Treason

Who Will Lead?

Feb 05

POST 1147

Who’s Behind This Debacle

It isn’t just Führer Dummkopf that’s the problem. It’s his 25 million rabid dupe-dopes who love to kill anything in their way.

the willfully and proudly ignorant

the homicidally angry and hateful

the ones who get their sense of power from hatred and harming others

the sleep walking MAGA lemmings and sheep

the spineless hypocrites

the happily propagandized

the testosterone manipulated puff-ups

the reality deniers

the vacuously self-deluded

the “I Love Cruelty” mob

the lazy couch crouchers

the couldn’t-be-bothered-to-think crowd

the “Who cares about you?” narcissists

the “true patriots” who hate Americans

the descendants of immigrants who hate immigrants, whether documented or not

the believers in a mythical “Great Again” that never was

. . . because they brought us this ongoing Trump destruction of our democracy, the abandonment of the rule of law, the upcoming raid on our treasury, the vicious attacks on We the People, this Republican assault on their obviously-not-sacred-to-them oath to the Constitution of We the People.

Click me

What we’re left with is figuring out how to turn them from the St. MAGA gospel of hatred to something more in line with what Jesus would direct, although they obviously didn’t get the message from Sunday school. Clearly, they never read what the Founders had to say about Christianity as a national religion.

Historical note: They said, “Nuh-uh.” You can look it up in the Federalist Papers or in the First Amendment.

Reconciliation with these people seems nearly unachievable and there is no Mandela on the horizon. But perhaps we can reach the 50 million casual Trump voters to partner to restore our country to its 250-year order. We’re way late getting started and we’re going to need the right leader to battle and beat this existential threat.

Job Qualifications & My Nominee

We need a leader with the brilliance of mind to provide us with clarity for the actions we can and must take. We need a leader with the passion to inspire us to the full measure of our patriotism. We need a leader who is wise and compassionate, who will walk with us and who knows right from wrong,

I’ve been watching and listening for that leader. I see many good people, but most have a hole in their personal résumé, They are smart, but dry and without charisma. Or they have the passion, but not the brilliance needed.

Click me – but read Note #5 below first

This is about leading an army of patriotic Americans in opposition to the would-be fascist totalitarians. This is about giving voice and direction to We The People and doing so with no intention of personal gain. This is about who will stand and declare, “THAT WAY!” Who qualifies for that job?

My nominee is Barack Obama. He’s brilliant, charismatic, clear, inspiring and has no aspirations for political advantage for himself. He has experience as a community organizer and as the leader of our nation and he has the cred to call out the self-serving, the pompous, the liars and the hood-winkers. And he stands for hope and change – he wrote a book about it. Plus, it will be absolutely delicious to watch Trump crumble under truth delivered by the victim of his scum bag birther lies.

Maybe you have a fine nominee. Great, tell us. Let’s pick one and draft him/her. The time to start was yesterday.

REBEL!

Follow Up to Dec. 22 POST 1132, Our Problem

In that piece I ripped Democrats for being AWOL in the midst of our existential battle and I stand by that description. One thing that post did not cover is the critical analysis of what should have been done to win hearts, minds and votes and what must be done next time we have a chance to put banana peels under the shoes of the fascist traitors. Fortunately, Ira Leavit offers us some help in his recent post, Blue Voters Need Something to Believe In – Something Big.

Voters care exclusively for what they decide for themselves is important to them. That’s a lesson that Democrats desperately need to learn and Ira gives us an idea of what that might look like. Have a read.

Next, be sure to read Thom Hartmann’s piece If Obama Had Sent a Mob to Kill a Cop, Republicans Would Never Let You Forget It – The GOP would be screaming “Cop Killer” every single day — so why aren’t Democrats holding Trump to the same standard? It’s a brilliant and clear outline of how to win hearts, minds and votes.

Sarcasm Corner

So glad that Führer Trump is gutting the FBI. Those people are a poison to our national blood for having pursued accountability for homicidal criminals, catching der Führer’s “fine people” and sending them to prison. Besides, we don’t need the FBI to pursue law breakers or terrorists or those plotting massive deaths of Americans anymore now that we have a new sheriff in town. He’ll stop ISIS with one hand tied behind his massive ass.

At last someone is eliminating USAID. We don’t care if millions of babies overseas die because, hey, they aren’t Americans. Let ’em drop. Same for people with malnutrition, malaria or HIV. We shouldn’t have to feed them or provide life saving drugs. Let the Chinese pay the bill.

And those DEI hires at the FAA – cut ’em loose and give those air traffic controller jobs to White Christian men who made it through the 7th grade.

I’m so glad that unqualified, unelected, unhinged Elon Musk has access to and control of all government payments and has your Social Security number, too. Now all government can be shut down and eliminated and Trump will be in sole control of what’s left. It’s the greatest national security breach in U.S. history – you’ve never seen anything like this before. Take a back seat, Edward Snowden, to the Trump/Musk fascist victory! Just hoping we’ll get our Social Security checks from whatever privatized company Trump/Musk gives the agency and its money to. And we can only hope that people who are not fabulously rich can get health care somewhere, somehow. What could possibly go wrong?

And they’re about to eliminate the Department of Education. That’s good, because ignorant citizens are easier to manipulate.

There’s super labor saving now, too, because there’s no longer a need to think long term. We Americans like things simple, no matter how complex they actually are. Now RFK will bring us horrendous diseases, Bondi will bring us prosecutions of the innocent and will allow Trumpy felons to skate free. Patel will allow and encourage violent crimes by crippling our national law enforcement agency. Hegseth will threaten our friends with our military and ignore atrocities done by our not-friends. Rubio will sway whichever way the wind blows. It’s all good.

Boy, this is going really well.

For The Pardoned and Commuted Sentence Felons

My wish is for you to call or write to those you threatened with retribution and death. Apologize to them and beg for forgiveness as an act of contrition. It will be your first step back toward the world of democracy, decency and the worthiness of being called a fellow citizen. Plus, maybe you can start on the road from being just a performative Christian to becoming an actual Christian. You know, like Jesus said you should be.

Until then you’re just a criminal thug.

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:

Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not necessarily mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine, but I do wish that I could blame someone else. Glad to have your corrections.
Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

Click me

How It Works – v2

Jan 29

POST 1144

Preface

This is an update of a piece originally posted February 7, 2021, one month after the treasonous insurrection.

In yet another attack on the rule of law, President Trump has now pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,500 of the January 6 criminals, including the cop killers.* The Republicans in the majority of both Houses of Congress have shown themselves to be cowardly and spineless in the face of Trump’s assault on the Constitution. They are essentially dissolving Congress voluntarily.

_________________________________________

“Fear will keep the local systems in line.”

In the first Star Wars movie there is a scene with Darth Vader and the officers of the Imperial star ship.

.

That’s pretty much how Hitler did it. He didn’t actually make the Reichstag go away. He just neutered it into becoming a lap dog by means of The Enabling Act of 1933, which the council members passed due to fear for their lives. Then things became way worse, as they always do in dictatorships. Required reading: Steve Schmidt’s There Is a Thin Line Between Life and Death.

