July 14, 2022

Creatures from Under a Rock

“I fear that if he loses the presidential election in 2020, there will never be a peaceful transition of power.” Michael Cohen; closing statement to Congress.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/27/politics/michael-cohen-donald-trump-oversight-committee-russia/index.html


What type of lawyer would chose to be associated with Donald Trump? This discussion with friends yesterday was prompted by one noting that Rudy Giuliani's looking remarkably like Simon Bar Sinister. I noted that his sidekick Sidney Powell looks and acts like Simon's sidekick, Cad. (This is not related to my having been the underdog in a couple of my boxing matches.)

What rock did Powell come out from under, my friend asked. She has had a curious career, I said. She was appointed to serve as an assistant federal attorney fresh out of law school. Some in the legal field assumed she got this position by being a talented lawyer, though others came to suspect it was a result of assuming other positions. Bitter that she wasn't appointed to the federal bench, Powell went on to take the position of a defense attorney for some of the Enron scum.

In that position, Powell's vile attacks were directed towards Andrew Weissmann. Then she wrote her non-best seller, "License to Lie," a title that sounds a tad prophetic now. Like Rudy, she has faced consequences for her role in attempting to overthrow our government. Like Rudy and Michael Cohen, that includes the suspension of her license to practice law.

Cohen had represented Trump's business dealings with organized crime before Donald became president. This included coordinating efforts with Rudy, who had close ties in New York City with organized crime. But unlike Rudy or Sidney, Cohen would attempt to redeem himself, and warned about the potential for an insurrection when Biden crushed Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

John Eastman's history includes clerking for Clarence Thomas. He ran for Congress in California in 1990, getting less than 40% of the vote, then went on to lose the republican primary for the California Attorney General, getting less that 35% of the vote. Eastman has been a rabid opponent of same-sex marriage, in his position with the Federalist Society.

John's willingness to spread any lie came to the surface in his Newsweek op-ed of August 12, 2020, when he claimed that Kamala Harris was not an American citizen, and thus disqualified for being vice president. He is gutter slime.
https://www.newsweek.com/some-questions-kamala-harris-about-eligibility-opinion-1524483

Two lawyers that I think are institutionalists associated with Trump are Pat Cipollone and Ty Cobb. I view Pat as an egghead with an impressive yolk of knowledge, thus making Cobb the walrus. I do note that in the past two weeks, Cobb has said that he thinks Trump commited crimes associated with the insurrection, and should be prosecuted. Though I do not agree with their work to defend Trump during his presidency, I do respect both as capable lawyers. But they knew he was a criminal, and in "protecting the office of the presidency," failed the nation by not speaking out honestly.

That leaves the one I consider a bit of a wild card, Eric Herschmann. In much of his legal career, he represented the energy corporation Souther Union Company, and Citibank. When he became one of Trump's legal team during the first impeachment trial, I was reminded of James Baker, the energy corporation lawyer closely associated with the Bush family. Back in this form's early years, we used to discuss how individuals associated with politically powerful corporations at times stepped out from behind the curtain, sometimes to provide a degree of stability to a damaged administration, such as George W. Bush's. Energy corporations, including international ones, desire a stable US government, no matter how incompetent it is on a variety of domestic issues.

Might this in part explain what Sidney Powell, in her only true statement in decades, said that Herschmann held Trump in contempt? Certainly, the clips that the J6 Committee has aired show utter contempt for thr Rudy-Sidney-Eastman types -- including Jeffrey Clark, the anti-environmental attorney who had argued that the EPA could not set limits on enegy corporations' carbon emissions. While he played a role of slime in the attack on Hunter Biden, and deserves zero respect for remaining silent at the time, at least he refused to join the effort to overthrow our government.

July 13, 2022

From "Hurricane" Carter .....

I came across this from 49 years ago this morning, and thought some of the DU sports folks might find it interesting.


Rubin “Hurricane” Carter; letter to me; September 27, 1973.

“ I meant to tell you that whether or not you are a puncher or a boxer, you had better get into the habit of tucking your chin into your chest. Because from what I could see: it was hanging wide open, my boy, and that ain’t good. Squat. Get down low. Put your entire weight behind each punch. When you jab -- shift your weight to your left foot -- your right foot is only there to balance you. Whenever you begin your attack, your weight should always be on your front foot. But when you retreat -- always do so in a crouch, with your weight shifted to both of your feet for smoother movements. Never back straight up! Always side-to-side -- always looking for that opening to start your attack again. Remember: the best defense is a helluva offense, and catching your opponent coming into your strength, always results in that man being hurt. Be relaxed -- always think relaxed, and you’ll never get tired. Stick that jab -- stick that jab-- stick that jab -- stick that jab ….. Until it becomes part of your every move ….. Stick that jab -- stick that jab And you’ll find that you’re doing it and don’t even know it. That’s what instincts are all about. Can you dig it? Even as you read this letter, the rhythm should show you what I’m talking about -- stick that jab -- stick that jab -- stick that jab!”

