Why has he done this? One reason not cited enough is more grift on a global scale. He and his family invested heavily in the defense industry and drones before the Iran invasion and Trump acts for himself not the country. The destruction of jets, helicopters and U.S. military bases means more money for him and his sons, etc.. I think it’s safe to say that the extreme costs to this country don’t factor in his thinking.
He's doing this because he's a sadistic fuck. Nothing gives him more pleasure than dominating other people, or doing things which give him the power to end lives.
I completely agree. The day after the election in 2015, I told my husband, "We have just elected a sociopathic narcissistic racist rapist." What I failed to understand at the time was that he is also a sadist. Deep sigh.
Venezuela "went well" for him; he discovered a new addiction. He can regulate his brain chemistry with these highs from using the military. The big equipment, the special training, the innate derring do (which can't be taught so he'll never have it himself). The movies and tv shows!
Wiles wasn't kidding when she commented that he had an alcoholic's personality.
Exactly, Nancy. He wants more money, enough to surpass Elon and Putin in wealth. Another example: even as he's taken money from somewhere to pay TSA (let it be ICE), his new budget calls for massive cuts in the agency. Why? Because he wants to privatize it. Can there be any doubt, now that he's gotten away with getting into the drone business, that the company getting *that* contract will be partly or wholly owned by him and his family?
One hopes that Thune is smart enough to realize that he crossed the Rubicon last week--Trump will NEVER forgive him for that betrayal. And that having seen what's happened to the Iranians every time they thought they were close to hammering out a resolution to their disagreements with The Don, Thune will know that any attempt by Trump to smooth things over is nothing but the sibilant hypnotic hiss of a snake in the grass at its most dangerous. We should be telling him what we tell people on our side who just want to keep their heads down:
. (reposting this here, where it seems more apropos)
Hungary holds parliamentary election this coming Sunday, on 12 April. The parallels between the Hungary and the USA are uncanny. No wonder! Trump’s key MAGA people, the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, have been working closely with Viktor Orbán’s for many years to engineer an autocratic takeover, to engineer society, and to engineer elections.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that JD Vance is making a special trip to Hungary to boost Orbán’s election chances.
If you care about America’s November Midterm Elections, Joyce Vance’s (no relation to JD!) interview with Prof. Kim Scheppele about Hungary’s upcoming elections is not to be missed. Why? Because Trump yearns to imitate Orbán’s power grab. The information revealed in this interview is stunning and deeply unsettling.
“Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party has a 20-point lead in the polls – and yet we don’t know whether he can win because of the way Viktor Orbán has engineered the structure of the election itself.”
– Prof. Kim Scheppele
“After Viktor Orbán first came to power in 2010, he gerrymandered the whole country to the point that in the 2014 election, his party won 45 % of the vote – but 91 % of the single-member districts.”
Thanks for this update. I have to wonder if J.D. can actually help someone win an election. He’s a Putin apologist speaking to a country that was invaded by Russia in 1956.
THIS, right here is the absolute truth. Everything else is secondary. Donald is destroying America. There is intent here. Everyday that Putin's name isn't attached to everything Donald does is another day of America putting their head in the sand.
So Trump is threatening to do things tonight that the rest of the world will have to react to. He's the classic toddler for whom even bad attention is better than no attention. So Europe ignored him over his demands for help in the Strait of Hormuz, and now he's escalating his bad behavior. EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME! I don't know how the world will react and I am as afraid for our future as I have ever been.
So I am doing the only things I know to do. I've donated a bit to Roy Cooper. I've called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Trump is insane and needs to be removed from office. And I'm writing postcards to North Carolina voters. And praying.
Really? The Felon is trumpeting the "47 years of extortion, corruption and death" that will "finally end" in Iran? How about ending the "extortion, corruption and death" of the Trump years here? This bloviating idiot is so wrapped up in his self-protection and self-aggrandizement racket that he is incapable of recognizing self-incrimination when he posts it. May this be the year that his illegal, cruel and sadistic regime finally ends.
