Perfectly stated re: the justices professing to be Catholics, while allowing a king to be immune for whatever laws he breaks, allowing the deportation of immigrants to foreign countries in the midst of civil war, and, no doubt, greenlighting concentration camps on US lands. The majority on the SC have gladly handed to the felonpotus whatever he desired. In due time, they'll approve the official religion of the US as Christianity, as well. To a regime that has rejected every single tenet that Jesus taught.
I have actually overheard a discussion between two strangers, where they both agreed on one point (and I quote directly):
"Well, we know what the Founding Fathers' intent was, so the First Amendment regarding freedom of religion only applies to white Protestants, and not all these cultists and sects."
I had to leave before I said something intemperate.
we have let the morons select our leader; not sure what we expected other than what we're getting. when military tanks are on the streets of every city, I'm not sure freedom of religion will even matter.
Does anyone notice the distinct difference between the Catholicism practiced by the Supreme Court "Justices" and that by the Vatican (Pope Francis and Pope Leo)? The SC group is more Spanish Inquisition-like.
Once again you do a great job of covering the legal lunacy in Trumpworld. As a therapist I don't do this, but I can write about Trump's fascination with cruel and unusual punishments from a psychological perspective.
Trump is basically a sadist. He'd never get his hands dirty directly inflicting pain on someone. However, he enjoys making it happen and watching. Today, reacting to Trump's saying he wanted to have a UFC fight on White House grounds as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the country I wrote "Biden had Elton John entertain on the White House lawn. Trump wants to have a UFC fight. What's next, gladiators fighting to the death?" LINK: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/biden-had-elton-john-entertain-on
I often worry that at first blush someone may look at the titles of some of my Substacks and think I am being snarky and unserious. I am not. I look at Trump through the lens of someone who was a therapist for 40 years. I see him, as have many other mental health experts, as worse than a malignant narcissist. Malignant narcissists are incapable of empathy. Not all are sadists. Trump is.
I've been reluctant to call Trump's Alligator Alcatraz by another alliteration, Alligator Auschwitz. However, since you use concentration camps in your title I will offer this up with the note that there has never been anything in history that came anywhere near to being as horrendous as the Holocaust.
I welcome replies here, but also invite anyone come over to my Substack to share your reactions there.
I agree re titles. I very much dislike that RawStory and Alternet change my titles to click bait titles. half the time they don't even reflect what the column is about. what are you gonna do?
also, happy 4th Hal! it's still our goddamn country.
Sometimes their titles are misleading. Hopefully it gets you more readers and I hope they pay you at least enough to go out for a decent meal. I've mentioned that RawStory uses me as an unpaid proofreader. I send them many corrections, mostly typos, sometime 2 or 3 a day. Today they wrote "community" in an article when they meant "communism." They always email me a thank you but I wouldn't turn down $10 for every error I find. :)
Happy Fourth to you and Jill.
There were two houses on my street this morning where residents displaying flags so I managed to get the flags we take to protests to hang on a trellis. You can see how it looks here:
That is EXACTLY the image I pictured while reading about the concentration camp *shudder*. Let him zig zag in the swamps but get eaten anyway. Ah the karma. Good job, Hal!
Right on, Hal. I'm not a psychologist but studied a lot of it as an undergraduate. I have asserted in conversation (but not in writing) that Trump is a sociopath. I've often wondered if a qualified mental health professional would agree.
Malignant narcissism (which Trump is an example of) combines narcissistic personality disorder with anti-social personality disorder, the later if also called sociopathic disorder. He has no conscience and no empathy. So the answer is yes. Read what psychoanalyst Justin Frank says: https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/25/donald-trump-applied-psychoanalysis-diagnosis/
I just read a great piece written up from a podcast with former federal judge Michael J. Luttig. He said he knew John Roberts very well. He also said John Roberts was one of the smartest people he's ever known. He went on when asked that yes he was absolutely positive John Roberts was more than aware of the impact of SCOTUS'S more recent decisions. (Immunity ruling last July 1st and the ruling the other day.)Stated that Roberts was also very aware of how the people have such a low regard for our current SCOTUS. Went on to say, when asked why they continue to rule this way is because they simply don't care and they're more than aware there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. He also said obviously John Roberts has made a conscious choice to live in this moment and history be damned. If that's not the definition of a corrupt court then I don't know what is! I consider it a scathing testimony coming from someone who once was very conservative.
yes, Roberts has been a huge disappointment. this confirms that none of them are truly christians. no surprise there, but its often tempting to think maybe the justices aren't aware of trump's worst impulses. but of course they are.