July 12, 2022

Pumped for Today's Hearing!

"When mores are sufficient, laws are unnecessary. When mores are insufficient, laws are unenforceable." -- Emile Durkheim


I should be resting now, as I did not get enough sleep last night. The thought of today's J6 Committee meeting was dancing in my head. So I read some works by Durkheim, to relax. I found myself thinking about his belief that the society that has shared values tends to function, while those without shared values experience dysfunction. I think I wrote about this concept a year or more ago, noting the America of my youth watched Walter Cronkite. And believed him.

Today, of course, there is no one trusted news source. More, within the vast array of options for mews sources, there are many that are one-sided, including those that "bend" the truth, as well as those that outright lie. Others are silent on important social dynamics -- bringing Lennon's saying that "a conspiracy of silence speaks louder than words. I broke that late night silence by switching from reading Durkheim to watching the news on television.

As I was watching, and muttering, "Put them in prison" over my breathe, I knew I needed to get to sleep, for I had to get up early in the morning, to greet a man who was coming to do a half-hour's work. Yet I could not get to sleep as I paced back and forth, agreeing with myself that they need to be incarcerated. But then it hit me -- the job this poor fellow would be doing was, in a very real sense, what we need nation-wide, today!

For gentle readers inhabiting the suburbs and cities, one of the less pleasant tasks of rural life is taking care of your septic system. Even the best functioning of these requires being pumped every so often. When I had nine people living here, it was more frequent than now that I live pretty much alone. Now, when I moved into this very old house, I found the septic system was made of hickory, from long ago. I had a more modern system put in, of course.

The fellow came bright and early, noting he wanted to beat the thunder storm heading our way. I think that Gandhi was right when he said that there is dignity in all work, in response to those complaining about digging our the latrines in this community. Heck, as a young man, I found work in putting in septic systems. Plus I enjoy talking with everyone, so when the guy finished, I could see he wanted to engage in conversation.

He started talking about his dislike of the dreaded younger generation. His youngest daughter, a son, his brother, and his mother all like Bernie Sanders, though one might speculate that 50% of those listed are not among the younger generation. I said that I thought it would be best if we all understood and respected the Constitution. He agreed.

He said his son is pro-legalization of pot. He noted the law had never stopped anyone from smoking it. I said, "Right. Only those who got arrested and sent to jail." He said he is conservative, but doesn't agree witheverything republicans do. He said that he was pro-choice, and told of when, as a married man with two children, he got another woman pregnant. He accompanied her to Planned Parenthood, and spoke highly of them. Within two years, he and this other woman got married and had two planned children. You can't make this up, and I say that not in making any judgement, but rather as an example of real life.

I said that I thought January 6 was wrong, and that those involved need to be incarcerated. It was then that our conversation went off the rails. He said the media has film the J6 Committee is refusing to show, of democrats dropping off bus-loads of Antifa behind the Capital while Trump was speaking a mile away. "I haven't seen that," I said. "But every last one of them involved in the planning and the riot need to go to jail, don't you think?" He agreed.

Now, back to today's hearing. I think that these hearings have indicated that our social septic system needs to be pumped in November. There are far too many republican maga-types adding their shit to think we can afford to put this off. Then we need to put this Supreme Court in check, because we have too many "originalists" on there insisting that we require a hickory sewer. No, I live in the same house, and things like running water and electricity were not available when that old hickory system was put in. Heck, the old piping from the well to the barn was made of leather back in the day. Same concepts, just as those expressed in the Constitution. Just we live in a different world today.

Anyhow, I'm pumped for today's hearing, and hope that you are, too! I love the DU discussions that take place during and after them. We are witnessing history, and must participate in it between now and November.

Peace,
H2O Man

July 9, 2022

Clobbering the Cult

Most people are aware that, during the republican debates in the 2016 republican primaries, handlers gave Donald Trump an easy line to remember: "Build a wall." This line became popular among stupid people, especially those who find brown-skinned people scary. Yet that was not the only wall Trump intended to build.

The two impeachments documented that Trump was intent upon building a wall between himself and the rule of law. The Mueller Report documented another significant part of Trump's effort to build this wall, something he should have been impeached for -- and prosecuted. And now, the January 6 Committee is exposing yet another most dangerous section of that wall.

This brings two things to mind. First, Tuesday's hearing is going to put some mighty big cracks in that wall. It will be, at the very least, as explosive as the last one. Now, that blast shook loose some of dirt that allows the Committee to remove quite a few of the bricks Trump used for stone, and the slime he used for mortar, to borrow from Genisis 11-4. And towers of Babel have come crumbling down time and again over the last few thousand years.

