And this is what keeps me up at night, 2:30 in the am. The outrage is exhausting but yet I can’t sleep. I see it so clearly. Why don’t all my neighbors, friends and family? Everyday another niche in the armor, another crack in the foundation.
You are either for Democracy or you are for fascism. Please do your research and return to past history particularly Germany 1933. So sorry for you, having a cult mentality is frightening. You need to think for yourself. Educate yourself and ask, what has this new regime done for me lately?
Germany 1933? The Brown Shirts and mass gun grab so that Citizens had no protection from Tyrrany? (Democrats) 1933? Rounding up and assasinating or jailing opposing political parties?(Democrats) Sound familiar? 1933? Mass murder of Jews in the Millions, all while conducting debilitating and deadly FORCED medical experiments. Ring a bell? 💉💉💉 (Democrats).
So...define Fascism? Democracy is just a buzz word that the radical lunatic psychopaths aka Democrat "leaders" parrot to their Sheep to follow their obviously very retarded agenda. You are asleep. You are a part of their 2030 depopulation agenda 💉💉💉. Ask any Illegal Alien if they were forced to take the jab. Nope! I would ditch your Cult if I were you. You're headed for the cliff🐑
imbecility has entered the chat . . radical psychopaths aka Democrats?. . .LMAO!. .the epitome of projection. I haven’t seen shit for brains this brazenly displayed since Rush Limbaugh. Move to fucking Russia knuckle dragger.
Dude, you’re talking about yourself. Do you think people don’t know about the history of Germany? Move to Russia?! You’re trying to turn the United States into Russia. That’s where YOU should go since you’re so hell bent on destroying this one!
The brown shirts and masks you see right here in the USA have not been ordered up by democrats, but the republicans and this republican administration. Where do you get this strange idea that they’ve been sent out by democrats? The only party doing any rounding up, or suing, or maligning opposition is the republicans. When did democrats mass murder anyone? I could go on, but I’ll bet your mind is so entrenched with the cult of maga (caps off on purpose) that no amount of truth will set you free. Sad.
When has there been "mass murder of Jews in the Millions, all while conducting debilitating and deadly FORCED medical experiments" in the USA? Not in 1933 or any other time! No, "Rounding up and assassinating or jailing opposing political parties" hasn't happened in the USA. Do you live in Germany? That's where this happened. And we can all hope that people of the world learned from those experiments and stop it before we do live in that kind of society that YOU VOTED FOR.
🛑 calling him the most powerful man on earth! That is the first consideration. People are only as powerful as we make them believe they are.
We are in a 💩 🕳️ , but that doesn’t mean stroke his ego more. The most powerful people are those that move in large numbers, together for a good cause!
No, he doesn’t. Reading is fundamental. And if he did control it he has shown you that he is willing to use it against the citizens he has sworn to protect. Where do you think that leaves you? He’s not bringing you to live with him in the white house. You’re going to be in cotton fields like everybody else.
Hold on friend. I'm on your side. I am as anti Trump as they come. I pointed out that the US military is widely recognized as the most powerful on earth, and Trump is more or less running it. That is not good. That is bad and dangerous and scary. But its the reality. Incidentally, I'm Canadian and no fan of Trump in any shape or form.
I agree with you and I'm Canadian too. Thankfully Canada turfed PP the MAGA WANNABE
Patriarchal religions, and Common Laws based upon canon laws, written by property and slave holding English judges are women hating and destructively fascist at their core.
IDU CONSERVATIVES ARE COWARDS; AFRAID OF FREEDOM--FREEDOM BASED UPON HELPING EVERYONE.
COWARDS VOTE HATE-FILLED FUHRERS INTO POWER AND CALL THEM "DADDY".
Infantilizing the population, by incessantly promulgating falsehoods, is a method used by NAZIS.
Repeated lying discombobulates a goodly number of a nation's citizens and allows governments to control citizen's thought processes.
He's doing what 77+Million US Citizens hired him to do. He even sent out multiple surveys during Campaign. Consider it a big giant collective Fuck You to the Radical Psychopaths who are their way out the door👋
We didn’t vote for him Elon did smart elections found out Elon cheated using Starlink. They have lots of proof and showed it to the judge. He said they could go to court so there’s a court date set in New York September 22, 2025 in three months One good thing they have in Rockland County New York. It shows zero votes for Harris. They have affidavits from people that voted for her. Trump only got 1/3 of the votes. He did not win. I wish I lived closer I’d be going to that hearing, just looked them up, wait till Trump finds out the cats out of the bag he cheated
As a fellow Brit I can only agree with every alarming word Martin has written. Watching Trump, Vance, Rubio and Hegseth delivering their “complete obliteration” verdict was truly like watching the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse. Watching Hegseth’s vitriolic lambasting of the media and listening to Trump castigate CNN and other independent journalists for suggesting he may not be a complete success (and only insinuating that those journalists were criticising the armed forces) has been like witnessing the demise of democracy in America. Where are the genuine new Founding Fathers?
What make me shudder is that, after the “selective” killing of more than 110 journalists in Gaza in the cruelest way, the western journalists remains quiet and well behaved in the conference rooms. Looking at the faces of the journalist attending the tragicomic Trump/Hegseth show in The Hague, I was struck by the fact that none of them even laugh. It was laughably, in spite of the enormity of the facts. They hear the lecture of Hegseth looking away. They should have abandoned the room.
