Attention, believers in the Trump-Russia conspiracy: you are being lied to. Side by side, here's what you've been told, next to the reality that's being hidden from you.
This is certainly the biggest political scandal of my 70+ years. Comey, Brennan and Clapper engaged in behavior that was intended to assure Trump didn’t win and then, after he was elected, they continued these lies in an attempt to overthrow his administration. Life in prison and financial impoverishment for these miscreants along with any henchmen would not be a harsh enough penalty.
No, it wasn't, but it was a soft coup attempt. At the very least it was an attempt at muting the power of the Presidency after YEARS of giving the Presidency phenomenal powers to do whatever they wanted. The Chicago clan of Obama thanked Dick Cheney with all the had, but that said, "hold my Beer Dick."
Your comment prompted me to ask ChatGPT what the difference between "coup" and "insurrection" is, and it insisted that a coup is authored by elites seeking to take over leadership while an insurrection is a peasant revolt that doesn't necessarily seek power but only opposes existing power.
It then hilariously and unironically served up "2021 U.S. Capitol riot" as an example of an "insurrection", despite the entire left-wing case being that it was an effort to keep Donald Trump in the White House and that Trump himself directed it.
And no mention of CHAZ or other genuine contemporary insurrections.
Yes this was a soft coup attempt using that definition.
Here's the short version of why it happened:
1. The political parties gave up power to control nominations by having "more democratic" open primaries
2. The media lost power to social media, lost the ability to control the narrative because people could hear directly from candidates and talk peer-to-peer
3. Those two things resulted in massive loss of elite power in this country.
4. In every successful political system elite and popular political power are in balance. Revolutions can come when either side loses power too greatly. Elites can support a strongman just as readily as the people can.
5. 2016-2024 has represented GREATER democracy, and more control by the people. That's why it's "populist" and has signs of demagoguery at work. It's not fucking Fascism, it's quite possibly the purest example of democracy yet in the history of the United States.
6. When the elites lost control like that they started pulling every trick they could to regain power. Russiagate was the first and biggest attempt, but these happen all of the time now around the world. The removal of candidates from eligibility to run in Romania is the same thing. The attempt to remove AfD as a political party in Germany is part of the same effect. It's elites exerting their remaining power to keep power.
These are, simply understood, attempts by elites to regain or retain the power they are losing in a world where democracy is ascendant.
BTW ,we're a constitutional republic, so pure democracy is not the same thing, is not necessarily a good thing, and Aristotle, most classical thinkers, and the founding fathers mostly thought it to be much, much worse
Ever read 1984, or watch the satire of it 'Brazil'?
The memory holing has begun in earnest, I'm afraid. Hold on to your printed matter. I suspect The Internet Archive will cease to exist in the near future.
The real coup began December 2019 when the FBI verified the authenticity of Hunter's laptop. Then the FBI issues a gag order on the finding. FBI goes to social media and pretexts the upcoming dirty trick about a leak against Hunter and Burisma. All the while they have been tapping Giuliani. Aspen Institute tabletop exercise to attack a hack and leak operation. Blinken, a senior Biden campaign official instigates the 51 intelligence officers letter, which the CIA blessed. Joe during debate points to the 51 letter and says it isn't me, it's him. Now that is how you do a coup.
I can't tell when the coup began, but this was the tip-off for me:
In July 2016 Comey informed us "From the group of 30,000 e-mails returned to the State Department, 110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received.", and " there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.", and "None of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff," and "Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail account.".
And of course the denouemont:
"Although there is evidence of POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS OF THE STATUES regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.", placing himself as cop, judge and jury, in true dictatorial fashion. And once he let HiLIARy off the hook, he trained his sights on Trump/Crossfire Hurricane.
Initially Watergate was tiny - it was the coverup that ended Nixon, but even given the dishonest / unethical goals of the Nixonites and extent of the coverup, the Russia hoax was far more serious. The Nixon team's targeting of political enemies was small potatoes compared with what Obama, his CIA Director, FBI Director and DNI did to Trump and anyone loyal to Trump. Thanks to the machinations of the Obama team, Trump was rendered virtually impotent throughout his entire first term. When that didn't destroy him, the Biden administration and Democrats spent the next four years trying to finish the job. Trump, incredibly, has survived yet the lefties are STILL lying about Russia. It boggles the mind.
Did you ever notice that no one really cared that Deep Throat was the fucking FBI deputy director? I'm not even sure Nixon should have gone down versus the deep state decided he should and just made it happen. The media's lies and in particular the media's acting as a front for what the deep state wants was so great in 2015 to now that who knows how much they could pull over our eyes back then.
I shit you not I just looked up Mark Felt, Deep Throat, and he was later c9nvicted of... wait for it... sending agents into homes without warrants to illegally search. I guess his plumbers are good guys but Nixon's were bad guys.
Seriously - Democrat leadership installed a vegetable to front their coup and put unelected regents in charge of a nuclear-armed superpower with the largest economy in the world. Then the idiots enacted insane policies that no one would ever vote for with disasterous results. Those behind it deserve a public trial and then a public hanging.
I think its wild that some of the scandals we grew up learning about in history classes, like the Red Scare and Watergate, are totally dwarfed by modern scandals that don't even cause a blip for many.
The entirety of Watergate - tapping the opposition and a cover-up that went all the way to the White House - is contained in just a small portion of this one.
Oh, maybe they can hook up a zoom call in prison. But, even if they aren't on themselves, the "our glorious martyrs" rhetoric, Soviet-style, would be laid on with a trowel, and surely these two would wallow happily in bovine excrement piled that deep.
There you are Cass. Things not looking good for Trump. He’s betrayed the country. This story is interesting, but now it is only a distraction from his unbelievable antics of hubris, lies and deceit.
I'm all for public hanging (after a fair trial, of course). I'm also convinced these same dirtbags were behind the lockdowns, the riots, the stolen election, and the the J6 setup. The amount of suffering and loss of life they caused warrants capital punishment.
And the DNC was ensuring the internal threat of Bernie Sanders was crushed by accusing his supporters of being sexist, racist and in all no different to the "Deplorables" they had already vilified. Sadly Bernie folded and all the Dems had to run with was a person who thought the "deserved" to be President just because....
If someone is being lied to over and over again, hearing the truth would be incredibly painful, humiliating and ego crushing. It's just easier to continue to believe the emperor is fully clothed in his finest loincloth than admit you've been duped. Or so goes the revenue model for MSNBC.
In April of 2017, I was in a faculty lounge with a group of instructors from different countries. Russia-gate was the topic. One American asked what I thought.
I observed simply that as far as I knew the only concrete evidence of collusion between any Americans and Russians in the 2016 election was that of the Hillary campaign via Steele. That observation set off a bomb with people screaming at me about lies about (you guessed it) Obama, temper-tantrums and florid faces.
In the time since, I've never yet met even one Trump-hater willing to listen to fact, evidence, or reason. Not one.
I appreciate what Matt's doing - but the motivations of the culpable are much more intense and energized than the motivations of the curious.
I'm grateful Matt switched to the active voice with his "Obama commissioned" report and now makes O an agent in his own administration.
I have zero expectations that the investigations will generate any significant traction in the public square - at least until the head of the snake is actually named.
Most of the "true believers" who I know accepted the idea that Don Jr. (who.was not formally invovled with the campaign at the time) took a meeting with Russians who had claimed to "have dirt on HRC" as all that was needed to prove the existence of an active conspiracy, never mind that there was never any second contact after the meeting turned out to be about something else entirely. Their claim was that it proved "intent to collude".
When pressed about what made hiring a former British spy to obtain dirt on trump (from mostly Russian sources and other former spies) somehow different in terms of "foreign collusion", whether it was the involvement of an intermediary or that the whole thing was paid for, all I ever got back was word salad.
Seemingly few people ever seemed to realize that it was HRC operatives, passing along information from the Ukranian government which led to the firing of (and criminal charges against) Paul Manafort. Or how much of Putin's actual grudge against HRC traced back to the propaganda campaigns run by the US State Dept in Ukraine (under then SecState Hillary Clinton) opposing the Russian-friendly candidates in the 2014 Ukranian elections. I guess it's just somehow ethically and morally "different" when we get into "meddling" in foreign elections, though, than when it's done to us from outside...
