Hand wringing? Heads rolling is what I want. These people are communists. Why mince words? Any and all of the leftist whinging whores need comeuppance.
While I agree it’s not enough to fire people because the institutional rot is so pervasive, I really want to see as many regulators fired as possible. Like 99% of them. 100% wouldn’t bother me, either. No regulator has ever said, “well I fixed everything so I guess you can eliminate my job”. They just keep harassing Americans with more and more stupid edicts, and they never do a cost/benefit analysis prior to or after the adoption of a regulation. This tells you all you need to know about all government regulation.
Take vehicle safety and emissions regulations. Cars were clean enough and safe enough 25 years ago, so as a first step roll all these regulations back to the year 2000. Then fire all the safety and emissions regulators. The fallacy from the left is that cars will get less safe and less clean. That will not happen, because auto manufacturers will impose their own safety and emissions standards, and then the market will decide if their vehicles are desirable or not. Prior to safety and emissions regulations, there were auto manufacturers who marketed their vehicles specifically touting the manufacturer’s safety features or gas mileage. This will happen again.
The general public needs a lesson that free markets can take care of almost all government regulations. I really want to see the auto industry unleashed because it is such a driver of American employment and economic success.
I’m really tired of the government spending billions of dollars to clear up 99% of a problem, like auto emissions, then spending billions more in a futile effort to clear up the remaining 1%, which everyone knows will never happen.
And writing these regulations to suit some private interest that will either donate to a politician or provide an offramp to regulators looking to cash in after leaving the gov't.
Damm Jeffrey: as my mom would have said: "Estas en fuego, mijo."
Anecdote re: US medical care: I am a cancer survivor who if I was in Canada or the UK would be dead today (I'm sure.) I had terrible kidney pain for a couple of weeks. Finally went to the doc (I thought I was lifting too heavy. But finally listened to my wise wife who told me to stop being an idiot and visit a doctor.) The doc orders a CT scan. I get an appointment for the following day (In Canada, I would have waited months.) Radiologist reads the scan immediately (in Canada that would have happened after months.)
They find a tumor the size of a softball attached to my pancreas and kidney (hence the pain.) I immediately get admitted and undergo chemo therapy (10 rounds, which absolutely sucks.)
I am now five-years cancer free. Given the expected wait periods in Canada for not only scans, but radiological reviews and chemo appointments, I definitely would have died. Yes, it was extremely costly, but I work for a tremendous company and have access to a very good health insurance plan.
But why does my plan cover me for pediatric care if I now nearly qualify for geriatric care?
Another good one! Kudos. OF course I agree with just about all you say AND what you don't say but seems obvious. Trump 'may' be able to begin inroads with the processes of chopping back this monstrous government of ours however it would take another half dozen free market /conservative admins to get the job done and we know that won't happen. Probably by '28 the howls of pain will bring on another Obama type government.
Just an aside: I don't believe for a moment that 41% of ANY American generation really approves of political assassination. I'm wondering just what such a poll might be attempting to engineer.
I had to read that FT/Softbank story twice, it was so unbelievably lame. Tech executives 'curry favor' with Trump, is an absurd analysis. 3 times now, as I just read the similarly lame comments on line, had the actual paper yesterday.
Did the FT write anything like the when a business donated to Obama or BIden's inauguration?
re Autism, I suspect a big part of the increase is that physicians & psychiatrists are more likely to diagnose it now that it's getting so much attention.
Also, some parents *want* their kids to be diagnoses w cognitive problems of one kind or another so that they will be allowed extra time on tests. Might help w getting into Harvard, most important thing in the world, after all..
That's another potential good reason. We didn't know about it before, or didn't know how to diagnose it. Your second reason, maybe but the parents I knew who did this went to psychologists and got stuff for silly things like anxiety etc.
Amen to all of that good sir. The unwind is huge and daunting. I would say rip off the bannd-aid but practically that is not possible nor would be it be wise.
Agree on everything. Trump unleashed hydrocarbon energy where supply exceeded demand and all of us started accumulating wealth through deflation... until the Texas Bush oil cartel and OPEC kicked him out in 2020, Non-MAGA absolutely LOVE controlling the supply of our products as it helps control prices.
Right now global energy policy -- the price of oil, the availability of oil transport w and w/out insurance, absurd climate change policies -- is an international security consideration of the first rate.
