Thanks for sharing, Celeste. When JFK was assassinated, I had just started college in San Francisco. I wrote a page about my feelings at the time on my Royal typewriter and sent carbon copies to people I knew. Thanks for this recall of past events. Jimmy Carter and the gas lines got me interested in steam cars of which I built an automotive size steam power plant which operated off of Standard Brands paint thinner costing about 19 cents per gallon. I have Jimmy to thank for this fun hobby at the time. We have had four miserable years of stupid and corrupt political dumb-dumbs. And finally, a note for Harris: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Celeste has always stood tall for what is right. I just re-watched the shameful incident at SBCC from five years ago over reciting the Pledge of Allegiance which is still on youtube for anyone to pull up. Celeste, you earned a Medal Of Freedom for what you did that day.
It is beyond disturbing to even watch that video again at this safe distance. Thank you for the input you bring to these discussions and the fact you take action;; not just fall back on safe space commenting. (Ahem, and I do count my self in that latter category.)
Diversity of viewpoint should be part of any college education. But in the past "conservative" instructors have been systemically limited or even eliminated at SBCC. Yet, how does this diversity of thought get measured and who does the measurements?
An interesting new club started last year for those who wanted to hear from local business persons and learn about their own personal success stories. Sounds like that might be a collection of "conservative" (private enterprise) thinkers to me. At one time there was an official conservative club at SBCC, but it rather quickly expired. Something worth starting again.
The Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship should be a haven for more conservative, independent thinkers too. That was certainly the intent of the generous donor who set up the program.
Academic freedom does require offering all spectrums of thought for a student's true intellectual growth. Debate clubs are another way to provide this. Let's hope there are a few students at SBCC who want to work with the student senate include diverse intellectual club options, as part of their now extensive DEI offerings. Might be good for the current faculty and staff to widen their own perspectives by supporting these efforts too.
SBCC is dedicated to the success of every student. Watch words found on several plaques displayed around campus, intended to be a reminder of its long-standing true goals.
These words have only been used by SBCC since they became untrue.
These were written in 2016, and have only been notably publicly invoked by the employees who shouldn’t work there, each of whom has displayed publicly their unsavory bigotry and intellectual incompetence. About 52 of them.
Wrong, they were the signature watch words of former, long standing SBCC CEO/President Dr Peter Macdougall and was his guiding principle during his entire tenure starting in late in the last century.
Thank you for the reasoning and the facts. While not a democrat at the time nor before, being reminded of how Hilary Clinton became Senator from New York certainly brings back memories. When she was expected to win against Donald Trump, I thought the world was going to be over if she did so. The Democrat Party would be in control and not the people. The shock, awe and relief that The Donald had won was palpable. His inability to govern because of The Resistance is still with us today. They are still in control of California. It is a misguided belief that these people have some special knowledge and power that keeps other people like me in a deplorable and deprived state of mind. Some of what we saw in the November election was a reflection of the once highly touted Silent Majority. I hope the next 4 years prove this to be the case.
Early on in the 2016 primary season, I predicted that Hillary Clinton would lose, Donald Trump win. I remember telling my husband that following New Hampshire. He didn't believe me. It was all about the numbers. I'd watch the Trump rallies on TV, fully covered by the media, and see thousands of people in attendance. For months, he spoke at rallies every day, sometimes 2 in a single day. Tens of thousands. And those crowds were passionate, meaning every person there was voting in November. Then there was Hillary. Boutique events with a few select and elect at Cape Cod and Beverly Hills. NO PRESS permitted. Plus Hollywood doesn't vote. I wavered briefly in September with the Billy Bush hoopla, but not for long. The rallies continued every day. The night before the election, Hillary was feted in Independence Hall by the party faithful and Bruce Springsteen. Late that night, Minnesota folks were trudging through snow to attend a last-minute Trump rally in the middle of nowhere. It was extraordinary the contrast, notably Candidate Clinton's chutzpah that the election was hers just because.
It used to be said, “You can tell the importance of someone based on their enemies.” Once again, the Democratic Party has proven they will do ANYTHING and stop at NOTHING to go after those who threaten their reign on power.
We see this in school board, city council and various local meetings all over the Country. The play is right out of the Lefty Playbook; use intimidation, lies, here-say, bullying, accusations of racism and threats of prosecution in order to keep us, the American people at bay.
The evidence is out, overwhelming and compelling that our elected officials have used their Constitutional powers against us. My sincere hope is the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers can hold individuals such as Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and Schiff responsible for their crimes, and that they be prosecuted and JAILED!
