Justice

Quick Hits For A Wednesday


POST 1279

Cautionary Tale

Jamelle Bouie’s Sunday Piece, Trump’s Second Term Is a Cautionary Tale, caught my eye right away. We as a people are no longer imbued with caution regarding consequences, even those consequences attendant to dangerous actions. We riotously celebrate our stupidization by banning books, defunding education, defunding medical and scientific research, humiliating allies and the step-by-step crushing of our government that used to be of the people, by the people and for the people. Instead, we are cautionlessly constructing short term, gargantuan enrichment of the rich as though there were no consequences to us for doing that.

Dear Leader has no use for caution and operates primarily from such drivers as chaos, corruption, craving, carelessness, catastrophe, covetousness, conspiracy, cheating – I’ve run out of “c” words. Add your own in the Comments section below.

Meanwhile, these “c” words and far worse words represent the America our lack of caution has allowed ourselves to become.

Cautionary tales are supposed to warn us about potential dangers, moral pitfalls, or negative consequences of specific actions. But we haven’t been paying attention or too many of us have resigned ourselves to terrible consequences. The very worst cautionary tale is the one we ignore, so it’s time to un-resign.

From the Yeah-Really Department

The Strait of Hormuz is open to shipping.

The Strait of Hormuz is closed to shipping.

We’ve obliterated Iran’s missile capability.

Two Indian flagged vessels were hit by Iranian missiles.

Gas prices are way down.

Gas prices are high and will stay high for a very long time.

Those Iranian schoolgirls are still dead and other than one senator, John Kennedy (R-LA), no U.S. government official has so much as expressed empathy, much less apologized for killing them.

Allies are working to create new trade and defense networks that don’t include the U.S.

Trump is putting considerable effort into retribution against those who oppose him and his illegality, as viewed through his psychopathy as his perceived “enemies.” It’s far less than he is putting into life and death issues, like the Iran War and killing people in little boats on the high seas.

The Epstein cover up is alive and continuing to slither in the slime under DOJ rocks. Pam Blondi lives!

Feel free to add your own statements of our reality – or the official idiocies of the administration.

A Note To Eric Swalwell

Oh, Eric, such a disappointment,

First, to be fair, you have been accused, not convicted, and we have heard your denials. But what are we to make of this?

Open secrets are not secrets at all, so how did you manage to put yourself in such a position as though the rules don’t apply to you?

You have been brave, standing up to tyrants and speaking truth to power. You are an eloquent voice in Congress and outside those walls. You are greatly skilled, but it appears that you have succumbed to hubris, a terminal disease that is avoided only with humility. Where has your humility gone?

Your future looks to be most difficult. If there are civil or criminal prosecutions in your future we wish only for proper justice. But in this time of constant vilification masquerading as patriotism, you can expect a lot of the nasty, especially from the far right self-righteous extremists. They will invoke your name as the evil they fight against, even as they do far worse to our country. If only they would be as quick to hold accountable the abusers in their midst, especially the greatest abuser.

This isn’t going to be pretty. You’ve lost a career and who knows how much damage you’ve done to your family? And we’ve lost a much needed fighter.

Now, The Bests

Best Video So Far This Week

Watch Prof. Timothy Snyder’s explainer, Superpower Suicide.

Best Explainer of How To Reach Gen Zs

Read Why Democrats are failing to reach young voters like me by Ethan Norton.

Democrats: Are you listening?
.
The time for action is NOW!
Keep standing up,
speaking out
and taking action, like:

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!), because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

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

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 or Barnes & Noble 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 readability, punctuation, typos, voluntary idiocy and to exclude those comments I deem inappropriate.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine. Unless it’s a guest essay, in which case, blame the guest.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

You Aren’t Going To Live Longer – But You Could


POST 1278

Warning required by an 8th grade English lesson:
CAUTION: Snark, metaphor and satire badly mangled.
The Bad News

The workouts, the kale, the yoga om, the nix on red meat, the stairs instead of the elevator, your fixed genetics and the rest have taken you as far as they can. All that’s left for extending your lifespan is looking both ways before you cross the street, wearing your seat belt and dealing with the unhinged asshole sitting next to you in seat 13B. Let’s call him Mr. Rectum.

He’s unhinged about having a middle seat – so unfair! – and frantic about making his connection so that he can get to his Grift Jubilee. But your flight is an hour and a half late because there was weather somewhere and he’s going to miss his connection. Woe is him!

He’s flailing and wants to retribution someone. He cannot sit still or shut up because of the insanity that ceaselessly rages inside him and because of his innate hostility to everyone. Mr. Rectum is what is known in mental health circles as both troubled and toxic. In the real world where you and I live we just call him an asshole.

Click me

You will live longer if, metaphorically speaking, you move to a different seat, but it’s a full flight and nobody – I mean nobody – is going to switch seats with you and sit next to Mr. Rectum. In still more mixed metaphorical words, these derived from the movie Jaws, you’re going to need a bigger boat.

Which brings us to our current reality, the one where up is this way (↑) regardless of Mr. Rectum’s nearly constant misdirection. It’s a place where you sometimes get a citation for speeding and we want assholes in 13B  to get what’s coming to them, too. You know: accountability.

But we’ve let Mr. Rectum get his way without consequences for a long time. Much too long. Indeed, for all of his life. Oh, we have our reasons, including our rationalizations (delusions, really) that the alternative was worse; that he would keep his word and fulfill his promises; that he was super special and deserved to endanger us by driving too fast and never getting a citation. We believed at the same time that he was a regular guy who was just like we little people and we would somehow, some day become big rectums, too. But that hasn’t happened and it never will.

We let him put an insufficiently educated racoon penis slicer, a man with a heroin damaged brain, in charge of vaccinations. Millions of us puffed our chests. We were standing up to The Man and refusing to vaccinate ourselves and our kids against measles, polio and more. Then thousands became sick, many died and some are heading to a lifetime of debilitation, none of which would have happened if they had listened to the medical experts instead of Mr. Pee-pee Chopper. These people are suffering because we put hatred-fueled Mr. Rectum in charge.

Real, actual, hurts-like-hell gas prices in Hilo, HI. Don’t you wish Tulsi Gabbard would go back there and get in line to buy six buck gas?

