#weakling trump

[angelx1992]

[mugiwara-lucy]

If you all aren't aware Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump's case where he stole CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS from the White House:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/15/trump-classified-trial-dismisssed-cannon/

Even though Jack Smith wants to try to appeal this since this is bullshit, for the time being it looks like he may get his Orange Pedophile Rapist ass off.

While this is somewhat of a dark day for us (Although let's be honest, I think we all knew this would happen when it was announced the day of his sentencing was gonna be delayed), I'm glad I haven't seen any more pussyfooted liberals jumping ship because they think the fight is "lost". NEWSFLASH MOTHERFUCKERS, there is less than FOUR MONTHS until the election and the Media like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and OTHERS are going to be on Joe Biden like Cheese on Macaroni and if YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT THAN GET THE FUCK OUT WE DON'T NEED YOU!!

And to the people staying strong (Thankfully there's WAY MORE strong people than weaklings and we're going by the day, do NOT listen to MAGA folks when they say they outnumber us. Case in point, remember when Trump got convicted? They said the country would fall apart but nope. It's still here). Remember; VOTE BLUE PLEASE.

Because as we all know, WE ARE ALL WE HAVE. The Supreme Courts and the Media are OUT FOR US and LITERALLY want us DEAD AND GONE.

We've had a rough couple of weeks but we've all held through, become stronger and gained more people.

Let's continue this until the election and be RID of Trump ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!!!!

[graffic17]

So, with a lot of Worm characters we don't get much of their backstories. Especially, it seems, when those characters probably had really interesting triggers that completely inform the kind of person they are by the time they appear in story.

Hatchetface is a prime example of this. He's a serial killer that specifically targets Brute capes and only joined the Slaughterhouse 9 because they'd give him more opportunities to kill capes. To my knowledge there's no mention of him taking part in killing normals until the S9K event. He could have, but I like to think he only did when his buttons were pushed by Jack.

Because Hatchetface is someone who hates Parahumans. He's a Brute and a Trump. Meaning he had trauma caused by a Cape, physical trauma that completely wrecked his face and likely other parts of his body. A cape attacked him in some way, brutalized him, made him feel like an utter weakling despite being the massive, muscular man that he was, Maybe even murdering his family in front of him.

And in the end, Hatchetface became a nightmare for Capes, a thief of their powers, who makes them feel exactly as weak as he did the day he triggered. But he remains his own fear, trapped, plagued by a self-hatred he will never overcome.

Maybe that's why Cherish chose him to kill. Playing on his self-hatred, dragging up suicidal thoughts he likely had. Until he ended it.

But even his peace in death was stolen from him by a cape. More than once.

[kotamagic]

In the spirit of the Ides of March, let us take a moment to reflect on why we celebrate it.

Caesar was an influential man who sought to be a dictator of Rome. There were those who saw this as a danger to democracy as it was in those days and decided 'he will not be king/emperor/dictator. '

Caesar has been dead for well over 2000 years. He is no longer a threat to democracy. However, there are fiends in positions of power in the modern day, just like Caesar.

Fiends like Netanyahu and Putin, who wield their power to cause as much destruction as possible. Fiends like Trump, who, given the chance, would crown himself King and wreak retribution on those who sought justice for the crimes he committed in and out of office. Weaklings, like Biden, who simply 'go with the diseased flow' to neither stir up trouble nor progress society for the better. Other dictators doing gawd-knows-what whether it appears in the news or not.

These are your modern-day Caesars. While it is much harder to bring down dictators today than it was in ancient Rome, they are not invincible. They can be brought down. They will be brought down. You can do it.

So do it!

