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Now Is The Time – It Always Is


POST 1184

Click the pic

On February 19 Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker delivered his State of the State address. Appropriately, most of it was focused on Illinois issues, but he reserved his final comments for the state of our country and the perils we face moving forward.

We are now four months further down the dangerous path Pritzker described and things are turning more dire with every Trump power grab and his every attack on our Constitution. That makes Pritzker’s warning yet more important and urgent.

Down goes Trumpy! Down goes Trumpy! Down goes Trumpy!
Trump ridiculed Biden for tripping on the Air Force One stairs. Do you think he’ll rip himself for doing the same thing? Click the pic

Watch and listen to Gov. Pritzker’s cautionary message. If you’d like to watch his entire address (36 minutes), click here.

Here’s another framing from Pritzker about where we stand in the march of history:

What we do and don’t do matters. It matters right now more than it ever has before. When my future grandkids look back on this moment, I want them to know that my voice was one of the loudest in the room, screaming for justice and fighting against tyranny.

What do you want your grandkids to know about what you did when everything was on the line?

It’s time to stand strong in the face of the tyrants. Here’s what Churchill said about that in 1940 during the Battle of Britain, even as the bombs of Hitler’s blitzkrieg (“lighting war”) exploded in London.

Click me. Definitely click me.

America isn’t about any king.

It is about We The People.

We declare that in no uncertain terms right here.

.

You and I are just like the Founders in our abhorrence of kings – dictators, really. We are threatened by such people right now. That’s why June 14* is

NO KINGS DAY!*

.

“You have to know what you stand for, or you’ll fall for anything.” – Les Brown

Click the map to find a demonstration near you. As of this writing there are over 1,800 of them, all for people across the nation who won’t tolerate Trump’s reign of scams, cruelties, corruption and the destruction of our Constitution he hopes will lead to his dictatorship and make him Orange King Donald I.

So, show up on June 14 to demonstrate who we really are, what we stand for and what we won’t stand for.

And pass this message to others. This existential battle needs all of us – and we need this battle in order to restore our country.

___________________________________________________

* It’s also the day of Trump’s ego-maniacal military parade. Watch for his lying press secretary Karoline Leavitt to lie in a manic, fantastical frenzy about parade attendance, a la Sean Spicer.

Countdown to November 3, 2026
Mid-Term Election
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Did someone forward this post to you? Welcome! Please subscribe – use the simple form above on the right. And pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) It’s going to take ALL OF US to get this job done.

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

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

Click me

JA


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

It’s Just A Matter Of Time


POST 1183

Declining Health On The Way

From Heather Cox Richardson’s post of June 1 dealing with RFK, Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report that’s “full of errors, including misrepresentation of experiments and nonexistent studies:”

Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told [reporters] Weber and Gilbert, “This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point. It cannot be used for any policymaking. It cannot even be used for any serious discussion, because you can’t believe what’s in it.”

Clearly, it’s a fabricated report from a brain worm addled, science ignorant RFK, Jr., backed by our morbidly obese, obviously unhealthy president. It’s yet more proof that we are entirely through the looking glass.

From STAT:

Last week, HHS confirmed it was canceling a more than $700 million contract with Moderna to develop, test, and license mRNA vaccines for flu strains that could cause future pandemics.

This stands in stupid juxtaposition to mRNA-developed vaccines that saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, once Trump shut up about injecting Lysol and was kicked out of office. Nevertheless. he’s setting us up for yet more pandemics and death.

Also,

$9.8 billion

That’s how much our dental costs would be if the rest of the country follows Utah and Florida in banning the addition of fluoride to water, according to a study published Friday in JAMA Health Forum.

How come Republicans want us to be sick and toothless?

Pain Is On The Way

Price increases of consumer goods caused by Trump’s Temper Tantrum Trade Tariffs (the “5Ts”) will hit hard starting in July. Because the tariffs have shoved a stick into the gears of global supply chains, consumers will begin to see empty shelves in stores. The reality of tariffs and the idiocy of non-existent subsidizing of other countries will become obvious. We’re going to feel the pain of Trump’s trade and foreign affairs lunacy and it will begin to sting even his most ardent followers.

From STAT:

Facing a shortfall of roughly $40 million in terminated contracts, the nation’s leading advisory body on issues of science and technology has already had to lay off 50 of its 1,000 employees and could lose as many as 250 more by the end of the summer .  .  .

.  .  .  just months into the second Trump administration, more than 2,000 grants have been terminated, totaling around $9.5 billion. [emphasis mine]

$40 million in terminated contracts and the cancellation of $9.5 billion in research grants means that a lot of research will be halted and there will be 300 fewer scientific experts working to keep us healthy. That means that a lot of medical research won’t happen and some ailments and diseases that might have been curable due to that research won’t be available to help us. You, the people you love and even those you’re not too fond of will all suffer completely unnecessary afflictions, even death.

It will take a while to connect the dots from the gutting of the FDA (3,500 layoffs) to outbreaks of avian flu, E. Coli and Listeria. Robert Kennedy, Jr. recommends non-pasteurized (“raw”) milk, an invitation to infections including salmonella, pathogens like bacteria, viruses and parasites that can cause food-borne illnesses and more. What could go wrong?

Wait a second: Pasteurization kills pathogens like parasites? RFK Jr. drinks “raw” milk and he has a brain worm. Coincidence? The American people want to know.

