As an American I don't disagree with how we are described in this article, but what I do object to is her using Trump as the target to prove her point which she does repeatedly, and no doubt because he is such an easy target, and her scapegoat, as he is for many, No matter her contention that who ever is elected the world will suffer the consequences of an American hegemonic agenda that will cause turmoil and destruction Trump is her go to guy to make her point, and no doubt most reading it will swallow it up like a sweet milk shake, and she knows it. Notice no reference to a 2024 Biden win, or referencing what this man has done during his decades in office, and during his presidency has followed through on an agenda started under Obama. I do hope most recognize the real possibility of a nuclear war started back in 2014.
Man do I dislike blind tribalism. Many of the ills of the world could be summed up right now on the shallow lack of self-reflection that we're all suppose to be on someone's team.
By the way, it's not like Caitlin here didn't provide copious references to who and what Trump actually is and has done. But that's the problem with blind tribalism - you never want to look at the beam in thy own eye.
And anyone who has been following Caitlin's substack here for the last year, knows that she doesn't play favorites with either the Democrats or Republicans. That she has slammed Joe Biden just as much as she slams Trump here. But I guess all those previous references to Biden don't count at all - when you're on Team A and not on Team B.
Man, that was super refreshing to read. Well done article.
Don't accuse me of blind tribalism, because your rant sounds more like that then any thing I said. I am on no one's team. I didn't say she played favorites with the democrats, or republicans and I am neither, but an independent, and I didn't say she plays favorites with either party. I said this article was more of a Trump rant then anything else, and I've noticed her bias in this regard which has been true of not only those in the mainstream media, but many on the left. If they hadn't been so accommodating in their hatred for Trump instead of being objective journalist maybe we wouldn't be where we are now. No matter what you think of Trump the hatred generated for this man has been pathological and has even divided families and I'm sick of this BS!
No, as a journalist objectivity is more important then spewing your personal hate and contempt. I'm pretty sick of Trump hate and sick of the illegal things the democrats did to remove him from office, with the lies of Russia-gate, pushed by a so called independent media and a left that didn't function any better then the mainstream they so often criticized.
I think you should re-read the article. Her main thesis has nothing to do with Trump hate or Trump bashing, in fact it's the opposite. Trump's presidency was terrible because it was like Obama's, Biden's, Bush's, Clinton's... She clearly states that the problem is the system, the empire, American hegemony, a brainwashed nation that still believes some kind of democracy is happening here. She only uses Trump as an example because he is the subject of so much hatred and will continue to be now that the next election is coming up. The article is very clear in its main points. You may have missed them in focusing only on the examples of why Trump's presidency was terrible. Maybe read the whole thing again?
There are plenty things to accuse Trump with, just like any prez, but no amount of sheer lies - and with real consequences (the current war being one of them) - dumped on him matches anything else. To add to that by a journalist has no or little effect. That's how I read Fran's objections.
Though maybe Caitlin did it on purpose just to illustrate the idiocy of dems' current assault on Trump the candidate.
I found Caitlin's well documented analysis of Trump refreshing, because we really have been getting (deservedly) a nonstop criticism of Joe Biden and the hypocrisy and corruption of the Democratic party from many of the bigger Independent platforms (such as Jimmy Dore, and the Grayzone, etc.) but the overall effect of this has been to not highlight some of the serious problems with Trump himself - which Caitlin so well documents in this article, and which serves as a very clear warning that it does not matter who is elected - the consequences of both corrupt parties is very, very real. There really is no difference worth considering between either corrupt candidate or corrupt party.
I find the reactions here in the comments section fascinating. And I found Fran's very quick response biased, and unwarranted.
Being a registered independent, and stating so, isn’t exactly a convincing reflection of a thoughtful political perspective. Neither is expecting certain individuals to re-orient the American ship of state toward legitimacy and justice. The whole game is a charade to keep millions of Americans distracted and full of piss and vinegar.
I have been into politics and active on social issues, not to mention environmental issues, on a personal level for several decades which I will no discuss here with you. Your perception of me is based on your own biases, and you continue to fail to understand what I think and what I believe to be true. It is you problem, and not mine.
That is Caitlin’s point. The amount of hatred for Trump was for all the wrong reasons and the media doesn’t dare write and expose how Trump was no different from Obama and his predecessors or that Biden is continuing to do the things that Trump did.
Democrats and the media reported on everything Trump said and did and they often put their own spin on them. For instance Trump never said to inject bleach like they said he did. He was talking about getting out in the sun and getting vitamin D levels up. But to this day people are still laughing at him for saying inject bleach. Maybe read the essay again and see what you missed.
Did you ever read her article published in 2019 that provides 25 reasons why Trump is escalating tensions with Russia, and she wasn't talking about Russia-gate. If you find an article by her critical of Obama for generating a coup in Ukraine with a bunch of neo-nazi's give me the link, and of course Obama didn't send weapons to escalate tensions there but Trump did. He's an easy target especially if one is also depending on other's people's hate for the man to bolster and support your's. Well, I would love to see a sit down with her and Chomsky who made the claim that the only statesman that could put an end to the war in Ukraine was Trump.
Good grief. Caitlin is pointing out that Trump was JUST as bad as Obama, but he was being called the new Hitler for all the wrong reasons because the media never pointed out that Trump was just as bad as Obama on doing empire stuff. She’s saying that the media doesn’t cover America’s heinous foreign policies.
As I said earlier democrats and the media made up things about Trump just to make him look bad, but he wasn’t any worse than previous presidents. I think Obama was just as bad, Bush even worse and Clinton even beat Obama for the worst president of my lifetime because of his horrible domestic policies and the fact that he stole the peace dividend from the world by extending NATO closer to Russia’s borders.
She also pointed out that it was the democrats that pushed into being more aggressive towards Russia. As to whether she wrote about Obama’s tenure I wasn’t following her at the time, but she is writing about Biden and his pushing the world into a nuclear apocalypse.
Objectivity is like perfection. It doesn’t exist. But you are reacting like Trump would or like a child might. Caitlin used Trump as a cudgel to bash liberals who think they are superior to Trump supporters. Given your sympathies for Trump, you should applaud Caitlin’s evenhandedness.
It may seem that way to you, but not me, and I followed her commentary on Trump during his time in office on Consortium News where she even blamed him for creating and escalating tensions between the US and Russia. Give me a break. The left to their great discredit jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon and made a mess of their former selves. I'm not the only one who recognizes there lack of journalistic integrity in the Trump years. How do you think her article would have fared if she used Obama as her go to guy to show just how bad we can be? She definitely would not garner the support she seeks.
The point of showing that Trump caused tension with Russia was to discredit the phony Russiagate conspiracy. You keep making these points that show you're only reading these essays from one biased point of view. At this point I think we've entered backfire effect territory. No matter how many people carefully try to explain that you've misinterpreted Caitlin's writing, the more you're going to double down on your opinion. It's the way humans do it, especially when they feel attacked. I don't blame you or anything, I'd probably react the same way if I came into a conservative blog trying to make claims that I had special insight into someone's writing that absolutely contradicted what they claimed about themselves.
I agree with you. Never in the history of modern American politics has an American president ever been vilified treated so disrespectfully...from day one for that matter. I voted for Bernie (had to write his name in), so while I'm not a Trump supporter, I did enjoy being him giving grief to his enemies. I'll give the man his due for not caving after four long and tiring years of constant harassment and keeping his wits about him. Not to mention the outrageous condemnation of his ('deplorable') supporters as defined by The Witch known as Hillary Clinton. All that said, and with respect to Caitlin, the man is easy to hate.
I also voted for Sanders, and even gave several hundred dollars towards his campaign which is not my style, however he was a big disappointment in his stated high regard for Hilary whom I see, as does Assange, as sick with her perverse need for power and love of war. Not only were there repeated attacks on Trump's policies but all manner of attacks on him personally. Every effort was made to remove him from office and now efforts are made to prevent him from running again which has turned us into a more authoritarian state then we were before. I also hate the repeated attacks on his base as if almost all those that vote for him are scum, and often made by those who push woke, the hypocrisy is sickening.
Jamenta is so right. With the greatest respect to Fran, reading it carefully does support the comment above and that message is clearly enunciated in the article.
Caitlin is realistic about both parties and the drama queenery to which she referred is easier to remember, being just a few years ago. But a common failing with many leaders over time.
