I have spent a lot of time (way too much time actually) thinking about this. Granted having a psychopath in the WH is not unprecedented, nor is it unprecedented to have a large number of psychopaths in Congress since that has been the case for a decade or more, but it is unprecedented when they simultaneously hold the WH & majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Trump's seriously flawed character traits such as immaturity, irresponsible chaotic behaviour, arrogance & ignorance on top of having a flair for grandiosity &/or delusions of grandeur, constant need for attention, self-centeredness & an insatiable desire for adoration among so many other flaws & quirks are not just off-putting, they are troubling - deeply so.
Furthermore, criticism sends Trump into fits of pique; rages on sometimes for days on end. Even the most trivial slight (usually imagined) will get blown into such a major ordeal that he cannot/will not rest until he has sufficiently taken revenge on the culprit. He becomes unhinged at the drop of a hat! This kind of behaviour is not just unseemly, it is especially offensive & intolerable. It makes him even more desperately dangerous.
Taken altogether in addition to Trump being a narcissistic psychopath is an explosive combination. The man is frighteningly unconscionable.
In just a few short days Trump & his psychopathic minions will have the levers of power in their hands. The reign of a governing body of psychopaths marks the beginning of an era of psychopathocracy. May it be short-lived.
I agree with you Juan. It is deeply unsettling that Donald Trump will be in the WH for the next 4 years; what a nightmare! All of us together will need to put up as much resistance as possible.
The manner in which the Republicans have treated President Obama has been stomach churning. There is nothing I would like better than to see them pay a political price for what they have already wrought on the American people (not to mention the suffering & hardship yet to come), but that is the voters choice.
In the unlikely event the Democrats decide to block Trump's Supreme Court nominee, they will need to hammer it in, making it very, very clear to the American people the reason is not political retribution, tho the Republicans will claim it is.
By conveying a very direct message to their constituents in terms they could relate to on a personal level - things that affect themselves & their families, IMHO explains why many newly elected Democratic candidates were successful.
Using this same approach to explain w explicit specificity how people's lives have been affected by Supreme Court decisions,& will be in relationship to Trump's nominee, the Ds would be much more apt to sway public opinion to support blocking Trump's nominees.
Suffice to say, Trump & his party will relentlessly attack making all sorts of false accusations against the Ds. Yet when people understand an issue & are aware of the negative impact it will have on their families, they generally do not change their minds.
The next 4 years are going to be one battle after another.
If you want Democrats to fight for us, then call them on the telephone & tell them often, 'we have your back.'
Juan, I agree with you. FWIW You may want to consider submitting a few op-eds to several different national & local newspapers. The more people know the better.
It is unsettling that an observable substantial number of low-information, gullible, partisan Republican voter loyalists are utterly oblivious to the extent of hardship & suffering such policies will cause the American people, young & old, rich & poor & middle-class alike.
The policies Republicans are so tediously trying to sell are not just their old, tried & failed policies of the past, but much more extreme versions that portend an ominous very dark, dystopian future for the country at large.
Inasmuch as the situation is complicated you'd never know it given the way Lindsey Graham, John McCain and other Republicans have presented it - criticizing President Obama, calling him incompetent & using fear mongering to scare the public into believing it.
Suffice to say Fox and other right wing media sources will be pushing this false narrative through November and beyond until 2016 when an ill-informed & none the wiser public will go to the polls to vote.
The American people are more than capable of grasping the concept of being stuck between a rock & a hard place in making decisions. But because the Obama administration's mistake is not trusting the public enough to explain the situation in those terms they've set themselves up as an easy target for attacks by the right wing which has strengthened their detractors' hand in swaying public opinion.
Even some Democrats, like Diane Feinstein, have inexplicably jumped on the fear mongering misinformation bandwagon, too, making it all that much more convincing for a confused ill-informed, misguided public to wrongly believe that the administration is ill-equipped to handle the situation.
Whatever decision President Obama makes, whether he sides with the Assad regime or not, it will be criticized over and over again by his detractors.