I see your 110 journalists and raise you 25,000 innocent women and children. Trump makes no mention of these statistics, his lack of action to condemn Netanyahu and threaten to take over the humanitarian effort to Gaza makes him complicit in this war crime.
They have been at it for 2000+ years. Give it a rest already omg. Go after Big Pharma and Gates.and that entire crew. They made you transhuman without consent under a fake narrative. Go get em Tiger! 😀
Go after big pharma and gates? You don’t have a freaking clue about the human anatomy or how mRNA works.. You’re just parroting the narrative you were told by your handlers who are only in the to solidify their power over this country and the world.
All of the wealthy and powerful people are on the same team. You’re stuck on racism and Julio getting paid $10 an hour while the the wealthy people of the world are working together to strip Americans of their rights, freedoms, pathways and thoughts of ever experiencing an American dream again.
I found it so amusing that Marc Rutte called Trump "daddy" and with an obvious smirk heaped praise on Trump's enormous ego. Is the latter so thick that he cannot see piss taking when it happens!
In answer to your question, I believe they are to be found predominantly (not exclusively, mind you) in the many women of genuine integrity who have been elected in these last years and who are speaking out and doing their best to hold this regime accountable. Thank you for writing this. I hope we have not reached the point of no return, and that we still may forget a more perfect union.
Edit: *forge* a more perfect union, not forget! Also, Mamdani does bring great hope, as well, and a vision for how we may remake ourselves in this country, from the ground up. I do so fear for the safety of all.
Mamdani’s election is so hopeful and his hopes for NYC and the policies he plans to create a truly improved life for residents are exciting. I feel that it is a good idea to reflect that President Biden worked toward the same big structural reforms, as did state Democrats. Mamdani’s vision has been the Democrat’s vision. I hope he will be successful in the short term, because, sadly, we have a tendancy to turn on our party when results do not come quickly enough or if the results do not reach people at the farther reaches as quickly as they do in the geographical center.
In the land where gun culture drives attitudes and the so-called leader of the free world is prone to inciting violence against those who stand in his way, I fear for Mamdani's safety
Wait until the immigrants who fled Socialist & Communist Countries for NYC find out what this guy has planned for them. People are absolutely clueless!
I agree with your sentiment and genuinely hope that is true but over here we do not see any substantial challenge to Trump and his cohort. The biggest [challenge] reported here seems to be Gavin Newsom's legal action against Fox News. Surely there must be a consensus approach by like minded Democrats and Republicans to get this autocratic fascist and his henchmen out of office.
Re: Mamdani referring to him as a Democrat socialist (damn it, we just cannot stop ourselves from micro labelling, can we?). He replied in an interview that he said such because he had experienced capitalism as a cultural engine that generated an ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots. It is unfortunate that he, as have others in trying to distinguish Democrats principles, used the red-alarm-fire word socialism. I have put forward many times humanist capitalism as an alternative. Humanist values of fairness, equality of opportunity, strong wages for working people, a tax structure that does not pander to the very rich and burden the poor. No one took it up. Sadly, as was my hero Sanders, he will now be branded as a socialist.
Mamdani's win in our mayoral primary was a direct reaction to Trump! And now Trump has reached a NEW LOW. His goons are arresting disabled people who are quietly protesting the proposed cuts to Medicare/Medicaid. It won't be long before the concentration camps are set up. . . .
AMEN. It was the T-4 program. The killing machinery was based on the experiments they did with disabled people. I read about this many, many years ago. There is a new documentary coming out about the T-4 program. The Expendables. When it comes to NYC, I definitely want to see it.
Anyone who crossed the US Border ILLEGALLY, and given Social Security #'s, free Healthcare(Medicare & Medicaid) free housing & food & debit cards with thousands of Dollars loaded on them. There were over 4 Million Illegals who were given the above benefits by the Biden Autopen Regime.
The USA took a HUGE chunk of Mexico to add to our landmass. Is it any wonder than the chickens are coming home to roost? How many folks on the Mayflower had papers? I don't even know if my own grandfather from Sicily had papers. A person is not an "illegal." We don't talk about human beings that way. Whatever happened to Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statue of Liberty? All that stuff about "give me your tired, your poor..." etc.? Was that all malarky? Most of those folks you are calling "illegals" WORK and PAY TAXES. Most of them work more than one job. They are MORE law-abiding because they don't want to end up in the clutches of the ICE thugs. New York is a sanctuary city and ICE has no business here. We will protect our people--those with papers and those without papers.
That was the past. Like a Century ago😂Chickens coming to roost off of free money. THAT is the only reason. Let them go Make Mexico Great. Why would you want to be somewhere where literally nobody wants you except to use you for cheap labor and a Vote? Small mentalities 🤏
A man outside our borders just gave us a mirror. And instead of looking in it, we’re busy arguing over whether we still look presidential in fascism. His post wasn’t some performative “concerned outsider” hand-wringing. No, it was a scathing, righteous gut-check—one that should’ve come from our own so-called leaders long ago.
Instead, he gave the sermon they’re too scared, too bought, or too drunk on donor cocktails to preach.
Twelve million Americans took to the streets on June 14th.
