Prayers as you continue healing. Glad it’s now instead of September. As I watch the Trump court proceedings, it’s a play. Voir dire is always a strategy time. Looking up a juror’s social media history can make people rethink about what they post. Looking at the questions, hum, they are checking you out. These people are serious on both sides. I’ve never seen a judge give nappy times for the defendant. It makes him look more like the fool he is. Wonder why the defense team doesn’t get the doctor to order an upper?
People snooze in courtrooms; jurors in the box do it all the time. A prosecutor said that when suspects are getting interrogated by detectives, the detectives will take regular breaks and leave the room while the CCTV camera is still running. Innocent people tend to be wired with adrenaline and bouncing off the walls. Guilty people will often nod off and catch some Z's.
This is only the first two days of jury selection. Leave aside whether or not he's an Adderall addict; he's deffo a Diet Coke addict, drinking a dozen or more cans a day, snapping his fingers at servants for another can. That's a boatload of caffeine which he doesn't have in there.
I think this trial, whatever the verdict (and it won't be acquittal), will break Trump. Eight hours a day, four days a week on somebody else's clock is something he hasn't experienced since his teens in that high-end reform school (military academy). I think his stress will be through the roof and it's not unlikely to trigger some physical symptoms. The guy's in awful shape. It'll drain his energy and accelerate his obvious deterioration on the campaign trail.
The coddled little babyman just won't be able to handle six solid weeks of this.
I’d hate to have to handle him in the evenings. It’s actually a plus that he only has to endure two days back to back since the judge takes Wednesdays off. I agree that the frustration can trigger any number of physical issues, such as a heart attack.
I think the odds are rising daily that there's going to have to be some sort of medical intervention in the courtroom, up to and including for a heart attack. All that mounting frustration and no way to express it without being thrown in the clink for contempt. And make no mistake -- Trump might think he can raise millions off being the GOP's unjustly incarcerated Nelson Mandela (ROTFL), but that is the _very last place_ he wants be, whether for three days or thirty. Forget Diet Coke, who will change his Depends?
The expression "stir crazy" was coined for a guy like Trump.
I am very wary of Johnson. As long as the four packages are voted on together, ok. But if he tries to trickle them through separately, with Ukraine last? No deal. We all recall Lucy with the football.
this has become a kind of existential moment for the Republican party - can anybody (Speaker Johnson, I'm looking at you) put country first? Or is the bottom line always - me, me, me, save my job. F**k the country. I want to be Speaker!
If Johnson caves to the crazies, just to keep his job, well, so much for the shining city on the hill.
Given that I am a daily road warrior, with a 90 minute commute each way, I actually enjoy the YouTubes! Not that I wish that your “paw” would not get better sooner, but I do like that you throw in youtubes as well even when both hands are working! I’ve tried listening to some Substacks and they sounds like an AI robot, which I’m guessing it probably is!
Hope you are up and healthy soon! I’ve had multiple hand surgeries and it takes time. I hope you are right and this is the beginning of the end of Dtrump
I appreciate your forbearance in waiting out a frustrating temporary handicap. Unlike some people I choose to feel annoyed by, you know the difference between subscribing to written vs. video when a subscriber commits. I do like your video presentations but I signed up for your articles and it’s so great to see your commitment to your chosen messaging system (though I repeat, I love you, and Tara, and you have a great conversational and connecting video presence!) Long winded here with the big thank you for your loyal quality contributions!
This was wonderful, Rick. I have heard so much general doom and gloom lately. But to see you sitting there smiling, explaining some House politics that might not be obvious, and confirming to us that Biden’s foreign policy chops might allow us to escape becoming a burnt cinder soon, I exhaled.
We are going to learn a LOT about Mike Johnson this week. He said he's a "War Time Leader."
I'm skeptical, but part of me thinks he's had enough of the crazies. And the Dems might have his back if he'll be more moderate and just get things done. I'm hoping that's the case.
Or that a few GOP folks just throw in behind Hakeem.
Mike Johnson is a crazy! You would have to be to turn your back on a fellow democracy! Don't expect any humanitarian relief for any poor people on earth! Especially in America!
Let us all start calling Trump, Donald duck and drive the cult all crazy. The Disney character, they hate Disney because Disney corporation supports gay rights! Trump likes to hear his brand, at least call him Donald as a slur.
Hakeem has really shown his oats and is gonna be a Pelosi-grade Speaker next year. And our coalition is much more disparate than theirs. Shows you what a secret sauce leadership is.
