Thank you for showing once again how obvious was Trump’s unfitness to hold office, according to today’s well-established understanding of human psychology. The final point that so many brilliant and well-intentioned people came together to create the American experiment (a miracle to me of intellectual firepower) contrasted with the completely opposite type of people assembled around Trump today has me looking for some sort of “what’s in the water?” insight to explain what’s happened.
I know that a network of wealthy people working behind the scenes gave us Ronald Reagan (manipulated from being a Democrat with a minor acting career - “Bedtime For Bonzo” co-starring a chimpanzee - into a tax-hating Republican by the G.E. Corporation)… and that this process of likable but dumb candidates continued with George W Bush (who asked Dick Cheney to choose his V.P. candidate … and Cheney’s answer was that he, Cheney, was the best choice)… but it seems that Barack Obama’s victory was literally “a bridge too far” for our nation that has NEVER purged itself of the bigotry that was part of our culture from day one (causing Native Americans to be described as “savages” - ie not human - in our founding documents). It’s easy to sign and then break treaties with people you don’t consider to be human!
I’ll end for now by saying I believe the needed American Rebirth MUST be built on a foundation in which racism and bigotry are the highest level crimes of them all… higher perhaps than murder. That’s because murder kills one person. Racism and bigotry “kill” entire cultures!
You have to hand it to the Republican con-men who did their homework and legwork and manipulated the public so masterfully, all the while with the Democrats appearing politically clueless about this process.
Resistance is gaining traction; 💪🏾 I watched about five hours of Representative Jeffries's speech. He went through many amendments proposed by Democrats to aid people, many of whom are in red states. 😱 Now, hopefully, the G.0.P. will be held publicly accountable in the courtroom of popular opinion. ⚖️
Representative Jeffries's words will ring inside my head and heart for a long time:🙏🏾leadership requires "courage, conviction, compassion" and what we have is "cruelty, chaos, corruption." 😳 WOWerful, Mr Minority Leader; thank you, Sir.🤝🏻What the moral majority should be in an age of deceit and destruction.⚖️
This morning, l woke up unexpectedly after going to bed way too late. 😴 Mr Jeffries fought the good fight.🥊That bill of bastardy has made it through. 💔
Though disappointed, I am glad in one respect: people, particularly those in the Trump base states, will see the consequences of Trump's dash toward dictatorship. 😢
I agree. I have assumed it’s a difference caused by so many Republicans coming from the business world, a place where cut throat behavior is rewarded and long range thinking is the norm. The Democrats have been outclassed for decades, but they also hurt their own cause tremendously when they tried to side with big money … Which resulted in them becoming corrupt and of little used to the ordinary Americans who used to vote for them.
4th of July in 24, I said to many people, “I dread the thought of a Trump presidency in ’25. Try to imagine him mandating a Korean dictator type of military parade.” I was trying to nudge people to get out and get active. I stop short of criticizing people b/c there are many reasons they couldn’t imagine what was coming since we’ve never been here. At the same time, I’m so angry. If today’s vote doesn’t wake up Americans then I can’t be sympathetic. Malcolm Nance today predicted that Iran will drop a nuclear bomb this year. Serious. Dr. Lee and her colleagues have been telling us for a long time we are inching closer. You watched Republicans cheer and shout USA in giddy laughter as they out through a bill that now is predicted to result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands Americans. If this all comes to pass, Trump will be in the fraternity of Lenin, Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin . We already know that the shutting down of USAID is creating a body count that will be in the millions. In Trump 1.0 1.2 Million Americans died because of his disinterest and negligence. Yes, this is the worst July 4th of generations.
l am re-reading 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury. Written seventy-two years ago, the book accurately foresees the cultural trends, societal violence, dumbing down of students.
It’s not so much that people wanted to return him to power but rather the ineptness of the opposing party. I can start w Clinton whose sexual wanton behavior essentially prevented Gore from winning. Then we have Obama and the Clintons pushing Biden aside bec they wanted another couple of terms in the Oval but Hillary, as brilliant as she is, was a terrible campaigner who could not connect w the populace. Finally we have Biden’s enablers who should have known better to let him out of the box to debate and show just how frail he is. Then w Harris in race it was decided she couldn’t divorce herself from any of Biden’s policies or opinions ( especially regarding the war in Gaza). Obama won bec he is charming and every minority group came out to vote but aside from the ACA and getting the economy back on track ( which most magas don’t know) he let McConnell clean the floor w him when it came to replacing RBG. As Sean Connery once said ( in The Untouchables) , you don’t bring a knife to gun fight. On Jan 20th they should have arrested the orange guy for treason but instead w have this descent into fascism.
I couldn't have summarized it better. Superb. The Democratic Party establishment seems suicidal in clinging to what's left (no pun intended) of it. "Incrementalism" (baby steps) and "centrism" (the bland middle) was effective once upon a time, but it's definitely run it's course. Relentless support for "change" has become far more important.
