They have been awaiting this moment since the New Deal

I feel like on top of all the trump garbage there is also so much disinformation and ratfucking going in that it is just sad.

This is who he is. This is what he does. I think the circumstances just amplified it a bit more than usual, but it's essentially the same thing he's done for three years. Or thirty years, for that matter.

For the most part, I try to ignore his day-to-day bleatings because it's all the same nonsense and focus on November, because the election is (and always was) the only realistic option for getting rid of him.

Dangerous territory.

The goal is, of course, to normalize his behavior. While it's certainly done that for some people, I think it's also galvanized the opposition. There was ample evidence of that in the 2018 midterms and I hope for the same in November.

All my family is in Britain, and I have a dual nationality.

I know how you feel.

Truth.

But I have a lot of things I want to go with me, plus I have pets.

The main problems are going to be selling a house and another property. And of course, buying one there.

Right now, I’ve planned it for a year from now. But if I can do it before that, it’ll be great.

Of course, I’m hoping for a new president before that time...unfortunately, my longtime optimism has been severely dented since 2016.

But I can’t live in a country where things like yesterday happen, and half the country seems to approve.

Britain isn't in that much better a place now itself. If I were able to relocate abroad, I'd want to go to Canada myself. But, then I don't have family in Britain - we just all come from there.

I’ve spent a lot of time there growing up and as an adult.

It feels like home to me, always has. I’m not leaving purely because of the orange idiot, but he certainly lit the fire to speed up the process.

...you're not...

...72 here, and I'm feeling a lot like you...

"It makes me want to turn off my sense of myself as an American..."


...I keep telling myself, "That's what they want me to do."

...I'll take a break, focus on other POSITIVE things in my life, then wander back...

...I just can't leave it alone...I just can't let them win without a fight...


...if nothing else, it's good for my tired old circulation...

one cool person, ohmy! Thank you for perspective!

...

You are not.

The installation of Trump into the White House by the enemies of America both foreign and domestic
was the biggest crime in America's history, Trump is the biggest crook in America's history, that show
trial in the senate was just an anti Constitutional power play, Bill Barr is Trump's consigliere, we now
are seeing an unleashed Trump & company lashing out @ "their enemies," and right now we are witnessing
flat out crazy in POTUS's White House act yesterday.*

* "most wives wouldn't be so upset if their husbands were in the hospital with life threatening gun shot
wounds."


We might very well be Italy or Germany in the 1930s when those crazy people took power.

Exactly how I feel.

We have a crime family running our country. Oh wait, I meant ruining. There I fixed it.

And in the end it is all for his Godfather, Vlad. Trump's tearing down America's strengths, freedoms,
and international power is in my own fevered mind just his paying back on his multibillion dollar debt
to Russian/International organized crime and thug governments (see Saudi Arabia & Turkey). And he
has his consigliere, Bill Barr covering his ass as he pushes Vlad wishes.

Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2020, 11:58 AM - Edit history (1)

i can't let up, because as soon as the 2016 election happened I vowed I would never be a good German. But my hope is low. very, very low.
they have everything you know. they have the WH, the courts, the justice (joke!) department. the bad news piles up like plastic choking the ocean.
opening up and destroying historical sites
138 Salvadorans killed after being deported (they said they would be)
children stolen, in cages (#CrimesAgainstHumanity)
DeVos destroying public education
Treasury gives GOP Hunter Biden's taxes (still can't see Trump's)

so I call my 2 republican fuckwad senators. send postcards to voters. talk to people. commiserate on twitter and DU. I see a counselor, sometimes I take a klonopin.

it's an unshakeable sense of dread and helplessness in spite of it all. I feel as if I do these things more to sooth myself than to make a difference because nothing is making a difference. the trump cult marches on, the media sucks.

Trump is not sane, demented, not sober, not leashed or restrained in any way at all. he is an unrepentant criminal and republicans are behind him all the way. what will right this ship? i don't know.

They have told you to despair and you are obeying.

We can save this country; all it takes is a refusal to despair.

