#revenge and retribution

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 22, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Jan 23, 2025

Marc Caputo of Axios reported today that Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of all the January 6 rioters convicted of crimes for that day’s events, including those who attacked police officers, was a spur of the moment decision by Trump apparently designed to get the issue behind him quickly. “Trump just said: ‘F*ck it: Release ‘em all,’” an advisor recalled.

Rather than putting the issue behind him, Trump’s new administration is already mired in controversy over it. NBC News profiled the men who threw Nazi salutes, posted that they intended to start a civil war, vowed “there will be blood,” and called for the lynching of Democratic lawmakers. These men, who attacked police with bear spray, flag poles, and a metal whip and choked officers with their bare hands, are now back on the streets.

That means they are also headed home to their communities. Jackson Reffitt, who reported his father Guy’s participation in the January 6 riot and was a key witness against him, told reporters he fears for his life now that his father is free. Jackson recorded his father’s threat against talking to the authorities. “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor,” his father said, “and traitors get shot.” “I’m honestly flabbergasted that we've gotten to this point," Jackson told CNN. “I’m terrified. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The country’s largest police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, has spoken out against the pardons, as has the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote: “Law and order? Back the blue? What happened to that [Republican Party]?” “What happened [on January 6, 2021] is a stain on Mr. Trump’s legacy,” it wrote. “By setting free the cop beaters, the President adds another.”

Mark Jacob of Stop the Presses commented: “Republicans—the Jailbreak Party.”

One of the pardoned individuals is already back in prison on a gun charge, illustrating, as legal analyst Joyce White Vance said, why Trump should have evaluated “prior criminal history, behavior in prison, [and] risk of dangerousness to the community following release. Now,” she said, “we all pay the price for him using the pardon power as a political reward.” On social media, Heather Thomas wrote: “So when all was said and done, the only country that opened [its] prisons and sent crazy murderous criminals to prey upon innocent American citizens, was us.”

MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin reported that Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers, who was convicted of sedition and sentenced to 18 years in prison, met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this afternoon.

For the past two days, the new Trump administration has been demonstrating that it is far easier to break things than it is to build them.

In his determination to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures, Trump has shut down all federal government DEI offices and has put all federal employees working in such programs on leave, telling agencies to plan for layoffs. He reached back to the American past to root out all possible traces of DEI, calling it “illegal discrimination in the federal government.” Trump revoked a series of executive orders from various presidents designed to address inequities among American populations.

Dramatically, he reached all the way back to Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in September 1965 to stop discriminatory practices in hiring in the federal government and in the businesses of those who were awarded federal contracts. Johnson put forward Executive Order 11246 shortly after Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to protect minority voting and a year after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, both designed to level the playing field in the United States between white Americans, Black Americans and Americans of color.

In an even more dramatic reworking of American history, though, the Trump administration has frozen all civil rights cases currently being handled by the Department of Justice and has ordered Trump’s new supervisor of the civil rights division, Kathleen Wolfe, to make sure that none of the civil rights attorneys file any new complaints or other legal documents.

Congress created the Department of Justice in 1870…to prosecute civil rights cases.

Today, Erica L. Green reported for the New York Times that Trump’s team has threatened federal employees with “adverse consequences” if they refuse to turn in colleagues who “defy orders to purge diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies.” Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill commented: “Can’t wait until these guys have to define in court a ‘DEI hire’ and ‘DEI employees.’”

Trump’s team has told the staff at Department of Health and Human Services—including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—to stop issuing health advisories, scientific reports, and updates to their websites and social media posts. Lena H. Sun, Dan Diamond, and Rachel Roubein of the Washington Post report that the CDC was expected this week to publish reports on the avian influenza virus, which has shut down Georgia’s poultry industry.

Trump has also set out to make his mark on the Department of Homeland Security. Trump yesterday removed the U.S. Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, and ordered the Coast Guard to surge cutters, aircrafts, boats and personnel to waters around Florida and borders with Mexico and to “the maritime border around Alaska, Hawai’i, the U.S. territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,” to stop migrants. The service is already covering these areas as well as it can: last August, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Kevin Lunday, told the Brookings Institution that the service was short of personnel and ships.

As Josh Funk reported in the Associated Press, Trump also fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), responsible for keeping the nation’s transportation systems safe. He also fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, mandated by Congress after the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, to review safety in airports and airlines.

Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, and Kara Scannell of CNN reported that Trump has pushed aside senior Department of Justice lawyers in the national security division, prosecutors who work on international affairs, and lawyers in the criminal division, all divisions that were involved in the prosecutions involving Trump.

Trump has also suspended all funding disbursements for projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, laws that invested billions of dollars in construction of clean energy manufacturing and the repair of roads, bridges, ports, and so on, primarily in Republican-dominated states.

Breaking things is easy, but it is harder to build them.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly teased the idea that he had a secret plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine in a day. This morning, in a social media post, he revealed it. He warned Russian president Vladimir Putin that he would “put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”

In fact, President Barack Obama and then–secretary of state John Kerry hit Russia with sanctions after its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, and under President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the U.S. and its allies have maintained biting sanctions against Russia. At the same time, Russia’s trade with the U.S. has fallen to lows that echo those of the period immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union.

