OK, I’ve pointed out over and over here that individual 1 uses the “Big Lie Theory” of the Nazi’s in order to cause people to believe demonstrably FALSE propaganda is true. By repeating his LIES over and over again people start to believe he MUST be telling the truth. In the case of the upcoming election our IMPEACHED so-called president is attacking our election process as fraudulent to the point where I don’t doubt many of his supporters are believing the only way he can lose is by a rigged election. This is pure Nazi propaganda and he uses it because it works with his uneducated voters and the help of his sycophants on Fox “news” like Sean Hannity – who is volunteering for a place in the History book I often talk about where individual 1 and his supporters will sit, right next to Benedict Arnold.

I’ve been pointing out the parallels between individual 1, the republican party, and the Third Reich back in the 1930’s in Germany for the past couple of years, and the one which bugs me the most, I suppose, has been the “base” of evangelical “Christians.” That was the “base” of Adolf Hitler which you can read about in the biography of (Dietrich) “Bonhoeffer” by Eric Metaxas (a great book, in my view) if you don’t believe me. I’ve often lamented my difficulty in understanding how any “Christian” could support individual 1, but I’m coming to understand my own naivete and “forgetfulness” in my understanding of American History. I’m presently reading “White Too Long” by Robert P Jones – a book studying “The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity.”

What was I thinking? – White Christians were the force behind slavery, Jim Crow, Lynchings, Segregation, and the battle to prevent African Americans from voting among other “deplorable” things all throughout our history. Me, thinking conservative “Christians” couldn’t possibly be supporting a neo-Fascist like individual 1 was, well, pure “poppycock.” In my naivete I keep thinking we’re reading the same Bible as I struggle to understand how so many “Christians” could interpret it in such a “dark” way. In my view, individual 1 is encouraging the violence engulfing our major cities which, to me, is due to a continuation of the LYNCHING of Black Americans by the police – and, then, our IMPEACHED so-called president uses the protests which result from the MURDERING of one Black man after another to suggest this is what America will be like under a Biden presidency. Of course, the TRUTH is, this is how it is in individual 1’s America, under his OWN administration. This is projection, pure and simple!

The reality is “Christians” have been the force behind “White Supremacy” for generations upon generations. We saw the emergence of the so-called “Tea Party” once “we the people” chose a person of “color,” Barack Obama to be our president. Anyone who watched the gatherings of the “Tea Party” back then would be deluding themselves if they fail to accept, as reality, the “Tea Party” was founded on racism. Today’s racists in America seem to go out of their way to shroud their racism in a way they consider giving them deniability. But, it’s undeniable individual 1 got his “footing” in the 2016 election via his pushing of the “birther” movement against President Obama – a “strategy” republicans are “dusting off” because we now have another person of color on the upcoming ballot.

Sadly, many of these racists are part of various denominations of Christianity – it’s undeniable. And, let me assure you, the fact individual 1 can get Black football players to stand in front of the republican convention and say, “individual 1 is not a racist” does not make it so. As those who’ve said, “watch what he does, not what he says,” in regard to individual 1 – by doing so, and examining his history – actual things he’s said and done – and you have to be delusional to believe he’s not a racist. I mean I just mentioned the “birther” thing – then there’s the refusing to rent to people of color, the “Central Park Five,” the “Mexicans are rapists, etc,” the “Shithole countries” comment, the references of multiple people listening to him using the “N word,” and on and on.

Again, my disappointment is caused by the FACT his “base” is made up of “Christians,” not that he’s a racist. This country is teaming with racists and many people like myself, who believe we’re NOT racists, actually have a lot of soul searching to do as we watch another UNARMED Black MAN shot by police – this time SEVEN times in the BACK as his three children were sitting in the car he was attempting to enter. Someone needs to tell police to STOP shooting unarmed Black Americans. I was raised by a person, my father, I considered a racist and when I went to college to play basketball and found myself on a team with Black teammates I instantly realized I had been TAUGHT to fear people of color and it was shameful.

The reality, in America, is that segregation is NOT a thing of the past. While I believe there have been many advances since I was a young person the obvious reality is there’s a LONG way to go. Just listening to the republican convention where there have been multiple people warning “housewives” about what will happen to the “suburbs” in “Joe Biden’s America” confirms we have a LONG way to go – this is being said in a national political “convention.” Of course, that’s a “dog whistle” to warn White people about – well, I’ll let you fill in the blank – what’s going to happen to their neighborhoods if………… Individual 1 started this “deplorable” line of fear mongering – and, it’s been picked up by others making it a key part of the republican party’s 2020 agenda. Yikes!!!

Remember, the republicans chose to shred any semblance of a “platform,” ceding the republican message to whatever comes off the top of individual 1’s head. And, members of the “Christian” community who’ve “hitched their wagons” to individual 1, are, essentially, approving so many things which, at least to me, are contrary to the teachings of Jesus. Obviously, we’re all “sinners,” but we also have the ability to process information and choose between what is clearly a challenge to the issue of “right and wrong.” Individual 1, as I’ve been saying for years now, is creating DAMAGE to this nation which will take years, maybe decades to “fix” – especially, if he CHEATS his way into another term in office.

I’ve pointed out for years the bedrock of this nation, for example, is the Justice Department. Americans believing in the apolitical administration of Justice is the foundation of our republic. Obviously, if you’re a Black person you have a completely different picture of whether our Justice Department is “fair,” and now ALL of us are seeing the department politicized into a “weapon” by William Barr serving the whims of our IMPEACHED so-called president. To “throw” his disregard for our belief that this is a “nation of laws and not men,” individual 1 is ENCOURAGING a new level of lawbreaking during the republican convention of all things. (Why am I not surprised?)