The second thing is that, in a fight, one should never try to imitate the style of another fighter, as Trump has done with Putin's techniques. When I used to box, guys tried to copy Ali. More recently, they try Mayweather's style. But as the only good Hurricane reminded me half a century ago, he who knows "why" always masters he who knows "how."

What is amazing is that Trump learned so little about how government works in the years he was in the White House. His gross ignorance led him to believe he could do anything -- and make others do his bidding -- by howling orders at the weak men and women around him. For that is what he has done all of his adult life.

What he did learn from those two impeachments and the Mueller Report was that he could get away with crimes without serious consequence. For that has been his experience all of his life. But this time appears to be different. The J6 Committee has taken down enough blocks where the Department of Justice is looking inside the insurrection, beyond prosecuting the brain-dead maga insurgents who invaded the Capital.

Now, if you have read Ralph Abernathy's 1989 autobiography, aptly titled, "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down," you will remember his lessons for those at the grass roots. We might not to be able to knock the wall's blocks off, but we can do severe damage to it's shallow foundation. There is nothing more important now than working for the candidates of the Democratic Party, at all levels.

We have three hammers to clobber them with. The insurrection/ January 6 Committee is one, women's health care/abortion is another, and guns/mass shootings is yet another. If you already haven't, be in touch with your local party leadership, and do some volunteer work with a campaign near you. You don't have to commit unlimited time. Every phone banking effort, every neighborhood canvassing, helps weaken Trump's crumbling wall.

Our goal isn't to convince the Trump base. It's to beat them by winning elections. And we have all the tools needed to do exactly that. And if the DOJ does its job, Trump and friends will be surrounded by an other type of brick wall.

July 8, 2022

Piggies

I have been a fan of the Beatles since they first appeared on Ed Sullivan's shoe many years ago. I collected a massive amount of their albums, as well as their post-Beatles works, even before CDs became popular. Collected numerous books and magazines, as well. Tons of stuff.

"The Beatles," aka the White Album, is indeed up there among my very favorites. When it came out, John's contributions inspired me, when tasked in English class to read my favorite poem, to read one John had wrote at age 17. That afternoon, evening, and night, many of my classmates' parents called both the school and my parents to complain.

In college, my friends and I listened to the White Album frequently. Sometimes, we were intoxicated. I liked beer. I drank beer as a form of weight-lifting with my friends.Of course, we did not limit ourselves to beer. But we would certainly refused to have anyone who went by the nickname "Squi" join us.

Today, I read that poor Brett Kavanaugh had his dinner experience upset by people protesting his being on -- and decisions on -- the U.S. Supreme Court. His reaction is as squeamish as were the parents who called my parents. Was not Lennon not only a poet, but an English poet? Does not Amendment 1's identifying citizen's right to protest the government still count?

To answer these questions, I turned to The Beatles. I think that George's lyrics describe Brett and his wife while out to dinner:

"Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon"

Had I been there, I'd have politely asked the protesters to join me in singing that song.

July 7, 2022

Under the Sun

"What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun."
-- Ecclesiastes 1: 9 ("The Preacher" )


I am going to guess that no one here was shocked to learn that the Trump administration used the IRS to go after their "enemies." While others were obviously involved, we can be damned sure that Trump had demanded this happen, for it is his reptilian nature to want to punish his opposition. And he understands the IRS can cause people discomfort.

The Trump administration was not the first to be accused of this abuse of power. But he may be only the second who committed "indictable crimes." The other one was Richard Nixon; his abuse became one of the Articles of Impeachment passed by the House Judiciary Committee.

https://www.nytimes.com/1974/06/14/archives/an-explanation-the-allegatoins-of-nixons-irs-interference-many.html

I think the other possibility was when the IRS audited the NAACP in 2004, after its chairman, Julian Bond, gave a speech attacking the president for his war in Iraq and war on public education. (Note: if younger readers are not familiar with Julian Bond, do yourself a favor and do some resarch on him. I think he was among the greatest of his generation.)

In this case, it is obvious that Trump committed crimes by violating Section 7212 of the Internal Revenue Code, the same as Nixon had.

Now, let's turn our attention to another repulsive character, one easy to recognize from the fecal stain on his face, the result of humiliating himself over and again by kissing Trump's ass. Yes, Lindsey Graham, recently identified as one of "the most pathetic men in America."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/kevin-mccarthy-lindsey-graham-trump-devotion-2024-election/661508/

Like other spineless republicans, Lindsey does not wish to cooperate with a subpoena from the grand jury investigation of "election meddling" in Georgia. Nothing says, "I have nothing to hide" quite like refusing to answer questions from a grand jury. One thinks of General Flynn's taking the 5th when asked if he believed in the peaceful transfer of power. I reckon that Lindsey's not wanting to testify ilustrates, in a curious way, an awareness of the power of truth. Yet he is in for a reckoning, in the archaic sense of the word, if he thinks that will work.