That innate Rectum hostility has now killed thousands in a Middle East war that had no business happening because there never was a national security threat to us from there. The global economy is sinking further into a long term funk. Mr. Rectum tells us that inflation and gas prices have come way down, but see the pic to the left for actual current prices. There is nothing, no verbal invention, no untethered-to-reality idiocy that the unhinged guy in 13B won’t say to benefit himself, as he rages at the weather, his middle seat, flight safety regulations and he threatens to sue everyone who still has a pulse and even some who are already dead.

Make no mistake about this: neither seat 13B nor the weather is the problem. We are the problem. Pogo is still correct.

We seated Mr. Rectum in 13B, believing our delusions and then going about our lives, heads down, oblivious to our foolishness, our gullibility and consequences. And we got what we selected.

His behavior is way past what the flight attendants (our representatives) can or are willing to handle, so it’s time for the captain (that’s us) to come out of the flight deck and inform Mr. Rectum that he’s being removed from the flight. We can land at a remote airport and kick him out, leaving him where he can’t harm us anymore, or we can slow the airplane to landing speed, open an exit door and shove him out at 37,000 feet.

Either choice will work for us just fine because Mr. Rectum will be gone. No more lies. No more toddler tantrums. No more of his killing people on the high seas, in mountains and deserts and in Minneapolis. And no more impoverishing of billions of people around the globe. We’ll find the way forward just fine without his insanity.

Mr. Rectum has been very busy failing, wrecking everything within reach. Many thanks to JN for forwarding this.

Regardless, you aren’t going to live longer, unless .  .  .

The Good News

.  .  .  unless you’ve smartened up and now, for example, get your vaccinations and get your kids vaccinated, too. In that case you will live longer. Markedly longer. And you won’t infect your neighbor, your Pilates bro, the barista who serves you that frothy froo-froo drink or anyone else. All of us will thank you for not infecting and killing us and our kids. Plus, prices for your froo-froo drink, gas, housing and much more will, in the absence of Mr. Rectum’s ignorant manipulations, eventually come down.

But you have to help with the in-flight eviction of Mr. Rectum in order for things to get better.

Stand up. Help to drag Mr. Rectum out, even as he’s kicking, screaming, biting, claiming he’s a poor victim of terrible people, saying he will make things better like nobody has ever seen before, blaming his constant failures on Biden, claiming he’s Jesus, failing at quoting “two Corinthians” and homicidally ordering the National Guard to shoot peaceful passengers in the legs. You’re a target of that, too, but once he’s off our airplane you can ditch your bullet proof pants.

And once we’ve jettisoned our gullible nature, you really will live longer.

Quote Of The Week

Dr. Amy Acton

From Dr. Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Governor of Ohio, speaking to The Zoom Where It Happens, April 17, 2026:

.  .  .  everyone is exhausted and voters want public servants again who will help them solve problems.

What a concept: public servants actually being of service to We The People! Quite the contrast to servants of Mr. Rectum or his sycophants. So refreshing.

The time for action is NOW!
Keep standing up,
speaking out
and taking action, like:

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!), because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get the job done.

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

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 or Barnes & Noble 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 readability, punctuation, typos, voluntary idiocy and to exclude those comments I deem inappropriate.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine. Unless it’s a guest essay, in which case, blame the guest.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

For us To Win


POST 1259

“For Us To Win”

I keep hearing Democrats using that phrase regarding the upcoming elections. Lawmakers, candidates, influencers, liberal podcasters, bloviators and more talk about what Democrats need to do to persuade voters. What they need in order to get elected. Here’s the problem.

We The People don’t give a damn about those Democrats.

We care about our lives, our safety and our freedom. We care if there is equal justice under law for all, so that rich guys, elite guys and brutal cruelty dispensers get what they’re due. We care that the lawless, criminal ICE thugs are prosecuted and that lying, self-serving officials are prosecuted for their reprehensible and often illegal, un-constitutional behavior.

We care that Epstein’s buddies, the abusers, pedophiles and sex traffickers of girls, some of them little girls as young as 9 years old, get skewered by an aggressive Department of Justice that actually does its job. And I don’t mean their job of sucking up to Trump.

There is little as abhorrent as children being violated. Even MAGAs are all in on getting the perps. And they’re angry as hell that Trump lied to them, promising to make the evidence of those crimes public and then doing everything he can to keep the evidence from them, to cover up the wrongdoing. Still, millions of them stand with the felon.

We know what “fair” means, and what we see is so blatantly unfair and offensive to our values that we want things set right. Finger pointing doesn’t get the job done and neither do toothless bromides like, “We must,” blah, blah, blah.

We care if we can afford to feed our families, provide healthcare and keep the house warm in winter. We care about saving our democracy, too, but that’s a rather esoteric thing, so for some it isn’t a compelling argument to get out and vote – except for those voters already feeling the violations of their citizenship, like the citizens of Minneapolis and others around the country who care and show up to protest.

Voting for Democrats carries the implication of voting against Trump and his criminality and cruelty and that’s good. There are lots of us who find that motivating. In fact, much of the anticipation for a blue wave in November is not about electing Democrats, but about defeating Trump. Just watch what happens on March 28 for the next No Kings rally. And do more than watch. Show up! Speak up! You’ll see unlimited energy for deposing the tyrant.

So please, Democrat promoters, stop telling us what you need – donations – and whatever you think will tweak us to send more. We might like some of you, but honestly we’re not at all about you. We’re about us.

We care about We The People. Focus on that, on what we need, not what you need. Perhaps then we’ll listen and maybe donate – after you’ve listened to us. Then we just might show up on November 3rd, vote for Democrats and make a blue wave.

Your Wednesday Assignment

Read Andy Borowitz’s post of February 18, Will Pam Bondi Go to Prison? This is a well reasoned examination of our abhorrent Attorney General. And it will remind you, too, of other felonious incidents and perps that we must prosecute as we move forward to save our freedoms and as we continue to insist upon justice for all.

Quote Of The Week

Speaking to coal workers at the Champion of Coal meeting at the White House last week to accept a childishly made up award, your president broke news, saying,

“I’m proud to officially name the .  .  . undeshibly dishowen .  .  . when did this come out, Mr. Speaker .  .  .”

That is neither snark nor satire. It’s an accurate representation of Trump’s gibberish-speak. Some people are saying that someone must have implanted unintelligence nodules into his brain by blending them into his Big Macs. Or perhaps there is something degenerative going on.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle boasted – and this is word for word what he said:

“President Trump is the sharpest, most accessible, and energetic president in American history.”

