"Donald Trump posted that Reiner and his wife died “due to the anger he caused others” through his “massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”;"
While I support many of his policies, I wish he would just STFU for ONCE!!
" Politicians who had any decency used to only offer condolences and reassurance on days like today, but they’ve all now become so convinced that the power of tragedy can’t be ceded to ideological rivals that every one of them turns death into ad-hoc commercials stumping for legislation, reform, credit, or whatever within minutes after disasters."
And the so-called journalists are no better, or in fact worse!
Alexis de Tocqueville nailed it when he said “I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”
That's a great line - reminds me of Mencken. If anyone is unfamiliar, he left behind a truckload of chestnuts like that one. Every so often I'll spend an hour or so reading through his best stuff - always a good time.
There is no doubt that the federal government has its fingers in too many pies, but there WAS a happy medium in shared power that dissolved IMO after WWII. Without a reasonably strong central government, I doubt the United States would have survived into the modern world. However, literally federalizing everything is not the answer.
I don't disagree, but... maybe we could define the federal government to protect the people and that's it, and let the states figure out if they want to take care of the people? That would mean getting rid of SS - which is projected to go defunct in 2033. Not many want that though. IDK, but corruption is a big hot mess.
"What we are left with is the fact that our government is vastly corrupt and we are no longer free when We the People go broke as we continue to feed an unsatiable and uncontrollable beast of a monster with an increasing $38 trillion-dollar national debt."
Your link is recommended reading.
I think the jury is still out (thank God) on the standing army, but I worry. Institutional politicization is the kiss of death. SCOTUS is on life support.
Ty for the link! Loved reading the excerpts you assembled. I think Brutus was a little off the mark on a couple of points - or maybe I should say I think some of his specific worries didn't end up coming to pass - but, overall, certainly much more than prescient enough to warrant study and remembrance alongside his better known contemporaries.
Thanks for reading. Curious -what do you think he was wrong about?
I think if history teachers would introduce his ideas, we might spark an interest for kids to ponder ideas like, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” 🤓
I completely agree, particularly on the point as you stated it there - I think way way too many people ground all of their thinking about the government in an assumption of benevolence, good intention, etc. that is unwarranted and, at best, counterproductive. In reality I think it's usually hostile to producing effective administration, sound policies, etc.
For brother Brutus - I think he was a little off about a standing army. But I will stop short of saying he was actually "wrong" bc he was (rightly) worried about using a standing army to enforce domestic law. The Posse Comitatus Act formally addresses that in the US, and I think it's fair to say that martial law has been pretty rare for basically all of US history - although I will admit I'm not an expert and would need to read more about it, and I do know it has been invoked at certain times, e.g. the Civil War.
I think my favorite lines of his you excerpted were the ones concerning the difficulty of governing a republic as vast and varied as the US. I really liked the way he described that challenge but I think he drew the wrong conclusion. The multifarious hugeness of the states isn't a reason not to join into a republic - it's a reason to confine the remit of the federal government to a limited set of enumerated powers.
I really enjoyed the read, ty for the conversation!
I have a dream. Democracy doesn't work all that well. What it does is work BETTER than previous systems. But when you drill down to why, it's not because it elevates excellent candidates. It's because it removes very poor leaders with no fuss at regular intervals.
So, turn then to how to create a system that would overlay democracy and elevate the best candidates. I don't know how to do that but I have a list of requirements. So far the necessary system must have two qualities.
1) No one who would be offered the role would ever turn it down.
2) No one who seeks the office can hope to achieve it.
Pragmatically I think that means something like the randomizing multistep systems used to pick the Doges in the Republic of Venice, combined with very high pay and something to either dampen or offset media shit slinging at solid performance, though I hope that rule #2 means that there are no political party incentives to sling shit.
We have a Republic, not a Democracy. And look at who our "leaders" are and have been for many years, maybe always? They make decisions, popular vote does not and options for people's opinions aren't ever on a ballot. 13% of registered voters vote in primaries and determine who gets on ballots. It is a mess and I feel lucky the country functions as well as it does. It's because the citizens function well despite the governing "leaders."
I used to make that argument and we know our founders understood the arguments from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, et. al. of “the dumb electorate” 51/49 - problems we have now because we haven’t kept the republic and the enumerated powers limited (Ben F predicted that) but it was Alexander Tytler who connected the dots why no democracy ever survived and he said, it is dependency on the government that is the reason democracy dies and that makes sense. The government that gives you everything is the same government that can take it all away. How many people are on SNAP?
As did Alexis de Tocqueville who said, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.”
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau were much more influential for the Founders. Why? "Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the most prominent philosophers associated with the social contract. They developed the idea that individuals leave a "state of nature" by entering a social contract, giving up some freedoms for the security and benefits of a government." King George was abusing the social contract with taxation but without listening to the benefits the Americans wanted in return. He could have listened, but instead he got tough with the colonists.
The social contract benefits have, of course, expanded to food, shelter, education, and so much more than King George could have imagined.
We have a constitutional republic AND a representative democracy. The early Roman Republic is best example of non-democracy republic. The Consuls were picked by the military/oligarchy not the people. Republic means a system of laws and institutions rather than a monarch. Democracy means the people pick the leaders.
No, the military did not pick the Consuls. "Election Body: The Comitia Centuriata, a voting assembly of citizens divided into wealth-based groups (centuries), elected the consuls.
Senate's Role: The Senate, composed of wealthy patricians, often nominated candidates, heavily influencing who got elected."
I’d like to try random selection, starting with state legislatures. It would, statistically speaking, provide the most representative selection, and no money involved…at least before they are selected. There should be minimum requirements, such as an understanding of civics, but no education requirement.
Doesn't matter. The foundation is already there that we will not be "ruled". Instead, there only needs to be men that honor the independence of each citizen and the sovereignty of the country.
Yes, in this Trump post, he was classless. I say that as a Trump voter. I don’t have to like Rob’s politics (and I don’t), but no need to say anything but sorry for this tragedy. So many great movies produced by Reiner. It’s so sad how far we’ve all fallen.
Trump’s post is despicable. Two people were murdered, by knife, by allegedly/maybe their own child. How do you not have only sorrow as your first reaction? Loathsome.
I agree. He shouldn’t have said anything. I also saw many posts from “meathead” I say that affectionately, that no doubt exhibited TDS. However, that didn’t have anything g to do with their tragic death.
He has no capability to see the bigger person through the giant ego that is his own head. The issue here is that he likely handed the Democrats the mid-terms, and with it.. our Republic. We will be a Democracy within the next 5 years and a totalitarian policy state within 10. Democrats will make sure of it.
Now Repubs have to answer the MSM question about Trump’s comment.
Our country is balanced on the edge. Scores of people voted for Trump because of America 9-1-1. After assassination attempt— Trump gets it, right? Apparently, not.
But has he ever been the bigger person? Stupid, out of line, insensitive, blahblah, anyone who claims to be surprised by what comes from Trump isn't being honest with him/herself.
What-aboutism is childishness. It matters not what a blowhard like Reiner did, or said. The man and his wife died. You show respect for the human life and move on in silence beyond that. You let Rob Reiner's own moronic nature stand for itself throughout history. You don't allow a shred of ability for people to latch onto your moronic statement to elevate that of a blowhard.
This is what Trump doesn't get, and why he is a child.
And BTW, it is pretty interesting Trump doesn’t care about the blowback. What is he going to talk about tomorrow night? He thinks we will listen and just move on. Does anybody around him have access or influence? THAT is an interesting question.
He didn't invent any of this. Look at the horrible things said after his assassination attempts and after Kirk's murder. It's a nasty, nasty game and he fights back, tooth and claw.
At times like these, I wish he'd lay back, like any decent person. That said, I've accepted he's probably not changing his stripes.
I stop to think often if that had happened and it makes my blood run cold. Where would we be now? More violence I’m thinking. Also, we see in Australia—you take away guns from citizens, only criminals have guns.
Right. Both sides. "Whether it's an obscure adjunct professor posting that Charlie Kirk did some bad things or it's the president of the United States celebrating Rob Reiner's death, there's plenty of incivility on both sides." NYT Pitchbot.
Fine. Just be above it one time. It should not be that hard, Human.
Again, brutally murdered maybe by their own child? Jesus. Why can’t Trump have sorrow for that?
And BTW, there are generations of Americans that love Rob Reiner’s movies, who don’t even know about Reiner’s politics, or care. Trump is also politically stupid for his nighttime blast.
Donald Trump has never had a moment of decency in his entire worthless life. Why would he start now, when he’s nearly 80 years old and his brain is melting?
He’s an asshole. He’s always been a charmless, abusive, asshole. That Truth Social post is the distilled and refined essence of the character of Donald John Trump. He has never been any better and he never will be any better. That’s what some of us never wanted him within 500 miles of the White House.
"He didn't invent any of this. Look at the horrible things said after his assassination attempts and after Kirk's murder. It's a nasty, nasty game and he fights back, tooth and claw."
He's the President, you miserable POS. He's supposed to set an example. Now, of course, nobody expects that from a ghoul like him, but that's still the aspiration. After all, he's *our* president, not just yours. If you're okay with him defecating on the memory of people like Rob Reiner, then you really should just burn in hell.
I'm not the President, though, am I. A man beloved by millions is stabbed to death, in his home, along with his wife. The next morning, the 'leader' of our country posts a vindictive, ghoulish, psychotic message about him, essentially claiming that he deserved to be killed because he wasn't sufficiently subservient to our 'leader'. That you'll tolerate, but you draw the line when an anonymous nobody like me calls someone a 'miserable POS' here in the bowels of cyberspace. That tracks perfectly for a reader of Taibbi's effluent garbage.
No, I thought Trump's message was Trump at his most disgusting and deranged, a very low bar. I don't much care if you call Trump a POS but I wish people would quit referring to their fellow citizens expressing opinions as POS.
The only thing a President is supposed to be is the manager of the executive branch. Every one of them from Kennedy on has been a narcissist, a sociopath, or both.
Trump is a corrupt, attention-whoring scumbag, but he’s performing a valuable public service by finally obliterating America’s naive mythology around the “dignity” of the office.
I'm certainly not shocked by it. He's clinically insane. What shocks me is the extent to which millions of people will stand by him despite his ghoulish psychosis. He's charismatic in the way Jim Jones was--nihilistically. And that's incomprehensible to me.
Trump controls those who despise him wayyy more than those who support him. Were you also 'outraged' at the constant Russian stuff the last decade? No...you were not.
You're on to something with nihilism. A trip to the dictionary to look up "nihilism/nihilist" will probably show a picture of Trump next to the word. Maybe Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten, but that's the kind of company he's keeping.
It's interesting that while he talked big going into the first term about tearing everything down (drain the swamp blahblah), he didn't really tear much down. He was less demonstrative about it in the '24 campaign, but all he's done since he got there in January is tear shit down, burn it, and dare someone to stop him.
I don't know if he's been this way his entire life, but these days he is a nihilist. For better or worse.
I was a county attorney in rural America. There were times when a family would come to the courthouse and petition the court to place a family member in a hospital for 72-hour evaluation, having to prove their family member was “a threat to himself or others.” It was always a hard thing for a family to do. It was a last resort. The embarrassment and shame and regret, like the family had done something wrong.
If the unfolding Reiner story is true, that these parents were allegedly attacked and murdered by their own child who had a long history of issues. . . People with all the money, stature, and respect were unable to prevent this?
President Trump was a complete loser with his response to this. I am beyond disappointed. Mental health wellness is behind most of our health issues in this country. This is a time to be kind. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for that heartless post. None.
