Month: October 2025

Halloween–2025

BOO!

Today is the day for witches and goblins….the day we celebrate Halloween with candy and eggs (even though they may be expensive it is still a good ‘trick’ on this day)….

In my youth about 20 miles away was a party site for us teenagers….a great make out spot…..it was an old cemetery with large oaks, Spanish moss and seem to always have mist about it…..it was very eerie…..we started calling it the ‘Rock and Roll Graveyard”.

In honor of the day I will post this video of that spot from my teen years….

There was also a haunted house not half a mile from my house….it was on the beach and it was called the Merry Mansion….another short video about the house….

Sadly the structure was destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969….gone but not forgotten.

This was a story that ran in the local newspaper….

The Mississippi Coast is full of creepy tales and haunted estates, but Cahill Mansion, once in Gulfport, still sends chills down the spines of those who were around prior to the 1970s.

Cahill Mansion, once situated on Kimball Drive overlooking Bayou Bernard in Gulfport, was constructed around 1915 by William Stewart.

During World War II, Keesler Air Force Base took possession of the mansion, converting it into a Non-Commissioned Officer’s club. In a disturbing turn, a certain sadistic sergeant introduced gambling and prostitution to the premises. According to local legend, the sergeant presided over a torturous, dungeon-like system where many women were coerced into prostitution and even subjected to forced abortions. After his superiors learned of these horrific activities, the NCO club was closed down.

Read more at: https://www.sunherald.com/news/weird/article280736155.html#storylink=cpy

I am sure that others will have similar stories of eerie places in their neighborhoods….If so then please share with my readers.

I hope everyone has a great spook night and a great weekend…..as always….Be Well and Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ego scribo”

Jack Boots And Root Beer

There seems to be a disconnect between what Donny says and what is happening in the ground these days.  We are told that these are riots and all the news points to protests…..so far I have seen nothing that I would say is a riot.

But the reality on the ground be damn….Donny is going to push this fake riot bullshit for all it is worth….and in all 50 states and most territories.

The National Guard has begun setting up “quick-reaction” riot police forces in all the states, reports the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian.

  • Each unit will typically have about 500 Guard soldiers who will get specialized training in crowd control and the use of devices such as batons, Tasers, pepper spray, and body shields, according to Pentagon memos. They’re expected to be in place by January.
  • The new units—dubbed the National Guard Response Force—are expected to mobilize quickly: a quarter of the force within hours, half within 12 hours, and the remainder within a day. The District of Columbia as well as all US territories also will get the units.
  • While most state National Guards have quick-reaction relief teams for natural disasters, training for protest response is a new mandate, one described by the Journal as a “major shift” by the Pentagon, under the mandate of President Trump, to increase the military’s role in civil unrest.
  • The initiative has drawn criticism from some retired military officials, who warn it could blur the line between military and civilian roles. “Every American, I don’t care what state you’re from, should understand this isn’t what we signed up for,” retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner tells the Journal. Janessa Goldbeck, a former US Marine Corps captain and chief executive of the nonprofit Vet Voice Foundation, tells the Guardian the order represents “an attempt by the president to normalize a national, militarized police force.”
  • A White House spokesperson suggested the concerns are overblown. “The president has lawfully deployed the National Guard to several cities either in response to violent riots that local leaders have refused to quell, or by invitation to assist local law enforcement as appropriate,” said Abigail Jackson. “President Trump and the entire administration is working to make America safe again.”

Why?

May I ask…..why do we need a special u8nit after all the military hardware that was sent to the states do we need a ‘special unit’?

So far any violence that I have seen has only manifested itself only after heavy handed tactics are involved.

This is another Donny waste of time and money….and the states are slobbering for any federal funds they can eek out of this situation.

Anything?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“Buy Bigger Tractors”

My state of Mississippi is dependent on the sell of our major crop, soybeans, and thanx to Donny’s massive tariffs on China our framers are in pain and searching for alternatives….

Members of the state Senate Agriculture Committee were informed Wednesday that the struggles faced by Mississippi farmers are worsening, affecting not only vegetables but also beef.

Agriculture, the state’s largest industry that directly or indirectly employs over 11 percent of the state workforce, has been gut-punched by high inflation, falling prices, drought, and declining exports. Now, many farmers are watching what Washington D.C., especially the White House, will do next concerning tariffs as well as President Donald Trump’s recent plan to import more beef from Argentina.

