Posts by: Jack Altschuler

The Fine Points of Losing an Election


Reading time – 2:10  .  .  .

Following the Nevada debate  .  .  .

Trump’s vile-sters will do all the opposition research – all of it – and they’ll have the ugly crap to sling during the general election campaign, so last night’s 2-hoiur display of said crap would come out anyway. But last night the Democratic candidates declared the crap in blaring, mouth frothing attacks. The videos of those attacks will be pasted into Republican attack ads against the eventual Democrtatic nominee as validation of the candidate’s unworthiness to be President and inferiority to Trump. Why are these Democrats doing Trump’s work for him? Why are they providing him ammunition with which to shoot them later?

And why was all the focus and energy at the debate on tearing down one another instead of attacking Trump?

The 2020 election is the Democrats’ to win or lose, because a minimum of 59% of Americans loathe Trump.  All the Democrats have to do is to hammer him with the truth of his wrongdoing, his back stabbing of working Americans and the poor, his attacks on justice and all the rest. Instead, these candidates are using all their energy to smear one another. This is classic Democrat “Let’s find a way to lose the election” stuff.

I had hopes for Bloomberg, but he came across as an unprepared stiff who will inspire nobody. Warren did her best to imitate a rabid rottweiler. Biden is a doddering old man. Sanders is Angry, Grumpy Grampy who is the roaringly enthusiastic candidate who will get 22% of the vote. Too bad Trump will get 49%. Buttigieg is frighteningly smart and much too rehearsed, as well as awkward as an attack animal, setting himself up for a pie in the face. Besides, America isn’t ready for a gay man to live in the White House. Yes, that’s astonishingly unfair. And it’s a truth that is a general election loser. Klobuchar seems to have some cred, but she’s a robot with talking points she repeats over and over. Let’s see, how many bills has she passed? Oh, right – it’s over 100 and she has the receipts and she’s been in the arena and she’s never lost an election, even back to 4th grade.

And these are the people vying to go head-to-head with Trump.

Of course, there’s also Tulsi Gabbard. Someone please explain why she’s still in the race.

And there’s Tom Steyer. No clue how he might have done on that stage, but Bernie would have told him he couldn’t have so much money.

This is not Politicsland at Disney World. This is the real deal and everything we hold dear – and yes, I mean everything – is at risk of disappearing permanently. We have to get this right or all will be wrong. This is no time for the stupid stuff we saw last night.

So, one more time: To win this election it must be entirely a referendum on Donald Trump and his awfulness. The only thing that will defeat him is to attack him over and over. So, Democrats, focus on that or go home.

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    • Sean Illing, Vox: “You could watch this entire debate and have no idea a lawless illiberal autocrat is currently in the White House. That can’t be great for the Democratic Party.”

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

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  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Potpourri v9.0


Reading time – 3:19  .  .  .

I haven’t done the research, so I don’t know if William Barr is the most morally corrupt, Constitution flaunting Attorney General we’ve ever had, but surely he’s a strong contender for the title.  How proud his mother must be.

Lest we forget, Roger Stone was convicted on seven (7) felony counts, including witness tampering (intimidation) of Randy Credico. Credico recently said, “If Stone goes to jail I’m a walking dead man.” That is the type and the path of justice preferred by Donald Trump and William Barr. And this is just one case they want to tamper with. There are others, including the sentencing of double-dealing National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

A couple thousand former judges have lodged their vehement disapproval of Barr interceding in Justice Department cases in order to bend things to Trump’s benefit. We have to assume that their condemnation will mean nothing more to Trump than another opportunity for him to brat-call opponents some carefully selected scandalous names and claim he’s a victim. On the other hand, their prodding might have a significant impact on Barr.

Click me

I don’t imagine Barr will cave to pressure from the legal community to step down from his post; he doesn’t have sufficient integrity to do that. However, if the American Bar Association were to disbar him (can they do that?) or censure him for his lying and attempts to manipulate justice, that might do the trick. Perhaps the ABA will align with all those judges and take such a stand. We can only hope.

Actually, we can do more than hope. We can send the ABA our demands that they disbar or censure William Barr immediately. Click the ABA logo link above and make your voice heard.