I think that forging alliances between all these experts is critical to Simon's unity government vision. Knowledge is power, friends. Dr. Ben-Ghiat has said from the beginning that the true agenda of Orange is to undermine the American government, to de-legitimize the existing power structure. In a different way, Simon has said the same thing. The sooner we recognize and acknowledge this, the sooner we can begin to undermine this nefarious thing. Shenker-Osorio says we should call our fight the battle to free America!
Am working on VA postcards today and enjoying the spring weather. Keep going!
Thank you, Simon. Very steadying to read your missive. Re: unity government. I ran across someone on a thread noting that 25th amendment does not require vp take over [implying, I thought, 25th amendment could allow for unity government via Congress.] My reading of 25th amendment did not clarify, as it is not my area at all, but I did see if Prez. does not willingly concede his inability to function there is a major role for Congress. I assume this isn't what we should be worrying about today, but for future will appreciate light shed.
Here is my message today to our House and Senate members from NM.
Trump’s indiscriminate threats of violence and intimidation against the civilian populations of Iran are war crimes in and of themselves. We need you to speak very loudly against not only his escalating actions but his evil words as well. Trump and his enablers must be stopped, held responsible for their crimes, and the harms that have been inflicted must be repaired using all Congressional and legal actions that are possible.
California’s jungle primary plus Prop 50 means my stupid MAGA rep, an immigrant woman of color, will probably be facing another stupid MAGA rep in November who is a White man with 20 more years of experience and greater support. (I live in a sacrificial deep red district right now.) She can’t win by going harder right. I suggested to her yesterday that she try to pick up some votes to her left while protecting the country by introducing articles of impeachment.
Since I won’t be in her district in the next Congress, she won’t care. But my hope is that I am not alone in urging her to grow a spine.
Oh yes, of course. Apologies, didn't mean to suggest otherwise on your post. Got to work with the lemons you are dealt with these days. In the Governor's race, I am voting for whomever is in the lead and suggesting my friends do the same. Unless 6 or 7 of the Dems drop out.
Everyone I have talked to is using that same strategy. My friend pointed out that T**** endorsed an R gubernatorial candidate today, and maybe that will concentrate the R votes enough to make one of them lose.
And no apologies needed. I didn’t think you disagreed with me :)
Possibly I have listened to too many worried friends rant endlessly and cynically about it. Reading Hopium every day has made me the optimistic one in my group, but sometimes it is tiring, especially when they are unwilling to call their electeds or write postcards or other GOTV. I hope I didn’t come off as too snappish toward you!
Happy to hear others are doing the same (voting for whomever is in the lead). Here I thought it was my brilliant strategy. LOL. I understand having concerns and I do think people it's healthy to express the concerns but also important to hear the good things as well and to do something -like making calls, writing postcards, etc. I can't tell you how many times I hear, especially from young people, the two parties are the same. I respond with things the Dems have done vs Republicans - well all know the list (ending Roe v Wade for example).
“First of all, the law of war, that's not just international law. It's U.S. law. And our military members are deeply trained and steeped in this law. The law of war prohibits measures of intimidation against a civilian population, including threats of violence whose primary purpose is to sow terror amongst that civilian population.”
Called my senator and read Trump’s morning post into the phone. Asked him what time today (morning, afternoon, or evening) he planned to publicly 1) condemn it 2) demand a retraction/apology 3) call for a congressional vote to authorize (or not) the war 4) demand the House initiate Articles of Impeachment. Also, 342 million is a hefty chunk of change. But they will lose. Every. One. Of. Them.
Hi all, Garrett Graff (https://bsky.app/profile/vermontgmg.bsky.social) suggested on Bluesky that we call our Senators and Representatives and ask them to call Admiral Richard Correll, the Commander of US Strategic Command, which controls the nation's nukes, and remind him of his unique responsibility to refuse an illegal order.
