Project 2025

Useful Idiot


POST 1059

From a Salon interview of Dr. John Gartner:

“We have becrumb a nation.” “All comp-ply-ments”. “I know Poten.” “He can’t cam-pay.”  “We will expel the wald-mongers.”

There are more examples where Trump couldn’t complete a sentence and strung the fragments together incoherently. It’s worth noting that his demeanor changes dramatically at these moments. At one point, Trump was making nonsense sounds, struggling to form even a single word. At one of his events, he said “We’ll re-ve-du. Ohhhh..” At that moment, Trump took a long-defeated sigh, and looked up at the ceiling blankly, looking confused and de-energized. Finally, Trump is sometimes reduced to simply vocalizing nonsense sounds that are not words at all like an infant. For example, at a recent rally Trump said “Gang, boom. This is me. I hear bing”. Trump is, at times, literally babbling nonsensically.

From an updated version of an article originally published on September 7, 2018 in The Conversation/Reuters:

At least several thousands of mental health professionals who are members of the National Coalition of Concerned Mental Health Experts share the view that the nuclear launch codes should not be in the hands of someone who exhibits such levels of mental instability.

Trump is dangerously messed up, at times detached from reality, narcissistic, paranoid, sociopathic and a few more descriptors that we most certainly must not tolerate in a President of the United States. Let’s connect that to another piece of critical information.

From the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute:

Treason refers to the betrayal of one’s own country by attempting to overthrow the government through waging war against the state or materially aiding its enemies.

According to the United States Constitution, Article III, Section 3, “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”

Furthermore, 18 U.S.C § 2381, states that a person guilty of treason against the United States “shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

By that definition, along with various of Trump’s other felonies, including inciting an insurrection against our country, his over 30,000 lies, promises to pardon the January 6 traitors and his ever-expanding pile of gibberish, Trump is both demented and a traitor.

It has been plain for at least 7 years that Trump is Putin’s useful idiot, which is why Putin expended so much online effort and invested so much money to get Trump elected. We shouldn’t care a bit whether the idiot is useful to Putin because he’s hoping to get permission to build Trump Tower Moscow or to become an authoritarian tyrant himself or for any other reason. He’s a useful idiot for Putin whether through greed or loss of mental function. As a result, Trump is an idiotic enemy of the United States. And this gets worse.

The 2025 Project is an effort by extremely rich authoritarian wannabees to take complete control of the United States. These guys can see the same thing you see – that Trump is deteriorating before our eyes and they don’t care. Trump is their guy because they will be able to control him for their own purposes. In other words, Trump is a useful idiot for our hateful, anti-America far right extremists, too.

These are the guys who want to take away your rights, your freedom, your ownership of anything and your fundamental right to safety and security. They want to brainwash your children and make everyone scared all the time. So, one more time:

TRUMP IS A USEFUL IDIOT FOR BOTH PUTIN AND FOR OUR OWN FAR RIGHT EXTREMISTS!.

Click the pic. Thanks to JN for it.

I don’t have any idea whether Trump understands that he’s a tool for the 2025 Project despot wannabees, any more than whether he understands that he is Putin’s useful idiot. But your crazy cousin Buddy, wearing his MAGA hat, donates over and over to Trump’s legal defense costs, even as that deprives his family of what they need. He is happily succumbing to his confirmation bias and, in the process, promoting the overlords who will savagely repress him. And poor, severely duped Buddy will wonder what happened.

For Your Use

Here’s Steve Schmidt’s description of MAGA. Feel free to quote him.

” .  .  .  a political movement that breathes victimization, resentment, grievance, contempt and anger as air .  .  .”

And here are my questions about MAGA politicians and their followers:

What does it say about MAGAs that they believe known liars, cheaters, murderers and propagandists like Putin, Orbán, Erdoğan, Trump, Greene, Comer. Johnson and Jordan and refuse the reality that is in front of their eyes? What does it say about them that they refuse funding for arms that Ukrainians desperately need, allowing Putin’s army to continue to bomb apartment buildings and hospitals, killing children and grannies?