It’s pretty much the same in Putin’s Russia, Erdoğan’s Turkey, Xi’s China, Duterte’s Phillippines and now in the U.S. Eliminating legislative oversight is what authoritarians do to hoard all power for themselves. Most often it’s done with thug tactics. Just ask Putin opponent Alexei Navalny about his experience with Putin’s gulags and nerve poison. Oh, wait: you can’t ask Navalny because Putin murdered him.

The January 6 mob was a violent insurrection dispatched by Trump, a riot of Jesus-bannered, cross carrying thugs, including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, 3 Percenters, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other unhinged hoodlums. They were there to overthrow our government – to effectively eliminate Congress – so that Trump could take over the country (see the movie clip again if you need a refresher). And to kill cops.

Does that sound so extreme as to be preposterous? If so, you need to pay closer attention, because that’s exactly what those thugs said they were there to do, all at Trump’s bidding. They were there to murder any House or Senate members they found (cue the clips of senators running for their lives). They brought a noose to lynch Mike Pence. Those aren’t things people do in order to preserve their government.

Capitol Officer Brian Sicknick

Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died from cop killer mob violence while defending 535 members of Congress and the symbol of America that is the Capitol Building. He was killed by Bible-thumping, flag waving American terrorists, who most certainly weren’t promoting law and order, honoring our cops or doing what Jesus would do.

Honoring Officer Brian Sicknick

Both before and since the insurrection, non-Republican members of Congress and election volunteers have received death threats* to themselves and to their family members.

For any remaining fascism skeptics:

If not to overthrow the will of the people and our democracy, what do you think that election fraud Big Lie was about?

Surely, you don’t think those rioters were play acting when they attempted to kill those in Congress.

Surely, you don’t think they believed in democracy when they attempted to trash the votes of tens 81 million Americans.

Surely, you don’t think the currently seated members of Congress who attempted to stop the Electoral College vote counting and whose knees buckle upon hearing of Trump’s every whim actually believe in and honor their oath of office.

Surely, you don’t think the pardoned traitors don’t mean it when they vomit their vitriol of retribution.

Click me – but read Note #5 below first

This is how democracies die. A cult leader exhorts fanatics, the thugs terrorize all opposition and incrementally people surrender to death threats and violence. And that’s advanced when hundreds of our legislators give a standing ovation to the hateful nut cases spewing fascist hatred. That’s advanced when Trump puts forth a slate of entirely unqualified suck ups to be heads of cabinets and it’s advanced when spineless Republicans put those Trump sycophants in power. Yes, fascism can happen here in America. It’s happening right before your eyes.

I’ve exhorted readers to learn what FDR’s Vice President Wallace had to say about fascism in America. If you believe in democracy and have not yet read his essay, please read it now.

Now that Trump has pardoned these violent criminals – cop killers – you can expect acts of terrorism, including sniper and mass shootings, bombings (think: Timothy McVeigh and the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City) and perhaps political assassinations over the coming years. These are highly armed, angry, hateful, bigoted, self-righteous thugs who expect to continue their self-righteous war against America. That’s exactly what they’ve promised. And Trump loves and protects them.

I’m all for our learning to talk with one another constructively, to make peace, perhaps to have a truth and reconciliation commission. But that can only happen after violence is no longer a threat and democracy is secure. Reference: South Africa.

Now it’s time for all of us to stand and be counted in support of the FBI, our state justice departments and law enforcement agencies to stop the barbarians. It’s imperative that we eliminate the clear and present danger that these home grown killers and desecrators are.

The cop killer terrorists have already breached the gates of democracy and are buoyed in their treasonous actions by Trump and because they see January 6 as a victory for themselves. If we are to continue our bold experiment in self-rule, we better get some victories notched against the barbarians damned fast.

Oh, and Trump fired 18 inspectors general in violation of the law requiring 30 days advance notice,

Trump don’ wan’ no stinking people who can hold him accountable, so he’s getting rid of the watch dogs. He’s lived a lifetime of doing whatever allowed him to skate from responsibility for his actions, including packing the Supreme Court with his extremist picks to give him a license to lie, cheat, steal and kill from the Oval Office.
The real deal, the giggly, bubbly part for Trump, is that this, along with the pardons, is a stake in the ground saying that he doesn’t have to obey our laws. He’s making it clear that he is above the law and is daring anyone to stand up to him. The question is whether Congress will let him get away with that, just as the Reichstag let Hitler get away with everything. You are advised to have low expectations of our Republicans.

This Just In: Fired for Cause

Jeff Bezos’ termination of faithfulness to the Washington Post’s masthead slogan, “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” has led to spineless reporting, suck up editorials and shameful toadying. It is worse than just embarrassing. It is the dying of a light that protects and defends our democracy, all for a few coins in Bezos’ pocket and a pat on his slick scalp by the Führer-in Chief.

I just cancelled my subscription.

Let me know when that coward is gone and there is new leadership at the paper worthy of the legacy of Kathryn Graham and Ben Bradlee.

__________________________________

* Refer to Thom Hartmann’s post, If Obama Had Sent a Mob to Kill a Cop, Republicans Would Never Let You Forget It – The GOP would be screaming “Cop Killer” every single day — so why aren’t Democrats holding Trump to the same standard?

Coming Sunday: This Is Not Normal

Ed. note: We need to spread the word so that we make a critical difference, so,

Did someone forward this to you? Welcome! Please subscribe and pass this along to three others, encouraging them to subscribe, too. (IT’S A FREEBIE!) Use the simple form above on the right.
Engage in the Comments section below to help us all to be better informed.

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings, so don’t bug me about it.
Said John Maynard Keynes, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” So, educate me and all of us. That’s what the Comments section is for.
Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.

The Light

Dec 29

POST 1133

Tree of Life Synagogue

Joe Biden wrote two months ago, on the sixth anniversary of that awful mass murder,

“. . . a gunman armed with an AR-15, multiple handguns, and hate in his heart, opened fire and killed 11 Jewish worshippers [sic] and wounded six more, in the deadliest act of Antisemitism in our history. It shattered families, pierced the heart of the Jewish community, and struck the soul of our nation.”

There wasn’t much light to be seen on that terrible October day in 2018.

Four days ago on Christmas morning, just hours prior to lighting the first candle of Hanukkah, Tree of Life sent this:

This week, our community will recount a powerful story: a story of courage, unity and the triumph of hope over adversity, of light over darkness.

Each night, as we light another candle, we honor the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days. We tell the story of the Maccabees’ unwavering bravery in the face of insurmountable odds. Their strength to stand up, rebuild and protect what was sacred has inspired generations—that same courage fuels our work at The Tree of Life as we envision a world where hope, kindness and resilience prevail.

With each candle, may we all remember that Hanukkah calls us not only to be the light but to spread it. By coming together, we amplify the brightness of hope, illuminating a future where all can thrive in safety and peace.

One of our challenges today is not just that we don’t agree on much; it’s that we all think we’re right. So, intransigent, inflammable, indignant and ignorant ways are often the norm. Facts need not intrude on this spectacle of craziness and sometimes self-justified cruelty. Welcome to 21st century America, land of victims who are victimizing.