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

In the summer of 2015, back when he was still talking to traitorous reporters like me, I spent extended stretches with Donald Trump. He was in the early phase of his first campaign for president, though he had quickly made himself the inescapable figure of that race—as he would in pretty much every Republican contest since. We would hop around his various clubs, buildings, holding rooms, limos, planes, golf carts, and mob scenes, Trump disgorging his usual bluster, slander, flattery, and obvious lies. The diatribes were exhausting and disjointed. But I was struck by one theme that Trump kept pounding on over and over: that he was used to dealing with “brutal, vicious killers”—by which he meant his fellow ruthless operators in showbiz, real estate, casinos, and other big-boy industries. In contrast, he told me, politicians are saps and weaklings. “I will roll over them,” he boasted, referring to the flaccid field of Republican challengers he was about to debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that September. They were “puppets,” “not strong people.” He welcomed their contempt, he told me, because that would make his turning them into supplicants all the more humiliating. “They might speak badly about me now, but they won’t later,” Trump said. They like to say they are “public servants,” he added, his voice dripping with derision at the word servant. But they would eventually submit to him and fear him. They would “evolve,” as they say in politics. “It will be very easy; I can make them evolve,” Trump told me. “They will evolve.” Like most people who’d been around politics for a while, I was dubious. And wrong. They evolved. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Trump told me the following spring, as he was completing his romp to the 2016 nomination. We were talking on the phone, and Trump had just wrapped up a rally in Anaheim, California. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry had recently endorsed him, despite dismissing Trump earlier as a “cancer on conservatism” and “a barking carnival act.” “He made a statement saying something like I’m ‘the smartest guy ever to run for office,’ ” Trump told me (Perry didn’t say exactly that, but close). “How do you get from ‘cancer on the party’ to that? I get it, I get it; it’s how politicians are. But I couldn’t do that.” Trump accepted Perry’s support, and then promptly taunted him. “He was going [around] saying the worst things about me!” Trump said at the Anaheim rally. “I have never seen people able to pivot like politicians.” “It’s happening with all of them,” Trump said. “Lindsey Graham just called and was very nice … even though he used to say the worst things.” (Graham had called Trump, among other not-nice things, “a race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot” and “a kook.”) Soon enough, the last holdouts would come around too. “It’s just so easy, how they do that,” Trump said. As went individual Republican politicians, so went the party. Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee in 2016, would become frustrated with Trump over his obvious scorn for his organization. Still, Priebus would gamely try to assure me that the GOP was shaped not by one man but rather by a set of traditions, principles, and conservative ideals. “The party defines the party,” Priebus kept telling me. After Trump won the nomination in 2016, “The party defines the party” became a familiar feckless refrain among the GOP’s putative leaders. House Speaker Paul Ryan vowed to me that he would “protect conservatism from being disfigured.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the radio host Hugh Hewitt that “Trump is not going to change the institution,” referring to the GOP. “He’s not going to change the basic philosophy of the party.” In retrospect, this was hilarious.

[awesomecooperlove]

CENTER STAGE<

🎥

_The Whites Hats are publicly putting Obama on the center stage for 2024 and and his life corruption and AGENDAS connected to ALL DEEP STATE OPERATIONS< :

>TUCKER Carlson coming after Obama as being gay is a very important operation that WILL discredit the OBAMA'S for their next presidential big run

_but the EXPOSURE of Obama as a gay President WILL lead to DC Elites and EXPOSURE of the intensional WOKE movement involving the United States military and the chain of commands and operations targeting children,/ intentionally weakling the military on[ ds] military operations connected to CCP infiltration

_The Obama hidden gay agenda WILL be uncovered as the world watches and a clear

Gay militarized operations took place to control the media and place prominent positions through Hollywood, media, courts

Banking sectors, the u.s. education systems to indoctrinate the children into being sexualized at a very young age ( placing planned agendas on children's sexuality and orientation/sexual genders is pedophilia)

_The Obama EXPOSURE WILL >COINCIDE< with the EXPOSURE of the Biden laptop which Congress will push into light and connect world banks to Biden family. These same banks will connect JP Morgan and other world banks to pedophilia and their association with EPSTEIN PEDOPHILIA RING AND BLACKMAIL WORLD NETWORKS RINGS.>>>HUMAN TRAFFICKING RINGS

_

_CONNECTED TO[ DS] WORLD MILITARY OPS>

_

_

THE EXPOSURE OF OBAMA IS VITAL and connects deep state MILITARY OPERATIONS protecting pedophilia rings

( [ ds] mil intel. Agencies protect ELITE PEDOPHILIA RINGS due to their own involvement in the human trafficking/ child/ sex trafficking trade)//// >>> EPSTEIN WAS CREATED BY MOSSAD/ FINANCED BY MI6/cia/Rothschild , Rockefellers etc ect AND KEPT HIS MONEY IN CIA OPERATIONAL BANKS AS JP MORGAN AND OTHER WORLD BANKS AS DEUTSCHBANK in Germany and much much much much more....

The Exposure of Obama as gay and pushing a military WOKE movement and government aid and financing into Gay Agenda movements through several U.S corporations that were intentionally pushed on children/military and created a 4rth generations warfare between civilians is all connected to TREASON/ PEDOPHILIA/ CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY/ UNITED STATES EXECUTIVE ORDERS pertaining to Foreign interference in ELECTIONS ( tens of Thousands of Government officials . Military personal and people of influence were blackmailed through Gay agenda operations that targeted their computers , phones, Email etc."' X'''' > ( the PATRIOT ACT in the 2000's gave the cia and [ ds] the power to install fake pedophilia blackmail operations programs on millions of U.S. (EU.> world) citizens computers and phones... And they were blackmailed into complying with the oppositional deep state forces....... this was

A large part of 911 inside cia job to create the Patriot act and take control of deep state U.S. interest )////

The military current MILITARY ALLIANCE operations to EXPOSE Obama , U.S. PIZZAGATE. HUNTER LAPTOP, PODESTA. HILLARY EMAILS. >> EPSTEIN<<<

>>>ALL CONNECTED TO PEDOPHILIA RING,

ADRENOCHROME crime syndicate operations ///// and how social media Giants. MSM. Elites/ politicians/ tv personalities as jimmy Kimmel all covered up for the CRIMES OF CENTURY. CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND ALL WORKED IN UNISON IN A CIA. GUILDED MILITARY COUP AGAINST DONALD J. TRUMP AND SEVERAL COUNTRIES AND NATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD

__

WE HAVE COME INSIDE A MASSIVE STORM

PATRIOTS///the world is testing EBS through countries and all is Preparing for EVENTS ( they will tell you the EBS is for other reasons or blame Putin or Patriots or something other for coming blackouts...