Drive oil down to less than $40/bbl and Russia is in the ICU.
Enforce the existing Trump 1.0 Iran sanctions and Iran is broke and unable to fund Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq militias, Syrian terrorists, and the Houthis.
Enforce the existing Trump 1.0 Iran sanctions and China's energy sources are a real hindrance to growth.
Unleash the power of nuclear in the US and all of our electricity problems disappear.
USA oil production tops 15MM bbl/day and we unleash NG to replace Russian supply and the USA is the unchallenged energy leader in the world making Middle East oil diplomacy and politics an afterthought.
Cheap US energy -- which can be accomplished in 6 months -- places welcome, real downward pressure on prices.
Agree. He will create his own tailwind by drilling for all fossil fuels, permitting for fossil fuels etc. Let's hope he builds a buttload of nuclear plants as fast as possible too
All of the above is the solution for energy. And Trump's pick of Chris Wright is brilliant, as he has significant experience in multiple types of energy. Plus he communicates clearly and convincingly with abundant common sense.
I believe psychologists say projection is denying you have certain behaviors and as defense mechanism you assign them others...normally someone you don't like. I see a lot of that in liberal circles. As for government efficiency I give you the NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore who went to space for an eight (8) day flight. Barring any other delays they will be back in March 2025 after 10 months in space. I wonder if their fellow astronauts will be playing the theme song from Gilligan's Island, "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the Skipper brave and sure, five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, a three hour tour." Just change the three hours to eight days.
I thought it was kind of funny. One day Trump is saying maybe we need tariffs on Japanese products and then a few days later a Japanese bank says they want to “invest” $100b (that’s BILLION with a “B”!!) in the US to creat over 100,000 jobs. I’d call that winning!
Remember the story of Lenard Clark and Frankie Caruso? Point being, everyone knows but looks the other way citing 'family'. Sound and fury signifying nothing.
I listened to that interview yesterday. I thought Tucker let him get away with far too much. Agree with Jeffrey L. Minch that the guy is a propagandist. How many Ukrainian schools/books/religious ceremonies are allowed every day inside Russia? What stops Putin from colonizing another country he wants with Russian speaking people and then claiming it? Do we think there is even a slight chance that the elections Laranov cites were "free, fair, and objective" without Russian interference? Laranov cites the UN, which is a stupidly corrupt organization. The great thing was that we got to hear Laranov in his own words. The sad thing is that Tucker didn't challenge him at all.
That interview is pure propaganda and Lavrov is evil personified.
This does not disqualify it in my mind as it is essential to understand what your enemies think. Since we spy on them, why not mine their own words? Makes sense to me.
A gigantic American failing is to not take our enemies at face value. We knew for more than a year that Russia had designs on Ukraine. How? They told us.
Put that into context with China and Taiwan today. They have told us repeatedly they will have Taiwan even if it comes to war. We should believe them.
Tucker Carlson is in a awkward position -- does he become the conduit for Russian propaganda as a means of exposing their warped thinking (and thereby providing a service to mankind) or is he a shill providing his imprimatur for its content without challenging it?
I do not particularly like Tucker Carlson, but I do applaud his williingness to force himself into the conversation and to bring voices that are not normally heard in the public square to the public without a filter.
Putin -- in their interview -- used him and ridiculed him like a rented mule. It was embarassing. Putin made fun of Carlson's efforts to join the CIA, as an example.
Reading the recent admissions from NYT and WSJ, Biden wasn't communicating at all..it was his phalanx of "aides". All of whom are either ignorant or arrogant (or both) so don't think they need to listen to anyone. Hence no communications at all with many foreign leaders.
We don't have to agree with them or endorse them to benefit from listening.
Well stated, but neglects the primary importance, in my eyes, of fixing the federal electoral procedures. Paper ballots, id required, markers like those purple fingers that prevent multiple votes, and one day voting on site with clear restrictions on mail in votes, are some of the changes to make which would affect state and local vote procedures too.
"It’s another in the very long litany of Democratic complaints where they accuse someone of doing something, and then actually do it themselves."
If I'm not much mistaken, in psychology this is called "projection". The democrats have perfected it as an art (political). Of course they have their willing helpers in the media. Useful idiots in Stalin speak.
This is a very good write up on the difficulty of systematic change.
