A Special Circle of Hell Awaits

[babylonsister]

https://billmoyers.com/story/pandemic-wisconsin-trump-election/?fbclid=IwAR1sRSkZGOAiOra7phlliBCOtQdfvxjM3DFejHaf5WnJB9m_KuOF74RXcTU#.Xps_Zj5-4vB.facebook


A Special Circle of Hell Awaits
By taking a wrecking ball to independent oversight, Trump has made the presidency into a dictatorship. At this point, writes Robert Edwards, the only recourse we will have left to save our democracy, repair the institutions of government, and restore accountability to the American people, is to vote in November to save "the soul of this nation."
By Robert Edwards | April 17, 2020
This post first appeared at The King’s Necktie blog.


This past week in The New York Times, the columnist Frank Bruni wrote:

When the direness of this global health crisis began to be apparent, I was braced for the falsehoods and misinformation that are Trump’s trademarks. I was girded for the incompetence that defines an administration with such contempt for proper procedure and for true expertise. But what has taken me by surprise and torn me up inside are the aloofness, arrogance, pettiness, meanness, narcissism and solipsism that persist in Trump—that flourish in him—even during a once-in-a-lifetime emergency that demands something nobler.

Under normal circumstances, these traits are galling. Under the current ones, they’re gutting.

He’s quite right of course. Except for the part about being surprised.

Did anyone really think Trump would rise to the occasion of this crisis? Far from drawing forth some latent leadership ability that lay dormant for 73 years (or even an iota of previously undetected humanity), the sheer extremity of the crisis has brought out the worst in him, which is really saying something.

For even with our Marianas Trench-low expectations, Trump’s behavior has been jawdroppingly appalling.

snip//

Trump has, to my knowledge, still not offered a word of sympathy for the virus’s victims or their families, perhaps because he is too busy bragging about his own (mythical) efforts in combatting it, complaining about an insufficiently worshipful press, spreading harmful disinformation, and demanding praise and tribute from governors before he will release federal assistance to them. With characteristic rapaciousness, Trump treats taxpayer-funded federal resources as his personal stash that he has the right to dispense or withhold at his regal whim, and for which Republican officials are all too eager to bow down and grovel. (Looking at you, Martha McSally). It’s no coincidence that he has doled those precious resources to states like Florida, with Republican governors and electoral votes he craves, while sadistically withholding it from blue states like New York and California.

So I’m with Frank Bruni on this: It is hard to envision any grown adult less equipped to lead the country during a crisis like this, or one who would have behaved in a more damnable manner than Donald J. Trump. A navy blue suit filled with steaming horse feces would do no worse, and probably better, since at least it would not actively do harm and try to line its pockets in the process.

Truly, a special circle of Hell awaits this monster. For my money he cannot take up residence soon enough.

[kimbutgar]

1. He will fry in hell and history will put him in league with Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and Nero.

[Guilded Lilly]

2. Too many still think he has a hidden shred of humanity somewhere inside. He doesn't.

[RKP5637]

3. He's a narcissistic sociopath and I think sadist too. People like this don't have a whole bunch of

humanity ... anyplace. And, he is a gifted con artist, none can deny that.

[MyOwnPeace]

4. babylonsister........

You do such a GREAT job of finding, editing, and summarizing some great material.

Thank you - thank you - thank you!!!



And, YES, he cannot get to his own "special" chamber soon enough!

[malaise]

7. And that is the truth

[crickets]

12. Agreed! Another thank you here. nt

[babylonsister]

13. Thanks, very kind of you! nt

[lastlib]

17. Reserved seating at Satan's table---

for a family of seven. DJT, Malaria, JarJar, Ivunka, Don Jr., Eric/spouse.

Guest seating for Fred for not letting it run down his leg, and Mary for not inducing a miscarriage. And for Addison Mitchell McTurdle for aiding and abetting.

[sop]

5. What I find most disturbing is how many people love Trump precisely because he's a monster.

[MyOwnPeace]

18. Never forget the quote from the prison guard

in Florida talking about IQ45: - "He's not hurting the people he should be hurting!"

Special kinda' people, aren't they?

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/424263-trump-supporter-complains-shutdown-is-not-hurting-the-people-he

[The Blue Flower]

6. My blood pressure made it impossible to get through the whole article

What I read was very disturbing, but a good recap.

[Varaddem]

8. The hubris

I still think part of the delay was getting the corruption in place.I mean that’s a lot of money.
Can’t wait for Katie Porter et al to get a Q and a with the head of FEMA. Hopefully they use teamwork. My TV is not going to survive if these guys aren’t held to account .

[Hekate]

9. Thanks, babysonsister. KnR

[dalton99a]

10. And Republicans are enabling and supporting this evil monster

with great enthusiasm

[mr_lebowski]

11. What He Said

^^^^ OP FTMFW ^^^^

[Stuart G]

14. This is a reference to Dante's Inferno..(in case you did not know)

Many circles of hell for all kinds of bad people...The very lowest circles are the worst people...killers, rapists,people who steal, lie.....etc.

What this author is saying is none of those circles is bad enough for Trump. He needs his own circle, lower than any others..and he can be there forever..all by himself.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Inferno (pronounced [iɱˈfɛrno]; Italian for "Hell" is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno tells the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.
?Dante Alighieri and the Divine

[7wo7rees]

15. Frank Bruni wrote me back once

After I emailed him about his promotion from restaurant critic.

I've always loved his prose and he has a keen sense of the putdown. Mark Twain would like him.

[Grammy23]

16. Most of us here at DU already understood that tRump was bad and would be bad for this country.

The thing that still gets my goat is the fools that still like and support him and will joyfully vote for him in November if he is still on the ballot. I understand that they have been fully insulated from the truth by Fox. It is a crying ass shame but that’s the truth. Rush and other right wing nut jobs have added another layer to a large portion of them. They do not and will not listen to any other sources of news that might open their eyes and if they accidentally stumble on another news outlet, will not believe what they hear. tRump very successfully indoctrinated them with mistrust of anyone except himself and Fox.

So how do you get through to them? Most will never admit they were duped. But one thing that has a chance is when they are harmed by him or a policy he dreams up. The economic consequences of the pandemic will destroy quite a few of them. The death of someone they love from the virus might open a few eyes as they witness the hell their loved one will endure until they die. Being impacted by this monster may change a few minds. When the truth starts to come to light for them, he will need extra security as I’m sure they will turn on him as he has never imagined.

I know not all will turn away from him, but my hope is that enough will that tRump sees his loyal followers crumble into dust. He needs to live out his life in poverty, behind bars with the full knowledge that he brought it all on himself. Okay, that is too much to hope for. A narcissist like him will never admit blame. But poverty and incarceration are not too much to hope for. And they can’t get here too soon.