But remember GAME THEORY OPERATIONS ARE IN PLACE.... it's very important the coming EVENTS that are going to happen

Including massive protest. Riots against the new pandemic/ vaccines/ lockdowns/.....

Subscribe for more:

https://t.me/HoaxExposed

[maklodes]

Missouri ads for statewide political office be like "My opponent is a PATHETIC WEAKLING RINO and a CAREER POLITICIAN, but I am a STRONG GRIZZLY BEAR OF A PRO-TRUMP CONSERVATIVE OUTSIDER and will DESTROY THE WOKE JEFFERSON CITY SWAMP!" and then they'll show footage of themselves shooting a flamethrower at boxes labelled "illegal immigrants," "transgender trash in schools," "communist Chinese imports" etc.

[cmesinic]

Donnie sends Easter blessings.

[authorautumnbanks]

How To Tame A Sorcerer (63)

Series Master list

Mahito swears. He has heard from Geto about the so-called trump card that all ten shadow users have, but hearing and seeing it is another matter. The shikigami is out of control. It does not differentiate between him, the sorcerers, or the demons. Instead, it rampages and attacks those that stand in its way.

Blood runs down his forehead. If he were a weaker curse or, hell forbid, a human, then he would be dead.

The sky above is dark, filled with smoke from the fires. If the few remaining humans do not die from one of the many curses or demons running amok, then surely the smoke will do them in. Not that any of that matters with this giant shikigami in the way.

"Fuck, this thing is huge," he mutters, barely dodging another attack. Mahoraga stands as tall as the transfigured demon Mahito was using as a transportation device. There is a wheel above his head, taunting Mahito with every click. Looks like none of them will be able to defeat this thing. Who summons a shikigami they cannot defeat and control?

Idiot sorcerers.

Desperation makes humans do such stupid things. Like summoning this thing. Was that boy's plan to take them all out?

Death is not something Mahito wants to experience just yet. Not until he puts that woman in the ground and sees the look of anguish on Yuji's face once more. From the corner of his eye, he notices the dark-haired sorcerer trying to move the girl. If Mahito was in a better position, he might congratulate her on surviving the poison.

Plus, he still wants to get his hands on her soul to see what happens when someone has been brought back to life.

"By the way," he drawls, commanding the teen's attention, "Gojo Satoru is gone." He smiles, radiating joy from being able to just say those words. How many people get to say that? The strongest sorcerer of the modern world is gone.

He's so damn giddy, he wants to shout out it from a rooftop.

A flash of disbelief followed by despair mars the boy's face and it is absolutely exquisite. The sorrow. The grief. Mahito's eyes roll back in ecstasy. He can taste the negative emotions in the air. Mahoraga lets out a roar that shakes the ground.

Ugh. Fine. He will figure out how to deal with this shikigami first and then take his time tormenting the sorcerers afterwards. It will be all worth it in the end to watch that sorcerer's mind break as he taunts him about how no one is going to save him. Not with Gojo Satoru out of the picture. And that woman will be delt with soon enough. Her powers may be dangerous, but her body is still weak, like that of a normal human.

Getting rid of her will be easy. There is no one left to protect her. She is surrounded by weaklings.

Mahoraga advances on him. "I'm not the one that summoned you," he quips, as he leaps in the air. If he could just get that wheel, then maybe he will have a chance. Mahoraga backhands him and sends him flying. The debris and glass cut into his skin and his eyes. Mahito lies there, on the ground. He thinks he must have been knocked through at least three buildings. At least it feels that way.

The pain is so great; he feels high. An enlightenment. He sits up and plucks the shards out of his eyes. A manic smile splits across his patched face. Surely, Sukuna can't be too mad if the boy takes himself out. It is not as though Mahito attacked the sorcerer. No, he focused his attention on the female. No one told the suicidal sorcerer to summon a shikigami he cannot control.

He sighs as he dusts the debris off his clothes. Who is he kidding? Sukuna is not one that can be reasoned with. This he knows from experience. If that is the case, then he may as well kill both sorcerers now. At least if he must go against Sukuna, it will be because of something he actually did this time.

The demons he brought along with him are no more. A waste. It took a lot for him to work his transfiguration on them. Way more effort than with humans. Despite what he said earlier, demon souls are much harder to deal with. He's only gotten his hands on half-demons and some with a pinch of demon blood in their veins.

