Since the inauguration of Donald Trump I’ve already pointed out multiple times how much “we the people” are going to need the press AND the democrats in the next 2 to 4 years – I should say four years, because, as my granddaughter so eloquently pointed out to me, Mike Pense is no great improvement over Donald Trump.  However, the constitution says that officers of the government – meaning the president for sure – should be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”  There are many who believe Donald Trump has already violated laws that would fall into the “high crimes and misdemeanor” part of the constitution.  His business interests are already showing startling “growth” around the world and you’d have to have your head in the sand, or have no idea what it is, to not understand where Trump is on dangerous ground with the emoluments clause in the constitution.

If you are unfamiliar with this, here is the “emoluments” clause in the constitution – designed to prevent national leaders from profiting from their position in government: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”   An emolument is a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.  As you can see, Trump is ALREADY on shaky ground.  Already an untold number of people from “foreign states” have paid fees to stay in Trump hotels!

Of course there has been no indication there’s a republican with the courage to call Trump on anything – he’s already put our troops in Iraq at grave risk with his flippant suggestion that we might “still take their oil.”  I’ve yet to hear a single republican even mention how dangerous that comment was (of course, he had repeated it numerous times on the campaign trail – and, I’m sure the Iraqi’s have recording devices and his comments are likely “the talk of the town” in Baghdad as I’m writing this.  I credit Rachel Maddow of MSNBC for cluing me in on Trump’s latest bloviating on this terrible subject (what would you think if you were an Iraqi?) – but, if we lose one member of our military due to this brazen pontificating, I believe that would be enough to call Trump’s presidency a “failed experiment.”  Honestly, it’s bound to happen (that is, Trump’s presidency a failure – God forbid the previous option).  I lived through the Nixon years and he was a lightweight compared to Trump.  I’ve been viewing Trump through the “he’s a fascist” lens – but, for a while today, I got the impression he’s more like a mafia boss.  Either way, he’s a dangerous narcissist.

It was reported tonight that the entry fee for his resort in Florida has doubled from $100,000 to $200,000 since he took the oath of office.  He has not divested himself – this is just step one in what appears will be an ongoing challenge by Trump of our Constitution and the “constitution” of the republicans who control congress regarding corruption and conflicts of interest.  Should that change in 2018 I’m not feeling that confident the democrats will do anything – but, we can always hope.  If you remember, the last time “we the people” kicked the republicans out of control in Congress was 2006 and the democrats proceeded to do NOTHING regarding ending the Iraq war and/or impeaching GW Bush for CLEAR “high crimes and misdemeanors” – which was their MANDATE.  So, we’re on shaky ground depending on democrats – although I believe Trump’s pushing the limits is so brazen already – and, it’s bound to get more-so – that maybe we’ll see congress actually do their job.  If no one REALLY is “above the law” in this country then Trump should be in trouble already.

In an interesting twist of irony, Chris Hayes, on MSNBC, tonight reported that Trump has been communicating on his PERSONAL cell phone since he took the oath of office.  (Calls to Vladimir Putin?)  In case you don’t remember, this is EXACTLY the same issue republicans had with “crooked Hillary” regarding the dangers of using personal communications devices for government business.  There’s supposed to be a record of every message that transpires and, obviously. communications should not go through personal servers.  So, is Trump soon to refer to himself as “crooked Donald?”  Do you actually think Jim Comey and the FBI will be investigating this terrible breach of “national security?”  How about Jacob Chaffetz and the House ethics oversight committee?  Maybe they could have the Trump hearings at the same time as the Clinton hearings to save taxpayers the money they’re going to need to pay for the wall on the Mexican border.

Trump apparently wants to re-open the “black (torture) sites” where GW Bush/Dick Cheney so ruthlessly sent “enemy combatants” during the illegal invasion of Iraq and the fiasco in Afghanistan.  He wants to authorize TORTURE and, I heard with my own ears tonight, that Trump believes TORTURE works – despite ALL the evidence to the contrary.  Evidently, according to Trump someone at the CIA told him this (kind of like Bernhard Langer to told him there were people waiting in line to vote who didn’t look like they should be voters – therefore, 3 – 5 MILLION “illegals” voted for Hillary – of course, Langer, himself, is a German and ineligible to vote – not sure why he was in that line).  Well, regardless of who we have at the CIA, TORTURE is ILLEGAL – it’s a WAR CRIME and it doesn’t work.  This of course, (if I let it) would get me back to my major disappointment with our outgoing president Barack Obama who essentially made all this stupidity possible by blocking the investigations into the TORTURE authorized by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and others and committed by CIA agents who were very thankful when then President Obama said, “we’re going to look forward instead of back.”

Hopefully, those agents got the message when Obama became president that their futures were in his hands.  Had he allowed the investigations to proceed, not only would Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld have been in jeopardy but also all the agents who carried out the illegal orders as well.  I said at the time, “looking forward instead of back is like saying it’s OK to the next republican in the White House.”  It makes enforcing our laws impossible, you have to LOOK BACK to prosecute crime.   And, here we are with a president who seems to be chomping at the bit to authorize TORTURE.  I’m not sure who he wants to TORTURE because I don’t believe we’re rounding up Muslims based on complaints by their antagonists anymore.  I hope this isn’t a sign of escalation in America’s “endless war.”  I’m sure the “Military Industrial Complex” would love nothing more.

Here’s what I believe the democrats need to understand, and sooner rather than later.  The so-called f@#^ing liberals, in the words of Rahm Emmanuel when he was the chief of staff for President Obama, are the BASE of the democratic party.  We are not looking for democrats to be “republican lite.”  We are tired of spineless politicians feeding from the same trough as the republicans for whatever is left after MOST of the corporate money goes to the GOP.  We’re tired of wondering why issues with 75% public approval NEVER get enacted.  We’re tired of endless WAR.  We’re tired of politicians enriching themselves at the expense of “we the people.” (In fact, it appears the most brazen example of this will be the confirmation of Tom Price as HHS Secretary – where he’ll be leading the charge in repealing The Affordable Care Act – after making HUGE profits off of stock tips while a member of the House oversight committee on the health industry.  He should probably be headed to court, but this is 21st century America)  I could go on and on about what we’re tired of, but what we want are some courageous leaders who will FIGHT for the “least of these” in the words of Jesus Christ.

A couple days ago Trump asked many (most?) of the experienced lifetime public servants at the top of the “food chain” in the State Department to resign – preceding the apparent confirmation of Exxon-Mobil’s chief executive as our Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.  You can read Steve Coll’s “Private Empire, ExxonMobil and American Power” to find out all you need to know about Mr. Tillerson.  This (the purging of the experienced State Department public servants) SHOULD get your attention.  I can virtually guarantee you the sanctions put on Russia for their actions in Ukraine and Crimea (not to mention their meddling in our election) will soon be lifted.  Tillerson (and Trump) will be easy targets for Vladimir Putin.

Couple this (the purging of experienced diplomats) with the attacks on the press – Steve Bannon (Trump’s senior advisor via Breitbart) was quoted in the New York Times – apparently, he asked them to quote him – that the press “needs to shut up.”  He claims our “mainstream media” still doesn’t understand why Trump was voted into office and, apparently, he’s thinking we should all just be happy with whatever transpires.  Here’s how I see it.  He’s correct in that the media doesn’t really understand how Trump was voted into office because they are too busy trying to be “fair and balanced” to “get it.”  Bannon represents the segment of the population who became enraged by the election of a person of color to the “White House.”  And, make no mistake, there’s a significant number of Americans who still cling to the “white privilege” they’ve become so accustomed to over the past many years.  President Obama’s election was a “wake-up call” to the White Nationalist movement in this country of which Bannon is, apparently, the chief spokesperson.  You don’t have to read “Breitbart news” much to realize if that’s the mainstream in America, there’s a bunch of us in real trouble.

They’re purging the government of veteran public servants, they’re striking out at the media, and they’re coddling the intelligence community.  These are the ingredients of authoritarian fascism – clear and simple!  The parallels to 1930’s Germany, including the “conservative Christians” as the base, is – as I’ve pointed out many times since Trump became the nominee – is startling.  The damage Trump is doing to this nation is HUGE and, if “we the people” don’t FIGHT against this agenda EVERY DAY – the future of the country I love is in grave jeopardy.  I can’t even believe I’m saying this, but I NEVER thought I’d live to see the day when we would elect a president who was observably fascist and who was hell bent on “partnering” with Russia in some kind of authoritarian attempt to “rule the world.”  I truly hope I’m wrong, but the evidence so far says otherwise.  If the sanctions on Russia are lifted after Tillerson’s confirmation my worst fears will be confirmed.  The world is on edge waiting to see of the United States of America is going to devolve into a fascist state.  I, for one, am prepared to do whatever I can to prevent that from becoming the reality.