Watching today, Biden handing out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to liars and conspirators such as Benny Thompson, Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Liz Cheney is absolutely sickening. I wonder if Biden will include a get outa jail free card?
Celeste - fabulous! This show that you're smart and level-headed enough to become a Republican! I sure can see that you were an English teacher - your writing is really good like mine!:)
I'm not big on Carter, but even he was better than the dope warming the seat of his pants in the Oval Office now.
Clarification: I wrote the letter to the Democrat Party on Veterans Day, November 11, 2016, following the yearly Pierre Claeyssens inspirational ceremony at Santa Barbara Cemetery. The date was coincidental and appropriate. My letter to the former US presidents was written eight months later, the day following the Alexandria shooting.
I read this disturbing and important article by a former democrat Ms. Barber titled
"A Letter to the Presidents" and suggest a new title for Ms. Barber's transformation
as follows "A Letter to Free Thinking Americans"
I quote from Ms. Barber Letter to our Presidents as follows> "We are living through a dangerous period now. Ordinary Americans use a rhetoric unfit for public discourse;" ..."I had intended to write this letter even before yesterday’s shooting in the ballpark. What’s at stake here goes far beyond salvaging one man’s presidency: Donald Trump’s. It’s about the Office of the Presidency itself." BANG
As this "dangerous period" has been escalated into the possible WWIII between the two superpowers Russia and the US. One may ask how did we get here? The Jan 6 Insurrection?
NO, AFRAID NOT the Manufactured Ukraine Maiden Revolution - THE COUP. SOUND FAMILIAR?
Any doubt I provide you with the forensic information that most did not follow>
And I quote "The Maidan massacre trials and investigations have revealed various evidence that four killed and several dozen wounded policemen and at least the absolute majority of 49 killed and 157 wounded Maidan protesters were massacred on February 20, 2014 by snipers in Maidan-controlled buildings and areas." ... " The prosecution denied that there were any snipers in the Maidan-controlled buildings. Not a single person is convicted or under arrest for the massacre of the protesters and the police almost 8 years after one of the most documented mass killings in history."
Fast forward to recent breaking NEWS on the NEW PLATFORM X & UTUBE as follows>
Ms. Barber, I took exception to, I believe it’s paragraph 13 in your article, I might be off by one or two paragraphs. The paragraph states, and I quote “We are living through a dangerous period now. Ordinary Americans use a bad rhetoric unfit for public discourse yet they do gleefully and with the authority of, I don’t know what. At times, the language is cruel. I see it on television from the news commentators. I hear it when I visit our Farmers Market on Saturday morning between the berry farmer and a customer. This assumption that it’s okay to trash the 45th president, his family his administration, and yes to any ordinary citizen who supported Mr. Trump”.
Ms. Barber, I’m surprised you don’t know who gave the ordinary American citizen, the authority to use bad rhetoric. It was the 45th president. He opened that Pandora’s box. The ordinary American citizen figured if a presidential candidate could speak that way, certainly they could too, and they did and it continues still. It has gotten worse and worse since he’s been in the public eye continuously for the last 8 years.
I remember him insulting a gold star family, calling senator Cruz’s wife ugly and calling Marco Rubio little Mario, because he’s short. As a matter of fact, as I recall, he gave all his rivals derogatory nicknames. He has said many cruel things about people, has made up lies about them. As they say, you reap what you sow.
I also feel your cartoon with the screaming headlines are quite misleading. These headlines have some truth, but if you dig deep, you’ll get to the actual truth.
Trump on the other hand, has a remarkable propensity for in your face truth- telling, which is what voters stated they wanted more than anything after too many decades of Democrat lies.
We still need to wait for the perfect Goldilocks candidates to appear ...from somewhere. Making it to the top of the political food chain is not for the faint of heart, nor the feint of heart. Let the junkyard dog clean up the fetid Augean stables using his own tools of choice, and then we can "come together" when remaking this country as we move into our 250the year.
Trump is a counter-puncher. You conveniently forgot what and who said what first. Agree, his response is harsh. But in time effective and look at the current relationships today with those you claim he "insulted". Trump's uniqueness and ability to finally get people to work together is still lost on you, Julia. You prefer to stick with outdated sound bites.
Actually the worst political discourse I ever heard was in 2008 from the Obama fans on the net against Hilary Clinton -that is when political discourse reached all time lows, really gross and hateful. Go back and sample some of that. This did not start with with Trump.
But I see that is the new Democrat narrative now showing up on the blogs and the "new" LA Times - OrangemanBad is back again. Thanks for passing on the latest Democrat talking points.