Click me

I told you in a recent post that I’m reading Rick Wilson’s book Running Against the Devil and promised a report, so here are a few things about it:

  1. This book is THE PLAYBOOK for Democrats in 2020. This race is not about education, economics, healthcare or foreign affairs: if we want to evict Trump and begin to repair all the damage he’s done to our country, then this race is entirely a campaign against Trump, and for all the reasons you already know and likely some others, too.
  2. My friend Sheila Markin writes a fine political blog and you must subscribe to it. Her recent post is focused on Wilson’s book and her review will tell you much of what you need to know. After reading her comments, buy and read Wilson’s book for yourself.
  3. Nominating a socialist is like shooting yourself in the head just before getting into a street fight with the bad guys. Sadly, that’s probably true if the nominee is a gay man. Use your imagination to see the oppo ads (“In the Lincoln bedroom?!!!”). You’re right: it isn’t fair. More to the point, it just won’t play well for a great many otherwise persuadable voters and will give the election to Trump.
  4. Democrats, stop the circular firing squad. Stop doing Donald Trump’s work for him. Stop trying to lose this election.

The White-Collar-Criminal Pardoner-In-Chief just commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, the 40th governor of Illinois. Yes, it’s true that we in Illinois have a long and proud tradition of sending our governors to jail, but this one is particularly interesting. I promise that the story ties back to Donald Trump’s insecurity and temper tantrums, despite the fact that Blagojevich was sent away in 2009.

He was convicted of soliciting bribes for political appointments, including trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat after Obama moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Quoting Blagojevich,

“I’ve got this thing and it’s f***ing golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for f***in’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

There are plenty more Blagojevich potty-mouth quotes like that. Makes all we Illinoisans proud. Here’s how that connects to today.

The U.S. Attorney who vigorously and successfully prosecuted Blagojevich is Patrick Fitzgerald, now the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Fitzgerald is a long time good friend of (drum roll, please) James Comey, former head of the F.B.I. and perpetual neurotic response generator in the psyche of Donald Trump. Trump commuted Blagojevich’s sentence yesterday, cutting short his prison time by 6 years.

You don’t suppose that in doing so that Trump was trying to stick it to Comey, do you? I mean, Trump can’t manage to smear Comey with an investigation and indictment, so all that’s left to Trump is name calling and screwing Comey’s friend by commuting slime ball Rod Blagojevich’s well deserved prison sentence.

Please pass a barf bag.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? v2.0


Reading time – 1:21  .  .  .

Trump drives ever more lawlessness; then career people resign in protest. I get it. Makes sense. They don’t want to be a part of his criminal activities or the destruction of our democracy, so they both make distance from Trump and make a public statement. The concern I have is for what happens when all the good guys are gone.

At that point the government will be run by nothing but toadies, criminal conspirators and the nothingness that is left when critical positions aren’t filled. What could possibly go wrong?

It’s bad enough when there’s a coal industry lackey running the EPA and a fossil fuel lobbyist heading the Energy Department. Now, though, we’re looking at a Justice Department headed by William Barr, Donald Trump’s “Roy Cohn.” Cohn was a sleazy attorney/fixer for Trump’s father. Barr has abdicated his role to protect and defend the Constitution in favor of protecting and defending President Trump; i.e. Barr is Donald Trump’s personal attorney/fixer.

With his own bag of nefarious activities, Barr is inducing good guy attorneys to quit. Three withdrew from the Roger Stone case and one disappeared altogether last week because of Barr’s interference in the sentencing recommendations for Stone, Trump’s long time dirty tricks guy and advisor.

There were others who left the DOJ in disgust before that and, considering the thumbs – no, make that bowling balls – Trump and Barr are putting on the scales of justice, there will be many more good guys who will protect their integrity by resigning. And for the good guys who remain a little while longer, it’s likely their efforts to enforce justice will be compromised. Who does that leave to ensure justice in America?

Whatever positions are refilled, keep an eye focused on who shows up. Given what we know from the last three years of this sordid Trump administration, we just might get some sketchy people who will administer sketchy justice. That’s what could possibly go wrong.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Some Good News


Reading time – 2:10  .  .  .

This is Maria’s story. Some facts and names in this retelling have been changed to protect the participants; however, this is a true story about real people and it is a victory on so many levels.

