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2 months ago | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
Victims of avalanches or crashing waves have difficulty recognizing what’s up from down. In both situations, there is a momentary loss of gravitational pull as well as a loss of oxygen. Following the news these days is similar. Trump’s rush of executive orders leaves one breathless and desperate to find solid ground to stand on. His dramatic break from the normal is creating an existential crisis.
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Jan 24, 2025 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
A wise man once told me that when the pendulum gets to the bottom it can only go up. “But how will I know it has gotten to the bottom?” I responded. Trump’s November 5 election and January 20 inauguration can be seen as a bottom, but perhaps they are only the tip of what could be a much greater descent. I have lived through low points with “Tricky Dick” Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
What will happen on January 21 after the inauguration of Donald John Trump as the 47th president of the United States? There are lots of predictions of doom and gloom. But there may be another way to look at what will happen.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
How does one prepare for a tsunami? Pile sandbags around the house. Board up the windows. Move to higher ground. Those are all physical preparations for a natural phenomenon. But what does one do when a diplomatic tsunami is about to take place? Donald Trump and his team have already announced tsunami-like actions against the United Nations and several of its agencies starting January 20. Here in Geneva, the site of many U.N. organizations, the local press has sounded the alarm.
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Jan 3, 2025 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
In addition to the numerous obituaries of Jimmy Carter, comparisons between Carter and Donald Trump should be made. There are many, but a few of the most obvious are small time Southern farmer vs hereditary New York real estate baron, Naval Academy graduate and military serviceman vs dubious business school graduate and draft dodger, strong religious believer vs. upside down Bible holder, married to high school sweetheart for 77 years vs unrepentant sexist philanderer, modest peanut ranch vs.
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Dec 27, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
Donald Trump and the Marlboro Man are case studies of branding success. When Philip Morris introduced the cowboy on its ads in 1955, sales were at $5 billion. Two years later, sales were at $20 billion. Ellen Merlo, the vice president of marketing services at Philip Morris, described the cowboy image as “very rugged, individualistic, heroic.” Rugged and individualistic is exactly the image Trump tries to portray. Why else go to WWE Raw events or a college football game?
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Dec 13, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
The re-election of Donald Trump raises a simple question: Are you willing to protest? With the new year approaching and start of the year resolutions forthcoming, the question challenges a specific generation. For Baby Boomers like me, the Age of Aquarius has not arrived, and the Age of Selfishness seems ubiquitous. We tried to let the sunshine in but all around us all we see are very dark clouds. Our generation didn’t succeed in changing the world.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
Are we now entering a period where no laws exist? My lawyer friends keep telling me that there is a rule of law. They argue that the indictments of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu prove that the rule of law is effective. I doubt that since neither has yet to be punished nor have the indictments changed their behavior. I challenge my legal friends by asking: What happens when continuing violations challenge the very existence of the rule of law? Let’s start with Donald Trump.
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner
“The chief business of the American people is business,” President Calvin Coolidge declared in 1925. Whether or not that phrase is applicable today, it is evident that the new Trump administration believes that the U.S. government should be business-like. How else to understand the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a planned presidential advisory commission to be led by billionaire businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy?
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
counterpunch.org | Daniel Warner |Clara Fong |Lindsay Maizland
The beginning of President-elect Donald Trump 2.0 has started with a chaos that is more sinister than President Trump 1.0. This time around he seems better prepared; this time there are fewer guardrails. Moreover, while there are evident reasons to follow his machinations domestically, there are also international implications to his victory and control of Congress.