Well, JL, trump is just a puncher, and a low blow puncher at that. As for the insulted parties, who now have a relationship with trump, it sounds like you’re referring to Ted Cruz, who is nothing but a boot licker, that’s more interested in his career than his family honor. As for getting people who work together, it seems his top advisers can’t agree on a lot and have shouting matches. As for the orangemanbad, I’ve never used that term. As for Democrat talking points I’m not quite sure what those are.
Disclaimer: I am not a Democrat, in fact I despise the Democratic Party far more than I do the Republican Party, (I'm a somewhat-reluctant Libertarian) but I agree with you about Trump. On the other hand, their tone-deaf attitude toward the average American--the Democrats having abandoned their traditional working-class liberal values in favor of Leftist elitism--are what have made Americans so justifiably angry that they not only see Trump as the only choice, but the embrace him with a cult-like devotion even though he stands against their values of respecting the military (per his disparaging remarks about prisoners of war) and his unrepentant (as far as I can see) sexual immorality. Note that I also replied to the same comment to which you are replying to J. Livingstone.
Hitler and Stalin told the truth about certain things, but then there were those little 'devil in the details" issues. Was Trump telling the truth when he said "I like people who weren't captured" (when speaking of prisoners of war) Was he telling the truth when he said he could shoot people and not lose votes? Remember, he had four years to "drain the swamp" and it didn't come close to happening, and the national debt didn't come down either.
I can't stand the Democratic Party either, but I also stand by the adage of "the enemy of your enemy isn't always your friend". I feel the same anger and disgust Trump voters feel, but I also feel like a kid caught in a custody battle between two insane parents and I want to go live with my grandparents. It's not pleasant for me to have to admit that neither political party offers significant improvement to the country's overall problems, but I will simply have to disagree with you when it comes to Trump.
BC: Trump told the truth that the swamp needs to be drained. The fact the swamp sabotage him for four years from the inside which underscores the truth of that statement.
Truth be told, why did you think this would be easy to do and particularly after Democrats took back the House in two years into his administration?
Are you ready to have his back when his new and much more ready team rolls into action -and DOGE recommendations off the top become manifest. Can you smell the increasing alarm and desperation we are already getting from the swamp, even on this forum with their swampy tag teams ready to obstruct 3000 miles away?
You are paying to fund the swamp, like all of us, which makes us accessories to their deep state crimes with every check we keep writing on April 15.
JL, I had to have my son help me up off the floor where I was rolling with laughter. You know, in his term he told over 30,000 lies and it’s documented in the congressional records. Please, truth teller, what a joke. I’m going to start questioning your cognitive skills.
Joy, Julia, joy. Take it where you find it. You are welcome. Now go watch the Tucker Carlson-Billy Bush interview and gain new insights about DJT from those who have known him longer than thee or me.
JL, I do take joy wherever I can find it, thanks for the advice. I might look up that Carlson-Bush interview. Tucker Carlson is quite laughable and he needs to work on his face, half the time he looks like the tv screen is frozen, he’s got the constant expression of looking confused all the time. Also, many contributors here make fun of Kamala Harris’ laugh and describe it as a cackle, how would they describe Tucker Carlson’s laugh? He sounds like a crazy old lady and his laugh is what you would actually call a cackle.
Julia, To your comment that crude or cruel behavior justifies return of same, turnabout is fair play, I say NO. NEVER. That was the point of my letter to Jimmy Carter and the former presidents. I have over the course of my own life been subjected to cruelty. Never would I return same. I have to live with myself and be the example for those I love. Tit for tat is destroying common decency among us all. The Republic is not a junior high playground.
Mr. Callahan, why do you say Democrats and the common man? It seems you should include Republicans and mainly the magas, because there is no more Republican Party, even trump when he talks about his supporters more often than not he’ll refer to the maga party or the magas. You’re spot on about trumps behavior, though.
Both of you have swiss cheese holes in your selective memory. But see thes are the newly issued Democrat talking points, from Nancy Pelosi on down. Thanks for playing your roles out here too.
MC: Did you ask the same of the Obama Democrats who viscously trashed Hilary Clinton back in 2008 - some of the worst and crudest personal attacks I have ever seen. Crude political discourse goes back a lot further than Trump and Democrat fingerprints are all over it from 2008 forward when Obama became the first " internet campaign" president using his jiggling ObamaGirl to get unwarranted attention. How crude was that?
Ms. Barber, I was not implying that because trump does something you should do the same. He does not set a good example for speech and actions. He has no respect for the office he holds, he only sees the power.
You asked who authorized this bad rhetoric I was telling you who. I’m surprised you didn’t know. What I am saying is, he led the way for the bad rhetoric and behavior.