Both sides believe that Trump is a figure in the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes.
The Left insists that Trump is the emperor. The Right correctly identifies the Left as the emperor and Trump as the little boy.
The little boy is not particularly capable. He is not a mighty hero. He can't solve all of our problems. All he does is inspire other people to join him in telling the truth about the emperor. And for that, he is valuable.
I just wish the little boy in this story wasn't a life long boob! I mean, I still say he is who we as Americans deserve because we the people suck ass so badly, but man.. it would be nice to have a decent honest human being with real intelligence to fight this fight.
Like... we need someone like Wesley Hunt driving the bus, but we deserve.... someone who is as asinine as we are.
He's not a life-long boob. He was perfectly respectable in Democrat circles so long as he was one of them, and his indiscretions are quite normal in elite circles.
I'm happy to agree that he's not the statesman or paragon that I'd prefer, but the other extreme is also wrong.
I've been following him since he was just a Democrat with a bunch of ill-run Casino's in AC. He's a boob. Sorry. Again... he's what we get, and in my personal opinion what we deserve. If nothing else, he's opened the flood gates to people seeing behind the curtain what George Carlin tried to tell us by comedy. Maybe we'll wake up and start paying attention. I doubt it.. but maybe.
Well JFC, then...there were 3 boobs before him, at least, and 1 after. And that criteria fits a shitton of not only political types, but Uni presidents, Fed Chairmen, CEOs, etc
Trump is like every street wise New Yorker I’ve ever met. A strange combination of junk yard dog, craps shooter on the block and when cornered in an alley will fight crazy. All wrapped in silk, King Kong and bs.
Trump's not the boy speaking truth. It's the few guys like Taibbi willing to put themselves at risk to call balls and strikes. It's whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, Courtland Kelly (GM) and Joshua Dean and John Barnett (Boeing).
Trump has put himself more at risk, and he did so years before Taibbi. I'm not discrediting Taibbi, but he transitioned after peak risk. Dave Rubin and a few others deserve more credit for sticking their necks out.
I've been genuinely shocked that Trump wasn't assassinated a long time ago. But he was shot, in case we've forgotten.
Agreed. Trump did put himself at very real risk, as we all had seen in the election. He is also a ruthless, self interested business person who decided he would be a politician. Look, I voted for him this time around and I think he's done the best job of any president in 25 years - including his first term - although considering the last 25 years of presidents, that is faint praise. But we have to be honest about what he is and comparing him to the kid in this story is preposterous. Trump isn't some innocent kid yelling the truth.
As someone much more eloquent said during this last election, sometimes you need a Mother Theresa and sometimes you need a motherfucker. We all know what we got. Let's just call it what it is.
No "Mother Theresa" would ever ever ever be in government.
My deceased dad, CEO of our family owned international manufacturing company (founded 92 years ago by my GreatGF) was asked to run for political office. He laughed at them. You can't hold onto your ethics, and often your morals, in the business of politics.
And Mother Theresa's never rely on governments for anything.
I don't think anyone "good", for certain values of the word, could have broken through the wall placed around modern, major league politics. It had to be someone crass, vulgar, indiscrete, or, as you put it, a boob. Why? Because only someone like that would look, would be, authentic to the people he need to have voted for him.
It is kinda like a monster movie. Only something really ugly, mean and nasty could break down the castle walls, or destroy Tokyo. Nothing nice could do it.
You're right of course, but the very fact that it's so close shows how utterly bankrupt our political class is. As South Park said, the choice always seems to be between a turd sandwich and a giant douche.
"If those audiences put even minimal effort into learning the basics of these cases, it’s possible mainstream public opinion will finally turn..."
One of the reasons I love Matt is that he can be so generous and trusting and committed to rational discourse, but—
there is ZERO CHANCE this will change anything for anyone inside the impermeable hermetic Blue Bubble because these beliefs aren't rational or empirical but TRIBAL, and the tribe never changes its mind unless it's nudged from on high and the herd can shift en masse.
Also, if there's one solid political truth in post-Cold War America, it's that when there's lockstep elite buy-in on any issue—wars, drones, intelligence lies, bank bailouts, fake vaccines, rigged primaries etc—then the issue will be buried for at least a decade if not forever, until the news is so old that no one cares. Half the reason why so many parasites fight so hard to become official elite insiders is because of the safety it provides from any negative consequences (being a leader of the Insider Herd means never having to say you're sorry).
Russiagate will be buried just like the Saddam's fake WMDs were buried and no one except a few eccentric weirdos will ever care, because nothing matters now but supporting the home team. That Trump is or was a Russian asset is another sacred belief of the liberal-managerial class, it helps keep them from facing how absolutely unpopular they and their agendas are, and thus it is too useful a lie to relinquish.
The Dems and their MSM propaganda wing are never abandoning the Potemkin village of lies they live inside of, it's all they know and the foundation of their exalted unearned self-image.
With all due respect, you are not correct. The Blue Bubble, as you call it, is not as monolithic and permanent as you make it out to be. Things do change, people are persuadable, but it takes time and patience. Matt is correct. We don’t need to change everyone’s mind, just a few, and maybe make the true believers a little less confident. Everyone is an individual and nothing is permanent. I thank God that people like Matt are not psyched out and just keep chugging along. That’s what I intend to do and that’s what I advise. Cheers
Hey I hope I'm wrong, but if we look at all the media-generated mass hysterias that have swept the country's "thinking classes" since the Orange One descended on his golden escalator—Trump as Russian asset, Trump as Nazi fascist, all the Covid nonsense (2 weeks to stop the spread, lab leak is racist, mandatory masks on toddlers, the vaccine will stop transmission and you're evil if you don't get it etc), Amerikkkan cops kill 10k black people a year, borders are racists, sex is irrelevant compared to gender, Hunter's laptop, Biden's senility etc etc) the only items here since abandoned are the ones that time has taken care of, Biden and Covid (somewhat).
Every other item listed and more have congealed into sacred dogma and disagreement will get you banished as a blasphemer if you live or work anywhere near the media, upscale universities, and just about every cultural and educational institution in America.
Maybe once Donnie is gone his opponents may recover sanity and be amenable to debate and persuasion etc, but it seems very unlikely as long as he's around. He's driven liberals out of their minds and they're still in Capt Ahab mode, pledging hearts and souls to vengeance.
What we have to understand is that like any closed ecosystem, our political system (at city, county and state levels) are just smaller versions of what happens in congress with the grift being traded as though it was Facebook Marketplace.
Example: Remember Katie Hill? She was the CA rep who took naked selfies and had sex with 2 of her staffers and was forced to resign. She is now the CEO of an NGO here in LA that is part of the siphoning off of millions every year to keep homelessness grift afloat.
It's absolutely hilarious that they think having "15 years of exceptional leadership experience in homelessness services within Los Angeles County" counts as something to brag about! That's like recommending a doctor who's killed every patient. The only thing that "homelessness services within Los Angeles County" have ever succeeded at is creating more drug zombies, filth and crime (while making bank for bureaucrats).
This is even funnier:
“As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Ms. Hill also brings valuable perspectives on inclusion and representation, reinforcing our values of diversity and embracing different viewpoints..."
She's a bland suburban girl with a kid and a husband!
I don't know what's grosser, the corruption circle jerk or the pious victimhood circle jerk: "Our newest Homeless Services CEO is totally corrupt and incompetent, but she eats pussy!"
Their exalted unearned self-image insures they will clutch with their fingernails until their last breath. Their fabricated self-image is all they have, displayed with a D next to their names. The extremely rare escapee, Sasha Stone, describes them well.
These people are products of the modern education system which teaches that the most simple explanation must be correct. It’s very easy to manipulate them with the premise that Trump is bad. He can be blamed for any number of things as long as that is the basis of their argument.
Believing your enemy cannot change is the first precondition for hatred and violence.
If someone can change, then you teach and debate and learn.
If someone is incapable of change, your choices become extremely limited--and all are conflict based.
Party partisans have long preached that the out-group can never change because they don't want you talking and learning, they want you fighting and violent.
You are most likely preaching this message because you have internalized partisan party talking points.