Clearly, individual 1’s supporters say they believe in “law and order,” but they could care less when our IMPEACHED so-called president is “flipping off” the constitution and our system of laws. For example: The Hatch Act was passed back in the late 1930’s to prevent members of the executive branch of government from mixing politics with their official duties. Many people are upset by the blatant abuse of that Act during the republican convention, but when you do a little research you see members of individual 1’s administration have been routinely violating the Hatch Act since the early days of the administration.

Kellyanne Conway has announced she is leaving the administration at the end of August, with her final official act being a speech at this republican convention, but the Office of Legal Counsel long ago said she SHOULD have been relieved of her duties because she was routinely violating the Hatch Act. There have been NUMEROUS violations of the Hatch Act by others during individual 1’s term in office and, as far as I can tell, there has been not ONE instance of accountability so it should NOT be a surprise to see blatant middle fingers at the LAW during this convention. Yes, they’re violating the law and NO nothing will come of it. They believe their supporters don’t care, and I believe they’re correct – sadly.

For example, I tried to watch part of the “convention” on the last night and – I guess I haven’t been paying attention to the “news” lately, but there were surely OVER 1000 chairs situated on the lawn of the “White House” where individual 1 was holding his “convention” – after being spurned by North Carolina and Florida due to the pandemic. (And, of course, republicans were making a point of NOT “social distancing” or wearing masks) Here’s the rub – virtually EVERY one of individual 1’s surrogates, including his daughter, who spoke on the “White House” grounds was violating the Hatch Act. That’s the “people’s house” and it’s a violation of the law to do any political campaigning on Federal property – period, full stop! This is our “law and order” IMPEACHED so-called president in action.

November 3rd can’t come soon enough for me and I hope progressive Americans vote in even greater numbers than they did in 2018 when they first repudiated individual 1. Yes, he’s got a cult following and he’ll get 40% of the vote, but it’s up to “we the people” to put an end to this nightmare. And, it’s going to be difficult to recover from the DAMAGE individual 1 has inflicted upon America, but the sooner we start the sooner we can get beyond it. The sad reality is the DYING from Covid-19 will continue at a pace which was unnecessary had we a national plan to deal with the pandemic and the reality of over 20 MILLION Americans out of work is depression level unemployment which is being “covered up” by the Fed pumping TRILLIONS into the stock market to keep it from “tanking.” Who knows what the numbers are for people “under employed” like my son who’s been called back to work, but for only 9 – 10 hours per week. Essentially, he’s still unemployed. (He works in a restaurant) 50 MILLION Americans have filed for unemployment since March!

Individual 1 continues to project his own failures on to Joe Biden. He’s assuming “we the people” are completely stupid. I’ve been saying for years the republican party is turning America into a corporatocracy where the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” I believe the “statistics” since the days of Ronald Reagan bears this out. At this point in time the issue of “income inequality” is suffocating this country – unless, of course, you’re in the class of people above the poverty line. Most of us in the “Baby Boomer” generation have benefited from the best of this country – yet, many of us are turning our backs on those less fortunate. To me, individual 1 has exacerbated this problem. His ONLY legislative “accomplishment” is a tax cut (scam) for those who ABSOLUTELY didn’t need it and, as he leaves office, this country will be bleeding debt like it never has before.

And, while Joe Biden is campaigning on a message of “unity,” I can guarantee you the remnants of what’s left of the republican party after this election – should Biden win and the Senate be turned “blue” – will be returning to the days of the “deficit hawks” and the only way we will see unity in America is if “we the people,” after the election, stay “connected” and demand the change which MOST of us understand is necessary if we are ever to be “united.” We need to face up to our problems, HONESTLY. We need to face up to our history, HONESTLY. And, we need to choose whether we want to be a country of “haves and have nots” going forward. It will take what republicans (and some democrats and independents) consider radical changes to get America back to where we have a flourishing middle class.

And, finally, we need to DEMAND that White police officers STOP shooting Black unarmed Americans. Thanks to cell phone videos we’re seeing what has been going on for years (centuries?) as Black Americans keep getting MURDERED (Lynched). I watched the latest example in horror as Jacob Blake was shot SEVEN times in the BACK by a police officer as he was entering a car full of his children – clearly unarmed. I watched in horror as George Floyd was MURDERED on the streets of Minneapolis – suffocated to death with one police officer’s knee on his neck and another with his knee on the middle of his back and another on his legs. Rayshard Brooks was killed by police in Memphis and it was caught on video. And, Breonna Taylor, there’s no video and how many others have been killed with no video? Was this even mentioned at the republican convention?

I could only stomach so much, but I didn’t hear anything – other than a couple rich White people who aimed their automatic weapons at protesters walking PEACEFULLY through their neighborhood being asked to speak despite being under indictment – confirming individual 1’s warning about “housewives” in the “suburbs” which would suggest republicans still don’t “get” that “Black Lives Matter.” The encouraging part of all this, to me, is there are MANY White Americans standing arm in arm with Black Americans who’ve finally said “enough already.” I’ve always said government should work from the “bottom up” NOT from the “top down” – as it has since the days of Reagan. And, of course, it’s not just people of “color” who are at the “bottom,” and, to me, our focus as a nation should be how we can make things more equitable for everyone, how do we “lift” people up? And, while republicans will cry out “socialism, socialism” I believe there is a balance place between “socialism” and a regulated capitalist society.

For those who say they believe in “free markets,” I say, that is, “free markets” that are set up (regulated) to their interests. I don’t believe there have EVER been “free markets” in America during my lifetime. The disconnect between Wall Street and “Main Street” today is the perfect example of what I’m talking about. If we had “free markets” we would be totally in the middle of another “Great Depression.” When you watch the Fed manipulating the markets – meaning Wall Street – it’s hard to suggest we have “free markets.” In 2008 Wall Street was bailed out on a much smaller scale than what is happening right now – but, my point is, America does NOT have a “free market” economy. It’s got an economy which is skewed toward the wealthy, period! That’s what “we the people” want to see changed – a fairer “playing field.”

