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Trump's Shameful Inaugural Speech

Update: This writer from the UAE has a terrific article on the failure of Trump's Inaugural speech.

Donald Trump never ceases to disgust me. That's my personal view, which I'm entitled to, and I'm sticking to it. No unity shtick here.

Conservative columnist David Brooks, in the New York Times, gets the first part of his column today right:

“We’ve never had a major national leader as professionally unprepared, intellectually ill informed, morally compromised and temperamentally unfit as the man taking the oath on Friday. So let’s not lessen the shock factor that should reverberate across this extraordinary moment.”

Brooks blows the rest of column with his statement that we have no need to fear "the rise of fascism, a new authoritarian age" with Trump.

From Niall O'Dowd at Irish Central News: Trump's inaugural speech was everything but a Sieg Heil. [More....]

Trump’ speech was straight off the campaign trail, but extra disturbing in the use of one phrase --America First, the 1930s fascist slogan.

Whoever gave him that America First slogan knew well what he was doing. It is just short of Sieg Heil in its symbolic inference. The alt-right are on the march, we could hear their footsteps on Pennsylvania Avenue today.

His speech today was vindictive and low-class, just like him. It was also a disgrace. The ADL had asked him months ago not to use the anti-semitic phrase "America First." He didn't care. (Maybe his equally inexperienced son-in-law, who thinks he can bring peace to the middle east, thought it was okay.)

As John Cassidy in the New Yorker writes today:

Around the world, there is still astonishment that such an inexperienced, volatile, and disruptive figure could become America’s President. Indeed, Trump’s elevation has raised foundational questions not just about the future of democracy in this country but about the entire American-led global order that has been in place since the end of the Second World War.

Impulsive behavior is one thing. The worrying thing about Trump is that his impulsiveness is combined with authoritarian instincts and, according to some accounts, an unhealthy interest in populist dictators. According to a 1990 profile of Trump in Vanity Fair, his former wife Ivana said that he kept a book of Hitler’s collected speeches by his bedside. Last weekend, when a reporter from Germany’s Bild magazine asked him, in reference to his Scottish-German heritage, whether there is anything “typically German” about him, Trump didn’t object to the absurdity of the question. Instead, he replied, “I like order and strength.”

There were some funny (as in ridiculous) moments: GW Bush getting into a fight with his rain poncho. Kelly Ann Conway's hideous dress and hat -- more here; the look on Michelle Obama's face when Melania Trump handed her a box from Tiffany's (funniest tweet about what it probably contained: a hand-scrawled note saying "Help, Take Me With You."

And from Benjamin Wallace at the New Yorker:

During the ceremony, it was difficult not to notice the man’s oddities: the ludicrously long power tie; the way he leaned in to kiss his wife and missed her entirely; the jerky, impulsive bro-slap he gave to Mike Pence’s shoulder. During the benediction, the Energy Secretary-designate, Rick Perry, blew chewing-gum bubbles while his eyes were closed in prayer.

While it's too bad Ralph Lauren's company didn't refuse to dress Melania, at least they sent her an uninspiring powder blue frock that was a time-warp from the 60's, making her look like she was trying to channel Jackie Onassis. The top of the dress made her look like she was wrapped in a sheet. Fashion Fail. (Ralph Lauren retired in 2015. I doubt he designed it. The New CEO, who grew up in a small town in Sweden, "is widely credited with vastly expanding H&M’s cheap chic fashion business and then rescuing Old Navy.") Only the bizarre Conway outfit from the days of Napolean and King George was uglier.

My opinion: Donald Trump is an affront to America. He is a traitor to American values. He should be impeached. Tonight if possible. If for no other reason than he makes tens of millions of Americans, including me, feel ashamed.

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  • Display: Sort:
    I've been listening to the speakers (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by desertswine on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:54:35 PM EST
    at the Women's March on FreeSpeech TV.  Very inspiring.  

    Actually I would (5.00 / 2) (#56)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 09:07:26 AM EST
    say the people who don't have a grip on reality are Trump supporters. I live in a district with a lot of them. They think crime is the worst it has ever been in the history of the country despite facts. These people have been completely gas lighted. Trump repeats a lie over and over and they believe it is the truth.

    What is going to have to happen is they are going to have to suffer the consequences of their own actions. They are going to have to come to the realization themselves that Trump has conned them. One of them the other day told me Trump was anointed by God to lead America. They will also make up excuses like about the numbers attending Trump's inaugural.

    The only solution is to completely obliterate them at the voting booth.

    And conservatives who constantly attack the majority of Americans are making it easier for us every day.