"Diagnosis we have. The power to change we do not. Billionaires are in charge now because they have power. Elon in particular has what Ezra Klein correctly ascribed to Trump, which is lack of inhibition. Normal people like me get scared and ashamed when we’re told we’re doing something illegal. Elon does not. I wish it were different, but perhaps the job of breaking the wall has ended up with someone who is suited to doing it. The norms that constrain even people with far more power than I have make it very difficult to break through that wall."
Right, do not forget the dairy states. If they can't roll back subsidies, how are they going to get rid of the myriad web of tax breaks for all kinds of special interests?
Agree. I visited Don Manzullo there years ago. He showed me the "docket" for that particular day. There was nothing of substance on it. This was in the early 2000s.
One has only to look at the dysfunction that had driven us to this place: in the last 18 years only twice has the House of Representatives discharged their duty to present a budget.
This budget is supposed to underpin 12 appropriation bills that are to be debated and approved by House committees. This has also not happened in decades.
This gives one a sense of the seriousness of the House.
We need term limits and a provision that Congressional pay is cut by 50% for any year they fail to deliver a budget in a timely manner or in which they fail to approve the 12 appropriations bills also timely.
Your words are even more powerful when one recognizes the other side is willing to use the law as a sharp edged tool with which to disembowel their enemies.
The Biden admin has attacked and investigated Trump and Musk simply because they want to harm them. This is Stalin/Beria tactics with the witting cooperation of a supposed free and fair media.
Trump and Hitler: Frail Leaders, Big Lies, and the Press Under Siege
Donald Trump’s latest tantrum against the press—threatening lawsuits and jail for journalists—is a sad echo of Adolf Hitler's more violent war on media freedom. Trump, like Hitler, cannot abide criticism. Both men, frail and insecure, have decided that the best way to protect their fragile egos is by attacking the very foundation of democracy: a free press.
Trump has launched a series of defamation lawsuits against media outlets he dislikes, including one against ABC over a factual error and another against the Des Moines Register for publishing a poll he didn’t like. It's a classic move for a man who can’t handle the truth: if the press doesn't bow to you, sue them into submission. But Trump's strategy isn't just about seeking justice—it’s about using the legal system to drown out dissent. And with his pick for FBI director promising retribution against journalists, the chilling effect is already here.
Hitler, meanwhile, didn’t bother with lawsuits. He simply seized control. The Reich Press Law of 1933 turned independent journalism into state-approved propaganda, and anyone who resisted was either silenced or executed. No lawsuits needed—just the brute force of a regime that crushed free speech under the weight of its own delusions of grandeur. The Nazis even had their own term for “fake news”: Lügenpresse (lying press), a phrase weaponized to delegitimize dissent and discredit the media entirely.
Both leaders, in their own ways, use the media as a scapegoat for their insecurities. Trump calls the press “fake news” whenever it dares to report facts he dislikes, just as Hitler's Reich Ministry of Propaganda spun every inconvenient truth into a lie. Neither man can stomach the idea that their weak, insecure leadership might actually be questioned.
Tyranny doesn’t spring up overnight; it’s built piece by piece, first with threats and then with silence. Trump and Hitler are cut from the same cloth: insecure, petty men who would rather rule with fear than face the truth. Their war on the press is the first step in eroding democracy itself—and it must be resisted at all costs.
Can we disagree and say you are wrong without being called racists or laissez faire on Hitler type people? Question. How many Hitlers have there been in the last 200 years?
I understand the impulse to disagree, but let's be clear: the parallels between Trump and Hitler are grounded in historical facts. Both men have used grievances, media manipulation, and legal threats to undermine democracy and silence critics. This isn't a vague comparison—it's about real tactics that can be observed in both leaders. If you're interested in a deeper analysis, I encourage you to read my full article. It's important to face the uncomfortable reality of these parallels, especially when democracy itself is at stake.
Comparisons of Hitler and anybody, but Trump in particular, are intellectually flawed and expose a basic ignorance of history as well as the inability to craft a cogent argument. You should be ashamed of yourself for being such a dupe.
Trump 1.0 did none of the things you allege. Why would Trump 2.0?
Trump settled the lawsuit v ABC/Stephanopolous as a private citizen and as a result of a lawsuit he filed in a civil court. He was not President and did not use any agency of the gov't to further his complaint.
ABC/S -- represented by a first rate lawfirm and fully capable of defending itself against a private citizen -- settled for a substantial amount of money. Trump was content to allow a jury to decide the case, but ABC/S did not trust their chances in a court.
