The KGB began recruiting Trump in the early 80s. The prevailing evidence and his behavior shows he is owned by Russia. Why are we STILL not talking about this?
Thank you for being so direct, so succinct and so unassailable. Whenever I make comments about Trump failing as a Putin asset and having to fear retribution from crazy Vlad most of all, people roll their eyes and sigh.
You hate him so much, they say, you are letting your imagination get away from you. And these people are fairly sophisticated and well read. I’ve stopped arguing.
But friends, he is not the only American politician to spend copious amount of time in Russia during the 1980s when Putin and other up and coming KGB agents were developing assets in America. And they didn’t recruit solely from one particular party or spectre of society. They didn’t target just businessman or just small-town politicians with stars in their eyes or media or athletes or entertainers. They looked for future influencers. Look around my babies, and stop acting like I am the one with my head up my ass.
The ones with big mouths and empty eyes. The ones with sudden wealth they try to hide. Look for real estate empires in the name of family members. Look for an effort to drive the Chevy sedan around town while garaging the Maserati.
Be aware of those who seem to go out of their way to dress like bums and eschew any outward sign of success, leaving the good jewelry home with mama or tucked away in a safe deposit box.
These people are among us. They are in Congress. Their fat insouciant faces and roaring maws appear in the TV box we incessantly watch during Covid isolation. We pay good money during healthier times to see some of them perform artistry. Some of them have settled into careers in law enforcement and government. Some of them are teaching at your state college.
Think of who our CIA would have recruited from Russia: what professions and agencies would have given them a leg up in Russia? Who would have helped them undercut communist influence and bring down a nation?
Putin and his merry band of crazy makers did the exact same thing here. Look around. Don’t be paranoid and don’t start pointing accusing fingers. Yet.
But when they become so obvious about their mission and so direct about their game that they incite and launch a ragtag army of zealots to our capital to massacre those who stand in their way of their efforts to overthrow democracy, call them for what they are: Putin pansies. Insurrectionists. Traitors.
Get some balls about you! We need to weed them out and protect with every ounce of our heart, nerve and brawn, what is most precious and unique about being an American.
And stop rolling your eyes at me: they could freeze like that and you’d be stuck star-gazing forever.
I've been thinking about this for a while, as have you all. I suspect the ONLY thing that can save America is when #MangoWanker suddenly disappears from Mar-a-Wanko and a day later appears in Moscow, refusing extradition.
Thanks Greg. Sorry for the dump here, but I'm achy and feeling punk after my second moderna dose. I do not understand the institutional denial involved in all things Trump. The party, the media, the petty BS about the Democrats while they let Republicans get away with: her 75000 buck purse, phucking the birthday of their beloved Baby Geezus, separating families, caging kids, were they selling them too? Remember Acosta was in charge when all that phuckery got going. Deripaska set up an aluminum plant in Mitch's and Rand's back yard--he was sanctioned for the Crimea phuckery. Maybe people with dicks are just more vulnerable to kompromot. Eight congress people went to Russia on the Fourth of July--all poles and Kay Granger from Texas. Trump rubbed an Arab Orb. They said nothing about Jamal. They say nothing about the Big Lie. The media picked on his phucking watch? I want all the data. All the info. I'm sick as phuck of being treated like a third grader. What are they all so afraid of? We will find out that an international crime ring runs everything? Glad I never brought a child into this mess. Nero's fiddling will seem generous alongside all of the GOP action. I read the Swan piece about the fear and loathing meeting in the White House. #GovernmentOfPutin indeed. Nancy was right as the rain when she pointed out that all paths pervert to Putin. Comey can go phuck himself. His false equivalencies and lack of real vision from his perch as the head of the nation's police force got us into this tarbaby of a mess. Like Nelly sang #MustBeTheMoney. I cringe as I try to imagine just how deep the rot goes. Then lets focus on the Opus Dei BS running rampant on the top court in the land. Everybody gets their panties in a bunch when a President is a lic, but nobody says boo when Six of Nine on the court are. Talk about some crazy corrupt phuck . . .
again. thanks. thanks for the venue to go on about my thoughts. Being old in the midst of this shitstorm has made me add a chapter in my "Letters to my 15 Year Old Self"
When I lived in NYC in the mid and late 80s it was an open secret about the mob and the Russian with Trump. During "Black Friday" when people were literally dying because of it he didn't miss a beat with projects and tabloid bullshit. If you said his name in polite company they would roll their eyes and spit on the ground like an angry gypsy. Reflected in his 2016 election numbers. Lost NYC by 80 some percent
Barr really stained the connection to russia with his lies about the mueller report. And muellers own ethics screwed us further. I still have to stop myself from saying "Russian" to switch to "International" Organized Crime and to regular folks arguably lucky enough to not have immersed themselves in this mess, that sounds too immense and nebulous and "not the US" for them to care to understand.