    Trump continues to position himself as a man (3.00 / 2) (#2)
    by McBain on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 01:32:22 AM EST
    of the people.  At some point you have to give him credit. He's a billionaire, yet he somehow convinced many average Americans he's got their best interest in mind and was elected president despite no previous political experience.

    I don't agree with his consistent view of our country as being in bad shape but I am willing to give him a chance to make it better.  Hilary was the safe choice.  Trump a roll of the dice.  You guys can be haters if  you want. I'm going to root for good results.  

    That's your choice (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 07:02:36 AM EST
    to "give him a chance". Plenty of people were willing to do the same but he has said he does not want our support and yesterday basically declared the majority of Americans enemies.

    We've been hearing for 18 months or more "he's going to get better" or "he'll pivot" and he never does. The vindictive petty guy who hates the majority of Americans is what he has been from the beginning and it has not changed.

    Parent

    Man of (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by FlJoe on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 07:51:35 AM EST
    the people watch, part one:
    With what may have been his first presidential order, Donald Trump made it more expensive for working- and middle-class Americans to buy their first homes. The move will increase costs for 750,000 to 850,000 Americans in the next year alone, according to the National Association of Realtors.

    Looks like the first roll of the dice came up snake eyes, oops.

    And that whole taking back from DC and giving to the people thingy...

    Julian Castro, Obama's HUD secretary, said when the fee cut was announced that the FHA's reserve fund had grown by $44 billion in the last four years and that it was time to share these gains with borrowers.

    Maybe next time suckers.


    Parent
    More cuts on the Trump list (none / 0) (#17)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 10:59:19 AM EST
    Complete elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.

    Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be privatized.

    Parent

    As it stands, present federal funding constitutes a miniscule portion of the budget. Eliminating it accomplishes absolutely nothing in terms of fiscal discipline, and such pettiness truly diminishes us as a people and nation.

    Parent
    It's a bit of a battle for people's souls (none / 0) (#77)
    by jondee on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 03:10:16 PM EST
    in some ways.

    Art feeds the soul, for lack of a better word, and conservative religion wants that territory all to themselves, in my experience.

    Art can make some people too spiritually uppity for the tastes of some.

    Parent

    What?...26% of the country voted for him (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:13:25 AM EST
    But at best only 250,000 showed for his inauguration? I saw on twitter that Armando doubted that figure. Said there was no way 250,000 showed. Today we have what? 2 million protesters in DC?

    This guy is in via the fake news, scared cracker, lack of participation, 3Rd party, James Comey vote.

    Obviously the US wants a do over, ain't gonna happen, but this guy has a grip on what?

    But hey, he has set a record on inaugural prayers according to Fox News. We are up to six prayers now.

    And if you take a look at the DC protest and the protests around the country and the world, well, I can see how he's a uniter.

    Parent

    The stands (none / 0) (#14)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:58:36 AM EST
    all over DC when you were watching the tapes were empty.

    If anybody needs our prayers it is Trump. However this also proves how easily evangelicals are played for a bunch of fools by a con man.

    Parent

    This is how you are a better person than me (none / 0) (#21)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:16:01 AM EST
    I know you will pray that the right thing happens for our nation and no harm comes to him. I don't pray. I just stare and figure out what I need to do next to protect me, and mine, and my country. I have no prayer for him. I have no prayer for anyone when things are bad and something has to happen. But some will realize and move out too, and they will also have a prayer for Donald Trump. I don't.

    Parent
    Seeing his picture (5.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:28:06 AM EST
    today on twitter in church I don't think it's going to matter. He does not listen to anyone other than himself. It's gonna be white nationalism on steroids for 4 years. A lot of people are going to suffer large consequences for what they did. You should just be glad that Josh is almost out of high school.

    Parent
    I am very glad Josh is older (none / 0) (#47)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:15:25 PM EST
    I watched the prayer service. Which you know is odd for me. But I was in choir and my teacher made certain we all knew every Americana song, and the song that was on when I tuned in was one she taught all of us so my attention was caught. Everyone standing near Trump was singing, Trump was not. He couldn't hold still, and he seemed unable to focus on the words on the pamphlet too though he kept glancing at it, after a few verses I realized he was lost and couldn't find his place. After everyone sat down he really down shifted. I kept wondering if he was asleep. He seemed completely shut down, unable to pay attention to the speakers.

    I do not think he is going to handle any of the stress of this job well. He seemed fragile and elderly this morning. He seemed sedated and hazey speaking to the CIA. That was a vid I could watch, and it was terrifying. He seemed to slip right off his cracker there.

    Parent

    It always helps (none / 0) (#4)
    by MKS on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 06:27:43 AM EST
    when Putin is your side.  And Comey.  And the Slave States Electoral College that put the election in the hands of a minority of voters.

