I continue to find myself yelling at the TV or the radio when people I’m listening to (usually on MSNBC) continue calling Trump’s takeover of America’s government as “authoritarianism.” Earlier today I think I discovered why. Trump and his LYING sycophants have convinced Ms. Wallace and the rest of them on MSNBC that if they use the term FASCISM it’s too radical. Right wingers will criticize them for it. OMG! That would just be too much wouldn’t it?

Except, are they not listening to what right wingers are saying now? The names are coming hot and heavy and there is a small detail I’ve got to add about that. As they hear the terms like “radical lunatic democrats” OVER and OVER do they NOT understand that republicans are (purposefully) using propaganda strategies of none other than Adolf Hitler. Every time Trump (or his minions) repeat a LIE over and over again our “liberal media” SHOULD point out the Big LiE theory was devised by Hitler back in the early 1925’s in Mein Kampf. Republicans have been using this strategy since the advent of Limbaugh, but Trump is the master. And, democrats are silent!

In addition, every time Trump or republicans use “projection” to accuse democrats (or liberals) to that of which they are guilty it should be pointed out that is another strategy of the Nazi’s. So, what’s that old saying? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, flies like a duck, it’s a duck! What Trump and Project 2025 are doing to the United States of America is what Hitler FAILED to do back during WW II. These people are FASCISTS and the sooner our so-called “liberal media” starts calling them FASCISTS the better the chance “we the people” might ultimately defeat them.

I continue to find myself yelling at the TV or the radio when people I’m listening to (usually on MSNBC) keep calling Trump’s takeover of America’s government as “authoritarianism.” Earlier today I think I discovered why. Trump and his LYING sycophants have convinced Ms. Wallace and the rest of them on MSNBC that if they use the term FASCISM it’s too radical. Right wingers will criticize them for it. OMG! That would just be too much wouldn’t it?

Sadly, when I say “them” it has to include the entire elected republican party who are willing to go along with this. And those who remain in the cult are fooling themselves because these people (Trump, Miller, Vought, etc.) could care less about their (as they refer to them) “uneducated voters.” People around the world are shaking their heads. America is NOT the most “respected” country in the world as per Trump. Let me make this clear – it’s Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters (remember Trump isn’t the one writing all the executive orders) who are the extremists. Pointing out they are FASCISTS is simply our present reality and DUTY. That’s not “extreme” – that’s just telling it like it is.

For the last time here – for a little bit of help – here’s the definition of fascism:

noun

1. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
2. A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
3. Oppressive, dictatorial control.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition 

Remember this: (f)Elon Musk threw a couple “Sieg Hiels” at Trump’s inauguration and there was barely a “peep” out of our press. Just stop and think how they would have responded had one of Biden’s top advisers done the same. No one at the inauguration appeared to be offended! It appears our press is afraid of Trump – for whatever reason.

I rest my case. Democrats (and “liberals” er “progressives”) MUST lose their fear of “telling it like it is.” Spend some time helping the “uneducated voters” out in the heartland (and in the South) understand what is happening – using the CORRECT term and how it ultimately will affect them. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it once again – “authoritarianism” is a euphemism for FASCISM. It’s the “nice” way of saying it. Stop being afraid to “tell it like it is!” It’s FASCISM! Stay tuned…..

Final Thought: I’m really tired of feeling the need to write this. So far today I’ve listened to Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes, Jen Psaki, and Lawrence O’Donnell – all hosts on MSNBC – using the word “authoritarianism” to describe what Trump is doing to America. They even have bits on Russel Vought and Stephen Miller (two of Project 2025’s authors) which are right out of the Manifesto – and, still “authoritarianism.” It’s as if the words “fascism” or “Hitler” are unacceptable on respectable television. They all should read one of the many books on the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for one example, which is a good way to get some history of the German Nazi’s. To see the parallels!

One last thing: I’ll also say this again – because it’s not getting said via our “liberal media” (which is 90% owned by Trump lackeys) – another sign of fascism is a “government/corporate partnership.” Think of that every time you read/hear about Trump squeezing a percentage of the profits of an American corporation – corporations who seem to go along with what appears to be “protection money” willingly. There are too many American entities (corporations, law firms, Universities, media outlets, etc.) who are caving to Trump with nary a whimper. Those of us who value our democratic republic are in “deep doo doo.” Yikes!!!

Another short rant. It should be no surprise if you’ve read any of the posts I’ve written in the past 10 or so years that I would agree with Trump that America has an “enemy within.” And, it’s him! He is destroying our country along with his Project 2025 Puppet masters. The right wing proponents of this fascist takeover of the United States of America have been “at it” since the early 1970’s. They are much more sophisticated than the democrats who are the “big tent” party and believe in following the laws and the constitution. Republicans consider that the democrats fatal weakness!

Those behind Trump simply want more POWER and more MONEY. The key to their success since Trump came down the escalator in 2015 has been the three right wing members of the Supreme Court who are rapidly putting a torch to our constitution – under the guise of being “originalists.” Well, I suppose the constitution “originated” back when African Americans were 3/5ths of a person. Do they want to turn the clock back that far? They are the “glue” which has helped “secure” the government/corporate partnership that is a requirement of a fascist takeover. We’re seeing one large corporation after another succumbing to Trump’s (and, of course, Project 2025) using the courts to bring them “in line.” Google is the latest to fall in line – today agreeing to give Trump over 24 MILLION dollars in order to gain government favor re: anti-trust issue.

I’ve said it now several times that “we the people” are unlikely to survive the remaining years of Trump 2.0 as a democratic republic. Today, Trump and Hegseth gathered ALL of America’s military leaders in an auditorium so they could lecture them for an hour – Generals and their staffs coming from thousands of miles away – to listen to Trump talk about the “enemy within” and then telling these military leaders to prepare to send their troops into American cities. Trump is doing this already. We still have (kind of) a constitution and the “enemy within” can not be defined any other way than it is TRUMP! Yikes!!! Stay tuned!

Final Thought: Once again, when Hegseth or other members of Trump’s administration use the term “woke” simply substitute the word “Black” in it’s place and you will understand what they mean. Of course you should also think of women and members of the LGBTQ community. Or should I simply say anyone who is not white. For me, someone who has received the benefits of being white in my lifetime this is the part that grieves me the most. I know MANY members of the various communities that are the targets of these right wing fascists and it really angers me that “we the people” voted in an administration attempting to roll back some of the great advancements I’ve seen in my lifetime. I’m physically limited, but I’ll be at the next “No Kings” protest. It’s time for Americans to pour onto the streets in an effort to save our republic!

I’m going to keep this one as simple as I can. Full disclosure: I live across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. A city which is NOT “burning to the ground.” So, if you’re a pathological LIAR and you’re worried about the Epstein files, what is the solution? That’s right! Start sending Pete Hegseth’s vaunted “war machine” against American Citizens. We’ll know how close we are to full throated FASCISM when the Supreme Court rules on the legality of sending American troops against American citizens. “Posse Comitatus” says it’s unconstitutional. But, as we know, that’s not a deterrent to Trump. Stay tuned!!!

Final Thought: Comey has been indicted on “trumped up” charges. Apparently Letitia James and Adam Schiff are next – unless Pam Bondi decides on Fani Willis instead. We’ll see how “we the people” respond to this. I’ve got to make a new sign for the next protest!

As I’ve said here several times I don’t believe Trump has any intention of allowing mid-term elections if there’s a chance the democrats could retake the House (or the Senate). A requirement for IMPEACHMENT #3 (and it has to include Vance) The sh*t is about to hit the fan!

We in the U.S. are (well, according to polls, most of us) fast figuring out that the United States of America may not survive 3 1/2 more years of Trump et al (ie Project 2025 puppet masters). But, of course, as I say with republicans, there is ALWAYS more. The “survival” of America may be the “small potatoes” here. Let’s take a look at what Vladimir Putin’s been up to over the previous couple of weeks. From Denmark to Poland Russia has been sending swarms of drones into the air space of numerous NATO countries (the countries where Trump recently pulled back U.S. forces!? – What was up with that?) obviously testing the resolve of Trump to these provocations. They’ve even sent their aircraft into a couple places where there’s now talk of shooting them down if this continues – to which Russia officials have said the result would be war.

OK, do you have the same confidence I have should a war in Europe brake out and the U.S. would be relying on Trump and Hegseth to prosecute it? OMG! So, while those of us who think like me are lamenting Trump’s assault on the fundamental fabric of America’s nearly 250 year “experiment” Putin is threatening to send the “nukes” if anyone interferes with his provoking of NATO by violating the air space in the “Baltic’s” along with those in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Is Putin attempting to provoke them? – OR is he testing Trump? Personally, I believe the latter.

Of course, during his recent embarrassing ramblings at the U.N. this past week Trump seemed to make an “about face” regarding Russia’s ILLEGAL invasion of Ukraine suggesting Ukraine could push Russia out to their internationally recognized border (I even think he said “and then some” – whatever that means) AND he suggested NATO countries should “shoot down” Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. What we have here are the makings of WW III. I’ll repeat myself. Do you trust Trump and Hegseth to prosecute America’s part in WW III?

