Yes, I am the strange one in my family, and the fact that I read stuff may not make me smart. It seems to make me even stranger. I read and sometimes write. This is the last supplement.
Mr. Angus, in his information about Dachau, mentioned a few of the worst Roman emperors in Roman history. The Framers of the American Constitution studied them and I often thought that Trump rhymed with Caligua (perversion) with a touch of Nero (cruelty) thrown in. Commodus, as it turns out, rhymes with Trump; and it’s a scary rhyme: “By some historians' measure, he [Commodus] was the cruelest and most demented of the bunch.”
Commodus may be the worst thing that ever happened to Rome.
Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened to America, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Penguin Island, etc.:
Twenty-five years ago, our American Republic quietly disappeared as George W Bush became the decider. I recall the “neo-cons” referring to America as “New Rome.” Abu Ghraib inspired Philip Zimbardo to write the “Lucifer Effect” and Phillipe Sands to write “Torture Team.” As the neo-cons promoted “New Rome” I wondered: had they read all the way to the end of the Roman story? The only thing I could remember about Rome was that it collapsed and the Dark Ages followed. I read “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” by Edward Gibbon, and eventually equated Bush to the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, and the end of our Republic. That’s just me.
Recently I have read “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius and it seems ironic that Trump rhymes with Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius. Cassius Dio wrote about the death of Marcus Aurelius noting: "Our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as did the Romans' situation at that point (The Romans, pg. 393)."
Trump has promised a new golden age. It will be iron and rust, or maybe feces—Trump is full of it. The Third Reich, with Rome in mind, wanted to last a thousand years. The eagle as a symbol or standard comes from Rome. A Senate; a professional army; the oath a soldier takes; the first conscientious objector; taxation, the estate tax; religion; abortion; the Praetorian guard, etc.; can all be traced back to Rome.
Does Trump rhyme with Commodus?
Commodus renamed the twelve months of the year after himself and survived several assassination attempts; Trump wants to put his name and face on everything. Trump imagines he is America, advertising a citizenship card with his face on it.
When Rome burned Commodus made little effort to stop it and then insisted the rebuilt city be renamed in his honor; Trump watched the mob sack the U.S. Capital, during the January 6 insurrection, and made no effort to stop it.
Rachel Maddow pointed out that Trump struggles with governing details — but remains focused on interior decorating.
Commodus had little interest in doing any of the work involved in governing Rome, and delegated to his council of advisors; Trump golfs, while people die, having delegated the work of America to incompetent sycophants: most notably Miller, Noem, and Homan; to make things worse: Patel, Bondi, and Kennedy; and even worse than worse: Hegseth, Bessent and Lutnick.
Commodus devoted himself to his harem, played gladiator, and thought he was the reincarnation of Hercules; Trump’s harem seems to be of interest lately. Trump imagines himself as Superman, or the Pope, and wants to host a gladiator (UFC) match at the White House.
The Romans grew tired of Commodus and got rid of him. All we have to do is impeach Trump.
The Praetorian Guard was the first “protection squad” and the first cause of Rome’s decline. Gibbon wrote: “The Praetorian bands, whose licentious fury was the first symptom and cause of the decline of the Roman empire, … (Decline…pg. 91)” The Praetorian Guard rhymes with the lawless behavior of ICE.
Trump is insane. Corporate media makes Trump look sane. This is bad, very bad. Bad for the entire planet: Commodus is credited with marking the end of “Pax Romana, the golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire.”
Commodus is credited with marking the end of Rome. IMHO Trump rhymes with Commodus.
The hell bound train is headed straight to hell, and I, for one, want off. Does anyone remember Trump’s Taj Mahal, the crowing jewel in his magnificent casino failures? Corporate media forgets that Trump is a loser, a liar, an extortionist, and the first sexual abuser ever registered at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. America will be Trump’s most glorious failure. Do the super-rich mind? It appears that is their objective.
The Framers of our Constitution did everything they could to prevent the return of an Augustus or a Commodus, but the GOP undid all that, and now, America is being gutted from the inside out.
-- Peace Out, American Citizen.
July 13, 2025. Most Excellent References:
Was Commodus the Worst Emperor in Ancient Roman History? | HISTORY
The Romans. From Village to Empire by Mary Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, Richard Talbert.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume I. 180 A.D. — 395 A.D. The Modern Library, New York.
I have heard that people on the spectrum tend to consider the future? Don’t ask. Oh, to be that guy. For now, please allow me to recommend a book to supplement my previous post.
This morning, I read the phrase “American Gestapo.” People are beginning to see that “ICE” rhymes with “Gestapo” which is an abbreviation from the German words “Geheime Staatspolizei:” secret state police.
Like the Gestapo, ICE is a cult of loyal followers. They are secret police hiding their faces.
The Gestapo’s Mission was to hunt down people Hitler didn’t like;
ICE’s Mission is to hunt down people Trump does not like;
“to protect the United States from transnational crime and illegal immigration,” blah, blah, blah;
ICE’s motto: “Protect America,” is gibberish that defaults to the SS motto: “Loyalty is my honor.”
The SS motto was: “Loyalty is my honor;”
Hitler’s “Protection Squad,” the “Schutzstaffel,” was abbreviated to “SS;”
The SS, loyal to Hitler, removed people Hitler disliked, and ran the concentration camps;
The Gestapo was a unit of the SS, protecting Hitler and enforcing NAZI ideology.
ICE is not pledged to our Constitution, obviously. ICE is more about enforcing Trump's ideology;
The “Gestapo was a reliably brutal tool that enforced Nazism’s most radical impulses;”
ICE could easily become a reliably brutal tool used to enforce Trump’s radical impulses.
How many ICE agents does it take to brutalize the father of three Marines? Five? Six? More?
How much does it cost for a helicopter and two ICE agents to chase a worker through a strawberry patch? It costs a lot, billions. ICE is chasing people who are working, wtf?
The “groups targeted by the Gestapo shifted with the regime’s policies and priorities;”
The groups targeted by ICE could easily shift with the Trump regime’s policies and priorities.
Who will they come for next?
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— …"; a poem by Martin Niemöller.