It has been a long 3+ years. The reality is that things ARE NOT looking great. Yes we have to fight but it is a very real thing that people are being worn down. I have spoken to my therapist about the weight of what is going on in our country and according to her there is a large uptick in people seeking help that are reporting that as a major part of the reason why.

Cheerlead. Don't belittle.

I can't even describe the depths of fear and depression these monsters have put me through.

And that is precisely why I am determined to fight them to the end.

That’s why I’m going to run for office. This is my first DU, quiet announcement. Mine is a very red, fundamentalist, Trump supporting county but I have worked for 3 years to get more Dems to run.

We can't win if we don't run anybody, and we can't win if we despair.

Thank you for your service!

You’ll see a more formal announcement and an ask for support. DU has been my home since 2003. My family.

Good for you!!!

And thank you

what a wonderful thing you are doing. Start off locally they say. Good luck to you, never

More of this.

(and do something about 100,000,000 US Nazis)

We will exercise that power.

too. They feel like they are at top but not for long. We have a sick ass POS who stole the presidency. Democrats will try to do the peoples' work and keep on sending bills to the corrupt Senate but until we clean out the Senate maybe there will be some improvement.

Just have a plan B, in consideration.

They want to break the will of the people, we can't let that happen. It is truly mentally draining that is what Naomi Klein wrote in her book Shock Doctrine.

I have a long political memory. I have never seen anything like this even during the worst of times. I've lived through 3 assassinations, Barry Goldwater, the John Bitch Society, Nixon, Agnew, Reagan and 2 Bushes. I was born just after WWII ended and have lived through the Korean War, the War in Vietnam, Desert Storm, the War in Iraq.... I could go on. I have never seen a leader who is so evil and, in a relatively short period of time, has been able to corrupt everything around him. I've seen this country angry and divided before (Civil Right and the Vietnam War stand out for me) but I've never seen this country so divided on the basic principles of democracy with a large number of people so willing to throw it away. Sadly, I'm beginning to believe that before my death, I will have watched the death of my country.

we have already witnessed that death. The in-your-face fuck-you of it all is just breathtaking in its boldness, unabashedness, viciousness. Everyone keeps saying November, November, November...well, November is eons away, he/they can wreak soooooo much more damage between now and then. AND - They. Will. Cheat. We could vote him out by ten million and have it not matter one whit if they’ve rigged machines, and corrupted the process.

I am convinced we have already witnessed the death of our country.

I think the fix is already in which is why the GOP votes lockstep with this idiot. He's assured all of them that they will have their jobs after the election no matter what they do as long as they stand by him. He's more than likely threatened all of them.

He has Putin on his side and he knows he's got everything lined up to steal another election.

Which is what I said the day after Trump's election. I feel its truth even more this week.

It is a big win for us Trump is trying to turn the acquittal into a not guilty result. He is impeached, think that, it is not a win for pukes no matter how much opinion talkers try to spin it. Cheer up. The blue wave is now a tsunami.

There is a coup in progress; It began well before the 2016 election. No authority is willing to support our laws and our Constitution. The public, by in large, is flaccid and uncaring, totally distracted. The takeover is well established and meeting little true resistance. The House is weak, because our Constitution is now nullified. A few million people in the streets until we see change would fix it. Rolling General strikes would fix it. That's not gonna happen here for a multitude of reasons: apathy, distraction, fear of our own government, fear of our own police.....

So, those of us who care find all of our eggs in one torn and leaking basket. It’s a little unsettling.
With any luck, I’ll be wrong on all counts.

I'm trying to remember that every time Trump starts taking his latest victory lap, he always trips into another pile of pig turds.

It's an absolute logical truth.

I'm not done with the fight (and I've been on the front lines since the 60s), but as Thomas Paine wrote, "these are the times that try men's souls."

This is the dark night of America's soul.

In the morning I roll up my sleeves once more. (But, damn, it's dark right now.)

going down swinging....and I'm 66...(yikes!).

Please don't give them what they want.

many of us have not been through this kind of viciousness and to see our country taken away by thugs is sickening but we can rally through this we got to stick together.

I found this saying by FDR

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Look to those you admire for the inspiration to keep going.