That makes the job of each American – to be and to spread the light – much more difficult. And I am certain that you see clearly the enormous need for light in this democracy threatened by powerful, corrupt people intent on tearing down all we hold dear. That means that each of us has to go beyond our feelings of shock, hopelessness and fear and get up, find our own way to the light, likely alongside others, and do what needs to be done.

We have an owners manual that gives us direction. It is the Constitution. We have reference materials, like the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers and 248 years of the writings of many wise people. To be fair, we also have writings from some wretched fools, so be careful in your selection. Pull up a wooden chair at the library table. Read, learn and follow the instructions.

And recognize that the incoming administration has pledged to burn our owners manual and reference materials. In years past labels like “traitor” would have been pasted on such people with Republicans doing most of the labeling and pasting. Republicans, please explain to all of us why burning down our republic is now somehow acceptable.

Sadly, many no longer seem to have what used to be called common sense or the humility to be ashamed of themselves. Bluster and lack of accountability have taken their places and they have a sky high opinion of their opinions.

Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing,

once all other possibilities have been exhausted.

– commonly attributed to Winston Churchill, but he never said that.
Sometimes Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban gets credit for some
variation of this statement. Had either of them
said this, he would have been right.

We have promoted so many other possibilities, most notably now the attempts to strong arm our democracy toward fascism by rich, cruel usurpers supported by angry, heavily armed citizens who fear their special place in our society is slipping away. So many practice various forms of discrimination and repression and more harm is promised. They’ll try any self-serving thing that crosses their corruptible minds.

Citizen screamers will always cling to their pompous anger and grievance. They honestly believe that there are those who are naturally superior to others (e.g. book banners/burners, immigrant haters, replacement theory whiners, patriarchy promoters, etc.) and that it is self-evident that those holding such a view are the superior ones. In reply, let us read together from page one our founding documents: “Nuh-uh.”

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

– Mark Twain

We can wish for the lessons for doing right to be simpler, obvious to everyone and easier, but they are not and they won’t be. We’ve built an impassioned barrier, a self-constructed divide that makes us distrust one another and which dims the light from the shining city on the hill. Paraphrasing Ronald Reagan,

Mr./Mrs./Ms. America, tear down these walls!

President Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987
at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

When we do that we will have begun to end our violence toward one another. Until then, our primary job will have to be to counter our angry, violent fellow citizens, whether they’re the elected officials attacking our republic or others attacking Americans with threats and physical violence. We must do this before they hurt someone, like our immigrants now being threatened with family separation cruelty – again. There is enormous stubbornness in this violent country, so becoming the light will be difficult and will take a long time.

Be clear: We are at terrible risk right now and it’s going to take all of us to set things right, to turn up the light of the shining city on the hill.

There are glimmerings. The darkest day of the year is behind us and ever more daylight shines, a little more each day. And so our charge is not only “to be the light but to spread it.” That means stepping up and fighting the darkness that is trying to smother our nation. We must make incremental improvements every day.

It’s about the light. It’s always about the light.

_____________________________________

NOTE: No post this Wednesday

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:

Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.

Click me

You’re Being Played, But Not Like You Think

Oct 23

POST 1114

An Insidious Conspiracy

JD Vance is a guy who compared Trump to Hitler. He said, “I’m a Never Trump guy. I never liked him.” He said lots more that was unlikely to cause Trump to find him attractive. Still, he got the nod, so many were asking why Trump picked him to be his running mate.

Vance is where he is because of millions of dollars invested in him by Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. Now, why would these guys shell out that kind of cash to get this phony hillbilly into position to be Vice President of the United States? You know they expect to get massive pay back for their investments. Let’s back up the story a bit to see what we can find.

Let’s make the assumption that the people at the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025, are smart guys. You may not like their values or their policies, you may customarily call them some unattractive names, but they aren’t stupid. They and others like them have waged a 50 year war on our liberal democracy, perhaps even going back to FDR. Their fight has been constant and it is solely about amassing astonishing piles of cash and unlimited power, even as they claim patriotic values to distract you. And we all have been distracted. They have brought us to the point where a fascist, an avowed enemy of democracy, has an even chance to regain the White House.

It’s great fun to ridicule Trump, but that’s looking in the wrong direction.

We love to attack Trump for his crudeness, his cruelty, his lack of substance, his fundamental dishonesty and his flagrant stupidity. Now we’re watching him disintegrate mentally before our eyes.

But shift your thinking from the magician’s hand that you see – that’s Trump – to the one behind his back that is tricking you. Trump is the joker that the magician, the manipulator, the Heritage Foundation, flashes before our eyes. But behind their back is the hand manipulating events that will put Vance into the Presidency. Here’s how.

Trump’s mental faculties are unraveling before our eyes and before the eyes of the world. His ability to stay on a topic has shrunken to just a few seconds of outrageous accusations and idiotic projections, leading to a verbal spaghetti of senselessness. Just imagine the fear our NATO allies feel and the excitement that world dictators are enjoying over the prospect of another 4 years of Trump.

He has refused interviews everywhere. He won’t show up at CNN, CNBC or 60 Minutes and he won’t debate his opponent. He’ll only appear with fawning supporters and even then all he can manage are short periods of cruelty, threats of violence and mental incontinence. He couldn’t even stay glued together at a friendly town hall and had to resort to playing music and swaying moronically for 39 minutes.

His campaign staff, his family, MAGA politicians and pundits all know that they have to limit his pubic exposure because every time he opens his mouth to speak he undermines his candidacy. Far more important, they all know that if he wins the election that he will be unable to execute the duties of the Office of the Presidency or even the dictates of the Heritage Foundation.

You’re being played by master magicians, but not like you think. You’re being made to think that this chaos and instability are about Trump, the joker, but he’s just the distraction. The real danger is the manipulation we don’t see, but it’s being done in plain sight.

Within months, perhaps just days of Trump taking office, the 25th Amendment will be invoked. Congress will support it and JD Vance will become President of the United States, your ruler.

Did that send a shiver up your spine? It should, because Vance is smart, cunning, an extremist and the author of the violent introduction to Project 2025. He would follow its dictates and destroy our democracy. He wants you to be crushed by fascism. You know that frighteningly well.

That is the goal of the Heritage Foundation. Vance is the traitor to democracy who will make you a serf and give oligarchs all the money and all the power. These are our morbidly rich to whom we’ve already transferred $50 trillion of our wealth thanks to trickle down economics and self-defeating tax cuts for the rich.

.

We’ve been played, all right, but not by Trump, the snake oil salesman and marionette of the ultra-rich.

.

***We’ve been played by the oligarch wannabes for at least five decades* *and now we’re being played to put Vance, the oligarch tool boy, into the White House to do their bidding.***

.

This election isn’t about Trump’s insanity. It’s about whether we will crush our own democracy through our willful blindness to what is before our eyes.

.

Vance is actually worse than you already think. Have a look at this memo from the guys who ran Tim Ryan’s Senate campaign against Vance. They looked the beast in the eyes and they know what they saw. This guy is smooth, slick and dishonest. And no, he doesn’t think Trump lost the 2020 election. Or at least that’s the story he changed to after being named Trump’s running mate and shifting from being a Never Trumper to being a spineless Trump suck up.

