Accountability

Why We March


POST 1224

We had a fine NO KINGS! day. We danced in our disgust over everything Trump. We wallowed in the warmth of Trump vilification with our compatriots. We reveled in our righteousness. We marinaded in our mighty morality. We stood in strength and we cheered We The People in a thrilling moment of feeling like we were doing something important and valuable.

Then we went home, realizing the (as many as) 8.2 million of us marching for democracy in a feel good phalanx equaling 4.7% of all registered voters changed nothing. No bad laws were changed to become good laws. No stop-the-steal election claims were dropped. No immigrants, people who look like they might be immigrants, citizens who are foolish enough to maybe look Hispanic and no grannies out for groceries were suddenly not subject to Trump/Stephen Miller cruelty You get the idea. Nothing changed last Saturday.

Except maybe some things did change.

Like that a lot of people found they weren’t alone, that there are millions of kindred spirits all over America.

Like that perhaps some people who might otherwise sit on their butts on November 4, 2026 are now energized to vote in the mid-term elections in order to own a piece of the joy of punching the bully in the nose.

Like that we all know that son of a bitch can’t have our country,

Here’s why all of that is so enormously important.

Marc Elias, head of Democracy Docket laid it out for us on Monday. Rather than quoting just a few of his words of warning, here is his entire post.
Democracy Docket

October 20, 2025

While millions of Americans peacefully protested for “No Kings Day” this weekend, Donald Trump’s administration was busy working to undermine the upcoming midterm elections. Late Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that prominent election denier Kurt Olsen has joined the White House to focus on investigating the 2020 election and voting machines. This is just the latest step in the administration’s ongoing war on free and fair elections.

Though less well-known than some of the more high-profile election deniers, Olsen is no less committed to spreading false conspiracy theories about voting equipment and election results. His emergence as a government employee is just more evidence of Trump’s planned assault on the midterms.

Olsen has a rich election denier backstory. He was part of the 2020 post-election legal effort that asked the Supreme Court to throw out the election results in four states. When that failed, he tried to convince the Department of Justice to file its own lawsuit — an effort that even Trump’s DOJ refused.

His work since then has been no less dangerous.

Just like millions of Americans fighting back this weekend, Marc and Democracy Docket aren’t afraid to stand up, speak truth to power and defend our democracy.

In 2022, he represented Arizona’s Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake, in a series of cases surrounding her failed election. In one case, the Arizona Supreme Court sanctioned Olsen and Lake’s other lawyers for making claims that were “unequivocally false.” In another case, a federal court sanctioned Olsen and another attorney for making “false, misleading, and unsupported factual assertions” and acting “in bad faith.”

In the run-up to 2024, Olsen was once again in Trump’s orbit, reportedly laying the groundwork to challenge the results if Trump lost. Despite being considered a “fringe figure” in the past, he is now a federal government employee seeking access to sensitive information about voting equipment and the 2020 election.

Olsen’s latest gig in Trump’s White House isn’t surprising. The president loves to surround himself with election denialists who are sure to be loyal soldiers for his cause. Recall that after losing in 2020, Stephen Miller — now Trump’s top aide — founded a legal organization deeply involved in efforts to alter voting rules and curtail voting rights in 2022 and 2024.

Now-Attorney General Pam Bondi likely caught Trump’s eye when she was promoting election denialism in the aftermath of the 2020 election. And, of course, it’s hard to imagine Kash Patel would be in his current position as head of the FBI if he had not been such a vocal proponent of the Big Lie.

From top to bottom, this administration is staffed with vocal election deniers and committed vote suppressors eager to help Trump cling to power — no matter how illegal or unethical.

And now, with election conspiracists taking center stage, Trump is slowly but surely desensitizing the public to a brand of authoritarianism aimed at subverting the will of the electorate.

His election-related executive order is designed to make voter registration more difficult and mail-in voting more restrictive. The administration is trying to decertify voting equipment and take control of key federal agencies. Most troublingly, Trump is asserting a presidential power over election administration that does not exist.

And just when you think it can’t get worse, it does. Trump is defunding and firing key parts of the government that ensure elections are free of foreign interference — while deploying the National Guard and masked federal law enforcement in major U.S. cities with large Democratic-leaning populations. He has promised to expand those efforts.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has been turned into a weapon of war against Trump’s perceived opponents. He is normalizing direct presidential control over hiring and firing decisions within the DOJ, including who gets investigated and prosecuted.

Just as he is using the threat of criminal prosecution as a hammer against his foes, he is also using the pardon power to reward his political allies. The combined effect is to force Democrats and their supporters to act with excessive caution while emboldening Republicans to behave with reckless aggression.

And that’s only what Trump has done so far. The midterms are still more than a year away — it’s going to get worse.

He is already threatening to go after funders of Democratic candidates and causes. We should expect those efforts to expand and intensify as the midterms approach. He aims to target the critical infrastructure that allows Democrats and progressives to raise funds to oppose him. He will undoubtedly continue to pressure private companies — including media organizations — to tilt the playing field in Republicans’ favor.

He has claimed that additional executive orders are in the works. He says he plans to ban most mail-in voting, impose strict photo ID requirements, and mandate only using paper ballots. Most ominously, he wants to usurp the power to count and tabulate election results by turning states into his vassals.

Then there are the voting laws being enacted by the states. Trump has demonstrated his dominance over Republican-controlled legislatures as they enact grotesque new gerrymanders at his direction. When the architect behind Texas’s new map testified in court, he confirmed that he took his direction from the White House — not the Texas legislature.

This will not end with Texas, nor will it stop at redistricting. As we approach 2026, Trump will begin dictating specific voter registration, voting, counting, and certification laws, policies, and actions to compliant state Republicans.

To help him, the DOJ is already seeking to collect sensitive voter data on every single American. States that refuse to turn this information over willingly are being sued. I predict that those who cooperate will be rewarded.

In short, the Republican voter suppression and election subversion machine will have both state and federal components. It will have civil, criminal, and administrative tools at its disposal. It will have masked federal agents and the military. It will be ruthless and act as if it is above the law.

I am laying this out today — immediately following No Kings Day — because I want us to understand what the fight against authoritarianism means for the future of free and fair elections. When we marched, we were not only protesting Trump’s assaults on civil liberties and the rule of law; we were standing up for the right of citizens to choose their own leaders.