My main inspiration at the moment is Nancy Pelosi, this is her defining moment in history.

Also inspiring: Sally Yates, Marie Yovanovitch, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Fiona Hill, the whistleblower.

Plus: empytwheel blogger Marcy Wheeler, Rachel Maddow, Maya Wiley, many, many progressive journalists, bloggers, voices on Twitter, the good people of DU, and so much more.

Take your breaks as you need them, "turn off," as you say, as you need to to take care of yourself. And when you're ready, turn yourself back on, because we need you, the country needs you.

Stony the road we trod
Bitter the chast'ning rod
Felt in the day that hope unborn had died
Yet with a steady beat
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place on which our fathers sighed
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our star is cast

I think our country is stepping off the edge into fascism, and our party shows no current evidence of being able to stop it from happening. Could the fuck-ups in Iowa have possibly come at a worse time? Could a weaker set of Democratic candidates be put in opposition to trump? Could trump's minions be any stupider and ready to engage in a civil war?

I think you nailed it, my friend: We might as well regard it as sick entertainment.

and that sunrise must come on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020.

So, hold fast and REGISTER to VOTE! It's likely our last best chance of unseating this parasite.

to be discouraged. Don't give up; get mad and get even.

yes we can, to remember that quote from our Real President.

a funeral for the nation we knew and the GOP closing the casket. I am afraid after the 2020 election all we will hear is the scratching of the nation's fingernails inside the coffin's lid.

There are times when I am glad I am older and don't have 50 years to watch this mess unfold. I would be embarrassed to introduce myself as an American to anyone overseas.

After his installation in 2017, I was dejected and fearful of the future, and I have not been given reason feel otherwise. Except for the tiny glimmer of hope - that little kernel of hope - that perhaps by overtaking the House things might be braked. Well, that was disproven. Even with the awesome new members and total control of that body, this wretched and corrupt cabal, led by Barr and McConnell (for we know without any doubt whatsoever that tRump himself is cognitively incapable of *leading* anything or anyone, not even a dog on a leash), have managed to gut the Constitutional system of check and balances and reform the Justice Department in their own images.

I used to laugh at the idea of The Rapture and Armageddon (that was only after I'd been deeply indoctrinated in it and promised the age old miracle of Pie in the Sky in The Great Bye and Bye), and quite frankly, I fucking actually believe it's going to happen. Well, the Armageddon part of the prophecy anyway. The one upside to all of this is the fact that, after observing the so-called devout, self-professed *Good Christians* who have prostrated themselves in worship and obedience to the golden calf god of their idolatry, those self-same *Christians* won't number ANYONE who would actually be taken up in that Rapture. Nope. Not. A. Single. Fucking. One! They'll be on the front lines to witness the End of the World in real time and know that they'll be occupying the tenth level of Hell in the hereafter. And that, after all, is satisfying.

These are REALLY dark times, and I honestly can't see how we beat it.

BUT, we have no choice but to fight it.

Take a breather, but then figure out some way you can contribute to the cause.

Must keep fighting. Even if we feel it is futile right now. There could be a fire, if we keep the spark alive.

Like the resistors in Russia ...we are part of that great movement now.

1. as activists we got out the vote for the 2018 and put a House together that impeached Trump.
2. rinse and repeat---install a Senate by putting forth the same effort and replace the Senators who voted against impeachment

You could only imagine how some of those felt during TWO-----yeah TWO terms of Barack Hussein Obama-----and remember that some of the same voters who voted for Obama also voted for for TRump---they will not this time-----

their is a sense of outrage and what is happening now will change----
We must fight the good fight-----and certainly not grant Trump's wishes by heading to despair------this is more a "make my day" than a "I surrender" ---

Last edited Fri Feb 7, 2020, 12:27 PM - Edit history (1)

And then those still alive will live good or not depending on what we leave them.

Putin is sowing the chaos they've been working on all along and using our elections to defeat us. But subverting voters at least means voters still have power to choose. Russian intelligence operations are currently in high gear subverting voters on both sides, as they did in 2016. A large majority of Democrats said fuck-no to being Putin's bitches then, but Russia won that one because of voter ignorance and foolishness.

