Dr. Lee, where in this pre-probation interview process is that comprehensive mental health evaluation that you have rightly and urgently advocated for years be performed on Trump? Is it possible that the probation officer could recommend that one still be done prior to his scheduled July 11 sentencing by Judge Merchan?
Morning Joe was talking about the media's failure to discuss Trump's mental unfitness. I posted on X, tagging you, that they reach out to you for their show. I hope they do.
I know from personal experience how charming and captivating narcissists can be. My feeling is that many people are insecure enough that the fake confidence of the narcissist gives them comfort, however false and misplaced it is. There are enough of them that they unwittingly follow very dangerous frauds like trump.
I just posted the Jim Jones example yesterday in Notes! I will never understand how one person can influence someone to the point of them committing suicide. Yet that is what is prevalent in Cults!
I thought of him this morning and commented in Letters from an American. Some few did escape from him but had to feel the threat he was very personally. It's hard fo people indoctrinated only with their chosen news platforms to really experience how dangerous their infatuation with a monster and bully is.
Jen, I, too, am a big fan of 'Letters from an American' by Dr Heather Cox Richardson. I wish she and Dr Lee would collaborate. ¡Talk about 99%ile horse-power!
P.S., your thought on news platforms is pointed. I try to find a few sources to consult with varying views. I must confess that it is harder for me to read pro-trump journalists; in actuality, almost impossible.
🤫
One source of diverse thinking, believe it or not, is 'Washington Journal', a daily call-in show on C-span (7:00-10:00 a.m., E.S.T.). Many of the callers are emotionally engaged and uninformed while most are not.
💡
Though likely too large an investment of time for most, l find I can get a thoughtful exposure to different temperaments and views. Truth in packaging: I watch 'Washington Journal' two or three times each week.
🤝
Yes, there are the close-minded on both ends of the political continuüm, some rather churlish. One gratifying aspect is the respectful courtesy displayed by most callers no matter how stoked emotionally they may be.
Perhaps it is time to review the transcript of Jones; rant before the Kool-Aid mass self destruction.
Tuesday Night Update: Got it. I located a credible Transcript of Jim Jones' fatal rant at San Diego State University (SDSU). See, FBI Transcription QO42. [jonestown.sdsu.edu.] Rebecca Moore is the SDSU site Manager.
The FBI appears to have three (3)1989 Transcript links.
Tapes may be publicly available from Exhibits to the prosecution of various cult member such as Larry Layton.
Quite unbelievable isn’t it, but it happens over and over again. I’ve recently been reading Andra Watkin’s Substack posts about her upbringing in the fundamental religion. I find it interesting and frightening.
Thank you, Jen. I am hoping against hope that your assessment of the Speaker is inaccurate and that he is placating his base by saying some of the things he does. I get the sinking feeling that you are right. 😯😰🤬🤢
Thank you, Dr. Lee, for your pithy, pointed summation of the current status of events pertaining to the trial and conviction of a former president of the United States of America, one Donald J. Trump. In view of my current, graduate academic pursuits, one thing stands out: the involvement of Dr. Phil of television fame. While Dr. Phil is a highly respected teletherapist with a huge following, like Gartner he is not a psychiatrist but is qualified in psychology. However, in the case of Dr. Phil, while he has a PhD in psychology, he has elected not to practice for something like two decades, preferring to bring psychotherapy to the people through the medium of television. Being unlicensed for a couple of decades or so has its advantages, as a teletherapist, in minimizing publicity seeking lawsuits! However, Dr. Phil has an unseen network of psychologists and psychiatrists about him, as he characteristically refers participants on his show to licensed, practising professionals. It appears that both Gartner and Doctor Phil classically illustrate a chasm that can develop between psychiatrists and psychologists, with the former being regarded as over theoretical and a good number of the latter, consequently, electing to be over practical. While readers may mull over and debate the particular dangers of the two categories (over theoretical and over practical), this significant professional conundrum causes me consternation and trepidation. Some time after completing the Andrews University online MPH: Nutrition and Wellness, and after sufficient financial recovery, perhaps by 2032 if I will not be tired, I would be happy to add a complementary MPH in Public Health Psychology, if funding developments will permit. I am hoping, thereby, inter alia, to be part of a professional bridging between psychiatry and psychology that will enhance the consonance, rather than the dissonance, between these two very important, complementary professions.