Let me say that again for the politicos hiding under mahogany desks: Twelve. Million. People.
That’s not a protest. That’s a damn census.
But the response from the halls of power? Crickets. Or worse—champagne corks popping at Alex Soros’s wedding.
You cannot make this up. As the republic inches toward hospice care, the Democratic elite decided that what America really needed was a curated Instagram reel from the Hamptons. Because nothing says solidarity like rosé in a tux while ICE agents round up toddlers and schools assign 1950s textbooks.
And meanwhile, Trump is busy fulfilling every authoritarian’s dream—on schedule, under budget, and with branding. He’s turned cruelty into policy, racism into platform, and fascism into a fanbase. Let’s stop calling it “populism.” It’s a personality cult with propaganda arm workouts every night on cable news.
Zohran Mamdani won a damn election and now he’s being openly threatened with denaturalization and deportation. For the crime of not being white and leftist. That’s not just dangerous. It’s centuries-old.
Segregation didn’t disappear. It went to grad school, got a PR firm, and learned to say “electability.”
And while all this happens, where are the so-called defenders of democracy?
Panic-browsing polling crosstabs and workshopping TikTok videos in offices that smell like expired New Deal leftovers.
Let’s be honest: the Democrats don’t oppose Trumpism. They react to it, like a cat watching a cucumber. And every time they reassure us that “the courts will save us,” a new SCOTUS ruling comes down like Zeus with a grudge, handing Trump another “GIANT WIN” while muttering “existential threat to the rule of law” into the footnotes.
The man on the outside sees the metastasis. Why can’t we?
He saw the Pentagon press conference and called it what it was: a militarized temper tantrum. Pete Hegseth’s neck was doing CrossFit while he attacked reporters like they were insubordinate platoon recruits. No respect for civilian press. Just naked authoritarian energy—and half the country thinks it’s patriotism.
Hell, Trump wouldn’t just gaslight the nation—he’d volunteer to turn on the literal gas if it secured another term.
That’s not a metaphor. That’s a moral diagnostic.
We’ve normalized state-sponsored abduction, detention-for-profit, and racialized terror disguised as immigration enforcement.
Zip ties on children. No due process. Cage labor for a dollar a day.
And let’s call it what it is: modern-day slavery in khaki and Kevlar.
It’s all packaged in patriotic wrapping. But when you untie the bow, it’s cruelty—and it’s selling like hotcakes.
So when the outsider says America is rotting from the inside out, he’s not breaking news. He’s breaking denial. And like every truth-teller before him, he’ll be ignored by the people who need to hear it most.
And if you think this is all just alarmism, consider this:
The same week 12 million marched, the Supreme Court gutted birthright citizenship and gave the authoritarian-in-chief a green light to ignore court injunctions. They didn’t even flinch.
That’s the moment you realize democracy doesn’t die with a bang.
It erodes with shrug emojis and bad faith legal briefs.
And while all of this happens, America keeps asking the same question: “What can we do?”
Here’s a suggestion:
Maybe stop expecting saviors and start expecting consequences.
Maybe stop electing cowards and start electing fighters.
Maybe stop pretending this is politics-as-usual and start treating it like the constitutional cardiac arrest it is.
The outsider ended his post with this scorched-earth mic drop:
“The world is witnessing the destruction of a once force for good in real time.”
He’s not wrong.
We are the drunk uncle at the wedding of nations.
Slurring nonsense. Punching ourselves in the face. And wondering why nobody wants to ride home with us.
Our people are rising up. This is not the end of “a once great nation”. We will fight dt. (That’s the only way I can stomach addressing him. That and the antichrist. No jest intended.)
It can no longer be ignored or debated. The United States conservative Supreme Court justices are actively, as activists, openly directing and participating in reshaping the United States ethnic and economic structure. They are helping to turn us into a Christ-Nationalist state.
Excellent post as usual, but I can only see 2 comments.....this happens to me a lot in substacks I'm a paid subscriber to. I don't understand it and it's very frustrating!
SADLY YOUR ANALYSIS IS SICKENLY TRUE. ALTHOUGH I REFUSE TO STOP LOBBYING MY SENATOR, WHO IS ONE OF THE WORST, RON JOHNSON, AS WELL AS, THE OTHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM MY STATE AND DOING WHATEVER IS POSSIBLE, I AM BECOMING INCREASINGLY DISILLUSIONED. THESE HATEFUL FASCISTS ARE DETERMINED TO RETAIN POWER AND REMAKE AMERICA INTO THEIR PERSONAL CASH REGISTER AT THE EXPENSE OF ANYONE WHO RESISTS THEM. I FEAR THEY ARE WILLING TO DO WHATEVER THAT GOAL REQUIRES INCLUDING USING THUGS AND OUR MILITARY TO HARM US IN THE STREETS OF AMERICA. THE SITUATION IS VERY DIRE AND IS BECOMING ALARMINGLY WORSE EVERYDAY. MY HEART ACHES AND, YES, AS OTHER'S HAVE MENTIONED, IT IS AFTER FOUR IN THE MORNING AND SLEEP DOES NOT COME.
I feel as if we are collectively holding our breath, waiting for someone to ride in and save us.. it’s not going to happen!! we must continue to take to the streets and PROTEST and make good trouble. We must be the ones to put an end to the nightmare.