A confidential source inside the White House who understands Trump’s gibberish-speak explained that “The President takes daily shushems, eats organanic frendoom and garglesh fifadon eshtrank to stay ready for the world schtage.” When asked if President Trump is suffering from dementia, the source reported that Trump doesn’t seem to notice it.

  • Time for action is dwindling

    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!), because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get the 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 or Barnes & Noble 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 readability, punctuation, typos, voluntary idiocy and to exclude those comments I deem inappropriate.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine. Unless it’s a guest essay, in which case, blame the guest.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

So Many Lies


I like a piece of description of Pam Bondi penned by Steve Schmidt.

Pamela Jo Bondi is a bad acid trip come to life, a powerful clown, a demented skank, and a dark comedy genius who will be laughed at in every room she ever walks into for the rest of her life.

Pam Bondi will die as a disbarred lawyer and a national disgrace, a historic villain and a lawless fascist who covered up the crimes of child rapists, while attempting to destroy American democracy.

Source: Rick Wilson’s post The Friday Brief, February 13, 2026

Not crazy about Schmidt’s use of the word “skank” – would have preferred “sleaze bag” – but otherwise his description is just fine. I say that because I watched much of the hearing and was struck by and offended by many of her finely honed and demented skills. It was embarrassing for our nation because we saw her in her fully puffed up contempt for reality, respect and decency. The entire world saw that.

  1. She did an amazing job of sucking up to President Trump, declaring him “the greatest president in our nation’s history.” Everyone, even Trump’s supporters, knows that is utterly false under any definition of reality, but she sucked up that way just the same.
  2. She continuously displayed her world class arrogance that long ago earned her lifetime membership in the Mean Girls Club. Example: she made a big show of ignoring Democrats by shuffling through papers the entire time a Democrat was addressing her. That plus her snide attacks and more should earn her a contempt of Congress citation.
  3. She was masterful in not answering the questions of Democrats on the panel when their questions headed in a direction she didn’t like, which was nearly always. However, she made great eye contact with Republicans and floated into a dreamy place when answering their soft ball questions. Utterly useless answers. Utterly useless witness.
  4. She set a new bar in speaking extensively on issues and events having nothing to do with the point of the hearing or even vaguely relating to the questions she was asked, irrespective of the questions or questioners. Filibustering as an art form.

That was Bondi replying to an Epstein question, as survivors sat behind her ignored and dismissed by the A.G. and the entire Department of Justice. Yes, really.

On January 24 of this year Alex Pretti was using his rights as an American to protest ICE’s brutality to Minnesotans. Pretti had bent to help a woman who had been pepper sprayed directly in her face and eyes by an ICE agent when ICE agents grabbed him, threw him to the ground and six of them completely subdued him. We know this because we all have seen the videos, as has Bondi. We also saw two of the ICE goons draw their guns and shoot and kill unarmed, subdued, passive Mr. Pretti 10 times. In his back.

Within minutes both Trump and the puppy murderer Kristi Noem declared to the public that Mr. Pretti was a terrorist, that he was there to murder as many ICE agents as he could, that he was a clear and present danger, all in contradiction of what everyone saw.

Bondi, on the other hand, used the murder to attempt to extort voter information from Gov. Tim Walz (MN). Not a word of empathy for Pretti or those who cared about him. I guess as our highest law enforcement official she doesn’t care too much about Mr. Pretti or justice, the rule of law or democracy. indeed, she refused to look at or acknowledge the Epstein survivors seated behind her, even when invited to do so. How does it happen that some are completely without empathy?

For at least the past year Bondi has worked hard to cover up the crimes and the identities of the Epstein pedophile players. She has continuously suppressed evidence and lied about it. She has directly violated the law by displaying the names of victims and has covered up the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators, the child rapists and traffickers. She is effectively an accomplice after the fact in the crimes of pedophilia, trafficking of girls as young as 9 years old and the rest. Instead of being our nation’s chief enforcer of justice, she is our chief cover up criminal, second only to Donald Trump.

Just another day in the Trump Administration

Paraphrasing what was said long ago about Richard Nixon, when Bondi was a little girl and her little girlfriends (assuming she had any) were getting Christmas gifts of dolls and cute stuffed animals, Bondi was given a briefcase. And she liked it.

Just another day in the Trump Administration – Again
.

President Donald Trump has been claiming that he stopped eight wars, but The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette published a fine report issued by the Associated Press that sussed out the reality of Trump’s claim. Do read the piece, but to save you some time, the jury is back with a “nuh-uh.”

There were some clashes about which he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, but Trump didn’t end any of them.

He claims he strong armed India and Pakistan to stop their clash over the Kashmir region that has been ongoing for over 79 years. But India says that he didn’t do anything but flap his lips meaninglessly and that the conflict isn’t settled. So much for stopping eight wars.

Karoline Leavitt admonishing reporters who just don’t get it that up is down.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado presented Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal. But the Nobel Institute says, “[o]nce a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others.” That means that it’s still Machado’s, regardless of whose small hands are on it.

Of course, the Nobel Institute’s rules won’t stop Trump from falsely claiming he won a Nobel Peace Prize for – what else? – stopping eight wars.

White House Press Secretary and official mean girl liar, Karoline Leavitt, has exploded with phony hyperbole over this, keeping this Trump lie ongoing, just like the rest of them.

Satire So Real

From Andy Borowitz, Feb. 10:

[Trump] remained bitter about the Super Bowl halftime show, telling reporters that “Bad Bunny took a job away from an American bunny.”

  • Time for action is dwindling

    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!), because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get the 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 or Barnes & Noble 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 readability, punctuation, typos, voluntary idiocy and to exclude those comments I deem inappropriate.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine. Unless it’s a guest essay, in which case, blame the guest.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

You Knew This Was Coming


POST 1247

ICE thugs have been brutalizing people both verbally and physically for a year. The crowds of protesters have confronted them and have somehow stayed peaceful in the face of ICE brutality and illegality.

Now a mother in Minneapolis is dead at the hands of an ICE agent holding a gun like he thinks he’s Rambo. Trump and his mouthpieces claimed the ICE thug was afraid for his life, but video of the scene puts the lie to that. The real issue, though, is that he should never have been where he was and doing what he was doing.