Congratulations on your accomplishments to date; good luck in your ongoing and, perhaps, future pursuits.
✌️
Like my patron saints - Ralph Kramden (i.e., Jackie Gleason) and Calvin (of 'Calvin and Hobbes') -- I am not averse to bloviating about something way outside my knowledge. Dr Phil strikes me as a 'Dear Abby' with jargon.
😉
Hard for me to trust a media figure disseminating professional opinions, or what many take as professional opinions. The temptation to fit responses to audience reactions and ratings must be overwhelming.
Thank you for your kind encouragement, Ned McDoodle. Andrews University encourages me now and again to maintain scholarship in adversity, so I am hoping to take a couple of courses in the Fall 2024 Semester as well, by the grace of God. This will keep me on course to graduate by the end of 2026, marching at an undergraduate-based, local sister institution, which is usually possible for the ceremony. Indeed, Dr. Phil's public persona is risky, although his academic credentials are clinically and forensically impressive. I don't know how well Dear Abby has done in her personal family life, but Dr. Phil has managed to exemplify married life and family life for the better part of five decades, causing his following to trust him without second thoughts. He may partly attribute his winsome family image to his stance not to renew his practising license (I'm sure he can afford it), but not everyone is able to unpractise professionally in order to practise maritally.
The probation process was a joke. We have a man who poses an existential threat to the world and to this democracy, and some pencil pushing clerk is checking off boxes without consideration of the larger context. Trump has been involved all this life with the Russian mob. The FBI refused to call him on it when they did their “background check.” Do we expect someone 1500 miles away to show more gumption than the FBI did after a “30 minute” interview?
If Judge Merchan ordered a psychological evaluation, trump would be officially exposed as unbalanced, amoral, dangerous and entering a phase of cognitive decline. Trump would not qualify for a prison sentence, yet, WE, The People, are poised to put him in the WH with nuclear codes?
The Justice System from the top down IS NOT WORKING.
Dr Lee, the botched coup attempt in 2020 was a surprise although you can say that some experts (including you) had already predicted the possibility. But 2025 coup is pretty much in plain sight. The plans for coup and destroying American society have already been drafted by Heritage foundation. The top organizers of previous coup roam freely & make no secret about their next intentions. Yet, there's no urgency to deal with the situation by DHS and DOJ and most importantly, the American courts.
Well, as always, I am in awe of your mind in its elegance and your heart in its eloquence.
"Based on Donald Trump’s conduct and how vigorously his 'followers' echo his message, the general deterrence factor should take on far more significance here than in a typical case."
That statement says it all. The people rest, your honor.
On elements like obstruction, the 'Mueller Report' indicated strong probabilities of obstruction of justice. The Special Counsel did not refer the findings for criminal charges out of deference to a Watergate era legal opinion, as policy, stating that a sitting President can not be indicted. If my shrinking grey-matter still funxions at all, Special Counsel Mueller plainly said so in his report.
"First, a traditional prosecution or declination decision entails a binary determination to initiate or decline a prosecution, but we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment. The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued an opinion finding that 'the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions' in violation of 'the constitutional separation of powers.' Given the role of the Special Counsel as an attorney in the Department of Justice and the framework of the Special Counsel regulations . . . this Office accepted OLC's legal conclusion for the purpose of exercising prosecutorial jurisdiction. And apart from OLC's constitutional view, we recognized that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President's capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional processes for addressing presidential misconduct."
It’s my understanding that trump wasn’t required drug and alcohol screen. I’d think that would be a bad idea. I also understand that his interview only took thirty minutes. That doesn’t sound likely to me.
Dr. Lee, where in this pre-probation interview process is that comprehensive mental health evaluation that you have rightly and urgently advocated for years be performed on Trump? Is it possible that the probation officer could recommend that one still be done prior to his scheduled July 11 sentencing by Judge Merchan?
Perhaps Judge Merchan could order such a psyche evaluation.
Morning Joe was talking about the media's failure to discuss Trump's mental unfitness. I posted on X, tagging you, that they reach out to you for their show. I hope they do.
Thank you Suzanne for referencing Mika & Joe's focus on Trump's babble at the very hot Las Vegas demonstration of a very public melt down.
¡Good thinking!
I look forward to the report from the panel.
I know from personal experience how charming and captivating narcissists can be. My feeling is that many people are insecure enough that the fake confidence of the narcissist gives them comfort, however false and misplaced it is. There are enough of them that they unwittingly follow very dangerous frauds like trump.
