Academia, Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Russian Historian Arrested And Sent For Psychiatric Test by Putin Officials After Detailing Stalin Atrocities

225px-Vladimir_Putin_official_portraitCroppedStalin1943The erosion of free speech in Russia under Vladimir Putin has been an unfolding tragedy for Russia.  As is often the case, the loss of freedom of speech often goes hand-in-hand with the loss of academic freedom.  However, the arrest of a Russian historian, Yuri Dmitriev, 61, is particularly chilling and raises legitimate comparisons with the Stalinist period. That is fitting given the fact that Dmitriev is being forced into psychiatric testing after writing about the discovery of thousands of bodies from the 1930s — victims of Joe Stalin.  Putin has ordered a revisionist history on Stalin to glorify his reign and downplay the millions killed by the bloodsoaked dictator.

Dmitriev remained committed to the truth despite constant pressure from the government.  He excavated areas bordering Finland and focused on victims near the notorious Solovki prison camp.  He found more than one mass grave in the region, documenting 13,000 of Stalin’s victims in Karelia alone.

After his academic work achieved international attention, Dmitriev was arrested  on a variety of charges that critics insist are trumped up by Putin officials.  They include child pornography (involving pictures of his adopted daughter), illegal possession of “the main elements” of a firearm, and depravity. They have now forced him into psychiatric testing.

The work of Dmitriev came out after Putin ordered the an end to the “excessive demonization of Stalin.”  The Russians have worked tirelessly to scrub the history surrounding World War II, including not just the millions who died under Stalin’s rule but the Russian pact with Hitler (and subsequent invasion of neighboring countries) before Hitler turned on Stalin.  Stalin by all accounts was a paranoid moron who left his country vulnerable to attack and made horrendous decisions both during the war and after the war that killed millions.

While Dmitriev was previously found sane, prosecutors are trying again with a new round of tests to look at his “sexual deviations.”  As if to guarantee comparison with Stalin, the Putin government has flown Dmitriev to be evaluated at the Serbsky Centre, the infamous facility used during the Soviet period to lock up political dissidents as mentally ill.

293 thoughts on “Russian Historian Arrested And Sent For Psychiatric Test by Putin Officials After Detailing Stalin Atrocities”

  1. ( No reply box above…this is in response to Linda’s 10:07 AM comment)
    When you complain about the influence of money in campaigns ….whether it is an election with opposing candidates, or a political/ social issue…..you selectively list contributions from those who support candidates or causes that you don’t like.
    Since you selectively glean and then present those kinds of examples, it appears that you have no overall objection to the large amount of campaign / lobbying money.
    I have previously mentioned some examples of large campaign spending that you apparently approve of.
    That is, it seems that you are not opposed to massive amounts of campaign/ lobbying money UNLESS that money is used for purposes you disagree with.
    I assume that you don’t have the $1.2 Billion that Hillary spent or her campaign, or maybe you just “overlooked” that.
    You may have overlooked the Soros-backed, or NEA-back, or $350,000 a plate George Clooney fundraiser, etc. causes.
    You tie “oligarchical control” of the 99.9% by the .1% to the money and influence of a the wealthy contributors that you dislike, but you totally ignore the lobbying and campaign contributions for causes that you like.
    This is a specific reply to a specific issue that you raised in your 10:07 AM comment.
    If you respond with a list of hackneyed, disjointed slogans unrelated to an issue initially raised by you, then I may point that out.
    When you repeatedly resort to using that same kind disorganized, disjointed response to a comment I’ve made, or others have made, I will get to the point where I insult you.
    That is a risk that you run when your posts demonstrate your hypocrisy, evasiveness, trite slogans about your fringe theories, etc.
    I’m capable of having an orderly, polite exchange with people who hold different political views.
    When that person repeatedly rants, sloganeers, sanctimoniously tells people how holy their causes are, and how evil opposing causes are, then that person has crossed a line.
    Not just crossed it, but vaulted over it.
    At that point, my responses are likely to get a lot less tactful and a lot less polite.

    1. Don’t bother with Linda. She’s a useful idiot and she’s too much an idiot to even know it. I’ve asked her a singular question (ie, to define ochlocracy) for about 2 weeks now and she’s proven herself ignorant. She’ll plod along through life, probably on the dole, voting for Bernie and Hillary and Oprah and whichever Kardashian runs for POTUS first but she’ll never comprehend her complicity in the things she gripes about.

  2. More trouble for Republicans in California- this time it’s Rep. Duncan Hunter.

    On a positive note for Trump fans, Trump may beat the long shot and get a defamation win against Buzzfeed and Fusion GPS (assuming reports about the Cohen filings are true). The depositions will be interesting. But, as they say, anyone can file a lawsuit…and then track it back.

