Manipulation

The Spineless Ones


Reading time – 3:51; Viewing time – 6:13  .  .  .

This is the sad tale of The Spineless Ones, those who simply cannot stand up for what they know to be right and instead selfishly cave in to others, whom they allow to be far too influential in their careers.

The members of the House voted 235-180 and the Senate voted 57-43 to eliminate the prohibition of mentally unstable people from being able to purchase firearms. Essentially, they’ve said that your sociopathic Uncle Alfonse, who is mentally unable to care for himself and has violent hallucinations, may now own an arsenal of guns and ammunition.


 

Said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,

“Make no mistake, this vote was really about deepening the gun industry’s customer pool, at the expense of those in danger of hurting themselves or others.“

The repeal of the prohibition was spearheaded in the Senate by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). He is the same Chuck Grassley who fought Obamacare with the stirring words of a warrior for truth and integrity, saying, “They’re going to pull the plug on Granny.” He declared that lie as part of the Republican brain dead opposition to anything Obama, this episode of which was a fight against non-existent “death panels” he insisted were built into the Affordable Care Act. In this week’s victory for more homicides, his next act of courage, Grassley declared that the prohibition against the ownership of guns by the mentally disabled unfairly stigmatizes these people. UNFAIRLY STIGMATIZES THESE PEOPLE!

Is this nonsense making your eyes go all googly? Does Grassley’s Orwellian logic of people who are mentally disabled being stigmatized because they can’t own a Bushmaster assault rifle mash up your brain cells? It should.

This is yet another case of big money lobbying distorting our rights, our freedom, our safety and our common sense. It is exactly why I deliver keynotes entitled, Money, Politics and Democracy: You Aren’t Getting What You Want (here’s a link to a 15-minute sample video). If we don’t fix this, the next time you walk past your neighbor’s door you may be greeted by that poor soul who suffers from dementia but has in his hands a Glock semi-automatic fitted with a silencer. He might not shoot you then, but he’ll still be next door tonight – with his gun. Sleep well.

And get me booked to present to your group before Grassley and the other Spineless Ones do yet more damage to America.

President Trump’s press conference of February 16 was yet another supreme exhibition of self-congratulation and self-admiration, reaffirming multiple times what the electoral college count was and how awful Hillary is, and an unrelenting attack on the press, supported by absolutely no specifics or facts. That is to say, it was standard Trump and added very little to our political or governmental knowledge.

From The Globe and Mail, January 31 and February 15, 2017. Thanks to our Canadian friends for putting this into perspective. Thanks to PW for sending the link. CLICK ME

What he did say was that in talking with the Russians after the election and before the inauguration, Michael Flynn was doing his job. Trump said that  he did not direct Flynn to talk with them about the easing of sanctions, but that he would have, had he given Flynn marching orders. Just to be clear, Flynn’s advising the Russians about Trump lifting sanctions once in office, this done while President Obama was still in office, was and is an illegal act, arguably treason. And President Trump tells us that he would have advised Flynn to do that very thing.

I’m past asking questions, like why would Trump do such a thing or even say such a thing, because his why doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he has once more demonstrated his complete lack of respect for the law. What do you think we the people should do about that?

We’ll be watching to see how The Spineless Ones deal with the apparent treason that has rocked our democracy. Do they have what it takes to stand up for what they know is right, or will they cave in yet again, this time to an infant tyrant’s delusions of grandeur and lawlessness? Watch this space.

In Other News

This is from a stunning letter to the editor of the New York Times, February 13, 2017 from two mental health professionals. It was published before the Trump rant-and-rage press conference of February 16:

Mr. Trump’s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions. His words and behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists).

In a powerful leader, these attacks are likely to increase, as his personal myth of greatness appears to be confirmed. We believe that the grave emotional instability indicated by Mr. Trump’s speech and actions makes him incapable of serving safely as president.

  • Lance Dodes
  • Joseph Schachter
  • Beverly Hills, CA

Finally, I just returned from a town hall meeting with Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL 10th). Hundreds of highly energized citizens packed every meeting room in the library to capacity and he stayed overtime to answer questions. Does your representative show up for town halls and answer questions? Does your representative both enter and exit using the front door, or is s/he weaseling out the back so they don’t have to face you?

Key point: Rep. Schneider made it clear that his focus is to uphold the oath he took to protect and defend the Constitution, not partisan extremism. Can your representative say the same thing? Or is s/he a tool of their party, one of The Spineless Ones?