Here’s what’s been going through my feeble old mind. I’m picturing Trump, after Russia has nuked either Ukraine, Poland, or some other place in Europe OR maybe Chicago saying to Putin – “I’m giving you two weeks to come to the negotiating table.” If you’ve read this far you know Trump has given Putin SEVERAL such warnings sandwiched around giving him (Putin – a WAR CRIMINAL facing a warrant from the ICC) the “red carpet treatment” on AMERICAN soil a month or so back. Not surprising, EACH warning has been followed by an increase in Russia’s BOMBING campaign on Ukraine – much of it against CIVILIAN targets.

Once again, I have to say this is our (“we the people’s) own fault. We chose a 34 times convicted FELON (facing another something like 50 FELONY charges), an adjudicated sexual predator who defamed the same person multiple times, a serial FRAUDSTER, a man with a history of LYING and RACISM, and a person promising an administration focused on “retribution.” And, he’s got a LARGE “enemies list.” (Update: Trump’s order that James Comey be indicted has been completed)

He also promised to end the Ukraine Russia war and the war in GAZA on his first day in office. (Neither “ended” after 9 months) He promised to bring down the cost of groceries. (They’re still going up) He claims the U.S. is now the most admired (or a word to that affect) country in the world. (it’s not) He claims his approval rating is the highest it’s ever been (it’s not – it’s actually the lowest for any president at this point in his administration in modern history) Once again, he claims he’s responsible for the greatest economy in the history of our country (it’s not). And, he claims he’s brought peace to SEVEN wars. (He hasn’t – in fact he doesn’t even know where some of the countries he claims are on a globe) He’s also – OK, the list is too long. There’s a new (at least one) claim each day which is part of the “flooding the zone” strategy of his Project 2025 masters. This requires a commitment to LYING – which is what Trump truly is a master.

What is left (of America’s republic) when he’s finally out of office remains to be seen. But, from my perspective – I have a habit of making predictions – there’s going to be a large group of his sycophants who will need to be put in the “witness protection” program in order to get gainful employment once this is all over. However, it may not be once Trump is no longer in office. I mean, you have to give the right wingers who’ve been working for this day over the past 50+ years credit – they have created a formidable opposition to those of us who believe in America’s democratic republic. As time passes I certainly hope more and more Americans realize how “we the people” have willfully defiled our nation by putting Trump and Project 2025 in power.

A.M. (after MAGA) can you picture Trump’s press secretary getting a job anywhere besides Fox “news” or one of the other propaganda arms of the republican party? The reality is, as long as Fox or Newsmax or Steve Bannon or (f)Elon Musk and Xwitter or Zuckerberg and “Meta” etc. etc. are in business this country is in mortal danger. Most of those people keep their thoughts (well, not Fox in the defamation lawsuits by Dominion and Smartmatic) to themselves, but Bannon and Musk have been openly affiliated with neo-Nazi groups in Europe. It was Musk who “said the quiet part out loud” when he threw a couple “Sieg Hiels” at Trump’s inauguration celebration – sadly to the consternation of only a few. Their real goal is MORE money and POWER!

So, here’s the deal at this moment in time. Trump keeps warning Putin to be a “good boy” and stop with all the “killing” and agree to a cease fire in Ukraine within “the next two weeks.” And, Putin keeps up the KILLING and actually increases the number of missiles (as I said above) with each “warning.” “We the people” (should) recognize Trump as a pathetic “bully” – but, Putin is the real deal when it comes to bullies. Push back against him and plan to visit an upper story hotel room. Trump “speaks softly and has NO stick.” It really is embarrassing to listen to/watch him while he’s in “action.” I say to those in America who are on “red alert” due to Trump’s attempt at a fascist takeover of our government – keep an eye on how Putin is challenging him all across NATO. It should be obvious I don’t have confidence Trump will be up to the changing actions of Russia. It’s getting serious and it appears to me Trump is in over his head.

I’ve pointed out how appeasement works here on several occasions. In fact, I’ve referred to Trump as the modern day Neville Chamberlain before Russia’s recent provocations – the stakes are much higher in letting the (real) bully believe Trump has no guts in today’s world because of the nukes Russia is threatening (once again) to use. Apparently, some of the aircraft Russia has used to “buzz” NATO countries have been carrying missiles with nuclear warheads. If you’ve listened to any of Trump’s recent rambling “speeches” and you trust him to be capable of handling a war with Russia – well, we can agree to disagree! (Although we can hope) I don’t believe MOST Americans are even aware of Putin’s numerous provocations which I believe are intended to test Trump’s resolve – a resolve that barely registers on the resolve-o-meter. Stay tuned……

Final Thought: If you saw much of Trumps meandering diatribe the other day standing with RFK Jr. to his right and Dr. Oz to his left where he announced that “aceta … acetamin….how do you say it? acetaminophen … (“is that correct?”) “causes autism.” How do we know this? Well, apparently HHS is going to have some studies?? From what I’ve read, there have been MANY studies on the subject and it would take RFK Jr. to ignore them and come up with this scheme because, well, he promised, if I remember right, to have an answer to what causes autism by September, or something. I watched as much of this press conference as I could stomach – and, all I can say is if Joe Biden made ONE of the MANY gaffes Trump made in just this one “news conference” well democrats would have bailed on him and…. Oh wait, they did that for far less.

I’ll say it again. Biden was too old! Trump is too old! However, Biden was much more together than Trump – he knew how to manage the government. He had NATO more unified than at any time in recent memory. And, he wasn’t taking s**t off Putin. He had worked hard to bring down the inflation caused by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and he had accepted the GOP led immigration bill which would have increased the number of immigration judges and Border Patrol agents plus increased the ability to detect things like fentanyl coming across the border. Additionally, he was working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health insurance (both going up under Trump 2.0) and, had he a democratic led Congress he was working to reduce the deficit by causing BILLIONAIRES to pay their fair share and letting the “Trump tax cuts” expire. Also, with Biden, there would be nothing other than targeted tariffs and we’d still be working to mitigate the Climate Crisis.

As it turns out, Biden certainly wouldn’t have made it through a second term – maybe not even the first year (I’ve got prostate cancer and I know a Gleeson 9 score is not good) but, then he could have turned things over to Kamala Harris – which would have shattered that so-called “glass ceiling.” AND, we wouldn’t be dealing with the fascists running Trump 2.0 out of the headquarters of Project 2025. Now, we’re dealing with the above challenges that could be leading us into WW III. I doubt Putin would embark on such a “mission” without Trump in office and unless he had the backing of China. If you remember, at China’s real “military parade” (I’m sure Trump is envious) Xi, Putin, Modi of India, and Kim Jung un of North Korea were all yucking it up like it was old home week. Apparently the result of Trump’s tariffs. If they take the side of Russia – should Putin decide to invade one of the Baltic neighbors – well, all I can say is I believe “we the people” will see worse possible consequences of Trump 2.0. Yikes!!!

I’m really fighting the urge to just let others do the complaining – about Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters. It’s interesting to me to watch several of the people I (sometimes) connect with who are hosts of cable TV “news” shows. I often listen to MSNBC on XM radio as I drive around and sometimes find myself cursing at the radio in the car. Other times, to feed my frustration, I write. And, I realize I’m not a great writer (even though I taught sixth graders how to write for over 20 years. I guess I’m just not energetic enough at 78 years young to want to reread stuff that shows up on these pages. As the saying goes, what you see is what you get.

That all being said I continue to marvel at how these “hosts” I can identify with (as I said above, sometimes) don’t want to place the reality of American history at the forefront of their reporting. I realize I don’t have a real platform and most of the visitors to my web work are “bots” – which I don’t really understand. However, I’m getting more and more of my “news” from books and various “non-mainstream media” sources. My son is an avid supporter of “AI” which I consider potentially MORE evil than social media. It’s hard for me to complain about social media because the extent of my use is music videos of European Classical guitarists on YouTube, PLUS the results of the algorithms which attempt to feed my prejudices. (And, often times do)

That all being said (actually, I wrote it in the past couple of weeks – as I implied, my motivation is waning) I’d like to remind of a point I’ve been making here since before Trump’s first official day in Trump 2.0. That is their (don’t forget Project 2025 is the real “engine” of all this) “flooding the zone” strategy of causing all us progressives (and their own supporters) to be “looking over there” while they’re accomplishing their real goals over “here.” It’s the “scandal a day” theory of keeping “we the people’s” minds occupied in stuff which seems (and, actually is) relevant while pushing their “real” agenda when nobody is looking.

So, what you say is their “real agenda?” OK, I’ve said it ad nauseam here, but if you insist. Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters are busy implementing what I would call a “slow moving coup.” Of course, the first one (On January 6th 2021) failed – so, this one is much more sophisticated. And, apparently, beyond the imagination of most democratic party leaders AND the above mentioned pundits of the “left leaning” media outlets you might find on the Cable TV networks. Simply put, these people are fascists and our “liberal media” doesn’t even want to say the word.

Like with MOST American disasters this one won’t be identified until it’s either too late or almost too late. Step one will be to actually used the word. Fascist. And, label the fascists and point out why they qualify for the label. Actually, try a novel idea – USE the definition! I’m not going to publish it here (AGAIN) because I’ve done so MANY times. In fact, my guess is the first time was during Trump 1.0 – although, I must admit, my old brain can’t remember for sure.