That is what it means to stand against a king. That is what it means to be an American. And that is what we must continue to fight for — not just on one weekend, but every day until this wannabe king leaves his castle.

And that is why we march in ever increasing numbers.

Marc and his team are the legal guys who can fight this anti-Constitution, anti-American crap in the courts. It’s why we link to their websight and kick in some bucks to lubricate the machine that fights for what we believe in.

Because that orange son of a bitch can’t have our country and he and all his fascists can all go to prison for the crimes they have committed.
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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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Cruelty


POST 1223

  • When your political universe is sorted into “pure” and “traitor,” cruelty becomes a tool. The point isn’t just to be offensive—it’s to police loyalty.
  • – Dean Blundell
  • _______________________________________

Here’s some clarity from @JoJoFromJerz:

@JoJoFromJerz is right, of course. This intentionally cruel material dumps onto us every day. Here’s another example.

Click the pic and watch the short video.

In Cicero, IL (Chicago area) ICE thugs dragged two women from their car in an elementary school pickup line and “arrested” them. In ICE-speak that means they brutalized them, threw them to the ground, handcuffed them and jammed them into an unmarked van. They did this without a warrant or even a faint suspicion of these women having broken any law. After hours of being “detained” – that’s ICE-speak that means the women were locked up incommunicado – then they were released. Turns out those women are in this country legally, but they were treated worse than hardened criminals would be.

And the kids exiting that school were terrorized by seeing that cruelty, as were all the moms and dads in that after school pickup line.

It appears that Trump’s main Nazi, Stephen Miller, was telling the truth about ripping babies from the arms of their mothers at our southern border during Trump’s first term.* When confronted about the cruelty, the horrible barbarity his thugs were inflicting on moms and their little kids, Cruelty-Meister Miller said, “The cruelty is the point.” And he’s doing it again.

This is what Nazis do and why they do it. This cruelty toward anything not Trump and MAGA is why we have to banish these thugs, these Nazis, these fascists from any position of power in our country. It would be fine with me were we to rendition them to that El Salvador gulag. If we keep them here for a little while we must prosecute them for the laws they are breaking. We’ll bankrupt them via lawsuit, just like Trump is trying to do to people on his enemies list. Trump’s cruelty is why we must vote for Democrats.

No, the Dems aren’t perfect. But they are the only path to rid ourselves of the vicious, anti-Constitutional, anti-American, hatred-fueled Republicans. As Obama advised, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” Vote for the good. Things will be better.

Maybe you aren’t convinced that we need to vote for Dems. That’s okay. But before you reject the idea entirely, read the Politico report, ‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat.

You read the title correctly. Cheering cruelty, racism, misogyny, murder and the joy of inflicting pain on others is sport to these degenerates, these Young Republicans, these Hitler Youth. It makes no difference if you believe these Young Republicans really mean the filth they mouth. Maybe it’s just youthful “locker room talk,” like Trump’s Access Hollywood filth was fraudulently called by Trump apologists. At the very least these Young Republican degenerates are enablers of such barbarity. And they are unchecked by Republicans with power today. Crickets from them.

Check the subtitle of the Politico essay: Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape. Politico found that these horrible messages were sent over at least seven months. Clearly, these egregious cruelties that are chuckled over by today’s Republicans aren’t one-offs. This is standard Republican stuff.

These are the children of Trump, the spawn of the Republican Party.

Almost as bad, Vice President J.D. Vance defended these miscreants with whataboutism. And on the Charlie Kirk Show he said,

“I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke—telling a very offensive stupid joke—is cause to ruin their lives.” He called them “kids” seven times.

Julianne McShane of Mother Jones checked out Vance’s assumptions for his exoneration of the vile texters.

I found ages for eight of the 11 people included in the chat. And, spoiler alert: None were minors. The youngest appear to be 24, the oldest 35. (I could not find publicly available ages for three of the participants.) This information raises the question: At what age does the vice president believe people become grown adults who should be held responsible for their actions?

It turns out none of the participants sending and reading those abhorrent, hateful messages is an adolescent. Nevertheless, Vance wants to exonerate them, effectively saying, “They’re just kids, you know?”  But even if they were all under 18 years old, their messages and their senders would still be abhorrent.

Here’s the worst part:

The senders of these horrible messages are
the future leaders of the Republican Party.
.

.And as you can see, they will be welcomed by today’s Vice President of the United States.

That’s why you must promote and vote for Democrats now.

NO KINGS

The NO KINGS protests – “.  .  .  the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances .  .  .” are like the Boston Tea Party, of proud American heritage. Read Heather Cox Richardson’s post of October 16 and you’ll understand.

And for sure read Ira Leavitt’s post,

Those ICE Guys Could Have Been Worse!
But Not Much Worse
.

This is cruelty. On We The People. Every day.

And we are as many as 8.2 million of We The People marching in the parks and in the streets, declaring,

NO DAMN WAY WE’LL HAVE A KING!

.

We sent one packing 242 years ago and we’ll send away this one or his 25th Amendment replacement not later than January 20, 2029. Until then and following the mid-term election next year we’ll tie them up with a stout rope made from the same parchment our Constitution is written on.

.

 

 

 

“Together Strong!!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your intrepid chronicler reporting from Highland Park, IL. NO KINGS, DAMMIT!

_________________________________________

* The last count I heard was that despite the hard work of good people in the Biden administration, having reunited over 4,000 kids with their moms, there were about 1,000 still separated, Stephen Miller did his proud, goose stepping, swastika waving work for his boss by refusing to document separations. That made reuniting moms and kids impossible for so many and that has heaped ongoing cruelty onto defenseless people.

Miller’s mother must be so proud.

Mid-Term Election
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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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

First They Came


POST 1220

No One Left To Speak

From friend Jay Becker of Refuse Fascism:

[Over] just a few days, here in Chicago, masked, heavily armed federal agents:
.
– fired toxic pepper balls and tear gas at [non-violent] protesters in Broadview;
– shot a woman in Brighton Park;
 – carried out a military style assault on an apartment building housing Black and brown working people in South Shore;
– raided a homeless shelter in Bronzeville;
– marauded through crowds of families on Michigan Avenue, kidnapping those that fit their racial profiling, and more.
.
And this is just in one city. The same scenes are playing out in DC, Memphis, Portland and L.A., and the list of cities Trump wants to use for “military training” grows. And this is just a sample of the civil and human rights trampled on by this fascist regime. Read more here.
.