This is one of the very few times it’s appropriate to discuss mental health issues in relation to a crime. Not when some loser incel shoots up a school because can’t get laid; not when a wife-beater goes on a rampage with his truck and kills pedestrians. This time, when a man who’s had mental illness since he was in middle school finally snaps.
Trump could have said absolutely nothing. Instead he, as he does every time he opens his disgusting mouth, made an ass of himself.
I’ve heard lately, don’t watch what he says—watch what he does. I’m angry too. I say shite too. I’m cutting him some slack because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate. I’m old. Was an old school democrat until Biden. President Trump is the first president that’s doing something about our problems in all my voting life. He must be able to finish this.
Agreed Janet. But the Truth Social post by Trump was a massive own goal. There’s no excuse for it, except to say Trump has been so wronged by others for so long that he’s lost a bit of his humanity in the process.
Agree: "President Trump is the first president that’s doing something about our problems in all my voting life." For better or worse, time will tell. At the very least, he's closed the border, and that had to be done.
My mouth gets me in so much trouble that my perspective is massively corrupted--so I forgive the loud mouthed out of self preservation :)
Also, complaining about actions is so much more powerful--in my experience those that complain most about words have almost always lost in the "actions" department.
But again, I am the last person to listen to about this.
"An argument at Conan O’Brien holiday party hours before Rob Reiner, wife were killed.
Family friends told The Times that Rob and Nick got into an argument on Saturday evening at a party at Conan O’Brien’s home and that many people noticed Nick acting strangely at the party."
----
I am assuming that Nick came to the party with his father.
The argument has been reported in enough places now--I think we can speculate a little.
First, there are very very few possibilities where it would be justified or understandable to, in any way, publicly berate your mentally ill son at a celebrity christmas party.
If he was trying to rape someone or steal jewelry from Conan--I don't condone it (it's like hitting a dog), but that changes the narrative dramatically.
But here is the thing, everyone knows what they were fighting about, and the fact that we don't know very strongly suggests that it doesn't help the narrative.
The Daily Mail is reporting (I know, but they have two named sources) that Rob was publicly berating his son on the set of the movie they made together in order to reconcile. And this was ten years ago.
It might be time to speculate whether Reiner's RussiaGate character--wasn't a character--that maybe Rob Reiner was a very deeply disturbed and abusive person.
It's never acceptable to berate your mentally ill son. I'm not excusing anything, especially murder--but it's never acceptable to berate your mentally ill son.
What facts? Are two people dead? Were they stabbed to death? Is a family member being held? Did that family member have issues? A president should wait for the facts, and try and lift his nation up after a terribly sad weekend.
You do realize more than 365 people die each year.
And if I am going to have to walk on eggshells everyday of every year, then at least I am going to decide who to mourn.
And no matter how many times I allegedly did or didn't cry during repeated viewings of The Princess Bride, Reiner was never going to make the top 365 no matter what year he died in. There are just a hell of a lot of other people more important than him to mourn.
Let's be clear, if it weren't for his politics--this is just a true crime podcast netflix docudrama sleazefest story.
I'm saving my outrage for when entertainment dollars kick in.
Well, we know that Rob and his wife are dead. And Trump could not avoid calling out Rob’s politics when sending public condolences. Are you perhaps suggesting Trump’s tweet isn’t real?
I have zero reason to doubt the Trump statement is real.
I was raised at a loud and obnoxious dinner table and I was taught never to wear the ribbon. And I don't do public funerals.
Within that context, Trump's statement is unremarkable to me.
Reiner was massively political nuts and considering his statements about Trump, I personally would have been much sharper if I were Trump in this context.
Frankly he was rather gracious--considering.
But again, I don't do public funerals.
And if Trump had died and Reiner was (inevitably) gloating, I certainly wouldn't be saying "how dare you" to Reiner in that context either.
I don't do public funerals. The world doesn't stop.
Not as long as Trump soils the Oval Office or one single Trumper exists in this world. Trumpism must be obliterated and all its works destroyed. No Trumper must ever be allowed to hold any kind of position of trust ever again, and everyone who voted for him must be forced to live in permanent shame for doing that.
Perhaps “The Market” (PBUI) could change? Seriously, the President did something that deserves to be condemned. Why is that so hard for you Trumpers? Why must you approve every single horrifying thing that man does? What does worshipping Trump give you?
Have to agree. His rhetoric doesn’t help, it inflames more. These are mentally shifted people living in a fantasy world WAITING to hear this shit. I have no idea what to do about it but I fear this is leading to a tragedy that is even more unspeakable.
Oh, don't so very many of us! Not that I am sorry I voted for him, but after his outrage at the celebrations of the slaughter of Charlie Kirk, he ought to know better. It's just gratuitously nasty.
That might be true, but there are plenty of messed-up, drug-addicted kids who don't murder their parents. I think there's more to it than that. Many use drugs as an escape, some just for "recreation", but either way it's filling some sort of a void. I kicked many heroin habits cold-turkey during my younger days growing up in Brooklyn until I "outgrew" it and realized I wanted more out of life.
I think the lives of wealthy celebrities are more complicated than we might realize.
Trump is a monster. He is unpresidential to the extreme. He is a reaction to our would-be elite class failure. I look back at David Samuel's interview with the late Angelo Codevilla.
"I have a name for Trump: The demon emperor. Because I feel like he’s like a figure that you’d find in some Chinese chronicle, right? There was a time of terrible chaos, social disintegration, and then a Mongol invasion. They breeched the Great Wall and did this and that. And in those moments, the Demon Emperor would arise and take power. He had the head of a pig and the body of man, and he was known for his vile excesses and the terrible rampages that he’d go on, and his desecrations of ancient scrolls. Everyone bemoaned him.
But there was a certain virtue, at times, in certain moments, to having the demon emperor around. Yes, he raped 150 virgins in surrounding villages and all their families were very upset and there’s no reason he should have done that, and he defiles the very ground he stands on, and indeed, no one of noble birth would consent to marry his daughter. At the same time, he defeated the Mongols."
Yes, Trump is the demon emperor. Remember, he is only temporary. His presidency will end. Then what? The Democrats will probably regain control of the House in 2026 and possibly the Senate. Will they burn political capital trying to impeach Trump again? They may very well take control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress in 2028. They will expand the Supreme Court; they will have DC and Puerto Rico added as states, which will then pad their slim majorities in both houses of Congress. They will enact nationwide vote-by-mail and outlaw voter ID.
But the fools leading the Democratic party are no better than the fools leading the Republican party. It will be a return to the incompetence of the elites that we saw in the Biden administration. And the major media will cheer their failures on as great successes. Public confidence in our institutions will collapse. The Democrats will probably get a rude awakening in 2032 when the backlash hits in full. They may have total control of elections, but the public will rebel and there will be a wave election against them.
I see failure and gloom ahead. I don't see any light.
I agree with much of the actual substance here, but I find the hyperbole gratuitous and unnecessary. I don't think he's a monster. I believe what Hillary, the Obama admin and the Intel community did during 2020 and Jan 2021 could be called monstrous - promulgating the Russia-collusion hoax and manipulating intel (behind closed doors!) to support that hoax while undermining a duly-elected president. I was glad the "would-be elite class" put a stiff punch in the nose!
I very much agree with this:
"He is unpresidential to the extreme. He is a reaction to our would-be elite class failure."
But we all knew this going in - nothing new.
I believe the saving grace of our political environment is the pendulum is still able to swing back. People saw the disasters of Biden, so they re-elected Trump and gave him legislative majorities despite the best and often dirty efforts of that elite class (fake impeachments; contorted lawsuits, etc..). Next year the pendulum will begin swinging back the other way, which is the way it is supposed to work. Those engaged in efforts at preventing that pendulum from swinging back ARE monsters, as they intend to solidify one-party government/tyranny. When I see countless illegals eligible to vote through the DMV, calls by Dems to stack the court and make DC and Puerto Rico states (going a long way toward ensuring a Dem senate majority), ending the filibuster (which I vehemently disagree with Trump), etc.., it disturbs me. Trump will be gone, and the next Dem admin can begin undoing what he's done. IMO, we should all work toward ensuring this dynamic remains intact, and I will rail against ANYONE who strives to undermine it. One day, those who desire it might be on the wrong end of the political gun. IMO, it represents the undermining of the American experiment when the deck is stacked such that the separation of powers becomes moot. It's already happened in a number of states, and I used to live in one (NY).
Well strap in, BRO. A lot will be undone when Don is gone. He's been a disaster for this country. We're nearly in a recession, unemployment is up and people can't afford groceries. Yet he and the admin deny it constantly.
Strap what? You assume too much. I'm not a Trump fan, but I firmly believe Biden and the Dems (with help from Republicans) inflicted lots of damage on this country since 2020. You conveniently forget that much of what he's dealing with was created prior to him when inflation hit a 40 year high over 9%. There's lots of work to do, and hopefully the tax changes in 2026 will help boost the economy. I try to keep the Big Picture in mind, keep partisanship out of it, and not be swayed by small short-term changes. And, I do my own research rather than rely on others.
"We're nearly in a recession"
Show your work with actual references. You can start here:
2nd qtr GDP rose 3.8%. No telling where the third quarter will wind up, but it certainly doesn't support your assertion of "nearly in a recession".
"unemployment is up" Yes, marginally. You might find this report useful, which includes the following:
"Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in November (+64,000) and has shown little net change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In November, the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, was little changed from September. Employment rose in health
care and construction in November, while federal government continued to lose jobs."
"Federal government employment continued to decrease in November (-6,000). This follows a sharp decline of 162,000 in October, as some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer came off federal payrolls. Federal government employment is down by 271,000 since reaching a peak in January."
So a component of the drop in employment and increase in unemployment rate is reduction in Gov't jobs, down 271,000 since it PEAK in Jan 2025. Most of the MSM won't tell you this.
This chart is what concerns me most. The usual Us vs Them of Dem vs Repub is nothing but DISTRACTION. This is the boat we're ALL in. Our Nat'l Debt is now 120% of GDP, with borrowing costs over $1 Trillion for 2026, second only to Social Security.
How is giving the ultra wealthy a massive tax break going to help people who can barely afford food and rent? That's the usual song and dance nonsense that we've been hearing for decades. Once called trickle down now it's just a blatant give away to the very rich.
Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape. Biden was dealing with a post Covid world, so comparing what his admin had to deal with is far out of the norm. The US was doing better economically in 2024 than most of the world(due to CV).
Your earlier comment mentioned bringing jobs back to America. Biden had a large number of programs and incentives that did just that. Trump dismantled almost all of it b/c he's a toddler that can't handle anything done well that does not involve him.
Lastly, if you aren't a fan, why are defending him insulting a murder victim? And yes, saying oh well I don't really like but I like policies is 1000% defending him.
"How is giving the ultra wealthy a massive tax break going to help people who can barely afford food and rent?"
Once again, show your work. Define "ultra-wealthy" and how much of the tax burden they bear, and how much of the tax break is going to the non-wealthy (reduced tax on tips, social security, etc..). A rising tide lifts all boats.
"Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape."
Really? Concerning Trump's 1st term:
"Real wages — wages adjusted for inflation — increased 7% during former President Donald Trump’s four years in office, the highest increase over one presidential term since the 1970s."
Concerning the economy, review this chart and show me where "Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape." It looks pretty steady to me, except for the obvious: 2008 and COVID. DO THE RESEARCH!!
"Lastly, if you aren't a fan, why are defending him insulting a murder victim?"
What are you talking about?!?!? I DEFY you to show me where I'm "defending him insulting a murder victim"! Re-read my opening post!
