When will we learn that some people are just no damned good. There are aliens that walk among us. They may look like us, they certainly try to act like us. But they’re not like us. Their brains work differently. They have hard-wired neural grooves/templates that were laid down VERY early in life and that set the stage for a lifetime of desperation. Desperation to get their infantile needs met. Every day, every hour, at the expense of anyone that isn’t a pawn or an instrument toward their objectives. It’s astonishing to me that there is a plethora of these human wrecking balls out there, affecting our society in so many deleterious ways, yet no PSAs or public education about them.
"The current flaw in this thinking is that for most of the kind people in America and the world, the complete and utter shameless compulsions of narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths to get what they crave is almost inconceivable to them, so they do not recognize the sharks circling our bloodied democracies for the existential dangers that they really are, and the completely bottomless lengths they will go to achieve power and domination over any of us, and all of us."
THANK YOU!!!
I am for love, I advocate love but I am also about strategy and self-defense!
We can't pussyfoot around these ogre's--they are not playing by the rules--they think rules are for suckers. If you want to beat a Barbarian at war you must understand how a Barbarian thinks. You don't have to resort to their tactics but by gum you can't expect you will win if you truly believe they care about what happens to you and others.
There is a divine madness in doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We have always played the gentleman to a room full of monsters and it has led us here. Now it is time to thrown down the gauntlet and fight for our very lives. The soul of not only the country but the world at large is now at stake.
As I read both Robert Reich’s and Sam Ray’s pieces I’m again wondering why the DOJ sits on its hands while our country takes an anti-democratic turn. I’m not just suggesting that the recognizable faces such as Flynn or Bannon , or Kash P or S Miller be hauled in but these highly partisan state legislatures that are intent on disenfranchising voters. You have a party supporting a front runner who admits to institutionalizing retribution, a dictatorship, using the military for political ends ( such as was done in both Portland and Washington, DC) and we sit in wonder as Garland plays “nice” guy. I understand the risks involved but this is about the survival of our multicultural nation.
It wasn’t by accident that one of the first public appearances by Trump in 2016 was to head over to Langley and in their great hall essentially threaten the agency if they don’t fall in line. The Russian investigation rattled him, the Steele dossier, were all stopped from further inquiry. Looked what happened w Mueller’s report. Clear indication of corruption and obstruction but DOJ brought to heel. Unless there is a rogue agent out there , our intelligence services will do little to nothing.
Hear, hear! I too enjoy Robert Reich's newsletter and think along much the same way as you express of him.
But like you I recognize the ugly reality we face in the upcoming year of electoral battling.
During WW2 Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognized the same ugly truth about Hitler, his cohorts, and hoards of mindless followers; he acknowledged that reality by establishing a "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" which much like Roosevelt's secretive OSS (the precursor to today's CIA) was little known about among the general population.
Thank you, Sam, for this very helpful advice. We don’t have to become like them, but we certainly need to be reminded that their disgusting behavior is ingrained. There is no such thing as “alternate facts” when we recognize that lies are becoming the norm. Jonathan Karl’s books exposing all should be required reading for everyone before Election Day.
Absolutely agree! Regular, nice people are kind and so aren’t always able to see the vileness inherent in a vast swathe of society. It’s a dangerous thing to be so unsuspecting and unaware and simply opens the door to the horrors of those who hold cruelty up as an acceptable, and even as a righteous character trait! It’s important to be kind, it’s also necessary to be astute, cautious and wary of people who hold cruelty and negativity as virtues.
All this dancing around and posturing is more of that useless "warm shower" stuff. Cut to the chase.
- Who are the successors to former leading Trump propagandist Brad Parscale; and where are they vulnerable?
- How many of Trump's billionaire owners (Mercer, Icahn, Singer, Ross, Wynn, Hendricks, et al.) are pushing him money again, through the secretive "Donors' Trust"; and why aren't they the subject of intense journalistic scrutiny upon all their actions and enterprises yet?
- There should be a deck of cards of them all, like there were for Ba'athists in the Iraq War; and their names and faces and crimes should be absolutely, inescapable everywhere; forcing Trump and his minions to try to do the thing they're worst at: defending.
Tell the useless Democrats to quit playing victim-to-be and starting shooting arrows with points on the end.
I wonder how many people actually understand what narcissism is and can identify a narcissist or a malignant narcissist. Both terms are used frequently and I suspect many folks really do not understand what is being described.
100%. After i learned everything i thought i knew about the psychology was wrong, i asked everyone i met what they knew about the term narcissist. It was mostly blank expressions. That's when i knew there was a desparate need for more info to save society.
Is it worth the time to start describing his behavior in terms that people do understand? I’m not sure what that would translate to, but everyone knows someone who is toxic and gets shunned universally. Does TFG have any actual friends or is everyone around him sycophantic? His family is now estranged over the same issues.