The press has been an arm of the Dem party and has been a participant in some of the biggest lies ever perpetrated in US history. I cite the Russia hoax and the 51 intel racket fraudsters.
What you accuse the Nazis of doing -- turning the press into a state controlled organ -- is exactly what the Dems did and continue to try to do.
The biggest difference between then and now is the pervasive impact of the Internet that allows even you to be heard on the subjects you desire even when you are hopelessly wrong and out of your depth.
It’s abundantly clear you didn’t actually read the article—and that’s understandable. Trump loyalists, as a rule, aren’t big on reading. Critical thinking? Even less so.
Let’s start with your dismissal of Hitler-Trump comparisons as “intellectually flawed.” Ironically, your own argument is a textbook example of the very ignorance you accuse others of. The comparison is not about identical outcomes but shared tactics: the use of propaganda to delegitimize the press, scapegoating dissenters, and fostering cult-like loyalty through grievance and fear. If you had engaged with the argument instead of hurling reflexive insults, you might have grasped that nuance.
Your apologia for Trump’s lawsuits against ABC conveniently omits the larger context: Trump’s obsession with silencing criticism, both as a private citizen and as a president. The lawsuits are part of a broader pattern—whether it’s calling journalists the “enemy of the people,” threatening to jail them, or cheerleading violence against them at rallies. You might dismiss these as bluster, but they’re well-documented steps in authoritarian playbooks. That’s not ignorance of history—it’s recognizing it.
As for the “Russia hoax” and “51 intel racket fraudsters” you breathlessly invoke, it’s fascinating how conspiracy theorists like yourself accuse the press of bias while parroting right-wing media’s most debunked talking points. Shall we also discuss Trump’s own attempts to weaponize the DOJ against his enemies or his pressure campaign on state officials to overturn election results? Those don’t fit neatly into your narrative of victimhood, do they?
And your claim that Democrats have turned the press into a “state-controlled organ” is laughable. If that were true, Fox News wouldn’t exist, and Trump’s media circus wouldn’t dominate the headlines. The press isn’t monolithic—it’s just that most credible outlets find it hard to ignore the constant stream of lies, scandals, and grifts from Trump and his allies. Blaming the press for accurately reporting those truths isn’t evidence of bias; it’s evidence of accountability.
Lastly, your swipe at the internet giving me a platform to express my “hopelessly wrong” opinions is particularly rich. The irony, of course, is that the same internet enables you to projectile-vomit your bad takes into the digital void. Unlike you, however, I engage with facts, context, and evidence—things you might want to acquaint yourself with before wading into conversations so clearly above your intellectual pay grade.
But please, keep ranting. Every tantrum only underscores the very insecurity and blind loyalty that make Trump’s base such fertile ground for authoritarianism. Thanks for proving my point so thoroughly.
How brave you are, Mr. Substack Warrior! Hitler is about to take office and you are publicly criticizing him. Godspeed, and don’t answer your doorbell.
Hahaha do you even attempt to deny that Obama and Biden weaponized the federal government against their opponents? You fight back against someone who attacks you.
Hand wringing? Heads rolling is what I want. These people are communists. Why mince words? Any and all of the leftist whinging whores need comeuppance.
Little Stalanistas they are, this is to be sure.
While I agree it’s not enough to fire people because the institutional rot is so pervasive, I really want to see as many regulators fired as possible. Like 99% of them. 100% wouldn’t bother me, either. No regulator has ever said, “well I fixed everything so I guess you can eliminate my job”. They just keep harassing Americans with more and more stupid edicts, and they never do a cost/benefit analysis prior to or after the adoption of a regulation. This tells you all you need to know about all government regulation.
Take vehicle safety and emissions regulations. Cars were clean enough and safe enough 25 years ago, so as a first step roll all these regulations back to the year 2000. Then fire all the safety and emissions regulators. The fallacy from the left is that cars will get less safe and less clean. That will not happen, because auto manufacturers will impose their own safety and emissions standards, and then the market will decide if their vehicles are desirable or not. Prior to safety and emissions regulations, there were auto manufacturers who marketed their vehicles specifically touting the manufacturer’s safety features or gas mileage. This will happen again.
The general public needs a lesson that free markets can take care of almost all government regulations. I really want to see the auto industry unleashed because it is such a driver of American employment and economic success.