Final Thought: Try to picture what it’s like to be a Black person in America. It seems, to me, a bit outrageous listening to our IMPEACHED so-called president listing “Antifa” as a “terrorist organization” – when Black Americans consider the Police to be a terrorist organization. And, of course, when you read about our history, you can see why Black Americans would FEAR those in the Churches who’ve participated in the systemic racism over the years – which has morphed into official “LYNCHINGS” by the police where, back in the early to mid twentieth century, the LYNCHINGS often materialized right from the pulpit of various churches. It really is TIME to deal with this issue and those who identify with White Nationalism, in my view, need to be encouraged to retreat to the rocks they were hiding under prior to Obama’s election.

And, do you find it a bit of “deplorable” irony that individual 1 and his supporters are basing their campaign on claiming what is happening in our streets RIGHT NOW is what you can expect from “Joe Biden’s America.” These people are such LIARS that they’ve evolved to the point where their LYING is referencing their OWN failures. I’ll say it once more, the saddest part in all this is, to me, the FACT it’s the “Christian community” – and, I should say MOST “conservative Christians” – who form the “base” of our IMPEACHED so-called president. I’m a, I guess, LIBERAL Christian and I find little to NOTHING coming from the “White House” which comports to my understanding of the Bible. Stay tuned………………

OK, speaking of “Antifa,” the dreaded “terrorist organization” according to individual 1 and William Barr. There have been many arrests, so far, in the demonstrations for “Black Lives Matter,” regarding those creating vandalism and violence, and, as far as I can tell, not ONE of them has been someone affiliated with “Antifa.” The other night in Kenosha there was a group of self proclaimed “militia” walking the streets carrying automatic weapons and one of them, a young 17 year old boy, killed two people and wounded a third – then walked right out of town past police cars and vans without incident. Do you think they let him walk out because he’s White? Later, the police, who had earlier tossed him a water bottle and thanked him for being there, (picture if there was a group of Black men carrying AR15’s at the protest – would the police been tossing them water bottles???) arrested him and charged him with two felony homicides – and, this young man is a strong supporter of individual 1 – NOT Antifa! Additionally, of all the others arrested across the many protests in America (that is, in individual 1’s America), from what I’ve read, many have been affiliates of the group calling itself “Boogaloo.” They converge on protests in order to instigate violence and destruction – attempting to put the blame on the peaceful protesters and, of course, “Antifa” – whatever that is. Sad!

As I have for years, everyday after I turn on the computer I go to Yahoo! Finance to check out the stock market and, during this pandemic when we have a DEPRESSION level of unemployed Americans it’s almost mind boggling to see the market creeping up to record territory. Of course the TRILLIONS of stimulus – up to this point in time something approaching $10 TRILLION, most of which is being “pumped” into the market by Jerome Powell of the Fed, is going to lead to interesting discussions when all is “said and done” with the virus – whenever that might be. In anticipation of republicans taking a “bath” in the upcoming election I already sense the “deficit hawks” coming out of hibernation – just as they did following the “Great Recession” brought on by Bush/Cheney.

Of course, the Bush/Cheney recession “hit” the country right as we were getting ready to vote for either Barack Obama or John McCain who famously undermined his own campaign by claiming the “The fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong” as America was cratering toward what COULD have been another “Great Depression.” Sound familiar? Well, except, in my view, the economy is in FAR worst condition now than it was back then. Republicans have agreed to approximately TEN times the “stimulus” they agreed to in the so-called TARP bailout AND, they’ve done a good job in hiding where the BULK of that (around $10 TRILLION) has gone. They’re laying the groundwork for a massive attack on the Biden administration which, if history is any indicator, will begin prior to Biden actually taking the oath of office regarding the “Biden deficit.” I’m not kidding!

In other words, due to the incompetence, the LYING, and the CHEATING of individual 1 there’s a good chance republicans will be “down” – but, unless Biden, should he win, has a progressive and courageous start to his administration and MANY republican senators get “retired” along with individual 1, we’ll see the same playbook which has happened over and over in the years since Reagan turned America sharply to the “right” as if it’s a “broken record.” And, by the way, when you look back at Bush/Cheney you see the LYING, the incompetence, and the CHEATING – just in more subtle ways. Dick Cheney was, in my view, every bit as “deplorable” as individual 1, he was just a more polished politician as he went about trying to turn America into a corporatocracy – the equivalency of a Mussolini type fascism – that believes in TORTURE. We stopped that attack on our “better angels” back in 2008 and, hopefully, we’ll stop it again in 2020. But, brace yourself!

As I’ve said here, many times, I’m an old man in my mid 70’s and (too) MANY of my peers are part of the Fox “news” audience. I had discussions with two of them this past week, two people I can talk about politics and they don’t start throwing things – like many of the Fox viewers I’ve encountered over the years. In our discussion I’ve been reminded of the surveys of American voters where it was determined those who watch Fox “news” are the least informed of all the Americans surveyed – including people who don’t watch anything considered “news” on TV. And, that’s saying something, because Sinclair Broadcasting is “beamed” into the homes of nearly 40% of American households, so most people get at least some “news” via TV and, very likely, it’s right wing propaganda. (Thankfully, Sinclair is NOT beamed into mine and I call it the “one minute challenge” when I tune into Fox in a futile attempt to see what they’re saying – the LIES are ALWAYS pouring forth at a level causing me to change the station before I can even make it to that one minute “challenge”)

I believe individual 1 is a traitor to this country which puts his cowardly sycophants, also, in a very DARK part of our history books. If they, led by William Barr, somehow figure out how to CHEAT to “win” another election it will just make their place in History even DARKER – because the young people of this country won’t tolerate another four years of this, as us “baby boomers” have – claiming the system will survive and, in the end, will be standing tall. I still believe that, but I expect our IMPEACHED so-called president to pull out “all the stops” in order to avoid facing our legal system once he’s out of office. To me, he’s nothing but a cheap wannabee mob boss who bullied, LIED, manipulated, and, yes, CHEATED in order to fool MILLIONS of Americans into voting for him. After all, you’d think his “Christian” base wouldn’t be too happy with someone who admitted to being a sexual predator right before the last election. Yet, they voted for him anyway!