    Parent
    More excuses (2.33 / 3) (#19)
    by McBain on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:03:50 AM EST
    At some point people on the left need to acknowledge that Trump outsmarted them.   Then they're going to have to find someone who connects with middle America in 2020.  

    Parent
    No, he cheated (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by MKS on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:24:00 AM EST
    and had people who cheated help him.

    Hillary connected just fine--by 3 million more votes than Trump.

    The GOP is now responsible for everything.  Everything.  Let us measure their performance.

    Parent

    What Trump (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:30:56 AM EST
    and his supporters need to realize is that Trump is a MINORITY president with NO MANDATE. You guys could change that if you wanted to but you're too hell bent on exacting punishment and revenge on the majority of the country. So unless Trump moderates his views and moves to the center and stops promoting white nationalism revolts and protests are going to roil the country for four years.

    Parent
    Trump is going to do what he wants (none / 0) (#25)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:47:47 AM EST
    to do, and he is going to act like he has the biggest mandate of all time.

    With Hillary winning by more than 4 million votes in CA, the Trump people will continue to just throw that back in the faces of those who point out Hillary's vote count margin/win.

    And, one of the reasons for the electoral system is to prevent regions of the country from dominating so much that they can control the election, according to what I read.

    I like the electoral system. It is an important part of the Constitution. I am a big believer in the Constitution. I know Trump isn't, nor does he seem to know what's in it. Huge concern for me.

    Parent

    Of course (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:55:34 AM EST
    he's going to act like he has the biggest mandate of all time. That is why 2 times as many people showed up to protest him in DC and why there are movements all over the world against him.

    He's is still a minority president no matter where the votes came from. You can whine about it being from California or whatever but California is 1/6 of the country's economy and frankly they could probably completely collapse Trump's agenda all by themselves.

    He could choose to be successful but he is choosing to be petty and exact revenge. And don't forget about those 3rd party voters that revile him too. Take those away and he might not have even won in the EC. The most amazing thing to me is the constant apologia from Republicans about Trump. You would think they would at least have some sense of self preservation and frankly I have never seen a party so gleeful to inflict misery and suffering on Americans.

    Parent

    Perhaps true, but, again, Trump (5.00 / 2) (#27)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:11:30 PM EST
    is going to make major changes. Protesting and complaining are fine. However, my view is that Dems need to figure out how to win at least one branch of Congress back in 2 years. Dems needs to get their act together. What issues are important to the country now? What does it take to win key elections? "We hate Trump" is not going to do it, in my view. Hillary's campaign of "I am not Trump" didn't get the job done.

    Parent
    No one (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:40:26 PM EST
    is saying that Trump is not going to make changes. I don't know where you keep getting this nonsense from. However he is going to make changes that are VERY UNPOPULAR and the Republicans either agree with the unpopular changes or they are going to let them roll over them. So far the GOP has shown themselves to be cowardly and craven when it comes to standing up to Trump.

    Hillary's campaign was more than "I am not Trump" but however it seems that the GOP ran on nothing but I'm not Obama. Sometimes that is all it takes. Trumps current approval rating based on history supposedly makes the house ripe for a 36 seat pick up in the 2018 election. All we have to do is take Hillary's issues from the 2016 campaign and run with them. They are all popular ideas. And we can be against Putin interfering in our country with his stooge Trump. I mean it's not rocket science.

    Parent

    I really don't care about (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 01:17:27 PM EST
    party politics now, it's now about the lawsuits to stop him from implementing his orders. He's only the executive, and while Congress is Republican, they are only the legislature. Donate to the groups bringing the lawsuits. I'll be concentrating on their efforts, not politics.

    Parent
    I'm fine with people stopping Trump from (none / 0) (#36)
    by McBain on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 03:13:04 PM EST
    getting rid of the ACA and Planned Parenthood.  I just hope you and others won't get in the way of his plans to keep jobs in America.

     

    Parent

    Assuming he actually has a plan (5.00 / 2) (#39)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 04:18:15 PM EST
    I expect (none / 0) (#40)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 04:27:11 PM EST
    That there will be renegotiated trade deals

    The Donald will threaten, but eventually make a deal.

    No country wants a trade war

    Parent

    What is Trump (none / 0) (#63)
    by jondee on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 11:37:43 AM EST
    going to threaten the Chinese with?

    Us not paying not paying back the 500 billion, or whatever it is, we owe them?

    Parent

    He has (none / 0) (#38)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 03:57:09 PM EST
    no plans to keep jobs in America other than starting a trade war. I guess you don't understand that what he is planning to do would disrupt the supply chain here in the US and would cause people to lose their jobs.

    Parent
    He has an actual plan? (none / 0) (#45)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:32:04 PM EST
    I just hope you and others won't get in the way of his plans to keep jobs in America
    .