Encountering a full demon is not something Mahito wants to encounter anytime soon.

"Vermin," a voice says to his left. A wave of pure, demonic energy washes over the area. Even Mahoraga gives pause. The two sorcerers are knocked out. It looks as though the dark-haired one took the attack for the girl. "Where is the Six-eyes?" The demon grips his sword. From here, Mahito can feel the pure malice radiating off that sword like a tsunami. This newcomer is dangerous.

"Surely, you aren't talking to me." Mahito points to himself. Whoever this newcomer is, let the rampaging Mahoraga deal with him. "When the vermin is you." A green whip shoots out and blood gushes from his hand. Mahito screams, dropping to his knees. His hand is not regenerating. "What the hell did you do?"

No. No. No. This is not happening right now. Not when the fun is just starting. Not when he has so much left to do.

"That's my prey, demon lord," Sukuna says mockingly, landing next to the two knocked out sorcerers. Sukuna stares Mahito down and then turns his attention to Mahoraga.

Shit.

The king of curses and a demon lord? Fear grabs hold of Mahito and shakes him down for everything he has. This is the power of a full-fledged demon? His hand is still nonexistent. Blood continues to pour, and his regeneration is not working. The skin burns. He tries to change the shape of his body, but nothing works. The area burns like none other. It is not a sensation he wants to experience ever again.

"Shut up," the white-haired demon says. The demon holds up his hand and Mahito thinks this may be it. He might be done for. A flame arrow cuts through the green mist right before it reaches him.

He's alive? How?

Mahito scrambles back and hightails it out of there. He knows not why Sukuna saved his life, but he does not plan to stick around and find out. Let those two deal with that unconquerable shikigami. He needs to regroup. Heal his hand. Regroup with the others. And if he is lucky, Sukuna will have taken care of that demon lord and leave Mahito be.

A chill runs up his spine as he glances back. "Fuck." He throws himself to the right, barely missing the blast of energy sent his direction. His leg throbs. It is burned. His leg does not want to move. Crippled. Double fuck. He wills his unscathed hand to transform into something sharp. It works.

Yes! It works.

He cuts off the burned part of his leg, biting down on his tongue as the pain nearly makes him want to pass out. His body is weak. Far too weak. But his regeneration is working on his leg now. He wonders if the same will work on his other arm, so he cuts more of his arm off.

Almost as if there was a blockage, his regeneration flows freely, and his hand heals. The smell of rotting flesh assaults his nose. Fuck that demon lord.

Is this the power of a full demon or just that one? He does not want to find out. But why did he ask for Satoru Gojo? He needs to get away. As much as it pains him to leave the destruction to the others, staying alive long enough to see that woman's death is more important. Staggering to his feet, he moves further away from the battle. His newly regenerated leg is wobbly, frail.

A pain in the ass.

"Running away?" Geto chimes rounding the corner. Mahito scoffs. He looks a damn mess and Geto looks as serene as usual. "That's not like you."

"Regrouping. There is a demon lord in the midst."

The smile drops from Geto's face as if someone threw a bucket of acid on him. Ah, so this was not a part of Geto's scheme. Good to know he is not the only one confused. "And what did this demon lord look like?"

"White hair, gold eyes, a crescent moon on his forehead." Mahito flexes his hand. Good, the feeling is back. His strength is returning. Just in time, too. He spots the blonde sorcerer he fought back at the school. "Break is over," he declares. "I've got one more sorcerer to kill."

Geto laughs and moves to the side. "By all means, have your fun."

"You aren't going to join?"

"Later."

Mahito narrows his eyes. Something about Geto's refusal to join in on the chaos does not sit right with him. An eerie feeling builds in his gut. The stench of betrayal is coated on every word Geto speaks. "By the way, that demon lord is looking for Gojo Satoru."

"Is that so?" Geto murmurs, looking past Mahito and in the direction of the demonic energy. "How interesting."

The unease does not dissipate from his gut, but he ignores it for now. The need to test out his newly regenerated limbs is great. And with everyone distracted, no one will be coming to that blonde sorcerer's rescue.

What is that saying the humans are always going on about? Third time is the charm. Yeah, this time, that sorcerer will not walk away from the fight.

"Oh, Mahito, try not to get yourself killed. We still have lots to do."

That unease and the whisper of betrayal stays with Mahito long after Geto walks away. Even as he engages with the blonde sorcerer with the tired eyes, he cannot shake the feeling of something not being quite right.

Which is silly.

Geto is on the side of curses. He would not go to these lengths just to side with humanity.

[angelx1992]

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

What if Mitch McConnell, at the close of his scalding speech on the Senate floor blaming Donald Trump for the riot that occurred at the Capitol on Jan. 6, had promised to use his every last breath to ensure that Trump was convicted on impeachment charges and could never, ever become president again?

