I ended my last rant by pointing out Trump, on purpose, claimed to be a “nationalist” in front of an audience apparently full of his favorite “uneducated voters” because they cheered what was essentially Trump putting himself in the company of – well, Adolf Hitler. Of course, this should not surprise those who have been following this catastrophe from the start because the “hints” have been there since the early days of the campaign. I started out pointing to the clear authoritarian tendencies Trump was exhibiting early on along with the reality that Trump’s campaign slogan mirrors that of Hitler’s. (Make Germany Great Again) The target “audience” is almost identical – the “conservative Christians” who feel a sense of loss as to how they view “their” country.
Of course, you couldn’t miss Trump’s “reality” after the march on Charlottesville by the neo-Nazi’s carrying tiki torches and chanting “Jews will not replace us” while brandishing Nazi flags and wearing Nazi armbands. Trump, famously, claimed there were “very fine people” in that heinous group of, what should be, outcasts. On top of all this there’s Trump’s apparent admiration for virtually every dictator on the planet and his “bromance” with Vladimir Putin. Every indication is that Putin has some kind of “kompromat” on Trump – and, if you take the time to read books like Trump/Russia by Seth Hettena – it’s not hard to come to that conclusion. The mystery is, what is it? Hopefully, at some point, Robert Mueller will clue us all in. (Which, by the way, makes the election on November 6th all the more important – because, I guarantee you if the “blue wave” doesn’t materialize Trump will be emboldened to fire Mueller and MUCH more – somehow he’s managed to get republicans cowering to him)
If you’re not sure, look up the term “nationalist” and, if you’re a republican, spend your time trying to rationalize how that’s not what Trump meant. Then, think back to Steve Bannon and his “alt right” movement and think again. When they talk about “deconstructing the administrative state” what they mean is TOTALLY revamping our system of government. When they talk about people who protest against them as “angry mobs,” all while ginning up their “uneducated voters” to a fever pitch, thus turning them into an “angry mob,” maybe you’ll get the idea. Kind of encouraging them to send dangerous stuff in the mail to the supposed “enemy of the people” – which would include the press and virtually ALL democrats!
The most difficult issue Trump has had to deal with in the past month is the death of Jamaal Khashoggi, the Saudi dissident journalist who was a legal resident of the United States and MURDERED in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey by Mohammad bin Salman’s (MBS) henchmen. Of course, it was necessary for the Saudi’s, Trump, Jared Kushner (one of MBS’s best friends), and MBS himself to find an alternative explanation to the MURDER because of all the MONEY involved. And, to be sure, we’re not just talking about the MONEY which would be jeopardized coming to America through arms sales and such (not to mention the oil issue), but, as I pointed out in my previous rant, the money Trump, himself, is getting via Saudi’s staying at his various hotels and “investing” in Trump properties around the world. As Trump, himself, has said, “They’ve got a lot of MONEY.”
So, I believe the story they’ve ended up on is there was a “fist fight” between Khashoggi and one of the “henchmen” and Khashoggi was strangled (“accidentally”) when put in a choke hold by one of the “henchmen” allegedly trying to break up the fight. Apparently all 18 “henchmen” that flew into Turkey, pre arranged, (Or, were there only 15 with others beamed in by satellite?) by the way, to confront Khashoggi after he’d been “lured” there by whom I’m not sure – but, lured just the same, from someone connected to MBS – have been arrested and one of the “leaders” has been “fired.” (Personally, I thought they’d draw straws and the loser would face a public execution) And, this concocted story works for Trump (and Kushner) because it allows them to (continue LYING as they(the Saudi’s) keep funneling the barrels of MONEY into their (Trump and Kushner) pockets and those of their benefactors. (meaning the arms dealers selling BILLIONS worth of weaponry to Saudi Arabia)
Oh yes, MBS would qualify as a “nationalist” as well. This is where I think Trump is the most envious of these dictators, er “nationalists,” who don’t have anything like checks and balances – which, by the way, Trump is trying to bypass by rigging this coming election in any way possible. (We’re seeing voter suppression in multiple places around the country – not to mention, we have no idea how involved the Russians are at this point in time – we just know they’re “here”) The true “nationalists” like MBS, Putin, Duterte (The Philippines), Erdogan (Turkey), etc. just kill journalists who they don’t like. Journalists who are reporting the TRUTH about their despotic regimes. Keep in mind, the above mentioned “henchmen” who “accidentally” killed Khashoggi brought a BONE SAW with them – I guess, “just in case.”
Seriously, that’s not what I thought was the traditional way to dispose of a body, even in Saudi Arabia. If you remember, after Osama bin Laden was killed by America’s special forces they took special care to dispose of the body in a way that would not disrespect Muslim law. According to multiple reports: “The deceased’s body was washed (ablution) then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased’s body slid into the sea.” They weren’t creative enough to bring a BONE SAW!?
