Once again, thanks so much for your generosity. I’m always so surprised and grateful that people are still interested in our scribblings. It’s a privilege to be able to do it and we couldn’t continue without your kind support.
It’s been a tough few days. The violence and loss of the past weekend has cast a pall over this holiday season and it feels just a little bit discordant to celebrate, well… anything. Not that we don’t see an atrocity every day in one way or another. The economy is getting worse and worse, our standing in the world has collapsed, masked thugs are marauding in the streets and abducting people while the “Department of War” is conducing a murder spree on the high seas. And that’s in addition to the wanton destruction of the federal government as perfectly illustrated by Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House without any consultation or approval. But in the last few days we’ve been reminded of the ongoing horror of gun violence and terrorism — and the grotesque character of the president of the United States in the face of all that.
The mass shooting at Brown University in the same moments as a violent terrorist attack in Australia over the weekend was jarring enough. When the news of the Reiners’ death hit and Trump acted like the barbarian we know him to be it just felt like a knock out blow. The last thing I want to do — or, I suspect, you want to read —- is cheerlead.
But the fact is that as bad as things have been and continue to be, the country has not succumbed to this authoritarian onslaught. Sure Republicans are all fully in the tank and have proved themselves to be nothing more than potted plants. And yes, many of the elites have shown their true colors and eagerly capitulated to Trump, apparently under the assumption that they could maintain their respected reputations having done so.
They will not. We won’t forget what they did. These were powerful people with the means and the expertise to fight back and they chose not to. The law firms, universities, CEOs and Wall St Masters of the Universe either made a calculation that Trump was omnipotent and therefore they needed to be on his good side or that jumping on his bandwagon presented some lucrative opportunities. It was either cowardice or greed. In no case can it be justified.
However, even all that has not been enough to sustain Trump’s assault. His trajectory has been slowed, if not halted, by the public, the lower courts and his administration’s ineptitude. (His own mental deterioration is taking a toll as well.) MAGA is at each others’ throats, Republicans in Congress are running around like Chicken Little unable to make any decisions and the vaunted White House discipline is starting to fail as evidence by the publishing of a startling series of interviews with Trump’s (formerly?) trusted chief of staff Susie Wiles:
We often spoke on Sundays after church. Wiles, an Episcopalian, calls herself “Catholic lite.” One time we spoke while she was doing her laundry in her Washington, DC, rental. Trump, she told me, “has an alcoholic’s personality.” Vance’s conversion from Never Trumper to MAGA acolyte, she said, has been “sort of political.” The vice president, she added, has been “a conspiracy theorist for a decade.” Russell Vought, architect of the notorious Project 2025 and head of the Office of Management and Budget, is “a right-wing absolute zealot.” When I asked her what she thought of Musk reposting a tweet about public sector workers killing millions under Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, she replied: “I think that’s when he’s microdosing.” (She says she doesn’t have first-hand knowledge.)
Their incompetence, extremism and corruption combined with the public rising up in rebellion stands a very good chance of ending this awful experiment in reality show politics. But it’s not going to be easy. Cornered animals tend to lash out with violence.
I hope you’ll stick with us as we continue to document the atrocities heading into the midterms when maybe we can truly stop the bleeding. We follow the news cycle closely, keeping our eyes on the zeitgeist 24/7 and try to give you the highlights as we see them. Hopefully you find that useful as you try to make sense out of the cacophony of news, propaganda and hype.
Those of you who support us are instrumental in keeping the blog free for those who don’t have the means and that means the world to me so thank you for that. After all, we’re all in this together.
If you’d like to toss a few coins in the Christmas stocking, you can do so here or at the snail mail address over on the left.
And Happy Hollandaise everyone.
cheers,
digby