Biden is scary, not just now, but in his actions over the time he has been an elected member. One who can have the world sitting on the edge of its seat as it is right now, driven as he is by his subservience to his controllers, the military / Industrial profiteers.
I know I am seriously frightened as others should right now. As close as I can remember to a world war since Cuba....a long time ago.
One of the great things Caitlin brings up through one of her many many source links, is that Trump drone strikes quadrupled Obama's and then he eliminated the requirement to count civilian deaths from drone strikes. Everyone calls Obama the drone guy, and he certainly was, but Trump killed more civilians with drones than even Obomber, by a lot, let me tell you, by a lot. This is something people need to talk about a whole lot more.
There are any number of things about Trump’s time in the WH to raise bright red flags. One of the things that rarely gets attention, because every other president has behaved similarly, was Trump’s glee in lowering taxes and gutting regulations. Wall Street insiders were wetting their pants in ecstasy, and the stock market broke through to new heights.
When this is coupled with his law and order bloviating, Trump revealed himself as a champion of the class he purports to resent. His policies were incendiary to the point that Black Americans were so united in their opposition that they took to the streets in numbers, and Trump dismissed them as rabble, communists, criminals and such. Trump did simply with hate, what 8 years of betrayal from Obama could not achieve: African American unity.
Add to this his remorseless mendacity and pettiness. He lies reflexively and doesn’t care who knows it. He uses his political power to punish people who choose not to play for his team. If a longtime ally disagrees with Trump, that person becomes his enemy. It’s really second rate theater where civility takes a sabbatical.
And what did Biden, the 2nd President of the Trump Era say? "Nothing will fundamentally change". The solidarity these cretins have for one another is heartwarming. Oh wait, they're enemies. OK. lol
I've read this blog and here's one from 2020. Sound familiar? "They believe he's ending the wars even as he's ramped up cold war aggressions against Russia, killed tens of thousands of Venezuelans with starvation sanctions, vetoed attempts to save Yemen from U.S.-backed genocide, is working to foment civil war in Iran using starvation sanctions and CIA ops with the stated goal of effecting regime change, occupied Syrian oil fields with the goal of preventing Syria’s reconstruction, greatly increased the number of troops in the Middle East and elsewhere, greatly increased the number of bombs dropped per day from the previous administration, killing record numbers of civilians, and reduced military accountability for those airstrikes. They believe he's draining the swamp after packing his cabinet with establishment swamp monsters." Same old, same old.
Fran points out one blog post from 3 years ago - and assumes this proves that Caitlin is not balanced when writing about Trump and Biden - and irresponsibly harps on Trump.
Fran, the whole point of Caitlin’s essay was to address the liberal bias that sees Trump as a blight on their otherwise legitimate government . You, apparently, have a reverse bias, where Trump is not nearly as culpable or contemptuous of human life. as his political enemies. You see Caitlin’s litany of documented Trump crimes against humanity as over-the-top, and that compels you to complain.
I have come to the conclusion that you are more representative than I of the majority of commenters who are unwilling or incapable of reexamining their reflexive attachment to our staged political adversarialism. You see clearly the brutality and corrupt nature of the American Empire, but you are inclined to excuse Trump...perhaps because he is persecuted by those who disgust you most. I think this is soon to become a moot blindness on your part. You already recognize the illegitimacy of the American political system, but still cling to a naive belief that the “right” person can lead us to democracy. If you follow Trump closely, whether or not he reoccupies the WH, I believe you will eventually lose your rose-colored glasses.
Caitlin has shown through her written volumes that she has no particular animus toward Trump. She has a much bigger target in her sights. Similarly, Ralph Nader has a stellar reputation in defense of honest governance, and is no liberal’s apologist. His assertions about Trump are not baseless, and they don’t constitute persecution.
Nader, like Chomsky has done, plays the “lesser of evils” game, and that position can be justified to a point. Certainly, the legal defenses made available to the poor are measurably different, marginally better in Democrat admins. When Chomsky advocated getting the Covid vaccine, he was ripped apart as a traitor or turncoat, but he merely judged the collective suffering from the vaccine to be less severe than the uncontained contagion.
I get your point, and agree that Nader may not be a neutral source when it comes to Trump. I still hold him in esteem, though, because he doesn’t shoot from the hip. His points about Trump are not emotional or subjective.
From a distance, taking the “lesser of evils” approach is bad form. I like the quote from Balthasar Graciian:
“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.”
I have to admit, more recently I lost some respect for both Nader and Chomsky because they both kept on insisting we continue to engage in the obviously corrupt, two-party duopoly American electoral process and as you say, vote for the "lesser of two evils" when, at least for myself and many others, this "lesser of two evils" philosophy has clearly proven to be a corrosive, corrupt dead end road for the country and especially for the "Left".
I also understand Chomsky's position on the Covid vaccine, and understand his need to take a strong position on it given his many decades of intellectual leadership. You're kind of put in a corner where you are required to make a stand as a known leader and be vocal on your position. I've always admired him for his long years of defense of the Palestinians, and anti-war stances etc. And the thing with Covid - is a lot of the negative impact of the vaccines were not known at the time, and yet we had a predictable immediate reaction from the anti-government- far-right ideologues to assault any government response to a worldwide health crisis. And it very much was a worldwide health crisis - that did kill millions of people. I veer away from the Covid debate because it usually falls into - see government is completely evil, we just need to get rid of government altogether mindset - which to me, is nonsense. (Yes, we do need to get rid of corrupt government - but a representative government itself is necessary for a free society to operate.)
By the way, you are extremely articulate, one of the most articulate commentators here on Caitlin's substack. I think I'm a bit jealous at your writing skills right now. But then, I often find myself jealous of Caitlin's writing skills as well. I'm beginning to feel like Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. Hopefully I won't end up in an institution.
When I sense earnestness in a comment, I try to respond in kind.
My first response to a comment from Fran, which, btw, featured the same non sequitur loop, i.e., Biden, Hillary, Obama, the Democrats wronged and viciously maligned an elected president. I mocked what I took to be disingenuous babbling. Then I read it a second, third and fourth time, in each instance, mocking with different words. This went on for what felt like months, and I began to realize that I was directing my own serial version of Groundhog Day 2, a tragic rewriting of the comedy.
When facts have no sway over emotional, angry people, I choose to refrain from invective. It only prolongs senseless argumentation. But I suspect the worst motivations when the stench of a dead rat is nauseating and nobody can smell it.
If that comment was directed to me, can you please cite the comment or phraseology that seemed patronizing to you? I have been told that I am not incapable of coming across as patronizing or condescending, so I will either stand accused or argue with your characterization.
Yes, it was directed to you. Almost the whole second paragraph and part of the first you're analyzing Fran and gently correcting her, pointing out where she is misguided etc. As if she were in a therapy session.
My background is in marine science, but I also have a degree in clinical counseling and have worked for years with people with various psychological conditions and got payed for it, but I never played psychologist with someone I am disagreeing with politically. Do everyone a favor don't ever go into the field, because your evaluation of me and my perspective on the political scene just plain sucks. I don't excuse Trump in terms of many of his policies, but what I am critical of is an opposing party trying to remove an elected president from office, and doing things like pulling in the CIA to claim Hunter's laptop was more Russian disinformation, to alter the outcome of an election. Interesting that people like Greenwald, and Taibbi, are now only given a voice in mainstream media on FOX. Perhaps you saw Taibbi before the House subcommittee present his case on his Twitter findings and was referred to as a“so-called journalist" by democrats, and treated with destain due to their findings which implemented democrats in trying to control what Twitter could and couldn't publish. You are blind if you cannot see they used Trump to become more authoritarian. My perspective is that few, including too many on the left, like Amy Goodman, who pushed the Russia-gate narrative and lost all manner of perspective when it came to Trump assisted in creating a more autocratic state. If you think that Russia-gate and using Trump hate to push it, isn't something to be really concerned about it is you who are not paying attention.
You pretend Caitlin has never written about Russia Gate, or the obvious bias of journalists like Amy Goodman in many of her previous substack posts.
Caitlin writes one very good article about how Trump is about as Establishment as they come - and you have an apoplectic fit that she didn't mention Biden in the same article.
Yeah - Caitlin does write incessantly about Trump. Looking over her posts over the last year. All she writes about is Trump, Trump, Trump. Must be for sure TDS.