Maria fled Central America after being branded a “traitor” by the violent extremists in her country – call them thugs. She didn’t want to leave, but she and her 6-year-old daughter were both receiving terrifying threats of violence. She left her family, her friends, her country, her way of life – everything she knew – because she had to. And she did the only thing she could think of to protect her daughter: she headed north to seek asylum protection of the U.S. government. She knew it was a long shot, but it was the only option she could think of. Then she got caught up in the Catch-22 that are the immigration policies of the Trump administration.

Fast forward to a group of lawyers looking to do meaningful pro bono work. They found Maria and her daughter and took her case to trial. Here are the words of the lead counsel:

“Last Friday my associates and I accomplished something none of us will forget. We helped our very worthy clients successfully petition the US Immigration Court for a grant of asylum.

“During an emotional final hearing, Maria relayed her terrifying story and brought everyone to tears, including the immigration judge. Her story was so powerful that the Court literally stopped the hearing and granted her asylum—this, the Court said, on the strength of our brief and Maria’s testimony. Returning them to their native country would have been signing Maria’s death warrant, and that little girl would have lost her mother and all ties to her natural family. The tears came again, as everyone realized Maria and her daughter were safe.”

I requested permission from the lead counsel to tell this story. He’s a greatly experienced and highly regarded lawyer, which puts added dimension and depth to the words of his reply:

“The case was the most meaningful experience I have ever had as a lawyer – and only a few life moments top it.”

I’m guessing that the life moments he referred to were the births of his children.

Every day our cruel immigration practices violate the values we claim to hold. We separate children from their parents and put them in separate cages. Then we deport the parents without ensuring a way to reunite them with their children. We leave people in the desert with pitifully little to sustain themselves and we do even worse.

But every now and then there is a success story that fills our hearts. Maria’s is one of them.

Kudos to the team of lawyers who took on the behemoth to fight for a scared mom and her little girl. Superman would be proud of this example of truth, justice and the American way.

P.S. It shouldn’t be this difficult to do the right thing.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA

 


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Two Pieces and a Smidgen More


Reading time – 1:55  .  .  .

I was struck by the juxtaposition of a couple of pieces I reviewed this past week.

Nick Kristoff wrote a disturbing piece in the Sunday Times about a customer with a problem which U.S. Bank had created for him and its shoddy treatment of an employee who helped that customer. Near the end of the piece Kristoff wrote,

“I’ve often noted that companies have enormous capacity to help their communities. But too often they act like American tobacco companies, which killed more people than Stalin did [over 20 million], or pharma companies peddling opioids, or McKinsey & Company advising a business to ‘get more patients on higher doses of opioids,’ or Boeing mocking regulators.”

If you want to know why Millennials aren’t exactly in love with capitalism, those are some good data points. Be clear, though, that this post isn’t about advocating socialism. It is about advocating caring.

Before anyone starts vilifying Kristoff or me as tree hugging, lily-liver, crocodile tears, whining liberals, consider that we all care. Some care about their families. Some care about people who have suffered, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Never Again and more. Some care about our country. Some, of course, care only about themselves, which brings us to the other (juxtaposed) piece I reviewed this morning.

The local hospice organization publishes a monthly bulletin and this month it included a couple of quotes.

“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”  Albert Schweitzer

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”  George Bernard Shaw

Each of us can be clear regarding what we care about by doing a simple inventory of how we use our time. Where and how we invest our time tells us what we care about.

Applying that reasoning to the political world I cover, it’s clear that many thousands of staffers and volunteers and caucusers in Iowa care deeply about the direction of our country and the nation they will be handing off to their children and grandchildren. That’s true even in the face of the counting mess that was made.

In contrast, with their votes to acquit our cheating, criminal, Constitution flaunting President, our Republican senators made their own statement. They made it plain for all to see that they care about themselves and their short term political future far more than they do about our country and the kind of place their grandchildren will inherit.

If our goal is to produce the most cynical citizens we can, then the likes of U.S. Bank, the American tobacco companies, McKinsey and Boeing are leading the way in exemplary fashion. Yet it’s far more ominous that our own government is America’s best cynicism generator and the most flagrant offender of what we care about.

Here’s the Smidgen More

Do you like horror films? Many do, so to get your freak-out fix, you have to read McKay Coppins’ piece in the March edition of The Atlantic. Actually, it’s a must-read even if you’re not a terror lover, because you care – about democracy. The piece is entitled,

The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President

How new technologies and techniques pioneered by dictators will shape the 2020 election

It is frightening in the extreme how easy it is for political operatives and creeps with a laptop to manipulate people and elections. You need to know about this, so settle in with your favorite mug o’ joe and dig into Coppin’s reporting.

