They say Trump is great at negotiation because he can demonstrate empathy - I say he is afraid of his own shadow - he negotiates out of self-interest and cares very little about our country and its "poorly educated" people. The empathy he shows is an illusion. To even appoint the people he did to his cabinet is a very clear statement of how revenge is the goal and false praise . Otherwise caring about health, prosperity and hope would be the goal. Health and Education is what makes us great and as soon as you limit this to just a few so they can hold onto their wealth and access to education, health care and prosperity there is a self-destructive situation developing. People are beginning to see that. Perhaps the illusion is receding and people ar learning that "his feet are made of clay". Acts of caring are winning and hopefully can defeat the self-serving goals of the few.
He definitely can project 'strategic empathy' but i'm trying to think of any instance of us seeing him actually use that to *negotiate* anything ... What I think we've seen is that his "art of the deal" is the con-art of bullying, threatening, extorting, bribing, blackmailing, you name it.
No one seems to recall it (in at least published analyses anymore), but he first planted his hooks in what became his base by "empathizing" with what his evil genius perceived was a widespread resentment of "political correctness." And he'd increasingly (in 2015-16) stir up audiences with his campaigning against political correctness that eventually became against 'wokeness' (that he utterly redefined to suit conspiracies and animosities that demonized anything seen as being from the left) ... That's the only kind of "empathy," illusory as it is, that i think has been on display with him nationally or internationally in his 'negotiations'.
@Anand, can you cover David Hogg and Leaders we Deserve? I'm very interested in what they are doing and wonder how much traction they are getting under the radar.
I wonder how the insurance companies will make their decisions re. what to cover. Like, usually an ounce of prevention is WAY cheaper than a pound of cure. But I wonder if national companies will try to have it both ways or change policy based on location. The states working to keep people well should be a lot cheaper to cover than the states abiding by the guidelines of the fateful worm's erstwhile host. We could see conclusive data on the insurance side eventually, if anyone remembers to ask.
Where in RFK, Jr.'s timeline did the worm enter--before, during, or after the wide span of his heroin use? Like, did the worm overdose?? Did it help him get clean?? Are we absolutely sure it didn't lay eggs that bore the fruit of garbled thought, unusual movements, and habitual lying? I can't tell where pathogen stops and pathology starts or how much they overlap. Longtime personal experience with both addiction and toxic narcissism (different people) makes me genuinely curious. I know he has other medical conditions. Nothing lives in isolation, though, even and maybe especially in our bodies, eg. long Covid manifests in wildly unpredictable ways. Just putting it out there.
I appreciate the contrast you highlight between neighbors helping one another and Preppers hoarding safety, weapons, gold, and food just for themselves. The latter strikes me as an apt description of elected Republican officials who don't have the courage to look beyond their own self-interest.
Thank you so much for the information about this enlightened journalist and her reporting on salient actions being taken in solidarity. . Especially as concerns children. It is encouraging .
The actions are the hope. I received a lot of response to your previous article about smores and barbecues which I forwarded to many. A striking and comforting way to recognize the greater importance of living our lives, and acknowledging reality and caring for others as much as we are able all at the same time. We can do. this. Values and actions are coming together.
Your first comment on M.J. this morning -- about the Epstein boomerang and Trump's continued obvious presumption that his "base" consists of the "poorly educated" he pretends to love -- was very similar to what I've been waiting for now with new hope, as a rare silver lining to *his* hoax (as usual projected on others): At what point do his supporters hearing him call even the Epstein survivors' stories a "Democrat hoax" start to wonder about what truth there is in all the other "hoaxes" he's fed his entire presidential stint (no. 1 and 2) on ... Might MTG herself let it become cognitive dissonance, that might make even her start seeing what a litany of "house of cards" she's hooked her wagon to? One can hope.
well, yeah, her "Jewish space lasers" were all her own so she may not be the best candidate for a cognitive dissonance wakeup...
