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Howie Lisnoff's avatar

Another great Radio Hour program. I think Deep Throat could have stood outside the White House and shouted “Follow the money.” No need for a basement parking garage anymore. A major worry of the last few days is the use of the military to apprehend immigrants who had and had not committed crimes. Shoplifting is now considered a crime worthy of precipitating deportation.

We now have a government based on wealth with the three branches of government in Trump’s pocket. This from a president who probably could not pass an eighth-grade civics test.

Waiting for the Democrats to save those of goodwill is like waiting for a ship to arrive while the Titanic was sinking.

Pretty bleak. Please read my “I’m Very Worried About a Second Trump Administration” at CounterPunch this week.

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Suzanne's avatar

Fein, Weissman, and Holman have a lot of info to offer.

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Adriana's avatar

This is the last leg of the American decline. Yes, there will be a lot of suffering, there will be death and misery for many. We will feel in our flesh what we caused so many others to feel during the rise of this empire.

After a while, if we are lucky, people will actually revolt. And I mean real revolt, from all fronts, including violence. I do think some violence has a place in revolutions. I cannot find any instance of any successful movement (even if mild or temporary success) where peaceful protest won anything. They attack us with all forms of violence, we need real resistance.

The American people need to learn solidarity. That's what is lacking. Most people only think about their immediate comfort and prospects. When we are faced with real fascism, lack of empathy for all only makes the thugs stronger.

The targets need to be the ones controlling the orange menace. He is a buffoon who relies on his followers but the billionaires and his accolades in Congress will cave to his whims (or puppet-master him) and fulfill his fascistic agenda -democrats will follow suit, the incompetent cowards will keep dreaming of a return to power without changing anything.

As for Trump voters, they are cultists. Trump is a cult leader and no matter what he does, his followers will always find reasons and excuses. This is simply psychology. It is very hard to get someone out of a cult by simply pointing out the facts.

We are doomed until there is a real resistance and real fight - all kinds of fight. Meanwhile, BRICS is growing, even if with problems and uncertainties - but the simple fact that so many countries what to join that bloc, means that the American Empire already crumbled. The more Trump and his posse threaten the world, the more the world turns its back on us. There is much to speculate about the possibilities but ironically, what Trump is doing will just accelerate the demise of the empire.

I am conflicted about how I feel because part of me wants to see this country going down, hoping that the people (some people, most people) will actually rise up and be more empathetic, informed, humane and humble. Not seeking easy solutions, but people who fight for the democracy we have been told - and believed - we are part of. The other part of me just wants things to get better NOW, knowing it is impossible but too stressed out to even follow the news, and scared for the people who are the targets of the moment because it will not be long until the people in my circle, people close to me, will be the targets of the moment.

That's why we need to learn solidarity, to organize and to fight, in all fronts. We are all targets for unspeakable pain and suffering under this fascist oligarchy.

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Don Harris's avatar

If we use violence we have already lost.

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Adriana's avatar

I just don't see how we can have any hope of changing things if we don't have many fronts. I also don't know of any movement that didn't have some kind of violence. The people who didn't use violence but din't reject it, were assassinated. The oppressors are winning through violence, they will not give out what they conquered unless they are really afraid of the masses.

I am a non-believer but as the story, and the Bible, goes, Jesus used violence too. Didn't he mess up with some market or something?

Besides, this country is in a free fall. Serious economists around the world have been saying this for a long time and now they are all saying that there is no way back, the empire has collapsed and it will crumble on top of us. If the people of this country continue the apathy of hoping some new politician will come and solve the problems, that we only need to survive the next four years, we are truly doomed. First, dictators don't give out power. Second, in a two-party system like ours, the other party just adopts all the bad, expand the crap and we keep getting hit.

I just don't see any other way other tan a real revolution, with some room for some violence, mostly against property but I will not feel sorry if some billionaires are sent to the moon, or Pluto, if you get what I mean

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Don Harris's avatar

The oppressors are winning because we keep giving their lackeys our votes when they take big money.

If we use violence that just gives the oppressors an excuse to escalate violence.

You are correct that power concedes nothing without a demand.

But instead of resorting to violence let's first try demanding small donor candidates and enforcing that demand with our votes.

Just 10% of voters in 2026 using this strategy will put fear in the hearts of the big money politicians that would dwarf any fear that violence could instill and would yield positive results going forward instead of yielding more violence.

If you believe in working on all fronts please join me on this effort by asking Ralph to discuss this with me on the Radio Hour as he said he would on Washington Journal (10-24-2018).

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Adriana's avatar

I wish I could believe there is a way to go through this without violence. I am not someone who can actually participate in anything resembling what the Black Bloc did in 2021. Despite my recent rhetoric, I am a pretty peaceful person, if not a bit stressed out. I also grew up in Brazil, seeing the military police (which is not like the military, but a law enforcement institution created by the dictatorship) patrolling the streets threatening people, silencing dissenters, and kidnapping and torturing and disappearing the most vocal (or perceived as vocal) among the dissenters.