But again, you're still playing the Us vs Them game, in which NOBODY WINS except those who desire power. There are pros and cons in EVERY administration. Concerning us common folk, there no good guys and bad guys, only people with different views, values, wants and needs, and with different views on how to get there. The rest is all distraction from the real issues facing this country. Moreover, it's a money raising ploy for career politicians who are NOT acting in the best interests of the little guy, and who exploit those pre-disposed to certain narratives. Do the research, question everything and take nothing at face value.
Read about how NAFTA and admitting China to the WTO sent jobs overseas, undermining the American worker and middle class. so we could buy cheap stuff on Amazon. And these initiatives were endorsed by BOTH parties under Dem administrations (Clinton and Obama).
While I kind of agree with you, it would be hard for anyone to forgive someone who went so relentlessly after you and had such a big voice and platform. Also remember all the kind words Reiner had for Rush Limbaugh when he announced his terminal cancer diagnosis. The kind words continued after Rush passed.
Absolutely. An absolute classless thing to say from President Trump. I get it, Reiner came at him hard, but Reiner had his throat slit by his own son… a little grace could’ve been afforded to a “political enemy” in the wake of their horrific murder.
I felt the same way about politicians on The Left besmirching Charlie Kirk in the wake of his murder… classless.
This right here is the reason I just won't ever get behind Donald Trump, and it should be the reason he loses all support from everyone regardless of politics. The Republicans are now the adults in the room after lots of years of it being the other way around. We simply can't allow the leader of the free world to be this childish.
We can't fend off the Communist Totalitarian state that is coming our way if Donald Trump is the leader of the party that can maybe, and I say MAYBE prevent it. This is where Donald needs to get off the bus and leave it to the actual adults.
I was never "behind" Donald Trump. I grew up in NYC in the 60s, 70s and 80s, so I know well who he is. The reason I supported him is his policies and my utter frustration with what the Dems did under Biden, and promised to continue under Harris.
"We can't fend off the Communist Totalitarian state that is coming our way if Donald Trump is the leader of the party that can maybe, and I say MAYBE prevent it. This is where Donald needs to get off the bus and leave it to the actual adults."
It's the failure of the "adults", the career politicians who sold us out, that gave rise to Trump. I'm not convinced more "adults" is really what we need, but I admit I find his style utterly distasteful.
And yes, the Fourth Estate has officially gone off the deep end. CNN blaming Trump’s violent rhetoric for the shooting at Brown University…. Never mind that he’s had two assassination attempts on his own life. Do these “journalists” truly not see that it is their own hyperbole and gaslighting that continues to flame the fires?
I seem to recall that they blamed Trump for the attempts on his own life. To the tedious (i.e., those afflicted with TDS), everything bad that happens anywhere can be fairly blamed on Trump. Mind, I think his tweet about Rob Reiner's death nearly as outrageous as the jubilance from the left at Charlie Kirk's murder.
My Dad used to say, "if you go around asking for trouble, sooner or later you will find one pleased to give it to you." Seems our fathers thought along similar lines, God bless them.
'Journalists' are not employed in the Fourth Estate. Sure, they hire people that call themselves that and list that on their Linkedin profiles, but they're more event planners and HR generalists than anything else.
They no longer employ reporters, those intrepid heroes that truly dig for the facts and simply present what they find.
Many, many journalists (why, they have a masters degree from Columbia don't you know that means you must trust their opinions!!!) are employed by these "news" organizations, that is the problem.
Right - both sides. Whether it's Trump trying to trigger an anti-Somali Krisstallnacht in Minnesota, or CNN pointing out that Trump targets small non-white minorities and journalists with hateful rhetoric on a daily basis, both sides have blamed the other for potentially inciting violence.
"anti-Somali Krisstallnacht" That's somewhat hyperbolic. Nobody is calling for a pogrom against Somalis. Nevertheless, the single greatest theft of taxpayer dollars through welfare fraud in American history warrants some pattern recognition.
Not calling for a pogrom. Just the PRESIDENT of the US calling them "garbage" who should be kicked out of the country. That's all; nothing to see here. That's not provocative!.
By the way, isn't All the "anti-woke"stuff about not ascribing guilt to an entire group of people based on the isolated actions of a subset? Example: at Texas Tech you cannot say to a white person you beae guilt for slavery or for any other acts of discrimination or violence by whites? But here we have Republicans saying, "All Somalis are crooks" because their leaders stole money. Also, to complete the analogy, Kristallnacht was not completely "unprovoked." A Jewish young man *did* shoot to death a German diplomat. That act "provoked" the outburst violence. So, my analogy stands.
anyone who steals money from taxpayers, especially money destined to those with disabilities, deserves to be called garbage - no matter their background
Agreed. But that’s not what Trump did. He said everyone who is Somali is garbage because some members of their community stole. BTW, Republican Senator Rick Scott was CEO of the company that committed the biggest Medicare fraud in US history. Does that make all old white men "garbage?” Does that make all old white men “garbage?” Or all white men from Florida “garbage?”
Massive incompetence and cover-up at Brown. MSM is not asking any hard questions or digging into the details. Has a mass shooter ever escaped capture for this long without any description of his appearance?
Why couldn't the mayor or police chief provide any description of the suspect other than a "man dressed in black"? On a campus with cameras everywhere, how were they unable to provide any footage of the area other than a short grainy video?
Why was Brown President Christina Paxson on a private flight to DC and unable to answer basic questions in the middle of final exams? Was the deceased victim Ella Cook, a leader of the Brown Republican club, targeted for her political beliefs? How much did the recent no confidence in the Brown police chief affect campus security?
We need to closely watch how this investigation unfolds and investigate the bungled response.
The “MSM is not asking any hard questions…” Good grief. Plenty of hard questions are being asked by journalists but the authorities are not providing enlightening answers. That is not the fault of the media.
Some mass shooters have escaped capture without descriptions of their appearance ever being released. Examples include the perpetrator of the Austin yogurt shop murders, Denver Father’s Day bank massacre, Lane Bryant shooting in Tinley Park and the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre.
Brown’s campus has 230 buildings on 150 acres. Despite having several hundred cameras it’s not like every section of the campus is covered. The shooter wore dark clothing and a mask. Real life is not a movie — expecting good video of the shooter after every massacre is absurd.
The only “basic question” the Brown president could not answer six hours after the shooting was the exact nature of the student gathering where the shooting occurred. She answered truthfully that she did not know. Who cares if it was an exam, review session, club meeting or a party? The important details were known by the president — namely that 11 students were shot in a building on campus and two of the students were dead.
...I was somewhat troubled by Brown President's statement about the student gathering ... one, it was given SIX hours after the event, theoretically notifications would be going on, wouldn't it seem advisable to have an idea of WHO was in that classroom, for WHAT reason and HOW many students were in that classroom or suppose to be? ...
Brown’s president had been on a flight that day and may not have had cell service for a significant period of time. The campus was still in lockdown at the time of the press conference and the president’s immediate concern was for the safety of students and staff, not all the nitty gritty details of the classroom where the shooting took place. She knew the who (students), how many shot (11), how many killed (2), and the status of the campus (still locked down).
If you really want to be “troubled” then how about showing concern over the level of gun violence in America. In the previous five years there have been over 500 mass shootings each year in the USA. Over 100,000 Americans are shot every year. That should not be considered normal, yet one political party thinks it is.
...those *nitty gritty* details ... I can entertain the thought the college president may not WANT to provide details of the classroom for investigative reasons or because not all families/NoK have been notified ... but to answer with " I don't know" is absurd after six hours and this is how SM begins to fill in with speculative creations ... it sounds silly and it is ...
I don't know of any political party that thinks gun violence is *normal* ...
Just because six hours had elapsed does not mean Brown’s president should have been aware of every single aspect of the shooting. What does it matter if the scene of the shooting was a final exam, review session, club meeting or a party? What’s actually “absurd” is the level of gun violence in America.
The Republican Party certainly thinks the level of gun violence in America is acceptable. Republicans consistently advocate for fewer gun laws and have hobbled the ATF by starving it of funds and strong leadership. If republicans thought the level of gun violence was abnormal they would be enacting measures aimed at curbing gun violence, instead of measures that enable it.
> Why was Brown President Christina Paxson on a private flight to DC and unable to answer basic questions in the middle of final exams
Lol I have to admit I don't find anything about that surprising or suspicious. I'd bet that a univ president at a school like Brown has even less going on during final exams than they do in a normal week. So, why not skip town, and c'mon she isn't gonna fly steerage.
Also, I suspect that answering basic questions lies beyond the remit of her position. We'll have to wait until someone asks her sufficiently advanced questions.
Well, some things are so obvious I'm reposting what I posted on FP this morning.
So, the UK can censor Free Press stories of fraud in Minnesota but do nothing about Islamists marching down the street calling for the eradication of Jews from the river to the sea? If there is no such thing as free speech in the UK, why are the Islamists allowed to spew hatred?
You can be critical of where you live AND other places because failure should be ridiculed. Being critical of one does not imply full acceptance of somewhere else.
Probably hard for you to understand that. B-b-b-butwhatabout fixes nothing. Stop peddling it.
Was Bondi beach what all those college students meant by "Globalize the intifada"? If this remains important to them, it matters right now. It isn't only Islamists that are spitting hate.
Yes, it is. It is Islamists and the Islamist adjacent, like the white US college students who know little to nothing about history, who spit the hate, and nobody else, no matter what the Aussie PM thinks.
Would’ve been even better had he shot the guy, who got away, rearmed, and continued the attack, but I won’t hate because the authorities likely would’ve gone after him for it, and he still almost certainly saved lives with his balls of steel.
Sick of these "love Drumpf's policies but wish he would shut up" posts. You voted for him knowing he was a vile disgusting piece of shit. So own it. Don't give us excuses. You & your ilk out this POS in office.
Admittedly, I'm a little surprised that you didn't see where I "owned" my past and present support of Trump. To be clearer for your benefit, I have, and I do, and, under the circumstances I described, would again.
But now I'm wondering whether in some corner of your mind there is the idea that any politician is not a "vile disgusting piece of shit" to someone, at some time, in some way?
In any case, stay warm. My preferred energy policy is "all of the above."
Why? Simply because of his silence on the pro-Palestine/anti-Semitic goings on; and then his immediate call for more gun control after this attack? Perhaps this father and son team just had not become familiar with their new home’s customs?
This might be fake news but I listened to a radio broadcast where it was "reported" there were at least four police officers at the scene "hiding behind parked cars."
I don’t know what I would do in that situation - God forbid- but I only hope it would be closer to “serve and protect” rather than “call it in and cower”
The global Muslim Diaspora has globalized Islam's centuries-old anti-Jew Intifada. From now on, wherever Jews gather they will need to do so in secret or with security. This is not about Gaza or Israel. This is about Islam:
"The enmity of the Jews towards Islam and its people – in other words Muslims – is not new. It is not a recent phenomenon. Rather, it's an ancient hostility and deep-rooted hatred. The Quran has clearly shown the true nature of the Jews, and it has described them in great detail. They are a small group who spread corruption through the land. This enmity that the Jews have towards Islam and Muslims will never come to an end. Never. The Jews have an ancient and dark history of bloodshed and breaking covenants and treaties. After all, they are the killers – the murderers – of prophets and the righteous. They bomb buildings under the cover of darkness, and they kill men, women, and children. Not even fetuses in the womb are safe from them. Never be afraid to describe the Jews – the real enemy – the way Allah has described them. If Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them Himself, But He ordered armed struggle. Listen! He ordered armed struggle to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah, never will He – that is, Allah – waste their deeds."
– Imam Sheikh Younus Kathrada, Muslim Youth Victoria Islamic Center, Victoria, B.C. (Aug.2, 2024)
Let’s be very clear. What this imam says does not just apply to Jews. If all The Friday people exterminated all the Saturday people, the Sunday people among others will be next. There is no quelling their hate.