Note for our Gaza protesters: You cannot be in integrity while protesting the plight of Gazans and at the same time support the withholding of aid to Ukraine.

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.


  • 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


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

Boxing and The Danger We Face


Don’t Ask the MAGA Crazies to Come To Their Senses.

Chaos and Destruction ARE Their Senses.

.

“These are the times that try men’s [and women’s] souls.” – Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776. Click, read, think, act.

The Republican Party has published its 1,000 page plan called “Project 2025.” It is a plan to completely dismantle the American government in just six months. They intend to destroy our democratic republic and establish a dictatorship with a Republican despot as absolute ruler. They promise to end your rights and freedom. They promise to destroy everything you hold dear about our country.

All they need to be able to betray us in these ways is to win the presidency, to have a compliant Supreme Court and to have a cowardly congress. That doesn’t sound too hard, does it?

And now, what better way to light the fuse to blow up our country than to shut down the government? Over 20 Republican flamers voted down their own budget plan. They did that to show what tough guys they are, to have their infantile temper tantrum, to puff up their egos, to show the Speaker who’s boss AND TO TEAR DOWN OUR DEMOCRACY, instead of honoring their oath of office to protect and defend it. They are solely about themselves, chaos and destruction.

WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S OUTRAGE AND COUNTER-ATTACK AGAINST THESE TREASONOUS, POISONOUS PEOPLE AND THEIR ANTI-AMERICAN SCHEME?

Do the geniuses at the DNC think this monster will go away if they just close their eyes and think pretty thoughts? Maybe that’s what John Kerry thought when the Swift Boaters attacked him in 2004 with their cowardly lies. He didn’t want to dignify their filth with a reply, he told us, which is a lovely patrician idea. But his lack of pushing back only emboldened them and they poisoned enough of the American voting public that by the time Kerry at last spoke up, it was too late.

We know what has happened to the courage and patriotism of the Republicans. Those were devoured by their cowardice and hypocrisy. But where did the courage and patriotic passion of Democrats go? The bell for the 15th round has rung. There is only one boxer in the ring and his name is Fascism.

DEMOCRATS: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?

We don’t have the luxury of patrician patience to wait for the chaos and the evil of these traitors to disappear.

Polite debate never works with bullies. The only way to stop a bully is to punch him/her in the nose.
.

The cult followers make themselves functional morons because they refuse to learn and they goose step along, happy to tear down our democracy and use violence – even inciting murder – to please their cult leader. We need to see immediate and sustained blows to the traitors to knock them out of power and to make sure they never get their hands on it again.

John Kerry refused to take such action for too long and he lost the presidency. We stand to lose our entire country if we remain quiet and passive.

“These are the times that try men’s and women’s souls.”
.

We are on trial right now.

It’s time for a bare knuckle fight for our democracy, a fight for what you know is right. The ring stands before us. Who will enter it to fight the good fight, the patriotic fight, the fight for America?

DNC: GET IN THE RING!

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATORS: GET IN THE RING!

AMERICANS WHO LOVE AND BELIEVE IN AMERICA: GET IN THE RING!

From Steve Schmidt’s The Warning on September 26:

The American people face a great test, a great reckoning. The practice of citizenship can be avoided no longer. We stand at an hour where every inch of progress that has accumulated over 250 years of time, that has lifted the human being from a condition of servitude and economic misery to prosperity and freedom, stands to be erased .  .  .

.  .  .  The American people look at Washington D.C. and they see one of the most corrupt congresses in history. They see the most corrupt Supreme Court in history, They see a fascist movement on the march. [emphasis mine]

“The practice of citizenship can be avoided no longer“ because you yourself see the corruption and the fascist march and you know in your bones that something must be done to stop this or terrible things will happen. Here’s an example of why this is important to you.

One of the things authoritarians do is to ignore the wants and needs of the people. They do that because they can. They focus simply and exclusively on what serves themselves. The Founders rebelled against just such an authoritarian.