I think it also helps Democratic house leadership that as diverse as its members are they are mostly sane and want to get things done. Not to take anything away from Jeffries or Pelosi but we should really give some credit to rank and file Dem members
I’m a working class person who along with the people I know really needs this sort of thing, it’s just not just some bit of attention seeking for me or a way of keeping score or whatever. I want to know what you can do and what viable paths you have to accomplishing things, if you can’t do that then fuck it. I have no interest in dick measuring ideological contests. (I’ve had plenty of OWS types who claim to care so much about people like me who the moment I ask them how they’re going to actually help people like suddenly drop the mask and turn very ugly).
I'm 64 and have been a political activist and campaign worker off and on my whole adult life. I'm a very staunch liberal Democrat -- an Elizabeth Warren superfan in the '20 primary -- deffo on the left of the Party but always practical and never a fanatic. The most virulent, knock-down-drag-out political arguments I have are with people on my left. Nader supporters, Bernie supporters, former Obama supporters who were disgusted by '12 because real change hasn't happened yet, etc.
I cannot abide the politics of virtue signalling or the equation of political choices with consumer choices, as if our vote was a lifestyle choice. Bleaugh.
So we agree strongly, Guscat. I'll just say respectfully that I won't take a single word about Ilhan Omar from the NY Post, which is not credible on politics.
I am roughly your age. I’ve always been interested in what I would call the far left but the far left we have genuinely doesn’t care about or even like the poor and working class they claim to care about. It’s about a quest for power and attention for them and they’re just using people like me the same way the Koch’s are.
It’s not just the ny post on Omar. I was just lazy. I get the FEC threw out the complaint but I don’t have a lot of respect for the FEC.
I read the AP article and I think the whole thing is a nothingburger. Consultants marry politicians who help their campaigns? Let's talk about Clarence and Ginni Thomas, LOL
I'm not inclined to denigrate the motives of the hard left wholesale. I think a lot of it is youth; I remember how juiced I was when I read the Communist Manifesto in high school, and when you're young, you tend to be self-involved and think of other people as categories. Learning true empathy and the ability to listen is a cultivated skill. Excessive idealism may be politically faulty on any number of levels, but it's not a mortal sin.
The real bad actors are the influencers who prey on the idealism of the marks they fancy themselves organizing. There's a Wingnut Industrial Complex that I don't think has an equivalent on the left.
Members elect leadership so it's a whole package. Good members means a good leadership and vice-versa. Even our most ideological members haven't gone out of their way to sabotage leadership like Gaetz and MTG. And I am absolutely thrilled at how quickly AOC went from hosting Sunrise Movement protests in her office to developing a working relationship with Pelosi without any calls that she sold out. She's brilliant at explaining the necessity of teamwork.
Exactly, it’s not an either or but rather a both. AOC is smart, focussed, disciplined, and wants to get things done and help people rather than be the Justice Dem version of MTG. This is also why whenever people fall into the lazy bothsiderism that acts like Dems are no different from Republicans one of the many arguments against it is the difference between House Democrats and House Republicans.
We on the left don't have anywhere near the influencer grift that the right has. Sure, there's some; lefty clickbait clogs my YT algorithm. But what happened to the Justice Dems and Bernie's Our Revolution? They petered out because they couldn't win primaries. The equivalent groups on the right, though, don't go away as long as there are suckers to monetize.
Yep, there was no People’s Revolution out there, and so that whole Justice Dem/Our Revolution just sort of died out. I feel like Bernie and most of his group including AOC basically became an updated old school liberal wing (think McGovern/Ted Kennedy and that crowd) while the grifter wing of the party drifted back into being an almost MAGA adjacent wing. They’re certainly no longer really a part of the Dem Party anymore.
The House is a done deal for the Democrats at this point. The Senate's still a heavy lift, but the SCOAZ may have just blown Kari Lake out of the water with that Handmaid abortion ruling.
Gun-totin' Texans voting for an uppity commie baby-eating Dem? You think?
Well, if Cruz is in trouble then there's a serious re-set happening in American politics. Let's hope so.
My wife is 100% confident that WOMEN will vote blue across the country to protect women's freedoms. Hope you're all right about a shift from Red to Blue in America. The alternative (Trump & MAGA in charge) is unthinkable.
I'm not going to invest any hope in Cruz's seat after being burned so many times by Beto. Allred is an entirely different candidate, I know, a much better ideological fit for a statewide race, but it's still freakin Texas ... sigh.
Keep getting well & thank you for your work & words.
Prayers as you continue healing. Glad it’s now instead of September. As I watch the Trump court proceedings, it’s a play. Voir dire is always a strategy time. Looking up a juror’s social media history can make people rethink about what they post. Looking at the questions, hum, they are checking you out. These people are serious on both sides. I’ve never seen a judge give nappy times for the defendant. It makes him look more like the fool he is. Wonder why the defense team doesn’t get the doctor to order an upper?