Suggested Reading:  “Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas; “The Family” by Jeff Sharlett; and, the above mentioned “ExxonMobil” by Steve Coll

If you’ve been paying attention to government and politics for any length of time, and if you’re a “liberal” (ie “progressive – the politically correct term) and you know people who watch Fox “news” and listen to right wing talkers on the radio – people like Limbaugh, Hannity, and a plethora of others – you know already you can’t reason with them.  They have been convinced, without real evidence, that they’ve been “educated” and that’s it.  The other day, I thought Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s “senior advisor” – the front person in their war on truth – said something I’m sure at this point she regrets.  While talking (arguing – which is her specialty) with Chuck Todd on MSNBC, (and, I have to add, I’m no fan of Todd – he’s proven over and over again he’s no match for the right wing spin machine) Conway – while referring to the discrepancies regarding claims about the number of people attending Trump’s inauguration – where Trump’s press secretary had made PROVABLE lies – said that the Trump administration has “alternative facts.”

This is nothing new if you’ve been paying attention – but it is the “engine” showing why Trump’s presidency is so dangerous.  I’m already reading postings on web sites of the Trump supporters who’ve been sucked in “hook, line, and sinker” and you can’t reason with them.  They have their “alternative facts” and that’s all they need.  I’ve been pointing out for years on this site that Fox “news” (along with the right wing talkers) adopted Joseph Goebbel’s “Big Lie Theory” from their inception.  They make it up as they go – in whatever way gets them to their desired “end.”  (ie “the end justifies the means”)  Those at the top are pathological liars – their victims, the people who watch and/or listen to their propaganda are simply Americans who don’t understand that anyone on TV as a “news commentator” would be spewing pure propaganda via provable lies.  Of course, it’s up to each listener to verify what’s being said and I know very few who do that.

And, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that those on the “other side of the isle” (Democrats) are saints.  The reality is that we all have our own perspectives and we “spin” what we see based on that.  But, the difference is when what you’re saying is provably FALSE and you do (or should) know it.  If this wasn’t so serious, for example, the display of Mr. Spicer – Trump’s press secretary – would have been pure folly.  It would be a great lesson for a journalism professor to teach his/her students how NOT to give a press briefing.  You would have to be totally oblivious to reality to believe what he was saying – yet, the next day here was Conway backing him up by claiming “we have our alternative facts.”  (in an ideal world, the BEST journalism lesson from this situation would have been Spicer saying “I resign” when ordered to stand in front of MILLIONS and repeat a LIE.)

In my view, Trump and Conway fall into the category of pathological liars.  By definition, a pathological liar is someone who compulsively tells lies or fabricates information.  It is my belief that pathological liars are so “accustomed” to lying that they believe their own words as the words leave their mouths.  If you’ve watched Donald Trump at all – and, if you’re like me and have relied on MSNBC for some of your “information,” you couldn’t help but watch Trump a lot – because they crammed Trump down our throats during the campaign – and, continue to do so to this day – the other day I saw him sign several executive orders – I honestly don’t remember a single instance of MSNBC or any other media outlet showing live a series of executive orders being signed.  Back to my point – Trump’s LYING is nothing new.  And, Kellyanne Conway is a master liar as well.  She can look the camera right in the “eye” and give a total “falsehood” (in the words of Todd) with seemingly no visceral reaction.  She is the BEST I’ve ever seen at what I call deflecting (not sure if it’s a real “term”).  That is, she’ll be asked a question about, for example Trump’s admitting he’s a sexual predator, and her response will be that Hillary Clinton had a personal email server.  When people who master these traits – lying, deflecting, and there are others I’m not mentioning here – like projection – get to the highest levels of government and they have fascist tendencies – LOOK OUT!

It’s not hard to realize that our president is a narcissist.  But, here’s the definition in case you’ve missed it: “a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.  So, we’ve all got to live with this for the next four years (unless some republicans in Congress get some courage – or, maybe two years if the people protesting this last weekend actually turn their anger into purging republicans (and recalcitrant democrats) from congress.  Conway was suggesting that Trump’s inauguration was attended by more people than those who showed up for Barack Obama’s inauguration (in both instances is wasn’t even close – especially Obama’s first inauguration) and she was trying to blow off the significance of the FACT millions of people ALL AROUND THE WORLD were in the streets as she was speaking; voicing their OPPOSITION to Trump’s agenda – and, presumably to Trump himself.  I’m guessing there’s a lot of women who don’t want him grabbing their p@#$%^s no matter how famous he gets.  Both Spicer and Conway were suggesting that if the “mainstream media” continues to report the TRUTH (of course, they didn’t characterize it that way) the Trump administration will bypass the press.  When I’ve suggested, in the past, this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America – I hope you’re starting to realize why.  Trump is a fascist and there’s way too many in America who either don’t understand this or who are OK with it.

The part of all this that is the most depressing to me is that “we the people” are pretty much relying on the democrats and the press to combat Trump’s agenda.  In just four days Trump has played enough of his “hand” for us to realize that his intentions are far less than “honorable.” (at least from the perspective I see as “American”)  He’s instituted “gag orders,” for example, in virtually every department of government – no one is to talk to the press.  He’s freezing funds that have been appropriated for issues that relate to the environment, he’s signed orders to “restart” the two pipeline projects halted during the Obama administration (Keystone XL and Dakota Access) – one of which Trump has a financial interest in seeing completed (do you think republicans will “call” him on this?)  Trump is ordering that information and data related to “climate change” be purged from the various agencies collecting and studying the data – information that could be lost FOREVER (unless courageous civil servants manage to copy the data prior to the purge – let’s hope).  This is just the first few days – as I’ve said before, the DAMAGE Trump can do to our nation is almost unimaginable!

I was so encouraged by the “Women’s march” the day after the inauguration – but, we all need to realize that won’t stop him one bit.  As he’s proclaiming that as many as 5 MILLION “illegals” voted in the last election – presumably ALL for Mrs. Clinton – Trump is saying he would have otherwise won the “popular vote” and therefore, he has a “mandate.”  Here’s the reality: more than 65 MILLION Americans voted AGAINST Trump and of the 62 Million voting for him, a significant number were actually voting AGAINST Mrs. Clinton – in my view, largely due to the 25 years of republican made, and unsubstantiated in every instance, “scandals” that they were able to push into our “liberal media.”  Which gets me to my concern regarding the media and the reality “we the people” are depending on them to expose EVERY illegal action of Trump’s administration – in fact, every ACTION – because some of the “legal” actions will be extremely damaging to the gains “we the people” have made since the 1930’s – most of which Trump wants to purge.

I’m of the age that I graduated from high school around the time of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which propelled America headlong into the Viet Nam fiasco.  I’ve watched the press closely most of the time between then and now.  Like most Americans I want to believe our press is “neutral” and is reporting the “news” in an unbiased manner.  Of course, it’s pretty much impossible for any human to be unbiased – but, I’ve always longed for any journalist who “tells it like it is.”  Most journalists who fall in that category have been labeled “liberal” – by the so-called “mainstream media.”  For example, Greg Palast, in my view, is a courageous reporter who “tells it like it is.”  There’s many “corporatists” in America who don’t like that and, from what I can tell, Palast is “persona non grata” in the “liberal media.”  I support the “Nation,” which is a liberal publication that “tells it like it is.”  (The last part of that sentence is evidently what makes them liberal) When I read the “Nation” I feel as if I’m reading actual information.  I’ve read some of Seymore Hersh’s work and, to me, he’s an investigative reporter who “tells it like it is.”  These people are few and far between.