You could just tell by reading his responses Judge Luttig has a tremendous amount of insight into how Roberts is behaving. How he is almost incredulous in one way by Judge Roberts lack of any restraint on what trump is doing right now. You could hear the disappointment in his voice loud and clear too.
"Not a damn thing anyone can do about it" hits it on the head. They know it and laugh in the face of it. Roberts has forfeited the right to anyone's respect (he even used to have mine), but he doesn't give a damn. And worse than history be damned? Future be damned.
Judge Luttig also made clear that Roberts few small efforts to seem 'fair' were very weak and completely ineffectual. He almost came right out and said he was throughly disgusted with SCOTUS in general and John Roberts in particular!
Yes! I wish I had a link to what I read this a.m. It had popped up from my Smartnews app notifications. I've always been leery of judge Roberts. To me, even way back he seemed to have slowly been building up a facade for SCOTUS to hide behind.
He's a perplexing one. I often thought he might be genuinely moderate, and sometimes, maybe even trying to be borderline liberal. But in retrospect, I guess he was just enjoying the wind in whatever direction it was blowing.
The alternative is to continue to search for the Reporter's Philosopher's Stone. That's the insight of one who believes that the truth can and will prevail. If discovered, it fuels reader understanding and provides reader incentive to open one's mind so that the reader goes "holy fuck" and a light bulb appears over his/her head. Without the insight (which I believe you do a better job of providing than anyone I've read - right there with Chris Hedges), we keep throwing our shit out there ala Bannon. If I have gained any new insight, it is because of you and Hedges, and the continued hard thinking you have inspired. I recommend your efforts to everyone.
It’s becoming more obvious every day that the much-vaunted “rule of law” is little more than a scam to con the unwary into believing the system will deal with them fairly. It won’t.
My family has live in the same town land in Ireland since Cromwell’s New Model Army transplanted Roman Catholics to the Province of Connaught. Because the Protestant Ascendancy was the ruling class antidote to the pesky Irish, Catholics were held down by what Jack London called the “Iron Heel. By 1922 Ireland managed to achieve a Free State and by 1924 The Irish Civil War cemented the Pro Treaty forces hegemony of Ireland. I relate this prologue as an entree of my view that your post is highly readable and allows the reader to consider the SCOTUS Catholics the problem. Bravo. This is an observation not an accusation. There is no question about the religious composition of the justices And if you think there will be a midterm election in 2026, join me and other likely candidates for the maws of alligators. And while I am alligator meal, SCOTUS will undoubtedly rule that my detention and subsequent reptile repast was legal. Truly, my family has been on the wrong side of the ruling class, since the 17th century. May the road rise up to meet ye…TN
yes, Ireland has had a very special relationship with the merger of governance and catholicism, sorry to say. but it def gives you the perfect perspective of what's happened in the US.
I've been wondering (more as an American than as a "reformed Catholic") how much the makeup of the court might have had to do with the choosing of the first-ever American Pope, one seemingly chosen not to complement but rather to oppose and refute the current SCOTUS along with the rest of a dictatorial regime. I'm wondering more if religious civil war may join the other forms that seem to be taking shape.
What we're experiencing is the product of a complex and clever plot laid out long ago. Citizens United didn't just happen; it was the culmination of a series of carefully planned lawsuits that concealed the final plotline. Justice Potter Stewart saw through the fraud but was overruled by the Justices who were carefully selected to ignore justice. John Roberts will go down in history as a co-conspirator. Alito and Thomas were well compensated for their opinions. Trump is just a puppet; there's a solid collection of horrid people behind him pulling the strings. The objective is to kill off all the people who are not capable of being servants to the wealthy oligarchs. The rest of us will have servant jobs as long as we can perform, and then be discarded.