This is Donald Trump’s Gestapo, crafted by his chief Nazi, Stephen Miller. It is Trump’s national private police, made up of people desperate to feel strong, needing to feel in charge of themselves for once and basking in the glow of receiving a pat on the head from someone in authority. Thanks to megalomaniac Trump these people are unrestrained by law, justice or even simple decency. They are the American SS.

They abuse people who may possibly be guilty of a misdemeanor but likely aren’t, like overstaying a visa. They abuse people born in this country and who are, therefore, citizens of the U.S. by order of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. They abuse legal residents, like visiting nurses and college students. But all of these people are treated by ICE like they’re heinous criminals who have been convicted of the most terrible crimes. Committing offenses against humanity is the ICE marching order. It’s designed to terrify all of us into compliance.

It was just a matter of time before there would be unjustifiable violence*. I mean, really, they recruited thousands of low character men craving some justification for acting out their anger, gave them face masks, uniforms without identification and guns. They put them in black, unmarked vehicles and told them they have quotas to meet and that isolating the right suspects is unimportant. Just lock up bodies. I wonder how many of them are the very same January 6 insurrectionists who are traitors to our country. How many of them do you suppose are Proud Boys or Oath Keepers? Bear in mind that Hitler recruited his Gestapo from prisons and recruited violent criminals.

Oh, and they made these thugs above the law, untouchable and all powerful over state and local officials and law enforcement.

WHAT THE HELL

DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?

.

This ICE murder in Minneapolis is one of several ICE murders – two more in Portland yesterday. And you know that Trump, Miller and Noem all lied about the Minneapolis murder in less than an hour. They lie reflexively, automatically, pathologically – and they will call this and any other violence a reason to send our military to Democratic (blue) cities to enforce martial law. You know that they’ll call for yet more brutal actions and they will spew yet more vile lies about law abiding people – like your neighbors or even you.

With the invasion of a sovereign nation and the kidnapping of its president; the lionization and pardoning of January 6 terrorist insurrectionists, calling them heroes and patriots; with the justice-free Department of Justice; most especially with the astonishing cowardice of the Republicans in Congress; with the six extremist Justices of the sycophantic Supreme Court; Trump hopes he will have redirected us away from the Epstein matter so that we won’t find out about the crimes he committed and he’ll thereby escape accountability.

But we won’t forget the violation of those little girls. We won’t allow them to be abandoned again. And we won’t allow justice to be perverted for the benefit of rich perverts.

See Andy Borowitz’s 9 second read about Minneapolis.

And if you want clarity about what is happening to America and Americans, see Rick Wilson’s 3-minute read, Stephen Miller’s Murder Machine – Murder and Lies in Minneapolis.

  • 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!), because it’s going to take ALL OF US to get the 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 or Barnes & Noble 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 readability, punctuation, typos, voluntary idiocy and to exclude those comments I deem inappropriate.
    7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine. Unless it’s a guest essay, in which case, blame the guest.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Sleight of Mouth


POST 1180

Bright Shiny Objects

During the 2016 election campaign of Doñald* Trump we heard the audio recording of what became known as the Access Hollywood tape. In it Trump is heard bragging about trying to f*ck married women. He said, “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.” Clearly, without their consent.

He said he would, “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” Sexual predator stuff. It was a plain, direct admission of having committed multiple counts of felony sexual assault.

Later that same day, as reported in Wikipedia,

WikiLeaks begins publishing thousands of emails from the personal Gmail account of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, revealing excerpts from Clinton’s paid speeches to Wall Street.

While Doñald’s crude comments remained in the public discussion, Clinton’s pay for giving speeches to Wall Street firms proved to be a powerful distraction. And so it goes with most Trump vulnerabilities.

Heather Cox Richardson posted on May 16,

In his newsletter today, retired entrepreneur Bill Southworth tallied the times Trump has grabbed headlines to distract people from larger stories, starting the tally with how Trump’s posts about Peanut the Squirrel the day before the election swept like a brushfire across the right-wing media ecosystem and then into the mainstream. In early 2025, Southworth notes, as the media began to dig into the dramatic restructuring of the federal government, Trump posted outrageously about Gaza, and that story took over. When cuts to PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and the U.S. Agency for International Development threatened lives across Africa, Trump turned the conversation to white South Africans he lied were fleeing “anti-white genocide.”**

So the political lesson is that when exposed as a cheat, fraud, liar or sexual assaulter, Trump dumps something explosive to distract the public. It’s the Bright Shiny Object insanity plea.

Like Doñald surrendering to China by reducing tariffs from 145% to 30% and getting nearly no concessions in return. Nevertheless, the self-crowned master of negotiating claimed a big negotiating win for America and personally attacked his critics, which became the story.

Like the week ending with Moody’s downgrading America’s credit score (as did two other ratings agencies), so Doñald had his spokesman, Steven Cheung, make personal attacks on a Moody’s analyst. As with nearly all things related to Trump, Cheung completely failed to address the substantive issue.

Like the Supreme Court overwhelmingly shooting down Doñald for using the Alien Enemies Act to kidnap people off the street, so Doñald countered by announcing a $400 million dollar aircraft “gift” from the Qataris, which became all the buzz.***

Another of Trump’s get-away trick for his indefensible assaults on law and morality is to do bad stuff by stealth in the middle of the night, like the Republican House did when cobbling together the theft of Medicaid via their fetid, stinking budget. They are sneaking their rip-off, their larceny from poor children, from grannies in nursing and retirement homes, from desperately poor people in Red states and so many more millions of Americans needing healthcare. It’s all to transfer more trillions of dollars to greedy billionaires and add another $5 trillion to our national debt, the debt service of which will overwhelmingly be paid by working Americans, not the greedy billionaires.

Does this ghastly, dreadful, putrid stuff make you want to stand up and scream? Well, there’s good news for you.

Slighting You and Me

From Dan Rather, May 16 regarding the rancid Republican budget bill:

Trump and Johnson don’t want to give anyone time to read the fine print [in the 1116 page bill].

Because then folks would know that the bill would cut $625 billion from Medicaid, pushing more than 8 million of our most vulnerable from its rolls.

People would also be aware that cuts to the food stamp program would target poor families with children, seniors, and veterans.

Voters would find out that someone making less than $15,000 a year would see their federal taxes increase by 74.3% by 2031. That is not a typo.