We need to use these phrases, make them universal in the coming months. Progressives are a creative bunch, so we should challenge our brethren to find all the effective ways to apply these hashtags.
FDR turbocharged America’s greatness, winning World War II and establishing social safety nets for the poor, elderly, and infirm. He gave America the New Deal.
DJT is saddling us with #TheRawDeal
#SquanderingAmericasGreatness as a distraction for funneling more of America’s wealth to the top 1%.
#CowardlyComplicitRepublicans have shown that they are. #ProSTRIFE, willing to inflict unnecessary economic and physical hardships on the 99%.
But we will not stand for them replacing democracy with #RepubloFascism. The time is now to pressure members of the #SecretSaneGOPCaucus into declaring themselves independent and caucusing with Democrats to flip the House. That bold act will make them heroes for generations.
My hope is that they brand themselves as the #ConstitutionalConservativeCaucus and that each is rewarded for working this deal with Democrats with committee chairs as Dems immediately start investigations.
This is the quickest route to ending our nightmare, this #PeriodOfEndarkenment. To repurpose an old phrase, that’s when we start to #BuildBackBetter, applying #22ndCenturyThinking to create a government and political arena completely isolated from the corrupting forces of billionaire and corporate money.
The goal of #AchievingHonorableDemocracy will be built into this new system, necessary because we all now know that the MAGA hat came with this preamble:
Thank you, Todd - very constructive contribution imho.
Of course, I am aware that the search for such “members of the #SecretSaneGOPCaucus” is likely to be an extremely delicate matter. It will not develop on its own. There would need to be a person highly respected across party lines as honest and free of deception and who can discreetly (!) work toward such an alliance in one-on-one conversations. At the same time, never forget the enormous pressure GOP representatives are under and how far this pressure even goes toward personal threats or threats to their families.
And yet: if such a group, together with the Democrats, were to succeed in breaking through the unspeakably submissive attitude of the Republican representatives and get a decisive “Stop! No more!” from the House, it would be a very promising first step toward averting the looming fascist dictatorship.
Oh I know I know. I’m still awake at 2 AM. It’s as if my body is in some kind of weird shock and I can’t come out of it. My hope and prayer is that someone will suddenly rise up from our broken country and quickly gain the support of people on both sides of the aisle. And lead us and those confused and cowardly MAGAs and pull us together as a nation. It’s a good thought.
With all due respect, Elizabeth, I have to disagree with you completely. I understand that your idea can be comforting when everything around you seems so hopeless and deeply evil. But it is extremely dangerous to hope for a “knight in shining armor” (male or female) to save the whole country from danger. Such “Lone Ranger” patterns have caused unimaginable damage throughout history and continue to do so today.
Please read the post from “Todd's ProgBlog” directly below this response (edit: Sorry—the order of the answers is flexible.) to understand how much more realistic it is to seek a possible way out by uniting those who, for whatever reason, are able to make a difference together.
Excellent point Andreas. Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, and Repunzle were fairy tales that screwed a bunch of us up that way, and I know better. It just slips through the cracks sometimes. Thanks for the reminder that we can’t just sit back and wait!!!!
'winter in america', 'big brother', 'strange fruit', but you didn't listen. too entranced in your delusional american dream, deaf to the cries of the tortured souls in the american dystopia. the MYTH of a great nation perpetuated our nightmare. welcome to your american, the only one we have ever known.
And this is what keeps me up at night, 2:30 in the am. The outrage is exhausting but yet I can’t sleep. I see it so clearly. Why don’t all my neighbors, friends and family? Everyday another niche in the armor, another crack in the foundation.
So sorry for you.
quit cryin and take action.
Ed Abbey wrote a great little tutorial. Its called "The Monkeywrench Gang".
Why don't you see it? Take your blinders off.
You are either for Democracy or you are for fascism. Please do your research and return to past history particularly Germany 1933. So sorry for you, having a cult mentality is frightening. You need to think for yourself. Educate yourself and ask, what has this new regime done for me lately?
Great response!
Germany 1933? The Brown Shirts and mass gun grab so that Citizens had no protection from Tyrrany? (Democrats) 1933? Rounding up and assasinating or jailing opposing political parties?(Democrats) Sound familiar? 1933? Mass murder of Jews in the Millions, all while conducting debilitating and deadly FORCED medical experiments. Ring a bell? 💉💉💉 (Democrats).
So...define Fascism? Democracy is just a buzz word that the radical lunatic psychopaths aka Democrat "leaders" parrot to their Sheep to follow their obviously very retarded agenda. You are asleep. You are a part of their 2030 depopulation agenda 💉💉💉. Ask any Illegal Alien if they were forced to take the jab. Nope! I would ditch your Cult if I were you. You're headed for the cliff🐑
imbecility has entered the chat . . radical psychopaths aka Democrats?. . .LMAO!. .the epitome of projection. I haven’t seen shit for brains this brazenly displayed since Rush Limbaugh. Move to fucking Russia knuckle dragger.
Dude, you’re talking about yourself. Do you think people don’t know about the history of Germany? Move to Russia?! You’re trying to turn the United States into Russia. That’s where YOU should go since you’re so hell bent on destroying this one!
Save the rhetoric for maga, they’ll buy anything.