It isn’t clear how long it will take us to figure out the connection between the Kennedy/Trump decimation of our science and medical research capabilities and the diseases we’ll suffer, but we’ll get there. And 99% of Americans are going to be very, very angry. The 1% are the knuckleheads who love their ignorance more than they love granny and babies.

We Don’t Like Being Played For Fools.

Trump promised great “deals” for America would come about through his “5T” tariff madness. But literally the only “deals” he’s managed are an agreement with China to talk about an agreement, plus another like that with the Brits. There’s no substance anywhere in sight.

He promised lower prices, but most have gone up.

He promised he would end the war in Ukraine in one day, but today is the 139th Trump “one day” and the war goes on.

He promised massive reduction of waste, fraud and abuse, but has only managed to put tens of thousands of faithful government employees out of work and has imperiled all of us. The actual net of the DOGE thugs’ actions looks like it will be about $0 – plus a massive invasion of our privacy.

He promised to round up non-citizen criminals and deport them first, but none of those snatched from their homes, our streets, immigration centers, schools and work sites have been proven to be a criminal. It’s that habeas corpus thing that hasn’t happened, like occurs in dictator countries. All that exists of administration justification for its Gestapo-like* raids are completely evidence-free claims of gang affiliation and the crushing of our rule of law and the presumption of innocence.

We’ve all been played for fools, especially the 38% who are loyal Trump supporters. But they, like the rest of us, will feel the sting. It’s just a matter of time.

America isn’t about any king.

It is about We The People.

We declare that in no uncertain terms right here.

.

You and I are just like the Founders in our abhorrence of kings – dictators, really. We are threatened by such people right now. That’s why June 14 is

NO KINGS DAY!**

.

“You have to know what you stand for, or you’ll fall for anything.” – Les Brown

Click the map to find a demonstration near you. As of this writing there are over 1,500 of them, all for people across the nation who won’t tolerate Trump’s reign of scams, cruelties, corruption and the destruction of our Constitution, which he hopes will lead to his dictatorship and make him King Donald I.

So, show up on June 14 to demonstrate who we really are, what we stand for and what we won’t stand for. And pass this message to others. This existential battle needs all of us – and we need this battle.

Finally

From a letter from the Interfaith Alliance:

[Congresswoman Mary Miller (R – IL-15)] attacked Giani Surinder Singh, a Sikh leader, saying it was “deeply troubling” for a Muslim to lead prayer at the House of Representatives because “America was founded as a Christian nation.” Then, she deleted the post when she realized that he was Sikh, not Muslim. So she then posted how troubled she was that “a Sikh” was leading a prayer. Finally, she deleted the second post.

This is a deeply proud Illinois moment. To think that we in Illinois have a congresswoman in serious contention to out-stupid Marjorie Taylor Green! Miller’s comment MUST! get her listed as a finalist in the Deranged Idiot Contest Dipstick (“DICK”).
. 
In addition and because her district (IL-15) is mostly red, all of her constituents but Sikhs are hereby required to immediately write a letter of apology to the Sikh gentleman she insulted (indeed, to all Sikhs and Muslims), and another letter to all Americans, explaining her brain dead, historically false claim, admitting that her saying, “America was founded as a Christian nation” is wrong, cruel and stupid.
.
Anyone keeping score will know that the founders had an abhorrence of forced religion. That’s why freedom of religion is in the First Amendment. Rep. Miller would know that, had she attended a civics class in a public high school, instead of attending Stupid High and learning to be a mean girl.
 . 

So, in her apologies, Miller must write, “America was NOT founded as a Christian Nation” 100 times longhand. Tears of embarrassment dripped onto her 3-ring school binder note paper will be appropriate. Then she may go directly to Detention Hall.

___________________________________________________

* Why do you suppose Trump’s private army of no-warrant, kidnapping thugs wears masks? Why do you suppose Trump’s henchman, Nazi Stephen Miller, tells us, “The cruelty is the point”?

** It’s also the day of Trump’s ego-maniacal military parade. Watch for his lying press secretary Karoline Leavitt to lie about parade attendance.

Countdown to November 3, 2026
Mid-Term Election

Countdown Timer

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

Friday Extra – Reality Show


POST 1183

BSO Distraction

MSNBC and CNN are hyperventilating over the online feud between our president and his now estranged Director of Smash and Burn. It’s two billionaire tyrant brats having a public spat as reality show, but it’s far more than that.

These temper tantrums are Bright Shiny Objects designed to cause you either to fail to see or to ignore Trump’s horribles, like his new Muslim ban – 14 Muslim majority countries are accused of being such bad guys that no one from within their borders may come to the U.S. If you’re paying attention you’ll note that among the countries not on Trump’s list are:

– Saudi Arabia, where the leader, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, also known as MBS, had Washington Post journalist Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi tortured, murdered and dismembered. But that’s okay, because they’re letting Trump build a tower named after himself in Riyadh.

– Qatar, which just gave Trump a bribe of a $400 million airplane.

– Egypt, a citizen of which just injured 12 American Jews with a flame thrower and Molotov cocktails – dunno what Trump’s payday is with the Egyptians, but you can be sure that it’s a most impressive grift.