The violence will keep coming even if we stay peaceful. It is already happening and will come for all of us. In Brazil, there is a bit of a diplomatic crisis brewing because the deportees spent something like 18 hours in handcuffs, without food and very little water in a flight back into the country. On the other hand, Colombia already complied with the abuses. It will get worse

If you have a chance, watch the Brazilian movie "I'm Still Here" (in the theaters) and on YouTube you can find "Four Days in September". They are related and it shows the violence of the dictators and the resistance using some violence and getting some results.

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Don Harris's avatar

We may be heading towards it but are nowhere near what you describe happened in Brazil.

We can still prevent what happened in Brazil from happening here without violence. How often did the results of resistance using violence result in positive results and how often did it escalate the violence?

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Adriana's avatar

Not like it was in Brazil but my the violence there did have some positive results. In any case, I hope you are right. I have no optimism left but will do what I can to preserve whatever remnants of democracy still exists here

What I think we need is someone like Fred Hampton who was able to have a coalition of workers. Of course, fighting the pigs is another hurdle

The liberal crowd (as in liberal democrats that are pard of or support the establishment) need to stop inserting race wars everywhere and think more in terms of class. I wish they would listen to reverend Barber for a change. But he is not the black Person they are willing to support

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Paul Haeder's avatar

Parties need revamping? A nation of criminal activites.

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Justice's avatar

As a federal career civil servant, I’m well-versed in FACA. Whatever Elon and his buddies cooked up should be tossed out by the courts. And if Trump wants to jump in, he’s going to have to start from scratch. As for those who broke the law and acted on it—well, will there be consequences, or are we handing out “Get Out of Jail Free” cards now?

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Paul Haeder's avatar

The whole country is doomed and the empire of lies and chaos is still terrorism at it's best

https://open.substack.com/pub/paulokirk/p/the-dirt-under-redneck-jar-head-fucking?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5i319

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Kris Samsel's avatar

Criminal Clown Trump letting a nobody, run ripshaw through our Government. Class Action all these clowns. Musk included.

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Ed's avatar

I fear you give people who voted for Trump too much credit. Their lives will get worse, Trump/Musk will feed them a scapegoat, they’ll eat it up, and the cycle will continue. Hope I’m wrong and you’re right

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TomL's avatar

Let's not forget how both Trump and his "Operation Warp Speed" and Biden caved in to the pharmaceutical industry and gave them everything they wanted. Another peer-reviewed study came out against the covid vaccines: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/breaking-peer-reviewed-study-finds-5f1

And "The Wall Street Urinal" ran an editorial against RFK, jrs appointment and his call to end the liabilities the vaccines now enjoy: https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/wsj-editorial-board-sweeps-itself

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TomL's avatar

Thanks for the efforts by Ralph Nader's and other organizations to defend the rule of law in all areas.

Let's not forget how we got here; a senile or at least cognitively impaired President for years who was promoted during that chaotic year 2020 as someone who'd restore sanity and order to the federal government. Instead two wars were launched with endless casualties; and Biden ordered the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline; Europe has sunk into economic trouble due to aggressive and wrong-headed US policies, many countries have made themselves poorer in buying US military equipment and joined NATO because people like Biden pushed the lie that Russia was an imminent threat to them. Biden is a long-term warmonger and corrupt politician, these are the disasters that happen when compromises are made at every turn.

I'd like to see the budget balanced but it isn't going to happen: https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/01/david-stockman/brewing-us-debt-ceiling-crisis/ https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/01/david-stockman/thunder-and-blunder-on-day-one/

I'd like to see Eisenhower era tax rates, now that would be patriotic. Instead we have all these rich deadbeats and parasites who waste untold resources while the rest of us are trying to live decent lives. I like the recommendations of Mr. Weissman to save money; plus there are plenty of federal employees who are not productive and should be replaced by new blood, and good people who have fire in the belly to make the country better.

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Don Harris's avatar

Ralph is wrong to see what Trump will do as an opportunity for Democrats in 2026.

That is what gave us Trump in 2016, Biden in 2020 which led to Trump in 2024.

As pointed out in In Case You Haven't Heard number 10 the Dems are not polling well and many citizens want the party to change.

The opportunity is for you Ralph to force the Dems to change by leading citizens to demand small donor candidates and enforce that demand with our votes in 2026.

As long as the Dems take big money they will only make empty promises and citizens will be left with a choice of candidates that take big money.

Please Ralph, seize this opportunity to change or replace the corporate Dems with small donor candidates in 2026 because if you do not do this we will be looking back in the 2030's to the time when things weren't so bad under Trump because things will have gotten so much worse then then they are now.