  • ————————————
  • Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.
  • YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

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

Decency


Reading time – 1:46; Viewing time – 3:20  .  .  .

Joseph Welch, Chief Counsel to the U.S. Army,
June 9, 1954

June 9, 1954 was a remarkable day in American history.

Alcoholic, lying Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) had taken center stage in 1950 when he spoke for five hours on the floor of the Senate, making wild accusations of communists in the State Department and denigrating homosexuals. He used his position as chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to make yet more wild, unsubstantiated claims that eventually ruined the lives of countless innocent Americans.

On that June date, though, Joseph Welch, chief counsel to the U.S. Army, which was under investigation by McCarthy’s sub-committee for supposed communist ties, called out McCarthy with words that instantly became memorable for their truth-to-power courage. “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” Watch it here on YouTube at roughly 1:12 of the clip.

McCarthy’s lying, his false innuendos, sweeping, accusatory generalizations and his intentional dividing of Americans from one another, all solely to promote himself, had finally caught up with him. From the official Senate record of that disgraceful man,

“Overnight, McCarthy’s immense national popularity evaporated. Censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy died three years later, 48 years old and a broken man.“

We’re living now with another tyrant who uses the same tactics. He has already hurt many people and is in the process of hurting many more. The blue collar Americans he promised to help are and will be ignored by the billionaire buddies in his cabinet. The laws and regulations we’ve put in place over the years to protect us from the harm caused by bullying, shortsightedness, excessive greed and impropriety are already being swept away. He is attempting to crush the Constitution under his gold plated heel and put our future at risk, so that we will once again be subject to the failings of the past.

Had I the opportunity, I would ask President Trump, “Have you no sense of decency, sir?” but I already know the answer. So do you.

So, here’s a question to ponder: Why does Donald Trump hate America and Americans?

Taken one step further, why does Donald Trump hate babies and people who are suffering? Why is he so ready to hate anyone? Whatever the answers, they impact you. Have a look at Keith Olbermann’s 3-minute piece on that.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

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

Lethal Misdirection For The Ultimate Goal


Reading time 3:29; Viewing time – 6:07  .  .  .

He trundled out his list of astonishingly unqualified candidates for cabinet posts, at least three of whom have previously vowed to eliminate the agencies they would now oversee. His chief strategist is a white supremacist, alt-right bigot and Trump has put him on the National Security Council.* He announced his National Security Advisor pick, a former general who is extreme enough to have been forced to resign from the Defense Intelligence Agency and who is foolish enough to have habitually retweeted insane stuff.

He put a gag rule on multiple agencies of government and fired both the acting Attorney General and the Acting Director of Immigration Enforcement.

Then the Muslim ban was announced and we showed up at airports by the thousands in solidarity with refugees and immigrants. Lawyers toted their laptops to airports and gave free help to those stuck there. No way we’ll stand for crushing a Presidential heel into the face of the Statue of Liberty.

Trump’s Supreme Court justice nominee is so far to the right that when he was in high school he joked about founding a club called “Fascism Forever,” although The Daily Mail claims he really did it. That’s a keenly important attitude for a megalomaniac president’s Supreme Court justice, but not so much for the rest of us. It’s time to stiffen senatorial spines – call your senators and tell them.

And let’s not forget that Trump’s Secretary of State is great buddies with our sworn enemy, Vladimir Putin, who is stepping up military aggression in the Ukraine. At the same time Trump is removing sanctions on Russia. And Trump has already insulted the leaders of at least four of our allies, Mexico, Australia, Germany and Canada.

We’re distracted by the blizzard of substantial issues pouring from the White House, none of which appears to have been thought through but which, in the aggregate, keep us engaged in a frenetic readjustment of our focus. So, we miss the political coup that’s underway, and that is the real deal, and it’s incrementally happening by keeping us distracted. The open door to the coup is the next misdirection and it is going to have global consequences for decades.

On February 1 National Security Advisor Mike Flynn came to the White House daily briefing and made a belligerent threat to Iran in the wake of their having tested a ballistic missile. He put the Iranian government “on notice.” That doesn’t leave much room for the U.S. to maneuver if the Iranians launch another missile.

That’s exacerbated by President Trump having fired nearly all of our State Department staff, all the way down to those who issue visas. Those now gone were the folks in charge of diplomacy, which, as you’ll recall, is what we formerly used to avoid war.

