Your list of people who are not seeing a golden age - universities, scientific and medical research, American food producers, International collective security, non-whites, veterans, women, children, etc., is almost an exact list of what made America great. Just add in the rule of law, striving for ideals, and (more than occasionally) standing up to evil and you've got pretty much 1. The whole list and 2. What fuckface has destroyed.
It took America a hundred years to establish itself as the leader of free thought, research, developing and supporting the finest institutions of learning and teaching in the world. The atom would never have been split, the space race would have been impossible, statins and stents would have not have been invented and developed absent the research that took place within those universities and learning centers. Scholars from every corner of the world came to America simply because we were the best, and most accessible. Many of them stayed on.
In 100 days, a grotesque, incoherent, debauched, pussygrabbing felon with hillbilly tastes and a record of nothing but business failures, together with his pet oleaginous shitweasel, have shattered it all.
The wheels have already turned. The tide has already come in and gone out again. Welcome to the rest of the Chinese century.
“The economy likely contracted in the first quarter on the back of a record trade deficit in goods as importers front-ran tariff hikes,” Comerica Bank Chief Economist Bill Adams wrote early Monday. “The labor market probably softened in April, with a lackluster increase in employment and an uptick of the unemployment rate. Job vacancies likely fell in March.”
“The Conference Board will probably report a big decline in consumer confidence in line with other household surveys,” Adams added. “Vehicle sales are anticipated to take a breather in April after March’s jump to the highest sales in four years.”
As a power, America is kaput. The dummies voted for this, and their man is performing better than expected. Our only play is to retract our military, make nice with Canada and Mexico, and let the rest of the world deal with China. They can decide whether they will allow China to make everything that the world needs, purchase entire countries, and dominate Asia militarily.
In ancient Greece, during wars between city states, the oligarchs often sold out their side for guarantees that they would remain rich and powerful after it was done. This often involved opening the gates for the opposing army and allowing them to sack the city. The "Greeks in the horse" were usually sponsored by the local oligarchs.
The victory of Mark Carney and the Liberals in Canada yesterday was a real Trump Golden Age moment; a reminder that the Republicans are not only transforming the US into a corrupt, backwater Mafia state--they are having an impact on the world stage as well.
Just a few months ago, Canada's Liberals were in a shambles, the hapless Trudeau had stepped down, and Pierre Poilievre--Canada's Trump--was leading his Conservatives to a resounding, inevitable victory, up 25 points in the polls.
Then Trump discovered his inner Putin, opened his yap, and began blatting out demented nonsense about annexing Canada, transforming it into the 51st state.
In one fell swoop, he not only transformed the Canadian election landscape: he also lost us one of our best friends out there in a lonely, dangerous world (he would subsequently deploy JD Vance to lose all the rest of them).
In just 100 days, Trump and his Republicans have shattered our old alliances, cost us our place in the world, weakened our economy (hence our reliability as a trading partner) and turned us into a much diminished junior partner in an authoritarian Axis dominated by Russia. Third World, here we come.
The only thing "golden" about this age is the ugly brothel stuff Trump dragged into the White House, painted gold and had someone hang the stuff on the walls (Nauta? Cheung? Leavitt?).
He wants what was once "the People's house," to look like his 5th Ave. apartment, of Maralardo. A cross between a third world dictator's palace, and a Victorian bordello.
While we’re at it, let’s stop referring to hard-right Republicans as “conservatives.” I see it all the time in mainstream media and even progressive/resistance coverage, by writers who know there’s nothing conservative about any of what’s happening.
Unfortunately, he's just the figurehead who is provided "expert advice" and written Executive Orders by the project 2025 regime. Unfortunately, Vance et.al. are younger and healthier.
Spot on per usual. It’s truly the decline of the US. The grift is real and those of us who saw it coming feel angry and powerless. I will not back down, but unity, collective outrage and dissent, and loud protest are imperative. Long painful fight ahead folks!
Miami healthcare CEO Michael “Mike” B. Fernandez wrote the following open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of the Republican Cuban-American Miami-Dade congressional delegation: U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez and Maria Elvira Salazar.
For decades, I have stood with you in defense of the freedoms we cherish, those we were denied in the country of our birth and found in the grace of this one. I know what it means to flee tyranny. Like you, I carry that history in my bones and that pain in my heart. But like a growing number in our community, I have watched with dismay as the very values we once found sanctuary in are now being attacked by a previously unthinkable threat — the sitting president of the United States.
He is ushering in a 'golden age' for mobsters. The whole thing boils down to the fact that reactionaries traded life in a Republic for one in a reichwing dictatorship so they could roll the social clock back 100 years. The oligarchs traded the Republic for a return to being robber barrons in the 'gilded age'.The racists traded it for a return to oppression of people of color and maybe slavery again. When Elon's gutting of Social Security and the IRS run their course, there will be no money in our coffers and the economy will simply stop - a lá 1930.