On another note, would you trust Chubb to actually fund the bond if you were E Jean Caroll or her attorneys? This may provide another method to attack his character. If he can conjure up a reason for Chubb not to fund based on litigation over the language in the bond indenture, he will do that absolutely as a serial deal killer.
Describing his behavior in terms that people do understand" is what has been done in many CNI pieces. It's a little disheartening you don't see that. Perhaps reread the top 2 and contemplate them a bit more, because your psychological questions are all answered there.
Not denigrating anything you’ve researched and written, Sam. I’ve actually read most of them. Your work is an impressive tour de force. I’m asking about punchy easy to remember sound bites that may, emphasis on may, cause the “rank and file folks” (who are likely not your readers) to stop and think.
Like, spitballing here:
“When did you stop/start believing a liar.” (This is a variation on “when did you stop beating your wife/SO”)
“Are you aware of Project 2025 and what it will mean/do to your _____?” (fill in the blank with something important to the person and follow up with a suggestion to read it, with a link to the actual document or a summary).
These are bad examples of NPD or MNPD, and you are the expert about what they are and how they work and can come up with much better ones. Calling out TFG, MAGA, or the GOP as having either condition will fly right over their heads, if not dig them in deeper.
By the way the Rand article about hubris is good. I’ve been saying for many years that hubris has carried the GOP forward because nobody has effectively challenged them or called them out. Hubris, NPD and MNPD are all soulmates.
CNI is all about how to strategically fight back against the dark forces we are up against. I usually like what Schmidt says about it but then he blew up his credibility by taking big $ from the Dem running against Biden. I'd probably be ok with taking the guys $ I suppose, but to warn about the threat to democracy by trump and the GOP, and then proceeded to go on shows at talk a bunch of BS (or so reported several trusted sources on Substack) about Biden in support of the guy who gave him a bunch of $ was at a minimum very disappointing.
Be compassionate? They see a Biden sticker on my car and attempt to run me off the road while flipping me the bird. Compassionate toward collaborators? Traitors? Deplorables? No, sorry; I have no use for criminals who threaten democracy.
I knew it! I knew it! Everything you say, Sam. But for me it is instinctive but your professional analysis 🧐 supports my critical thinking. 🤔 example: republicans do partisan gerrymandering whilst democrats do honest NON partisan redistricting causes us to potentially lose our democracy, by being HONEST. Narcissists get elected who SHOULD NOT ever be in position of lawmaking for THEMSELVES & against the people. I was suggesting we fight fire w/fire for the good of the people. Biden is a kind man. I want to see him get fire in his belly against maga republicans. He’s doing exceptionally good for American citizens w/no recognition. We have to overcome mainstream media trying to make an orange creature seem powerful when he is fragile weakling. Thank you for this analysis. I’m going to promote it as best i can in other venues. Top job there, Doctor... mahalo so much.
The media needs to be clued in on this and sensationally call out their insecurity and punch it in when they see it. There are plenty of opportunities to reveal the strong man is not strong. Ridicule the bully with his own actions in front of his followers. That's what they are most afraid of.
I'll take a pass on all but this: "Allow Taxpayers a Choice Where their $’s Are Spent"
which is my thang, too. Specifically, a plebiscite (federal, state, local) every year, 12 months before the new budget year starts, that lists every enterprise the various governments do. An empty box, awaiting your mark, is adjacent to each enterprise. You the tax payer get to choose what percentage of your payment goes where. 12 months later the new budget is already well known and understood, and every agency is clear about how much it has.
Note: at the bottom (or top) of each ballot is a box marked Contingency, so that folks who know Stuff Happens will have a place to park their taxes for those inevitable unanticipated costs of running a nation. Also, taxes will be assessed progressively (that is, as fairly as is practicable) so everyone knows their share is equitable.
When will we learn that some people are just no damned good. There are aliens that walk among us. They may look like us, they certainly try to act like us. But they’re not like us. Their brains work differently. They have hard-wired neural grooves/templates that were laid down VERY early in life and that set the stage for a lifetime of desperation. Desperation to get their infantile needs met. Every day, every hour, at the expense of anyone that isn’t a pawn or an instrument toward their objectives. It’s astonishing to me that there is a plethora of these human wrecking balls out there, affecting our society in so many deleterious ways, yet no PSAs or public education about them.
"The current flaw in this thinking is that for most of the kind people in America and the world, the complete and utter shameless compulsions of narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths to get what they crave is almost inconceivable to them, so they do not recognize the sharks circling our bloodied democracies for the existential dangers that they really are, and the completely bottomless lengths they will go to achieve power and domination over any of us, and all of us."
THANK YOU!!!
I am for love, I advocate love but I am also about strategy and self-defense!