You’re right, the Republic is not junior high playground, but it’s hard to tell with the way some members in Congress carry on, Marjorie Taylor Greene for one. I quoted the saying “you reap what you sow”, which is exactly what it says, what you plant is what grows.
Julia, I am heartened that you and I agree. I have little hope left for our electeds, but always faith in the American people. It appears, once they get inside the DC Beltway, all connection to home is lost. Lost to the pressure and power and the heavy hand of both party and K Street lobbyists. (And why no elected official should be permitted employment as a lobbyist upon leaving office: for five years, I'd say never.) Let's hope that 2025 will be the year of goodwill to all.
Good article, Celeste, and a great letter to the Presidents. I was listening to a commentator the other day talking about Jimmy Carter. He finished his piece by saying Carter was not a good president but a good man. Interesting that he was the only one to answer you.
One important fact that history leaves out about the Carter presidency, as my memory serves me: Washington treated him as an outsider throughout his tenure. To them, he was the peanut farmer from a hick town. One wonders what might have been had the politicians assisted instead of mocking him.
Washington does not like 'outsiders'. In our times, the outsiders were Nixon, Carter, and Trump. These people were not accepted by the Washington establishment.
GW Bush and Ronald Reagan - also mocked outsiders.
One did well, one left a legacy that reverberates negatively even today - but mainly because GW Bush let himself get co-opted by the insiders - the Cheney neo-cons. What extraordinary events challenged both their administrations: End of the Cold War for Reagan and the 9-11 start of the War on Terror.
A pundit once said the worst thing to happen to America in recent years ....was winning the Cold War. With no external enemy, we fell upon ourselves.
Huh? He was from Texas and did not serve in Congress prior to becoming President. He made his mark not a child of blue blood privilege which he was, but as a good old country boy when he started his climb up the political ladder in Texas oil country.
His early claim to fame was owning a Texas sports team and leveraging deals with the Univ of Texas foundation money as I best recall. He at best coat-tailed his insider father to gain unearned credibility, skipped real military service during Vietnam, and had many bouts with drugs and booze, living in a world quite apart from his DC-New England political brahmin roots. He was pretty much the runt of the litter in the very large GHW Bush clan. He then found Jesus and mended his ways. According to his official story.
He was mocked, scoffed and made a constant -country bumpkin joke when he finally landed in DC as POTUS, again getting reviled as an outsider by the Beltway WaPo cliques. Volumes were published of his garbled syntax and his constant vocabulary misses. Nothing more than a useful tool for the quite evil neo-cons who came on board through GW's connections with his ex-CIA father, who in fact were deep insiders with global ambitions - the Dick Cheney Halliburton crowd.
Were you around during this GW Bush presidency? These were the days when the post-JFK Georgetown Set ruled supreme. Who raised looking down their elites noses at outsiders like GW Bush into a fine art. Even his very aristocratic and authentically blue blood insider father was reduced to eating pork rinds to gain a more common touch. But son George made himself a child of the oil wildcatter Texas. But without LBJ's long prior stint inside Wash DC.
An excellent article Celeste! Always there will be so many others with their perspective and that is always interesting to hear. You know there will always be those opinions from others.
I applaud you for your courage to write those past Presidents and very significant that President Carter was the only one to respond.
He was not my favorite President since that was a time when we had a real estate sale that cost us a lot of money because of his passing a law that only was during his term of office. And not one that I favored nor is it in place today.
Thanks for sharing, Celeste. When JFK was assassinated, I had just started college in San Francisco. I wrote a page about my feelings at the time on my Royal typewriter and sent carbon copies to people I knew. Thanks for this recall of past events. Jimmy Carter and the gas lines got me interested in steam cars of which I built an automotive size steam power plant which operated off of Standard Brands paint thinner costing about 19 cents per gallon. I have Jimmy to thank for this fun hobby at the time. We have had four miserable years of stupid and corrupt political dumb-dumbs. And finally, a note for Harris: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
And Bill, thanks for the Pledge. Perfectly delivered.
Celeste has always stood tall for what is right. I just re-watched the shameful incident at SBCC from five years ago over reciting the Pledge of Allegiance which is still on youtube for anyone to pull up. Celeste, you earned a Medal Of Freedom for what you did that day.
It is beyond disturbing to even watch that video again at this safe distance. Thank you for the input you bring to these discussions and the fact you take action;; not just fall back on safe space commenting. (Ahem, and I do count my self in that latter category.)
Brava, Ms Barber.
It’s unfortunate that SBCC continues to assault free speech with impunity. One would think some learning would have occurred.