I've been following Malcolm Nance on this for years. He wrote a book that came out a month before the 2016 election. I am trying not to fall into giant conspiracy theories that include people like Comey, but REALLY. The evidence is right there.
Max Boot's column in WaPo yesterday contends that senators like Rob Portman are more harmful than Marjorie Taylor Green. An excerpt:
"Yet if we are to apportion responsibility for the Republican Party’s descent into irrationality and authoritarianism, I would argue that Portman is far more to blame than Greene. That’s because there are a lot more Portmans than Greenes in Congress. Greene’s kookiness resonates with many GOP voters (30 percent of Republicans expressed a positive view of QAnon in a recent poll), but there are only a few House members who are as flaky as she is. However, the House and especially the Senate are full of Portman types: long-serving, mainstream Republicans who pride themselves on being practical problem-solvers — but who did not lift a finger to stop the takeover of their party by the lunatic fringe."
I've maintained a similar belief for many years - that NPR, broadcast and cable "news" are in their way as harmful if not more so than Fox. I started noticing it in the 90's, when "news" casts would use Fox News framing when describing Democrats, particularly the Clintons. Then the New York Times pushed the Whitewater "scandal" without positing any evidence before going Full Metal Lewinsky. Ann Coulter was on the Today Show, Rush Limbaugh was anointed the go to for hearing what the Heartland was saying, etc. In other words they started uncritically "mainstreaming" right wing talking points, which is why I started calling the phenomenon the "Mainslime Media". Then NPR started incorporating more right wing commentators and injecting partisanship in their political coverage. Before I stopped listening to them in 2015 I never heard them interview a Clinton supporter. Never. I heard NPR "reporter" lambast Terry McAuliffe for giving felons the right to vote, accusing him of playing politics (and repeating it 3-4 times) because of an accusation by a Republican Virginia legislator. She got downright nasty because McAuliffe repeated why he thought the action had merit and didn't play her game ("but Republican said it's unfair"!)
I don't think I need to rehash 2016 but since I'm in Full Metal Rant mode I will say that Hillary was right about everything. The Deplorables. Trump being Putin's puppet. She being the last defense between democracy and chaos. I could go on and on. And the media pounded her mercilessly. I don't think I'll ever get over that (I'm a Libra and "Fairness" is in my DNA).
I agree with everyone here that something must be done. The first step is for Liberal/Democratic/Sane Independent people to recognize how the media shape the narrative to benefit the Republican/Fascist agenda, which is why I refer to it as "propatainment". People on "our side" are very reluctant to acknowledge it. But I don't have any ideas for how to solve it, other than speaking up on social media and not watching 99% of the "news" and political shows on broadcast or cable and following Greg, Erik Boehlert, Jay Rosen, Soledad O'Brien and Margaret Sullivan.
OK I'm done. To quote Sly and the Family Stone - "Thank you. For lettin' me. Be myself. Again."
Yet another outstanding piece Greg. Headline imagery is superb as usual. 🏆🏆🏆🏆
Clearly it’s an institutional breakdown in every department: the fifth estate, the intelligence community, James Comey, you name it. Considering how much Putin hates Hillary, from their rivalry when she was Secretary of State, you have to wonder just how much influence Putin was able to exert on Comey through the Russia-funded Congressmen we have.
Trump and Putin in Helsinki is all the evidence that any American needs. It’s all there in vivid color. Tя☭mp has been supporting Kremlin policy since changing the Republican Party platform at the convention in 2016. Every single American policy activity during Tя☭mp‘s administration that involves Russia, even if only obliquely, Tя☭mp consistently was on their side instead of our side. You had to have blinders on not to see it.
And that is precisely what Americans are doing: they have their blinders on. They treat Russia like the Evil Empire. What you fear, what intimidates you, you can’t look straight in the eye. Does the media have the same juvenile
Reading this a year later, the chills it gives to think what might have happened had that mobbed up piece of shit been re-elected, with the war Russia is waging on Ukraine. Chills.