    1. Does Trump’s false claim to a Wharton MBA, qualify as libeling or defaming the school? Also that “graduated first in class”- not true. Raw Story published an article detailing the academic institutions attended by, degree from and, class standing for Trump.

      1. Thanks for the link, Dr. Benson. It’s far more informative than Turley’s post on the topic. That Putin views history as an enemy of the state is remarkably consistent with Stalinism. Oddly enough, it’s also consistent with Russia’s Tsarist past. The Kremlin, the secret police, the agents provacateur, disinformation, propaganda and, most of all, the Nationalist Myth-Making remain the common threads throughout all of Russia’s history stretching all the way back to The Mongol Invasions and The Khanate of The Golden Horde. It really is too much to fathom. So, your “no further comment” comment is perfectly understandable.

  7. Is it just me, or do Linda’s posts have a mechanical ring to them? It’s like Ken’s posts – the same 5 or 6 words randomly placed in a meaningless paragraph. Maybe they are really bots, and not human at all.

      1. IMHO, meds can not help malignant narcissists or borderlines, which I believe you fall into one of those two categories, or perhaps, both. To wit:

        The social psychologist Erich Fromm first coined the term “malignant narcissism” in 1964, describing it as a “severe mental sickness” representing “the quintessence of evil”. He characterized the condition as “the most severe pathology and the root of the most vicious destructiveness and inhumanity”.[4] Edith Weigert (1967) saw malignant narcissism as a “regressive escape from frustration by distortion and denial of reality”, while Herbert Rosenfeld (1971) described it as “a disturbing form of narcissistic personality where grandiosity is built around aggression and the destructive aspects of the self become idealized”.[5]

        and,

        People with BPD may feel emotions with greater ease, depth and for a longer time than others do.[11][12] A core characteristic of BPD is affective instability, which generally manifests as unusually intense emotional responses to environmental triggers, with a slower return to a baseline emotional state.[13][14] People with BPD often engage in idealization and devaluation of others, alternating between high positive regard for people and great disappointment in them.[15] In Marsha Linehan’s view, the sensitivity, intensity, and duration with which people with BPD feel emotions have both positive and negative effects.[14] People with BPD are often exceptionally enthusiastic, idealistic, joyful, and loving.[16] However, they may feel overwhelmed by negative emotions (“anxiety, depression, guilt/shame, worry, anger, etc.”), experiencing intense grief instead of sadness, shame and humiliation instead of mild embarrassment, rage instead of annoyance, and panic instead of nervousness.[16]

        People with BPD are also especially sensitive to feelings of rejection, criticism, isolation, and perceived failure.[17] Before learning other coping mechanisms, their efforts to manage or escape from their very negative emotions may lead to emotional isolation, self-injury or suicidal behavior.[18] They are often aware of the intensity of their negative emotional reactions and, since they cannot regulate them, they shut them down entirely.[14] This can be harmful to people with BPD, since negative emotions alert people to the presence of a problematic situation and move them to address it which the person with BPD would normally be aware of only to cause further distress.[14] People with BPD may feel emotional relief after cutting themselves.[19]

        Squeeky Fromm
        Girl Reporter

        1. You sound like da cutter livin in da basement hoardin guns,cats and Nazi paraphernalia.

            1. Linda, Squeeky is quite a woman certainly more of a woman than you and far more intelligent.

                1. Anonymous what I said to Linda” Squeeky is quite a woman certainly more of a woman than you and far more intelligent.” might have included you but for the fact that I would have been overly generous.

    2. “Roger Willco”

      Is it I? Me is it. That can’t be “me.” No, it’s the Ken and Linda Show.

      Linda represents the incoherence and hysteria resulting from the 19th Amendment.

      RE: Ken

      “Persona – The Mask We Wear”

      “Carl Jung said that, ‘The persona is that which in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one is.” Robert Johnson refers to the persona as our “psychological clothing.” The persona refers to that aspect of the ego that we present to the world for its approval. It is like a mask and we can hide behind it.

      The word “persona” comes from the Greek word for the large masks that early Greek actors would use to portray their characters. With audiences in the big Greek amphitheater the nuances of performances could easily be lost. The primary function of the mask was not to hide the actor but give information about the character. The persona is the mask or role that a person plays in society. While it gives information it can be used to hide the ego.

      As a social role the concept of the persona is useful in allowing an individual to move in and out of relationships without being too vulnerable. A persona can be the oil to ease potential social friction. A persona provides for some predictability of relationship. For example, the personas of doctor and patient or of student and teacher can be useful in knowing what to do, when, and where. Other examples of the persona are: mother, father, husband, wife, lawyer, judge, policeman, baker. A persona becomes a problem only when a person becomes too attached to it and can not put it aside. For example, when someone who is a judge is a “judge” all the time at work and at home. Or perhaps, a teacher who is in her role all the time. When a person cannot move flexibly between roles then the persona not only hides the person from others but also from himself. It is difficult for such a person to have appropriate self-knowledge.