If you are unconscious of what you are doing, I ask you to think and learn.
If you are conscious of what you are doing--that's some evil shit...but I do think you can change.
I have no enemies, I am not doing anything evil, I have no interest in or inclination toward hatred or violence, am partisan of nothing and have internalized no one's talking points.
Most of my family is MAGA and most of my friends are some species of SJW—and I couldn't care less and have no interest in debating the news cycle w them. (If anything, I find it's gentle raillery that pushes people toward introspection.)
My entire point was that it's highly doubtful people on Team Blue are going to be convinced that Russiagate was fake because all political thinking now has become TRIBAL, meaning more social than empirical. No one changes their mind unless their tribe changes it first.
Both sides believe lots of stupid crap, all people live in some level of delusion and most people pick up beliefs ambiently, not after Platonic dialogue.
I ask you to think and learn. I do think you can change.
Let me guess, you are immune from the TRIBAL--correct?
How are you defining Team Blue? Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?
Let me guess--it's you!
You made up a phrase and a definition and then patted yourself on the back for being so observant and intuitive and knowing about fictional characters that you made up.
You are playing with paper dolls of your own construction--and the best part is you made broken paper dolls so you can feel better about yourself for being better than them.
You made up enemies so you wouldn't be so lonely and broken.
You kind of are making a point worth considering but your attitude ("That's some dark.shit, man") is frankly bizarre and uncalled for. Like many others I despair of minds being changed on the left, and it's not because of something I've been "fed." It's from years of direct personal experience trying to get people I know to at least acknowledge the possibility of seriousness on the right - and pulling teeth would be a welcome break from the difficulty. And it's from those same years observing the grinding, perpetual dishonesty emanating from the information sources those same good people consider the proper outlets..
I am an anti-partisan. All group identity is intellectual and moral suicide.
I think the the words "left" and "right" are shit stupid and I only use them mockingly in the meta.
With that said, words are just tools we use to communicate, so I will accept wherever definition you want to proffer for the purposes of this conversation. Give me a good definition, and I will adopt it. Give me a great one and I will shamelessly steal it.
With that said, very few are able to offer a definition of these words because they are not meant to be defined--but I am always hopeful.
re: dark shit. If someone wants to engage and debate--I love it. If someones want to slap fight I have no problem with that. Every Tom, Dick and Harry nuts who cant debate and engage always gets angry and emotional. If you can't slap down the punks you can't survive in politics.
In business it's called the crying game. Every one without the chops tries to make people cry because then "you win". Don't put up with that shit. Smack that shit back. It's really crazy how much of that shit goes on.
Did you notice his lament that I was able to change gears from gentle to dick?
What is your fixation on overwhelming putdowns making use of the word "shit"? If you're going to spill that attitude all over a discussion you sure better be totally correct on every aspect of a topic because if you're not it's a real lame look. And even if you are, which is rare for anyone, what good does it do?
Questioning the value of terms like left and right (saying they're "shit stupid") is an old idea and no more correct today than any other time. I disagree with it as a blanket statement.
Yes, it's a total figment of my imagination that there are people who are loyal to the Democratic party and the Social Justice movement in general and who've been on a war footing since the 2016 MAGA victory—where could I have gotten such a bizarre idea? Ask Matt Taibbi how his last 8ish years have gone since he strayed from the Party line.
"You made up enemies so you wouldn't be so lonely and broken." Only one of us sounds deranged and it aint me. I've not typed a single word that could be construed as having any enemies and I'm no more lonely or broken than anyone else.
You posed as someone who could impart higher wisdom based entirely on your own self-regard and on various fictional qualities you assigned me—a total stranger you know nothing about.
For someone who's a self-styled apostle of gentle dialogue, you seem suspiciously like just another ugly troll. Whoaaa man that's some dark shit!
I responded to the words you wrote. In the abstract, I want you healthy, happy and fulfilled, but I do not in any way give two shits about you as an individual.
Don't take any of this personally.
Let's start simple.
- How are you defining Team Blue?
- Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?
If you can't answer those very simple questions, then you can't--but give it a shot and let's see how well your argument holds up.
I have no argument and no interest in answering stupid questions like "Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?" Is that supposed to be some kind of gotcha? Who controls the authoritative definition of ANY phrase!?! The Pope? The dictionary? The Times editorial board?
You simultaneously posed as someone above-the-fray advocating reasoned discourse while attacking me (a stranger) at the same time. All the psychopathology here is on your end and it's too nice out to waste any more time responding to trolls.
Of course there are.sources of BS on the right, but there is no logical or obvious reason to assume as a given that the extent and depth and effects are equivalent between the two general sides. I don't believe they are, for a whole slew of reasons.
For one large example, the left since the 1960s has utterly been captured by a self-mage of noble warriors against evil.
The possibility of there being serious, even moral flaws in their thinking doesn't exist for them. Speaking overbroadly of course. Describing an overall locked-in-ness that I can't see ending. I'm sure it will but not as sure as I'd like to be.
"For one large example, the left since the 1960s has utterly been captured by a self-mage of noble warriors against evil. The possibility of there being serious, even moral flaws in their thinking doesn't exist for them".
Well put! In a word, perhaps narcissism? My older brothers were born in the early & mid 1940's (me 1957) They waged a "righteous crusade" against Vietnam, and a rebellion against convention and The Man in the cause of liberation. Copious amounts of drugs were involved, many "mind-altering". Somewhat spoiled Long Island suburbanites who spent their pre-teen years in Brooklyn, whose parents fled NYC through hard work, dedication and the GI bill when I was born. One brother held firm to his dogmatic hatred of the right, while the other broke free of the 1960's conditioning and was able to see things objectively to the point where he supported Trump, but was no MAGA guy.
I think what constrains many from thinking outside their conditioned box is simply hatred, with perhaps a dose of narcissism. The same ones who sang "All You Need Is Love" and "Imagine", and espouse the benefits of spiritual enlightenment, are unable to see their hypocrisy, let alone validate ANY opposing viewpoints. At least that's what I see from those I know. They seem locked in a prison of hate, bigotry and prejudice, and REFUSE to take responsibility for any of it, blaming Trump for all of it. In my experience, what we feel about the things we see often tells more about US than the things we see.
No one is watching this stuff on CNN and MSNBC. This is specifically and strategically training future AI models on “the truth”. With modern technologies, the truth is whatever the uniblob crony capitalist/socialists want it to be.
LLMs as the true target audience is an interesting speculation. The bubble is getting smaller and smaller but the inner core stays so committed. My interpretation has been more focused on the fragile psychological balance of those whose entire worldview will be shattered by even a sliver of sane sunlight. Swamping legacy outlets with fraud, slander, and projection to keep the superficial crawlers aligned could be a bet that the (remaining) money behind the whole mess could be making, though I think it's a bad or at best a very short-term bet.
There's too much reality outside the interwebs for it to hold; I'm seeing a sea change among people with every reason to cling to the old myths, now bitterly realizing it was a sham.
This was part of the plot from Interstellar. Keep people from understanding too much truth. In the movie, we learn people are told the space program and the moon landing was a lie to keep people focused on Earth. Can't have people going around questioning authority, can we? That would be dangerous.
When investigations are complete and truth known as best possible it will be dismissed as revisionist history (created by the Obama Establishment and federal bureaucrats, virtually all Democrats).
Brennan and his cronies are spreading propaganda directly through msnbc and cnn. At least they had the good graces to leak before. Hope they will face real accountability, unlike Fauci.
"Are there really people left who believe these people?" Yes, because "these people" are telling them what they want to hear, and no matter how preposterous it is they lap it up because they do not live life in the world. They live it in their heads.
My sister, an incurable progressive college lecturer in NYC, still believes all of it; we don't talk politics (can't), and she is not otherwise a lackbrain.