Thank you for making sure we think of the “complete system” that produced this crisis. As much responsibility is the GOP and all the think tanks and wealthy donors (and Putin) that helped them be victorious going back to Reagan’s win in 1980, the Democratic Party’s failures (both intentional and accidental) MUST be studied as well, if we are to develop a plan to recover / restart the American experiment which has now, in my opinion, come to a crashing halt.
It appears that we who value democracy are all in danger as his supporters are ( for Donald Trump) searching for ways to undermine any attempts at the truth .
Stephen Miller is as deeply twisted as Trump or perhaps more.
But Trump has a reverence for other people who match him in punishing or destroying people who know the truth and are willing to say so .
As a student of innovation but also of asymmetrical warfare, my solution is to do an “end around” the forces of evil in society. We cannot defeat them in a head to head flight on their preferred field of battle. Buckminster Fuller once said “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”.
The GOP has destroyed the existing model the Founding Fathers built. But we can design a new system for how humanity is organized… as Dr Lee has already begun to describe… one based on the truth that we belong to One Human Family here on Spaceship Earth … that while separate cultures will always exist (a good thing) we do not have to continue to have separate nation-states (something the UN should have done away with in 1945, but it didn’t have the foresight needed to advocate for that).
Dr Lee, i am amazed that scientists and intellectuals have so narrow understanding of political systems and sociology. A political system that was envisioned 100-200-300 years ago is not necessarily fit for present times. Political and economic systems have finite life cycles and they need to be amended, sometimes changed entirely.
The founding fathers were believers of 'Classical theory of Democracy'. It's no longer applicable today but still many intellectuals continue to peddle this unscientific theory. The society, economy, culture, technology etc - all has greatly evolved and this environment is not conducive to Classical theory. Schumpeter's heterodox theory of Democracy can be treated as starting point from where our thought process should begin and then we should expand on how to create political and economic system for 21st century.
Classical theory of democracy in political science is as obsolete as classical theory of atom in physics.
We no longer make classical theory of atom as the foundational basis of Chemistry or Atomic physics. Yet, we somehow make Classical theory of democracy as foundational basis of our political theory in 21st century.
Personally, i am dismayed by western intellectuals and thinkers who failed to transcend the anachronistic Classical thinking of past centuries.
I don’t feel much like celebrating this 4th of July after yesterday’s ruling knowing that children will go hungry and people will die from loss of their healthcare. There were already multiple reasons to mourn, but as “Rousseau’s only answer was a fanciful deus ex machina, a divine legislator sent by God to put the people back on the right path” I will be waiting for some leader to guide us to a brighter future for our grandchildren and a renewed legacy because the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States used to mean something. It was what my father went to war for in 1942. We can come up with countless reasons why people fell prey to a demagogue, but ultimately people felt unseen and unheard and that unmet pain led to this. I ask myself what are you going to do about it, then I found Dr. Bandy and I feel hopeful. I’m old now, but I stay engaged because I care. I pray we find support here. I know I do. Today, though I mourn. I’ll fight again tomorrow.
Our Plan, is now in Our control, and not in the hands of the “ Dems”!
You my faithful suckers have rigged the system of my court to have lower your fees for my princes at the expense of the Mass suckers!
Your princes now have gains for their loyalty’s to me, at the expense of the Mass ‘hard working’ suckers!
Your princes will now have disposable gains and the Mass suckers will pay this for generations!
Mass suckers will not be able to fight the princes, since they are too weak to ‘fight’.
Our Lands have now been secured with Our Plan and any opposition will be sent to Gallows or Dungeons to Our choosing!
Our knights have proven loyalty to ME(your boss).
Our armies are secured under my control!
All Mass suckers assets are frozen and guarded against any changes.
My Plan, distances and rebellious Truth Tellers the Dems.
Since, I, control assets of the Massive Suckers, by tagging asset accounts, and securing Our lands from Mass suckers intervention!
Since, my once Loyal Subjects Sir Elon the Musk had secured the assets under my masked authority!
As long as you, my Loyal suckers, keep my hidden plan a secret, the Grand Master plan will now flourish, but my ‘all seeing eye is on you’, as are my loyalist spies will be watching you!
NOW, send me the bill to my Royal Thrones desk!
Do it, now, before the 4th of July 2025 to declare Our plan has come to fruition!
Our Plan will secure and disrupt the Mass Suckers and My Kingdom will be secured so be vigilant!
Remember, I’m the “Boss”, you crowned, ME!
As we have more plans from my generous and wonderful mind, a genius mind and We can fill the coffers.
This Bill, posted for the kingdom subjects, that dictates their burden from the Mass Suckers .
ALL Masses, are my subjects and the Suckers of my Court will have “ Golden age”, under my Throne influence where all my loyalist will unite and prepare to rule over Our Massive Suckers and enemies of the Crown.