What if Melania Trump, after the porn star Stormy Daniels said Trump had unprotected sex with her less than four months after Melania gave birth to their son, had thrown all of Trump’s clothes, golf clubs, MAGA hats and hair spray onto the White House lawn with this note, “Never come back, you despicable creep!”

What if the influential evangelical leader Robert Jeffress, after Trump was caught on tape explaining that as a TV star he felt entitled to “grab” women in the most intimate places — or after Trump was found liable by a Manhattan jury of having done pretty much just that to E. Jean Carroll — declared that he would lead a campaign to ensure that anyone but Trump was elected in 2024 because Trump was a moral deviant whom Jeffress would not let babysit his two daughters, let alone the country?

Where would statements and actions like those have left Kevin McCarthy, his knuckleheads in the House G.O.P. caucus, and other Republicans who now are defending Trump against the Justice Department indictment? Would they be so eager to proclaim Trump’s innocence? Would they be raging against Tuesday’s hearing in Miami? Would they be claiming, falsely, that President Biden was indicting Trump, when they know full well that the president doesn’t have the power to indict anyone?

I doubt it. But I know that all of these questions are rhetorical. None of those people have the character to rise to these ethical challenges and take on Trump and what he has done to break our political system. Trump is like a drug dealer who thrives in a broken neighborhood, getting everyone hooked on his warped values. That is why he is doing everything he can to break our national neighborhood in two fundamental ways.

For starters, Trump has consistently tried to denigrate people who have demonstrated character and courage, by labeling them losers and weaklings. This comes easy to Trump because he is a man utterly without character — devoid of any sense of ethics or loyalty to any value system or person other than himself. And for him, politics is a blood sport in which you bludgeon the other guys and gals — whether they are in your party or not — with smears and nicknames and lies until they get out of your way.

Trump debuted this strategy early on with John McCain — a veteran, a man who never broke in five-plus years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, a man of real character. Do you remember what Trump said about McCain at a family leadership summit in Ames, Iowa, on July 18, 2015?

When McCain ran for president, “I supported him,” Trump told the audience. “He lost. He let us down. But he lost. So I never liked him much after that, because I don’t like losers.” When the audience laughed, the moderator, the pollster Frank Luntz, interjected, “But he’s a war hero!”

Trump — who wangled a dubious medical deferment to avoid the Vietnam War draft — then responded: “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” Later that day, Trump retweeted a web post headlined, “Donald Trump: John McCain Is ‘A Loser.’”

So part of the way Trump tries to break our system is to redefine the qualities of a leader — at least in the G.O.P. A leader is not someone like Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney, people prepared to risk their careers to defend the truth, serve the country and uphold the Constitution. No, a leader is someone like him, someone who is ready to win at any cost — to the country, to the Constitution and to the example we set for our children and our allies.

And when that is your definition of leadership, of winning, people of character like McCain, Cheney and Romney are in your way. You need to strip everyone around you of character, and make everything about securing power and money. That is why so many people who entered Trump’s orbit since 2015 have walked away muddied. And that’s why I knew that all the questions I asked earlier were rhetorical.

The second way that Trump is trying to break our system was on display on Tuesday in Miami, where he followed his appearance as a federal criminal defendant with a political meet-and-greet at a Cuban restaurant. There, once again, Trump tried to discredit the rules of the game that would restrain him and his limitless appetite for power for power’s sake.

How does he do that? First, he gets everyone around him — and, eventually, the vast majority of those in his party — to stop insisting that Trump abide by ethical norms. His family members and party colleagues have grown adept at running away from reporters’ microphones after every Trump outrage.

But precisely because key political allies, church leaders and close family members will not call out Trump for his moral and legal transgressions — which would make his 2024 re-election bid unthinkable and hasten his departure from the political scene — we have to rely solely on the courts to defend the rules of the game.

And when that happens, it puts tremendous stress on our judicial system and our democracy itself, because the decision to prosecute or not is always a judgment call. And when those judgment calls have to be rendered at times by judges or prosecutors appointed by Democrats — which is how our system works — it gives Trump and his flock the perfect opening to denounce the whole process as a “witch hunt.”

And when such behavior happens over and over across a broad front — because Trump won’t stop at red lights anywhere and just keeps daring us to ignore his transgressions or indict him so he can cry bias — we end up eroding the two most important pillars of our democratic system: the belief in the independence of our judiciary that ensures no one is above the law, and the belief in our ability to transfer power peacefully and legitimately.

Just consider one scene in Trump’s indictment. It’s after a federal grand jury subpoenaed him in May 2022, to produce all classified material in his possession. Notes written by his own lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, quote Trump as saying: “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t. … What happens if we just don’t respond at all or don’t play ball with them? Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”

Better for whom? Only one man. And that’s why I repeat: Trump has not put us here by accident. He actually wants to break our system, because he and people like him only thrive in a broken system.

So he keeps pushing and pushing our system to its breaking point — where rules are for suckers, norms are for fools, basic truths are malleable and men and women of high character are banished.