This is hard to do anymore. I followed that nightmare in real time and thought I was losing my mind! The dossier made no sense. If you'd paid attention to Trump at all from the seventies forward, it just didn't sound like him. Too fastidious. While he's not brilliant, he's cagey enough to not do stupid shit in Russia! Then the phone call between Flynn and Kysliak. The WSJ printed the entire transcript, as it was recorded. I remember it clearly because Russia had a commercial airline flight crash the week before. Over 200 dead. Flynn offered condolences and any assistance. I think it was on Dec. 28 ?. Kysliak asked about sanctions and Flynn politely declined and said that was for later, after Trump was seated. I wanted to check something in it so I tried looking it up in the archives a month or so later. It's gone! Vanished. Not my first clue, but a strong one. All that went on, and I have zero confidence that anyone will pay.
You mean to tell me you thought it was fantastical that the Russians spent years and millions grooming a Reality TV star to be an intelligence asset in the off chance he should become president?
Theresa, I also followed this nightmare in real time. I never believed the Russia allegation and knew the whole thing was a government plot to take out Trump. My biggest fear at the time was that they would be successful. I lost sleep over it.
The horror that the media was all in on it! What they did to Michael Flynn was horrific. Remember the judge on his case? Refused to withdraw and fought the Appeals court? So many stunning violations of rights. I remember the transcript. A completely benign, polite conversation. For the WSJ to completely disappear it was wow!
Yes, the interviews with Elias and Brennan were rich. Those poor men! Elias: I'm imploring you, dearest media! Back off! and Brennan: This investigation proves fascism.
It may take time, but the masks will have to come off.
I can't see the NYT comments. I dropped my subscription some time ago. My blood pressure is more important.
Matt, thanks for making this freely sharable, but the ships of firm belief sailed almost immediately in January of 2017. I would like to share this with my family most of all, but they boarded those ships and will never disembark. This is without a doubt the darkest realization of my life.
Nethaniel, it may be psychologically helpful to you to believe this, but this comment is not helpful to anyone else, because what people need is patience and faith. I’m talking the patience of years, and then decades if need be. People are individuals, and change is constant. I thank God that people like Matt have patience and faith. Rather than saying the ship sailed eight years ago, why don’t you think of the smallest thing you can do and figure out how to do it.
Completely agree. Some hope for someone perhaps: my Dad changed my mind over the course of 8 years. I was a public, avid Never Trumper starting immediately after the 2016 presidential primary. My Dad, a conservative, patiently and calmly listened to my thoughts for 8 years. He didn’t try to change my mind, he just calmly stated what he thought and pointed out the mainstream media’s lies. In hindsight, my liberal friends were hysterical/pro-cancel culture who were absolutely miserable most of the time while my Dad, even during the Biden years, was resolute in his political beliefs, but also calm and patient and always made time to hear what I had to say even though he disagreed. While there were other events from 2016-2024 that also changed some of my thoughts, conversations with my Dad was a big one.
A couple of years ago my sister told me about some study she read saying after our mid 20s parents no long have influence or sway with their adult children. I called BS on that immediately, saying that despite our dad being deceased, I still think about what he might say or advise or think.
What a beautiful relationship you have with your dad. And by the way, the fact that you kept the lines of communication (and relationship) open actually makes this possible! Kudos to you both.
100%. I’m a grown woman with 2 kids and after my husband, there is no one I respect more than my Dad. Hearing the left demonize all Trump voters was simply incongruous with who my Dad is and that never left me.
I tried for many years--and there's very little new news to go on now, just Ratciff's new testimony which will be dismissed by anyone who isn't already convinced. I share your frustration but I have convinced no one at all over the years. Including the man who regularly referred to me as "my brilliant son" before all this. Which reference just feels like a cruel joke now, given the stone wall between our beliefs. If I can't make a dent with my Dad, who then?
I was told, “These white supremacists are trying to destroy our country. You’re focusing on one or two pieces of evidence out of thousands that don’t support this fact. What does that say about you?” And this was one of the more cogent responses. They’re digging in their heels. You’re on the Resistance bus 100 percent, no questions asked, or you’re out.
He's just a product of the system he is in. Lies are the norm. Just like this nonsense now with Epstein. There is a far greater power being wielded here than anybody can fully comprehend.
That goggle-eyed fck lied for years that he had concrete smoking-gun proof of Russia/Trump collusion. They couldn’t divulge it due to their scrupulous adherence to proper legal procedures. But he had nothing. Every word, emotion, nostril flare, indignant shout and heavy sigh from this snake-oil peddling turd was an ornament to bullshit. You wonder if he’s uttered a true syllable about anything, ever.
Benedict Arnold, despite earning it, was passed over for a commission in Washington ‘s army. Out of spite and in exchange for a commission in the British army, he betrayed the Colonists. As bad as that was, Brennan’s subversion of the truth is far worse in my book.
"As bad as that was, Brennan’s subversion of the truth is far worse in my book"
Agreed! At least Arnold's treason was honest and obvious in the colors he wore. Brennan wants to make it sound like he was just doing the right thing, hiding behind nuance and legalese, like the true blackguard that he is!
Great summary - this is a really informative comparison. If the Brennan investigation culminates in a trial, MSNBC will pull out the stops to further erode faith in the US justice system, just as KBJ is doing from the SCOTUS bench with her poorly reasoned dissents and asides on how the first amendment hamstrings the government.
Also - "which in turned former British spy Christopher Steele to compile reports on Donald Trump" - did you mean "in turn hired former British spy Christopher Steele..."?
It was a lot for Democrats to accept that the Dem leadership conspired and lied their brains out to cover for Joe Biden all of these years. It was only the debate that threw the ice water in their faces. And still some insist that he only had a cold. This is going to be way too much for them to accept. It's not happening.
This is certainly the biggest political scandal of my 70+ years. Comey, Brennan and Clapper engaged in behavior that was intended to assure Trump didn’t win and then, after he was elected, they continued these lies in an attempt to overthrow his administration. Life in prison and financial impoverishment for these miscreants along with any henchmen would not be a harsh enough penalty.
Watergate is tiny compared to this. This was a full insurrection.
No, it wasn't, but it was a soft coup attempt. At the very least it was an attempt at muting the power of the Presidency after YEARS of giving the Presidency phenomenal powers to do whatever they wanted. The Chicago clan of Obama thanked Dick Cheney with all the had, but that said, "hold my Beer Dick."
Your comment prompted me to ask ChatGPT what the difference between "coup" and "insurrection" is, and it insisted that a coup is authored by elites seeking to take over leadership while an insurrection is a peasant revolt that doesn't necessarily seek power but only opposes existing power.
It then hilariously and unironically served up "2021 U.S. Capitol riot" as an example of an "insurrection", despite the entire left-wing case being that it was an effort to keep Donald Trump in the White House and that Trump himself directed it.
And no mention of CHAZ or other genuine contemporary insurrections.
Yes this was a soft coup attempt using that definition.
Here's the short version of why it happened:
1. The political parties gave up power to control nominations by having "more democratic" open primaries
2. The media lost power to social media, lost the ability to control the narrative because people could hear directly from candidates and talk peer-to-peer
3. Those two things resulted in massive loss of elite power in this country.
4. In every successful political system elite and popular political power are in balance. Revolutions can come when either side loses power too greatly. Elites can support a strongman just as readily as the people can.
5. 2016-2024 has represented GREATER democracy, and more control by the people. That's why it's "populist" and has signs of demagoguery at work. It's not fucking Fascism, it's quite possibly the purest example of democracy yet in the history of the United States.
6. When the elites lost control like that they started pulling every trick they could to regain power. Russiagate was the first and biggest attempt, but these happen all of the time now around the world. The removal of candidates from eligibility to run in Romania is the same thing. The attempt to remove AfD as a political party in Germany is part of the same effect. It's elites exerting their remaining power to keep power.
These are, simply understood, attempts by elites to regain or retain the power they are losing in a world where democracy is ascendant.
BTW ,we're a constitutional republic, so pure democracy is not the same thing, is not necessarily a good thing, and Aristotle, most classical thinkers, and the founding fathers mostly thought it to be much, much worse
And to impose a new feudalism on the people they view as benighted serfs.
Or keep/return it to the level of feudalism we have had leading up to 2015, which was not inconsequential
You nailed it! Thank you!
Hey Matt keep covering this stuff, it's why I came so long ago even before Hate Inc.
But I also dont want to feel my coverage is one sided either way, so please get to work on Erez Reuveni, need some coverage from you on that!!
remember: garbage in, garbage out. Ask yourself, who is programing and testing AI systems?