Note that I’m reading Rick Wilson’s new book Running Against the Devil. It’s tough love in the extreme for Democrats and for all who want to evict the present occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Report to follow.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Eulogy


*  *  *  BREAKING NEWS  *  *  *

 

The Senate of the United States has officially declared the Rule of Law to be dead. The declaration of death was ensured by an almost perfect party line vote.* The Secretary of the Senate has recorded the death certificate into the formal Senate historical record so that future generations will know the truth of what was done in order to help them to understand what caused their dire circumstances.

Mourners noted that the succumbing of the Rule of Law to the terminal illness of cowardice had long been predicted because of the absence of what should have been protecting it. Many had suspected rigor mortis at the upper levels of government for quite some time.

In an impressive impersonation of a potted plant, Chief Justice John Roberts presided over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, where the final battle for the Rule of Law took place. His black robes gave an air of dignity to the mostly tawdry affair.

Sadly, it was clear from the start that the black robes of the nation’s chief jurist, absent any action on his part to preserve and protect, weren’t up to the task of ensuring that the Rule of Law would endure. The task was made far more difficult by the efforts of the counsels for the defense to mask truth and even rewrite the Constitution. They went so far as to prevent pertinent evidence from being presented and declared that the President is above the law and is officially allowed to do whatever he wants to do. One Republican senator was overheard declaring to colleagues, “We don’ need no stinking laws on the President.”

Said one observer, “The Rule of Law had a long and fine run. It did what it was supposed to do most of the time and it has served us well. It seems, though, that the Senate has decided that we no longer need it and that we should revert to the divine right of kings and dictators. No telling how we’ll adjust to a Kim Jong Un type of autocrat.”

In lieu of flowers, mourners are invited to make contributions to Democratic candidates for the November election. They are further encouraged to secure promises from candidates that, once elected, they will resurrect the Rule of Law and restore it to its proper stature and function in our democracy, should our democracy still exist then.

  • * Note to Mitt Romney: The nation turned its lonely eyes to you, but try as you did, the job of saving the Rule of Law was too big for one man. Nevertheless, we honor you for your integrity and courage to do what is right. Perhaps in some distant future others will hear your call. For now, though, know that millions of Americans stand with you in the face of the threats and hatred thrown at you by people who just don’t understand.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

The Point


Reading time – 58 seconds  .  .  .

This post is certified to be gluten free, dairy free, soy free and free of contamination from the recent State of the Union address. You can read with full confidence for your safety and mental health, although if you’re allergic to nuts  .  .  .

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Preface: The post below was written during the hours that the Iowa caucuses were in progress. The sentiments expressed still hold. The screw up of the Iowa Democratic Party doesn’t change a thing, except for the opportunity they provided to Republicans to name call like bratty children, which is how the White House is currently run, That makes the meaning of this post all the more consequential.

I’m sappy for America. I get a lump in my throat walking to my polling station to vote. The Fourth of July parade and Memorial Day ceremonies mean something deep to me. So, as I watched the coverage of the Iowa caucuses, my heart swelled. I was watching people doing democracy.

They left their warm, comfortable houses on a cold winter night to stand up for our country. They came to the grade school, high school and college gymnasiums to meet with their neighbors and declare what they want the United States to be. And that’s the point.

It’s about we people declaring what We the People want in a way that will make it stick. And it looks like rejecting Donald Trump is the most important thing. It’s more important than such critical issues as health care, climate warming, jobs, the threat of Russian expansion and everything else. It’s about elect-ability so we can reset our country back to the values we believe in.

Did I mention that’s the point? We get to decide. And that’s why you and I and all of us are going to vote in our primaries, phone bank, knock on doors, kick in a few bucks, vote in the general election and, like the Founders, pledge our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor. It’s about doing democracy.

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P.S. Since we’ve begun the primary process, however clunky that’s been, John Pavlovitz’s post is a must read. It’s especially useful:

Ο  If you’re a girl or woman

Ο  If you know a girl or woman

Ο  If you had a mother

Check all that apply.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Profiles in Cowardice


Reading time – 3:47  .  .  .