And this latest article about Trump, not mentioning Biden by name - shows her TDS symptoms are worsening. Next thing you know, she'll probably fly to New York city and start protesting at Trump Tower - with a sign about the Yemen war, or worse - that Iranian General mishap.
Someone needs to get Caitlin into TDS therapy quick!
In the West prime ministers, presidents and chancellors are irrelevant . Once in office they are owned and controlled by the elites and vested interests.
To read American history of the last seventy five years is to see how presidential authority is subverted by ideologues, agencies and well entrenched power brokers who rule out of the public eye.
In Canada we have a totally inept PM who only remains in office because the system is broken and our Parliament is an adult day care indulging in trivial issues. Our government takes its marching orders from Washington.
We are living Sheldon Wolin's "inverted totalitarianism"- the trappings of democracy, but no democracy.
If we refer to history we will also find that Hitler was financed and equipped by American investors. The Dulles Brothers by Stephen Kinzer is a book everybody should read. Much of Ukraine has already been sold off to Western investors pending the outcome of the war.
Never having been a Trump fan from way back I none the less was appalled by the bureaucratic attempts to vilify his every policy and stupid comment. The repeated failures of these same establishment zealots using blatant lies and non stop propaganda concerned me much more than any of Trumps exaggerations and naive military blustering. Trump made a mess of Covid, released a dangerous gene therapy, rode the economic tailwinds of previous reckless spending and made the whole abortion issue a lightening Rod that keeps the country forever divided. Yea he sucked just as much as every other president during my lifetime. I do think he was better than Hillary would have been. We are always choosing from the least shitty of two shitty options IMHO.
If one recognizes the faux government and the accomplished Ivy Leaguers who take nice paychecks to give it an air of legitimacy, I would expect a natural reaction to the trashing of Trump from all quarters, with lies and half-truths, and endless condemnatory rhetoric, would be to feel insulted and angered.
I wouldn’t feel sympathy for a known fraud who has cheated his way through life, using crooked lawyers to prevent the victims of his fraud from suing for justice.
It would bee useful, especially to the many who say that Biden is better than Trump, to do a comparison. E.g. Trump gave Ukraine offensive weapons. Biden gave Ukraine even more offensive weapons. Trump ramped up anti China rhetoric, Biden broke the One China policy by arming Taiwan And so on.
Where did you get the idea that I think Trump is somehow acceptable?Or that Biden is even worse? Do you think the Iraqis, Afghanis, Libyans, Syrians, Ukrainians, care which US party killed them?
The sad reality is that decent humane people are unelectable. They are filtered out in the way Bernie was filtered out by Debbie Washerwoman and the DNC. Or they are self-disqualified, perhaps recognizing that the presidency is the most dangerous job in the world. For sheer peril, the presidency looms large with half of the presidents since Lincoln having been assassinated or having been the subject of near fatal attempts . Biden proved his mettle by cheerleading the invasion of Iraq, showing he would do as he was told.
"the most dangerous job in the world." - also ungrateful for a decent person due to requirements of the position. Hence, only vain, shameless creatures make it and enjoy it. They don't care about the impact, they care about their names figuring prominently in the history books.
I take your point but wasn't Trump actually better than his predecessors on empire stuff? He had many isolationist impulses which to his discredit he allowed to be thwarted by those around him. Axios provided good coverage of his failed efforts to close bases and bring troops home in the last weeks his presidency.
If not for his isolationist /anti empire impulses, why then was Trump so reviled and sabotaged by the national security state, even well before Jan 6?
Trump left to his own free market devices would have just done "deals" with everyone,, But with the likes of netty and Kushner behind him hissing in his ears and the CIA manipulation of his every move tapping into his own ego as a horse bit in his mouth he never had a chance against the sophisticated deep state machines..
I actually think he wised up a bit..but yeah I'm inclined to think when the king is dead long live the new king will be business of wag the dog as usual.
Yeah I'm not claiming he was effective in fullfilling his isolationist goals, so he is ultimately to blame as commander in chief. Still he elicits such a strong negative reaction from the national security state that be must be seen as a threat to them.
I would love to see Caitlin address why she thinks Trump is so reviled by the stewards of the empire that she reviles
Trump had a (lucrative) role in society as an entertainer with a playboy real estate mogul schtick.
But he came to believe the role too much (including continual media teases over 30 years about a presidential run), got out of his lane, and somehow won the US presidency--on a populist platform, with in-character attacks against establishment opponents of both parties.
The entertaining elephant escaped his circus ring and was now threatening to rampage through the US Empire establishment's china shop. He had to be brought down; hence the coup attempts.
I appreciate Caitlin's summary of the many real misdeeds done under his alleged auspices as alleged head of the Empire administration bearing his name. (I honestly was trying just today to come up with such a list of my own!)
I think Trump's instincts are actually like he claims--including less US military activity abroad and more "deals". But he let himself get bamboozled by the coup attempts and foreign policy "experts" that he thought he needed to bring into his administration (and whom he thought, incorrectly, that he could control).
Trump has many of the right enemies, and as you suggest, they have this seemingly pathological hatred for a reason. We could do worse than having him in for another four years, possibly throwing at least a bit of sand in the gears of the Empire.
I can think of 2 obvious reasons why he is so reviled. His whole life has been about proving to his trust-fund peers who look down their noses at him, that he is as good or better than they. He is cravenly facile, and he has no class. They are both cardinal sins in the uber-elite stratosphere. He clumsily points to the callousness of the establishment he so fiercely resents.
Both the DNC and the RNC want Trump out of their lives because he knows where the bodies are buried, and will damage both parties if he can.
And calling Trump an isolationist or an anti-globalist as if he cares about his earnest supporters, and could actually do anything to make their lives better is cult-of-personality naïveté. The dude wants the approval of those he openly hates!
Man, did you even bother to read the article? Trump pretty much did everything the Establishment could want him to do - other than suck off Jeffrey Epstein himself.
Taking a wild guess here ... but maybe Trump is reviled by .... Joe Biden and the Democratic party???????
Caitlin just pointed out that Trump was no better on empire stuff than Obama was. In fact he continued what Obama started and then added to it in a bigger way. I wonder if you carefully read the essay before commenting? She even provided links.
Trump refused to attack Iran: that made him an outlander He didn't
think war with China or Russia was a good idea either. Bad man. Sure, he has a lot in common with past presidents, and the US state ethos is relentlessly militaristic, but he's a better man than Biden - by a long shot.
I don’t know what to make of Trump holding onto the classified “plans for an attack on Iran.” Does he want to blackmail the Pentagon into following through, or blacken the imperial brand?
Sorry about that. How 'bout "the Iran nuclear deal that Iran was scrupulously complying with, such that when Trump ordered the CIA to find a violation, the spooks came up empty-handed"?
You mean that if Trump's intention was war with Iran, he needed to create a situation from which he could back down? if he wanted to? Since when have US presidents needed solid reasons to attack other countries? They were all as opaque as plate glass windows.
Who really gives a shit about Trump or any of them? Maybe you hang your hats on RFK Jr. Yeah, like the CIA will ever let him become president. It's over. Elections mean nothing.
Each district court randomly selects citizens’ names from lists of registered voters and people with drivers licenses who live in that district. The people randomly selected complete a questionnaire to help determine if they are qualified to serve on a jury. Those qualified are randomly chosen to be summoned to appear for jury duty. This selection process helps to make sure that jurors represent a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age, or political affiliation."
Strange to see "drivers licenses" there as I'd think non-driver ID will also be taken into account. Bottom line - if you're a citizen you can be called up.
Caitlins article says that Trump is similar to other presidents. To me that means I can substitute Obama or any other president for Trump and change the links to fit. The point of her article is it doesn't matter who is put in office. And "put" is a more appropriate word than "voted".
Trump fomented an insurrection and nothing has been done except hundreds of his followers are being subjected to long prison terms and fines. If people can't agree that the justice system is corrupt, what will it take? Trump could have / should have called for a recount, but instead said the election was "stolen". Now instead of standing trial he's running for president. If people can't see this for what it is, another in your face, you don't count, we own you, what is it going to take? "All men are created equal?" Please. Our government breaks it's own laws on a whim.
Obama was a constitutional lawyer and yet did nothing about the Patriot Act which subverts the constitution and has led to our surveillance society which is being used for control of the people.