That all said, if you look at the history of our “liberal media” just in my adult lifetime – 1965 to the present – there are so many examples of the media in collusion with the government that it makes me REALLY nervous feeling as if I have to trust them to counter the actions of Donald Trump.  How are they going to react when he decides to bypass them?  What kind of “deals” will he make with the 9 CONSERVATIVE corporations which control almost ALL of the “liberal media?” (Thanks to Bill Clinton and the Telecommunications Act of 1996)  Just take Viet Nam, for example.  Our media – which would, in this instance, include the Movie Industry – is, to this day, glamorizing our troops involvement in Viet Nam and acting as if the MILLIONS of Vietnamese who were the VICTIMS of our nation’s overreach were not real.  Our media condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons but was silent as America did the same thing.  (I had friends who DIED due to their exposure to chemical weapons while fighting in Viet Nam).  And, just as the media did when GW Bush/Dick Cheney invaded Iraq, during Viet Nam our troops were portrayed as protecting the people of South Viet Nam – at the same time they were FIGHTING the people of South Viet Nam.  The almost EXACT same thing happened in Iraq.

So, is the press going to push back at Trump?  Does the press in America believe in the foundations of the constitution and the advances so many have given so much allowing the rest of us to gain so much?  And, if the press is unwilling to do their job – and, probably even if they are, are “we the people” willing to FIGHT for the rights many of us have been taking for granted over the years?  Few Americans have had to fight for anything in the last 40 years (when I got out of high school there was a draft, and MILLIONS of unsuspecting young (mostly) men were sent to Viet Nam to fight an ill advised and illegal war – we were brainwashed into thinking we were saving the world from communism)  Which gets me to my final point.  Over the years, our media has essentially been part of a propaganda scheme that could end up being our undoing with the election of Trump.

Propaganda?  America?  I’m sure you’re saying that I’ve gone over the deep end.  But, if you start reading as much about the “real” American history as I’ve been reading, the reality is more than sobering.  I believe, we in America have been brainwashed.  We’ve been convinced that we’re the greatest nation on the planet.  (Yes, we are the wealthiest and most powerful, but the greatest?  By who’s definition?)  Our history is FULL of realities that the history books attempt to hide.  Let’s start with Slavery.  I believe America is still trying to push that reality “under the rug.”  Abraham Lincoln absolved us of that issue, right?  If that was really the case, Donald Trump, the head of the “birther” movement would have never gotten near the White House.  What about our history with Native Americans.  It’s not just that we killed many of them and pushed the rest onto reservations on land no one wanted – but, now over 100 years later that land has become more valuable and we’re going to put pipelines and who knows what else on that land.  Treaties? What Treaties?

How about Chile, Panama, Ecuador, and all the other places in the southern hemisphere (and around the globe) where our corporate interests have superseded the will of the people in those countries – causing our CIA to instigate coups that overthrew democratically elected (albeit) socialist governments that were committed to protecting their natural resources – because those natural resources were necessary for the profitability of said corporate interests.  How much of that was reported in the “liberal media?” How many stories have you read about people like Sukarno in Indonesia – slaughtering MILLIONS – but, opening the oil spigots to American corporations so he’s OK?  I just finished a book about the Exon-Mobil corporation – who’s CEO is likely to be our next Secretary of State – how many stories have our “liberal media” reported about the regimes we support in return for access to their oil?  Most people know about Saudi Arabia – but, how much do they know?  We need the oil, we’re all driving cars everywhere, it’s no our problem, right?  In the southern hemisphere MILLIONS of dissidents have “disappeared” over the years as we supported one dictator after another – where has our “liberal media” been on all of this?

And, now we have a president who’s coming right out front and claiming we “should have taken the oil” in reference to the invasion of Iraq!  That’s right, during the campaign he said the invasion of Iraq was wrong and illegal (and, he dishonestly said he opposed it from the start) – but, evidently, as long as we were there – well, we might as well “grab the oil.”  That, in and of itself, was one of the most absurd statements I’ve ever heard coming from the mouth of a US President – but, we’ll see how it evolves.  The only person I’ve heard, to date, mention this as a significant issue is Rachel Maddow of MSNBC.  It should be headline news and people should be beyond outraged. (I can guarantee you, it’s “headline news” in Iraq)  As soon as our troops in Iraq again become the targets of the Iraqi’s they’re – at least they were at the end of Obama’s terms in office – fighting along side, – to remove ISIL – I guarantee you the reason will be Trump’s STUPID and DANGEROUS words he thoughtlessly spewed out at the CIA (all the while as he was dishonoring their “wall of honor”).  Where is the media outrage – is it going to take Americans to lose their lives over this to get people’s attention?  (and, God forbid, if that happens, I’m guessing Fox will find a way to blame it on Obama)

During the Iraq “war” the media reported it as if it was actually a war.  In reality it was a non-provoked invasion of a sovereign nation.  The media was diligent in reporting all the deaths of American troops as if they were the only real humans in the area.  Roughly half of Iraq’s population of 26 MILLION was either uprooted or killed.  Estimates that I remember (I read numerous books about the reality of the Iraq “war”) put the number of Iraq’s killed in the two to three MILLION range and the number injured and/or forced to flee their homes along the lines of another 10 MILLION.  This “war” was represented in our “liberal media” as an invasion that would protect us from a “mushroom cloud” and, after the weapons of mass destruction excuse was debunked, we were there to create a democracy – and, free the people from the savage dictator Saddam Hussein.  The reality was that our troops got sucked into an attack on the people of a sovereign nation with no purpose (or, were they actually thinking about the oil and just miscalculated?)  – except, once the lies were exposed, the same end game that happened in Viet Nam kept us there. Figure out a way to “leave with honor.”  Of course, there’s no way to do that and many of my friends, to this day, understand little to NONE of the reality of Iraq – in my view because our “liberal media” doesn’t tell the truth and, unfortunately, they’re too lazy to read about it from “reliable sources.”

And, now we’re relying on them (the media) to expose Trump – someone of whom you can safely say, “If his lips are moving, he’s lying.”  I believe this is why so many Americans are upset and they don’t know what to do about it.  The republicans in Congress are obstinate and they OBSTRUCTED virtually EVERY initiative proposed by President Obama and have fallen all over themselves to support Trump, the democrats don’t have the courage of their own convictions – the idea that all 48 members of the democratic caucus in the senate, for example, will band together to halt as much of trump’s agenda as possible is like a pipe dream, and, as I’ve tried to show, the media has been in collusion with the government for many years.  Now, it’s true that everyone seems to see Trump as “different,” but, if he’s allowed to go unchallenged for even a short period of time – the damage could take a generation or more to correct.  And, unfortunately, in the short term, the only challenge that I can see could derail his agenda would have to come from republicans – don’t hold your breath!

The damage coming from the rest of the world could be more significant and more enduring.  For example, I can see the dollar losing its status as the world’s currency if other nations get upset enough with Trump’s bullying tactics.  The reality is that there’s many around the world who don’t see America through the “rose colored lens” of our “liberal media” and they would be happy to see us become less relevant – if not irrelevant.  Take the Russians for example.  People like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were not fooled by the recent Russian adventurism while Trump was referring to their president as a great leader.  Clearly, the Russians were doing everything they could to get Trump elected.  Why?  I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.  However, I’ll end this by saying that, while “we the people” are upset with Donald Trump, (and I’ve tried to list “all the ways”) Vladimir Putin is all smiles.

Final thoughts: Will the investigations into Trump’s association with the Russians continue?  Will the investigations into the Russian influence on the election continue?  Will Trump be able to bully all of his adversaries into oblivion?  Will the FBI’s intervention into the election be fully investigated?  Will democrats “grow a pair?”  Time will tell – but, I can assure you that if the democrats don’t lock arms and FIGHT, and, if the “liberal media” cows to Trump’s bullying tactics, this will not end well.  Because, as anyone could see during the “Women’s March” – the numbers who oppose our new president are ENORMOUS!  And, they’re willing to “hit the streets!”

There’s an old saying: “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.”  It’s day two of the Donald Trump administration and MILLIONS of people (not just women) are in the streets MARCHING in protest of the reality that the right wing in America along with the Russians and the FBI managed to get Trump elected.  I’m an old man and I’ve  been watching politics since the days of Eisenhower and I, apparently along with all these people marching today (I was not allowed to participate due to doctors orders), are in near disbelief that a man like Trump could win a national election in this nation.  I’ve seen many win the White House who I clearly disagreed with, but nothing along the lines of Trump.  The man is dangerous and MILLIONS around the world see this.  Republicans are trying to convince “we the people” that Trump is going to “Make America Great Again.”  Think about what Trump has said, who he’s associating with, and hold on for the next four years.  He is what it appears!