Alan Dershowitz has never seen an opportunity for attention that he didn’t covet. He hasn’t exhausted his reservoir of outrageousness, nor fully plumbed the hollowness of his integrity; however, he may have come close last week.

As a member of Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team, Dershowitz proclaimed the absence of Constitutional guardrails limiting a president, a concept that isn’t just outside the mainstream; it bears no resemblance to the Constitution at all.

Alan Dershowitz told the world that if a president believed that his/her reelection was in the best interests of the country that they could do whatever they wanted to do in order to ensure their reelection – including the soliciting of foreign interference in our election – and it would not be impeachable!

Apparently, in DershowitzLand there aren’t any limits on what presidents can do, so perhaps they really could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not be subject to prosecution or impeachment.

This is the same nonsense as Richard Nixon telling David Frost, “Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” That’s Kim Jong Un murdering anyone he’s a little cross with today. That’s Vladimir Putin killing political rivals in Red Square. And Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Slobodan Milošević, Josef Stalin and all the other murderous, genocidal, ethnic cleansing maniacs getting away with what they do because there are no guardrails. That’s Trump saying, “Then, I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.”

Dershowitz is telling us that Trump is correct and 53 Republican senators are refusing to say “NO!” If this craziness comes to pass, they will have invited dictatorial brutality into America. Not today and maybe not tomorrow, but not too many tomorrows from now. Can the very despotism that the Founders rebelled against be far away?

I can’t handle the ache it would cause to fully refute Dershowitz’s stupid, idiotic, unpatriotic befouling of the Constitution. The point for now is the cowardice he displays by sucking up to this president with his outlandish behavior.

Professor Dershowitz is not alone in his Constitution demolition efforts. His un-American words were compounded by defense attorney Patrick Philbin’s argument that, “American politicians can accept damaging information on their opponents from a foreign country.” Yes, he’s telling us that it’s okay for foreign governments to contaminate our elections and that America is for sale to the highest bidder.

Patrick Philbin is just as cowardly and just as guilty as Alan Dershowitz in claiming idiotic views of the Constitution that would have gotten them both laughed off the Senate floor just a generation ago. Adam Schiff called this craziness, “The normalization of lawlessness.” Schiff is right.

And let’s recognize what the Republican senators are doing as they sit in quiet cowardice, shooing the Constitution off a cliff with their refusal to acknowledge truth and stand up to this lawless president.

I still can’t get my head wrapped around the fact that there had to be a debate over whether there would be witnesses and documentary evidence presented in this trial. Why was this ever a question? How do these senators manage to look in a mirror, knowing they have sold their souls for a handful of beans?

On the other hand, the beans really are magic. They ward off Trump calling these senators mean names and lets them keep their seats in Congress. Yes, that does mean that for each of them, their seat in Congress is more important to them than democracy and their oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Tough beans for the rest of us.

Of course, this is all about Trump and his base, as exemplified by Rex Huppke’s “humor-ish” piece (that’s what he calls it) in the Chicago Tribune.

“As a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, I demand that Republican senators in charge of the upcoming impeachment trial swiftly acquit the commander in chief before any more truth leaks out.”

“The last thing we need is to see a great president, who we Trump supporters have built up to be an avatar of American strength and decency, get knocked down by stupid things like facts.”

This is supposed to be a caricature of Trump supporters. Clearly, though, our Republican senators are acting as though these are their marching orders.

A minimum of 75% of Americans wanted witnesses and documentary evidence brought before the Senate in Trump’s impeachment trial. 51 senators rejected it.

Q. How could the Senate refuse the wishes of three-quarters of the American people?

A. The same way they refuse the wishes of 92% of the American people who want gun safety legislation.

Add these cowardly senators to Dershowitz and Philbin and we are left with three profiles in cowardice and precious little to protect us from a dictator the Founders feared.

Here’s a clip from the 1984 movie Beverly Hills Cop that illustrates the Republicans’ relationship to facts and reality. Think of Paul Reiser’s character as today’s American people and Eddie Murphy’s character as the Congressional Republicans.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA

 


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

As Smart as Squirrels – v2


Reading time – 3:32  .  .  .

The impeachment trial of Donald Trump continues, even as more revelations arrive almost daily that paint a very dark picture of his actions. Whether witnesses will be called and evidentiary documents will be presented at his impeachment trial remains unknown. Whether he will be convicted and booted from office remains an extreme long shot. Nevertheless, he will leave office either by impeachment, by election this year or, worst case, in 4 more years. That leaves us with what appears to me to be a critical and un-examined issue: the threat of hate group backlash when Trump is removed.

