What I don’t understand is why the media (including you) talk about Trump as if they were talking about a normal individual who acts rationally. By all accounts of his associates and family, he has not read a single book in his lifetime. His father bought him a degree from an Ivy League university. If you showed him a globe, he would not be able to find Japan on it. Trump’s bloopers are not mistakes but reveal, time and again, the scary extent of his ignorance. He spews out a word salad. The man is an ignoramus and today’s version of Chance Gardener, only not as kind. We need a voice of reason to say out loud that the emperor has no clothes.
Trump is definitely in some kind of mental decline. What I am reading, though, is how Sen Tom Cotton fed him the idea of 'buying Greenland's dit to it's rich mineral resources (Jay Kuo had a brief post about him meeting with Russian leaders) as to the Panama Canal, RW sources claim legitimate concern about China's influence here (I currently reside in Panama). My point about all this is that Trump rambles on having picked up bits and pieces from Cotton and others. Trump is a major threat due to his decline and rantings but there is dangerous rw players (oligarchs all, probably) who are his 'support' and need to be addressed are their ideologies and efforts in Congress and influence on Trump.
Thank you for your always intelligent comments, David. I have been following you for awhile now.
I hate to say this but we may have to let this play out and let Trump's incompetence do the damage we know he will do. MAGA is a brainless Hydra that will have to have Trump and his wrecking crew betray. And he will. He betrays anyone. Primarily, he will betray the US unless he is countered at every turn. Evidently, it is not enough to demonstrate competence in governance as Obama and Biden's presidency as done. The full blown opposite will need to be illustrated. Trump is a serial fuckup and his henchmen are just as bad.
Good points, but unfortunately there is likely to be lasting and perhaps irreversible damage as a result of his presidency and MAGA's take over of public institutions and the justice system. There is little that can be done, and so you are right in that respect. However, it is important that we work out what may happen, warn of the consequences and report the facts, so that people can start to connect the dots once the Tsunami of misinformation and destruction is over. Perhaps then we can see what can be done to repair the damage and start to rebuild democracy and truth and help those who have been persecuted or brainwashed.
Some are predicting Vance will almost immediately use Article 25 to dethrone Trump. If you read that amendment, you will see how hard it would be to implement against an unwilling President. Dangerous as he is, I think the heads of the executive departments would rather have a puppet than a President.
Mary: You mean more efficient at wrecking the country, right? I agree. He seems to me to be deeply twisted but good at saying all the right things to hide it. Maybe he will be strong enough to avoid alienating our allies, and maybe he will read enough economics to avoid bankrupting us with tariffs and mass deportations. One can hope.
I hoped for that or the 16th amendment to be put into action. I now realize neither will happen because of the assurance of retaliation at the first opportunity.
What isn't said enough, openly anyway: Trump is a severely mentally incompetent psychopath who is INCAPABLE OF CARING about anything except his latest shiny thought or his next meal. For him, we do not exist, except as bit players in his desperate inner psychodrama. Like many mentally ill people, he is profoundly alone. He will remain that way until he dies. His life has produced much sound and fury. In the end, it signifies nothing, but, with the help of other unwell people, he has already left a legacy of human wreckage.
Thanks David, you are totally on the ball as always. I feel like we are currently a family happily playing at the sea-shore, wondering why the water level has dropped so low suddenly and wondering what the strange rumblings are. We'd better get all your nearest and dearest close and move quickly to high ground (i.e truth, compassion, education, communication and hard work). What is coming will be unimaginably horrific. Keep up your great work and get ready!
We must stop referring to Trump as President and start calling President Musk by his rightful name and position. Both being handled by the puppet master Putin.
Thank you for saying the truth out loud, David. What happens if the president-elect becomes incapacitated or dies prior to the beginning of his term? Paragraph C of the 20th Amendment states the vice president-elect may assume office instead. Trump is obviously too mentally incompetent to act as President, but WHO can make that binding judgment? Vance may be bad for the country, but at least he could probably be trusted with the nuclear codes. Are the dark-money broligarchs and right-wing pols sane enough to switch their allegiance from Trump to JD Vance to avoid the chance of a nuclear holocaust?
Side question: Does a person have to be sane to take a federal oath? If a person must be mentally competent to enter into a contract, wouldn't the oath of office be seen as a contract? Little-known fact: The Presidential oath can be taken at any time prior to noon on January 20th, with the term beginning normally.
Trump's base of brainwashed idiots would almost certainly revolt if Trump was pushed out of office. The Jan 6th riots would look like a picnic in comparison.
The "United States" will no longer be "united." It will cease to exist. The Constitution will be shredded, and a new one will be written. The red states will take over the blue (and have already started). Marriages that were shaky are now ending. "The Republican Party is now the MAGA party [according to him]." Death and destruction will be the norm. I am ashamed to be an American, and I welcome the end of the world.
I couldn’t vote for the Democrat who wouldn’t address the slaughter in Gaza. I don’t know if Trump will be any better. But I’m so sick of American bombs, land mines and other kinds of slaughter. Nancy Pelosi’s saber rattling in Taiwan showed me that the military industrial complex that is the USA will go to any lengths to try create a war between China and Taiwan. Enough of Ukraine, enough of Gaza, and please not Taiwan. I think Trump will try to destroy the structure of the USA, but the rest of the world will have a 4-year break. By not endorsing the Democratic candidate, I voted to help the world.
What I don’t understand is why the media (including you) talk about Trump as if they were talking about a normal individual who acts rationally. By all accounts of his associates and family, he has not read a single book in his lifetime. His father bought him a degree from an Ivy League university. If you showed him a globe, he would not be able to find Japan on it. Trump’s bloopers are not mistakes but reveal, time and again, the scary extent of his ignorance. He spews out a word salad. The man is an ignoramus and today’s version of Chance Gardener, only not as kind. We need a voice of reason to say out loud that the emperor has no clothes.