So yes the situation is complicated but only in terms of being stuck between a rock and a hard place which Americans could easily comprehend if they had the facts.
But unfortunately that is not the case, so the public, none the wiser, afraid & in the dark, left to its own devices with neither the time nor the inclination to sort this out on their own, is wrongly condemning the President as a result thereof.
Although the advantage of which is self-evident & does not need explaining, it is still infuriating, inexcusable, unacceptable and deeply troubling that winning elections today takes priority over country.
When asked today by our local news to comment on Nugent, Greg Abbott said that he 'learned early in life to never look back.' That is nothing short of coward's answer! If Abbott thinks that is 'acceptable' he is grossly mistaken!
I get that Abbott's refusal to condemn or criticize Nugent's hateful racist characterization of President Obama is a political decision. But he could not muster even the slightest protest. Instead he just avoided answering the question altogether. In doing so, Abbott revealed a lot more about himself than he intended or realizes. Suffice to say, he is not exactly self-aware anyhow.
Furthermore Abbott had an opportunity to call for civility in our public dialogue or any number of things without mentioning Nugent's name. Then again, Abbott doesn't look "back." He doesn't think either!
All of which speaks volumes about the man's character or rather lack thereof.
An individual who is incapable of standing on the courage of his/her convictions or exhibiting at least an ounce of decency is not fit for public office. So yes, Greg Abbott, Iam talking to you!
"To sit in silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men." ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
BTW: The most recent polling taken in Texas, prior to Nugent accompanying Abbott on the campaign trail, shows Abbott 10 or 12 percentage points ahead of Sen Wendy Davis.
What it will show after this latest kerfuffle is anyone's guess, however, I suspect Abbott's numbers will take some sort of hit -- how much will not be enough as far as Iam concerned.
Iam late in commenting, but I just wanted to mention that the local Dallas TV news "reported" tonight that Nugent "apologized" intimating that the apology extended to President Obama.
I have spent a lot of time (way too much time actually) thinking about this. Granted having a psychopath in the WH is not unprecedented, nor is it unprecedented to have a large number of psychopaths in Congress since that has been the case for a decade or more, but it is unprecedented when they simultaneously hold the WH & majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Trump's seriously flawed character traits such as immaturity, irresponsible chaotic behaviour, arrogance & ignorance on top of having a flair for grandiosity &/or delusions of grandeur, constant need for attention, self-centeredness & an insatiable desire for adoration among so many other flaws & quirks are not just off-putting, they are troubling - deeply so.
Furthermore, criticism sends Trump into fits of pique; rages on sometimes for days on end. Even the most trivial slight (usually imagined) will get blown into such a major ordeal that he cannot/will not rest until he has sufficiently taken revenge on the culprit. He becomes unhinged at the drop of a hat! This kind of behaviour is not just unseemly, it is especially offensive & intolerable. It makes him even more desperately dangerous.
Taken altogether in addition to Trump being a narcissistic psychopath is an explosive combination. The man is frighteningly unconscionable.
In just a few short days Trump & his psychopathic minions will have the levers of power in their hands. The reign of a governing body of psychopaths marks the beginning of an era of psychopathocracy. May it be short-lived.
I agree with you Juan. It is deeply unsettling that Donald Trump will be in the WH for the next 4 years; what a nightmare! All of us together will need to put up as much resistance as possible.
The manner in which the Republicans have treated President Obama has been stomach churning. There is nothing I would like better than to see them pay a political price for what they have already wrought on the American people (not to mention the suffering & hardship yet to come), but that is the voters choice.
In the unlikely event the Democrats decide to block Trump's Supreme Court nominee, they will need to hammer it in, making it very, very clear to the American people the reason is not political retribution, tho the Republicans will claim it is.
By conveying a very direct message to their constituents in terms they could relate to on a personal level - things that affect themselves & their families, IMHO explains why many newly elected Democratic candidates were successful.