I’m really tired of the government spending billions of dollars to clear up 99% of a problem, like auto emissions, then spending billions more in a futile effort to clear up the remaining 1%, which everyone knows will never happen.
And writing these regulations to suit some private interest that will either donate to a politician or provide an offramp to regulators looking to cash in after leaving the gov't.
Damm Jeffrey: as my mom would have said: "Estas en fuego, mijo."
Anecdote re: US medical care: I am a cancer survivor who if I was in Canada or the UK would be dead today (I'm sure.) I had terrible kidney pain for a couple of weeks. Finally went to the doc (I thought I was lifting too heavy. But finally listened to my wise wife who told me to stop being an idiot and visit a doctor.) The doc orders a CT scan. I get an appointment for the following day (In Canada, I would have waited months.) Radiologist reads the scan immediately (in Canada that would have happened after months.)
They find a tumor the size of a softball attached to my pancreas and kidney (hence the pain.) I immediately get admitted and undergo chemo therapy (10 rounds, which absolutely sucks.)
I am now five-years cancer free. Given the expected wait periods in Canada for not only scans, but radiological reviews and chemo appointments, I definitely would have died. Yes, it was extremely costly, but I work for a tremendous company and have access to a very good health insurance plan.
But why does my plan cover me for pediatric care if I now nearly qualify for geriatric care?
Good wife.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
good wife and GREAT doctors/nurses/technicians etc. Glad you found it!!!
Another good one! Kudos. OF course I agree with just about all you say AND what you don't say but seems obvious. Trump 'may' be able to begin inroads with the processes of chopping back this monstrous government of ours however it would take another half dozen free market /conservative admins to get the job done and we know that won't happen. Probably by '28 the howls of pain will bring on another Obama type government.
Just an aside: I don't believe for a moment that 41% of ANY American generation really approves of political assassination. I'm wondering just what such a poll might be attempting to engineer.
I think they do. That's scary.
I had to read that FT/Softbank story twice, it was so unbelievably lame. Tech executives 'curry favor' with Trump, is an absurd analysis. 3 times now, as I just read the similarly lame comments on line, had the actual paper yesterday.
Did the FT write anything like the when a business donated to Obama or BIden's inauguration?
Just terrible journalism.
Agree. My fav in that story is "Softbank only has $30B of cash on hand, how are they going to invest 100B?"
Don't read the comments, if you value your sanity. There was a time when the FT readership was also financially astute.
Now they are Trump Deranged loons, forming an echo chamber with the Trump Deranged writers at FT.
re Autism, I suspect a big part of the increase is that physicians & psychiatrists are more likely to diagnose it now that it's getting so much attention.
Also, some parents *want* their kids to be diagnoses w cognitive problems of one kind or another so that they will be allowed extra time on tests. Might help w getting into Harvard, most important thing in the world, after all..
That's another potential good reason. We didn't know about it before, or didn't know how to diagnose it. Your second reason, maybe but the parents I knew who did this went to psychologists and got stuff for silly things like anxiety etc.
Amen to all of that good sir. The unwind is huge and daunting. I would say rip off the bannd-aid but practically that is not possible nor would be it be wise.
Agree on everything. Trump unleashed hydrocarbon energy where supply exceeded demand and all of us started accumulating wealth through deflation... until the Texas Bush oil cartel and OPEC kicked him out in 2020, Non-MAGA absolutely LOVE controlling the supply of our products as it helps control prices.
Right now global energy policy -- the price of oil, the availability of oil transport w and w/out insurance, absurd climate change policies -- is an international security consideration of the first rate.
Drive oil down to less than $40/bbl and Russia is in the ICU.
Enforce the existing Trump 1.0 Iran sanctions and Iran is broke and unable to fund Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq militias, Syrian terrorists, and the Houthis.
Enforce the existing Trump 1.0 Iran sanctions and China's energy sources are a real hindrance to growth.
Unleash the power of nuclear in the US and all of our electricity problems disappear.
USA oil production tops 15MM bbl/day and we unleash NG to replace Russian supply and the USA is the unchallenged energy leader in the world making Middle East oil diplomacy and politics an afterthought.
Cheap US energy -- which can be accomplished in 6 months -- places welcome, real downward pressure on prices.