You, Loyalist, can do with them as you please, just Voice Out for my next coronation, the Royal and Only Benefactor, the Wannabe king of Trumpian-Landia!
To be posted at all town hamlets, and uneducated masses!
Since, I am your g-d, I bless you, so send me you maidens, coffers, and more lands to occupy, Our Landia is short of Loyalist of the right kind!
I cannot understand how, using the 'red heart' that I interpret to represent the number of people who have come to this comments section, after 8 hours only 58 bodies in the world have clicked in to this activity.
Four characteristics of Trump that worry me more than the others since this hammerhead could precipitate a bloody civil war or an incinerating global one. 😱
1st, "Tends to engage in unlawful or criminal behavior." Obvious, yes, but still to be considered serious.🤬
2nd, "When distressed, perception of reality can become grossly impaired (e.g., thinking may seem delusional)." We all saw what happened in 2020; we signed up for him again.💔
3rd, "Tends to become irrational when strong emotions are stirred up; may show a significant decline from customary level of functioning." If he gets impeached and there is a prospect that he will get the boot, what happens next is hard to fathom and frightening to envision.🫣
4th, "Has difficulty making sense of other people’s behavior; tends to misunderstand, misinterpret, or be confused by others’ actions and reactions." Putrid has been showing contempt toward Trump. Xi and Frettin'-yahoo may be doing the same. Trump keeps going for bro-jobs. ¿What happens when Trump snaps? 🤢
Hopefully, the military leadership would fulfill its collective and corrective oath to the Constitution, belay the orders and tell King Baby to stick it where his little red star don't shine.🤞🏼
The worst part is that ridding ourselves of Trump likely brings someone worse in Vance and his 'gang of four' flaws. I know little about Vance, except that he seems to have no moral rudder and is blindly ambitious. 🤫
1st, "Has little empathy; seems unable or unwilling to understand or respond to others’ needs or feelings." Based on his treatment of President Zelenskyy in the 0val 0ffice ambush.🥊
2nd, "Reasoning processes or perceptual experiences seem odd and idiosyncratic (e.g., may make seemingly arbitrary inferences; may see hidden messages or special meanings in ordinary events)." Liar, liar Vance on fires strikes me as inscrutable and vaguely malevolent. 🤬
3rd, "Tends to feel s/he is inadequate, inferior, or a failure." That feeling inadequate drives the overwhelming ambition and sense of techno-fascist entitlement to rule over others. 🫨
4th, "Is invested in seeing and portraying self as emotionally strong, untroubled, and emotionally in control, despite clear evidence of underlying insecurity, anxiety, or distress." Wound tighter than a piano wire. 🤔
Here’s a relevant comment from someone I’m connected to on LinkedIn. This comment is actually his latest Substack essay. I’ll link to his Substack account at the end…
When Donald Trump called Mexican immigrants "rapists" in June 2015, that wasn't campaign hyperbole. When he demanded a "total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" six months later, that wasn't political positioning. When he defended neo-Nazis as "very fine people" after Charlottesville, that wasn't poor phrasing.
It was a blueprint for mainstreaming hatred in American politics. And it worked.
First, make the unthinkable speakable. Then make the speakable acceptable. Finally, make the acceptable inevitable.
By July 2019, a sitting president could tell four congresswomen of color — three born in America — to "go back where they came from." The House of Representatives formally condemned his "racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of people of color."
Nearly every Republican voted against that condemnation.
This is how normalization works, through incremental erosion of moral boundaries.
Trump's racist appeals weren't accidents. When he praised Minnesota supporters for their "good genes" and referenced "racehorse theory," he was articulating eugenics from the presidential podium.
When he blamed "bad genes" for immigrant crime in October 2024, he was reviving the pseudoscientific racism that justified Nazi ideology.
The progression was deliberate.
Stephen Miller, his immigration architect, promoted white nationalist content in policy discussions. Tucker Carlson built prime-time television around "great replacement" theory, telling millions Democrats were importing voters to replace white Americans.
Mass shooters in El Paso, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo cited these exact narratives before murdering Americans they saw as genetic threats.
Language became a lethal weapon, aimed by the administration, fired by MAGA supporters, claiming real lives and livelihoods.
But MAGA's success required perfect conditions.
America's obsession with false civility created cover for hatred disguised as political discourse. Democrats' insistence on nonexistent bipartisanship legitimized bad-faith actors. Media "neutrality" treated fascist rhetoric as mere opinion worthy of debate.
A crumbling educational system left millions vulnerable to conspiracy theories. A failing political system disconnected from popular will created space for demagogues promising simple solutions.
These vulnerabilities gave MAGA the deniability it needed.
Trump claims he "doesn't have a racist bone in his body" while trafficking in racist tropes. Supporters insist they're motivated by economics while cheering leaders who demonize non-white populations. The movement wraps white nationalism in patriotic language, making racism feel like loyalty.