Just a few minutes ago, Barbie Leavitt frothed at the mouth denouncing Amazon's announcement to list Trump's tariffs on its prices as a "hostile and political act."
Repeat after me, boys 'n girls. Telling the truth is a "hostile act." Especially when you're working for a gaslighting liar. Him not like twuth much. Him vewy unhappy. But him not a baby, of course.
There is also a "bright surge" in local legacy newspapers--in letters to the editor, specifically. I see it in both the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times. Readers' letters fill in citizens about the disaster that is our federal government. I am assured by these letters--the awareness, knowledge, deep concern, articulateness. Some letter writers even bother to counter other letter writers who simplistically say nothing is wrong (I wouldn't have the patience.).
I am trying to be attuned to local developments and have a voice. Below is my letter, recently published in the Tribune (4/23). It lacks the well-deserved negative characterization you develop in this piece, but makes its point. I counter the IL GOP's accusation that Democrats are attacking Trump and are "too liberal." I turn it around by showing that the GOP lawmakers are defending Trump from ill-advised and ill-informed policies. I highlight Tribune articles and editorials as evidence.
This letter was informed by the knowledge I've gained by reading The Contrarian--related to Clean Air Act, Crypto, role of state-level Attorney Generals. Thank you.
Links available in published piece:
Reading for lawmakers
Thank you to Democratic lawmakers in Illinois working on state laws to counter the Trump administration’s corruption and inhumanity. Regarding GOP lawmaker objections, I remind them that the Tribune historically has leaned conservative, and I suggest that reading it will enable them to stay abreast of state concerns.
Specifically:
To Sen. Terri Bryant who asserts that President Donald Trump’s orders on domestic energy resources are on track, I direct her to the April 14 article “Trump’s love affair with dirty coal can’t compete with market realities.”
To Rep. Dan Ugaste who objects to sensible state-level cryptocurrency regulations, I direct him to the April 14 editorial “The federal financial cop is off the beat. Fraudsters are lurking, so don’t fall prey.”
For Sen. Sue Rezin, who worries that Illinois will lose federal funding by crossing Trump, I observe that Attorney General Kwame Raoul is taking legal action to ensure Illinois receives the funding it is due. See, for example, the April 13 editorial “Leave libraries alone. They more than pay their way.”
My question for GOP lawmakers is this: What happened to Illinois Republicans who defended states’ rights? The GOP is far too busy defending Trump from well-informed perspectives, such as those published by the Tribune.
Here is another letter I wrote (published 4/19)--this one to the Sun-Times, which is a non-profit (public media). It puts a finger on the way "bothsidesism" supports the bullying of authoritarians. And it calls the reporter and newspaper to account:
Don’t let Trump administration get the last word
Writing about former President Joe Biden’s speech on Social Security, the Sun-Times political reporter ended an otherwise informative article about Social Security Administration staff cuts and service curtailments with a White House statement disparaging Biden because of his age.
If the other side says nothing to contribute to citizens’ understanding of the topic, why report it? I am sure the White House is pleased that it got the last word in. You have helped deliver the message that serious topics, and those who address them, deserve to be mocked. I expect public media to do better.
Lisa Jean Walker, Irving Park
Related
Related: Declaring ‘nobody’s king,’ former President Biden unleashes on Trump, Musk over Social Security cuts
Your list of people who are not seeing a golden age - universities, scientific and medical research, American food producers, International collective security, non-whites, veterans, women, children, etc., is almost an exact list of what made America great. Just add in the rule of law, striving for ideals, and (more than occasionally) standing up to evil and you've got pretty much 1. The whole list and 2. What fuckface has destroyed.
It took America a hundred years to establish itself as the leader of free thought, research, developing and supporting the finest institutions of learning and teaching in the world. The atom would never have been split, the space race would have been impossible, statins and stents would have not have been invented and developed absent the research that took place within those universities and learning centers. Scholars from every corner of the world came to America simply because we were the best, and most accessible. Many of them stayed on.
In 100 days, a grotesque, incoherent, debauched, pussygrabbing felon with hillbilly tastes and a record of nothing but business failures, together with his pet oleaginous shitweasel, have shattered it all.
The wheels have already turned. The tide has already come in and gone out again. Welcome to the rest of the Chinese century.
“The economy likely contracted in the first quarter on the back of a record trade deficit in goods as importers front-ran tariff hikes,” Comerica Bank Chief Economist Bill Adams wrote early Monday. “The labor market probably softened in April, with a lackluster increase in employment and an uptick of the unemployment rate. Job vacancies likely fell in March.”
“The Conference Board will probably report a big decline in consumer confidence in line with other household surveys,” Adams added. “Vehicle sales are anticipated to take a breather in April after March’s jump to the highest sales in four years.”