ICE does rhyme with Gestapo: Lawless and brutal – ICE is un-American, loyal to Trump.
Herr Hitler had an organization to hunt the people he did not like and once Dachau was established, he created the prisons and the organization to operate them. That’s next.
Herr Trump will need to add lots of guards to his “Death’s Head Unit” to guard the people that his “Protect America Squad” captures. We all know how big ICE’s budget is now.
The perfect time to recommend the book I read, titled “The Lucifer Effect - Understanding How Good People Turn Evil” by Philip Zimbardo, was eighteen years ago; but now is good. Bush-the-younger is responsible for the Dept of Homeland Security, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and ICE. Abu Ghraib inspired Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment, 1971) to write the “Lucifer Effect.” If you don’t think good people can turn evil just ask Bush-the-younger and the good people who guarded prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Here we go again.
Zimbardo wrote in the opening of his book “Lucifer Effect:”
“… Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a cortical cataract that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving torment, torture, and annihilation. (xii)”
Torment, torture, and annihilation. Annihilation. Annihilation. Annihilation.
Heinrich Himmler speaking about the Jewish people:
“We [the NAZIs] had the moral right, we were obligated to our people to kill this people which wanted to kill us.” -- [Holocaust Encyclopedia]
The Jewish people didn’t want to kill anyone. The “Final Solution” was/is annihilation and was not implemented until the camps filled up. We (Americans) have dabbled in torment and torture before and we are headed in that direction again. Stupidity, as it turns out, is fatal.
As Miller, Noem, and Homan help drag us to the gates of hell we should prepare for the possibility that good people may transform into “wanton perpetrators of evil.” Innocent people will be tormented, tortured, and some may die. The camps are real. I understand that a Canadian died in ICE custody. I hate that.
The immigrants in America have never posed any threat to America. They are industrious. They are not eating pets—that is part of the dehumanization process which Trump began long before he became president. In America we are mostly all immigrants.
Will Miller go full blown Himmler? I trust we stop this insanity before this story goes any further. Europe, if you’re listening, we may need to call in a mutually beneficial favor. A random thought.
Peace Out – American Citizen
July 8, 2025. Most Excellent References:
Gestapo | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Etymology of the Nazi Camp System | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Plus the glaring evidence that EACH of the past four republican presidents and governments have been based upon fraudulent vote counting, rigging and disappeared votes.
Land of the free has become the shithole that 🤡 T-wrecks spoke of in his last fake presidency.
Listen to a bit of Richard Wolff and you'll realize that Trump may be acting out of desperation....and making it worse for America. By the time he's finished, everyone will know about all the illegal sanctions they slap on whatever country displeases them, everyone will consider them an unreliable trade partner, and the BRICS will continue to grow. They already have surpassed the western allies in GDP markers....and the Chinese EV is the best and most affordable on the world market.
American hegemony is drawing to a close. And that's mainly a good thing.
Bravo Charlie. Naming names and kicking amerikan political fascist thug butt. Laura L. Is one such political thug. Vile sociopathic repugnant racist amerikan woman. Brown nosing thug. Long live Palestine and its brave people
The passage of Trump's BBB is bringing ICE from 20,000 to 30,000 people. This is Trump's personal army, his Gestapo. To put that number in context, the entire regular Canadian armed forces is 68,000. Let that sink in.
Now ask yourself this. What are the 10,000 new recruits to Trump's personal army likely to look like? Do you think they will hold degrees in social work or law? Will they have training in public relations? My intuition is that they will be largely untrained, taken from the ranks of organizations like the Proud Boys, more brawn than brains, looking to bust some brown heads.
While we're on the topic, Ron Desantis' concentration camp in the Florida everglades sure does look like its Nazi equivalent. Cramped conditions in a hot humid environment, perfect conditions for disease. It's part of the plan. I'm waiting for forced labour so the inmates will 'earn their keep', and a sign by the entrance that reads "Work Will Set You Free".
"Trump has understood from the beginning that he can keep his MAGA supporters in the fold through the spectacle of cruelty. In fact, his tour of the concentration camp came as he was pushing through his "Big, Beautiful Bill," legislation that will rob health care and social supports for many of his working-class base.
But Trump has always reassured the faithful that he will be even crueller to the people his base has been taught to despise. Being part of MAGA is feeling that you can always beat down on someone below you."
THIS is the essence of the MAGA cult. The Dumb admin uses the MAGA people's racism, hate and lack of intelligence. The admin gives so much fuel for their rage that they blindly follow them and believe everything they say. They are lost, and they don't understand that they're only being used. When/if they realize this, it will be too late. And by then they are not needed anymore.
Some names are sacred — the banality of evil, as Hannah Arendt called it, puts some memories in a place where talk of them changes each time you dare utter, or even think of, the “matter.”
The memory may change you as you evoke it.
Protean utterances of something so evil it cannot be thought of logically — hence, it is, in the originally Latin sense of it, absurd.
Can horror be called a “matter?” Or, should we talk about it the way we talk about a tumor? A terrible immortality factor seeking to suck the life out of everything around it in service to its greed to proliferate, and resurrect — an unspeakable aśura even from long ago?
The first time I heard the word, navigating the fog of memory some sixty-five years later, I remember trying to find my way through a forest of knees. The air was full of cigarette smoke, and the smell of whiskey and beer. Cans of Schlitz everywhere.
“Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” the Zenith radio demanded attention from the soldiers.
But you see, not all these memories were bad, because I wanted to be around my father and his brothers, and brothers-in-law. Heroes all, in my eyes.
However, let us take care not to speak glibly, loudly, or easily of the sacred memories of a young veteran — who transmitted them to a young child — who walked with him down the knife’s edge of an Andean precipice where one misstep would push both of them into an abyss.
My uncle was a young soldier of the 45th Infantry Division that showed up at the gates of that place “Dock-ow” one April day, in 1945.
He and his friends looked not far away, at box cars on rail sidings. Major Sparks, or one of the other officers, ordered them to walk down to the rail cars, and force them open.
Sparks thought they would find — as my dad remembered his brother telling him —Wehrmacht, SS, munitions and weapons, or all of that.