To the Islamic world, the Jews are the original traitors to their hive-mind tribal system.. Because the Jews evolved toward empathy and individualism while the Muslims generally did not.
Though you are right that if the Jews disappeared, the Muslims would find another enemy very soon in order to live out their tribal hive-mind and their hatred of any outsider to their system. They operate the same way as any cult or gang.
The basic issue of the ancient hostility of Islam against Jew is that the Jews were inspired to become individuals with human compassion -- probably through the example of a Mesopotamian leader of 5000 years ago named Sargon of Akkad -- whereas the other Middle Eastern peoples remained tribalists in a collective hive-mind which never developed human empathy (I think we can all see that).
So Islam hates the neighbouring group that evolved -- and whose members refused to go along with the standard tribal narratives any more -- when Muslims did not evolve in this manner.
You can think of the Muslim world as living out of the Cluster-B frame of mind, where anyone who crosses them, even a little, is toast.
Such sweeping generalities remind one of what they used to say about the Jews (and still do). You know, that they never ‘evolved’ and they never accepted the New Testament, and only know the philosophy of an eye for an eye. Many would argue that’s what we’re seeing in Gaza. It’s a slippery slope if you want to go down that path.
There is a lot of truth to your very interesting observation. The Jews are fierce warriors who find great inspiration and satisfaction in Old Testament justice. Plenty of Christians love it too. Despite the Christian reading of prophecy, peace is not easy between the two Testaments.
These are not sweeping generalities if you know a certain amount of Evolutionary Science and Depth Psychology. Why not do the homework yourself first, before making such claims?
If you wish to refute me, you are going to have to prove me wrong. I'll wait. Could take a few years just for you to complete the background reading. And then you would need to be tested to determine whether you had understood it.
You seem to deal in idle gossip, and not much more. The path I use is much more solid than yours. You're grasping at straws here.
Oooh, we call that in rhetoric argumentum ad verecundiam or more commonly, ‘pulling rank.’ Usually used by those afraid or unable to confront facts presented to them. Feel free to refute what I said if you wish or admit you’re just blowing hot air.
I am looking at Evolutionary Science here, as it appeared in historical context, and as it actually physically changed the human brain.
There was a watershed in the ancient world where the Superego of the human psyche first appeared -- as in Freud's explanation of the psyche as Id/Ego/Superego. The Superego contains the human conscience and empathy.
The ancient people had only the Id (inborn drives and appetites)....until something happened to awaken a segment of them so that new traits were born.
These new traits appeared about 5000 years ago and soon spread though Judaism. Then early Christianity. Then Western civilization.
If we did not have the likelihood now of being born with these new traits, we would be cold-blooded reptiles, in effect. Zero human empathy, and no individuality. We would live under collective hive-minds where only tribal loyalty would matter, and outsiders would be considered the enemy.
It was a very big deal when this change happened. An evolutionary leap forward.
Although the point here to remember is that only certain Middle Eastern groups adapted and developed in this way, from the leadership of a particular ruler of the time. My own opinion is that the birth of Christ further consolidated this. Though the Jews themselves by that time were already well-endowed with human empathy.
The Classical Chinese superego as constructed by Confucius was larger than ours. Correct behavior, law-abiding, filial piety....highly civilized and destroyed by Mao.
I guess more of Rep. Bennie Thompson's (D-MS) "unfortunate accidents", like the 2 National Guards in DC. The spin and silence on one side is deafening.
I was at an MLK Jr. breakfast in Mississippi one year, before Obamacare passed, when he said anyone who opposed it was going to hell. New theology, right from ole Bennie's lips to God's ear.
Trump’s comment regarding the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle was disgusting. He’s disgusting. There is no limit to the stupidity of his comments in times of crisis and heartbreak. I just can’t understand where he thinks he is doing anything positive in times of need for a president to be conciliatory. It’s mind boggling.
I am a bit perplexed about when it became a requirement for a President to comment on every crime. Trump did not have to say anything at all about the Reiner murders. Mass shootings yes, because this has become a real indicator of larger social problems.
I do not recall Presidents of earlier decades feeling they had to publicly comment on more personal targeted crimes. Maybe the social media platforms make it all too tempting?
Taking a break from the news has been quite healing. I still read the news via newsletters I get and I think that’s helped me stay a lot calmer. For some reason, reading about it is much more calming in the sense that it is a bit more distant even if still disturbing. Today’s news has been quite sad. So much happened over this weekend.
I still recommend people disconnect to an extent for their own sanity. Spend time with family and friends. Get the rest needed for the holidays. I’ve been trying to define rest this advent and I do think it means spending time with loved ones and for me it means learning more about my faith in God.
Personally, I think this massive increase in violence is because the demons are upset more people are looking to God for answers. I’ve noticed a serious uptick in violent thoughts over the years since covid in my own mind. I never act on these impulses.
Thoughts do not define you. Your actions do. Thoughts that come into your mind might not be your own. Writers and artists sometimes talk about being struck by the urge to create coming from somewhere other than themselves and I believe violent acts can have that same outside “inspiration.”
My past atheistic self would have thought all of this as nonsense but things have gone super crazy since covid and unfortunately atheism has no answer for why everything’s gone absolutely insane since.
The spiritual and metaphysical planes that have been ignored in search for information in the “real” tangible plane can no longer be contained. They are spilling into the “real” world. We ignore these planes of existence at our own peril.
You might find a new book interesting, by Meredith Miller: "Becoming Whole: How to Prevent Stockholm Syndrome and Transcend Darkness in Your Life and Relationships"
I haven't watched any news for years, so I totally agree. It's more opinion than news now anyway, as the reactions from the media to the events of the weekend are showing. I still read about the news through various newsletters as you do, but I avoid television news completely.
C’mon Matt. Australia is easy—just more Muslims globalizing the Intifada.
It was made clear quickly that the Reiners’ son has been arrested. What a terrible thing.
And while RI seems to be a total goat rodeo, it WAS a conservative student leader killed. Looking at the totality of the political violence in this country over the past year, one is led to conclude it is the Left acting murderous.
Don't forget the scant reporting on the professor of the class at Brown - reportedly Jewish - though not present at the exam during the shooting. Should I trust even that reporting?
"Donald Trump posted that Reiner and his wife died “due to the anger he caused others” through his “massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”;"
While I support many of his policies, I wish he would just STFU for ONCE!!
" Politicians who had any decency used to only offer condolences and reassurance on days like today, but they’ve all now become so convinced that the power of tragedy can’t be ceded to ideological rivals that every one of them turns death into ad-hoc commercials stumping for legislation, reform, credit, or whatever within minutes after disasters."
And the so-called journalists are no better, or in fact worse!
Word.
Alexis de Tocqueville nailed it when he said “I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.”
That's a great line - reminds me of Mencken. If anyone is unfamiliar, he left behind a truckload of chestnuts like that one. Every so often I'll spend an hour or so reading through his best stuff - always a good time.
I bought "The Essential Mencken" used in a Lamberville, NJ thrift shop for $1.00. Best. Bargain. Ever.
My man! How's the haunting these days?
And we can’t forget Brutus. Problem is no one learns about him (Robert Yates) and Brutus was right about everything! https://open.substack.com/pub/lizlasorte/p/brutus-was-right-about-everything?r=76q58&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
There is no doubt that the federal government has its fingers in too many pies, but there WAS a happy medium in shared power that dissolved IMO after WWII. Without a reasonably strong central government, I doubt the United States would have survived into the modern world. However, literally federalizing everything is not the answer.
I don't disagree, but... maybe we could define the federal government to protect the people and that's it, and let the states figure out if they want to take care of the people? That would mean getting rid of SS - which is projected to go defunct in 2033. Not many want that though. IDK, but corruption is a big hot mess.
As long as they are laundering 999 BILLION through the military, they better not even think about getting rid of SS..
But we all know Social Security isn't going away. Especially when all the Boomers will still be drawing. NFW.
This was a popular refrain when Gingrich was Speaker, but it was as bullshit then as it is now.
"What we are left with is the fact that our government is vastly corrupt and we are no longer free when We the People go broke as we continue to feed an unsatiable and uncontrollable beast of a monster with an increasing $38 trillion-dollar national debt."
Your link is recommended reading.
I think the jury is still out (thank God) on the standing army, but I worry. Institutional politicization is the kiss of death. SCOTUS is on life support.
Ty for the link! Loved reading the excerpts you assembled. I think Brutus was a little off the mark on a couple of points - or maybe I should say I think some of his specific worries didn't end up coming to pass - but, overall, certainly much more than prescient enough to warrant study and remembrance alongside his better known contemporaries.
Thanks for reading. Curious -what do you think he was wrong about?
I think if history teachers would introduce his ideas, we might spark an interest for kids to ponder ideas like, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” 🤓
I completely agree, particularly on the point as you stated it there - I think way way too many people ground all of their thinking about the government in an assumption of benevolence, good intention, etc. that is unwarranted and, at best, counterproductive. In reality I think it's usually hostile to producing effective administration, sound policies, etc.
For brother Brutus - I think he was a little off about a standing army. But I will stop short of saying he was actually "wrong" bc he was (rightly) worried about using a standing army to enforce domestic law. The Posse Comitatus Act formally addresses that in the US, and I think it's fair to say that martial law has been pretty rare for basically all of US history - although I will admit I'm not an expert and would need to read more about it, and I do know it has been invoked at certain times, e.g. the Civil War.
I think my favorite lines of his you excerpted were the ones concerning the difficulty of governing a republic as vast and varied as the US. I really liked the way he described that challenge but I think he drew the wrong conclusion. The multifarious hugeness of the states isn't a reason not to join into a republic - it's a reason to confine the remit of the federal government to a limited set of enumerated powers.
I really enjoyed the read, ty for the conversation!
Ditto
I have a dream. Democracy doesn't work all that well. What it does is work BETTER than previous systems. But when you drill down to why, it's not because it elevates excellent candidates. It's because it removes very poor leaders with no fuss at regular intervals.
So, turn then to how to create a system that would overlay democracy and elevate the best candidates. I don't know how to do that but I have a list of requirements. So far the necessary system must have two qualities.
1) No one who would be offered the role would ever turn it down.
2) No one who seeks the office can hope to achieve it.
Pragmatically I think that means something like the randomizing multistep systems used to pick the Doges in the Republic of Venice, combined with very high pay and something to either dampen or offset media shit slinging at solid performance, though I hope that rule #2 means that there are no political party incentives to sling shit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_of_Venice#Selection_of_the_doge
We have a Republic, not a Democracy. And look at who our "leaders" are and have been for many years, maybe always? They make decisions, popular vote does not and options for people's opinions aren't ever on a ballot. 13% of registered voters vote in primaries and determine who gets on ballots. It is a mess and I feel lucky the country functions as well as it does. It's because the citizens function well despite the governing "leaders."
I used to make that argument and we know our founders understood the arguments from Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, et. al. of “the dumb electorate” 51/49 - problems we have now because we haven’t kept the republic and the enumerated powers limited (Ben F predicted that) but it was Alexander Tytler who connected the dots why no democracy ever survived and he said, it is dependency on the government that is the reason democracy dies and that makes sense. The government that gives you everything is the same government that can take it all away. How many people are on SNAP?
No, Franklin connected those dots too, "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic"
As did Alexis de Tocqueville who said, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.”
Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau were much more influential for the Founders. Why? "Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the most prominent philosophers associated with the social contract. They developed the idea that individuals leave a "state of nature" by entering a social contract, giving up some freedoms for the security and benefits of a government." King George was abusing the social contract with taxation but without listening to the benefits the Americans wanted in return. He could have listened, but instead he got tough with the colonists.