We are powerless to remove Vance from the ticket, so our only hope to protect our rights, our freedom and our democracy is to defeat Trump, which would bar the White House door to Vance. We have to defeat the Republicans running for other offices, too. Our most sacred right,

VOTING

.

is our only weapon to ensure that there will be elections in 2026 and 2028. This is truly a use-it-or-lose-it moment.

We must crush the plan of the Heritage Foundation or it will crush us. So,

If you don’t want a President Vance;

If you don’t want democracy to end and be replaced by oligarchs counting the money they’ve taken from you and exploiting and abusing you;

If you’re tired of being played for a fool;

. . . then you know what we must do. We must defeat the forces of evil which otherwise will subjugate us. They are fascists. They are despotic. They care nothing for your freedom except to take it away from you. They have been working all these long decades to defeat you and end everything you hold dear.

Your vote is critical, but it isn’t enough. You must get people to the polls. You have to motivate voters in red states and blue states and purple states to get off their Barcaloungers and show up and vote.

Put out your lawn sign, make calls to swing states, write postcards to swing state voters and talk to people, even your crazy Uncle Bob. Offer to drive people to the polls. Even staunch Republicans and MAGAs want their rights and their freedom and they won’t have either if Vance is behind the Resolute desk for 4 years. None of us will have the America we believe in if the Heritage Foundation owns it.

It’s time to redouble our efforts to send all Republicans packing – especially Vance and the other extremists – before they can reduce us to serfdom in their fascist state.

Best Guess

Trump is doing everything he can to lose this election by insulting as many people as possible, by advocating policies that will hurt as many people as possible, by flagrantly demonstrating his mental deterioration, by avoiding attracting as few new voters as possible and telling people that after this election they won’t have to vote.

Best guess: He isn’t trying to win in the old fashioned way because he can’t. He wants to spark a civil war and violently take over the country.

They’re Trying To Buy It Outright

From Mother Jones, October 21:

[Elon] Musk is saying he will give out a million dollars a day—every day until the election—to voters in swing states who sign a petition from his pro-Trump political action committee (and no, I will not link to it). He was also pledging to pay $100 to registered Pennsylvania voters who sign his petition through today.

Is that okay with you? I don’t think it’s okay with the Justice Department.

Tell people to vote like their life depends on it.

Because it does.

It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:

.

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

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

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

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore, even if that makes them a few bucks more expensive. That will help to keep them your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

BOOM!

Jul 21

POST 1087

Definitions

IED:

An improvised explosive device (IED) attack is the use of a “homemade bomb and/or destructive device to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract.” IEDs are used by criminals, vandals, terrorists, suicide bombers, and insurgents.

NEWS & TERRORISM
Communicating In A Crisis

Judicial IED:

A Judicial IED (J-IED) is a judicial decision that is a Constitutionally unmoored attack, a “court-made bomb and/or accountability ravaging decision designed to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract the rule of law.” J-IEDs are used by judges and justices to eliminate equal justice under law and are aided and abetted by lawyers, extremist activists, politicians, insurgents and demagogues, often to support, allow or encourage illegal activity and/or the elimination of rights and freedom.

JaxPolitix Judicial Review

Living in a Judicial Crisis

J-IEDs

Embedded in the Trump stay-out-of-jail-free Court decision guaranteeing immunity from prosecution for his breaking the law while president is a provision saying that in “dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives.” In other words, in any action against Trump for presidential criminality, like sending SEAL Team 6 to murder his opponents, Trump’s motives for his criminal action cannot be examined. Effectively, that prevents prosecution for nearly every obvious crime. Very handy for a presidential felon to make our legal constraints go

BOOM!

And there’s more.

Trump-appointed Judge Aileen “Sitting on the Scales of Justice” Cannon dismissed the case against Trump for his refusing a subpoena, lying to federal agents, theft of classified documents, showing them to unauthorized persons and other various and obvious violations of the Espionage Act.

Lemming

Judge Cannon lemmingly agreed with Trump’s lawyers in their claim that Jack Smith was improperly appointed, saying that means that he has no power to indict. Claims like this have repeatedly been thrown out of court, but that didn’t deter plucky Judge Cannon from jabbing a stick in the spokes of justice.

BOOM!

The case is dissolved for now and Trump gets away with it – temporarily. He didn’t even need the immunity thing. Stand by for Jack Smith’s appeal and a reprise of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal’s smack down of incompetent Judge Cannon.* That will then be appealed to the Supreme Court by Trump’s lawyers, where obstructionist Chief Justice Roberts will sit on it until next summer.

That’s in follow up to the six black robed, black-hearted, Republican appointed justices conspiring to declare that Trump has immunity from justice for the crimes he committed as president. It’s great to be the king where “above the law” has real meaning. For the rest of us it’s

BOOM!

Now Trump can get away with anything and escape accountability, just as he’s done for most of his grifting life.

Do you see the pattern? Trump appoints judges. Trump commits crimes. The Trump judges stop prosecutions or delay them forever. Your country – your democracy your freedom and your rights – are being stolen from you and the crime is happening in plain sight.

The Future Looks Bright For Presidential Criminality

Trump asked for immunity via his lawsuit, Trump v. United States, his un-American bid to become The Orange Tyrant King, a despot, and he got it. That fascism generating decision will be the legal foundation for the Project 2025 authoritarian take down of our democracy (see this post) if Trump is re-elected. It will be the beginning of officially sanctioned tyranny in America. Watch Chris Hayes’ explanation of this Supreme Court July 1 take down of our democracy here.

This Court’s encouragement to Trump and his extremist right wing to pursue criminality stands and will continue to stand until Congress does something to erase it, a process which will require a Democrat in the White House and Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate and with fascists nowhere. We will all be at terrible risk if we don’t send Trump and all Republican extremists packing on November 5, because they will do the criminal things Trump has said he’ll do – and worse. Everything will go

BOOM!

We are at great risk.

IEDs blow up more than Humvees. They blow up your rights, your freedom and the Constitution. They kill people and they kill nations.

Apathy

There is a reason why I and so many others come back to a message urging voting and activist support. It is because we live in a nation beset by apathy over serious things.

We’re full of passion for our sports teams, the backyard barbecue and the next Netflix series. But for about 40% of us our eyes glaze over when the subject is how we decide to be governed and what we’ll tolerate.

Our government is legitimized only through the consent of the governed** – you and me. When we sit out the big game in November or tolerate the intolerable, we tacitly forfeit our voice, our hopes and dreams, and even our values to those who will not “protect and defend our Constitution and strengthen our Democracy.” Instead, they will steal everything from you and me and our apathy will have made us complicit in the theft.

The reason you and I will vote and get active to inspire others to vote is because we need to make sure nothing else goes

BOOM!

____________________________________________

* In a recent satire piece by Andy Borowitz he wrote,

In a positive development for Judge Cannon, a GoFindMe has been established to send her to law school.

Many thanks to JN for the pointer.

** From the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . .” [emphasis mine]

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:

Fire the bastards!
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

2024 Isn’t Just Another Year

Jul 14

POST 1084

Breaking News

At a rally last night in rural Pennsylvania former President Trump was shot, with the bullet grazing the top of his right ear. One attendee was killed and two others were injured by the gunman.