Here’s an historical reference. George W. Bush came to the White House determined to take down Saddam Hussein. Whether that was because that dirty varmint said something bad about Bush’s daddy or because he just figured Saddam was too bad to stay in power or whether he thought he could remake the middle-east in the democratic image of America, we likely will never know. What we do know is that he seized upon the tragedy of 9/11 and blamed Saddam, saying he was in cahoots with al-Qaeda (which was nonsense, because al-Qaeda is fanatically religious and Saddam was secular and seen by al-Qaeda as apostate) and he also told us that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, all evidence to the contrary be damned. The point is that Bush lied. He manufactured reasons to start a war and it had nothing to do with our national security.

And we’re seeing Trump do that same thing right now.

Clearly, we don’t want Iran to have either ballistic missile or nuclear weapon technology. This has to be dealt with, but leaving ourselves no tools but military action assures more war with no way out. And Flynn having immediately gone public with a threat that sounds a lot like a schoolyard taunt, leaves the Iranians no way to back down while saving face. Alternatives to war have all but vanished.

This is all complicated by our president being incapable of reassessing or admitting he made a mistake or acknowledging that he is anything but infallible and the smartest person (“I’m speaking to myself about foreign policy, because I have a very smart brain“). Just remember that he told us that he knows more than the generals. And our judges. And the climate scientists. And all our diplomats. And all our negotiators. And all our education experts. Call him the god-like Kim Jong-Trump.

Trump is edging us to the precipice of another war that has nothing to do with our national security. The war dead will stay dead and real people will grieve and we will stay mired in the death and destruction and debt. And Trump has his reason.

He will use our mass protests against war – and yes, we will protest – as sufficient reason to declare martial law. All of this – the discrimination, the dismantling of our governmental institutions, gag rules and firings, stealing the Supreme Court, the insulting of our allies and giving relief to our avowed enemy and the coming war itself – all these distractions exist so that this President can become the American dictator. Then the coup will be complete and our democracy will be over.

Click here for more. Thanks to PV for the pointer.

Here’s Robert Reich with the imperative.

Some of the misdirection is subtle. Here’s the Washington Post’s Why Trump’s focus on ‘Islamic terrorism’ misses the point entirely and why it will lead to truncated freedom of the press.

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In Other News

*Reuters is reporting that President Trump is removing white supremacist, alt-right groups including the KKK, Aryan Nation and neo-Nazis from the national terror watch list. Read the report all the way down to the chart, where you’ll see that these domestic terrorist groups are twice as likely to commit violence in America as al-Qaeda-inspired terrorists.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

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

Picture of a Duck


Reading time – 2:03; Viewing time – 4:09  .  .  .

Fact #1: On January 26 alt-right, anti-Semite, white supremacist advisor to President Trump, Stephen Bannon, told the New York Times that the “elite media” is “the opposition party” and should “keep its mouth shut.”

Opinion: That sounds a great deal like a lightly veiled threat to freedom of the press and has an Orwellian thought police stink to it.

Fact #2: On January 24 Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) spoke on the floor of the House, declaring that President Trump is, “not getting the news coverage he deserves.” Smith said, “The national liberal media won’t print that, or air it or post it,” He continued, “Better to get your news directly from the President. In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.”

Opinion: That’s a most interesting take on truth, this from the Chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee who denies climate warming (also here) and really isn’t much for science at all. Perhaps he, too, saw the biggest crowds ever on Inauguration Day.

Fact #3: On Holocaust Remembrance Day, President Trump issued a statement that failed to mention Jews or antisemitism (also here), even though in the Holocaust Jews were specifically targeted for extermination. This was the first such Presidential omission.

Opinion: Blowing off the recognizing of the murder of six million people, all of the same religion  .  .  .  an anti-Semite with the President’s ear  .  .  .  what could that mean?

Fact #4: On January 28 President Trump issued an Executive Order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States and also halting the U.S. refugee program. Trump made it clear that those seven countries were just the start and that there will be more Muslim-majority countries added to the list. He claimed that the ban is for the purpose of protecting the United States against “radical Islamic terrorism.”

Opinion: During his campaign for the Presidency Donald Trump promised repeatedly that one of the first things he would do as President would be to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Attempting such a thing would immediately fail for being in violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution, so Trump is using this subterfuge to effect religious discrimination.

