Individual 1 has a problem with logic and he just keeps making his situation worse with every passing day. A couple months ago I thought I heard him say the key to saving our economy was in controlling the Covid-19 virus. It was maybe the ONLY time this year I heard him say something which made sense. Of course, that sentiment only lasted about one day, just like one day after he came out with the different phases of “re-opening” the economy he was “tweeting” “LIBERATE” in regard to several battleground states which ALL are now heavily favoring Joe Biden. Our IMPEACHED so-called president is not the “brightest light in the room” and, today, he, again, while grubbing for votes in Wisconsin, once again said, “If we didn’t test we wouldn’t have any cases.” Every time I hear him say that my jaw drops. My suggestion is someone should give him a different campaign slogan.

In the past couple of days another poll came out which would suggest if individual 1 doesn’t figure out what is happening in America (over 40,000 KNEW Covid-19 cases again today) we could have a record breaking landslide in November. My friend I mention here often who is part of the individual 1 Cult has been predicting just that, to me, for months – although, he’s predicting it will be our IMPEACHED so-called president on the winning side. He’s also predicting “liberals” will be in the streets after that happens. I suggested to him he was correct, he just has it backwards – and, the polling of late would indicate I may be the one who has it figured out. I’ve long worried about groups like the “Boogaloo bois,” the “Proud boys,” and other white nationalist groups rebelling as their fuhrer is voted out of office.

Individual 1 is already setting the stage for his white nationalist supporters hitting the streets by suggesting the election is going to be rigged! I’ll say it again, ALREADY! He sees all the polls and he’s already so far behind it will take the Russians, William Barr, AND James Comey to get him over the “line.” Not only is individual 1 trailing by almost 10 points in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, but he’s trailing by almost 10 points in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina. To make matters worse, he’s also trailing in places like Georgia, Iowa, and Texas – just within the “margin of error” in those three states. Bottom line: it looks really BAD for our IMPEACHED so-called president! (And, he keeps making it worse. This past weekend he “retweeted” a “tweet” of one of his supporters shouting “white power” from a golf cart in Florida’s “The Villages” retirement community. Just so there’s no doubt about his racism)

Individual 1 is ruining our country. We are part of a world economy, like it or not. Other places around the world are nearing a point where they will reject Americans from even visiting. Simply attempting to wish this virus away, for example, is a bad strategy and a bad look. The Europeans are looking at America with dismay. (Except for the neo-Nazi’s) There are numerous issues which are turning our traditional allies away – and, we need to fix this in November, or we may never recover from the DAMAGE!

But, the DAMAGE goes way deeper than this virus to what our IMPEACHED so-called president is doing to this nation. Astonishingly, the republican led Senate continues to walk in “lock-step” with individual 1 and THAT is making matters worse. For over a month (since Moscow Mitch declared the HEROES Act “dead on arrival) I’ve been pointing out the republicans don’t even understand what is holding up the economy. Democrats are trying to help, but republicans reflexively say no. Almost like the oppositional defiant students I used to deal with when I was still teaching. When republicans think “stimulus” they immediately turn to Wall Street – apparently, without limits. But Main Street?……………….

Yes, they’ve provided about $7 TRILLION for Jerome Powell’s “tool chest” at the Fed to prop up Wall Street but, it seems to me (again, I’m no economist) what is really helping our economy are the parts of the CARES Act forced through by the democrats. That would include the PPP (Paycheck Protection Plan) plus, to me, more importantly the $600 bonus payments each week to those who are receiving unemployment benefits. This is money which, in most instances, is being put right back into the economy. From my perspective that is what is “propping up” the economy – rents are being paid, bills are being paid, and people are buying food for their families. That “bonus” is due to end in about four or five weeks. And, trust me, the unemployment issue won’t be “over” by then.

My son works in a restaurant and last week he was called back for about 15 hours per week after about two months of unemployment. Even though we live in a state which was doing really well earlier, things are getting worse and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the restaurants getting shut down again. The restaurant, a very popular one, is less than half full so it will be some time until it’s really open again. Still about half of the workers are on furlough and collecting these unemployment benefits. Today, as I always do, I checked the stock market and it was down about a bit over 2% with increased speculation there’s a 20% “dip” on the horizon. The reason? Well, people who own businesses understand what the effect will be once somewhere between 20 and 40 MILLION people are no longer receiving that $600 bonus each week. That’s money which will no longer be going right back into the economy.

Naturally, democrats are pushing to extend this “bonus” until at least January of 2021 while Moscow Mitch, as I said above, has called it “dead on arrival.” The market is picking up on that and realizes the reality of where our economy would be without that stimulus and, therefore, where it’s going if the stimulus is not extended. There are actually MORE Covid-19 cases today than at any other time. According to individual 1 that’s because “we’re testing” and he keeps adding “if we didn’t test we wouldn’t have cases.” Yikes!!! The combination of the SURGE in Covid-19 cases and the intransigence of individual 1 and Senate republicans is a BAD look!

There are also many “conservatives” who want to just “keep on keepin on” who want to simply weather the storm and they keep suggesting the fact the death toll is averaging about 750 per day over the past week or so indicates things aren’t so bad. First, 750 deaths per week are BAD, but, let me add, it’s going to get worse – deaths are a “lagging indicator” – the hospitals are filling up including the ICU’s and the people requiring intubation are increasing as well – at an alarming rate. (It’s been a few days and “deaths” are down a bit more but, as I’ve said they are a “lagging indicator” and it doesn’t look good going forward)

I’ve been “out of commission” a couple days which seems like a lifetime in following individual 1. I keep thinking, “What if Obama…………….?” Fill in the blank. This past weekend’s number one SCANDAL which would topple any other administration is the news about Russia putting a BOUNTY on American troops in Afghanistan via the Taliban – apparently, resulting in the deaths of “a few American troops.” Individual 1 is claiming, “I didn’t know.” Well, which is worse – he didn’t know or he knew and did nothing about it? Both of those scenarios make me even more nervous about the next 7 months. Individual 1 will be our IMPEACHED so-called president until January 20, 2021. Can you imagine if we’d known about this as individual 1 was giving the commencement address at West Point? This administration is like the “house of horrors.”

The level of incompetence coming from this “White House” seems beyond imagination – but, the sad reality is it’s really this bad. The headlines for this week’s scandals center around the continued lack of leadership regarding Covid-19 AND, more significantly, questions about individual 1’s continued “bromance” with Vladimir Putin. He’s said NOTHING about the Russians paying the Taliban to KILL our troops in Afghanistan and, on top of that, he’s doing Putin another favor by pulling 25,000 troops out of Germany. Additionally, he’s been trying to get Putin and Russia into the G-7. Individual 1 is SHAMELESS when it comes to getting on his knees for Vladimir Putin. Sad!

Final Thought: I started this post a few days ago and then the internet connection at our house suffered an outage and I was forced to live like I used to for a couple days – it was interesting, to say the least. So, today, as I’m watching the news there is concern all around the country due to the SURGE in Covid-19 cases which, apparently includes MOSTLY “young” people – people in their mid twenties to late thirties – in Florida, I believe, the governor said the average age of new patients in their hospitals is 36. There is a lot of concern about “community spread” and who those might be following all these “young” people into the hospitals around the country.

As I was thinking about this, all I could get my mind around was the Covid-19 consequence of the George Floyd protests are still on the horizon, in my view. I just don’t see how you could put all those people, who, quite naturally, I supported, into such close proximity and not have a lot of “spread” of this virus – which is EXTREMELY contagious. Of course, the biggest fear is for those “old people” who are infected by these “young” people. We’ll see how this goes but the reality is this virus is pretty much out of control all across the country and STILL individual 1 is pretending “all is well.” Of course, it is NOT “well,” and the next few weeks could be disastrous.

(So far, the “experts” are saying the protests have not shown up in the statistics on the virus)

Today there were over 40,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across America (in ONE day) and the response coming from individual 1 was to announce the federal testing response to the pandemic will be stopped at the end of June. This is almost unbelievable – but, nothing should surprise anymore. Of course, the individual states will continue their own testing programs and, likely, the seriousness of this pandemic will continue to grow – our IMPEACHED so-called president just won’t be able to wish this pandemic away. It should surprise no one that Covid-19 continues to dominate headlines, but that is but one of the serious issues we’re dealing with.

Not only is Covid-19 raging but so are the emotions of those in the African American communities around the country along with those who support them. It’s undeniable there are many people supporting police reform but also there’s a “controversy” (in the eyes of individual 1) over the tearing down of a bunch of confederate statues which were put up during the days of “Jim Crow” – as a way for racists in the South to emphasize their support for a segregated society. It’s encouraging to me thinking maybe we, as a nation, have evolved past the point where we are willing to treat people who were traitors to the United States during the Civil War as some kind of heroes. Periodically I’ve pointed out individual 1 very well could “trigger” some positive, progressive change as people learn to understand what he stands for. MOST people want nothing to do with our IMPEACHED so-called president.

Another issue which is somewhat “connected” to the Covid-19 crisis would be that tomorrow representatives of individual 1’s administration are going to argue in court for the destruction of the Affordable Care Act. Does that seem even more STUPID than usual coming from individual 1 – attempting to take health insurance away from people during a serious pandemic? Again, nothing seems to surprise anymore. Maybe when right wing Americans want to take a trip to Europe and they get denied because of our raging pandemic – which is getting worse by the day – reality will set in. EVERY day governors in “red states” (blue states as well) where actions are not taken to mitigate this virus allows it to become even more embedded. It’s on an exponential rise in several states and many people continue to be acting incredibly selfishly.

Back when New York was getting “hit” hard by the virus I remember governor Cuomo pointing out to governors (and people) around the country “you’re next.” Many thought he was simply blowing off steam, but, well “it’s time” and it seems as if there are places who want to “be like New York.” In Arizona, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and other places around the country hospitals are filling to near capacity and, still, people continue to congregate in closed quarters without masks. My daughter is an RN and it’s heartbreaking listening to Nurses who are publishing social media posts about what it’s like in their ICU’s – where it’s apparent Nurses and Doctors could be suffering from things like PTSD dealing with this. This pandemic could get beyond recognition SOON because individual 1 has simply “moved on” and is pretending it “aint happenin.” I’m so proud of my daughter for committing to service as a nurse and ANGRY politicians would be so disrespectful of those on the “front lines” of this pandemic.

Many of the places which are facing the surges in cases right now are the states where I earlier suggested I didn’t trust the governors to be providing accurate data on the numbers of people who are dying from this virus. We know in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Iowa this very well may be true – based on “admissions” from their governors. For example, the governor of Iowa didn’t mince words in suggesting those working in meat packing plants are “them” and people in nursing homes are, well, really old – so, kind of like individual 1, why mess up “the numbers” if you don’t have to. Ron DeSantis was reported to have ordered state employees in Florida to LIE about the cause of death, again, with those pesky old people who die from the virus. The same was reported about Brian Kemp in Georgia. And, the beat goes on!

What they can’t LIE about is the number of people in the ICU’s in their hospitals. The hospitals are filling up all across the states where the virus is verging on being out of control with leaders showing they weren’t paying attention back when Governor Cuomo was having daily briefings and warning them for a couple of devastating months – a time when there were refrigerator truck trailers parked outside of hospitals for all the bodies which the morgues didn’t have the space to accommodate. It’s as if the one thing individual 1 has accomplished is turning the virus into something political – instead of the health crisis it really is.

Today I listened to another of the incredibly STUPID members of individual 1’s “team” publicly showing his ignorance almost as a badge of honor. This was Larry Kudlow who claimed the virus was behind us just a week or so ago and today, I guess this is progress, he admitted there are some “hot spots” around the country. And, of course, in his sense of “loyalty” to the head of the “coronavirus task force,” Mike Pense, who, himself, claimed back in May the virus would be “behind us by Memorial Day,” Kudlow made sure he used the word “positive” as he was trying to LIE about the reality that yesterday there were MORE cases of Covid-19 across the country than any other day. There was a meeting yesterday at the “White House” where Pense was encouraging “White House” staffers to focus on the “positive.” (What????)

Even though we KNOW there are multiple republicans LYING about the true devastation being caused by Covid-19 – which is NOT just another “flu,” we also KNOW this is bad and it’s going to get a lot worse. Of course, if you get it and are one of the lucky ones where it doesn’t get into your lungs or kidneys or cause one of the other debilitating effects, it is still a national disaster on many fronts. And, of course, it didn’t have to be this way. Back in January if we had a president acting in a way which was laid out for him in the pandemic “handbook” passed along by the Obama administration “we the people” could be nearly able to be “back to normal.” He failed to act at the beginning and he’s now completely abdicated any responsibility for the virus so that, apparently, he’s just going to watch the devastation on his TV.

I follow the statistics on “Worldometer.info,” a website which tallies every instance where someone is officially determined to have been infected with the virus and/or having been killed by the virus and, today, the death toll is nearing 130,000 in just about four months. It’s getting uglier by the day and will continue to do so because of who “we the people” have in the “White House.” We’re the ONLY country (maybe Brazil?) without a national strategy to fight this pandemic and, it appears, until individual 1 is no longer in the “White House” there won’t be a strategy. The spokesperson for the largest hospital in the country (maybe world) in Houston today announced 30% of those being tested are testing positive – which is an alarming statistic – suggesting the situation is much worse than we even know, as of today.

As I’ve written before, the economy, in my view, (I’ve also admitted to not being an economist) have been propped up by two things. First, the CARES Act included a $600 per week “bonus” to those who are collecting unemployment benefits – in the past couple of months almost 50 MILLION Americans have applied for benefits – and that money is allowing people who would otherwise be wondering where the next meal is coming from to be paying their bills and buying food for their families. That money is the result of democrats FORCING republicans to agree to this “bonus” in order to get the second thing propping up the economy.

That would be the TRILLIONS of dollars in Jerome Powell’s “toolbox” which Powell has used to prop up Wall Street to the tune of, so far, almost $5 TRILLION. This is money Powell has used to purchase what I understand would be called toxic securities and I’ve heard Powell suggest these are “lending facilities” he’s using, whatever that means – I take it to mean the institutions involved would very possibly not be paying back the “loans.” While republicans are attempting to block the HEROES Act where the democrats want to continue the support of “Main Street” (along with aid to state and local governments, the post office, and money for vote at home) Mr. Powell is indicating his agreement that “Main Street” is going to need additional support.

I’ve pointed out several times that as soon as this $600 per week “bonus” to our unemployed workers ends it will only be a matter of a month or two until the reality of the REAL economy will be exposed. The American people have been conditioned to believe if Wall Street is “up” then the economy is doing well. To me, this is why the republicans are so eager to provide Powell with whatever he needs to prop up Wall Street, the deficit be damned, but that $600 per week to our workers – that brings out the reality of people like Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul, and other republicans who could care less about these workers and who have no idea, apparently, the benefit of every one of the $600 to our economy – by the reports I’ve read, each dollar returns $1.68 to the overall economy. The people who are receiving this benefit are spending almost every dollar. That, as opposed to, for example, the republican tax cuts which have been used by corporations to buy back their own stock – which plummeted in value after the beginning of the virus.