I’m convinced Trump’s intent is to exterminate any person in the country who doesn’t meet his definition of being worthy to live, i.e., white and loyal to him. There’s an underlying theme: he’ll roast them in the everglades, starve them by ending food programs, kill them by ending care for treatable diseases, deport them to the cruelest of third countries, undermine any politician who dares contradict him, whatever it takes, all while claiming to be “pro-life.” It’s a regime of sadists. Many of our “Christian“ friends and family members support him. Jesus, too, must be proud.
You are right. That was my attempt at sarcasm. I guess the Air Force thought my New York accent would go over big in Mississippi from 1958-1962. What an education that was.
Thanks for the fireworks, Sabrina! Our problem is that most (?) of us are grown-ups, so are unable to remember the mental workings of a 2yo. Tramp has the mental structure of a 2 yo. Can we really not see this: grandiose, self-centered, thus no boundaries, demanding total independence from all (parental) authority, sadism ("anal sadism"), insatiable oral (love) hunger, under developed frontal lobe intellectual function, impulsivity, desperate need for approval/admiration, the "terrible twos", etc.? Super-ego/conscience/empathy ONLY develop when limits are set by parental (paternal) authority. Tramp's loving father did not set limits, as he was attempting to make-up for the lack of mothering for Little Donnie, and eventually had to send the failed human off to military school to be whipped into shape, after many violent episodes in private school/home in Queens. How has that worked out? HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! At least our new Mad King Donald the 1st is celebrating, even if noone comes to his parades. Ironic to have a King celebrating our Independence from a King, no?
I've been struggling to accept what's happening, at least enough to get some sleep at night. I've been trying to zoom out, and understand that evil is nothing new; failed nationstates are nothing new; corruption at the head of state is nothing new. we have never been exceptional, we just thought we were. when I struggle to see the big picture at night when I'm struggling to sleep, I go to YouTube for photos of the night sky set to calming sounds. it helps reinforce how insignificant any of this shit really is in the long run. the planet doesn't care who's president, and when climate change gets rid of us, it will keep on turning.
Thanks, Sabrina, for all you do! I believe that the undisturbed natural world is the clearest, nearest, dearest picture of my Creator; and Mother Nature underlies it all. I have gone through all the “stages of grief” over the endless desecration of my God by citizens of a society gone mad. I’m thrilled to be turning 80yo in two months, I’ve got my ticket outta here stamped and paid for. Have a blessed day and evening.
Somewhat existential, a larger wider view helps a little. Funny how we may look back to Europe and other countries for democratic ideals after they've moved away from despots and rulers.
Thanks, David! You are the ONLY fellow traveler who has mentioned the “terrible twos”. If I still had cigars, I’d send one. You might also appreciate “Greeley’s Newsletter” on substack.com. Tramp has the mental structure of a 2yo, when devastating abandonment trauma left him terrified of ever being abandoned again, thus “loyalty” is primary for Our Mad King Donald the 1st. Have a blessed day!
Some are saying this will be more like “Alligator Auschwitz”…prisoners of Alcatraz received due process.
good point
Perfectly stated re: the justices professing to be Catholics, while allowing a king to be immune for whatever laws he breaks, allowing the deportation of immigrants to foreign countries in the midst of civil war, and, no doubt, greenlighting concentration camps on US lands. The majority on the SC have gladly handed to the felonpotus whatever he desired. In due time, they'll approve the official religion of the US as Christianity, as well. To a regime that has rejected every single tenet that Jesus taught.
agreed. the hypocrisy burns my ass.
I have actually overheard a discussion between two strangers, where they both agreed on one point (and I quote directly):
"Well, we know what the Founding Fathers' intent was, so the First Amendment regarding freedom of religion only applies to white Protestants, and not all these cultists and sects."
I had to leave before I said something intemperate.
we have let the morons select our leader; not sure what we expected other than what we're getting. when military tanks are on the streets of every city, I'm not sure freedom of religion will even matter.
Does anyone notice the distinct difference between the Catholicism practiced by the Supreme Court "Justices" and that by the Vatican (Pope Francis and Pope Leo)? The SC group is more Spanish Inquisition-like.