Of course, Trump is doing other things, like trying to end habeas corpus, defying judges and justices without being held in contempt of court and trying to get his despicable One Big Beastly Bill enacted so the Republicans can begin to end Medicare and Medicaid and let kids stay sick and let granny die. After all, Sen. Joni “Pig Castrator” Ernst has explained that we’re all going to die anyway.

Trump doesn’t want you to notice his treasonous efforts; hence, his reality show spat with Musk, who is angry because Biden’s deal to promote electric vehicles is being ended by Trump’s OBBB, so Musk-enriching spiffs will be gone; hence, his pissy.

You get the idea. So, ignore the stupid, bratty, rich jerk spat and focus on the substantive stuff, the repugnant, anti-American things they’re doing to bring our country crashing down.

Our Streets

You and I are just like the Founders in our abhorrence of kings – dictators, really. We are threatened by such people right now, in part because of the national insanity we’ve tolerated far too long. That’s why June 14 is

NO KINGS DAY!

.

You have to know what you stand for, or you’ll fall for anything.

Click on the map to find a demonstration near you. As of this writing there are over 1,400 of them, all for people across the nation who won’t tolerate Trump’s reign of scams, cruelties, corruption and the destruction of our Constitution he hopes will lead to his dictatorship and make him King Donald I.

But America isn’t about any king. It is about We The People. We declare that in no uncertain terms right here.

So, show up on June 14 to demonstrate who we really are, what we stand for and what we won’t stand for. And pass this message to others. This existential battle needs all of us.

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

Center-Right – Really?


POST 1182

The Numbers*
Here is What We Americans Want
.

87% of Americans believe Social Security benefits should be maintained or increased

79% of Americans support raising (not cutting) taxes on the wealthy and big corporations

69% of Americans want Medicare For All (MFA)

63% of Americans believe abortion should be legal

53% of Americans believe automatic weapons should be banned**

64% of Americans want stricter gun laws

74% of Americans want Dreamers to have legal status in the U.S.

62% of Americans believe medication abortion should be legal

82% of Americans want Medicaid to either stay the same or increase

60% of Americans oppose ICE raids in schools and places of worship

77% of Americans support maintaining or increasing SNAP (food stamp) benefits

90% of Americans oppose redistricting (gerrymandering) for political advantage

When asked if they’re righties or lefties, millions of Americans claim to be conservatives – center-right or even more to the right. But when they’re asked specifically about their views on the issues above, they respond just as you see – like progressives. The conservative blabbers really should stuff a sock in their claims that this is a center-right country, because that claim just isn’t true.

If We The People want these things and we’ve wanted them for a very long time, how come we don’t have them? Click here for the answer.

From the Kids Who Sat At The Back of the Classroom Shooting Spitballs Instead of Paying Attention
.

30% of Americans think the 2020 election was stolen from Trump

35% of Americans cannot name the 3 branches of government

26% of Americans believe the sun orbits the Earth

4 – 10% of Americans believe the Earth is flat – seriously!

27% of Americans distrust science

There will be no Blue Light Special to save us on the cheap. This is going to cost our blood, sweat and tears. It is a challenge worthy of America.

If we want something better than we are getting, we’ll have to do something different – like elect people to power who will fairly represent us and who will kill the voter suppression practices that poison the heart of America.

It will take generations to fix the mess we’ve allowed to be made by our legislative self-serving cowards who debase themselves to lobbyists and cower before bullies. And we’ve been harmed by the willful indifference of the over 90 million eligible voters whose butts remain on their couches every election. Now is a good time to start the clean-up on Aisle U.S.***

The Department of Hope

It’s time to stop wringing our hands. It’s time to reach down and grab our grit and use it to attack what deserves to be attacked. It’s time to speak the truth about America and Americans and demand the America We The People want. That fight is what gives us hope.

Start by listening to Tim Walz make it plain for you.

Our Streets

You and I are just like the Founders in our abhorrence of kings – dictators, really. We are threatened by such people right now, in part because of the national insanity we’ve tolerated far too long. That’s why June 14 is

NO KINGS DAY!

.

You have to know what you stand for, or you’ll fall for anything.

Click on the map to find a demonstration near you. As of this writing there are over 1,400 of them, all for people across the nation who won’t tolerate Trump’s reign of scams, cruelties, corruption and the destruction of our Constitution he hopes will lead to his dictatorship and make him King Donald I.

But America isn’t about any king. It is about We The People. We declare that in no uncertain terms right here.

So, show up on June 14 to demonstrate who we really are, what we stand for and what we won’t stand for. And pass this message to others. This existential battle needs all of us.

Don’t Ever Back Down

Democrats plan to hire a TACO truck to serve free tacos outside the Republican National Committee headquarters starting this Tuesday – TACO Tuesdays, as in: Trump Always Chickens Out. Said Mother Jones, “.  .  .  [the idea] has since reportedly irked our ever-mercurial, toddler-brain president.”

This kind of tweaking is, of course, childish and undignified. I love it.

Every day in every way, punch the bully in the nose.

Don’t back down. Don’t ever back down.
.

Click me. Definitely click me.

___________________________________________________

* I looked up all the numbers presented here and easily found them from reputable sources with a simple search, “What percentage of Americans want .  .  . ” There are many reports on each of these topics, so there is some variation in the percentages that can be found. However, in no case was there meaningful disagreement from the intent of what is presented here.