Lawrence Dietz wrote a stunning piece to put into perspective what is happening in our country. He has given me permission to post his essay here for you. You know the first part.

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

— c. 1946, Rev. Martin Niemōller, arrested by the Gestapo in 1937

and liberated in 1945

First they came for Latino illegal immigrants, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Latino.

Then they came for the comedians who make fun of them, and I did not speak out — because I was not a comedian.

Then they got an executive order to punish any group they call “terrorist,” including liberal political groups who oppose them — and I did not speak out, because I do not belong to any of those groups.

Next, they can come for me, a geezer who has posted critical social media comments about them — and who will be left to speak for me?

The “they” Niemōller referred to who came and arrested innocent citizens in Germany was the Gestapo. They always arrived in overwhelming numbers of thugs to abuse, terrify and arrest people who had done nothing wrong. Those incarcerated just weren’t fine Aryan specimens, so it was easy to scapegoat and abuse them. That’s a lot like our Latino immigrants today.

And that’s exactly what happened in Chicago last Tuesday.

From Reuters:

U.S. Border Patrol agents deployed to Chicago led a late-night raid on an apartment building this week, rappelling from helicopters onto rooftops and breaking down doors in an operation authorities said targeted gang members but which swept up U.S. citizens and families.

As part of the raid, some U.S. citizens were temporarily detained and children pulled from their beds, according to interviews with residents and news reports. Building hallways were still littered with debris two days later.

Hundreds of agents swarmed the apartment building during the raid on Tuesday, including some rappelling down to the roof from Black Hawk helicopters, according to NewsNation.

One resident, who asked not to be named, reported being made to lie down on the ground by agents during the raid and having his hands zip-tied.

From Prof. Heather Cox Richardson’s post on October 3:

The escalating raids on undocumented immigrants are also running afoul of the law. Tuesday’s raid on an apartment building in Chicago, in which residents, including U.S. citizens, were detained, has galvanized opposition. Today, after reports that children were zip tied, separated from their parents, and detained for several hours .  .  .

Click and read

The goals seem quite clear. First, to rid the country of Black and Brown people. Second, to terrorize the citizenry so we won’t fight back, but instead will obey in advance. It’s all to establish a dictatorship for the benefit of Trump, his sycophants and the fabulously wealthy. That’s called fascism.

Enemies Of The People, Invasion From Within

That’s the terminology that violent, hatred-driven, maniacal dictators use to snuff opposition. Trump has been using it for years. Like all megalomaniacs, he thinks it justifies persecution by making hatred seem patriotic.

And it kills.

In his rambling, often incoherent speech to 800 generals and admirals (link here for the entire tirade) who were pulled from duty from around the world, Trump lied,  “We’re under invasion from within, no different than a foreign enemy.” He said that the US military could use American cities as “training grounds” for troops, as they battle “the enemy from within.”

Trump is right about one thing: we do have an enemy within. It’s Trump and his maniacal army of fanatics. They are systematically dismantling our government for their own benefit and to your detriment.

If you aren’t Black or Brown don’t imagine that you’re safe and will stay that way. Jews, Muslims, Asians and more have long been in Trump’s crosshairs. Not far behind will be Catholics, all native people, Mormons – essentially anyone who isn’t Aryan Christian. When they come for you – and they will come – do you suppose there will be anyone left to speak for you?

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Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe at no charge – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too, because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get this job done.

And add your comments 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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Don Quixote and You


POST 1219

What Motivates

Likely you’ve heard about the government funding war now being waged between the “just-found-our-cojones” Democrats and the “we don’t give a crap about the people” Republicans. Maybe you’re wondering what kinds of things are about to happen, like Trump saying he’ll fire another 100,000 federal employees, which means he’ll likely do it.

How about cuts to Medicaid? You know, about how we care for “the least” among us? Those draconian cuts are already in the works. Try this from STAT:

Millions of people are set to lose insurance coverage when President Trump’s budget bill — which was signed into law on July 4 and includes work requirements for Medicaid enrollment — goes into effect in 2027. But who are [those who will be required to work to get benefits]? A new study published in JAMA analyzes nationally representative federal survey data to better understand the characteristics of those who are most at risk.

The data included 344 people ages 20 to 64 who worked fewer than 20 hours per week or who were unemployed but won’t be considered exempt from work requirements. Overall, 41% had three or more chronic conditions, and that rose to 66% when looking at those over age 50. More than 20% overall had dyslipidemia, obesity, hypertension, urinary incontinence, depression, or arthritis. The study reaffirms previous research that has found that Medicaid beneficiaries who do not meet work requirements have worse health than the people who do. [emphasis mine-JA]

In other words, our Fourth Reich government has set up a program that specifically targets and harms the very people who most need our help. That oughta beat back waste, fraud and abuse, right MAGAs?

Pity the poor and the sick in red states who voted for this, a government focused on some superior Aryan race. Only the young, healthy and strong need be here. Do you think Trump’s cruelty dispensers will resort to just taking suffering people out back and shooting them? That would save some money.

Sadly, Chuck Schumer and a handful of other Democrats voted in July for that Big Crappy Bill in the delusional spirit of bipartisanship, as if that still exists. And now Hakeem Jeffries tells us that he expects that Republicans will do the right thing about healthcare for Americans. Yes, he really said that.

And these guys are leaders?

It’s long past time for younger, aggressive, nose punching Democrats to step way up. People like Newsome, Pritzker, Walz, Swalwell and Schiff have done some punching and more is needed. We need these people and others to get further out front and lead the way.

While it’s true that our democracy is being stolen, yelling that and waving arms in the air is way too heady and inspires almost nobody but those who are already ardent believers. Esoteric stuff doesn’t motivate. Here’s what does.

Instead of wailing that they’re cutting healthcare from millions of people, say, “You know they hate and despise you because they’re taking everything from you, including all your money, all your safety and Granny’s healthcare.”

Instead of talking about rural hospitals and clinics closing, say, “They’re intentionally bankrupting hundreds of rural hospitals and clinics, including the one near you, which means that they don’t care if you bleed to death from an accident and they don’t care if your pregnancy goes wrong and your baby dies. Maybe you, too.”