The social contract benefits have, of course, expanded to food, shelter, education, and so much more than King George could have imagined.
We have a constitutional republic AND a representative democracy. The early Roman Republic is best example of non-democracy republic. The Consuls were picked by the military/oligarchy not the people. Republic means a system of laws and institutions rather than a monarch. Democracy means the people pick the leaders.
No, the military did not pick the Consuls. "Election Body: The Comitia Centuriata, a voting assembly of citizens divided into wealth-based groups (centuries), elected the consuls.
Senate's Role: The Senate, composed of wealthy patricians, often nominated candidates, heavily influencing who got elected."
Initially, that was the military. Eventually, it wasn't any more.
I hear ya. We Really need term limits and an educated electorate as well.
I’d like to try random selection, starting with state legislatures. It would, statistically speaking, provide the most representative selection, and no money involved…at least before they are selected. There should be minimum requirements, such as an understanding of civics, but no education requirement.
Like Buckley who said we would get better leaders picking random names from the phonebook (what's a phonebook?)!
LOL! But I agree with him. Random selection with a limited term. True "gov't of the people" with no political career to lose.
Doesn't matter. The foundation is already there that we will not be "ruled". Instead, there only needs to be men that honor the independence of each citizen and the sovereignty of the country.
Enough of the petty political noise.
Yes, in this Trump post, he was classless. I say that as a Trump voter. I don’t have to like Rob’s politics (and I don’t), but no need to say anything but sorry for this tragedy. So many great movies produced by Reiner. It’s so sad how far we’ve all fallen.
Trump’s post is despicable. Two people were murdered, by knife, by allegedly/maybe their own child. How do you not have only sorrow as your first reaction? Loathsome.
I agree. He shouldn’t have said anything. I also saw many posts from “meathead” I say that affectionately, that no doubt exhibited TDS. However, that didn’t have anything g to do with their tragic death.
Right. I wish he had been the bigger person here in the pile of sludge.
He has no capability to see the bigger person through the giant ego that is his own head. The issue here is that he likely handed the Democrats the mid-terms, and with it.. our Republic. We will be a Democracy within the next 5 years and a totalitarian policy state within 10. Democrats will make sure of it.
Now Repubs have to answer the MSM question about Trump’s comment.
Our country is balanced on the edge. Scores of people voted for Trump because of America 9-1-1. After assassination attempt— Trump gets it, right? Apparently, not.
But has he ever been the bigger person? Stupid, out of line, insensitive, blahblah, anyone who claims to be surprised by what comes from Trump isn't being honest with him/herself.
And what was Riener when he made the remark about being sad the assassination attempt failed?
What-aboutism is childishness. It matters not what a blowhard like Reiner did, or said. The man and his wife died. You show respect for the human life and move on in silence beyond that. You let Rob Reiner's own moronic nature stand for itself throughout history. You don't allow a shred of ability for people to latch onto your moronic statement to elevate that of a blowhard.
This is what Trump doesn't get, and why he is a child.
Exactly. Thank you.
And BTW, it is pretty interesting Trump doesn’t care about the blowback. What is he going to talk about tomorrow night? He thinks we will listen and just move on. Does anybody around him have access or influence? THAT is an interesting question.
Trump is a vindictive asshole. He is incapable of showing any grace to his "enemies" which are many. He is incapable of STFU, even for once.
Yup. But he's our vindictive asshole.
He didn't invent any of this. Look at the horrible things said after his assassination attempts and after Kirk's murder. It's a nasty, nasty game and he fights back, tooth and claw.
At times like these, I wish he'd lay back, like any decent person. That said, I've accepted he's probably not changing his stripes.
I'm glad he's president and not Kamala.
and waltz. oh my freakin god. we dodged a real bullet
I stop to think often if that had happened and it makes my blood run cold. Where would we be now? More violence I’m thinking. Also, we see in Australia—you take away guns from citizens, only criminals have guns.
I also chose to vote for the candidate with the personality disorder, the lesser of the two evils on offer. God help us.
Right. Both sides. "Whether it's an obscure adjunct professor posting that Charlie Kirk did some bad things or it's the president of the United States celebrating Rob Reiner's death, there's plenty of incivility on both sides." NYT Pitchbot.
Fine. Just be above it one time. It should not be that hard, Human.
Again, brutally murdered maybe by their own child? Jesus. Why can’t Trump have sorrow for that?
And BTW, there are generations of Americans that love Rob Reiner’s movies, who don’t even know about Reiner’s politics, or care. Trump is also politically stupid for his nighttime blast.
Donald Trump has never had a moment of decency in his entire worthless life. Why would he start now, when he’s nearly 80 years old and his brain is melting?
I would say he is overly sensitive to slights.
Well after they tried to jail him & his family (for life) tried to take his life & are still trying..I would be somewhat sensitive too..
He’s an asshole. He’s always been a charmless, abusive, asshole. That Truth Social post is the distilled and refined essence of the character of Donald John Trump. He has never been any better and he never will be any better. That’s what some of us never wanted him within 500 miles of the White House.
is he a personal friend of yours that you have know “all of his life” or did you read that in Readers Digest?
Trump has been unavoidable since the 1980’s. He was then a laughingstock and merely annoying.
Can you show one single solitary example of him being even in the same galaxy as decent?
Reader's Digest has not, in its entire history, ever said anything mean about a Republican.
It's also why half the country wanted him in the Oval Office.
"He didn't invent any of this. Look at the horrible things said after his assassination attempts and after Kirk's murder. It's a nasty, nasty game and he fights back, tooth and claw."
He's the President, you miserable POS. He's supposed to set an example. Now, of course, nobody expects that from a ghoul like him, but that's still the aspiration. After all, he's *our* president, not just yours. If you're okay with him defecating on the memory of people like Rob Reiner, then you really should just burn in hell.
"At times like these, I wish he'd lay back, like any decent person."
In calling Billy a "miserable POS," you managed to make his point.
I'm not the President, though, am I. A man beloved by millions is stabbed to death, in his home, along with his wife. The next morning, the 'leader' of our country posts a vindictive, ghoulish, psychotic message about him, essentially claiming that he deserved to be killed because he wasn't sufficiently subservient to our 'leader'. That you'll tolerate, but you draw the line when an anonymous nobody like me calls someone a 'miserable POS' here in the bowels of cyberspace. That tracks perfectly for a reader of Taibbi's effluent garbage.
No, I thought Trump's message was Trump at his most disgusting and deranged, a very low bar. I don't much care if you call Trump a POS but I wish people would quit referring to their fellow citizens expressing opinions as POS.
The only thing a President is supposed to be is the manager of the executive branch. Every one of them from Kennedy on has been a narcissist, a sociopath, or both.
Trump is a corrupt, attention-whoring scumbag, but he’s performing a valuable public service by finally obliterating America’s naive mythology around the “dignity” of the office.
Please, that left with the Clintons.
Not sure there would be much agreement that Jimmy Carter was a narcissist or a sociopath.
He is. They all are.
“people like Rob Reiner”. are you a personal friend?
What's that supposed to mean? I can't mourn for somebody I didn't know personally? Let me ask you this: did you mourn for Charlie Kirk?
**Horse Laughing***
Thinking he is "your guy" is quite funny. He is his own man. Not yours.
Eisenhower was the last good POTUS. He was more loyal to the country than to Mamie, but that,s another story.
Trump closed the border and that had to happen. I also am inclined to think that the crazy strong men of the world keep each other in check.
At least he's not a totalitarian
So we've got that going for us, which is nice.
Gunga, galunga.
Big hitter, the Dalai.
Long.
Hey, lamm-a, how about a little something for the effort?
And it's stunning to hear everyone still claiming to be shocked--SHOCKED!!--by his lack of compassion. Where have those people been the past 10 years?
I'm certainly not shocked by it. He's clinically insane. What shocks me is the extent to which millions of people will stand by him despite his ghoulish psychosis. He's charismatic in the way Jim Jones was--nihilistically. And that's incomprehensible to me.
Trump controls those who despise him wayyy more than those who support him. Were you also 'outraged' at the constant Russian stuff the last decade? No...you were not.
🤣
You're on to something with nihilism. A trip to the dictionary to look up "nihilism/nihilist" will probably show a picture of Trump next to the word. Maybe Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten, but that's the kind of company he's keeping.
It's interesting that while he talked big going into the first term about tearing everything down (drain the swamp blahblah), he didn't really tear much down. He was less demonstrative about it in the '24 campaign, but all he's done since he got there in January is tear shit down, burn it, and dare someone to stop him.
I don't know if he's been this way his entire life, but these days he is a nihilist. For better or worse.
This wasn't a lack of compassion as much as a window into the extent of his psychic derangement.
I won’t care if he was just an asshole. But we will all pay for his assholeness , and that drives me mad. GOP can kiss their power good bye.
I was a county attorney in rural America. There were times when a family would come to the courthouse and petition the court to place a family member in a hospital for 72-hour evaluation, having to prove their family member was “a threat to himself or others.” It was always a hard thing for a family to do. It was a last resort. The embarrassment and shame and regret, like the family had done something wrong.
If the unfolding Reiner story is true, that these parents were allegedly attacked and murdered by their own child who had a long history of issues. . . People with all the money, stature, and respect were unable to prevent this?
President Trump was a complete loser with his response to this. I am beyond disappointed. Mental health wellness is behind most of our health issues in this country. This is a time to be kind. There is NO JUSTIFICATION for that heartless post. None.
This is one of the very few times it’s appropriate to discuss mental health issues in relation to a crime. Not when some loser incel shoots up a school because can’t get laid; not when a wife-beater goes on a rampage with his truck and kills pedestrians. This time, when a man who’s had mental illness since he was in middle school finally snaps.
Trump could have said absolutely nothing. Instead he, as he does every time he opens his disgusting mouth, made an ass of himself.
in 24 hours we know all about the entire life of the killer. wowsa
Not arguing the truth of the matter here, and certainly not saying this story is true.
Just going to repeat what Matt said about waiting to make conclusions.
https://www.tmz.com/2025/12/15/rob-reiner-son-nick-argument-conan-obrien-christmas-party/
Trump is very very often full of shit, but as president her can find out about things he wants to know about almost instantly.
I amm not saying to believe Trump (he is often full of shit), but you are always better off calling him out once you know the facts.
I’ve heard lately, don’t watch what he says—watch what he does. I’m angry too. I say shite too. I’m cutting him some slack because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate. I’m old. Was an old school democrat until Biden. President Trump is the first president that’s doing something about our problems in all my voting life. He must be able to finish this.
Agreed Janet. But the Truth Social post by Trump was a massive own goal. There’s no excuse for it, except to say Trump has been so wronged by others for so long that he’s lost a bit of his humanity in the process.
Agree: "President Trump is the first president that’s doing something about our problems in all my voting life." For better or worse, time will tell. At the very least, he's closed the border, and that had to be done.
My mouth gets me in so much trouble that my perspective is massively corrupted--so I forgive the loud mouthed out of self preservation :)
Also, complaining about actions is so much more powerful--in my experience those that complain most about words have almost always lost in the "actions" department.
But again, I am the last person to listen to about this.
To me "decorum" is a bar in your living room.
[loud booing]
Agreed
For whatever it is worth the LA times is also reporting on the argument.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-15/why-police-have-released-so-feabout-killing-of-rob-reiner-wife
"An argument at Conan O’Brien holiday party hours before Rob Reiner, wife were killed.
Family friends told The Times that Rob and Nick got into an argument on Saturday evening at a party at Conan O’Brien’s home and that many people noticed Nick acting strangely at the party."
----
I am assuming that Nick came to the party with his father.