This Georgia grand jury is an investigative one, and these ones have a much greater power to compel both access to documents and testimony than a congressional committee. This is because, rather than only having the powers of one of the three branches of government, they are not only part of the executive by way of prosecutors, but also viewed as under the judiciary, as a judge oversees the grand jury.

Now, it has been said that one in ten attornies graduated in the lowest ten percent of their class. But even the least talented lawyer does not want a guilty client to give statements to law enforcement, much less testify. The choice is ultimately up to the client, and those that take the stand despite their lawyer's advice tend to be as unsuccessful as criminals who represent themselves in court.

Poor Lindsey may try to delay having to testify. But, unlike a congressional committe making a referral to the DOJ, there is a judge involved, who will not tolerate Graham's shit.

July 6, 2022

Regarding Hate Crimes/ 2022

“But there is a critical point about differences between individuals that exerts arguably more influence on worker productivity than any other. The factor is locus of control, a fancy name for how people view their autonomy and agency in the world. People with an internal locus of control believe that they are responsible for (or at least can influence) their own fates and life outcomes. They may or may not feel they are leaders, but they feel that they are essentially in charge of their lives. Those with an external locus of control see themselves as relatively powerless pawns in some game played by others; they believe that other people, environmental forces, the weather, malevolent gods, the alignment of celestial bodies-- basically any and all external events-- exert the most influence on their lives.”
― Daniel J. Levitin, The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload


Malaise and I were discussing hate crimes yesterday, on an OP/thread about the July 4th mass shooting. "I wonder what goes through their miserable unhappy, hateful minds. They never think about consequences. I don’t get that part," she said. I noted that I would try to use a model that I learned decades ago, one that has been expanded upon since J. B. Rotter introduced it in 1954, as a social learning theory.

Since my OP yesterday included music and a quote by Carlos Santana, I thought it would be proper to begin with the above quote by Dan Levitin, the psychologist and musician. His quote sums up the model of "locus of control" in an accurate, easy to understand manner. Plus, it spares readers from yet another of my long and tedious rants. I will say, however, in this discussion, we are not focused upon "worker productivity," but rather "how people view their autonomy and agency in the world."

Briefly -- if I can control how long and boring this essay will be -- we can likely all identify people we have met who have a confidence in their ability to exert some degree of control over events in their lives by making choices that bring about the best potential results. That's not to suggest that any human being can control all that life brings, or that any healthy person is confident about every situation. For we are all but sad and weakly human as we tread upon this living planet.

Likewise, we have all encountered individuals who self-define as victims of circumstance, and sufferers of other people's focus on meeting the victim's needs. When, for example, one attempts to make a suggestion or give advice, they will surely say, "I tried that. It doesn't work." By no coincidence, these individuals have a high frequency of traits found among the Cluster B personality disorders.

Most of us lean towards an internal locus of control. One can debate the relative influences of nature versus nurture -- the yellow and blue that combine to make green, my supervisor noted years ago in a staff meeting. But, for sake of this conversation, I think it is fair to say that the current environment in the United States makes it more likely that those with Cluster B traits will continue to become increasing unstable.

Now, briefly -- if you can believe that -- those who engage in hate crimes generally have personality disorders, not major mental illnesses. Note that the freak from July 4 had a plan that he worked on for weeks, which included the disguise, and most importantly, an escape plan. Thus, he understood right from wrong. To quote M'Naghten, the freak knew "the nature and quality of the act he was doing."

Rotter's students, having learned that locus of control is not an either/or, but a continuum, expanded the model to include the potential outcomes of various individuals in what are known as typical- and atypical expectancy shifts. Will success or failure at one thing likely be followed by another similar, or dissimilar, outcome with their next effort? That can range from a teenager in school being helped by a teacher or social worker building upon a strength, to the person who says, "I tried that. It didn't work."

Now to those who commit hate crimes. There is, of course, a spectrum, since some Cluster B traits can be found in those who are "successful" in their employment. We won't focus on those here, other than to say today, they appear more likely to call upon the negative impulses of others. Instead, we are focused on those who clutter the margins of society, with an external locus of control.

Now let's look at those who engage in mass shootings. I am listening to a live court hearing for Nikolas Cruz as I write this. Their names change, but they share some common traits. They are unhappy, unpopular, and unsuccessful in social settings. They tend to isolate, have a limited and often unhealthy support system, and access to other disturbed individuals on the internet. Think of the incel fellows, for example.

They hate their lives, and hate themselves. They become hate. They hate everyone else, too, especially those groups of people they hold responsible for their suffering. They express this hatred by, like Cruz, having a diseased interest in researching gas chambers. The latest freak imagined himself the rap star of hatred, and hated others for not recognizing the significance of his message.