This is maybe what explains the republicans sudden change in thought about the deficit which began with the tax scam and is now on steroids as Mr. Powell is prepared to spend even more TRILLIONS to keep Wall Street “up.” I have no idea how much of the $10 TRILLION appropriated since the beginning of the pandemic will actually show up when they calculate the deficit for this year, but I know it SHOULD be “jaw dropping.” Republicans always complain about the deficit except when THEY are making it grow. It happened with Reagan, Bush, and now individual 1 – MASSIVE increases in the national debt during their terms in office. And, keep in mind, Bush/Cheney were HIDING the money used for their disastrous invasion of Iraq as if it was on a secret “credit card.”

True to form, after tanking the economy, republicans spent 8 years BLAMING Barack Obama for the deficit he INHERITED from Bush/Cheney – which was $1.5 TRILLION per year when he took office and $400 BILLION when he left. It took individual 1 about a year to push it back up over $1 TRILLION and who knows where it is going to be when he leaves office next January (PLLLLEASE!!!). Of course, on the first day Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the November election the republican “deficit hawks” will be howling. I can almost guarantee it. Fox “news” will still be in business and they will still be surviving off of divisive rhetoric.

The point here is it’s hard to understand the logic behind the thinking of republicans if there is any. While the economy is being propped up by all this borrowed (or imaginary) money the pandemic is raging more than ever. Early on it was focused on the Northeast section of the Country, mainly in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts but now it’s raging in something like 29 states. Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, and virtually every state in the South are in danger of becoming the “next New York.” As I’ve pointed out here, once the republicans succeed in ending the benefits of the CARES Act for workers, the reality of what is happening in America will become all too real.

The DAMAGE to America via individual 1 is increasing almost as exponentially as that of the virus! “We the people” just won’t understand the true details until long after he’s gone. Let’s just hope that will be January 20, 2021! Before the economy can be healthy again the virus MUST be either gone or under control. It can’t be “wished away” and the real way to get it under control, according to virtually every scientist I’ve listened to, is “testing, tracing, and treating.” So, the idea of eliminating the federal government’s participation in the testing procedures is simply STUPID. But, all things considered, coming from individual 1 it’s not surprising!

Final Thought: I wrote recently I wasn’t going to purchase John Bolton’s book for at least a couple reasons. First, Bolton pretty much repulse’s me and, more importantly, it really bothered me he chose the profits of his book (more than 500 pages) over his obligation to testify in the trial of this DEPLORABLE person who is our IMPEACHED so-called president. When that (so-called) president, individual 1, started a legal crusade to prevent the publication of the book, that exposed one of my weaknesses and I chose to purchase it. Yesterday I got my copy from Barnes and Noble dot com and, sadly, I shredded the packing slip which included the return label should I want to return it. Oops!

Last night I decided to put Bolton’s book on the top of my pile of books and started reading it. At this point I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish it. In the first 25 pages I was reminded why I have such a low opinion of Bolton. He stands for pretty much EVERYTHING I’m opposed to. Of course, I was familiar with him so it’s my own fault. I will try to continue reading because I really want to understand the details of what he “witnessed” up close and personal with individual 1, but I’m already feeling it was $32,95 (plus tax) poorly spent! The opening of the book reminded me of how the republicans who are turning against individual 1 are still part of the movement which culminated in his “takeover” of the “White House.”

For example, I tried to read “Everything Trump touches dies” by Rick Wilson and I couldn’t get all the way through it – even though I agreed with most of Wilson’s thesis. I believe his claim is proving to be prescient – keep in mind, Wilson wrote this near the beginning of individual 1’s administration. As I read Wilson’s book I was reminded he was instrumental as well, kind of like Bolton, in creating the atmosphere which has led to our IMPEACHED so-called president. In fact, in Wilson’s case, I’ve enjoyed watching him on TV – he’s very funny at times, even though the topic is very serious, PLUS Wilson is a key member of the “Lincoln Project,” a group of republicans who are working for the same goal as myself – ending individual 1’s time in office.

I have to admit I’ve suggested on this site my desire democrats would learn from the tactics of the “Lincoln Project” even though it’s made up of people who I just don’t basically agree with. However, I would love to be able to sit down at a breakfast table and have a dialogue with them to try understanding what they consider to be the “conservative” movement. I studied Edmund Burke in college, the so-called “father of conservatism” and I just don’t see it. Of course, Bolton is part of that “conservative” movement and I’ve always considered him a war hawk and, certainly, no conservative. However, he was interviewed by Nicole Wallace on MSNBC today and she referred to him as “The conservatives conservative.”

Whatever he is, I don’t understand it and I don’t agree with it. To me, Bolton is the type of republican who is the seed of the divisiveness which exists in America today. In the first part of his book he makes his opposition to the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran Nuclear deal clear and it makes no sense to me – the reasoning behind it. I’ll leave all that for another day I’m just going to try to read the book – now that I’m out of the $32.95 (plus tax :o). I made it about 2/3 of the way through Wilson’s book (I haven’t bought the new one – although, I sort of feel a need to support him through the Lincoln Project) before I could stomach no more of his “conservatism.” Hopefully, I’ll get all the way through Bolton’s book, but that remains to be seen.

This morning in his interview with Ms Wallace Bolton explained why he doesn’t feel a bit bad about refusing to testify to the House in the IMPEACHMENT inquiry. I could argue all day against his logic but, the bottom line is, he chose money over honor. Regardless of whether his testimony could have changed the outcome of the IMPEACHMENT trial the American people were focused on it and would have listened to his testimony. He’s saying there was more and democrats SHOULD have worked with republicans in the process to find it. If you watched the process as closely as I did you know the absurdity of that comment. He SHOULD have shared what he knew about “The room where it happened” then, but I heard people predicting the “book” the day he left his job in the “White House.” Today he was SHAMELESSLY defending his SHAMELESS behavior to Ms. Wallace. Sad!

Do you remember way back when individual 1 was refusing to allow a cruise ship to disembark because it had 49 people infected with the coronavirus saying “I want to keep my numbers down?” That was back when our IMPEACHED so-called president was claiming “it’s all just going to go away.” Back during the now infamous “missing 70 days” as individual 1 was FAILING to take the actions which would have, by all accounts, saved TENS of THOUSANDS of lives and, maybe, have gotten us to the same place countries all around the world which are now almost fully opening up – without the SPIKE in infections “we the people” are experiencing as I’m writing this. So, our FAILED so-called president during his FAILED “rally” in front of a SMALL crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma doubled down suggesting he “told my people to slow down” in regard to testing for Covid-19. Incredibly, the other day our IMPEACHED so-called president suggested “If we wouldn’t test there would be no cases.” Should there be an IQ test in order to be president?

I didn’t watch individual 1’s speech in Tulsa because I knew our “liberal media,” which seems to be mesmerized by him, would gather the most important “clips” of the speech – so I wouldn’t have to suffer through the entire thing. Aside from the admission from individual 1 that he ordered “his people” to “slow down coronavirus testing” our IMPEACHED so-called president, as usual, couldn’t resist a racist “dog whistle” or two – for example, calling the virus, once again the “kung flu.” He does this stuff and then, of course, gives a disclaimer regarding any “accountability” for the anti-Asian HATE inflicted on Asian Americans from his rabid base – many Asian Americans whose families have been “Americans” much longer than individual 1’s family. My doctor is of Chinese heritage and he’s one of the most incredible people I’ve known – it really ticks me off when individual 1 is throwing out these racist memes.

Today, our IMPEACHED so-called president held a rally in a “mega church” in Phoenix where he crammed over 3000 students into a church with a capacity of 3000 (In other words, the opposite of “social distancing”). I was surprised there were 3000 students who would support him, but when I heard them cheer when he called the virus the “kung flu,” and I watched as they panned the room, I saw a bunch of kids who weren’t what I’d call “critical thinkers.” And, of course, individual 1 picked up on that almost immediately which was evident when he decided to talk about how the November election is going to be “rigged” because people (like him – of course, he “forgot” to mention that) are going to be “voting by mail.” He’s already making up (LIES) “stories” about how when people vote by mail there is voter fraud.

That is just another in his growing list of OVER 20,000 LIES since he took the oath of office back in 2017. As I listened to him, my thoughts instantly changed to; “he KNOWS he’s going to lose and he’s setting up a really UGLY backlash from his supporters once he’s voted out of office.” He’s going to claim it was totally because of “illegal aliens” ALL voting for Joe Biden. Our IMPEACHED so-called president is going to be working on convincing his supporters he’s been cheated out of the election starting RIGHT NOW! And he, along with William Barr, will encourage all those “boogaloo bois” to hit the streets in support of the fuhrer. He may refuse to leave the “White House.”

Speaking of William Barr we can only hope he won’t be the Attorney General come November. FINALLY, the pressure calling out his un-American behavior is coming from multiple directions. Today, there were 65 members of the faculty from the University where he got his law degree calling on him to resign. Apparently, his bungling of and then LYING about the firing of Geoffrey Berman at the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney’s office (SDNY) put them over the “edge.” Or, was it his interference in the cases of Michael Flynn and Roger Stone which is just making a mockery of any kind of “impartial” Justice Department? Or, maybe it was “general” Barr ORDERING an interesting group of “unmarked” masked marauders to dispersed a crowd of PEACEFUL protesters from Lafayette Square, right in front of the “White House,” with tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and troupes on horses so individual 1 could brandish a Bible in an obscene photo op?

Of course, it could be all of the above and I could add many other examples of Barr’s “I’m the (so-called) president’s ‘Roy Cohn’ moments.” I mean, Barr started his “tenure” by “twisting” Robert Mueller’s report on the “Russia Investigation” into “knots.” I read the report (twice) and was SHOCKED as I went through it after reading his original “summary” and listening to the press briefing he gave right before the Mueller report was made available to the public (and Congress.) The Mueller report came in two volumes and Barr LIED about BOTH of them. And, his LYING was BLATANT and I was sad to see Rod Rosenstein, who had originally appointed Mueller, standing quietly next to Barr as he was LYING about the report.

Barr said in the report there was “no collusion.” Of course, in the report, Mueller was clear he and his staff didn’t even consider “collusion” because there is no criminal statute on “collusion.” They were tasked with being able to PROVE a “conspiracy” which they decided they couldn’t do FOR SURE – plus, from the start they were honoring the OLC (Office of Legal Counsel) opinion which states a “sitting president can’t be indicted” – even if it’s an IMPEACHED so-called president. In fact, according to Mueller, the way to “indict” a president for illegal wrongdoing is via IMPEACHMENT – which clearly was his intention, especially with volume two.

I’ve claimed since the first time I read Mueller’s report there CLEARLY was COLLUSION, but Mueller said there wasn’t enough evidence to feel confident they could prove a conspiracy “beyond a reasonable doubt” – plus, in the case of individual 1 Jr. and Jared Kushner Mueller concluded “they didn’t know any better.” The real “rub” with Barr’s attack on Mueller’s work was when he claimed there was insufficient evidence (actually I think he said “No evidence”) for a charge of “Obstruction of Justice.” CLEARLY there WAS sufficient evidence of “OBSTRUCTION” – in fact, by many accounts there was sufficient evidence of TEN instances of OBSTRUCTION which Barr “cut the legs from” with his “summary” which, apparently, had the blessing of Rosenstein. Rosenstein comes out of this episode as a weak, pitiful man. Sad!

So, right from the start we found out Barr would fit right in on individual 1’s team, in fact, at the “head of the class,” because of his propensity for LYING. And, he just keeps doing it. In fact, I would call his LYING brazen! I remember him LYING about the Ukraine fiasco – which, by many accounts, he was right in the middle, and right up to his almost reflexive LYING about the firing of Berman and how it came about. Of course, we don’t know as of this date why Barr and individual 1 were so anxious to get rid of Berman, but Berman showed his moxie by FORCING Barr to accept a deal where the traditional succession is taking place – where Berman is being replaced by his Assistant US Attorney so that all investigations will continue. Individual 1 will be FORCED to nominate a replacement who will have to be confirmed by the Senate – something which never happened with Berman which was why Barr couldn’t fire him. Barr got out foxed!

This is nothing less than an attack on the fundamentals of our constitution and the rule of law in America. We KNOW the Senate will simply OK the behavior (although, it was encouraging to hear Lindsay Graham suggest the New York Democrats will get to OK Berman’s replacement) of Barr and individual 1, but the House is another story. I realize it’s only 4+ months until the election, but it’s 7 MONTHS until the “changing of the guard” and the House could IMPEACH Barr. I know that sounds absurd at this point in time, but when are you supposed to say enough already on attacks against the constitution and having an Attorney General who is destroying the Justice Department.

While I’ve been “plugging away” at finishing this post an Appeals Court more of the DAMAGE which will be left behind by individual 1 and William Barr is getting closer to reality if not already there. The 2nd US Court of Appeals, with one of individual 1’s judges supporting the Justice Department’s (ie Barr’s) reversal on the charges against Michael Flynn. ordered Judge Emmett Sullivan to drop the case against Flynn – where he pled GUILTY twice in Sullivan’s court. And, of course, Judge Sullivan eviscerated Flynn because his misdeeds went well beyond the “sweetheart deal” he got with the one charge of LYING to the FBI. It will remain to be seen if he’s charged, next year when individual 1 is no longer in the “White House” with the other charges, along with his son, he avoided with the charge Barr is trying to get him off from so individual 1 doesn’t have to PARDON him.

I’ve called Barr “The Worst Person in the World” (Thanks Keith Olberman) several times in the past year and a half and it just keeps getting worse. I believe the House of Representatives SHOULD instigate IMPEACHMENT proceedings IMMEDIATELY. I believe the Bar Association SHOULD consider dis-BARing William Barr. And, I believe Barr’s actions SHOULD be “memorialized” (in the words of Robert Mueller regarding the evidence he compiled in the Russia investigation) so that ACCOUNTABILITY might be re-considered once the NEXT Attorney General is in office. The attacks on the “rule of law” by individual 1 and Barr will be at the head of the list when the final determination regarding the DAMAGE caused by the administration of our IMPEACHED so-called president. Yikes!!!

Final Thought: Individual 1 is the master at projection and we MUST take heed at his claims the election’s going to be “rigged.” If that happens, it will likely be due to more “collusion” with the Russians. They proved in 2016 they’re capable of hacking various state election data systems and we have no federal “firewall” because of individual 1’s state of denial. I’m not smart enough to predict what shenanigans they may attempt to pull off – but, remember, they were successful in 2016 in multiple ways and assuming they won’t be able to do so again would be, in my mind, faulty thinking. “We the people” SHOULD be putting this in the forefront of the discussions leading up to November and we should be paying close attention to what the Russians are up to. Remember, individual 1 predicted the 2016 election would be “rigged” and he was correct.

It may be sinking in to individual 1 he’s not running against someone with “unfavorables” which approach his own and the reality of him LOSING the election in November is real. In fact, without James Comey as the head of the FBI he may have to actually “win” with only the Russians in his “corner.” (Of course, William Barr is lurking) The reason I bring this up is his most recent “Friday news dump” is the “sacking” of the US Attorney in the Southern District of New York (Geoffrey Berman) 5 months prior to the election. Mr. Berman is the Attorney who was appointed by individual 1 and then renamed him (“individual 1” as an “unnamed co-conspirator) in the case against Michael Cohen.