I added in my calls that they let Admiral Correll know that Congress would support him doing so. I felt ridiculous saying this live to a staffer, slightly less ridiculous in a voicemail, but it's a very practical idea given where we are.
Following up, Laura ...I called the phone number above and my call was answered. I left my message for Admiral Correll.
Because the United States may be on the brink of launching a bomb to obliterate Iran, I am begging the Admiral not to follow Trump’s illegal orders. Please do not launch these bombs into Iran or anywhere else.🙏
If Donald Trump commits War Crimes in Iran then Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States are complicit and should be tried with him on that charge. They allowed it to happen through omission to prevent it from happening by not constraining Donald Trump at various times when it was clear he was unstable and dangerous to others. If they were unable to recognize the inherent danger Donald Trump posed then are not fit for their job and should be removed from it.
The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of saying if we are in a war. They don’t get to stop being responsible by pretending they didn’t notice what is going on.
My view is that we have a long way to go before J.D. Vance will take the lead on invoking the 25th amendment, but we need to keep pushing and speaking out. There's no separation here between political necessity and moral duty. Trump is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and talk of a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" is arguably genocidal.
I just left a message with the White House that Trump needs to end the war as he does not want to go down in history as the largest mass murderer of our times (He may already be one with the ending of USAid. )
I called my Senators (disappointed that as usual no one answered their phones) and my representative. I emphasized to the staffer who answered the phone for my representative that those against this illegal war need to be visible and clear about the stakes. Also trying to talk my children off the ceiling. It's so difficult to feel powerless in this situation.
I wrote to my congressman today on all the key topics. Mr. Rosenberg has suggested:
* Remove Trump from office. He is a dangerous president that does nothing but serve himself and hurt others.
* Work To End This New Gulf War, And Trump’s Global Imperial Ambitions
* Make Clear We Support Ukraine and Europe, Not Russia
* Roll Back The New, Illegal Tariffs
* Rescind The Trump Tax Cuts, Claw Back The Extra ICE Funding
* Make The US A Clean Energy Superpower, Fight For True Energy Independence, And Lower Energy Prices For The American People
* Keep Fighting To Rein In ICE, End Mass Deportation
* End the War on Science, Health and Public Health
* Make Clear To American Farmers That We Want To End The War, Repeal The Tariffs, Find Legal Pathways For Farm Workers, And Make Health Care And Energy More Affordable
* Work to make sure the Democratic messages heard across all platforms don’t be quiet about what we Democrats stand for
Why has he done this? One reason not cited enough is more grift on a global scale. He and his family invested heavily in the defense industry and drones before the Iran invasion and Trump acts for himself not the country. The destruction of jets, helicopters and U.S. military bases means more money for him and his sons, etc.. I think it’s safe to say that the extreme costs to this country don’t factor in his thinking.
He's doing this because he's a sadistic fuck. Nothing gives him more pleasure than dominating other people, or doing things which give him the power to end lives.
I believe that he is a true sadist and that his sadism explains his behavior more often than not.
I completely agree. The day after the election in 2015, I told my husband, "We have just elected a sociopathic narcissistic racist rapist." What I failed to understand at the time was that he is also a sadist. Deep sigh.
Onward, patriots!
Venezuela "went well" for him; he discovered a new addiction. He can regulate his brain chemistry with these highs from using the military. The big equipment, the special training, the innate derring do (which can't be taught so he'll never have it himself). The movies and tv shows!
Wiles wasn't kidding when she commented that he had an alcoholic's personality.
Exactly, Nancy. He wants more money, enough to surpass Elon and Putin in wealth. Another example: even as he's taken money from somewhere to pay TSA (let it be ICE), his new budget calls for massive cuts in the agency. Why? Because he wants to privatize it. Can there be any doubt, now that he's gotten away with getting into the drone business, that the company getting *that* contract will be partly or wholly owned by him and his family?