    Yeah - because everyone's against jobs in 'murica.

    Parent

    And when the courts are stacked ... (none / 0) (#76)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 02:59:04 PM EST
    ... with partisan judges who'll have no problem dining and socializing with the defendants you're suing, what'll you do then, Jeralyn?

    Supporting progressive Democrats and like-minded organizations are not mutually exclusive propositions. In fact, both are absolutely essential if we are to avoid becoming a true oligarchy.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    If you think that's what ... (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:28:56 PM EST
    Hillary's campaign of "I am not Trump" didn't get the job done.

    ... her campaign was, you weren't paying attention.

    Parent

    The EC is a relic (5.00 / 3) (#29)
    by MKS on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:22:33 PM EST
    designed to protect slavery in the Slave States.

    The EC needs to go. Every vote should be equal.  

     The votes in West Virginia should not count more than those in California.  So, we now have tyranny of the minority with those in smaller states controlling or trying to control California.  Talk about the tail waging the dog.

    Democracy gains its moral authority from the idea that the winner, or winning position, gets the most votes.   The result is that 100% of the people must comply.  The only way that has any legitimacy is because most people voted for the elected official, or position.  Allowing someone with fewer votes to win undermines the moral authority of the election.  

    Parent

    Today's EC is not the Original Plan (none / 0) (#41)
    by RickyJim on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 06:47:03 PM EST
    According to the Federalist Papers, the people were supposed, on election day, to select whom they believed to be the wisest person in their district to be their EC representative whose job it would be to chose the best person to be President.  These electors were not supposed to say whom they would vote for before their election.  The idea, of course, was to prevent a slick talking demagogue from becoming President by making a specious appeal to the rabble.  

    Parent
    Ohhhh ... the irony (none / 0) (#46)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:36:49 PM EST
    Designed to prevent exactly what it accomplished.

    Actually, the original plan was to select white, male, land-owner electors to choose the white, male POTUS.

    Parent

    Ans the "Trump people" ... (none / 0) (#43)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:27:41 PM EST
    With Hillary winning by more than 4 million votes in CA, the Trump people will continue to just throw that back in the faces of those who point out Hillary's vote count margin/win.

    ... (and those who do it and claim to be otherwise) will be roundly and justifiably mocked.


    And, one of the reasons for the electoral system is to prevent regions of the country from dominating so much that they can control the election, according to what I read.

    Is that what you read?  I read it's to prevent people from having their votes counted equally, particularly certain people who weren't "people" at the time of the Constitution.  But no doubt some people are just fine with that.

    Parent

    1 in 8 Americans live in California, ... (none / 0) (#79)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 03:17:42 PM EST
    ... which is the 5th / 6th largest economy in the world and accounts for nearly 20% of the nation's GDP. Why shouldn't Californians demand and have a say in our national politics which is commensurate to its actual size?

    California constitutes a national bellwether, which you and other Republicans mock at your own long-term socio-economic and political peril. 30 years ago, the state leaned Republican. Since then, the state GOP has been thoroughly marginalized. It would behoove Republicans to understand how and why that happened, rather than double down on stupid by continuing to emulating the hapless example of the California GOP.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    At some point people on the right ... (none / 0) (#42)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:23:38 PM EST
    ... need to realize that Trump's campaign was based on lies and false promises.  That he's a snakeoil salesman that duped them.  That soon enough, demographics will turn against them and they'll need to be more than the party of old, white men.

    Parent
    Hate is what got him elected (none / 0) (#13)
    by Yman on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:38:00 AM EST
    Suddenly, it's time to give it up and switch to hope?

    Funny how that works.

    Parent

    I like the phrase "America First!" (1.33 / 3) (#7)
    by JeriKoll on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 08:09:00 AM EST
    There is a reason that book, movie, song titles can't be copy righted.  There are only so many words that can be ordered in a short phrase and make sense when you are trying to make a point.  (yes you can trade mark sometimes.)

    The ADL likes to think it can preempt the word "Holocaust" and now it wants to do the same with "America First?"  That is way too much overreach in my opinion.

    I have no problem with anyone disagreeing with what Trump might do or not do, but lets not muddy the waters with a convoluted "PC" view of words and short phrases.

    What matters in books, songs, and movies is what follows the title.  

    Lets see what the new President does.  It certainly will be interesting.  I just hope is not like the old Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times."

    (Actually Robert Kennedy used that phrase once and if you search you will find a few other of these supposed Chinese "curse" sayings.)

    If It Means, (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by RickyJim on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:17:52 AM EST
    that the US should avoid sticking its nose into the affairs of other countries and concentrate on domestic improvement, then "America First" is something I agree with.