The argument has been reported in enough places now--I think we can speculate a little.
First, there are very very few possibilities where it would be justified or understandable to, in any way, publicly berate your mentally ill son at a celebrity christmas party.
If he was trying to rape someone or steal jewelry from Conan--I don't condone it (it's like hitting a dog), but that changes the narrative dramatically.
But here is the thing, everyone knows what they were fighting about, and the fact that we don't know very strongly suggests that it doesn't help the narrative.
The Daily Mail is reporting (I know, but they have two named sources) that Rob was publicly berating his son on the set of the movie they made together in order to reconcile. And this was ten years ago.
(subscription block)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-15386401/rob-reiner-death-son-nick-relationship-movie.html
It might be time to speculate whether Reiner's RussiaGate character--wasn't a character--that maybe Rob Reiner was a very deeply disturbed and abusive person.
It's never acceptable to berate your mentally ill son. I'm not excusing anything, especially murder--but it's never acceptable to berate your mentally ill son.
Equating rape to hitting a dog? Don't think that's a good comparison.
Sorry, that isn't clearly written.
I was comparing berating your mentally ill son at a celebrity holiday party to hitting a dog.
Neither the dog or the mentally ill son are going to rationally understand--neither action can ever get you where you want to go.
And the latest news makes Reiner look even worse. It looks like he was berating his mentally ill son for being mentally ill.
What facts? Are two people dead? Were they stabbed to death? Is a family member being held? Did that family member have issues? A president should wait for the facts, and try and lift his nation up after a terribly sad weekend.
I don't do public funerals.
You do realize more than 365 people die each year.
And if I am going to have to walk on eggshells everyday of every year, then at least I am going to decide who to mourn.
And no matter how many times I allegedly did or didn't cry during repeated viewings of The Princess Bride, Reiner was never going to make the top 365 no matter what year he died in. There are just a hell of a lot of other people more important than him to mourn.
Let's be clear, if it weren't for his politics--this is just a true crime podcast netflix docudrama sleazefest story.
I'm saving my outrage for when entertainment dollars kick in.
at least Trump listened to the advice. “never get into a land war in asia”. so far
Well, we know that Rob and his wife are dead. And Trump could not avoid calling out Rob’s politics when sending public condolences. Are you perhaps suggesting Trump’s tweet isn’t real?
I have zero reason to doubt the Trump statement is real.
I was raised at a loud and obnoxious dinner table and I was taught never to wear the ribbon. And I don't do public funerals.
Within that context, Trump's statement is unremarkable to me.
Reiner was massively political nuts and considering his statements about Trump, I personally would have been much sharper if I were Trump in this context.
Frankly he was rather gracious--considering.
But again, I don't do public funerals.
And if Trump had died and Reiner was (inevitably) gloating, I certainly wouldn't be saying "how dare you" to Reiner in that context either.
I don't do public funerals. The world doesn't stop.
You do realize that saying absolutely nothing was an option?
oh boy I wish you would take your own advice
Not as long as Trump soils the Oval Office or one single Trumper exists in this world. Trumpism must be obliterated and all its works destroyed. No Trumper must ever be allowed to hold any kind of position of trust ever again, and everyone who voted for him must be forced to live in permanent shame for doing that.
:) Of course.
Although it is somewhat silly to expect of Trump a silence even we won't abide :)
It's politics. Silence is deadly and talk is cheap. The market favors the magician's patter.
---
Holiday Tunes For All
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aplbdPcd0I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlP41SGFTV0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxLHRVwDuZg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxOL77KMcd8
Perhaps “The Market” (PBUI) could change? Seriously, the President did something that deserves to be condemned. Why is that so hard for you Trumpers? Why must you approve every single horrifying thing that man does? What does worshipping Trump give you?
Have to agree. His rhetoric doesn’t help, it inflames more. These are mentally shifted people living in a fantasy world WAITING to hear this shit. I have no idea what to do about it but I fear this is leading to a tragedy that is even more unspeakable.
Oh, don't so very many of us! Not that I am sorry I voted for him, but after his outrage at the celebrations of the slaughter of Charlie Kirk, he ought to know better. It's just gratuitously nasty.
Agreed
I'm fine with Trump's trash-talking. Sling their shit right back at them. And yes, the deep state-controlled journos are waaay worse.
The Reiners died because their son was so messed up from years of drug addiction.
That might be true, but there are plenty of messed-up, drug-addicted kids who don't murder their parents. I think there's more to it than that. Many use drugs as an escape, some just for "recreation", but either way it's filling some sort of a void. I kicked many heroin habits cold-turkey during my younger days growing up in Brooklyn until I "outgrew" it and realized I wanted more out of life.
I think the lives of wealthy celebrities are more complicated than we might realize.
Trump is a monster. He is unpresidential to the extreme. He is a reaction to our would-be elite class failure. I look back at David Samuel's interview with the late Angelo Codevilla.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/angelo-codevilla
Samuels said:
"I have a name for Trump: The demon emperor. Because I feel like he’s like a figure that you’d find in some Chinese chronicle, right? There was a time of terrible chaos, social disintegration, and then a Mongol invasion. They breeched the Great Wall and did this and that. And in those moments, the Demon Emperor would arise and take power. He had the head of a pig and the body of man, and he was known for his vile excesses and the terrible rampages that he’d go on, and his desecrations of ancient scrolls. Everyone bemoaned him.
But there was a certain virtue, at times, in certain moments, to having the demon emperor around. Yes, he raped 150 virgins in surrounding villages and all their families were very upset and there’s no reason he should have done that, and he defiles the very ground he stands on, and indeed, no one of noble birth would consent to marry his daughter. At the same time, he defeated the Mongols."
Yes, Trump is the demon emperor. Remember, he is only temporary. His presidency will end. Then what? The Democrats will probably regain control of the House in 2026 and possibly the Senate. Will they burn political capital trying to impeach Trump again? They may very well take control of the Presidency and both houses of Congress in 2028. They will expand the Supreme Court; they will have DC and Puerto Rico added as states, which will then pad their slim majorities in both houses of Congress. They will enact nationwide vote-by-mail and outlaw voter ID.
But the fools leading the Democratic party are no better than the fools leading the Republican party. It will be a return to the incompetence of the elites that we saw in the Biden administration. And the major media will cheer their failures on as great successes. Public confidence in our institutions will collapse. The Democrats will probably get a rude awakening in 2032 when the backlash hits in full. They may have total control of elections, but the public will rebel and there will be a wave election against them.
I see failure and gloom ahead. I don't see any light.
I agree with much of the actual substance here, but I find the hyperbole gratuitous and unnecessary. I don't think he's a monster. I believe what Hillary, the Obama admin and the Intel community did during 2020 and Jan 2021 could be called monstrous - promulgating the Russia-collusion hoax and manipulating intel (behind closed doors!) to support that hoax while undermining a duly-elected president. I was glad the "would-be elite class" put a stiff punch in the nose!
I very much agree with this:
"He is unpresidential to the extreme. He is a reaction to our would-be elite class failure."
But we all knew this going in - nothing new.
I believe the saving grace of our political environment is the pendulum is still able to swing back. People saw the disasters of Biden, so they re-elected Trump and gave him legislative majorities despite the best and often dirty efforts of that elite class (fake impeachments; contorted lawsuits, etc..). Next year the pendulum will begin swinging back the other way, which is the way it is supposed to work. Those engaged in efforts at preventing that pendulum from swinging back ARE monsters, as they intend to solidify one-party government/tyranny. When I see countless illegals eligible to vote through the DMV, calls by Dems to stack the court and make DC and Puerto Rico states (going a long way toward ensuring a Dem senate majority), ending the filibuster (which I vehemently disagree with Trump), etc.., it disturbs me. Trump will be gone, and the next Dem admin can begin undoing what he's done. IMO, we should all work toward ensuring this dynamic remains intact, and I will rail against ANYONE who strives to undermine it. One day, those who desire it might be on the wrong end of the political gun. IMO, it represents the undermining of the American experiment when the deck is stacked such that the separation of powers becomes moot. It's already happened in a number of states, and I used to live in one (NY).
Well strap in, BRO. A lot will be undone when Don is gone. He's been a disaster for this country. We're nearly in a recession, unemployment is up and people can't afford groceries. Yet he and the admin deny it constantly.
Strap what? You assume too much. I'm not a Trump fan, but I firmly believe Biden and the Dems (with help from Republicans) inflicted lots of damage on this country since 2020. You conveniently forget that much of what he's dealing with was created prior to him when inflation hit a 40 year high over 9%. There's lots of work to do, and hopefully the tax changes in 2026 will help boost the economy. I try to keep the Big Picture in mind, keep partisanship out of it, and not be swayed by small short-term changes. And, I do my own research rather than rely on others.
"We're nearly in a recession"
Show your work with actual references. You can start here:
2nd qtr GDP rose 3.8%. No telling where the third quarter will wind up, but it certainly doesn't support your assertion of "nearly in a recession".
https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product
"unemployment is up" Yes, marginally. You might find this report useful, which includes the following:
"Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in November (+64,000) and has shown little net change since April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In November, the unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, was little changed from September. Employment rose in health
care and construction in November, while federal government continued to lose jobs."
"Federal government employment continued to decrease in November (-6,000). This follows a sharp decline of 162,000 in October, as some federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer came off federal payrolls. Federal government employment is down by 271,000 since reaching a peak in January."
So a component of the drop in employment and increase in unemployment rate is reduction in Gov't jobs, down 271,000 since it PEAK in Jan 2025. Most of the MSM won't tell you this.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
This chart puts it into perspective, and you see the multi-year trends.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1316/us-national-unemployment-rate
Here's inflation, which you can see is on a downward trend:
https://www.macrotrends.net/2497/historical-inflation-rate-by-year
"U.S. inflation at 9.1 percent, a record high"
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/u-s-inflation-at-9-1-percent-a-record-high
This chart is what concerns me most. The usual Us vs Them of Dem vs Repub is nothing but DISTRACTION. This is the boat we're ALL in. Our Nat'l Debt is now 120% of GDP, with borrowing costs over $1 Trillion for 2026, second only to Social Security.
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/interest-debt-grow-past-1-trillion-next-year
https://www.macrotrends.net/1381/debt-to-gdp-ratio-historical-chart
Sleep well!
How is giving the ultra wealthy a massive tax break going to help people who can barely afford food and rent? That's the usual song and dance nonsense that we've been hearing for decades. Once called trickle down now it's just a blatant give away to the very rich.
Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape. Biden was dealing with a post Covid world, so comparing what his admin had to deal with is far out of the norm. The US was doing better economically in 2024 than most of the world(due to CV).
Your earlier comment mentioned bringing jobs back to America. Biden had a large number of programs and incentives that did just that. Trump dismantled almost all of it b/c he's a toddler that can't handle anything done well that does not involve him.
Lastly, if you aren't a fan, why are defending him insulting a murder victim? And yes, saying oh well I don't really like but I like policies is 1000% defending him.
"How is giving the ultra wealthy a massive tax break going to help people who can barely afford food and rent?"
Once again, show your work. Define "ultra-wealthy" and how much of the tax burden they bear, and how much of the tax break is going to the non-wealthy (reduced tax on tips, social security, etc..). A rising tide lifts all boats.
"Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape."
Really? Concerning Trump's 1st term:
"Real wages — wages adjusted for inflation — increased 7% during former President Donald Trump’s four years in office, the highest increase over one presidential term since the 1970s."
https://gigafact.org/fact-briefs/did-real-wages-increase-under-donald-trump-more-than-any-other-modern-president/#:~:text=Real%20wages%20%E2%80%94%20wages%20adjusted%20for%20inflation%20%E2%80%94,University%20analysis%20dating%20back%20to%20Jimmy%20Carter%20%281977-81%29.