Biden is no better given his climate change policy, warmongering with China and Russia and ignoring serious domestic issues. So it goes , back to at least Reagan. The middle class has been destroyed based by "trickle down economics" and not one president has even tried to change it.
Arguing over trivial points about which sociopath is "worse" is pointless for the majority but a gift to the elite.
There isn't even a choice between the lesser of two evils anymore. Evil is evil.
100% right! If anyone thinks Trump is anti-establishment than there as ignorant as he is. The guy made over a billion dollars during his first term - they need HIM as much as he needs them! Hence these ridiculous lawsuits to fuel his fan base. If Obama was rightfully the greatest fairy tale ever told - Trump is the greatest illusion ever invented and they love it because it sells!! The man didn't have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of - his entire existence (just like Obama) was a charade solidified by the fact and the extent he went to in order to keep his tax records sealed! He simply robbed from Peter to pay Paul to create an image. Deepening the deep state rather than draining it - is what finally put him in the black! If anyone thinks he would ever bite the hand that feeds him - you get what you deserve. The pharmaceutical industry alone gave him OVER ONE MILLION dollars for his inauguration! Therefore he will never renounce the vaccines that have killed and harmed MILLIONS! It's been rumored his own son Baron is on the spectrum because of his childhood vaccines and yet when he had the opportunity to appoint RFK Jr to head a SAFE VACCINE committee - he sold him out to the pharmaceutical industry instead! C'mon people Caitlins, spot-on! Trump is the greatest ruse since Obama!
He did hence bringing in RFK Jr which would've accomplished exactly what he wanted! Talk about a THREAT to the industry! Why Trump terminated the agreement! He sold him out! The vaccines will be Trumps albatross they'll be no getting around it! Even if you kept the deaths and injuries out of it - the lockdowns did even worse harm! He's done he's finished this is just mere theatrics - nothing but an intentional diversion.
The other thing is that when he does tell the truth they hate him more. Such as admitting they were in Syria for the oil. "We're taking the oil". What part of Syria are we in? "The part with the oil". They don't like that he says the quiet part out loud. It's not that he's doing less international crime than other Presidents. He did just as much and in some cases more, but he talked about it and was proud of it. they really hate that.
Like accidental POTUS Truman who stepped up from Vice to POTUS with the death of President Franklin Delno Roosevelt and when engaged against New York Governor , Thomas Edmund Dewey, in the 1948 POTUS tussle, found financial support from American Zionists fully committed to invasion and occupation of Palestine that provided enough financial support to Truman's candidacy, that he won and in 1948 gave a shield of protection to the racist terrorist state founded by genocide against Semite Palestinians; Christians, Arabs and Jews horrified by the rape, murder and reign of terror causing hundreds of thousands of Semite Palestinians to flee their own country, . As POTUS, Truman granted United States recognition of terrorist state of Israel as it continues its genocide against Semite Palestinians. Former POTUS Trump found financial support from Zionists that carried him into being POTUS. Payback was agreeing with Zionists that terrorist state's Capital should be Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv. Useful to remember that when terrorist state went to war against the United States with its attempt to sink the U.S.S. Liberty ship during the terrorist state's Pearl Harbor like sneak attack on its neighboring nation states in terrorist state's lust for Third Reich Nazi like Lebensraum, featuring an on going Holocaust against Semite Palestinians. With American armed forces on the way to assist the Liberty ship against terrorist state's offensive war, then POTUS Lydon Baines Johnson, order the U.S. armed force on way in support of Liberty, to stand down and do an about face and return to their home base, leaving Liberty ship on its own. Crew members abord the Liberty when attacked by terrorist state were ordered to practice shut mouth evermore after the Israeli war on their ship.
Accidental POTUS was actually placed POTUS...by rabid industrialists who took shoo-in 1944 VP Candidate Henry Wallace to a second primary vote. The delegates were all paid to choose the one-term Senator from Missouri over the widely popular Wallace, who was an FDR acolyte.
The whole job lot of *representational* 'democracy' is well past its use-by-date. The nonsense choice of which of two psycho/sociopaths presented do the long suffering people of the USofA wish to have barking orders at them begins to loom large again. In the dying days of this so-called civilisation I see that there is an actual battle going on in the USofA between WEF globalists and patriots. The problem is that both sides are extremely toxic to everyone else on the planet with the patriots being ever so slightly better for humanities health. So what's to be done?
To my mind the answer is extremely simple. We gravitate to full participatory democracy post-haste where we all decide what our collective destinies should be. Remember that the people are sovereign & not the crooked apparatus of representational politics. Share the power out instead of concentrating it in fewer & fewer greedy hands! We could do this à la Gaddafi's Libya & Peoples Congresses or Switzerland's referenda-based direct democracy [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy ] or any combination thereof. The rewards for all are great. See the meme at https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f7e523b83194e5f2646bfbc489d5f213-lq for example. Note well that political parties were not allowed in Libya & neither was the charging of interest on a loan of money [usury/financial capitalism]. Swamp monsters cannot survive in such an environment. That's why they banded together in fear to crush Gadaffi's Libya before the population of the world realised what a far better system there was in place there.
There's really no contest between representational democracy & direct democracy. It really is a no-brainer. We don't need the psychos to be in charge of us or our children. Don't vote, don't encourage or empower them. Here's Gadaffi's little Green Book should any commentators want political enlightenment: http://openanthropology.org/libya/gaddafi-green-book.pdf
I have been thinking along these lines also. As we are supposed to be the actual citizens of democracy why can't We The People just do to them what they have done to us only our acts would be legal. I say let's put a citizens warrant on these criminals and have our own legal system to put them out of business. We should order the military to protect us while we form a citizens coalition. Remember the criminals have made laws against us and therefore they are not legal nor should we treat them as anything other than crimes against us. My first warrant is for the entire Biden mafia family and in particular Joe Biden for a terrorist act of war against Russia totally not authorized by we the people!
Plenty more to go on the list! I do argue against the death penalty for the 'elite' miscreants though. I'm personally not interested in sinking to their level of contempt for human life. If guilty they should, in my view, be incarcerated in very safe high rise flats that are moderately furnished but without telephone, internet, etc. There should be a TV screen that shows them what we are doing to put things right in a world they are effectively no longer a part of. We can work out what to do with them at our leisure.
I can agree with you on the death penalty since how many innocent people have been killed by corrupt judicial systems and officers. I keep thinking of some movie I saw years ago where there was talk of this very thing but in regards to a lion in a cage and the light of "freedom/hope/life" goes out of its eyes. That would be a fitting punishment for this Mass Murdering filth. It's not a proper thing to do to a lion though!
I always suspected he was targeted for busting through that western mold... It happened to every leader and contry the West can not subvert to control so they seek to destroy.
The presidency is nothing but a side-show specifically designed for purposes of misdirection.
This is completely spot on. Thanks for articulating these ideas so clearly, with many examples and links. Outstanding as always.
As an American I don't disagree with how we are described in this article, but what I do object to is her using Trump as the target to prove her point which she does repeatedly, and no doubt because he is such an easy target, and her scapegoat, as he is for many, No matter her contention that who ever is elected the world will suffer the consequences of an American hegemonic agenda that will cause turmoil and destruction Trump is her go to guy to make her point, and no doubt most reading it will swallow it up like a sweet milk shake, and she knows it. Notice no reference to a 2024 Biden win, or referencing what this man has done during his decades in office, and during his presidency has followed through on an agenda started under Obama. I do hope most recognize the real possibility of a nuclear war started back in 2014.
Man do I dislike blind tribalism. Many of the ills of the world could be summed up right now on the shallow lack of self-reflection that we're all suppose to be on someone's team.
By the way, it's not like Caitlin here didn't provide copious references to who and what Trump actually is and has done. But that's the problem with blind tribalism - you never want to look at the beam in thy own eye.
And anyone who has been following Caitlin's substack here for the last year, knows that she doesn't play favorites with either the Democrats or Republicans. That she has slammed Joe Biden just as much as she slams Trump here. But I guess all those previous references to Biden don't count at all - when you're on Team A and not on Team B.
Man, that was super refreshing to read. Well done article.
Don't accuse me of blind tribalism, because your rant sounds more like that then any thing I said. I am on no one's team. I didn't say she played favorites with the democrats, or republicans and I am neither, but an independent, and I didn't say she plays favorites with either party. I said this article was more of a Trump rant then anything else, and I've noticed her bias in this regard which has been true of not only those in the mainstream media, but many on the left. If they hadn't been so accommodating in their hatred for Trump instead of being objective journalist maybe we wouldn't be where we are now. No matter what you think of Trump the hatred generated for this man has been pathological and has even divided families and I'm sick of this BS!
