Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Dancing With Himself" went up earlier tonight.
Convicted Felon Donald Trump grows ever more sinister as the election looms. Maya Mehrara (NEWSWEEK) reports:
Trump said, "I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within...We have some very bad people, some sick people, radical left lunatics. And it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military."
His comments raised concern on social media as people interpreted it to mean he would consider deploying the military and the National Guard against U.S. citizens.
[. . .]
Mark Esper, Trump's former secretary of defense, spoke to CNN's Kaitlan Collins about Trump's comments. "I think we should take those words seriously," he said.
When asked if he feared that Trump would try to utilize the military against US citizens, Esper said, "Yes, I do of course because I lived through that and I saw over the summer of 2020 where President Trump and those around him wanted to use the National Guard in various capacities and cities such as Chicago, Portland, and Seattle."
The comment relates to an allegation from his 2022 book A Sacred Oath that Trump made remarks about invoking the National Guard or the military to "shoot protestors" at the George Floyd marches in 2020.
Esper also said he is concerned about the people Trump would bring into his administration if the former president is elected to a second term in three weeks.
Esper said he is concerned “the first year of the second Trump term will look more like the last year of the first Trump term.”
“I think President Trump has learned, the key is getting people around you who will do your bidding, who will not push back, who will implement what you want to do. And I think he’s talked about that, his acolytes have talked about that, and I think loyalty will be the first litmus test,” he added.
Three years later when he was president, Trump tried to burnish his free speech credentials while also using free speech claims to intimidate those whose understanding of free speech did not align with his own. He did so when he signed an Executive Order on campus free speech. It directed agencies to withhold federal funds from colleges that did not promote “free inquiry.”
And, over the last year, when judges issued gag orders against him in his various legal trials, Trump cried foul and alleged that they violated his freedom of speech.
In September, the former president again waved the First Amendment flag. He said that if he is returned to the White House, he would “bring back free speech in America ‘because it’s being taken away.’” But for all his talk, it is clear that Trump is no card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union.
As Reason’s Damon Root points out, “This is the same Trump who favors government censorship of the internet in order to suppress speech that he finds objectionable. It's the same Trump who favors gutting libel laws in order to make it easier for him to silence journalists who write unkind things about him. It's the same Trump who wants the government to forcibly shutter houses of worship in which people might say, read, or think unpopular things.”
Trump's attack on CBS fits into the profile that Root outlines.
In recent days, of course, the former president hasn’t just lashed out at those responsible for “The Apprentice” movie. He’s also launched a bizarre campaign against CBS and “60 Minutes,” accusing the outlet and the news program of a “scandal” that does not exist.
Trump has nevertheless repeatedly called for CBS to lose its broadcast license — an appeal that doesn’t actually make sense — a point he seemed especially excited about over the weekend. On Friday night, for example, the Republican said “60 Minutes” should be “taken off the air,” and a day later, he suggested during a Newsmax interview that the government should somehow pull CBS from the airwaves.
Is Donald Trump well enough to serve as president?
The question is not temperamental or philosophical fitness—he made clear long ago that the answer to both is no—but something more fundamental.
To watch the event is to see signs of someone having a breakdown. Like Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump in June, when the president’s fumbling performance and struggle to get sentences out made it impossible to believe he was up to the task of serving for four years, Trump’s rally last night would force any reasonable person to conclude that he is not up to the grueling task of leading the world’s greatest nation, handling economic crises, or dealing with foreign adversaries.
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today:
After finding out that she had been systematically underpaid for nearly two decades compared to her male colleagues, Lilly became an advocate for equal pay. Her efforts contributed to the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which strengthened protections against pay discrimination, and which was the first bill signed into law during the Obama-Biden Administration.
I have always believed when we lift up the economic status of women, we lift up the economic status of families and communities – and all of society benefits. That’s why I co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act in the United States Senate, a bill that Lilly was a powerful supporter of, and which would further increase pay transparency. And that’s why I continue to fight for the Paycheck Fairness Act – to honor Lilly’s legacy, and continue building a more fair and equitable future for women, and all Americans.
Lilly’s advocacy has improved the lives of millions, and will inspire generations to come. Doug and I send our condolences and prayers to the Ledbetter family.
Milley’s
assessment of the Republican candidate is rooted in first-hand
experience: Trump handpicked Milley to serve as the chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the general worked alongside the
then-president for more than a year.
“No one has ever been as dangerous to this country as Donald Trump,” the general told Woodward. “Now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is the most dangerous person to this country.”
Milley went on to note that he feared a possible court martial in a second Trump term — despite the fact that he’s now a civilian — and those concerns are well grounded. After all, according to Trump’s former Defense secretary, Mark Esper, Trump set out to have two highly decorated retired military leaders — Stanley McChrystal and William McRaven — court martialed for saying things about the former president that he didn’t like.