“Agriculture faces extreme, extreme risk every day,” said State Senator Neil Whaley (R), committee chairman. “When you look at the market volatility and the prices that are returned, the cost of reduction is through the roof. If we do not find ways and avenues to utilize our crops locally and domestically, we are going to lose these family farms, therefore losing independent food. And that is a big problem for us.”

Soybeans, a powerhouse crop in Mississippi, are witnessing a massive drop in sales, largely due to China’s purchase of soybeans from South America, said Duane Dunlap, president of DNS Commodities. Prior to China switching suppliers, Mississippi’s soybeans were a major part of the state’s export, and the Delta was dependent on those foreign orders.

(magnoliatribune.com)

Then the magic of Donny has come to the rescue of farmers…..and they are told to buy bigger tractors(?)….

China has agreed to purchase at least 25 million metric tons of US soybeans annually, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday. Bessent said China will start by purchasing 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the US between now and January, the AP reports. “So you know, our great soybean farmers, who the Chinese used as political pawns, that’s off the table, and they should prosper in the years to come,” Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria. He said the agreement lasts for three years.

he soybean agreement was part of the deal President Trump reached with Xi Jinping at their South Korea meeting, reports the Wall Street Journal. “I was extremely honored by the fact that President Xi authorized China to begin the purchase of massive amounts of Soybeans, Sorghum, and other Farm products,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Our Farmers will be very happy! In fact, as I said once before during my first Administration, Farmers should immediately go out and buy more land and larger tractors.” Last month, for the first time in almost seven years, China bought no soybeans from the US. The country switched to suppliers in Brazil and Argentina, the latter of which annoyed administration officials by removing its export tariffs after receiving a financial lifeline from the US.

This is great news for our farmers…..but I ask what about the deals China has already made elsewhere since Donny and his magic Sharpie?

Will this be a lasting deal?  Or will Donny get his panties in a twist and nullify it down the road?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Hispanics And The Big Chill

One of the most confounding situations with the 2024 election, at least for me, was all the support Donny and his brand of racism got from the Hispanic community…..he got in the neighborhood of 45% of the Hispanic vote.

What bothered me was why would these voters go for Donny knowing that he had always labeled them as rapist, murderers, drug dealers and diseased….why?

A recent survey illustrates that Donny is losing his hold in the Hispanic community…..

President Trump’s favorability has fallen among Hispanic adults since the beginning of the year, a new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows, a potential warning sign from a key constituency that helped secure his victory in 2024.

  • The October survey found that 25% of Hispanic adults have a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of Trump, down from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before the Republican took office in January. The percentage of Hispanic adults who say the country is going in the wrong direction has also increased from 63% in March to 73% now.
  • The shift could spell trouble for Republicans looking to cement support with this group in future elections. Many Hispanic voters were motivated by economic concerns in last year’s election, and the new poll shows that despite Trump’s promises of economic revitalization, Hispanic adults continue to feel higher financial stress than Americans overall. Hispanic voters made up 10% of the electorate in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters, and the number of eligible Hispanic voters has been growing rapidly in recent decades.
  • Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump in the last election, though a majority still backed Kamala Harris: 43% of Hispanic voters nationally voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, up from 35% in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
  • But the poll found that Hispanic adults are now less likely to approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration—two issues that were major strengths for him in last year’s election—and their views of his overall performance have slipped as well. In March, 41% of Hispanic adults approved of Trump’s job performance, but now that has fallen to 27%.
  • Alejandro Ochoa, a 30-year-old warehouse worker in California, identifies as a Republican and voted for Trump last year, but he’s now unhappy with the president. He criticized some of Trump’s budget cuts, adding that the cost of groceries is too high and buying a home is still unattainable for him. “He was kind of relying on essentially the nostalgia of, ‘Hey, remember, before COVID? Things weren’t as expensive,'” Ochoa said. “But now it’s like, OK, you’re in office. I’m still getting done dirty at the grocery store. … I’m trying to cut corners where I can, but that bill is still insanely expensive.”
  • Views of Trump have soured even among Hispanic Republicans. In the latest poll, 66% of Hispanic Republicans said they have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Trump. That’s down from an AP-NORC poll in September 2024, when 83% of Hispanic Republicans viewed him at least “somewhat” favorably. White Republicans, by contrast, did not change their opinion of Trump over the same period.