    Parent
    Colorful phrases, commercial jingles (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:19:21 AM EST
    and bumperstickers are no substitute for thinking.

    Basically sixty million Americans just voted for a catchy, quirky, commercial spokesperson for President.

    Parent

    True, but not sure "hope and change" (3.00 / 2) (#20)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 11:03:54 AM EST
    is much different.

    Parent
    more than 1,000 prison inmates (none / 0) (#108)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Jan 24, 2017 at 12:51:16 AM EST
    would disagree with you, as do I. He made the crack guidelines go from 100:1 to 18:1 and commuted or pardoned more than 1,000 prisoners doing sentences of more than 10 years for drug offenses. He also acted for DREAMers. Obama brought more much change than I even hoped for.

    Parent
    "America First!" was the ... (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:22:02 PM EST
    ... rallying cry of celebrated aviator Charles Lindbergh and the isolationist movement during the run-up to the Second World War. Lindbergh served as the most prominent public spokesman for the America First Committee, which opposed what its supporters saw as U.S. preparations for war with Nazi Germany, as evidenced by the Roosevelt administration's material support of Great Britain.

    Their opposition to FDR's unabashedly pro-British policies took firm root the Republican Party, and peaked with the fall of France in June 1940. With an actual membership of nearly 900,000 Americans and a support base of millions more, the America First Committee is historically (and arguably) the largest anti-war movement per capita in U.S. history. It was swept away into its dustbins by the Japanese attack on Hawaii on December 7, 1941, with the Committee formally disbanding three days later.

    While people nowadays tend to remember the America First movement as primarily conservative in philosophy, the Committee's membership was surprisingly diverse, and included such Americans as future presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, future Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver, future Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart, and future novelist Gore Vidal. Other well-known Americans who were openly sympathetic to the America First movement were novelist Sinclair Lewis, poet E. E. Cummings, prominent Washington socialite Alice Roosevelt Longworth, film producer Walt Disney, actress Lillian Gish and architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

    But at the time, Charles Lindbergh was the most prominent person identified with the America First movement. He had moved his family to Europe in 1935, not long after the well-publicized kidnapping and death of his infant namesake. By most accounts he was anti-Semitic, and he was on record as being an admirer of what he saw as German efficiency and patriotism.

    In October 1938, one month before "Kristallnacht," Lindbergh accepted the Service Cross of the German Eagle from Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering "for his contributions to aviation." While Lindbergh likely saw it as just another medal, many people perceived in him a personal acceptance of the ideals of the Nazi Party. The family only returned to the United States in April 1939, five months before the German invasion of Poland, whereupon he dedicated himself to opposition to FDR's foreign policy.

    During a 1940 speech in Des Moines, IA, Lindbergh specifically singled out the Jews as one of the groups trying to led the country to war, an unfortunate public statement which endeared him to anti-Semites and isolationists, but in truth, probably enraged as many Americans as it attracted. In any event, he fell off the hero's pedestal and his personal reputation and popularity was greatly tarnished as a result.

    In Lindbergh's eye and mind, a view which was shared by many millions of Americans at the time, the Nazi war machine was formidable to the point of invincibility, which rendered an inevitable German triumph over the British all but a foregone conclusion. It was therefore in the country's best interests, he said, that a strict policy of neutrality be observed to avoid antagonizing Adolf Hitler unnecessarily.

    That's the historical origins of the term "America First."

    Parent

    long and windy Donald (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:54:10 PM EST
    As the ADL explained, the slogan was used by people who warned, ahead of World War II, that Jewish Americans were pushing the U.S. to enter the war because they put their own interests ahead of the country's. (From HuffPo article by Nick Baumann, but it has autoplay video so no link)

    Parent
    That's not necessarily true, Jeralyn. (5.00 / 1) (#83)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 04:02:05 PM EST
    "America First!" was far more than a slogan prior to the Second World War. It was a bona fide anti-war / isolationist movement, of which some of its proponents -- such as spokesman Charles Lindbergh -- and elements were clearly anti-Semitic. But the America First Committee was not an anti-Semitic organization per se, nor was its origins rooted in anti-Semitism.

    There's no doubt that a not-insignificant number of Americans prior to the Second World War were anti-Semitic, just as there are today. But it's both simplistic and revisionist to mis-characterize America's isolationist tendencies back then as motivated primarily by anti-Semitism, as the agenda-driven ADL seeks to do here by hijacking the term "America First" for its own ends.

    The truth is that prior to Pearl Harbor, most Americans were wary of foreign entanglements, and further opposed their country's entry into the war for a wide variety of reasons. Some of those reasons were anti-Semitic, but most were not -- unless, of course, you're willing to label people such as John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford by extension as anti-Semites.