Racist dog-whistles became "economic anxiety." Authoritarian threats became "political theater." Coup attempts became "questioning election integrity."
The lies metastasized through a weakened body politic like cancer, eating away at the democratic institutions that once made America resilient.
I'm a psychologist who's used the diagnostic manual and even taught it at a medical college. I recognize through this list not just malignant narcissism but a huge number of criteria of "Cluster B" personality disorder, of "remote onset" (from early in life). This clustering exactly takes into account such a variety of signs across several personality disorder classifications (that is, anti-social, narcissistic, histrionic and borderline). Some of the things on the list that reflect cognitive decline may have "recent onset," meaning a neurocognitive disorder having developed with aging. All in all, not good signs indeed. Given this terrible situation, it begs the question of how such a person could be supported for the most powerful position in the world, including the sole determinant of using nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on earth. The answer would seem to be a combination of extreme short-sightedness among very greedy, ruthless, powerful people having a lot of money already and also a longstanding, close, symbiotic-like relationship with Trump (the front man). Such people tend to be masters of advertising (propaganda) in big business, knowing all of the skills to persuade (con) non-critical thinking, needy people. Once their schemes have progress so far, it would seem that the normal, legal processes remain valuable but not enough to return to a stable and just governance. Perhaps the conned people may see through this terrible manipulation (everyone not being fooled all of the time) by the economic impact on them and then vote for the other political party candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. Such would involve hope that the other party politicians would take sufficient action to stop and reverse the perverse con games. Such would be essential in the awfully limited time necessary to accomplish it. We can only hope that the efforts of Dr. Lee and colleagues, among others, can be of help in continuing to expose the con and shift the power base with newly elected people who realize she is right.
By the way, the constitution also established tyranny of Supreme Court justices. It was these tyrant justices that enabled Trump regime by giving him total immunity.
A public office with lifetime appointment is invitation to Tyrant judges. We are seeing it right now. Why founding fathers never thought of this? There were always flaws in US political system which have now greatly amplified. People need to stop looking at founding fathers as some geniuses whose wisdom can be applied cart blanche to today's world.
'the people have chosen to return him to office, along with his similarly personality-featured posse'
Trump is a figurehead, a prop for the fascist crowd (aka every rank and file GOP voter). He is a reflection of who they have always been, and the instrument for what they have always sought- a fascist apartheid state. They have worked for this for generations.
The fascist crowd is not led, they are not hypnotized, none are duped. They do not 'vote against their interests', as the self-described leftists are so fond of postulating. The fascist crowd has always voted FOR their interests, and have now (with a fair amount of assistance from Putin) gotten what they have always wanted.
The fascist figurehead was never the threat to our pluralistic democracy. The fascist crowd is, and always have been. Each individual, countless congregations, various extra-legal mobs, in communities across the nation, who have never wanted an inclusive society, or the rule of law. They want demographic dominance, and impunity to use violence at their whim.
It is OUR failure to recognize that the fascist crowd was the real threat is why we are now learning what it means to live under a fascist regime.
I find it useful to study the experience of Spain under Franco (Hitler's ally, in power for thirty years after the end of WWII) to better prepare ourselves what is now upon us (I wrote the essay excerpted below almost exactly one year ago, July 5, 2024, before the last theft of the White House in November 2024 was engineered):
"The domestic fascist faction known as the GOP, like all other fascist regimes, is amenable to murder, mass violence, incarceration without recourse, and concentration camps. This is what they do, and they do so without conscience or pangs of remorse. This is who they are.
We cannot appeal to any sense of ‘shared American values’, nor seek out their core of human decency, their moral conscience. We have been encouraged to do this for decades, with platitudes like ‘there’s more than unites us than divides us’, ‘meet them where they’re at, show you understand their concerns’). This has only brought us disastrous results."
Unfortunately, too many among us who insist they are opposed to fascism failed to wake up until after it was too late.
Dr Lee,
Thank you for showing once again how obvious was Trump’s unfitness to hold office, according to today’s well-established understanding of human psychology. The final point that so many brilliant and well-intentioned people came together to create the American experiment (a miracle to me of intellectual firepower) contrasted with the completely opposite type of people assembled around Trump today has me looking for some sort of “what’s in the water?” insight to explain what’s happened.
I know that a network of wealthy people working behind the scenes gave us Ronald Reagan (manipulated from being a Democrat with a minor acting career - “Bedtime For Bonzo” co-starring a chimpanzee - into a tax-hating Republican by the G.E. Corporation)… and that this process of likable but dumb candidates continued with George W Bush (who asked Dick Cheney to choose his V.P. candidate … and Cheney’s answer was that he, Cheney, was the best choice)… but it seems that Barack Obama’s victory was literally “a bridge too far” for our nation that has NEVER purged itself of the bigotry that was part of our culture from day one (causing Native Americans to be described as “savages” - ie not human - in our founding documents). It’s easy to sign and then break treaties with people you don’t consider to be human!
