General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBeing Our Fist
"He's the estranged father who returns on Christmas Eve to murder his wife and children." I didn't need to ask my brother who he was talking about when I read his e-mail. A few moments later -- before I had time to respond, his second message came through: Trump had just fired Mark Esper.
A few hours later, he sent a picture from this summer, of Trump giving Esper a hate stare. "These are the eyes of a man who is not well," he wrote. I responded by saying that on DU about a year ago, in a discussion about Trump's being a sociopath, I had noted that one could see the evil within him from his eyes. I noted that a number of forum members agreed.
An hour later, he wrote that he thinks Trump will try to start a war with Iran in January, declare a national emergency, and refuse to participate in a peaceful transfer of power. I had to disagree, at least in part, with this. It is far more likely, I suggested, that he escalates his war on America, and declare that it is a national emergency requiring him to remain in office. The firing of Esper can be viewed in that context, among others.
I am confident about the eventual outcome. I think that the judicial branch will -- exactly as community members that know have assured us for over a year -- hold strong. That doesn't mean ever decision will go our way, of course, but Joe Biden will take the office on January 20. Thus, the important questions involve how much damage Trump and his cult will do between now and then, and how do we respond to hold them in check.
While it seems obvious to me, it may be worth saying that there is no single correct correct response, but there are incorrect reactions. Individuals and groups that are progressive, liberal, moderate, or conservative Democrats can -- and should -- view different things in very different ways. Yet we cannot afford to allow these differences to divide us in our struggle to repair the damages the republicans have inflicted on our society. No single person or sub-group within our party has a monopoly on being right.
I'm reminded of something that Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman taught years ago. Individuals and even groups are like a single finger that our enemy can easily twist and break. But together, those fingers form a powerful fist, capable of protecting all of us.
Be part of this fist.
H2O Man
Solly Mack
(91,534 posts)We talk about him in just those terms in my home too.
K&R
H2O Man
(74,698 posts)I encountered versions of Donald-like sociopaths in my work years ago. A few were in county jail, a couple heading to state prison. Reptile-like eyes, empty of anything human.
Solly Mack
(91,534 posts)Smaller pool of victims and charged offenses v. say, a world leader.
But the eyes, they all have the eyes in common, I agree. I've always thought of the eyes as flat, as in a flat note. Not in tune with their environment (humans), so to speak. Even the sharpest were a beat behind. That infinitesimal pause that you have to be listening for to see it for what it means.
I had to stop listening to Trump because of it. I didn't need to listen to him again to know.
BComplex
(8,889 posts)chomper
(120 posts)nt
Bernardo de La Paz
(50,254 posts)... won't participate in post-election nonsense.
H2O Man
(74,698 posts)EndlessWire
(7,090 posts)from that, until I realized that Trump can and will fire all four Chiefs and replace them with Trumpers.
My hopes are that when that happens, the Chiefs come together and organize, using their years of experience, and letting the troops see it happening.
Bernardo de La Paz
(50,254 posts)Chairman of Joint Chiefs says no role for military in ...
www.nbcnews.com politics 2020-election chairma...
Aug 28, 2020 WASHINGTON The U.S. armed forces will have no role in carrying out the election process or resolving a disputed vote, the top U.S. military ...
Gen. Mark Milley Says The Military Plays 'No Role' In Elections ...
www.npr.org 2020/10/11 gen-mark-milley-says-the-...
Oct 11, 2020 As the presidential election looms, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells NPR's Morning Edition that the military plays no ...
Top generals tamp down election concerns in private briefing ...
thehill.com policy defense 524262-top-generals-t...
Nov 3, 2020 Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. ... anchors over the weekend to dispel fears that the military might play a role in the presidential election.
Military has no role in presidential election - Axios
www.axios.com Politics & Policy 2020 election
Nov 3, 2020 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley held an off-the-record video call with top generals and network anchors this weekend to tamp ...
H2O Man
(74,698 posts)Important information. Thank you!
H2O Man
(74,698 posts)Strange days have found us, as Jim Morrison noted fifty years ago. I had thought for certain that 1968 was the craziest year I'd live through, and that Nixon was the worst president possible.
How wrong I was.
Hekate
(93,385 posts)electric_blue68
(16,740 posts)battered that year. With PTSD echoes in much of our National Pysche down through the decades.
Sigh.
malaise
(274,688 posts)Part of the fist!
sheshe2
(85,868 posts)The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden"
-tRump is soulless and his eyes reflect the blackness residing inside him.
Thank you.
H2O Man
(74,698 posts)I remember years ago, a Clan Mother I knew while working for Chief Waterman used to say that there were people lacking souls walking the streets in America. She said they posed a danger to civil society.
I was talking to another Clan Mother this summer about how bad things were (are) going under Trump. She said that she was surprised how quickly the pace was going. She added, "I didn't think I'd see it in my lifetime." I reminded her that Faithkeeper Oren Lyons had told us that we would see it in our life-times.
Yet we are witnessing a much more powerrful force arising across the country: Good People. And there is nothing stronger than Good People sticking together to advocate for social justice.
Karma13612
(4,631 posts)Phoenix Rising by Mary Summer Rain
Zoonart
(12,421 posts)discussed a General Strike if tRump refused to concede. Perhaps it is time to start some real planning.
I'd love to see that!