Let’s connect the dots. First we’re told to shut up. Then we’re told to get our information only from the President. Then the President snubs Jews and bans Muslims. This is looking very much like the beginning of making the United States an officially white, Christian nation with discrimination, subjugation and humiliation for all others. These dots make a horrific picture.

Using the duck metaphor, if connecting the dots makes a picture that looks like a duck and we then find that it walks like a duck and also quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. But this duck is full of hate.

If you’re up to it, have a look at this post that presents a fair assessment of what is really going on and the grave danger that may be on the way. History tells us that there is something to this. Thanks to SL for pointing me to the blog.

In other news  .  .  .

(read this out loud in your best Walter Cronkite voice)

ALTERNATIVE FACTS UPDATE: Following a weekend of impassioned protests at airports across the nation last weekend against President Trump’s Executive Order effectively banning Muslims from entering the United States, Trump blamed airport delays first on Delta Airlines’ computer problems and also blamed Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) tears. In a statement issued this morning, Sen. Schumer’s tears have denied responsibility for any airport delays and suggested that Mr. Trump couldn’t find reality with two hands and a flashlight.

Trump’s tweets have been scored BIGLY ALTERNATIVE on the Alternative Facts Meter. Kellyanne Conway, official advisor to the President, is reportedly pleased and is said to be smiling, as well as continuing to talk constantly, but without addressing any question posed to her.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

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

Whitefish, MT – Guest Essay


whitefishReading time – 2:54  .  .  .

An email addressed to our family from my travel writer, Montana native, daughter-in-law Wendy arrived and it was so shocking and important that I asked permission to post it here as a guest essay. You may know what’s going on in Whitefish, MT, but it’s unlikely that you’ve heard about it on such a personal level. Read on. It’s important.

I don’t know if you’ve read the headlines lately, but there’s some super disturbing news happening right now in Whitefish, MT—the town that Scott, the boys and I will be visiting next month (and where Pop just visited). Richard Spencer, the leader of the alt-right white supremacist movement, has targeted Jews in the area. The town is horrified and standing together—they’ve held packed town hall meetings to re-read the anti-discrimination laws and have done everything they can to support the local businesses that are most affected and targeted by racism. Spencer’s mom owned a building of businesses and she said that her business was affected by her son’s activities and she now is forced to sell, which Spencer is using against the Jews in Montana—it’s sick. Read these articles:

Think Progress

CNN Video [There are several videos on the page. Wait for Gary Tuchman’s Whitefish piece to load.]

LA Times

This terrifies me to my core, especially because I was born and raised in Montana and I feel so bad for the open minded and openhearted majority of Montana locals who are dealing with this. The scary thing is that this dirt bag, emboldened by Trump, has decided to run as an Independent and already has a platform: Montana First. Isn’t this what most of us feared with a Trump presidency? The trolls are coming out from under the bridges and are showing themselves. It’s up to us to support and become activists for what’s right. Missoula, MT (the biggest town near Whitefish) has started a “Light in Every Window” campaign and I think everyone, Jews or not, should stand up and show solidarity, across the nation by putting menorahs in our windows. Also, visit the Love Lives Here in the Flathead Valley site to show support for the Whitefish locals.

And, if you think that what happens in one small town in northwest Montana doesn’t affect you, you’re wrong—this hate mongering is happening everywhere and it’s growing. We need to stand up for our brothers and sisters who are being discriminated against.

When I asked Wendy if I could post her comments, here’s how she responded:

Of course.

I’m so disturbed and sad. The hate groups are growing exponentially and I really feel like non-Jews and non-people-of-color need to stand up and SHOUT, “THIS IS NOT OK.” Whitefish has known about Spencer for years and they’ve stayed quiet until Spencer grew emboldened by Trump and became louder. Now, this little picturesque town is getting torn apart by the attention and association with this dirt bag. I’m proud of the people I know who live there and of this little town that could, but I fear that it will harm them beyond repair.

I also feel like my job of visiting and writing with the purpose of tourism is more important now than ever. The majority of Whitefish residents don’t feel this way [like Spencer]. The majority believes in love and diversity and community.

My pal Brian Muldoon is an attorney and mediator living in Whitefish and he keeps his finger on the pulse of the town, so I asked for his comments about what is happening there. He wrote, “And the people of Whitefish are NOT deeply divided about this, as some media have reported. It’s Richard Spencer v. Everyone Else.” That’s reassuring. What is not as reassuring is that, as Brian notes, it’s very hard to shut down the trolls and the haters, in part because they have a First Amendment right to spew their hatred – plus, they revel in the publicity.