Oh, one more common trait: these people have relatively easy access to guns. You know, Amendment 2 rights. Surely the Founding Fathers intended for tem to have high-powered weapons of war.

I hope that this is useful in understanding the nature of the freaks that commit these hate crimes.

July 5, 2022

Oye Como Va (listen to how)

https://www.playingforchange.com/videos/oye-como-va-ft-carlos-santana-cindy-blackman-santana-playing-for-change-song-around-the-world?fbclid=IwAR0kVIMR_jdXv0QasnXzm84sKhuUSeWTlLxQS08Ge6kZ4QKYzBo6mxfWS_I


Some news hits like a punch to the gut, and leave me feeling sick to my stomach. And a few times, it's more like a blow to the head, rendering me momentarily disoriented. But this isn't about boxing, or my experiences, for I am an old man simply watching the news.

I was getting ready to go pull weeds in the garden yesterday, when I heard the news of the 4th of July shooting. Although I had doubled my normal morning coffee intake -- two cups had me as fully alert as I can be -- the name "Highland Park" didn't click .... I thought of the Parkland High shooting until I was in front of the television.

The reality soaked in as I saw the image of a near-empty street, with lawn chairs and infant strollers scattered on both sides of the street, and knew that it had happened again. The national number for 2022 mass shootings is now closer to twice a day, than "merely" once daily.

After watching the report, I logged onto this forum. and learned this brutal attack took place in a liberal neighborhood with a significant Jewish population. Though I make an effort not to jump to conclusions, I know it takes a special type of brain-dead creep to fire an automatic weapon from a roof top into a crowd watching a July 4 parade headed by school students. For it is as cowardly a deed as planting explosives at the 16th Street Baptist Church, almost sixty years ago now.

That sickness in my stomach and confusion in my head were rapidly replaced by anger. It was an anger beyond that which I sometimes encounter in my on-going effort to try to be a good person, a goal I hope to meet. No, this was more like what I experienced in the locker room half a century ago, preparing to enter the boxing ring to fight some other young man. The last time I felt that, I was about to fight a previously undefeated amateur champion for the entertainment of 5,000+ people I didn't know. But, as I write this, I must remind myself this isn't about boxing, and as comfortable as that intense anger was yesterday, I must be beyond it now.

I pulled weeds. Fed the other living beings here. Mowed part of the lawn. Sat out at my pond, and realized that I'd be mighty sore in the next 38 hours. Went and set up a fire big enough that the heat was helpful in stretching what once were muscles, hoping to reduce that soreness. Watched the fireflies, and listened to the frogs in the distance. Looked at the stars until the last coals had burned out.

That whole time, I found myself thinking about the day's shooting. I checked the news when I came inside, and learned there was another shooting during fireworks in Philadelphia. It really doesn't matter where people are, or what they are doing there: innocent people are being shot, seriously wounded, and/or killed by emotionally disturbed, violent creeps.

It could be in a house of worship, a monie theater, the parking lot of a store, or watching a parade. It's enough to have people hesitant to go out.

Last night, about a half a mile from me, a neighbor woke up to find two strangers in his dining room, looking for things to steal. He chased them out of his house -- at gun-point, but without shooting -- before calling the police. In a sense, that's how I view the maga cult, the Q-ites, and the gun nuts. The Supreme Court wants to break into our bedrooms. These individuals have broken in, so to speak, to civilized society to steal our way of life, and sometimes our lives.

I'd rather fight them with the ballot, than the bullet. On two of the next four days, I'll be campaigning for the Democratic Party's candidate for the House. I am confident that, at the very least, I'll be safer doing that, than just about any other thing in public. Not that in the past, I haven't been threatened going door-to-door, or at rallies, or even had a board broken over my head on a march. I guess that is relatively secure compared to watching a parade these days.

I posted the Santana video (above) and quote (below) for a reason. Not to say don't be anxious or depressed, but to work through it. Channel it, not the way that a teenaged boxer once channeled nervousness into meanness in the ring, but rather, how an old man can channel anger into positive action. We can do this together, just as this amazing groups of musicians combined to make beautiful music.

"Music is the mystical medicine that heals the listener from the infection of fear, the infection of separation, the infection of thinking you’re not worthy." —Carlos Santana

July 3, 2022

July 4th, 2022

Sitting on the stones in the 90 degree heat, I stop to wipe the sweat from my brow. It has been a beautiful day to work in the garden, pulling weeds. But this old bag of bones can feel a storm coming, and the leaves on the trees at the edge of the woods indicate it will be a strong one.

A chipmuck is sitting half-way up the nearby compost pile, enjoying a snack as it watches me. Luckily, it is too hot for the cats to be out in the garden, and this tiny being is safe to fill iys belly before heading under the stacks of firewood to sit out the approaching storm.