I’m not sure what was the most uplifting for me today as I watched footage of the MILLIONS of people in the streets, but I have to say that watching the HUGE numbers of people marching from places all around the WORLD was very encouraging.  I saw, in the words of Bernie Sanders, Yuge crowds in London, Paris, Berlin, and even somewhere in Greece.  I heard there were protests in 66 countries.  Trump gave an inaugural address that further showed his commitment to the White Nationalists who were the engine behind his campaign.  The reality is that Trump’s “base” will believe him no matter what happens and it will be a long time until they get over the FACT a person of color was in the “White House,” so there is going to be issues in the next four years.  The people on the streets today are going to have to stay strong and they’re going to have to PUSH those in the democratic party to stand up for them.  The frustration in America has been driven by people’s anger at our politicians not listening to them.  The democrats had better start listening or there will be a third party by 2018.

Trump has already started the implementation of his “agenda” and much of what he’ll try to do will be “under the radar.”  For example, I heard last night that shortly after Trump took the oath of office, the Justice Department sent a request for a delay in proceedings on a Texas voter suppression law that clearly is/was aimed at preventing Blacks and Hispanics from voting – a law that was apparently soon to be ruled unconstitutional.  Without the support of the Justice department, which was apparently ordered to request this delay the moment Trump became president,  who knows what will happen with this law.  I’m just pointing it out as a clear statement of their true intentions as we move forward.  Trump is already thinking ahead to 2020 and he’s going to need to block a lot of voters to get re-elected.  The man is NOT stupid and he’ll (as we’ve already seen) do anything to “win.”

I listened to Trump today as he was speaking to members of the CIA.  It was sobering, to say the least.  I’m not sure how many Americans are putting two plus two together (well, in watching the numbers in the streets, apparently it’s in the MILLIONS) but, Trump was pandering to the CIA – the “intelligence” community – saying he was going to give them “probably more support than you want.”  As he was pointing this out he was sharing how “dishonest” our media is.  Now, considering it’s highly likely that the FBI – via James Comey – was responsible for Trump’s election by prompting the swing to Trump in the last week of the campaign after Comey’s “letter to Congress” re-opening the Clinton email “scandal,” and Trump “kissing up” to the CIA (who he recently accused of being like “Nazi’s”), what do you think his plan is regarding “shutting up” our so-called “liberal media.”  My hope, in fact, is that his election will re-invigorate a “liberal media” – which, in my mind, has been terribly missing for many years.  (Keep in mind, this so-called “liberal media” is controlled by, essentially, 9 CONSERVATIVE corporations – that are all about the “bottom line” – and, not so much about “news.”)

But, just put yourself in the place of journalists, just like anyone else – I’m sure – keeping their jobs are priority number one.  Trump is not bashful in going after anyone who does or says something that is unflattering toward him.  And, he’s already busy creating his own “reality” as far as “news.”  Today, I listened to his press secretary, Sean Spicer, blast the “media” for it’s portrayal of the number of people who attended the inauguration.  It was a blatant attempt to create their own reality.  As the saying goes “A picture tells a thousand words,” and the images of those witnessing Trump’s inauguration paled in numbers compared to the total number of people who witnessed Barack Obama take the oath of office.  It wasn’t even close.  Yet, to listen to Spicer, Trump’s crowd set the all time record.  He started parsing numbers from different parts of the Washington Mall and suggesting something approaching one Million people were there.  However, from all reports I’ve heard – and from the images I’ve seen – there were more people in Washington today for the “Women’s March” than were there for the inauguration.  And, when you look at the pictures of the “YUGE” numbers of people around the globe – the backlash was staggering.

In New York alone, the people walking along Fifth Avenue (approaching Trump Tower where they were re-routed) was almost unbelievable.  I watched film of those in New York slowly making there was towards Trump’s so-called “Tower” and the street was packed for hours – for as far as the eye could see (which was about 3 or 4 blocks – from one side of the street to the other.  Now, I’ve never been in New York, but the numbers of people protesting there appeared to me to AT LEAST number in the several hundreds of thousands.  The last image I saw was after dark, around 6:00 PM in New York, and the line of people looked the same as it did hours earlier.  Then there was Chicago – another “YUGE” number of people and, I didn’t see the video of Los Angeles, but the report I heard was something in the neighborhood of 500,000 people in Los Angeles alone.  Yet, Trump and Spicer were claiming that they had record support during the inauguration.  You can believe NOTHING that comes from Trump’s mouth or any of his surrogates.  It was announced today that Trump is entering the “White House” with an approval rating of 32 percent, BY FAR, the LOWEST in history.  His supporters are dwindling down to the die hard White Nationalists who were so adamant in their hatred of President Obama.  It won’t be long and we’ll know where the “floor” is of his supporters and then the republicans in Congress are going to have a “YUGE” decision on their hands.  Do they bend to his wishes, or do they start listening to “we the people.” (hint: don’t hold your breath)

I believe Trump is the catalyst that was needed to cleanse America of this right wing corporatist political party that has commandeered the republican brand.  I listened to Michael Moore today suggesting the “old guard” of the democratic party “needs to go.”  I could not agree MORE!  He’s calling for new and YOUNG leadership of the party – which would include many of the segments of the population that Trump and his faithful despise.  This should get interesting.  Evidently, there’s a strong segment of the population, when faced with the reality of what’s at stake who have been energized.   The democrats clearly need better messengers of their platform.  Now, I’ve never been a strong Hillary Clinton advocate, but I found it interesting and ironic that the agenda that was being put forth today, at least for the protests I heard in Washington DC, was eerily similar to Clinton’s “platform.”  I had to wonder, how many of the people in the streets this weekend failed to vote, or failed to vote for Mrs. Clinton?  I know that she was very unpopular with a significant segment of America – partly due to the Russian meddling – and, mostly due to the 25 years of republican unsubstantiated assaults aimed directly at her (evidently, because, like Putin, they fear her) but, I thought, “how many of these people know what she was proposing?”

I’m not sure how much of that is “on her” – she did spend, in my view, way too much time attacking Trump – but, how much of her pushing her actual message was never covered by the “liberal media?”  All the time during the election cycle, it felt to me as if the media was totally caught up in the war of words from the candidates attacking each other.  I felt as if Trump was allowed to get away with an endless amount of baseless accusations against Mrs. Clinton that the “liberal media” allowed to happen without challenge – as if they were equally “guilty.”  I was – and am still today – convinced that our “liberal media” allowed a “false equivalency” to prevail during the campaign.  Even though there were “fact checkers” – out of the limelight – putting facts to much of the “spin,” not much of that made the “news” outlets – from what I could tell.  I have to admit that as the election wore on, I was so sick of the “news” and how things were presented – even the so-called “liberal equivalent” to Fox (GOP TV), MSNBC, which was busy legitimizing Trump day in and day out.  I couldn’t stand to watch it – for probably the last two or three months of the campaign.  I will always believe one thing Trump claimed – right up to election day – and, that is our system is rigged.  We just didn’t understand how rigged it is – and, looking back, it’s kind of scary.  That’s why the sheer numbers of people in the streets today was so encouraging.

I heard that last Tuesday the first of what conceivably could be many lawsuits accusing Trump of sexual assault was filed.   I’m expecting several of the women who came forth during the campaign will have pro bono attorneys willing to defend them in court and it should be interesting as to how it plays out, to say the least.  Of course Trump has unlimited funds to defend himself and I’m sure among the best lawyers in the country – but, I believe he’ll make Bill Clinton look like a raw amateur when it comes to his sexual discrepancies.  “We the people” need to honor the courage of any of the women who come forth – because they’ll be in line for Trump’s full fury.

But, that brings up another interesting (and ironic) point – which doesn’t give us much confidence there will be courageous republicans standing up to this man.  One of the republicans in Congress, Jason Chaffetz, is the head of the “House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,” and he’s planning on more hearings investigating Hillary Clinton.  Benghazi? Emails? When will these guys get enough?  Yet, here’s a president who’s admitted to being a sexual predator (numerous women came forth and confirmed he had sexually assaulted them), there’s increasing evidence suggesting his surrogates were in cahoots with the Russian government during the campaign – in which the Russians were attempting to get Trump elected, he’s probably ALREADY in violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution, and he’ll probably NEVER release his tax returns just to name the “tip of the iceberg” –  and, I don’t believe Chaffetz has planned a single investigation of Trump.  But Hillary?  They just can’t get enough in there 25 year vendetta to tarnish her image.  It’s a miracle she made it as far as she did.