That, of course, is the reason I call him “individual 1” which is how Mr. Berman referred to him as Mr. Cohen was giving his guilty plea for charges which included the ILLEGAL campaign finance money paid to “Stormy Daniels” and Karen McDougal to hide affairs individual 1 was having while his present wife was having and then raising his final son. I’m guessing I won’t be the only person wondering if this move has something to do with putting up a “firewall” for our IMPEACHED so-called president when he’s no longer protected by the OLC memo which has prevented him from being indicted while in office. In the case involving individual 1 he was so referred as directing TWO FELONIES carried out by his, at the time, “fixer” Michael Cohen. In roughly 7 months he COULD be actually facing those same charges!

I’m sure I’m not the only person in America wondering if individual 1 will actually have to face the charges of those FELONIES which were part of the reason Mr. Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Joe Biden was asked whether or not he would block any prosecutions against individual 1 should he win the “White House” and he gave a one word answer, “no.” So, I’m guessing individual 1 is planning for the possibility of becoming just another pseudo mafia boss again come January 20, 2021. Many have speculated he is planning to PARDON himself as he leaves the office which would likely lead to an interesting test case with the courts filled with judges appointed by individual 1 and jammed through the Senate by Moscow Mitch.

And, apparently, there were many other cases of interest being investigated by the SDNY. How does someone like individual 1 deal with potential legal trouble? That’s why William Barr is the Attorney General. Our IMPEACHED so-called president simply tells Mr. Barr to figure out how to stop all those investigations going on in New York. He’s now saying Mr. Berman is “stepping down” while Mr. Berman just announce he’s NOT “stepping down” and he’s going “nowhere” until there is a replacement confirmed by the U.S. Senate. This SHOULD be interesting. Maybe we will need Mr. Berman to write a book. Or, maybe Congress should call him to testify as to why he has been ordered to “step down.”

I’ve often said here “I’m not an economist,” but now I have to say “I’m not a lawyer” (although, I did study constitutional law in College :o) so, obviously, I don’t understand how the laws work in this type of instance but I do know how to make inferences. From what Mr. Berman has said, I’m guessing there may be a requirement for his replacement to be confirmed by the Senate before he can be replaced. I REALLY hope that is correct. Another inference: The SDNY has some investigations ongoing individual 1 just doesn’t like. For example, a while back it was rumored they were investigating Rudy Giuliani. Also, do you think they’re investigating individual 1’s taxes and or corruption regarding his LYING on loan and insurance applications. Would getting rid of Berman allow Barr to “short circuit” those investigations?

That would bring me to John Bolton’s book where, essentially, he’s given the Congress more reasons to IMPEACH – and, this time, convict – individual 1. What if members of the Senate decide they don’t want Mr. Berman to be replaced? What if they want to make sure whatever they’re investigating gets investigated? What if republicans in the Senate are feeling a sense of betrayal (is that possible?) so that they would stall the confirmation of whoever is nominated to replace Mr. Berman? What if the Senate Judiciary Committee all of a sudden decided “we the people” need to know the TRUTH about the corruption of individual 1 and called Berman to testify? This should get really interesting! The EVIDENCE supporting IMPEACHMENT continues to mount, doesn’t it?

As usual, I wrote all that last night and, sure enough, today William Barr FIRED Mr. Berman – as was expected – but, now for the interesting part. Is he simply going to go? Can Barr, of course with the concurrence of individual 1 fire Berman? I read this morning that Berman was actually OFFICIALLY appointed to this office by a group of judges (Not sure which court or group) and, he believes – or may believe, it is the judges who must remove him from his job. Again, should be interesting – of course, if it’s not obvious, I hope Berman gets to stay on the job. It appears what is “rankling” our IMPEACHED so-called president is Berman’s continued “out of control” actions. By “out of control,” of course, that would mean contrary to the wishes of the fuhrer.

It was reported this morning two of the cases individual 1 wanted Berman to “drop” were investigations into a Turkish Bank and, of course, his investigation into Giuliani. Have you noticed we haven’t heard much from Giuliani of late? I’m guessing he did some really NAUGHTY stuff while he was wandering around Ukraine trying to find people who would make up stories about Hunter Biden and his Dad. Apparently, Giuliani couldn’t resist the temptation to get in on some of the “action” in Ukraine’s gas and oil industries which are fraught with people SKIMMING as much as they can off an industry as corrupt as they come. I’m guessing Giuliani was trying to get in on the action of the very place where Vladimir Zelensky was trying to STOP all the corruption. The ripping off of Ukraine’s natural resources (Oil and Gas).

I’ve found little about the Turkish Bank other than they ended up getting indicted for violating the sanctions against Iran. I have to wonder if those are the sanctions set when individual 1 backed out of the Iran Nuclear agreement? Apparently our IMPEACHED so-called president assured Turkey’s president (dictator) Erdogan he would “intervene” on behalf of the bank and was, apparently unsuccessful. According to Bolton’s book individual 1 told Erdogan the people at the Southern District of New York “are not my people” and “I’m going to replace them with my people.” Our IMPEACHED so-called president has been committing OBSTRUCTION of Justice pretty much from the day he LIED about his oath to the present. Have “we the people” become numb to this? Firing Berman appears to equal OBSTRUCTION of Justice!

Robert Mueller went out of his way in his report on the “Russia thing” to explain what OBSTRUCTION of Justice is AND why it is such an egregious crime. He suggested it is fundamental to the entire justice system. When someone is interfering in an investigation or prosecution it prevents the system from operating fairly. Of course, there are MILLIONS of African Americans and their supporters in the streets right now pointing out the system is NOT operating fairly – but, the bottom line is OBSTRUCTION of Justice is one of the main reasons why. For example, someone rigging a jury would be OBSTRUCTING justice. Someone falsely accusing a “person of color” (I wish we could all simply be “persons” but….) of a crime would be OBSTRUCTING Justice – among other crimes. The point is our IMPEACHED so-called president has been OBSTRUCTING Justice ROUTINELY for over three years and the FIRING of Berman very well simply be one more example. Will “we the people” allow him to get away with it? Check back in November.

Back to Bolton’s book. I wan’t going to buy it until individual 1 made such a hissy fit trying to block it’s publication – after it was published, of course – which makes me wonder if that wasn’t planned? But, it worked on me. I remember “Fire and Fury” the book written by Michael Wolff who was sitting in the “White House” for over six months taking notes and interviewing people and then individual 1 seemingly was taken aback by what was in the book – kind of confirming some of the characterizations of his “employees” like “he’s a F@#*ing Moron” coming from a couple of the people considered the “adults in the room.” Soon after the book was published Steve Bannon was banished and has little been heard of since. (Although his name popped up the other day for something which my old brain can’t remember)

Well, maybe the FACT some of the information about our IMPEACHED so-called president promising Turkey’s DICTATOR he would intervene for a bank which violated our sanctions and, it appears, bank officials involved in the scheme which included money laundering to help the Iranians was information individual 1 would have preferred “we the people” didn’t know about – do you think? And, from what I can tell, it was the SDNY which was doing the investigating and getting this all out in the open which apparently (in the eyes of individual 1) meant Mr. Berman had to be removed. I guess the plan is to get someone into the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan who is “loyal” to our IMPEACHED so-called president. (It was reported today, Berman FORCED individual 1 to “fire” him so his replacement would be his assistant and all investigations would proceed as if he was still there. Keep in mind, Berman is an “individual 1 supporter who voted for him and gave him money back in 2016.)

Bolton, in his book, supposedly said he was frustrated the democrats didn’t have MORE evidence of individual 1’s IMPEACHABLE behavior in their Articles of IMPEACHMENT. Well, I’ve been categorizing them here for over three years and, of course, no one’s listening to me, but I would have to agree with Bolton. The CONSTANT Obstruction of Justice is unfathomable to me – is this what “we the people” are planning to accept from our presidents in the future? (Hopefully, we’ll make better choices so there won’t be an IMPEACHED so-called president in the future who can’t stop OBSTRUCTING Justice – but that possibility is EXACTLY why the “founders” put IMPEACHMENT into our constitution) Anyway, the reality is republicans in the Senate chose to suggest EXTORTION by a president is NOT impeachable behavior (Of course, they believe LYING about sex is) so, individual 1, who is reported to be “bored” in his job, is back on the campaign trail. Today is the day he’s planning to CRAM about 20,000 of his adoring fans into the BOK Arena in Tulsa Oklahoma for a campaign rally. (Today, it was reported SIX members of his advance staff tested POSITIVE for Covid-19) Now, another day has passed and only about 6,000 people showed up at his rally – a story for another day.

Yesterday was Juneteenth, the day celebrated by African Americans as the day when slavery was officially ended – the last group of slaves were “freed” in Galveston, Texas about 2 and 1/2 years after the emancipation proclamation. They were “freed” by the Union Army which had to go into Texas to liberate them. There were more reasons why this was a “curious time and place” to start individual 1’s 2020 campaign – it reminds me of Ronald Reagan “kicking off” his campaign in 1980 in Philadelphia, Mississippi as a way to assure his white nationalist base he was a strong supporter of “states rights.” Just the same this is all republican “dog whistling” personified!

So, today in Tulsa, Oklahoma you have a large group of African Americans celebrating a holiday, for them, that virtually NONE of the “white” people coming from all over to attend individual 1’s rally in the same place understand. And, of course, individual 1 has already threatened those who might choose to protest against his appearance with something worse than “Seattle.” (What’s worse than mace in a child’s face or shooting someone?) I believe they’ve called out the National Guard already – in anticipation of ???? I turned on the TV this morning and saw a lot of white people pushing their way into the area several hours prior to the start (some of them had been camping out for a couple days to be the first in – Yikes!!! And, I saw a woman being arrested for “trespassing” who was simply waiting in line – with a TICKET – because she was wearing a “I Can’t Breathe” shirt. And, it appeared it was Tulsa police who were arresting her. She was white, but apparently anyone who believes “I Can’t Breathe” is persona non grata with individual 1. My first thought, “What do you have to lose?”

Final Thought: I didn’t watch individual 1’s speech at his rally but I was watching a few “clips” of the speech and noticed the arena was about half filled up. Apparently those 100,000 people he said wanted tickets were just “foolin.” I watched the people entering the arena and as expected virtually ALL of them were white. From what I’ve heard via people who actually listened to individual 1’s remarks his speech was full of the “dog whistles” that brought him into the “White House” in the first place. Simply, as I suggested a couple weeks ago, holding this rally at this time and place (Juneteenth) was calculated. Oh, by the way, today (another day has passed) I did see two African Americans in the crowd with individual 1 garb on as a camera panned all the way around the arena. I would love to talk to both of them!

Apparently, he mentioned – again – his STUPID comment that if they did fewer tests there would be fewer cases of coronavirus. I hear stuff like this and just start shaking my head. I’m guessing he doesn’t like the FACT the numbers of people contracting this virus is almost exploding whether they get tested or not. The past few days there have been over 30,000 each day and there are some states who are headed for the same situation which New York is just coming out of. When the hospitals are full that’s NOT good. This is exactly why scientists were worried about “opening up” too soon. Do you think individual 1 really believes if there were fewer tests there would be fewer cases??? Come on man!!!

A bit over a month ago Mike Pense, the “head of the coronavirus task force” said, “By Memorial day this will all be behind us.” Of course, what he was talking about was Covid-19 which is beginning to RAGE out of control in several states which don’t begin with “New York” or “New Jersey.” And, as I shared in a recent post, standing along side Pense and suggesting we’d all be “rockin” by June was none other than “senior ‘White House’ adviser” Jared Kushner – he of the incredibly BAD advice who gets to keep giving BAD advice because, well, ??????

Then, just like the cherry on top of a chocolate sundae, there stood William Barr – the one person in America who may be digging a deeper place in the section of the American History books now under the guise of Benedict Arnold – who was threatening to “sick” (pun intended) the Justice Department on states who had “stay at home” orders he (or individual 1 by extension) didn’t agree with. Like, for example, in states like mine, Washington, where the “curve” is going down. I believe the reason our state has had fewer people contracting the virus is because our governor, who is repeatedly threatened by the “tweeting” of our IMPEACHED so-called president, doesn’t pay much attention to individual 1’s “tweets.”

Of course, republicans everywhere seem to live in fear of getting one of those nasty “tweets” and, after you get one, in many instances, there have been reports of some of those “very fine people” individual 1 mentioned after Charlottesville’s “Unite the Right” rally; people carrying Tiki Torches, wearing Nazi armbands and other Nazi paraphernalia, marching with confederate flags, and chanting “Jews will not replace us” – representatives of that “group” seem to show up at the homes or offices of whoever is on the other end of one of individual 1’s nasty “tweets” brandishing their “weapons of war” in acts of vial intimidation for what purpose? Apparently, if the purpose is pure intimidation it’s working because the Senate appears to be full of republicans who are cowards. People who place their job above their country. People who have forgotten how to do what is right and will carry the burden of that cowardice for the rest of their lives. I’m reminded of the title of one of Rick Wilson’s books, “Everything (individual 1) Touches dies.” (Of course, he uses our IMPEACHED so-called president’s surname – I’ve adopted the name he was given by the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney)

And, of course, other than despising out IMPEACHED so-called president, I don’t feel any “connection” to Mr. Wilson. In fact, over the years, I believe he’s been one of the reasons I felt it was important to lobby for the “end of the republican party as we know it.” Some of the unscrupulous stuff coming out of the “republican brand” have had Wilson’s and some of his closest associates’ unmistakable fingerprints. His specialty is NASTY political ads which challenge the limits of credulity but avoid courtrooms for things like lible. (He “torpedoed” a war hero Saxby Chambliss for the “crime” of being a democrat) Now, Wilson is part of a group which calls itself the “Lincoln Project” – a group of disgruntled republicans who are fine with people like Dick Cheney but individual 1 is “over the top” for them.

In the cause of transparency and being truthful I have to say I’ve enjoyed some of the ads coming from the Lincoln Project aimed at individual 1 and members of his administration – I believe they have one just for Mike Pense if I’m not mistaken. Other members of the Lincoln Project who I know of are George Conway, Steve Schmidt, and Bill Crystal – all “true blue” republicans – UNTIL individual 1 took over the party. People I know who support individual 1 call them “RINO’s” (republican in name only) although my guess is some of them have become “independents” (like me :o). I find it really interesting to listen to people like these (and, George Will, for another example) speaking out as if they’d read my blog.

Not only are these members of the “Lincoln Project” aghast at the DAMAGE being inflicted EVERY day by individual 1 and his lap dogs (sycophants?) on America I believe they might even be reflecting on how we got to this place. I’m not totally sure about that because it would require honest self reflection and they’ve participated in some of what has America being torn apart at the seems right now – with, of course, the continuing help of the Russians via Facebook. The Covid-19 crisis MUST be causing some republicans to understand the futility in having MILLIONS of Americans – MOSTLY the least advantaged – for example, without health insurance. Maybe they are able to see the ONLY reason America is NOT in a full throttled depression right now would be the extra $600 per week going to those who are unemployed – money republicans desperately want ended.