One hopes that Thune is smart enough to realize that he crossed the Rubicon last week--Trump will NEVER forgive him for that betrayal. And that having seen what's happened to the Iranians every time they thought they were close to hammering out a resolution to their disagreements with The Don, Thune will know that any attempt by Trump to smooth things over is nothing but the sibilant hypnotic hiss of a snake in the grass at its most dangerous. We should be telling him what we tell people on our side who just want to keep their heads down:
You're already on his list
So you might as well resist
This quip certainly holds true for Trump, were he articulate enough to voice it:
“Life is a question of mind and matter. You don’t matter – and I don’t mind.”
Oft-repeated by fellow grunts in the Army in the early 80s, e.g.: “It’s a case of mind over matter. They don’t mind and you don’t matter.”
EYES ON HUNGARY – echoes of TRUMP!
. (reposting this here, where it seems more apropos)
Hungary holds parliamentary election this coming Sunday, on 12 April. The parallels between the Hungary and the USA are uncanny. No wonder! Trump’s key MAGA people, the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, have been working closely with Viktor Orbán’s for many years to engineer an autocratic takeover, to engineer society, and to engineer elections.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that JD Vance is making a special trip to Hungary to boost Orbán’s election chances.
If you care about America’s November Midterm Elections, Joyce Vance’s (no relation to JD!) interview with Prof. Kim Scheppele about Hungary’s upcoming elections is not to be missed. Why? Because Trump yearns to imitate Orbán’s power grab. The information revealed in this interview is stunning and deeply unsettling.
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/understanding-hungarys-upcoming-election
“Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party has a 20-point lead in the polls – and yet we don’t know whether he can win because of the way Viktor Orbán has engineered the structure of the election itself.”
– Prof. Kim Scheppele
“After Viktor Orbán first came to power in 2010, he gerrymandered the whole country to the point that in the 2014 election, his party won 45 % of the vote – but 91 % of the single-member districts.”
– Kim Scheppele
Thanks for this update. I have to wonder if J.D. can actually help someone win an election. He’s a Putin apologist speaking to a country that was invaded by Russia in 1956.
Putin and MAGA, including JD, are working together in hidden ways. The video makes clear some of the stuff that is happening behind the scenes.
THIS, right here is the absolute truth. Everything else is secondary. Donald is destroying America. There is intent here. Everyday that Putin's name isn't attached to everything Donald does is another day of America putting their head in the sand.
“The whole civilization will die tonight” DJT 8:20 AM, 04/07/26
CALL YOUR ELECTEDS. NO NUCLEAR BOMBS.
So Trump is threatening to do things tonight that the rest of the world will have to react to. He's the classic toddler for whom even bad attention is better than no attention. So Europe ignored him over his demands for help in the Strait of Hormuz, and now he's escalating his bad behavior. EVERYONE WILL HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION TO ME! I don't know how the world will react and I am as afraid for our future as I have ever been.
So I am doing the only things I know to do. I've donated a bit to Roy Cooper. I've called Congressman Raskin and Senators Alsobrooks and Van Hollen to say that Trump is insane and needs to be removed from office. And I'm writing postcards to North Carolina voters. And praying.
For God’s sake (and ours), I pray they’ve hidden away the Nuclear Football. Or replaced it with a suitcase filled with Fischer-Price toys!
Oh these are not only the actions of a toddler. They are war crimes.
T**** is like, “You think the Bay of Pigs Invasion was a disastrous attempt at regime change?! Hold my Diet Coke!”
Really? The Felon is trumpeting the "47 years of extortion, corruption and death" that will "finally end" in Iran? How about ending the "extortion, corruption and death" of the Trump years here? This bloviating idiot is so wrapped up in his self-protection and self-aggrandizement racket that he is incapable of recognizing self-incrimination when he posts it. May this be the year that his illegal, cruel and sadistic regime finally ends.
Thanks for the wonderful discussion w the great Stuart Stevens. Yes, let's support Ukraine!