So, for anyone out there who might be getting fooled by anything Trump, or one of his surrogates might say, I remind you of the saying at the beginning of this post.  Trump is what you think he is!  Don’t be fooled by people like Kellyanne Conway – who could argue with a fence post and win.  I have to give her credit – she’s good at what she does, but the truth as I see it is that she will say whatever needs to be said to deflect the truth away from her boss.  Pathological liars are people who’ve lied so much that they believe their own lies as the words come out of their mouths.  Trump is beyond anything I’ve ever seen and “we the people” are in  for an incredible four years.  If Trump’s election was necessary to wake up the apathetic voters in America then he will lead to the change we need.  It remains to be seen, but today’s marches were encouraging, to say the least!  Our republic is WORTH fighting for!

“We the people” elected Barack Obama and then sat back and expected the “change” to just happen.  Well, I’ll be the first to say that much of what President Obama did shortly after his inauguration didn’t sit well with me.  I knew trouble was on the horizon when his chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, referred to people like me as “f@#%ing liberals.”  But, the reality is that we sat back and expected things to happen as we envisioned them.  Obviously, that didn’t work.  The republicans are resilient and they understand this is a WAR for the heart and soul of this nation.  Trump is a MAJOR setback, but maybe that’s what we needed.  As a “glass half full” person, that’s how I’m going to look at  this – and, again, the MILLIONS of people in the streets today – day two of Trump’s administration – was extremely encouraging!

I’ve been watching the past few days to the reaction from John Lewis, one of the great Civil Rights icons in America, claiming he doesn’t believe Donald Trump is a legitimate president.  It’s been interesting.  I’ve got to add, prior to getting into whatever “rant” follows, that I felt the same about George W Bush/Dick Cheney back in 2001 (and 2004) for differing reasons, but the bottom line is there’s plenty to be concerned about in America’s elections over the previous 16+ years.  Most people know that Bush/Cheney were “installed” by the Supreme Court after the 2000 election allowing Jeb Bush and his Secretary of State to “pull a rabbit out of a hat” in “swinging” the state of which he was the governor for his brother – when, if looked at in detail, Al Gore clearly SHOULD have carried Florida and the election.

Now we’ve got a president with UNTOLD numbers of questions looming over his head, not the least of which is the effect of the Russian interference on the election.  Additionally, it’s not just me wondering what on earth was in the minds of the FBI sending James Comey out to interfere in the last days of the 2016 election.  I’ve stated here that I noticed a swing in the polls IMMEDIATELY after Comey’s announcement and I clearly remember (and for me that’s amazing at my age) a poll maybe two days after Comey’s announcement where over 50% of “undecided” voters stated that the “reopening” of the email probe was a deciding factor for them.  Nate Silver, who I believe is the most respected “pollster” in America, flatly stated, after studying the final election results, that Comey’s “letter to congress” (which, of course, was made public by republican “leakers”) swung the election to Trump.  Trump’s “base” was mostly made up of Christian Evangelicals – who, apparently, weren’t bothered by Trump admitting to being a sexual predator, or his racist history (and comments), or his lack of knowledge, or his ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin – AND, “White Nationalists” who were energized by Trump’s racist history and have been leading the anti-government push for years.  I honestly believe many of these people believe the government can run itself or the government’s the enemy, or who knows what?

On top of the Russian influence and the FBI interfering in the election there’s, additionally, the issue of the voter suppression efforts of republicans that have been ongoing for years – but, which have gained momentum in the past couple of years due to the Supreme Court “gutting” of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  So, this past week, we had John Lewis – one of the many who put their lives on the line to get the Voting Rights Act passed back in 1965 – questioning the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s presidency – and, he didn’t even bring up the effects of the voter suppression.  Our “liberal media” likely will not investigate the effect of the voter suppression tactics of republicans – but, I don’t think I’m the only one who wonders about its role in Trump’s “victory.”  Here’s some of the places where voter ID laws were instigated – clearly in an attempt to “suppress” the votes of democratic leaning constituencies:  North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan – to name a few.  Why bring up these states?  Well, the combined total of Trump’s votes to Clinton’s in the four states was something like 175,000.  I heard one person in Wisconsin claim that over 300,000 voters were “suppressed” in that state alone.  Of course, just like Florida in 2000 we’ll never know the true results of this election because our “liberal media,” as opposed to being the “watchdog” of our government, is in collusion with our government.  And, by the way, anyone who’s been paying any attention at all knows who the voter ID laws are aimed to discriminate against – it’s no secret!

This (the media’s collusion with government) was evident recently with the uproar after Buzzfeed.com published a “dossier” that had been “floating around Washington” for at least two months that had incriminating allegations regarding the president elect.  No one could “corroborate” the allegations so this “information” was destined to remain “hidden” from public view, presumably for ever. If you’ve been watching, I’m sure you came to the same conclusion I did when listening to Trump “deny” the allegations – especially those relating to the “golden shower” on the bed President Obama slept in while he was in Moscow.  It reminded me of Trump’s denials of the sexual assaults as one woman after another came forward to “out” him on his predatory behavior.  I still remember the lawsuits against Bill Clinton – “back in the day” – and, I have to wonder if any of the women who came forward are going to pursue actions against Trump.  Of course, he “promised” to sue every one of them – we’ll see!

Regarding the “Buzzfeed” allegations, personally, I applaud the outfit who published it – maybe this will force the allegations to be vetted.  Apparently, this information came from a British spy who was hired by someone in the “never Trump” movement to get “opposition research.”  After Trump won the nomination whoever was financing this “research” apparently backed away and, we’ll probably only know if it’s true if the Russian government chooses to allow the “evidence” to become public.  (which would include video evidence) The implication is that the Russians collected this “evidence” as a way to blackmail Trump once he’s in office.  And, if you’re thinking, “Oh, they wouldn’t do that” – well, I’ve got a bridge I’d like to ………… (you know, or should know, the rest of that one) Interestingly, the “spy” who came up with this information has “disappeared” and reports are that others (informants) are in “danger” now that the information has been publicized.  Does all this not make you wonder????

So, getting back to John Lewis – when I think about what he said I’m reminded of the program called “The Last Word” with Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC where he’s brought up many of the questions looming over the Trump presidency and reported to “we the people” – at least those of us thinking along the lines of Lewis – “You’re not alone.”  O’Donnell showed one poll after another which show how Trump is coming into office as the most unpopular president since the polling began (by a large margin) and how virtually every move Trump makes just makes matters worst for him.  Trump played the media masterfully to win the election, but it appears to me that his “opposition” is beginning to understand him and they are going to give Trump unlimited opportunities to “shoot himself in the foot.”  We can count on the “Twitter” responses to his critics – and, I believe they will use this against him until Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon can convince Trump that presidents don’t (or shouldn’t) use “Twitter.”

The comedians in America are looking forward to the next four years because Trump is likely to give them unlimited opportunities to make fun of him.  However, the damage he could do to this country and “we the people” is not something to be laughing about.  As I said on a previous post, I truly hope I’m wrong about Trump, but I’m not going to hold my breath.  Just the damage done by repealing the Affordable Care Act – without a replacement (which Trump has said won’t happen) that is better, is going to be a flash point.  It took over 60 years to get “something” regarding “national health care” and, while the ACA was far from perfect – it was a first step that could have been improved every year since its inception.  However, simply because it was enacted during Barack Obama’s presidency the republicans have done nothing but try to repeal it for the past 7 years.  We’re soon to find out what they have to replace it.  Trump actually has an opportunity here.  Do you actually believe that he, along with the republican congress, will have a replacement that improves the ACA?  Again, I hope I’m wrong – but, let’s just say I’m extremely skeptical.

Trump could easily quiet his critics in the public, but evidently not without angering the republicans who see red as they begin the implementation of some draconian legislation that had no chance with President Obama in office.  The promise of deregulation should remind people of Bush/Cheney.  Of course, the tearing down of New Deal regulations had it’s infancy in Reagan’s administration, and Bill Clinton – in the interest of the so-called “grand bargain” made a couple major concessions that helped lead to the “Great Recession” of 2008 (mainly the repeal of Glass/Steagall) – but, combined with HUGE tax cuts and out of control military spending – along with deregulation or the lack of enforcement of existing regulations – Bush/Cheney led us into a financial collapse that, save for the actions of President Obama and the democratic congress (and a couple republicans), could have resulted in another Depression (in fact, in places around the world – that was probably the result of Wall Street’s financial misbehavior ie – Greece, Spain, Iceland and others).  Well, listening to Trump and the republican congress it feels like “Deja Vu all over again.”