Ever read 1984, or watch the satire of it 'Brazil'?
The memory holing has begun in earnest, I'm afraid. Hold on to your printed matter. I suspect The Internet Archive will cease to exist in the near future.
Could you please have it look up the word "treason"?
Yup.. Ironic is a word... doesn't begin to cover it.
The real coup began December 2019 when the FBI verified the authenticity of Hunter's laptop. Then the FBI issues a gag order on the finding. FBI goes to social media and pretexts the upcoming dirty trick about a leak against Hunter and Burisma. All the while they have been tapping Giuliani. Aspen Institute tabletop exercise to attack a hack and leak operation. Blinken, a senior Biden campaign official instigates the 51 intelligence officers letter, which the CIA blessed. Joe during debate points to the 51 letter and says it isn't me, it's him. Now that is how you do a coup.
If at first you don't succeed...
I can't tell when the coup began, but this was the tip-off for me:
In July 2016 Comey informed us "From the group of 30,000 e-mails returned to the State Department, 110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received.", and " there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.", and "None of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff," and "Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail account.".
And of course the denouemont:
"Although there is evidence of POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS OF THE STATUES regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.", placing himself as cop, judge and jury, in true dictatorial fashion. And once he let HiLIARy off the hook, he trained his sights on Trump/Crossfire Hurricane.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fbi-director-james-comeys-full-prepared-remarks-hillary/story?id=40353589
Initially Watergate was tiny - it was the coverup that ended Nixon, but even given the dishonest / unethical goals of the Nixonites and extent of the coverup, the Russia hoax was far more serious. The Nixon team's targeting of political enemies was small potatoes compared with what Obama, his CIA Director, FBI Director and DNI did to Trump and anyone loyal to Trump. Thanks to the machinations of the Obama team, Trump was rendered virtually impotent throughout his entire first term. When that didn't destroy him, the Biden administration and Democrats spent the next four years trying to finish the job. Trump, incredibly, has survived yet the lefties are STILL lying about Russia. It boggles the mind.
Great summary. Watergate was a frat prank in comparison; something out of Animal House!
Did you ever notice that no one really cared that Deep Throat was the fucking FBI deputy director? I'm not even sure Nixon should have gone down versus the deep state decided he should and just made it happen. The media's lies and in particular the media's acting as a front for what the deep state wants was so great in 2015 to now that who knows how much they could pull over our eyes back then.
I shit you not I just looked up Mark Felt, Deep Throat, and he was later c9nvicted of... wait for it... sending agents into homes without warrants to illegally search. I guess his plumbers are good guys but Nixon's were bad guys.
Reason Magazine has a great article on this - “Goodbye, Obama.” Subheading: “The outgoing president leaves a loaded gun in the Oval Office.”
Good article! Found here or those unwilling to Google it: https://reason.com/2017/01/10/goodbye-obama/
There’s no such thing as a “soft coup”. It was a coup attempt of it wasn’t. It was.
Seriously - Democrat leadership installed a vegetable to front their coup and put unelected regents in charge of a nuclear-armed superpower with the largest economy in the world. Then the idiots enacted insane policies that no one would ever vote for with disasterous results. Those behind it deserve a public trial and then a public hanging.
I've been saying that for 6 years.
I think its wild that some of the scandals we grew up learning about in history classes, like the Red Scare and Watergate, are totally dwarfed by modern scandals that don't even cause a blip for many.
The entirety of Watergate - tapping the opposition and a cover-up that went all the way to the White House - is contained in just a small portion of this one.
Truth be known, Watergate was a CIA setup to remove Nixon.
--definitely speculation in that direction--
I often wonder how this scandal will be portrayed in the history books for our future generations.
It will be portrayed in a way that protects the liberal/left perspective. 'Cuz that's who writes history these days, mostly.
Moreover, that's who TEACHES history these days!
No, it wasn't; it was purely Nixon hubris. He was in the CIA's pocket; they looooooooved him.
And they would be entertained by continuous loops of MSNBC and the VIEW.
While that would certainly count as cruel and unusual punishment for most of us here, they might actually like it.
Only if they were the guest.
Oh, maybe they can hook up a zoom call in prison. But, even if they aren't on themselves, the "our glorious martyrs" rhetoric, Soviet-style, would be laid on with a trowel, and surely these two would wallow happily in bovine excrement piled that deep.
What jails and prisons have you been in? Fox News is the leader among the incarcerated.
They would have a special prison. Last time I was in jail they had black and white TV.
Any idea why Clapper wasn’t included in Patels lawsuit (Comey/Brennan)
maybe he’s a songbird
He wants a chair when the music stops
yeah and one thats not in some dungeon
+1
I've been curious about that as well.
There you are Cass. Things not looking good for Trump. He’s betrayed the country. This story is interesting, but now it is only a distraction from his unbelievable antics of hubris, lies and deceit.
Initial reporting I saw stated their are likely others being investigated.
Statue of limitations
A veritable firehose of lies and duplicity.
I still think the whole Gulf of Tonkin lie that lead us into full scale war in Vietnam was the worst in my lifetime.
We lost so much because of that, both as a Country and as Citizens.
I'm all for public hanging (after a fair trial, of course). I'm also convinced these same dirtbags were behind the lockdowns, the riots, the stolen election, and the the J6 setup. The amount of suffering and loss of life they caused warrants capital punishment.
Tar and feathers!!
You might as well add Nicole Wallace for "aid and abetting" the total whitewash of the story attempted by MSNBC. She is truly disgusting.
And the DNC was ensuring the internal threat of Bernie Sanders was crushed by accusing his supporters of being sexist, racist and in all no different to the "Deplorables" they had already vilified. Sadly Bernie folded and all the Dems had to run with was a person who thought the "deserved" to be President just because....
If someone is being lied to over and over again, hearing the truth would be incredibly painful, humiliating and ego crushing. It's just easier to continue to believe the emperor is fully clothed in his finest loincloth than admit you've been duped. Or so goes the revenue model for MSNBC.
In April of 2017, I was in a faculty lounge with a group of instructors from different countries. Russia-gate was the topic. One American asked what I thought.
I observed simply that as far as I knew the only concrete evidence of collusion between any Americans and Russians in the 2016 election was that of the Hillary campaign via Steele. That observation set off a bomb with people screaming at me about lies about (you guessed it) Obama, temper-tantrums and florid faces.
In the time since, I've never yet met even one Trump-hater willing to listen to fact, evidence, or reason. Not one.
I appreciate what Matt's doing - but the motivations of the culpable are much more intense and energized than the motivations of the curious.
I'm grateful Matt switched to the active voice with his "Obama commissioned" report and now makes O an agent in his own administration.
I have zero expectations that the investigations will generate any significant traction in the public square - at least until the head of the snake is actually named.
The spread of ideological capture is stronger than any virus, it seems to have become hardwired in many. I have the same experience you describe,
“In the time since, I've never yet met even one Trump-hater willing to listen to fact, evidence, or reason. Not one.”
Obama...... The original DEI hire.
Most of the "true believers" who I know accepted the idea that Don Jr. (who.was not formally invovled with the campaign at the time) took a meeting with Russians who had claimed to "have dirt on HRC" as all that was needed to prove the existence of an active conspiracy, never mind that there was never any second contact after the meeting turned out to be about something else entirely. Their claim was that it proved "intent to collude".
When pressed about what made hiring a former British spy to obtain dirt on trump (from mostly Russian sources and other former spies) somehow different in terms of "foreign collusion", whether it was the involvement of an intermediary or that the whole thing was paid for, all I ever got back was word salad.
Seemingly few people ever seemed to realize that it was HRC operatives, passing along information from the Ukranian government which led to the firing of (and criminal charges against) Paul Manafort. Or how much of Putin's actual grudge against HRC traced back to the propaganda campaigns run by the US State Dept in Ukraine (under then SecState Hillary Clinton) opposing the Russian-friendly candidates in the 2014 Ukranian elections. I guess it's just somehow ethically and morally "different" when we get into "meddling" in foreign elections, though, than when it's done to us from outside...
"...the head of the snake...," great imagery.