As they drew closer to the box cars, the ripening, sickly ssweet, overwhelming smell of human death, decay, and gray rot bludgeoned them.
The box cars were full of prisoner corpses. Some few prisoners were still alive, barely.
My dad used to say, “The smell. Those who have been to war never forget the smell“
Sometimes forgetting is a mercy.
Uncle and his fellow soldiers returned to a gate. My dad said they saw an eagle and swastika above another gate to their left.
Sparks or another officer told them to go through the main gate in front of them. Behind the gate, there was a several story’ed building where SS hung out the window, and waved the white flag.
As the enlisted men and officers walked through the gate, the SS waving the white flag opened fire on the Americans, hitting several. My dad said the sound was that of machine pistols and assault rifles, his brother remembered.
The Americans returned fire and threw grenades. Enemy firing stopped.
Soldiers walked into the first storey of the building.
Silence.
Several soldiers staggered from the building, all were wretching with vomitus.
Sparks runs to them, pistol in hand. He puts his arm around the shoulders of a sergeant.
“Sir, you will not believe what the Germans have done in there,” sergeant says.
Other soldiers go into the next building down. Horror still.
“The horror. The horror:” Conrad.
Yes. The horror — and more. The horror in stacks. Maggots? Some.
Because there was no heart beat at Dachau, only a chilling constrictive ice, a vacuum filled by evil where a human soul might have lived, might have been — once upon a time.
The evil was active, it was not content to sit, it did not agree to stay put and fester.
Not far from the corpse barracks were well- kept houses with blooming gardens manicured by Dachau slaves.
My uncle remembered fragrant flowers of reds, yellows, and blues.
The smell. Nothing can wash it away, there is no surcease, no rest — nothing that might baptize, cleanse, or comfort the memory.
The world is made of stories, a friend wrote. A rabbi in turn wrote that all his stories were true, and some had actually happened. Everyone has their own story and their own narrative, that they hold close in attempting to recognize who they are, as memory forms some sort of identity.
At Dachau the mitosis of “life” searching to multiply and destroy, bolted and ran in fury, settling on altars of a cold fire. No sacrifice could quench that purgatory.
It burns, still. “Dock-ow.” Uncle Paul. Dad. Schlitz. Winstons and Camels. War talk. Soldier talk.
This was our heritage. We passed combat, its fatigue, and its soul plague down in our lineage as some families pass houses and real estate down.
Are there other words? Perhaps. They will come if they want. They cannot be bidden, they cannot be summoned.
I want you to kow I love your commentary. Nice to chat with someone who has a mind. When I was growing up...my peer group was not at my same level. At 12 I read Churchills 3 volume set of over a 1,000 pages plus each about WW2 I often say age 12 was the I woke up....born in 48 so I'm 77. As I've said, I'm Canadian raised by my grandparents but commuted to Houston TX every summer and sometimes had to stay for a few years of going to school down there then come back to Canada to repeat a grade as American education didn't meed Canadian standards. I've said, in Houston we had a black maid and buttler. I loved them both. This was a time when I saw Whites only drinking fountains, bathrooms for whites only and back of the bus. Being raised Catholic, everyone was so happy for the Kennedys. Until of course, their murders. JFK I saw on TV at school grade 8, and then RK, Then, I had been watching the integration of color into schools. I loved MLK, Malcome X, the Black Panthers....and was reading Black authors. I found out what the confederate flag was about. I was shocked when I learned the songs I was singing were about and for who. I have had the great pleasure of communicating with very learned men over my years. I love Charlie Angus,,,I love strong stand up men. I have also met some great Native leaders. I've cried for Leonard Peltier. There were actually 2 men who left our reservation to go to support wounded knee....and I've met some who went to OKA. I am a native activist against injustice and at 15 demonstrated against the Vietnam war. 2 men whIo have captured my mind are Shahid King Bolsen and Ibraheim Traore (joining african countries and liberating them from the Colonizers) Shahid is a white Muslim born in the US whose parents were Irish and German. You should look him up and listen to him your mind will love him...
I am powerless and can only write. I am hardly “normal “whatever that is. I overshare and forget to eat. I am not so good at relationships and have no friends. I see patterns where others may not. I write and I wrote on July 4th. This is an excerpt of what I wrote to supplement Mr. Angus’s wisdom. Half of me wants to post this and the other half does not. I may not stay long. Please forgive me if I overstep or offend. Texans may be offended. I am American Citizen and afraid for my Canadian grandson to come visit me this year.
Does Dachau rhyme with Alligator Alcatraz? Not phonetically. The rhyme is an historical pattern:
Dachau was established to detain people Hitler did not like. It was the first and became the model SS konzentrationslager. Alligator Alcatraz is established to detain people Trump does not like. The reality show is American Fascism and Steven Miller seems to have assumed the role of Heinrich Himmler [suicide by cyanide capsule May 23, 1945]; with Tom Homan accepting the supporting role of Adolf Eichmann [hung at midnight, May 31 / June 1, 1962]?
You be the judge.
Kristi Noem aka Reinhard Heydrich [fragged by Czech agents, died June 4, 1942] visited Alligator Alcatraz with Herr Trump to celebrate the grand opening. I wonder if Kristi Noem knows what she’s gotten herself into? She might want to read ahead—to the end, the very end. Nice $50,000 watch, by the way. She sold her soul cheap and is paid to wear costumes and lie. She was last seen in Texas, next to Abbott, lying about the technology used by our National Weather Service, which is some of the best in the world, including two new super computers added in 2018. It’s the people who are missing now.
I hear the MAGAts want to rename the San Andreas Fault to Biden’s Fault.
As for Alligator Alcatraz, should we mention the smell? How often does the breeze blow east towards Miami?
Alligator Alcatraz is another shiny object, the poster child, and the celebration of torment and torture - cruelty. We have dabbled in torment and torture before, “led” by Bush-the-Younger. Assuming we still have a Constitution, Alligator Alcatraz will operate outside the law, and should have a special unit to operate the lawless konzentrationslager. ICE comes to mind. The SS subdivision charged with operating the NAZI camps was called the “SS-Totenkopfverbande,” or “Death’s Head Unit.”