I’ll end for now by saying I believe the needed American Rebirth MUST be built on a foundation in which racism and bigotry are the highest level crimes of them all… higher perhaps than murder. That’s because murder kills one person. Racism and bigotry “kill” entire cultures!
You have to hand it to the Republican con-men who did their homework and legwork and manipulated the public so masterfully, all the while with the Democrats appearing politically clueless about this process.
It is highly likely that Trump was also clueless about this process.
By the way, please note that I’m not defending Trump in any way.
Resistance is gaining traction; 💪🏾 I watched about five hours of Representative Jeffries's speech. He went through many amendments proposed by Democrats to aid people, many of whom are in red states. 😱 Now, hopefully, the G.0.P. will be held publicly accountable in the courtroom of popular opinion. ⚖️
Representative Jeffries's words will ring inside my head and heart for a long time:🙏🏾leadership requires "courage, conviction, compassion" and what we have is "cruelty, chaos, corruption." 😳 WOWerful, Mr Minority Leader; thank you, Sir.🤝🏻What the moral majority should be in an age of deceit and destruction.⚖️
This morning, l woke up unexpectedly after going to bed way too late. 😴 Mr Jeffries fought the good fight.🥊That bill of bastardy has made it through. 💔
Though disappointed, I am glad in one respect: people, particularly those in the Trump base states, will see the consequences of Trump's dash toward dictatorship. 😢
I agree. I have assumed it’s a difference caused by so many Republicans coming from the business world, a place where cut throat behavior is rewarded and long range thinking is the norm. The Democrats have been outclassed for decades, but they also hurt their own cause tremendously when they tried to side with big money … Which resulted in them becoming corrupt and of little used to the ordinary Americans who used to vote for them.
4th of July in 24, I said to many people, “I dread the thought of a Trump presidency in ’25. Try to imagine him mandating a Korean dictator type of military parade.” I was trying to nudge people to get out and get active. I stop short of criticizing people b/c there are many reasons they couldn’t imagine what was coming since we’ve never been here. At the same time, I’m so angry. If today’s vote doesn’t wake up Americans then I can’t be sympathetic. Malcolm Nance today predicted that Iran will drop a nuclear bomb this year. Serious. Dr. Lee and her colleagues have been telling us for a long time we are inching closer. You watched Republicans cheer and shout USA in giddy laughter as they out through a bill that now is predicted to result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands Americans. If this all comes to pass, Trump will be in the fraternity of Lenin, Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin . We already know that the shutting down of USAID is creating a body count that will be in the millions. In Trump 1.0 1.2 Million Americans died because of his disinterest and negligence. Yes, this is the worst July 4th of generations.
l am re-reading 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury. Written seventy-two years ago, the book accurately foresees the cultural trends, societal violence, dumbing down of students.
It’s not so much that people wanted to return him to power but rather the ineptness of the opposing party. I can start w Clinton whose sexual wanton behavior essentially prevented Gore from winning. Then we have Obama and the Clintons pushing Biden aside bec they wanted another couple of terms in the Oval but Hillary, as brilliant as she is, was a terrible campaigner who could not connect w the populace. Finally we have Biden’s enablers who should have known better to let him out of the box to debate and show just how frail he is. Then w Harris in race it was decided she couldn’t divorce herself from any of Biden’s policies or opinions ( especially regarding the war in Gaza). Obama won bec he is charming and every minority group came out to vote but aside from the ACA and getting the economy back on track ( which most magas don’t know) he let McConnell clean the floor w him when it came to replacing RBG. As Sean Connery once said ( in The Untouchables) , you don’t bring a knife to gun fight. On Jan 20th they should have arrested the orange guy for treason but instead w have this descent into fascism.
I couldn't have summarized it better. Superb. The Democratic Party establishment seems suicidal in clinging to what's left (no pun intended) of it. "Incrementalism" (baby steps) and "centrism" (the bland middle) was effective once upon a time, but it's definitely run it's course. Relentless support for "change" has become far more important.
Thank you for making sure we think of the “complete system” that produced this crisis. As much responsibility is the GOP and all the think tanks and wealthy donors (and Putin) that helped them be victorious going back to Reagan’s win in 1980, the Democratic Party’s failures (both intentional and accidental) MUST be studied as well, if we are to develop a plan to recover / restart the American experiment which has now, in my opinion, come to a crashing halt.
It appears that we who value democracy are all in danger as his supporters are ( for Donald Trump) searching for ways to undermine any attempts at the truth .
Stephen Miller is as deeply twisted as Trump or perhaps more.
But Trump has a reverence for other people who match him in punishing or destroying people who know the truth and are willing to say so .
It’s a perilous time we live in .