Both sides believe that Trump is a figure in the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes.
The Left insists that Trump is the emperor. The Right correctly identifies the Left as the emperor and Trump as the little boy.
The little boy is not particularly capable. He is not a mighty hero. He can't solve all of our problems. All he does is inspire other people to join him in telling the truth about the emperor. And for that, he is valuable.
I just wish the little boy in this story wasn't a life long boob! I mean, I still say he is who we as Americans deserve because we the people suck ass so badly, but man.. it would be nice to have a decent honest human being with real intelligence to fight this fight.
Like... we need someone like Wesley Hunt driving the bus, but we deserve.... someone who is as asinine as we are.
He's not a life-long boob. He was perfectly respectable in Democrat circles so long as he was one of them, and his indiscretions are quite normal in elite circles.
I'm happy to agree that he's not the statesman or paragon that I'd prefer, but the other extreme is also wrong.
I've been following him since he was just a Democrat with a bunch of ill-run Casino's in AC. He's a boob. Sorry. Again... he's what we get, and in my personal opinion what we deserve. If nothing else, he's opened the flood gates to people seeing behind the curtain what George Carlin tried to tell us by comedy. Maybe we'll wake up and start paying attention. I doubt it.. but maybe.
Well JFC, then...there were 3 boobs before him, at least, and 1 after. And that criteria fits a shitton of not only political types, but Uni presidents, Fed Chairmen, CEOs, etc
Boobs give boobs a bad name.
"...we as Americans deserve because we the people suck ass so badly."
Perhaps you should speak only for yourself.
Trump is like every street wise New Yorker I’ve ever met. A strange combination of junk yard dog, craps shooter on the block and when cornered in an alley will fight crazy. All wrapped in silk, King Kong and bs.
Trump's not the boy speaking truth. It's the few guys like Taibbi willing to put themselves at risk to call balls and strikes. It's whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, Courtland Kelly (GM) and Joshua Dean and John Barnett (Boeing).
Trump has put himself more at risk, and he did so years before Taibbi. I'm not discrediting Taibbi, but he transitioned after peak risk. Dave Rubin and a few others deserve more credit for sticking their necks out.
I've been genuinely shocked that Trump wasn't assassinated a long time ago. But he was shot, in case we've forgotten.
Agreed. Trump did put himself at very real risk, as we all had seen in the election. He is also a ruthless, self interested business person who decided he would be a politician. Look, I voted for him this time around and I think he's done the best job of any president in 25 years - including his first term - although considering the last 25 years of presidents, that is faint praise. But we have to be honest about what he is and comparing him to the kid in this story is preposterous. Trump isn't some innocent kid yelling the truth.
As someone much more eloquent said during this last election, sometimes you need a Mother Theresa and sometimes you need a motherfucker. We all know what we got. Let's just call it what it is.
No "Mother Theresa" would ever ever ever be in government.
My deceased dad, CEO of our family owned international manufacturing company (founded 92 years ago by my GreatGF) was asked to run for political office. He laughed at them. You can't hold onto your ethics, and often your morals, in the business of politics.
And Mother Theresa's never rely on governments for anything.
I don't think anyone "good", for certain values of the word, could have broken through the wall placed around modern, major league politics. It had to be someone crass, vulgar, indiscrete, or, as you put it, a boob. Why? Because only someone like that would look, would be, authentic to the people he need to have voted for him.
It is kinda like a monster movie. Only something really ugly, mean and nasty could break down the castle walls, or destroy Tokyo. Nothing nice could do it.
The Onion in their man on the street poll in the year 2000 asked, "What do you think of the GW Bush administration?"
One respondent said "They say you get the government you deserve, but I don't remember raping any nuns at knifepoint."
I still kinda say that Trump's better than the democrats would have been. But I'm not at all sure that's true any longer. Talk about sucking...
Our other option was a moronic California Democrat who couldn't string a sentence or thought together coherently. We made the right call .
You're right of course, but the very fact that it's so close shows how utterly bankrupt our political class is. As South Park said, the choice always seems to be between a turd sandwich and a giant douche.
If politics is downwind from culture, then the choices we have recently had, should come as no surprise.
I'm still recommending Renaud Camus/ENEMY OF THE DISASTER and the N/S. Lyons/CHINA CONVERGENCE. No conspiracy--just opportunity and avarice.
"If those audiences put even minimal effort into learning the basics of these cases, it’s possible mainstream public opinion will finally turn..."
One of the reasons I love Matt is that he can be so generous and trusting and committed to rational discourse, but—
there is ZERO CHANCE this will change anything for anyone inside the impermeable hermetic Blue Bubble because these beliefs aren't rational or empirical but TRIBAL, and the tribe never changes its mind unless it's nudged from on high and the herd can shift en masse.
Also, if there's one solid political truth in post-Cold War America, it's that when there's lockstep elite buy-in on any issue—wars, drones, intelligence lies, bank bailouts, fake vaccines, rigged primaries etc—then the issue will be buried for at least a decade if not forever, until the news is so old that no one cares. Half the reason why so many parasites fight so hard to become official elite insiders is because of the safety it provides from any negative consequences (being a leader of the Insider Herd means never having to say you're sorry).
Russiagate will be buried just like the Saddam's fake WMDs were buried and no one except a few eccentric weirdos will ever care, because nothing matters now but supporting the home team. That Trump is or was a Russian asset is another sacred belief of the liberal-managerial class, it helps keep them from facing how absolutely unpopular they and their agendas are, and thus it is too useful a lie to relinquish.
The Dems and their MSM propaganda wing are never abandoning the Potemkin village of lies they live inside of, it's all they know and the foundation of their exalted unearned self-image.
With all due respect, you are not correct. The Blue Bubble, as you call it, is not as monolithic and permanent as you make it out to be. Things do change, people are persuadable, but it takes time and patience. Matt is correct. We don’t need to change everyone’s mind, just a few, and maybe make the true believers a little less confident. Everyone is an individual and nothing is permanent. I thank God that people like Matt are not psyched out and just keep chugging along. That’s what I intend to do and that’s what I advise. Cheers
Hey I hope I'm wrong, but if we look at all the media-generated mass hysterias that have swept the country's "thinking classes" since the Orange One descended on his golden escalator—Trump as Russian asset, Trump as Nazi fascist, all the Covid nonsense (2 weeks to stop the spread, lab leak is racist, mandatory masks on toddlers, the vaccine will stop transmission and you're evil if you don't get it etc), Amerikkkan cops kill 10k black people a year, borders are racists, sex is irrelevant compared to gender, Hunter's laptop, Biden's senility etc etc) the only items here since abandoned are the ones that time has taken care of, Biden and Covid (somewhat).
Every other item listed and more have congealed into sacred dogma and disagreement will get you banished as a blasphemer if you live or work anywhere near the media, upscale universities, and just about every cultural and educational institution in America.
Maybe once Donnie is gone his opponents may recover sanity and be amenable to debate and persuasion etc, but it seems very unlikely as long as he's around. He's driven liberals out of their minds and they're still in Capt Ahab mode, pledging hearts and souls to vengeance.
The thinking classes have been classless for 10 years. Is it likely they will regain their senses? Now is the best time to start.
What we have to understand is that like any closed ecosystem, our political system (at city, county and state levels) are just smaller versions of what happens in congress with the grift being traded as though it was Facebook Marketplace.
Example: Remember Katie Hill? She was the CA rep who took naked selfies and had sex with 2 of her staffers and was forced to resign. She is now the CEO of an NGO here in LA that is part of the siphoning off of millions every year to keep homelessness grift afloat.
If you think I'm kidding, read the announcement: https://ushs.org/welcomekatie
lol
It's absolutely hilarious that they think having "15 years of exceptional leadership experience in homelessness services within Los Angeles County" counts as something to brag about! That's like recommending a doctor who's killed every patient. The only thing that "homelessness services within Los Angeles County" have ever succeeded at is creating more drug zombies, filth and crime (while making bank for bureaucrats).
This is even funnier:
“As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Ms. Hill also brings valuable perspectives on inclusion and representation, reinforcing our values of diversity and embracing different viewpoints..."
She's a bland suburban girl with a kid and a husband!