Dachau was the model for all subsequent camps run by the SS “Death’s Head Unit.” Their infamous insignia, the skull and crossed bones, might just suit the operators of Alligator Alcatraz. The Totenkopf would make a terrific subject for another one of Kristi Noem’s costumes.
Alligator Alcatraz rhymes with Dachau: Lawless detention; torment and torture - cruelty.
But just a moment – Alligator Alcatraz is not the first. Quietly, and deep in the black heart of Texas, over 20 detention centers have already been built. Texas “is really the epicenter with respect to immigration detention in the United States.” [Texas Tribune]. There is big money to be had detaining people illegally and I presume the American taxpayer will be billed for each detainee “stay” – what could go wrong? Perhaps a rush to build more camps. Shades of Jim Crow. Confederates love slave labor. Abbott is just another sycophant, financed by billionaires, working to please his masters and claim his share of the plunder. Perhaps it is Abbott who aspires to play the role of Theodor Eicke, and not Ron DeSantis, who is just another sycophant in this sad reality show, American Fascism.
Arbeit macht frei
Sounds like something Elon Muck would come up with. That might become the slogan for all the camps. I must be careful now or I may be deported. If there really is a god, they will deport me to Canada. I am saddened by what my country has become.
Shame these actors on the world stage and Marsha Blackburn may want to hide her face.
Thank you, Mr. Angus, for the platform, and the opportunity to vent. My American son and I would like to fight on your side. My Canadian son is already a fan.
Peace Out - American Citizen.
Most Excellent References:
Texas becoming focus of Trump’s migrant detention expansion | The Texas Tribune
Etymology of the Nazi Camp System | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Heinrich Himmler | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Reinhard Heydrich: In Depth | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Etsy and Amazon selling concentration camp merch, Garda doing security in and around the camp. Arms industry selling genocide, oil industry selling climate change. Capitalism is too happy racism is fashionable again. We will soon run out of compagny to boycott unless we boycott them all.
Thank you Charlie. I took a trip to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island yesterday with my family. Quite helpful to get an infusion of what this part of our fight is all about.
At lunch, I tried to tell my family, the maintenance schedule for our home, in case I get disappeared. The thing is, as I described to them, they needed to be aware of things in the event I both disappeared and was able to return. They found the idea of returning an interesting concept!!
It's a very dark time living in the USA right now. I hope I am doing the right thing by remaining here. To resist on/for my/our own turf rather than finding a safe haven as my ancestors did when they came here so many years ago. ELBOWS UP
The MAGA base will not be satisfied with mass deportations. They want spectacle. They want blood. Only mass death will satisfy them; and not the cold, industrial murder of the gas chamber and oven. They want the hunt, the chase, the grounding, the screaming, the ripping and shredding. We are on the precipice of a great and historic bloodletting that will devolve into civil war.
China and India have EV's and cheap too.....and another great thing we in Canada have stores called Dollarama which is Chinese owns. Great prices from countries around the world. now I see ready to eat food ....this is a great chain for low income not just for food but for almost everything. I've been following the Chinese since Vietnam and I've also been following the CIA since I found out they were in Cambodia 2 years before there was a warm training snipers. I'm not a materialist I'm a socialist is what Canada used to be...
Materialists made socialists the evil.........perhaps because they knew that happy people, secure in real community spend less on garbage and have the time to make a lot of their own food and other necessities. Materialists want us to become windigo........cannibalistic spirits who are always eating and never satiated.....
Yes, exactly....having lived on a reservation (only the 2nd white woman to do so) I loved it from the very first day....the people accepted me. I learned about community. I absorbed it...it is so different from my white background. I learned from my beautiful mother in law, everything...like making baskets from scratch, making quilts beading and cooking. She loved me, I loved her...During my first pregnancy I had a lot of morning sickness. I overheard her tell her friend....."White wome are so weak" lol...my father in law..was a true medicine man and I and the children went for walks in the bush gathering medicines which he would explain to me their uses...I carried this knowledge and expanded it. His family were originally American but sided with the English so they were driven out and into Canada...Pottawatamie originally then became Ojibwa....Chippewa....In my fear of a Frump invasion I sent out a message to many about getting their status cards (which the government would like everyone to get rid of) because, First Nations people are still wards of the Crown....and with the province of Alberta wanting to leave Canada (they can't because Alberta is owned by 3 treaties...6,7 and 8 from the North West Territories to the bottom of Alberta) I also sent a message out to a few higher ups in Government to please contact Prince Harry or to get a message to the Crown that someone needed to come forward to explain about the First Nations....and then........King Charles comes to Canada.....There is a great book called Sweet Grass written by an educated Native Pottawatamie. Also, You should follow Aaron Parnes..he's in Substack and the MeidasTouch also on Substack both American but stand with and report to Americans about us...
We'd all be happier if we hadn't grown up in settler ideas about what the land is for....and more of an understanding of living simply, with sharing and respect for our elders.
I had many conversations with elders, I learned about the residential schools long before people became aware....many stories of survivors...even one relative that came home for summer and was hidden for years. That person went on in her 60's to complete both grade school and high school. I also learned that many tribes of North America were ruled by women...I think you know that 6 Nations still has council with women....and one relative pointed out the reserves that had women chiefs. I learned about the sacredness of the Black Hills where one family member took her whole family as a pilgramage and taught me about where the red stone was located to make pipe bowls...I also later in life in my 50's got to study for a year with a female Shaman from 6 Nations and we would do a New Moon celebrating Grandmother Moon and we did a sweat lodge with a firekeeper. I have also learned many Origin stories...and learned about the 7 Sisters galaxy where our Star People came from....my kids would tell people..."My Mom is more Indian than we are" ....
Yes, I am the strange one in my family, and the fact that I read stuff may not make me smart. It seems to make me even stranger. I read and sometimes write. This is the last supplement.
Mr. Angus, in his information about Dachau, mentioned a few of the worst Roman emperors in Roman history. The Framers of the American Constitution studied them and I often thought that Trump rhymed with Caligua (perversion) with a touch of Nero (cruelty) thrown in. Commodus, as it turns out, rhymes with Trump; and it’s a scary rhyme: “By some historians' measure, he [Commodus] was the cruelest and most demented of the bunch.”