“Making a ridiculous post about tariffs on Truth Social was his secret plan to end the war in 24 hours?” wrote editor Ron Filipkowski of MeidasNews. “What a ridiculous clown show. Idiocracy.”

Yesterday, Trump held an event with chief executive officer Sam Altman of OpenAI, chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison of Oracle, and chief executive officer Masayoshi Son of SoftBank to roll out a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence, although Ja’han Jones of MSNBC explained that it’s not clear how much of that investment was already in place. In any case, Trump’s sidekick Elon Musk promptly threw water on the announcement, posting on X, “They don’t actually have the money.” He added “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

Musk has his own plan for developing AI tools and is in a legal battle with OpenAI. Altman retorted: “this is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [America] first.” As Jones noted, the fight took the shine off Trump’s big announcement.

As for turning his orders into reality, Trump has turned that responsibility over to others.

Mark Berman and Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post noted today that Trump’s executive orders covered a wide range of topics and then simply told the incoming attorney general to handle them. A key theme of Trump’s campaign was his accusations that Biden was using the Justice Department against Trump and his loyalists; Berman and Roebuck point out that Trump “appears to want the Justice Department to act as both investigator and enforcer of his personal and policy wishes.”

This morning, Meryl Kornfield and Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post, with the help of researcher Alec Dent, reported on Trump’s first meeting with House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate majority leader John Thune (R-SD). Trump frequently repeated, “promises made, promises kept,” but offered no guidance for how he foresees getting his agenda through Congress, where the Republicans have tiny margins. Both Johnson and Thune pointed out that it will be difficult to get majorities behind some of his plans.

According to Kornfield and Svitek, Trump stressed “that he doesn’t care how his agenda becomes law, just that it must.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[tomorrowusa]

Thanks to the frothing at the mouth incident, cartoonists now have the option of foaming up their Trump cartoons.

All that carbonation from 12 cans of Diet Coke® each day has got to go someplace. 🫧

If you saw somebody on your street ranting incoherently and at length about revenge and retribution, you might be tempted to call police or mental health paramedics to intervene.

Convicted felon and adjudicated sex offender Donald Trump continues to threaten revenge even when MAGA-friendly interviewers attempt to get him to sound normal.

Interviewers keep giving Trump an off-ramp to his revenge tour. He isn’t taking it

‘That 10 percent is important’: Trump forgoes moderates to juice the base after his conviction

[hermajestyimher]

Learn the Art of Being Unbothered

We've all been there, a person dislikes us and decides to try to make our life hell by constantly provoking us looking for a response and a scalation to make us lower ourselves to their level.

Choosing to ignore these kinds of people and being selective in how we utilize our energy and focus is a crucial skill to develop as one becomes more successful, popular, and elevated. The truth is that this world is filled with miserable people who want nothing more than to bring others who are doing better down so they can feel better about themselves. It's up to us to not give them that satisfaction.

When someone attacks you, you must assess the situation and realize if retaliation is something the attacker is worthy of. If the attacker is of lower status, intelligence, or success, and is lashing out at you with unfounded accusations, the best course of action is to ignore their entire existence. This will help to starve them of the attention they crave, minimize exposure to them and their lies, and make them go over the edge.

Retaliation is something that needs to be carefully planned and assessed. It should be saved for people who have the means to do active harm to you. It's not something to take lightly. Nobodies trying to get a reaction out of you do not deserve the time of day, more often than not, they will end up making a fool out of themselves without you having to lift up a finger. Remember that and stay classy.

[sforzesco]

Gannicus & Amicus (& Lentulus lmao rest in pieces) during the gladiator jailbreak in Capua, 73 BCE :)

[saywhat-politics]

[philosophybits]

When it comes to enemies, leave the door open to reconciliation. The door of gallantry is the surest one. The pleasure of revenge often turns into torment, and the satisfaction of having harmed someone often turns to pain.

Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

[idlenight-art]

Lost an eye, womp womp. (argent when I get you argent) When blinded sidestep briefly mentions getting a replacement mod in the future, so ofc I had to draw that too. (eyemod inspired by his suit helmet)

[honeyglas]

You never came for me, did you?

I would’ve.

But you didn’t.

[astra-ravana]

Fall From The Throne

Throughout history, witches and practitioners have used justice-based curses to remove corrupt rulers, oppressors, and those who abuse power. This dethroning curse is designed to expose the truth, weaken authority, and unravel influence—particularly against those who harm others through power. Use with strong intent, responsibility, and moral clarity. This curse works by exposing hidden truths, dissolving influence, and redirecting power. Use wisely, justly, and without hesitation when dealing with those who abuse their authority.

Needed:

• A black candle

• A taglock (photo, name, or personal item, etc. of the target)

• A mirror

• Black thread or cord

• A mixture of murder scene/graveyard dirt, saffron, and ashes

• A rusty nail or pin

• A piece of paper and black ink

Instructions:

Cast a protective space using salt, herbs, or visualization. Call upon deities of justice and retribution (like Hekate, Kali, Lilith, Samael, etc.) for assistance. Write their name On the paper, write the target’s full name and title (if applicable) and cross it out with three large Xs. Carve their name into the black candle, anoint it with ashes and saffron, and light it. Say:

"By this flame, your power wanes,

By truth revealed, your rule is stained."

