First Amendment

First They Came

Oct 08

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:

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– 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.

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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.

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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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The Fine Print:

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.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
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.
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.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
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.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

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Don Quixote and You

Oct 05

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:

Don’t get sick.
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

Goes fast, doesn’t it?

.

And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

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.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
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.
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.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
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.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

The Real Charlie Kirk

Sep 28

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.

_____________________________________

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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.

Mid-Term Election

Goes fast, doesn’t it?

.

And add your comments below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

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.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
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.
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.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
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.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally and unavoidably mine.

Click me

The News

Aug 31

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

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?
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.
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.
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

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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.

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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

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:

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.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
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.
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.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
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.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

Potpourri v24.0

Jul 20

POST 1197

Car Sales And Trumponomics

Dr. Brian Beaulieu of ITR Economics is an economics and investments guru with a pretty good prognostication track record. He sees the chaos that is happening in our economy and sees the numbers. Here’s his recent report.

We did not have the June data for auto retail sales when I did my Fed Watch on Friday. Have it now. The May-to-June drop in domestically produced light duty vehicle retail sales was the worst spanning 60 years of data (including tough recessions) at -26.2%. For foreign produced light duty vehicles, the June drop was -39.6%, the most severe May-to-June decline in a history spanning 50 years.

The data is showing that:

1. Creating uncertainty is bad economic policy.

2. Playing whack-a-mole with tariffs is bad economic policy.

3. It may be possible to have a president come into office with economic policies that truly can disrupt the business cycle, at least temporarily.

You may not research what Beaulieu commonly does, but likely you know in your gut what he expertly shows us.

The Unlimited National Restoration About People’s Equity Act (UNRAPE) of 2025

Trump’s Big Barfy Betrayal Bill (BBBB) is a blatant transfer of trillions of dollars from poor and working class Americans to the very wealthiest in our very divided and economically grossly out of balance society. It is the biggest, but certainly not the first move to impoverish We The People entirely for the benefit of the very wealthy. It will leave most Americans feeling like they’ve been financially raped – yet again – because they have been. Indeed, $50 trillion (with a “T”) has gone from We the Regular People to the uber-rich over the last 40 years.

This is what oppressive governments do. The result is an impoverished populace with all power and most of the money in the hands of the insanely rich. It’s time to reverse that trend with this proposed bill.

TITLE I – WEALTH CLAWBACK

An annual 10% wealth tax is imposed on all persons having over $1 billion of net wealth. Let’s claw back, some of what they took from us.

TITLE II – FAIR SHARE

Federal personal income tax rates are hereby restored to those in effect when Ronald Reagan became President. The top tax rate then was 70% of income over $762,933 (in today’s dollars).

TITLE III – FEDERAL MINIMUM TAX

A minimum federal income tax rate of 20% is imposed on incomes over $1 million, regardless of the source of the income, whether filing individually or jointly, to ensure that very rich people who regularly use arcane tax exemption schemes not available to poor and middle class Americans pay their fair share.

TITLE IV – CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATES – BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE ALONE

Corporate federal income tax rates are hereby restored to those in effect prior to the first of George W. Bush’s tax cuts. The maximum corporate tax rate of 35% will apply to corporations with taxable income over $10 million. Corporations with taxable income over $15 million will be subject to an additional tax of 3% of the excess over $15 million, or $179,000 (in today’s dollars), whichever is smaller. That was the first time in American history when taxes were cut during war time.

For reference, Donald Trump’s 2018 Tax Cut and Jobs Act created no additional jobs and added $1 to 2 trillion to the federal debt, so the restoration of the corporate tax rates to the higher former rates should have no effect on employment numbers but will be a big help with our massive debt.

Let’s put this UNRAPE bill into the hands of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to expand and improve it. Email her and tell her to be ready with her proposal on the afternoon of January 20, 2029 or 2027, whenever Democrats retake the Senate.

Say Good-Bye To Your Mind

Congress has cut funding for PBS and NPR and Trump has the go-ahead to kill the Department of Education. Robert Reich explains the why of that:

There are five facets to the authoritarian attack on our minds that I cover in the video:

1. Rewrite history
2. Gut education
3. Dismantle science
4. Suppress the media
5. Attack the arts

Trump is unleashing all of them. And added up, they render us less informed, less inspired, and easier to control. They empower Trump to divide us with hatred and fear. And they prevent us from discovering that we have more in common with one another than with the authoritarians who try to rule us.

This attack on our minds ultimately reduces our capacity for self-government, because ignorance is the handmaiden of tyranny.

From Thomas Jefferson:

An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight.

Given Jefferson’s clarity, it’s easy to understand why Trump would want to keep us and our children ignorant.

Worthwhile Quotations Corner

From Steve Schmidt:

The other day, Van Jones suggested that any person who believes Trump’s babble is “weapons-grade stupid.” That is an accurate statement if there ever was one, and everyone knows that stupid cannot be fixed.

Speaking of Stupid

Our Congress is composed of the geniuses we send to Washington to represent us, our interests and desires and the needs of our nation. The Republican side of it has consistently and spinelessly caved to Donald Trump’s every pathological desire.

Congress voted to de-fund PBS and NPR. Republicans stupidly called it the “Defund Government-Sponsored Propaganda Act.” Now that Trump has killed Big Bird, betcha Trump thinks that oughta distract and shut up those clamoring for the Epstein list. Won’t happen.

Who cares, Republicans seem to be saying, whether kids, especially rural kids and those with compromised early education opportunities get the obvious benefits of public broadcast programming? Or whether people in rural areas receive weather warnings before the tornado strikes? Who cares if Americans have a non-commercial, apolitical source for news, they whine?

Republicans have been saying for a long time that PBS and NPR are voices of woke lefties, a part of the “fake news.” They claim they broadcast propaganda. I challenge anyone to provide even a single example of PBS or NPR programming that even vaguely resembles those inflammatory, ignorant and stupid claims. C’mon, MAGAmites, help me out here.

All but two Republicans voted to shoot Big Bird and every Republican voted to cut Medicaid, SNAP, USAID, Voice of America, FEMA, vaccine research and the rest. Remember that when it’s time to choose in the upcoming November elections. Tell your friends. Tell your crazy Uncle Bob. Tell your Uber driver.

Click me for protest rights tips.

“The Republicans don’t care about you.”

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It’s already established that you can’t fix stupid. And it looks like you can’t fix hypocrisy or cowardice, either.

From the John Lewis Good Trouble Demonstration

Highland Park, IL, July 17, 2025

Tens of thousands of people turned out for the Good Trouble protests at over 1,500 marches across the country, both to honor John Lewis and to staunchly, powerfully protest this felonious fascist president. Here are pics of some signs people carried.

Sure do miss RBG

Ref: This post

Our abused immigrants today are just like your family members who immigrated here years ago. Same hopes, same dreams.

Be at the next demonstration, because we’re all counting on us.

**The *Deconstructing Trump Corner

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A bad cause will ever be supported
by bad means and bad men.
Thomas Paine, 1777
Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity.
Frank Leahy, 1955
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* Deconstructing Trump by Mardy Grothe explores The Trump phenomenon through the lens of quotation history.

Mid-Term Election