** In the wake of any major mass shooting (think: Sandy Hook; Parkland; Topps Supermarket; Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Music Festival; Emanuel AME Church; Tree of Life Synagogue; Tucson-Giffords; etc.) the percentage of Americans who want automatic weapons, large capacity magazines, bump stocks and silencers to be banned goes up to 80-92%.

*** Gallup reports that approval of Congress is 26%. That means that 3 of every 4 Americans disapproves of our Congress. 53% of us disapprove of the job Trump is doing. Why in the world should we tolerate such horrid job performance? Fire these guys!

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

Emergency


POST 1181

Paramedics Aren’t Enough
We all have to show up for this emergency.
.

Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is presented as a budget bill, but its 1,116 pages hide aggressively subversive things buried in its bulk that have nothing to do with budgets and everything to do with crushing our rights and our freedoms. This bill is a clear and present danger to the United States. It is an existential threat to our way of life and the values you and I hold dear.

In a level headed, referenced piece on the site of Campaign Legal Center entitled These Hidden Provisions in the Budget Bill Undermine Our Democracy, Eric Kashdan lays out some examples of the subversion* in this bill.

“An Attack on the Judicial Branch

“The first of these outrageous policies — buried in Section 70302 of the legislation — would severely restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt if they violate judicial orders.”

Just consider the Supreme Court’s order to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. and the Trump Administration’s refusal. This provision would actually make Trump’s criminal contempt of court legal.

“A Flood of False Information in Elections

“The second problematic provision — found within Section 43201(c) of the House reconciliation bill — would impose a 10-year ban on the enforcement of all state and local laws that regulate artificial intelligence (AI), including rules for AI’s use in political campaigns and elections.”

Read that again: This bill will kill the efforts of our states to stop election misinformation, interference and manipulation of voters.

The New York Times has an exhaustive walk-through of this assault on democracy. If you’re feeling too happy, sample your way through it and you’ll be cured.

This “Big Beastly Bill” (kudos to Nancy Kohn and Art Friedson for the label – link through to their post – it’s brilliantly clear) is cloaked as a budget bill but is chock full of democracy destroying provisions like the destruction of checks and balance that has nothing to do with budgetary issues. And it’s full of nuclear attacks on Americans, most especially on non-super rich Americans. It is straight out of the Project 2025 homegrown political terrorist playbook.

The treachery throughout this plan for a bloodless coup is a clear violation of both the Faithless Clause and the Deceit Clause of the Constitution and is likely in violation of various sections of U.S. Code: Title 18 — CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, especially the Fraud, Unlawful, Cruel and Kaput (collectively the “FUCK Acts”) statutes.**

Trump and his fellow conspirators may well be in violation of sections of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which includes provisions for treason, seditious conspiracy and more. To be accurate, they aren’t trying to overthrow the government. They’re supplanting established norms with a blizzard of self-serving edicts nobody voted for and refusing to honor even a ghost of their oath of office.

Please link through and read this short, clear-headed explanation. There is more bad stuff in this bill than can be listed there, but this will get you started in your research to understand this awful bill.

Good-Bye Norman Rockwell

My wife and I have long enjoyed election day, walking to our local polling place, seeing neighbors there and all of us practicing citizenship. It’s a Norman Rockwell scene that affirms who we all are.

Now, though, we are threatened by tyrants who are working day and night in every venue imaginable to take away our rights of citizenship, to tear down our country, to impoverish you and me and to pocket the spoils for themselves. They want to set fire to that Norman Rockwell scene. That is the imminent danger we face.

Update From Sen. Pig Castrator

At a town hall on May 30 Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) responded to a constituent question about the massive cuts to Medicaid in the Big Beastly Bill – $880 billion – and how that will affect our most vulnerable. She smirked and said, “Well, we’re all going to die.”

That, apparently, is what passes for promoting the general welfare and compassion for the suffering, according to Republicans. See for yourself here. Watch for the smirk at 0.42.

Did You Know?
The Byrd Rule*** allows a single Senator to remove non-budget related provisions from bills that are attempting to be passed under budget reconciliation.
.
CALL YOUR SENATORS, because it takes 60 votes to overcome [a filibuster], and ONLY ONE SENATOR to call out these un-American provisions.
Action

Here are the two things we – you and I – must do.

1. Immediately phone both of your senators – no snail mail, no email – whether they’re Democratic, Republican or Independent. You can reach them through the

U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121

.

Tell them to invoke the Byrd Rule** on every single non-budgetary provision in this bill. That won’t fix everything, so they’ll also have to invoke the filibuster, too, if/when it comes time for voting on the entire caca package. Then tell them to VOTE NO on this attack-on-America bill.


2. Attend a NO KINGS protest on June 14. Click the map below for clarity about why you need to be there and to find a rally near you. I promise you that you’ll be emboldened and proud stand with people who show up to practice citizenship and to declare, “NO KINGS ON MY WATCH!“

Also, listen to New York Attorney General  Letitia James tell us it’s time to stand up and fight back. Do not give in to fear.

Finger Pointing Department

If you want to know who to blame for our ongoing debacle (root cause, primary driver), it might surprise you to learn that it isn’t Donald Trump. It’s who enabled Trump to happen. Click here.

Head Scratcher Department

Country Joe McDonald sang his song I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag at Woodstock 55 years ago. In it he asked about the Viet Nam war, “What are we fighting for?” I’d like to hear some of today’s Trump supporters answer that question – what are they fighting for?