As the Neil Young CD comes to an end, as all CDs eventually do, I can hear a house wren singing in the distance. It is setting on top of the small birdhouse that house wrens have occupied for the past twenty-five years. I'm reminded of Chief Waterman's saying that the songs of the smallest birds are the most beautiful music.

I add the piles of weeds I've pulled to one of the compost piles as a few drops of rain begin to fall. The dark clouds from the northwest are moving in faster than I can put what tools I've used today into the garage, then grab the CD player and stack of CDs and head inside.

The dog, who has a strong dislike of being out in the rain, signals that she must go outside immediately. So, of course, I take her out. She immediately goes around to the back of the house, and stares at one of the two gray fox that come for a meal of corn and sunflower seeds under one of the bird-feeders. The female fox always runs at the sight of the hound, but the male stares back in between mouthfuls of food. The dog's tail wags at a high speed, before we leave the fox and head inside to stay dry. It reminds me of a cartoon my children watched about a fox and a hound.

Soon after we get inside, the fox disappears into the woods, and a young buck comes for its fill. He always comes at about this time, like clockwork. This evening, he decides to come close to the house, to eat some buds from the hege roses for desert. I am always impressed with how quickly their antlers grow at this time of year. As the wind and rain pick up, he heads under an apple tree at the edge of the lawn, and curls up to sit out the storm.

The electric, internet, and phone go off for about 15 minutes. I find myself thinking about how previous inhabitants of the house watched storms here, long before electricity, much less telephones or the internet. There are flashes of light, although I cannot see the actual lightning bolts. But I can sure hear the thunder!

In a short time, the power comes back on, and I tend to things like re-setting the clock on the stove, then turning the computer back on. The storm continues to rage, as I melt into the couch and drift off to sleep. The next thing I know, the dog is licking my ear, and it is morning.

Drinking my morning cup of coffee, I take my morning jog down the information highway. I see that two of my friends have posted memes about there being no reason to celebrate the 4th of July, because Democracy is dead. I ask if we should at least hold an Irish Wake? But no one thinks I'm funny, except me. Still, I recognize it is time to be serious.

Democracy is not dead. It has been injured, seriously injured, by attempts to deny people their rights. The Supreme Court is vile, and the republican party poses a threat to the concepts expressed in that Declaration of Independence. I remember being in grade school, and learning that in the Revolutionary War, the colonists had learned the best way to fight the English troops, who fought in stiff formation, was to copy the style of the Indians.

Chief Waterman used to say that human beings were the only non-essential species on this earth. He said that this means we are here to study and learn from the natural world, with the knowledge that we are part of its web of life. Storms come up every so often, and the current climate is indeed severe. But it isn't the end of democracy. We have President Biden, and the Congress -- including the J6 Committee. And we have millions of people at the grass roots level.

Our job at that grass roots' level is to be organized to do use our weapons -- which include Amendment 1, and voter registration & education -- to pick off republican politicians at all levels. That's what the 4th of July, 2022 means to me.

July 1, 2022

Review & Preview

Note: There are reports today that people around Donald Trump think that the Department of Justice will indict him, and there is ample evidence to convict him. This, along with other news, has had me thinking about the first of three interviews I did with Dr. Bandy Lee in 2020. You may remember her as the author/editor of "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump." Among the questions I asked was one about how sociopaths under pressure tend to experience episodes of psychosis. They might, for example, try to grab a steering wheel, or choke someone who disagrees with them.

I think this is worth re-printing, and I hope that you do, too. Dr. Lee and others warned us that this man was dangerous. More than any of the group of mental health experts that contributed to the effort, Dr. Lee became the target of the Trump organized crime associates and cult. So I thank her for stepping up, and remind others of the insights she had. I'd also remind people that, as Trump is under pressure now, he will act out, including encouraging his supports to do so. And he will again make mistakes, and these will help the DOJ prosecutors to convict him in court.

Be safe,
H2O Man


Februaryy 22, 2020

Q: Dr. Lee, as you would expect, there are people who feel depressed and discouraged about the process and outcome of the Senate’s impeachment trial. They are anxious about our country’s future. Others recognize that while the House impeachment was a significant victory, that the president is now more likely to engage in dangerous ways. In that context, can you please explain the “duty to warn” that has resulted in your speaking out?

A: It is entirely understandable that people are feeling depressed and discouraged; that he is more likely to engage dangerously is correct from our perspective, also. The error, from our view, has been in trying to solve a mental health problem through a purely political approach, which is why we petitioned the Congress to consult with us (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-mental-state-impeachment-psychiatrist-petition-congress-a9232386.html). We had cautioned that impeachment could go either way: psychologically, delaying impeachment was risky, because it would cause a sense of unlimited power and impunity to balloon. A rapid progression after delay then maximized the potential for paranoia and narcissistic rage, while the combination of impeachment and acquittal now has created conditions that would heighten the drive for revenge. With each failure to contain the president psychologically, there has been an expansion of dangers as well as worsening of symptoms. We can learn from this experience and recognize that a nuanced, psychological understanding of the situation is paramount—even if political processes are the only interventions we have for psychological limit setting and containment, which are still a lot.