Great news!  It is about time that these voters woke the Hell up….just what the Hell were they thinking in 2024?

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

 

That Third Term

The buzz for the last few months has been this .maybe’ third term.

Since Donny walked into the WH there has been speculation and wishful thinking that he will run for an illegal third term as our prez.

Of course being the ego freak Donny has hi8mnted at the possibility but never has he out right stated that he would stand for that illegal third term.

Like I stated there have been many of his sycophants that have taken up the idea….lots of press coverage of the possibility…..but nothing as far as confirmation.

There seems to be a leaked memo about the task of making a third term possible….

Podcaster Brian Allen, who tweets using the handle @allenanalysis, shared a memo that argues for “reconsidering presidential term limits” so President Donald Trump can receive a third term, citing “unfinished business” and “continuity” as reasons why.

The memo, from the Third Term Project, is for a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event that was held on February 20, 2025, just one month after Trump took office again.

The memo mentions a discussion of a measure proposed by Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee to introduce a constitutional amendment to allow presidents to run for a third term, something that is currently prohibited by the Constitution.

It cites “unfinished business,” namely “the need for more time to complete President Trump’s agenda,” as well as “national stability and growth,” “the will of the people,” and “building the next generation” as key topics.

https://www.comicsands.com/trump-third-term-project

I have stated that Donny has teased the possibility but never confirmed that he would be interested….. he must keep the rhetoric going…..

President Donald Trump is still talking about trying to seek a third term in 2028, despite that being blatantly unconstitutional.

After Trump ally Steve Bannon suggested last week that some kind of plan was in place for the president to run again, Trump overnight downplayed the idea of running as vice president but otherwise left his options open.

“I would love to do it. I have the best numbers ever,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about the possibility, while falsely claiming his poll numbers are at a high point. Pressed further, Trump said: “Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me.”

So what to make of his latest noncommittal comments about this matter?

It would be foolish to completely dismiss it.

This is a president, after all, who has shown increasingly little regard for the legal barriers in front of him. This is also a president who, less than five years ago, attempted to overturn an election based on lies about voter fraud. Plenty back then dismissed it as unthinkable that Trump would go to such lengths to stay in office. (Remember Mick Mulvaney’s op-ed?) And there are plenty of examples of Trump doing things that people wagered were just trolling.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/27/politics/president-trump-third-term-2028

We know that his ego wants that third term worse than he wants to bury Epstein…..but how will he do it  (if he decides that is his desire)?

Aboard Air Force One flying to Japan on Monday, Donald Trump found himself making news for many of the wrong reasons.

Facing a raft of imprecise questions from reporters about his aspirations to serve a third term in the White House, the President indicated his possible plans to flout the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution that restricts any president to two full terms in office.

“I would love to do it, I have my best numbers ever,” the US President told reporters. His comments immediately fuelled headlines suggesting that he is open to riding roughshod over the strictures of the constitution in an effort to retain his firm grip on the levers of power in Washington.

Asked whether he was failing to rule out another election bid, he demurred. “Am I not ruling it out? You’ll have to tell me,” he said coyly.

Trump’s remarks came 48 hours after The Economist published an interview with his on-again, off–political adviser, Steve Bannon, a self-confessed fraudster who pleaded guilty in February to duping Americans who donated money thinking that they were funding the construction of a wall along the country’s border with Mexico. With a glint in his eye, Bannon gleefully assured the newspaper there is no doubt that Trump will remain in office beyond January 2029.

“He’s going to get a third term. And people ought to just get accommodated to that,” Bannon insisted. Asked how the President could possibly expect to overcome the 22nd Amendment, Bannon said: “There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time we will lay out what the plan is, but there is a plan, and President Trump will be the president in ‘28.” For good measure, he called Trump “a vehicle of divine providence”, and suggested it is God’s will for him to remain in office.

Trump wants a third term as president. Here’s how he could actually get it

There is some sort of strategy behind is non-committal answers and desires….

