beware

Of retribution with mind war

20-20 visions and murals with metaphors

Networks at work keeping people calm

You know they murdered X

And tried to blame it on Islam

He turned the power to the have-nots

And then came the shot

What was the price on his head?

What was the price on his head?

I think I heard a shot

I think I heard a shot

I think I heard a shot

I think I heard a shot

I think I heard a shot

I think I heard, I think I heard a shot

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

Wake up

How long? Not long, 'cause what you reap is what you sow

Expand full comment

I don’t like this type of hard metallic rock, but these guys really wrote some great lyrics.

Expand full comment

One down, 49 to go!!!!!

Expand full comment

This is great news, except Trump would never win the electoral college in Colorado anyway. I assume it’s going to the Supreme Court, and that is the only outcome that matters.

Expand full comment

Hi there, Rick...It’s your pal from Fire Island, Gail! This was such a good article...How do we get you in front of the Biden team so you can call the shots re TFG???? AND why TF does the media take that wimpy view towards TFG????? What are they afraid of....they probably would increase their readership if they called him out day after day for being a fascist ...and drive him crazy at the same time! When are you or Reed heading back to NYC? Let me know. xx G

Expand full comment

Adam Kinzinger posted an essay recently on this “victimization” thing that MAGA supporters have taken to an extreme:

https://open.substack.com/pub/adamkinzinger/p/the-perpetual-victimhood-of-maga?r=2vk1c6&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post

Expand full comment

Fantastic. Thank you. Fascism does provide a "shortcut": dark, fast lies. The graph from NR is too much. A re-elected Trump is dictator who will turn the world upside down every two weeks.

Expand full comment

Catch 22 situation: if he wins they get what they want, if he loses they get what they want, war in the streets that will make J6 look tame. Either way this one will be a rough ride.

Note how no one talks about him losing and what may happen then. He won't go out easy, so expect repercussions when he loses, which will affect us all.

Expand full comment