Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Cyrano

Cyrano's Journal
Cyrano's Journal
April 20, 2024

What does a vehicle flying two flags say about the driver?

I occasionally see a car in my neighborhood bearing American flags on each side above the front doors. The windows are tinted, so I've never seen who's inside. But I tend to make certain assumptions about the car's owner:

* The owner is a male.

* He considers himself to be a patriot.

* He needs to make a very public statement about his "patriotism."

* He considers himself to be far more patriotic than others.

* He's a Republican and perhaps a MAGA.

It's possible that all of my assumptions are wrong. However I personally believe that anyone who has the need to fly two American flags from their car is a screaming asshole.

What assumption(s) would you make about the owner of the car?

(PS: Yes, I know this post is trivia. I just needed to change the topic from the guy on trial.)

April 16, 2024

Trump can't use a mobster's usual courtroom props.

You know what they are: An oxygen tank, a wheel chair, a doctor seated nearby, etc. (You saw it all in the movie "Casino".) He can't use any of them because it wouldn't fit with the image of him that he's cultivated with his followers. After all, Jesus didn't have an oxygen tank, a wheel chair, or any ancient medical assistance while he was dragging that cross.

You've been hoisted by your own petard, Donald. And while your followers look on in grief, sane people are relieved that you are finally being held to account for the first time in your life.

For the next two or three months, you are going to have to sit there with your mouth shut while others testify about who and what you are. And if you "lose it" and have an outburst, the judge can hold you in contempt of court, (and can even have you held in a jail cell for contempt of court if he so chooses).

Welcome to the real world, Donald. If you somehow win/steal the presidency in November, we will all live in fear of your revenge. If you don't/can't, win/steal it, you've got a lot more courtroom time ahead of you.

Hopefully, we will have a blue tidal wave this November that will exact an enormous price on you and your version of reality.

April 10, 2024

Is Trump guilty of involuntary manslaughter?

I need you lawyers here on DU to chime in on this. Did he commit involuntary manslaughter and should he stand trial for it?

When Covid showed up, he had the best experts in the world advising him of the dangers. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta is one of the most reliable sources in the world for warning of and dealing with pandemics. And he had Dr. Anthony Fauci who was the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022.

But rather than viewing Covid as a medical issue, he saw it as a political one. He tried to minimize it, and at one point he told us it would be over in two weeks. He suggested that people inject themselves with bleach. He told America that masks were a waste of time. (Yet, when he caught Covid, he got the best treatment in the world at Bethesda Naval Hospital.)

Any halfway sane person would have realized that what he was doing was irresponsible and would lead to people dying. And as ignorant and uncaring as he is, he had to know this was a deadly threat to hundreds of thousands of people. As it turned out, over a million Americans died from Covid.

And then there are those who died on January 6th, 2021. There deaths were a direct result of an insurrection for which he was responsible.

So let me ask this question again. Do Trump's actions, and inactions, qualify as involuntary manslaughter (or worse)? Should he be put on trial for it?





March 28, 2024

Is there something wrong with someone who peddles sneakers, steaks, bibles,

university degrees, vodka, neckties, furniture, mattresses, eyeglasses, deodorant, coffee, water, and even a personalized vitamin kit that was determined by a urine test? (Google it. He was involved in all of these scams at one time or another.)

There was a time when such a man would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town. Today, he's running for president.

Which means this isn't really about him It's about the incredible gullibility/ignorance/stupidity of tens of millions of
American voters. They don't understand the implications of his winning/stealing the Oval Office. They don't understand that he will be dictator for life. They don't understand that democracy will be gone. They don't understand that they will be slaves to the Orange Fuhrer. (The GOP operation to suppress votes, and steal them outright in a handful of states, might just be enough to win the electoral college.)

Were this to happen, he wouldn't have to worry about how to peddle kiddie porn or other sewerage. He'd have total control. And if you don't know what that means, read or reread George Orwell's masterpiece "1984." It will tell you everything you need to know about "TrumpWorld."

Can this come to be? You bet it can. We can vote, beat him by millions, and still lose. (Hillary won the popular vote by about three million votes. Joe Biden beat him by about seven million votes, yet just squeaked through the electoral college.)

Here's the bottom line, people. The bible salesman and his minions could gain control of the levers of power in America. And even if Dems win the Senate and House, does anyone really think he'll pay any attention to them. He'd declare Martial Law on day one for some lame reason. And his cronies on the Supreme Court wouldn''t/couldn't do shit about it.

This is where we are right now. And forget about any of the court cases against him ever coming to fruition. The American justice system isn't built to prevent a coup d'etat.

As much as I want to see us win it all in November, we're playing it straight against a rigged deck. Somehow, someway, we must change the dynamics. We would have to be insane to give up our country to a gang of barbarian cutthroats while we scrupulously played by all the rules of the game.

March 25, 2024

What if Stalin had been stopped early on? What if Hitler had been stopped early on?

Tens of millions would not have been murdered.

At this moment we have our own Stalin/Hitler wannabe who may win/steal power.

Will people 30 or 40 years from now be asking "What if he had been stopped early on?"

Seems the only answer we would have would be "We did everything to GOTV."

Any thinking person knows what will happen if this wannabe controls the levers of power.