For the past year all polls showed that mainstream support for Putin's known candidate from 2016 had dropped significantly and stayed dropped. Given that more people had become aware, it's been a real shock to see that support suddenly explode and support for the redoubtable Democratic frontrunner, of the sort the Republicans and Russia must stop, seemingly collapse.

It's a wakeup call. Game's been on in secret for some time, but now we can see it. And we've seen these manipulations before, with dramatic shifts away from long patterns in polling and voter behavior. In 2016 the main noise was that 2 years of consistent previous polling across America must somehow have been wrong. No: just like all through 2019, the polling gave a true-enough picture.

What caused the changes we're seeing are aggressive timed hostile and no doubt campaign manipulations, mainly through social media and direct candidate-voter communications, but no doubt including other lines of attack also. And, btw, they don't have to be coordinated for Russian intelligence to know what to do. Sowing chaos. Iowa.

So, big attacks in this new Russia-U.S. war are coming in the primary this time, with more to come no doubt in the GE. And we're taking big hits. BUT, at least we know we still have the power of the vote, and while we do it's our nation to keep or lose.

Depressing. In the last 3 weeks I was lucky enough to walk into Mexico a few times for some shopping etc. breathing trump free air was wonderful.
I can’t help but think it’ll get worse.

If there were no DU or it’s equivalent?

To have to deal with the depressing state we are in, and not have a community that feels as we do would be harder to deal with.

Which is why it makes no sense to see so much fighting over who our nominee will be.

And past dealing with abusive people, my depression and trauma, combined with the way things are now with assholes ruining our govt..
Add in climate change and tyranny I very well could be dead without DU.

get rid of everything and be ready to move. I actually contacted my ex to look for a small place for me in France. I already speak the language and I've lived there. And I feel like a coward. Don't have any children, but the rest of my family like nieces and nephews may need a place to flee to if it gets bad. At least I can prepare for the worst.

The GOP is now openly (and were certainly covertly) using mechanisms of our government to harass and punish everyone they see as disloyal or a political enemy. They've probably been doing that from the git-go (Pompeo as CIA director gave me chills--he's a psychopath) and we will see it all go down as the year goes on. The abuse of Vindman, Yovanovitch, Romney, Hunter Biden, the whistleblower--they won't stop there. We're a lawless state right now, and ordinary people seem oblivious or are cheering it on.

I'm a year older than you. I was still in the US Army when Dr. King was assassinated and had just been discharged when RFK was assassinated. And then Richard Nixon was elected president.
Richard Fucking Nixon, for god's sake. Horror upon disaster upon catastrophe, but somehow we pulled through. We will this time, too, but it will take a bit longer.

The only weapon we have is to vote our lives and our progeny depend on it.

I don't see him leaving on his own.

Just trying to hang on long enough to vote the asshole out. Do not want to die a bitter old man. I live about 100 miles from the Canadian border, may be my last resort.

I was born in 1949 and know in my bones, heart, and soul what America is. We seniors know its flaws because we've lived through the civil rights, peace, and women's movements. But we will never be swayed by the craziness or the pressure of media messages to accept anything less the civic values we absorbed during our decades of growing up with our traditional values of truth, justice, and--yes--"the American way."

We are rock solid in our vision of where we should be heading. Down will never be up for us. We hold the light of truth and must make sure we keep it alive for those coming up behind us. Yes, we have memory that tells us just how bad it can get. My uncle Martin Rose's memory is a blessing--he was a teenager who resisted the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto, was wounded and captured and sent to a camp, yet survived to come to America and live a full life. I think of him when I think of the danger we face. I also think of him when despair raises its ugly head. We are not quitters. We've seen the Berlin wall fall. We've seen public pressure end the war in Vietnam and bring forth civil rights and women's rights.

Have courage and don't stop speaking your truth. We are not quitters.

Martin Rose!

Time to get going! Defend our country's integrity. This is not the time to quit, (as the weak Republican senators have). It is time to BEGIN. Through example, SHOW our children who we are! Let's Go!