You pathetic fool
Go back in your box, Pandora. When you jump out all you do is herald in bad news.
Trump voters opened the box
The brown shirts and masks you see right here in the USA have not been ordered up by democrats, but the republicans and this republican administration. Where do you get this strange idea that they’ve been sent out by democrats? The only party doing any rounding up, or suing, or maligning opposition is the republicans. When did democrats mass murder anyone? I could go on, but I’ll bet your mind is so entrenched with the cult of maga (caps off on purpose) that no amount of truth will set you free. Sad.
When has there been "mass murder of Jews in the Millions, all while conducting debilitating and deadly FORCED medical experiments" in the USA? Not in 1933 or any other time! No, "Rounding up and assassinating or jailing opposing political parties" hasn't happened in the USA. Do you live in Germany? That's where this happened. And we can all hope that people of the world learned from those experiments and stop it before we do live in that kind of society that YOU VOTED FOR.
🛑 calling him the most powerful man on earth! That is the first consideration. People are only as powerful as we make them believe they are.
We are in a 💩 🕳️ , but that doesn’t mean stroke his ego more. The most powerful people are those that move in large numbers, together for a good cause!
He controls the worlds largest military. That gives him the power.
No, he doesn’t. Reading is fundamental. And if he did control it he has shown you that he is willing to use it against the citizens he has sworn to protect. Where do you think that leaves you? He’s not bringing you to live with him in the white house. You’re going to be in cotton fields like everybody else.
Your wytness is not going to save you.
Hold on friend. I'm on your side. I am as anti Trump as they come. I pointed out that the US military is widely recognized as the most powerful on earth, and Trump is more or less running it. That is not good. That is bad and dangerous and scary. But its the reality. Incidentally, I'm Canadian and no fan of Trump in any shape or form.
I agree with you and I'm Canadian too. Thankfully Canada turfed PP the MAGA WANNABE
Patriarchal religions, and Common Laws based upon canon laws, written by property and slave holding English judges are women hating and destructively fascist at their core.
IDU CONSERVATIVES ARE COWARDS; AFRAID OF FREEDOM--FREEDOM BASED UPON HELPING EVERYONE.
COWARDS VOTE HATE-FILLED FUHRERS INTO POWER AND CALL THEM "DADDY".
Infantilizing the population, by incessantly promulgating falsehoods, is a method used by NAZIS.
Repeated lying discombobulates a goodly number of a nation's citizens and allows governments to control citizen's thought processes.
Why the increase in recruitment? Hmmm🤔😂
Because you are believing the lies or we have more yt supremacy types than we knew about! Sickening really.
Low IQ🫵
He's doing what 77+Million US Citizens hired him to do. He even sent out multiple surveys during Campaign. Consider it a big giant collective Fuck You to the Radical Psychopaths who are their way out the door👋
Dear Cheryl, please make sure you have taken your medication before posting online.
I don't take drugs or meds or anything Big Pharma, unlike you🙄
Where is the people’s military, there has to be some that will stand up!
Still more of us than them and many in the military are actually “aliens”! What a horrible word. In any case, moving together en masses is best!
Wow! You are one good reason the US Dept of Education has been dismantled. Good luck with that😂
THANK YOU!!!
I agree. Too many terrified lemmings and sheeple around, moaning, whining and crying, instead of fighting.
We need guerrillas not wimps
I blocked the posts of Cheryl C. Extreme. Trump nonsense could rot brains.
So a good cause is making more 💩 holes? Do you have a brain?
what do you mean?
We didn’t vote for him Elon did smart elections found out Elon cheated using Starlink. They have lots of proof and showed it to the judge. He said they could go to court so there’s a court date set in New York September 22, 2025 in three months One good thing they have in Rockland County New York. It shows zero votes for Harris. They have affidavits from people that voted for her. Trump only got 1/3 of the votes. He did not win. I wish I lived closer I’d be going to that hearing, just looked them up, wait till Trump finds out the cats out of the bag he cheated
Wow! You still can't figure it out? If you had an ounce of common sense you would be able to figure it out. 🙄
all presidents love ordering anonymized killings. Every. single. one.
Each is responsible for war, death, injustice, and suffering.
Doubt my assessment?
Survey politicians' speeches, and determine exactly how many times they mention charity; compassion; mercy; or joy.
Now. Survey their pronouncements and count how many times they mention "economic growth"; "taxes"; "threats"; and "war".
As a fellow Brit I can only agree with every alarming word Martin has written. Watching Trump, Vance, Rubio and Hegseth delivering their “complete obliteration” verdict was truly like watching the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse. Watching Hegseth’s vitriolic lambasting of the media and listening to Trump castigate CNN and other independent journalists for suggesting he may not be a complete success (and only insinuating that those journalists were criticising the armed forces) has been like witnessing the demise of democracy in America. Where are the genuine new Founding Fathers?
What make me shudder is that, after the “selective” killing of more than 110 journalists in Gaza in the cruelest way, the western journalists remains quiet and well behaved in the conference rooms. Looking at the faces of the journalist attending the tragicomic Trump/Hegseth show in The Hague, I was struck by the fact that none of them even laugh. It was laughably, in spite of the enormity of the facts. They hear the lecture of Hegseth looking away. They should have abandoned the room.