How can we effectively oppose this?
As a student of innovation but also of asymmetrical warfare, my solution is to do an “end around” the forces of evil in society. We cannot defeat them in a head to head flight on their preferred field of battle. Buckminster Fuller once said “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”.
The GOP has destroyed the existing model the Founding Fathers built. But we can design a new system for how humanity is organized… as Dr Lee has already begun to describe… one based on the truth that we belong to One Human Family here on Spaceship Earth … that while separate cultures will always exist (a good thing) we do not have to continue to have separate nation-states (something the UN should have done away with in 1945, but it didn’t have the foresight needed to advocate for that).
Dr Lee, i am amazed that scientists and intellectuals have so narrow understanding of political systems and sociology. A political system that was envisioned 100-200-300 years ago is not necessarily fit for present times. Political and economic systems have finite life cycles and they need to be amended, sometimes changed entirely.
The founding fathers were believers of 'Classical theory of Democracy'. It's no longer applicable today but still many intellectuals continue to peddle this unscientific theory. The society, economy, culture, technology etc - all has greatly evolved and this environment is not conducive to Classical theory. Schumpeter's heterodox theory of Democracy can be treated as starting point from where our thought process should begin and then we should expand on how to create political and economic system for 21st century.
Classical theory of democracy in political science is as obsolete as classical theory of atom in physics.
We no longer make classical theory of atom as the foundational basis of Chemistry or Atomic physics. Yet, we somehow make Classical theory of democracy as foundational basis of our political theory in 21st century.
Personally, i am dismayed by western intellectuals and thinkers who failed to transcend the anachronistic Classical thinking of past centuries.
I don’t feel much like celebrating this 4th of July after yesterday’s ruling knowing that children will go hungry and people will die from loss of their healthcare. There were already multiple reasons to mourn, but as “Rousseau’s only answer was a fanciful deus ex machina, a divine legislator sent by God to put the people back on the right path” I will be waiting for some leader to guide us to a brighter future for our grandchildren and a renewed legacy because the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States used to mean something. It was what my father went to war for in 1942. We can come up with countless reasons why people fell prey to a demagogue, but ultimately people felt unseen and unheard and that unmet pain led to this. I ask myself what are you going to do about it, then I found Dr. Bandy and I feel hopeful. I’m old now, but I stay engaged because I care. I pray we find support here. I know I do. Today, though I mourn. I’ll fight again tomorrow.
My response to DJT is a Satire:
Interpreting the July 1, 2025 on Truth Social!
Edict of DJT as a Bill.
My Fellow Suckers of the Court,
Our Plan, is now in Our control, and not in the hands of the “ Dems”!
You my faithful suckers have rigged the system of my court to have lower your fees for my princes at the expense of the Mass suckers!
Your princes now have gains for their loyalty’s to me, at the expense of the Mass ‘hard working’ suckers!
Your princes will now have disposable gains and the Mass suckers will pay this for generations!
Mass suckers will not be able to fight the princes, since they are too weak to ‘fight’.
Our Lands have now been secured with Our Plan and any opposition will be sent to Gallows or Dungeons to Our choosing!
Our knights have proven loyalty to ME(your boss).
Our armies are secured under my control!
All Mass suckers assets are frozen and guarded against any changes.
My Plan, distances and rebellious Truth Tellers the Dems.
Since, I, control assets of the Massive Suckers, by tagging asset accounts, and securing Our lands from Mass suckers intervention!
Since, my once Loyal Subjects Sir Elon the Musk had secured the assets under my masked authority!
As long as you, my Loyal suckers, keep my hidden plan a secret, the Grand Master plan will now flourish, but my ‘all seeing eye is on you’, as are my loyalist spies will be watching you!
NOW, send me the bill to my Royal Thrones desk!
Do it, now, before the 4th of July 2025 to declare Our plan has come to fruition!
Our Plan will secure and disrupt the Mass Suckers and My Kingdom will be secured so be vigilant!
Remember, I’m the “Boss”, you crowned, ME!
As we have more plans from my generous and wonderful mind, a genius mind and We can fill the coffers.
This Bill, posted for the kingdom subjects, that dictates their burden from the Mass Suckers .
ALL Masses, are my subjects and the Suckers of my Court will have “ Golden age”, under my Throne influence where all my loyalist will unite and prepare to rule over Our Massive Suckers and enemies of the Crown.
You, Loyalist, can do with them as you please, just Voice Out for my next coronation, the Royal and Only Benefactor, the Wannabe king of Trumpian-Landia!
To be posted at all town hamlets, and uneducated masses!
Since, I am your g-d, I bless you, so send me you maidens, coffers, and more lands to occupy, Our Landia is short of Loyalist of the right kind!
You know what I mean. Just do it!
Master of Trump-Landia
DJT ( you know who I am)
Per the mind of DJT presumptively!