Diversity of viewpoint should be part of any college education. But in the past "conservative" instructors have been systemically limited or even eliminated at SBCC. Yet, how does this diversity of thought get measured and who does the measurements?
An interesting new club started last year for those who wanted to hear from local business persons and learn about their own personal success stories. Sounds like that might be a collection of "conservative" (private enterprise) thinkers to me. At one time there was an official conservative club at SBCC, but it rather quickly expired. Something worth starting again.
The Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship should be a haven for more conservative, independent thinkers too. That was certainly the intent of the generous donor who set up the program.
Academic freedom does require offering all spectrums of thought for a student's true intellectual growth. Debate clubs are another way to provide this. Let's hope there are a few students at SBCC who want to work with the student senate include diverse intellectual club options, as part of their now extensive DEI offerings. Might be good for the current faculty and staff to widen their own perspectives by supporting these efforts too.
I agree. That’s been tried, and again suggested.
Those are bold words. if I were you, I’d be expecting to receive a cease and desist letter for them.
These aren’t intellectuals with whom one can reason. The homeless in the immediate area are more reasonable. I checked.
If you have a genuine interest in bringing change, we should talk.
SBCC is dedicated to the success of every student. Watch words found on several plaques displayed around campus, intended to be a reminder of its long-standing true goals.
These words have only been used by SBCC since they became untrue.
These were written in 2016, and have only been notably publicly invoked by the employees who shouldn’t work there, each of whom has displayed publicly their unsavory bigotry and intellectual incompetence. About 52 of them.
Wrong, they were the signature watch words of former, long standing SBCC CEO/President Dr Peter Macdougall and was his guiding principle during his entire tenure starting in late in the last century.
Thank you for the reasoning and the facts. While not a democrat at the time nor before, being reminded of how Hilary Clinton became Senator from New York certainly brings back memories. When she was expected to win against Donald Trump, I thought the world was going to be over if she did so. The Democrat Party would be in control and not the people. The shock, awe and relief that The Donald had won was palpable. His inability to govern because of The Resistance is still with us today. They are still in control of California. It is a misguided belief that these people have some special knowledge and power that keeps other people like me in a deplorable and deprived state of mind. Some of what we saw in the November election was a reflection of the once highly touted Silent Majority. I hope the next 4 years prove this to be the case.
Early on in the 2016 primary season, I predicted that Hillary Clinton would lose, Donald Trump win. I remember telling my husband that following New Hampshire. He didn't believe me. It was all about the numbers. I'd watch the Trump rallies on TV, fully covered by the media, and see thousands of people in attendance. For months, he spoke at rallies every day, sometimes 2 in a single day. Tens of thousands. And those crowds were passionate, meaning every person there was voting in November. Then there was Hillary. Boutique events with a few select and elect at Cape Cod and Beverly Hills. NO PRESS permitted. Plus Hollywood doesn't vote. I wavered briefly in September with the Billy Bush hoopla, but not for long. The rallies continued every day. The night before the election, Hillary was feted in Independence Hall by the party faithful and Bruce Springsteen. Late that night, Minnesota folks were trudging through snow to attend a last-minute Trump rally in the middle of nowhere. It was extraordinary the contrast, notably Candidate Clinton's chutzpah that the election was hers just because.
It used to be said, “You can tell the importance of someone based on their enemies.” Once again, the Democratic Party has proven they will do ANYTHING and stop at NOTHING to go after those who threaten their reign on power.
We see this in school board, city council and various local meetings all over the Country. The play is right out of the Lefty Playbook; use intimidation, lies, here-say, bullying, accusations of racism and threats of prosecution in order to keep us, the American people at bay.
The evidence is out, overwhelming and compelling that our elected officials have used their Constitutional powers against us. My sincere hope is the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers can hold individuals such as Biden, Pelosi, Schumer and Schiff responsible for their crimes, and that they be prosecuted and JAILED!
Watching today, Biden handing out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to liars and conspirators such as Benny Thompson, Hillary Clinton, George Soros and Liz Cheney is absolutely sickening. I wonder if Biden will include a get outa jail free card?
Celeste - fabulous! This show that you're smart and level-headed enough to become a Republican! I sure can see that you were an English teacher - your writing is really good like mine!:)
I'm not big on Carter, but even he was better than the dope warming the seat of his pants in the Oval Office now.
Excellant!
Clarification: I wrote the letter to the Democrat Party on Veterans Day, November 11, 2016, following the yearly Pierre Claeyssens inspirational ceremony at Santa Barbara Cemetery. The date was coincidental and appropriate. My letter to the former US presidents was written eight months later, the day following the Alexandria shooting.