This is exactly what would-be dictators try to do: Flood the zone with lies so the people trust only them and the truth is only what they say it is.

It is impossible to exaggerate what a dangerous moment this is for our country.

Thomas Friedman

New York Times

[arch-zerachiel]

*there is sound of a loud boom on the heaven as shadows,demons,dolls come out of the exploded place*

Sigh, thou just don't give me a break!? Fine, thou wants a proper fight? That's exactly what thou'll get. Zerachiel clicks on his earing. Soldier 68, I trust you enough to notify all mercenaries present on your headset, thy can take charge of the alarms. I want you to run as far as you can and notify all the citizens then evacuate them from the premises. If thou dare fail, I won't hesitate to execute you with my own two hands. Thy can stall long enough for reinforcements. However, I'll need a couple... 'Trump Cards', got it? Thy's no weakling, all rules are fair game. Heh... Over. Thou breaks the rules. Fine, you're incompetent, I comprehend that. But the audacity to invade? Now thy'll make sure you take liability, the hard way.

[maswartz]

And there he goes violating the gag order again

[madamspeaker]

Now that she is no longer Speaker of the House , Nancy Pelosi considers herself "more conciliatory". There is little sign of that when it comes to Trump and the Republicans. "If only they could see he's a weakling."

In the semi-darkness of the restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, Nancy Pelosi leans forward to read the menu. She studies it as carefully as a bill. Why is that lemonade in the list with the cocktails? “Because it contains alcohol,” says the waitress. "But I can also make regular ones."

Since her departure as leader of the Democratic group in the House of Representatives last November, Pelosi, 83, has been a backbencher in Congress. Is she used to the difference between being Speaker of the House, one of the most powerful people in American politics, and now simply representing the District of San Francisco?

"It's fantastic," she says. “I have more time to think. I used to always be working. I slept maybe four hours a night. I felt responsible for every word in every law, in every debate. No, I'm really happy."

How do you view the reactions of your Republican colleagues, who did not want to lose Donald Trump after the indictment of taking state secret documents?

“For thirty years I was on the committee on the intelligence services. After a meeting I had to leave my own notes in a safe. You weren't allowed to take it outside. So the Republicans certainly know how to deal with it.

“Our position as a world power is jeopardized by the disclosure of secret services sources and methods. The people in our intelligence services are therefore less safe. That Republicans are defending Trump blindly, as if he is above the law and the Justice Department is being used as a weapon against him, makes me suspect that they may be projecting their own bad intentions against the department onto this case. Why would they question the independence of the judiciary so much?”

Well why do you think?

“Because they are afraid of this man. Afraid for his voters in their districts. I wish they could see that he's a weakling. Our country needs a strong Republican Party. It has played a major role in the history of our country. Take your party back, I'd say to the Republicans. They're behaving like a cad's cult now.

"Don't you notice that the Republican leaders are silent about the danger our country is in because of Trump showing classified documents to others? I find it baffling that none of the prominent Republicans are saying, this is no good. Because they know it's not right."

Chris Christie, one of the Republican presidential candidates for 2024, called the charges "highly incriminating" and Trump's behavior "irresponsible."

“But has he also said that he will not vote for Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee? Well then.”

The regular lemonade is brought, she sucks the straw and rearranges a pin with the American and Ukrainian flags in her lapel. The white pantsuit she wears is the same as at the 2019 State of the Union, when a record number of women took office in the House of Representatives. The Democrats had won the majority and she herself had been elected Speaker of the House for the second time after 2007-2011 . When President Trump said in his speech that he wanted to embrace “the endless power of cooperation” and “the common good,” she stood up and gave him an ostentatious round of applause dripping with sarcasm — one of many theatrical stunts in her long career. career.

You've worked with Republicans often enough. Do they all mean bad for the country?

"They weren't like that before."

You have been in the House since 1987. When do you think it went wrong?"

I think it started a little over twenty years ago. When dark money became an important, divisive influence on our politics. These large donations to parties and politicians, whose origins are not clear, prevent us from doing what is necessary in the field of climate or gun control. The arms industry and the big fossil energy companies are shutting down all legislation to protect their profits. They don't care what the Republicans do as long as they get their tax breaks."

Democrats also benefit from anonymous donations, don't they? The New York Times saw that the Democrats had raised almost twice as much money as the Republicans for the 2020 election.

“Make no mistake, the Republicans are the handmaidens of dark money . We have written legislation to put that money in the spotlight, but they do not want to support it. We have legislation that makes election donations transparent, removes barriers to exercising everyone's right to vote, and ends partisan and unfair drawing of district boundaries before elections. We propose that impartial committees classify the districts. This is a law that strengthens our democracy. And they don't support it."

You think today's Republicans are radical. They have a majority in the House, a very small minority in the Senate. Do you think all their voters are also radical sectarians?