_________________________________________________

* sub·ver·sion
/səbˈvərZHən,səbˈvərSHən/
  1. the undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution.
    “the ruthless subversion of democracy”
    Source: Oxford Languages

** These Clauses and statutes don’t exist, but they should so that we can accurately describe the un-American actions of today’s faithless, selfish, cowardly Republican saboteurs and hold them accountable.

*** From Google AI:

The Byrd Rule is a Senate rule that limits what can be included in reconciliation legislation to provisions that directly affect the federal budget, specifically spending and revenues. It prevents reconciliation bills from becoming vehicles for non-budgetary policy changes. 

Click here for a plain language explanation of the Byrd Rule, or here if you want to really get down in the weeds with it.
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 2025 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

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

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose


POST 1179

I recently ran across a post from election year 1996 and was struck yet again that

  • “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
  • “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
  • – Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, 1849

But the intensity, the rotten flavor does change and sometimes brings diabolical things, like this.

The plan was for the House Rules Committee to do a mark-up vote on the Trumpy-named The One Big Beautiful Bill. It has horrific provisions, like huge cuts to Medicaid, disapproved by 75% of Americans, logging on public lands, $4 trillion in tax cuts for the rich and a corresponding increase in our national debt – you get the idea. Those are just some of the embarrassingly awful provisions of this authoritarian bill that were driving Republicans to vote at 1:00AM today, thinking they can sneak it past you and me.

The sneaky part is the “things stay the same” because for decades Republicans have done terrible things that the vast majority of Americans dislike and they often try to creep them through without our seeing what they’re doing. But we do see. We know their slimy ways, regardless of the time of day when they do them. For more on the “sneaky” and this administration’s “slimy,” read Prof. Heather Cox Richardson’s post of today.

Check the news today to find out what happened. If the committee passed this giant wad of wet toilet paper of a bill, it will to to the full House for a vote on Memorial Day, when all Democrats will vote against it and we will hope that 4 Republicans will have sufficient spine to stand against it.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Take Note, Trump Voter

I am grossly offended by the dishonesty that is thrown at me by the Liar in Chief and his band of traitors to America, as they spray their bent logic, their broken morality, their attack on every facet of our rule of law and their worst efforts to kill and bury The American Dream.

I abhor those calling upon our fears and our anger and rallying us to hate and strike out at others. It’s a mean spirited but effective ploy for votes and power, no doubt. It’s been used by demagogues and power mongers all over the world and it works, especially with low information voters. But it appeals because even as people are tricked onto the slide down to inevitable catastrophe, they’ll have the opportunity to have their fists clenched in a momentary rush of feeling powerful. But that’s all it will be – a momentary rush. And it will leave us all the poorer, more divided and far less free. See the next section of this post for more on that.

When someone tells us, “It’s those guys in the Washington swamp,” or “It’s the east and west coast elites,” or that it’s some fantasy Mexican drug mules with calves the size of cantaloupes or it’s phantom Tren de Aragua terrorists, they give us targets for our anger, even as there’s no sense in their words. Their hatred creates an “us” versus “them” mentality that they use to justify cruelty.

Simple solutions to complex problems are appealing. We like simple because we understand it and are comfortable with it. Unfortunately, many things just aren’t simple. So, I’m wary of people who tell me that their simple solution will solve all or even some of our enormously complex problems, or that they will solve problems “on day one.” It just doesn’t work that way.

I don’t trust people who lie to me, saying tariffs are paid by other countries or who extort individuals and companies to kiss the ring. The liars and the power cheaters will smear us with their lies and get their simple solutions in place, but then We The People will stand up and push back hard. Then we’ll banish the cheaters, but we’ll be left with the mess they made and it will take the work of generations of Americans to clean it up.

It’s looking like we have to stand against that now, before yet more damage is done to the things you care about.

Click here and look for more specifics coming on Sunday.

Here’s a card that was placed on my wife’s car windshield while she was grocery shopping.

Upon seeing the card my first reaction was to wonder about the rage the creator of the card must carry around to have gone to such bother just to be a jerk.  It isn’t road rage; it’s parking rage. Clearly, this guy has serious and debilitating anger issues which he wishes to impose on the rest of us.

Which made me wonder about this society, where vomiting out our every thin-skinned inkling of injustice and blaming others for our every disappointment is considered normal and even powerful and worthy of counter-attack and cruelty, sometimes online and sometimes in a supermarket parking lot.

Oh, and the reverse side of the card has a sketch of a fist with a raised middle finger, the true logo of MAGA. Welcome to the world of the perpetually angry.

Oh, and my wife is doing just fine. Thanks for asking.

We are now mired in the quicksand of Trump mendacity, thievery and his destruction of all we hold dear. So many promises have been broken, like the promise – the oath – to protect and defend our Constitution; like promises to our friends and neighbors who need help; like the promise of ending so much suffering, like promises to our friends and allies and like the promise of the American Dream for our children.

We need strong, positive leadership in this country and we need it right now. It can’t wait until the 2028 election.

If you’d like to learn how we’ve been manipulated into voting for exactly what the majority of us don’t want, read Thom Hartmann’s post, America’s Long Coup: How the GOP Rigged, Lied, and Stole Its Way Into the White House for Over 50 Years. As you read it, have water handy, because the truth will set your hair on fire.