You forgot the humanitarian peace work Jimmy did for Palestine and the Palestinians. RIP Jimmy.
I read this disturbing and important article by a former democrat Ms. Barber titled
"A Letter to the Presidents" and suggest a new title for Ms. Barber's transformation
as follows "A Letter to Free Thinking Americans"
I quote from Ms. Barber Letter to our Presidents as follows> "We are living through a dangerous period now. Ordinary Americans use a rhetoric unfit for public discourse;" ..."I had intended to write this letter even before yesterday’s shooting in the ballpark. What’s at stake here goes far beyond salvaging one man’s presidency: Donald Trump’s. It’s about the Office of the Presidency itself." BANG
As this "dangerous period" has been escalated into the possible WWIII between the two superpowers Russia and the US. One may ask how did we get here? The Jan 6 Insurrection?
NO, AFRAID NOT the Manufactured Ukraine Maiden Revolution - THE COUP. SOUND FAMILIAR?
Any doubt I provide you with the forensic information that most did not follow>
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356691143_The_Maidan_Massacre_in_Ukraine_Revelations_from_Trials_and_Investigation
And I quote "The Maidan massacre trials and investigations have revealed various evidence that four killed and several dozen wounded policemen and at least the absolute majority of 49 killed and 157 wounded Maidan protesters were massacred on February 20, 2014 by snipers in Maidan-controlled buildings and areas." ... " The prosecution denied that there were any snipers in the Maidan-controlled buildings. Not a single person is convicted or under arrest for the massacre of the protesters and the police almost 8 years after one of the most documented mass killings in history."
Fast forward to recent breaking NEWS on the NEW PLATFORM X & UTUBE as follows>
https://x.com/ShawnRyan762/status/1875391708701011980
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xglaXVtQcis&ab_channel=ShawnRyanShow
Be informed and know the THREATS around you and in other places .............
Howard Walther Member of a Military Family
PS 1 - 10 Million Views on Ryans X>https://x.com/search?q=shawnryan762&src=typed_query
- 2.2 Million View on Sarah Adams Interview
PS2 - Update, Major Narrative Problems shown by Dan Davis >
https://x.com/DanielLDavis1/status/1875600009183289373
Ms. Barber, I took exception to, I believe it’s paragraph 13 in your article, I might be off by one or two paragraphs. The paragraph states, and I quote “We are living through a dangerous period now. Ordinary Americans use a bad rhetoric unfit for public discourse yet they do gleefully and with the authority of, I don’t know what. At times, the language is cruel. I see it on television from the news commentators. I hear it when I visit our Farmers Market on Saturday morning between the berry farmer and a customer. This assumption that it’s okay to trash the 45th president, his family his administration, and yes to any ordinary citizen who supported Mr. Trump”.
Ms. Barber, I’m surprised you don’t know who gave the ordinary American citizen, the authority to use bad rhetoric. It was the 45th president. He opened that Pandora’s box. The ordinary American citizen figured if a presidential candidate could speak that way, certainly they could too, and they did and it continues still. It has gotten worse and worse since he’s been in the public eye continuously for the last 8 years.
I remember him insulting a gold star family, calling senator Cruz’s wife ugly and calling Marco Rubio little Mario, because he’s short. As a matter of fact, as I recall, he gave all his rivals derogatory nicknames. He has said many cruel things about people, has made up lies about them. As they say, you reap what you sow.
I also feel your cartoon with the screaming headlines are quite misleading. These headlines have some truth, but if you dig deep, you’ll get to the actual truth.
Trump has certainly shown his disdain for impulse control, but the decline in civility has been in place for about the last half-century.
The irony is, that he is supposedly the very best the party of "family values" has to offer.
Trump on the other hand, has a remarkable propensity for in your face truth- telling, which is what voters stated they wanted more than anything after too many decades of Democrat lies.
We still need to wait for the perfect Goldilocks candidates to appear ...from somewhere. Making it to the top of the political food chain is not for the faint of heart, nor the feint of heart. Let the junkyard dog clean up the fetid Augean stables using his own tools of choice, and then we can "come together" when remaking this country as we move into our 250the year.
Trump is a counter-puncher. You conveniently forgot what and who said what first. Agree, his response is harsh. But in time effective and look at the current relationships today with those you claim he "insulted". Trump's uniqueness and ability to finally get people to work together is still lost on you, Julia. You prefer to stick with outdated sound bites.
Actually the worst political discourse I ever heard was in 2008 from the Obama fans on the net against Hilary Clinton -that is when political discourse reached all time lows, really gross and hateful. Go back and sample some of that. This did not start with with Trump.