As always this brings to mind Jim Jones (for a start). Unwitting followers in-mass indeed!
I just posted the Jim Jones example yesterday in Notes! I will never understand how one person can influence someone to the point of them committing suicide. Yet that is what is prevalent in Cults!
I thought of him this morning and commented in Letters from an American. Some few did escape from him but had to feel the threat he was very personally. It's hard fo people indoctrinated only with their chosen news platforms to really experience how dangerous their infatuation with a monster and bully is.
Jen, I, too, am a big fan of 'Letters from an American' by Dr Heather Cox Richardson. I wish she and Dr Lee would collaborate. ¡Talk about 99%ile horse-power!
P.S., your thought on news platforms is pointed. I try to find a few sources to consult with varying views. I must confess that it is harder for me to read pro-trump journalists; in actuality, almost impossible.
🤫
One source of diverse thinking, believe it or not, is 'Washington Journal', a daily call-in show on C-span (7:00-10:00 a.m., E.S.T.). Many of the callers are emotionally engaged and uninformed while most are not.
💡
Though likely too large an investment of time for most, l find I can get a thoughtful exposure to different temperaments and views. Truth in packaging: I watch 'Washington Journal' two or three times each week.
🤝
Yes, there are the close-minded on both ends of the political continuüm, some rather churlish. One gratifying aspect is the respectful courtesy displayed by most callers no matter how stoked emotionally they may be.
Perhaps it is time to review the transcript of Jones; rant before the Kool-Aid mass self destruction.
Tuesday Night Update: Got it. I located a credible Transcript of Jim Jones' fatal rant at San Diego State University (SDSU). See, FBI Transcription QO42. [jonestown.sdsu.edu.] Rebecca Moore is the SDSU site Manager.
The FBI appears to have three (3)1989 Transcript links.
Tapes may be publicly available from Exhibits to the prosecution of various cult member such as Larry Layton.
Thank you, Bryan, for all of the effort spent in digging up the transcript. That must have required a lot of work. 🤝
Quite unbelievable isn’t it, but it happens over and over again. I’ve recently been reading Andra Watkin’s Substack posts about her upbringing in the fundamental religion. I find it interesting and frightening.
Fortunately, Trump is uncouth and anything but charming. What spooks me more than Trump is a nice version of Trump coming along with fascist intent.
Recently, I have watched shows on the ascent of Julius Caesar to authoritarianism as well as that of Hitler. The play-books seem pretty similar.
Ned, I think it exists in Mike Johnson.
And drumpf can be charming. So was my ex husband, who is vengeful and nasty and was very charming.
There is about 4% (experts say; I think there are more) of the population with this disorder.
Thank you, Jen. I am hoping against hope that your assessment of the Speaker is inaccurate and that he is placating his base by saying some of the things he does. I get the sinking feeling that you are right. 😯😰🤬🤢
He's a True Believer with the man is the only power in the household marriage.
And tried to overturn the 2020 election. Did you read Liz Cheney's book?
He has no business in that job but hes there to advance the agenda.
No, I have not read former Representative Cheney's book; I suspect that it is quite good.
Well worth the read. Or listen. I have it on audible and I think I can share. She reads it, which gives it the nuance of her intent,
. She speaks of not knowing the junior congressman well but liking him and respecting him. Until she found out he was a traitor.
This is excellent, Dr Lee. So very well written.
Thank you, Dr. Lee, for your pithy, pointed summation of the current status of events pertaining to the trial and conviction of a former president of the United States of America, one Donald J. Trump. In view of my current, graduate academic pursuits, one thing stands out: the involvement of Dr. Phil of television fame. While Dr. Phil is a highly respected teletherapist with a huge following, like Gartner he is not a psychiatrist but is qualified in psychology. However, in the case of Dr. Phil, while he has a PhD in psychology, he has elected not to practice for something like two decades, preferring to bring psychotherapy to the people through the medium of television. Being unlicensed for a couple of decades or so has its advantages, as a teletherapist, in minimizing publicity seeking lawsuits! However, Dr. Phil has an unseen network of psychologists and psychiatrists about him, as he characteristically refers participants on his show to licensed, practising professionals. It appears that both Gartner and Doctor Phil classically illustrate a chasm that can develop between psychiatrists and psychologists, with the former being regarded as over theoretical and a good number of the latter, consequently, electing to be over practical. While readers may mull over and debate the particular dangers of the two categories (over theoretical and over practical), this significant professional conundrum causes me consternation and trepidation. Some time after completing the Andrews University online MPH: Nutrition and Wellness, and after sufficient financial recovery, perhaps by 2032 if I will not be tired, I would be happy to add a complementary MPH in Public Health Psychology, if funding developments will permit. I am hoping, thereby, inter alia, to be part of a professional bridging between psychiatry and psychology that will enhance the consonance, rather than the dissonance, between these two very important, complementary professions.