You’d think it would be hard to find ANY American who would be OK with individual 1 paying off two women he had illicit affairs with right before the election so his “Christian” base wouldn’t know about this – and, of course, the affairs were while his present wife was bearing his last son which, to me, makes it even worse. And, of course, you’d think it would be hard to find ANY American who would be OK with a politician encouraging Russia to help him “win” the election. I bring this up because of the three Fox “news” viewers I’ve conversed with of late, two of them had NO idea about any of this. One even said, “I believe those are conspiracy theories.” Nice guy, but he reminded me of when individual 1 said, “I love uneducated voters.” Yikes! I taught my sixth graders to process information better than that.

Look, I was NOT a Joe Biden supporter during the primaries, but I understand why the democrats ended up choosing him – the NUMBER ONE goal of the democrats is to IMPEACH individual 1 for good because the republicans failed to convict him when they had the opportunity after his FIRST IMPEACHMENT. I was hoping a strong, young progressive would emerge who could appeal to those of us in the “middle” who understand the word “conservative” has been twisted into “knots” over the past 40+ years in this nation. The “trickle down” economic scam pulled over “we the people’s” eyes, originally, by Ronald Reagan has morphed into the politics of GREED where those who don’t “fit the mold” are simply “collateral damage.” I’m a Christian who believes Jesus was EMPHATIC when he said, “What you do to the least of these, you do to ME.” As a people, we’ve lost sight of that message.

“Trickle down” economics was simply a mechanism allowing the wealthiest Americans, including multi-national corporations, to FLEECE the American taxpayers of TRILLIONS of dollars – money which COULD have been spent on rebuilding our infrastructure to world class standing – instead of letting our roads and bridges crumble. Money which COULD have been invested in our people, lowering the cost of higher education for our young people or providing retraining for those who have lost their jobs because of corporations choosing China’s workers over America’s. (And, of course, then these corporations do everything they can to avoid paying a cent in American taxes)

Again, today, as MILLIONS of Americans are facing evictions, being unable to pay their basic bills, and likely losing hope Wall Street continues to march upward. As I’ve been trying to point out lately, the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street has NEVER been more evident. That is bound to change soon because of the lack of a “deal” in Congress – and, don’t tell me it’s the fault of “both sides.” That’s an absurd argument! The “HEROES Act” has been sitting on Moscow Mitch’s desk for over three months now. It was the “gift from above” by the democrats to the republicans in the face of the upcoming election and, still, they don’t “get it.” It’s as if the republicans WANT people to be suffering because they believe that will cause them to either NOT vote or to vote for them – as if individual 1 is “good for the economy.”

Actually, one of my friends I mentioned above actually said that is why he supports individual 1, the economy. I said, “Do you believe the economy is in good shape right now?” And, of course, he answered, “Yes.” I said, “Do you understand there’s maybe as many as 30 MILLION Americans unemployed right now, Depression numbers?” And, he answered, “I don’t believe that.” All I could say was, “Man, you’ve got to stop watching Fox “news.” This is a clear failure of our “liberal media.” Individual 1 inherited a healthy economy and is going to pass on an economy in a depression – yet, the polls agree with my friend. People, somehow, believe individual 1 would be better for the economy than Biden. The only words I can pull up: “Only in America.”

I keep thinking about people like Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and others in the upper echelon of America’s wealthiest people seeing their net worth this year rise dramatically, I can’t help but think of how this nation’s economy worked when I was a kid – the Eisenhower, Kennedy, LBJ years. Top earners, in those days, paid 90% of their earnings above and beyond a certain point – which I believe, in equivalent dollars, would amount to around a few MILLION dollars today. I fully believe we need to return to something similar to those days. A way to discourage GREED and encourage corporations and their executives to reinvest excess profits back into their companies or communities or workers. Corporations really do have a responsibility to the communities in which they’re located – just as they have a responsibility to their workers – who, of course, could be the recipients of some of that excess at the top.

I certainly don’t know how those who are raking in the BILLIONS manage to avoid paying taxes, I just know they pay a lot of money to the top accountants who are able to figure out how to get around the tax laws. When Hillary Clinton pointed out individual 1 hadn’t paid taxes for something like 15 years, his response wasn’t “no, you’re wrong,” it was “That makes me smart.” When the person at the top is openly CHEATING the system why would we expect anything different from other top earners. It’s been reported, for example, that Jeff Bezos has had his “net worth” increase by $68 BILLION the last time I checked, THIS YEAR and that was a month or two ago. I’m afraid to ask what it has risen to since.

CEO’s shouldn’t be able to hide their income in stock options or in places like the Cayman Islands in a tax “shelter.” There’s NO corporate tax there, so many American corporations and/or corporate executives locate their “corporate identity” in a PO Box in the Cayman’s and end up paying no tax. I’m not sure if that’s how Amazon did it, but it’s obscene to me they are paying NO taxes AND looking for HUGE tax breaks as they pit one American city against another for the next distribution center while they are profiting in the BILLIONS. This is what happens when you have a political party which is afraid to regulate business so that the American workers and the American infrastructure where the businesses operate are protected. It’s almost as if corporations “bleed” one location dry and then, after depreciating their assets, simply pack up and move to a new location to start the process all over again.