It’s important that you understand that this is not just an intellectual, “Oh, that’s interesting” exercise. Brian just advised that the FBI has sent one Whitefish family into hiding. They only do that when there are credible death threats.

Hatred has consequences. For some valuable context, read Brian’s short essay, Why Racism Matters – just click the title to download the PDF.

Do you imagine this is an isolated case of hatred? It isn’t. Here’s yet another independent, ongoing tally of hate crimes, with the Whitefish situation detailed second on the list.

Simply watching in horror is what allows the scourge of hatred to expand. Silence is not an option. Do as Wendy implores: Stand up and, “SHOUT, ‘THIS IS NOT OK.'”

  • ————————————-

    Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

    YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA


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

EMERGENCY FLASH MESSAGE


This is not about what Trump might do the the departments of energy, EPA, Social Security or Medicare. This is about our national security.

The Founders created the Electoral College for several reasons, but the most important was to ensure there would never be any interference by a foreign agent, government or institution that might compromise our republic. Here’s a link to what Alexander Hamilton had to say about this in Federalist 68. It’s short, clear and exceptionally compelling. Read it.

Alexandra Chalupa was a consultant to the DNC looking specifically into Donald Trump’s connections with Putin’s Russia and has written a clear and riveting analysis of this situation, concluding with this:

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million more votes than Donald Trump. Trump won the electoral vote by less than 80,000 votes combined in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where Republicans went to great lengths to block recount efforts. Based on the facts, it is beyond a reasonable doubt that Russia influenced the 2016 U.S. election which helped Trump win the White House. Trump’s consistent refusal to admit Russia’s involvement, especially given his access to highly classified information, demonstrates he is either unreasonable and possibly of unsound mind or he is aiding and abetting Putin. This is a national security issue that the Electoral College must take seriously when casting their votes on Monday. In the meantime, it is imperative that a thorough investigation is conducted as to the extent of Russia’s operation, and that this information pertaining it be released to the public.

The net of this is that you MUST contact the Electors and urge them not to vote for Trump. 20 GOP electors have already indicated that they will not (watch this video and listen to what one elector has to say) – we need 17 more. Here’s how to make that happen.

Bruce Mainzer has compiled all you have to know/do into the text below. I’ve pasted his work below. Just follow the bouncing ball and you will have done your part – except for this last piece.

Forward this post to everyone you know and urge them to take action RIGHT NOW. Our national security and our safety in the world may hang in the balance. Don’t put it off until later when everyday activities might distract you. Do this now.

As promised here is information about the Electoral College. Please email this to everyone tonight as Monday Dec. 19th is fast approaching for the date of the Electoral College vote. As I mentioned in the meeting, Laurence Lessig, Harvard Professor of Constitutional law, is reporting that 20 GOP Electors have already told him in confidence that they will not be voting for Trump. It takes only 17 more GOP Electors to defect, and Trump does not get the 272 Electoral College votes necessary for being President Elect. Everyone should therefore be writing the electors, and they can use the information on this email. What looked like a long shot last week is now a distinct possibility.

First, here is my email to Electors, but everyone should feel free to write their own version. My letter focuses on the possibility that Donald Trump will not act in the interest of the United States foreign policy, which Alexander Hamilton stated was one of the conditions that the Electoral College would be justified in not voting for a candidate. Hamilton also was concerned with a demagogue being nominated, so that is another reason that someone can state their objection to a candidate.

Dear Elector,

My name is _________ from CITY NAME, STATE.

It is becoming quite apparent that Donald Trump is in collusion with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation to hijack the foreign policy of the United States and enrich himself and others. One need not investigate the election tampering issue, but instead view the plethora of statements and actions taken by the candidate. These actions have included selection of an NSA director Michael Flynn with known ties to Russia (paid consultant to the Russia Tonight news cable network) and selection of ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, who violated existing U.S. policy to meet and conduct business with Vladimir Putin over the past few years. Carter Paige, former campaign aide, met with Russian financial interests and reportedly promised lifting of sanctions in Moscow last summer. Paul Manafort, former campaign manager, was a paid consultant for Putin ally and deposed Ukrainian  leader, and now Mr. Manafort is reportedly is still serving as an unofficial adviser to the transition team of the President Elect. Trump positions on sanctions and relationships with NATO and protection of the Balkan states from Russian aggression are at direct odds with 40 years of current U.S. foreign policy.