But I see that is the new Democrat narrative now showing up on the blogs and the "new" LA Times - OrangemanBad is back again. Thanks for passing on the latest Democrat talking points.
Well, JL, trump is just a puncher, and a low blow puncher at that. As for the insulted parties, who now have a relationship with trump, it sounds like you’re referring to Ted Cruz, who is nothing but a boot licker, that’s more interested in his career than his family honor. As for getting people who work together, it seems his top advisers can’t agree on a lot and have shouting matches. As for the orangemanbad, I’ve never used that term. As for Democrat talking points I’m not quite sure what those are.
Disclaimer: I am not a Democrat, in fact I despise the Democratic Party far more than I do the Republican Party, (I'm a somewhat-reluctant Libertarian) but I agree with you about Trump. On the other hand, their tone-deaf attitude toward the average American--the Democrats having abandoned their traditional working-class liberal values in favor of Leftist elitism--are what have made Americans so justifiably angry that they not only see Trump as the only choice, but the embrace him with a cult-like devotion even though he stands against their values of respecting the military (per his disparaging remarks about prisoners of war) and his unrepentant (as far as I can see) sexual immorality. Note that I also replied to the same comment to which you are replying to J. Livingstone.
Trump is a counter puncher. And a truth teller. This is naturally unnerving to Democrats. We get this.
Hitler and Stalin told the truth about certain things, but then there were those little 'devil in the details" issues. Was Trump telling the truth when he said "I like people who weren't captured" (when speaking of prisoners of war) Was he telling the truth when he said he could shoot people and not lose votes? Remember, he had four years to "drain the swamp" and it didn't come close to happening, and the national debt didn't come down either.
I can't stand the Democratic Party either, but I also stand by the adage of "the enemy of your enemy isn't always your friend". I feel the same anger and disgust Trump voters feel, but I also feel like a kid caught in a custody battle between two insane parents and I want to go live with my grandparents. It's not pleasant for me to have to admit that neither political party offers significant improvement to the country's overall problems, but I will simply have to disagree with you when it comes to Trump.
BC: Trump told the truth that the swamp needs to be drained. The fact the swamp sabotage him for four years from the inside which underscores the truth of that statement.
Truth be told, why did you think this would be easy to do and particularly after Democrats took back the House in two years into his administration?
Are you ready to have his back when his new and much more ready team rolls into action -and DOGE recommendations off the top become manifest. Can you smell the increasing alarm and desperation we are already getting from the swamp, even on this forum with their swampy tag teams ready to obstruct 3000 miles away?
You are paying to fund the swamp, like all of us, which makes us accessories to their deep state crimes with every check we keep writing on April 15.
What does having his back mean? Electing him president-for-life or jailing any suspected political opponents? I'm not being snarky, I'm dead serious.
Again, I agree with the fact that the status quo is terrible, but I see nothing in Trump's agenda that is going to change that.
JL, I had to have my son help me up off the floor where I was rolling with laughter. You know, in his term he told over 30,000 lies and it’s documented in the congressional records. Please, truth teller, what a joke. I’m going to start questioning your cognitive skills.
Joy, Julia, joy. Take it where you find it. You are welcome. Now go watch the Tucker Carlson-Billy Bush interview and gain new insights about DJT from those who have known him longer than thee or me.
JL, I do take joy wherever I can find it, thanks for the advice. I might look up that Carlson-Bush interview. Tucker Carlson is quite laughable and he needs to work on his face, half the time he looks like the tv screen is frozen, he’s got the constant expression of looking confused all the time. Also, many contributors here make fun of Kamala Harris’ laugh and describe it as a cackle, how would they describe Tucker Carlson’s laugh? He sounds like a crazy old lady and his laugh is what you would actually call a cackle.
Julia, To your comment that crude or cruel behavior justifies return of same, turnabout is fair play, I say NO. NEVER. That was the point of my letter to Jimmy Carter and the former presidents. I have over the course of my own life been subjected to cruelty. Never would I return same. I have to live with myself and be the example for those I love. Tit for tat is destroying common decency among us all. The Republic is not a junior high playground.
Very good article Celeste. I would agree that the democrats and common man should try to rise above Donald Trump’s cruel and rude behavior.
Mr. Callahan, why do you say Democrats and the common man? It seems you should include Republicans and mainly the magas, because there is no more Republican Party, even trump when he talks about his supporters more often than not he’ll refer to the maga party or the magas. You’re spot on about trumps behavior, though.
Both of you have swiss cheese holes in your selective memory. But see thes are the newly issued Democrat talking points, from Nancy Pelosi on down. Thanks for playing your roles out here too.