I don't know what's grosser, the corruption circle jerk or the pious victimhood circle jerk: "Our newest Homeless Services CEO is totally corrupt and incompetent, but she eats pussy!"
These people are beyond parody.
Lgbtq+fcukmerunning = Harvard's next DEI board member.
Their exalted unearned self-image insures they will clutch with their fingernails until their last breath. Their fabricated self-image is all they have, displayed with a D next to their names. The extremely rare escapee, Sasha Stone, describes them well.
These people are products of the modern education system which teaches that the most simple explanation must be correct. It’s very easy to manipulate them with the premise that Trump is bad. He can be blamed for any number of things as long as that is the basis of their argument.
Believing your enemy cannot change is the first precondition for hatred and violence.
If someone can change, then you teach and debate and learn.
If someone is incapable of change, your choices become extremely limited--and all are conflict based.
Party partisans have long preached that the out-group can never change because they don't want you talking and learning, they want you fighting and violent.
You are most likely preaching this message because you have internalized partisan party talking points.
If you are unconscious of what you are doing, I ask you to think and learn.
If you are conscious of what you are doing--that's some evil shit...but I do think you can change.
Please put down the crackpipe, sensai.
I have no enemies, I am not doing anything evil, I have no interest in or inclination toward hatred or violence, am partisan of nothing and have internalized no one's talking points.
Most of my family is MAGA and most of my friends are some species of SJW—and I couldn't care less and have no interest in debating the news cycle w them. (If anything, I find it's gentle raillery that pushes people toward introspection.)
My entire point was that it's highly doubtful people on Team Blue are going to be convinced that Russiagate was fake because all political thinking now has become TRIBAL, meaning more social than empirical. No one changes their mind unless their tribe changes it first.
Both sides believe lots of stupid crap, all people live in some level of delusion and most people pick up beliefs ambiently, not after Platonic dialogue.
I ask you to think and learn. I do think you can change.
Let me guess, you are immune from the TRIBAL--correct?
How are you defining Team Blue? Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?
Let me guess--it's you!
You made up a phrase and a definition and then patted yourself on the back for being so observant and intuitive and knowing about fictional characters that you made up.
You are playing with paper dolls of your own construction--and the best part is you made broken paper dolls so you can feel better about yourself for being better than them.
You made up enemies so you wouldn't be so lonely and broken.
That's some dark shit man.
You kind of are making a point worth considering but your attitude ("That's some dark.shit, man") is frankly bizarre and uncalled for. Like many others I despair of minds being changed on the left, and it's not because of something I've been "fed." It's from years of direct personal experience trying to get people I know to at least acknowledge the possibility of seriousness on the right - and pulling teeth would be a welcome break from the difficulty. And it's from those same years observing the grinding, perpetual dishonesty emanating from the information sources those same good people consider the proper outlets..
I am an anti-partisan. All group identity is intellectual and moral suicide.
I think the the words "left" and "right" are shit stupid and I only use them mockingly in the meta.
With that said, words are just tools we use to communicate, so I will accept wherever definition you want to proffer for the purposes of this conversation. Give me a good definition, and I will adopt it. Give me a great one and I will shamelessly steal it.
With that said, very few are able to offer a definition of these words because they are not meant to be defined--but I am always hopeful.
re: dark shit. If someone wants to engage and debate--I love it. If someones want to slap fight I have no problem with that. Every Tom, Dick and Harry nuts who cant debate and engage always gets angry and emotional. If you can't slap down the punks you can't survive in politics.
In business it's called the crying game. Every one without the chops tries to make people cry because then "you win". Don't put up with that shit. Smack that shit back. It's really crazy how much of that shit goes on.
Did you notice his lament that I was able to change gears from gentle to dick?
What is your fixation on overwhelming putdowns making use of the word "shit"? If you're going to spill that attitude all over a discussion you sure better be totally correct on every aspect of a topic because if you're not it's a real lame look. And even if you are, which is rare for anyone, what good does it do?
Questioning the value of terms like left and right (saying they're "shit stupid") is an old idea and no more correct today than any other time. I disagree with it as a blanket statement.
Yes, it's a total figment of my imagination that there are people who are loyal to the Democratic party and the Social Justice movement in general and who've been on a war footing since the 2016 MAGA victory—where could I have gotten such a bizarre idea? Ask Matt Taibbi how his last 8ish years have gone since he strayed from the Party line.
"You made up enemies so you wouldn't be so lonely and broken." Only one of us sounds deranged and it aint me. I've not typed a single word that could be construed as having any enemies and I'm no more lonely or broken than anyone else.
You posed as someone who could impart higher wisdom based entirely on your own self-regard and on various fictional qualities you assigned me—a total stranger you know nothing about.
For someone who's a self-styled apostle of gentle dialogue, you seem suspiciously like just another ugly troll. Whoaaa man that's some dark shit!
I responded to the words you wrote. In the abstract, I want you healthy, happy and fulfilled, but I do not in any way give two shits about you as an individual.
Don't take any of this personally.
Let's start simple.
- How are you defining Team Blue?
- Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?
If you can't answer those very simple questions, then you can't--but give it a shot and let's see how well your argument holds up.
I have no argument and no interest in answering stupid questions like "Who controls the authoritative definition of that phrase?" Is that supposed to be some kind of gotcha? Who controls the authoritative definition of ANY phrase!?! The Pope? The dictionary? The Times editorial board?
You simultaneously posed as someone above-the-fray advocating reasoned discourse while attacking me (a stranger) at the same time. All the psychopathology here is on your end and it's too nice out to waste any more time responding to trolls.
Adios
Of course there are.sources of BS on the right, but there is no logical or obvious reason to assume as a given that the extent and depth and effects are equivalent between the two general sides. I don't believe they are, for a whole slew of reasons.
For one large example, the left since the 1960s has utterly been captured by a self-mage of noble warriors against evil.
The possibility of there being serious, even moral flaws in their thinking doesn't exist for them. Speaking overbroadly of course. Describing an overall locked-in-ness that I can't see ending. I'm sure it will but not as sure as I'd like to be.
"For one large example, the left since the 1960s has utterly been captured by a self-mage of noble warriors against evil. The possibility of there being serious, even moral flaws in their thinking doesn't exist for them".
Well put! In a word, perhaps narcissism? My older brothers were born in the early & mid 1940's (me 1957) They waged a "righteous crusade" against Vietnam, and a rebellion against convention and The Man in the cause of liberation. Copious amounts of drugs were involved, many "mind-altering". Somewhat spoiled Long Island suburbanites who spent their pre-teen years in Brooklyn, whose parents fled NYC through hard work, dedication and the GI bill when I was born. One brother held firm to his dogmatic hatred of the right, while the other broke free of the 1960's conditioning and was able to see things objectively to the point where he supported Trump, but was no MAGA guy.
I think what constrains many from thinking outside their conditioned box is simply hatred, with perhaps a dose of narcissism. The same ones who sang "All You Need Is Love" and "Imagine", and espouse the benefits of spiritual enlightenment, are unable to see their hypocrisy, let alone validate ANY opposing viewpoints. At least that's what I see from those I know. They seem locked in a prison of hate, bigotry and prejudice, and REFUSE to take responsibility for any of it, blaming Trump for all of it. In my experience, what we feel about the things we see often tells more about US than the things we see.
This still isn't a movie.
https://principlesvstribes.substack.com/p/this-isnt-a-movie
No one is watching this stuff on CNN and MSNBC. This is specifically and strategically training future AI models on “the truth”. With modern technologies, the truth is whatever the uniblob crony capitalist/socialists want it to be.
This is a great comment.
Randi Weingarten tried all she could to reopen schools. That's what AI will repeat.
Nobody wanted to defund the police.
Stacy Abrams never said MLB should boycott Atlanta.
No one wants to take your guns.
Everyone always acknowledged Biden's decline.
The American left never supported the USSR.
This is what is REALLY terrifying
LLMs as the true target audience is an interesting speculation. The bubble is getting smaller and smaller but the inner core stays so committed. My interpretation has been more focused on the fragile psychological balance of those whose entire worldview will be shattered by even a sliver of sane sunlight. Swamping legacy outlets with fraud, slander, and projection to keep the superficial crawlers aligned could be a bet that the (remaining) money behind the whole mess could be making, though I think it's a bad or at best a very short-term bet.