Commodus may be the worst thing that ever happened to Rome.
Trump is the worst thing that has ever happened to America, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Penguin Island, etc.:
Twenty-five years ago, our American Republic quietly disappeared as George W Bush became the decider. I recall the “neo-cons” referring to America as “New Rome.” Abu Ghraib inspired Philip Zimbardo to write the “Lucifer Effect” and Phillipe Sands to write “Torture Team.” As the neo-cons promoted “New Rome” I wondered: had they read all the way to the end of the Roman story? The only thing I could remember about Rome was that it collapsed and the Dark Ages followed. I read “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” by Edward Gibbon, and eventually equated Bush to the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, and the end of our Republic. That’s just me.
Recently I have read “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius and it seems ironic that Trump rhymes with Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius. Cassius Dio wrote about the death of Marcus Aurelius noting: "Our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as did the Romans' situation at that point (The Romans, pg. 393)."
Trump has promised a new golden age. It will be iron and rust, or maybe feces—Trump is full of it. The Third Reich, with Rome in mind, wanted to last a thousand years. The eagle as a symbol or standard comes from Rome. A Senate; a professional army; the oath a soldier takes; the first conscientious objector; taxation, the estate tax; religion; abortion; the Praetorian guard, etc.; can all be traced back to Rome.
Does Trump rhyme with Commodus?
Commodus renamed the twelve months of the year after himself and survived several assassination attempts; Trump wants to put his name and face on everything. Trump imagines he is America, advertising a citizenship card with his face on it.
When Rome burned Commodus made little effort to stop it and then insisted the rebuilt city be renamed in his honor; Trump watched the mob sack the U.S. Capital, during the January 6 insurrection, and made no effort to stop it.
Rachel Maddow pointed out that Trump struggles with governing details — but remains focused on interior decorating.
Commodus had little interest in doing any of the work involved in governing Rome, and delegated to his council of advisors; Trump golfs, while people die, having delegated the work of America to incompetent sycophants: most notably Miller, Noem, and Homan; to make things worse: Patel, Bondi, and Kennedy; and even worse than worse: Hegseth, Bessent and Lutnick.
Commodus devoted himself to his harem, played gladiator, and thought he was the reincarnation of Hercules; Trump’s harem seems to be of interest lately. Trump imagines himself as Superman, or the Pope, and wants to host a gladiator (UFC) match at the White House.
The Romans grew tired of Commodus and got rid of him. All we have to do is impeach Trump.
The Praetorian Guard was the first “protection squad” and the first cause of Rome’s decline. Gibbon wrote: “The Praetorian bands, whose licentious fury was the first symptom and cause of the decline of the Roman empire, … (Decline…pg. 91)” The Praetorian Guard rhymes with the lawless behavior of ICE.
Trump is insane. Corporate media makes Trump look sane. This is bad, very bad. Bad for the entire planet: Commodus is credited with marking the end of “Pax Romana, the golden age of peace and prosperity in the history of the Roman Empire.”
Commodus is credited with marking the end of Rome. IMHO Trump rhymes with Commodus.
The hell bound train is headed straight to hell, and I, for one, want off. Does anyone remember Trump’s Taj Mahal, the crowing jewel in his magnificent casino failures? Corporate media forgets that Trump is a loser, a liar, an extortionist, and the first sexual abuser ever registered at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. America will be Trump’s most glorious failure. Do the super-rich mind? It appears that is their objective.
The Framers of our Constitution did everything they could to prevent the return of an Augustus or a Commodus, but the GOP undid all that, and now, America is being gutted from the inside out.
-- Peace Out, American Citizen.
July 13, 2025. Most Excellent References:
Was Commodus the Worst Emperor in Ancient Roman History? | HISTORY
The Romans. From Village to Empire by Mary Boatwright, Daniel Gargola, Richard Talbert.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume I. 180 A.D. — 395 A.D. The Modern Library, New York.
I have heard that people on the spectrum tend to consider the future? Don’t ask. Oh, to be that guy. For now, please allow me to recommend a book to supplement my previous post.
This morning, I read the phrase “American Gestapo.” People are beginning to see that “ICE” rhymes with “Gestapo” which is an abbreviation from the German words “Geheime Staatspolizei:” secret state police.
Like the Gestapo, ICE is a cult of loyal followers. They are secret police hiding their faces.
The Gestapo’s Mission was to hunt down people Hitler didn’t like;
ICE’s Mission is to hunt down people Trump does not like;
“to protect the United States from transnational crime and illegal immigration,” blah, blah, blah;
ICE’s motto: “Protect America,” is gibberish that defaults to the SS motto: “Loyalty is my honor.”
The SS motto was: “Loyalty is my honor;”
Hitler’s “Protection Squad,” the “Schutzstaffel,” was abbreviated to “SS;”
The SS, loyal to Hitler, removed people Hitler disliked, and ran the concentration camps;
The Gestapo was a unit of the SS, protecting Hitler and enforcing NAZI ideology.
ICE is not pledged to our Constitution, obviously. ICE is more about enforcing Trump's ideology;
The “Gestapo was a reliably brutal tool that enforced Nazism’s most radical impulses;”
ICE could easily become a reliably brutal tool used to enforce Trump’s radical impulses.
How many ICE agents does it take to brutalize the father of three Marines? Five? Six? More?
How much does it cost for a helicopter and two ICE agents to chase a worker through a strawberry patch? It costs a lot, billions. ICE is chasing people who are working, wtf?
The “groups targeted by the Gestapo shifted with the regime’s policies and priorities;”
The groups targeted by ICE could easily shift with the Trump regime’s policies and priorities.
Who will they come for next?
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— …"; a poem by Martin Niemöller.
ICE does rhyme with Gestapo: Lawless and brutal – ICE is un-American, loyal to Trump.
Herr Hitler had an organization to hunt the people he did not like and once Dachau was established, he created the prisons and the organization to operate them. That’s next.
Herr Trump will need to add lots of guards to his “Death’s Head Unit” to guard the people that his “Protect America Squad” captures. We all know how big ICE’s budget is now.