Not only are Trump and the puppet masters (remember, he’s not writing all those executive orders himself) slowly turning America into a fascist state, but, as usual with republicans, there’s more. But, oh where to start. Well, let me start with some of the “stuff” I felt was missing from the campaign back in the 2024 election. To me, first on the list was the apparent lack of interest in the Climate Crisis. Why? Apparently because of the cost of eggs and Trump’s PROMISE to bring down the cost of “groceries” on “day one.” I know people my own age who believed that. Well, not only is Trump ignoring the Climate Crisis, he (and his masters) are actively working to undo years of environmental science progress and the push for “green energy.”

Probably the reason this is so offensive to me is because I’ve been attempting to do my “part” (small as it may be) in the fight to mitigate the effects of Global Warming of this planet. Both my wife and I have been driving electric vehicles for over 10 years now. Plus, after I retired I used what little I had saved during my years as a sixth grade school teacher to purchase Solar panels for our two outbuildings producing a bit more than 10,000 kilowatts of energy each year. What we don’t use in our home goes into the “grid” so our local PUD needs a bit less energy in total. The goal in our state (Washington) was for (I think) to have 30% of the energy use to be from “renewables” by sometime around 2030.

As you might surmise, back in 2014 when this took place Barack Obama was president and there were federal incentives to make it more affordable to, for example, invest in Solar panels. Between the state and federal incentives we got back most of our original investment in about 6 years. The key was I had to put up the original investment which was around $50,000. And, to me, the fact both the state and federal governments agreed that reducing the need for “fossil fuels” and increasing “clean energy” was enough for me to make the original investment. And, of course, those solar panels are still producing about the same amount (actually, a bit more, as the temperature continues to rise and the sunny days last longer into the fall) and, supposedly, will for at least another close to 15 years (If Trump doesn’t succeed in bankrupting the companies that made the original 25 year warranty).

The second issue I was lamenting as “riding under the radar” during the 2024 election campaign was the SCOTUS. Personally, I thought the FACT they had ruled that the president (and, of course, they were thinking of Trump specifically) actually did have what amounted to “absolute immunity” SHOULD have made it imperative to all to make sure Trump didn’t “win” in 2024. After all, he was ALREADY a 34 times convicted FELON and was facing another 50 or so FELONY charges – mostly related to attempting his coup of January 6th, 2021 – not to mention he’s been adjudicated to be a sexual predator and serial FRAUDSTER by well before the election. He SHOULD have been coming across as a “mob boss.”

In reality, the SCOTUS was largely responsible for Trump’s 2024 “victory” based on a quick review of their rulings and how they went about their rulings that had a direct affect on the election. For example, when the state of Colorado declared Trump ineligible to be on their ballot as an “INSURRECTIONIST” or someone who, having taken the oath of office, supporting INSURRECTIONISTS was ineligible for ANY office due to the clear wording of the 14th Ameendment (I believe it was section 3) they made a decision favorable to Trump in a matter of a few weeks. When it came to “absolute immunity” they dragged out their “pro Trump” decision for months in order to guarantee he would not face a trial on the charges related to the January 6th INSURRECTION. In other words, our SCOTUS is a Pro Trump court – full stop!

And, of course, while all that was going on the BILLIONAIRE class, including MANY of the authors of the Project 2025 Manifesto, were busy attempting to normalize Trump’s candidacy and convincing “we the people” Biden was too old while Trump wasn’t. That Biden, the stutterer, made gaffes while Trump (the baffoon – from my perspective) didn’t. They convinced the public, for example, that “immigration” was a Biden issue and not a Congressional issue – and to look the other way when Trump convinced republicans to vote against their OWN bipartisan immigration agreement because he needed the issue for the election. And, when democrats decided to turn on Biden (as Trump et al were hoping) and nominate Kamala Harris these BILLIONAIRES once again convinced “we the people” – including a majority of women – that America can’t have a female president. (Republicans still believe women should be homemakers and produce babies in all cases)

But, Trump had something really (awful) significant going for him (aside from all the executives and billionaires who were responsible for Project 2025) and that was one BILLIONAIRE in particular. And, of course, that was (f)Elon Musk. I still don’t understand why the FACT Musk was spending close to $300 MILLION to help Trump during the last couple of months of the campaign didn’t register with more Americans as being a bit “swampy” – especially for all those who wanted the “swamp” emptied. And, those people who voted for Trump still don’t seem to “get” that his cabinet is FILLED with billionaires and, to me, that isn’t “draining the swamp.” They REPRESENT the “swamp.”

President Biden, in his last month or so in office, warned of the coming “Oligarchy” – which, to a degree, was right on and had pretty much already happened. However, I have to add, Bernie Sanders has been warning of this for as far back as I can remember. (Once again, my brain is old, and memory becomes an issue as you approach 80 – and, yes, I would include Trump in that category) Democrats, under Biden (well, many of them) were attempting to get some kind of Billionaire tax – like some really small percent of their wealth – and, like Musk, many were spending MILLIONS to avoid such a “terrible” burden. Their solution was to support MORE tax breaks for themselves and less food stamps for America’s poor. And, a bunch of Americans in the middle didn’t seem to pick up on this. (Many of those who are affected by the cutback in food stamps, I believe, will be Trump voters.

If you’ve been around here you would know I was a supporter of Joe Biden’s administration. (Originally, I was a Sanders supporter – but, once Biden was in office I thought his agenda was the most working person friendly agenda I could remember going back to LBJ.) I believed the issue in the 2024 election, once it was determined the two candidates were Biden and Trump was NOT Biden’s age (even though I agreed he was too old – I felt BOTH candidates were too old) but the ISSUE was TRUMP! Of course, I had taken the time to read close to 200 pages of Project 2025 and considered that enough to understand it was a “roadmap to fascism.” Certainly a “red line” for me!

Typical of democrats – they traditionally have – what I’ve called – been afraid of their own shadows, and all it took was about 15 minutes of a poor debate performance to turn completely against Biden – almost instantaneously – even though the rest of his performance – if you go back – was MUCH better than Trump’s who was LYING as fast as he could cause his lips to be moving. The moderators allowed it and when Biden called him on it, he just picked up the pace. Trump saw “blood in the water” in those first 15 minutes and he “went for the kill.” (and, succeeded, I might add.) It’s still embedded in my memory watching the group of hosts from MSNBC going into panic mode – instantaneously. Republican propaganda had ruled the day. And, now where are we?

At the time I pointed out here and wherever else I was commenting – for democrats to try to think clearly and understand the next president would be either Biden or Trump. En masse, the democrats fell for the republican messaging and turned against the person who WON the democratic primaries despite the voters being full aware of his age. I’ll go to my grave being convinced this was the actual cause for Trump 2.0. Democratic leaders continue trying to understand “what happened” – but, it had happened several times before. It happened with Jimmy Carter leading to the eight years of Reagan (and the imposition of “trickle down economics” on “we the people” – a SCAM republicans repeat after every election they win), it happened during Obama’s first term during the mid year elections when the democrats refusal to defend “Obamacare” caused them to lose a plethora of seats in Congress leading to the years of “Moscow Mitch” and, of course, it led to Trump 1.0 and 2.0. The problem is the democrat’s leaders with no spine. (Sadly both Obama and Pelosi fell into that category)

It’s no wonder “we the people” miss this stuff when our media “leaders” – those who are NOT in the pocket of big business or the Trump regime – seem to be afraid to recognize America’s problems are not coming from “both sides.” That is NOT to suggest the democrats were getting it all “right.” However, I submit, as a leader Biden was attempting to get them to work from the bottom up. Let’s face it, no leader’s decisions will make everyone happy. In fact, I believe anyone who tries has failed from the start. But, the “richest country in the history of the world” – in my view – had/has no business funneling MORE and MORE money to those at the top. The ones who DON’T need it, but can’t seem to get enough. Biden was pro worker and pro union and was attempting to create policies bringing more and more people from the “bottom” into the “middle class.” That’s a hard “pull” in today’s age of corporate media monopolies.

And, to give a better example of what I mean, let me take you back to Trump’s inauguration where virtually EVERY tech BILLIONAIRE was crowding over each other trying to get close to Trump as he LIED about his “oath” of office. They all had “donated” at least $1 MILLION for the “privilege” of being on the dais. Fast forward to a week or two ago when Trump held a dinner at the “White House” where all these Tech “bros” were sitting at a table eating dinner with him and making BILLION dollar promises in return for reduced regulation. Trust me, these people could care less about you and me, they simply want more and more MONEY. (I will likely NEVER forget Musk throwing a couple Sieg Hiel’s at the inauguration and almost not even a “peep” from the MSM.)

Here’s the impending doom I feel from watching all these “tech bros” breaking bread with (and making promises to) Trump – they represented virtually EVERY billionaire betting their future on the advancement of “AI.” My son is an avid user of Chat GPT and firmly believes he gets “unbiased” information when using it. And, I suppose, in some instances he’s correct – like asking it to help him learn to use Adobe Illustrator – which I discovered is hard to understand many years ago. But, I don’t for a minute believe these AI programs give you “unbiased” political information. I believe these programs are programmed by BIASED people and use the same type of “algorithms” which permeate Social Media. I don’t use them, but I’m guessing they appear to be innocuous.