I see your 110 journalists and raise you 25,000 innocent women and children. Trump makes no mention of these statistics, his lack of action to condemn Netanyahu and threaten to take over the humanitarian effort to Gaza makes him complicit in this war crime.
They have been at it for 2000+ years. Give it a rest already omg. Go after Big Pharma and Gates.and that entire crew. They made you transhuman without consent under a fake narrative. Go get em Tiger! 😀
Go after big pharma and gates? You don’t have a freaking clue about the human anatomy or how mRNA works.. You’re just parroting the narrative you were told by your handlers who are only in the to solidify their power over this country and the world.
All of the wealthy and powerful people are on the same team. You’re stuck on racism and Julio getting paid $10 an hour while the the wealthy people of the world are working together to strip Americans of their rights, freedoms, pathways and thoughts of ever experiencing an American dream again.
You’re playing checkers. They’re playing chess!
You drank the Covid KoolAid. Congrats 👏 You can't reverse what was done, transhuman chip recipient with your wireless Mac address🤪☠️
I see why he loves the poorly educated. Dumb AF.
Glad to know you care
I found it so amusing that Marc Rutte called Trump "daddy" and with an obvious smirk heaped praise on Trump's enormous ego. Is the latter so thick that he cannot see piss taking when it happens!
Cry some more😭
One day you'll grow up and suddenly your sheltered life will help you realise what utter bollocks you thought and wrote
Get over the TDS already. You can't stop what's coming.
In answer to your question, I believe they are to be found predominantly (not exclusively, mind you) in the many women of genuine integrity who have been elected in these last years and who are speaking out and doing their best to hold this regime accountable. Thank you for writing this. I hope we have not reached the point of no return, and that we still may forget a more perfect union.
Edit: *forge* a more perfect union, not forget! Also, Mamdani does bring great hope, as well, and a vision for how we may remake ourselves in this country, from the ground up. I do so fear for the safety of all.
Mamdani’s election is so hopeful and his hopes for NYC and the policies he plans to create a truly improved life for residents are exciting. I feel that it is a good idea to reflect that President Biden worked toward the same big structural reforms, as did state Democrats. Mamdani’s vision has been the Democrat’s vision. I hope he will be successful in the short term, because, sadly, we have a tendancy to turn on our party when results do not come quickly enough or if the results do not reach people at the farther reaches as quickly as they do in the geographical center.
Tell me where Socialism has ever been a Utopia or even close to it. Which Country specifically?🤔
In the land where gun culture drives attitudes and the so-called leader of the free world is prone to inciting violence against those who stand in his way, I fear for Mamdani's safety
I'm betting he will be gone soon.
Wait until the immigrants who fled Socialist & Communist Countries for NYC find out what this guy has planned for them. People are absolutely clueless!
I agree with your sentiment and genuinely hope that is true but over here we do not see any substantial challenge to Trump and his cohort. The biggest [challenge] reported here seems to be Gavin Newsom's legal action against Fox News. Surely there must be a consensus approach by like minded Democrats and Republicans to get this autocratic fascist and his henchmen out of office.
I would not count on republicans. I will never count on them again.
Re: Mamdani referring to him as a Democrat socialist (damn it, we just cannot stop ourselves from micro labelling, can we?). He replied in an interview that he said such because he had experienced capitalism as a cultural engine that generated an ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots. It is unfortunate that he, as have others in trying to distinguish Democrats principles, used the red-alarm-fire word socialism. I have put forward many times humanist capitalism as an alternative. Humanist values of fairness, equality of opportunity, strong wages for working people, a tax structure that does not pander to the very rich and burden the poor. No one took it up. Sadly, as was my hero Sanders, he will now be branded as a socialist.
Humanist capitalism would be over people’s heads. Sadly.
Not much else to say really other than to wish you peace in an increasingly intolerant, uncompromising world.
This is SPOT ON!! He speaks the truth! We have to somehow rid this country of this man.
So you WANT to convert to Islam?
What is the point of your comment?
To demonstrate that she’s an imbecile
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Until the gestapo round them up, shove them in vans and disappear them.
I despise what this country has come to
Mamdani's win in our mayoral primary was a direct reaction to Trump! And now Trump has reached a NEW LOW. His goons are arresting disabled people who are quietly protesting the proposed cuts to Medicare/Medicaid. It won't be long before the concentration camps are set up. . . .
Hitler’s Germany started his abduction and extermination programs with the disabled.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/euthanasia-program
AMEN. It was the T-4 program. The killing machinery was based on the experiments they did with disabled people. I read about this many, many years ago. There is a new documentary coming out about the T-4 program. The Expendables. When it comes to NYC, I definitely want to see it.
Cut off Medicaid/Medicare for Illegals. Get it straight.
WTF is an “illegal”? My grandpa from Sicily?
Anyone who crossed the US Border ILLEGALLY, and given Social Security #'s, free Healthcare(Medicare & Medicaid) free housing & food & debit cards with thousands of Dollars loaded on them. There were over 4 Million Illegals who were given the above benefits by the Biden Autopen Regime.