You know quite well that 80 – 90% of Americans want stronger gun safety laws and regulations. We want Medicare for all, lower cost access to higher education and action to stop and then reverse global warming. We want our hungry children to be fed and we want racial and immigration justice. We want the insane haters to shut up and for the stupid to stop. Plus, as a placeholder for all government functions, we want a budget to be passed without the lunacy and without threats of harm to our people and the undermining of our national defense.

We want these things and consistently we do not have our way. That’s because of a terrorist minority and the cowardice of so many who refuse to stand up to the bullies.

If the fascists get their way, you will never get what you want. The minority will rule for their own benefit, not yours, and your voice will be stilled forever. Look at any authoritarian regime in history and you’ll see that it is always this way. It will be that way here, too  .  .  .  unless we fight and win and keep our democracy.

So, it’s simple:

GET IN THE RING!
GET IN THE FIGHT!
PROTECT AND DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION AND OUR DEMOCRACY!
.

Oh, and DNC:

GET IN THE RING AND LEAD THE FIGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY,
– or –
BE OBSOLETE AND INSIGNIFICANT.
.

You pick.

One more time:

Polite debate never works with bullies. The only way to stop a bully is to punch him/her in the nose.
.

If you’re unsure about that, check with both Neville Chamberlain and Mallory McMorrow for a shocking comparison.

Most Important
Here’s how you can get into the ring and land some punches – CLICK ME.
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.


  • 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


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

Idiotica – Part 2


“You Never Thought This Could Happen” Idiotica

You already know that lots of Republicans champion autocrats (read: dictators) Putin, Erdoğan and Orbán. These Americans wildly cheer these strongmen who have killed democracy in their countries. It’s shocking to recall that just a few short years ago Republicans were the hardliners against such despots and their brutal regimes. Consider that we invaded Iraq using various fictions as rationale, but the best was that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy and had to be deposed. I guess we no longer disfavor bad guys.

You also know that Republicans are wailing about what they are calling the “weaponization of the Department of Justice and the FBI.” According to them, if justice is served, it’s really Democrats that are misusing the power of our Constitution and our laws to victimize “true Americans” (read: Republicans).

Question: Will will they sing that same stupid song now that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has been indicted?

The ones making this idiotic, un-American claim used to demand tough enforcement of our laws. Republicans were the ones who claimed theirs to be the party of law and order, always advocating that we lock up bad guys. Not so much today. Now, they coddle Republican bad guys.

A while back Trump announced that after he wins the 2024 election that he will pardon the convicted January 6 insurrectionists. Two other Republican candidates have weighed in on the sentences given to the poor, mistreated insurrectionists and have suggested that they, too, if elected, will pardon the traitors who killed cops and tried to end our democracy.

The thumping of chests, neck veins throbbing and fingers in the air in patriotic fervor that these guys do is just performative patriotism. They’ve abandoned any real patriotism for this country.

Just a few years ago you couldn’t have imagined that these turncoats would betray the red, white and blue and embrace the Confederate flag of treason and the Trump flag of the middle finger but they have. They are strong, disgusting and contemptuous. They have infected 25 – 40% of our fellow countrymen and are festering in the party that used to be for law and order and was tough on crime.

That’s what a constant torrent of lies and cowardice can do. That’s why this is

You Never Thought This Could Happen Idiotica
.
Authoritarian Idiotica

Writes Prof. Heather Cox Richardson,

Today’s Republicans have abandoned the Reagan-era Republican plan to gut the federal government and are instead determined to capture it, replacing nonpartisan civil servants with Republican extremists who will carry out the ideals of Trump or any candidate like him who can defeat Biden in 2024. Their nearly 1,000-page plan, called “Project 2025,” calls for politicizing the Department of Justice and law enforcement officers and giving far more power to the president.