Concerning the economy, review this chart and show me where "Every time an R gets into office, the economy suffers and D's bring it back into decent shape." It looks pretty steady to me, except for the obvious: 2008 and COVID. DO THE RESEARCH!!
https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/usa/united-states/gdp-gross-domestic-product
"Lastly, if you aren't a fan, why are defending him insulting a murder victim?"
What are you talking about?!?!? I DEFY you to show me where I'm "defending him insulting a murder victim"! Re-read my opening post!
But again, you're still playing the Us vs Them game, in which NOBODY WINS except those who desire power. There are pros and cons in EVERY administration. Concerning us common folk, there no good guys and bad guys, only people with different views, values, wants and needs, and with different views on how to get there. The rest is all distraction from the real issues facing this country. Moreover, it's a money raising ploy for career politicians who are NOT acting in the best interests of the little guy, and who exploit those pre-disposed to certain narratives. Do the research, question everything and take nothing at face value.
Read about how NAFTA and admitting China to the WTO sent jobs overseas, undermining the American worker and middle class. so we could buy cheap stuff on Amazon. And these initiatives were endorsed by BOTH parties under Dem administrations (Clinton and Obama).
While I kind of agree with you, it would be hard for anyone to forgive someone who went so relentlessly after you and had such a big voice and platform. Also remember all the kind words Reiner had for Rush Limbaugh when he announced his terminal cancer diagnosis. The kind words continued after Rush passed.
Agreed. His comments were absolutely disgusting + reprehensible.
Absolutely. An absolute classless thing to say from President Trump. I get it, Reiner came at him hard, but Reiner had his throat slit by his own son… a little grace could’ve been afforded to a “political enemy” in the wake of their horrific murder.
I felt the same way about politicians on The Left besmirching Charlie Kirk in the wake of his murder… classless.
This right here is the reason I just won't ever get behind Donald Trump, and it should be the reason he loses all support from everyone regardless of politics. The Republicans are now the adults in the room after lots of years of it being the other way around. We simply can't allow the leader of the free world to be this childish.
We can't fend off the Communist Totalitarian state that is coming our way if Donald Trump is the leader of the party that can maybe, and I say MAYBE prevent it. This is where Donald needs to get off the bus and leave it to the actual adults.
I was never "behind" Donald Trump. I grew up in NYC in the 60s, 70s and 80s, so I know well who he is. The reason I supported him is his policies and my utter frustration with what the Dems did under Biden, and promised to continue under Harris.
"We can't fend off the Communist Totalitarian state that is coming our way if Donald Trump is the leader of the party that can maybe, and I say MAYBE prevent it. This is where Donald needs to get off the bus and leave it to the actual adults."
It's the failure of the "adults", the career politicians who sold us out, that gave rise to Trump. I'm not convinced more "adults" is really what we need, but I admit I find his style utterly distasteful.
And yes, the Fourth Estate has officially gone off the deep end. CNN blaming Trump’s violent rhetoric for the shooting at Brown University…. Never mind that he’s had two assassination attempts on his own life. Do these “journalists” truly not see that it is their own hyperbole and gaslighting that continues to flame the fires?
Oh they see alright. But they are of the "elite" hive mind that believes the public is stooped and will believe anything told to them from a lecturn.
I seem to recall that they blamed Trump for the attempts on his own life. To the tedious (i.e., those afflicted with TDS), everything bad that happens anywhere can be fairly blamed on Trump. Mind, I think his tweet about Rob Reiner's death nearly as outrageous as the jubilance from the left at Charlie Kirk's murder.
I agree…. As my Dad used to say “ don’t borrow trouble.” Reiner’s comments about Trump were heinous, but take the high road!
My Dad used to say, "if you go around asking for trouble, sooner or later you will find one pleased to give it to you." Seems our fathers thought along similar lines, God bless them.
I’m writing his “ wisdoms” down for my grandchildren! My favorite of my Dad’s to his grandchildren “ you’re too young to hate anyone”.
Oh, I like that! And if you're wondering whether I mean writing his words down for your grandchildren or that last saying, it's both!
Trumps failure to submit has led to all the violent rhetoric.
Shall we submit? Are we but slaves?
To borrow from Gilbert and Sullivan.
Of course they were livid he refused to be assassinated.
'Journalists' are not employed in the Fourth Estate. Sure, they hire people that call themselves that and list that on their Linkedin profiles, but they're more event planners and HR generalists than anything else.
They no longer employ reporters, those intrepid heroes that truly dig for the facts and simply present what they find.
Many, many journalists (why, they have a masters degree from Columbia don't you know that means you must trust their opinions!!!) are employed by these "news" organizations, that is the problem.
That’s their business plan
They see the only two things they are permitted to see:
1) Maximize profit at all costs.
2) Shield the shareholders from any and all consequences of #1.
Right - both sides. Whether it's Trump trying to trigger an anti-Somali Krisstallnacht in Minnesota, or CNN pointing out that Trump targets small non-white minorities and journalists with hateful rhetoric on a daily basis, both sides have blamed the other for potentially inciting violence.
"anti-Somali Krisstallnacht" That's somewhat hyperbolic. Nobody is calling for a pogrom against Somalis. Nevertheless, the single greatest theft of taxpayer dollars through welfare fraud in American history warrants some pattern recognition.
Not calling for a pogrom. Just the PRESIDENT of the US calling them "garbage" who should be kicked out of the country. That's all; nothing to see here. That's not provocative!.
By the way, isn't All the "anti-woke"stuff about not ascribing guilt to an entire group of people based on the isolated actions of a subset? Example: at Texas Tech you cannot say to a white person you beae guilt for slavery or for any other acts of discrimination or violence by whites? But here we have Republicans saying, "All Somalis are crooks" because their leaders stole money. Also, to complete the analogy, Kristallnacht was not completely "unprovoked." A Jewish young man *did* shoot to death a German diplomat. That act "provoked" the outburst violence. So, my analogy stands.
anyone who steals money from taxpayers, especially money destined to those with disabilities, deserves to be called garbage - no matter their background
Agreed. But that’s not what Trump did. He said everyone who is Somali is garbage because some members of their community stole. BTW, Republican Senator Rick Scott was CEO of the company that committed the biggest Medicare fraud in US history. Does that make all old white men "garbage?” Does that make all old white men “garbage?” Or all white men from Florida “garbage?”
Massive incompetence and cover-up at Brown. MSM is not asking any hard questions or digging into the details. Has a mass shooter ever escaped capture for this long without any description of his appearance?
Why couldn't the mayor or police chief provide any description of the suspect other than a "man dressed in black"? On a campus with cameras everywhere, how were they unable to provide any footage of the area other than a short grainy video?
Why was Brown President Christina Paxson on a private flight to DC and unable to answer basic questions in the middle of final exams? Was the deceased victim Ella Cook, a leader of the Brown Republican club, targeted for her political beliefs? How much did the recent no confidence in the Brown police chief affect campus security?
We need to closely watch how this investigation unfolds and investigate the bungled response.
Also, what about the videos, the ones they're releasing are ridic. (#Rhody native)
I wonder if the perp has a prosthetic pot-belly to throw off law enforcement.
My friends in Rhody are not alone using the term "Keystone cops" here.
(FBI is even worse -- see Kirk, Charlie.)
Won’t happen. The media will cover for them.SSDD.
The “MSM is not asking any hard questions…” Good grief. Plenty of hard questions are being asked by journalists but the authorities are not providing enlightening answers. That is not the fault of the media.
Some mass shooters have escaped capture without descriptions of their appearance ever being released. Examples include the perpetrator of the Austin yogurt shop murders, Denver Father’s Day bank massacre, Lane Bryant shooting in Tinley Park and the Las Cruces bowling alley massacre.
Brown’s campus has 230 buildings on 150 acres. Despite having several hundred cameras it’s not like every section of the campus is covered. The shooter wore dark clothing and a mask. Real life is not a movie — expecting good video of the shooter after every massacre is absurd.
The only “basic question” the Brown president could not answer six hours after the shooting was the exact nature of the student gathering where the shooting occurred. She answered truthfully that she did not know. Who cares if it was an exam, review session, club meeting or a party? The important details were known by the president — namely that 11 students were shot in a building on campus and two of the students were dead.
...I was somewhat troubled by Brown President's statement about the student gathering ... one, it was given SIX hours after the event, theoretically notifications would be going on, wouldn't it seem advisable to have an idea of WHO was in that classroom, for WHAT reason and HOW many students were in that classroom or suppose to be? ...
Brown’s president had been on a flight that day and may not have had cell service for a significant period of time. The campus was still in lockdown at the time of the press conference and the president’s immediate concern was for the safety of students and staff, not all the nitty gritty details of the classroom where the shooting took place. She knew the who (students), how many shot (11), how many killed (2), and the status of the campus (still locked down).
If you really want to be “troubled” then how about showing concern over the level of gun violence in America. In the previous five years there have been over 500 mass shootings each year in the USA. Over 100,000 Americans are shot every year. That should not be considered normal, yet one political party thinks it is.
...those *nitty gritty* details ... I can entertain the thought the college president may not WANT to provide details of the classroom for investigative reasons or because not all families/NoK have been notified ... but to answer with " I don't know" is absurd after six hours and this is how SM begins to fill in with speculative creations ... it sounds silly and it is ...
I don't know of any political party that thinks gun violence is *normal* ...
Just because six hours had elapsed does not mean Brown’s president should have been aware of every single aspect of the shooting. What does it matter if the scene of the shooting was a final exam, review session, club meeting or a party? What’s actually “absurd” is the level of gun violence in America.
The Republican Party certainly thinks the level of gun violence in America is acceptable. Republicans consistently advocate for fewer gun laws and have hobbled the ATF by starving it of funds and strong leadership. If republicans thought the level of gun violence was abnormal they would be enacting measures aimed at curbing gun violence, instead of measures that enable it.
The only measures that could curb gun violence would be involuntarily confining people with mental issues.
> Why was Brown President Christina Paxson on a private flight to DC and unable to answer basic questions in the middle of final exams
Lol I have to admit I don't find anything about that surprising or suspicious. I'd bet that a univ president at a school like Brown has even less going on during final exams than they do in a normal week. So, why not skip town, and c'mon she isn't gonna fly steerage.
Also, I suspect that answering basic questions lies beyond the remit of her position. We'll have to wait until someone asks her sufficiently advanced questions.
Hard to closely watch anything that isnt shown.
He’s “in his 30s”—isn’t that enough ??
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟔 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐁𝐈 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝"𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚."
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫:
𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠.𝐜𝐨𝐦/𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨𝐬/𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰/𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨?
Well, some things are so obvious I'm reposting what I posted on FP this morning.
So, the UK can censor Free Press stories of fraud in Minnesota but do nothing about Islamists marching down the street calling for the eradication of Jews from the river to the sea? If there is no such thing as free speech in the UK, why are the Islamists allowed to spew hatred?
the UK has become a joke of a country led by a joke of a PM.
What a steep tumble that was!
Right. The US, which elected an orange shit stain for president and is $37 Trillion in debt and counting. That's the serious country.
You can be critical of where you live AND other places because failure should be ridiculed. Being critical of one does not imply full acceptance of somewhere else.
Probably hard for you to understand that. B-b-b-butwhatabout fixes nothing. Stop peddling it.
Was Bondi beach what all those college students meant by "Globalize the intifada"? If this remains important to them, it matters right now. It isn't only Islamists that are spitting hate.
Yes, it is. It is Islamists and the Islamist adjacent, like the white US college students who know little to nothing about history, who spit the hate, and nobody else, no matter what the Aussie PM thinks.