If we didn’t learn the lesson about “tax cuts for the wealthy” and “balancing the budget” after the years of Reagan and the two Bush’s, are we ever going to learn?  Evidently, here we go again.  It should be interesting to watch all the budget “hawks” who spent the past eight years blaming the budget deficit on President Obama – while he was overseeing an approach to the economy that reduced the deficit by more than 60% by the time he will leave office.  Based on the plans of Trump, I’m guessing the deficit will top $1 TRILLION per year within 2 years of Trump taking office.  Remember, the first year he’s somewhat constrained by what he inherited from Obama (around a $500 BILLION deficit – down from $1.4 TRILLION when Obama took office) but, based on history we can expect a spike upward.  And, I’m predicting all the republicans that cared so much about the deficit during Obama’s presidency will be back on “silent mode” – just as they were when GW Bush took Bill Clinton’s $250 BILLION surplus and turned it into the MASSIVE deficits he stuck President Obama with.

Just the repeal of the ACA will funnel something in the neighborhood of $380 BILLION back into the pockets of those at the “top” in America’s financial “food chain” in the next few years.  Trump is proposing across the board tax cuts which would include the elimination of the inheritance tax.  Seriously, do you think he’s got an ulterior motive on that one????  It was reported during the campaign that Trump hasn’t paid taxes in almost 20 years and his response to that allegation was “that makes me smart.”  So, I’m wondering where the money’s going to be coming from?  I’m sure there’s more to John Lewis’ concerns about Trump that causes him to feel Trump is not a legitimate president.  Aside from the obvious (Russian influence), the level of incompetence is startling.  Lewis has been in Congress for MANY years – he’s seen this all before and I respect him for speaking his mind.  I believe he sees similar “writing on the wall” that many Americans see and are troubled by.  Trump lashed back at Lewis claiming his district was a mess and “crime infested” – of course, with NO facts to back it up – (that’s how he runs) and accused Lewis of being just “talk, talk, talk.”  Well, from my perspective, John Lewis is one of the politicians in America that I trust and believe has not been corrupted by big money.

The real irony of all this is telling.  When you look at what brought Trump into the spotlight with the group of Americans who deplored the idea of a person of color living in the “White House” – it was Trump leading the so-called “Birther” movement.  For several years Trump questioned the legitimacy of Barack Obama – over a birth certificate!  Lewis’ questions regarding Trump’s legitimacy run much deeper than a question over a birth certificate (although, I for one, would love to know the TRUTH about whether Trump’s wife was “legal” when he met her – this is another part of the “mystery” we’ll never know – thanks to our “liberal media” – but, I digress, that’s a story for another day)  There are even allegations that Trump’s surrogates were in contact with the Russians while all the “hacking” was going on.  Their campaign, at times, seemed to be coordinated with the “leaks” coming from the hacked DNC emails.  I believe John Lewis will be the one who comes out of this controversy well.  He is a man who simply isn’t willing to look the other way in the face of something that’s wrong.  Most Americans KNOW this election was – just as Trump predicted – RIGGED.  I believe it’s going to go from bad to worse for Trump as he assumes the office of the President of the United States.  Personally, I believe President Obama handled the 6 years of Trump claiming he was an illegitimate president with an infinite more amount of class than Trump’s response to John Lewis.  What’s the old saying?  “He can give it out, but he sure can’t take it!”

Trump obviously has supporters who care not about history, tradition, morality, or the United States as a “we” society.  But, the MAJORITY of Americans, are not in that category.  Due to the unending assault on Hillary Clinton via our “liberal media” there were MILLIONS of Americans who were voting against Mrs. Clinton with little knowledge about the amount of DAMAGE Trump can cause for “we the people.”  It’s becoming clearer every day that if the election was held again, even with the help of the Russians, Trump wouldn’t stand a chance.  And, as I stated in a previous post, maybe this is what was necessary for Americans who’ve been sitting on the “sidelines” for the past many years thinking there’s no reason for them to participate in the electoral process to decide whether or not all the benefits of living in a society that is self governed is worth the effort to participate.  As I’ve said many times, rights and privileges are much easier to lose than to regain.  It took 60 years to get the ACA.  It will take a few weeks to destroy it – and, then what?

For years I’ve been watching as our Congress refuses to bend to the “will of the people” – and, continually passes legislation that moves us closer and closer to a Mussolini styled fascist state.  A nation where there’s a corporate government “partnership.” This past election has apparently moved us one step beyond that.  Seriously, I suggest you beware of authoritarian personalities who have the backing of the FBI and are willing to upend the intelligence community to their liking.  Think about it – and, think about this – there seems to be an unending number of Americans who are focused on how wealthy they can become with little regard for “we the people.”  I don’t see many of them uneasy about the results of this election.

The money involved in our elections post “Citizens United” is staggering and the reality is that there are few members of Congress who, like John Lewis, can be considered free from the grasp of the big business lobby.  This is why there’s no “public option” to the ACA – despite 75% of Americans wanting it to be part of the legislation.  This is why the minimum wage is stagnant – despite an overwhelming percentage of Americans wanting it raised.  This is why Social Security and Medicare shouldn’t be worried about their future – when 3 out of every 4 Americans want those programs improved – as opposed to cut.  The list highlighting the conflict between the will of the people and the will of congress is much longer than those three examples.  I’ve said, since I started writing, that despite my constant vitriol aimed at the republican party, one reason I have to keep ranting about republicans is the democrats!  I’m not the only person who sees democrats as “spineless” when it comes to the big fights.  And, really, at this point, we’re (meaning those in the anti Trump movement) depending on them more than ever.  Yikes!

Democrats have allowed our “liberal media” to tarnish the word “liberal” to the point where even democrats shy away from the “label.”  This despite the REALITY that almost EVERY great advance that has moved our middle class “up” since the Great Depression (and, really, before) has been initiated by “liberals.”  We’ve allowed the so-called “liberal media” to blur the lines over the meaning of basic political terms.  So, now the “acceptable” term is “progressive.”  Well, I’m personally thankful for “liberals” like John Lewis, and my prayer is that the democratic party “grows a set” – as the saying goes – in the face of what lies ahead.  I believe Lewis is “right on” regarding the “legitimacy” of Donald Trump.  The reality is that Trump will be the 45th president on January 20th and the future of this great nation hangs in the balance as to how “liberals” react.  A friend of mine sent me an email the other day which said something like “don’t just talk, take the walk.”  I believe he was referring to the planned protests (ie the Women’s walk scheduled for the day after the inauguration and others) following the inauguration.  He. along with me and millions of others in the “baby boom era,” took to the streets back in the 60’s as we came to understand the folly of the Viet Nam fiasco.  Well, here we go again!

Long before Donald Trump was even the republican nominee for president, let alone the “president elect” I (along with many others) was pointing out his fascist tendencies and the parallels of his campaign to that of a certain German that no one wants to speak (or write) about.  For example, his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” comes directly from Hitler’s campaign in the 1930’s when Hitler proclaimed he was going to “Make Germany Great Again.”  The parallels go way beyond that slogan, but sooner or later those in our “liberal media” are going to begin “getting it.”  Trump is a narcissistic “authoritarian” and he’s, in my view, by far the most dangerous threat to America’s foundation in my lifetime.  I believe it was JFK who said the only way our democratic republic could be destroyed was from “within.”  Well, hold on to your you know what!

I also pointed out repeatedly about the masterful use of political projection being used by Trump as he progressed closer to the nomination and then the general election.  In my view, our “liberal media” have been unsuspecting “co-conspirators” in bringing Trump to power due to their willingness to allow Trump and his surrogates to function in a “fact free” world.  Originally, the republicans had 17 members of the so-called “clown car” and they were all fighting for the top spot – and, I’m very sure, NONE of them thought Trump had a chance.  One by one, they dropped from the “race” as Trump was “winning” primaries with sometimes barely more than 25% of the votes – because of the diluted field.  What wasn’t happening, again thanks to our “liberal media,” was an analysis of where this 25% was coming from.  I maintain that Trump’s solid “base” comes from the followers he developed as he led the so-called “birther” movement.  As we approached the election this group was publicly named the “alt right” – although I believe that moniker was there well before the election – it’s just that the “liberal media” evidently aren’t tuned into Brietbart “news.”