Q: In 1973, Erich Fromm published “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness.” In it, Fromm detailed how certain social factors, combined with specific personality types found in those in power at the time, create fertile ground for what he referred to as “malignant narcissists” to rise to the top. Do you see instances – saying, putting children in steel cages on the southern border – in our society that concern you?

A: Traumatizing children in a way that will breed injury and violence for society concerns me a great deal! Erich Fromm understood dynamically what I have been studying statistically and epidemiologically. I have always conceived of this presidency as a reflection of the poor state of collective mental health in our society. In fact, I have been fearing this result for about twenty years while watching public mental health decline and what I call “structural violence” increase. Structural violence, such as economic inequality, is one of the most potent causes of behavioral violence, be it homicides, suicides, or warfare, and when the groundwork is laid for a culture of violence, people will be attracted to a leader who does them violence. It was not time to be complacent because homicide rates were declining, even as suicides were rising. My research has been mostly about “connecting the dots,” which I am making great use of now. We have become locked in a vicious circle, where the more violence powerful people do to the population, the more vulnerable it becomes to manipulation and attraction to violence in ways that give violent people more power. It is an abusive relationship cycle at societal scale.



Q: Older people such as myself remember the publisher and an editor of “Fact” being sued for a story that questioned Senator Barry Goldwater’s stability during the 1964 presidential election. This was in spite of the Senator’s wife telling reporters that he had previously suffered a “nervous breakdown.” The “Goldwater Rule” kept this general topic from being reported upon for many years. There are potential dangers in diagnosing someone the clinician has not met. This raises a question: is it possible that what an expert sees in the media, including films of speeches and press conferences, and legal documents, might be more accurate sources of information than the self-reporting of those being evaluated with the Hare Checklist? (This is not to suggest that Senator Goldwater was in that group.)

A:This is absolutely correct. We must distinguish the quality and reliability of information, not just discount all media as a source. For certain impairments, such as personality disorders that cause others suffering but are not bothersome to the self, it is far more accurate to have reports from the person’s acquaintances, the sworn testimony of close associates, and external, direct observation of behavior. If the media presentation is not all staged but shows reasonably candid moments, actual interactions with other people, extensive coverage, and progression over prolonged periods of time, then it can be one of the best sources of information. Interviews, on the other hand, are known to be harmful in some cases, especially when a person is trying to present oneself in the best light and hiding important information. The most dangerous individuals are charming or manipulative, and even the most seasoned clinicians are fooled in a one-hour interview.
“The Goldwater rule” is problematic on many fronts: it should have been invalid since 1980, when our diagnostic system changed from reliance on introspection to observation of external behavior. It also treats the public figure like a patient, when our responsibility is to actual patients and to society, not to public figures we are not treating. Finally, currently it has no exceptions, which means it is the only rule in medicine where danger—an emergency—exception does not apply. This means you must violate the core tenets of medical ethics, and the humanitarian goals that all health professionals pledge to, in order to keep with this one “rule”.



Q: Do those people who are malignant narcissists, psychopaths, or sociopaths ever have periods of psychosis when under extreme pressure?

A: Psychosis is defined as detachment from reality, and since malignant narcissism, psychopathy, and sociopathy can be seen as defects in coping mechanisms, extreme pressure will make them more prone to psychotic spirals. For example, extreme narcissism can lead one to have such difficulty coping with normal human limitations, that one must create an alternative reality where one is superhuman, an expert in all fields, and even heaven-sent. Psychopathy or sociopathy can lead one to believe one is “the walking dead” to help explain the hollowness one feels inside.



Q: Do those referenced in prior question have the capacity for insights on how others view them? Are they capable of experiencing self-doubt or guilty feelings?

A: Insight and empathy are often what individuals with these disorders are missing. Because they have not developmentally gone beyond the stage of distinguishing between “me” and “not me,” other people are merely extensions of themselves or instruments to use for their purposes. They experience self-doubt or guilty feelings through projection: in other words, they perceive the anxiety they feel inside—such as doubt, confusion, and fear—as danger coming from the outside. Unfortunately, attempts to escape or to defeat that feeling translates into attack perceived enemies or, if they are lacking, to seek scapegoats.


Q: If such a person were to be found “not guilty” in a trial for a crime they definitely committed, are they more likely to engage in other anti-social behaviors in the future?