      An overemphasis on the persona not only blocks avenues of communication between people but also between the ego and the darker aspects of the personality that need to be acknowledged. These darker aspects are represented by the shadow.”
      _________________________________

      I’m thinking something more along the lines of schizophrenia and deep psychosis.

      1. Some new information from George! Hard to see how that is on topic, however.

        1. You’re a genius! I apologize. I covered the girls and left you out.

          Try this. See if it fits. We can have it altered if necessary.

          Remember: Acceptance is the first step to recovery.
          ___________________________________

          “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”

          Individuals with this disorder exhibit a lack of ability to empathize with others and an inflated sense of self-importance.

          Definition

          The hallmarks of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are grandiosity, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration. People with this condition are frequently described as arrogant, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. They may also concentrate on grandiose fantasies (e.g. their own success, beauty, brilliance) and may be convinced that they deserve special treatment. These characteristics typically begin in early adulthood and must be consistently evident in multiple contexts, such as at work and in relationships.

          People with narcissistic personality disorder believe they are superior or special, and often try to associate with other people they believe are unique or gifted in some way. This association enhances their self-esteem, which is typically quite fragile underneath the surface. Individuals with NPD seek excessive admiration and attention in order to know that others think highly of them. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder have difficulty tolerating criticism or defeat, and may be left feeling humiliated or empty when they experience an “injury” in the form of criticism or rejection.

          1. How’s your family?

            Did they help you with your “Affirmative Action Privilege” application?

    3. New words- Open Secrets website- Koch Industries search – for 2016, House campaign contributions, $1.36 mil. to Repubs., $20,000 to Dems, Senate campaign contributions, $370,000 to Repubs., $803 to Dems. 2014 cycle, $2.67 mil. to Repubs., $32, 000 to Dems.

      Koch Industries funded N.D. Rep. Kristi Noam, who weaved the tall tale about her family farm and taxes to help ram through the recent tax giveaway to the rich.

      1. There is a lot of interesting material about campaign contributions.
        For example:
        “How Mega-Donors helped raise 1$Billion for Hillary Clinton”- from The WASHINGTON POST, October 2016.

        or “Goldman Sachs was top Obama donor”
        -From CNN, April, 2010 ( article notes that Obama received over 4 times as much from Goldman Sachs as McCain got).
        or “Wall Street puts its money behind Obama”
        -from REUTERS
        , June, 2008
        Regurgitating talking points from David Brock publications, or from Vox, or from the Intercept about the Koch brothers doesn’t necessarily give a good history and overview of major campaign donations.

        1. Open Secrets lists at its site, the funders (David Brock not among them).
          Tom Nash and Fox, inhabiting the evidence/logic-free zone.

          1. Those sources are not from Fox; CNN, REUTERS, and The WASHINGTON POST are not owned by Fox.
            Your standard “Fox news” complaint
            when presented with facts you do not wish to hear gets old, and it was a very weak tactic to begin with.

          2. Standard nonsensical “Fox News” reply from Linda.
            Try to concentrate on reading and understanding the words in a comment.
            I’ve recommended this to you before Linda, and I know it’s probably a waste of time, but repeatedly chanting your same slogans “Oligarchy! Mercers! Waltons! Kochs! FOX News!” comes off as disjointed rants from a person incapable of a rational exchange.

            1. That’s why I believe she is a bot. Those words are programmed into her digital self and spewed here for our pleasure.

              1. ” I believe she is a bot”

                Sierra, I don’t think she knows much of anything. She compiles soundbites but has little idea of the meaning behind them. She quotes authors but doesn’t even know what they have written. All she has are complaints and a steady reliance on Stalinist type figures. When asked what she recommends she has absolutely no answers. A bot would have such answers. An ignorant person wouldn’t.

            2. Tom Nash learned the lesson taught in 4th or 5th grade (which is, coincidentally, where Trump’s mental abilities have been pegged) …the best defense is an offense.

              It’s going to take better PR than Nash, Rick Berman and Murdoch can deliver to put the Mercers, Koch’s, Adelson, and their fellow donor class members back under wraps.

              1. You want to put “part of” the donor class under wraps…..the “donor class” that you like is never mentioned by you.
                There is a LOT of money spent by BOTH sides in political campaigns/ political issues, and you ignore that with youd endless “Koch/ Waltons/ Kochs/ Mercers robo-comments.

                2. Ohio’s Democratic Party Chair related a conversation he had with Karl Rove while they were waiting to be interviewed at a radio station. Rove disparaged the characteristic small size of each of the checks that were received by the state Democratic party.