You saw all those angry looking (mostly) men with loaded assault rifles and handguns on the streets in Virginia last weekend. They were carrying their firearms to send a testosterone-fueled, anger-fired message. Perhaps these are the same people who deliver death threats to politicians and pundits who dare to oppose Trump. Perhaps these are the same people who show up at churches and synagogues and movie theaters and outdoor concerts to murder innocent strangers. Perhaps they are a powder keg just waiting for the right stimulus, some perceived wrong, to light their fuse, like Trump’s removal from office.

I want to know someone is thinking about how to handle this situation when it arrives on our doorstep. Better yet, before it arrives on our doorstep. Who in government is forging a strategy to prevent the carnage that these haters have promised, like a new civil war? I want to know what we are doing to interdict post-Trump violence. There aren’t enough security guards in the world to protect all the people in all the churches and synagogues and movie theaters and outdoor concerts.

You and I and everyone else know it’s coming. Maybe there will be a lot of violence; maybe not so much. Regardless, the bad guys have promised violence on our country. We can make a plan to prepare for that every bit as surely as squirrels plan and prepare for the harsh winter they know is on the way.

Squirrels aren’t very bright. Their brains are about the size of a walnut and survival activities are about all they are capable of mastering. Can we do that? Can we master what’s needed for our own survival? Are we as smart as squirrels? I have my doubts.

Sarcasm Corner

With the promise of white supremacist violence on the horizon, this is the right time to express our gratitude, so:

Thanks so much, George W. Bush, for allowing the ban on assault weapons to expire.

Thanks so much to the NRA-funded politicians who refuse to do anything to curb gun violence except mouth pitifully inadequate thoughts and prayers.

Thanks to the Supreme Court for greasing the skids to oblivion by making so much corruption possible, including the gun lobby purchasing of politicians and laws made possible by the Citizens United decision 10 years ago last week.

Really, thanks to all who have made it possible – and even desirable to many – for America to have become a supremely well equipped arsenal of anger. You know who you are.

Who will save us from ourselves?

Last thing  .  .  .

The Trump defense team finished up on Tuesday and honestly, the wrap up by Pat Cipollone was masterful. Most impressive was his playing of a series of videos from the Clinton impeachment, featuring many of today’s House managers and other top Democrats appearing to have argued that Trump’s deeds are not impeachable, exactly the opposite of their earnest pleading today. It was a brilliant job of displaying hypocrisy, just as the recordings shown by Democrats of Lindsay Graham, Alan Dershowitz, Ken Starr and others from the Clinton impeachment days have unmasked their hypocrisy. Great showmanship from both sides. Of course, while all of this was riveting courtroom drama, none of the tearing down of others deals with the substance of the charges against Trump.

As impressive as Cipollone’s videos were, my key takeaway from the entire body of defense work has led me to some questions. I didn’t go to law school so I need help finding answers from someone who did.

  1. Exactly which course in law school trains litigators to create fantastical arguments entirely out of fiction, to mislead and to blatantly lie?
  2. Who schools law students to misrepresent, to turn reality upside down and to say the most outrageously false things they can conjure, telling people not to believe their own eyes?
  3. What is the process they’re taught for selling out their integrity?

Yes, that is a brutal indictment of Trump’s team. That’s how it’s intended.

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Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

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Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Put Them in RDP


Reading time – 4:02  .  .  .

We’ve had years of hearing Donald Trump say whatever came into his fraudulent head and many of us are way past shock and indignation. We see that’s just the criminal, disconnected-from-reality way he rolls and it’s become what we expect. But he’s infected pundits and members of Congress who now ignore reality so well and who are so facile with rationalizations that they no longer recognize when they’re just making up crap. Reference: the impeachment trial defense team.

We now have governing by gaslighting and these reality deniers have infected the 38% voting bloc that has adopted their practices. We may soon hear a thundering claim of a flat Earth, a serious proposal for a National Alchemy Act and the burning of witches.