A link to some excellent discussions on these topics from our friend, Dr. Ben-Ghiat. Recorded convo w messaging expert Anat Shenker-Osorio, and links to a live w Ibram X. Kendi at 12:30 today, a live w Brad Lander (NY10 candidate) tomorrow at 1, and Thu, a live w MI Sec. of State Jocelyn Benson: https://lucid.substack.com/p/why-protest-matters-links-to-lives?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
I think that forging alliances between all these experts is critical to Simon's unity government vision. Knowledge is power, friends. Dr. Ben-Ghiat has said from the beginning that the true agenda of Orange is to undermine the American government, to de-legitimize the existing power structure. In a different way, Simon has said the same thing. The sooner we recognize and acknowledge this, the sooner we can begin to undermine this nefarious thing. Shenker-Osorio says we should call our fight the battle to free America!
Am working on VA postcards today and enjoying the spring weather. Keep going!
Thank you, Simon. Very steadying to read your missive. Re: unity government. I ran across someone on a thread noting that 25th amendment does not require vp take over [implying, I thought, 25th amendment could allow for unity government via Congress.] My reading of 25th amendment did not clarify, as it is not my area at all, but I did see if Prez. does not willingly concede his inability to function there is a major role for Congress. I assume this isn't what we should be worrying about today, but for future will appreciate light shed.
we should have Rep. Raskin on to talk about it!
yes, I would love to hear him
Here is my message today to our House and Senate members from NM.
Trump’s indiscriminate threats of violence and intimidation against the civilian populations of Iran are war crimes in and of themselves. We need you to speak very loudly against not only his escalating actions but his evil words as well. Trump and his enablers must be stopped, held responsible for their crimes, and the harms that have been inflicted must be repaired using all Congressional and legal actions that are possible.
Last night PBS NewsHour discussed the danger of these verbal war crimes with retired Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-international-law-says-about-trumps-threats-to-bomb-irans-bridges-and-power-plants
California’s jungle primary plus Prop 50 means my stupid MAGA rep, an immigrant woman of color, will probably be facing another stupid MAGA rep in November who is a White man with 20 more years of experience and greater support. (I live in a sacrificial deep red district right now.) She can’t win by going harder right. I suggested to her yesterday that she try to pick up some votes to her left while protecting the country by introducing articles of impeachment.
Since I won’t be in her district in the next Congress, she won’t care. But my hope is that I am not alone in urging her to grow a spine.
I wish we would get rid of the jungle primary. If it comes up for a vote, pretty sure it would pass (getting rid of it).
I wish that too. But it is a fact of the 2026 election season. I figured I might as well see if there is a use for it.
Oh yes, of course. Apologies, didn't mean to suggest otherwise on your post. Got to work with the lemons you are dealt with these days. In the Governor's race, I am voting for whomever is in the lead and suggesting my friends do the same. Unless 6 or 7 of the Dems drop out.
Everyone I have talked to is using that same strategy. My friend pointed out that T**** endorsed an R gubernatorial candidate today, and maybe that will concentrate the R votes enough to make one of them lose.
And no apologies needed. I didn’t think you disagreed with me :)
Possibly I have listened to too many worried friends rant endlessly and cynically about it. Reading Hopium every day has made me the optimistic one in my group, but sometimes it is tiring, especially when they are unwilling to call their electeds or write postcards or other GOTV. I hope I didn’t come off as too snappish toward you!
Happy to hear others are doing the same (voting for whomever is in the lead). Here I thought it was my brilliant strategy. LOL. I understand having concerns and I do think people it's healthy to express the concerns but also important to hear the good things as well and to do something -like making calls, writing postcards, etc. I can't tell you how many times I hear, especially from young people, the two parties are the same. I respond with things the Dems have done vs Republicans - well all know the list (ending Roe v Wade for example).
No you didn't come across as snappish!
It’s an excellent point you make that the threats themselves are a war crime.