We can't pussyfoot around these ogre's--they are not playing by the rules--they think rules are for suckers. If you want to beat a Barbarian at war you must understand how a Barbarian thinks. You don't have to resort to their tactics but by gum you can't expect you will win if you truly believe they care about what happens to you and others.
There is a divine madness in doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. We have always played the gentleman to a room full of monsters and it has led us here. Now it is time to thrown down the gauntlet and fight for our very lives. The soul of not only the country but the world at large is now at stake.
As I read both Robert Reich’s and Sam Ray’s pieces I’m again wondering why the DOJ sits on its hands while our country takes an anti-democratic turn. I’m not just suggesting that the recognizable faces such as Flynn or Bannon , or Kash P or S Miller be hauled in but these highly partisan state legislatures that are intent on disenfranchising voters. You have a party supporting a front runner who admits to institutionalizing retribution, a dictatorship, using the military for political ends ( such as was done in both Portland and Washington, DC) and we sit in wonder as Garland plays “nice” guy. I understand the risks involved but this is about the survival of our multicultural nation.
I’m guessing the CIA will Do What It Does Best and make the Problem-Go-Away.
After all Their Existence is being threatened Also. And I Firmly Believe That Will Not Stand.
I have been expecting our security services to save us for years & sadly still waiting.
It wasn’t by accident that one of the first public appearances by Trump in 2016 was to head over to Langley and in their great hall essentially threaten the agency if they don’t fall in line. The Russian investigation rattled him, the Steele dossier, were all stopped from further inquiry. Looked what happened w Mueller’s report. Clear indication of corruption and obstruction but DOJ brought to heel. Unless there is a rogue agent out there , our intelligence services will do little to nothing.
I hold out a sliver of hope, but yeah so far nada.
I Smell and “See” It...!
Hear, hear! I too enjoy Robert Reich's newsletter and think along much the same way as you express of him.
But like you I recognize the ugly reality we face in the upcoming year of electoral battling.
During WW2 Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognized the same ugly truth about Hitler, his cohorts, and hoards of mindless followers; he acknowledged that reality by establishing a "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" which much like Roosevelt's secretive OSS (the precursor to today's CIA) was little known about among the general population.
Voting alone will not fix this nightmare. Only arresting and locking up the fascists will work.
Mike Flynn
Trump and family
Steve Bannon
Alex Jones
Ginny Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Tucker Carlson
Sean Hannity
The 147 congress critters who voted against certifying Biden.
The governors of every red state and their cronies.
And too many more to list.
Not going to happen😔
At this stage of the threat, I'm not even sure there will be an election held in November. If there is, it will not be free nor fair.
Thank you, Sam, for this very helpful advice. We don’t have to become like them, but we certainly need to be reminded that their disgusting behavior is ingrained. There is no such thing as “alternate facts” when we recognize that lies are becoming the norm. Jonathan Karl’s books exposing all should be required reading for everyone before Election Day.
It's very nice to see someone with Karl's media skills cross the Rubicon to warn the public.
Absolutely agree! Regular, nice people are kind and so aren’t always able to see the vileness inherent in a vast swathe of society. It’s a dangerous thing to be so unsuspecting and unaware and simply opens the door to the horrors of those who hold cruelty up as an acceptable, and even as a righteous character trait! It’s important to be kind, it’s also necessary to be astute, cautious and wary of people who hold cruelty and negativity as virtues.
✨Interesting read, Sam !✨
All this dancing around and posturing is more of that useless "warm shower" stuff. Cut to the chase.
- Who are the successors to former leading Trump propagandist Brad Parscale; and where are they vulnerable?
- How many of Trump's billionaire owners (Mercer, Icahn, Singer, Ross, Wynn, Hendricks, et al.) are pushing him money again, through the secretive "Donors' Trust"; and why aren't they the subject of intense journalistic scrutiny upon all their actions and enterprises yet?
- There should be a deck of cards of them all, like there were for Ba'athists in the Iraq War; and their names and faces and crimes should be absolutely, inescapable everywhere; forcing Trump and his minions to try to do the thing they're worst at: defending.
Tell the useless Democrats to quit playing victim-to-be and starting shooting arrows with points on the end.
I wonder how many people actually understand what narcissism is and can identify a narcissist or a malignant narcissist. Both terms are used frequently and I suspect many folks really do not understand what is being described.
100%. After i learned everything i thought i knew about the psychology was wrong, i asked everyone i met what they knew about the term narcissist. It was mostly blank expressions. That's when i knew there was a desparate need for more info to save society.
Is it worth the time to start describing his behavior in terms that people do understand? I’m not sure what that would translate to, but everyone knows someone who is toxic and gets shunned universally. Does TFG have any actual friends or is everyone around him sycophantic? His family is now estranged over the same issues.