As he was being moved to a vehicle by Secret Service agents, Trump was seen pumping his fist in the air, apparently repeating the word, “Fight!” Two rally attendees were seen facing a TV camera and pumping their middle fingers sideways, yelling, “F*** you!” It was unclear who their target f**kee was, but their rage appeared to be aimed at the press.

It remains to be seen whether Trump will have an epiphany, if he will see the light, then use this moment to denounce violence, calling on his followers to put away their guns and end all threats of violence. The nation waits with low expectations.

Introduction

Today is Bastille Day, 14 juillet, la Fête nationale française. It is the anniversary of the day in 1789 when the French people declared they would tolerate no more of the brutality of despot King Louis XVI. They stormed the Bastille, a prison and place of torture, and freed prisoners. 94 men were killed in 4 hours.

It is almost King Louis’ kind of oppressive despotism that Trump seeks to establish. Some of that is exposed in this post. If we allow that to happen, the day will come when We The People rise up and say, “No more!” because people refuse to be abused or be slaves. On that day people will die.

We can prevent that sad and cruel story from happening. Read on.

The Draconian, Cruel World

From The New Republic:

[Project 2025] is a remarkably detailed guide to turning the United States into a fascist’s paradise.

Did reading that sentence send shivers up your spine? It should. These Project 2025 fascists use words like “patriotism” and “conservative” but there is nothing – nothing – patriotic about their unconstitutional declarations and cruelty and nothing that you care about that they would conserve. They would eliminate our Bill of Rights and its protections and freedoms. They would make this a Christian nationalist country, exactly what the Founders rejected. That means every non-Christian American will be a second class citizen at best, and likely worse.

They would eliminate women’s healthcare rights and would prosecute women seeking such medical help. They would imprison doctors who perform these procedures and all who help women in such need. They would fire all the people who work to keep us safe (food, drugs, transportation, etc.) and replace them with know nothing Trump loyalists. They would restrict voting rights to only those who will vote for fascists and they will deploy our military against us in violation of the Constitution. They will order live ammunition attacks by our National Guard against peaceful protesters.

And Donald Trump has promised all this and more.

If we fail to protect and defend our Constitution and our democracy we will be presented the American Carnage that Trump has talked about since January 20, 2017.

Click the pic for a more readable version. Thanks go to FL for the pointer to this.

Here is a chart (click it for a larger, more readable version) listing just some of the rights and freedom killers and personal safety assaults guaranteed by the Project 2025 authoritarian takeover traitors, the ones who formalized Trump’s promises. The conspirators who wrote this manifesto call it the Presidential Transition Project. They don’t name what they intend the presidency to be transitioned to, but it’s clear what they mean. The answer is (choose whatever sounds worst to you): Dictator; Commissar; Fuhrer; Big Brother; Dear Leader; Despot, Supreme Leader. Il Duce.

THIS NIGHTMARE STUFF IS EXACTLY WHAT TRUMP HAS PROMISED AND WHAT HE WILL DELIVER UNLESS WE STOP HIM.

Click me for The Union’s take on this. You can also find a disclosure of the ghastly provisions of this manifesto here.

The point is that while Trump is fumble mouthing around the cruelties in this manifesto in order to avoid losing votes, he stands for and has pledged this democracy ending agenda. Please read the list, or as much of it as you can stomach. These are enormously unpopular actions among We The People, but the authoritarian takeover traitors are promising these and more because they want to be dictators.

OVER YOU!

That’s right: This is personal.

Watch this short video from Rachel Maddow for clarity about the danger we face. And read Steve Schmidt’s A Gathering of Fascists about the upcoming Republican Bund conference.

More Horror

At every rally Trump promises revenge and retribution (“I am your retribution.”) and promises to imprison and/or assassinate his political opponents. The threat of violence is at the core of Trump and MAGA.

From Thom Hartmann, July 11, 2024, Trump’s “Secretary of Retribution” Has Been Appointed: Who is On His List?

Trump’s self-described “Secretary of Retribution,” Ivan Raiklin, already reportedly has a hit list of 350 “deep state” individuals he says they intend to try to assassinate by tricking police into attacking their homes with SWAT teams. [emphasis original]

“Look at my entire Deep State target list,” Raiklin said. “That is the beginning. This is the scratching of the surface of who is going to be criminalized for their treason, okay?”

Setting aside Raiklin’s obvious daddy issues and his poor social skills, he’s right: This is just the beginning.

Trump is promising that if he is re-elected he will round up and incarcerate undocumented people in our country, as well as American citizens. He will dump 11 million people into detention camps. Then he’s going to deport them, somewhere, anywhere, all without due process of law.

He’ll have a discrimination engine then, greased up and running at high speed. Who do you think will be rounded up next when he runs out of Hispanics and Africans from “s***hole” countries?

Our MAGA domestic terrorists, the criminals Trump will pardon and make his Brownshirts (just as Hitler took criminals out of prison for that same terrorist purpose), won’t just be bashing down someone else’s front door.

THEY’RE COMING FOR YOU!

Click me

The folks at The Lincoln Project have spelled out Trump’s fascism for you. Just click the pic to the right and watch the video. I promise it will interrupt your sleep because you’ll know that it’s true and accurate. And it’s terrifying.

2024 is the moment when we must permanently reject fascism, like the French rejected a cruel despot in 1789. We’ll do that at the ballot box, because if we don’t, 2024 will be America’s last free and fair election.

The Democratic Candidate

Before considering this, I repeat the national imperative:

Protect and defend our Constitution and our democracy.

.

President Biden has been clear about staying in the race and perhaps he will. The only – and I mean the only – question is whether Biden can inspire voters to ignore his manifestations of age and elect both him and a Democratic Congress to stop the fascists. At the moment it’s looking very much instead like Biden is doing a Ruth Bader Ginsburg, staying too long.

Keeping our democracy demands November wins and I have no confidence Biden can deliver them. I called for him to remove himself from the race following the debate and sadly, have not found sufficient reason to change my opinion.

From Sheila Markin:

“When you are fighting for the survival of our democracy against Darth Vader and the storm troopers, it isn’t going to work to send granddad out with a rake to do the job.”

The point – the only point – is to

Protect and defend the Constitution and our democracy.

.

We must defeat the convicted criminal and his anti-Americans seeking to destroy our country, the ones who promise the “termination” of our Constitution. Stopping that requires an energized, inspiring, capable candidate, not grandad with his rake. It’s time for the torch to be passed to a new generation.

Because 2024 isn’t just another year.

This is where we make our stand.

.

Here’s Where This Gets Weird

President Biden held a rally in Detroit Friday evening. He was great! Alert, alive, inspiring, interactive, sharp. Can’t help but wonder . . . with event after event like this one, can that terrible debate bell can be un-rung? If he won’t quit the race, that is what we must hope for.

What we all must do is to stop imagining this election is between Biden and Trump. In reality, it is an election, a national choice, between democracy and cruel despotism.

We must vote at every level for whoever opposes the fascists, whether it’s a really strong Democrat candidate or a bucket of nails. Vote for democracy!