Using this same approach to explain w explicit specificity how people's lives have been affected by Supreme Court decisions,& will be in relationship to Trump's nominee, the Ds would be much more apt to sway public opinion to support blocking Trump's nominees.
Suffice to say, Trump & his party will relentlessly attack making all sorts of false accusations against the Ds. Yet when people understand an issue & are aware of the negative impact it will have on their families, they generally do not change their minds.
The next 4 years are going to be one battle after another.
If you want Democrats to fight for us, then call them on the telephone & tell them often, 'we have your back.'
Juan, I agree with you. FWIW You may want to consider submitting a few op-eds to several different national & local newspapers. The more people know the better.
It is unsettling that an observable substantial number of low-information, gullible, partisan Republican voter loyalists are utterly oblivious to the extent of hardship & suffering such policies will cause the American people, young & old, rich & poor & middle-class alike.
The policies Republicans are so tediously trying to sell are not just their old, tried & failed policies of the past, but much more extreme versions that portend an ominous very dark, dystopian future for the country at large.
Inasmuch as the situation is complicated you'd never know it given the way Lindsey Graham, John McCain and other Republicans have presented it - criticizing President Obama, calling him incompetent & using fear mongering to scare the public into believing it.
Suffice to say Fox and other right wing media sources will be pushing this false narrative through November and beyond until 2016 when an ill-informed & none the wiser public will go to the polls to vote.
The American people are more than capable of grasping the concept of being stuck between a rock & a hard place in making decisions. But because the Obama administration's mistake is not trusting the public enough to explain the situation in those terms they've set themselves up as an easy target for attacks by the right wing which has strengthened their detractors' hand in swaying public opinion.
Even some Democrats, like Diane Feinstein, have inexplicably jumped on the fear mongering misinformation bandwagon, too, making it all that much more convincing for a confused ill-informed, misguided public to wrongly believe that the administration is ill-equipped to handle the situation.
Whatever decision President Obama makes, whether he sides with the Assad regime or not, it will be criticized over and over again by his detractors.
So yes the situation is complicated but only in terms of being stuck between a rock and a hard place which Americans could easily comprehend if they had the facts.
But unfortunately that is not the case, so the public, none the wiser, afraid & in the dark, left to its own devices with neither the time nor the inclination to sort this out on their own, is wrongly condemning the President as a result thereof.
Although the advantage of which is self-evident & does not need explaining, it is still infuriating, inexcusable, unacceptable and deeply troubling that winning elections today takes priority over country.
When asked today by our local news to comment on Nugent, Greg Abbott said that he 'learned early in life to never look back.' That is nothing short of coward's answer! If Abbott thinks that is 'acceptable' he is grossly mistaken!
I get that Abbott's refusal to condemn or criticize Nugent's hateful racist characterization of President Obama is a political decision. But he could not muster even the slightest protest. Instead he just avoided answering the question altogether. In doing so, Abbott revealed a lot more about himself than he intended or realizes. Suffice to say, he is not exactly self-aware anyhow.
Furthermore Abbott had an opportunity to call for civility in our public dialogue or any number of things without mentioning Nugent's name. Then again, Abbott doesn't look "back." He doesn't think either!
All of which speaks volumes about the man's character or rather lack thereof.
An individual who is incapable of standing on the courage of his/her convictions or exhibiting at least an ounce of decency is not fit for public office. So yes, Greg Abbott, Iam talking to you!
"To sit in silence when we should protest makes cowards out of men." ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
BTW: The most recent polling taken in Texas, prior to Nugent accompanying Abbott on the campaign trail, shows Abbott 10 or 12 percentage points ahead of Sen Wendy Davis.
What it will show after this latest kerfuffle is anyone's guess, however, I suspect Abbott's numbers will take some sort of hit -- how much will not be enough as far as Iam concerned.
Iam late in commenting, but I just wanted to mention that the local Dallas TV news "reported" tonight that Nugent "apologized" intimating that the apology extended to President Obama.
This is what passes for "news" today!