43 Comments
User's avatar
Valerie Starr's avatar

I’m dusting off a boatload of Vietnam protest songs. Getting ready for some good trouble. For some reason two songs are ear worming my brain; Country Joe’s anti war anthem and Phil Ochs I Ain’t a Marching Anymore. (You can bet if we have a draft, Barron’s inherited dad’s bone spurs)

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

You know that the first call was to Barron's 'friendly' podiatrist!?

Expand full comment
Keith Olson's avatar

Awesome recollection, Mr. Fugelsang, of Trump’s promises made and promises broken. And his consistent incompetence and the incompetence of his clown car cabinet of loyalists.

Who will become the American Hero or Heroes that stop this madness? Hopefully they will appear sooner rather than later.

Expand full comment
Celery46's avatar

Thank you for describing the ugliness of Donald's idiocy in contrast with the brilliance of the Iran deal President Obama and a multilateral team had in place. Love the clarity with which you illustrate of how much our country has lost through Donald's latest violent reckless display.

Expand full comment
Hoddenzid's avatar

After he showed his hand and warned the Iranians that he was going to bomb, I can see how his casinos tanked

Expand full comment
Cheryle Johnson's avatar

Well for starters, he began with berating the media while Marco Rubio snickered beside him, and said any coverage that questioned the efficacy of the strikes was disrespectful of the troops who participated. So distraction, which is on point for him.

Expand full comment
Mary Walterman's avatar

Thank you for this moment of clarity. Now if only those who still back this loser will come to understand what is really going on we may be able to right this ship of democracy and move it forward to a better and more sane future.

Expand full comment
P. J. Schuster's avatar

They won’t, that’s a pipe dream.

Expand full comment
Lois Henry's avatar

Everything I imagine I know about how oil prices are set comes from orange juice futures in the movie Trading Places. The oil barons are probably not worried about Donald.

Opening up protected national forests and melting ice in Alaska are probably of more interest to them.

Expand full comment
Cathryn's avatar

He's a despicable predator…always has been!

Expand full comment
A Mastodon Path's avatar

I think it was dumber than that. Trump felt stupid and inadequate at the G7 and fled that situation by creating a conflict he felt he could look strong in. Sure it was at the confluence of Israeli and perhaps Russian interest, who were no doubt exerting what pressure they could to get him to intervene. But his decision to do so was determined by anxiety.

https://open.substack.com/pub/amastodonpath/p/trump-is-running-scared?r=5vtiy5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

Trump was running from G-7 like a scalded cat, fearful that Zelensky would be warmly embraced by all the other leaders, with Trump sitting at the kiddies table! Strangely, or not, little was reported from Canada, once Trump left in a huff to create the BIBI/PUTIN recommended distraction of bombing theatrical acts. Also under reported, was Israeli bombing of the very same sites that had been 'obliterated' the day/night before! Housekeeping, clean up, level 4!

Expand full comment
A Mastodon Path's avatar

I think people massively under-estimate how much his intolerance for "losing" (losing face, losing to another party, being seen as incompetent or stupid) is a driving factor in everything he does. Dude doesn't have convinctions or any kind of plan, his actions always follow the same pattern: start a fight that must seem easy > fight turns out to not be easy > Run to or create another fight.

If more people saw that pattern, and simply did not allow discourse to shift away from his failings, he could be shut down.

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

The Putins of the world have noticed! Bibi has noticed! Musk had noticed! Many/All of his Cabinet and MAGA and non MAGA members of Congress know how to manipulate Trump! The difficulty becomes whether Steven Miller and/or Suzie Wile are first among equals.

Expand full comment
Carmen Hardy's avatar

The media see but it's to their advantage so they keep on propagating it.

Expand full comment
George's avatar

Even war is just a distraction. We have the fucking Gestapo disappearing people from our streets. We have a god damned crooked court, illegitimately appointed, allowing this corrupt administration to send the disappeared overseas.

There is no other news. This is accelerating by the minute.

Expand full comment
P. J. Schuster's avatar

I agree, that “should” be the only thing the press (both legacy & independent) is covering 24/7 fcs. The video of the Iranian woman on the ground having a grand mal seizure & 4-5 masked thugs trying to hold her down is horrific; as is the one of thugs punching the father of 3 sons who all joined the Marines. I just don’t understand why they can’t FOCUS.

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

Aren't they paid to create chaos? Not to think of Focus!

Expand full comment
P. J. Schuster's avatar

No, I don’t think media, especially our newer independent ones, are paid to “create” chaos. I think the legacy media CEOs & managers tell the hosts what to focus on; or at the very least they nudge them in a certain direction

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

Isn't the reason that newer independent media sources exist is the sameness of the more established media on air/cable sources. As 'progessive' as people like to believe non Fox media outlets had become, they too have constantly repeated the various over the top musings of Trump and minions. Perhaps to reinforce the outage of the musings, though also giving free space within the collective brains, with little guidance as to how to combat the resulting damages. Perhaps that is not viewed as the job of the media, but does that stop Fox or the pundits in the pulpit from encouraging specifics?

Expand full comment
P. J. Schuster's avatar

I get what you’re saying, & yes, even too many of the hosts on msnbc play too much of what dumpy says, or endlessly focus on what he is doing; except Rachel & Lawrence. The fact that even they immediately shifted almost all focus to him & the bombing of Iran & completely ignored the assassination of a MN lawmaker, her husband, & their dog, by a white, extremist Christian terrorist.

The inequality of coverage of terrorism, depending upon the color of skin or their religion is very stark.

Expand full comment
Dennis Doherty's avatar

True, though in terms of magnitude, the potential for a nuclear conflict outranks even the most heinous of crimes in this country. Finite air time often requires tough judgements. When the battle damage assessment revealed a less than optimal result of the bombings, the immediate reaction was to slander the messenger/s, the same cheerleaders who had championed such an unprevoked attack against a sovereign nation.

Expand full comment
Communication Breakdown's avatar

Great post John! We are driving in the same lane, and my post today answers your final question -- check it out at:

https://cannonwriter.substack.com/p/schrodingers-president

Thanks -- love your work. :)

Expand full comment
Duane Pierson's avatar

The hard part is Trump and his firebrands in his first admin tore up the Iran deal. Conservatives never liked the deal, and there's also the fact that Obama's (the guy born in a s!thhole African country, as Trump would tell it) team negotiated it.

Just a petty, not too bright a man.

Expand full comment
Kai Colbourne's avatar

That is one ugly MF. Inside and out.

Expand full comment
Iammymom's avatar

I don’t know how to describe it, but he is like this slime on a slime ball. He’s so fucking ugly look at that ugly face sometimes it’s easy to tell who’s evil because they wear it on the outside.

Expand full comment
Kai Colbourne's avatar

The face of evil. His face is death. His existence is poison. His hate is visceral. He is a deadly terrorist.

Expand full comment
Kelley Marhenke's avatar

Nauseating

Expand full comment
valeriep🇨🇦's avatar

Memphis Tennessee. Look into this giant shit show and how much electricity and pollution is being caused

Expand full comment
valeriep🇨🇦's avatar

Huge - Crypto mining in the Middle East - the banks of computer equipment look exactly like Elon’s big complex in

Expand full comment