Trump continues to demonstrate through his STUPIDITY in regards to how “justice” works in America what a dangerous threat he is to the United States and the so-called “Western world.”  Trump’s affinity toward DICTATORS around the world is no longer a secret.  He admires, MOST, Vladimir Putin of Russia for reasons “we the people” will, hopefully, at some point understand. Of course, Trump’s MAIN purpose as he holds the “highest office in the land” is to “railroad” Robert Mueller’s investigation – which suggests Trump doesn’t like the impending results while NONE of it has been “leaked.”  What Trump is good at is MANIPULATING and LYING and obfuscating!  And, it’s clear he’ll go to ANY length to protect himself from what must be serious “transgressions” because he appears willing to “torpedo” America’s Justice Department in the process.  (Apparently, Trump’s former “main purpose” – repealing anything with President Obama’s “signature” on it – is now on the “back burner”)

Trump is very “cagey” as he goes about his attack on Mueller’s investigation.  He’s attacking it on multiple fronts.  Clearly, Trump has experience in figuring how to get around America’s legal system.  He’s been doing it all of his business life.  (Which is why I’ve said he appears to me to be the head of a mafia crime family)  On the one hand he’s got his “court jester” Rudy Giuliani out there saying the absurd, ridiculous stuff Trump, himself, can’t say publicly – but he KNOWS Trump TV will use in their BRAINWASHING of those American’s STUPID enough to think they’re being informed by their watching of Fox “news” – AKA “Trump TV.”  Thereby preparing the BASE to disagree with anything Mueller comes up with.  One of the other “fronts” I’m finding more interesting by the day is Trump’s new “toy” – the pardon power.  Today, he suggested he was going to pardon Mohammad Ali!  Yikes!  Yes, pardons are done posthumously, but Ali’s conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court years ago – this is apparently another stunt Trump is pulling to convince African Americans he’s “with them.”  (And, the “pardon power” was not intended for reckless, impulsive use)

Then, he suggested he’d pardon whoever the NFL players, who are kneeling during the Anthem AND who he called “sons of bitches,”  want if they’ll just bring him examples of people who are unfairly imprisoned.  Well, while I hope they can bring him some examples to pardon, AS USUAL, Trump doesn’t appear to “get it.”  The NFL players were taking a knee during the national anthem to call attention to the police brutality and the profiling of African Americans across America.  For example, they can’t bring Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, or the countless other African American (mostly – but, not entirely) men who’ve been victimized by police brutality stemming from routine traffic stops or other illegal police behavior for pardons.  The only people “pardoned” in most of these instances are the police officers.  Recently, a young black person was shot in the back and killed in his GRANDMOTHER’S back yard – where he routinely entered her house.  He can’t be pardoned – but, I admire people like Colin Kaepernick, who, by the way, apparently gave up his job as an NFL quarterback because of standing up for his beliefs, was the first to “take a knee.”  To me, it’s Trump who’s the …………… (what he called them).  (This travesty of justice is why I’ve decided to quit “fantasy football” – “fans” on “both sides” can protest and speak their minds in more ways than one.)

I had an acquaintance (who’s a Trump supporter) explain to me, in this instance, the young man killed in Sacramento had been allegedly vandalizing cars in the neighborhood before the police SHOT him in the BACK.  I asked my friend if he thought the kid deserved to be shot for breaking a few car windows (or whatever he was alleged to have been doing) and my friend, who watches Fox “news,” answered, “yes.”  We work on dialogue with each other and respecting each other’s views, but this is a hard one for me.  Regardless, Trump’s comments just confirm he’s clueless about why the football players are taking a knee.  BUT, he believes he can diffuse the situation with his new “toy.”  He’ll pardon his way out of the problem.