The USA took a HUGE chunk of Mexico to add to our landmass. Is it any wonder than the chickens are coming home to roost? How many folks on the Mayflower had papers? I don't even know if my own grandfather from Sicily had papers. A person is not an "illegal." We don't talk about human beings that way. Whatever happened to Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statue of Liberty? All that stuff about "give me your tired, your poor..." etc.? Was that all malarky? Most of those folks you are calling "illegals" WORK and PAY TAXES. Most of them work more than one job. They are MORE law-abiding because they don't want to end up in the clutches of the ICE thugs. New York is a sanctuary city and ICE has no business here. We will protect our people--those with papers and those without papers.
That was the past. Like a Century ago😂Chickens coming to roost off of free money. THAT is the only reason. Let them go Make Mexico Great. Why would you want to be somewhere where literally nobody wants you except to use you for cheap labor and a Vote? Small mentalities 🤏
Do you realize that Islam has slowly taken over UK & other Countries that the crazy Liberals opened their Borders to?
Well done, I understand exactly what you have written, keep up your writing. It’s refreshing, the whole truth. ThankYou
Let’s not tiptoe.
A man outside our borders just gave us a mirror. And instead of looking in it, we’re busy arguing over whether we still look presidential in fascism. His post wasn’t some performative “concerned outsider” hand-wringing. No, it was a scathing, righteous gut-check—one that should’ve come from our own so-called leaders long ago.
Instead, he gave the sermon they’re too scared, too bought, or too drunk on donor cocktails to preach.
Twelve million Americans took to the streets on June 14th.
Let me say that again for the politicos hiding under mahogany desks: Twelve. Million. People.
That’s not a protest. That’s a damn census.
But the response from the halls of power? Crickets. Or worse—champagne corks popping at Alex Soros’s wedding.
You cannot make this up. As the republic inches toward hospice care, the Democratic elite decided that what America really needed was a curated Instagram reel from the Hamptons. Because nothing says solidarity like rosé in a tux while ICE agents round up toddlers and schools assign 1950s textbooks.
And meanwhile, Trump is busy fulfilling every authoritarian’s dream—on schedule, under budget, and with branding. He’s turned cruelty into policy, racism into platform, and fascism into a fanbase. Let’s stop calling it “populism.” It’s a personality cult with propaganda arm workouts every night on cable news.
Zohran Mamdani won a damn election and now he’s being openly threatened with denaturalization and deportation. For the crime of not being white and leftist. That’s not just dangerous. It’s centuries-old.
Segregation didn’t disappear. It went to grad school, got a PR firm, and learned to say “electability.”
And while all this happens, where are the so-called defenders of democracy?
Panic-browsing polling crosstabs and workshopping TikTok videos in offices that smell like expired New Deal leftovers.
Let’s be honest: the Democrats don’t oppose Trumpism. They react to it, like a cat watching a cucumber. And every time they reassure us that “the courts will save us,” a new SCOTUS ruling comes down like Zeus with a grudge, handing Trump another “GIANT WIN” while muttering “existential threat to the rule of law” into the footnotes.
The man on the outside sees the metastasis. Why can’t we?
He saw the Pentagon press conference and called it what it was: a militarized temper tantrum. Pete Hegseth’s neck was doing CrossFit while he attacked reporters like they were insubordinate platoon recruits. No respect for civilian press. Just naked authoritarian energy—and half the country thinks it’s patriotism.
Hell, Trump wouldn’t just gaslight the nation—he’d volunteer to turn on the literal gas if it secured another term.
That’s not a metaphor. That’s a moral diagnostic.
We’ve normalized state-sponsored abduction, detention-for-profit, and racialized terror disguised as immigration enforcement.
Zip ties on children. No due process. Cage labor for a dollar a day.
And let’s call it what it is: modern-day slavery in khaki and Kevlar.
It’s all packaged in patriotic wrapping. But when you untie the bow, it’s cruelty—and it’s selling like hotcakes.
So when the outsider says America is rotting from the inside out, he’s not breaking news. He’s breaking denial. And like every truth-teller before him, he’ll be ignored by the people who need to hear it most.
And if you think this is all just alarmism, consider this:
The same week 12 million marched, the Supreme Court gutted birthright citizenship and gave the authoritarian-in-chief a green light to ignore court injunctions. They didn’t even flinch.
That’s the moment you realize democracy doesn’t die with a bang.
It erodes with shrug emojis and bad faith legal briefs.
And while all of this happens, America keeps asking the same question: “What can we do?”
Here’s a suggestion:
Maybe stop expecting saviors and start expecting consequences.
Maybe stop electing cowards and start electing fighters.
Maybe stop pretending this is politics-as-usual and start treating it like the constitutional cardiac arrest it is.
The outsider ended his post with this scorched-earth mic drop:
“The world is witnessing the destruction of a once force for good in real time.”
He’s not wrong.
We are the drunk uncle at the wedding of nations.
Slurring nonsense. Punching ourselves in the face. And wondering why nobody wants to ride home with us.
But hey—at least the champagne was nice.
Our people are rising up. This is not the end of “a once great nation”. We will fight dt. (That’s the only way I can stomach addressing him. That and the antichrist. No jest intended.)
Read the US Constitution.
It can no longer be ignored or debated. The United States conservative Supreme Court justices are actively, as activists, openly directing and participating in reshaping the United States ethnic and economic structure. They are helping to turn us into a Christ-Nationalist state.