Of course, when there’s a report that consumer spending rose record amounts in May from April many republicans seem unable to make the connection – it’s like the House democrats are saving the economy for them and they have no idea why it’s happening. I’ve explained this before and I’m no economist so it can’t be extremely difficult – those on unemployment are SPENDING the $600 each week, by and large – putting that money back into the economy. So, you have landlords getting their rent payments, you’ve got car dealers getting car payments, you’ve got grocery stores selling virtually everything on the shelves, etc. etc. My prediction is once those payments stop the economy is headed south. We’ll see…………….

That economy stuff aside, another thing the members of the “Lincoln Project” understand is the devastation being caused by the pandemic and the incredible FAILURE of individual 1 in dealing with it. Not only has there NEVER been a NATIONAL response to the virus with a NATIONAL plan of how to mitigate it, but NOW our IMPEACHED so-called president has simply “moved on.” He’s pretending there is no virus and he’s still saying, “even without a vaccine it will just go away.” Well, I would suppose, if you can ONLY get the virus once then that would eventually be true once we made it to “herd immunity” – which, according to what I just read would mean 80% to 90% would have to get it to reach that point. (That would be, for all you who weren’t adept at math about 300,000,000 people) Well, so far less than 1% have contracted the virus in America so we have a long way to go. In other words, our IMPEACHED so-called president is – in the words of Rex Tillerson and James Mattis, “a MORON.” Or, according to Mike Pompeo, “full of shit.” (Maybe that explains why he’s willing to cram 20,000 people into the BOK arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma – or does it say something about his supporters who’ll fill the arena???)

I’ve mentioned the digitally “connected” thermometer I purchased a couple months back which has a history of predicting where “flu like” outbreaks will occur about two weeks ahead of the CDC. It’s made by a company called Kinsa and they produce what they call their “health weather map” which shows where there are outbreaks of “atypical” instances of elevated temperatures – different areas of the country. About two or three weeks ago I was showing the map to my son and pointed out Florida, Texas, North and South Carolina, Southern California, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Arizona – right where he was living a couple years ago, in Maricopa County – according to the map all of them were places where the virus was likely going to spike. Guess what happened? Once again the Kinsa map got it absolutely correct! (And, there were a few other states, I’m going off the top of my head)

Of course, this was predictable for others – just NOT people like Pense and Kushner and others in the “White House.” For heavens sake, Larry Kudlow has repeatedly insisted “the virus has been contained.” (Why he’s saying anything about the virus is curious because he knows NOTHING about it – of course, he also claimed “there is no systemic racism” in America – honestly, these people are pathetic – after all, isn’t he supposed to be advising on economics) Kevin Hassett is really good at smiling into the camera as he’s giving absurd advice which, more often than not, proves false. It’s possible his “cubic model” of Covid-19, which suggested deaths would be at ZERO by May 15, is what was behind the ABSURD remarks by Pense and Kushner. The bottom line here is our present government is full of people who are in “over their heads” and are making things much worse – people who, I believe, are infected by “short termism,” and they don’t really even do that very well.

It will be interesting to see the response to this SPIKE in confirmed cases of Covid-19 which is happening in over 20 states (and, likely to spread based on how “we the people” are dealing with it) Many of these states with the large increases are in states I’ve suggested the (republican) governors are LYING about the statistics to protect their asses due to their poor leadership. For example, I believe Ron DeSantis has instructed his state authorities to LIE about the cause of death in instances where they can get away with it – for example, maybe someone in assisted living with another condition who gets the virus and dies died because of the previous condition – get it? – I believe this may be true in Iowa, Nebraska, Arizona, Texas, and who knows where else. “We the people” don’t know what goes on in those conference calls with individual 1 and the republican governors. They want the economy open “come hell or high water.”

Of course, there are external motivations. I’m a baseball fan and I really want baseball to have a season this year. Well, they’ve been trying to figure out how to do it – without fans. One idea was to do it in the Spring Training facilities of the teams – some in Florida and some in Arizona. Well, as you can see, that is likely a very bad idea because – due to the governors of those states to push “re-opening” their cases are out of control AND their hospitals are filling up fast. I’ve heard the governors suggest “we have many hospital beds” while doctors are saying that’s not the case. Who would you believe?

Here’s one thing I can say for sure – you CAN’T believe ANYONE who is in individual 1’s administration because they either act out of ignorance or they’re just plain LIARS. Memorial day has long since come and gone and the disease has been progressively increasing ever since. Of course, that means we’re in the middle of June and, it appears to me, when it comes to Covid-19 we’re NOT “rockin.” Virtually EVERY member of the administration of our IMPEACHED so-called president has been wrong with EVERYTHING they’ve said, except for Dr. Anthony Fauci – who is now persona non grata – apparently, because he knows what he’s talking about and he tells the TRUTH. Neither of those things work in this “White House.”

The Covid-19 crisis has simply confirmed what numerous people besides me have been saying for over 3 years now (actually over 4 years counting the campaign) – and that is individual 1 is UNFIT for the office he holds. He’s not only incompetent but he’s corrupt as you would expect with someone who has undeniable ties to organized crime – which his evangelical Christian base is willing to overlook along with his history of sexual abuse of women and his pathological LYING, for some judges, to me, that may be the worst of all of this – Sadly, there exists the possibility of more crises before we can get this thug out of office and it’s all coming back to his republican enablers as the History books are written – and, none of individual 1, William Barr, Moscow Mitch, or any of those who have chosen to “hitch their wagons to his” will be able to rewrite these History books. They’re going to have to live for eternity in the darkest of pages for the “stuff” they’re inflicting on “we the people” as I’m writing this. Truly, Mr. Wilson appears to be correct, everything individual 1 touches dies.

Final Thought: The “scandal a day” administration marches on. Now, we’re at that stage where John Bolton’s book – filled with the information he SHOULD have given during the IMPEACHMENT trial – is likely to be the “topic of the day” for the next week or so – or until individual 1 commits another outrageous act to get Bolton out of the headlines. Hold on to your derriere’s because it will take something really outrageous to get our so-called “liberal media’s” attention off of the accusations in Bolton’s office. Bolton has outlined additional allegations which SHOULD be IMPEACHABLE and individual 1 is doing every thing he possibly can to block this book from being published. Of course, every day they spend trying to block the book’s publishing the more people will buy it (like me – today I heard Michael Steele, the former head of the RNC say I’m not spending $29.95 to read Bolton’s stuff. My first thought: it’s $32.95).

It’s been interesting listening to individual 1 attempt to lobby against people actually buying Bolton’s 592 pages of “dirty laundry.” The most interesting comment I heard from our IMPEACHED so-called president today was when he suggested maybe Bolton wasn’t telling the truth. He said, “he’s been known to LIE.” I have to say my jaw drops everytime I hear individual 1 accuse someone else of being a LIAR. Our IMPEACHED so-called president takes a back seat to no one when it comes to being a LIAR! Listening to individual 1 it’s as if he “gave him a chance” when he hired Bolton to be his National Security Adviser because he wouldn’t need Senate Confirmation – apparently because Bolton was so BAD. (I actually tend to agree)

From what I’ve heard in the early reports of what is in the book from people with pre-publishing copies it almost appears if Mr. Bolton has been on this site – for a little guidance. Either that, or he chose to keep working in an environment he KNEW was incompetent and unfit but stayed just long enough to get the info needed for this “inside job” in the book. I believe Bolton will always be remembered for two things – first, he was one of the architects of the ill-advised invasion of Iraq and, secondly, of course, refusing to testify in the IMPEACHMENT hearings in the House – then requiring a subpoena he knew would never come before he would testify during the Senate IMPEACHMENT trial of individual 1. Apparently, in his book, his criticism of the democrats was their Articles of IMPEACHMENT weren’t broad enough. Yikes!!!

OK, I chose to re-read this rant before I publish it and as I was reading above about individual 1’s rally for tomorrow (today is “Juneteenth”) I got a couple thoughts I felt the need to “capture.” First, I had written about three weeks ago about individual 1 holding this rally on “Juneteenth” and the significance of the date to African Americans and whether this was MORE of a “dog whistle” to his “base” (full of white nationalists) than normal. Well, for some reason, which I will speculate on in a “second” the rally was moved back one day. In addition, individual 1 is planning to accept the republican nomination on “Ax handle Saturday” in Jacksonville, Florida – a date which, in Jacksonville for African Americans, commemorates the day when the KKK chased African Americans through the streets with clubs and baseball bats attempting to “beat them into submission” for the crime of sitting at lunch counters.

When I first wrote about this it appeared to me this was intentional on individual 1’s part, but since I’m of the conclusion this was arranged by someone else – likely, maybe, Stephen Miller. I don’t think individual 1 had a clue about “Juneteenth” until he was clued in about a week ago, by, I think, a member of the Secret Service. But, it is a strange coincidence these two events were scheduled in these places on these days. Any way you look at it, in my view, it’s a huge “dog whistle” to those die hard individual 1 supporters who know a lot more about “Stormfront.com” than I. If this is not his own work then it just represents the type of people our IMPEACHED so-called president has surrounded himself with. Again, my guess is this is the work of Mr. Miller who will be right next to Mr. Barr when the history books of this era in American History is finally written. And, one thing I’m getting from the extended rallies after the MURDER/LYNCHING of George Floyd is the History books of this time will be more accurate than the History books of my time. (I was in elementary school in the 1950’s)

For some reason, despite the fact I own no stocks, every morning after I log onto the computer I check out the stock market at Yahoo Finance (.com). And, I end up reading various articles many of which lead me to a variety of reactions from scratching my head to anger. The one I read this morning left me with a combination of the above. Really, it just reminded me of what is really wrong with America (obviously, from my perspective). The article was about why individual 1 would be better for the stock market than Biden. (To me, I suppose, if you try to view this through the lens of pure GREED that would be obvious) As I was reading the article I felt I was simply getting further confirmation of my view Wall Street has become, simply, a glorified gambling casino and TOTALLY disconnected from “Main Street.”

In the article it was even mentioned about the incredible increase in the market from the March “lows” although it didn’t mention how that increase was “funded.” Of course, speculators have been buying the stocks in anticipation of some kind of miraculous recovery from the Covid-19 crisis along with all the people in the streets over the FACT America’s police force can’t seem to understand it would be a good idea to stop KILLING African Americans – people have video cameras on their phones and even white people, now, are fed up with what Blacks in America have been enduring for the past 400+ years – but, as usual, I’ve digressed. The reason many companies remain viable is because the “Fed” is pumping TRILLIONS of almost “free money” to various corporate interests to keep them afloat during the pandemic.

What the authors of the article were complaining about – well, maybe I should say “speculating” about, after all that is what people on Wall Street do, “speculate,” right? They were “speculating” about Biden’s tax policy vs. individual 1’s. Here was the first thing that got me a bit past the “scratching my head” stage toward the “angry” side – they suggested Biden was intending to raise taxes (reversing 1/2 of individual 1’s tax scam) in order to start working to bring down the deficit and repay what’s being borrowed to get us through this crisis. To Wall Street that’s in the taboo range of thought. After all, they’ve been pilfering tax dollars from “we the people” since the day Ronald Reagan introduced HIS tax SCAM – the so-called “trickle down” approach to taxation which was, from my vantage point, the focal point of the beginning of the great issue of income inequality “we the people” face today.

The people on Wall Street have no limits to their GREED. In the middle of this pandemic when there have been OVER 40 MILLION Americans signing up for unemployment benefits and money is being pored into the Market by the TRILLIONS – ALL borrowed money from OUR children – the idea of paying it back once the crisis is over just doesn’t register to these people. And, worse than that, the authors of the article acknowledged the “social” deficit coming from individual 1 – which is worth enduring to them in exchange for another tax cut. Because, incredibly, that’s exactly what they’re saying individual 1 is proposing. So, while Biden wants a tax increase (Goldman Sachs said Biden’s tax increase would reduce their dividend by 12% – the dividend which would likely be ZERO with out the $10 TRILLION Congress has approved to keep the economy from tanking SO FAR during this pandemic.

I wrote a few weeks back that democrats were attempting to help individual 1 with their response to the pandemic, he just doesn’t seem to realize it. They, of course, were the ones who demanded the extra $600 each week for those workers who’ve signed up for unemployment benefits. That is money which has actually propped up the economy. MOST of that money goes DIRECTLY back into the economy with people BUYING stuff – I’ve seen estimates that EVERY dollar brings a return to the economy of $1,68. People can buy food, supplies, they can pay their rent and car payments, etc. Without that money funneling in we would likely be in another Great Depression – which, may still happen because republicans are suggesting we don’t need more “stimulus.” (I can guarantee you, if corporations need more money it will miraculously appear)

Additionally, all across the country state and local governments are running on deficits which they cannot legally continue so if Congress actually refuses to pass the HEROES Act – or something resembling it – there could be even more layoffs in the MILLIONS which, of course, would just exacerbate the problems sitting on the “edge of the cliff.” I continue to wonder if individual 1 even understands what the democrats are proposing is the best thing, economically, that could happen to him. Of course, those naughty democrats included in their bill funding for the Postal Service and for the states to set up “vote from home” plans for the November election which is likely to be happening while this pandemic individual 1 has forgotten about is still RAGING. So, in the words of Moscow Mitch, the bill is a “non starter.”

Apparently because individual 1 views Jeff Bezos as one of his mortal enemies and Bezos’ company, Amazon, uses the postal service to deliver some of their packages, our IMPEACHED so-called president wants to destroy the Postal Service – an institution which dates to the founding of this nation. Should he succeed I will be lobbying for a SECOND impeachment! And, the idea of blocking voting from home while there’s a pandemic going on is preposterous, stupid, ridiculous, mean spirited, awful, terrible, unreasonable, and did I say preposterous!? Of course, not only does individual 1 want to block voting from home he wants the various Secretary’s of States in “battleground states” to make sure there will be long lines in areas where most of the voters vote for democrats. That’s what we call voter suppression!

Individual 1 seems to believe if more people are able to vote his chances go way down (he’s probably correct – but, the solution to that issue is addressing the needs of more people) and, he, along with his sycophants, seems to be doing everything he/they can to prevent African Americans from voting. If he was really the “best president since Lincoln for African Americans” wouldn’t you find that strategy curious? That, of course, is his claim – which I find a bit curious as, based on the polling I’ve seen, very few African Americans support him – less than 10%. But, if his claim was true you’d think he’d be supporting “vote from home” because there are voter registration drives at each of the rallies I’ve seen on TV and he should be encouraging those people to vote this November, shouldn’t he? Honestly, I don’t believe African Americans care which political party addresses their demands for “equal justice for all” – so, to me, the best solution for individual 1 would be to encourage the HEROES Act – which would prop up the economy for another 6 months and encourage MORE people to vote – and to support real reform in policing across America.