Because Mr. Trump has not released any financial information or tax returns, we are left to speculate as to the motivations of this President Elect. For many years, Mr. Trump had received financing from Russian oligarchs when credit was unavailable to him in the US. In addition, Trump has sold quite a bit of luxury real estate to Russian individuals in Panama, Florida and other locations. Reports of debt that Mr. Trump has to individuals or institutions in Russia have been estimated at approximately $500 million.

We do know the motivations of Vladimir Putin. While there is evidence that Putin did not believe that Trump would be elected despite the Russian interference in the campaign, now that he has been elected, there is a definite attempt to achieve a number of goals with this incoming President. Lifting of the sanctions will allow Russia to finally execute its stalled deal with ExxonMobile to drill in the arctic. Revenues from this almost $7 trillion dollar oil reserves (15% of the known reserves in the world), will do much to rescue the Russian economy. It has been estimated that these oil reserves will represent 2/3rds of all exports of Russia. ExxonMobile also stands to make billions of dollars from this one deal, and obviously enrich the current CEO and nominated Secretary of State. This new Russia US rapprochement already has had disastrous consequences for innocents across the globe as Russia’s latest inhumane attacks in Aleppo Syria were undertaken a day after a congratulatory phone call between Putin and the President Elect. Russia has been accused of similar election interference in the Ukraine and Sweden. Currently, there is speculation that election tampering by Russia is underway in Germany.

The issue for the Electoral College is therefore not whether or not Russian interference affected the election results. Instead, the issue that needs to be investigated is whether or not Donald J. Trump as President will act in the interests of the United States or if he is a foreign agent acting on behalf of Russia and will implement a corrupt administration to enrich himself and reward the Russian government. The preponderance of circumstantial evidence is considerable. Even without a full financial disclosure from the President Elect, it would be a violation of the responsibilities of the Electoral College as stated in Federalist Paper 68 to elect Donald J. Trump as President due to the already known facts about his positions and selections of individuals for his administration. I urge the Electoral College to at least postpone their vote until after all financial records of Donald J. Trump are disclosed. If the President Elect refuses to release all his financial information, I believe the Electoral College has every right to not vote for Donald J. Trump since it is clear that he is a danger to all citizens across the globe and cannot be the President of the United States.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate and respect the role you serve in our electoral process.

Sincerely,

To email the electors, I have provided a list below.

I suggest not sending one email, but 8 emails with only 30 names per email, otherwise your email service may block the email for being a spam. Here are the groupings for several emails of all the addresses. Please copy and paste into eight separate emails

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] [email protected];, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],  [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],  [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

After emailing, the next step is to make sure all the Electors get a full briefing from the CIA on the Russian interference in our elections. Many Democratic electors have asked for this, as they know that will increase the likelihood of more GOP defections. So the Democratic Electors are asking all of us to do the following:

(1) Contact your representatives and governors to ask that they demand that the electors be briefed on the CIA information on Russian interference prior to Dec. 19, and to delay the electoral vote if that’s not possible, given the time-frame;

(2) Contact the U.S. Attorney General and ask that the Electoral College vote be postponed until a full investigation of Russian interference and the Trump campaign’s potential coordination with Russia is complete.

You can reach the Attorney General’s office at 202-514-2000 (Comment line…press 4)


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

Time to Get Off the Barcalounger


barca-3Reading time – 1:37; Viewing time – 2:49  .  .  .

This should be BREAKING NEWS! – but it isn’t, because Donald Trump has spent his entire life bending and breaking rules and laws. He campaigned for 18 months, bragging about the illegal, unconstitutional things he will do. On top of that he has promised to eliminate safeguards we’ve come to believe make good sense, like those that ensure safe, clean air and water. More on that in a future blog.

One of the worst of his nose thumbings is over his conflicts of interest. We have no way to have any confidence that the decisions he will make as President will be in service to the United States rather than to his own wallet. He flaunts the secrecy of his financial holdings and dealings so that we’re left to guess how much sucking up to Vladimir Putin he will do for his own interests, while putting the rest of us at risk.

You said you want to know what you can do to stop this madness, so let’s start by slicing off his most obvious conflicts of interest, those that are disallowed by statute or by contract.

The new Trump Hotel, opened by the President-Elect in Washington, D.C., is leased to him by the federal government. There’s a clause in the lease that says that no elected official can have an interest in the hotel.