A: Absolutely. Because they are lacking in self-control, if the control does not come from the outside, they will keep pushing their limits. Setting firm boundaries of behavior, and consistently returning with immediate and commensurate consequences for behavior that violates those boundaries, is one of the most important ways to deal with such defects. Trying to elicit remorse, insight, or understanding about one’s behavior will not work. Trying to get them to understand objective laws or rules of fairness will not work, either, for everything will be predicated around the self and whether it benefits or pleases the self.



Q: It was reported that some of the contributors to “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” were scheduled to meet with elected officials in Washington, DC. When Democratic floor manager Adam Schiff spoke during the impeachment trial, he summed the president’s personality up quite well. Do you think elected officials fully recognize the threat the president poses?

A: We directly met with groups of lawmakers in December 2017 and January 2018, and they were already “fully on board,” as they told us then. In fact, they showed great concern, and many of them stated that the president’s access to nuclear weapons was of particular concern. Whereas we were looking to lawmakers for a solution, astonishingly, they seemed to be looking to us! Mostly Democrats, they said they could not do anything without being the majority party, while Republicans either would not express how they truly felt or would refuse to meet with us (even though their concerns seemed to be well-known behind the scenes). The lawmakers encouraged us to continue educating the public, for, if public opinion shifted, then they could act.

When we went to the media, however—and the media were extremely responsive at the time—the American Psychiatric Association stepped with press releases and articles, stating we were being unethical and practicing “armchair psychiatry,” using psychiatry as a “political tool” for “self-aggrandizing purposes.” It even mobilized the New York Times to state that psychiatrists need not be heard from, and, after this, press inquiries dried up instantly and almost permanently. Thus, by the time the Democrats had the majority in the House, the topic could no longer even be spoken about, and our situation was worse than before. Our book, however, was distributed by citizen groups to all members of the Senate and a substantial portion of the House. When members of the public approach lawmakers about the book, most say they have at least heard about it, if not read and have avidly recommended it to colleagues.



Q: On MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, Columbia University’s John McWhorter told a story about Trump that he leaned from a reliable source. As a teen, Trump hung a small child out of a window by his ankles, and enjoyed the child’s suffering. Would such behaviors add to or reinforce your thoughts about him?

A: It is not a surprising anecdote, and consistent with the story of throwing rocks at an infant neighbor when he was a child, and punching a music teacher in the face while in primary school. Those with psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies enjoy others’ suffering, as they envy others for having something that they lack. The human ability to sense others’ feelings, to care about one another, and to do things that help rather than harm others, is something they do not have. Everyone has this, no matter one’s background, personality quirks, or lifestyle—unless one is a psychopath or a sociopath—and this exclusion from the communion of human beings can be very painful. Instead of facing this inner feeling, they transfer the pain onto others, which manifests as cruelty and pleasure at others’ suffering.



Q: In 2019, the updated edition of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” was released, with insights from 37 psychiatrists and mental health experts. Has the year that followed changed your mind on the threat he poses?

A: Not at all. As expected, the psychological dangers we saw translated into social, cultural, political, and global dangers through the office of the presidency. He followed exactly the course we predicted, on the timeline we estimated. Not only that, we have gotten so good at predicting his actions, we sent in a letter of warning to the Congress (https://dangerouscase.org/urgent-letter-to-congress/) three days before he withdrew troops from northern Syria and caused the massacre of our Kurdish allies. We sent in another warning about an impeachment proceeding without guardrails
(https://dangerouscase.org/petition-to-the-judiciary-committee/), and one month later there was the assassination of Qassim Soleimani of Iran. We warned of the continued need to contain the psychological dangers (https://dangerouscase.org/urgent-communication-to-congress/), and now the president is on a revenge spree against those who lawfully testified against him and pardoning criminals while declaring himself the law of the land. Because someone with his condition grows worse in a position of power, no matter what—whether you give into his pressures for more power or try to restrict him does not matter—we have not seen the worst yet.



Q: For those who are feeling depressed and anxious about current events, do you have any suggestions?

I have often said that “the Resistance” is like the immune system of the body: we must replenish ourselves, know our target, and keep healthy! We should take mental hygiene seriously and practice it regularly. It may sound strange, but this means setting boundaries to protect our personal and leisurely lives. Far from being selfish or complacent, doing the things we enjoy and giving time to our loved ones are all a part of responsible action. Allot in advance a reasonable time for the fight, and do not go beyond it. When in it, use the time intelligently and creatively—and this includes listening to the mental health experts! What is exhausting to others is what mental health professionals deal with on a daily basis, and we ourselves protect our mental health through boundaries while treating the sickest individuals! Correctly understanding what is happening is most of the battle, and there are proven techniques for managing the difficult behavior we see. Even if some methods cannot be applied to a president, the principles still apply, and there are lots of things that the public can do. In fact, if only one recognized that true power rests with the people, and the posturing and bullying are actually façades—or fake power, like the Wizard of Oz—the people could achieve a great deal!