Not only is individual 1 claiming to be the best IMPEACHED so-called president in American history for African Americans but he’s claiming he’s been the best for the rest of us. So, why would he possibly oppose that bill which would keep Wall Street propped up, keep the police on duty along with firefighters and other state funded employees and encourage more participation at the polls – so all those people he’s been the best president ever could vote for him. Somethings amiss here, wouldn’t you think? Is he LYING about being the best president ever? Does he fear making it easier for people to vote would be bad for him, even though he’s such a great IMPEACHED so-called president? This doesn’t make sense to me!

And, I do have to add here, he does have some almost rabid supporters who seem to work from the same logic base as he. For example, a few weeks ago individual 1 had a “hissy fit” because the Secretary of State was sending out applications for absentee ballots in Michigan so that those who wanted to “vote from home” could do so. (Apparently, individual 1 thought she was already sending out the ballots – remember, the election is in November – it was May at the time) Well, sure as shootin, there’s a group of supporters of our IMPEACHED so-called president in Michigan who are right there with him – so, they held a public display of BURNING their applications for those absentee ballots. My thoughts, “I hope it’s not raining while you’re standing in line for four or five hours to vote – Oh yes, these are voters who are die hard republicans, there likely won’t be any lines.

If you remember, just a while back 70 people in Wisconsin contracted Covid-19 while exercising their RIGHT to vote because, not only would Wisconsin’s republican legislature not postpone the election – it was a primary, but there was a right wing judge on the ballot – remember, for republicans now it’s all about the judges – but they also figured out how to limit absentee votes and cause those likely to vote democratic to stand in lines – part of the time in the rain – for several hours in order to vote. And, enough democrats endured the lines to vote that right wing judge out of office. I’ve sent money to people running for office in Wisconsin simply because the democrats there inspire me due to their diligence in fighting a rigged system which seems very difficult to overcome. Remember, Wisconsin was the home of the John Birch Society at its inception.

It appears that is the goal of individual 1 and republicans all across this nation – to force people likely to vote for democrats to stand in long lines in the rain to exercise their voting PRIVILEGE. I think people are prepared to do whatever it takes this year to cast their ballots and, I believe, there are many republicans in the Senate who are likely to lose their jobs simply because, well, they support our IMPEACHED so-called president. Of course, they ALL had the chance to end the nightmare in the IMPEACHMENT trial but chose, instead, to publicly demonstrate their allegiance is to individual 1 and NOT the constitution. They even refused to call witnesses who they KNEW could verify the charges against individual 1 most notably John Bolton. I haven’t decided whether to purchase John Bolton’s book yet – because, I totally agree he SHOULD have either testified before the Senate OR he should have submitted to an interview, somewhere on TV, so that what he knows would have been public knowledge prior to that vote. From what I’ve read he witnessed MORE behavior which was WORSE than the Ukraine fiasco and would suggest additional reasons for IMPEACHMENT. Republicans wanted to keep their heads in the sand! And, Bolton??? (Apparently, wanted the $$$)

These republicans believe in REVENGE and it will be interesting watching how this ordeal between individual 1 and Bolton plays out. It appears Bolton has the “goods” on individual 1 and, like he said after being unceremoniously removed from his job as National Security Adviser and receiving some of the nasty “tweets” republicans seem to fear, “I’ll have my say.” It appears his book is OVER 500 pages of his “say.” (I think I just talked myself into buying it – after all, I bought [and read] “Anonymous” by, well, we don’t know who, although I think it was Kellyanne Conway who wrote it, which was over 200 pages of why “we the people” absolutely SHOULDN’T vote for individual 1 again) Seriously though, the evidence of the incompetence, the corruption, plus the lack of interest in doing the job coming from our IMPEACHED so-called president should make it obvious to anyone who’s not part of the CULT that the sooner individual 1 is out of office the better we all will be – including those in the CULT. Bolton’s book, very likely, will just confirm what “we the people” already know!

Final Thought: OK, today (it’s a few days since I started this post) I listened to a reporter from the NY Times who got a pre-publication copy of Bolton’s book discuss what is in it and I went right back to Barnes and Noble dot com, clicked on my “shopping cart,” and finished the purchase of the book – even though there was no discount despite my membership there. (Whoopee, I got free shipping!) Of course, I’ll have to wait because the book won’t be released for another week and, true to form, individual 1 is pushing up the sales by “trying” to prevent the book’s release. (It’s already published and sitting at the book sellers’ warehouses) I have to wonder if this isn’t some kind of side deal individual 1 has with Bolton – by going to court to block its release, the book is instantaneously the #1 Best Seller.

Do you think individual 1 does this on purpose or is he – like apparently Mike Pompeo referred to him as “dumb as shit” – not realizing he’s simply helping to sell thousands upon thousands of copies via his intransigence? He did this to (for?) Omarosa, he did it for “Anonymous,” He did it for Comey and McCabe, and he’s done it for others and, likely, he’ll keep doing it. Although, I can only imagine all the books which are going to be coming out after November. The ones I’m looking forward to, at that point in time, will more likely be the ones about Moscow Mitch, Leningrad Lindsay, and the other sycophants who will be on the receiving ends of “memoirs” coming from people who were working behind the scenes for them as they put THEIR personal interests ahead of the country’s. I’ve only got a few years left (God willing) and I need to keep my eyes working because there will be a lot of reading to do.

OK, one more thought: After listening to Joe Biden today I’m even more convinced he will win the election this November which may be the end of my writing days. I started this back when the Bush/Cheney regime brought back the Viet Nam memories with their (fool hearted) incursion into Iraq followed by, among other things, the authorization of TORTURE – when my frustration with our government “boiled over” – and, for some reason, I felt obligated to continue writing during President Obama’s time in office – “fair and balanced.” :o) And, I found plenty to disagree with President Obama – although, I always felt he was saddled by a Congress led by Moscow Mitch in the Senate and the “tea party” in the House – ie people who were all in on making sure our BLACK president “failed” (which, of course, they were the ones who failed – Obama left individual 1 a country on the “rise”).

I remember seeing the movie “42” which caused me to view President Obama’s administration in a completely different “light.” President Obama couldn’t attack the racist opposition he faced EVERY day and the rest of us – well, in my instance, ME – failed to sufficiently do it for him – thus we “opened the door for” and ended up with individual 1. My prayer is this ends up being a positive because it’s FORCING “we the people” to address our “demons.” If that’s the end result I think I’ll believe the pain was worth it. And, keep in mind, my pain has mostly been worrying about what “we the people” are leaving for our children and grandchildren. Over the past several weeks we’ve all been watching examples of the REAL pain being endured by our Black brothers and sisters in this nation since, well, before this nation was a nation.

But, as I watch these protests (marches) by what looks to me to be a true rendering of America’s “melting pot” I feel a sense of encouragement. Just that our young people are becoming involved – I hope my naive side isn’t out of control – that they are saying this nation’s ideals are worth fighting for gives me a bit more encouragement about the future. Because, remember the Climate Crisis is on the horizon of the Covid-19 crisis. “Unity” will give “we the people” a much greater chance to address the looming crises with a chance for success – because, in my view, these crises are likely to be as challenging as any this nation has yet faced in her nearly 240 years of experimenting with self governance. Individual 1 seems to be saying a fascist dictatorship is the “answer” and, it appears to me, “we the people” are responding “no way!” Stay tuned………………….

In the United States today, June 12, 2020, there were OVER 27,000 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 with around 800 “new deaths.” Of course, those totals are just guesses because various republican governors around the country continue to LIE about the statistics. Well, maybe LYING is too harsh a word, people like Ron DeSantis in Florida are simply not allowing the complete statistics to be published. (That’s essentially LYING isn’t it?) I’ve been saying for some time I believe, in Florida, they are blocking the release of the cause of death on people dying from Covid-19. When you look at the numbers of cases that suspicion seems to be borne out. And, of course, when a member of the state’s health department lost her job for refusing to hide these statistics there’s further evidence of some kind of “hanky panky” going on.

This has been an issue all across the nation and we’re seeing ballooning numbers of cases almost everywhere – except in New York and New Jersey which still have a declining number of cases, but….. As many of us have suggested this year, the problem with NO national “plan” is that you can’t run away from this virus. People in New York have been diligent in “mitigating” the virus, but now they have to worry about visitors coming from Florida or South Carolina or……… you get the idea? The cases we’re seeing today are largely the result of the “opening” of the economy during the Memorial Day weekend. Soon we’ll be seeing the results of the protests of the MURDER of George Floyd. And, the one thing we can count on in all of this is that individual 1 will be “AWOL” in showing ANY leadership. In fact, he’ll begin his tour of America where he’ll be holding rallies (where you have to agree to hold him harmless if you get Covid-19) with lots of people in a confined space with no face coverings. OMG! What could go wrong???

Clear and simple, our national government is in the “hands” of IDIOTS! Larry Kudlow: “There is no second spike. Let me repeat that, there is no second spike.” Well, technically I suppose you could say he’s correct – because the FIRST “spike” is still RAGING. Apparently, the way to make sure there’s no “second spike” is to ensure the FIRST spike never ends. As health experts have said “we’re in the 2nd inning of a 9 inning game.” This is far from over and the lack of leadership coming from the “top” is more apparent every day. Take for example Mike Pense – remember, he’s the head of the coronavirus task force: “By Memorial Day this will all be behind us.” OK, well, that was STUPID. How about Jared Kushner “senior adviser to the (IMPEACHED so-called) president: “By June we’ll be rockin!”

I suppose if by “rockin” he meant hospitals around the country would be searching for ventilators once again and health care workers would be, once again, scrambling to find enough PPE to keep them from contracting the virus from their patients – then, I guess, “we’re rockin.” For heaven’s sake what on earth has Jared Kushner EVER done which would qualify him to be a “senior adviser to the president” – even an IMPEACHED so-called president? If you want to get a good idea of who’s creating the “Middle East peace plan” among the other incredible things in his “portfolio” read “Kushner, Inc.” by Vicky Ward. It should both enlighten you and scare you to think someone as …… while I’m trying to think of the right word there all I could think of was he married individual 1’s daughter and even though he’s the “son-in-law” the only thought I can “muster” is the saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

It’s easy to see why, when you read all the books you can about individual 1 and his administration – OK, you probably don’t but I do – those who have not worked out in this administration starting with Steve Bannon always refer to “Jarvanka” as being a MAJOR problem in the “White House.” Bannon, for example, while I loathe him is actually very SMART in my view. In fact, I always considered him DANGEROUS in a more DANGEROUS way than I consider individual 1 DANGEROUS. He’s a true schemer! I believe those of us who can’t stomach this (IMPEACHED so-called) president should be thankful Bannon was “banished” and Jared has remained as the “senior adviser.” Between himself and his wife, Ivanka, the “advice” they give just keeps the poll numbers going down for individual 1.

I still remember reading how Bannon, for example, was saying the firing of James Comey was the worst decision in… well, I don’t remember how long he put it, but he knew what would happen next – the special counsel. It was Kushner who thought “everyone,” including democrats, would by happy with the firing of Comey. Even though individual 1, with the help of his “lap dog” William Barr, is busy trying to get history rewritten in regard to the “Russian thing” that adventure is likely to end up just like everything else they do – an unmitigated disaster – from the standpoint of our IMPEACHED so-called president. You can’t change history – the FACT the Russians “interfered” in the 2016 election is undeniable. And, the FACT the FBI felt obligated to investigate that “interference” would only be a SCANDAL had they not done so. My point is that many of the STUPID decisions coming from the “White House” likely would have been much different had Bannon actually been the “senior adviser.” (Of course, it still would have been incredibly BAD!) But, onward we go!

The other half of “Jarvanka” is, of course, Ivanka who was, apparently, the “brains” behind the now infamous trek across Lafayette Square to stand in front of “The Church of the Presidents,” St. John’s Episcopal Church, brandish a Bible (upside down), and pour “gas on the fire” regarding the protesters who are demanding change in regard to the systemic racism which has been an issue in America forever. With the help of William Barr our IMPEACHED so-called president had those protesters cleared from the “square” with the use of tear gas, rubber bullets, flash bang grenades, and officers on horses. I believe individual 1’s photo holding up that Bible will be a lasting image from his administration because of the context around it and the suggestion by many he should open and read that book. My point is “Jarvanka” as “senior advisers” to the (IMPEACHED so-called) president clearly shows why nepotism is a bad idea!

Today, our IMPEACHED so-called president – who avoided service in the 1960’s by getting his doctor to LIE about “bone spurs” which, to him, was “smart” (he got 5 deferrals to avoid service during the Viet Nam era) – gave a speech to the graduating Cadets at West Point. I couldn’t force myself to watch/listen to the speech (It was probably all about his “winning”) but the fact he insisted on doing this caused the Army to fly over 1000 cadets back to West Point – 15 returned with the virus – for a service which was originally planned to be digital. I’ve personally “graduated” three times and it is a time to celebrate and maybe the Cadets wanted to return to go through this ceremony – the hope is they avoid being affected by the virus which is “picking up steam” as I’m writing this. Does anyone but me wonder why individual 1 wanted to do this THIS year? I’ve been unable to find evidence he’s spoken to these troops at graduation in previous years. Curious!

The next few months, as individual 1 restarts his campaign with rallies putting his supporters in venues where “social distancing” is unlikely if not impossible (likely, they don’t care – as the attendees will all sign a statement holding individual 1 “harmless” should any of his supporters contract Covid-19), the number of confirmed cases of the virus – if you believe the scientists – are likely to be skyrocketing. Scientists warned that “opening too soon” could lead to a disaster and, it appears, that is exactly what is happening. Hospitals are again feeling the danger of being overrun with really sick people – with many needing ventilators in order to save their lives. It’s curious to me this would be a campaign strategy of individual 1 because, I guess, he believes a new “spike” in the virus will not negatively affect the economy.

Right wing governors can LIE about the cause of death for people in their states and they can try to hide the number of people infected with Covid-19 but they can’t hide the numbers of people needing ICU care in their hospitals. As the hospitals in Florida, Texas, Arizona, the Carolina’s, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and other states – mostly in the South or Southwest – fill up with people needing ICU care we’ll then know for sure whether this “First wave” of the virus is spiking up again. Everything I see would suggest that is true and, of course, individual 1 continues to pretend the virus is a “thing of the past.” How “we the people” respond to this abandonment of responsibility for leadership remains to be seen, but it appears our IMPEACHED so-called president is looking at dropping poll numbers each and every week.

While I’m encouraged about individual 1’s dropping poll numbers this November’s election is about far more than getting him out of office. The reality is it has been the republican party which has been BLOCKING the changes people in this nation have been wanting and, now, are finally demanding. I believe the protests go far beyond the demands of reforming the police. The issues which have been boiling under the surface are coming out as you see a wide diversity of people marching in the streets after the MURDER of George Floyd. The obvious “change” being demanded by protesters is the police reform – being “suggested” in many ways – especially those who are saying “defund the police.” Well, when I try to process what “defund the police” actually means my mind starts spinning. That’s a post for another day. The bottom line is it appears “change” is on the horizon. I can hope!