And, we keep falling for it – allowing ourselves to be convinced republicans are better able to manage the economy. This actually flies in the face of the empirical evidence. Bush/Cheney left a potential return to a “Great Depression” – they had inherited a booming economy from the Clinton/Gore administration. Al Gore “lost” the election in 2000 because Bill Clinton couldn’t keep his pants zipped up AND, of course, because republicans CHEATED and got the Supreme Court to stop the recount of the votes where the CHEATING took place.

Well, I guess you could say “deja vu all over again” considering individual 1 inherited an economy which had been gaining “steam” for OVER 6 straight years and it ONLY took him two and a half years to turn it into ANOTHER possible “Great Depression.” Of course, as I’ve said, the people at the “top” (of the “food chain”) like Bezos, Zuckerman, Bloomberg, and others are getting RICHER by the minute despite the appearance individual 1 will be passing on an economy, once again, in “tatters.” This time could be really BAD, because I believe, for example, Mr. Powell can only “pump” so much money into Wall Street before it collapses and then we’ll all know how serious the situation individual 1 is leaving us really is.

I’ve been suggesting for a couple years now, to anyone interested in better understanding what is going on behind the scene at the “top,” for people to read “The Family” by Jeff Sharlet. There’s a group of people who believe those who are the most wealthy and powerful SHOULD be ruling the rest of us. Every time I try to understand who is behind the support individual 1 is getting I keep thinking of this group. They kind of go hand in hand with the dominionists. “We the people” aren’t smart enough to “self rule” they believe – these people HATE anything approaching a democracy. Many of their members, at the time Sharlet wrote the book – he managed to infiltrate the organization – were republican members of Congress who lived together in a house on “K Street” in Washington DC. These are the people who started the national prayer breakfast and, lest you get the wrong idea, they invited people like Indonesian mass murder Suharto to their meetings – despite the FACT he authorized the MURDER of half a MILLION Indonesians – he was considered a “strong ruler.” Sound familiar?

My point in all of this is, if you believe the American economy is “strong” right now, well, I’d say you’re dead wrong. I believe the foundation of sand, on which the economy sits, is about to erode in a significant amount. I certainly hope I’m wrong – because, I don’t believe “we the people” are going to vote in numbers enough for our IMPEACHED so-called president to “win” no matter where the economy is – and, of course, my other point is, Wall Street is NOT the “economy.” We are witnessing the epitome of income inequality – which, as I remember reading Marx back in my college days (obviously, many years ago) – this is how, theoretically, a capitalist economic system would collapse. I hope we don’t choose to go to that extreme.

Our traditional – and, of course, I’m talking about what I grew up with – combination of capitalism AND a social safety net type of government – what Bernie Sanders calls “democratic socialism” is what I hope ends up “ruling the day.” Should “we the people” fail to remove individual 1 from the “White House” – no matter how he might CHEAT in order to “win” – for example, we KNOW right now he’s still working with the Russians – our system of government, as we’ve known it, will likely collapse. The wealthy few in this nation must understand they CAN’T continue FLEECING our taxpayers indefinitely. They’ve been doing this since 1981 and “enough already.” More and more of them are realizing, for example, the didn’t need – nor warrant – the previous tax scam of the republicans. It’s time to return to the days of tax policy prior to Reagan’s initial tax cut to the top rates which started this massive almost encouraging America’s wealthy to embrace their GREED! To me, that’s not something to be encouraged!

And, it appears fleecing Americans of their tax dollars isn’t good enough for individual 1’s version of the republican party. Just the other day, Steve Bannon and three of his buddies were arrested and indicted on a scheme where they’ve allegedly raised MILLIONS from unsuspecting “dupes,” ie their “uneducated voters,” as if they would pay to build the wall – on people’s private property no less. Well, it appears, these MILLIONS of dollars coming from their lowest level of supporter have been merged into the private accounts of Bannon and his friends to fund a very LAVISH lifestyle. This fraudulent use of privately raised funds the supporters intended to help run the campaigns appears to go way deeper than the scam Bannon was arrested for. Some of the “Super PAC’s” are funding other leading republican grifters in ways I can only hope become exposed once this criminal organization is out of the “White House.” Americans of all “stripes” are suffering but, it seems, that just makes them more of a target for this administration!

Final Thought: If you don’t believe the attack on the Postal Service is serious and might actually allow individual 1 to succeed in STEALING another election the only evidence I have is based on my personal experience selling items on Ebay which get sent all over the country. I only sell a few items each month but, starting a little over a month ago I started noticing my packages, which I follow closely via the tracking system, have been arriving anywhere from one to three days LATE. Obviously, this could create a situation come November where MANY MANY voters could find their votes arriving at the polls LATE. I hope that doesn’t happen to anyone, no matter who they’re voting for. Of course, the data would suggest MOST people who are wanting to “vote from home” are affiliated with democrats. The latest package I’ve been tracking is NOW 5 days LATE and won’t be delivered today!

Individual 1 and his band of cowardly cronies, as I’ve said, will – and, now are, throwing everything INCLUDING the “kitchen sink” at his unsuspecting “base” to convince them if he loses – which, it appears if we have a FAIR election, he will – the election “was rigged.” Of course, he was saying the exact same thing four years ago – also refusing to say he would accept the results when MOST people thought Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 election. I have to add, Nate Silver at Fivethirtyeight.com works in percentages – ie he’s now saying individual 1 has a 27% chance to “win” based on all the polling and research he does (and he’s very good). Four years ago he was giving individual 1 a 29% chance to win at about this time and it was his website I was watching during the final days, after Comey’s now infamous “intervention” in the process, where they were showing the surge in the polling away from Clinton toward our now IMPEACHED so-called president.