"No, I do not think so. Let me tell you a little bit about the history of the American system. When our ancestors founded a constitution and a nation, they could only do so with a compromise: each state, regardless of its population, got two senators. This is to prevent states with many inhabitants from blowing away the little ones. But then there were less than three million Americans and those entitled to vote all looked alike.

“Now our country is wonderfully diverse, the population has grown enormously and the thirteen states of 1776 have become fifty. In California we have 40 million people, Wyoming has less than 580,000 – and they are both still represented by two senators. So the Senate is not necessarily reflective of the population. We respect that. But the senators of the sparsely populated states are much more likely to be Republican, and they've tightened up the skewed representation by demanding a 60-40 majority on many ballots. In this way they reinforce the dishonesty.”

But they also have a majority in the House, where the reflection is more faithful.

“This is partly due to the unfair division of the districts. Fortunately, the Supreme Court just delivered a major ruling on Alabama's election map.” That map was rejected because the districts were drawn in such a way that the African-American vote was given almost half the weight of the actual population. “This is an important statement. I worked hard on it, along with former Attorney General Eric Holder. We want independent committees to classify the districts. If we lose, at least it's fair."

Do you really think that peace can be restored to the country through such laws?

"Oh yeah. I think they remove a lot of the distrust among voters. Then they know that their voice is worth as much as that of others.”

Why can't you address those skeptical voters as well as Trump?

"Because we don't lie to them. In the 2016 elections, the key question was: 'Do you believe in the future?' Technology, globalization, jobs disappearing abroad - people who face the future with little confidence are frightened by this. And Trump capitalized on that fear.”

That sounds rather condescending. I noticed that Trump voters often said they were old Democrats. I asked: why did you leave the Democratic Party, they said: the Democratic Party has left us.

“Yes, but then you are talking about cultural issues. The three G's: guns, gays and God - where God is very important. The Republicans always pretend that the Democrats don't want to know anything about religion anymore. Nonsense. I am a very religious person. Many of those people who pray in church on Sunday do not celebrate the values ​​of the faith when they step outside. The Gospel of Matthew: 'For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink.' They think: I don't want to help the poor at all.”

In the HBO documentary "Pelosi in the House," you tell campaign volunteers that cultural issues like LGBTIQ rights are in the DNA of the Democratic Party, "but that's not what we're addressing. We only talk about economic issues”. Is your party insecure when it comes to cultural issues?

“That was a few years ago. But: yes, when I enter a company, I don't mention the right of women to choose an abortion. We think this is an important right, but opinions are divided on this. And you don't want people to immediately think, oh, this isn't for me. You want to get them on common ground first. So you talk about education, about healthcare, things like that. After that you can file a divorce again and say: I think the right to abortion is very important. But that doesn't open the conversation.

“Trump has linked cultural issues with false promises about the economy, like a quack with a miracle potion. He says: I'm going to build a factory for you here. And that appeals to people who are afraid of losing their jobs. Of course he never builds that factory, or it will close again very soon.”

He received 75 million votes in 2020.

“If you fear globalization and innovation, your biggest fear is diversity. Newcomers to the country are taking my job away. Women are pushing me out of the job market. LGBTQ people get high positions, and I don't. The press fueled that sentiment in 2016 by repeating that those voters were uneducated. They were. They were trained to fight our wars, to raise our families, to build our country. They may not have had a college degree, but that doesn't mean they are ignorant. It was portrayed as the elite against white, less educated men. And the Hillary Clinton campaign team has not refute that clearly enough.”

How is it then?

“However we proceed from here, we must try to forge a unity. That too is part of the luxury of no longer being a Speaker : I can adopt a much more conciliatory attitude. What I say should come across as patriotic, with respect for differences of opinion.

“Nothing is more important than making laws that benefit Americans, such as President Biden's infrastructure bill . Some delegates care more about their re-election. No, we were chosen to do our job, not keep our job.

“The care bill, the Affordable Care Act, is perhaps the most important thing I've done in this regard. Millions of people benefit from this every day. When it passed, President Obama called me and said, "I'm happier tonight than I was the night of my election victory."

In the book Dying of Whiteness, an uninsured Tennessee man with a deadly liver disease says he would rather die than sign up for Obamacare.

“Funny you mention Tennessee. In neighboring Kentucky, Obamacare was a great success. They didn't call it Obamacare, they called it KentuckyCare and everyone signed up. This is typical of the Republican trinity: they don't believe in government, they don't believe in science and they certainly didn't believe in Barack Obama – with everything that goes with it.”

What are you implying?

Barack Obama was not a very political president. That was a plus, but the Republicans portrayed him very differently: as a seasoned party man. He wasn't that biased at all – I sometimes regretted that. They have made everything suspicious, his background, his wife, his parentage, his birth certificate, unheard of.”

If you want to win back voters from the Republicans by saying they need to change, then I think you can wait a long time.