The perfect time to recommend the book I read, titled “The Lucifer Effect - Understanding How Good People Turn Evil” by Philip Zimbardo, was eighteen years ago; but now is good. Bush-the-younger is responsible for the Dept of Homeland Security, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and ICE. Abu Ghraib inspired Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment, 1971) to write the “Lucifer Effect.” If you don’t think good people can turn evil just ask Bush-the-younger and the good people who guarded prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Here we go again.
Zimbardo wrote in the opening of his book “Lucifer Effect:”
“… Dehumanization is one of the central processes in the transformation of ordinary, normal people into indifferent or even wanton perpetrators of evil. Dehumanization is like a cortical cataract that clouds one’s thinking and fosters the perception that other people are less human. It makes some people come to see those others as enemies deserving torment, torture, and annihilation. (xii)”
Torment, torture, and annihilation. Annihilation. Annihilation. Annihilation.
Heinrich Himmler speaking about the Jewish people:
“We [the NAZIs] had the moral right, we were obligated to our people to kill this people which wanted to kill us.” -- [Holocaust Encyclopedia]
The Jewish people didn’t want to kill anyone. The “Final Solution” was/is annihilation and was not implemented until the camps filled up. We (Americans) have dabbled in torment and torture before and we are headed in that direction again. Stupidity, as it turns out, is fatal.
As Miller, Noem, and Homan help drag us to the gates of hell we should prepare for the possibility that good people may transform into “wanton perpetrators of evil.” Innocent people will be tormented, tortured, and some may die. The camps are real. I understand that a Canadian died in ICE custody. I hate that.
The immigrants in America have never posed any threat to America. They are industrious. They are not eating pets—that is part of the dehumanization process which Trump began long before he became president. In America we are mostly all immigrants.
Will Miller go full blown Himmler? I trust we stop this insanity before this story goes any further. Europe, if you’re listening, we may need to call in a mutually beneficial favor. A random thought.
Peace Out – American Citizen
July 8, 2025. Most Excellent References:
Gestapo | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Etymology of the Nazi Camp System | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Heinrich Himmler | Holocaust Encyclopedia
How can we pressure our Canadian government to get international support for sanctions against American human rights violations?
Indeed…
Plus the glaring evidence that EACH of the past four republican presidents and governments have been based upon fraudulent vote counting, rigging and disappeared votes.
Land of the free has become the shithole that 🤡 T-wrecks spoke of in his last fake presidency.
Listen to a bit of Richard Wolff and you'll realize that Trump may be acting out of desperation....and making it worse for America. By the time he's finished, everyone will know about all the illegal sanctions they slap on whatever country displeases them, everyone will consider them an unreliable trade partner, and the BRICS will continue to grow. They already have surpassed the western allies in GDP markers....and the Chinese EV is the best and most affordable on the world market.
American hegemony is drawing to a close. And that's mainly a good thing.
Bravo Charlie. Naming names and kicking amerikan political fascist thug butt. Laura L. Is one such political thug. Vile sociopathic repugnant racist amerikan woman. Brown nosing thug. Long live Palestine and its brave people
America has some dirty little secrets that have been going on for decades. Here's a story of an American girl, and the Government who feared her.
https://open.substack.com/pub/mariannekuroda/p/ototo?r=1f0n92&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I'm not churning for this site, trust me. It's a story you might not want to read if you honour the red, white and blue. Please see.
The passage of Trump's BBB is bringing ICE from 20,000 to 30,000 people. This is Trump's personal army, his Gestapo. To put that number in context, the entire regular Canadian armed forces is 68,000. Let that sink in.
Now ask yourself this. What are the 10,000 new recruits to Trump's personal army likely to look like? Do you think they will hold degrees in social work or law? Will they have training in public relations? My intuition is that they will be largely untrained, taken from the ranks of organizations like the Proud Boys, more brawn than brains, looking to bust some brown heads.
While we're on the topic, Ron Desantis' concentration camp in the Florida everglades sure does look like its Nazi equivalent. Cramped conditions in a hot humid environment, perfect conditions for disease. It's part of the plan. I'm waiting for forced labour so the inmates will 'earn their keep', and a sign by the entrance that reads "Work Will Set You Free".
"Trump has understood from the beginning that he can keep his MAGA supporters in the fold through the spectacle of cruelty. In fact, his tour of the concentration camp came as he was pushing through his "Big, Beautiful Bill," legislation that will rob health care and social supports for many of his working-class base.
But Trump has always reassured the faithful that he will be even crueller to the people his base has been taught to despise. Being part of MAGA is feeling that you can always beat down on someone below you."
THIS is the essence of the MAGA cult. The Dumb admin uses the MAGA people's racism, hate and lack of intelligence. The admin gives so much fuel for their rage that they blindly follow them and believe everything they say. They are lost, and they don't understand that they're only being used. When/if they realize this, it will be too late. And by then they are not needed anymore.
Dachau?
I wish you had not used the name.
Shivering soldiers. Southern Germany. Spring, 1945.
Some names are sacred — the banality of evil, as Hannah Arendt called it, puts some memories in a place where talk of them changes each time you dare utter, or even think of, the “matter.”
The memory may change you as you evoke it.
Protean utterances of something so evil it cannot be thought of logically — hence, it is, in the originally Latin sense of it, absurd.
Can horror be called a “matter?” Or, should we talk about it the way we talk about a tumor? A terrible immortality factor seeking to suck the life out of everything around it in service to its greed to proliferate, and resurrect — an unspeakable aśura even from long ago?
The first time I heard the word, navigating the fog of memory some sixty-five years later, I remember trying to find my way through a forest of knees. The air was full of cigarette smoke, and the smell of whiskey and beer. Cans of Schlitz everywhere.
“Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,” the Zenith radio demanded attention from the soldiers.
But you see, not all these memories were bad, because I wanted to be around my father and his brothers, and brothers-in-law. Heroes all, in my eyes.
However, let us take care not to speak glibly, loudly, or easily of the sacred memories of a young veteran — who transmitted them to a young child — who walked with him down the knife’s edge of an Andean precipice where one misstep would push both of them into an abyss.
My uncle was a young soldier of the 45th Infantry Division that showed up at the gates of that place “Dock-ow” one April day, in 1945.