Both Trump and Joe Biden are shitheads. And I think it was timely that we be reminded how much of a shithead Trump actually is. Good on Caitlin!
No, as a journalist objectivity is more important then spewing your personal hate and contempt. I'm pretty sick of Trump hate and sick of the illegal things the democrats did to remove him from office, with the lies of Russia-gate, pushed by a so called independent media and a left that didn't function any better then the mainstream they so often criticized.
I think you should re-read the article. Her main thesis has nothing to do with Trump hate or Trump bashing, in fact it's the opposite. Trump's presidency was terrible because it was like Obama's, Biden's, Bush's, Clinton's... She clearly states that the problem is the system, the empire, American hegemony, a brainwashed nation that still believes some kind of democracy is happening here. She only uses Trump as an example because he is the subject of so much hatred and will continue to be now that the next election is coming up. The article is very clear in its main points. You may have missed them in focusing only on the examples of why Trump's presidency was terrible. Maybe read the whole thing again?
Just because the Democrats are pieces of shit, doesn't clear Trump, or make him any better. Sorry.
This I agree with.
There are plenty things to accuse Trump with, just like any prez, but no amount of sheer lies - and with real consequences (the current war being one of them) - dumped on him matches anything else. To add to that by a journalist has no or little effect. That's how I read Fran's objections.
Though maybe Caitlin did it on purpose just to illustrate the idiocy of dems' current assault on Trump the candidate.
I found Caitlin's well documented analysis of Trump refreshing, because we really have been getting (deservedly) a nonstop criticism of Joe Biden and the hypocrisy and corruption of the Democratic party from many of the bigger Independent platforms (such as Jimmy Dore, and the Grayzone, etc.) but the overall effect of this has been to not highlight some of the serious problems with Trump himself - which Caitlin so well documents in this article, and which serves as a very clear warning that it does not matter who is elected - the consequences of both corrupt parties is very, very real. There really is no difference worth considering between either corrupt candidate or corrupt party.
I find the reactions here in the comments section fascinating. And I found Fran's very quick response biased, and unwarranted.
Being a registered independent, and stating so, isn’t exactly a convincing reflection of a thoughtful political perspective. Neither is expecting certain individuals to re-orient the American ship of state toward legitimacy and justice. The whole game is a charade to keep millions of Americans distracted and full of piss and vinegar.
I have been into politics and active on social issues, not to mention environmental issues, on a personal level for several decades which I will no discuss here with you. Your perception of me is based on your own biases, and you continue to fail to understand what I think and what I believe to be true. It is you problem, and not mine.
That is Caitlin’s point. The amount of hatred for Trump was for all the wrong reasons and the media doesn’t dare write and expose how Trump was no different from Obama and his predecessors or that Biden is continuing to do the things that Trump did.
Democrats and the media reported on everything Trump said and did and they often put their own spin on them. For instance Trump never said to inject bleach like they said he did. He was talking about getting out in the sun and getting vitamin D levels up. But to this day people are still laughing at him for saying inject bleach. Maybe read the essay again and see what you missed.
Did you ever read her article published in 2019 that provides 25 reasons why Trump is escalating tensions with Russia, and she wasn't talking about Russia-gate. If you find an article by her critical of Obama for generating a coup in Ukraine with a bunch of neo-nazi's give me the link, and of course Obama didn't send weapons to escalate tensions there but Trump did. He's an easy target especially if one is also depending on other's people's hate for the man to bolster and support your's. Well, I would love to see a sit down with her and Chomsky who made the claim that the only statesman that could put an end to the war in Ukraine was Trump.
Good grief. Caitlin is pointing out that Trump was JUST as bad as Obama, but he was being called the new Hitler for all the wrong reasons because the media never pointed out that Trump was just as bad as Obama on doing empire stuff. She’s saying that the media doesn’t cover America’s heinous foreign policies.
As I said earlier democrats and the media made up things about Trump just to make him look bad, but he wasn’t any worse than previous presidents. I think Obama was just as bad, Bush even worse and Clinton even beat Obama for the worst president of my lifetime because of his horrible domestic policies and the fact that he stole the peace dividend from the world by extending NATO closer to Russia’s borders.
She also pointed out that it was the democrats that pushed into being more aggressive towards Russia. As to whether she wrote about Obama’s tenure I wasn’t following her at the time, but she is writing about Biden and his pushing the world into a nuclear apocalypse.
Objectivity is like perfection. It doesn’t exist. But you are reacting like Trump would or like a child might. Caitlin used Trump as a cudgel to bash liberals who think they are superior to Trump supporters. Given your sympathies for Trump, you should applaud Caitlin’s evenhandedness.
It may seem that way to you, but not me, and I followed her commentary on Trump during his time in office on Consortium News where she even blamed him for creating and escalating tensions between the US and Russia. Give me a break. The left to their great discredit jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon and made a mess of their former selves. I'm not the only one who recognizes there lack of journalistic integrity in the Trump years. How do you think her article would have fared if she used Obama as her go to guy to show just how bad we can be? She definitely would not garner the support she seeks.
The point of showing that Trump caused tension with Russia was to discredit the phony Russiagate conspiracy. You keep making these points that show you're only reading these essays from one biased point of view. At this point I think we've entered backfire effect territory. No matter how many people carefully try to explain that you've misinterpreted Caitlin's writing, the more you're going to double down on your opinion. It's the way humans do it, especially when they feel attacked. I don't blame you or anything, I'd probably react the same way if I came into a conservative blog trying to make claims that I had special insight into someone's writing that absolutely contradicted what they claimed about themselves.
I agree with you. Never in the history of modern American politics has an American president ever been vilified treated so disrespectfully...from day one for that matter. I voted for Bernie (had to write his name in), so while I'm not a Trump supporter, I did enjoy being him giving grief to his enemies. I'll give the man his due for not caving after four long and tiring years of constant harassment and keeping his wits about him. Not to mention the outrageous condemnation of his ('deplorable') supporters as defined by The Witch known as Hillary Clinton. All that said, and with respect to Caitlin, the man is easy to hate.
I also voted for Sanders, and even gave several hundred dollars towards his campaign which is not my style, however he was a big disappointment in his stated high regard for Hilary whom I see, as does Assange, as sick with her perverse need for power and love of war. Not only were there repeated attacks on Trump's policies but all manner of attacks on him personally. Every effort was made to remove him from office and now efforts are made to prevent him from running again which has turned us into a more authoritarian state then we were before. I also hate the repeated attacks on his base as if almost all those that vote for him are scum, and often made by those who push woke, the hypocrisy is sickening.
Jamenta is so right. With the greatest respect to Fran, reading it carefully does support the comment above and that message is clearly enunciated in the article.
Caitlin is realistic about both parties and the drama queenery to which she referred is easier to remember, being just a few years ago. But a common failing with many leaders over time.
Biden is scary, not just now, but in his actions over the time he has been an elected member. One who can have the world sitting on the edge of its seat as it is right now, driven as he is by his subservience to his controllers, the military / Industrial profiteers.
I know I am seriously frightened as others should right now. As close as I can remember to a world war since Cuba....a long time ago.
One of the great things Caitlin brings up through one of her many many source links, is that Trump drone strikes quadrupled Obama's and then he eliminated the requirement to count civilian deaths from drone strikes. Everyone calls Obama the drone guy, and he certainly was, but Trump killed more civilians with drones than even Obomber, by a lot, let me tell you, by a lot. This is something people need to talk about a whole lot more.
There are any number of things about Trump’s time in the WH to raise bright red flags. One of the things that rarely gets attention, because every other president has behaved similarly, was Trump’s glee in lowering taxes and gutting regulations. Wall Street insiders were wetting their pants in ecstasy, and the stock market broke through to new heights.
When this is coupled with his law and order bloviating, Trump revealed himself as a champion of the class he purports to resent. His policies were incendiary to the point that Black Americans were so united in their opposition that they took to the streets in numbers, and Trump dismissed them as rabble, communists, criminals and such. Trump did simply with hate, what 8 years of betrayal from Obama could not achieve: African American unity.