However, do you think I should support something programmed by Mark Zuckerberg, or (f)Elon Musk, or Sam Altman, or Peter Thiel, or the CEO’s of Microsoft or Google or Apple? Sorry, but you’d have a hard time convincing me of that – much to the chagrin of my son. When these people are ALL “kissing up” to Trump do you actually believe they have the best wishes of “we the people” in mind? Would you consider them the modern day patriots? Sorry (once again), but if that’s the case, count me out. When people start flashing Nazi salutes, how can I best say this, “I’m outta here!”

I guess I got a little off track, but I hope you get the gist. There’s so much happening EVERY day that even those of us who pay attention closely can’t keep up. And, for good reason, Trump et al don’t want us to “keep up.” The slow move to fascism is not something they want publicized and the reticence for our MSM to even use the word is, to me, disgusting. Actually, in the name of projection, the only ones I’ve heard using the word “fascist” have been republicans – because, well that’s part of their plan. Coming, I might add, straight from the annals of Hitler himself. I’ve also pointed this out ad nauseam – they use projection and the “Big Lie Theory” on a daily basis to make sure those in their CULT don’t figure out what’s in the “coolaid.” (OK, yes I’ve heard ordinary folk who do pay attention and who have studied a bit of history using the words fascist or fascism when talking about Trump)

Final Thought: Now we have another, maybe more challenging, “obstacle” to stopping Trump’s “slow moving coup” and that is what they’re doing regarding the MURDER of Charlie Kirk. (Full disclosure, this is how much I knew/know about Charlie Kirk – other than what I’ve heard over time, before he was MURDERED, that I TOTALLY disagreed with – I had to look up how to spell his last name) First things first – I don’t believe in political violence – in fact, violence of any kind. The person who murdered Kirk is, well, a murderer and should face the consequences. But, I must admit, I won’t miss Charlei Kirk. AT ALL. And, to suggest he was a Martyr, is a bit much to me – when who knows how many other Americans were MURDERED that same day? And, what about Melissa Hortman and her husband in Minnesota who were KILLED by an alleged Trump supporter?

Here’s some of the stuff Charlie Kirk was quoted as saying:

“prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people.” Or

“If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’” Or

“The ‘Great Replacement’ is not a theory, it’s a reality.” Or

“The American Democrat Party … love it when America becomes less white.” Or

Called trans people “a throbbing middle finger to God” and “an abomination.” Or

“We must ban trans-affirming care — the entire country.” Or

Called being gay an “error,” compared Pride to drug addiction, and cited Leviticus on stoning. (I was taught God doesn’t make mistakes) Or

Said LGBT identification is a “social contagion.” Or

“We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.” Or

“The Civil Rights Act … created a beast … an anti-white weapon.” Or

“It’s worth (it) to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.” (Oops!) Or

Claimed concern about equity in aviation is reminiscent of apartheid South Africa. (huh?)

This is about his public record, all things he’s clearly said, things he’s proud to leave behind as his legacy. And, of course, there’s more. One could surmise Charlie was a RACIST. And, OBTW there was MUCH more!

All these statements were documented by MediaMatters.org (and linked)

To me, Jesus was a Martyr. The Appostle Paul was a Martyr. Charlie Kirk was a racist who was a victim of the senseless KILLING which happens daily in America.

Stay tuned!!!

OMG! How is Trump destroying America? Let me count the ways! I’ll start with the vision of the leaders of Russia, China, India, and North Korea chumming around with each other as they watch the military parade in China Trump can only wish he could have in America. (I suppose we’ll see the next iteration sometime next summer – maybe on his 80th birthday) Not only did Trump FAIL to end Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on “day one” but he’s managed to push the world’s largest democracy (India) into the “axis of evil” (OK, I borrowed that from Bush/Cheney – out of desperation) leading the leader of India to be laughing it up even with Kim Jung un.

I start with the gathering in Beijing, India and China are thumbing their noses at Trump and telling him to shove his tariffs right up his substantial ass. As the countries around the world realign themselves away from the United States it affects all of us in America – not just the nitwits who chose to vote for him because they couldn’t understand the causes of a couple years of inflation coming out of a once in a century (we hope) pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sadly, the American people continue to prove to our allies they are unreliable – after all, it’s “we the people” who are responsible for all of this. Trust me, when China convinces the rest of the world their economy is more stable than ours the U.S. will get exactly what we have coming. And, it ain’t good!

When the dollar is no longer the major currency in the world and countries around the globe stop funding out deficit spending – especially with Trump at the “helm” for another three years, the interest rates “we the people” pay (I’m not talking about the Fed’s rate for banks, etc.) could rise into double digits. We’re talking about jobs going into the tank and inflation going up – possibly way up. All of this will be the result of Trump’s STUPID tariff policy. And, make no mistake, he’s incapable of admitting a mistake and his sycophants are incapable of telling him he needs to change course. He will take us all down with himself. His decision-making would indicate he’s the one who HATES America. (Not, I must add as he projects, “liberals.”)

Trump (via RFK Jr.) will be responsible for the next pandemic – who knows maybe he can cause another run of COVID-19 – due to the obliteration of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the FDA, and the CDC along with pretty much the rest of the Health and Human Services department (HHS) – which, before Trump was the premiere agency for Public Health in the world. Of course there have been/are ways “we the people” could/should be working to improve our heath – but, I can virtually guarantee you, this ain’t the way.

Before the Congress took a torch to Medicaid and Medicare in Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill” there were (already) approximately 100 MILLION Americans without health care insurance. This is before the ACA (Affordable Care Act) is bludgeoned in 2026 causing rates in the “exchanges” to jump up as much as 20% – do you really believe that won’t have an affect on inflation? This has been a problem in America, in my view, since the 1980’s when insurance companies and hospitals became for profit entities and republicans refused to accept “national health insurance.” It’s as if Trump and his republican sycophants want MORE Americans to have to rely on the Emergency room and bankruptcy courts for their “health care.” Under the “care” of republicans the system will continue making America “more sick” no matter what JFK does.

I believe in doing my part to address the climate crisis even though I know it’s in a minuscule way. For over the past ten years there have been solar panels on our outbuildings (producing around 10,000 KWH of electricity per year) and my wife and I have been driving electric cars. I recently sold the ONE stock I’ve purchased in over 30 years at a loss because it was in a NON – Tesla electric car company – but I just don’t trust the market now that Trump is determined to undermine anything which has to do with clean energy. I will manage to survive this abomination, but I really feel for my children and grandchildren and those of others (no matter the “color” of the state where they reside) because once we get rid of Trump (God help us if it’s past 2028 – and, I’m talking about the whole mess of them – especially his kids, Vance, and the Project 2025 sycophants who are the real push for FASCISM) even then will it likely be too late)

I have to add, Trump seems to believe his “drill baby drill” mantra is something which will be embraced by the rest of the world. As usual, he’s nuts. Take China for example. The Chinese are at the forefront of the EV revolution. We won’t be able to judge this in person – because our government doesn’t believe our companies can compete with the Chinese, but it’s very likely the Chinese EV maker “BYD” is producing the best cars in the world. I drive a Polestar which is, technically – like its “sister” Volvo – a Swedish car maker. However they are owned by a Chinese company and the car I have was produced in China and it’s far and away the best car I’ve ever driven – maybe that I’ve been in. Trump’s tariffs (and those originally placed by Biden) make it impossible for these cars to be sold in America. (I got mine pre-tariff)

But, as usual, with republicans it always gets worse. Trump’s tariffs on autos and auto parts coming from our closest (well, formerly?) trading partners are pushing the cost to produce “American made” cars up, potentially, by double digits. And, do you really believe Ford and GM will just “eat” the tariffs as Trump has suggested. Hell, he doesn’t even seem to understand the money being generated by his tariffs is simply a TAX on “we the people” – first on the importers then un “us.” Not only are these new car prices going through the “roof” but CAR INSURANCE is going up by double digits AGAIN – my car insurance bills nearly doubled after the “end” of the pandemic and now they’re possibly going up by double digits once again. Maybe I need to get another horse!

And, it’s not just cars. I do a lot of my shopping at Costco because, in essence their prices seem to stay pretty stable. So, when I started noticing prices going up there it really caught my attention. I don’t drink coffee but virtually everyone I know does. The price of coffee has gone up over 20% (by my calculation) in the last month or so. The price of hamburger has gone up somewhere close to the same. Energy prices are going to go up – by some accounts – double digits. And, on and on. Of course, Trump will claim they’ve all gone down – about the same level of “truth” as his claim to have ended SEVEN wars since he took office. One of the wars he claimed to have ended was the India Pakistan kurfuffle a while back – with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi calling Bull S**t on Trump, leading to Trump’s 50% tariffs on India. How dare he? (Modi, that is)

Schools are starting up as I’m writing this and Trump has effed the Department of Education up to the point where it is now “the enemy of the people.” Not only will schools, like the one where I taught, a “Title 1” school, face difficulty due to the percentage of really needy students (those whose parents can’t afford to find them a private school) but the attack on Universities around the nation are beyond my ability to comprehend. Attempting to cut off the funding of research at WORLD CLASS schools like Harvard? Harvard is about 350 (or so) years old and the number of discoveries from their research is staggering – it’s too much to even attempt to list here. But, Trump is attempting to get America’s top universities to “bend the knee” to his fascism and, sadly, a few of them have. Just like other fascist thugs, with Trump, the next “ask” will always be more and any agreement is virtually worthless depending on his mood (or that of his puppet masters). The last “ask” I heard about was for UCL:A to pay the Trump administration $1 BILLION in order to get the research grants already promised. Yikes!!!