Trump knows all of this and will act upon it.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Agree. He will create his own tailwind by drilling for all fossil fuels, permitting for fossil fuels etc. Let's hope he builds a buttload of nuclear plants as fast as possible too
All of the above is the solution for energy. And Trump's pick of Chris Wright is brilliant, as he has significant experience in multiple types of energy. Plus he communicates clearly and convincingly with abundant common sense.
I believe psychologists say projection is denying you have certain behaviors and as defense mechanism you assign them others...normally someone you don't like. I see a lot of that in liberal circles. As for government efficiency I give you the NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore who went to space for an eight (8) day flight. Barring any other delays they will be back in March 2025 after 10 months in space. I wonder if their fellow astronauts will be playing the theme song from Gilligan's Island, "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailin' man, the Skipper brave and sure, five passengers set sail that day, for a three hour tour, a three hour tour." Just change the three hours to eight days.
I thought it was kind of funny. One day Trump is saying maybe we need tariffs on Japanese products and then a few days later a Japanese bank says they want to “invest” $100b (that’s BILLION with a “B”!!) in the US to creat over 100,000 jobs. I’d call that winning!
Remember the story of Lenard Clark and Frankie Caruso? Point being, everyone knows but looks the other way citing 'family'. Sound and fury signifying nothing.
Well said. Jeff. Tuckers interview of Russian Foreign Minister Laranov last week is excellent. Linked here https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?pglt=299&q=tucker+interview+of+larinov&cvid=92cf5b23f2f541f890cd52cd33c15354&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhA0gEINTU4MGowajGoAgCwAgA&PC=U531&ru=%2fsearch%3fpglt%3d299%26q%3dtucker%2binterview%2bof%2blarinov%26cvid%3d92cf5b23f2f541f890cd52cd33c15354%26gs_lcrp%3dEgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhA0gEINTU4MGowajGoAgCwAgA%26FORM%3dANNTA1%26PC%3dU531&mmscn=vwrc&mid=B705C97644D33FF84717B705C97644D33FF84717&FORM=WRVORC
Listening and communicating has not been a strong suit of Biden, nor neo-cons. January 20 cannot come soon enough!
I listened to that interview yesterday. I thought Tucker let him get away with far too much. Agree with Jeffrey L. Minch that the guy is a propagandist. How many Ukrainian schools/books/religious ceremonies are allowed every day inside Russia? What stops Putin from colonizing another country he wants with Russian speaking people and then claiming it? Do we think there is even a slight chance that the elections Laranov cites were "free, fair, and objective" without Russian interference? Laranov cites the UN, which is a stupidly corrupt organization. The great thing was that we got to hear Laranov in his own words. The sad thing is that Tucker didn't challenge him at all.
That interview is pure propaganda and Lavrov is evil personified.
This does not disqualify it in my mind as it is essential to understand what your enemies think. Since we spy on them, why not mine their own words? Makes sense to me.
A gigantic American failing is to not take our enemies at face value. We knew for more than a year that Russia had designs on Ukraine. How? They told us.
Put that into context with China and Taiwan today. They have told us repeatedly they will have Taiwan even if it comes to war. We should believe them.
Tucker Carlson is in a awkward position -- does he become the conduit for Russian propaganda as a means of exposing their warped thinking (and thereby providing a service to mankind) or is he a shill providing his imprimatur for its content without challenging it?
I do not particularly like Tucker Carlson, but I do applaud his williingness to force himself into the conversation and to bring voices that are not normally heard in the public square to the public without a filter.
Putin -- in their interview -- used him and ridiculed him like a rented mule. It was embarassing. Putin made fun of Carlson's efforts to join the CIA, as an example.
Russia is on the verge of an economic collapse.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Reading the recent admissions from NYT and WSJ, Biden wasn't communicating at all..it was his phalanx of "aides". All of whom are either ignorant or arrogant (or both) so don't think they need to listen to anyone. Hence no communications at all with many foreign leaders.
We don't have to agree with them or endorse them to benefit from listening.
Well stated, but neglects the primary importance, in my eyes, of fixing the federal electoral procedures. Paper ballots, id required, markers like those purple fingers that prevent multiple votes, and one day voting on site with clear restrictions on mail in votes, are some of the changes to make which would affect state and local vote procedures too.
"It’s another in the very long litany of Democratic complaints where they accuse someone of doing something, and then actually do it themselves."
