You are asking what is the point of fascism and authoritarianism? It is only this: the constant placating of the dear leaders mentally unfit ego.
Grandpa, dad, husband, attorney, works with Kageno in Rwanda and Kenya. UVA Law grad, Rutgers undergrad. Lives in New Jersey (you gotta problem wit dat?)
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You are asking what is the point of fascism and authoritarianism? It is only this: the constant placating of the dear leaders mentally unfit ego.
Luttig is a serious thinker. But more importantly, he has a huge amount of integrity.
Maybe, but I am not so sure. I think they never thought so many elected politicians and lifetime appointed judges would be so lacking in ethics, integrity and courage.
America got the bomb first because we were a haven for refugees fleeing fascism. The exact opposite of what we are witnessing our country descend into now.
A criminal despot meets with the son of a criminal despot.
This is a disgrace that the Times is covering this story as if Trumps claims against Biden are serious and not mere retaliation and revenge. Another form of sanewashing Trump and undercutting Biden
Does any of this matter si long as the Supreme Court is willing to grant Trump whatever he wants?
The NYT just doesn’t matter anymore. That is it
Because this Administration is focused only on making Trump look good and doing his bidding, the credibility of its spokespersons is near zero.
And the shareholders who forced the issue
There was a time in America when this alone would have soured most of the population against Trump.
Interesting discussion for anyone who cares about our Constitution
It seems like a thousand years ago and a different planet when there were principled journalists and media entities not afraid to stand up to politicians; and there were few politicians who would actively threaten journalists.
Hamas has suffered destruction as a consequence for its attempted genocide against Israel . But what will Israel suffer for its attempted genocide against Gaza?
Yes. I am also surprised more nations haven’t pursued chem/bio WMD. These weapons have a more complicated and difficult deterrent profile than nukes, but they require much less infrastructure that is much easier to hide or disguise. They are also easier to proliferate to terrorists…:(
He certainly did not “do good”. It remains to be seen whether or not he did well….
I suspect an Administration that ignores court rulings will ignore the Parliamentarian. However, if this casts a large shadow over the deal and Democrats sue it may scare away the corporate vultures that are circling.
Ongoing military operations abroad against Iran (and constant fermenting over terrorist attacks) make it easier to justify ongoing oppression at home, including secret police abducting people, troops in Democrat run cities and at polling stations
No. This collation of people who love Trump, people who love power and people who hate the left. Nothing that has happened (yet) has changed that. Meanwhile the much more fragile anti Trump coalition is once again fracturing over Israel and the Middle East
MAGA are against a war, but not against bombing the shit out of people that do not or cannot retaliate.
This particular attack certainly does not, but the follow-on regime change attacks will rekindle it. I suspect countries wanting to build a nuke will not be as bellicose as Iran was, at least until they actually field a nuke. I also think chem/bio weapons will garner more attention going forward.
Well this specific strike would not have happened; but countries in the region have been bombed many times unrelated to nuclear proliferation. The US supplied bombs to Iraq to kill Iranians. Gaza, West Bank, Syria, Libya, etc. It is likely Israel would have attacked Iran for its support of Hamas.
I suspect France, Germany, Britain and Poland are discussing their options as well.
😢When is the first trip to Mars……
So long as rich people and their businesses can easily decamp to Florida it will be difficult for progressive NE mayors or governors to do much to reform taxes and services in a way that the rich disagree with. If you don’t believe that do a deep dive into NJs tax base after COVID funding stopped.
Between this and the dismantling of the US alliances, I suspect that it will be US allies who next go nuclear. Japan and S Korea next on the list.
But that has been true for a long time, at least to an extent. The fact that only a handful of countries have become nuclear is amazing to me. I think in the future they will explore chemical and biological WMD. Much easier to develop and hide even if not as strong a deterrent
Whatever Israeli officials tell the NYT is the message they want Trump to hear, not necessarily the truth. If they want Trump to order another round of attacks to make sure that Fordow is destroyed they would say this no matter how much damage was in the first round
The timing….right after Trumps parade, the kidnappings by secret police and takeover of the Cal Guard… is in part a message to his domestic foes: “If I can crush Irans deeply buried nuclear facilities, I can certainly crush you and your movement.”