Final Thought: Today I was at church “digitally” and our service was a conversation with the pastor of my church and an African American pastor of a church in Portland, Oregon. My pastor was born and raised in Alabama and the pastor from the Church in Portland’s family migrated from Alabama to Oregon back in the late 1930’s after a race riot which ended up with the person who would be the Great Uncle of this pastor in Oregon being lynched and then, while “hanging in the tree” being riddled with bullets. The pastor from the church in Portland became very emotional as he was detailing the history of his family in these days where people are still protesting the MURDER of George Floyd. Reliving really BAD memories are difficult for African Americans! (And, likely impossible to fully comprehend by people like me – although I totally agree with the African American pastor I listened to this morning – the key is just that, listening to each other)

I have to admit I was surprised this happened, but, at the same time, it was a real encouragement. I’m really feeling so many white Americans watching George Floyd being MURDERED in such a horrific manner very well may lead to the changes in our society many have been lobbying for, unsuccessfully, for years. I’ve been saying, in my naive manner, since my children were young, “we the people” have the power to make the change we want via the voting booth, and it’s looking to me as if that may be happening. My prayer is and has been that we would have a nation whose government would work from the bottom up. That, by focusing on “the least of these,” our nation would begin to heal spiritually and we could become a nation where accumulating wealth is not the goal but working to achieve the lofty ideals of our constitution would be. (And, to me, the beauty of the constitution is that it’s malleable)

Our history is full of dark places, the “original sin” being the issue of slavery, the – I can’t find the words to explain my thoughts about Native Americans other than “it’s another one,” and, because we are the world’s melting pot, (a blessing and a curse?) the issue of racism and discrimination have been part of our DNA since the beginning of this great “experiment.” At the same time, we’ve had the privilege to GROW and govern ourselves and this feels like a real inflection point to me, right now. There are disasters piling on top of one another but all that is going on has awakened our people, especially our young people, and I’m encouraged in the face of what looks like disaster. Of course, in my mind, success is predicated on what happens in November and, I’m sure, my pastor would remind me of who’s “in control.” So, I’ll end by saying I don’t think anyone would have to wonder what I’m praying for.

Oh yes, if you happen by here you’re very likely a “bot.” I write to vent my own feelings and frustrations with no intentions of anyone reading them. If you do, thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve caused you to think.

As I’ve said recently, “throwing the bums out” this November is simply the beginning, not just the end of individual 1’s reign. By “beginning” I’m talking about turning this nation back to the ideals which were originally implemented with the New Deal back in the 1930’s. Of course, back then there were a plethora of problems which “progressives” were attempting to address and here we are again. The majority of complaints following the MURDER of George Floyd have related to police reform. And, I have to say, it has not just been African Americans calling for this since the 1960’s it’s just that white people like myself, while recognizing the need for the reform, have continued to live in an environment of “white privilege.” It’s hard for us to even begin to comprehend what our Black brothers and sisters have endured.

Just the issue of marijuana, for example, is telling. My first attempt at college occurred in the mid 1960’s and, after I quit playing basketball, I was introduced to marijuana. While, eventually, I chose to refrain from any drugs not prescribed by my doctors, I never considered marijuana as anything close to a “dangerous drug.” In fact, I always felt keeping it illegal was a manifestation of who was profiting from it being illegal. Additionally, I always felt this led to corruption in police forces all across the land. I FOR SURE know of instances where people were “busted” for possession of marijuana and ended up doing jail time while the “cops” took the “pot” from the evidence room and, eventually, resold the “pot” on the street. There are people all across this nation – most of them “Black or Brown” – sitting in jail for some reason connected to marijuana being “illegal.” To me, that they’re in jail is what is CRIMINAL!

In the state where I live marijuana has FINALLY been “legalized” and, to make it as clear as I can, I see no difference from when it was illegal. The most significant difference, likely, is the temptation to participate in the illegal trafficking of the “pot” by public officials is gone. Additionally, the source of illegal profits by organized criminals is gone. All other drugs, in my view, should get this same decriminalization. I’ve said for years it would be cheaper (and, in my view, better for the users) if our government facilitated the giving out of drugs like heroin, etc. as opposed to spending untold MILLIONS to stop something which, obviously, is unstoppable. We could spend the money used for “catching people” to “helping people.” Of course, the protests which are ongoing are reminding us that MILLIONS of non-violent prisoners are predominantly “persons of color.” To me, it seems completely STUPID to spend MILLIONS “caging” people who’ve been smoking or selling marijuana – there has to be a reason and I’m convinced the reason is all the money “officials” are making due to the absurd criminal statutes.

The protests of the past couple of weeks were “triggered” by the MURDER/LYNCHING of George Floyd as a young lady with a cell phone created a “witness” for all to see with her “smart” phone. I’m outraged just like the MILLIONS of other Americans who’ve finally said, “enough already.” However, in regard to the issue of policing and the absurdity of “drugs” being illegal I can’t stop thinking of Breonna Taylor of Louisville, Kentucky. While she was asleep in her bed undercover police officers enacting a “no knock warrant” which was intended for someone else who was already in custody – showing the incompetence of the Louisville Police Department – a story for another day – was MURDERED while her boyfriend was attempting to defend their home from what he thought were burglars or ???? Breonna ended up dead and, of course, her boyfriend was arrested for attempting to protect their home with his licensed weapon. Ms. Taylor is dead because of a botched drug bust! That’s every much a call for reform, in my view, as the MURDER/LYNCHING of Mr. Floyd.

As an aside, I can’t help thinking of individual 1’s response to the MURDER of students at the school in Florida (Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School) suggesting the teachers should be armed. As a retired teacher, when I try to imagine my fellow teachers shooting guns in the hallways of the school during an attack it makes me cringe. So, in this instance, Breonna’s boyfriend has a gun and the attackers (the cops) put 8 bullets into Breonna and many bullets into the apartments adjacent to theirs. In the era of individual 1 this example of “force” will be what our IMPEACHED so-called president will be remembered for.

That gets us to the protests which are the result of these recent MURDERS – including the MURDER of Ahmaud Arbery – and how individual 1 continues to show himself to be a “tin pot” dictator. By now, everyone who’s had their head anywhere but in the sand knows individual 1, along with William Barr, ordered the removal of PEACEFUL protesters from Lafayette Square, which sits right across from the “White House,” via the use of tear gas, flash bang explosives, rubber bullets, etc. so our IMPEACHED so-called president could do his now infamous “photo op” brandishing a Bible he has no idea what is inside. Individual 1 went from cowering in the “White House” bunker to the photo op back to cowering in the “White House” by installing fencing to protect him from “we the people” who are protesting outside. Further campaign material for Joe Biden which he may not even need.

The people who are marching in the streets and demanding “change” know that as long as individual 1 occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue the only change which might happen would be NOT the “change they can believe in.” And, of course, Congressional republicans are every bit the obstacle to “change” of our IMPEACHED so-called president. That’s why I was encouraged to hear, over and over again, leaders at the protests using the word VOTE and, actually, registering people to vote. When I listen to these young people I can picture an “army” of progressive leaders on the horizon and many of them represent diverse communities in our “melting pot.” To me, some of the most inspirational leaders we have in this nation are members of the “Black and Brown” communities.

Yes, there are “white nationalists” (who make up a significant proportion of individual 1’s base) who seem to “fear” the FACT us white people are soon to be a “majority minority.” I can tell you, from my experience, we should be excited about the young leaders who are emerging who come from all walks of life and who are committed to moving America closer to her ideals. There’s NOTHING to fear from that. I’m anxious to see who Joe Biden chooses for his running mate in the upcoming election. I believe it is a critically important choice and, why I understand he may choose Elizabeth Warren, I believe choosing a “woman of color” would be inspirational to so many Americans at this point in time. However, we need to understand reality and WIN in November!

Back in 2008 when Barack Obama was chosen as the 44th president of the United States I still remember talking to my former teaching partner, who has since “gone home,” a distinguished African American who I could write volumes about – a retired member of the Air Force who carried a bullet too near his heart to remove from the Viet Nam era until his death, a pastor, a sixth grade teacher, and a mentor to an untold number of children who were struggling – about the election of President Obama and agreeing neither of us thought we would live long enough to see a president of African descent. Of course, him being wiser than me, he correctly predicted the backlash coming from what, originally, seemed to take the form of the so-called “tea party” – a group which, despite their denials, was founded on racism – clear and simple! The “backlash” exposed, to me, a white nationalist segment of America much more significant than I understood – further evidence of how it’s so difficult for White Americans to understand what our Black brothers and sisters experience every day.

The “tea party” set the stage for individual 1 and, it seems, is a predominant reason why the republicans in Congress seem to have “lock jaw” regarding the behavior of our IMPEACHED so-called president – behavior I can only imagine their response had it come from President Obama. Many of us, including me, did not understand the intensity of the white nationalists in America which I bring up because assuming individual 1 gets voted out of office this November, it’s why I keep saying that’s just the beginning. The FIGHT which seems to be going on right now MUST continue. The people at “stormfront” or the “boogaloo bois” aren’t going to disappear. They may head back under their “rocks” but, they’ll be doing what they always do and that is to create division and chaos in order to destabilize our government – should we work to repair the DAMAGE which has been caused by individual 1 and his sycophants. And, that DAMAGE is immense and could take a generation to repair.

I’ve listened to Stacy Abrams on several occasions and, to me, she’s a brilliant young public servant. You know individual 1 fears that she might be Biden’s choice for VP because he’s already calling her names and making fun of her weight. (Keeping in mind, of course, that he is obese) Another African American woman I admire is Kamala Harris who also comes across to me as a brilliant young leader. Susan Rice is another very impressive, intelligent, and strong African American woman who has a lot of experience in the international scene. Val Demmings, to me, was one of the more impressive “House managers” in the IMPEACHMENT trial of individual 1, where republicans botched their opportunity to end this nightmare and possibly save their party, and I think she’d be a great pick. Of course, there are many others – although, I’m guessing Biden will choose Warren, who I also really like, and may be considered a “safer” pick. That’s just the reality of the “times we live in.” Bottom line: getting rid of individual 1 is what’s important at this point in time.

America’s young people don’t have a great history of heading to the polls but I sensed something different over these past few days. When it comes right down to it, there are a plethora of reasons to believe this time will be different. If the protests of the past couple of weeks don’t get someone’s attention, then there’s a reality looming for when the protests die down and that is Covid-19 is still here and it was “gaining steam” before the protests – and, from what scientists have been saying, the protests are likely to cause significant outbreaks. I hope I’m wrong on that, but I didn’t see a lot of “social distancing.

So, there you have two crises young people care about and, then, on top of that individual 1 is a “climate denier” and he’s filled his government with climate deniers – actually getting rid of the scientists. (like when he got rid of the pandemic task force left behind by President Obama) Trust me, young people understand the significance of climate change – and, the looming hurricane season and wildfire season very well could be additional reminders. And, then you have an IMPEACHED so-called president who spews propaganda about “your second amendment rights” in almost every speech and these young people are sick of seeing people killed by gun violence – many have witnessed it in their schools or their neighborhoods – and, they don’t consider an “A” rating by the NRA to be a “good thing.” In other words, the list of reasons our young people are going to vote AGAINST individual 1 is a long one.

Keep in mind, he wasn’t looking that strong via the parents of the “young people.” In fact, older white Americans apparently don’t like the idea of sacrificing their “autumn” years for Wall Street via the Covid-19 pandemic and he’s now “under water” with a critical voting group from his standpoint, those older than 65 (like me). However, no one is going to forget what happened in 2016 and, hopefully, Biden and whoever he chooses will campaign (somehow) vigorously in EVERY state. Democrats need to win elections from the presidency to the local dog catcher in order to change the direction of this nation to one where the government works from the bottom up instead of the top down. In individual 1’s case he’s trying to make the government work for himself and his cronies. The issues where he’s stepped over the line of legality are too numerous to list here (and, I’m sure, I know of only a small number) but accountability for him, Barr, and the others who’ve chosen to violate our laws SHOULD be on the horizon. They simply refuse the attempts of Congress to hold them accountable, but once out of office that SHOULD change. If, as I suspect, individual 1 is actually a criminal he should be treated as such.

Individual 1 is the expert at projection: When he’s making an accusation at one of his “opponents” (to him, enemies) in almost every instance it’s something he’s guilty of. He based much of his shtick in 2016 on “draining the swamp” when he and his cronies are “the swamp.” When he talks about the “deep state” he’s talking about apolitical public servants who actually believe in our constitution and are willing to stand up against an IMPEACHED so-called president who doesn’t. People like Colonel Alexander Vindman, Fiona Hill, William Taylor, George Kent, and Marie Yovanovitch are all committed public servants NOT part of some “deep state.” And, for heaven’s sake, Gordon Sondland was part of individual 1’s administration as was as was Laura Cooper and others. All of these people testified in the IMPEACHMENT hearings in the House which led to individual 1’s IMPEACHMENT for EXTORTING the president of Ukraine. None of them are part of any “deep state” – EACH of them are patriots who will end up in the good part of the History books.

Our IMPEACHED so-called president has created a CULT following of about 40% of America – although, based on polls of the past couple of weeks that 40% may be dwindling a bit, but the reality is individual 1 has governed by creating a sense of FEAR among republicans in Congress and around the country. No one, it seems, wants to be on the receiving end of one of his NASTY “tweets.” Here’s the bottom line – he’s corrupt, he’s the poster child for anyone wondering what a narcissist is, his pathological LYING has numbed “we the people” to the point where every LIE is, well, “just another LIE,” he has no idea how America is SUPPOSED to work, and his incompetence has created a situation where we have one crisis on top of the next – with “more to come.” Apparently, that is what his CULT wants as individual 1’s fascist tendencies are now on full display, but MOST of us are “sick and tired” of his shtick and we can’t wait until November 3rd.

Individual 1 is smart enough to see “the writing on the wall” which is why “we the people” will be witnessing voter suppression tactics which very well could remind people my age of “the (not to) good old days.” I graduated from High School as the Voting Rights Act – which was gutted by our Supreme Court a few years ago, leading to the tactics I’m talking about – back in 1965. I’ve witnessed example after example of (mostly) republicans working to keep our communities of color subservient. Things, to me – as a white person, seemed to be improving until I started to realized the depth of the problem during President Obama’s two terms in the “White House.” I’ve been writing about the need to put the republican party into the history books via the ballot box and, in my view, this November is when it SHOULD happen. But, they are the “end justifies the means” party and the end, for them, is POWER under any circumstance.

We’ve seen their “plan” in Wisconsin’s primary election and now Georgia’s and Nevada’s primary elections. The LONG LINES always happen in the districts which have significant numbers of “likely democratic” voting populations. I have to say I was inspired by the numbers of people in Wisconsin willing to stand in line for hours to vote and then, the other day, people waiting, in some instances, for 7 hours to vote. That’s the commitment “we the people” need all across this nation in November. We need to go to the polls in RECORD numbers to make sure the CHEATERS (ie individual 1) won’t determine the outcome of the election. Remember, we already KNOW the Russians are busy spreading FALSE information designed to create chaos and division ALREADY. If you use Facebook, beware! If you see it, call it out! This country is worth fighting for and “we the people” have the opportunity to change its direction. There are ALREADY several bright YOUNG progressives in Congress (which, of course, will be targets of those with big money in the election) and the opportunity to “flip” the Senate and bring in some more “new blood” who are progressive thinkers is REAL! Remember to VOTE!