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TomL's avatar

The "Dummycrats" lack the passion, drive and ethics to lead a movement because Biden and his people wrecked any confidence or trust in what they were about. Biden refused to stand up to Israel, to meet with Putin, even with all the efforts to head off an invasion. All he did was spread a lot of money around and sought to shield his own from the liabilities of incompetence.

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Don Harris's avatar

I prefer using Deathocrats and Republikillers.

The Dems were compromised by big money long before Biden.

This is why I want Ralph to lead a movement demanding small donor candidates that includes a hostile takeover of the Dems while they are vulnerable. We can concentrate fully on Congress in 2026 as there is no presidential election.

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Nancy Camargo's avatar

Very frightening.

I keep thinking that we need an underground way to connect the country that is not electronic. It needs to be reliable and not dependent on any one person. It might be done though the printed word in a local newsletter in a cross-country network in which people could start or stop participation without affecting the integrity of the network.

A newsletter could cover a very tiny area of a local neighborhood that is well within the capability of each editor/distributer, such as you or me. Each one would need a home or other place to work, a computer, a printer, reliable local data backup, printer paper, legs for walking, and energy to distribute the newsletter within the circulation area.

Initially, USPS could be used to make the distribution, if there were a bit of money for postage, which in bulk might be at a discounted rate. Donations could be requested in the newsletter to help support costs. Whether USPS will be available later is unknown, so walking to get into practice for distribution is advisable now.

Each editor/distributer could print a map showing the boundaries of the area they have chosen and could invite others to start a newsletter in an adjacent area. Instructions for how to do this could be provided.

Editor/distributors would be independent yet joined in a newsletter network across the country. Each could stop or start as desired, and if they chose to stop, they could notify others of a vacancy for their area by printing a notice of that vacancy in the newsletter.

Anyone who decided to become a new editor/distributor would distribute one copy of each of their editions to the editor/distributor who had initially distributed to them, and vice versa. This is the way a local connection could evolve into a cross country network.

What is to be communicated in this newsletter that unifies the country in a nationwide network operating at the local level? We need to ask: what is the outcome we desire?

My concern is that many people may not be aware that anything is seriously disturbing about the things that are happening because they do not have a background in history, law, or precedent, and they may not value governance under constitutional law rather than governance through personality, power, influence, and wealth. People who did not live through or read about the past may not recognize the future dangers portended by present events. Therefore, education is a vital function of the newsletter. A central area of education is how to think clearly and how to evaluate the ideas/opinions of others.

In addition, people who are involved in living their personal lives may not have the time or energy to educate themselves. Even if they do have an interest, it is not easy to find accurate information. One important function of the authentic newsletter I have in mind is to provide accurate information. Also, cartoons can lighten hard reality with humor.

We all need the power to control how we are impacted by those events that affect us personally, and often we do not have that power, which is undermining faith and trust in our representatives and in our country. Cynicism is the result, and it is undermining our compassionate humanity. People cannot function in their own best interests if they do not grasp the connection between events in the world and their own personal lives. An important role of the newsletter is to bring a clearer awareness of what is happening in the world, how this impacts our personal lives, and how we can empower ourselves to create the change we want to see in the world. We can start by seeing reality as it is.

Also, people need to be able to communicate. It is not a good idea for communication via a newsletter to be one-sided because people want to be heard, and a newsletter needs to know what the people are concerned about. A section of the newsletter needs to be for letters to the editor, so people can express their concerns. This will interest the people and will be a healthy contribution to the community.

I hate it that we have this shrewd orange fascist in charge. My conscience and I fought hard to prevent this, and we lost. Nonetheless, I disagree strongly with those who favor violent revolution. I do not agree that violence is the answer. Many of us want a better world. We need to be creative.

A newsletter that creates an underground network across the nation and connects us all will open the discussion, will keep us connected to the facts and to our mutual support as the crisis deepends, and will help us discover how we can reclaim our power to make the changes we want to see in our personal lives and in the world.

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dbkny's avatar

This a question to all your guests and panel. Where were all you people during the unfair Jan 6th Trump haters committee that disregarded all social norms that caused the conviction and suicide of both Police and Innocent American citizens being prosecuted for participating in their free speech responsibility? Where were you when Trump was convicted by a New York Prosecuter on 43 felonies based on unfair instructions by a New York Judge. Trump won the popular vote not because he's so smart but beacuse The Biden Administration was so dumb.

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Cathleen's avatar

…meanwhile, a majority of us citizens of the USA, are jumping for joy. I genuinely wish peace and love to you all, but I do wish you would wake up (the rest of us are eagerly waiting for you)!

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Andrius Šalčius's avatar

Isn't the MK-Trump program from the legacy of the Meyer Lansky side of the Octopus?

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