MC: Did you ask the same of the Obama Democrats who viscously trashed Hilary Clinton back in 2008 - some of the worst and crudest personal attacks I have ever seen. Crude political discourse goes back a lot further than Trump and Democrat fingerprints are all over it from 2008 forward when Obama became the first " internet campaign" president using his jiggling ObamaGirl to get unwarranted attention. How crude was that?
Ms. Barber, I was not implying that because trump does something you should do the same. He does not set a good example for speech and actions. He has no respect for the office he holds, he only sees the power.
You asked who authorized this bad rhetoric I was telling you who. I’m surprised you didn’t know. What I am saying is, he led the way for the bad rhetoric and behavior.
You’re right, the Republic is not junior high playground, but it’s hard to tell with the way some members in Congress carry on, Marjorie Taylor Greene for one. I quoted the saying “you reap what you sow”, which is exactly what it says, what you plant is what grows.
Julia, I am heartened that you and I agree. I have little hope left for our electeds, but always faith in the American people. It appears, once they get inside the DC Beltway, all connection to home is lost. Lost to the pressure and power and the heavy hand of both party and K Street lobbyists. (And why no elected official should be permitted employment as a lobbyist upon leaving office: for five years, I'd say never.) Let's hope that 2025 will be the year of goodwill to all.
Ms. Barber, I don’t see anything I disagree with on your response.
Good article, Celeste, and a great letter to the Presidents. I was listening to a commentator the other day talking about Jimmy Carter. He finished his piece by saying Carter was not a good president but a good man. Interesting that he was the only one to answer you.
One important fact that history leaves out about the Carter presidency, as my memory serves me: Washington treated him as an outsider throughout his tenure. To them, he was the peanut farmer from a hick town. One wonders what might have been had the politicians assisted instead of mocking him.
Washington does not like 'outsiders'. In our times, the outsiders were Nixon, Carter, and Trump. These people were not accepted by the Washington establishment.
GW Bush and Ronald Reagan - also mocked outsiders.
One did well, one left a legacy that reverberates negatively even today - but mainly because GW Bush let himself get co-opted by the insiders - the Cheney neo-cons. What extraordinary events challenged both their administrations: End of the Cold War for Reagan and the 9-11 start of the War on Terror.
A pundit once said the worst thing to happen to America in recent years ....was winning the Cold War. With no external enemy, we fell upon ourselves.
How is GW an 'outsider'? Remember the Iraq invasion and "Patriot" Act? "war on Terror" BS
Huh? He was from Texas and did not serve in Congress prior to becoming President. He made his mark not a child of blue blood privilege which he was, but as a good old country boy when he started his climb up the political ladder in Texas oil country.
His early claim to fame was owning a Texas sports team and leveraging deals with the Univ of Texas foundation money as I best recall. He at best coat-tailed his insider father to gain unearned credibility, skipped real military service during Vietnam, and had many bouts with drugs and booze, living in a world quite apart from his DC-New England political brahmin roots. He was pretty much the runt of the litter in the very large GHW Bush clan. He then found Jesus and mended his ways. According to his official story.
He was mocked, scoffed and made a constant -country bumpkin joke when he finally landed in DC as POTUS, again getting reviled as an outsider by the Beltway WaPo cliques. Volumes were published of his garbled syntax and his constant vocabulary misses. Nothing more than a useful tool for the quite evil neo-cons who came on board through GW's connections with his ex-CIA father, who in fact were deep insiders with global ambitions - the Dick Cheney Halliburton crowd.
Were you around during this GW Bush presidency? These were the days when the post-JFK Georgetown Set ruled supreme. Who raised looking down their elites noses at outsiders like GW Bush into a fine art. Even his very aristocratic and authentically blue blood insider father was reduced to eating pork rinds to gain a more common touch. But son George made himself a child of the oil wildcatter Texas. But without LBJ's long prior stint inside Wash DC.
Ooops, I forgot Reagan. The Washington establishment saw him correctly as an outsider. And, by doing proved themselves to be ILLIBERAL in thought.
Elected representatives who are responsive are a treasure.
Those who aren’t responsive are trash.
Direct and to the point.
Regardless of the time it is the rational people who eventually get it.
An excellent article Celeste! Always there will be so many others with their perspective and that is always interesting to hear. You know there will always be those opinions from others.
I applaud you for your courage to write those past Presidents and very significant that President Carter was the only one to respond.
He was not my favorite President since that was a time when we had a real estate sale that cost us a lot of money because of his passing a law that only was during his term of office. And not one that I favored nor is it in place today.