For about 8 years of my life I operated a small farm. I discovered during the Reagan years that the government can make decisions which will summarily wipe out thousands of farmers without a second thought. Well, it’s happening again. And, in a myriad of ways. First, the Chinese are canceling orders for things like American Soy Beans – causing the price to drop below the cost of producing them. Of course, it’s harvest time and those Soy Beans have to go somewhere – but, unless you’ve been there it’s hard to imagine how FAST the price of a commodity will drop. And, Soy Beans aren’t the only product farmers are harvesting which are going to be money losers – and, if you have a large farm, we’re talking about a lot of money.

Also, farmers run their equipment hard – for long hours and every few years it’s time to replace the equipment with new things like tractors, harvesting equipment, and lots of other uses (not to mention the need for Trucks, etc.) With the tariffs on the price of parts, many of which are produced in Europe, Canada, Mexico, or China the price of a Tractor, for example, will likely be 10 – 20% higher this year than last. We’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars. And, with the price for the commodities plummeting, well, replacing a worn out tractor will have to wait. The farmers will “get it” on both ends. (Not to mention places like John Deere who make the equipment)

And, of course it’s actually worse than this. Think of all the farmers – especially in California’s San Juaquin Valley or other places where most of our “people” food is raised – having huge crops rotting on the vines. Trump’s assault on (law abiding) immigrants who are farm workers is causing them by the bus loads to fail to show up for work and, trust me, those republicans who are suggesting to repeal child labor laws as the solution for the lack of farm labor have their heads up their collective asses. I’ve had experience with Mexican immigrant laborers. My experience was on the farm, but the work ethic and the appreciation of having a minimum wage job is something which won’t be replicated by Americans looking for work. Maybe Trump is thinking if the job market gets bad enough, well…. (you must know what I was going to say) It’s “poppycock.” And, “I picked strawberries as a kid” isn’t the answer.

Here’s another blessing Trump is attempting to “bestow” on “we the people.” Now, I’m no economist, but as I’ve stated here before, I’m capable of listening to economists who, for example, are Nobel laureates. Virtually EVERY economist – other than Trump’s sycophants – are warning about the disaster which will be the jobs market tanking (it is) while inflation is rising (so is it). This could create a situation which, surprise, surprise, Trump’s economic “team” is unsuitable to (that is incapable of) “fix/fixing.” Before Trump took office I gave him six months to tank the economy. (Technically, I suppose you could say he already has) I admitted I was wrong and pointed out I should have said “one year.” Well, that “prediction” I’m sticking to. And the job “gains” in America are now down to a “trickle” with one month (June) of NEGATIVE job growth (Under Biden there was positive job growth in 48 straight months – that’s every month of his administration) and, it appears MORE negative job growth on the way. (Recession time???)

All of this is the result of his pigheaded stance on tariffs. I’m sure if you’re still reading this you’ve been around narcissistic pathological LIARS before (maybe not one who’s a 34 times convicted FELON, or adjudicated sexual predator, or serial FRAUDSTER or “all of the above” but I digress) and, they just CAN’T admit to being wrong. Therefore, without a SCOTUS growing a pair of “balls” these tariffs could be there until either “the cows come home” or the republicans in Congress decide to give us all a break from this nightmare and do a bit of IMPEACHING.

Let me add a note of caution though. When it becomes time for some IMPEACHING it’s very important that the IMPEACHING would include JD Vance as well. My personal belief is Vance would be worse than Trump. Although, in reality, it’s the Project 2025 fascists who are calling the shots. Trump is a convenient bloviating pathological LYING mouthpiece for them. I doubt Vance would be much different. It’s people like Stephen Miller and Russel Vought – two of Project 2025’s authors – who will remain, likely for the entire four years. (I suppose you could surmise I have no confidence in the Congress to do the “right thing.” I wrote this all at one sitting off the top of my OLD head. That should tell you all you need to know. The s**t has already hit the fan. The only question remaining is how bad is the aftermath. As I watched Putin, Modi, Xi, and Kim Jung un Laughing it up before the Chinese military parade all I could think of was how small they’re making Trump look!

Final Thought: I can’t leave this without mentioning the bludgeoning of American institutions “we the people” have taken for granted for years. The food inspectors have been reduced to the point where it’s going to be an adventure when shopping for food. It’s going to be bad enough with the produce, but just think of the meat Americans consume – much of which will face no inspection process whatever. Water is something I believe “we the people” take for granted – and air. We just assume there’s a government agency that’s job is to make sure the air and water are clean. Trump et al are removing regulations that have been in effect for decades – regulations progressives are constantly attempting to make better.

That’s why a bunch of tech gurus were having dinner at the “White House” this week – encouraging Trump to repeal regulations so they can make even MORE money. And, they know the trick. I could only stomach a small segment of the video of that dinner – listening to Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Sam Altman, and a bunch of others laying (disingenuous) “compliments” on Trump – how can I best say this? – THICKLY! It was almost as disgusting as Trump’s annual three hour cabinet meeting where his minions soil themselves while “praising” dear leader. The number of Americans willing to sell their souls for power or money (or both) is disgusting. “We the people” voted for this – so sadly, we deserve what we’re getting.

America’s great institutions have been hollowed out. The military is being compromised from it’s constitutional duties. The SCOTUS is shameful. America is suffering from likely the greatest “brain drain” in her history. And, there’s 3 1/2 years to go. For those counting on the 2026 mid-terms, more and more Americans are realizing Trump is planning to (actually) RIG that election – he’s working on several “strategies.” As I’ve said here, he has no intention of dealing with another democratic led Congress – even if he has to order Martial Law. Brace yourselves – Trump’s (and his puppet masters’) version of the Third Reich is nearly in tact!

I keep talking about the “flooding the zone” strategy Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters have been using since the day Trump took (lied about) the oath of office on January 20, 2025 – a day which will go down in infamy. The challenge for people who care enough about our republic is to sift through all the “noise” and focus on the “stuff” Trump and his masters are doing to further their aim at turning America into the fascist country Hitler failed to achieve back in WW II. And, I have to say, as I begin attempting to focus my thoughts on what I consider most important – my mind is “swirling.” I’m not sure I can keep up with it.

But, I’m just a lowly retired school teacher so my goal is usually hoping someone out there who has some standing might find one of my thoughts to be relative (for lack of a better word). My point, usually, is that fundamentally Trump and his Project 2025 masters are systematically plowing through the “guardrails” which were created almost 250 years ago by our “founders.” To Trump and his masters the constitution created back then – and amended over time – demonstrated a “living” document that created the greatest example of “self rule” and the greatest middle class in the history of the world is simply an inconvenience.

The reality is what they’re doing is beyond serious. If we had any other SCOTUS it would be unconstitutional. There are several ways to look at the DAMAGE being inflicted on “we the people.” Of course, the straight on assault on our “rule of law” is “deplorable.” But, of course, there’s a bunch of other “casualties” to what Trump et al are accomplishing. In essence, for example, they’ve completely halted the “first step” in addressing the Climate Crisis that, to me, should have been priority number one to young people in the last election – but, sadly, I don’t think it even made the top ten in the concerns of those under 40 last November.

The issue of the SCOTUS is basically “front and center” almost every day. And, the “permission slip” they’ve given to Trump is, for me, depressing when I consider all the consequences. And, this court will have a 6 – 3 right wing majority for well beyond whatever’s left of my lifetime. They’ve given Trump “absolute immunity” (at least in his mind – I have no idea if they will ever have the guts to say “no” to him), they’ve allowed him to fire people in supposed independent agencies without “cause” (usually because the director of the agency is Black), he’s been busy “clawing back” BILLIONS of dollars of Congressionally mandated funding – leading, in the case of USAID to, by the end of this year, approximately 3 MILLION unnecessary deaths, mostly in Africa (again, Black people), he’s busy appeasing Vladimir Putin leading to an untold number of unnecessary deaths for the Ukrainians, and he’s clearly supporting the Netanyahu genocide in GAZA leading to thousands more unnecessary deaths.

As you can see, the list could go on and on because there’s so much more. Here’s a quick contrast to the difference between President Biden and Trump. President Biden pulled NATO together in an united front helping Ukraine to defend itself and leading the alliance to a better place than it had been in years. In fact, both Finland and Sweden joined NATO after years of independence. They clearly could see the menace of Putin. My only objection to what President Biden was doing as he led the defense of Ukraine, was that Ukraine was restricted in using American weapons to attack inside Russia. To me, it’s well past time for Ukraine to be giving Russia a bit of their own “medicine.” But, Trump has stopped sending aid to Ukraine and now my hope has to be that Europeans will be able to make up the “slack.”