Last

Protecting what we hold dear and sacred will take all of us, so please pass this post along to others. They need to know.

Democracy is a participation sport, so get in the game! As Thom Hartmann says,

**“Tag, you’re IT!“**

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:

Fire the bastards!
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

The Death Knell

Jul 03

POST 1081

The Supreme Court rang the death knell on our democracy on Monday, July 1, 2024. They announced the end of presidential accountability, something neither found nor implied anywhere in the Constitution, and declared the official start of American despotism. It was upon us instantly.

They could have easily decided the deplorable presidential immunity case months ago by not taking it, as the appellate court had rendered a masterful decision unmasking the villainy of it. Alternatively, having accepted the case, the Court could have decided in just a few days that it was trash and then dumped it into the burn pit it deserved.

Instead they put months of delay into both federal cases against Trump:

One is the classified documents case over his theft of secret documents, violations of the Espionage Act, his intent to impede, obstruct or influence federal government activity, his disclosure of secret documents to foreign nationals and illegal removal or destruction of federal government records.

The other is the case against Trump for instigating an insurrection against the United States, conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

And of course, the Court’s decision bollixed up the Georgia election interference case and made the hush money case, already decided against convict Trump, subject to review and more delay.

But the substance of Monday’s decision is far more impactful and lasting than the Supreme Court’s abuse of justice through wanton delay,

The Court has terminally wounded our country by declaring that presidents – and specifically Trump, the twice impeached, 4 times indicted and criminally convicted felon, defamer and sexual abuser – has immunity from prosecution for his official presidential acts while in office. I don’t know if that means that if Trump were to become president again that he could imprison or assassinate his political enemies as he’s promised to do, and then avoid prosecution for his crimes, but it sure sounds like that.

But wait a second: Joe Biden is president now, not Trump. It appears that the Supreme Court has just given Biden permission to commit illegal acts while he is still president and then avoid accountability. In light of that Court-created insanity, consider this.

Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our Constitution, our democracy and all aspects of our nation. There’s no need to elaborate reasons why that’s true because you already know. President Biden carries the charge to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Given that Trump is a domestic enemy of our Constitution, President Biden should rightly use all avenues to prevent Trump from harming our nation, whether Biden uses legal means or not.

He could use rendition of Trump to Gitmo. A few months of George W. Bush’s “enhanced interrogation methods” should end the threat of Trump.

Alternatively, Biden could have SEAL Team 6 do what they did to Osama bin Laden. Or he could invite Trump’s pal Vladimir Putin to send a hit squad armed with nerve gas to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Each of those would be an illegal act – well, maybe not Gitmo, given the official opinion of Dubya’s Deputy Attorney General John Yoo and his “torture memo.” But as president and while fulfilling his oath of office in an official presidential act of protection of our nation, Biden will retain full immunity from prosecution. The Supreme Court says he can get away with it. Note that the Court is silent on consequences for those who carry out a president’s illegal orders.

Of course those ideas are outrageous. But that is exactly the kind of thing Trump is promising to do if he’s re-elected.

Worse than that:

There will be no possibility of removing a criminal president via impeachment, because all presidents will be immune from accountability for high crimes and misdemeanors.

.

We no longer have any recourse.

Questions

– Can our democracy long endure under the great burden of our distrust of our justice system?

– How long do you think our nation can tolerate decisions like this one and also for us to remain free?

– Are you still opposed to Biden packing the Court?

Gazing Into The Crystal Ball

We are suffering terribly from minority rule. We have to give credit to the extremist authoritarian schemers of the past several decades for the success of their evil manipulation of us and of our system of self-rule. They’ve done an impressive job of taking away our rights, our freedoms and our safety and of amassing great wealth for themselves at the expense of the the rest of us. Now they’ve done far worse via this spectacularly un-American, extremist Supreme Court. They have permanently damaged our future.

This isn’t just about Trump’s unhinged, self-serving cruelties. The day will come not long from now when grease from his most recent Quarter-Pounder will fully clog a coronary artery and Trump will be gone. But this Supreme Court invitation to despotism will still be here and some other tyrant, perhaps worse than Trump, will take his place. Perhaps s/he will be an Afghan warlord type or an American version of a Serbian or Sudanese ethnic cleansing maniac or a slave plantation proponent who will find new ways to destroy everything you hold dear.

The pundits and legal experts are dissecting the implications of this deranged decision, but in the end it means that Lady Justice’s imperative of equal justice – blind justice – under law and our oft-announced claim that nobody is above the law are just so much hot air. Those proud declarations mean nothing.

Six supremely partisan justices have betrayed our rule of law, our nation and We The People.

The bell has been rung. What do we do now? *

Do you think I’m over-heated, hyperbolic, unglued and reactionary? Then I invite you – no, I implore you – to explain why our country isn’t terribly imperiled. Put your thoughts in the Comments section below. Please.

Quote of the Century

From Justice Sonia Sotomayor:

“In every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law… with fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

Clarifying Video

Watch this from Rachel Maddow.

Last Thoughts

Given that six Supreme Court justices enshrined despotism in America and that their act is patently un-American and in violation of their oath of office, shouldn’t they be impeached and removed from office?

CLICK ME! Read David Pepper’s insightful words. Absorb his clarity and wisdom and take action. Apathy just won’t do. Many thanks to JN for pointing out this excellent piece.

_____________________________________________

* Click the pick above and read David Pepper’s post.

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:

Fire the bastards!
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

Haters

Jun 26

POST 1078

I’m finding it ever more difficult to tolerate the haters. It went over the top long ago, when Trump first gave permission to White supremacists to snarl and spit their real or imagined grievances; to beat up protesters; for cops to bang the heads of perps; and to vomit vitriol attacking “others.” This has often been done in ways that dare us to figure out if haters’ claims are more repugnant or more laughably stupid. Maybe both.

From 1984, by George Orwell:

“In a lucid moment Winston found that he was shouting with the others and kicking his heel violently against the rung of his chair. The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within 30 seconds any pretense was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people, like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp.”

Sounds much like a Trump rally.

Consider the idiocy unleashed in the wake of the cargo ship destroying the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Both the mayor of Baltimore and the governor of Maryland are foolish enough to be Black, so the racist attacks began almost immediately.

From Eugene Robinson’s post of April 1 (and no, this wasn’t an April Fools Day trick):

“This is Baltimore’s DEI mayor commenting on the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge,” one such troll [on Musk’s X platform] posted, along with a clip of [Mayor Brandon] Scott’s remarks [about this “unthinkable tragedy”] to his more than 275,000 followers. “It’s going to get so, so much worse. Prepare accordingly.”

Wait – Black mayor has his job only because of DEI and he’s responsible for the bridge collapse, plus things are going to get “so, so much worse?” That’s both hateful and boundlessly stupid, but there’s more. Another troll wrote as though addressing Baltimore Mayor Scott,

“DEI: Who cares when your city is going to sh-t because of drugs, increased crime, defunding police and poor infrastructure when you have a Mayor that ‘looks like you’, WINNING!!!!!”