And you’ll know what to do.

Today’s Fun Fact

Here’s yet another “stays the same.”

.

Finally, Some Cautionary Questions

I am the son of parents who were children of parents who were children of immigrants.

  1. Should I steel myself against the time when my front door is bashed down in the middle of the night by masked thugs carrying weapons, men who offer no ID, who have no warrant for my arrest signed by a judge, indeed, no warrant at all?
  2. What if they have come to arrest me and force me onto a deportation flight to El Salvador? Isn’t that kidnapping? Isn’t that a federal offense?
  3. Should I somehow prepare myself for a similar event on a sunny day while I’m walking down the sidewalk to the barber shop?
  4. What is the best safety protocol, knowing in advance that I won’t be afforded a telephone call or a judicial hearing?
  5. Am I at greater risk for having no tattoos but knowing a smattering of words in Spanish?
  6. How should I advise my wife and children on what to do, how to survive, in my absence?

And the non-immigration question: I write these posts and they are quite disparaging of Mr. Trump. Given his mania for retribution and my modest means, how should I prepare myself for his baseless $2 million defamation lawsuit?

Countdown to November 3, 2026
Mid-Term Election

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

Lessons


POST 1170

Good News First

I subscribe to the posts of some very insightful people and I’ve noticed something recently: their posts are getting longer. They have a lot to say, now that the shock of the last election has worn off and there is some good news happening.

Two weeks ago we had the April 5 demonstrations and over 5 million people showed up loud, strong, demanding and defiant. Roughly 1.5% of all Americans were in the streets that day. And yesterday a whole lot of people clogged the streets and sidewalks again in 700 “No Kings” rallies across the country.

After the election most heads were hung in despair and the question being asked was, “What can we do?” No answers were offered, other than pleadings from politicians to send them money. Now people are up and out and even some Republicans are making noises as though they have re-discovered that they have spines (gasp!).

Bernie and AOC are all over America with their “Fighting Oligarchy!” tour and drawing huge crowds – 12,000 in shocking red Idaho! 30,000 in ruby red Folsom, CA! 36,000 in LA! Tens of thousands in Utah – UTAH! Thousands stood in the rain to get into the venue in 95% White Iowa. 34,000 showed up in Detroit. It turns out that Bernie is right:

People are sick and tired of being sick and tired!
.

Change for the better is in the air, even in the presence of the stink of Trump’s grab for a crown.

Trump is doing us all a favor by being the very worst version of himself, lying, breaking laws, violating the Constitution and, most helpfully, doing things that impact We The People negatively so that even his voters are starting to feel the pain. Stealing money from granny and our veterans is enough to enrage anyone, so pray that he does ever-worse things. Then it won’t be 5 million people in the streets. It will be 50 million of us declaring that there is no American king, that America keeps its promises to its citizens and to the world and that the rule of law is supreme.

So, get out and do your part so that you’ll never be ruled by a brainless, Trump appointed, ass kissing tyrant; never be renditioned by Trump’s Brown Shirts wearing ski masks and sending you to a “shit-hole country;” so that you’ll never be smeared by his Eichmann, Stephen Miller; and never be attacked by his IRS.

Even President Obama is speaking out. Have a look/listen to his presentation at Hamilton College via Meidastouch network. For the full 1:14 conversation, click here. I so very much miss that man.

Lessons

From Hold Tight by Harlan Coben:

Why do humans never really learn the lessons we are supposed to? What is in our makeup, in fact, that draws us to that which should sicken us?

From Ron Fournier’s Substack post, Yes, Senator: In Trump’s America, We Are All Afraid

We feel for you, Senator Murkowski.

It must be scary to serve under a party leader capable of turning the full power of the presidency against you and unleashing waves of angry, potentially violent, supporters upon you.

“We are all afraid,” you told a conference in Anchorage. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

You’re right, senator. It’s not right. If you are scared — a member of President Trump’s own party with a family legacy in Alaska politics — can you imagine what it’s like to be a Democrat?

Or a reporter?

Or an immigrant?

Or a child of an immigrant?

Or a non-white person?

Or a woman?

Or a married gay couple?

Or a transgender man or woman?

Or a person on the autism spectrum?

Or a small business person dependent on imports?

Or a starving child dependent on U.S. assistance?

Or a Ukrainian?

Or a federal employee?

Or a college president?

Or a judge?

Or a lawyer?

Or anybody else whose lives and livelihoods our president threatens at a whim?

Yes, Senator. We should all be afraid.

Senator, you signed up for the brainless, violent threats you’re receiving and your failure to stand firm against the evil of extremists for so many years has allowed and encouraged the very threats you fear. You know right from wrong. Try doing right more often. That’s a lesson you should have learned a long time ago.

From my Jeez Puleeze! Journal:

 As Harry Truman (sort of) said, “If you can’t stand the heat, Senator Murkowski, get out of the kitchen.”

From Steve Schmidt, also singling out Murkowski:

[America’s Republican elites] are worthless in a fight over principle because the only principle that they truly care about is self-interest.

The thing is, we’ve seen this before in Stalin’s and Putin’s Russia, in Hitler’s Germany, in Orban’s Hungary and in so many more places where people failed to stand up to bad guys. Then the bad guys, the homegrown terrorists, turned their violence on We The People.