People snooze in courtrooms; jurors in the box do it all the time. A prosecutor said that when suspects are getting interrogated by detectives, the detectives will take regular breaks and leave the room while the CCTV camera is still running. Innocent people tend to be wired with adrenaline and bouncing off the walls. Guilty people will often nod off and catch some Z's.
This is only the first two days of jury selection. Leave aside whether or not he's an Adderall addict; he's deffo a Diet Coke addict, drinking a dozen or more cans a day, snapping his fingers at servants for another can. That's a boatload of caffeine which he doesn't have in there.
I think this trial, whatever the verdict (and it won't be acquittal), will break Trump. Eight hours a day, four days a week on somebody else's clock is something he hasn't experienced since his teens in that high-end reform school (military academy). I think his stress will be through the roof and it's not unlikely to trigger some physical symptoms. The guy's in awful shape. It'll drain his energy and accelerate his obvious deterioration on the campaign trail.
The coddled little babyman just won't be able to handle six solid weeks of this.
I’d hate to have to handle him in the evenings. It’s actually a plus that he only has to endure two days back to back since the judge takes Wednesdays off. I agree that the frustration can trigger any number of physical issues, such as a heart attack.
I think the odds are rising daily that there's going to have to be some sort of medical intervention in the courtroom, up to and including for a heart attack. All that mounting frustration and no way to express it without being thrown in the clink for contempt. And make no mistake -- Trump might think he can raise millions off being the GOP's unjustly incarcerated Nelson Mandela (ROTFL), but that is the _very last place_ he wants be, whether for three days or thirty. Forget Diet Coke, who will change his Depends?
The expression "stir crazy" was coined for a guy like Trump.
Thanks Rick. Glad you are back in the fight
I am very wary of Johnson. As long as the four packages are voted on together, ok. But if he tries to trickle them through separately, with Ukraine last? No deal. We all recall Lucy with the football.
"wary" of Johnson? I don't trust him at all. Any of them.
Agree. Was using my nice words.
this has become a kind of existential moment for the Republican party - can anybody (Speaker Johnson, I'm looking at you) put country first? Or is the bottom line always - me, me, me, save my job. F**k the country. I want to be Speaker!
If Johnson caves to the crazies, just to keep his job, well, so much for the shining city on the hill.
Rick, take the time you need for healing, but we're all ready for you to get into physical therapy by typing way 😉
Given that I am a daily road warrior, with a 90 minute commute each way, I actually enjoy the YouTubes! Not that I wish that your “paw” would not get better sooner, but I do like that you throw in youtubes as well even when both hands are working! I’ve tried listening to some Substacks and they sounds like an AI robot, which I’m guessing it probably is!
Thank you for summarizing the events of the day!
Hope you are up and healthy soon! I’ve had multiple hand surgeries and it takes time. I hope you are right and this is the beginning of the end of Dtrump
Thank you Rick for your info on Ukraine. It drives so crazy that their aid gets held up because of the GOP!! THANK YOU for your commitment.!!
Feel better soon 🤗
Hang in there and feel better Rick— we need you!
Complete and speedy recovery to you!
I appreciate your forbearance in waiting out a frustrating temporary handicap. Unlike some people I choose to feel annoyed by, you know the difference between subscribing to written vs. video when a subscriber commits. I do like your video presentations but I signed up for your articles and it’s so great to see your commitment to your chosen messaging system (though I repeat, I love you, and Tara, and you have a great conversational and connecting video presence!) Long winded here with the big thank you for your loyal quality contributions!
This was wonderful, Rick. I have heard so much general doom and gloom lately. But to see you sitting there smiling, explaining some House politics that might not be obvious, and confirming to us that Biden’s foreign policy chops might allow us to escape becoming a burnt cinder soon, I exhaled.
Take care of the hand. Get some rest.
GWS. 💐
Thanks for keeping us informed and connecting with us by any means possible! Get fully well soon!
We are going to learn a LOT about Mike Johnson this week. He said he's a "War Time Leader."
I'm skeptical, but part of me thinks he's had enough of the crazies. And the Dems might have his back if he'll be more moderate and just get things done. I'm hoping that's the case.
Or that a few GOP folks just throw in behind Hakeem.
Mike Johnson is a crazy! You would have to be to turn your back on a fellow democracy! Don't expect any humanitarian relief for any poor people on earth! Especially in America!
Let us all start calling Trump, Donald duck and drive the cult all crazy. The Disney character, they hate Disney because Disney corporation supports gay rights! Trump likes to hear his brand, at least call him Donald as a slur.
Hakeem has really shown his oats and is gonna be a Pelosi-grade Speaker next year. And our coalition is much more disparate than theirs. Shows you what a secret sauce leadership is.