I hate to interject inconvenient fact into this hater’s rant, but nothing – no, really nothing – he wrote is true. Other ranters went on to attack Maryland’s Black governor and a Black woman who sits on the Port Commission:

“This is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the well being and security of citizens,” posted Phil Lyman, a Utah legislator who is running for governor of his state. “DEI did this,” posted Anthony Sabatini, a GOP congressional candidate in Florida’s 11th District, over a video clip of the bridge’s collapse.”

Pray that the voters in Utah and Florida have enough sense to send these guys packing.

Seeing the racism is one step in understanding our national quagmire of hatred, but there’s more.

Tom Nichols’ piece in The Atlantic on April 1, originally titled Is This Who You Are?, is a must-read essay. He calls for making moral choices, just as if we Americans still have morals and convictions.

The haters claim that this was intended to be a Christian nation. If you want to know what the Founders actually intended, read this. It will disabuse you of any notion that the Founders intended this to be a Christian theocracy. Indeed, avoiding that kind of despotism drove the Pilgrims here.

The mouth foamers want to protect Confederate statues, retain the names of Confederate traitors on schools and military bases and continue the fraud that is their “lost cause” of slavery and cruelty of every sort. Read Jennifer Rubin’s take on these people.

Today’s flamers are as traitorous as their revered Confederate ancestors. They are openly disloyal to our Constitution. In fact, they are pushing for a post-Constitutional America. Lest that sound to you like just so much MAGA conspiracy idiocy to ignore, what they want to do is:

PUT THE CONSTITUTION IN A DUMPSTER AND LIGHT IT ON FIRE!

TAKE AWAY ALL YOUR RIGHTS AND ALL YOUR FREEDOM!

MAKE THIS A NATION WHERE ALL POWER IS OWNED BY WHITE CHRISTIAN MEN ONLY!

No need to take my word for this. Read the Project 2025 document and it’s there in plain language. You might have to skim past the faux patriotic blather to find it.

Meanwhile, it’s important to remember that hating makes people feel powerful. It’s a drug. It is what Orwell said: a “hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture. . . “

But What About You and Me?

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves . . .

– Julius Caesar, Scene II, Shakespeare

So, we rail over the frustration, seeing and hearing those doing harm to others and even to themselves. But rather than hating them, I confess that I’m simply without respect for those who disrespect, somehow comfortable in my double standard. And the self-defeating part is that the sociologists tell us that the haters are the way they are largely because they feel disrespected. I think I may not be helping to calm our national turbulence and devotion to insanity.

I want to be better than that, but for now I’ll settle for defeating the immediate threat.

Best Quote

Inae Oh, writing for Mother Jones about reproductive freedom (you remember that thing, right?):

When knowledge is power, what happens when information goes dark? People, especially society’s most vulnerable, needlessly suffer. And two years after the fall of Roe, this suffering has crept into nearly every crevice of health care and straight into the GOP mainstream. We’ll see if Democrats can successfully get that message across today and every day leading to November.

Perhaps we can help spread the word of what must be done. Think about that as you watch the first presidential debate tomorrow, Thursday, June 27 at 9:00PM EDT on CNN.

Best Read

Take a look at Adm. William McRaven’s (ret’d) essay, How Do We Want America to Be? He lays before us a truth we so often refuse to see and a possibility – even a hope – for something better. That’s refreshing in this time of so many doing their best to dash our hopes.

It will take all of us. As Simon Rosenberg of The Hopium Chronicles reminds us,

“The magic pill is us.”

Just For Fun

In case you missed the craziest play in baseball ever, watch this from the Chicago Cubs.

And for more fun and some fine life lessons, watch Adm. McRaven’s commencement address to the graduates of the University of Texas in 2014. Afterward, you’ll want to make your bed.

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:

Fire the bastards!
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics in these posts will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

Liars and Cheaters and Frauds, Oh My! and a Ghastly Contrast

Jun 09

POST 1076

CAUTION – Contains snark, which is known to trigger bouts of doing the right thing, as well as generating an occasional smirk.

In what should be an alien, other planet move, 10 Republicans wrote in a public letter that they would no longer pass legislation, fund the government, or vote to confirm the administration’s appointees because, they said,

“[t]he White House has made a mockery of the rule of law and fundamentally altered our politics in un-American ways. As a Senate Republican conference, [actually, there were only 10 of them, hardly a conference] we are unwilling to aid and abet this White House in its project to tear this country apart.”

Apparently, these kings and queen of mentally deranged projection are going on strike. They are betraying their constituents, their oath of office (which they clearly didn’t take freely and without mental reservation) and the entire nation in this performance of cowardice and servility to the orange convict.

Here are the on-strike, Senate Republican frauds:

Name and State Re-election year

Mike Lee, UT 2028 Vows to oppose raising the debt ceiling until there’s a balanced budget amendment. He doesn’t care who we cheat. Quite Trumpian of him.

J.D. Vance, OH 2028 Author of The Trump Suck-Up Elegies

Tommy Tuberville, AL 2026 Carpetbagger Alabama senator who doesn’t even live in Alabama.

Eric Schmitt, MO 2028

Marsha Blackburn, TN 2024 Bless her heart.

Rick Scott, FL 2024 Net worth: $250 million. He says you should pay an extra $4,500 in taxes so you’ll “have skin in the game.”

Roger Marshall, KS. 2026

Marco Rubio, FL 2028 Doubts global warming, as FL is going underwater and as property insurance costs 4X the national average, if it’s even available to Floridians.

Josh Hawley, MO 2024 The model for double-crossing, traitorous insurrectionist fist pumps

Ron Johnson, WI 2028 Talks on a dead phone to avoid reporters’ questions.

Click the pic for a more readable view

As you can see, for most of these grand-standers there is plenty of time between now and their next election for the public to forget their infantile, performative temper tantrum. Regrets go to the folks in Florida and Missouri who now have no representation in the Senate. And don’t forget that several of these posers were key traitors in the attempt to steal the votes from 80 million Americans in 2020.

From Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You, in the context of making moral choices:

“She could have done the ‘right’ thing that night, but we only do the right thing when it doesn’t cost us.”

“We pay lip service to a vague greater good, but only when it serves our interest.”

That’s harsh, of course, but before you take umbrage, think of those statements in the context of Republican senators and representatives who know better but cave in to Trump and then say and do abhorrent fascist things. Here’s some of what that gets you.

– You get idiots in dark blue suits, white shirts and red ties showing up at the trial of the orange menace in Manhattan and saying patently stupid and flamingly false things attacking America. That’s very fascist of them.

– You get valueless, anti-American, fraudulent congressional hearings about “the Biden crime family,” a non-existent cabal fantasized by Rep, Jim Jordan (R – Alpha Centauri). “Mmm . . . There is much dishonesty in this one.” – Yoda. This, too, is very fascist.

– You get the list of buffoon senators above and more, fully embracing the Republican “mass psychosis,” as Adam Kinzinger calls it. BTW: After reading this post, link through and listen to Kinzinger’s comments.

All of these Republican blabbers, these fascism promoters, these democracy killer authoritarians know what the “right” thing to do is. They all know about the greater good. But doing those “right” things would cost them just a bit of their immediate self-interest. They aren’t willing to pay the price for their integrity, much less do anything for the greater good, so they cave and they burnish their cowardice and hypocrisy skills. Very fascist – even brown shirt – of them.