Well, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Once again you do a great job of covering the legal lunacy in Trumpworld. As a therapist I don't do this, but I can write about Trump's fascination with cruel and unusual punishments from a psychological perspective.
Trump is basically a sadist. He'd never get his hands dirty directly inflicting pain on someone. However, he enjoys making it happen and watching. Today, reacting to Trump's saying he wanted to have a UFC fight on White House grounds as part of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the country I wrote "Biden had Elton John entertain on the White House lawn. Trump wants to have a UFC fight. What's next, gladiators fighting to the death?" LINK: https://halbrown.substack.com/p/biden-had-elton-john-entertain-on
I often worry that at first blush someone may look at the titles of some of my Substacks and think I am being snarky and unserious. I am not. I look at Trump through the lens of someone who was a therapist for 40 years. I see him, as have many other mental health experts, as worse than a malignant narcissist. Malignant narcissists are incapable of empathy. Not all are sadists. Trump is.
I've been reluctant to call Trump's Alligator Alcatraz by another alliteration, Alligator Auschwitz. However, since you use concentration camps in your title I will offer this up with the note that there has never been anything in history that came anywhere near to being as horrendous as the Holocaust.
I welcome replies here, but also invite anyone come over to my Substack to share your reactions there.
I agree re titles. I very much dislike that RawStory and Alternet change my titles to click bait titles. half the time they don't even reflect what the column is about. what are you gonna do?
also, happy 4th Hal! it's still our goddamn country.
Sometimes their titles are misleading. Hopefully it gets you more readers and I hope they pay you at least enough to go out for a decent meal. I've mentioned that RawStory uses me as an unpaid proofreader. I send them many corrections, mostly typos, sometime 2 or 3 a day. Today they wrote "community" in an article when they meant "communism." They always email me a thank you but I wouldn't turn down $10 for every error I find. :)
Happy Fourth to you and Jill.
There were two houses on my street this morning where residents displaying flags so I managed to get the flags we take to protests to hang on a trellis. You can see how it looks here:
https://bsky.app/profile/halmbrown.bsky.social/post/3lt5vyxpkdk25
(The clever way to get images on a Substack comment is to put them on BlueSky.)
Thank you! I have been frustrated by my inability to post images in comments. This is great info!
Maybe others on Substack comments will do this. Related to Trump and his Alligator Alcatraz I juts made this: https://bsky.app/profile/halmbrown.bsky.social/post/3lt7ss4e6ws26
That is EXACTLY the image I pictured while reading about the concentration camp *shudder*. Let him zig zag in the swamps but get eaten anyway. Ah the karma. Good job, Hal!
But frankly, as a Californian, I do not like "Alligator Alcatraz", both on the grounds of "Alcatraz" and "Alligator." Maybe Florida Auschwitz...
I thinking of a way to use one of this to take to protests, maybe eating a Trump Baby Balloon. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=inflatable+alligator
Right on, Hal. I'm not a psychologist but studied a lot of it as an undergraduate. I have asserted in conversation (but not in writing) that Trump is a sociopath. I've often wondered if a qualified mental health professional would agree.
Malignant narcissism (which Trump is an example of) combines narcissistic personality disorder with anti-social personality disorder, the later if also called sociopathic disorder. He has no conscience and no empathy. So the answer is yes. Read what psychoanalyst Justin Frank says: https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/25/donald-trump-applied-psychoanalysis-diagnosis/
The other issue with the Catholic SCOTUS is their rumored membership in Opus Die. Roberts, Thomas, Alitio and Kavenaugh. Read up on them.
And Amy Coney Barrett. Is Thomas really Catholic or just anti-human?
I just read a great piece written up from a podcast with former federal judge Michael J. Luttig. He said he knew John Roberts very well. He also said John Roberts was one of the smartest people he's ever known. He went on when asked that yes he was absolutely positive John Roberts was more than aware of the impact of SCOTUS'S more recent decisions. (Immunity ruling last July 1st and the ruling the other day.)Stated that Roberts was also very aware of how the people have such a low regard for our current SCOTUS. Went on to say, when asked why they continue to rule this way is because they simply don't care and they're more than aware there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it. He also said obviously John Roberts has made a conscious choice to live in this moment and history be damned. If that's not the definition of a corrupt court then I don't know what is! I consider it a scathing testimony coming from someone who once was very conservative.
yes, Roberts has been a huge disappointment. this confirms that none of them are truly christians. no surprise there, but its often tempting to think maybe the justices aren't aware of trump's worst impulses. but of course they are.