Instead of talking about tax cuts for billionaires, say, “They don’t even see you, much less care about you. All they see is more power and money for themselves.”

Those examples are not intended as snark, They are about telling the truth and appealing to voters’ emotions, especially their sense of fairness. Do your senators and representatives, both state and federal, get that? If not, educate them. Now.

From Robert Reich:

As a practical matter, Trump has been illegally shutting down the government since the moment he was sworn in. [emphasis original]

Trump effectively shut down U.S. AID, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. He gave the heave-ho to hundreds of thousands of federal employees, crippling the Department of Education, Centers for Disease Control, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration.

Former Rep. Tim Ryan

So, for example, as then Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) explained in Congress, the Republican healthcare plan is:

  1. Don’t get sick.
  2. If you get sick, die quickly. It’s cheaper that way.

The same level of non-care for you goes for those other government agencies.

A Little Constitution Clarity

There has been great idiocy spewed over claims of freedom of speech or imaginary violations of freedom of speech, so it’s time for a little refresher. Recall sophomore year in high school.

Isolating the speech part of the First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law  .  .  .  abridging the freedom of speech

It’s likely the Founders didn’t like King George III telling them they had to shut up, so they prohibited our new government from continuing such citizen muzzling. Got that? That Amendment is about stopping the government from preventing you from saying what you want to say.

That has no application when you want to rant on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media platform or spew at political parties or to political organizations. The same applies to any newspaper, TV or radio station. Those are privately owned, non-governmental companies and they can cut you off whenever they want to, for any reason or for no reason. It’s their privately owned platform and they can limit who can use them or appear and even what they are allowed to say, as they choose. You have no freedom of speech in a private venue.

That means that nobody’s right of freedom of speech right is violated when they can’t get on TV to blabber their blabber. So, if MSNBC doesn’t want some MAGA flamer to suck up valuable air time, they have no obligation to put said flamer on their feed. Same if some ultra-right podcaster or cable station doesn’t want to showcase AOC.

Our freedom of speech is solely about preventing the government from muzzling you, which is what Trump is trying to do with his abhorrent lawsuits attacking his perceived enemies. Say it with me:

“That’s unconstitutional.”

Reality Check For Windmill Tilters

From my pal FL:

Click me

Like you I have spent my life trying to make a difference, and right now, I feel like Don Quixote, tilting at very dangerous, angry and powerful windmills.

Maybe tomorrow will bring something to be hopeful about.

Perhaps you, too, have had such a Don Quixote moment. Maybe you’re looking for something to make you feel hopeful. This might help.

On October 18 there will be another NO KINGS DAY. Click the map and find out where your democracy loving friends will be and go join them. Bring your sign, your enthusiasm and your red, white and blue self. There will be millions of us across nation making it clear that we ditched a king once before and we’re prepared to do it again.

Click me

My pal FL and I will both be there. We’ll look for you.

About Your Heart, Mr. Quixote

Likely, you remember the murderous attack at the Tree Of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018. The folks at the temple have created a traveling message about it. Read about it in this post from Tree of Life Synagogue. It speaks of the power of human compassion and solidarity, even in the face of cruelty and violence.

If you will be in New York any time from October 5 – November 9 you can view the exhibit at

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

Edmond J. Safra Plaza
36 Battery Place
New York, NY 10280

  • Mid-Term Election
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    .

Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe at no charge – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too, because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get this job done.

And add your comments 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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Civilian Leadership of Our Military


POST 1218

Yesterday we were given the full screen picture of our newly renamed War Department. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, set the stage with absolutist war drum pounding and attacks on everything not MAGA. Fie on DEI and Woke! They are the core of our problems, he’ll have us know.That plus facial hair, overweight generals and admirals and pressure to prosecute rapists.

This gathering was toxic masculine posturing from the stage at its most toxic, complete with triumphal arrangements of patriotic music and a way too large American flag. The only thing missing was goose stepping. This meeting could have been held on the field at Nuremberg, with torches burning.

President Donald Trump then spoke in his dementia poisoned way, claiming to have settled 7 wars (actually zero), bragging about renaming the Gulf of Mexico and so much more puffery that it would be a comedy act, were it not so dangerous for real people. Indeed, he suggested using our cities as training grounds for our military “whose job is to “kill people and break things” to attack our imaginary “enemy from within,” which means anyone who doesn’t bend the knee to the great one, especially Democrats, protesters, citizens who live in our cities and anyone who has spoken less than flatteringly of Trump.

He announced how great is the paper used for military commissions and that he loves his signature and, actually, everyone loves his signatures. Plus, he made clear that his attacks on the Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities had “obliterated” them. He even said that the Atomic Energy people said those facilities were obliterated.

Except of course, they weren’t and they didn’t. That only matters if you actually want to ensure that Iran doesn’t have the capacity to make atomic bombs, in which case you wouldn’t resort to lies. You would instead be a steely eyed realist. A dementia compromised brain is a terrible thing when it commands a finger near the nuclear button or commands the dropping of 20,000 pound MOABs (“Mother Of All Bombs”). Now there’s another “mine is bigger than yours” Trumpian proof.

Trump began winding up his galactically inappropriate speech by saying that it’s good that Congress cannot agree on a spending bill. He said that would shut down the government and then he could do anything he wants to do.

He may actually believe that he somehow has absolute power if Congress shuts down the government, since he is incapable of reading the Constitution.

According to law and the Constitution, the limits on what the President is allowed to do remain essentially unchanged regardless of a government shut down. However, Trump’s standard move is to do his illegal thing, knowing that it will take months to stop him, at which time his damage will be done. Just ask the former workers at the USDA, the CDC, Voice of America, USAID, soon the FAA and more.

“When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this—you haven’t.” – Thomas Edison

They brought 800 top generals and admirals from their posts protecting American interests around the world to hear a toxic alcoholic Fox News “personality” strut his poison and an addled brain old man brag that his is bigger than yours, that Joe Biden is a loser, that gold decorating in the White House is the new red, white and blue and yet more idiocy. This is what passes for civilian leadership of our military today.

We have a great deal of work to do to begin to set things right in our country. Sometimes it feels like we’ve tried everything, but Thomas Edison reminds us that we have not. There’s so much more we can do.