    Failure to know and understand history in its proper context can doom one to repeat its mistakes.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    It's hard disentangle all the strands (none / 0) (#84)
    by jondee on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 04:18:40 PM EST
    of "America First.." and separate them during the time of Henry Ford, who at one point circulated The Protocols of The Elders of Zion, and the period of the excesses of the popular Father Coughlin..

    It's a little like trying to separate out the Alt-Right crypto-white supremacists and the armed Operation Rescue types from the rest of the present day right wing coalition..

    Parent

    Actually (2.00 / 1) (#37)
    by TrevorBolder on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 03:42:09 PM EST
    Almost identical to McCains 2008 slogan, Country First

    Parent
    "Make America Great Again." (none / 0) (#16)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 10:55:36 AM EST
    "The four words that would help propel Donald Trump to the White House were an inspiration born years before, when hardly anyone but Trump himself could imagine him taking the oath of office as the 45th president of the United States.

    It happened on Nov. 7, 2012, the day after Mitt Romney lost what had been presumed to be a winnable race against President Obama. Republicans were spiraling into an identity crisis, one that had some wondering whether a GOP president would ever sit in the Oval Office again.

    But on the 26th floor of a golden Manhattan tower that bears his name, Trump was coming to the conclusion that his own moment was at hand.

    And in typical fashion, the first thing he thought about was how to brand it.

    One after another, phrases popped into his head. "We Will Make America Great." That one did not have the right ring. Then, "Make America Great." But that sounded like a slight to the country.

    And then, it hit him: "Make America Great Again."

    Five days later, Trump signed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in which he asked for exclusive rights to use "Make America Great Again" for "political action committee services, namely, promoting public awareness of political issues and fundraising in the field of politics." He enclosed a $325 registration fee."

    WaPost article.

    Parent

    Morning In America tweaked just slightly (5.00 / 1) (#35)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 01:32:53 PM EST
    let's not make it sound like Trump was Isaac Newton under the tree, or Robert Bruce watching the spider weave it's web..

    Parent
    very different (none / 0) (#51)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 01:02:17 AM EST
    "make america great" and "put America first." The latter has a clear anti-semitic history

    Parent
    you may not endorse that (none / 0) (#52)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 01:06:07 AM EST
    phrase on this site. It has a clear anti-semitic history and bigotry is not allowed here.

    While the America First Committee attracted a wide array of support, the movement was marred by anti-Semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric. Its highest profile spokesman, Charles Lindbergh, blamed American Jews for pushing the country into war.

    "The British and the Jewish races," he said at a rally in September 1941, "for reasons which are not American, wish to involve us in the war."

    The "greatest danger" Jews posed to the U.S. "lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio, and our government," Lindbergh said.

    I linked to the history in my post. Perhaps you were not aware of it. Please read the posts before commenting.

    Parent

    Just read the entire post to my wife (none / 0) (#1)
    by Green26 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:47:04 AM EST
    She loved it. Laughed often. My wife is the one who kept our Hillary poster in the window till a couple weeks ago.

    We listened to MSNC on the radio for our 3.5 hr. ride to a ski area tonight. Talked about Trump much of the way.

    My is still very bugged and upset, but willing to give the new president a chance and just attack him when he's out of line.

    I am hoping some good, or close to good, will come from the cabinet and others--and there won't be one disaster after another.

    Again, I have disliked Trump since I ran across him in the 80's. Horrible person. Worse than I ever thought. To me, the worst American human being on the planet, other than perhaps mass murderers.

    Big change is obviously coming.

    Friends in Germany (none / 0) (#11)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 09:28:11 AM EST
    Sharing that the inaugural speech once again like the election shocked our allies to their core.

    Probably (none / 0) (#15)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 10:00:00 AM EST
    why there have been so many marching all of the world against Trump. They all heard it and remember the German version of the speech.

    Parent
    Opposing Trump doesn't make one a hater (none / 0) (#18)
    by McBain on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 10:59:52 AM EST
    But using language like you just did does.  You have a right to hate but it won't do much good.    

    the comment you were replying to (none / 0) (#31)
    by Jeralyn on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 12:48:08 PM EST
    was deleted for name-calling as to Trump. Watch your language please.

    Parent
    Is it just me? (none / 0) (#48)
    by jondee on Sat Jan 21, 2017 at 10:40:16 PM EST
    or did Kellyanne's outfit at the inauguration look like a cut up Russian flag?

    She looked like Miss Russia attending a patriotic parade in Moscow.

    I wrote about her outfit (none / 0) (#50)
    by Jeralyn on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 01:00:06 AM EST
    in another post on the inaugural. SNL host tonight asked if she was moonlighting as the doorman to FAO Schwarz.