President Trump continued to muse about the possibility of a third term this week, and nobody can quite figure out how serious he is. Sure, he may just be trolling his political enemies, but “it would be foolish to completely dismiss it,” writes Aaron Blake in a CNN analysis. A few takes on the political calculus:

  • His gain: One thing that is clear: Trump “sees great political benefit” in talking about another run, regardless of the 22nd Amendment, writes Jess Bidgood in the On Politics newsletter of the New York Times. In her view, the president is keeping the idea alive because it keeps “him from being seen as the most ineffectual of Washington stereotypes, a lame duck.”
  • His gain, II: Blake makes the same point in his analysis. Talking about the idea “helps him stave off something that is looming increasingly large: lame-duck status.” Blake argues that this is more important in Trump’s case than with typical presidents because he loves to make his enemies pay. If people know he’s leaving, they can just wait him out. “So what Trump and allies like (Steve) Bannon are effectively doing is planting a seed in people’s minds that says: What if you don’t actually know he’ll be gone come January 2029?”
  • Been a while: Trump has been talking about this for quite some time. Back in February, Maggie Haberman made this point in her own New York Times analysis: “Even when Mr. Trump presents something as a joke, the idea he suggests often becomes socialized by his supporters, both those in office and in the right-wing media. The concept then often takes on more weight, including for Mr. Trump.”
  • Backfire? At New York magazine, Ed Kilgore sees the potential of this backfiring in a big way, at least for Republicans. The longer Trump keeps the idea in play, the more his supporters will yearn for it—thus creating a “Trump Third Term Bubble,” he writes. “When it inevitably bursts (as it will unless Trump seriously considers a military coup and an actual, undisguised fascist dictatorship), MAGA folk will be very disappointed and may be less than enthused about being offered the booby prize of J.D. Vance.”

All this is some elaborate game that Uncle Donny enjoys playing….we know he wants that third term but has to keep the speculations coming.

I will not speculate…..you may if you so choose.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Nuclear Tit For Tat

In a recent report the news has hit that Russia has a new nuclear toy and since all nuke talks have been suspended it is something to consider….this ‘new’ device would make a sneak attack very likely….

Russia has conducted a successful test of a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, declaring that the new weapon can’t be intercepted. Putin’s statement, which the AP reports comes three days after he praised a successful test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, appears to be another message to President Trump that Russia is standing firm in its maximalist demands on Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting with soldiers wounded in Ukraine, Putin said the Poseidon drone was tested while running on nuclear power for the first time on Tuesday, describing it as a “huge success.” Poseidon is unmatched in speed and depth, he said, and “there is no way to intercept it.”

He said the nuclear reactor that powers Poseidon is “100 times smaller” than those on submarines, and the power of its nuclear warhead is “significantly higher than that of our prospective Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.” Putin first mentioned the underwater nuclear-powered drone in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, along with other prospective weapons. Russian media reported that Poseidon was designed to explode near coastlines and unleash a powerful radioactive tsunami.

Putin said that during Tuesday’s test, Poseidon traveled on nuclear power for the first time. He didn’t say where the trials were conducted or give any other details. He also revealed new details about the Burevestnik cruise missile, saying its nuclear reactor is “1,000 times smaller” than one on a submarine. On Sunday, Russia’s chief military officer, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin that an Oct. 21 test of the Burevestnik was a complete success. The missile covered 8,680 miles during a 15-hour flight using nuclear fuel and conducted maneuvers “demonstrating its high capabilities in evading missile and air defense systems,” Gerasimov said.

With that news how will Uncle Donny respond?

How do you think?

President Trump on Wednesday announced he has ordered the Pentagon to “immediately” resume testing nuclear weapons, citing the need to keep pace with rival nations’ programs. The president made the announcement on Truth Social just before a highly watched meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, NBC News reports. “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he wrote. “That process will begin immediately.” The United States has not conducted a confirmed nuclear test since 1992, when a moratorium began under President George HW Bush. The US has the capability to restart tests at a federal site in Nevada. Trump’s move comes as he sharpens his public focus on US military strength.

He argued that resuming tests is about maintaining parity with other nations, declaring that the US has the largest arsenal, followed by Russia, then China—a country he claimed could catch up within five years. However, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons lists Russia as having the most confirmed warheads, with the US a close second; together they hold about 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Trump declined to elaborate when pressed by reporters about the policy shift. Earlier in the week, he called denuclearization a key goal and criticized Russia’s recent tests of new nuclear-capable weapons, yet said he believed both Russia and China could eventually support arms reductions. The tests of Russia’s new cruise missile, which reportedy flew 8,700 miles, were condemned internationally, the Hill reports.

China, for its part, has rejected US appeals to cut stockpiles. The Washington Post calls Trump’s statement “an apparent attempt to flex the United States’ military might ahead of a high-stakes trade meeting.” The announcement drew immediate backlash from Democrats, especially in Nevada, where lawmakers vowed to fight any new tests. The state legislature recently passed a resolution urging the federal government to keep the moratorium in place.