Final Thought: The “dog whistles” coming from the “White House” are getting less covert all the time and, simply, out and out messaging to the so-called “base” of individual 1 – what I referred to above as his CULT following. So, he’s really anxious to start holding his rallies again – with large numbers of people in arenas around the country. So, he’s holding his first rally in Tulsa Oklahoma on “Juneteenth.” That would be June 19 and it’s a day of celebration for the African American Community which you can read about HERE. I’m not going to prejudge why individual 1 chose his first rally to be held on that day will just wait to see how it goes and whether or not it’s a rally to celebrate that “holiday.” (It actually is a holiday in some places around the country.

Individual 1 is giving his “acceptance speech” in Jacksonville Florida on August 27th which, to African Americans, is the date which commemorates “Ax Handle Saturday.” You can read about it HERE. I certainly am not sophisticated enough to understand what is actually individual 1’s point in where he’s holding these two events and how they’re related to his view of the African American community – all I can do is question is the coincidental are is there a “deeper” meaning. Time will tell. I must add that, of course, if you’ve read any of my previous posts you know I view individual 1 as a RACIST so I’m feeling a bit skeptical toward these coincidences.

One more thing: I find it really interesting that in individual 1’s upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma (on Juneteenth) his supporters, when they apply for tickets, must sign a waiver agreeing to hold individual 1 “harmless” in case they contract Covid-19 while at the rally which will have people without masks jammed into an enclosed venue shouting and yelling. Of course, no one with the virus would dare attend, but “just in case”…………………… Stay tuned…..

I can’t stop without saying I find it interesting (curious?) individual 1 will cover your legal expenses if you assault someone who is a heckler at one of his rallies but he’s not interested in your medical bills if you contract Covid-19. the next few weeks will be interesting to say the least…………………..

There are so many reasons why “we the people” should be doing whatever is necessary to vote individual 1 into the history books this November it’s hard to keep up with them all. I’m an old man but I’m going to do a little activity which is good for us old folks – and, that is to test my memory. Like in what are some of the reasons individual 1 needs to “go” – and, I might as well start with the obvious: He’s truly shown his fascist nature by not only calling for American troops to “dominate” American citizens as his way to quell the protests over the injustice African Americans have finally had “enough” of but, in the process, he’s used tactics of the Nazi’s – as explained to “we the people” by none other than James Mattis our former Secretary of Defense. The tactic? “Divide and Conquer.” And, I’ve been saying since day 1 of individual 1’s administration another “tactic” used is “The Big Lie Theory” coming straight out of the Nazi propaganda “playbook.”

Americans don’t like anyone to even reference Hitler or the Nazi’s in any way other than to be condemning the Holocaust as they rightfully should. (And, “Oh by the way” many of the white nationalists in individual 1’s base are Holocaust deniers) Their (individual 1 and his republican sycophants) use of the “Big Lie Theory” is obvious to virtually everyone (what isn’t obvious is their use of a Nazi propaganda strategy) – in the sense everyone I know or watch or listen to are constantly commenting on the LYING which has permeated individual 1’s messaging and virtually EVERY republican – and, at least with the republicans – the LYING is calculated, organized, and pre-planned right down to using the same key terms. With individual 1 it appears to simply be pathological LYING – which should surprise no one who’s either known about him or read about his history. The reason they do it is because it works when your ideology wouldn’t otherwise work – they’ve developed a cult following who actually believe what they’re saying is true. I have a friend who is an individual 1 supporter who has actually said to me he believes our IMPEACHED so-called president “tells the truth.” Yikes!!!

All that, in itself, would have been enough to defeat any democrat – because democrats don’t operate as a cult. But, of course, there’s a lot more. While individual 1 has been calling for American troops to attack American citizens the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage and, in fact, it has been increasing in intensity since the Memorial Day weekend when there were multiple gatherings of people at vacation resorts around the country where “social distancing” was NOT apparent. And, of course, these demonstrations are full of people who consider expressing their anger toward our nation’s continued failure to treat “Black and Brown” people with “equal justice under the law” as more important to them than their concern for the virus. Many are wearing masks, but I’m guessing the numbers of people infected with the virus are going to be on the upswing for the next month or so – based on what I’ve learned about the disease caused by the virus so far.

That means once these protests calm down the focus of “we the people’s” attention, I’m guessing, will be back on the virus and there’s no way individual 1 can run away from the FACT his incompetence was fully exposed in the first couple of months when Covid-19 was spreading across America. At this point in time it’s clear, with discipline and a coordinated national plan, the effect of the virus could have been significantly mitigated. We are now at the point where our IMPEACHED so-called president has “thrown in the towel” and is simply saying let the virus do what the virus is going to do which means, if the scientists know what they’re talking about, the next six months are going to be really bad. The bottom line in all this for individual 1; it just further exposes his inability to handle the job he’s been given.

I read a post today in the Daily Kos where individual 1 was characterized as a parasite who, throughout his career, has attached himself to various entities and “sucked the lifeblood” from them subsequently abandoning them after they’ve been, essentially, destroyed. I instantaneously was able to picture in my mind that’s exactly what he’s doing to our government. He’s placed cronies and “lap dogs” at the head of the various departments of our government and the result will be, once he’s gone, that these departments will be like the children’s Sunday School at the church in front of which he chose to brandish someone’s Bible (probably not his, but….) upside down for a “photo op” designed to send a “dog whistle” to his evangelical “base” – and, that is gutted. Public Servants who are experts at their jobs have been purged from our government unless they’re willing to pledge “loyalty” – as we learned from James Comey (who’s largely responsible for individual 1 being in the “White House” in the first place).

I just can’t bring myself to believe MOST Americans want a president (especially an IMPEACHED so-called one) to be dismantling the very government he takes an oath to defend and uphold. For example, destroying the Agriculture department seems antithetical to the job, in my view. Just imagine republicans had Obama done that? What about gutting the State Department of career diplomats who are apolitical public servants and experts at doing the fundamental work necessary to carrying out diplomacy around the world – and then, say, putting Kim Jong un on a world wide “pedestal” and then claiming they were ‘in love” with an “agreement” written on a napkin? Again, just picture republicans had Obama done such a thing!?

Standing in front of the world’s press along side Vladimir Putin at a summit in Helsinki and “throwing our intelligence community under the bus,” saying Putin “was very strong in his denial” and that he believed Putin. When asked directly if he believed the Russians interfered in the election to help him – as reported by every member of our intelligence community – he said, “I don’t see why they would.” This did create a response of outrage EVEN from some republicans so the next day he tried to LIE his way out of the “crisis” (what else is new – he’s LIED almost 20,000 times as of this writing) by claiming he meant to say “wouldn’t” instead of “would.” I have no idea why that seemed to calm the outrage – but, again, how would republicans have responded to President Obama “kowtowing” to Putin like that? That fiasco followed a two hour meeting between individual 1 and Putin with no one else present – at least from the U.S. To me: disqualifying by itself.

Individual 1 has virtually destroyed America’s relationship with our European allies with the possible exception of Great Britain who have chosen Boris Johnson, an individual 1 devotee, as their prime minister. Our relationships with our traditional allies around the world, including Canada for heaven’s sake, are teetering on disaster. Should “we the people” somehow give individual 1 a second term our nation will very possibly NEVER recover from the DAMAGE inflicted and our “friends” around the world will likely STOP wondering “What the hell has happened to America? And move on to “we’re on our own.” I believe we’ll have our so-called “Black and Brown” community to thank for saving us from becoming a fascist state come November. And, if you believe that’s hyperbole i would respectfully suggest you’re not paying close enough attention. I believe the name George Floyd will obscure individual 1’s for – well- FOREVER!

The list goes on: Picture if President Obama had chosen an Attorney General like William Barr who appears to be nothing more than a lap dog who is willing to destroy the reputation of the Justice Department at the whim of our IMPEACHED so-called president. Of course, both individual 1 and republicans will suggest Eric Holder was there to “protect Obama” which is absurd on its face. For one thing, President Obama didn’t do ONE thing which would require “protection” – despite 8 years of harassment coming from republicans.

Individual 1 has been busy encouraging the Justice Department to “go after” his political opponents who he considers his “enemies” and he’s willing to use the power of government to attack them. How many false accusations against Obama, for example, have come from the “White House?” Obama didn’t wire tap our IMPEACHED so-called president, he didn’t illegally “unmask” Michael Flynn, etc. etc. Everyone of these false accusations are spurious on their face and simply more of the deflection “strategy” coming from the “White House.” Picture, again, republicans had Obama been doing such “nasty” stuff.

Sadly, at our Southern border there are still children in cages from what I can tell. This issue has pretty much slipped into the “darkness” due to all the other crises “we the people” are dealing with. But, for me, this is a nation of immigrants – our diversity is what makes us a strong country and the idea people fleeing poverty and violence in South and Central America should be turned away at our Southern border is EXTREMELY offensive to me. I had the privilege to teach NUMEROUS students, during my career, who came from various countries in our Southern Hemisphere, and I still “light up” when I hear one of them call out my name as I’m walking through a local business where they’re now working. Amazing young people, some who began learning to speak English as they were “thrown” into the classroom, who were/are hard working brilliant young people. The thought of them in cages just causes me to feel a sense of disgust toward anyone who would think that’s OK.

I’m not sure I can accurately characterize the republican anti-immigration policy when the FACT we’re a nation of immigrants is undeniable. In fact, I believe this animosity is the root behind protests which are happening right now. As a white person it disgusts me to realize there’s so many Americans in the “white nationalist” movement who don’t understand they are the ones with the privilege – they’re NOT the victims. Historically, African Americans have been in this country for over 400 years and, I’m guessing, many of the young African Americans feeling the brunt of police billy clubs this past couple of weeks have a heritage connected to America which dates much farther back than that of the “cop” wielding the billy club. And, Native Americans? For heaven’s sake, to suggest they haven’t been oppressed is absurd on its face.

Clearly, you can’t place all the blame of what people of the “Black and Brown” communities have endured on individual 1 but the FACT he’s an overt racist and has been encouraging police to “get tough” when they’re arresting “criminals” is, well, a provable fact. I’ve heard him make suggestions as to how police should arrest people which made me cringe. He exposed himself in his response to the protests at Charlottesville when he called neo-Nazi’s “very fine people” and when he was encouraging white nationalist groups to “LIBERATE” states which were experiencing surges of Covid-19 – one day after he provided a “plan” to re-open the states which, obviously, they hadn’t yet met. This is incompetence in plain sight! Redundantly I’ll say, what would republicans have done had President Obama called on masked and armed Black men to converge on a state capitol building during a pandemic and spitting in the faces of the capitol police? What’s the saying? “Come on man!”

The ONLY “success” of individual 1’s ENTIRE term, legislatively, would have to be the tax SCAM which put something like $2 TRILLION into the bank accounts of the wealthiest Americans who were already so flush with $$$ that they had over a TRILLION just, essentially, “sitting there,” money added to the deficit. (meaning not being re-invested in their companies) Yes, that gave the rising economy he inherited from Obama a temporary and superficial “boost” (Which, of course, is “long gone”) but, the reality of individual 1’s term in office has been the silence coming from all the deficit hawk republicans who were “squawking” on a daily basis at Obama as President Obama worked the deficit down about 70% from what he inherited – after “inheriting” the “Great Recession.” Obama’s administration pulled “we the people” out of that recession with virtually NO help from republicans – similar to what happened with Bill Clinton and likely what is going to happen with Joe Biden – expressly why it’s so important to vote out as many republican Senators as possible – because, it’s guaranteed whoever remains in the Senate will stand in the way of any progressive legislation in the next legislature.

I can only try to imagine where the national debt will be after individual 1 leaves office and what republicans will be saying. I’m already hearing “peeps” the deficit hawks are re-awakening after the “jobs report” suggested our unemployment rate is “ONLY” 13.3%. (Although the Department of Labor Statistics later reported there was a mistake and the number should be about 3% higher) So, republicans will very possibly “balk” at agreeing to the HEROES Act which is proposing $1 TRILLION for the State and Local governments who are going to be in big financial trouble from this pandemic possibly leading to massive layoffs of police, firefighters, teachers, and others who are paid via state payrolls. Wouldn’t that just be republicans being “smart” right before an election? Honestly, these republican deficit hawks are really annoying because they “hibernate” until it starts looking like a democrat is going to be in office. You see how it works, right? They create HUGE deficits and then blame it on the democrats who are voted in to “clean up the mess.” We all thought the “mess” left behind by Bush/Cheney was historic, but it will be “small potatoes” compared to the “mess” left behind by individual 1.

Virtually ALL the gains made in this country over the past 200 years have been the result of “liberals/progressives” and this time will be no different. While “we the people” are all focused on the numerous reasons listed above why any other so-called president would be voted out of office this next reason should maybe be at the top of the list instead of “flying under the radar.” While all this “stuff” is going on – especially the Covid-19 crisis which is likely getting worse as I’m typing these letters – individual 1 is in COURT attempting to get rid of the Affordable Care Act once and for all. Should he succeed the ripple affect would be like someone shooting off a cannon and would be disastrous for well over 20 MILLION Americans who would lose their health insurance and then another close to 100 MILLION who have “pre-existing conditions” which would no longer be protected against health insurers discrimination. We’re hearing virtually nothing about this but just the FACT our IMPEACHED so-called president is doing this, especially in the middle of a pandemic, is unconscionable – but, with him, not surprising.

There’s more, but I’ll end this one here – I just wanted to point out our IMPEACHED so-called president keeps the scandals coming at a rate which we just can’t keep up. However, the reasons he SHOULD be voted into the history books (and the courtroom once he’s no longer protected by that OLC memo) go well beyond what is in today’s news “cycle.” He’s been committing disqualifying acts since he took the oath of office. I didn’t even get into the Mueller stuff because I could do another full post on that or the ILLEGAL payoffs to the two women. He’s acting like a mafia boss and likely is/was a pseudo mafia boss in his businesses – it’s certainly been documented he was doing a lot of business with members of various mafia organizations (Russian, Italian) – it’s time for the authorities to fully investigate what he’s done as our IMPEACHED so-called president and what he was doing prior to becoming our IMPEACHED so-called president.

Final Thought: Joe Biden was not my choice to be the democratic nominee, but I’ve always felt if people get out and vote they come up with the right person for the time and there were record numbers of voters in the democratic primaries prior to the pandemic – so, I believe Biden is the right person – even though he’s closing in on being 77 years young. The critical choice, for him, is his running mate, if for no other reason his age. I can’t see him running for re-election and young people and progressives MUST realize the “change” they want will take a massive participation in the process. That will include winning again in 2024 (I might still be around) and Biden’s VP candidate very well could be the nominee should things improve over the next four years. (At that point we’ll be wondering if America’s voters have amnesia toward the DAMAGE of the republican party circa individual 1) Should he choose Amy Klobachar I believe his chances in November would go way down. As I’ve said here I believe it should be a woman of color (we know it will be a woman) and, if not, to me, the ONLY other choice would be Elizabeth Warren. Whoever it is, they are going to face the nastiest campaign we’ve ever seen in America I’m sad to say. It should be interesting!