Here’s the scariest part of Trump’s incoherent foreign policy as he leads his “America First” sycophants – who don’t seem to have much of an education on World history – like the history of the Third Reich. Appeasement to Hitler led directly to WW II – or at least made his “agenda” easier when he began his assault on Europe in 1939 when he invaded Poland. So, Trump has given Putin the “red carpet treatment” on American soil – remember the International Criminal Court has a WARRANT for Putin’s arrest and trial as a WAR CRIMINAL – but, of course, that’s meaningless to our president who is a 34 times convicted FELON. Additionally, in Trump’s (illegal and incompetent) trade war via his arbitrary use of tariffs Trump has succeeded in turning India into an alliance with Putin, Xi of China, and Kim Sung un of North Korea. (Two of the four are probably the most ruthless dictators on the Planet). Trump’s appeasement and IGNORANCE very well could be leading to WW III.

Trump has put a huge target on the “back” of the United States of America and if India and China decide to create a new alliance with the goal of bankrupting America it appears to me Trump and the people surrounding him will have no idea how to respond. Trump is attempting to turn the Federal Reserve board of governors into political pawns for him to use as he expresses his economic ignorance. Before his first day in Trump 2.0 I predicted he would tank the economy in his first six months. Of course, I was wrong – but he’s put the necessary “pieces” in place to fracture the entire economic “picture.” Should the SCOTUS allow him to replace Lisa Cook as a Fed governor (with 10 years left on her term) that will be like pulling the “domino” allowing the rest of them to fall.

Can you imaging if it’s Trump who decides what interest rates should be? Do you believe other countries who’ve invested in American “debt” by purchasing Treasury bonds will simply leave these investments ‘standing” when it’s up to Trump to set interest rates? What will happen to the American economy when Treasury bills become considered worthless to investors around the globe? I”m no economist but, like anyone else, I can listen to those economists who’ve, for example, received Nobel prizes. That tells me they know what they’re talking about. Many suggest if Trump succeeds in taking control of the Fed inflation will soon reach well into the double digits. Trump will have succeeded in doing to the American economy what he did to his own business – several times! (Six bankruptcies – this time with no father to bail him out)

There you have it – Last night I just wanted to jot down a few quick thoughts and that was the result so, now, here we are. Here’s what I’ve seen just this morning. Trump is, once again, threatening to invade Chicago and other cities (that don’t want American troops on the streets). 11 people were slaughtered in a boat in the Caribbean, allegedly transporting drugs to the U.S. from Venezuela. (Of course, the American ships in the area could simply have stopped the boat, boarded it, and, if there were drugs on board could have confiscated the drugs and had the smugglers arrested) Do you think there’s any chance the U.S. military under Pete Hegseth made a mistake? Also, more reports coming in of American immigrants being “snatched” as they report for their court dates and shipped off to places they don’t belong with just the clothes on their backs. And, that’s all just by 10:00 Am.

Several of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell have gathered in Washington D.C. to encourage members of the House to vote yes on the discharge petition allowing a vote on the release of the Epstein files. Trump is threatening republicans who support this move and the victims are saying they will start naming names if America’s politicians continue blocking the release of the files. One thing I can assure you – Trump’s name WON’T be part of the files once they are released. I’ve used this word before: SCRUBBING. But, it’s not hard to figure out based on ALL the photos and videos available online to surmise Trump was a close friend of Epstein. How much more was he involved with, if any? Time will tell, but I would be surprised if the DOJ hasn’t been making sure Trump’s name will not show up in any of the files which are ultimately released. But, as they say, “pictures tell a thousand words!”

Already my head is spinning. And, for certain, there will be more. Trump will do whatever it takes to deflect attention of his MAGAts away from the Epstein files. I believe they will believe almost anything other than being deprived of seeing what is in these files. Although, do you really believe more than a sliver of these people will actually read 100,000 pages of “stuff?” Like, maybe, “invading” Chicago!

Final Thought: Isn’t it a bit rich having Trump professing to be all about “law and order.” Aside from the 34 FELONY convictions he’s living with there were another 50 or so allegations, including his attempted coup of January 6th, 2021, of FELONY conduct. He’s an adjudicated sexual predator, and a serial FRAUDSTER. And, when you read about Trump’s life history he’s made a career out of pushing the limits of the law. How many laws has he broken during Trump 2.0? Well, with the help of the SCOTUS he believes there are NO laws he can’t break – he’s got “absolute immunity.” He even got away with close to ten alleged acts of OBSTRUCTION during the so-called Russia investigation back when Robert Mueller said he was “memorializing” the allegations for once Trump was out of office – and, of course, Merrick Garland chose to ignore these allegations like he slow walked the investigation into the January 6th coup.

“We the people” are forced to rely on the democrats to save our republic from Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters. At times I find that very depressing. However, “we the people” do have power if we’ll realize it. We need to come together with the commitment that Trump 2.0 needs to go. The first step in that is to DEMAND free and fair elections in 2026 and then begin the process of voting republicans in Congress into the history books. Don’t get me wrong, there are several democrats who, I believe, need to head off into the sunset. We simply need to replace them with democrats – and, mind you, I’m no democrat. However, realistically, democrats are the only option of “we the people” if we decide we don’t want to be a FASCIST nation!! Stay tuned…..

While it seems to me to be easy finding really awful stuff Trump (and his Project 2025 puppet masters) is/are doing, it’s more difficult to focus on what can be done about it and who needs to be doing that. Of course, sadly, the second part of that last statement is easy enough – “we the people” are stuck with the democrats if we want to stop Trump in 2026 by flipping the Congress (if there are elections) in 2026 and “Trumpism” in 2028. Of course, if Trump somehow manages to undermine our election system enough to cause “we the people” to look for other ways to express ourselves, then “Katy bar the door.” It could get really ugly. Trump want us to be Russia.

Here’s a reality of “Trumpism.” It started with Trump leading the RACIST “birther movement” during Barack Obama’s first term as president. When Trump was first running for the presidency I remember reading about a young man named Derek Black who’s father, Don Black, was once the Grand Wizard of the KKK. His godfather, David Duke, had also been the head of the KKK. They were raising Derek as the heir apparent to their racist regime when he went to a college in Central Florida and ended up being “changed” from his racist ways. A book, “Rising out of Hatred” was written about his journey from KKK land to the University of Chicago as a top graduate student who had shed his racist history – a great read, by the way. Both Black Sr. and Duke LOVED Trump!

After reading the book I did a bit of research on Don Black and David Duke and their political “leanings.” As it turned out I read an article about the two racist men and they were sharing (I believe with those frequenting Black’s website portal for racists) that Trump was their “vehicle” into the “mainstream of American politics.” (This was prior to the 2016 election) Duke had attempted to run for Congress in Louisiana, but his views were too extreme even there. In an interview of Derek Black subsequent to him being ostracized by his Mom and Dad he shared they would tape Fox “news” programs of Tucker Carlson and then watch them over and over again. Confirms what we already know about Tucker! And, of course, confirms the “racist” part of the definition of fascism, which Trump fits to a tee!

People like me can’t seem to get our minds off how HORRIBLE Trump and his rabid base are, but, for young people like my son (36) the issues that matter are TOTALLY economic issues and the affordability crisis for America’s young people. And, I “get” what he’s trying to tell me. The “baby boomers” are too old to understand the problem facing young Americans who are trying to get started in life. Around where I live a two bedroom apartment costs $2000 per month. PLUS, it takes first and last months rent AND a significant deposit just to get in the door. Estimates are that being able to start a family (including buying a house) requires an income approaching six figures. Yikes!!!

In Seattle (I live in Washington state) it’s even worse. My niece, who graduated from the University of Washington about 30 years ago lives in an old 1940’s type home in a neighborhood where the homes are crammed close together. A couple years ago when I was visiting her the house across the street from them – a similar size and age house – had just sold for $1.2 MILLION. And, these are homes that were “starter homes” back when they were originally purchased. I live in a rural area where there’s often a couple acres with a house which comes up for sale, but it’s almost as bad. Our neighbor listed their house for $700 THOUSAND and, after five days the realtor took “bids.” It sold for $780 THOUSAND. Twenty years ago it would have sold for less than $200 THOUSAND and after a couple months on the market plus seller and buyer negotiations.

Simply put, there’s a serious housing shortage in America. Also, getting back to the rental issue, if someone loses their job for some reason and isn’t able to find one quick enough to avoid being evicted then the issue of homelessness arises. And, the number of homeless people in the city where I live is increasing dramatically. There are wonderful people attempting to mitigate the problem, but it’s tough to get back on your feet once you’ve become homeless. (Full disclosure: I was homeless for a period of time about 40 years ago – but, it was much easier back then to work your way out of the problem.)

This is just a snippet of what is “bugging” the young people of America these days – and, the issue is bad enough for them that they overlooked the issues of, for example, the SCOTUS, or education, or health care, or CLIMATE CHANGE as they allowed the FASCIST Trump to retake the White House – despite 34 guilty FELONY convictions, another 50 or so FELONY charges in three indictments pending, a history of being a pathological LIAR, a history of misogyny, xenophobia, being an adjudicated sexual predator, a serial FRAUDSTER, and A RACIST. That should tell us old people, and the democratic party all we need to know about the “way forward.”

When you look at it, Joe Biden’s economic policies were the BEST policies – well, to me – in my lifetime, for working Americans – BUT, Joe Biden was 82 years old. (Trump is “ONLY” 79) Kamala Harris had proposals to deal with the housing crisis which SHOULD have appealed to young people, but, apparently America is still not ready for a woman as president. (After all, 53% of women voted for Trump) Yes, I understand (f)Elon Musk pumped in nearly $300 MILLION during the last couple of months to get Trump elected. Musk seemed to have appealed to young men in particular – of course Musk also owns Xwitter which gave Trump lots of free advertising.