Liars and cheaters and frauds, oh my!

What a ghastly contrast that is to those whom we honored last week.

D-Day

Lt. Richard L. Altschuler, 62nd & 61st Fighter Squadrons, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Army, USAAF. 69 combat missions. Photo: Boxted England, 1943

My father was in a lot of dogfights as he flew his fighter plane “escorting” our bombers over Europe to push back the Nazi terror in WW II and he flew sorties to provide cover for our ground troops, too. A lot of bad guys shot bullets, canon and anti-aircraft flak at him, but he, like 16 million fellow Americans, soldiered on, doing his duty.

156,000 soldiers and Marines stormed the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago doing their duty. 4,400 died just on D-Day. President Biden was at Normandy last week to honor all of those brave men and he did that in our name.

Click the pic for the original. Many thanks to Sheila Markin for sharing this tweet.

In ghastly contrast, during a November 2018 trip to France to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, President Trump refused to go the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris to honor the thousands of our troops from both World Wars who are buried there. Dad would have been horrified by Trump’s insult.

Trump said our military dead were “losers” and “suckers.” Those words would have made Dad and all who fought alongside him furious. We all should be furious at Trump’s disrespect for those men and his dishonoring of America.

So, it was gratifying – a reset of honor – when President Biden made the trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery last week to salute our fallen.

About 420,000 Americans paid for World War II with their lives. They were driven by their oath, by their love of their country and by their sense of duty.

“We must make the solemn vow to never let them down.”
– President Joe Biden, Point du Hoc, Normandy France, June 7, 2024

We honor all our veterans on Veterans Day. When you do that later this year, say thanks to Dad and the over 16 million Americans of the Greatest Generation who did what it took to defeat fascism so that you could live in a democracy and sleep safely in the arms of freedom.

Don’t make us have to fight that fight again.

.

You know what to do. Take Dad’s picture with you as a reminder when you vote on November 5th or bring a picture of one of our military in your direct line. They would rest easy knowing that we are preserving their American values. They’d thank you if they could, knowing that we continue to honor them, what they fought for and what so many died for.

This message isn’t about the past, however brave, honorable and praiseworthy those heroes were. It is about our present and our future. It is about honor and duty to freedom and our absolute rejection of tyranny and authoritarianism. It is a dedication to democracy in our time and for our children and grandchildren and those who will come after them.

That is why we will never, never, never betray our heroes or their sacrifice or the democracy that they fought for.

Quote of the Week

“In their generation, in their hour of trial, the Allied forces of D-Day did their duty. Now the question for us is: In our hour of trial, will we do ours?” [emphasis mine-JA]

– President Joe Biden at Normandy American Cemetery, June 6, 2024

Click the pic for the video.

Today is a good day to be the light

_____________________________

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:
Fire the bastards!
The days are dwindling for us to take action. Get up! Do something to make things better.
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
6. Clicking on most pics will take you to the source information.
Click me

JA

Loser

May 30

POST 1074

THE RULE OF LAW LIVES!

Hey Convict:

You Called Our Fallen Soldiers “Suckers” and “Losers.” Who’s the Loser Now, Bone Spurs?

Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser Loser

Hey Felon:

You Called Our Elections That You Lost Fraudulent. Who’s The Convicted Fraud Now, Con Man?

Hey Criminal:

You Disrespected And Abused Women, Gays, Blacks, Browns, Jews, the Handicapped, Gold Star Families, Election Workers, Prisoners of War, Our Constitution And Much More. Who’s Lost the Respect of The Entire World Now, Scoundrel?

This courageous New York jury has given permission to 3 juries-to-come to find this defiler of our laws and of our country

GUILTY!

Today is a good day to be the light

_____________________________

Our governance and electoral corruption and dysfunction and our ongoing mass murders are all of a piece, all the same problem with the same solution:
Fire the bastards!
The days are dwindling for us to take action. Get up! Do something to make things better.
Browser not supported. Visit <a href="https://www.270towin.com/">www.270towin.com</a> 

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

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

Thanks!

The Fine Print:
1. Writings quoted or linked from my posts reflect a point I want to make, at least in part. That does not mean that I endorse or agree with everything in such writings.
2. There are lots of smart, well-informed people. Sometimes we agree; sometimes we don’t. Search for others’ views and decide for yourself.
3. Errors in fact, grammar, spelling and punctuation are all embarrassingly mine. Glad to have your corrections.
4. Responsibility for the content of these posts is unequivocally, totally, unavoidably mine.
5. Book links to Amazon are provided for reference only. Please purchase your books through your local mom & pop bookstore. Keep them and your town or neighborhood vibrant.
Click me

JA

1 2 3 … 12 Next Scroll to top

Treason

Who’s Behind This Debacle

Job Qualifications & My Nominee

REBEL!

Follow Up to Dec. 22 POST 1132, Our Problem

Sarcasm Corner

For The Pardoned and Commuted Sentence Felons

Preface

“Fear will keep the local systems in line.”

.

This Just In: Fired for Cause

Tree of Life Synagogue

Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing,

once all other possibilities have been exhausted.

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.

Mr./Mrs./Ms. America, tear down these walls!

An Insidious Conspiracy

.

We’ve been played, all right, but not by Trump, the snake oil salesman and marionette of the ultra-rich.

.

We’ve been played by the oligarch wannabes for at least five decades and now we’re being played to put Vance, the oligarch tool boy, into the White House to do their bidding.

.

This election isn’t about Trump’s insanity. It’s about whether we will crush our own democracy through our willful blindness to what is before our eyes.

.

VOTING

.

Best Guess

They’re Trying To Buy It Outright

Tell people to vote like their life depends on it.

Because it does.

It’s not the vibes and it’s not the polls: it’s the votes.

Are you registered to vote? Check it out on any of these websites:

.

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Definitions

IED:

An improvised explosive device (IED) attack is the use of a “homemade bomb and/or destructive device to destroy, incapacitate, harass, or distract.” IEDs are used by criminals, vandals, terrorists, suicide bombers, and insurgents.

Judicial IED:

JaxPolitix Judicial Review

J-IEDs

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The Future Looks Bright For Presidential Criminality

BOOM!

Apathy

BOOM!

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

Breaking News

Introduction

The Draconian, Cruel World

More Horror

The Democratic Candidate

Protect and defend our Constitution and our democracy.

.

Protect and defend the Constitution and our democracy.

.

This is where we make our stand.

.

Here’s Where This Gets Weird

Last

“Tag, you’re IT!“

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

There will be no possibility of removing a criminal president via impeachment, because all presidents will be immune from accountability for high crimes and misdemeanors.

.

Questions

Gazing Into The Crystal Ball

Six supremely partisan justices have betrayed our rule of law, our nation and We The People.

Quote of the Century

Clarifying Video

Last Thoughts

“Friends do not let friends vote for con artists.”

– Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), 2016

But What About You and Me?

Best Quote

Best Read

Just For Fun

***We’ve been played by the oligarch wannabes for at least five decades* *and now we’re being played to put Vance, the oligarch tool boy, into the White House to do their bidding.***

**“Tag, you’re IT!“**