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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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

The Real Charlie Kirk


POST 1217

It is one of our more peculiar behaviors in America. I don’t know if it’s common in other cultures, but it is pervasive here.

When someone dies we only speak of that person in complimentary ways. We never mention the meanness, the cruelty, the bad things done by the departed. I suppose the refraining of speaking ill of the dead hearkens back to some jungle admonition that doing so will lead to becoming the next to die. Just a guess.

This is crazy stuff because when people die their acts of cruelty don’t suddenly vanish as though they didn’t happened.

When Adolph Eichmann at last faced accountability and was executed by the State of Israel, it would have been insanity for acquaintances to eulogize him, saying what a good neighbor he was. He was a genocidal murderer and that didn’t un-happen because he was at last dead.

Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Should we only speak of him as a great party host and a guy who provided employment for young girls wanting to become models or masseuses? Ridiculous. And I don’t think we should do that selective amnesia following Charlie Kirk’s death, either.

Charlie Kirk was a hateful man. Whatever his finer qualities might have been, he stoked hatred and wrapped it in the covers of a Christian bible. He was the guy about whom we were warned by the quotation, “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”* That’s how Kirk presented himself to spread his infection of hatred to others.

He spoke in ways Jesus would likely have found abhorrent. Check with your pastor on that. Kirk encouraged bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia and more. He spoke in ways that would have gotten him tarred and feathered by our Founders.

Our unhinged far right is crafting him into a martyr for their cause of White supremacy and faux Christianity, They present him as a hapless victim of those who weren’t their truly heartfelt brothers and sisters in hatred, like lefties, Democrats, liberals, protesters, Never Trumpers and others. That deification ignores the reality of Kirk’s hatred.

Fortunately, there’s no need for me to recount his calls to discrimination and domination because there is a rich public record of them. Watch this little compilation and decide for yourself if Kirk is the true red, White and blue Jesus replacement.

For those who have an uncontrollable need to whatabout everything, for those who hear something they don’t like and maniacally have to object that it’s unfairly out of context, let me say from my heart, “Get over yourself.” Watch the video of the little man with a fine intellect, great showman talents and the skills to bring out the great ugliness within our White supremacists, their very worst angels. Then decide if Kirk was a true patriot and a holy warrior and if his death was a messianic moment.

The far right is in an orgy of indignation over the murder, seething with self-righteousness and certain in their holiness and virtue, as they demonize any with the temerity to oppose them. They have next to no facts to support their claims, nor is that lack of facts an impediment to their judgment or a cause to question their blaming. And they must have someone to blame. For them it is a holy war, all praise to the Great Orange Demented One and all honor to the martyr! Nothing kills like a holy war.

To our White supremacists: Should you believe in some justification for Kirk’s deification, please don’t write to me about it. Don’t enter your brain mashing rationalizations in the Comments section below. Just walk away quietly – please, quietly – down the sidewalk, never letting others know of the hatred and violence you harbor and covet. Better yet, get yourself into some anger management program or psychotherapy.

Charlie Kirk didn’t deserve to be murdered. He didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of political hatred and violence, even though he stoked it with his own words. But Charlie Kirk most definitely deserves our wide-eyed recognition that his being murdered didn’t purify him of his evils and it hasn’t made him a good man. He remains in death the hatred stoker that he was in life.

That’s the real Charlie Kirk.

_____________________________________

New York Times, April 9, 1944

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* That quotation is often attributed to Sinclair Lewis because of the message of his 1935 book, It Can’t Happen Here, or possibly to Huey Long. But the actual source is unknown. Nevertheless, we see today that it is true and accurate.

For more, see the profile by Henry Wallace, FDR’s second vice-president. Click and read his clear explanation from 1944. He knew a lot about fascism, as we were in the last year of the war to defeat fascism when he wrote his essay. He was accurate and correct then and he still is now.

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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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Realities


POST 1215

Some Things Just Have To Lede

Brace yourselves, flat-earthers.

Tomorrow at 1:19PM the reliable, count-on-it solar system will deliver this year’s autumnal equinox even for the flat earthers. It will be the very moment when the forces of summer and the forces of winter will hold hands, balance on tip-toe and suspend for just a moment their individual certainties. They will set aside their differences and their wobbling convictions. One side will even return, if only fleetingly, to once again recognize laws and the eternal nature of reality. The other will cheer them with welcome, asking, “Where’ve ya been?”

Many thanks to AT for this most valuable question.

For just that moment.

Then we will be returned to a world of lies, grift and cruelty, led by the Monster Liar In Chief (see the valuable question to the right).

Now Something Quite Serious

The lying done by Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the rest of the extremist Palestinian mouthpieces is well known and has been paraded prominently before the world at least since the leadership of Yassir Arafat. They excel at making themselves appear to be victims in order to garner the sympathy of the world and thereby gain support. It is a self-defeating, suicidal strategy, but those leaders don’t seem to care about the suffering of their own people.

For the past two years Gazans, most of whom are not Hamas, have suffered starvation, injury and death. Hamas is the only reporting entity there and they report tens of thousands dead, among whom is a high percentage of children. We do not know whether their claims are accurate, but regardless of the actual numbers of dead, there are obviously many. That’s great victim PR for them.

That is horrendous for the people of Gaza for obvious reasons. And it is horrendous for Israel, too, which is well on its way to becoming a pariah state. The problem isn’t the majority of the people of Israel. It is Benjamin Netanyahu and his murderous government. Read Sen. Bernie Sanders’ message of September 18 in The Nation, It Is Genocide.

Almost as bad as the genocide, the Trump administration is complicit in these deaths by sending Netanyahu offensive weapons that he is using to incrementally destroy what is left of Gaza. Perhaps that is so that Trump can have his “Riviera of the Middle East.” If he gets that it will be paid for by children buried in the rubble or dying of starvation.

Jimmy Kimmel, Deployed National Guard, Public Health, ICE Thuggery  .  .  .

You know about all those and more, so rather than detailing them in this post, here is your Sunday reading list.

§ In Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s post Be Loud — For America he lays out the obvious truth that Trump’s deranged verbal attacks on Chicago and his threats of sending in the military aren’t about stopping crime. They are about sowing chaos and destabilizing our democracy and our country so that he can establish his dictatorial power.