Email the GSA—General Services Administration—and urge them to terminate this lease before the inauguration. A receptionist at the GSA said they are taking a tally on this matter. She suggests that emailing is the most effective route for this and she said they are taking both names and phone numbers on this issue. There are no links in what follows, so copy and paste the short paragraph below into your own email.

Email to: [email protected]

Subject: Trump Hotel lease violation

I write today to ask the GSA to immediately terminate the lease for the Trump Hotel at the former post office in Washington, D.C. The President-Elect is in clear violation of the terms of the lease, which state that no elected official may have any interest in the leased property.

Sincerely,

Your name, Your Address, Your Phone number

(Make sure you sign with your name, address, and phone number – I’m not confident they’ll log your request without all of it.)

There, now you’ve done something to stem the tide of the Trump assault on America.

Next, attend a meeting to Demand Democracy/Expose Corruption/Stop the Alt-Right (the hate mongers). Here’s a link to find a meeting in your area. Show up. Learn how you can make a difference. Because, as I’ve written before, it isn’t enough to care about this or to agree with those in your bubble. If things are to change for the better, you’ll actually have to do something.

Like sending that email to the GSA and showing up for the meeting on December 14.

There is and will continue to be plenty we can do. So, watch this space – and get up off that Barcalounger!

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA


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

To the Woodshed


Reading time – 49 seconds; Viewing time – 1:42  .  .  .

Andrew Young was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President Jimmy Carter. He was an active and passionate leader for civil rights and was the first African-American to hold that ambassadorial position. Young created a bit of controversy when he was interviewed by the French newspaper Le Matin de Paris in 1978. While discussing the plight of dissidents in the Soviet Union, he referenced events in the United States, saying, “We still have hundreds of people that I would categorize as political prisoners in our prisons.” That commentary earned Young a visit to the White House woodshed.

President Carter made it clear to Young that he no longer represented just himself or the civil rights movement, nor was he speaking any longer as the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. As the Ambassador to the United Nations he now represented the United States of America and everything he said publicly was a statement representing our country, our views, our positions and our values. Ambassador Young never made that kind of mistake again.

Donald J. Trump is the President-elect. He is nearly always short on specifics, long on broad brush generalizations of often unintelligible meaning and he frequently changes his positions, sometimes doing so within a single sentence. Worse, he is an ongoing fountain of ad hominem attacks. Now that he is representing the United States of America to our fellow citizens and to the world, who will take him to the White House woodshed?

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA


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

Answers


Reading time: 2:20; Viewing time – 4:00  .  .  .

I’ve been wrong. I’ve been short-sighted and reactionary and embarrassingly foolish. The embarrassment is because I know better.

Something didn’t feel right and then I read Nick Kristoff’s A 12-Step Program for Responding to President-Elect Trump and it was then – at step #3 – that I knew that I had tripped on the attitude diving board and done a belly flop onto the political pool deck.

Step 3. I WILL avoid demonizing people who don’t agree with me about this election, recognizing that it’s as wrong to stereotype Trump supporters as anybody else. I will avoid Hitler metaphors, recognizing that they stop conversations and rarely persuade. I’ll remind myself that no side has a monopoly on truth and that many Trump supporters are good people who want the best for the country. The left already has gotten into trouble for condescending to working-class people, and insulting all Trump supporters as racists simply magnifies that problem.

I know that Kristoff is right, that nobody has a monopoly on the truth and that having voted for Trump doesn’t mean that someone is a racist. Indeed, I’m wondering what percentage of Trump voters were simply so convinced of the evil of Clinton that they were willing to ignore Trump’s negatives – or the percentage of Americans who chose Trump because at least he was speaking to the suppressed rage they’ve carried in their gut for decades due to government having so consistently ignored and abused them.

I’ve been frustrated listening to righties who claim the high ground of patriotism and love of America, who imply or outright say that they have it right and others simply aren’t patriots. I often have imaginary conversations with them and explain that I love America every bit as much as they do and I very much want to excoriate them for their closed-mindedness. At this moment, though, my aforementioned embarrassment extends yet further, as I’ve realized that I’ve been thinking about them with a closed-mindedness of my own and it’s as harmful as theirs.

Flagrantly demonizing people is wrong no matter who does it. Stereotyping is wrong when I do it. On the other hand, calling out hate mongers is the right thing to do.