Why is nobody holding him to account?
DOGE says it has saved $160 billion. Those cuts have actually cost taxpayers $135 billion, one analysis says.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doge-cuts-cost-135-billion-analysis-elon-musk-department-of-government-efficiency/
Maybe he can sue Musk for negligence to recoup the losses.
DOGE probably means that they have saved Elon that amount. They work for Elon, not the United States.
Musk will sell our country out for his own purposes, and Trump doesn't care.
If history is a guide, Trump will throw Musk under the bus.
As a power, America is kaput. The dummies voted for this, and their man is performing better than expected. Our only play is to retract our military, make nice with Canada and Mexico, and let the rest of the world deal with China. They can decide whether they will allow China to make everything that the world needs, purchase entire countries, and dominate Asia militarily.
In ancient Greece, during wars between city states, the oligarchs often sold out their side for guarantees that they would remain rich and powerful after it was done. This often involved opening the gates for the opposing army and allowing them to sack the city. The "Greeks in the horse" were usually sponsored by the local oligarchs.
Sound familiar?
Trump's Golden Age means he and his kin get to rake in the gold, while the rest of the country gets golden showers.
You got it!
Hakeem Jefferies called it "chaos corruption and cruelty." a very clear motto for this administration.
The victory of Mark Carney and the Liberals in Canada yesterday was a real Trump Golden Age moment; a reminder that the Republicans are not only transforming the US into a corrupt, backwater Mafia state--they are having an impact on the world stage as well.
Just a few months ago, Canada's Liberals were in a shambles, the hapless Trudeau had stepped down, and Pierre Poilievre--Canada's Trump--was leading his Conservatives to a resounding, inevitable victory, up 25 points in the polls.
Then Trump discovered his inner Putin, opened his yap, and began blatting out demented nonsense about annexing Canada, transforming it into the 51st state.
In one fell swoop, he not only transformed the Canadian election landscape: he also lost us one of our best friends out there in a lonely, dangerous world (he would subsequently deploy JD Vance to lose all the rest of them).
In just 100 days, Trump and his Republicans have shattered our old alliances, cost us our place in the world, weakened our economy (hence our reliability as a trading partner) and turned us into a much diminished junior partner in an authoritarian Axis dominated by Russia. Third World, here we come.
The only thing "golden" about this age is the ugly brothel stuff Trump dragged into the White House, painted gold and had someone hang the stuff on the walls (Nauta? Cheung? Leavitt?).
He has a "gold guy'! Of course, he does. Check out the before and after of the Oval Office from the WSJ:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-trump-and-his-gold-guy-are-redecorating-the-white-house/ar-AA1D15s0
Tacky, tacky, tacky.
He wants what was once "the People's house," to look like his 5th Ave. apartment, of Maralardo. A cross between a third world dictator's palace, and a Victorian bordello.
Restrained Formality v. Hillbilly Empire. Truly gag-worthy.
And what did the grifters do with Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, inquiring minds want to know.
🤢
Marc Payne, my sentiment exactly. 🤢
As Adam Schiff remarked the other day, political scientists have a set term to describe these first 100 days. That term is "shitshow."
I'd be more impressed if Schiff was actually doing something about it.
What would you like him to do?
While we’re at it, let’s stop referring to hard-right Republicans as “conservatives.” I see it all the time in mainstream media and even progressive/resistance coverage, by writers who know there’s nothing conservative about any of what’s happening.
Trump is going to die sooner rather than later. His ill- gotten gains cannot prevent his passing. The Grim Reaper is on his way.
Sign at last week's protest in Sebastopol CA:
"C'mon cholesterol - do your thing"
I keep thinking he should have a heart attack any day now. But then I remember that he doesn't have a heart to attack....
It pleases me to think about that. He may have evaded taxes all his life, but he won't evade Death!
Unfortunately, he's just the figurehead who is provided "expert advice" and written Executive Orders by the project 2025 regime. Unfortunately, Vance et.al. are younger and healthier.
Spot on per usual. It’s truly the decline of the US. The grift is real and those of us who saw it coming feel angry and powerless. I will not back down, but unity, collective outrage and dissent, and loud protest are imperative. Long painful fight ahead folks!
Fool’s Gold Age
Iron Pyrite Age.
Same name for the same stuff. The reference to the Iron Age is implied, which is the direction Trump and MAGA are driving the country.
Actually, it's more like we're heading for the Dark Ages.
You're quite correct there. My historical knowledge bobbled. The Dark Ages came first.
Can we deport Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Cuba because he constitutes a threat to American foreign policy?
Miami healthcare CEO Michael “Mike” B. Fernandez wrote the following open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and members of the Republican Cuban-American Miami-Dade congressional delegation: U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez and Maria Elvira Salazar.