Here’s the question running through my head at this time. “Are young people turning on Trump yet?” I don’t know the answer to that – I believe they certainly SHOULD be. However, the reality is they are not as invested in politics as people like me – and the republican media machine STILL dwarfs that of the democrats. And, there has to be urgency in standing up to Trump (people like me understand that) because the DAMAGE he’s doing to our republic is being ingrained deeper and deeper by the day. Trump KNOWS that’s his only chance to avoid a democratic Congress in 2027 is to CHEAT. But, of course, he’s also KNOWN for CHEATING – he CHEATS at golf for heaven’s sake. (Trump now is even now making rumblings about “some people want a dictator.” That’s how he lays the groundwork for his next BIG LIE – from the annals of Hitler, of course)

Democrats need to pay attention to what is happening in New York City. Zorhan Mamdani has taken New York City by storm by addressing the issues of young people – in fact, he’s one of them – and the affordability crisis. That’s what democrats need to do – get some of the older (OK, old) members out of leadership roles and turn the “reins” over to people young Americans can identify with. Personally, I see several young “firebrands” in the House of Representatives who “fit the bill.” “AOC” is the first one that comes to my mind. She is sharp and she has no qualms about “telling it like it is.” Jasmine Crockett is another one who I see as a potential national leader. And, there’s several more. Also, there’s likely to be a whole new batch in 2027 if we somehow actually have “free and fair elections.” (Trump would say, “over my dead body” to that)

I believe Gavin Newsome is putting himself out in a place where he could be seeking the leadership position nationally going into the 2028 election (if we’re still having elections in 2028 – without Trump’s brownshirts suffocating voting precincts in Major Cities) He has FINALLY figured out what is actually happening in our country. Others are slowly falling in line. I’m not sure what it’s going to take for some of the democrats to understand what is required of them. It’s been obvious to me – a former Middle School teacher – for more than 20 years. I’ve always been an “independent voter” – but GW Bush/Dick Cheney caused me to start voting AGAINST republicans on a regular basis.

On this site, almost since I started writing back in 2008 I’ve been lamenting that democrats need to grow a spine and realize this is a battle for the heart and soul of America. Since the days of Jimmy Carter I’ve been seeing democrats seem to be afraid of their own shadows and republicans have figured out how to take advantage of that. The eviscerating of President Biden after about a bad 15 minutes of a debate with Trump (where Trump was off the rails for the entire debate) was the latest example. Yes Biden was/is too old. BUT the democratic primary voters knew that and voted for him overwhelmingly. I’ll say it again, the 2024 election should NOT have been about Biden’s age, it SHOULD have been about Trump and Project 2025. I was pointing out Project 2025 was a roadmap to FASCISM for months prior to the election. And, now, here we are!

The American people are pleading for a democratic party that is going to FIGHT Trump’s FASCIST takeover of our government before it’s too late. More and more progressives are realizing what is happening. And, when the prices of food and other commodities necessary for us peons continues to rise – for example, health care and energy costs, are predicted to go up double digits in the next year that will get noticed. When the people see a stripped down FEMA attempt to mitigate the effects of the Hurricanes or the FIRES or the floods which are bound to hit the nation in the next two or three months that SHOULD get people’s attention. (Hell, ICE has already snatched two firefighters from the largest ongoing wildfire in my home state. They actually made the firefighters line up shoulder to shoulder and produce ID to prove they were citizens – all while the fire raged on!)

When the reality of America’s role in the destruction of GAZA and, then, the attempt to steal the Palestinian land from the Palestinian people I hope they will realize the stench this places on all of us. Along with Trump’s appeasement toward the brutal dictator Vladimir Putin as more and more Ukrainians die because Trump refuses to arm them so they can defend themselves brings more SHAME that will accrue to “we the people.” The sub-human treatment of immigrants who simply came to America (like immigrants since the beginning of this nation) is a SHAME we’ll all wear – after all “we the people” voted for this. And, if the climate crisis gets past the “no return zone” because Trump repealed what should have been a small first step in Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act” that will push Trump further into the darkest holes in American history.

I’ve often said Trump will end up on the same page as Benedict Arnold. But, Trump is a traitor beyond anything imaginable from Mr. Arnold. Trump is purposely doing the best he can to make the Climate Crisis worse. For God’s sake – he’s even STILL trying to revive the coal industry. I’m not kidding. And, of course, he’s following through on his promises to the fossil fuel BILLIONAIRES to make their lives easier provided they would give him something like a “cool” BILLION dollars during the campaign. (Of course, they did!)

And, what about the other billionaires. Musk, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, and on and on – these people care about one thing – MONEY. And, they can’t seem to get enough of it. They’ve convinced themselves the country is better off the more money they have. I’m not kidding. I mean, it should be obvious. Must spent nearly $300 MILLION to insure Trump’s election – and, naturally, to Musk simply an investment. It’s already been returned exponentially in just eight months – and, he hasn’t even got his tax break yet. (Keeping in mind Musk only pays the Capital gains tax – if he pays any taxes – because he’s only paid in stock options. The latest “award” being for $29 BILLION) Simply put, the democrats have their work cut out for them – Trump’s Silicon sycophants control virtually all of Social Media and Soon all of “AI.” A daunting task indeed!

Final Thought: For years (likely about 8 years) – since I realized Trump is either a fascist or a Mob boss who snuck through the cracks – either way a con man – I’ve been pointing out the foundation of a fascist regime is a government/corporate partnership. We are seeing this phenomenon playing out in real time during Trump 2.0. Musk’s role has been obvious but the entire scheme should be becoming clearer by the day. Trump is actually collecting what seems to amount to “protection money” from corporations – 15% of sales to China for NVIDIA or AMD on their “AI” sales. He’s collected !0% of Intel for them to get the government grants promised them via the Biden Chip’s and Science Act. And, I can guarantee you this is just the start of the overt shakedowns. Who knows what’s going on behind the scenes – but America’s business community seems to care less about whether the U.S. is a fascist state or not.

Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters fit every aspect of the American Heritage Dictionary’s definition of FASCISM. It’s here, the democrats are beginning to figure it out – possibly too late, and America’s BILLIONAIRES seem to be absolutely OK with it. I don’t know why none of this surprises me. Well, actually, it’s exactly what the authors of Project 2025 promised “we the people.” Slowly, more and more people will begin to “get it” – but, it may already be too late. Republicans have their next several steps planned (and, Trust me, this isn’t Trump – he’s simply the willing bloviator at the top) and, democrats are reacting to their last “steps.” I’ll spare you my thoughts about the so-called “liberal media.” Stay tuned….

I’ve been warning about the DAMAGE Trump is doing to this country for close to ten years now. That DAMAGE is extremely widespread and there seems to be another example on a daily basis. That would be to be expected when a group of people (Trump + Project 2025 authors) are attempting to turn the world’s longest running example of self rule into a FASCIST society. Obviously, there needs to be radical changes to traditional norms (and laws) in order for this FASCIST power grab to succeed.

I’m not going to attempt to list all the examples of what Trump et al are doing because it’s too hard to keep up. Just today there were some examples that should raise the hair on the backs of virtually every American – but, we know that won’t happen because too many Americans are subjected to media which is willing to go along with this “slow moving coup d’etat.” I won’t likely be around but those who have chosen to submit to Trump’s and Project 2025’s FASCIST takeover of this nation will ultimately have a very unwanted page in American History. I usually say “right next to Benedict Arnold.”

So, what are today’s ridiculous moves by the Trump regime? Well, start with Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors – which, by all rights, SHOULD be an illegal action. But, once again this will be Trump CHALLENGING our chicken s**t SCOTUS to actually stand up to him. So far, that hasn’t played out very well. Likely, the District Court Judge will put a stop to Trump’s attempt to gain complete control of the Fed, but ultimately, the question is what will the SCOTUS do? They’ve hinted to Trump not to try this (in an unusual way) – as they allowed him to fire the heads of other INDEPENDENT agencies – suggesting the Fed is “different.” We’ll see, but Kudos to Lisa Cook for fighting Trump’s power grab – which, should he succeed is likely to pull the rug out from what’s left of our economy at that point in time.

At the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) RFK Jr. (the SHAMEFUL Kennedy – his father is turning in his grave) is laying waist to what’s left of the professionals there who fight for the health of “we the people” in order to keep us safe. The miraculous work they’ve done in the past is being undermined, most notably to me, in the area of vaccinations. In fact, after I say the top doctors at the CDC were either fired (the Director) or resigned in protest I went out today and got my COVID-19 booster shot. I go to a local community health center which, between RFK Jr. and Trump’s so-called BBB is likely to face challenges to their ability to continue operations. While I could choose to go elsewhere, it’s clear MANY of those being served can’t.

The “icing on the cake” for me came when I discovered something unbelievable that happened with firefighters who are working to contain a LARGE wildfire in my home state Washington. There are a bunch of firefighters who’ve been battling this blaze for weeks, living in the (what looks like) wilderness. These are true hard working people doing what most Americans actually take for granted. So, who shows up at their base camp? Yep, you guessed it, Trump’s thugs from ICE.