If I'm not much mistaken, in psychology this is called "projection". The democrats have perfected it as an art (political). Of course they have their willing helpers in the media. Useful idiots in Stalin speak.
This is a very good write up on the difficulty of systematic change.
"Diagnosis we have. The power to change we do not. Billionaires are in charge now because they have power. Elon in particular has what Ezra Klein correctly ascribed to Trump, which is lack of inhibition. Normal people like me get scared and ashamed when we’re told we’re doing something illegal. Elon does not. I wish it were different, but perhaps the job of breaking the wall has ended up with someone who is suited to doing it. The norms that constrain even people with far more power than I have make it very difficult to break through that wall."
https://www.eatingpolicy.com/p/bringing-elon-to-a-knife-fight
And: farm states are not going to give up their subsidies. Look at how Richard Lugar reforms got rolled back. And don't forget the dairy states too!
Right, do not forget the dairy states. If they can't roll back subsidies, how are they going to get rid of the myriad web of tax breaks for all kinds of special interests?
Congress is both dysfunctional and unserious. More MAGA isn’t going to fix it. On the CR: https://x.com/brian_riedl/status/1869439385797906636
Agree. I visited Don Manzullo there years ago. He showed me the "docket" for that particular day. There was nothing of substance on it. This was in the early 2000s.
JD Vance among the supermajority for increasing Social Security payments to government workers, advancing the program bankruptcy date by 6 months.
One has only to look at the dysfunction that had driven us to this place: in the last 18 years only twice has the House of Representatives discharged their duty to present a budget.
This budget is supposed to underpin 12 appropriation bills that are to be debated and approved by House committees. This has also not happened in decades.
This gives one a sense of the seriousness of the House.
We need term limits and a provision that Congressional pay is cut by 50% for any year they fail to deliver a budget in a timely manner or in which they fail to approve the 12 appropriations bills also timely.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Your words are even more powerful when one recognizes the other side is willing to use the law as a sharp edged tool with which to disembowel their enemies.
The Biden admin has attacked and investigated Trump and Musk simply because they want to harm them. This is Stalin/Beria tactics with the witting cooperation of a supposed free and fair media.
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Trump and Hitler: Frail Leaders, Big Lies, and the Press Under Siege
Donald Trump’s latest tantrum against the press—threatening lawsuits and jail for journalists—is a sad echo of Adolf Hitler's more violent war on media freedom. Trump, like Hitler, cannot abide criticism. Both men, frail and insecure, have decided that the best way to protect their fragile egos is by attacking the very foundation of democracy: a free press.
Trump has launched a series of defamation lawsuits against media outlets he dislikes, including one against ABC over a factual error and another against the Des Moines Register for publishing a poll he didn’t like. It's a classic move for a man who can’t handle the truth: if the press doesn't bow to you, sue them into submission. But Trump's strategy isn't just about seeking justice—it’s about using the legal system to drown out dissent. And with his pick for FBI director promising retribution against journalists, the chilling effect is already here.
Hitler, meanwhile, didn’t bother with lawsuits. He simply seized control. The Reich Press Law of 1933 turned independent journalism into state-approved propaganda, and anyone who resisted was either silenced or executed. No lawsuits needed—just the brute force of a regime that crushed free speech under the weight of its own delusions of grandeur. The Nazis even had their own term for “fake news”: Lügenpresse (lying press), a phrase weaponized to delegitimize dissent and discredit the media entirely.
Both leaders, in their own ways, use the media as a scapegoat for their insecurities. Trump calls the press “fake news” whenever it dares to report facts he dislikes, just as Hitler's Reich Ministry of Propaganda spun every inconvenient truth into a lie. Neither man can stomach the idea that their weak, insecure leadership might actually be questioned.
Tyranny doesn’t spring up overnight; it’s built piece by piece, first with threats and then with silence. Trump and Hitler are cut from the same cloth: insecure, petty men who would rather rule with fear than face the truth. Their war on the press is the first step in eroding democracy itself—and it must be resisted at all costs.
For a deeper look into how Trump’s tactics echo those of pre-WWII Hitler, read my full article here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153103008.
It explores their shared strategies of exploiting grievances, manipulating followers, and undermining democracy.
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Can we disagree and say you are wrong without being called racists or laissez faire on Hitler type people? Question. How many Hitlers have there been in the last 200 years?