          3. David Brock brings tons of money into the Democratic coffers. Bonnor brought in 20 -30 Million and I don’t know if that name would be listed because bringing in money means donating money of other people. I think Bonner kept 10% of all donations.

            1. Allan,
              …
              – Hillary broke all records by spending a reported $1.2 Billion on her campaign.
              I think that might include her campaign’s spending in the primaries, where Bernie unexpectedly made it necessary for her to actually campaign to get the coronation/ nomination.
              I forget the numbers on the GOP primaries side, but I know that Jeb Bush had an enormous campaign fund.
              A lack of spending was not the ultimate problem for either Clinton or Jeb Bush.

              1. And yet according to the same Democrats, Russia spent about $100,000 to run Facebook ads that elected Trump. If true, that’s one more reason to be glad Hillary lost. I mean, she controlled the DNC and spent more than a billion yet all it took was $100k???? She may be the most inept human being on Gaia.

                1. Andrew WS
                  The last time that I checked, they were still sqabbling over who was responsible for soending the DNC into bankruptcy.
                  I think most of the $1.2 Billion spent by Hillary was from her campaign fund, PACs, and SuperPacs.

              2. Trump won because he had a message and that message resonated with the American people. Clinton’s behind the scenes message resonated with the “oligarchs”. They put in the money and if money counted Trump would have lost in a landslide.

                Trump won and what have we seen? An attempt by Clinton and the Democratic party to void the election and the votes of the American public. A lot of the biggest “oligarchs” especially those that own the news media, social media or live in Hollywood are having panic attacks.

                But what has actually happened is taxes have fallen, unemployment is down, the stock market is up which helps many pension funds, GDP growth is up etc. Dems should be cheering since things are looking better for minorities and the working people, but the Dems don’t care about the nation. They care about power so they will push to import votes even though that will lower the salaries of the common man.

                1. You may have left out one very key metric, under Trump black unemployment is at a RECORD LOW! Obama couldn’t do it. W couldn’t do it. Clinton, the one that actually was President, couldn’t do it. Trump did that!

                  1. I have said that in the past, but I was afraid it was raising Enigma’s blood pressure since according to him Trump can do no good at all.

                2. Allan,
                  So the $350,000 a plate fundraising dinner for Hillary wasn’t held for Joe Sixpack?
                  I thought host George Clooney paid the dinner tabs for all of the ordinary working stiffs he must have invited.

      3. Just the personal stuff from Soros.

        Soros, George: Donor Detail
        [Return to Top Donors page]

        Contributor Amount Date Recipient
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $38,000 11/03/16 House Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE MR
        NEW YORK, NY $-20,000 10/27/16 Change Campaign Super PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $150,000 10/26/16 House Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $230,000 10/24/16 United for Progress
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $20,000 10/24/16 Change Campaign Super PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $150,000 10/21/16 Colorofchange.org
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 10/21/16 House Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $115,000 10/17/16 United for Progress
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $200,000 10/11/16 United for Progress
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 10/11/16 House Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $250,000 10/04/16 Colorofchange.org
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $2,500,000 08/31/16 Priorities USA Action
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $6,693 08/19/16 Priorities USA Action
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $500,000 07/21/16 Senate Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,500,000 07/20/16 Planned Parenthood Votes
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 06/17/16 Senate Majority PAC
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 03/17/16 American Bridge 21st Century
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $3,000,000 03/11/16 Immigrant Voters Win
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $6,000,000 12/17/15 Priorities USA Action
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 06/25/15 Priorities USA Action
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $1,000,000 05/04/15 American Bridge 21st Century
        SOROS, GEORGE
        NEW YORK, NY $25,000 01/21/15 Ready PAC

        Now we know that rich people give to both sides. However, much more of the “oligarch’s” money and IP (Hollywood and ) goes to the Democrats.

        1. The list provided at 7:45 was limited to Koch Industries donations.
          The tentacles of the Kochtopus can be found in the research of the Center for Media and Democracy and in Mayer’s book, Dark Money.

          “more money goes to Dems” which explains the DNC’s bankruptcy as described by Donna Brazile…how?
          The Republican candidates for Ohio Gov. have 4 times the amount that the Democratic candidates have.

          Allen and Fox- inhabiting an evidence/logic- free zone.

          1. ““more money goes to Dems” which explains the DNC’s bankruptcy as described by Donna Brazile…how?”

            How? That is exactly the problem with the left. They don’t know how to spend money and too frequently, as demonstrated on this blog, they don’t know what they are talking about.

        2. Ooh, ouch, Allan. I see you got a brilliant “Fox News” reply, too.
          Are you holding up OK from that devasting debating blow?