    Parent
    Yes, for some there was probably a backlash (none / 0) (#53)
    by McBain on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 01:30:18 AM EST
    against arrogant and intolerant people on the left.  I think some of that comes from media bias.  Before the election all we heard about was Trump's controversial comments and tweets.  Rarely did anyone report on his actual message.

    Today it appears some were at it again, trying to diminish Trump with deceiving pics of crowd size. If your world view comes from CNN and SNL you probably just go along with it. If you're a little more well rounded, you see through it.  

    You (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 07:01:36 AM EST
    just don't get it do you? The media (I study CNN mostly) were not even talking about Trump's crowd size. They were gushing over the Women's march turnout but avoided making comparisons.

    Of course the social media was all over the indisputable visual evidence, mocking Trump over it. Sadly but predictably  Trump and his team shot back telling absolute lies to the public and the press, do you really think that should be ignored?

                                         

    Parent

    I can answer that. (none / 0) (#57)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 09:12:09 AM EST
    Most Trump supporters believe that he should never be fact checked by anybody. He should be able to spin his web of lies over and over unchallenged.

    Parent
    Kelley (none / 0) (#58)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 10:14:04 AM EST
    Anne Conway does some truth-splaining , when asked about Spicer's lies,
    "Don't be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck," Conway scoffed. "They're saying it's a falsehood and our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that."
    ...words just fail me.

    Parent
    Sometimes you have have to venture outside (none / 0) (#68)
    by McBain on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 12:13:59 PM EST
    your comfort zone to grow.  If CNN is your main source of news you won't understand what most of the country is thinking.  You won't understand that yesterday was a good day for Trump.  

     

    Parent

    "Most" (none / 0) (#70)
    by MKS on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 12:28:17 PM EST
    That qualifier does not apply to support for Trump.  That is objectively false.  We all should know that.

    Parent
    I (none / 0) (#72)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 12:38:56 PM EST
    saw Trump at the CIA live, I needed no pundit to tell me how unhinged he was.

    If you think obsessing over and lying about the size of your crowds is having a good day, then I hate to imagine what a bad day will be like.

    Parent

    "Deceiving pics of crowd size" (5.00 / 1) (#59)
    by MKS on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 10:15:25 AM EST
    Huh?  You really believe the line from Trumpland that his Inauguration was well attended?

    You believe that lie?  Really?

    Oh my, Orwell would be proud.  Bagdad Bob has a new job in the Trump Administration.

    Parent

    Its Trump & company who are trying to deceive (5.00 / 1) (#62)
    by ding7777 on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 10:29:09 AM EST
    At the CIA, Trump said about the crowd size:

     " [the crowd] WENT ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT"

    The National Mall cam atop the Washington Monument exposed Trump lie.

    After that Spicer lied about the Metro ridership numbers.

    Parent

    "The National Mall," (none / 0) (#78)
    by KeysDan on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 03:13:44 PM EST
    the National Park in Washington, D.C., called the "Mall" as of 1802, is referred to by Trump as 'the field.'  

    Parent
    McBain, many argue, (none / 0) (#61)
    by MKS on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 10:26:25 AM EST
    and Armando does so with gusto and efficacy, that Trump's message was the controversial comments--the overt plays to white prejudice.

    Parent
    Some liberals "utter contempt" (none / 0) (#64)
    by Green26 on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 11:39:27 AM EST
    for working-class Americans. Some quotes from Anthony Bourdain, who is a liberal and very critical of Trump. I agree with him. This is why I view Yman and others as doing more damage than good.

    "There are a hell of a lot of nice people out there, who are doing what everyone else in this world is trying to do: the best they can to get by, and take care of themselves and the people they love. When we deny them their basic humanity and legitimacy of their views, however different they may be than ours, when we mock them at every turn, and treat them with contempt, we do no one any good."

    "The self-congratulatory tone of the privileged left--just repeating and repeating and repeating the outrages of the opposition--this does not win hearts and minds," concluded Bourdain. "It doesn't change anyone's opinions. It only solidifies them, and makes things worse for all of us."

    Article.

    Parent

    There are many on the left that get it (none / 0) (#65)
    by McBain on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 11:46:11 AM EST
    but, right now, they are outnumbered, or at least outshouted by those who don't.  

    Parent
    Actually (none / 0) (#66)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 11:48:16 AM EST
    so far Bourdain is wrong. What has happened is more people are moving away from Trump while it might have solidified the small base of support that he does have it has not expanded his base of support and actually his support has declined.

    And that article was done back in December before his cabinet picks and before more of his Russian connections were revealed to the public.

    I know you don't like pointing out what conservatives really are but it is what it is. The GOP is now Trump and Trump is the GOP. Everything he says and does now represents Republicans and conservatism.