The epitome of which would be the "Gays 4 Gaza" types who would be quickly stoned to death in Gaza.
...because they assemble in larger numbers in their marches than the police can handle. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-68856360
Ahmed al Ahmed is a true hero. Full stop.
Would’ve been even better had he shot the guy, who got away, rearmed, and continued the attack, but I won’t hate because the authorities likely would’ve gone after him for it, and he still almost certainly saved lives with his balls of steel.
The Babylon Bee had a hilarious headline,"Australian man who wrestled gun from terrorist charged with unlawful firearm possession. "
I'd vote for Trump a fourth time if the Constitution allowed it AND he was running against yet another progressive.
That said, I have wished for the admittedly impossible many times; namely, that he could learn how and when to shut his yap.
As many have stated in this thread lets wait for the details to be found, if we can then trust them.
I believe we will begin to see many of Reiners previous comments re Trump and his hatred of him.
Despite the timing, Trumps comment seems well placed. Sad for the family if the son killed his parents. Something was off in that household.
Sick of these "love Drumpf's policies but wish he would shut up" posts. You voted for him knowing he was a vile disgusting piece of shit. So own it. Don't give us excuses. You & your ilk out this POS in office.
And a Merry Christmas to you.
Admittedly, I'm a little surprised that you didn't see where I "owned" my past and present support of Trump. To be clearer for your benefit, I have, and I do, and, under the circumstances I described, would again.
But now I'm wondering whether in some corner of your mind there is the idea that any politician is not a "vile disgusting piece of shit" to someone, at some time, in some way?
In any case, stay warm. My preferred energy policy is "all of the above."
You a brit, son? You like Starmer?
Why did it take an unarmed Syrian policeman working as a green grocer to try to stop the shooters or distract them?
Where were Sydney’s unarmed (and armed) police for the alleged 10+ minutes?
In American there was eventual transparency about inaction/action after the Parkland FL and Uvalde TX shootings.
I’m a little dubious about transparency from Albanese
10 minutes? I heard 30-40. I'm not a gun owner, but yet again we see why 2a is critical.
Why? Simply because of his silence on the pro-Palestine/anti-Semitic goings on; and then his immediate call for more gun control after this attack? Perhaps this father and son team just had not become familiar with their new home’s customs?
This might be fake news but I listened to a radio broadcast where it was "reported" there were at least four police officers at the scene "hiding behind parked cars."
I don’t know what I would do in that situation - God forbid- but I only hope it would be closer to “serve and protect” rather than “call it in and cower”
The global Muslim Diaspora has globalized Islam's centuries-old anti-Jew Intifada. From now on, wherever Jews gather they will need to do so in secret or with security. This is not about Gaza or Israel. This is about Islam:
"The enmity of the Jews towards Islam and its people – in other words Muslims – is not new. It is not a recent phenomenon. Rather, it's an ancient hostility and deep-rooted hatred. The Quran has clearly shown the true nature of the Jews, and it has described them in great detail. They are a small group who spread corruption through the land. This enmity that the Jews have towards Islam and Muslims will never come to an end. Never. The Jews have an ancient and dark history of bloodshed and breaking covenants and treaties. After all, they are the killers – the murderers – of prophets and the righteous. They bomb buildings under the cover of darkness, and they kill men, women, and children. Not even fetuses in the womb are safe from them. Never be afraid to describe the Jews – the real enemy – the way Allah has described them. If Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them Himself, But He ordered armed struggle. Listen! He ordered armed struggle to test some of you by means of others. And those who are killed in the cause of Allah, never will He – that is, Allah – waste their deeds."
– Imam Sheikh Younus Kathrada, Muslim Youth Victoria Islamic Center, Victoria, B.C. (Aug.2, 2024)
Let’s be very clear. What this imam says does not just apply to Jews. If all The Friday people exterminated all the Saturday people, the Sunday people among others will be next. There is no quelling their hate.
To the Islamic world, the Jews are the original traitors to their hive-mind tribal system.. Because the Jews evolved toward empathy and individualism while the Muslims generally did not.
Though you are right that if the Jews disappeared, the Muslims would find another enemy very soon in order to live out their tribal hive-mind and their hatred of any outsider to their system. They operate the same way as any cult or gang.
True, but there were few Catholics in Medina in 600, while there were lots of unbelieving Jews.
The basic issue of the ancient hostility of Islam against Jew is that the Jews were inspired to become individuals with human compassion -- probably through the example of a Mesopotamian leader of 5000 years ago named Sargon of Akkad -- whereas the other Middle Eastern peoples remained tribalists in a collective hive-mind which never developed human empathy (I think we can all see that).
So Islam hates the neighbouring group that evolved -- and whose members refused to go along with the standard tribal narratives any more -- when Muslims did not evolve in this manner.
You can think of the Muslim world as living out of the Cluster-B frame of mind, where anyone who crosses them, even a little, is toast.
Such sweeping generalities remind one of what they used to say about the Jews (and still do). You know, that they never ‘evolved’ and they never accepted the New Testament, and only know the philosophy of an eye for an eye. Many would argue that’s what we’re seeing in Gaza. It’s a slippery slope if you want to go down that path.
There is a lot of truth to your very interesting observation. The Jews are fierce warriors who find great inspiration and satisfaction in Old Testament justice. Plenty of Christians love it too. Despite the Christian reading of prophecy, peace is not easy between the two Testaments.
These are not sweeping generalities if you know a certain amount of Evolutionary Science and Depth Psychology. Why not do the homework yourself first, before making such claims?
If you wish to refute me, you are going to have to prove me wrong. I'll wait. Could take a few years just for you to complete the background reading. And then you would need to be tested to determine whether you had understood it.
You seem to deal in idle gossip, and not much more. The path I use is much more solid than yours. You're grasping at straws here.
Oooh, we call that in rhetoric argumentum ad verecundiam or more commonly, ‘pulling rank.’ Usually used by those afraid or unable to confront facts presented to them. Feel free to refute what I said if you wish or admit you’re just blowing hot air.
Facts? What facts? You presented none. Just nonsense.
Run along, my friend. I was being facetious. I don't think you read.
Jews had a covenant with God that the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Muslims could not break. Were they compassionate? I don't know.
I think of the covenant with God as the symbol of a new human trait brought to them through evolution.
Abstract concepts such as this were communicated through symbolic means.
Compassion is a Christian virtue, though Jews are masters of existential angst.
I am looking at Evolutionary Science here, as it appeared in historical context, and as it actually physically changed the human brain.
There was a watershed in the ancient world where the Superego of the human psyche first appeared -- as in Freud's explanation of the psyche as Id/Ego/Superego. The Superego contains the human conscience and empathy.
The ancient people had only the Id (inborn drives and appetites)....until something happened to awaken a segment of them so that new traits were born.
These new traits appeared about 5000 years ago and soon spread though Judaism. Then early Christianity. Then Western civilization.
If we did not have the likelihood now of being born with these new traits, we would be cold-blooded reptiles, in effect. Zero human empathy, and no individuality. We would live under collective hive-minds where only tribal loyalty would matter, and outsiders would be considered the enemy.
It was a very big deal when this change happened. An evolutionary leap forward.
Although the point here to remember is that only certain Middle Eastern groups adapted and developed in this way, from the leadership of a particular ruler of the time. My own opinion is that the birth of Christ further consolidated this. Though the Jews themselves by that time were already well-endowed with human empathy.
The Jews and early Christians had also been Hellenized by the Greeks and Romans which further detribalized them.
Once the ball started rolling, and they realized the possibilities, they absorbed many beneficial influences
Classical Chinese civilization. also had a well-developed (Confucian) superego.
I am less familiar with the pre-Communist Chinese civilization. Thank you for that.
The Classical Chinese superego as constructed by Confucius was larger than ours. Correct behavior, law-abiding, filial piety....highly civilized and destroyed by Mao.
Trump's Truth Social post about Reiner sure didn't help. It was in incredibly bad taste, even for Trump.
Donald Trump's favorite poem:
"Me, wheeeee!"
I guess more of Rep. Bennie Thompson's (D-MS) "unfortunate accidents", like the 2 National Guards in DC. The spin and silence on one side is deafening.
Is that what Bennie said? Oh my.
I was at an MLK Jr. breakfast in Mississippi one year, before Obamacare passed, when he said anyone who opposed it was going to hell. New theology, right from ole Bennie's lips to God's ear.
I've been amused by Trump's daily exercises in narcissism, but God damn him, when it matters, he hasn't got a scintilla of class.
Trump’s comment regarding the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle was disgusting. He’s disgusting. There is no limit to the stupidity of his comments in times of crisis and heartbreak. I just can’t understand where he thinks he is doing anything positive in times of need for a president to be conciliatory. It’s mind boggling.
At this point, most people don’t expect anything more.
I'm not sure which is sadder.
I am a bit perplexed about when it became a requirement for a President to comment on every crime. Trump did not have to say anything at all about the Reiner murders. Mass shootings yes, because this has become a real indicator of larger social problems.
I do not recall Presidents of earlier decades feeling they had to publicly comment on more personal targeted crimes. Maybe the social media platforms make it all too tempting?
Trump needs to comment on everything. His ego will not allow him to shut up.
I agree with your comment. But excuse me stupidity just doesn't seem like the right word.
When you're trying to figure out the ... "Who, What, When, Where, Why and How," look no further than the common denominator ... the ideology of Islam.
I suppose that everyone was a bit surprised that the Bondi Beach hero had a Muslim name. Was that situation actually for real?
I may have a mind that sees scams everywhere now....so I better just give this incident the benefit of the doubt.
Taking a break from the news has been quite healing. I still read the news via newsletters I get and I think that’s helped me stay a lot calmer. For some reason, reading about it is much more calming in the sense that it is a bit more distant even if still disturbing. Today’s news has been quite sad. So much happened over this weekend.
I still recommend people disconnect to an extent for their own sanity. Spend time with family and friends. Get the rest needed for the holidays. I’ve been trying to define rest this advent and I do think it means spending time with loved ones and for me it means learning more about my faith in God.
Personally, I think this massive increase in violence is because the demons are upset more people are looking to God for answers. I’ve noticed a serious uptick in violent thoughts over the years since covid in my own mind. I never act on these impulses.
Thoughts do not define you. Your actions do. Thoughts that come into your mind might not be your own. Writers and artists sometimes talk about being struck by the urge to create coming from somewhere other than themselves and I believe violent acts can have that same outside “inspiration.”
My past atheistic self would have thought all of this as nonsense but things have gone super crazy since covid and unfortunately atheism has no answer for why everything’s gone absolutely insane since.
The spiritual and metaphysical planes that have been ignored in search for information in the “real” tangible plane can no longer be contained. They are spilling into the “real” world. We ignore these planes of existence at our own peril.
I tend to agree.
You might find a new book interesting, by Meredith Miller: "Becoming Whole: How to Prevent Stockholm Syndrome and Transcend Darkness in Your Life and Relationships"
And Carl Jung, of course.
I haven't watched any news for years, so I totally agree. It's more opinion than news now anyway, as the reactions from the media to the events of the weekend are showing. I still read about the news through various newsletters as you do, but I avoid television news completely.
C’mon Matt. Australia is easy—just more Muslims globalizing the Intifada.
It was made clear quickly that the Reiners’ son has been arrested. What a terrible thing.
And while RI seems to be a total goat rodeo, it WAS a conservative student leader killed. Looking at the totality of the political violence in this country over the past year, one is led to conclude it is the Left acting murderous.
Don't forget the scant reporting on the professor of the class at Brown - reportedly Jewish - though not present at the exam during the shooting. Should I trust even that reporting?