          1. Allan and you, Tom, don’t have to survive “devastating debating blows”, the donor class politicians do and
            they’ve run for cover, unwilling to have town hall meetings. That, in itself, is the best reason to vote for their opponents. Since you believe in a republic based on democratic principles, no doubt, you agree.

            1. Linda,…
              I think you should speak out at those town hall meetings, and join the campaign trail(s) as well in order to promote your beliefs.
              Your participation would provide some much-needed comic relief in politics, and you would be the best weapon the opposition had.

              1. If Linda runs for office I’m going to ask her on the debate stage what an oclocracy is since she advocates for one but won’t define it here for all of us to see.

              2. Wake up, Tom. It’s 2018 not, Nov. 2016. Lots of people, me included, have been active. The targeted politicians aren’t laughing. They’ve abandoned hope of being re-elected. It was a lot more fun for them to shaft their constituents before the constituents knew the puppet masters pulling the strings to benefit the richest 0.1%.

                The number of groups protecting (1) pensions from Pew and John Arnold (2) Social Security from Pete Peterson, Paul Ryan and the Koch’s (3) people of color from the racial bigotry of men like Trump (4) students from the colonialists’ “austerity” of men like Gates and Walton heirs (5) the vulnerable from the voter suppression of gerrymandering Republicans (5) communities from aerial surveillance by the rich, etc., all of them… proliferating. Nothing is, any longer, going unnoticed.

                People recognize that Bannon, who had the Mercer father and daughter as benefactors, found company among White supremacists but, Breitbart drew the line when Jews of the donor class were attacked.

                Men like the Koch’s will always find willing politicians like Grietens in Missouri and Pence in Indiana but, there’s reason to think their brand of American destruction will fail.

                1. “It’s 2018 not, Nov. 2016. Lots of people, me included, have been active. The targeted politicians aren’t laughing. ”

                  Linda, It doesn’t take brains to march or hold a protest sign.

            2. “Allan and you, Tom, don’t have to survive “devastating debating blows”, the donor class politicians do ”

              Trump is “blowing” them off. Go, Trump!

          2. “Are you holding up OK from that devasting debating blow?”

            Blow, maybe that is what she is using?

  8. Why does Jon Turley speak of Joseph Stalin as though he were some sort of monster and mass murderer? Does Turley not admire Winston Churchill? Does not Turley admire Franklin D. Roosevelt? Sure he does! Well, here’s a photo of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin–which I’m sure most of you have seen at some point in your lives during some history classes–and they all seem to be having a good old time. They are the good guys, are they not? So, what’s the problem?

    https://www.google.com/search?q=photo+of+stalin+roosevelt+and+churchill&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Fv_tnSXd-30kwM%253A%252CAwAcnnMqPWxQ2M%252C_&usg=__1opte4noP6NpjBDD8o-IpIlGr_U%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBlMyEydDYAhVWwGMKHSd4BU4Q9QEIQTAL#imgrc=Fv_tnSXd-30kwM:

    1. Stalin – Communism

      Churchill – Communism

      Roosevelt – Communism

      American Founders – Freedom, Self-Reliance and Free Enterprise Facilitated by Severely Limited Government

      1. Monopoly and oligopoly facilitated by oligarchy- government limited by the richest 0.1%

            1. andrewworkshop will incessantly repeat the question despite the answer which had already been given to him on a previous thread. At least he’s spelling it correctly more often, now.

            2. “Ochlocracy — mob rule”

              David, Isn’t that what Antifa and sometimes BLM attempts to do?

              1. Update to Turley post “Atlanta attorney ‘accidentally’ kills wife, blames BLM”.
                The AJC reported that the D.A. obtained a malice murder indictment and that Claud Tex McIver had his bond revoked when police found a gun at his condo. Trial date March 5, 2018.

                Can BLM sue McIver for slander or can a charge be brought against McIver for making a false statement of threat to the police if it was a ruse?

                1. Linda, How does that respond to the question of mob rule by Antifa or BLM?

                  It must be Hell living in your head with things randomly flying around.

                2. “Can BLM sue McIver…” — Linda

                  Not if there is symmetry in law:

                  “Black Lives Matter is a social movement, like the tea party or the civil rights movement, and therefore can’t be sued, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

                  A police officer anonymously sued Black Lives Matter and DeRay Mckesson, a prominent activist in the movement, after being injured by a rock thrown during a protest over a deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge last year.

                  But U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson dismissed the officer’s suit and ruled that Black Lives Matter is not an entity capable of being sued.”

                  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-black-lives-matter-lawsuit-20170928-story.html

                  1. Thanks for the answer, WWAS. It’s a good court decision. The danger of enforcement crackdowns based on intentional misrepresentations about protests, remains a concern e.g. false statements like those of Allan and McIver which echo ALEC’s Stand Your Ground law. But, I presume that that threat must be addressed via civil liberties law.