He could not have done so were it not for the fact that many Americans support these choices. Millions of “Christians” support Putin’s version of white Supremacy and many Americans supported Israel regardless of how many innocent children are killed in Gaza. Trump understood all of that
To write this is to erase Ukraine, S Korea, Gaza, Iraq, most of Africa. For all of human history states that could not defend themselves were erased no matter how non aggressive they were. What is remarkable is that more states do not have WMD (thankfully).
There are no real experts on the Middle East except the events themselves. What is constant is that no one cares about the people, and the US will always be entangled in ME so long as Israel is our close ally.
The last 2 years showed that the US can’t maintain its current relationship with Israel and avoid entanglement in ME wars. If we chose the former it leads to the latter. If that is the choice ok, but we should not kid ourselves that we can back Israel 100% and not get sucked into their wars.
I hope Netanyahu does not commit US troops to a ground invasion of Iran.
This is why I refuse to watch or listen to CNN. Why are they still in business?
Fox News
I hope Netanyahu doesn’t decide to commit US ground forces into a fight with Iran.
Another of the endless Times articles sanewashing Trump. The real reason is he doesn’t know what to do because he hadn’t read the intelligence over these past months
What, you don’t want luxury condos in Yosemite? Are you a Marxist?
The Supreme Court is reluctant to address politically charged issues unless it is to help the politician or party preferred by the majority. And that politician is Trump and that party is the GOP.
Remember this: the Supreme Court does not like to weigh in on politically charged issues unless it is to help the politician preferred by the Court’s majority. And that preferred politician is Trump.
They should all step down. They made a career ending mistake
However this comes out, Trump will claim that he supported the right decision on this and his followers will agree with him and think he is a genius. Just like what happened with the Iraq war, which he supported until it became unpopular.
Why should South Carolina be treated any differently from any other coastal state?
Yes. And there were some who suggested that his incident years ago detaining a young black man was a feature not a bug…so maybe his health crisis exacerbated already present proclivities for rash behavior?
Maybe. No matter where a senator comes down on this war and Gaza, these are grave and dangerous situations requiring sober words and behavior from US Senators and he seems so out of touch with that.
Strange. I understand that many Senators are pro Israel or anti Iran, but Fetterman seems uniquely bellicose in regard to all Israeli military operations and I don’t remember signs of this when he was campaigning.
The Times reporting is a grave disgrace. Imagine writing an article about today’s events and not even mentioning that 8 million people gathered in 2000 locations from NYC to my tiny rural county to shout “no kings”. Those protests overshadowed Trumps parade.
Imagine writing an article like this and not pointing out that this is how fascist dictators act: use the military against domestic political opponents and the populace at large. Yet Baker refuses to say this out loud, choosing instead to use vague and ambiguous terms to describe Trump.
This article is another example that the Times is obsolete. A parade of aging depreciating armor just shows that Trump and Hegseth do not understand modern warfare. And the No Kings demonstrations were an overwhelming display of solidarity and defiance. But you would not know it from this article.
This is a sad reminder of why I canceled my subscription. Someday when this fascist regime is gone and democracy is restored I hope someone with integrity will once again own this paper and it can rise up again to be worthy….
Well said !
Was the author always a fascist admirer of is it recently acquired taste ?
We are now a country run by an unhinged violent dictator and his fascist cult following. We have crossed the Rubicon and the question now is can we cross back ?
CNN is meaningless. They do not matter anymore
Equity partners at Paul Weiss and Skadden average $5 Million a year each, and they could not stand up to Trump ?
S&C should be ashamed.
It is also a warning about what we could become (or become more like) if we allow our democracy to be replaced with an authoritarian kleptocracy ruled by an angry narcissist.
True. But still: nuclear capable delivery systems were destroyed en masse deep within the borders of a nuclear power with conventional means. Remarkable. Some of our bombers are also at risk…as the drone swarms a few months ago showed.
When I saw how the Azerbaijanis crushed the Armenian armor with drones a few years ago I knew the military world had changed dramatically.
Right. A fundamental rule of nuclear deterrence is that nuclear forces must not be vulnerable to conventional attack. That is now gone. I suspect Biden pressured UK not to mount such an attack for fear of destabilizing the nuclear balance.