Wrap the black thread around the paper and their taglock, tightly binding it as you say:

"Bound by lies, your reign decays,

The people's love shall turn away.

No voice to heed, no strength to keep,

Your throne shall crumble and the fall is steep."

Place the mirror facing their photo or name, symbolizing the return of their deceptions and actions. Hold up the rusty nail and say:

"The mask is shattered, the truth revealed,

No more secrets, your fate is sealed.

Your fall is nigh, your grasp undone,

Your power fades and your rule is gone."

Stab the paper with the nail, visualizing their power unraveling. Let the candle burn down completely. Bury the remains at a crossroads, throw them into running water, or scatter them in the wind while saying:

"So it is willed, so it is done."

Cleanse yourself and your space with salt, sage, or Florida Water. Wash your hands in running water to sever energetic ties. If necessary, perform a self-protection spell or meditation to shield against any possibility of backlash.

[hailkingcheeto]

[tomorrowusa]

The conviction of Hunter Biden has ironically undercut one of Donald Trump's main (and false) narratives. It's now more difficult for Trump to claim that Joe Biden controls the entire justice system in the US and somehow masterminded the conviction of Trump on all 34 felony counts in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial.

The survival of the rule of law in America and untainted justice may depend on the choice voters make in November. The country’s divergent possible paths under President Joe Biden or presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump were highlighted in the way both men, their families and their political operations reacted to the twin trials and verdicts. Biden made no effort to interfere in the prosecution of his son Hunter with either his executive authority or with the media megaphone of his office. He allowed his own Justice Department to secure a guilty verdict Tuesday that could result in jail time for the recovering addict and hurt his own 2024 campaign. “I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal,” the president said after the jury found his son guilty oflying on a federal background check form and possessing a gun while addicted to, or using, illegal drugs. He has already said he won’t pardon his son. In his first reaction to the verdict, Hunter Biden didn’t attack the judge or prosecutors, simply saying he was grateful for the love and support of his family and blessed to be clean again. The Bidens’ comportment contrasted with Trump’s reaction to his own trial and conviction nearly two weeks ago in his hush money case. The ex-president lashed out at witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and the judge. He claimed that “this was done by (the) Biden administration in order to wound or hurt a political opponent.” He blasted “a rigged decision,” despite the fact the Justice Department was not involved in the case brought by the Manhattan district attorney. Since then, Trump has been warning he’d use presidential powers to punish his political opponents and bend the legal system to his will. “Sometimes revenge can be justified,” Trump told TV psychologist Phil McGraw last week. “I have to be honest. You know, sometimes it can.” The former president told Fox News last week, “I would have every right to go after them,” referring to the Bidens. Throughout his trial in Manhattan, his former hometown, Trump, insisted he couldn’t get a fair verdict in a city that votes mostly Democratic. But Delaware is a blue state — and a jury there just convicted the president’s son. One juror told CNN Tuesday that politics never came up in the deliberations. Jurors in Trump’s trial have yet to speak, perhaps because of fears they could be identified following the ex-president’s intimidation tactics.

If you want the justice system to still exist in the United States after the election, vote for Biden. If you prefer an incoherent dictator using the courts to get "revenge" and "retribution" from perceived opponents, then vote for Trump or some useless turd party candidate with no chance of winning (same thing).

[abluescarfonwaston]

Sorry just thinking about Phoenix and Iris. How he swallowed glass for her. How she didn't know. Turned away from it and covered her eyes. Couldn't bare to see what she knew her sister was going to do. Do to him. She knitted a sweater for him. It fits just right. He swallows glass and stares at her as she stands over a charred and smoking body. As she screams and points at him. Watches as he is hauled away. Can't even fathom what's going on. Why.

He swallows glass for her.

And I just can't help but think what would have happened if she'd asked him to leave instead. That last night before Dollie became Dahlia. If her shaking hand had reached for the necklace one last time. Shaking and pale. If he'd caught her hand then and asked what was wrong. How the words would clog in her throat but if she begged- if she asked- that they run away together, he would have.

He swallows glass for her.

Surely he'd have been willing to run away.

[steveneveral]

Your God will sort you when you die...

Spiritbox - Soft Spine

[mythologypaintings]

Nemesis

Artist: Alfred Rethel (German, 1816–1859)

Date: 1837

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Nemesis, the Greek goddess of revenge and retribution, was often used to balance the scales of revenge both on Mount Olympus, where gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, and Athena reigned, and in the mortal world

[philosophybits]

Hatred is increased by being reciprocated, and can on the other hand be destroyed by love.

Baruch Spinoza, Ethics

[arylleth]

When it comes to enemies, leave the door open to reconciliation. The door of gallantry is the surest one. The pleasure of revenge often turns into torment, and the satisfaction of having harmed someone often turns to pain.

—Baltasar Gracián, The Art of Worldly Wisdom