March 19, 2024

A quick trip through his head.

"Ni***rs, Ki*es, Spi*s, and all the rest of 'em gotta' go.

Fuckin' gov'ment wants half a billion. Vlad has my back.

Ivanka has a great body.

Too bad Hitler wasn't as smart as me.

I'm gonn'a build a McDonald's in the White House this time.

Maybe I'll nuke San Francisco first.

Gonna' make Pence my butler.

Won't take me long to be King of America.

The whole world will line up to kiss my ass.

I'll have any and all the women I want.

What about anybody who doesn't love me?

I'll talk with Ivanka about that."


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Add anything else that may be going through his head. After all, he may steal the election.)






March 17, 2024

Regarding "Immigrants are animals," and a "Bloodbath."

There are still tens of millions of brain dead Trump voters in America.

He's now said aloud, that immigrants are "animals."

And he's threatened if he doesn't win the election, there will be a "Bloodbath."

This doesn't surprise or shock me. It's who he is and always has been.

But here's what does surprise/shock me. Millions still intend to vote for him.

What the fuck is wrong with these people?

His voters have heard those words. Yet, they're still with him.

What the fuck is wrong with America?

He's uncovered something we may not have known about some of our friends, neighbors, and even members of our own families. And once the Orange Prick is dead and gone, it won't change how we now view them. I guess we've all assumed that basic human decency was a basic quality to be found in most people. Especially those whom we thought we knew.

His legacy will be that he's shown us that much of the world is far more ugly than we ever imagined.

March 15, 2024

He'll never spend a moment in prison.

It's become obvious that America's judicial system is as incapable as the rest of our government to deal with Him.

Seems that His greatest talent is finding ways around the rules that govern America, and to which we are all answerable.

Even if He loses November's election, the multiple courtroom dramas will continue to limp along. And even if He's found guilty of some of the charges against him, the judges will probably find it "unseemly" to jail an ex president, and end up sentencing Him to a term in Mar-a-Lago with an ankle bracelet.

But my greatest fear is that He will "win/steal it" in November. All the trials will become moot as we would be then be living in "Putin Land.." America as we know it would cease to exist and we would become one more country led by a dictator (who is more insane than all those who currently exist).

How do we stop this latter scenario that would redefine all world relationships? Wish I had the answer.

But back to the point of this post. He will never spend a moment in prison.

March 13, 2024

Everything Republican's stand for represents someone's death.

Here's a portion of a Thom Hartmann article that demonstrates the true horror of the Republican Party. There's a link to the entire article at the end of this excerpt. If you can't read it now, put it aside and save it for later. Trust me on this. It's a MUST read.

It’s undeniably true that Republican-controlled “Red” states, almost across the board, have higher rates of:

Spousal abuse, Obesity, Smoking, Teen pregnancy, Sexually transmitted diseases, Abortion, Bankruptcies and poverty, Homicide and suicide, Infant mortality, Maternal mortality, Forcible rape, Robbery and aggravated assault, Dropouts from high school, Divorce, Contaminated air and water, Opiate addiction and deaths, Unskilled workers, Parasitic infections,Income and wealth inequality, Covid deaths and unvaccinated people, Federal subsidies to states (“Red State Welfare”), People on welfare, Child poverty, Homelessness,
Spousal murder, Unemployment, Deaths from auto accidents, People living on disability

But are all these things, along with widespread GOP support for dictators like Putin, Orbán, and Xi, happening because Republicans hate their citizens and worship poverty, death and disease?

Or is there something in the GOP’s core beliefs and strategies that just inevitably leads to these outcomes?

It turns out that’s very much the case: these terrible outcomes are the direct result of policies promoting greed and racism that the GOP has been using for forty+ years to get access to billions of dollars and win elections.

-- more --


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/13/2229203/--How-Come-Everything-the-Republican-Party-Stands-for-In
March 11, 2024

Lyndon Johnson may have explained the MAGA mentality.

President Lyndon B. Johnson once said:

"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."


In that quote, replace the words "colored man" with Blacks, Browns, Jews, Muslims, all non-"Chistians," LGBGTs, Immigrants, and Democrats. And broaden the word "lowest" to mean most ignorant, meanest and most intolerant, and you pretty much have the definition of Trump's MAGA's.

Johnson was a Southerner who understood bigotry and hatred. Yet, he didn't use his knowledge to divide people. Rather, he chose a road that brought us The Civil Rights Act, The Voting Rights Act, Medicare and Medicaid.*

Donald Trump, on the other hand, instinctively understands the principle that Johnson had put into words. He fully grasps the power of divisiveness and hatred. And given his narcissism, his lust for power, his innate cruelty, and his mean-spirited nature, he has taken the road that would benefit himself and only himself.

Almost half the voters in America are buying the shit that Trump is selling. How sad and depressing that they're more than willing to give away democracy and their freedoms to a transparent, evil con man who, if he wins/steals the presidency, will destroy us all.


*Johnson also brought us Vietnam, but that's a subject for a different thread..

Profile Information

Gender: Male
Hometown: Palm Beach County, Florida
Member since: Fri Apr 16, 2004, 02:36 PM
Number of posts: 15,031
Latest Discussions»Cyrano's Journal