When I can stomach watching the “news” I tend to tune into MSNBC and I’ve repeatedly written about how I believe commentators on MSNBC like Chris Matthews and Chuck Todd are so easily “played” by the right wing in America’s political circles – and, Trump played them like a master musician.  In my mind, MSNBC went a long way in giving Trump legitimacy that was undeserved.  I was a Bernie Sanders supporter (until Mrs. Clinton won the nomination) and I found it shocking how MSNBC so readily bought into the right wing’s assault on Mrs. Clinton (which, if you’ve been around for a while, you know has been ongoing for decades) while leaving anything that would seem as a nominal “vetting” of Mr. Trump “on the cutting room floor.”  For heaven’s sake – he was not even pressured into releasing his tax returns.  In the run up to the election Trump was treated like the spoiled brat who’s used to getting “everything” and no one wanted to deal with his “tantrums.”  (Well, guess what – now we’re all going to have to deal with the tantrums – or, the other alternative is what is generating my thoughts tonight)

People in America don’t like it when anyone references the Nazi’s in regards to our political process (although Trump, the master at projection, used that term to define our intelligence community today), evidently believing that no one of that “ilk” could ever make it to the “top” in this great nation.  Here’s a thought: guess again!  Just look at a couple “issues” that are front and center as we await the inauguration of our 45th president.  (It’s really hard for me to write that knowing I’m referring to Trump!)  The man has been busy vilifying the “liberal media” since the beginning of the primary season – and, his attacks on the media calling them “terrible persons,” “disgusting people,” “dishonest,” and I could go on are more than just bluster.  Trump is setting the stage for when the inevitable backlash toward his incompetence (or worse) begins getting reported once he’s in office and all he will have to do is remind his “base” that the media is “dishonest” and full of “disgusting people,” and – on we go to the next foible.  Trump has this rabid “base” of white nationalists who are thrilled to death to have someone with their thoughts sitting in the “White House,” and, as he said in the campaign, he could shoot someone on 5th avenue and none of his followers would care.  Our “liberal media” has never wanted to infer what Trump meant by “Make America Great Again” – but, I’ll let you guess what he thought of a person of color living in the “White House.”  Clinton called this portion of his followers as the “basket of deplorables” – which was one of the mistakes she made in the election cycle – but, in reality, she was correct.  We’re talking about the overt racists in America and they’re still “aplenty.”

The second part of this that should, at some point, get the attention of our “liberal media” – and, I’m talking about people like Matthews and Todd – is Trump’s attack on the “intelligence” community.  In fact, he’s already talking about restructuring it to his liking – And, of course, Trump has no background to even begin to understand how the intelligence community should be organized.  However, I wrote in a previous post that President Obama is giving Trump a “gift” that he may or may not understand the significance of – and that is an intelligence community that is already spying on just about everyone on the globe.

Think about this – if Trump convinces his “followers” that the media is “dishonest,” etc. and he sets up the “intelligence community” to act at his behest – well, “we the people” who may not like what he’s doing as president could have barriers to our dissent that have never existed in this nation before.  In reality, it’s the media that is supposed to be the “fourth estate” in American politics and “we the people” are SUPPOSED to be able to rely on it to keep us informed as to what our government is “up to.”  I’ve already seen a plethora of evidence that people like Matthews and Todd (and many others) are more interested in ratings (ie keeping their jobs) than reporting “news.”  How many of these people are going to become afraid to tell the truth when that will undoubtedly be in opposition to Trump’s “reality.”  We know by now that anyone who says anything negative about Trump can expect a barrage of backlash – and, he’s got some of the most accomplished members of the “fact free world” (ie liars) I’ve ever seen in my many years of observing American politics as his surrogates.  When it comes to “spinning” (again, ie lying) Kellyanne Conway, the chairperson of his campaign and now a “top adviser” – the one out front giving the “spin,” is the best liar I’ve seen (next to Trump, of course).

Conway, along with Steve Bannon, (he of Brietbart and the “alt right”) were responsible for getting Trump elected.  Clearly they’re experts using the strategy “the end justifies the means” and they had a “playbook” for Trump that was totally in the “fact free” world.  Everyday we’re learning more of why Donald Trump should NEVER have gotten close to the presidency and, unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it now.  I believe there’s a “mountain” of “deplorable” stuff about this man that people have “out there” – including people like Vladimir Putin – that will make Trump vulnerable once he’s taken the oath of office.  Trump will be violating the emoluments clause of the constitution almost from the day he takes office and who knows what else.  We’ll never see his tax returns – ie, of the never ending “audit” – (how the “liberal media” let him get away with that one shows how feeble they’ve become) – and, who knows how many women are out there who’ve had their P@#%ies grabbed by Mr. Trump – among other examples of sexual depredation.  During the campaign, even a large segment of the “republican establishment” were saying Trump was unqualified to be president – but, after the election????

Maybe the worst thing I’ve seen since Trump’s “election” – although, not surprising – I’ve written for years about how the republicans are all about the power and winning at all costs – is the number of republicans in Congress who are falling all over themselves to join the “Trump team.”  The republican party is now the party of Trump.  While I’m not like the republicans who committed themselves to ensuring President Obama would “fail” as he took the oath of office, I’m not one to say that.  In fact, I hope I’m dreadfully wrong about him.  However, the evidence I’m seeing so far (ie cabinet appointments, no taxes, no “blind trust,” and the possibility that Trump has been in collusion with the Russians – just to name the “tip of the iceberg”) would indicate otherwise.  The “never Trump” part of the republican party seemingly have been standing in line wanting jobs in the administration and the republicans in Congress (with the possible exception of Marco Rubio – do you think there’s a republican who would go against the “sheep mentality?” – we’ll see after the Rex Tillerson confirmation hearings) are willing “water carriers” for this “deplorable” man.

I still remember them saying Trump is “disqualified” after some of the racist remarks, he was “disqualified” after the video of Trump admitting to being a sexual predator came out, and it went on and on.  Each time, he comes back forcefully against anyone who does or says anything negative about him.  And, his “base” buys it.  That’s what I mean when I talk about the “worst thing.”  Is there anyone out there willing to do what they were all talking about during the campaign which was “stop Trump.”

Let me sum up my thoughts for tonight.  If “we the people” can’t count on the republicans to stand up to this man, if we can’t depend on the “liberal media” to stand up to the backlash they’ll surely get if they report the “truth” about him, and if he’s able to “re-configure” the intelligence community to his liking – well, this could get ugly.  I can picture even people like myself – who are essentially “ranting” in cyberspace as being targeted.  The man is a narcissist and an “authoritarian” – he attacks anyone who disagrees with him.  I guess I’ll end by letting you just put two and two together.  Yikes!

An afterthought:  Maybe Trump is president to FORCE “we the people” to decide whether or not we’re willing to FIGHT to save our democratic republic.  Whether we actually VALUE all the benefits we were granted in life by our parents and grand parents – ie the “greatest generation” – those who fought in WW II, who fought for worker’s rights, women’s rights, things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, bank regulations, highways, post offices, schools, union rights, (ie 40 hour work week, child labor laws, etc.) and I could go on and on.  President Obama set the foundation for the next great advance for our society with the Affordable Care Act (which, in and of itself was/is not the “solution” – just a “start”) – republicans have been blocking national health care as a “right” since the days of FDR and now they’re going to repeal “Obamacare” with no concrete plan to replace it – when they could have been spending the past 8 years helping to “fix” it.  I know college educated people who still have no idea what “Citizens United” is – yet, they complain about the corruption in our government and, by that reasoning, voted for Trump.  Maybe this is happening to FORCE the American public to pay attention to what these politicians are actually doing.  It’s still hard for me to believe how any working class American could vote for these republicans – and, I put much of that blame on our “liberal media.”  They’re more interested in appearing “fair and balanced” than telling it like it “is.”