They say Trump is great at negotiation because he can demonstrate empathy - I say he is afraid of his own shadow - he negotiates out of self-interest and cares very little about our country and its "poorly educated" people. The empathy he shows is an illusion. To even appoint the people he did to his cabinet is a very clear statement of how revenge is the goal and false praise . Otherwise caring about health, prosperity and hope would be the goal. Health and Education is what makes us great and as soon as you limit this to just a few so they can hold onto their wealth and access to education, health care and prosperity there is a self-destructive situation developing. People are beginning to see that. Perhaps the illusion is receding and people ar learning that "his feet are made of clay". Acts of caring are winning and hopefully can defeat the self-serving goals of the few.
He definitely can project 'strategic empathy' but i'm trying to think of any instance of us seeing him actually use that to *negotiate* anything ... What I think we've seen is that his "art of the deal" is the con-art of bullying, threatening, extorting, bribing, blackmailing, you name it.
No one seems to recall it (in at least published analyses anymore), but he first planted his hooks in what became his base by "empathizing" with what his evil genius perceived was a widespread resentment of "political correctness." And he'd increasingly (in 2015-16) stir up audiences with his campaigning against political correctness that eventually became against 'wokeness' (that he utterly redefined to suit conspiracies and animosities that demonized anything seen as being from the left) ... That's the only kind of "empathy," illusory as it is, that i think has been on display with him nationally or internationally in his 'negotiations'.
@Anand, can you cover David Hogg and Leaders we Deserve? I'm very interested in what they are doing and wonder how much traction they are getting under the radar.
What happened to your chat with Anat? I tuned in on Substack at 9:30 am Pacific, but no…
Hope you were able to watch; it was delayed a few minutes — but we'll post the video later as usual.
Resist, persist, speak up
and out. If you can
physically, join a
peaceful demonstration.
Thank you Anand for
this. We need more!
On RFK, doctors and other health professionals are speaking out. Enough is enough. https://www.idsociety.org/news--publications-new/articles/2025/joint-statement-calling-for-secretary-kennedy-resignation/
#Resist & #Vote Blue
I wonder how the insurance companies will make their decisions re. what to cover. Like, usually an ounce of prevention is WAY cheaper than a pound of cure. But I wonder if national companies will try to have it both ways or change policy based on location. The states working to keep people well should be a lot cheaper to cover than the states abiding by the guidelines of the fateful worm's erstwhile host. We could see conclusive data on the insurance side eventually, if anyone remembers to ask.
Where in RFK, Jr.'s timeline did the worm enter--before, during, or after the wide span of his heroin use? Like, did the worm overdose?? Did it help him get clean?? Are we absolutely sure it didn't lay eggs that bore the fruit of garbled thought, unusual movements, and habitual lying? I can't tell where pathogen stops and pathology starts or how much they overlap. Longtime personal experience with both addiction and toxic narcissism (different people) makes me genuinely curious. I know he has other medical conditions. Nothing lives in isolation, though, even and maybe especially in our bodies, eg. long Covid manifests in wildly unpredictable ways. Just putting it out there.
Tx u for this post. It is encouraging.
I appreciate the contrast you highlight between neighbors helping one another and Preppers hoarding safety, weapons, gold, and food just for themselves. The latter strikes me as an apt description of elected Republican officials who don't have the courage to look beyond their own self-interest.
Thank you so much for the information about this enlightened journalist and her reporting on salient actions being taken in solidarity. . Especially as concerns children. It is encouraging .
The actions are the hope. I received a lot of response to your previous article about smores and barbecues which I forwarded to many. A striking and comforting way to recognize the greater importance of living our lives, and acknowledging reality and caring for others as much as we are able all at the same time. We can do. this. Values and actions are coming together.
Hi Anand,
Your first comment on M.J. this morning -- about the Epstein boomerang and Trump's continued obvious presumption that his "base" consists of the "poorly educated" he pretends to love -- was very similar to what I've been waiting for now with new hope, as a rare silver lining to *his* hoax (as usual projected on others): At what point do his supporters hearing him call even the Epstein survivors' stories a "Democrat hoax" start to wonder about what truth there is in all the other "hoaxes" he's fed his entire presidential stint (no. 1 and 2) on ... Might MTG herself let it become cognitive dissonance, that might make even her start seeing what a litany of "house of cards" she's hooked her wagon to? One can hope.
well, yeah, her "Jewish space lasers" were all her own so she may not be the best candidate for a cognitive dissonance wakeup...