Thanks again for that PBS link. Excerpt:
“First of all, the law of war, that's not just international law. It's U.S. law. And our military members are deeply trained and steeped in this law. The law of war prohibits measures of intimidation against a civilian population, including threats of violence whose primary purpose is to sow terror amongst that civilian population.”
Called my senator and read Trump’s morning post into the phone. Asked him what time today (morning, afternoon, or evening) he planned to publicly 1) condemn it 2) demand a retraction/apology 3) call for a congressional vote to authorize (or not) the war 4) demand the House initiate Articles of Impeachment. Also, 342 million is a hefty chunk of change. But they will lose. Every. One. Of. Them.
Oh that is a lovely call! May I steal that?
Please do!
I just did!
Hi all, Garrett Graff (https://bsky.app/profile/vermontgmg.bsky.social) suggested on Bluesky that we call our Senators and Representatives and ask them to call Admiral Richard Correll, the Commander of US Strategic Command, which controls the nation's nukes, and remind him of his unique responsibility to refuse an illegal order.
I added in my calls that they let Admiral Correll know that Congress would support him doing so. I felt ridiculous saying this live to a staffer, slightly less ridiculous in a voicemail, but it's a very practical idea given where we are.
Thank you Laura!...I also found a way to contact the Admiral indirectly this way [AI}:
To contact Admiral Richard A. Correll, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), through the USSTRATCOM Public Affairs Office
U.S. Strategic Command: Email: usstratcompa@mail.mil.
Phone (Public Affairs): (402) 912-0020.
Website: stratcom.mil.
Mail/Location: 900 Sac Blvd, Offutt Air Force Base, NE 68113.Public Affairs
Following up, Laura ...I called the phone number above and my call was answered. I left my message for Admiral Correll.
Because the United States may be on the brink of launching a bomb to obliterate Iran, I am begging the Admiral not to follow Trump’s illegal orders. Please do not launch these bombs into Iran or anywhere else.🙏
If Donald Trump commits War Crimes in Iran then Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States are complicit and should be tried with him on that charge. They allowed it to happen through omission to prevent it from happening by not constraining Donald Trump at various times when it was clear he was unstable and dangerous to others. If they were unable to recognize the inherent danger Donald Trump posed then are not fit for their job and should be removed from it.
The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of saying if we are in a war. They don’t get to stop being responsible by pretending they didn’t notice what is going on.
My view is that we have a long way to go before J.D. Vance will take the lead on invoking the 25th amendment, but we need to keep pushing and speaking out. There's no separation here between political necessity and moral duty. Trump is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and talk of a "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" is arguably genocidal.
I just left a message with the White House that Trump needs to end the war as he does not want to go down in history as the largest mass murderer of our times (He may already be one with the ending of USAid. )
I called my Senators (disappointed that as usual no one answered their phones) and my representative. I emphasized to the staffer who answered the phone for my representative that those against this illegal war need to be visible and clear about the stakes. Also trying to talk my children off the ceiling. It's so difficult to feel powerless in this situation.
I hear you in terms of trying to be a reassuring parent in these times. Thanks for making those calls!
I wrote to my congressman today on all the key topics. Mr. Rosenberg has suggested:
* Remove Trump from office. He is a dangerous president that does nothing but serve himself and hurt others.
* Work To End This New Gulf War, And Trump’s Global Imperial Ambitions
* Make Clear We Support Ukraine and Europe, Not Russia
* Roll Back The New, Illegal Tariffs
* Rescind The Trump Tax Cuts, Claw Back The Extra ICE Funding
* Make The US A Clean Energy Superpower, Fight For True Energy Independence, And Lower Energy Prices For The American People
* Keep Fighting To Rein In ICE, End Mass Deportation
* End the War on Science, Health and Public Health
* Make Clear To American Farmers That We Want To End The War, Repeal The Tariffs, Find Legal Pathways For Farm Workers, And Make Health Care And Energy More Affordable
* Work to make sure the Democratic messages heard across all platforms don’t be quiet about what we Democrats stand for