The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without them doing ANYTHING.
Albert Einstein

I heard that less than 27% of all eligible voters actually cast votes for Trump in 2016. I don't know if that's the actual number, but that does seem reasonable. The Dems are not in disarray, only Iowa was and honestly they have months to work their stuff out. We don't need to know the final totals from Iowa today, tomorrow or even next month. Take a news brake. I got really pissed off the day before yesterday too and just turned it off. Personally I would rather be an American than be a republican. The two terms just hit in a fork in the road when the senate cast their votes. Hang in there man, you're on the right side of this!

and yet there are some here on DU who are adamantly telling us that we ARE in disarray.

Thank you for sticking with those of us who don't believe that media hype one iota.

If my choice in the primary doesn't win the day, I'm with whichever Democratic candidate pulls it off.

[link:http://www.wbur.org/inside/staff/Steve-almond| Don’t lose hope. be a fanatical optimist instead.

I am a very pragmatic person. I am in my late 50’s. I’ve been prepared for Trumps possible re-election. It’s the people who got him elected that disturb me to my roots. I mean, ew, disgusting. I mean, I don’t have the proper word, they leave me baffled.

(The trump administration has actually done a couple things I approve of, one having to do with solid organ Transplant allocation, neither here or there I guess)

The shit show that is the trump presidency is hard to endure, it’s a constant battering, it’s like being stuck in an abusive relationship with no way out. In fact it’s exactly like that in a lot of ways.

Half the nation is stuck in a state of PTSD. The other half are pathologically selfish and veering into the banality of evil with a sense of joy. And righteousness.

Disassociating is a coping mechanism.

I take comfort where I can get it. The lawsuit against Trump and his administration spare stacking up everywhere, such as these

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/trump_lawsuits/index.html

Or this

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/02/05/impeachment-after-trump-acquittal-slew-investigations-lawsuits/4620766002/


There are many more.

I keep in mind that resistance, or fighting against this horrid moment in American politics has a strong game.

I am beyond sad we will likely lost the Supreme Court. I am very happy I live in a blue state.


I will share the wisdom of a Muslim immigrant, originally from The Gambia, who is my friend. He says as far as keeping immigrants out, or keeping America white, it is too late. The second generation is already integrated into American society and it’s far too late. America will remain a melting pot, will remain diverse. Trumps efforts, as much pain as they have caused will not cause some seismic change in the beautiful mosaic that is the American people, as ugly as some of us are.

And the babies of today will vote in the coming tomorrow’s


If Trump doesn’t get re-elected, no matter who is the Democratic President, things will, at least normalize. People are wanting decency and fairness and cleanliness.

Having Trump as a President is like being covered in rancid oil and not being able to clean, or even breathe.


Racists won’t crawl back under their rock exactly, but it’s my believe they will see the consequences of their actions more directly.

Take heart, there are a number of things going on that give hope and joy. Yes this is hard, I feel you. You are not wrong

....I am 78 years old as of last month, and I cannot believe the hatred, the bigotry, the xenophobia and downright ignorance of the principles on which our country was founded......I founding fathers are crying in their graves at the horrible state of affairs in which this country finds itself at this point in time......what a pity.....

Russian trolls. Rioting in Hong Kong. Pandemic is spreading. Brexit. Rise of neo-fascist groups in Northern Europe. Nationalist movements and/or governments in France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Brazil and more, with Steve Bannon advising most of them. Children in cages.
Fox News = Pravda. Racist/xenophobic attacks in many countries. Mass shootings continue unabated.
Climate change accelerating. Religious zealotry. The push against healthcare, science, education, and intellectual pursuits. Shorter life spans. Homelessness on the rise. Looming threat of cuts in Medicare and Social Security. Imbalance of power with Electoral College and inadequate Senate representation. Voter suppression. Continued punishment and demonization of former political opponents. Endless warfare in the Middle East. Total capitulation to Trump, and a full embrace of lawlessness by the Republican Party.