💯🏆🏆🏆👍🏽
I think it also helps Democratic house leadership that as diverse as its members are they are mostly sane and want to get things done. Not to take anything away from Jeffries or Pelosi but we should really give some credit to rank and file Dem members
I’m a working class person who along with the people I know really needs this sort of thing, it’s just not just some bit of attention seeking for me or a way of keeping score or whatever. I want to know what you can do and what viable paths you have to accomplishing things, if you can’t do that then fuck it. I have no interest in dick measuring ideological contests. (I’ve had plenty of OWS types who claim to care so much about people like me who the moment I ask them how they’re going to actually help people like suddenly drop the mask and turn very ugly).
I agree with everything you say except I can’t help but feel like Omar has some shady stuff to her. https://nypost.com/2020/11/11/rep-omar-paid-husbands-consulting-firm-nearly-2-8m-since-2019-report/
I'm 64 and have been a political activist and campaign worker off and on my whole adult life. I'm a very staunch liberal Democrat -- an Elizabeth Warren superfan in the '20 primary -- deffo on the left of the Party but always practical and never a fanatic. The most virulent, knock-down-drag-out political arguments I have are with people on my left. Nader supporters, Bernie supporters, former Obama supporters who were disgusted by '12 because real change hasn't happened yet, etc.
I cannot abide the politics of virtue signalling or the equation of political choices with consumer choices, as if our vote was a lifestyle choice. Bleaugh.
So we agree strongly, Guscat. I'll just say respectfully that I won't take a single word about Ilhan Omar from the NY Post, which is not credible on politics.
I am roughly your age. I’ve always been interested in what I would call the far left but the far left we have genuinely doesn’t care about or even like the poor and working class they claim to care about. It’s about a quest for power and attention for them and they’re just using people like me the same way the Koch’s are.
It’s not just the ny post on Omar. I was just lazy. I get the FEC threw out the complaint but I don’t have a lot of respect for the FEC.
https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ilhan-omar-coronavirus-pandemic-elections-campaigns-20883a3388c2c7fba58f643ae775a491
I read the AP article and I think the whole thing is a nothingburger. Consultants marry politicians who help their campaigns? Let's talk about Clarence and Ginni Thomas, LOL
I'm not inclined to denigrate the motives of the hard left wholesale. I think a lot of it is youth; I remember how juiced I was when I read the Communist Manifesto in high school, and when you're young, you tend to be self-involved and think of other people as categories. Learning true empathy and the ability to listen is a cultivated skill. Excessive idealism may be politically faulty on any number of levels, but it's not a mortal sin.
The real bad actors are the influencers who prey on the idealism of the marks they fancy themselves organizing. There's a Wingnut Industrial Complex that I don't think has an equivalent on the left.
Members elect leadership so it's a whole package. Good members means a good leadership and vice-versa. Even our most ideological members haven't gone out of their way to sabotage leadership like Gaetz and MTG. And I am absolutely thrilled at how quickly AOC went from hosting Sunrise Movement protests in her office to developing a working relationship with Pelosi without any calls that she sold out. She's brilliant at explaining the necessity of teamwork.
Exactly, it’s not an either or but rather a both. AOC is smart, focussed, disciplined, and wants to get things done and help people rather than be the Justice Dem version of MTG. This is also why whenever people fall into the lazy bothsiderism that acts like Dems are no different from Republicans one of the many arguments against it is the difference between House Democrats and House Republicans.
We on the left don't have anywhere near the influencer grift that the right has. Sure, there's some; lefty clickbait clogs my YT algorithm. But what happened to the Justice Dems and Bernie's Our Revolution? They petered out because they couldn't win primaries. The equivalent groups on the right, though, don't go away as long as there are suckers to monetize.
Yep, there was no People’s Revolution out there, and so that whole Justice Dem/Our Revolution just sort of died out. I feel like Bernie and most of his group including AOC basically became an updated old school liberal wing (think McGovern/Ted Kennedy and that crowd) while the grifter wing of the party drifted back into being an almost MAGA adjacent wing. They’re certainly no longer really a part of the Dem Party anymore.
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/putins-war-and-the-chaos-climbers
The House is a done deal for the Democrats at this point. The Senate's still a heavy lift, but the SCOAZ may have just blown Kari Lake out of the water with that Handmaid abortion ruling.
Gun-totin' Texans voting for an uppity commie baby-eating Dem? You think?
Well, if Cruz is in trouble then there's a serious re-set happening in American politics. Let's hope so.
My wife is 100% confident that WOMEN will vote blue across the country to protect women's freedoms. Hope you're all right about a shift from Red to Blue in America. The alternative (Trump & MAGA in charge) is unthinkable.
I'm a pretty gimlet-eyed peacenik ;)
I'm not going to invest any hope in Cruz's seat after being burned so many times by Beto. Allred is an entirely different candidate, I know, a much better ideological fit for a statewide race, but it's still freakin Texas ... sigh.