Trump claims all of these cuts are necessary to make his $4.5 trillion tax cut for billionaires and corporations permanent.

Reader and friend E.L. gave me the heads up that last Sunday was the 98th anniversary of Charles LIndbergh’s flight across the Atlantic Ocean. It was quite a feat and it put Lindbergh into a special class, which became quite mixed.

He was quite familiar with the Nazis and said this in a 1945 speech:

History is full of [the] misuse [of power]. There is no better example than Nazi Germany. Power without moral force to guide it invariably ends in the destruction of the people who wield it. Power . . . must be backed by morality . . .

We are suffering terribly from a lack of morality in our government. If this continues, there will surely be destruction of We The People before “the destruction of the people who wield [power].”

From Norm Eisen’s Memorial Day post:

To memorialize our veterans’ sacrifices is to attend to the fragile, unfinished work of fighting autocracy and building a country worthy of their service. It is to hold tight to the idea of America, even when its practice falters. To do our part, as they did—not on distant battlefields, but on our streets, among our communities, and in our courthouses.

Our Streets

You and I are just like the Founders in our abhorrence of kings, monarchs, despots and dictators. Won’t tolerate one in our America. Which is why June 14 is

NO KINGS DAY!

.

Click on the map, to find a demonstration near you and register. If there isn’t one close by, register to organize one. Or wait a few days, as new sites are popping up every day. As of this writing there are hundreds of them, people across the nation who won’t tolerate Trump’s scams leading to his dictatorship. Many thanks to Indivisible for kick starting this national demonstration to strengthen America and metaphorically kick would-be kings in a most debilitating spot.

Yes, June 14 is the date of Trump’s birthday and his narcissistic, “Aren’t I The Powerful One!” military parade. It’s designed to show the world what a tough guy he is, able to tear up Pennsylvania Avenue with tank treads in a single afternoon and waste $45 million beyond that. Instead, he could hire more air traffic controllers, but that wouldn’t be special for him.

“NO KINGS” – kinda has a ring to it.

__________________________________________

* We’ll call him “Doñald” now and then to honor the millions of Hispanic people living in our country who are threatened by him every day and who live in fear. We honor all who walk down the sidewalk or speak out in any way Trump doesn’t like, be they citizens or visitors.

We extend our flick off to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its masked thugs who refuse to produce identification and who have no arrest warrants, but happily kidnap people. Didn’t kidnapping used to be a federal offense?

** Musk, too, claims there is a genocide of White farmers ongoing in his native country, South Africa. Here’s the fun part: His own Grok xAI says that isn’t true.

*** The giving of such a “gift” is called “bribery.” Also, “foreign emoluments,” which, like bribery, is prohibited by the Constitution.

Countdown to November 3, 2026
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 the 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 readability, punctuation, typos, 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 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

How Does Trump Hate You? Let Me Count The Ways*


POST 1169

Crushing Us With Hatred

It isn’t just Trump. He’s assembled a gang of fascist tool-boys and -girls into a hit mob, abhorrents like Elon Musk, Stephen Miller, Kash Patel, Fauxbilly Vance, Pam Bondi Steve Bannon and so many more.

He’s doing everything he can to tear down our country, to trash the things that make us strong, our safety in a very dangerous world, our belief in ourselves, our health, our economic resilience, the rule of law, truth, justice and the American way.

“You can’t love your country if you hate half the people in it,” Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) said recently. A version of that – Aaron Sorkin’s words – was said by fictional character Sydney Ellen Wade in the 1995 film The American President:

How do you have patience for people who claim they love America, but clearly can’t stand Americans?

Do you have that patience? Neither do I. But these haters are using their power to do hateful things to millions of Americans. Trump makes his hatred plain to see. His insane need for retribution drives the meanness and destruction that he visits upon Americans, done under the flimsiest claim of patriotism with the flourish of a slimy circus sideshow barker. But his reality show isn’t reality. It’s just a cruelty show of gladiatorial murders.

What he does isn’t patriotism, because nobody can both love America and hate Americans.

Boiling Blood

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was in the U.S. legally for many years. He is a sheet metal apprentice, is married to a U.S. citizen and has 3 children. He has never been accused of any crime, much less convicted. He was working to build his American dream. Then the Trump thugs swooped in, snatched him up, threw him in a white van and

SOLD HIM

to an El Salvador dictator.

Our courts, including the Supreme Court, have ordered that Garcia be returned for various reasons, like due process, like that the Trumpies have admitted that it was an error to grab him, like that everything about this stinks, including Trump’s claim that he can disappear American citizens the same way.

Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers are making America a joke before the world with their idiotic claims that they can’t bring Garcia back to this country. Read Prof. Heather Cox Richardson’s report of this Trump-caused American tragedy. It will make your blood boil  because of the hatred Trump has for America and for Americans.

Transcript of phone call between President Trump and Abrego Garcia’s children **
.

Trump: The only reason I’m on this call is because the failing New York Times leaked a story that it would happen. So, what’s your question for your president?

Garcia children (heard sniffling): We’re so sad. We miss our daddy. Why did you take him away from us?

Trump: Look, your daddy is a very dangerous man and I as your president must protect the American people.

Garcia children: But you said you made a mistake, that he shouldn’t have been taken away.

Trump: That doesn’t matter. He’s in a place where he can’t hurt anyone now and they are very tough there. Very tough. They will deal with him toughly and he’ll stay there because no prisoner ever gets out. Plus, I negotiated a great deal with President whatshisname to make those immigrants disappear. Forget about your daddy. He’s never coming back.

Garcia children (wailing in sorrow): That’s not fair. You’re so mean to him. Bring our daddy back to us.

Trump: I have tariffs to announce, plus I’ve been told that a love letter from Kim Jung Un just arrived for me and it’s very complimentary. He likes me a lot, so this call is over.

The Ultimate Cheat

Trump is and will continue to use defiance of the courts over the Garcia case and others to distract us from his tariffs and the destruction of our economy. It’s his current bright, shiny object deployed so that we don’t see the full truth of his law breaking.

He’s neutered Congress***, so now it’s full speed ahead to

DEFY THE COURTS AND DECLARE HIS KINGSHIP!

.

From Meidas+ Touch, April 14:

Donald Trump met with El Salvador’s autocratic president, Nayib Bukele, and used the occasion not to promote diplomacy or human rights—but to spread Russian propaganda, mock the Supreme Court, and flirt with the idea of sending American citizens to prison camps in El Salvador. Yes, you read that right.