§ Dan Rather offers insight into our escalating violence in How Did We Get Here? Where the president is a proponent of political violence. He explains,

A political leader’s reaction to political violence is a test of character. It is a test that Donald Trump has failed. He exploits others’ violent acts to further his own vengeful agenda. At a time when our leadership should be seeking unity, Trump is using Kirk’s killing as a call to arms for his supporters. “We have radical left lunatics out there and we just have to beat the hell out of them,” the president said at the White House last week.

Trump said that even before we had a clue who the alleged perpetrator was or what his motivations might have been. Nevertheless, he pointedly has called for violence against fellow citizens.

§ Read the transcript of Rep. Jason Crow’s address to the House, Concerning State of US Politics & the Path Forward to Unite Our Country or watch it via the embedded video. And share it with others.

Ahoy, Maties!

Friday was National Talk Like A Pirate Day.

What? You forgot?
.

(Read the following aloud and with proper pirate-ness.)

Shiver me timbers, ye scalawags. Arrrr!

De tieves ha’ been a-tievin’ and a-takin’ what be ours, workin’ dere treason wi dere lies.

Me proud beauties, ’tis time we be a-weigin’ anchor and puttin’ our bow to de waves to make good trouble. Fie on Davey Jones hisself if he dare be gettin’ in our way. Dis be de hour we ‘cede to set tings aright.

Raise full sails, me hearties, an’ make ar headin’ to where de treasure waits fer such as us. We parlay wi de traitor, de scurvy bloated orange poxy hisself, if we must. But eider way, we be takin’ back de rule what be rightly ars.

So stand ready, ye sea dogs. Ar Jolly Roger flies and de battle be wid us!

The Deconstructing Trump Corner
.
  • Reality is that which when you stop believing in it,
  • it doesn’t go away.
  • Philip K. Dick, 1981
  • Nothing doth more hurt in a state
  • than that cunning men must pass for wise.
  • Francis Bacon, 1625
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    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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
    6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Who and What We Are


POST 1213

With Sad and Angry Regret, John Lewis

Nope, we’re not better than this.

There have been assassinations here since before we were a country. Multiple presidents have been shot. Sandy Hook happened and we were all so sad, but we continued killing one another as though those little kids were still alive and in their 1st grade classrooms.

Until his murder I knew next to nothing about Charlie Kirk. Had I known more about him likely I wouldn’t have agreed with him about any of his views, which, of course, is not the point. The point is that someone wanted to murder him and did so quite easily.

Click me and read the whole text.

Now President Trump plans to give Kirk our highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Kirk didn’t find a cure for a terrible disease. He didn’t carry people out of a burning building. He didn’t risk his life saving church or synagogue members from a would-be assassin. He didn’t stand a post anywhere to protect our freedom and our democracy, nor did he serve We The People in Congress. No, he was just a political activist. During his first term Trump gave drug addict Rush Limbaugh the PMoF, so with the flipping of another of those medals soon to Kirk’s next of kin, Trump is continuing to debase what was once a richly deserved, high honor.

Vice President Fauxbilly Vance has gone to Utah to retrieve civilian Charlie Kirk’s body and casket, plus his family, and fly them to Phoenix. In Air Force Two. On our dime. For a political activist. Not for an esteemed titan of democracy. Not for a hero. For just a political activist who had success motivating young people.

Kirk was a supporter of Trump, so of course Trump, the Adoration Junkie, has ordered flags at federal buildings to be lowered to half-staff. Do you suppose he’d do the same for any progressive activist who was shot? Or for any of the “suckers” and “losers” buried at Arlington National Cemetery?

Click me

Here’s Jennifer Rubin from before the arrest of the alleged perp:

Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, Donald Trump has chosen to politicize [Charlie] Kirk’s murder, blaming the rhetoric of the “radical left”—all before anyone has been identified, let alone arrested for the murder.

Sadly, he and the MAGA troops reserve outrage only when Republicans are targeted (compare the near-silence when [Democratic] Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was targeted, the mockery when [Democrat] Paul Pelosi was nearly killed, and the snide remarks when two Minnesota Democrats were assassinated).

In each of these cases Trump demonized the left or ignored others’ tragedies, both of which encourage more violence.

So, don’t even think of both-sidesing this idiocy.* Only one side promotes violence to get its way. Only one side encourages hatred of the other side, although I confess to speaking ill at times about the violent ones, the willfully ignorant ones and the hateful ones.

Only one side adores a convict president who regularly urges them to violence. Only one side has a leader who promoted violent, murderous, treasonous insurrection and then pardoned the criminals, leaving them to believe that they can get away with maiming and killing in his name any time.

Only one side continues to pervert the Second Amendment from solely encouraging a stand-by militia for an at-risk fledgling country, to promoting a universal right to own and use modern weapons of war. Only one side stockpiles arsenals of weapons and ammunition, encouraged by puff-up slogans, like  “from my cold, dead hands,” and other pitiful macho, tough guy excuses. They give goose bumps to those angry guys who need to show they’re tough guys. And they give them excuse to do violence to others.

We have always been a violent society. Ask Blacks whose people were whipped and lynched. Ask Native Americans whose ancestors were massacred as state policy in order to take from them what we promised to leave to them. Ask any parent of a school child, anyone living in a drive-by kill zone – ask anyone.

So, no, John Lewis, We aren’t better than this. This is exactly who and what we are. We are violent, self-excusing murderous perps. In fact, I’ll take this one very dangerous step further.

We’ve Seen This Awful Movie Before And We Know How It Ends

In 1933 shortly after Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany in a free and fair election, there was a mysterious fire in the Reichstag building where the German parliament met. Here’s a pretty good explanation from Wikipedia:

The Reichstag Fire Decree . . . officially the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State . . .  was a decree issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 28 February 1933 in immediate response to the Reichstag fire. The decree nullified many of the key civil liberties of German citizens. With the Nazis in powerful positions in the German government, the decree was used as the legal basis for the imprisonment of anyone considered to be opponents of the Nazis, and to suppress publications not considered “friendly” to the Nazi cause. The decree is considered by historians as one of the key steps in the establishment of a one-party Nazi state in Germany.

One mysterious fire and fingers of blame – scapegoating – were pointed and all semblance of democracy and everyone’s freedom were lost for a very long, murderous time.