Thank you for being so direct, so succinct and so unassailable. Whenever I make comments about Trump failing as a Putin asset and having to fear retribution from crazy Vlad most of all, people roll their eyes and sigh.
You hate him so much, they say, you are letting your imagination get away from you. And these people are fairly sophisticated and well read. I’ve stopped arguing.
But friends, he is not the only American politician to spend copious amount of time in Russia during the 1980s when Putin and other up and coming KGB agents were developing assets in America. And they didn’t recruit solely from one particular party or spectre of society. They didn’t target just businessman or just small-town politicians with stars in their eyes or media or athletes or entertainers. They looked for future influencers. Look around my babies, and stop acting like I am the one with my head up my ass.
The ones with big mouths and empty eyes. The ones with sudden wealth they try to hide. Look for real estate empires in the name of family members. Look for an effort to drive the Chevy sedan around town while garaging the Maserati.
Be aware of those who seem to go out of their way to dress like bums and eschew any outward sign of success, leaving the good jewelry home with mama or tucked away in a safe deposit box.
These people are among us. They are in Congress. Their fat insouciant faces and roaring maws appear in the TV box we incessantly watch during Covid isolation. We pay good money during healthier times to see some of them perform artistry. Some of them have settled into careers in law enforcement and government. Some of them are teaching at your state college.
Think of who our CIA would have recruited from Russia: what professions and agencies would have given them a leg up in Russia? Who would have helped them undercut communist influence and bring down a nation?
Putin and his merry band of crazy makers did the exact same thing here. Look around. Don’t be paranoid and don’t start pointing accusing fingers. Yet.
But when they become so obvious about their mission and so direct about their game that they incite and launch a ragtag army of zealots to our capital to massacre those who stand in their way of their efforts to overthrow democracy, call them for what they are: Putin pansies. Insurrectionists. Traitors.
Get some balls about you! We need to weed them out and protect with every ounce of our heart, nerve and brawn, what is most precious and unique about being an American.
And stop rolling your eyes at me: they could freeze like that and you’d be stuck star-gazing forever.
You’re welcome. 💕
I've been thinking about this for a while, as have you all. I suspect the ONLY thing that can save America is when #MangoWanker suddenly disappears from Mar-a-Wanko and a day later appears in Moscow, refusing extradition.
The needs to be a 12 step program for “news” organizations. Also reinstating the fairness doctrine would help.
Thanks Greg. Sorry for the dump here, but I'm achy and feeling punk after my second moderna dose. I do not understand the institutional denial involved in all things Trump. The party, the media, the petty BS about the Democrats while they let Republicans get away with: her 75000 buck purse, phucking the birthday of their beloved Baby Geezus, separating families, caging kids, were they selling them too? Remember Acosta was in charge when all that phuckery got going. Deripaska set up an aluminum plant in Mitch's and Rand's back yard--he was sanctioned for the Crimea phuckery. Maybe people with dicks are just more vulnerable to kompromot. Eight congress people went to Russia on the Fourth of July--all poles and Kay Granger from Texas. Trump rubbed an Arab Orb. They said nothing about Jamal. They say nothing about the Big Lie. The media picked on his phucking watch? I want all the data. All the info. I'm sick as phuck of being treated like a third grader. What are they all so afraid of? We will find out that an international crime ring runs everything? Glad I never brought a child into this mess. Nero's fiddling will seem generous alongside all of the GOP action. I read the Swan piece about the fear and loathing meeting in the White House. #GovernmentOfPutin indeed. Nancy was right as the rain when she pointed out that all paths pervert to Putin. Comey can go phuck himself. His false equivalencies and lack of real vision from his perch as the head of the nation's police force got us into this tarbaby of a mess. Like Nelly sang #MustBeTheMoney. I cringe as I try to imagine just how deep the rot goes. Then lets focus on the Opus Dei BS running rampant on the top court in the land. Everybody gets their panties in a bunch when a President is a lic, but nobody says boo when Six of Nine on the court are. Talk about some crazy corrupt phuck . . .
again. thanks. thanks for the venue to go on about my thoughts. Being old in the midst of this shitstorm has made me add a chapter in my "Letters to my 15 Year Old Self"
When I lived in NYC in the mid and late 80s it was an open secret about the mob and the Russian with Trump. During "Black Friday" when people were literally dying because of it he didn't miss a beat with projects and tabloid bullshit. If you said his name in polite company they would roll their eyes and spit on the ground like an angry gypsy. Reflected in his 2016 election numbers. Lost NYC by 80 some percent
Barr really stained the connection to russia with his lies about the mueller report. And muellers own ethics screwed us further. I still have to stop myself from saying "Russian" to switch to "International" Organized Crime and to regular folks arguably lucky enough to not have immersed themselves in this mess, that sounds too immense and nebulous and "not the US" for them to care to understand.