The ugliness in the above paragraph took all of five minutes to type, which means this darkness is in the forefront of one’s thoughts. Carrying this overwhelming load of Orwellian facts will flatten anyone with empathy.

I’ll be 71 this year, and, while I’ve lived through political upheavals, the Cuban missile crisis, the assassinations of JFK, MLK, Jr. and RFK, numerous wars for profit, Watergate, and 9/11— the present day’s death of democracy is the darkest time I’ve experienced. It’s actually had a negative impact on my health. If I were younger, I’d seriously consider moving elsewhere. However, since this is it, I’ll vote, advocate and be active— but to survive, I must step back from the incessant toxic feed of the news, and from allowing the right-wing “occupation” to attack health and peaceful existence.

Not an easy task, as I’m sure you are aware.

you perfectly articulated just what I'm feeling!

How do you do that?

But if we keep working, and realize that the GOP fears us, the end is like the horizon. One can see it, but only in the distance.

If we don’t stop it now, it’s slow death for everyone and everything.

that 79% of the voting population wanted witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial. And it helps to remind myself that now all but one Republican Senator is on record voting for his acquittal. And that this was the first time in our history that a member of the President’s party voted for his conviction and removal from office.

Knowing he would be acquitted, I still believe impeachment it was the right thing to do. Now we must all work like hell to keep the House and take the Senate.

Skip, and everybody, please know that I'm not trying to incite physical violence by quoting this line from La Marseillaise! I would just like to urge Skip, as others have done, not to give in to despair and to instead take action. Seek out other Democrats and Independents in your area. It helps a lot to surround yourself with other likeminded people so that you are reminded that you are not alone. Volunteer for a candidate. Find out how to become a volunteer poll watcher and observer to help oversee the actual voting on Election Day. Connect with the Indivisible group. And etc.

These are, indeed, scary and depressing times we are facing, but we will prevail.

And if you need a quick pick-me-up, the "Marseillaise" scene from Casablanca is always inspiring:

[link:

(mid-clip from Casablanca)
Let's Go.....patriotic children!

I just let out a therapeutic tear.

Let's have some more inspiration:

Thank you for this!

The spotlight is on Republicans, and their thin veil of patriotism shows us their naked selfishness.

THIS IS OUR COUNTRY, and if these Republicans are SCARED to uphold the Constitution, then they should RESIGN, THEY ARE TO WEAK FOR THE JOB. We need to be strong and prove we are the party of strength, stability, and patriotism.

I'm dressed in my best and prepared to go down with the ship.

We are going to work to bridge the divisions among the sane, and call out the crazy

We are going to work to eliminate apathy, and bolster participation in our country

We will get people to recognize the facts of kindness and cooperation

We will vote, and if all else fails

We will be here to look those who wreck this, experiment in Democracy, in the eye and call them out while we fight for our souls.

Don't give up, get in the fight any way you can, THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM.

🤗
WE WILL WIN!
ALL HANDS ON DECK!

reading yours, but I didn't know what category it fit. Would the obvious trolling, mocking (the poster told me to find a bride and do a backflip) be worth an "alert"? Would the simply the use of a noted Republican's name as their DU name be enough?

I am not Christian, and I am certainly NOT religious in any form or fashion. Nonetheless, I found the entire spectacle disheartening, but then again, every time Pussy-Grabber opens his pie hole, I feel nauseated.

What was truly awful was to see everybody there just sitting and watching him rant and rave like Mussolini or Hitler. I am SO afraid we will be stuck with him. I have given money and don't mind working hard, but I feel like we have an uneven playing field now that he is completely free to do whatever he wants.

But it's always darkest before the dawn.

Denmark.

I've been saying that--in jest, of course--since first traveling in Europe in 75-76 and wishing I could have stayed there. Maybe in the next life.

Things are really bad and likely going to get worse before they get better. On the bright side, there are only 9 months left until the election and less than a year left in Trump's term. I still expect that Trump will be voted out.

It comes from the knowledge that an electoral defeat will not be accepted by the right. It comes from knowing that it will take force and sacrifice to end the fascist nightmare. When we say Fight, we had better mean in every sense of the word.