He and his friends looked not far away, at box cars on rail sidings. Major Sparks, or one of the other officers, ordered them to walk down to the rail cars, and force them open.
Sparks thought they would find — as my dad remembered his brother telling him —Wehrmacht, SS, munitions and weapons, or all of that.
As they drew closer to the box cars, the ripening, sickly ssweet, overwhelming smell of human death, decay, and gray rot bludgeoned them.
The box cars were full of prisoner corpses. Some few prisoners were still alive, barely.
My dad used to say, “The smell. Those who have been to war never forget the smell“
Sometimes forgetting is a mercy.
Uncle and his fellow soldiers returned to a gate. My dad said they saw an eagle and swastika above another gate to their left.
Sparks or another officer told them to go through the main gate in front of them. Behind the gate, there was a several story’ed building where SS hung out the window, and waved the white flag.
As the enlisted men and officers walked through the gate, the SS waving the white flag opened fire on the Americans, hitting several. My dad said the sound was that of machine pistols and assault rifles, his brother remembered.
The Americans returned fire and threw grenades. Enemy firing stopped.
Soldiers walked into the first storey of the building.
Silence.
Several soldiers staggered from the building, all were wretching with vomitus.
Sparks runs to them, pistol in hand. He puts his arm around the shoulders of a sergeant.
“Sir, you will not believe what the Germans have done in there,” sergeant says.
Other soldiers go into the next building down. Horror still.
“The horror. The horror:” Conrad.
Yes. The horror — and more. The horror in stacks. Maggots? Some.
Because there was no heart beat at Dachau, only a chilling constrictive ice, a vacuum filled by evil where a human soul might have lived, might have been — once upon a time.
The evil was active, it was not content to sit, it did not agree to stay put and fester.
Not far from the corpse barracks were well- kept houses with blooming gardens manicured by Dachau slaves.
My uncle remembered fragrant flowers of reds, yellows, and blues.
The smell. Nothing can wash it away, there is no surcease, no rest — nothing that might baptize, cleanse, or comfort the memory.
The world is made of stories, a friend wrote. A rabbi in turn wrote that all his stories were true, and some had actually happened. Everyone has their own story and their own narrative, that they hold close in attempting to recognize who they are, as memory forms some sort of identity.
At Dachau the mitosis of “life” searching to multiply and destroy, bolted and ran in fury, settling on altars of a cold fire. No sacrifice could quench that purgatory.
It burns, still. “Dock-ow.” Uncle Paul. Dad. Schlitz. Winstons and Camels. War talk. Soldier talk.
This was our heritage. We passed combat, its fatigue, and its soul plague down in our lineage as some families pass houses and real estate down.
Are there other words? Perhaps. They will come if they want. They cannot be bidden, they cannot be summoned.
I want you to kow I love your commentary. Nice to chat with someone who has a mind. When I was growing up...my peer group was not at my same level. At 12 I read Churchills 3 volume set of over a 1,000 pages plus each about WW2 I often say age 12 was the I woke up....born in 48 so I'm 77. As I've said, I'm Canadian raised by my grandparents but commuted to Houston TX every summer and sometimes had to stay for a few years of going to school down there then come back to Canada to repeat a grade as American education didn't meed Canadian standards. I've said, in Houston we had a black maid and buttler. I loved them both. This was a time when I saw Whites only drinking fountains, bathrooms for whites only and back of the bus. Being raised Catholic, everyone was so happy for the Kennedys. Until of course, their murders. JFK I saw on TV at school grade 8, and then RK, Then, I had been watching the integration of color into schools. I loved MLK, Malcome X, the Black Panthers....and was reading Black authors. I found out what the confederate flag was about. I was shocked when I learned the songs I was singing were about and for who. I have had the great pleasure of communicating with very learned men over my years. I love Charlie Angus,,,I love strong stand up men. I have also met some great Native leaders. I've cried for Leonard Peltier. There were actually 2 men who left our reservation to go to support wounded knee....and I've met some who went to OKA. I am a native activist against injustice and at 15 demonstrated against the Vietnam war. 2 men whIo have captured my mind are Shahid King Bolsen and Ibraheim Traore (joining african countries and liberating them from the Colonizers) Shahid is a white Muslim born in the US whose parents were Irish and German. You should look him up and listen to him your mind will love him...
I am powerless and can only write. I am hardly “normal “whatever that is. I overshare and forget to eat. I am not so good at relationships and have no friends. I see patterns where others may not. I write and I wrote on July 4th. This is an excerpt of what I wrote to supplement Mr. Angus’s wisdom. Half of me wants to post this and the other half does not. I may not stay long. Please forgive me if I overstep or offend. Texans may be offended. I am American Citizen and afraid for my Canadian grandson to come visit me this year.
Does Dachau rhyme with Alligator Alcatraz? Not phonetically. The rhyme is an historical pattern:
Dachau was established to detain people Hitler did not like. It was the first and became the model SS konzentrationslager. Alligator Alcatraz is established to detain people Trump does not like. The reality show is American Fascism and Steven Miller seems to have assumed the role of Heinrich Himmler [suicide by cyanide capsule May 23, 1945]; with Tom Homan accepting the supporting role of Adolf Eichmann [hung at midnight, May 31 / June 1, 1962]?
You be the judge.
Kristi Noem aka Reinhard Heydrich [fragged by Czech agents, died June 4, 1942] visited Alligator Alcatraz with Herr Trump to celebrate the grand opening. I wonder if Kristi Noem knows what she’s gotten herself into? She might want to read ahead—to the end, the very end. Nice $50,000 watch, by the way. She sold her soul cheap and is paid to wear costumes and lie. She was last seen in Texas, next to Abbott, lying about the technology used by our National Weather Service, which is some of the best in the world, including two new super computers added in 2018. It’s the people who are missing now.
I hear the MAGAts want to rename the San Andreas Fault to Biden’s Fault.
As for Alligator Alcatraz, should we mention the smell? How often does the breeze blow east towards Miami?