On another note, would you trust Chubb to actually fund the bond if you were E Jean Caroll or her attorneys? This may provide another method to attack his character. If he can conjure up a reason for Chubb not to fund based on litigation over the language in the bond indenture, he will do that absolutely as a serial deal killer.
Describing his behavior in terms that people do understand" is what has been done in many CNI pieces. It's a little disheartening you don't see that. Perhaps reread the top 2 and contemplate them a bit more, because your psychological questions are all answered there.
Not denigrating anything you’ve researched and written, Sam. I’ve actually read most of them. Your work is an impressive tour de force. I’m asking about punchy easy to remember sound bites that may, emphasis on may, cause the “rank and file folks” (who are likely not your readers) to stop and think.
Like, spitballing here:
“When did you stop/start believing a liar.” (This is a variation on “when did you stop beating your wife/SO”)
“Are you aware of Project 2025 and what it will mean/do to your _____?” (fill in the blank with something important to the person and follow up with a suggestion to read it, with a link to the actual document or a summary).
These are bad examples of NPD or MNPD, and you are the expert about what they are and how they work and can come up with much better ones. Calling out TFG, MAGA, or the GOP as having either condition will fly right over their heads, if not dig them in deeper.
By the way the Rand article about hubris is good. I’ve been saying for many years that hubris has carried the GOP forward because nobody has effectively challenged them or called them out. Hubris, NPD and MNPD are all soulmates.
As Joyce Vance says, we’re in this together.
Or you can take Steve Schmidt’s advice and Fight Back.
I too love Reich but like me he’s at an age where ‘nice guy’ is our default setting. We won’t be Game of Thrones-ing anyone for supremacy.
GREAT Varys quote btw. Yeah Trump’s that craven alright.
CNI is all about how to strategically fight back against the dark forces we are up against. I usually like what Schmidt says about it but then he blew up his credibility by taking big $ from the Dem running against Biden. I'd probably be ok with taking the guys $ I suppose, but to warn about the threat to democracy by trump and the GOP, and then proceeded to go on shows at talk a bunch of BS (or so reported several trusted sources on Substack) about Biden in support of the guy who gave him a bunch of $ was at a minimum very disappointing.
such a simple & useful checklist !
Be compassionate? They see a Biden sticker on my car and attempt to run me off the road while flipping me the bird. Compassionate toward collaborators? Traitors? Deplorables? No, sorry; I have no use for criminals who threaten democracy.
I knew it! I knew it! Everything you say, Sam. But for me it is instinctive but your professional analysis 🧐 supports my critical thinking. 🤔 example: republicans do partisan gerrymandering whilst democrats do honest NON partisan redistricting causes us to potentially lose our democracy, by being HONEST. Narcissists get elected who SHOULD NOT ever be in position of lawmaking for THEMSELVES & against the people. I was suggesting we fight fire w/fire for the good of the people. Biden is a kind man. I want to see him get fire in his belly against maga republicans. He’s doing exceptionally good for American citizens w/no recognition. We have to overcome mainstream media trying to make an orange creature seem powerful when he is fragile weakling. Thank you for this analysis. I’m going to promote it as best i can in other venues. Top job there, Doctor... mahalo so much.
The media needs to be clued in on this and sensationally call out their insecurity and punch it in when they see it. There are plenty of opportunities to reveal the strong man is not strong. Ridicule the bully with his own actions in front of his followers. That's what they are most afraid of.
Call me naïve:
I See Perplexing Problems simple Answers.
For Instance;
CRT = Minority’s are having Larger Families. Do the Math.
BIDEN’S Accomplishments;
Hire a Professional PR Agency. What He’s doing now isn’t Working.
GAZA; Quit Sending Arms to Israel. Israel Will Survive. The Bombings will Stop.
NAZIS; Again, that PR Agency.
donald; PR (again) Lists All his Failures prior to 2016 In Detail. Where No Witch Hunts exist.
FINALLY; IRS. Allow Taxpayers a Choice Where their $’s Are Spent!
Like I Said: Call me Naive!
I'll take a pass on all but this: "Allow Taxpayers a Choice Where their $’s Are Spent"
which is my thang, too. Specifically, a plebiscite (federal, state, local) every year, 12 months before the new budget year starts, that lists every enterprise the various governments do. An empty box, awaiting your mark, is adjacent to each enterprise. You the tax payer get to choose what percentage of your payment goes where. 12 months later the new budget is already well known and understood, and every agency is clear about how much it has.
Note: at the bottom (or top) of each ballot is a box marked Contingency, so that folks who know Stuff Happens will have a place to park their taxes for those inevitable unanticipated costs of running a nation. Also, taxes will be assessed progressively (that is, as fairly as is practicable) so everyone knows their share is equitable.
Call me Naive2!