                    One avenue that warrants attention is the enlistment of police on the side of protestors whether they are teachers, anti-Walmart and anti-Koch activists, NIMBY’s, etc. The police share interests in protecting the community’s common good through taxes which enable their salaries and pensions and to secure a quality place for their families to live. Rights of due process in their employment and local government actions also joins their interests. They share the Koch enemy of State Budget Solutions and State Policy Network which has the underlying goal to dismantle community governance replacing it with oligarchy.

                    At our state capitol when an ALEC anti-public employee bill was passed, firemen lined the statehouse steps holding signs that read, “If you have a fire, call the Koch’s.” The referendum that followed overturned the law.

                    1. “The enlistment if police on the side of protesters” oresents some ibvious problem.
                      Of course,there could also be the “enlistment of the military”to rally to the side of the counter-protesters.
                      That way, we could see the politicalization of two organizations and see how that works out.

                    2. Check the demographics of the military- especially their economic backgrounds. Their pay, medical care and pensions are paid with taxes.
                      To prevent law enforcement from siding with their fellow citizens, U.S. colonialists have plotted to starve funds to police and military personnel and to replace them with private contractors like Blackwater (the founder of Blackwater has a sister in Trump’s cabinet).
                      The goal is, a Koch et. al. oligarchy that replaces democracy. Then, the enforcers who are beholden to them will run roughshod over the citizens, just like in any banana republic. If Andrew, Allan and Bam Bam think the oligarchs are going to let them keep their precious property, they’ve proved their stupidity.

                      The Koch’s and their other tax hatcheting cronies focused, first on state and local employees but, the puppet Trump has shown us the civilian federal employee is in the crosshairs, too.

                    3. Re your 8:39 AM comment,
                      You need to sound the alarm to the police, and members of the military, that U.S. colonialists are strarving them of funds.
                      You mihht catch an officer on a coffee break, or at a convenience store, and you should tell the officed of the massive plot you have discovered.
                      Then you can let us know how many LEOs ( or military personell) that you’ve enlightened about the plot you uncovered.

                  2. The motives of outsiders like Gates, the Koch’s, Walton heirs and Uihlein are increasingly under scrutiny. The outsiders fear the town halls, public schools, and union halls where face-to-face meetings happen and information is shared. That’s why they work so hard to shut them down. Even, guys like Rick Berman are facing backlash from selected business executives. CEO’s are calling out Trump (Uihlein’s wife did fundraising for Trump).

                    Gates, who pays a lower tax rate on his palace than his neighbor with a lower-valued home (and, who pays no state income tax) found his attempt to eliminate public education thwarted at the polls in November. Massachusetts citizens also won against outside money in November on Issue 2.

                    Even the reddest state turned down, the Uihlein candidate (Uihlein of Illinois).

                    I’m certain U.S. military and law enforcement can unmask the euphemisms at the Walton-funded GenNext Foundation.org site for the fraud that they are.

                    1. The atmosphere changed after the Gabby Giffords shooting, and the targeting of the members of Congress at the baseball practise.
                      On top of that, we know see a bunch of clowns showing up at town hall meetings, who seem to feel entitled to shout down or interrupt the Senator or Representative holding the meeting.
                      There are fools who celebrate these developments as “having them,run for cover”.
                      But the fact is that call-in Q&As, etc. have become a preferable way of communicating with constituents.
                      They are under no obligation to face down some of the low-life rabble that stacked and disrupt town hall meetings.
                      And given the high profile assassination attempts I mentioned, they have even less incentive to interact with the lunatic fringe.

                    2. “Gates, who pays a lower tax rate on his palace than his neighbor with a lower-valued home (and, who pays no state income tax”

                      Crazy Linda writes: “Gates, who pays a lower tax rate on his palace than his neighbor with a lower-valued home (and, who pays no state income tax”

                      Washington State has no income tax.
                      Disparate property taxation can occur when a state has a fixed rate where a maximum increase is limited to a fixed percentage. In those states, it is not uncommon for newer residents to pay more taxes even though their homes are worth less.

                      Conspiracy theorists like Linda can sometimes be crazy. They take all sorts of data and render it meaningless. Linda needs to place some tin foil on her head.

                    3. Tom.
                      Selected out only town halls for comment, ignored the oligarch attacks against unions and public schools. How convenient.

                      If God loves America, Baldwin will be in Congress with Doug Jones.

                    4. Every time I think that you can’t make an even whackier comment, you top yourself.
                      Congratulations, Linda.

                    5. Tom,
                      The facts- (1) Marc Andreeson stated that India was better off under colonialism, his fellow Facebook board member, (2) Reed Hastings calls for contractor schools without community elected boards as the replacement for public schools, and (3) fellow board member, Peter Thiel decried the right of more than 50% of Americans to vote, based on their demographics. Add in Facebook’s role in fake news that influenced the election, and my characterization of the current and future oligarchy is eerily prescient.