That’s just one more reason for democrats to remain diligent right up until election day, but today when I read about Putin’s nemesis in Russia, Alexei Novalnay, who is lying in a coma fighting for his life as I’m writing this, I couldn’t help but think of what individual 1 would prefer America to be like. That is, Putin just has his opponents jailed or, if that doesn’t work, they mysteriously become poisoned. There is so much evidence suggesting Putin has the “goods” on individual 1, also called “kompromat,” that I’m just struggling to understand how any American could choose to vote for someone this deplorable. As responsible citizens we are (SHOULD BE) required to educate ourselves prior to voting and, as I’ve said, watching Fox “news” is NOT educating yourself. Cross check the information with actual facts – they really are out there. Individual 1 is attempting to STEAL this election “in plain sight” and it boggles my mind he conceivably could get away with it. I’m VOTING EARLY and making sure my ballot reaches the location where it will be counted! That’s the least I can do for my country!

I’m half joking when I tell my friends, “I can’t remember if I washed my hair when I get out of the shower.” (Person, woman, man, ????, TV” – you see, I know #4 will come to me later but not in time to “pass” the “test” and, I may have got “woman and man” in the wrong order – it was a guess) I point this out because when I get motivated to sit down to write about individual 1 and his brazen attack on the fundamental values of our country there are so many issues I could include in the “evidence” for my thoughts, but I can’t remember them all. They’re coming so fast it’s hard to remember one outrage in the face of two more, etc. And, our IMPEACHED so-called president is virtually saying, “what are you going to do about it” in regard to our authorities.

How can he get away with that? Well, in two words, the answer is simple, “William Barr.” Instead of preventing individual 1 from stepping over another “line” Barr is busy trying to find a way to undermine Biden’s bid to win the “White House” this November. And, he doesn’t have much time because the actual voting will begin in just a few weeks. I believe I will be able to send in my ballot in early October and you can BET I’m going to figure out how to make sure it makes it to where the votes are counted. I live in a district in a “liberal” state that is barely controlled by “conservatives.” I believe this district was the result of gerrymandering done after the 2010 Census which took areas of our state’s capital, Olympia, out of my district and replaced them with some communities which are staunchly “conservative.”

That being said, I don’t believe individual 1 has a snowball’s chance in HE double toothpick to win the state of Washington come November. If that happens, the CHEATING will have been very REAL! In Washington state I have confidence Barr’s “October Surprise” will backfire, but, as I said, my state is already a “lost cause” for individual 1. When you think about it, the FACT “we the people” are concerned our Attorney General is a partisan “HACK” for individual 1 pretty much says it all. I actually thought that would be impossible. In fact, it’s possible the West will be a big part of the “Blue Wave” some pundits are referring to. For example, is it even possible individual 1 could lose in a place like Montana?

Well, even the right wing members of Montana’s Congressional delegation weren’t all that happy when the NEW Postmaster General (a disgusting lackey for our IMPEACHED so-called president) started pulling the neighborhood mailboxes from the state – you know, those BLUE mailboxes you’ve been dropping mail into for, well, your entire lifetime – apparently part of the plan to force “we the people” to stand in long lines to vote – passing the virus individual 1 believes will “just go away” – to one another.

This “plan” worked well in Wisconsin (making people stand in long lines to vote) during their primary a couple months ago. The right wing judge republicans felt would “win” because people would stay at home LOST – and SADLY, well over 50 Wisconsinites got the virus because they chose to vote. To me, those people are the true patriots. I haven’t read about ONE Wisconsin voter with bone spurs who refused to do their duty and vote! Americans of all creeds MUST find a way to get their VOTE to the polls this November 3rd so we can REMOVE this IMPEACHED so-called president from office – and, by the way, as many of his republican sycophants in the Senate as possible. They had the opportunity to do the “right thing” back in February when they KNEW he’d committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” and they chose to look the other way. Well, how did that work out for “we the people?”

I’ll try to list, off the top of my (old) head – see memory issues above – some of the issues which I believe under ANY other president there would begat unity in getting rid of him/her. Of course, the “Russia Thing” is disqualifying under any other circumstances. William Barr succeeded in – in the words of Barack Obama recently about the Post Office – kneecapping the report with his initial “summary” followed by his press briefing before he allowed it to become public. That being said, I read it twice and the evidence of “Obstruction of Justice” is overwhelming – whereas the “Obstruction of Congress” in the IMPEACHMENT articles exposed the identical lack of respect for our system of laws. This behavior was disqualifying – or, it SHOULD have been!

I read a lot of books (and, have a bunch on my nightstand right now) and I’m in the middle of “Separated” by Jacob Soberoff. To me, this is a “must read” for every compassionate American. The policy of separating families at the border SHOULD be “un-American” if it’s not” but, this policy was ill-conceived, heartless, and has created too many situations where children will likely NEVER see their parent again – our border patrol creating orphans! Yikes!! It makes me sick to my stomach to write this and, no doubt, MANY children are STILL in these PRISON cells as I’m writing this and the disgusting policy is away from most people’s minds because, well, there’s SO MANY more scandals to wrap our minds around.

I graduated from High School in 1965 right about the time of the “Tonkin Gulf resolution” which was the LIE which pushed “we the people” “ass over teakettle” into the Viet Nam War – which we’d been part of since the days of Eisenhower, but LBJ pushed a half MILLION troops into a “war” which was impossible to “win” and which our military refused to admit that for several years as 50,000 Americans LOST their lives and countless others were messed up for the rest of their lives. And, the ones who came home faced anything but a heroes welcome and, sadly, the VA didn’t give them the help they needed – which is why Viet Nam is a sore spot to this day for me.