Yes, they are, and they're clearly and willingly enabling the regime and stamping its every heartless, soulless whim "approved."
You could just tell by reading his responses Judge Luttig has a tremendous amount of insight into how Roberts is behaving. How he is almost incredulous in one way by Judge Roberts lack of any restraint on what trump is doing right now. You could hear the disappointment in his voice loud and clear too.
"Not a damn thing anyone can do about it" hits it on the head. They know it and laugh in the face of it. Roberts has forfeited the right to anyone's respect (he even used to have mine), but he doesn't give a damn. And worse than history be damned? Future be damned.
Judge Luttig also made clear that Roberts few small efforts to seem 'fair' were very weak and completely ineffectual. He almost came right out and said he was throughly disgusted with SCOTUS in general and John Roberts in particular!
Yes! I wish I had a link to what I read this a.m. It had popped up from my Smartnews app notifications. I've always been leery of judge Roberts. To me, even way back he seemed to have slowly been building up a facade for SCOTUS to hide behind.
He's a perplexing one. I often thought he might be genuinely moderate, and sometimes, maybe even trying to be borderline liberal. But in retrospect, I guess he was just enjoying the wind in whatever direction it was blowing.
You just said it. Trying to come across as somewhat moderate. All while still playing the role this particular SCOTUS was set up to do.
The unrecognized danger of stench is that continued exposure tenderizes antipathy.
right, but what's the alternative? we can't limit exposure. it's Steve Bannon's shit on the wall theory, and it's working.
The alternative is to continue to search for the Reporter's Philosopher's Stone. That's the insight of one who believes that the truth can and will prevail. If discovered, it fuels reader understanding and provides reader incentive to open one's mind so that the reader goes "holy fuck" and a light bulb appears over his/her head. Without the insight (which I believe you do a better job of providing than anyone I've read - right there with Chris Hedges), we keep throwing our shit out there ala Bannon. If I have gained any new insight, it is because of you and Hedges, and the continued hard thinking you have inspired. I recommend your efforts to everyone.
It’s becoming more obvious every day that the much-vaunted “rule of law” is little more than a scam to con the unwary into believing the system will deal with them fairly. It won’t.
My family has live in the same town land in Ireland since Cromwell’s New Model Army transplanted Roman Catholics to the Province of Connaught. Because the Protestant Ascendancy was the ruling class antidote to the pesky Irish, Catholics were held down by what Jack London called the “Iron Heel. By 1922 Ireland managed to achieve a Free State and by 1924 The Irish Civil War cemented the Pro Treaty forces hegemony of Ireland. I relate this prologue as an entree of my view that your post is highly readable and allows the reader to consider the SCOTUS Catholics the problem. Bravo. This is an observation not an accusation. There is no question about the religious composition of the justices And if you think there will be a midterm election in 2026, join me and other likely candidates for the maws of alligators. And while I am alligator meal, SCOTUS will undoubtedly rule that my detention and subsequent reptile repast was legal. Truly, my family has been on the wrong side of the ruling class, since the 17th century. May the road rise up to meet ye…TN
yes, Ireland has had a very special relationship with the merger of governance and catholicism, sorry to say. but it def gives you the perfect perspective of what's happened in the US.
I've been wondering (more as an American than as a "reformed Catholic") how much the makeup of the court might have had to do with the choosing of the first-ever American Pope, one seemingly chosen not to complement but rather to oppose and refute the current SCOTUS along with the rest of a dictatorial regime. I'm wondering more if religious civil war may join the other forms that seem to be taking shape.
Had a pithy reply but chewed up by the cyber alligators
God help us all....