Add to this his remorseless mendacity and pettiness. He lies reflexively and doesn’t care who knows it. He uses his political power to punish people who choose not to play for his team. If a longtime ally disagrees with Trump, that person becomes his enemy. It’s really second rate theater where civility takes a sabbatical.
And what did Biden, the 2nd President of the Trump Era say? "Nothing will fundamentally change". The solidarity these cretins have for one another is heartwarming. Oh wait, they're enemies. OK. lol
Actually this blog is one of the few that consistently criticises the Biden administration and warmongering,and not least its nuclear insanity.
Read the entire blog. Not only today’s post.
Agree. And in fact, rarely has posted about Trump. If anything, I would say she's written far more about Biden.
I've read this blog and here's one from 2020. Sound familiar? "They believe he's ending the wars even as he's ramped up cold war aggressions against Russia, killed tens of thousands of Venezuelans with starvation sanctions, vetoed attempts to save Yemen from U.S.-backed genocide, is working to foment civil war in Iran using starvation sanctions and CIA ops with the stated goal of effecting regime change, occupied Syrian oil fields with the goal of preventing Syria’s reconstruction, greatly increased the number of troops in the Middle East and elsewhere, greatly increased the number of bombs dropped per day from the previous administration, killing record numbers of civilians, and reduced military accountability for those airstrikes. They believe he's draining the swamp after packing his cabinet with establishment swamp monsters." Same old, same old.
Fran points out one blog post from 3 years ago - and assumes this proves that Caitlin is not balanced when writing about Trump and Biden - and irresponsibly harps on Trump.
Laughable.
I never said she was not critical of Biden or others, just an assumption on your part, and you know what they say about that.
For the record I quote:
"Notice no reference to a 2024 Biden win, or referencing what this man has done during his decades in office,"
So you know what they say about memory loss. Have you seen a therapist about that?
And on that note, I'm outta here!
Fran, the whole point of Caitlin’s essay was to address the liberal bias that sees Trump as a blight on their otherwise legitimate government . You, apparently, have a reverse bias, where Trump is not nearly as culpable or contemptuous of human life. as his political enemies. You see Caitlin’s litany of documented Trump crimes against humanity as over-the-top, and that compels you to complain.
I have come to the conclusion that you are more representative than I of the majority of commenters who are unwilling or incapable of reexamining their reflexive attachment to our staged political adversarialism. You see clearly the brutality and corrupt nature of the American Empire, but you are inclined to excuse Trump...perhaps because he is persecuted by those who disgust you most. I think this is soon to become a moot blindness on your part. You already recognize the illegitimacy of the American political system, but still cling to a naive belief that the “right” person can lead us to democracy. If you follow Trump closely, whether or not he reoccupies the WH, I believe you will eventually lose your rose-colored glasses.
Caitlin has shown through her written volumes that she has no particular animus toward Trump. She has a much bigger target in her sights. Similarly, Ralph Nader has a stellar reputation in defense of honest governance, and is no liberal’s apologist. His assertions about Trump are not baseless, and they don’t constitute persecution.
https://nader.org/2023/05/19/unstable-trump-double-down-as-the-odds-against-him-increase/
Nader urged people to vote for the Democratic party and Joe Biden in the last election.
Nader, like Chomsky has done, plays the “lesser of evils” game, and that position can be justified to a point. Certainly, the legal defenses made available to the poor are measurably different, marginally better in Democrat admins. When Chomsky advocated getting the Covid vaccine, he was ripped apart as a traitor or turncoat, but he merely judged the collective suffering from the vaccine to be less severe than the uncontained contagion.
I get your point, and agree that Nader may not be a neutral source when it comes to Trump. I still hold him in esteem, though, because he doesn’t shoot from the hip. His points about Trump are not emotional or subjective.
From a distance, taking the “lesser of evils” approach is bad form. I like the quote from Balthasar Graciian:
“Never open the door to a lesser evil, for other and greater ones invariably slink in after it.”
I have to admit, more recently I lost some respect for both Nader and Chomsky because they both kept on insisting we continue to engage in the obviously corrupt, two-party duopoly American electoral process and as you say, vote for the "lesser of two evils" when, at least for myself and many others, this "lesser of two evils" philosophy has clearly proven to be a corrosive, corrupt dead end road for the country and especially for the "Left".
I also understand Chomsky's position on the Covid vaccine, and understand his need to take a strong position on it given his many decades of intellectual leadership. You're kind of put in a corner where you are required to make a stand as a known leader and be vocal on your position. I've always admired him for his long years of defense of the Palestinians, and anti-war stances etc. And the thing with Covid - is a lot of the negative impact of the vaccines were not known at the time, and yet we had a predictable immediate reaction from the anti-government- far-right ideologues to assault any government response to a worldwide health crisis. And it very much was a worldwide health crisis - that did kill millions of people. I veer away from the Covid debate because it usually falls into - see government is completely evil, we just need to get rid of government altogether mindset - which to me, is nonsense. (Yes, we do need to get rid of corrupt government - but a representative government itself is necessary for a free society to operate.)
By the way, you are extremely articulate, one of the most articulate commentators here on Caitlin's substack. I think I'm a bit jealous at your writing skills right now. But then, I often find myself jealous of Caitlin's writing skills as well. I'm beginning to feel like Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. Hopefully I won't end up in an institution.
That was so well put!
You sound very patronizing. Why did you feel like you could assume the attitude?
When I sense earnestness in a comment, I try to respond in kind.
My first response to a comment from Fran, which, btw, featured the same non sequitur loop, i.e., Biden, Hillary, Obama, the Democrats wronged and viciously maligned an elected president. I mocked what I took to be disingenuous babbling. Then I read it a second, third and fourth time, in each instance, mocking with different words. This went on for what felt like months, and I began to realize that I was directing my own serial version of Groundhog Day 2, a tragic rewriting of the comedy.
When facts have no sway over emotional, angry people, I choose to refrain from invective. It only prolongs senseless argumentation. But I suspect the worst motivations when the stench of a dead rat is nauseating and nobody can smell it.
So I plead guilty.
If that comment was directed to me, can you please cite the comment or phraseology that seemed patronizing to you? I have been told that I am not incapable of coming across as patronizing or condescending, so I will either stand accused or argue with your characterization.
Yes, it was directed to you. Almost the whole second paragraph and part of the first you're analyzing Fran and gently correcting her, pointing out where she is misguided etc. As if she were in a therapy session.
Talk about unconscious projection.
TWI - typing while impaired - is strongly discouraged. Makes one look like a fool.
God forbid I look like a fool. What would my Mom think?
My background is in marine science, but I also have a degree in clinical counseling and have worked for years with people with various psychological conditions and got payed for it, but I never played psychologist with someone I am disagreeing with politically. Do everyone a favor don't ever go into the field, because your evaluation of me and my perspective on the political scene just plain sucks. I don't excuse Trump in terms of many of his policies, but what I am critical of is an opposing party trying to remove an elected president from office, and doing things like pulling in the CIA to claim Hunter's laptop was more Russian disinformation, to alter the outcome of an election. Interesting that people like Greenwald, and Taibbi, are now only given a voice in mainstream media on FOX. Perhaps you saw Taibbi before the House subcommittee present his case on his Twitter findings and was referred to as a“so-called journalist" by democrats, and treated with destain due to their findings which implemented democrats in trying to control what Twitter could and couldn't publish. You are blind if you cannot see they used Trump to become more authoritarian. My perspective is that few, including too many on the left, like Amy Goodman, who pushed the Russia-gate narrative and lost all manner of perspective when it came to Trump assisted in creating a more autocratic state. If you think that Russia-gate and using Trump hate to push it, isn't something to be really concerned about it is you who are not paying attention.
You pretend Caitlin has never written about Russia Gate, or the obvious bias of journalists like Amy Goodman in many of her previous substack posts.
Caitlin writes one very good article about how Trump is about as Establishment as they come - and you have an apoplectic fit that she didn't mention Biden in the same article.
What a load of self-justifying crap.
I get what you're trying to convey perfectly well. The responses so far to your points in my mind are perfect illustrations of the TDS.
Yeah - Caitlin does write incessantly about Trump. Looking over her posts over the last year. All she writes about is Trump, Trump, Trump. Must be for sure TDS.
And this latest article about Trump, not mentioning Biden by name - shows her TDS symptoms are worsening. Next thing you know, she'll probably fly to New York city and start protesting at Trump Tower - with a sign about the Yemen war, or worse - that Iranian General mishap.