I joined the Marine PLC in 1967 where I was allowed to finish my Junior year of college and, then, I would report for boot camp back in Quantico Virginia. I never made it back to boot camp because a knee injury I incurred during football in 1962 resulted in doctors removing ALL of the cartilage from my left knee and the doctor who examined me looked at the x-rays and said, “son, if the Red Chinese were marching down Broadway in Portland (where the physical took place) we wouldn’t take you.” I actually argued that I could handle the hikes in boot camp he said would be too much. Later, I realized the “war” was a ruse and I became thankful for my “honorable discharge” although I still supported my classmates, many of whom DIED in Viet Nam – some for reasons which simply made me angry and, which I won’t go into here.

My point is individual 1, who dishonestly (would you expect anything less) got out of the service by getting his father to find a doctor who would say he had “bone spurs” so he could get a deferment. So, were you surprised when he did NOTHING, said NOTHING about the reality Vladimir Putin is PAYING bounties on American troops in Afghanistan. Should we be surprised after individual 1 threw our intelligence community “under the bus” in Helsinki while standing next to Putin. Honestly, I keep wondering, “who’s side is he really on?” If you’ve read the so-called “dossier” you, like me, are likely wondering what it is which keeps individual 1 so connected to Putin. The Senate Intelligence Committee just finished the last part of their investigation and, with total bipartisan agreement – like 14 of 15 members, voting for it and I can’t wait to read it. Apparently, the Senate report suggests individual 1 LIED to Robert Mueller!

It’s hard for me to forget – despite my worn out brain – individual 1 claiming there were “fine people on both sides” of the neo-Nazi march on Charlottesville a couple years ago. These thugs were wearing NAZI paraphernalia on their clothing, they were marching with Tiki Torches, and they were chanting “Jews will not replace us” over and over as they marched to the statue of a Confederate General who was responsible for the DEATH of THOUSANDS of American troops in the Civil War. Personally, I find it hard to say people like David Duke and his brethren are “very fine people” and you’d think an American president would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut in that situation. However, individual 1 sends a “dog whistle” to his “white nationalist” brethren every chance he gets. Picture if Barack Obama had done something like that with Black radicals! (OK, Qanon can make up an example where he did just that!)

Speaking of Covid-19, I haven’t said much, but his incompetence in dealing with a pandemic where President Obama gave him the “path” to stopping the virus before it engulfed our nation. But NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Individual 1 would NEVER do anything where Obama might get credit. He began is term in office by taking credit for the economy he “inherited” while, at the same time, making absurd accusations against Obama and those who were part of the Obama administration. All I can think of is “be careful what you wish for” because Biden has assured “we the people” he won’t interfere in any investigations of wrongdoing once we get our IMPEACHED so-called president out of office – even if he has to be dragged out of the “White House.”

I don’t think he could reasonably be IMPEACHED for incompetence in dealing with (actually choosing to be AWOL from) Covid-19. However, ordering troops into Lafayette Square in D.C. so he could have a photo op holding a Bible (upside down) which, my guess is it was someone else’s Bible and he’s NEVER read it is another matter entirely. Gassing peaceful protesters in order to do that, SHOULD be illegal if it’s not. And, having the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense with him as he did this was a bad look. IMPEACHABLE? I don’t know, but picture republicans had Obama done the same thing!

Of course, that wasn’t good enough for individual 1. Then he chose to send unidentified troops to Portland, Oregon, just across the Columbia River from me, to shoot protesters in their faces with rubber bullets, which, trust me, do major damage – like fracturing your skull, to, again, GAS mostly peaceful protesters, and to assault peaceful protesters as if they were troops in Afghanistan. The “troops” (whoever they were) were driving around in rented unmarked vehicles and grabbing people off the streets with NO charges and taking them, blindfolded, to federal sights where they verbally assaulted them – NO Miranda rights, no charges, just KIDNAPPING pure and simple. Whether there will be consequences remains to be seen because it was almost impossible to identify the invading troops! This was simply ANOTHER photo op for our IMPEACHED so-called president and, would it be IMPEACHABLE? Yes, but, If “we the people” are going to IMPEACH individual 1 we’ll have to do it at the ballot box which he’s busy RIGGING as I’m writing this.

You can count on Vladimir Puting being involved again this year – although, I sent an email to Biden’s campaign suggesting he warn Putin if he wins the election the Russians are going to face serious consequences – and any OTHER country which chooses to get involved no MATTER who they are trying to help~ I don’t know about you but I’d like to feel as if our election was free from outside interference. To me, that message SHOULD be sent ASAP!

Camera, I think the fourth thing in the list is camera – “person, woman, man, camera, TV.” Obviously, I’ve got old person issues and I’m OK with that. I’m thankful for every day I get on this planet and, hopefully, I can do something positive before I’m headed “home.” And, yes, sometimes this doesn’t feel all that positive – but, it feels NECESSARY! Just in case someone “on the fence” happens by and actually takes the time to read one of my posts. I’m OK if that doesn’t happen because, as I’ve said many times, it feels good to get this stuff “out.”

It’s true I’m still in disbelief Americans would elect someone like individual 1 to the presidency (despite the FACT he really is our IMPEACHED so-called president). Sadly, I know I’ll be on the edge of my seat watching whether or not he’s forced to answer for some of his ILLEGAL behavior which, in some instances, occurred before he became (our IMPEACHED so-called) president. His behavior has been egregious and, in my view, the only way to prevent similar behavior in the future is for individual 1 to face accountability for what he’s done. Period, Full Stop!!!! Maybe a jail cell right next to Michael Cohen once the virus abates!

Final Thought: I KNOW individual 1 is going to PARDON himself as he walks out the door of the “White House.” This SHOULD not stop the investigations! He’s used this power as a tool to prevent authorities from discovering the TRUTH about the “Russia thing” and, likely other misbehavior we don’t even know about YET! It’s ALL going to come out – he and his henchmen should be a bit nervous as we approach the election. Yes, they might be able to STEAL the election, but, personally, I have more faith in the American people. Even in places where it seems unlikely. Just the other day he claimed if he “wins” he’s going to repeal the payroll tax – which is what funds Social Security and Medicare. I can’t believe democrats are NOT going to make that statement a MAJOR campaign issue. Repealing the Payroll tax – if he could pull it off – would be the END of Social Security and Medicare as we now know them.