Now consider this over-blown, over-played, over-politicized murder of Charlie Kirk. A super “conservative” guy was shot by someone who disliked him or his views. You don’t suppose that Trump will call that “radical lefty” violence and use it to brand all liberals as traitors, do you? Oh, wait: he already has.

It’s time to suspend your explanations and your self-protection schemes against the evils of Trump’s authoritarianism. Recognize that even if this murder isn’t the sole justification for the absolute power being sought by Trump, truncation of your liberty is on the way.

This ain’t bean bag.

Be sure to read Charlie Sykes’ post, Weaponizing the Murder of Charlie Kirk. The attacks on our freedoms are flying fast and with fantastical hatred – all aimed at you.

Final comment: For those like Charlie Kirk who claim to be Christians and use their bible thumping to justify spewing vitriol toward others (see footnote), you have to show me where in the Christian bible – any version of Christian bible – where followers are instructed to hate others, to persecute others. Then these thumpers can get me to believe they’re true Christians. Until then, they’re just hateful hypocrites.

Many thanks to pal FL for his contributions to this post.

The Deconstructing Trump Corner
.
  • I believe that deliberate, conscienceless mendacity.
  • the acceptance of falsehood and hypocrisy,
  • is the most dangerous of all sins.
  • Tennessee Williams, 1957
  • The biggest liar in the world is They Say.
  • [Or, “People are saying” – JA]
  • Douglas Malloch, 1978
  • _____________________________________________________

* Excerpt from Thom Hartmann’s piece, The “Both Sides” Scam: How False Balance Fuels Extremism:

” .  .  .  in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination — the guy who downplayed slavery, demonized Black and brown people, promoted the racist, antisemitic Great Replacement Theory, attacked queer people, made degrading comments about women, said gun deaths were fine because that’s the price we must pay for the Second Amendment .  .  . “

I guess with his murder Kirk paid what he said is “the price we must pay” for what is actually the constantly misused and abused Second Amendment, contorted by macho wannabees and the NRA. And Charlie Kirk. This hateful extremist righty, this performative Christian should not have been murdered. But Trump promotes violence against the left which will fuel the next murderers who think they are the true patriots doing Great Leader’s bidding.

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    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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
    6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

People Are Saying . . .


POST 1212

The Trumpstein Slimepocolypse

To be clear, people like Jeffrey Epstein’s “clients” are commonly referred to on the street by “working girls” and by pimps as “johns” or “tricks.” And in this case we’re talking about people who assaulted, ravaged and raped underage girls as young as 13 – middle schoolers – That’s what these “clients” did for fun. These children were attacked and sex trafficked – sold – to Epstein’s “clients.” They carry emotional scars from pedophilia that will torture them for the rest of their lives.

Trump bragged that he was a star and

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful . . . I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.”

“Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

And he wrote to Epstein that they are alike, in that they like ’em young.

In legal venues that’s called assault – sexual assault – and it is a felony. But Trump bragged that he could do all that and implied he could get away with it. And it seems that he did, as at least 19 women have claimed that he raped them and he hasn’t been held to account. And his admission of having committed multiple sexual felonies didn’t stop millions from voting for him. That alone is a stunning and worrisome thing about us.

Now in this age of the Epstein slimefest, let’s see a show of hands of all those who believe that the self-proclaimed sexually entitled Trump does not appear on Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. Hold those hands high so we can get an accurate count of everyone who believes that Trump wasn’t an Epstein “client.”

No hands. It seems that people are saying .  .  .

Ghislaine Maxwell was Epstein’s main procurer of underage targets for sexual opportunity. They targeted kids – little girls. She just got a transfer to a minimum security prison in Texas, where sexual predators are not supposed to be allowed. Put your hand in the air if you’re okay with this awful predator getting special country club prison treatment.

Again, no hands. It seems that people really are saying .  .  .

This horrid stuff is why this story won’t go away, no matter how many outrageous things Trump does to distract us. It even has conspiracy loving Marjorie Taylor Green (R-SC) hugging Ro Khanna (D-CA) at the presser for Epstein survivors and even MAGAs are demanding full disclosure from Trump. Apparently violating children is bridge too far for right wing extremists. Now we know how bad it has to get for them to break with Trump. Sexual exploitation and trafficking of underage girls is the bar and it looks like Trump cleared it.

From Rick Wilson

Click me

The old Washington logic of dutifully keeping the government functioning died years ago. It died when Mitch McConnell smirked his way through blocking Merrick Garland. It died when Trump turned the White House into a kleptocracy of golf carts and grift. It died when January 6 was not the end of Trumpism but its baptism into holy war against America and its system of government, when the barbarians didn’t just storm the gates, but were recast as heroes.

The insurrectionists were/are traitors to America. Their “love fest” killed and maimed cops and befouled our Capitol Building. These creeps were convicted of felonies. Then they were pardoned by the convict-in-chief.

But it’s beginning to become clear that insurrectionists are, by definition, traitors. It’s beginning to become clear that Trump is powerless to stop any war, that he’s inept at managing our economy, that he’s cruel beyond anything anyone voted for. In fact, almost nobody voted for this Trump, It seems that many people are saying .  .  .

From Democracy Docket, by Marc Elias

According to a new poll, when asked what emotion best describes how they feel about Trump’s actions as president, 49% of Democrats and 11% of Independents chose “furious.” Another 20% and 10%, respectively, chose “angry.” In total, 69% of Democrats and 21% of Independents are furious or angry about what Trump has done so far in his second term.

People are damn well saying. No speculation. No guessing. Just plain fact: People are saying Trump is enormously bad for Americans and America. So are his lying, cheating, reality denying suck up mobsters of mendacity.

More people every day are seeing the harm he’s causing us, the crushing of our freedom he’s orchestrating, the cruelty he’s doing every day in our name.

There’s a log way to go, but at last, people are saying .  .  .

The Deconstructing Trump Corner
.
  • There are conditions of blindness
  • so voluntary that they become complicity.
  • Paul Bourget
  • Good thing we have the vision
  • to see what is happening.
  • He is loyal to his own career
  • but only incidentally to anything or anyone else.
  • Hugh Dalton, 1941
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    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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
    6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

The News


POST 1209

First, a Feel-Good

Things are changing. People are standing up and speaking out. Not just the usual suspects, but even Republicans and MAGAs. Even some high profile types are finding their way out of “nice” and are on the attack (at last!). Trump has so outrageously overplayed his hand that we’ve had some electoral wins and a beginning of the possibility of ripping our country out of the treasonous clutches of the fascists. So, what will we do when the good guys are back in charge? It starts with a re-set.