                    6. 1) Why should I care what some dude thinks about India? I don’t live there. Given their propensity to rape women and abuse animals, I have little inclination to go there. Who therefore cares.

                      2) Again, so what? Hastings has an opinion and has voiced it. You doubt have voiced the opinion that school up through 4 years of college ought to be free. Both of you have extreme points of view. Why is that wrong?

                      3) Show me the Thiel item for context – because I know you are skewing it.

                      4) “Facebook’s role in influencing the election.” Seriously? Then you’ll agree that Hillary Clinton was underqualified for office since she spent hundreds of millions and lost while alleged Russian entities spent about $100,000 on Facebook ads and defeated her.

                      5) The ochlocracy you advocate it ___________?

                    7. Linda, …
                      You poost a series of disjointed statements, can’t stay on a topic or even a set of topics, and apparently expect a reply to all of your ravings.
                      Since there is no cohesiveness, no order, and often no connection between your declarations, you, you then say “notice how —- didn’t address this” or that particular rant.
                      In your same spirit and style of communication, Alabama beat Georgia Monday night….notice that Linda didn’t address THAT.
                      There’s a cold snap in most of the country….Linda didn’t address THAT.

                      Notice that Linda did not address public transit.
                      You like to babble, well right back at ya.
                      And you have yet to bring up the oligarchical features of the Pelopponesoan league, either.
                      But I’m sure you’ll get around to it.

                    8. Tom,
                      I assume that you, nor I, have the $24 mil. that Uihlein can spend in one year to influence voting. You nor I, have the platform to make Wall Street bankers curry favor with us, like Trump and the Clintons do.
                      But we both pay taxes and have families that benefit from the common good. Identifying just one state’s situation, the taxpayers of Ohio have been bilked out of more than $1 bil. by contractor K-12 schools. One of the largest schools, run by a big campaign donor to the state Republican Party, had a 75% truancy rate (and that assumes the students on paper actually existed). Reed Hastings is partnered in a school chain that Gates sought a network of financing for. The tech titans want to make a profit off of the education of kids.

                      Similar to schools for kids, when you and I are elderly, someone with POA will choose who cares for us. They may choose the facility with the lowest cost, highest owner profit margin, and if in a Republican state, one with no regulation.

                      The tech titans, and Uillein, the Koch’s, Adelson, the Mercers want to be kingmakers so that they can amass more money. I don’t want my family subject to their king.

                      I’m not prescient enough to know what direction the future fight for America’s destiny will take, nor can I assess the consequences/outcome.

                      In comments to this Turley post, WWAS quoted Thiel’s statement in entirety (7:59, Jan. 12, 2018). Breitbart’s executive, with all of his baggage, was the Republican President’s chief strategist. Neither man has the best interests of the country as his goal.

                      fyi- Repetitive, canned, insults reflect insecurities. They diminish those who write them.

                    9. As a taxpayer I’ve been bilked into paying for public schools that don’t teach kids anything anymore. Since I send my kid to private school, my wallet gets hit twice.

        2. Marx wrote about achieving your Covetocracy of Parasites.

          He called it the “dictatorship of the proletariat”, until Russia ran out of money, of course.

          Green with envy, huh? Those pesky “rich” people.

          Did your family ever teach you to work for a living and take care of yourself?

          Check out James Madison who defined “private property” as “that dominion which one man claims and exercises over the external things of the world, in exclusion of every other individual.”

          Looks like the American Founders established that OPM (other people’s money) was precisely none of your business.

          Your ilk is kinda like bank robbers, huh? Just go in and take whatever you want.

          1. Covetocracy of Parasites: George, I understand what you mean and the words are quite clear, but is Covetocracy a real word? I like the word and the phrase, but never heard it before and couldn’t find it when I looked it up. Did something change in the translation?

            The dictatorship of the proletariat: Those words were adopted by Marx so did you coin the phrase “Covetocracy of Parasites” as a twist to that phrase?

          2. (1) Carried interest (2) Trump quote, “Only stupid people pay taxes” (3) the smallest share of national income going to labor in U.S. recorded history.
            Those who eat the bread for which others toil are thieves.

      2. Close, George. But they are all socialists. For a great economic-historical analysis of that, see the three major works by scholar Anthony C. Sutton: Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution, Wall Street and FDR, and Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler.