They actually lined up the firefighters from this camp – shoulder to shoulder – remember they’re out in the middle of heavy forest – and demanded these men (and women?) show their identification papers to prove they are citizens. I’m not kidding. And, there were several Native American tribal members in the crew. Now, I have no idea who was arrested, but two members of the firefighter crew were detained – right on the spot. And, based on previous actions of Trump’s “brown shirts,” we won’t have any idea where these two people have been taken. Will they be offered an opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law? Based on Trump’s own words – not unless some attorney gets to a judge before they get moved ????? (who knows where)

Here’s one of the things I noticed when I was at the community health center today while sitting in the room waiting for the medical assistant to bring the shot for my right arm. There were instructions on the wall detailing what your “rights” are and how you should be respond if targeted by ICE. The sign was written in English and Spanish and made me feel even better about the health center. I thought maybe there would be ICE agents waiting in the parking lot as I left to go home. Not sure how I would have reacted had I been told to show my identification. So far, I haven’t had that challenge but, of course, I’m an old white haired White man.

As Trump is pushing to turn America into a dictatorship like in his idol Vladimir Putin’s Russia (he’s even taking Putin’s “advice” about “mail in ballots”) he’s also THREATENING to run for a third term in 2028 – a constitutional absurdity – although over half his republican minions believe he could do it. (Will his swollen ankles last that long?) He’s already hinted that he’s going to get rid of our “free and fair” elections (a scheme which I believe he’s working overtime on each and every day) but when he makes those “Trump 2028” hats and sells them to his CULT members I shudder and then I gag. In response to that absurd claim (that Trump can have a third term because only two would be consecutive) I say “It’s time to break out the Obama 2028 hats!” Stay tuned….

Final Thought: Let me give you something to “chew” on removing any question you might have regarding Trump’s motive in making major decisions. Lisa Cook, the member of the Fed Board of Governors Trump wants to remove (illegally) is BLACK. That’s the rub for Trump. There’s a long list of government officials who were fired ostensibly because of the color of their skin. I guess you’d call that the opposite of DEI. Or better yet, you could call it (well, I call it) the type of racism which fits neatly into the American Heritage definition of FASCISM! Enough said!!

Trump, and the Congressional Budget Office, are claiming the (illegal) tariffs imposed by Trump (arbitrarily) will raise $4 TRILLION against the “deficit” over the next 10 years. Well, a couple things; Couldn’t they have just raised taxes on corporations? Or, of course, they don’t want to (out in the open) raise taxes on us peons – that wouldn’t go over very well. So, Trump “outwardly” removed “taxes on tips” for the first $25,000 in income while INCREASING taxes on consumer goods purchased mainly by working class people indirectly via the tariffs. Obviously, it’s a bad “trade-off.” And, if anyone in his administration admits to the rising inflation, well, they’ll be fired on the spot!

What is Trump going to do when the courts, as they should, declare his ILLEGAL tariffs are, well, ILLEGAL? First, of course he will “blow his top,” pull out his phone, and start “twittering” (or whatever you call it) about how the courts have no right to tell him what to do. The question then becomes – will he actually follow the directive of the court? Of course he’ll appeal to the SCOTUS and, likely, they’ll allow him to leave them in place while they slow walk whatever they decide. (See my previous post)

Does anyone actually expect Pam Bondi to participate in a challenge of any sorts to Trump’s continued overreach of our legal system of justice? I mean, now he’s also going after the Federal Reserve Board which the SCOTUS has already ruled “hands off.” That’s after they allowed him to fire the heads of supposedly “independent” agencies. But, the Fed, no way. However, aside from him despising Jerome Powell, Trump has an issue with the Fed which I’m sure he’ll say falls into his anti-DEI directive. Fed member Lisa Cook happens to be Black. So, Trump and his lackeys have come up with maybe the most preposterous excuse for “cause” in his attempt to fire Ms. Cook. Trump is claiming Ms. Cook committed “fraud” on an application for a mortgage! No, really!

Does anyone out their fail to see the irony here? Trump accusing Ms. Cook of committing FRAUD? Trump, of course, was found to have committed SERIAL fraud by a New York Court – preventing him or his sons from doing ANY business in New York. They were found to have committed FRAUD in any number of deceitful ways and are appealing the half BILLION dollar fine attached to the verdict. (Trump might actually get out of paying the fine – not only is our country a mess, but a big reason is because the court system is a mess)

I suppose you could say Trump claiming he’s a “law and order” president would tip the scales in its favor as the all time irony. I mean Trump hasn’t seen a law he doesn’t want to obliterate simply by violating it and daring anyone to do something about it. Our present “Justice” department isn’t going to be the backstop to Trump’s ridiculously hypocritical behavior. He must really be getting his “jollies” sitting in the Oval Office and ordering National Guard Troops into America’s largest cities where, you guessed it, lots of people of color happen to reside. If Trump isn’t a wannabe Mob boss, he sure acts like one! (Just like his idol Vladimir Putin – who believes Trump is a “useful idiot”)

Here’s what I think I’ve learned over the past few months listening to and reading works of actual economists: As soon as Trump gets away with firing Ms. Cook if he manages to do so, the DAMAGE to our economy will be far worse than the effects of the tariffs which I can tell you are beginning to show their ugly faces as I’m typing this. You see, I’m one of the poor saps who spends most of his money paying for things like food. And, I’m seeing spikes in a number of items I regularly purchase. So the inflation rise from the tariffs has begun BUT firing a member of the Fed could lead to an actual collapse of our economic system.

And, do you trust Trump and his republican sycophants in Congress to pull our economy out of a downward spiral? Trump actually seems to believe his tariffs are going to offset the HUGE addition to our national debt his so-called big (ugly) bill created. And, of course, those sly republicans in the House and Senate have set up the Medicaid cuts and SNAP cuts to take full effect after the 2026 mid-term elections – which I believe Trump is planning to be a “Russia like” election with republican pre-ordained to “win” the battle for control of Congress.

I believe what Trump really wants is for some left wing nut job to attack one of these National Guard Troops so he can call it a national emergency and deploy troops in every city in America which is full of democratically inclined voters. I’ve said it before, Trump is going to do whatever it takes to avoid having to deal with a democratically run Congress. Should democrats retake control of the House and somehow gain a significant Senate majority (with some young progressive and courageous members) Trump knows exactly what will happen.

For heaven’s sake, the “good” polls regarding Trump’s “approval rating” puts him at 40% “up” and close to 60% down. That’s on his overall approval rating. In other areas, including his handling of “immigration” is worse and getting “worser” by the day. While Trump comes across as being either stupid or losing it mentally because of some age related issue he’s smart enough to know what lies ahead if democrats control even the House – but, double trouble if they regain control of the Senate with some younger members who are willing to FIGHT to save our democratic republic. The other thing to consider is those pesky Project 2025 puppet masters aren’t losing it mentally – and, if you’ve read their manifesto you know they HATE “democracy.” They’ve made it this far it will be an historic challenge to stop them!

For years I’ve been lamenting – as I watch democrats continually getting out smarted by those republicans with all the money working in the background – that it’s much easier to lose a right (or privilege) than it is to gain it back. We’ve seen this, for example, with a “woman’s right to choose” – ie the abortion issue. (Which by the way, the Project 2025 folks want to make illegal nationwide) In the 2024 election a MAJORITY of women voted for Trump. I honestly found that FACT to be among the most disturbing (along with members of the Hispanic community voting for Trump in increased numbers – not to mention the numbers of young people choosing a Climate denier as THEIR president) in the aftermath of the depressing election. Well, now we’re all going to be experiencing the LOSS of “something” we hold “dear” and have taken for granted by the time we get this 34 times convicted FELON, adjudicated sexual assaulter, and serial FRAUDSTER out of office. The next 3 1/2 year are going to be – well, it’s even depressing to think about it! Stay tuned…..

Final Thought: I personally consider Trump’s sending troops into our cities to be an illegal unconstitutional and “un-American” action. Time will tell how the SCOTUS thinks about this – so far they’ve been totally supportive of Trump’s fascist conduct and, therefore, there’s no holding our collective breath. However, the DAMAGE Trump is causing to this once great nation is undeniably awful and could take a generation or more to “fix.” Is he attempting to push America into a second “civil war?” This I can tell you – there is a large number of KKK types located across our nation who want just that. They don’t only HATE undocumented immigrants, they HATE anyone who’s not WHITE! And, if that and MOST of what Trump is doing doesn’t remind you of the Germans of the 30’s and 40’s then I believe you need to do just a bit of reading about Hitler and the rest of the Germans who embedded fascism into their nation’s government. The parallels are eery!!! Yikes!!!

One more thought: Suggested reading – the biography of Diedrich Bonhoeffer by Eric Mataxas. The actual title is “Bonhoeffer Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.” It’s a great read (I couldn’t put it down – I read it several years ago) and it gives you an insiders view of Hitler’s rise to power in Nazi Germany. If you don’t believe it could happen here, in the U.S., you should really read this book. (Of course there are a plethora of other ways you can educate yourself on what is actually happening in this country that is reminiscent of the Nazi takeover of Germany!) Remember, those who choose to ignore HISTORY are doomed to repeat it!