What we're experiencing is the product of a complex and clever plot laid out long ago. Citizens United didn't just happen; it was the culmination of a series of carefully planned lawsuits that concealed the final plotline. Justice Potter Stewart saw through the fraud but was overruled by the Justices who were carefully selected to ignore justice. John Roberts will go down in history as a co-conspirator. Alito and Thomas were well compensated for their opinions. Trump is just a puppet; there's a solid collection of horrid people behind him pulling the strings. The objective is to kill off all the people who are not capable of being servants to the wealthy oligarchs. The rest of us will have servant jobs as long as we can perform, and then be discarded.
Maybe these justices should be excommunicated by the Pope; and throw J.D.Vance into that lot of heretics for good measure.
I’m convinced Trump’s intent is to exterminate any person in the country who doesn’t meet his definition of being worthy to live, i.e., white and loyal to him. There’s an underlying theme: he’ll roast them in the everglades, starve them by ending food programs, kill them by ending care for treatable diseases, deport them to the cruelest of third countries, undermine any politician who dares contradict him, whatever it takes, all while claiming to be “pro-life.” It’s a regime of sadists. Many of our “Christian“ friends and family members support him. Jesus, too, must be proud.
What a mess some of those Roman Catholics are. Almost befitting the esteem they have been held in by certain Southern Baptists back in the 50's.
I wasn't aware that baptists ever held catholics in high regard. I remember them calling us 'catlickers.' ha!
You are right. That was my attempt at sarcasm. I guess the Air Force thought my New York accent would go over big in Mississippi from 1958-1962. What an education that was.
"There's a 'New' Testament, you say?"
NOMINATING: The John G. Roberts Jr KANGAROO ALCATRAZ, Off-Shore Concentration Camp of Australia. ~eric. MeridaGOround.com
Thanks for the fireworks, Sabrina! Our problem is that most (?) of us are grown-ups, so are unable to remember the mental workings of a 2yo. Tramp has the mental structure of a 2 yo. Can we really not see this: grandiose, self-centered, thus no boundaries, demanding total independence from all (parental) authority, sadism ("anal sadism"), insatiable oral (love) hunger, under developed frontal lobe intellectual function, impulsivity, desperate need for approval/admiration, the "terrible twos", etc.? Super-ego/conscience/empathy ONLY develop when limits are set by parental (paternal) authority. Tramp's loving father did not set limits, as he was attempting to make-up for the lack of mothering for Little Donnie, and eventually had to send the failed human off to military school to be whipped into shape, after many violent episodes in private school/home in Queens. How has that worked out? HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! At least our new Mad King Donald the 1st is celebrating, even if noone comes to his parades. Ironic to have a King celebrating our Independence from a King, no?
I've been struggling to accept what's happening, at least enough to get some sleep at night. I've been trying to zoom out, and understand that evil is nothing new; failed nationstates are nothing new; corruption at the head of state is nothing new. we have never been exceptional, we just thought we were. when I struggle to see the big picture at night when I'm struggling to sleep, I go to YouTube for photos of the night sky set to calming sounds. it helps reinforce how insignificant any of this shit really is in the long run. the planet doesn't care who's president, and when climate change gets rid of us, it will keep on turning.
Thanks, Sabrina, for all you do! I believe that the undisturbed natural world is the clearest, nearest, dearest picture of my Creator; and Mother Nature underlies it all. I have gone through all the “stages of grief” over the endless desecration of my God by citizens of a society gone mad. I’m thrilled to be turning 80yo in two months, I’ve got my ticket outta here stamped and paid for. Have a blessed day and evening.
Somewhat existential, a larger wider view helps a little. Funny how we may look back to Europe and other countries for democratic ideals after they've moved away from despots and rulers.
So true! Maybe we should call his second term the Terrible Two.
Thanks, David! You are the ONLY fellow traveler who has mentioned the “terrible twos”. If I still had cigars, I’d send one. You might also appreciate “Greeley’s Newsletter” on substack.com. Tramp has the mental structure of a 2yo, when devastating abandonment trauma left him terrified of ever being abandoned again, thus “loyalty” is primary for Our Mad King Donald the 1st. Have a blessed day!
Thank you, Greeley. If I still smoked cigars, I'd smoke it! : )