(It was, of course, impossible to court martial civilians in private life, so the then-president talked to military leaders about the Pentagon recalling the retired general and admiral to active duty so that Trump could formally punisPeoh him.)
As for Milley, Trump used to target the retired general with juvenile taunts — calling the general a “dumbass” and an “idiot” — but it was last fall when the Republican falsely accused Milley of having committed a “treasonous act” in the wake of Trump’s 2020 defeat. “[I]n times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” Trump wrote on his social media platform.
The accusations were bonkers, though Milley felt the need to take “adequate safety precautions” to protect his family in the wake of the Republican’s radical offensive.
Or put another way, civil life in the United States now involves a former president falsely accusing his former handpicked Joint Chiefs chair of treason, forcing the decorated former general to fear that a politician’s enraged followers might harm his family. The former president’s political party doesn’t find any of this alarming, and Americans might soon return him to power.
According to the Guardian’s report on Woodward’s book, Milley warned his former colleagues in Washington that Trump was “a walking, talking advertisement of what he’s going to try to do,” adding: “He’s saying it and it’s not just him, it’s the people around him.”
Milley was pointing in particular to how Steve Bannon — who rose to White House strategist after chairing Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and who is now in jail for being found in contempt of Congress — has threatened him. “We’re gonna hold him accountable,” Bannon has said of Milley.
Woodward’s book also details a tense Oval Office discussion Milley had with Trump and his second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. Trump reportedly wanted to get revenge on, or potentially court-martial, William McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who led the 2011 mission in which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Trump was enraged that the retired admiral publicly criticized him.
Milley told Woodward he was able to mollify Trump by saying he would “take care” of it but then warned McRaven and other former military commanders to keep off the “public stage” for a while and ease up on their criticisms of Trump.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a HuffPost request for comment about Milley’s reported comments to Woodward.
Milley’s stories about Trump in the White House are similar to recollections from other military figures, including retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, who was Trump’s chief of staff. As noted by the Guardian, Kelly said Trump reportedly insisted that generals should be “like the German generals” serving under Adolf Hitler during World War II, who were “totally loyal.”
On the campaign trail this year Trump has said he’d be a “dictator” on his first day in office. He has also repeatedly used explicitly fascist rhetoric while talking about immigrants in the United States.
Milley is not alone in his assessment that Trump is a fascist.
Robert Paxton, considered one of the foremost scholars of fascism, initially declined to call Trump a fascist during his rise to the White House in 2016, but he changed his tune after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Trump’s incitement of the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 removes my objection to the fascist label,” Paxton wrote at the time. “His open encouragement of civic violence to overturn an election crosses a red line. The label now seems not just acceptable but necessary.”
Flynn, who was fired from Trump's administration and took a plea deal for lying to federal investigators about his ties to Russia before being pardoned by Trump, has since descended into extreme conspiracy theory circles, in particular forming close ties to the QAnon movement, which believes Trump must save America from Satanic child sex trafficking cannibals. He has previously suggested the U.S. should undergo a military coup like that in Myanmar.
His latest rhetoric suggests he hasn't backed down from that position at all, Jones wrote.
Flynn recently spoke at the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, sponsored by a radical schismatic sect of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, which worships the AR-15 as a holy instrument ordained by God. And when an attendee in the crowd asked him about the possibility of military tribunals and executions of Trump's enemies, Flynn promised a lot more than that if the former president secures victory.
“I think a lot of people actually think like you do, and I think that that’s your right and our privilege. ... There’s a way to get after this, but we have to win first,” said Flynn. "I’m about winning. We have to win. And these people are already up to no good. So, we gotta win first. We win, and then, 'Katy, bar the door.' OK? Believe me: The gates of hell — my hell — will be unleashed."
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, church. Good afternoon.
Oh, please have a seat. Please have a seat. (Laughter.)
Bishop O’neal, I thank you so very much. We — we’ve had some time to visit before we came out into the sanctuary, and I just thank you for the leadership that you have provided for so long.
You know, in times of crisis, and — and we’re looking at the images of the aftermath of the hurricane. But it — it is easy in these moments of crisis to — to question our faith, to sometimes lose our faith for a moment, because what we see is so hard to see that we lose faith or a vision of those things we cannot see but must know. (Applause.)
And you are such a leader in all of those ways, and I thank you. (Applause.) I’m honored to be with you. I’m honored to be with you. I’m honored to be with you. Thank you.
And, KCC family, thank you for welcoming me today. (Applause.) (Laughs.) Thank you. And thank you for the opportunity to allow me to worship with you. It does my heart and soul good.
So, scripture teaches, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Applause.)