    2. Ralph Adamo – both Churchill and FDR thought they could handle Uncle Joe. Neither of them could. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

      1. Okay, Paul, but does that mean the enemy of my enemy’s enemy is also my enemy?

        1. Ralph Adamo – I am too sick right now to deal with such a deep question. 🙂

      2. Never trust a guy who says anything like this: “To choose the victim, to prepare the blow with care, to slake an implacable vengeance, and then to go to bed — there is nothing sweeter in the world”–Joseph Stalin

        1. hmm, reminds me of another person who celebrated an opponent’s death with open glee

      3. Paul, Churchill was much more realistic about who Stalin was than FDR, however, Churchill had to play second fiddle. There were times when FDR and Stalin left Churchill out.

    3. Churchill had his devious ways which caused great harm “for the greater good”.

  9. Don’t forget the millions of people of the USSR, principally Ukrainians and Russians, but also Belorussians, etc., that the Stalin government caused to starve to death, freeze to death, or die in the Finland war in the 1930s before WWII.

      1. If you are looking for famine, there’s a big difference between the Soviet famines and the Irish one. In the former, statists like you caused it.

          2. David, The Irish famine was a lesson in the political economy that I thought about explaining, but I don’t don’t think you would easily understand the nuances involved so I will let you look it up and if you are interested you can bring the topic to the table.

  10. New York Times

    “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President”
    by Bandy X. Lee

    “The consensus view of two dozen psychiatrists and psychologists that Trump is dangerously mentally ill and that he presents a clear and present danger to the nation and our own mental health.

    This is not normal.

    Since the start of Donald Trump’s presidential run, one question has quietly but urgently permeated the observations of concerned citizens: What is wrong with him?”

    (excerpted)
    _________

    Did you say “psychiatric test?”

    “What is wrong with him?”

    1. The above described psychiatrists share something in common with those who jumped in bed with and blessed George Bush’s CIA conspiracy to commit felony torture of terror suspects. In both cases the psychiatrists violated their professional oath. In the Bush case, the psychiatrists were disciplined, but I can’t recall the severity. In a just world those psychiatrists, Bush, and Cheney, etc. would be taking their court ordered dirt nap.

      There is no such thing as a “diagnosis of mental illness” without a physical in-person exam. To claim otherwise is analogous to being an accuser in the Salem witch trials and subsequent burning at the stake.

      Trump certainly appears to be “temperamentally unsuited” for the job of POTUS, but that term does not equal “mentally unfit” nor “mentally unstable.” The DNC and others suffering from TDS like the poster above would have you think otherwise.

      Nothing about Trump’s behavior has changed pre/post election. Voters knew exactly what they voted for when they elected him POTUS, and he delivers what they expected: a booming economy and a brighter future.

      The entire post above is simply another in an endless line of examples of persons unhappy that their gal lost, and trying everything in their power to undo the election. From Russiagate to mentally unstable, back and forth and around we go.

      1. Is terrorism felonious or is it just fine for terrorists to kill anybody they choose?

        You sound very smart.

        At what point does “intelligence” become destructive?
        __________________________________________

        “Beer For My Horses”

        Willie man, come on, six o’clock news
        Said somebody’s been shot, somebody’s been abused
        Somebody blew up a building
        Somebody stole a car
        Somebody got away
        Somebody didn’t get too far, yeah
        They didn’t get too far

        Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, “Son,
        A man had to answer for the wicked that he done.”
        Take all the rope in Texas
        Find a tall oak tree,
        Round up all of them bad boys
        Hang them high in the street
        For all the people to see

        That justice is the one thing you should always find
        You gotta saddle up your boys
        You gotta draw a hard line
        When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune
        And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon
        We’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces
        Singing, “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.”

        We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds
        Too much corruption and crime in the streets
        It’s time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground
        Send ’em all to their maker and he’ll settle ’em down
        You can bet he’ll settle ’em down

        ‘Cause justice is the one thing you should always find
        You gotta saddle up your boys
        You gotta draw a hard line
        When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune
        And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon
        And we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces
        Singing, “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.”

        Justice is the one thing you should always find
        You gotta saddle up your boys
        You gotta draw a hard line
        When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune
        And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon
        And we’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces
        Singing, “Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.”

      2. Joseph Jones writes: “Trump certainly appears to be “temperamentally unsuited” for the job of POTUS” “but that term DOES NOT EQUAL “mentally unfit” nor “mentally unstable.”” (CAPITALS MINE)

        That is his “local” opinion on temperament because like everyone else he compares the temperament to his own, the temperament he has seen or the temperament he has been trained to assume to be correct. I am not always happy with his temperament, but when I have been on construction sites I wasn’t satisfied with the temperament there either. Trump is a bit eccentric, but so was Churchill and many great leaders.

        I match my evaluation of temperament with results and Trump’s results have been spectacular to those that believe in America. I think his temperament overall has had a tremendously positive effect on the nation. All the would-be psychiatrists including those with M.D.’s are just making fools of themselves for they are opening their own craziness to the world.

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