Congratulations on your accomplishments to date; good luck in your ongoing and, perhaps, future pursuits.
✌️
Like my patron saints - Ralph Kramden (i.e., Jackie Gleason) and Calvin (of 'Calvin and Hobbes') -- I am not averse to bloviating about something way outside my knowledge. Dr Phil strikes me as a 'Dear Abby' with jargon.
😉
Hard for me to trust a media figure disseminating professional opinions, or what many take as professional opinions. The temptation to fit responses to audience reactions and ratings must be overwhelming.
Thank you for your kind encouragement, Ned McDoodle. Andrews University encourages me now and again to maintain scholarship in adversity, so I am hoping to take a couple of courses in the Fall 2024 Semester as well, by the grace of God. This will keep me on course to graduate by the end of 2026, marching at an undergraduate-based, local sister institution, which is usually possible for the ceremony. Indeed, Dr. Phil's public persona is risky, although his academic credentials are clinically and forensically impressive. I don't know how well Dear Abby has done in her personal family life, but Dr. Phil has managed to exemplify married life and family life for the better part of five decades, causing his following to trust him without second thoughts. He may partly attribute his winsome family image to his stance not to renew his practising license (I'm sure he can afford it), but not everyone is able to unpractise professionally in order to practise maritally.
The probation process was a joke. We have a man who poses an existential threat to the world and to this democracy, and some pencil pushing clerk is checking off boxes without consideration of the larger context. Trump has been involved all this life with the Russian mob. The FBI refused to call him on it when they did their “background check.” Do we expect someone 1500 miles away to show more gumption than the FBI did after a “30 minute” interview?
If Judge Merchan ordered a psychological evaluation, trump would be officially exposed as unbalanced, amoral, dangerous and entering a phase of cognitive decline. Trump would not qualify for a prison sentence, yet, WE, The People, are poised to put him in the WH with nuclear codes?
The Justice System from the top down IS NOT WORKING.
Dr Lee, the botched coup attempt in 2020 was a surprise although you can say that some experts (including you) had already predicted the possibility. But 2025 coup is pretty much in plain sight. The plans for coup and destroying American society have already been drafted by Heritage foundation. The top organizers of previous coup roam freely & make no secret about their next intentions. Yet, there's no urgency to deal with the situation by DHS and DOJ and most importantly, the American courts.
Well, as always, I am in awe of your mind in its elegance and your heart in its eloquence.
"Based on Donald Trump’s conduct and how vigorously his 'followers' echo his message, the general deterrence factor should take on far more significance here than in a typical case."
That statement says it all. The people rest, your honor.
https://www.vox.com/world/2019/4/19/18507580/mueller-report-trump-russia-obstruction-summary
On elements like obstruction, the 'Mueller Report' indicated strong probabilities of obstruction of justice. The Special Counsel did not refer the findings for criminal charges out of deference to a Watergate era legal opinion, as policy, stating that a sitting President can not be indicted. If my shrinking grey-matter still funxions at all, Special Counsel Mueller plainly said so in his report.
From the 2019 'Mueller Report', page-213:
"First, a traditional prosecution or declination decision entails a binary determination to initiate or decline a prosecution, but we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment. The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has issued an opinion finding that 'the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions' in violation of 'the constitutional separation of powers.' Given the role of the Special Counsel as an attorney in the Department of Justice and the framework of the Special Counsel regulations . . . this Office accepted OLC's legal conclusion for the purpose of exercising prosecutorial jurisdiction. And apart from OLC's constitutional view, we recognized that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President's capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional processes for addressing presidential misconduct."
It’s my understanding that trump wasn’t required drug and alcohol screen. I’d think that would be a bad idea. I also understand that his interview only took thirty minutes. That doesn’t sound likely to me.