Who do you think wrote the Fucking Constitution? The SCOTUS upholds it. People way younger and smarter than you wrote it.
Excellent post as usual, but I can only see 2 comments.....this happens to me a lot in substacks I'm a paid subscriber to. I don't understand it and it's very frustrating!
Really sorry you can only see 2 comments when there are lots. I’ll contact support Mary.
Martin
SADLY YOUR ANALYSIS IS SICKENLY TRUE. ALTHOUGH I REFUSE TO STOP LOBBYING MY SENATOR, WHO IS ONE OF THE WORST, RON JOHNSON, AS WELL AS, THE OTHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM MY STATE AND DOING WHATEVER IS POSSIBLE, I AM BECOMING INCREASINGLY DISILLUSIONED. THESE HATEFUL FASCISTS ARE DETERMINED TO RETAIN POWER AND REMAKE AMERICA INTO THEIR PERSONAL CASH REGISTER AT THE EXPENSE OF ANYONE WHO RESISTS THEM. I FEAR THEY ARE WILLING TO DO WHATEVER THAT GOAL REQUIRES INCLUDING USING THUGS AND OUR MILITARY TO HARM US IN THE STREETS OF AMERICA. THE SITUATION IS VERY DIRE AND IS BECOMING ALARMINGLY WORSE EVERYDAY. MY HEART ACHES AND, YES, AS OTHER'S HAVE MENTIONED, IT IS AFTER FOUR IN THE MORNING AND SLEEP DOES NOT COME.
I feel as if we are collectively holding our breath, waiting for someone to ride in and save us.. it’s not going to happen!! we must continue to take to the streets and PROTEST and make good trouble. We must be the ones to put an end to the nightmare.
Really? Hahahahahahahahaa
DTJ is saving us. Try thinking for yourself and then go see what's going in I. The UK,Germany,France,Sweden etc. Not good!Who is going to save them!?!
We need to use these phrases, make them universal in the coming months. Progressives are a creative bunch, so we should challenge our brethren to find all the effective ways to apply these hashtags.
FDR turbocharged America’s greatness, winning World War II and establishing social safety nets for the poor, elderly, and infirm. He gave America the New Deal.
DJT is saddling us with #TheRawDeal
#SquanderingAmericasGreatness as a distraction for funneling more of America’s wealth to the top 1%.
#CowardlyComplicitRepublicans have shown that they are. #ProSTRIFE, willing to inflict unnecessary economic and physical hardships on the 99%.
But we will not stand for them replacing democracy with #RepubloFascism. The time is now to pressure members of the #SecretSaneGOPCaucus into declaring themselves independent and caucusing with Democrats to flip the House. That bold act will make them heroes for generations.
My hope is that they brand themselves as the #ConstitutionalConservativeCaucus and that each is rewarded for working this deal with Democrats with committee chairs as Dems immediately start investigations.
This is the quickest route to ending our nightmare, this #PeriodOfEndarkenment. To repurpose an old phrase, that’s when we start to #BuildBackBetter, applying #22ndCenturyThinking to create a government and political arena completely isolated from the corrupting forces of billionaire and corporate money.
The goal of #AchievingHonorableDemocracy will be built into this new system, necessary because we all now know that the MAGA hat came with this preamble:
“After Trump, it Will Take a Decade To…”
Thank you, Todd - very constructive contribution imho.
Of course, I am aware that the search for such “members of the #SecretSaneGOPCaucus” is likely to be an extremely delicate matter. It will not develop on its own. There would need to be a person highly respected across party lines as honest and free of deception and who can discreetly (!) work toward such an alliance in one-on-one conversations. At the same time, never forget the enormous pressure GOP representatives are under and how far this pressure even goes toward personal threats or threats to their families.
And yet: if such a group, together with the Democrats, were to succeed in breaking through the unspeakably submissive attitude of the Republican representatives and get a decisive “Stop! No more!” from the House, it would be a very promising first step toward averting the looming fascist dictatorship.
Oh I know I know. I’m still awake at 2 AM. It’s as if my body is in some kind of weird shock and I can’t come out of it. My hope and prayer is that someone will suddenly rise up from our broken country and quickly gain the support of people on both sides of the aisle. And lead us and those confused and cowardly MAGAs and pull us together as a nation. It’s a good thought.
With all due respect, Elizabeth, I have to disagree with you completely. I understand that your idea can be comforting when everything around you seems so hopeless and deeply evil. But it is extremely dangerous to hope for a “knight in shining armor” (male or female) to save the whole country from danger. Such “Lone Ranger” patterns have caused unimaginable damage throughout history and continue to do so today.
Please read the post from “Todd's ProgBlog” directly below this response (edit: Sorry—the order of the answers is flexible.) to understand how much more realistic it is to seek a possible way out by uniting those who, for whatever reason, are able to make a difference together.
Excellent point Andreas. Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, and Repunzle were fairy tales that screwed a bunch of us up that way, and I know better. It just slips through the cracks sometimes. Thanks for the reminder that we can’t just sit back and wait!!!!
'winter in america', 'big brother', 'strange fruit', but you didn't listen. too entranced in your delusional american dream, deaf to the cries of the tortured souls in the american dystopia. the MYTH of a great nation perpetuated our nightmare. welcome to your american, the only one we have ever known.