I maintain contact with a variety of union members and regional officials. There are a unacceptable number of western PA union workers that voted for Trump. How can any union member support a thief that stole from union workers? One of my relatives, long retired, says that unions need to provide more education about unions' history with both parties.
livetohike
(22,643 posts)impaired after this loss that he cant appear in public? So many cowards in the GOP. Someone needs to medicate him and tell him to
let it go.
I suppose that it is no surprise that a guy who was a sore winner in 2016 is a sore loser now. What a pathetic, weak little man. The republicans need to treat him like an obnoxious, spoiled child.
cayugafalls
(5,739 posts)Ready to be thrown.
mtnsnake
(22,236 posts)he is doing his best to pit Democrats against Democrats, so your post is spot on about the importance of having each others backs. As long as we stick together we can beat the stupidity and arrogance of Trump with our intelligence and our persistence.
Clearly fogged in
(1,898 posts)This area is beet red merc, they haven't been making a presence the last few days. Coming out of a parts store today i saw bubbles in the spit on my car. There were a few hanging near their cars that i eyed, and i called out for anyone who was man enough to spot on my car to man up. Like i said, silence. They don't understand.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,651 posts)Was it vandalism? Ruin the paint? I understand your anger if someone messed with your car, I just don't understand the "bubbles".
Clearly fogged in
(1,898 posts)Tx, I'll fix
I've got a small car with dem bumper stickers. Seeing it you wouldn't expect me. So some coward spit on it. I wasn't mad but couldn't resist making them all look weak.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,651 posts)... political opinions.
You are a braver soul than me. I don't put political signage on my car; I know parking lots are hazardous enough without provoking small minds.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,327 posts)bucolic_frolic
(45,611 posts)the last segment they talked about Trump replacing many Pentagon officials today one of whom was nominated and withdrew his nomination, some of them passed over by Senate Republicans. David Plouffe, Courtney Kube, and Claire McCaskill were on and all were very alarmed. Kube (sp? don't know if I've got that right) mentioned issues with Syria, Iran, and withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Don't know what to think here. Coupled with Pompeo's smooth transition to Trump2 administration? Ginning something up to remain in power and cancelling the election? With Pompeo it's always about Iran.
Buckle up folks.
Hekate
(93,385 posts)...former FBI hat that Trump has now become what they call a barricaded subject.
He says Joe Biden must have someone very very good advising him, because he is handling this first phase perfectly.
Other phases will follow, as Trump refuses to budge. Toward the end is where he gets told: We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but he will leave the White House. He will.
There is a second Figluzzi interview toward the end, when the news broke about the trashing if the Pentagon.
Highly recommended.
EndlessWire
(7,090 posts)that they want to revisit the nuclear deal they had with us.
Trump needs a country to fight with, and he can't do that with Russia, China, or NK. So, he picked Iran 4 years ago.
coeur_de_lion
(3,758 posts)This is somewhat helpful to explain that no matter what delay tactics 45 tries the result of the election is indisputable and Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.
ornotna
(10,999 posts)Let's keep those fingers together and tight.
spanone
(137,118 posts)Thank You H2O Man
coeur_de_lion
(3,758 posts)I just think its an embarrassment, quite frankly ... At the end of the day, you know, its all going to come to fruition on Jan. 20.
Link to tweet
?s=20
Lonestarblue
(11,198 posts)One person he put in charge was so unqualified, even Republicans refused to confirm him to a position last summer. Trump is preparing for something, though Im not sure what. Why else fire Esper and three other Pentagon officials.
And today Pompeo talked about a transition to Trumps second term. Im very afraid that this election is being overturned as we get deliberate lies from White House leaks making it appear that aides accept that Trump has lost but theyre just mollycoddling him. A president who is depressed and just refusing to accept defeat doesnt suddenly start changing the leadership of the Pentagon. This is not a joke any longer. Something is being planned.
judesedit
(4,495 posts)warmfeet
(3,321 posts)I will be part of the fist.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,711 posts)it's still very hard for me to grasp what is going on in real time, and out in public. I thought for years that it would be hard to top the awful Presidency of the Smirking Chimp, but boy, was I wrong.
This crowd of miscreants, especially the top tier, has left those amateurs breathing their dust.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I wrote this in an earlier OP but it bears repeating.
You are sooooo right! The country has just been saved and plucked at the last second at the top of a Niagara like waterfall that would have crushed it utterly on the rocks at the foot of the falls, yet some observers are getting pissy that the saviors arent who they think should be doing it.
It makes me want to yank my hair out in pure frustration. Its a miracle anything gets done at all.
Blue Owl
(53,524 posts)Roisin Ni Fiachra
(2,574 posts)I haven't watched TV for 40+ years, except in passing. I didn't even really know who Trump was the first time I saw his face. He was on a TV that I was passing by, and I stopped for a second. Trump was exclaiming "You're Fired" at someone.
I thought to myself, "Wow, that is one scary dangerous asshole". Because of his eyes, and facial expression, not because of what he said.
I never even thought about him again until he ran for POTUS in 2016. I didn't worry about him then, because I thought that most everyone would instantly recognize that he is a sociopath.
I am very disappointed that so many people adore Trump. There is a mass sickness of the spirit extant among so many of the people of this country. For so many to not be able to recognize Trump for the evil that he is, or worse, to personally identify with the evil that he is, troubles and saddens me almost beyond my capacity to bear.
United Against the evil one. I recognize what Trump is, and will struggle against him until he is no longer a threat, or I am too feeble to struggle, or I am dead. Even if I am the last person standing who will fight the fascists, I will never give up.
Solidarity!