Often we’re slow to figure out that we aren’t dealing with reality. For example, we didn’t do a good a job with the war on drugs. It was based on lies and was heavily weighted against non-white people. Essentially, it was and is a tool of suppression, not unlike any Jim Crow law, giving us the highest rate of incarceration in the world. A consciousness of that hypocrisy has started and at last we’re doing something to bring us back to actual reality. It’s taken half a century for us to recognize the facts.

Now we’re in the midst of the impeachment trial of the Criminal in Chief. The blindingly fast stampede away from actual reality (e.g. promoting the totally debunked Russian propaganda story of Ukrainian interference in our 2016 election) being done by Trump’s supporters is astonishing in its vehemence and audacity. They deny documented actions. At the same time they admit that Trump did those very things, but claim they aren’t impeachable offenses. But really, now, they can’t have it both ways.

They deny Trump’s solicitation of foreign government interference in our upcoming election (read Federalist 68 for an adjustment back to reality – see the pertinent paragraph below), even though his own words and actions show us plainly that’s what he did. Hugh Hewitt, a man who otherwise appears to be conscious, claimed this on Meet The Press last Sunday – watch starting around the 1:00 minute mark for a fine example of departure from reality.

Majority Leader McConnell claimed that the impeachment trial process that he created is the same as the process used in the Bill Clinton impeachment trial (not even close). That and a thousand other distractions, whataboutisms and whining lead us ever further away from actual reality. This is the kind of blatant refusal to acknowledge fact that is poisoning our nation. The more we deny actual reality, the more difficult it will be to fix what we’ve broken and the easier it becomes for people to deny any and all reality.

Countering fantasies with facts to redirect back to what actually happens here on planet Earth is pretty much an exercise in wheel spinning; deniers are immune to logic, so it’s time for us to get tough on this craziness. I propose a War on Reality Denial. Too bad for you, Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sean Spicer.*

It’s time to draft a law making it a felony to knowingly promote false realities. We need a stop-and-interrogate provision. Playing off Donald Trump’s invitation to police officers, it’s okay if perps routinely get roughed up during questioning.

There will be mandatory sentencing to prevent wussy judges from undermining the program. And there will be a 3-strikes rule, just like in the war on drugs and the war on crime. I want to see repeat offenders put away for a long time. And while they are there we won’t provide training or rehabilitation, so that when they are released, recidivism will be their reality. That will let us keep them locked up even longer. And because reality denial offenders are primarily white I want to see these laws disproportionately enforced on them.

Science and education are under attack in this country from many angles, but the overriding issue is the wholesale denial of reality. Let’s put our shoulders to the wheel and move this legislation right past our fact contradicting politicians and send them where they belong: to RDP – Reality Denial Prison.

One bright spot: Yesterday I was once again a judge in the local middle school science fair. Seventh and eighth grade students proudly strutted their science stuff with a wanton embracing of reality. These kids learn and use the scientific method – you know, factual, testable real world reality. They are our hope.

Useful stuff: Because of what I learned at the science fair, check with me to learn about the best batteries, the fastest seed germination methods and ways to marginally increase memory performance. Also, I can now tell you which colors improve test performance and why a recording of your own voice doesn’t sound like you.  These kids teach me a lot every year.

Resources:

Alexander Hamilton warned us about factional (i.e. partisan) lunacy in impeachment trials in Federalist 65**. Click through for the complete essay. Here’s the pertinent paragraph:

“A well-constituted court for the trial of impeachments is an object not more to be desired than difficult to be obtained in a government wholly elective. The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.”

Have a look here for an interesting take on impeachment from the Harvard Law Review that will open your eyes. It might even poke at a cherished notion or two.

From a recent Lawfare brief:

”  .  .  .  the Founders had a broader conception of bribery than what’s in the criminal code. Their understanding was derived from English law, under which bribery was understood as an officeholder’s abuse of the power of an office to obtain a private benefit rather than for the public interest. This definition not only encompasses Trump’s conduct—it practically defines it.”

*From Federalist 68:

“Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one querter [sic], but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union?” [emphasis mine]

Maybe our “originalist” (interpreting the Constitution as the Founders intended) senators could stop denying this reality  .  .  .  ?

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*“Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion.” Edward Abbey. Thanks go to MG.

————————————


Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so

  1. Pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe (IT’S A FREEBIE!).
  2. Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

Fine Print:

  1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
  2. Sometimes I change my opinions because I’ve learned more about an issue. So, educate me. That’s what the Comments section is for.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

JA


Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

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