Someone needs to get Caitlin into TDS therapy quick!
Did Caitlin respond to any Fran's comment?
Thanks!
"Drama queenery".. What a perfect description.
In the West prime ministers, presidents and chancellors are irrelevant . Once in office they are owned and controlled by the elites and vested interests.
To read American history of the last seventy five years is to see how presidential authority is subverted by ideologues, agencies and well entrenched power brokers who rule out of the public eye.
In Canada we have a totally inept PM who only remains in office because the system is broken and our Parliament is an adult day care indulging in trivial issues. Our government takes its marching orders from Washington.
We are living Sheldon Wolin's "inverted totalitarianism"- the trappings of democracy, but no democracy.
If we refer to history we will also find that Hitler was financed and equipped by American investors. The Dulles Brothers by Stephen Kinzer is a book everybody should read. Much of Ukraine has already been sold off to Western investors pending the outcome of the war.
Never having been a Trump fan from way back I none the less was appalled by the bureaucratic attempts to vilify his every policy and stupid comment. The repeated failures of these same establishment zealots using blatant lies and non stop propaganda concerned me much more than any of Trumps exaggerations and naive military blustering. Trump made a mess of Covid, released a dangerous gene therapy, rode the economic tailwinds of previous reckless spending and made the whole abortion issue a lightening Rod that keeps the country forever divided. Yea he sucked just as much as every other president during my lifetime. I do think he was better than Hillary would have been. We are always choosing from the least shitty of two shitty options IMHO.
The government you have today is the direct result of choosing the lesser of two evils for generations!
If one recognizes the faux government and the accomplished Ivy Leaguers who take nice paychecks to give it an air of legitimacy, I would expect a natural reaction to the trashing of Trump from all quarters, with lies and half-truths, and endless condemnatory rhetoric, would be to feel insulted and angered.
I wouldn’t feel sympathy for a known fraud who has cheated his way through life, using crooked lawyers to prevent the victims of his fraud from suing for justice.
It would bee useful, especially to the many who say that Biden is better than Trump, to do a comparison. E.g. Trump gave Ukraine offensive weapons. Biden gave Ukraine even more offensive weapons. Trump ramped up anti China rhetoric, Biden broke the One China policy by arming Taiwan And so on.
No way is Biden better than Trump.
Who do you think is better in bed? Trump probably. So you're right.
Where did you get the idea that I think Trump is somehow acceptable?Or that Biden is even worse? Do you think the Iraqis, Afghanis, Libyans, Syrians, Ukrainians, care which US party killed them?
The sad reality is that decent humane people are unelectable. They are filtered out in the way Bernie was filtered out by Debbie Washerwoman and the DNC. Or they are self-disqualified, perhaps recognizing that the presidency is the most dangerous job in the world. For sheer peril, the presidency looms large with half of the presidents since Lincoln having been assassinated or having been the subject of near fatal attempts . Biden proved his mettle by cheerleading the invasion of Iraq, showing he would do as he was told.
"the most dangerous job in the world." - also ungrateful for a decent person due to requirements of the position. Hence, only vain, shameless creatures make it and enjoy it. They don't care about the impact, they care about their names figuring prominently in the history books.
I take your point but wasn't Trump actually better than his predecessors on empire stuff? He had many isolationist impulses which to his discredit he allowed to be thwarted by those around him. Axios provided good coverage of his failed efforts to close bases and bring troops home in the last weeks his presidency.
If not for his isolationist /anti empire impulses, why then was Trump so reviled and sabotaged by the national security state, even well before Jan 6?
Trump left to his own free market devices would have just done "deals" with everyone,, But with the likes of netty and Kushner behind him hissing in his ears and the CIA manipulation of his every move tapping into his own ego as a horse bit in his mouth he never had a chance against the sophisticated deep state machines..
I actually think he wised up a bit..but yeah I'm inclined to think when the king is dead long live the new king will be business of wag the dog as usual.
Yeah I'm not claiming he was effective in fullfilling his isolationist goals, so he is ultimately to blame as commander in chief. Still he elicits such a strong negative reaction from the national security state that be must be seen as a threat to them.
I would love to see Caitlin address why she thinks Trump is so reviled by the stewards of the empire that she reviles
Trump had a (lucrative) role in society as an entertainer with a playboy real estate mogul schtick.
But he came to believe the role too much (including continual media teases over 30 years about a presidential run), got out of his lane, and somehow won the US presidency--on a populist platform, with in-character attacks against establishment opponents of both parties.
The entertaining elephant escaped his circus ring and was now threatening to rampage through the US Empire establishment's china shop. He had to be brought down; hence the coup attempts.
I appreciate Caitlin's summary of the many real misdeeds done under his alleged auspices as alleged head of the Empire administration bearing his name. (I honestly was trying just today to come up with such a list of my own!)
I think Trump's instincts are actually like he claims--including less US military activity abroad and more "deals". But he let himself get bamboozled by the coup attempts and foreign policy "experts" that he thought he needed to bring into his administration (and whom he thought, incorrectly, that he could control).
Trump has many of the right enemies, and as you suggest, they have this seemingly pathological hatred for a reason. We could do worse than having him in for another four years, possibly throwing at least a bit of sand in the gears of the Empire.
I can think of 2 obvious reasons why he is so reviled. His whole life has been about proving to his trust-fund peers who look down their noses at him, that he is as good or better than they. He is cravenly facile, and he has no class. They are both cardinal sins in the uber-elite stratosphere. He clumsily points to the callousness of the establishment he so fiercely resents.
Both the DNC and the RNC want Trump out of their lives because he knows where the bodies are buried, and will damage both parties if he can.
And calling Trump an isolationist or an anti-globalist as if he cares about his earnest supporters, and could actually do anything to make their lives better is cult-of-personality naïveté. The dude wants the approval of those he openly hates!
Man, did you even bother to read the article? Trump pretty much did everything the Establishment could want him to do - other than suck off Jeffrey Epstein himself.
Taking a wild guess here ... but maybe Trump is reviled by .... Joe Biden and the Democratic party???????
Caitlin just pointed out that Trump was no better on empire stuff than Obama was. In fact he continued what Obama started and then added to it in a bigger way. I wonder if you carefully read the essay before commenting? She even provided links.
I wonder if you carefully read my comment.
Trump refused to attack Iran: that made him an outlander He didn't
think war with China or Russia was a good idea either. Bad man. Sure, he has a lot in common with past presidents, and the US state ethos is relentlessly militaristic, but he's a better man than Biden - by a long shot.
Trump ordered the murder of General Suleimani. That's an act of war by any standard.
The only reason we didn't get into a hot war with Iran was Iranian forebearance.
And that assassination was the only reason there was a standoff for Trump to back down from in the first place!
To be fair, Trump, goaded on by his shithead advisors, was looking for a way to escalate tensions even before he unilaterally canned the JCPOA.
I don’t know what to make of Trump holding onto the classified “plans for an attack on Iran.” Does he want to blackmail the Pentagon into following through, or blacken the imperial brand?
Had to look up JCPOA. Damn acronyms!
"Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" FUBAR'D!
Sorry about that. How 'bout "the Iran nuclear deal that Iran was scrupulously complying with, such that when Trump ordered the CIA to find a violation, the spooks came up empty-handed"?
Go it! thanks
You mean that if Trump's intention was war with Iran, he needed to create a situation from which he could back down? if he wanted to? Since when have US presidents needed solid reasons to attack other countries? They were all as opaque as plate glass windows.
No he isn't.
Who really gives a shit about Trump or any of them? Maybe you hang your hats on RFK Jr. Yeah, like the CIA will ever let him become president. It's over. Elections mean nothing.
They want you to sign the voter registration legal documents that you agree to abide by the dictates of their installed puppets.
ChazLB: I took my name off of the Voter Registrar's list years ago. All voting did for me was get me jury duty.
If you're a citizen it doesn't matter whether you're registered to vote or not.
russian_bot: Not true. Unless you vote or have recently renewed your drivers license the county doesn't call you for jury duty.
"Juror Selection
Each district court randomly selects citizens’ names from lists of registered voters and people with drivers licenses who live in that district. The people randomly selected complete a questionnaire to help determine if they are qualified to serve on a jury. Those qualified are randomly chosen to be summoned to appear for jury duty. This selection process helps to make sure that jurors represent a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age, or political affiliation."
https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/learn-about-jury-service
Strange to see "drivers licenses" there as I'd think non-driver ID will also be taken into account. Bottom line - if you're a citizen you can be called up.