I have to add: I’m certainly no public health expert but I listen to them these days ad often as I can and what is happening in America is rather alarming. I’m with everyone else who wants to be “open” but I’m alarmed at the number of people I’m seeing who seem to have forgotten we are STILL in the middle of a world wide pandemic. And, I live in a state where the “numbers” have been going down (although, there is a “trouble part” of our state – Washington). I regularly mention the Kinsa thermometer I purchased which is connected via bluetooth to a lab at Oregon State University which creates a “temperature map” that gives a “head’s up” on areas of the country where they’re seeing “atypical” increases in temperatures among “we the people.” Just the other day I was showing the map to my son and pointing out Florida, Arizona, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and many other states were suggesting another “spike” was on the horizon. Well, it’s happening just as the Kinsa “thermometer weather map” was suggesting it would happen.

With an IMPEACHED so-called president who has decided to “move on” from this crisis “we the people” are looking at a situation – which is already the WORST in the world – that may be bringing even more comparisons to the “flu” outbreak of 1919. Individual 1 is now planning to cram as many of his supporters into facilities willing to allow it – likely where masks will not be allowed – so he can have his rallies again. The concern, from me, isn’t for those who choose to participate in the rallies in person, the concern is for those who may be affected indirectly. I’m still listening to the “experts” and, so far, they are being proven correct. The “numbers” don’t look as if there’s a big “spike” occurring until you take New York and New Jersey out of the statistics – then it looks bad. And, I wish the TV pundits would stop talking about the fear of the “second wave” happening. We’re still in the FIRST “wave.” Michael Osterholm is a VERY distinguished professor of public health at the University of Minnesota and he does not mince words when talking about this virus. He likens it to baseball by saying, “we’re in the second inning of a nine inning game.” In my mind, he’s well worth listening to. Stay tuned…………..

I keep thinking the book “The Family” by Jeff Sharlet continues to be relevant as we watch a group of people who clearly believe the rich and powerful should rule the rest of us. The book was an inside look at a group of right wing republicans who lived in a place on “K” street in Washington DC if I remember correctly. They also had a compound somewhere else in the D.C. area (obviously I need to re-read the book) where they held their secret meetings. One of the things I remember about the book was brutal dictators from around the world showing up for meetings and the National Prayer Breakfast – which I believe was initiated by this group. As I watch William Barr and some of the other sycophants of individual 1 I keep wondering if this crew finally has their grip on the power they’ve been working for.

One of the reasons this keeps coming to mind is while I keep being alarmed by the actions of individual 1 you don’t even hear a “peep” out of the republicans in Congress with the exception of an occasional “peep” from Mitt Romney. Today, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski kind of “peeped” but it certainly, to me, was nothing more than her checking to see which way the wind is blowing. Clearly, individual 1 has gone off the “edge” and no matter how absurd he gets we hear nothing from republicans in Congress. I’ve been saying since day 1 he’ll be in office until the republicans decide to do the “right thing.” Democrats gave them the chance this past January and they failed. I doubt they’ll get another chance before November.

The proper solution to this problem is voting them all out of office in the next election. Of course, there can be a lot of DAMAGE between now and then. And, I believe some of them see what is on the horizon so they’re now suggesting to judges who are in their sixties or above to retire so they can put more young right wing judges on the benches of America’s Jurist Prudence system – of course, this is exactly why people are marching in the streets – the system which has had its “knee” on the necks of African Americans for, well, forever. Apparently, in the eyes of individual 1 that’s OK while Colin Kaepernick [and others] taking a knee prior to a FOOTBALL game, in the mind of our IMPEACHED so-called president, makes those football players who were trying to save George Floyd’s life “son’s of bitches.”

It’s almost certain the House will not IMPEACH our so-called president again, but they definitely SHOULD impeach William Barr. From what I’ve seen and read he’s stepped “over the line” on numerous occasions. In my mind, he’s almost as much a threat to our nation as individual 1. But there’s more. Of course, these next two (or should I make it three) men, if they were really part of the West Point honor corp – they would resign immediately and ask for forgiveness. Both Mark Esper and Mike Pompeo graduated from West Point and they’re giving our nation’s Army college a bad stain with their repeated LYING and their actions which make them look like “lap dogs” to our IMPEACHED so-called president. It’s very sad and disappointing to see graduates of that school acting in such a deplorable manner!

Of course General Mark Millie couldn’t help himself but to walk across Lafayette Park with individual 1 who was on his way for the now infamous “photo op” while wearing his combat fatigues. What was the message with that? Is he like the rest of those in the republican caucus and AFRAID to stand up to our IMPEACHED so-called president? Is he willing to actually send in American troops to “dominate” American citizens? The “impossible” in regard to our government just continues to seem normal. I remember reading Sharlet’s book and thinking the idea of this SMALL group of people who believe in their right to “rule the world” was absurd. There are too many “checks” to prevent this from happening. Right? Well, they came close in the Bush/Cheney regime only to be stopped by GW Bush’s inability to complete a sentence and, of course, LYING (us into a STUPID war) and economic disaster.

Wall Street was in a state of shock when “we the people” voted in a “person of color” as president back in 2008 and, of course, the result was pulling “we the people” out of the “Great Recession” and seven years of a recovery on a steady rise until the even MORE right wing republican party managed to win the “White House” in 2016 and, of course, those in the “Family” must have thought this was the time – which, I believe, is why individual 1’s poll numbers have remained steady for over 3 years – but, alas MORE LYING, more INCOMPETENCE, and now economic disaster once again almost as if this is the definition of “deja vu all over again.” And, wouldn’t you know it, people on Wall Street are already speculating what is going to happen to their “profits” once Joe Biden is the president.

These people, to me, are “deplorable.” The world is in a pandemic, 40 MILLION Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the past 10 weeks (thankfully, many are going back to work – hopefully for the “long haul”), and, yet, you see Jerome Powell standing along side of Wall Street with, what I’ve called the “tire pump,” pumping $$$ into Wall Street so the people at Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street financial institutions can prosper – in the face of an economic disaster reminding many of the Great Depression. As I’ve said in previous posts the “deficit hawks” have been in hibernation since the day individual 1 LIED about the oath he took on January 20, 2017 and they’re starting to wake up as they fear another democrat in the “White House” who will actually attempt to bring some balance to America’s economy – while, at the same time, promoting a progressive agenda.

I’m already reading warnings coming from inside Goldman Sachs about how they will be forced to react should Biden become president. Their hunger for MONEY – which seems to have no bounds – is offensive to me. The idea of addressing the issue of income inequality, which I believe is paramount to the future of America (and other places around the world), will be “tackled” by the Biden administration or they’ll only last one term. (Actually, at almost 77 I believe Biden will be a one term president regardless – the issue is whether his administration will be the beginning of a true turning point in America) The Wall Street billionaires are going to be FIGHTING this “progressive change” every step of the way – that, you can count on.

I believe the concern that individual 1 had been fully exposed via his incompetence in “leading” the response to Covid-19 had put the people at Goldman Sachs (and their brethren on Wall Street) on edge and now, seeing MILLIONS of young people – black, brown, and white – in the streets protesting America’s systemic inequality while, at the same time, registering to VOTE really has them looking at their “red flags.” Their goal is suffocating control of America’s “levers of power” in the government – the “White House,” the Congress, and the Courts which they refer to as the “permanent republican ‘majority.'” The bottom line is these people are way too similar to fascists – and, we’re hearing that comparison by way more than me of late – like, for example, General James Mattis – and, it’s up to “we the people” to vote individual 1 and as many republican Senators out of office this November as we possibly can.

There will be a lot of MONEY spent in this upcoming election and it seems clear to me the members of Wall Street and “K” street are in a sense of panic at this point. God help us if they find a way to pull off another “win” with a significant loss in the “popular vote.” The difference in the poll numbers, at this point, are seemingly not possible for individual 1 to overcome – however, the Electoral College – which is antiquated and gives the votes of people in Wyoming much more power than the votes in California – is what will define the winner of the election. What is encouraging to me is my hope young people will vote. I believe the future is theirs and if they are voting in large numbers I will be happy with the result – even if I disagree with it. Of course, I can’t imagine a majority of young Americans voting for individual 1. They are fully invested in issues like Climate Change, gun safety, income inequality, universal health care, affordable college (tuition free?) and, of course, reform of the role of police in our society. (I could, and likely will, write a full post about that)

Here’s the bottom line – I just don’t believe America will EVER stand for some kind of fascist type leader in the “White House.” As individual 1 makes his pseudo dictator tendencies more evident while Americans mourn the MURDER of George Floyd his poll numbers drop – and, he can’t help himself. The question will be whether or not this is possible again – because his shortcomings were all too apparent prior to his ascension into the “White House.” I’ve said many times the right wing group of people who believe the wealthy few should rule us all are not going away – they just continue their push to turn America into a fascist state and will continue to do so. They’ll be fighting for individual 1 right up to November 3rd – which is why “we the people” need to flood the polls with our demand for change.

Obviously, in 2016 there were two candidates who were “under water” in regard to “favorabilities” along with Russian interference on individual 1’s side and then, of course, James Comey stepping into the situation in a way which TOTALLY favored individual 1. In fact, I was closely watching the polling at the time and will go to my grave believing Comey was the reason individual 1 “won” the election. I keep thinking, will it be Barr putting himself in the “fray” in late October next time in an attempt to save individual 1? Democrats must be prepared to dodge the “kitchen sink” because our IMPEACHED so-called president will be “throwing it” at them between now and November! Individual 1 will be focusing his campaign in a way to turn Biden’s “favorabilities” toward his own. Personally, I don’t think that’s possible. Stay tuned….

Final Thought: I’ve said from the beginning individual 1 is NOT going to be re-elected based on the economy (which he inherited from President Obama and which he is in the process of decimating). So, today it was announced there was an increase in jobs by about 2.5 MILLION jobs when the expectation was another loss of MILLIONS of jobs. Of course, the jobs situation among people of color remains bleak, but none of this, in my view should be relevant to what needs to happen on November 3rd. I’ve said several times the democrats are doing everything they can to help “save” the economy (for individual 1) with proposals such as the PPP program – which, in my view, may be the reason for this unexpected “jump” in job numbers. Employers were required to rehire workers via that program and, on this I’m not sure, there’s a question as to for how long they must be rehired. If they had to rehire the employees to turn their loans into grants – they may be able to turn around and furlough them again if things don’t pick up after a month or two.

Individual 1 will face re-election with a record I can’t imagine anyone would relish running on. And, the fact he’s virtually abandoned any response to the pandemic suggests he’s all in on the “herd immunity” theory and, we can already see the numbers of Americans infected with the virus going up. He’s likely to be going into “election day” with over 200 THOUSAND Americans perished due to the virus. Add that to his response to the protests of the MURDER/LYNCHING of George Floyd and I’m having a hard time with the idea there’s more of “we the people” who approve of that than those who, like me, can’t wait for the day when individual 1 is dealing with the aftermath of his four years at the helm of this nation – beginning with answering to the TWO felonies which were key to sending Michael Cohen to prison for three years. And, that will simply be the beginning of the issues he likely will be facing in various courtrooms.

I have to add: While I’m pleased that a number of “Generals” are coming out to “protest” the actions of individual 1 as he’s calling out the military to “dominate” the very Americans they take an oath to defend via the constitution I have to throw in my “two cents” in regard to John Kelly. While it was encouraging to hear the words he spoke yesterday I’m unable to forget the words he spoke when individual 1 called on him to defend his (individual 1’s) “deplorable” phone conversation our IMPEACHED so-called president had with the wife of the soldier killed in Niger a couple of years ago. While at the press podium of the “White House” Kelly exposed his own racist and misogynist issues as he LIED about the African American congresswoman from Florida in addition to LYING about President Obama. I’ve never heard an apology coming from Mr. Kelly so, personally, I’d much prefer to be listening to people like James Mattis, John Allen, Mike Mullen, Richard Myers, Martin Dempsey, William Perry, William McRaven, James Stavridis, Raymond Thomas, Mike Hayden, and Ash Carter – for starters.

Rick Wilson wrote a book titled “Everything (individual 1) touches dies” and, I would suggest, to those of us who remember Mr. Kelly’s performance at the podium that day, he lost his status as an honorable member of the military. I believe he’ll be remembered similar to Mark Esper and Mike Pompeo – two West Point graduates who have totally forgotten their pledge to the honor code. And, Mark Milley, who chose to walk across the street in D.C. to St John’s Church for individual 1’s “photo op” while holding a Bible (upside down) which he likely has no idea what’s in it other than knowing there’s “two Corinthians” – with Milley standing next to him in his battle fatigues was “deplorable.”

I don’t believe we’ll ever know the true affect of the Covid-19 pandemic on America because I’m convinced there are several republican governors who are LYING about the number of deaths in their jurisdictions and, likely, the number of people infected as well. These are places where “opening up” happened quickly (in some instances they never instigated “stay at home” orders) and, in my opinion to protect the politicians, the full extent of the disease in their states was/is being covered up. This “feeling” has been confirmed by various people in regard to Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and Texas (off the top of my head) – with instances like not reporting the deaths in nursing homes and/or meat packing plants – as if the people there don’t count. And, I don’t think those states are the only ones. Despite all that; we’re already seeing another “spike” – this one, I believe, resulting from the Memorial Day weekend. The results of these protests and Covid-19 will be determined in the next few weeks. Stay tuned………………

Here’s another thing: For all those who are listening to the generals coming out opposing individual 1 with surprise, they should read “Anonymous” which was written by a “Senior (individual 1) Administration Official” where you get over 200 pages of “evidence” corroborating what James Mattis and all the others are now saying. This should not be surprising to anyone. Individual 1 has a history of being affiliated with organized criminals and he appears to think that’s a “good look” as our IMPEACHED so-called president. Originally, I wasn’t going to buy and then read this book because I, like many others, thought the author should identify herself. (I used that pronoun because I had the sense all the way through the read that it was written by Kellyanne Conway – we’ll see) After reading it, I believe every American SHOULD read the book. It makes it very clear “we the people” MUST vote this thug out of office in November.

I’ve made reference on numerous occasions to the parallels between individual 1 and Hitler’s Nazi Germany – to me, starting with the use of the “Big Lie Theory” to push their propaganda – all over social media – and, to anyone who might listen. The reference I heard the other day of the Nazi’s strategy of “Divide and Conquer” fits individual 1 “to a tee.” (This reference came from James Mattis, former Secretary of Defense) And, individual 1 won’t change and as the polls look worse he’s going to act with more desperation with tactics most of us could NEVER even imagine coming from the “White House” of this nation. I’ve been saying for a couple years now it will be America’s young people going to the polls who will save this nation from this “deplorable” IMPEACHED so-called president. Originally, I thought, at some point, the republican party would come to its senses and they’d be the ones saying “ENOUGH.” Obviously, on that one, I was wrong – they’re going to go down with the ship. At this point I just hope it’s a thorough “thrashing” come November. The future of this nation is at stake.