I understand the impulse to disagree, but let's be clear: the parallels between Trump and Hitler are grounded in historical facts. Both men have used grievances, media manipulation, and legal threats to undermine democracy and silence critics. This isn't a vague comparison—it's about real tactics that can be observed in both leaders. If you're interested in a deeper analysis, I encourage you to read my full article. It's important to face the uncomfortable reality of these parallels, especially when democracy itself is at stake.
Comparisons of Hitler and anybody, but Trump in particular, are intellectually flawed and expose a basic ignorance of history as well as the inability to craft a cogent argument. You should be ashamed of yourself for being such a dupe.
Trump 1.0 did none of the things you allege. Why would Trump 2.0?
Trump settled the lawsuit v ABC/Stephanopolous as a private citizen and as a result of a lawsuit he filed in a civil court. He was not President and did not use any agency of the gov't to further his complaint.
ABC/S -- represented by a first rate lawfirm and fully capable of defending itself against a private citizen -- settled for a substantial amount of money. Trump was content to allow a jury to decide the case, but ABC/S did not trust their chances in a court.
The press has been an arm of the Dem party and has been a participant in some of the biggest lies ever perpetrated in US history. I cite the Russia hoax and the 51 intel racket fraudsters.
What you accuse the Nazis of doing -- turning the press into a state controlled organ -- is exactly what the Dems did and continue to try to do.
The biggest difference between then and now is the pervasive impact of the Internet that allows even you to be heard on the subjects you desire even when you are hopelessly wrong and out of your depth.
Merry Christmas
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
It’s abundantly clear you didn’t actually read the article—and that’s understandable. Trump loyalists, as a rule, aren’t big on reading. Critical thinking? Even less so.
Let’s start with your dismissal of Hitler-Trump comparisons as “intellectually flawed.” Ironically, your own argument is a textbook example of the very ignorance you accuse others of. The comparison is not about identical outcomes but shared tactics: the use of propaganda to delegitimize the press, scapegoating dissenters, and fostering cult-like loyalty through grievance and fear. If you had engaged with the argument instead of hurling reflexive insults, you might have grasped that nuance.
Your apologia for Trump’s lawsuits against ABC conveniently omits the larger context: Trump’s obsession with silencing criticism, both as a private citizen and as a president. The lawsuits are part of a broader pattern—whether it’s calling journalists the “enemy of the people,” threatening to jail them, or cheerleading violence against them at rallies. You might dismiss these as bluster, but they’re well-documented steps in authoritarian playbooks. That’s not ignorance of history—it’s recognizing it.
As for the “Russia hoax” and “51 intel racket fraudsters” you breathlessly invoke, it’s fascinating how conspiracy theorists like yourself accuse the press of bias while parroting right-wing media’s most debunked talking points. Shall we also discuss Trump’s own attempts to weaponize the DOJ against his enemies or his pressure campaign on state officials to overturn election results? Those don’t fit neatly into your narrative of victimhood, do they?
And your claim that Democrats have turned the press into a “state-controlled organ” is laughable. If that were true, Fox News wouldn’t exist, and Trump’s media circus wouldn’t dominate the headlines. The press isn’t monolithic—it’s just that most credible outlets find it hard to ignore the constant stream of lies, scandals, and grifts from Trump and his allies. Blaming the press for accurately reporting those truths isn’t evidence of bias; it’s evidence of accountability.
Lastly, your swipe at the internet giving me a platform to express my “hopelessly wrong” opinions is particularly rich. The irony, of course, is that the same internet enables you to projectile-vomit your bad takes into the digital void. Unlike you, however, I engage with facts, context, and evidence—things you might want to acquaint yourself with before wading into conversations so clearly above your intellectual pay grade.
But please, keep ranting. Every tantrum only underscores the very insecurity and blind loyalty that make Trump’s base such fertile ground for authoritarianism. Thanks for proving my point so thoroughly.
Blah, blah, blah -- listen to yourself. Nobody else does.
Merry Christmas
JLM
www.themusingsofthebigredcar.com
Hopelessly wrong and out of his depth! Ha
Trump Derangement is real.
So are bubbles
How brave you are, Mr. Substack Warrior! Hitler is about to take office and you are publicly criticizing him. Godspeed, and don’t answer your doorbell.
Is whatabout all you got?
Hahaha do you even attempt to deny that Obama and Biden weaponized the federal government against their opponents? You fight back against someone who attacks you.