During the historical period when secretaries were replaced by tech (roughly the last 40 years) the vast concentration of wealth in the top .1% and the inability of wages for the rest to keep up with true cost of living has destabilized our political and economic systems.
These young people have the blood of innocent people in their hands. Their hubris and disdain for those the government is supposed to help is horrible
Isn’t this how most dictators end up if they gain enormous power?
It seems to me that the UK nuclear deterrent should not rely on US equipment if possible. Now, the US is not a reliable military ally of UK or EU and no one can predict if the US will ever return as a democratic ally.
Bill Boyle alone is worth the price of a subscription to the podcast. Few have his knowledge and level headed thinking. And Jarvis really knows the media business and its failings in this environment
FYI: This is the same Circuit Court as Trumps sister was on. She is rolling over in her grave.
These are not so much journalists as entertainers
Ultimately they and other “journalists” traffic in attention. Thus, it is always best to ignore people like this. Don’t watch them, read them or talk much about them. Just focus on what matters.
Think of how many ways his psyche has been fried over the years: uncle and father assassinated, drug addiction, brain worm, steroid use late in life; all while under a celebrity microscope. His brain is fried.
I suspect she focuses on Gaza kids for the same reason many of us do even if we are pro Israel: the killing of Gaza kids is ongoing, the numbers are staggering, and it did not lead to the return of hostages. Even Israel says the killing of kids is unintentional, so why is this controversial?
I fear for my grandchildren more and more each day
Putin wants Trump’s foreign policy and national security establishment to consolidate so it is easier for the FSB to monitor them.
But at least Merrick Garland and the DOJ’s norms and values…..
What a disgusting human she is. When Trump and his movement are finally defeated we will need a denazification process Sky
It is also about punishing them for being big donors to Democrats
I will no longer read any story focused on interviewing Trump voters. I could care less what they think. We will defeat this fascist assault on our democracy by mobilizing Democrat voters and boosting turnout.
Most are not dumb, just disingenuous.
Democrats should let him know that when they take the House in ‘26 they will cut off all aid and any payments promised by Trump and when they take the Presidency in ‘28 they will go after Bukele kinetically.
Watching his supplicants argue this was his brilliance is a lesson in cult behavior worthy of a text book entry
Bankruptcy lawyers, who have had little work of late, are gearing up for a banner year!
I wonder why they are going taxable. They can typically issue at tax exempt rate that is significantly below the taxable rate.
What a well written and poignant story. Wonderful sentiment
This is the Corey Booker who ran into the burning building to save his constituents when he was Newark’s mayor…
I have practiced for 40 years. I have met many brave and brilliant lawyers. You are one of the best !
Quite novel that actual fascists are accusing Ivy League universities of anti semitism.
The old Italian guys who made espresso in the Italian cafes where I grew up had no tattoos (or maybe a small insignia on their arm). The espresso was superior to anything I typically get today
So many blamed Biden for not being aggressive enough and even discouraging Ukraine from a decisive victory. But we didn’t see the intel he was getting. What American President could ignore the escalating risk of Russia going nuclear ?
Yes. It is clear Europe is in its own. The only issue is how to reconfigure European “controlled” nuclear weapons. Even the British D-5 SLBM force is questionable due to the US involvement.
How can that nit be part of a First Amendment claim ?
No he is claiming to end collective bargaining. His order will not stand
What a disgrace. We knew several otherwise healthy people who died. Several were nurses who cared for COVID patients in the early days of the pandemic, who gave their lives on the front lines while fools like RFK jr did nothing.
Years ago the “Terminator” series of movies predicted the future under AI. I hope it was wrong.
Yes but the Convention Center needs work
Beautiful then and beautiful now. A bit worn around the edges but still has its own style.
So many people complain about the world order. But who would have predicted in the 1950’s/60’s/70’s that the world would go 80 years after Nagasaki without the use of a single nuclear weapon in anger? It is one of the world’s greatest achievements.
This is the predictable result when you have an administration that cares nothing about truth and integrity. Lying and obfuscation become the default behaviors in all situations.
I did too; he was having a press conference and called himself the Secretary of Defense. 6 feet tall and looked like he spent $500 on his hair. Strange
This is not for wars, it is for population suppression
Monsters can be nice sometimes :)