If it matters to you to prevent such a thing, read this from Sheila Markin:

There is only one way to burn out the MAGA movement and using a process argument such as the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment will not do the trick. Voters need to rise up and vote in large numbers to reject the movement .  .  .

Trump and Trumpism has to be repelled over and over and over again by voters, by the legal system and by voices from rational respected GOP leaders until the fever breaks.

Breaking that fever won’t happen because we have at last infused our angry, mistreated-by-lies citizens with something connected to reality. We need to understand thoroughly that breaking that fever won’t happen even if Democrats sweep the 2024 election or the 2026 or 2028 elections.

The MAGAs are so invested in anger and distrust of government, they’re so desperate to retain their White Christian hegemony and afraid of anything not familiar to them that breaking that fever won’t take just years, but generations. So, we must saddle up for the long campaign, the battles to inculcate reality and democracy as core tenets of our nation. Expect glacially slow progress. Expect the struggle to never end, because it won’t.

Expect to hand off this struggle for America to your children and be glad to do that. This is a worthy, if never ending, task that we in America are privileged to do. Thank your lucky stars, if you believe in such things, that you can.

Blatant Lies Idiotica

From Thom Hartman:

One particularly egregious tweet says: “Joe Biden and his party shuttered schools, forced masks on their faces, and put vaccines in their arms, all while holding our children back in ways that will have long-lasting impacts on their educational future. Joe Biden and the Democrats put power over our kids.” The only problem is that all of those things happened in 2020 and were done by Trump.

The RNC has gone so far as to use pictures and video from 2020 to attack Biden. Kevin McCarthy and Iowa Congressman Feenstra have both tweeted that, “President Biden not only paid people to stay home at the expense of American taxpayers, but under his watch $191 BILLION in unemployment benefits were also misspent and wasted.” Again, that was Trump. But their tweets are still up: clearly, they believe Republican voters are mindbogglingly stupid. [emphasis mine]

Meanwhile, Republicans in the House have decided they’re going to try to impeach President Biden for “accepting bribes.” The only problem they have is that there’s absolutely no evidence — not a shred or even a hint of a shred [of evidence] — to back up that claim. That said, there was also no evidence that after Republicans in Congress refused the CIA’s funding request to harden Benghazi and the station was attacked that Hillary Clinton had anything to do with it. That didn’t stop them from spending two years and tens of millions of dollars trying to convince Americans she was responsible.

Republican Fascism Idiotica

No, that isn’t hyperbole. It is exactly what the Republican extremists have been working to create for five decades. It’s only in the past two decades and, more blatantly, in the past few years that this has become both obvious and an immediate threat to our democracy. A lot of super rich guys longing to be oligarchs like such things.

I don’t expect you to blindly accept the messages on these pages, so instead listen to what Robert Reich has to say about this. He worked for four presidents, is a former Secretary of Labor and now is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. His 6-minute video will properly educate you on the fascism threat we are facing.

Fascism threatens America: Quod erat demonstrandum.

They’re trying to force Republican-led fascism onto you and onto America. Our challenge as always is the BarcaLounger thing: gotta get off it. We have to vote and we must encourage others to vote for democracy. See the graphic below for the timeline.

For specificity on Republican Idiotica, see the list at the bottom of this post.

Quote of the Week

“Democracy is not restricted to voting for someone for president once every four years,” UAW organizer Victor Reuther told [Documentarian Greg] Mitchell. “It is something that you can utilize and participate in where you work eight hours or 10 hours a day.”

  • Nia T. Evans
  • Mother Jones Daily
  • September 20, 2023
Must Read of the Week

Jeffrey Goldberg has penned a sizzling page turner in The Atlantic entitled The Patriot. He details the efforts of Gen. Mark Milley in the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff working to restrain President Trump from his vilest, unconstitutional and cruel intentions during the insane last year of his presidency. However bad you imagine things might have been, however close to losing our democracy you have feared we were, I assure you that it was worse. Here’s a link to the article.

_______________________________

You can find Idiotica – Part 1 here.

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.


  • 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


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

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