Rick Wilson put some thought to that and wrote a bill to be introduced in Congress on January 20, 2029 or, perhaps, on January 3, 2027. Read his Restoration of America Governance Act, designed to undo much of Trump’s lawless and unconstitutional actions. It’s a short and good read.

Now, Ugly Stuff
  1. Heather Honey is the election conspiracy theorist liar who claimed that in the 2020 not-stolen election that in Pennsylvania there were 205,000 more votes than voters. Baseless idiocy. She’s all about preventing people from voting and now Trump has named her to a new “election integrity” post at DHS. What could possibly go wrong?
  2. From Democracy Docket: “On a recent episode of his podcast, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon made a chilling prediction: ICE agents will be stationed near polling places for the 2026 midterm elections.” Last election they made it illegal to bring water to people waiting to vote in long lines on hot days. Thugocracy.
  3. Louisiana told the justices of the Supreme Court that it will no longer defend the court-ordered map that added a second majority-Black congressional district. Instead, the state argued that any use of race in redistricting is unconstitutional. Yes, really.
  4. In a separate case, Alabama asked SCOTUS to strike down a lower court ruling requiring it to draw another majority-Black congressional district.

Points 3 & 4 are noteworthy for one reason. The GOP in most red states have worked tirelessly for decades to prevent non-Whites from voting, from purging voter registration roles using cruel racist schemes, to closing nearby polling places, to eliminating ballot drop boxes, to their wildly discriminating voter ID laws and more. Now they’re objecting to rulings that favor fair representation for non-Whites on the basis of racial discrimination! Their hypocrisy has no bottom.

    5. From this “Treason” post detailing Trump’s attack on Nicolle Wallace:

Since returning to power, Donald Trump has unleashed a coordinated assault on the free press unlike anything in American history. He’s personally attacked journalists he wants removed; he’s revived his “enemy of the people” designation against the Constitution’s only protected profession; he’s sued major outlets for coverage he deems unflattering; he’s threatened to revoke broadcast licenses of outlets who don’t cater to his preferences; he’s weaponized the FCC and effectively installed a personal “bias monitor” to oversee CBS News; he’s hijacked Voice of America and turned it into a pro-Trump global news outlet; he’s de-funded organizations like NPR and PBS; he’s changed long-standing Justice Department policies to make it easier to monitor journalists, to seize their records, and to search their homes; and more.

And that’s just about his attacks on one part of the First Amendment.

I’m a political news junkie, so I don’t expect anyone to be as focused on this stuff as I commonly am, but I found myself doing something that, on reflection, is frightening.

I was doing some chores in the kitchen with the TV on CNN. They covered the embarrassingly fawning Cabinet meeting, with seemingly otherwise functional (if unqualified) adults not reporting on their departments, but instead spewing cringe-worthy adulation onto Trump. CNN’s next topic was reporting on Trump’s threats to send our military into Chicago and reflexively I clicked off the TV. I bailed. I dropped out. Couldn’t stomach the river of bile. But if this political junkie dropped out, likely, that means that huge numbers of people won’t pay attention to what is happening to our country. That’s really dangerous.

I’ve dropped back in. We all need to be in.

Next, Bang Bang!

First, let’s recognize that our pathological president is working his hardest to negate everything Obama and Biden accomplished, including the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. However insufficient, that was the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly 30 years.

Next, much as it’s so painful to see the reality, let’s recognize the brutality of the murders and wounding of little kids at the Annunciation Catholic Church School in Minneapolis last week.

Now I want you to imagine you’re the mom in the photo to the right, running in near panic for her children. She didn’t even put on her shoes. She just ran. You would, too.

Take a moment to feel her panic, her dread, her terror. That is the reality of every mass shooting, especially when it involves children.

Recognize that Trump wants to make it easier for hate-filled terrorists to get guns, assault rifles, large capacity magazines, bump stocks and more. Trump wants to do nothing to prevent the horror that has overcome that woman or anyone. His actions steadfastly declare that he doesn’t care how many little kids are ripped apart by bullets fired by a hatred filled terrorist.

Last, Some Hopeful Stuff

Chicago Mayor Brandon Jackson stood strong yesterday, calling Trump’s invasion of Chicago exactly what it is. He signed the Protecting Chicago Initiative executive order. It does many things including protecting the people from federal overreach and declaring that the CPD won’t collaborate with Trump’s Gestapo. Jackson joins governors Newsome, Pritzker, Moore, Walz and others standing against and speaking out VERY LOUDLY against Trump’s violations of our Constitution and the militarization of our country. Listen to Mayor Jackson’s powerful presentation here.

You know lots of the reasons why we have to do whatever it takes to defeat Trump, his sycophants, his cowardly, hypocritical legislators, his lying, extremist administration officials, his ICE Gestapo, his education destroyers, his know nothings undermining our healthcare and all of science – all of those who seek to destroy our values. We need to see Rick Wilson’s  Restoration of America Governance Act become real.

And we can do that.

The Deconstructing Trump Corner
.
  • Whoever is careless with truth in small matters
  • cannot be trusted in important affairs
  • Albert Einstein, 1979
  • The truth does not change
  • according to our ability
  • to stomach it emotionally.
  • Flannery O’Connor
  • Mid-Term Election
    Countdown Timer
    Goes fast, doesn’t it?
    .

  • Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe at no charge – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too, because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get this job done.

    And add your comments 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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
    2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
    3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
    5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
    6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate or intentionally cruel. If you must post something cruel, stop reading these posts immediately and instead invest your time with a good therapist.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

    Click me

    JA

Mid-Term Election
Countdown Timer
Goes fast, doesn’t it?

Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get this job done.

And add your comments 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 necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
  2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
  3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
  5. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
  6. Comments offered by readers, whether in agreement with my opinions or opposing, are encouraged and greatly appreciated. All are reviewed prior to going live. I reserve the right to edit for length, readability, punctuation, typos and voluntary idiocy and to exclude those I deem inappropriate.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2025 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

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