    Parent

    Ga6, you are missing the point (none / 0) (#71)
    by Green26 on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 12:31:46 PM EST
    The point is about where a large chunk of Trump's base came from. What were the causes of it. Not about expanding the base now, or what happened since Dec., or who the cabinet is.

    Parent
    His base (none / 0) (#74)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 02:52:50 PM EST
    came from the same place it always came from: the GOP base and some previous non voters.

    This election is much like a repeat of 1976 with Trump in the place of Jimmy Carter though the country was not as united against Carter as it is against Trump.

    Parent

    Funny (none / 0) (#67)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 11:57:51 AM EST
    how no-one can actually point to an actual example of this "utter contempt" that many claim is so pervasive, at least not to the levels that has flown the other way from the likes of Limbaugh and all the rest who have been  demonizing anybody left of Joe Lieberman foe decades.

     

    Parent

    Not true, Joe (none / 0) (#69)
    by Green26 on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 12:28:05 PM EST
    I point to Yman. There are lots of people like that, including some on TL.

    Parent
    Like what (none / 0) (#75)
    by FlJoe on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 02:53:16 PM EST
    an angry poster on a random blog? If you really want contempt go to the comments of some of the fever swamps.

    Personally I mock the ignorance of people who believe the earth is 7k yrs old, those who deny global warming, Sandy Hook truthers, voters who consistently vote against their  own interests and on and on and on.

    You can only fight ignorance by pointing it out, anything else allows it to flourish. Sorry, but pointing out ignorance is not showing utter contempt. I am sick and tired of the anti- intellectual right(and some coddlers on the left) trying to tie education, logic and empiricism into some kind of evil, out of touch elitism.

    Parent

    The whole (none / 0) (#81)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 03:42:01 PM EST
    anti intellectualism argument is why we are running behind in so many areas against other countries. Education used to be something to be valued but now it's something to be scorned at least by conservatives. Perhaps conservatives feel that an education threatens them. This whole thought process of my ignorance is the same as your education is bizarre.

    Parent
    Not to be too-simplistic (none / 0) (#82)
    by jondee on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 03:50:13 PM EST
    but I think it comes down to the ability of Old Time Religion to keep people in line and not challenging the status quo overly much.

    Obviously "secular" independent, critical thinking and change are seen as a major threat by some.

    Too bad, too bad, as Robert E Lee said.

    Parent

    There is that. (none / 0) (#88)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 07:48:19 PM EST
    Fundamentalists are afraid of people getting an education much like ISIS wants to keep the people in the middle east from having an education too. It's kind of sad they are so afraid that the bible can't withstand using reason to read it.

    Parent
    Politico magazine (none / 0) (#85)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 05:07:19 PM EST
    http://tinyurl.com/z3cwf8v

    Has a take on this


    `What Do You Do if a Red State Moves to You?'
    Many Americans woke up after the election to discover that they lived in Trump Country. In one corner of Wisconsin, shocked liberals can't escape an uneasy feeling: They were the reason why.



    Parent
    To me (none / 0) (#86)
    by TrevorBolder on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 05:23:30 PM EST
    Best part of the article

    "When I was in the city, you could choose to ignore people," Myklebust said. "Here, the person with whom you have strenuous political differences is also the person who drives the ambulance or the fire truck or teaches your kids at school. You have to engage with people with whom you disagree. We have to figure that out--if America is going to survive as a democracy. It sounds dramatic to say, but that's really where we are."

    If nothing else, she said, her sheep need their hay. The man with whom she didn't talk specifically about the election on November 9, the man for whom she tried to "rearrange" her facial expression, a man who didn't return my calls--Myklebust needs to keep talking to him.

    "I have to be able to continue to buy hay from him," she said.

    Why?

    "It's beautiful hay," she said. "It's dry, and it's grassy, and it's got just a little bit of clover in it. It's beautiful, and it's perfect."



    Parent
    The gist of that article (none / 0) (#87)
    by MKS on Sun Jan 22, 2017 at 06:39:27 PM EST
    is people voted for Trump in rural Wisconsin  primarily out of cultural resentment.  Not really so much about the economy......More about a changing world not being welcome in rural Wisconsin.

    That article would support Armando's theory.

    Parent

    That was take away (none / 0) (#92)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jan 23, 2017 at 01:05:44 PM EST
    from the article. It said unemployment in the county was around 3%. So what economic problems do these folks have to vote for captain cheeto? They voted for him based solely on fear of "the other."

    Parent
    Thread Cleaned of (none / 0) (#109)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Jan 24, 2017 at 12:58:49 AM EST
    multiple insults and name calling between Yman and Green. Both are warned they will be banned if they don't stop the personal insults.