Alligator Alcatraz is another shiny object, the poster child, and the celebration of torment and torture - cruelty. We have dabbled in torment and torture before, “led” by Bush-the-Younger. Assuming we still have a Constitution, Alligator Alcatraz will operate outside the law, and should have a special unit to operate the lawless konzentrationslager. ICE comes to mind. The SS subdivision charged with operating the NAZI camps was called the “SS-Totenkopfverbande,” or “Death’s Head Unit.”
Dachau was the model for all subsequent camps run by the SS “Death’s Head Unit.” Their infamous insignia, the skull and crossed bones, might just suit the operators of Alligator Alcatraz. The Totenkopf would make a terrific subject for another one of Kristi Noem’s costumes.
Alligator Alcatraz rhymes with Dachau: Lawless detention; torment and torture - cruelty.
But just a moment – Alligator Alcatraz is not the first. Quietly, and deep in the black heart of Texas, over 20 detention centers have already been built. Texas “is really the epicenter with respect to immigration detention in the United States.” [Texas Tribune]. There is big money to be had detaining people illegally and I presume the American taxpayer will be billed for each detainee “stay” – what could go wrong? Perhaps a rush to build more camps. Shades of Jim Crow. Confederates love slave labor. Abbott is just another sycophant, financed by billionaires, working to please his masters and claim his share of the plunder. Perhaps it is Abbott who aspires to play the role of Theodor Eicke, and not Ron DeSantis, who is just another sycophant in this sad reality show, American Fascism.
Arbeit macht frei
Sounds like something Elon Muck would come up with. That might become the slogan for all the camps. I must be careful now or I may be deported. If there really is a god, they will deport me to Canada. I am saddened by what my country has become.
Shame these actors on the world stage and Marsha Blackburn may want to hide her face.
Thank you, Mr. Angus, for the platform, and the opportunity to vent. My American son and I would like to fight on your side. My Canadian son is already a fan.
Peace Out - American Citizen.
Most Excellent References:
Texas becoming focus of Trump’s migrant detention expansion | The Texas Tribune
Etymology of the Nazi Camp System | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Heinrich Himmler | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Reinhard Heydrich: In Depth | Holocaust Encyclopedia
Adolf Eichmann | Holocaust Encyclopedia
You mean the abuse of law isn't already absolute?
Etsy and Amazon selling concentration camp merch, Garda doing security in and around the camp. Arms industry selling genocide, oil industry selling climate change. Capitalism is too happy racism is fashionable again. We will soon run out of compagny to boycott unless we boycott them all.
It's worth a try.
Thank you Charlie. I took a trip to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island yesterday with my family. Quite helpful to get an infusion of what this part of our fight is all about.
At lunch, I tried to tell my family, the maintenance schedule for our home, in case I get disappeared. The thing is, as I described to them, they needed to be aware of things in the event I both disappeared and was able to return. They found the idea of returning an interesting concept!!
It's a very dark time living in the USA right now. I hope I am doing the right thing by remaining here. To resist on/for my/our own turf rather than finding a safe haven as my ancestors did when they came here so many years ago. ELBOWS UP
The MAGA base will not be satisfied with mass deportations. They want spectacle. They want blood. Only mass death will satisfy them; and not the cold, industrial murder of the gas chamber and oven. They want the hunt, the chase, the grounding, the screaming, the ripping and shredding. We are on the precipice of a great and historic bloodletting that will devolve into civil war.
China and India have EV's and cheap too.....and another great thing we in Canada have stores called Dollarama which is Chinese owns. Great prices from countries around the world. now I see ready to eat food ....this is a great chain for low income not just for food but for almost everything. I've been following the Chinese since Vietnam and I've also been following the CIA since I found out they were in Cambodia 2 years before there was a warm training snipers. I'm not a materialist I'm a socialist is what Canada used to be...
Materialists made socialists the evil.........perhaps because they knew that happy people, secure in real community spend less on garbage and have the time to make a lot of their own food and other necessities. Materialists want us to become windigo........cannibalistic spirits who are always eating and never satiated.....
Seems to be working..
Yes, exactly....having lived on a reservation (only the 2nd white woman to do so) I loved it from the very first day....the people accepted me. I learned about community. I absorbed it...it is so different from my white background. I learned from my beautiful mother in law, everything...like making baskets from scratch, making quilts beading and cooking. She loved me, I loved her...During my first pregnancy I had a lot of morning sickness. I overheard her tell her friend....."White wome are so weak" lol...my father in law..was a true medicine man and I and the children went for walks in the bush gathering medicines which he would explain to me their uses...I carried this knowledge and expanded it. His family were originally American but sided with the English so they were driven out and into Canada...Pottawatamie originally then became Ojibwa....Chippewa....In my fear of a Frump invasion I sent out a message to many about getting their status cards (which the government would like everyone to get rid of) because, First Nations people are still wards of the Crown....and with the province of Alberta wanting to leave Canada (they can't because Alberta is owned by 3 treaties...6,7 and 8 from the North West Territories to the bottom of Alberta) I also sent a message out to a few higher ups in Government to please contact Prince Harry or to get a message to the Crown that someone needed to come forward to explain about the First Nations....and then........King Charles comes to Canada.....There is a great book called Sweet Grass written by an educated Native Pottawatamie. Also, You should follow Aaron Parnes..he's in Substack and the MeidasTouch also on Substack both American but stand with and report to Americans about us...
We'd all be happier if we hadn't grown up in settler ideas about what the land is for....and more of an understanding of living simply, with sharing and respect for our elders.
I had many conversations with elders, I learned about the residential schools long before people became aware....many stories of survivors...even one relative that came home for summer and was hidden for years. That person went on in her 60's to complete both grade school and high school. I also learned that many tribes of North America were ruled by women...I think you know that 6 Nations still has council with women....and one relative pointed out the reserves that had women chiefs. I learned about the sacredness of the Black Hills where one family member took her whole family as a pilgramage and taught me about where the red stone was located to make pipe bowls...I also later in life in my 50's got to study for a year with a female Shaman from 6 Nations and we would do a New Moon celebrating Grandmother Moon and we did a sweat lodge with a firekeeper. I have also learned many Origin stories...and learned about the 7 Sisters galaxy where our Star People came from....my kids would tell people..."My Mom is more Indian than we are" ....