For decades, I have stood with you in defense of the freedoms we cherish, those we were denied in the country of our birth and found in the grace of this one. I know what it means to flee tyranny. Like you, I carry that history in my bones and that pain in my heart. But like a growing number in our community, I have watched with dismay as the very values we once found sanctuary in are now being attacked by a previously unthinkable threat — the sitting president of the United States.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article304271841.html#storylink=cpy
He is ushering in a 'golden age' for mobsters. The whole thing boils down to the fact that reactionaries traded life in a Republic for one in a reichwing dictatorship so they could roll the social clock back 100 years. The oligarchs traded the Republic for a return to being robber barrons in the 'gilded age'.The racists traded it for a return to oppression of people of color and maybe slavery again. When Elon's gutting of Social Security and the IRS run their course, there will be no money in our coffers and the economy will simply stop - a lá 1930.
Just a few minutes ago, Barbie Leavitt frothed at the mouth denouncing Amazon's announcement to list Trump's tariffs on its prices as a "hostile and political act."
Repeat after me, boys 'n girls. Telling the truth is a "hostile act." Especially when you're working for a gaslighting liar. Him not like twuth much. Him vewy unhappy. But him not a baby, of course.
And right on cue, Amazon caved. Amazon groveled. Amazon begged for forgiveness. Amazon drooled at the thought of more Trump butt to kiss.
I forgot who owns Amazon.
There is also a "bright surge" in local legacy newspapers--in letters to the editor, specifically. I see it in both the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times. Readers' letters fill in citizens about the disaster that is our federal government. I am assured by these letters--the awareness, knowledge, deep concern, articulateness. Some letter writers even bother to counter other letter writers who simplistically say nothing is wrong (I wouldn't have the patience.).
I am trying to be attuned to local developments and have a voice. Below is my letter, recently published in the Tribune (4/23). It lacks the well-deserved negative characterization you develop in this piece, but makes its point. I counter the IL GOP's accusation that Democrats are attacking Trump and are "too liberal." I turn it around by showing that the GOP lawmakers are defending Trump from ill-advised and ill-informed policies. I highlight Tribune articles and editorials as evidence.
This letter was informed by the knowledge I've gained by reading The Contrarian--related to Clean Air Act, Crypto, role of state-level Attorney Generals. Thank you.
Links available in published piece:
Reading for lawmakers
Thank you to Democratic lawmakers in Illinois working on state laws to counter the Trump administration’s corruption and inhumanity. Regarding GOP lawmaker objections, I remind them that the Tribune historically has leaned conservative, and I suggest that reading it will enable them to stay abreast of state concerns.
Specifically:
To Sen. Terri Bryant who asserts that President Donald Trump’s orders on domestic energy resources are on track, I direct her to the April 14 article “Trump’s love affair with dirty coal can’t compete with market realities.”
To Rep. Dan Ugaste who objects to sensible state-level cryptocurrency regulations, I direct him to the April 14 editorial “The federal financial cop is off the beat. Fraudsters are lurking, so don’t fall prey.”
For Sen. Sue Rezin, who worries that Illinois will lose federal funding by crossing Trump, I observe that Attorney General Kwame Raoul is taking legal action to ensure Illinois receives the funding it is due. See, for example, the April 13 editorial “Leave libraries alone. They more than pay their way.”
My question for GOP lawmakers is this: What happened to Illinois Republicans who defended states’ rights? The GOP is far too busy defending Trump from well-informed perspectives, such as those published by the Tribune.
— Lisa Jean Walker, Irving Park, Chicago
Here is another letter I wrote (published 4/19)--this one to the Sun-Times, which is a non-profit (public media). It puts a finger on the way "bothsidesism" supports the bullying of authoritarians. And it calls the reporter and newspaper to account:
Don’t let Trump administration get the last word
Writing about former President Joe Biden’s speech on Social Security, the Sun-Times political reporter ended an otherwise informative article about Social Security Administration staff cuts and service curtailments with a White House statement disparaging Biden because of his age.
If the other side says nothing to contribute to citizens’ understanding of the topic, why report it? I am sure the White House is pleased that it got the last word in. You have helped deliver the message that serious topics, and those who address them, deserve to be mocked. I expect public media to do better.
Lisa Jean Walker, Irving Park
Related
Related: Declaring ‘nobody’s king,’ former President Biden unleashes on Trump, Musk over Social Security cuts
Knock it down, smash it up, remove, and make it weak?
Is that the “Trump method” to take control and seek power?
Afraid so. Trump has no original ideas and puts those doing the dirty work on the front row!
Not himself! Trump wants no blame for failure!
Making huge amounts of money is only a grab for control and power!
Seat belts on since it is going to be a very rough ride!
Thanks to all of you. We are our only hope.