Well, here’s what I think he’s really doing.  He might be STUPID enough to NOT understand the “taking a knee” problem, but what he does understand is how to “muddy the water” in Mueller’s investigation, and “gin” up his “base” – the only “jury” that matters to him – and, that’s the people who are daily BRAINWASHED by Fox.  I believe he’s going to publicly PARDON so many people in so many different “unfair” situations, that his “base” won’t think twice when he begins PARDONING all those under investigation that matter to him. (Including himself!) I believe Don Jr. is in legal jeopardy.  We KNOW he’s LIED to Congress – and, likely to the FBI if Mueller has interviewed him.  Like his father, he’s incapable of NOT LYING! (OK, I could have written that as “telling the truth”)  Jared Kushner seems to be in all kinds of “hot water” and, he could be a candidate for state charges as well as federal charges (which would be a problem for Trump’s pardoning power – but, Rudy did say he was “disposable”).  The evidence I’ve seen would suggest, like his father-in-law he may have an issue with money laundering.

While Rudy suggested Jared is “disposable,” what if Mueller holds Ivanka accountable, or what about Sarah Sanders, or – well, the list could go on and on?  Trump, today on national TV, AGAIN claimed he has the ABSOLUTE POWER to PARDON anyone, including himself!  Why do you think he keeps preparing us for this?  Do you think it’s inevitable? Is he numbing us to all his pardons so it will seem routine when he starts pardoning those around him?  My understanding of the constitution is that the president (even if it’s a republican) can’t pardon himself out of impeachment – but, could Trump head off charges that would follow impeachment for egregious charges from Mueller EVEN the republican Congress can’t ignore?  This republican Congress is almost MORE of an EMBARRASSMENT to me than Trump.  I could see making the case that Trump didn’t know what he was getting in to – but, the republicans in Congress?  Evidently, their oath to the constitution means no more to them than it does to Trump – to which, it obviously, means NOTHING!  Speaking of Congress;  Are the republicans willing to let Trump pardon himself out of criminal activity?

When reporters get Trump around a bank of microphones in one breath he’ll say, regarding pardoning people in the Mueller probe, “I haven’t even thought about it.”  Almost in the next breath – well, I’m guessing you know what’s coming – Trump claims his “ABSOLUTE” right to pardon himself.  I actually kind of hope we end up finding out if he’s correct on that one.  I can’t imagine our “founding fathers” intended the pardon power to give the president the power to pardon himself, therefore allowing him/her to do virtually ANYTHING in office – making him/her “ABOVE THE LAW.”  Just picture these republicans if Hillary Clinton was president pardoning herself from illegal activity that was proven by a special counsel.  Politics in America has finally reached the Bizarro world stage!  Are we finally a “banana republic?”

And, Trump – with the help of Sean Hannity and Fox – has his “base” BRAINWASHED to the point where he feels comfortable making public overtures to Vladimir Putin – despite the Russian attack on our most basic institution (the voting booth) with OVERWHELMING evidence the ATTACK was ordered by Putin himself.  And, the OVERWHELMING evidence is that Putin has been “at it” in Western Europe as he is in the middle of attempting to recreate the “former Soviet Union.”  Is Trump complicit in this?  Is Trump willing to turn America into a Soviet Style dictatorship?  You might think that is foolish talk – but, just look at the evidence.  I’ve pointed this out MANY times on this site – Trump has all the makings of a FASCIST dictator.  He’s going after the free press, he’s attempting to get his political opponents JAILED, and he’s constantly attacking the Justice Department and the Intelligence community.  His administration is tearing down the traditional American institutions which have provided safety to the American people in so many different ways. (By the way, if you haven’t heard, Trump’s appointment to be ambassador to Germany is doing Trump’s “bidding” in an attempt to undermine Angela Merkel’s government – “ginning” up the right wing neo-Nazi’s)

As I’m writing this, Trump is in Singapore for his meeting with Kim Jong-un – who is maybe the most brutal dictator of them all.  This will NOT be part of Trump’s “agenda.”  I’m convinced Trump believes he can come away from this meeting with a Nobel Peace Prize – putting him on an even “footing” with the man he may hate the most, Barack Obama.  However, I believe if anything good happens from this meeting it will be the work of the leader of South Korea – who’s responsible for getting the two wackiest leaders in the world together.  I don’t believe Trump is capable of negotiating a complex agreement and I also believe the other leaders in the world know exactly how to “play” him.  That is what I expect will happen.  Neither the North Koreans nor Trump have any history of thinking you can trust their “word” so this should be interesting at the very least.  Of course, talking is better than bombing, but I never believed even Trump was STUPID enough to bomb North Korea and start WW III!