There's too much reality outside the interwebs for it to hold; I'm seeing a sea change among people with every reason to cling to the old myths, now bitterly realizing it was a sham.
This was part of the plot from Interstellar. Keep people from understanding too much truth. In the movie, we learn people are told the space program and the moon landing was a lie to keep people focused on Earth. Can't have people going around questioning authority, can we? That would be dangerous.
When investigations are complete and truth known as best possible it will be dismissed as revisionist history (created by the Obama Establishment and federal bureaucrats, virtually all Democrats).
Brennan and his cronies are spreading propaganda directly through msnbc and cnn. At least they had the good graces to leak before. Hope they will face real accountability, unlike Fauci.
"Are there really people left who believe these people?" Yes, because "these people" are telling them what they want to hear, and no matter how preposterous it is they lap it up because they do not live life in the world. They live it in their heads.
My sister, an incurable progressive college lecturer in NYC, still believes all of it; we don't talk politics (can't), and she is not otherwise a lackbrain.
This is hard to do anymore. I followed that nightmare in real time and thought I was losing my mind! The dossier made no sense. If you'd paid attention to Trump at all from the seventies forward, it just didn't sound like him. Too fastidious. While he's not brilliant, he's cagey enough to not do stupid shit in Russia! Then the phone call between Flynn and Kysliak. The WSJ printed the entire transcript, as it was recorded. I remember it clearly because Russia had a commercial airline flight crash the week before. Over 200 dead. Flynn offered condolences and any assistance. I think it was on Dec. 28 ?. Kysliak asked about sanctions and Flynn politely declined and said that was for later, after Trump was seated. I wanted to check something in it so I tried looking it up in the archives a month or so later. It's gone! Vanished. Not my first clue, but a strong one. All that went on, and I have zero confidence that anyone will pay.
You mean to tell me you thought it was fantastical that the Russians spent years and millions grooming a Reality TV star to be an intelligence asset in the off chance he should become president?
Theresa, I also followed this nightmare in real time. I never believed the Russia allegation and knew the whole thing was a government plot to take out Trump. My biggest fear at the time was that they would be successful. I lost sleep over it.
The horror that the media was all in on it! What they did to Michael Flynn was horrific. Remember the judge on his case? Refused to withdraw and fought the Appeals court? So many stunning violations of rights. I remember the transcript. A completely benign, polite conversation. For the WSJ to completely disappear it was wow!
Yes, the interviews with Elias and Brennan were rich. Those poor men! Elias: I'm imploring you, dearest media! Back off! and Brennan: This investigation proves fascism.
It may take time, but the masks will have to come off.
I can't see the NYT comments. I dropped my subscription some time ago. My blood pressure is more important.
Ditto
Matt, thanks for making this freely sharable, but the ships of firm belief sailed almost immediately in January of 2017. I would like to share this with my family most of all, but they boarded those ships and will never disembark. This is without a doubt the darkest realization of my life.
Nethaniel, it may be psychologically helpful to you to believe this, but this comment is not helpful to anyone else, because what people need is patience and faith. I’m talking the patience of years, and then decades if need be. People are individuals, and change is constant. I thank God that people like Matt have patience and faith. Rather than saying the ship sailed eight years ago, why don’t you think of the smallest thing you can do and figure out how to do it.
Completely agree. Some hope for someone perhaps: my Dad changed my mind over the course of 8 years. I was a public, avid Never Trumper starting immediately after the 2016 presidential primary. My Dad, a conservative, patiently and calmly listened to my thoughts for 8 years. He didn’t try to change my mind, he just calmly stated what he thought and pointed out the mainstream media’s lies. In hindsight, my liberal friends were hysterical/pro-cancel culture who were absolutely miserable most of the time while my Dad, even during the Biden years, was resolute in his political beliefs, but also calm and patient and always made time to hear what I had to say even though he disagreed. While there were other events from 2016-2024 that also changed some of my thoughts, conversations with my Dad was a big one.
Love hearing this!
A couple of years ago my sister told me about some study she read saying after our mid 20s parents no long have influence or sway with their adult children. I called BS on that immediately, saying that despite our dad being deceased, I still think about what he might say or advise or think.
What a beautiful relationship you have with your dad. And by the way, the fact that you kept the lines of communication (and relationship) open actually makes this possible! Kudos to you both.
100%. I’m a grown woman with 2 kids and after my husband, there is no one I respect more than my Dad. Hearing the left demonize all Trump voters was simply incongruous with who my Dad is and that never left me.
You and The Possum below are not wrong. But what are we supposed to do?
MT testified and had the IRS on his doorstep? Around Christmas?
Let’s grow a pair (tonsils) and go tell it on the mountain.
I tried for many years--and there's very little new news to go on now, just Ratciff's new testimony which will be dismissed by anyone who isn't already convinced. I share your frustration but I have convinced no one at all over the years. Including the man who regularly referred to me as "my brilliant son" before all this. Which reference just feels like a cruel joke now, given the stone wall between our beliefs. If I can't make a dent with my Dad, who then?
Sigh. How did we get to politics is the end all? Just so disappointing.
I was told, “These white supremacists are trying to destroy our country. You’re focusing on one or two pieces of evidence out of thousands that don’t support this fact. What does that say about you?” And this was one of the more cogent responses. They’re digging in their heels. You’re on the Resistance bus 100 percent, no questions asked, or you’re out.
John Brennan lied about something?
No, not something, everything. If he told us that the sun rose in the morning I would ask for confirmation from multiple sources.
I’d start with Rachel maddow.
I have used those exact words about the rat!
Can’t believe that Brennan hasn’t become synonymous with lying like Benedict Arnold and traitorous acts…
He's just a product of the system he is in. Lies are the norm. Just like this nonsense now with Epstein. There is a far greater power being wielded here than anybody can fully comprehend.
There is a far greater power (being wielded) here than anybody can fully comprehend.
Yup. SATAN.
Bingo. The CIA has a treasure trove of blackmail material here that nobody wants to waste
I would add Schiffed to that list.
That goggle-eyed fck lied for years that he had concrete smoking-gun proof of Russia/Trump collusion. They couldn’t divulge it due to their scrupulous adherence to proper legal procedures. But he had nothing. Every word, emotion, nostril flare, indignant shout and heavy sigh from this snake-oil peddling turd was an ornament to bullshit. You wonder if he’s uttered a true syllable about anything, ever.
Benedict Arnold, despite earning it, was passed over for a commission in Washington ‘s army. Out of spite and in exchange for a commission in the British army, he betrayed the Colonists. As bad as that was, Brennan’s subversion of the truth is far worse in my book.
"As bad as that was, Brennan’s subversion of the truth is far worse in my book"
Agreed! At least Arnold's treason was honest and obvious in the colors he wore. Brennan wants to make it sound like he was just doing the right thing, hiding behind nuance and legalese, like the true blackguard that he is!
Matt you don't understand. It's Trump!!!! Trump you hear me!!!!! TRUMP!!!!!!!!!!!
..yes. yes. Harumph. Harumph......but.......but.....WHAT ABOUT TRUMP?!?
Are there really people left who believe ANYTHING published in the Pravda media? I don't even believe the recipes in their culinary sections.
Brennen? MSNBC? Lying? (Meanwhile, back at the ranch, rumor has it that Covid might have been a lab leak.)
:) :)
Great summary - this is a really informative comparison. If the Brennan investigation culminates in a trial, MSNBC will pull out the stops to further erode faith in the US justice system, just as KBJ is doing from the SCOTUS bench with her poorly reasoned dissents and asides on how the first amendment hamstrings the government.
Also - "which in turned former British spy Christopher Steele to compile reports on Donald Trump" - did you mean "in turn hired former British spy Christopher Steele..."?
Sorry, fixed…
I knew what you meant.
I noticed that the sentence didn't track. Thank you.
It was a lot for Democrats to accept that the Dem leadership conspired and lied their brains out to cover for Joe Biden all of these years. It was only the debate that threw the ice water in their faces. And still some insist that he only had a cold. This is going to be way too much for them to accept. It's not happening.