Here we go again….a nuclear tit for tat with Russia and China.

The age old arms race has just got more scary and more disturbing.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is There A Mutiny Afoot?

It is no surprise that I think the Donny band of thugs are as incompetent as anything…..but high on the incompetency list is the head of HHS….RFK Jr.

Something needs to be done to curb this idiot and his false information that he passes on to the public.

Something needs to be done….well maybe there is something brewing….a recently fired HHS employee is talking….

Steven Hatfill, a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, was fired over the weekend, according to both Hatfill and a senior agency official. Hatfill, known for his public support of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s move to end funding for mRNA vaccine research, claims his dismissal is part of a broader effort to undermine Kennedy’s leadership, per the New York Times. He alleges Matt Buckham, the secretary’s chief of staff, is orchestrating what he described as a “coup,” though he did not provide details to support this claim.

The department official, who spoke anonymously about the personnel issue, offered a different explanation, saying Hatfill was fired for misrepresenting himself as the “chief medical officer” for the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, and for not coordinating policy decisions with department leadership. “Firing a staff member for cause does not add up to a coup,” the official added. Hatfill disputes these accusations and says the department itself issued business cards listing him as both senior adviser and chief medical officer.

When he appeared on Steve Bannon’s podcast in August to claim, without evidence, that mRNA COVID vaccines are more dangerous than the disease itself, his title was listed as chief medical officer at the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Bloomberg reports. The virologist promoted hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as early treatments for COVID during the pandemic, a position widely disputed by medical experts. Some two decades ago, he was wrongly targeted in the 2001 anthrax investigation, for which the Justice Department later paid him a $4.6 million settlement.

WE can only hope that this ‘mutiny’ will be successful and rid the nation of this fake…..this country deserves so much better from the HHS than RFK.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Simplistic Thinking

Have you ever wondered why Americans, some Americans, have seemingly abandoned democracy?

How they can allow the destruction of this nation to proceed without voicing their displeasure?

Why is this?

Many have taken democracy for granted, forgetting how fragile it is. Yet across the world, support for its most basic principles (free elections, free speech, political equality) is eroding. The democratic institutions that brought more prosperity than ever before are sliding, and it’s not clear why.

A new study published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciencessuggests that the threat does not come from a single political ideology. Instead, it arises from the psychological forces that drive people both to defend the system and to tear it down in a simplistic fashion.

“Despite growing concern about the erosion of democratic values worldwide, we do not have a solid understanding of the psychological underpinnings of antidemocratic attitudes,” Artur Nilsson, a professor of psychology at the University of Bergen and Linköping University, who led the study with colleague Ali Teymoori, told PsyPost. “The present study set out to bring together and compare the most influential explanations, offering a more unified understanding of why people might turn against principles of liberal democracy.”

Nilsson’s team surveyed 824 adults in the United Kingdom, asking them about their beliefs and attitudes toward democracy. Participants answered questions that probed everything from their openness to new information to their willingness to justify violence or censorship.

The researchers found that antidemocratic attitudes don’t belong exclusively to the political left or right. Rather, they emerge from two opposing but psychologically similar worldviews.

The first, called system-justifying, includes authoritarian and dominance-oriented beliefs. These are the views that emphasize obedience, hierarchy, and the protection of established norms. These individuals were more likely to support censorship or restricting civil liberties to maintain order. These are the ones that try to support the establishment.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/psychology-science/simplistic-thinking-both-on-the-left-and-the-right-can-drives-people-to-turn-against-democracy/

Do you agree with the article?

If not then what do you think is causing the abandonment of democracy by so many?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Do They Know Something We Don’t?

Awhile back some dude stated that in 5 years or so that there would be a war in Europe…..I know many people have been predicting such a situation for many years now but so far they have been just fanciful predictions….

I read today that the nation of Switzerland is modernizing….

Switzerland, long known for its neutrality in global conflicts, is making a major investment in its famous network of bunkers. The country is set to spend more than $1 billion over 15 years to overhaul and modernize public and private shelters, a move driven by security concerns and the war in Ukraine. Starting next year, 200 large bunkers will be upgraded, and fees paid by property developers to fund shelters will rise, the Washington Post reports. Regional governments are also updating aging ventilation and filtration systems, with $1.2 billion earmarked for the work.