Trump openly said he would defy a Supreme Court ruling ordering the return of Kilmer Abrego Garcia—an innocent man the Trump regime deported by “mistake” to a gulag in El Salvador. When asked whether he’d help bring Abrego Garcia home, Trump sneered, attacked the press, and had Pam Bondi peddle blatant lies about Abrego Garcia’s legal status.

Like I said: blood boiling. Yours, mine and everyone’s, as Trump wipes his muddy Gucci loafers on our Constitution.

Winning

“We’re gonna win so much, you may even get tired of winning.” So said the reality show huckster.

Are you sick of winning yet? Here’s a short list of what you’ve lost:

– money – gobs of it, and you’ll lose way more as tariffs ramp up to spike the price of everything you buy and the sinking stock and bond markets trash your investments

– the privacy of your IRS information – all of it. Privacy is required by law, but Trump don’ obey no stinking laws.

– access to Social Security

– the rule of law

– world class healthcare – poof, gone!

– safety for our judges, legislators, administrators, commenters – anyone who Trump decides he doesn’t like. He wants us to live in fear.

– preparedness and protection from pandemics and severe weather

– the trust of the world

So, no, you’re not sick of winning.

There is no hyperbole in saying that we are a voluntarily failing nation. Led by Trump and his fascist goons, this country is bringing down the world, leading our former allies to circle the drain with us.

All that and more are why millions of us have taken to the streets and are looking for a political Moses to lead us out of Pharaoh Trump bondage. Perhaps one day the word “winning” will justly apply to us.

Stupid Spend

They won’t say exactly how much they charge for a sub-orbital flight in Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spacecraft, but it’s rumored to be in the millions of dollars. It costs $150,000 just to apply. On its first passenger flight someone paid $28 million in an online auction for the 10 – 11 minute flight. Let’s do some math.

There have been roughly 52 passengers on Blue Origin spacecraft. Let’s guess that an average price paid for the flights is $2 million. That brings us to a very conservative total of $104,000,000 that has been shelled out for 11 minutes on a rocket. What else might have been done with that $104,000,000 had the passengers been more philanthropically inclined?

– 962 students could have gone to a 4-year, in-state public university and left with a diploma and no student debt.

– 104,000,000 children could have been vaccinated against polio.

– 47 military field hospitals could have been set up in Ukraine.

– 104,000 desperately poor children in Mississippi, Louisiana and West Virginia (our poorest states) could have gone to summer camp for 2 weeks.

– 693 Habitat for Humanity houses could have been built.

Instead, a bunch of very rich people went for an over-the-top carnival ride for 11 minutes.

_____________________________________________________

* Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning for abusing the title of her beautiful love poem, How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) for the purpose of exposing today’s ugly reality.

** My fabrication. It means nothing, but it felt good to write that.

*** It would be kind of cool if a bunch of Republicans in Congress suddenly discovered they each has a spine and together they can stand up to Trump.

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 the 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 readability, punctuation, typos, 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 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

Goo Gobs of Blame


POST 1161

Post 1160 was originally entitled “To Wimp or Not To Wimp: That Is The Question.” It was a ripping on Chuck Schumer for his signing on to that total abdication of power, the abhorrent continuing resolution. The only thing in that un-American bill necessary for keeping the government open and operating is the first sentence of Section 3. Instead, Mike Johnson and his Jellyfish Caucus jammed in all the rest of what Trump wanted, formally neutering Congress. Then Schumer caved in and voted for it. That’s why my post was entitled as it was.

But then our constitutional democracy ended.*

So, the title, focus and energy of Post 1160 shifted and the message is spelled out best by someone more able to articulate our dreadful reality. Many thanks to SL for directing me to the work of The Intellectualist.

The name of this publisher itself is a brave declaration in this age of anti-wisdom, anti-science, anti-knowledge, anti-critical thinking, anti-intellectual, anti-learning,** anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Jews, anti-anything-not-White-and-claiming-to-be-Christian, anti-sovereignty of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, anti-justice, anti-democracy – let’s stop there and focus on just the last two. Post your own anti-whatever in the Comments section below.

Here’s a link to the essay in The Intellectualist, Black Saturday: The Day the United States Ceased to Be a Constitutional Democracy. Perhaps you prefer a musical reference: last Saturday, March 15, was the day the music died. It is the day when Trump and his anti-American, anti-democracy, hate and anger mouth foamers completed taking down the other branches of government.

Congress was already in Trump’s pocket, as was the Supreme Court. Last Saturday he defied a District Court order, which put all power in his own hands. Pick your word: fascism; authoritarianism; monarchy. Doesn’t matter. Our democracy has been trashed, leaving us great misery to come.

Read the piece in The Intellectualist. It’s the best explainer. Then weep, rage and make plans to protect yourself from the orange Big Brother. I prefer to begin by pointing fingers of blame. Childish, I know, but, oddly enough, it turns out I’m human and putting blame where it’s due feels right.

→ Blame Trump’s parents for failing to hold him accountable, effectively being his first enablers, teaching him to lie, cheat and steal. Their lousy parenting allowed him to avoid hundreds of well earned spankings.

→ Blame higher education institutions for letting Trump’s father buy him diplomas.

→ Blame his podiatrist for lying about bone spurs that later magically disappeared.

→ Blame all the suck-ups everywhere.

→ Blame Presidents and Congresses for blowing off millions of people for decades, most decisively since Reagan, his trickle down economics larceny and our steadfast march away from accountability. That set the stage for pissy people embracing violence, threats of violence and massive idiocy at ballot boxes, voting for completely unqualified candidates who cleverly spoke to their pissy.

→ Blame Democrats for ignoring the needs and aspirations of millions of working people, which, of course, made them pissy.

→ Blame Democrats for constantly pretending that this is some imaginary other age, when people acted with integrity and were polite at all times, where they never raised their voices and fought only to win great intellectual debates. Today that’s called spinelessness.

→ Blame all the spewers of Big Lies and conspiracy fantasies and all the willfully ignorant fools who believe them.

→ Blame the very clever, manipulative lawyers, the cunning political operators and the vast army of liars who lack all integrity all the time. They parade their dishonesty as though it were a virtue and somehow they’re never checked on that.