My point is, Trump hasn’t seemed to view a dictator he doesn’t either like or envy.  Clearly, he’s attempting to turn America into as close to a dictatorship as his republican brethren in Congress will allow – until “we the people” have the opportunity to STOP him in November.  As Trump began his journey that now has him in Singapore, he was first FORCED to attend the “G-7” Summit in Canada – which our closest allies are now calling the G-6.  Trump, at the outset, made an impassioned plea that RUSSIA – I’m not kidding – should be let back into the group – making it the G-8.  At the same time, his “policies,” which his base seems to love, has the other members saying it’s now apparently the G-6 +1.  Trump is turning toward RUSSIA and against Great Britain, Germany, France, and Canada – to name a few of our closest allies.  (at least, our FORMERLY closest allies)  If “we the people” don’t stop this, it’s not going to end well.

I’ve shared, as I’ve read them, the many books I’ve been reading since I started venting on this site – which was after Bush/Cheney LIED us into the Iraq fiasco.  The book I’m reading right now is called “The Hitler Virus.”  This should be required reading for any American who doesn’t believe that first, Trump is a FASCIST, and second, that the spread of FASCISM is not a serious threat to the world order.  There are other books you can read – like Madeleine Albright’s “Fascism a warning,” and Brian Klaas’ “The Despots Apprentice.”  To me, it is irrelevant what happens with Trump and Kim in Singapore – Trump MUST be stopped.  And, the way to do that is to vote the republicans out of control of at least ONE House of Congress – preferably BOTH – but, it will take a minor miracle to vote republicans out of control of the Senate, simply because most of the seats up for election this year are already held by Democrats.

Democrats SHOULD be campaigning in every state, every district, for every office they can win – in order to send the message to the world that “we the people” do not  support this person who’s coddling our adversaries and pissing off our allies.  The DANGER of Trump should have been obvious when Steve Bannon was in the “White House” and said their main objective was “the deconstruction of the administrative state.”  That’s code for destroying our government as it presently exists.  Bannon – via Cambridge Analytica – was involved in influencing the Brexit vote in Britain, and was involved – along with Putin – in pushing right wing neo-Nazi’s in other areas in Europe – such as Marine Le Pen in France.  The Trump/Russia “connection” poses the greatest danger to the world since WW II.  I’ll say it again, it’s up to “we the people” to stop it this November!

Final Thought:  As I said in a recent post, it will take “all hands on deck” to succeed in stopping this unprecedented POWER grab!  Trump is the perfect “stooge” for those “pulling the strings” surreptitiously in the so-called permanent republican “majority.”  With their voter suppression tactics, their dishonest advertising (with unlimited funds flowing in from the “tax scam” benefactors), the help of foreign money and advertising (thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision along with a vulnerable internet “firewall”), and a court system that is becoming MORE and MORE stacked to favor a corporatocracy – an unprecedented turnout for a mid-term election will be required to stop Trump in his “tracks.”  If you’re reading this and you haven’t been “sucked in” by Fox, Breitbart, Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Jones, and on and on – the right wing “water carriers” – then hopefully you consider yourself part of the resistance.  Speak to people, encouraging them to vote – it’s time to show the world we are rejecting Fascism.  We will “fix” the problem created by our 2016 election – BUT, we’ll stay true to our constitution and, assuming Trump is NOT impeached, we’ll vote him out in 2020 and we’ll create a “check” in 2018!  (Once he’s “gone,” he can no longer pardon himself and he’ll have to face up to his transgressions – and, hopefully we won’t elect another President Obama who chose to “look forward instead of back” when blocking the NEEDED investigations into the Bush/Cheney “crime family.”  You can’t heal a wound without exposing it.  And, Trump is the result of ignoring the transgressions of Bush/Cheney!  Not Again!