But obviously in today's editorial, Mr. Pakman is indeed highlighting all these issues..
Trump is definitely in some kind of mental decline. What I am reading, though, is how Sen Tom Cotton fed him the idea of 'buying Greenland's dit to it's rich mineral resources (Jay Kuo had a brief post about him meeting with Russian leaders) as to the Panama Canal, RW sources claim legitimate concern about China's influence here (I currently reside in Panama). My point about all this is that Trump rambles on having picked up bits and pieces from Cotton and others. Trump is a major threat due to his decline and rantings but there is dangerous rw players (oligarchs all, probably) who are his 'support' and need to be addressed are their ideologies and efforts in Congress and influence on Trump.
Thank you for your always intelligent comments, David. I have been following you for awhile now.
I hate to say this but we may have to let this play out and let Trump's incompetence do the damage we know he will do. MAGA is a brainless Hydra that will have to have Trump and his wrecking crew betray. And he will. He betrays anyone. Primarily, he will betray the US unless he is countered at every turn. Evidently, it is not enough to demonstrate competence in governance as Obama and Biden's presidency as done. The full blown opposite will need to be illustrated. Trump is a serial fuckup and his henchmen are just as bad.
Good points, but unfortunately there is likely to be lasting and perhaps irreversible damage as a result of his presidency and MAGA's take over of public institutions and the justice system. There is little that can be done, and so you are right in that respect. However, it is important that we work out what may happen, warn of the consequences and report the facts, so that people can start to connect the dots once the Tsunami of misinformation and destruction is over. Perhaps then we can see what can be done to repair the damage and start to rebuild democracy and truth and help those who have been persecuted or brainwashed.
Some are predicting Vance will almost immediately use Article 25 to dethrone Trump. If you read that amendment, you will see how hard it would be to implement against an unwilling President. Dangerous as he is, I think the heads of the executive departments would rather have a puppet than a President.
I'm afraid that Vance won't be any better, maybe worse!
Mary: You mean more efficient at wrecking the country, right? I agree. He seems to me to be deeply twisted but good at saying all the right things to hide it. Maybe he will be strong enough to avoid alienating our allies, and maybe he will read enough economics to avoid bankrupting us with tariffs and mass deportations. One can hope.
I don't think he could be worse, but he,too is scary.
Perhaps he will unravel and the 25th amendment can be invoked
He needs to be impeached and locked up where he belongs! Prison for trump!
I hoped for that or the 16th amendment to be put into action. I now realize neither will happen because of the assurance of retaliation at the first opportunity.
What isn't said enough, openly anyway: Trump is a severely mentally incompetent psychopath who is INCAPABLE OF CARING about anything except his latest shiny thought or his next meal. For him, we do not exist, except as bit players in his desperate inner psychodrama. Like many mentally ill people, he is profoundly alone. He will remain that way until he dies. His life has produced much sound and fury. In the end, it signifies nothing, but, with the help of other unwell people, he has already left a legacy of human wreckage.
Can we stop talking about "disinformation" and "misinformation" and just say "lies"?
Thanks David, you are totally on the ball as always. I feel like we are currently a family happily playing at the sea-shore, wondering why the water level has dropped so low suddenly and wondering what the strange rumblings are. We'd better get all your nearest and dearest close and move quickly to high ground (i.e truth, compassion, education, communication and hard work). What is coming will be unimaginably horrific. Keep up your great work and get ready!
We must stop referring to Trump as President and start calling President Musk by his rightful name and position. Both being handled by the puppet master Putin.
We know he's dangerous! What can we do about trump?
Thank you for saying the truth out loud, David. What happens if the president-elect becomes incapacitated or dies prior to the beginning of his term? Paragraph C of the 20th Amendment states the vice president-elect may assume office instead. Trump is obviously too mentally incompetent to act as President, but WHO can make that binding judgment? Vance may be bad for the country, but at least he could probably be trusted with the nuclear codes. Are the dark-money broligarchs and right-wing pols sane enough to switch their allegiance from Trump to JD Vance to avoid the chance of a nuclear holocaust?
Side question: Does a person have to be sane to take a federal oath? If a person must be mentally competent to enter into a contract, wouldn't the oath of office be seen as a contract? Little-known fact: The Presidential oath can be taken at any time prior to noon on January 20th, with the term beginning normally.
Trump's base of brainwashed idiots would almost certainly revolt if Trump was pushed out of office. The Jan 6th riots would look like a picnic in comparison.
The "United States" will no longer be "united." It will cease to exist. The Constitution will be shredded, and a new one will be written. The red states will take over the blue (and have already started). Marriages that were shaky are now ending. "The Republican Party is now the MAGA party [according to him]." Death and destruction will be the norm. I am ashamed to be an American, and I welcome the end of the world.
I couldn’t vote for the Democrat who wouldn’t address the slaughter in Gaza. I don’t know if Trump will be any better. But I’m so sick of American bombs, land mines and other kinds of slaughter. Nancy Pelosi’s saber rattling in Taiwan showed me that the military industrial complex that is the USA will go to any lengths to try create a war between China and Taiwan. Enough of Ukraine, enough of Gaza, and please not Taiwan. I think Trump will try to destroy the structure of the USA, but the rest of the world will have a 4-year break. By not endorsing the Democratic candidate, I voted to help the world.
Rationalize it all you want, but trump cares nothing about Gaza or Ukraine and you have helped to put the whole world in danger.
I don’t care if he cares or not. I want the killing to stop. It has already paused.