We’ve seen the hatred and violence in our own country in the Civil War, the American Bund, the KKK, in today’s White supremacists and the creeps who have threatened Sen. Murkowski and Georgia poll worker Ruby Freeman. And don’t forget the American Nazis, who are proclaiming that Hitler should have finished the job. That’s the kind of people we’ll get if we fail to stand up to the bad guys today.

We must remember the lessons.

Trump is building his authoritarianism one airplane renditioning of legal – legal! – immigrants at a time. So far most of the courts (but not those in Texas) are following the law. The Supreme Court, except for (guess who?) Thomas and Alito, seems to be able to locate the Constitution on a clear day.* We knew this hateful attack on our values (the ones we proclaim but sometimes ignore) was coming because Trump slimed us with his promises of cruelty. We were shown the lessons repeatedly and, as Coben said, “humans never really learn the lessons we are supposed to .  .  . “

.  .  .  until it’s so late that the price to restore our country is enormous. Trump told us what he was going to do, the cruelty, the meanness, the lawlessness, the violations of our Constitution, and still nearly half the voters, the people Trump fools some of the time and those he fools all of the time, voluntarily forgot the lessons. And now he’s SOLD Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia and about 230 more legal immigrants to an El Salvador tyrant who stuffed them into his concentration and extermination camp.

We are all afraid. We’re monstrously pissed off, too. We know what to do to solve the problem. There are millions of us in the streets, almost ready to bring pitchforks and torches.

Yet again.

There is a major election coming up in 564 days. If you aren’t working on the solution, you’re part of the problem.

Courage – It’s Contagious!

____________________________________________

* And yet the Court recently agreed to hear a Trump case seeking to end birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment begins,

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

Is there anything unclear about that?

Yet the Court is willing to hear arguments against it!

Do you remember your civics class where you were taught that the only way to change the Constitution is through a new amendment? Yet these justices are willing to hear a case based on just an executive order that would change the Constitution with only a cockamamie extremist law, not an amendment. What lesson have these justices forgotten?

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

Dumb


POST 1167

Having To Admit: It’s The Reality, Stupid

Here is the opening stanza of Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’.

Come gather ’round people wherever you roam And admit that the waters around you have grown. And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you is worth savin’, And you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone, For the times they are a-changin’.

When that song was written, most believed it was a message to the establishment that had us caught up in the Viet Nam War. We wanted them to know that the new generation wasn’t just like them, that we wouldn’t blindly follow their orders, that the times had changed. Now times have changed far more.
.
Now it’s the establishment that has changed, this time into a bullet train speeding to the end of the America we know and want. That’s why we, you and I, better start swimmin’ or we’ll sink like a stone. That’s what we did last Saturday all across the nation – HANDS OFF!
.
Dumb – Chapter 1: It’s Their Fault; It’s Ours To Fix
  • I wax and wane in my fury at Trump voters. Sometimes I’m more placid, understanding and patient. Other times I want to saw heads off bodies. Here’s a link to a fine explainer for why fury is so often at maximum wax.
  • What explains that okay-ness for so many with Trump’s awful? How come they have crushed our decency and our values, leaving room for hatred and mouth foaming rage to grow and flourish in a dystopian swamp fountain of hypocrisy, lies and cruelty?

Trump’s behavior, his bullying and vomiting of vitriol, has unleashed the anger and frustrations built over years within a lot of Americans, the feelings of resentment and betrayal. He’s tacitly given permission for people to leave their decency behind them and to mimic his bullying, his cruelty and his constant lying. He’s told people that it’s good to be bad. He’s shown that it’s okay and even powerful to obey their worst angels in a constant orgy of brutality.

So sorry they feel that way, but frankly, my dear, most of the time I don’t give a damn about them. Nevertheless, it’s reality and only we can fix it.

Dumb – Chapter 2: Gargantuan Dumb
If you need a thorough explanation of our dumb, watch Richard Wolff’s explainer here. He speaks quite slowly, so you may want to click on the Settings button and speed up the playback. Regardless, you’ll come away with better clarity about our dumb.
.
And read what Hillary Clinton has to say in her essay, How Much Dumber Will This Get? about our gargantuan national dumb, the inept leadership that is incrementally making our nation sink like a stone – things like the national security disaster that is Signal Gate. That, in part, is what the national rallies on Saturday were about and it’s why you showed up.
.

Here’s an excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson’s March 30 comments:

Both Trump and Hegseth have made it their goal to purge the United States of what they call “Marxism” and what Hegseth calls “woke sh*t.” [They rail] against the racial, gender, and religious diversity that Americans have embraced since World War II. That means taking the government the country has built over the past 80 years down to the ground and rebuilding it as they imagine it was before, with men like them in charge.

The Trump regime is the result of at least 45 years of Republican rhetoric that undermined the idea of a government that worked for the good of everyone by claiming that such a government was “socialism” or “Marxism.”

Dumb – Chapter 3: Impact On You
Pick your favorite words: dumb, evil, destructive, un-American, cruel, delusional, deceitful, treasonous, criminal – there are lots of accurate descriptors for what these tyrants are doing. What would be epically dumb, though, would be for us to tolerate that destruction of the United States of America. Here are some examples of that dumb.
.
There is the dumbing down of our public health, even as measles infects its way across the nation and Ebola does the same in Africa. Good thing pandemics can’t cross oceans, right? So let’s shut down our public health expertise.
.