→ Blame the Supreme Court Black-hearted Six for driving the final nail into the coffin of democracy with its 2024 decision allowing presidents to break the law and not be held to account. Now Trump really can shoot someone on 5th Avenue and suffer no consequences.

→ Blame congressional Republicans for having no spine, no courage, outrageous hypocrisy and for thinking not of our country or of We the People, but of what’s best for themselves in the short term, first, last and always.

→ Blame Democrats for a complete lack of vision and the inability to motivate anyone.

→ Blame the hundreds of thousands of Americans who long ago went heads down, refusing to see what has been right before them, who only recognize what touches them directly and who turn away from what is even just a bit uncomfortable.

→ Blame me for failing to find a way to reach far more people and be a more effective wake up call, a disambiguator making a difference.

There. I feel better.

  • The Constitutional Democracy Preservation/Reinstatement To-Do List

Our Constitution is extremely sick and it appears that it could be terminal. What I want to know is what the Constitutional Democracy Preservation/Reinstatement To-Do List has on it. I’m certain that there are brilliant legal minds working on that right now. There are also countless organizations calling for rallies and demonstrations. That’s where we start.

There will be a huge demonstration in DC on April 5 organized by Indivisible, 50-50-1, mobilize.us, Women’s March and many more organizations, all demanding of TrumpMusk, “HANDS OFF!“

The beauty is that you don’t have to be in DC to stand and be counted. There will be rallies that day all across the nation. Click here or on the map below to find a rally near you. Then SHOW UP on April 5!

Stand tall. Make your voice heard. Being passive is the same as making yourself a victim and losing everything. You don’t want to do that.

Democracy doesn’t look like Musk’s goons breaking into agencies and threatening the workers with violence and arrest. It doesn’t look like Musk’s evil flying monkey hackers stealing your financial, tax and medical records, either.

Democracy doesn’t look like:

Trump rounding up some aliens who have been charged with no crime, not even charged with being in our country illegally;

accusing them of felonious acts and offering no evidence;

denying them anything resembling due process;

expelling them from our country – disappearing them;

turning them over to El Salvador concentration camp thugs;

and disobeying the orders of a federal district court judge, this so that Trump could aggregate all power to himself. All that’s left to do are a few details, as Trump pisses on the graves of our Founders.

That most decidedly is not what democracy looks like.

Demonstrations like those upcoming on April 5 are where we stand tall – this is what democracy looks like.

Say it out loud:

This is what democracy looks like.
.

REBEL!

________________________________________

* Read Steve Schmidt’s post, First They Came For . . .

** If you’re old enough you might remember President Kennedy proclaiming, “College is America’s best friend.” That was in an age when we were in a battle against the Soviets for industrial and technological leadership and we needed lots of smart, well-educated people.

The same battle continues to rage, now standing up to Russia and China. We still need smart, educated people. But instead of promoting secondary education, Trump is trying to tear down our institutions that supply that education. Who do you suppose he wants to win this battle and lead the world?

By making college unaffordable and student loans unbearable, we risk deterring our best and brightest from pursuing higher education and securing a good-paying job.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)

  • We also pull the rug from under our country with that crushing cost.
    Fun Fact: Both Barack and Michelle Obama had outstanding student loans when Obama became President.

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 the 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. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

What We Wish Judge Juan Merchan Had Said


POST 1137

Preface:

The following is solely wishful thinking. Much to our disappointment, Judge Merchan did not say these words. On the other hand, Trump will, in fact, spend the rest of his life with the word “felon” attached to him and to his name everywhere, including in U.S. history books and in all of his presidential records.

  • _____________________________________________
  • January 10, 2025
  • Courtroom: Part 59
  • State of New York Criminal Courts Building
  • New York, New York
  • Judge Juan Merchan presiding
  • ======================================

Judge Merchan:

“The defendant will rise.

“Mr. Trump, you have received all the benefits of the presumption of innocence, the due process of law and the other protections provided by the Constitution of the United States. You have abused them and the legal system in multiple ways.

“You sought and gained delays of every sort, many frivolous, including abuse of the court system itself.

“You have been verbally abusive and threatening to this court, including to the jurors, and then, when cautioned about your conduct, you continued your verbal abuse.

“You were put under a gag order and then, after many reminders of what is required by this court, you both complained about how unfairly you had been treated and then you violated the gag order yet again.

“You have made a mockery of the rule of law, insisting upon special treatment not available to any other citizen of this state or of this nation. You complained of not being treated even more specially. You have, in short, demonstrated your complete lack of respect for our nation.

“In a unanimous verdict, you have been adjudged guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud, not by a court, but by a jury of your peers. Your guilt will stand and be attached to your name forever. There is no escaping this accountability for your criminal acts.

“Because of the proximity of this sentencing hearing to the upcoming inauguration it is impossible to impose incarceration upon you presently or for the duration of your presidency. However, the law allows for a sentence to be suspended for a period of time.

“Therefore, Donald John Trump, this court sentences you be incarcerated for a period of 1 year for each felony count to which you have been found guilty, for a total of 34 years. These 1-year periods of incarceration shall be served sequentially and with no opportunity for parole.

“This judgment is to be suspended for the duration of your presidency. Upon leaving that office you will immediately be remanded to the State of New York to begin serving your term of incarceration.

“In addition, you are hereby fined the sum of $10,000 for each felony count to which you have been found guilty. You are required to pay this fine before Inauguration Day this year.

“Understand this, Mr. Trump: While the execution of your sentence is necessarily postponed, you have not been exonerated and your guilt stands, effective immediately. You are irrevocably a criminal, as much as a common thief or a murderer is a criminal. Your money, your notoriety and your position have no influence on that. You are a criminal fraud.

“You have famously said that you could shoot someone and never lose any voters. That may be true, but you would wind up in my courtroom and you would get away with nothing. In my courtroom you will be held accountable.

“Mr. Trump, you will be the first United States president to have entered office as a felon, putting a stain upon that office. You have embarrassed and debased yourself with your behavior before this court. The most disappointing thing is that you obviously haven’t the ability to understand any of that.

“Dismissed.”

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 the 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 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. Glad to have your corrections.
  4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
  5. 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.
  6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

Click me

JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

A New Take On Rights


POST 1096

First, A Few Takes From the DNC Convention

I’ve never seen anything like that. Nobody else has, either. We saw,

An IVF baby, now a young man, clapping and jumping, tears streaming down his face, pointing at the vice presidential nominee, yelling, “That’s my dad! That’s my dad!”

