I’ve been pointing out for years “we the people” are in a WAR for the heart and soul of America. it appears many democrats are figuring this out, but the question is – is it too late? Also, do they have the will to put an end to the present day version of the republican party. We all heard John McCain (God rest his soul) lamenting the return of “regular order” – which simply referred to the time when republicans and democrats were able to “work across party lines” to “get things done.” Beginning with Newt Gingrich and, of late, with the so-called “Tea Party” and Mitch McConnell, “regular order” has become a thing of the past.
Republicans have adopted “whatever works” with no compunction to “morality” – all the while claiming to be the “party of moral values.” The Reagan years were when I started seeing the “adoption” of the “Big Lie Theory” – although I didn’t recognize it until a few years ago. (I listened to a pundit lamenting how republicans were repeating the same LIE over and over again and pointing out it appears to be an effective strategy for them – WITHOUT referring to where they got the idea!) They have believed “the end justifies the means” for as long as I can remember. (I go back to the days of Nixon) And, they’re pulling out all the stops for this upcoming mid-term election which, if they hold off the so-called “blue wave,” America will likely become unrecognizable to progressive thinking people.
Some of the stuff they’re doing is so WRONG yet they’re doing it in plain sight. It’s like the bully saying “what are you going to do about it?” And, sadly, despite the importance of this upcoming election, it’s likely that well more than HALF of America’s voters will fail to cast their ballot. Of course, part of that stems from the voter suppression tactics republicans have put on steroids since our right wing Supreme Court, curiously, struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Do you see the coordination here between the politicians and the members of the judiciary? Do you see why judges are their #1 priority? Do you see why republicans feel they’re so close to their “permanent republican ‘majority?” Which only requires about 40% of the public to support them in order to succeed. It’s disgusting to realize they figure there are enough “uneducated voters” – as Trump put it in the campaign of 2016 – for them to continue their plundering of America’s wealth. I don’t believe “we the people” can endure much more of their “plundering” before we’ve reached the so-called (like in another VERY important area) “tipping point.”
Take for example what has been exposed in Georgia during this 2018 election. If you’ve been anywhere besides under a rock you know Georgia has a long history of voter suppression aimed at people of color. Well, in this year’s governor’s race we could be seeing “deja vu all over again” AND arrogance at its “finest.” (that was sarcasm if you don’t “get it”) Georgia’s Secretary of State is running for Governor against a Black woman who is a very credible candidate with a good chance to be the first woman of color to reach a governor’s mansion in U.S. history. Her name is Stacy Abrams, I’ve listened to her, and she is a VERY impressive candidate. Presently, polling shows the “race” within the margin of error – meaning Ms. Abrams very well might win. Her opponent, the state’s Secretary of State is in charge of the election in which he’s a principle. What’s the saying? “Put that in your pipe and smoke it!” What’s more, he’s “freezing” 54 THOUSAND voter registration applications – of which – naturally – 70% represent Black voters, not to mention how many might be Latino. I think you can see what’s going on here! “Win at all costs”
Honestly, it sickens me to be constantly writing about this stuff – especially what’s going on in Georgia right now as I’m typing these thoughts. I think back to the 2016 election and in the key states that swung the electoral college to Trump (despite LOSING the election by 3 MILLION votes) voter suppression was “alive and well.” Take Wisconsin, for example. Trump “won” by something less than 25 thousand votes. I saw reports that 350 THOUSAND people were blocked from voting via the voter suppression law Wisconsin’s republicans passed prior to the election. Remember, Wisconsin was originally the home of the John Birch Society – which has evolved into their republican party. (“Google” the Birch society if you don’t know what that means) The same could be said for North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Here’s what we know – in EVERY district in America where republicans can get away with dirty tricks to win elections, that’s what they’re doing. “Win at all costs”
None of this even takes into account the “Russian invasion” which accelerated once Trump became a possibility to win the nomination. And, to think there was “no collusion” – well, “Come on man!” We KNOW there was collusion – we just don’t know to what degree. We don’t know how much “kompromat” the Russians have on Trump. And, “we the people” don’t know how much he’s intertwined with organized crime, not only involving Russians, but the other major “crime families” which were “stationed” in New York over the years – and, for many of them, likely still “stationed” there.
If you saw, the other day, where the Justice department seized and froze assets of Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska, you got a “bird’s eye” view of how they “launder” their “ill gotten gains” – robbed from the Russian people. They plunder Russia’s natural resources and then “invest” the money with people like Trump in real estate and other ventures outside of Russia. Before Trump bankrupted his casino’s he allowed MILLIONS of Russian mafiya money to be laundered through their “turnstiles.”
Deripaska, of course, is the Russian Oligarch “connected” to Paul Manafort and already sanctioned by the U.S. government. One of the “homes” in question is in New York and was purchased in 2008 (yes, during the “Great Recession” when home prices were tumbling) for $42 MILLION. I believe he’s got property in Trump Tower (along with a plethora of other Russians involved in the Russian “mafiya” – read, “Trump/Russia” by Seth Hettena) which also was “seized.” Additionally, he’s got very expensive real estate holdings elsewhere. Deripaska ,and the other Russians “laundering” their money via Trump’s real estate, is/are “attached” to Vladimir Putin and seem to have unlimited funds to use buying assets in America and Europe.