We have things like stupid, counter-productive tariffs making life unaffordable for millions. And soon everything will cost much more and small businesses will go bankrupt.

There is the betrayal of giving away your private, personal information to Musk and his evil flying tech monkeys.

There is the giving of tax cuts to people who are so rich that generations into the future their families can’t ever run out of money, even as millions of We The People suffer.

We proudly have a Russia suck-up useful idiot in charge of our national security. What could possibly go wrong?

There’s the undermining of the education of our children at a time when they are quickly slipping behind their peers in other countries.

Fewer than half of our adults can name the three branches of government and only about a quarter can name our First Amendment rights. Read the Annenberg School’s report. One in eight Americans can’t name our first president (hint: cherry tree). Whatever happened to our civics education? Perhaps we can teach it in the streets.

Dumb – Chapter 4

From Adam Kinzinger’s Country First post of April 3, the day after Trump’s fantasy “liberation day:”

    • In 2018, during the first Trump administration, a steep tariff was imposed on foreign-made washing machines. The result?
    • The price of laundry equipment in the U.S. jumped by 34%, far outpacing inflation. Why?.
    • Because when tariffs reduce competition, American manufacturers often raise prices too — and consumers pay the price.
    • Now, this administration is claiming that tariffs will bring back American manufacturing. But we’ve run that experiment, too. During the first Trump Administration, when tariffs were introduced (at a smaller level than now), the U.S. lost manufacturing jobs and businesses. [all emphasis original)
    • How much more will we tolerate?

Actually, it’s more than dumb; it’s sinister. It’s catastrophic. It’s willfully ignorant, cruel and voluntarily self-defeating; hence we employ the graphic to the right once again.

The shoe represents the United States of America and the hand represents those we elected or who were appointed to administer our government. They are working day and night to destroy our government, our culture, our values, our nation – everything – and replace them with a dictatorship run by people who are not you. If they succeed, you will forevermore be a nothing in the country that once was yours.

If we continue down this dumb path, sick people who could have been saved will die. People who could have been whole will be permanently debilitated. People who could have been financially comfortable will barely eek out subsistence. People for whom the future could have been bright will instead live in hopelessness. And We The People will exist only at the pleasure of a dictator and his thugs, at all times under threat of rendition for no wrongdoing. And we’ll have a nation only as long as foreign powers allow us to exist.

All of that dumb and more are what is growing our personal and national anxiety into active resistance, as well as our impatience for Democrats to at last push back.

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.

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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 and to exclude those I deem inappropriate.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


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

BACK OFF!


POST 1166

At Last It’s Happening and We Know The Answer

I’ve been asking the key question since the last election, as we suffered under leadership insufficiency and have steadily been sorely pained by would-be political leaders who cannot lead anyone. The question is

Who Will Lead?
.

Now I think we’ve seen the face of who will lead.

Cory Booker has always led with his insight, with his values and his heart and his 25 hour marathon speech in the Senate has sealed the deal to lead us. It’s not because he kicked out hateful segregationist Storm Thurmond as the longest filibusterer. That was symbolically good but was beside the point. It was his speaking with righteous passion and clarity about values – our values – that establish him as a guy to lead us back to being the United States of America.

We’ll see where this goes, but good things are happening beyond Booker’s filibuster. There was Susan Crawforde’s win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the halving of Trump margins in Florida. Now Mallory McMorrow, the fiery Michigan state senator, has announced her candidacy to be the next U.S. senator from Michigan. We’re starting to flex our muscles.

The National Declaration

We did a national demonstration yesterday to send a message to the awful guys. It was officially named “BACK OFF!“, but the energy of the crowd said, “BACK THE F*** OFF!“

There were millions of people in over 1400 demonstrations nationwide yesterday. Some say that we won’t have made any difference, but I have a short list for you that says otherwise.

    1. We made it clear for everyone to see that we are not alone. Millions of us have one another’s backs.
    2. We put a stake in the ground that we support those legislators and officials who stand for our democracy, our Constitution and our people. We let them know that when they won’t stand for the awful and un-American things the Republicans are doing, that we have their six when they are brave.
    3. We told the world that we are not like Trump, Musk and their army of cruel, greedy sycophants. They don’t speak for We The People. We are rising up in righteous fury.

Here are just a few pics from the demonstration in little Tucson, AZ, where there were over 14,000 people lining the streets 5 deep, carrying signs and chanting amidst the constant honking of the horns of cars passing by. The air was electric.

That’s a United States Marine holding the Distress flag. He told me that he’s in distress for our nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best sign of the day

Just For Fun

From Andy Borowitz:

Americans Demand Breathalyzer Be Attached to Pete Hegseth’s Phone
.

Washington (Borowitz) – Amid the outcry over the leaking of top-secret war plans, on Monday millions of Americans called for a breathalyzer to be attached to Peter Hegseth’s phone.

In emotional apology at the Pentagon, Hegseth said that someone in his position “should never drink and text, and so I am giving up texting.”

According to national security experts, a journalist was given access to highly sensitive war plans that are normally available only to people using a public bathroom at Mar-a-Lago.

From The Onion:

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 and to exclude those I deem inappropriate.
  7. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

JA


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

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