LOL! So you quote a government source. Hahaha. Oh, they'd never lie or tell you a half-truth. LOL!
Caitlins article says that Trump is similar to other presidents. To me that means I can substitute Obama or any other president for Trump and change the links to fit. The point of her article is it doesn't matter who is put in office. And "put" is a more appropriate word than "voted".
Trump fomented an insurrection and nothing has been done except hundreds of his followers are being subjected to long prison terms and fines. If people can't agree that the justice system is corrupt, what will it take? Trump could have / should have called for a recount, but instead said the election was "stolen". Now instead of standing trial he's running for president. If people can't see this for what it is, another in your face, you don't count, we own you, what is it going to take? "All men are created equal?" Please. Our government breaks it's own laws on a whim.
Obama was a constitutional lawyer and yet did nothing about the Patriot Act which subverts the constitution and has led to our surveillance society which is being used for control of the people.
Biden is no better given his climate change policy, warmongering with China and Russia and ignoring serious domestic issues. So it goes , back to at least Reagan. The middle class has been destroyed based by "trickle down economics" and not one president has even tried to change it.
Arguing over trivial points about which sociopath is "worse" is pointless for the majority but a gift to the elite.
There isn't even a choice between the lesser of two evils anymore. Evil is evil.
100% right! If anyone thinks Trump is anti-establishment than there as ignorant as he is. The guy made over a billion dollars during his first term - they need HIM as much as he needs them! Hence these ridiculous lawsuits to fuel his fan base. If Obama was rightfully the greatest fairy tale ever told - Trump is the greatest illusion ever invented and they love it because it sells!! The man didn't have a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of - his entire existence (just like Obama) was a charade solidified by the fact and the extent he went to in order to keep his tax records sealed! He simply robbed from Peter to pay Paul to create an image. Deepening the deep state rather than draining it - is what finally put him in the black! If anyone thinks he would ever bite the hand that feeds him - you get what you deserve. The pharmaceutical industry alone gave him OVER ONE MILLION dollars for his inauguration! Therefore he will never renounce the vaccines that have killed and harmed MILLIONS! It's been rumored his own son Baron is on the spectrum because of his childhood vaccines and yet when he had the opportunity to appoint RFK Jr to head a SAFE VACCINE committee - he sold him out to the pharmaceutical industry instead! C'mon people Caitlins, spot-on! Trump is the greatest ruse since Obama!
He did hence bringing in RFK Jr which would've accomplished exactly what he wanted! Talk about a THREAT to the industry! Why Trump terminated the agreement! He sold him out! The vaccines will be Trumps albatross they'll be no getting around it! Even if you kept the deaths and injuries out of it - the lockdowns did even worse harm! He's done he's finished this is just mere theatrics - nothing but an intentional diversion.
Biden's fake Whitehouse inoculation stunt kept the great vaccine lie going his whole term too.
If you meantion all of Trumps war crimes it will lead right back into the guilt of Obama's..
Glen Greenwald intercept article titled Obama killed a 16year old in Yemen
The other thing is that when he does tell the truth they hate him more. Such as admitting they were in Syria for the oil. "We're taking the oil". What part of Syria are we in? "The part with the oil". They don't like that he says the quiet part out loud. It's not that he's doing less international crime than other Presidents. He did just as much and in some cases more, but he talked about it and was proud of it. they really hate that.
Biden has proved beyond a doubt that the office holder is irrelevant.
A senile old man (Biden) is as good as a buffoon (Trump) is as good as an eloquent smarty pants (Obama).
Like accidental POTUS Truman who stepped up from Vice to POTUS with the death of President Franklin Delno Roosevelt and when engaged against New York Governor , Thomas Edmund Dewey, in the 1948 POTUS tussle, found financial support from American Zionists fully committed to invasion and occupation of Palestine that provided enough financial support to Truman's candidacy, that he won and in 1948 gave a shield of protection to the racist terrorist state founded by genocide against Semite Palestinians; Christians, Arabs and Jews horrified by the rape, murder and reign of terror causing hundreds of thousands of Semite Palestinians to flee their own country, . As POTUS, Truman granted United States recognition of terrorist state of Israel as it continues its genocide against Semite Palestinians. Former POTUS Trump found financial support from Zionists that carried him into being POTUS. Payback was agreeing with Zionists that terrorist state's Capital should be Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv. Useful to remember that when terrorist state went to war against the United States with its attempt to sink the U.S.S. Liberty ship during the terrorist state's Pearl Harbor like sneak attack on its neighboring nation states in terrorist state's lust for Third Reich Nazi like Lebensraum, featuring an on going Holocaust against Semite Palestinians. With American armed forces on the way to assist the Liberty ship against terrorist state's offensive war, then POTUS Lydon Baines Johnson, order the U.S. armed force on way in support of Liberty, to stand down and do an about face and return to their home base, leaving Liberty ship on its own. Crew members abord the Liberty when attacked by terrorist state were ordered to practice shut mouth evermore after the Israeli war on their ship.
Accidental POTUS was actually placed POTUS...by rabid industrialists who took shoo-in 1944 VP Candidate Henry Wallace to a second primary vote. The delegates were all paid to choose the one-term Senator from Missouri over the widely popular Wallace, who was an FDR acolyte.
Their "Trump" card being that Scarlett letter A to pin to your lapel if you point out the crimes of the chosen ones.
The whole job lot of *representational* 'democracy' is well past its use-by-date. The nonsense choice of which of two psycho/sociopaths presented do the long suffering people of the USofA wish to have barking orders at them begins to loom large again. In the dying days of this so-called civilisation I see that there is an actual battle going on in the USofA between WEF globalists and patriots. The problem is that both sides are extremely toxic to everyone else on the planet with the patriots being ever so slightly better for humanities health. So what's to be done?
To my mind the answer is extremely simple. We gravitate to full participatory democracy post-haste where we all decide what our collective destinies should be. Remember that the people are sovereign & not the crooked apparatus of representational politics. Share the power out instead of concentrating it in fewer & fewer greedy hands! We could do this à la Gaddafi's Libya & Peoples Congresses or Switzerland's referenda-based direct democracy [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_democracy ] or any combination thereof. The rewards for all are great. See the meme at https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f7e523b83194e5f2646bfbc489d5f213-lq for example. Note well that political parties were not allowed in Libya & neither was the charging of interest on a loan of money [usury/financial capitalism]. Swamp monsters cannot survive in such an environment. That's why they banded together in fear to crush Gadaffi's Libya before the population of the world realised what a far better system there was in place there.
There's really no contest between representational democracy & direct democracy. It really is a no-brainer. We don't need the psychos to be in charge of us or our children. Don't vote, don't encourage or empower them. Here's Gadaffi's little Green Book should any commentators want political enlightenment: http://openanthropology.org/libya/gaddafi-green-book.pdf
Best wishes.
I have been thinking along these lines also. As we are supposed to be the actual citizens of democracy why can't We The People just do to them what they have done to us only our acts would be legal. I say let's put a citizens warrant on these criminals and have our own legal system to put them out of business. We should order the military to protect us while we form a citizens coalition. Remember the criminals have made laws against us and therefore they are not legal nor should we treat them as anything other than crimes against us. My first warrant is for the entire Biden mafia family and in particular Joe Biden for a terrorist act of war against Russia totally not authorized by we the people!
Plenty more to go on the list! I do argue against the death penalty for the 'elite' miscreants though. I'm personally not interested in sinking to their level of contempt for human life. If guilty they should, in my view, be incarcerated in very safe high rise flats that are moderately furnished but without telephone, internet, etc. There should be a TV screen that shows them what we are doing to put things right in a world they are effectively no longer a part of. We can work out what to do with them at our leisure.
I can agree with you on the death penalty since how many innocent people have been killed by corrupt judicial systems and officers. I keep thinking of some movie I saw years ago where there was talk of this very thing but in regards to a lion in a cage and the light of "freedom/hope/life" goes out of its eyes. That would be a fitting punishment for this Mass Murdering filth. It's not a proper thing to do to a lion though!
I always suspected he was targeted for busting through that western mold... It happened to every leader and contry the West can not subvert to control so they seek to destroy.