I've been following Malcolm Nance on this for years. He wrote a book that came out a month before the 2016 election. I am trying not to fall into giant conspiracy theories that include people like Comey, but REALLY. The evidence is right there.
Or a Tom Cotton, Greg ..?
Max Boot's column in WaPo yesterday contends that senators like Rob Portman are more harmful than Marjorie Taylor Green. An excerpt:
"Yet if we are to apportion responsibility for the Republican Party’s descent into irrationality and authoritarianism, I would argue that Portman is far more to blame than Greene. That’s because there are a lot more Portmans than Greenes in Congress. Greene’s kookiness resonates with many GOP voters (30 percent of Republicans expressed a positive view of QAnon in a recent poll), but there are only a few House members who are as flaky as she is. However, the House and especially the Senate are full of Portman types: long-serving, mainstream Republicans who pride themselves on being practical problem-solvers — but who did not lift a finger to stop the takeover of their party by the lunatic fringe."
I've maintained a similar belief for many years - that NPR, broadcast and cable "news" are in their way as harmful if not more so than Fox. I started noticing it in the 90's, when "news" casts would use Fox News framing when describing Democrats, particularly the Clintons. Then the New York Times pushed the Whitewater "scandal" without positing any evidence before going Full Metal Lewinsky. Ann Coulter was on the Today Show, Rush Limbaugh was anointed the go to for hearing what the Heartland was saying, etc. In other words they started uncritically "mainstreaming" right wing talking points, which is why I started calling the phenomenon the "Mainslime Media". Then NPR started incorporating more right wing commentators and injecting partisanship in their political coverage. Before I stopped listening to them in 2015 I never heard them interview a Clinton supporter. Never. I heard NPR "reporter" lambast Terry McAuliffe for giving felons the right to vote, accusing him of playing politics (and repeating it 3-4 times) because of an accusation by a Republican Virginia legislator. She got downright nasty because McAuliffe repeated why he thought the action had merit and didn't play her game ("but Republican said it's unfair"!)
I don't think I need to rehash 2016 but since I'm in Full Metal Rant mode I will say that Hillary was right about everything. The Deplorables. Trump being Putin's puppet. She being the last defense between democracy and chaos. I could go on and on. And the media pounded her mercilessly. I don't think I'll ever get over that (I'm a Libra and "Fairness" is in my DNA).
I agree with everyone here that something must be done. The first step is for Liberal/Democratic/Sane Independent people to recognize how the media shape the narrative to benefit the Republican/Fascist agenda, which is why I refer to it as "propatainment". People on "our side" are very reluctant to acknowledge it. But I don't have any ideas for how to solve it, other than speaking up on social media and not watching 99% of the "news" and political shows on broadcast or cable and following Greg, Erik Boehlert, Jay Rosen, Soledad O'Brien and Margaret Sullivan.
OK I'm done. To quote Sly and the Family Stone - "Thank you. For lettin' me. Be myself. Again."
Has anybody registered that the U.S. Capitol attack was a redneck riot run by racists and right-wing Russia-funded Republicans raking in roubles?
Yet another outstanding piece Greg. Headline imagery is superb as usual. 🏆🏆🏆🏆
Clearly it’s an institutional breakdown in every department: the fifth estate, the intelligence community, James Comey, you name it. Considering how much Putin hates Hillary, from their rivalry when she was Secretary of State, you have to wonder just how much influence Putin was able to exert on Comey through the Russia-funded Congressmen we have.
Trump and Putin in Helsinki is all the evidence that any American needs. It’s all there in vivid color. Tя☭mp has been supporting Kremlin policy since changing the Republican Party platform at the convention in 2016. Every single American policy activity during Tя☭mp‘s administration that involves Russia, even if only obliquely, Tя☭mp consistently was on their side instead of our side. You had to have blinders on not to see it.
And that is precisely what Americans are doing: they have their blinders on. They treat Russia like the Evil Empire. What you fear, what intimidates you, you can’t look straight in the eye. Does the media have the same juvenile
Reading this a year later, the chills it gives to think what might have happened had that mobbed up piece of shit been re-elected, with the war Russia is waging on Ukraine. Chills.