Switzerland’s commitment to civil defense is rooted in its history, with a network of roughly 370,000 shelters—enough to secretly assign a spot to nearly every resident. In fact, Switzerland has more bunkers per capita than any other nation, per the Guardian. The shelters, often tucked away in apartment buildings, are designed to withstand nuclear, biological, or chemical attacks. They include reinforced concrete, blast doors, and basic amenities, with requirements like one dry toilet for every 30 people. The country has begun planning for so-called “poly-crisis” scenarios, in which multiple threats hit at once.

Officials also are studying how to keep important services, like schools and businesses, running during emergencies, per the Post. “The economy still has to work during war. That’s what you see in all conflicts nowadays,” said Daniel Jordi, a Swiss civil defense official. He acknowledged the size of the government’s investment. “It’s a huge infrastructure,” he said, “but in the end it’s cheaper than any other measures you could take to protect your population.”

So what do they know that Donny and his band of idiots do not?

The way the US has been stirring the pot of war that has been simmering for decades you would think that civil defense might come up…..so has it?

We cannot depend on FEMA so where do we look for help when the unthinkable happens?

I say no for they are too busy selling their weapons around the world to care about us peons.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Critique Of Pure Stupidity

I have asked how people that I at one time considered rational could fall for the BS of Donny and his vanity presidency….

While “normalization” of deviance may be the most powerful, and insidious, manner of steering a nation off his cliff, Trump has also utilized more obvious and familiar strategies in his battles against thought. Borrowing a familiar political playbook from our earlier ominous history, Trump has relentlessly vilified an “out group” as scapegoats for all the evils of the world while cultivating a separate supportive clique of “in-crowd” humans who imagine themselves both special and put-upon.

He also repeatedly exploits fear with lies, including made-up stories about pet-eating Haitian immigrants, and a “burning” Portland, Oregon (with Republicans using protest photos from South America). “Things are terrible here. We won’t have a country left,” he has said in his campaigns. Kahneman and research partner Amos Tversky found that people experience the emotional pain of a loss about twice as strongly as the pleasure of a gain. Trump’s repeated apocalyptic warnings, as well as dwelling on specific gruesome crimes, speak to the primitive brain far more effectively than facts revealing that crime is decreasing and the nation is safer, Kahneman noted.

https://newrepublic.com/article/201224/trump-psychology-collaborator-trap-fascism

I saw this article and just had to work it into rotation here on IST.

The first and second Trump administrations have provoked markedly different critical reactions. The shock of 2016 and its aftermath saw a wave of liberal anxiety about the fate of objective knowledge, not only in the US but also in Britain, where the Brexit referendum that year had been won by a campaign that misrepresented key facts and figures. A rich lexicon soon arose to describe this epistemic breakdown. Oxford Dictionaries declared “post-truth” their 2016 word of the year; Merriam-Webster’s was “surreal”. The scourge of “fake news”, pumped out by online bots and Russian troll farms, suggested that the authority of professional journalism had been fatally damaged by the rise of social media. And when presidential counsellor Kellyanne Conway coined the phrase “alternative facts” a few days after Trump’s inauguration in early 2017, the mendacity of the incoming administration appeared to be all but official.

The truth panic had the unwelcome side-effect of emboldening those it sought to oppose. “Fake” was one of Trump’s favourite slap-downs, especially to news outlets that reported unwelcome facts about him and his associates. A booming Maga media further amplified the president’s lies and denials. The tools of liberal expertise appeared powerless to hold such brazen duplicity to account. A touchstone of the moment was the German-born writer and philosopher Hannah Arendt, who observed in her 1951 book The Origins of Totalitarianism that “the ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction … no longer exists.

In 2025, the denunciations have a different flavour. To many of us, the central problem is that we live not so much in a time of lies as one of stupidity. This diagnosis has credibility across the political spectrum. In January, the centrist columnist David Brooks wrote a column for the New York Times titled “The Six Principles of Stupidity”. The new administration, he wrote, was “behaving in a way that ignores the question: What would happen next?”

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oct/02/critique-pure-stupidity-understanding-donald-trump-2

How much more will the people accept before they start down a road to replacement?

Is there a ‘fix’ for such stupidity?

Only one answer comes to my mind….”Can’t Fix Stupid”

I Read, I Write, You Know

“Lego ergo scribo”