I cannot understand how, using the 'red heart' that I interpret to represent the number of people who have come to this comments section, after 8 hours only 58 bodies in the world have clicked in to this activity.
‘The Founders Feared a Trump, So Why Could They Not Prevent One?’ Easy question. It was not their job. It was ours. We failed as a citizenry. 😳
The thirty characteristics of Trump were unsurprising for the most part. The Pretender-in-Chief has the dubious virtue of being obvious. 🙄
Four characteristics of Trump that worry me more than the others since this hammerhead could precipitate a bloody civil war or an incinerating global one. 😱
1st, "Tends to engage in unlawful or criminal behavior." Obvious, yes, but still to be considered serious.🤬
2nd, "When distressed, perception of reality can become grossly impaired (e.g., thinking may seem delusional)." We all saw what happened in 2020; we signed up for him again.💔
3rd, "Tends to become irrational when strong emotions are stirred up; may show a significant decline from customary level of functioning." If he gets impeached and there is a prospect that he will get the boot, what happens next is hard to fathom and frightening to envision.🫣
4th, "Has difficulty making sense of other people’s behavior; tends to misunderstand, misinterpret, or be confused by others’ actions and reactions." Putrid has been showing contempt toward Trump. Xi and Frettin'-yahoo may be doing the same. Trump keeps going for bro-jobs. ¿What happens when Trump snaps? 🤢
Hopefully, the military leadership would fulfill its collective and corrective oath to the Constitution, belay the orders and tell King Baby to stick it where his little red star don't shine.🤞🏼
The worst part is that ridding ourselves of Trump likely brings someone worse in Vance and his 'gang of four' flaws. I know little about Vance, except that he seems to have no moral rudder and is blindly ambitious. 🤫
1st, "Has little empathy; seems unable or unwilling to understand or respond to others’ needs or feelings." Based on his treatment of President Zelenskyy in the 0val 0ffice ambush.🥊
2nd, "Reasoning processes or perceptual experiences seem odd and idiosyncratic (e.g., may make seemingly arbitrary inferences; may see hidden messages or special meanings in ordinary events)." Liar, liar Vance on fires strikes me as inscrutable and vaguely malevolent. 🤬
3rd, "Tends to feel s/he is inadequate, inferior, or a failure." That feeling inadequate drives the overwhelming ambition and sense of techno-fascist entitlement to rule over others. 🫨
4th, "Is invested in seeing and portraying self as emotionally strong, untroubled, and emotionally in control, despite clear evidence of underlying insecurity, anxiety, or distress." Wound tighter than a piano wire. 🤔
Here’s a relevant comment from someone I’m connected to on LinkedIn. This comment is actually his latest Substack essay. I’ll link to his Substack account at the end…
When Donald Trump called Mexican immigrants "rapists" in June 2015, that wasn't campaign hyperbole. When he demanded a "total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" six months later, that wasn't political positioning. When he defended neo-Nazis as "very fine people" after Charlottesville, that wasn't poor phrasing.
It was a blueprint for mainstreaming hatred in American politics. And it worked.
First, make the unthinkable speakable. Then make the speakable acceptable. Finally, make the acceptable inevitable.
By July 2019, a sitting president could tell four congresswomen of color — three born in America — to "go back where they came from." The House of Representatives formally condemned his "racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of people of color."
Nearly every Republican voted against that condemnation.
This is how normalization works, through incremental erosion of moral boundaries.
Trump's racist appeals weren't accidents. When he praised Minnesota supporters for their "good genes" and referenced "racehorse theory," he was articulating eugenics from the presidential podium.
When he blamed "bad genes" for immigrant crime in October 2024, he was reviving the pseudoscientific racism that justified Nazi ideology.
The progression was deliberate.
Stephen Miller, his immigration architect, promoted white nationalist content in policy discussions. Tucker Carlson built prime-time television around "great replacement" theory, telling millions Democrats were importing voters to replace white Americans.
Mass shooters in El Paso, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo cited these exact narratives before murdering Americans they saw as genetic threats.
Language became a lethal weapon, aimed by the administration, fired by MAGA supporters, claiming real lives and livelihoods.
But MAGA's success required perfect conditions.
America's obsession with false civility created cover for hatred disguised as political discourse. Democrats' insistence on nonexistent bipartisanship legitimized bad-faith actors. Media "neutrality" treated fascist rhetoric as mere opinion worthy of debate.
A crumbling educational system left millions vulnerable to conspiracy theories. A failing political system disconnected from popular will created space for demagogues promising simple solutions.
These vulnerabilities gave MAGA the deniability it needed.
Trump claims he "doesn't have a racist bone in his body" while trafficking in racist tropes. Supporters insist they're motivated by economics while cheering leaders who demonize non-white populations. The movement wraps white nationalism in patriotic language, making racism feel like loyalty.