I could go on and on about all the stuff I consider “wrong,” but I try to limit my rants as much as I can. Aside from all the “stuff” mentioned above, there was another announcement this past week by the CBO that confirms what I’ve been saying ALL year and contradicts what Trump’s economic advisers have been saying ALL year. Not only will the tax “scam” of 21017 NOT create the necessary revenue to pay for itself, but, just as I predicted it was like pouring GAS onto the annual budget deficit – the one Trump promised to get rid of (as he claimed his businesses weren’t submerged with debt – another of his long line of LIES his supporters willingly believe) AND, as I predicted, the CBO just announced this year’s deficit will top $1 TRILLION with the amounts BALLOONING into the foreseeable future. This is BAD!
It took President Obama 8 years to reduce the $1.5 TRILLION deficits he inherited down to $400 BILLION when he left office – and, true to form for republicans, it took Trump less than a year to essentially TRIPLE the deficit. And, when Trump’s impending recession – and, trust me, the other thing you can count on from the tax “scam” is the recession will arrive sooner rather than later and it will be more intense. When the inflation picks up, which is also inevitable based on Trump’s policies, the cost of managing this debt will skyrocket – and, if “we the people” don’t elect a democratic Congress and get Trump out of office “sooner rather than later” – republicans will attack things like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid like never before. They’ll claim, “we just don’t have the money!” They won’t say why and they’ll NEVER consider cutting the defense spending.
None of this should surprise anyone – it’s just that, as I mentioned above, the “tipping point” is on the horizon – in more areas than one. The plundering of America MUST stop! I guess it’s kind of like what the “oligarchs” are doing in Russia – I’ve just been too naive to figure it out sooner – at least to the degree it’s happening. The “oligarchs” in America are what are referred to as the “top 1%” and, what has become apparent, is they “can’t get enough.” If you remember, prior to Congress cramming this “tax scam” through, even people like Lindsay Graham were pointing out the republican “donors” were demanding this get done. These “donors” were “cashing in” to the tune of, in some instances (the Koch brothers) possibly the BILLIONS. In many instances, including Trump – who famously said, to a crowd in Phoenix as I forced myself to watch, “Trust me, I won’t benefit from this tax plan. My wealthy friends are not happy with me, but they’ll be OK.”
That was just another of the pathological (or calculated) LIES Trump pushed out of his mouth during his first year in office. According to the fact checkers he had spewed out over 4000 LIES by the end of his first year in office and, by now, it’s over 8000! Of course, Trump cashed in by the tens of MILLIONS, at least – (Many people dispute Trump’s claims to how much he’s “worth” – he’s got a documented history of exaggeration) – yet his audiences suck it all in.
One example of why they did the tax “scam” would be Sheldon Adelson – the owner of gambling casinos in Las Vegas and Singapore – who reportedly gained $670 MILLION in the FIRST QUARTER of 2018 because of the tax “scam.” You read that correctly – $670 MILLION. Well, shortly thereafter, it was reported Paul Ryan was “feeding at the trough” and got Adelson to “donate” $30 MILLION to the republican PAC, which, by the way, wouldn’t exist except for the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court – led by two activist judges (Roberts and Alito) appointed by GW Bush. As you can see, the DAMAGE caused by these republicans will be ongoing for a generation because they’re packing the courts with judges who will encourage this type of corruption. Republicans believe the wealthy elite should “rule.”
I hope you can see why I’ve been calling this a WAR for the heart and soul of America. To me, Trump is the perfect “stooge” for the money changers who are behind this purge of America’s traditional values. The Russians refer to him as a “useful idiot.” While he’s willingly doing his narcissistic best to, in the words of Steve Bannon, “deconstruct the administrative state,” America’s “oligarchs” continue to plunder our nation’s wealth and put it in their bank accounts – “laughing all the way to the bank!”
I didn’t see the 2016 election as “the most important” of my lifetime – for one thing, I certainly miscalculated the degree Congressional republicans would accede to Trump – I can only imagine what it would be like for Hillary Clinton to be dealing with this Congress. Two years of watching Trump and how he fits into the republican strategy of their “permanent republican ‘majority,'” has convinced me this upcoming election is the most important of my lifetime. Republicans will do whatever they can to stop the “Blue Wave.” Voter suppression is one tactic and who knows what else? I’ve said this many times, “we the people” have the privilege of voting – if we choose not to exercise it, or we choose not to take it seriously enough to research the issues, we deserve what we get.
Right now the “system” is tilted strongly to the “right.” If you’re not familiar, that’s the “territory” which produced the likes of Putin, Duterte, and Erdogan in today’s world and the Third Reich in 1930’s Germany. It’s hard for me to imagine we’ve evolved to this point, but the combination of a sophisticated propaganda scheme, a “busy” society, and a group of “leaders” who are willingly corrupted by whatever money comes around have put us in the position where our nation could be undermined from WITHIN! In the 1950’s President Eisenhower warned us about the potential damage caused by the “Military Industrial Complex.” I’m sure he couldn’t even imagine someone like Trump could EVER make it to the “White House” – to be used to exacerbate the issue. It’s up to “we the people” to CORRECT what is presently threatening our nation. If we don’t show up at the polls, God help us all!