Well, it’s getting close to “the peaceful transition of power” in America as Barrack Obama leaves the White House and the “birther in chief” takes over.  I’m sure, during the five or six years that Donald Trump was leading the “birther” movement, essentially accusing our president of being born in Kenya and not actually being a citizen, President Obama didn’t take seriously the thought that Trump would be the 45th president of the United States.  (Actually, I don’t think Trump actually believed this until it happened)  As I look back on Obama’s presidency and shudder in anticipation of Trump’s I can’ help but remind myself of a couple of decisions President Obama made that may turn out even worse than I anticipated at the time.

First of all, on several occasions I lamented the decision by President Obama to “look forward instead of back” regarding the outgoing administration of George W Bush and Dick Cheney – who clearly were in massive violations of not just American laws, but also international laws.  Both Bush and Cheney (and others in their administration) SHOULD have been held accountable for authorizing (and in the case of the “others” – COMMITTING) WAR CRIMES.  The sad reality is that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al very PUBLICLY authorized America’s forces to TORTURE the so called “enemy combatants” – who, by the way, could be determined by Bush and Cheney themselves and who were, we’ve learned over the years, in many cases simply people in “the wrong place at the wrong time” OR in many cases people victims of Shia or Sunni “payback” as America’s troops allowed Afghans or Iraqi’s to help identify the “enemy combatants” with no regard to “probable cause” or “human rights.”

Obama essentially opened the door for soon to be President Trump to follow through on his campaign promise to “Waterboard and a whole lot more” as the “War on Terror” moves into its third American administration – more than likely foolishly attempting to solve an unsolvable problem that is like an open wound that won’t heal – thanks to the aforementioned GW Bush/Dick Cheney and their thirst for oil.  I predicted this at the time of Obama’s decision – calling it potentially, the worst decision of his tenure in office – and, it may well end up being so.  However, the second part of that same decision may end up being even more damaging in the “long run.”

If you remember, when President Obama was Senator Obama and campaigning to be president, there was a vote in the Senate to block the NSA from collecting massive amounts of “data” on American citizens – due to the FACT the Bush/Cheney regime had violated the FISA Act presumably MILLIONS of times.  The FISA court was put in place during the aftermath of the Nixon scandals to prevent the government from arbitrarily invading the fourth amendment rights of Americans through the intrusion of phone calls (and, by the time of Bush/Cheney the internet).  Each one of these violations was a felony with a potential fine of $10,000 and up to five years in prison – for EACH offense.  Then Senator Obama voted to pardon Bush/Cheney and the telecommunications companies which had complied with the government’s overreach into “we the people’s” privacy.  I actually wrote President Obama at the time – letting him know this issue was enough for me to vote against him – and, I got a return message assuring me that he would “fix” the problem once in office.

Well, in reality, the “fix” that President Obama put in place once he was in office was to EXPAND the “eavesdropping” the NSA was doing on its own people.  The problem is worse now as President Obama is about to leave the White House and a TERRIBLE precedent has been set for our incoming president Donald Trump – who I’ve pointed out many times already on this site has distinct FASCIST tendencies.   The worst fears of many of us so-called “liberals” are on the horizon.  The right wing (fascists) have control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the media, and the courts – with the Supreme Court soon to be a “lost cause” for the next 20 – 30 years – I don’t anticipate I’ll live long enough to see the right wing authoritarians expunged from the court.  In addition, due to the Citizens United court decision of 2009 (have you noticed the amount of “dark money” – and, money in general, in our last few elections?), and the McCutcheon decision “we the people” will have more than an “uphill climb” to turn America back to a “we” society from the “me” society we’ve evolved into since Reagan first took the oath of office because the amount of wealth controlled by the so-called 1% is mind boggling.

And, Trump will feel very comfortable in authorizing MASSIVE electronic intrusions into the lives of “we the people” – especially those who oppose him.  Have you noticed how he reacts to anyone who disagrees with him?  Yikes!  Oh yes, don’t forget the Court “gutting” the Voting Rights Act and all the voter suppression laws that sprung up prior to the 2016 election – very possibly the MAIN reason Trump is the president – elect.  This is just one more part of the reality “liberals” face going forward as we attempt to prevent Trump from turning America into a totally fascist state.  Seriously, some of the republican operatives “behind the scenes” were part of the “dirty tricksters” of the Nixon era – they’re just older and “wiser.”  I believe “we the people can expect the worst! (and, most of us won’t even know what’s happening)

Many democrats are emailing me as they try to figure out how to “save” as much of President Obama’s “legacy” as they can – and, it’s true that he’s going to leave office with an approval rating that is almost unmatched in modern times (maybe the closest would be Bill Clinton when he left office).  I’m worried, however, that the stains on President Obama’s “legacy” could come from the things he didn’t do – and, the most significant was “looking forward instead of back.”  There’s a general consensus in America right now that those in “power” are “above the law.”  Trump obviously believes this because he’ll be thumbing his nose at history AND the constitution the day he takes office as he will be clearly in violation of the emoluments clause in the constitution.  To suggest that his varied business interests won’t collide with his responsibility as our president from day one are, in my view, absurd.  Of course, Trump and all his minions (the best group of LIARS I’ve ever seen) will blatantly deny any accusation of conflict of interest and they totally believe they can bully the congress and the press into submission.  Unfortunately, I’m feeling they’re probably correct.

It’s this “bullying” part of Trump’s nature that worries me the most regarding this ability to spy on America that President Obama has given Trump as a parting “gift” – that Trump will be busy finding “stuff” to hold against potential enemies from the day he moves into the White House.  Trust me, this is not far fetched.  Think I’m crazy?  Well, I hope you’re correct, but I see the makings of something dreadful on the horizon and I have ZERO confidence in our Congress to stop Trump if he tries to put a total stranglehold on our government.  (Actually, the saving grace will be that he’ll be “impeachable” from the first days in office due to the violation of the emoluments clause – but, I don’t believe there’s a republican willing to take him on at this point – for example, the “never Trump” republicans “falling in line” since the election has been a sight to behold – a true picture of the character of America’s politicians!)

I’m presently reading Glenn Greenwald’s book “No Place to Hide, ” subtitled “Edward Snowden, the NSA, and America’s Surveillance State” – which gives a very sobering view of what I’m trying to put in perspective here.  The ability of America’s “surveillance state” to intrude into our lives goes way beyond our imagination – meaning us average people who wouldn’t suspect the government eavesdropping on our “stuff” – and, many of us thinking, well, there’s nothing for them to hear with me so it’s OK.  In reality, we’re letting our government eviscerate the fourth amendment to the constitution with little more than a whimper.  In fact, Snowden, who should be a national hero, is in exile in Russia because President Obama – who promised the most TRANSPARENT administration ever has essentially been in charge of what amounts to the opposite.  Whistleblowers beware! Obama’s administration has prosecuted more “whistleblowers” – including Snowden, than any administration in history.  Of course, Snowden “blew the whistle” on the FACT the Obama  administration had accelerated the surveillance of America’s citizens as opposed to stopping the abuses as promised, so Snowden was vilified because how else could the illegal gathering of “data” continue? – and, it is continuing to this day – and, likely to be accelerated MORE under a Trump administration!

Herein lies my deepest disappointment with President Obama.  As an optimist I’m sure he was unable to conceive that someone such as Trump would ever win the White House – but that is EXACTLY why our fore fathers put the protections into the constitution that Obama was willing to ignore in the name of, what else (this has been the excuse for the past 40 years for virtually all government overreach) but NATIONAL SECURITY.  Well, earth to President Obama – and, anyone else willing to listen – the greatest danger to our national security is when our leaders choose to violate the constitution in the name of “national security.”  As I’ve said many times on this site – rights (fourth amendment right of privacy in this instance) are much easier to give away than to get back.  In reality, MOST AMERICANS have no idea they’ve allowed the NSA to compromise their right of privacy.  I find it interesting to observe all the right wingers – Trump included – making such a “stink” over the “2nd Amendment” (which they, and the NRA, have twisted far away from the original meaning of the amendment) while being seemingly oblivious to the attack on our fourth amendment which is far more significant as far as protecting our “liberty.”

I really hope I’m wrong here, but the virtual elimination of the fourth amendment is, from my view, the easiest and most direct manner in which an authoritarian regime can turn our republic upside down.  All the “ingredients” are there, so “we the people” need to beware!  To me, Trump is clearly the result of a “white backlash” against the idea that someone “different” could be in our “White House” – and without question, at least in my opinion, the “war” for the heart and soul of America continues!  If “we the people” don’t wake up soon, the damage to what created the greatest middle class in the history of the world could last a generation or more!