Racist dog-whistles became "economic anxiety." Authoritarian threats became "political theater." Coup attempts became "questioning election integrity."
The lies metastasized through a weakened body politic like cancer, eating away at the democratic institutions that once made America resilient.
https://open.substack.com/pub/husseinhallak/p/the-design-of-hate?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I'm a psychologist who's used the diagnostic manual and even taught it at a medical college. I recognize through this list not just malignant narcissism but a huge number of criteria of "Cluster B" personality disorder, of "remote onset" (from early in life). This clustering exactly takes into account such a variety of signs across several personality disorder classifications (that is, anti-social, narcissistic, histrionic and borderline). Some of the things on the list that reflect cognitive decline may have "recent onset," meaning a neurocognitive disorder having developed with aging. All in all, not good signs indeed. Given this terrible situation, it begs the question of how such a person could be supported for the most powerful position in the world, including the sole determinant of using nuclear weapons to wipe out all life on earth. The answer would seem to be a combination of extreme short-sightedness among very greedy, ruthless, powerful people having a lot of money already and also a longstanding, close, symbiotic-like relationship with Trump (the front man). Such people tend to be masters of advertising (propaganda) in big business, knowing all of the skills to persuade (con) non-critical thinking, needy people. Once their schemes have progress so far, it would seem that the normal, legal processes remain valuable but not enough to return to a stable and just governance. Perhaps the conned people may see through this terrible manipulation (everyone not being fooled all of the time) by the economic impact on them and then vote for the other political party candidates in the upcoming midterm elections. Such would involve hope that the other party politicians would take sufficient action to stop and reverse the perverse con games. Such would be essential in the awfully limited time necessary to accomplish it. We can only hope that the efforts of Dr. Lee and colleagues, among others, can be of help in continuing to expose the con and shift the power base with newly elected people who realize she is right.
Sorry that I just noticed an error. I edited it -- It's really "Cluster B" and not C. I'll have to analyze that slip! (Or else it's simple age. Ugh)
Please. Treason was punishable by hanging. Perfect.
An All-American PSYCHO!
By the way, the constitution also established tyranny of Supreme Court justices. It was these tyrant justices that enabled Trump regime by giving him total immunity.
A public office with lifetime appointment is invitation to Tyrant judges. We are seeing it right now. Why founding fathers never thought of this? There were always flaws in US political system which have now greatly amplified. People need to stop looking at founding fathers as some geniuses whose wisdom can be applied cart blanche to today's world.
My sadness has led me to wonder if a medical drama series depicting the plight of individuals seeking medical care across the country.
I want it all documented case by case.
I’m mad.
Most of my patients in an inpatient county based hospital are on Medicaid. And I am on Medicare. So double whammy
Let’s show seniors confused and now getting a $5 fee to chat on the social security website AI I’m sure.
Keep it coming.
We need a director and a plan.
The holes this bill creates has touched a raw nerve.
I am threatened as a nurse , a woman. A Jew, a grandmother of girls , a senior , along with a history of abuse.
This time I give up. I surrender.
No more news.
'the people have chosen to return him to office, along with his similarly personality-featured posse'
Trump is a figurehead, a prop for the fascist crowd (aka every rank and file GOP voter). He is a reflection of who they have always been, and the instrument for what they have always sought- a fascist apartheid state. They have worked for this for generations.
The fascist crowd is not led, they are not hypnotized, none are duped. They do not 'vote against their interests', as the self-described leftists are so fond of postulating. The fascist crowd has always voted FOR their interests, and have now (with a fair amount of assistance from Putin) gotten what they have always wanted.
The fascist figurehead was never the threat to our pluralistic democracy. The fascist crowd is, and always have been. Each individual, countless congregations, various extra-legal mobs, in communities across the nation, who have never wanted an inclusive society, or the rule of law. They want demographic dominance, and impunity to use violence at their whim.
It is OUR failure to recognize that the fascist crowd was the real threat is why we are now learning what it means to live under a fascist regime.
I find it useful to study the experience of Spain under Franco (Hitler's ally, in power for thirty years after the end of WWII) to better prepare ourselves what is now upon us (I wrote the essay excerpted below almost exactly one year ago, July 5, 2024, before the last theft of the White House in November 2024 was engineered):
https://iandouglasrushlau.substack.com/p/life-under-fascism-francos-spain
"The domestic fascist faction known as the GOP, like all other fascist regimes, is amenable to murder, mass violence, incarceration without recourse, and concentration camps. This is what they do, and they do so without conscience or pangs of remorse. This is who they are.
We cannot appeal to any sense of ‘shared American values’, nor seek out their core of human decency, their moral conscience. We have been encouraged to do this for decades, with platitudes like ‘there’s more than unites us than divides us’, ‘meet them where they’re at, show you understand their concerns’). This has only brought us disastrous results."
Unfortunately, too many among us who insist they are opposed to fascism failed to wake up until after it was too late.