“As long as our differences move within the boundaries of the rule of law, I have no problem with it. But now there are politicians who do not believe in public administration. I respect differences of opinion, they are essential in a democracy, but I cannot respect people who endanger our rule of law.”

Republicans say: If conservatives storm the Capitol, it's called a coup. When protesters set fire to police stations after the death of George Floyd, it is called 'the good kind of trouble', a winged expression from the civil rights struggle.

That is absolutely not comparable. The storming of the Capitol by people carrying guns, spearheaded by the President of the United States. And on the other hand, setting fire to police stations or overturning patrol cars. People have raised their voices against it. Many of the demonstrations that got out of hand were hijacked by anarchists, such as in Portland, Oregon. Terrible. And it hurt us in the elections.”

What do you think, were the Capitol stormers dissatisfied or desperate?

"I think you must be pretty desperate to storm the Capitol."

Some people actually seemed hopeful.

“The people at the Capitol? Sorry, those were […].” Pelosi uses a word that she immediately says should be cut. And then she uses it again. “Those were disruptive […], they shit on the floor in the building. You cannot call such people hopeful.”

From time to time, diners from other tables glance furtively at Pelosi, who underscores her words with sharp gestures. And then they look at the three big men sitting on the benches next to us: bodyguards. A man with a white shirt over his trousers and a baseball cap on his head shuffles uncertainly to a table. Pelosi looks up and smiles. He looks a bit like her husband, Paul Pelosi.

On October 28, 2022, a man broke into the Pelosi's San Francisco home. Only Paul was home. "Where is Nancy?" demanded the intruder. Paul kept him talking and managed to call the police. When it arrived, the assailant hit Paul on the head with a hammer. Pelosi spent six days in the hospital and weeks of rehab.

Their daughter Alexandra had previously said that the attack also had one happy consequence for her father. “Half his life he walks beside her as the man of. Now there is applause when he enters a restaurant.”

How is your husband?

“He is moving forward. But it will certainly take months, a blow to the head does a lot to you. It was close enough or it would have been fatal.”

There was a stir in the Netherlands when Minister Kaag was confronted with the concerns of her children about her safety. They were afraid that she would suffer the fate of her distant predecessor, Els Borst, who was murdered by a deranged man who opposed her euthanasia law. Have your children also been concerned?

“Did that happen in the Netherlands? Unacceptable! This happens when women are effective. If that first woman had not been so decisive in making the euthanasia law, she would not have been attacked. And that current minister also sounds like an effective politician.

“My family has generously supported me in what I wanted to do. When people ask me how I feel about the danger, I say that I am obviously a masterful legislator and, above all, a masterful fundraiser—otherwise they wouldn't want to mess with me. I try to shrug it off, but I can't be indifferent about its effect on other women.

“When I first entered the House, there were 13 female Democrats. Now there are more than ninety . I always encourage women to run for office. Some say, I can't bear to see my kids coming out of school crying because they've heard bad things about me. But then I answer: we need you. The more women in politics, the more normal it is considered. Aggression and violence are the ways the system tries to discourage women from participating in politics.

“On January 6, our Capitol was stormed. They wanted to shoot me and hang the vice president. And the president did not lift a finger to prevent that. I don't worry so much for myself, but I do worry about my family, my children and grandchildren. They targeted me and got my husband. That has had a crushing effect on our family. Paul isn't political at all, and then they try to kill him. Yes, of course you think: how necessary is it that I continue to play this role in politics? In an NRC profile about her mother, Alexandra Pelosi said that after the attack on her father, there was no longer any doubt: her mother would resign.

After the conversation, Pelosi quickly walks to a side room where the photographer is waiting. “I hate posing. And the worst part is that I have to do it every day.”

What did you actually think of the documentary your daughter Alexandra made about you?

“She showed everything. I was in the picture without make-up, in my pajamas. Beforehand she let me have a look. Then I said: that, that and that, you can still get that out of it, don't you? She said: Mom, that's the trailer already, the movie is finished, nothing can be changed. No, I had nothing to say at all.”

[dialogue-queered]

9 June 2023

James Risen

Extract 1: The Republican Party has devolved into a cult of personality, where every new piece of evidence of their leader’s criminality becomes another reason for his followers to defend him. Donald Trump has now been indicted twice in just over two months, in separate cases involving accusations of unrelated crimes. Both times, Republicans have rallied around him. The group of whiners and weaklings who are running against Trump for next year’s Republican presidential nomination are so intimidated by his hold on the party’s base that they are afraid to publicly tell the truth, which is that Trump is a thug who should be in prison instead of the White House.

Extract 2: In 2021, the Washington Post’s fact-checking team concluded that Trump had made 30,573 false or misleading claims over the four years of his presidency.

Extract 3: Will four criminal indictments, a wide-ranging civil fraud case, a civil sexual abuse and defamation verdict, two impeachments, a stalled obstruction of justice case, and 30,573 lies be enough to wake up Republicans?