A daughter introducing her dad with such love and tenderness that when the President of the United States came on stage he was dabbing at his tears.

Oprah Winfrey being – what else? – Oprah Winfrey, and exhorting everyone to love and fight for freedom.

Obama brought her husband and each blew the roof off the United Center. When she was about to leave the stage, he held her hand a little longer and invited the crowd to applaud her. He is what a role model should look like. The country craves their clarity, their steadiness and their hope. Gawd, I miss those people.

Ever-present at the Republican convention but notably absent from 4 nights of the Democratic convention were:

cruelty

cynicism

exclusion of any class of Americans

Click me, if you can stomach seeing this

copyright infringements of anyone’s music

Lee Greenwood, his music and any inference of chest thumping superiority

muscle-bound domination of others or demonstrations of primitive masculinity

promises to strip away freedoms and end our democracy

lies about history, rights and freedom

No worries. The Republicans are completely caught up on all those awful things, so they aren’t going away any time soon.

There was great emotion throughout the Democratic Party convention, but it seems to me that the most powerful thread was a sense of the restoration of a long absent hope. It was the next step in the ending of a dark and terrible night, with the sun now shining on the horizon, promising a better tomorrow.

Reagan was just an actor reciting someone else’s words, so I will paraphrase those words now because at last they will be true.

Once again it will be morning in America, with the sun shining on the city on the hill.

The American spirit is coming out of its slumber and awakening once again.

CAUTION!

The right wingnuts have already begun their cruelty, blasting Tim Walz’s son. There will be more cruelty to come from them, more playground brat meanness and outright lies. Expect it to continue at least until November 5 because it’s all they have. Where appropriate, call out the lies and the hatred. And always,

DO NOT LET THE BASTARDS GET YOU DOWN!

Now, About Those Rights

Jon Meacham’s reminder and warning (scroll to “Critical Quote”) that “The forces that broke into the Capitol and threatened the lives of our elected representatives, including the Speaker of the House and the Vice-President of the United States, are still very much abroad in the land,” is a crystal clear statement of the danger we face. Those forces intend to strip our rights from us.

I wrote recently about rights in the context of Gov. Tim Walz’s admonition to Republicans to mind their own damn business. Here’s a bit more about our rights.

  1. When my wife and daughter – any of us, really – consult with our doctors, we have a right to evict all Republican politicians from the exam room, the doctor’s office and the entire building. Permanently.
  2. We are free to travel to any state at any time for any reason without fear of prosecution from deranged Republican bullies aflicted with Severe Self-Righteousness Syndrome. It’s a legal thing, thus sayeth the Constitution.
  3. My children and grandchildren have a right to be taught actual, full-story history that is unpolluted by Republican revisionist propaganda.
  4. All users of schools and libraries have a right to have books on the shelves available to students without interference from hyperbolic, ignorance loving, self-righteous Republican literature vigilantes.
  5. The Constitution says that we have gun rights. It also says that our 3rd graders have a right to not get shot dead in their classrooms by a wacko with “issues” carrying an AR-15.
  6. All Americans have the right to not go bankrupt due to the hideous cost of treatments for major medical events. Healthcare is not just for the rich, thus sayeth the Bernie.
  7. Citizens have the right to see accountability meted out to wrongdoers, regardless of whether the perps are shameful senators, representatives or any others like them who think there should be no accountability, even when their psychopathic bestie loses and breaks the law four different ways to regain power.
  8. We have the right to grab a beer at the Minoqua Brewing Company even though the extremist Republican (is that redundant?) county judge and the owner of the local newspaper don’t like the pub owner’s politics.
  9. We have a right for “No one is above the law” and “Nation of laws, not of men” and “The rule of law” to mean what they say and that nobody gets a free pass to commit crimes. Ever. Including the president. Especially the president.* And “guilty” means “guilty” for anyone who is guilty.
Best Reads, Because You Want To Understand

The Republican driven reinstatement of the Robber Barons that has been going on since we were tricked by Reagan’s woeful economic idiocy is crushing millions of Americans and inviting the purchase of our government by the ultra-wealthy. That’s not an accident. It is the result of decades of hard work by selfish, power and money greedy cannibals and it has prevented you from getting what you want (see the list above). And it has put us face-to-face with this MAGA and Heritage Foundation attack on our democracy. Read Thom Hartmann’s excellent explainer here.

To understand the ossified MAGA fascist brain, read Ed Gurowitz’s explainer, Growth vs. Stagnation.

Some Good News

1. Look at this headline:

Translation: Boeing, in the midst of all of its international and extraterrestrial fumbling, is going to be saved by international embarrassment Elon Musk. Feel free to chuckle or moan over any part of that.

2. Look at this chart from Gallup:

You’ll definitely want to read the source doc. Just click the pic.

Given our national history of discrimination, this is stunningly good news!

Final Takeaways From the Convention (click the pics)

“And we made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day. So, while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours.”

– Gov. Tim Walz – Acceptance speech to the DNC, August 20, 2024

  • .

“I want to know, who’s going to tell [Trump] that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?”

– Michelle Obama, Address to the DNC, August 20, 2024

  • .

“America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom; opportunity; compassion and dignity; fairness and endless opportunities.

“We are heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment.

“It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: The privilege of being an American.”

  • – Vice-President Kamala Harris, Acceptance speech to the DNC, August 22, 2024

Yes, Sarah Palin, it’s that “hopey, changey” thing coming back to our doorstep. And it’s a stake in the ground that no person and no party holds an exclusive on the red, white and blue.

As Steve Schmidt says,

“We won’t get the years back, but we are going to get our country back.”

The real America, this nation founded not on royalty or privilege of the rich or on contortions of the law, but on the idea of democracy, is coming back. Dictator lovers, stand aside.

_______________________________________________

* Especially, because the president can do far more harm to America and Americans than any other individual.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out here:
.

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/am-i-registered-to-vote/

“Friends do not let friends vote forcon artists.“
  • – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016.


  • 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 the 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 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. Glad to have your corrections.
    4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
    5. 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.
    6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

    Click me

    JA


Copyright 2026 by Jack Altschuler
Reproduction and sharing are encouraged, providing proper attribution is given.

1 2 3 … 18  Scroll to top