As usual, I started this post (rant) yesterday which, in Trumpian time, is almost a life cycle, and, sure enough, Khashoggi’s MURDER is no longer “the most difficult issue” on Trump’s “plate,” as an entire day has passed. Since then, (apparently) one of Trump’s deranged followers in one of the MOB’S he’s created in his “speaking tour” has decided to eliminate as many of the “enemies of the people” as he or she could by sending pipe bombs in the mail to President Obama, President Clinton and Secretary Clinton, CNN, Erick Holder, John Brennan via CNN (with Brennan’s name misspelled), Maxine Waters, and maybe Joe Biden (still to be determined as I’m writing this). Fortunately, none of the bombs went off – which may be why people like Rush Limbaugh are suggesting it was a “liberal conspiracy” to fool people into thinking there’s a right wing fanatic out there.
And, of course, at this point in time “we the people” don’t know who the culprit is, but I’d say the odds are very strong, well, that there’s a right wing fanatic out there. Actually, I believe there are an untold number of them “out there” – but, hopefully, most not interested in sending bombs through the mail. Trump spent this evening attempting to avoid taking any responsibility for this happening while sounding as if he’s determined to find the perpetrator and suggesting “we the people” need to “come together.” Here’s a suggestion: As long as Trump is our so-called president “we the people” aint coming together. There’s too many of us who see right through all the LIES!
Let me give you a good example of how LYING has totally permeated the republican party – it’s TOTALLY acceptable to LIE to republican audiences because they just soak it up with no questions asked. Tonight, Trump was making a last ditch effort to save Scott Walker’s job as governor of Wisconsin. I actually heard Walker during his turn to speak claim that anyone who would suggest he’s not totally in favor of saving “pre-existing” conditions in regards to medical insurance would be LYING. Well, here’s the TRUTH – Walker is one of the LEAD plaintiffs in a republican lawsuit intended to END The Affordable Care Act and the protections, in it, for people with pre-existing conditions – which would include MILLIONS of Americans. Something like 75% (or more) of Americans oppose allowing insurance companies to discriminate based on your pre-existing conditions – but, that’s clearly no barrier to this republican lawsuit – and, with Kavanaugh on the Court, they have a decent chance of “winning.”
Republicans all over the country are LYING about this – the lawsuit has been brought by something like OVER 20 republican governors. It’s almost as if they want the people in their states having NO health insurance and being forced into bankruptcy the first time a family member gets seriously ill. I’ve had a hard time for years understanding how any of “we the people” would be able to support republicans who want to take their health care away. Worse than that, republicans who willingly want to put MILLIONS of families one sickness away from losing everything they have. This is really one of the shameful aspects of our “democracy” – especially when you realize well over HALF of Americans support health care for ALL!
Yet, we’ve got one MOB after another getting ginned up by Trump yelling things like “lock her up” for the latest democratic WOMAN Trump wants to demonize and actually believing Trump’s LIES without taking the one moment it would take to fact check each and every one of them. At some point the angst has to shift from Trump to the “uneducated voters” who seem to support every word that comes from his mouth. They seem to think ALL of the “negative” stories floating around our news media about Trump are “fake news.” This all is the very height (and purpose) of political projection. Trump, over and over again, is able to place his shortcomings on those who oppose him. He’s definitely a “nationalist” in line with many of his infamous predecessors. He even practices the propaganda scheme of the Third Reich. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? check out the archives and look for the “Big Lie Theory”)
As mentioned above, people in the “mold” of Hitler are/were “nationalists” and it’s very surreal to have a sitting so-called president of the United States claim to be in that camp – MOST, well, until Trump, ALL previous presidents wouldn’t get within driving distance of that label. Trump brought it on himself. One has to wonder if he’s so STUPID that he doesn’t know what he was talking about – who he aligned himself with? Come on man, he’s the (so-called) president of the United States. That would be even MORE embarrassing! After all, he thought Fredrick Douglass was still alive early on, so …………………
The pipe bombs will likely push the Khashoggi scandal right into the same place as the Russia thing, the tax scam, the health care crisis, the abuse of NATO and the U.N., the fiasco in Helsinki where he threw our intelligence community under Putin’s “bus,” the North Korea “thing” where he got an agreement on a table napkin that ended the North Korea “problem,” and ALL the children separated from the parents at the border (brings tears to my eyes when I think about it) – not to mention the 19 women accusing him of sexual assault and the TWO women he paid off ILLEGALLY right before his “election” – all of this “onto the back burner.” And, the one thing we can count on with Trump! There’ll be another scandal tomorrow!!!