So, I first encountered the words of Galatians as a young girl at 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California, which is where I sang in the children’s choir and first learned the teachings of the Bible. My earliest memories of those teachings are about a loving God, a God who asks us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to defend the rights of the poor and the needy.
And so, at an early age, I learned that faith is a verb. It is something we show in action and in service. And we show it by heeding the words of my pastor, who Bishop spoke with yesterday, Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown, who often invokes the words that we all know: One must do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
That truth is important at all times and especially in moments of difficulty and disaster, especially in moments like this, as we navigate storms that have inflicted so much harm across our country.
And to all those who have loved ones who have been affected by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, Doug and I, my husband, are holding of you close in our hearts and in our prayers. And we are thinking of everyone who has been affected by these storms.
Now, I know Helene’s impact was further west, but I also know that the people of Greenville, like all Americans, have been inspired by the way communities are coming together, Bishop, in the wake of these storms. Amid ruined homes, downed power lines, swollen rivers that have been choked with debris, we have seen — we have seen children rescued by neighbors in a kayak; we have seen those who have lost everything gathering donations for others.
You know, it’s been my experience to see that in a moment of crisis, isn’t it something when you know that, often, it is the people who have the least, give the most? (Applause.) Right?
Moments of crisis, I believe, do have a way of revealing the heroes among us, the angels among us, and of showing us all the best of who we are. And these hurricanes have revealed heroes around all of us, heroes who do not ask the injured or stranded whether they are a Republican or a Democrat — (applause) — but who simply ask, “Are you okay?”; who ask, “What can I do to help?” — heroes who, as I like to say, see in the face of a stranger, a neighbor.
Yet, church, there are some who are not acting in the spirit of community. And I am speaking of those who have been literally not telling the truth — lying — about people who are working hard to help folks in need; spreading disinformation, when the truth and facts are required. And the — the problem with this, beyond the obvious, is it’s making it harder, then, to get people lifesaving information, if they’re led to believe they cannot trust.
And that’s the pain of it all, which is the idea that those who are in need have somehow been convinced that the forces are working against them in a way that they would not seek aid.
And let’s let that sink in for a moment. Right now, fellow Americans are experiencing some of the most difficult moments in their lives. Yet, instead of offering hope, there are those who are channeling people’s tragedies and sorrows into grievance and hatred. And one may ask, “Why?” And I think, sadly, frankly, the motives are quite transparent: to gain some advantage for themselves, to play politics with other people’s heartbreak. And it is unconscionable.
Now is not a time to incite fear. (Applause.) It is not right to make people feel alone. That is not what — and this is a church full of leaders — that is not what leaders, as we know, do in crisis.
Now is a time to bring folks together, to come together, to be there for one another, and follow the example of all of the heroes all around us. And now is the time to live up to the fundamental values that reflect our nation at its best: the values of compassion and community and honesty and decency — the values that define the people of Greenville, the — the people of North Carolina, and — and the people like a fellow who I met recently. His name is Eddie Hunnell. And I’m going to tell you a quick story about Eddie Hunnell.
So, I met him in Charlotte the other week. He was visiting Grassy Creek for his son’s wedding when he saw a woman in the raging floodwaters. First, he tried to rescue her by canoe. When that didn’t work, this ma- — a perfect stranger, he’s watching — he jumped in the river and pulled her ashore.
And when I talked with Eddie about his act of courage, here’s what he said to me. He said, “Well I didn’t feel I had a choice.” But, of course, he had a choice. Of course, he had a choice.
But his choice was to take a risk for the sake of another. Didn’t even reflect on the risk he might have been taking. (Applause.) Right?
His choice was to follow his conscience. His choice was, in the words of Isaiah, to be “a refuge for the needy in their distress.” (Applause.) He chose to remember that we are all in this together.
And if that is true during a terrible storm, it is also true when the storm passes. (Applause.) It is true in our everyday lives.
When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Galatia, he knew folks might feel the weight of the burden of doing good, that they may feel a temptation to turn away from others in their time of need, to believe, “What does it matter?” But Paul reminded them and us that God calls us not to become weary of doing good.
Because we each have the power — God tells us this — the power, each one of us, to make a difference. And that tells us that the measure of our strength will be clear when we see what we can do to lift other people up — (applause) — just as Eddie did and as the heroes and the angels in this church and all over are doing after these storms. Across North Carolina, Florida, and impacted communities, we are witnessing faith in action. (Applause.)
So, I close with this. Let us continue to look in the face of a stranger and see a neighbor. (Applause.) Let us recognize that when we shine the light in moments of darkness, it will guide our feet onto the path of peace. And let us always remember that while weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning. (Applause.) (Laughs.)
Thank you. May God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Thank you, church. (Applause.) END
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