Kristoff advises letting go of Hitler metaphors, so let’s play with that a bit. “Alt-Right” includes Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, white supremacists, militias, the Posse Comitatus and likely other fringe hate groups. Trump has installed Alt-Right hater Steve Bannon as his chief strategist, and Jefferson Beauregard Sessions as his attorney general and he’s bringing hyper-anti-immigrant hotheads like Mike Flynn and Kris Kobach into his cabinet. He has promised to round up Hispanics and to discriminate against Muslims and make them “register”. He stereotypes African-Americans as ghetto bums and continues to refuse to repudiate the hate mongers, including the seig heil morons. And Kristoff really wants me to let go of the Hitler metaphors? I don’t know if I can do that. I’m not confident that refusing to see a Hitler-like pattern is a good idea, because the hate induced catastrophes always begin this way. A key part of our answers moving forward lies in opposing the haters and stopping the bullies.

Meanwhile, we’re left with the rest of the question about what to do for our country, and I – perhaps you, too – need to take a step back and do a 12-step program – or maybe an 11.8-step program – and find some balance, accept that some don’t see it our way, but that doesn’t make them wrong or foolish or hateful or bad. Then perhaps we can all start finding some answers.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

– See more at: https://jaxpolitix.com/8280-2/#sthash.Vem4eKsP.dpuf


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

One Last Time


nuclear-explosionReading time – 1:42; Viewing time – 3:19  .  .  .

Okay, one last time.

Donald Trump talks glibly about the use of nuclear weapons on whomever he might think of as our enemy, like those he thinks pose an existential threat to America because of a tweet that’s critical of him. And he has proposed exporting nuclear technology to at least 3 nations that currently don’t have it, thereby proliferating the annihilation threat to life on Earth. In short, Trump is cavalier about bringing about the end of civilization. That fully, completely and permanently disqualifies him from being President of the United States. No other issues need be considered:

.  .  .  even if he says he was speaking in hyperbole

.  .  .  even if he says that he wants to be unpredictable to keep the bad guys off balance

.  .  .  even if he says he had his fingers crossed when he said those things

No matter what, Donald Trump must not become President of the United States. Ever. Under any circumstances. No matter what else he says he believes or wants to do or, oddly, if he should ever actually make any sense. Never, ever.

So, great, you agree and you won’t vote for Trump. But you don’t trust, can’t stand and otherwise find Hillary to be pukable. You see her as untrustworthy and dishonest and perhaps as too hawkish and you fear she’ll get us into yet another avoidable war. You dread that her presidency might become a series of yet more Bill Clinton zipper scandals and, besides, the thought of Bill croaking out more of his Clintonian nonsense with a White House size megaphone is one of your worst nightmares. So, you can’t and won’t vote for Hillary. Got it.

But if you don’t vote for Hillary, who benefits?

Neither Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate, nor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, could benefit from your protest vote because they won’t get enough votes to win even a single state. The only one who benefits from your refusing to vote for Hillary is Donald Trump, because yours is one less vote that his vote total has to overcome.

Translation: If you don’t vote for Hillary, you will have voted for Trump. And,

donald-trump-must-never-become-president

Hillary was ahead by 8 – 20 points (pick a poll). Then Bernie won MI. We can’t trust polls – gotta vote.

Hillary was ahead by 8 – 20 points (pick a poll). Then Bernie won MI. We can’t trust polls – gotta vote.

So, do something to ensure there really is a future: Put a clothespin on your nose and vote for Hillary. All that hangs in the balance is civilization on Earth and it’s on you and me to do something about it.

What, these words aren’t persuasive enough? Well then, have a look at this and this and this and this and this and this and this. They are all Republican sources telling you to vote for Hillary. There are plenty more like these, but if you still want to vote for Trump or a candidate of one of the other parties or abstain from voting, then go ahead. Just don’t call me next year crying that you are bent over and braced for impact because civilization is ending.

Go vote. And bring your neighbors, your voting age children, your cousin Rita and your googly-eye Uncle Ralph. It’s time for every eligible voter to – get this: stand up for what they stand for.

Read what Dan Wallace has to say about this. Yes, really, go read it  .

Now, send this to everyone you know and urge them to show up on November 8 and BE A VOTER!

 

Make a plan to vote – click here.

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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.

YOUR ACTION STEPS: Offer your comments below and pass this along to three people, encouraging them to subscribe and engage.  Thanks!  JA

– See more at: https://jaxpolitix.com/7679-2/#sthash.kHAUnsqU.dpuf


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

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