Actually, the tax needs to be adjusted UP so people like Mitt Romney are paying the tax on MORE if not ALL of their earnings. It would be easy to “fix” Social Security and Medicare – we simply need a democratically controlled Senate in order to do so! And, if individual 1 gets stopped, as well he should, in his brazen ATTACK on these two great programs of which Medicare was initiated when I was a kid and LBJ was our president, as part of LBJ’s “war on poverty,” then we have to watch out for people like Romney. At least individual 1 is attacking Social Security and Medicare “in plain sight,” Romney’s going after the two programs stealthily with his so-called “Trust Act.” Here’s my advice to any working-class American – you can’t trust anyone who claims to be a republican!

Ronald Reagan predicted Medicare would destroy our nation. Well, of course, that didn’t happen but individual 1, for some strange reason, wants to destroy Medicare. Apparently, no one in his “world” depends on Medicare. Just yesterday I was told to go to “Urgent Care” by my doctor’s office and it was comforting to know most, if not all, of the expense would be paid. (I also have a supplement insurance policy which is not very expensive) This issue MUST be on voters’ minds when they cast their ballots in November! And, by the way, if democrats let them get away with this we really are in BIG trouble! Stay tuned………………..

I have to add: While the coronavirus continues to rage in this country with an IMPEACHED so-called president who has no interest in dealing with it – well over 50% of those seriously affected by the disease are people of color, after all – you can COUNT on him manipulating the “data” in order to make himself look better come November. Here’s my latest observation/prediction: As he’s said, the way to get the “number of cases” to go down is to restrict testing – which is exactly what I believe he’s attempting to do. Keep in mind, he’s got compatriots in places like Florida, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Iowa, etc. – I’m sure you see my point, states run by republican governors. Not only do I believe they’re restricting testing MORE than it was a month ago, but I also believe several of them are LYING about the cause of death for many of their (former) citizens. As I’ve pointed out here before, the number of Americans dying from “pneumonia” since February has DOUBLED. Is there a spurious connection?

I can’t seem to get it out of my mind a conversation I had with a (Christian) friend of mine about individual 1 where I pointed out our IMPEACHED so-called president is a pathological LIAR and his response was, “well, everyone lies.” I could list a plethora of issues where I’ve tried to address the reality “we the people” are facing with people I know who support him and, in EVERY occasion, what comes back is DEFLECTION. When whoever it is I’m talking to says, “give me facts” and I, well, give them facts the result is the same, it’s DEFLECTION. In the world of individual 1 and his CULT the ONLY “facts” which matter are what Kellyanne Conway famously referred to as “alternative facts” back in the early days of individual 1’s regime. The most common “tie” in EVERY one of these conversations is the person I’m trying to dialogue with watches Fox “news” and dialogue seems impossible.

So, today as I was driving around to do errands I was listening to my XM car radio and, of course, on both MSNBC and CNN (which I’ve started to listen to) the topic was the LYING of individual 1 AND his lackeys with the hosts of the programs trying to rationalize what is going on. Ari Melber on MSNBC, for example, continues with the “trying to be fair” comment as he avoids just saying what is obvious – that our IMPEACHED so-called president is a LIAR and his supporters who defend him on air are a bunch of LIARS as well. I don’t know the names of the people on CNN but, essentially, I felt the same thing was happening with them as they discussed the attack on the Postal Service, attacks on Kamala Harris, and, by extension, attacks on “we the people.”

It’s like the LYING is so egregious they have to attempt to understand what the motivation for the LYING is instead of simply saying our (IMPEACHED so-called) president is a pathological LIAR. If they think that’s too much hyperbole they should read his niece’s book. But, that shouldn’t be necessary. For heaven’s sake, on CNN the discussion was on a question individual 1 was asked at his latest “Coronavirus task force” press briefing – which, of course, is simply a campaign event for him – another event the “news” outlets continue to allow themselves to get sucked in to covering – where, brace yourself, the suggestion was raised Kamala Harris is ineligible to run for VP because her parents were immigrants when she was born.

I’m not kidding! And, of course, the likelihood whoever asked that question was a “plant” by the “White House” is, to me, well, obvious. But, there it was, being discussed on a national “news” network. I suppose CNN gets a pass for bringing this up because it actually happened. And, of course, individual 1 gave his typical RACIST trope response, “I’ve heard that but I don’t know if it’s true,” which should have been BLASTED, in my view, by the commentators on CNN but that’s not how it came across to me. Keep in mind, this RACIST garbage is going to be NORMAL between now and the election and it SHOULD be called for what it is EVERY time it happens! OMG, “birtherism” all over again!

Today, individual 1 further demonstrated his willingness to CHEAT in order to get elected and, as I’ve been predicting, he’ll be “throwing the kitchen sink” at Biden/Harris in the process. It shouldn’t be up to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to call out this GARBAGE as RACIST tropes when it happens, but our so-called “liberal media” is so focused on what Mr. Melber said, “let me be fair,” that individual 1 will expertly use that unwillingness to “tell it like it is” to further manipulate the media. That’s what our IMPEACHED so-called president is good at – because, it requires his willingness to LIE and the timid response by our “liberal media” in order to succeed.

To me, if someone is BLATANTLY LYING, the “fair” response is to call it BLATANT LYING. Trying to understand the motivation as to why someone might choose to do so, to me, is irrelevant. It’s simply BLATANT LYING. Now, today, individual 1 actually said something which was TRUE and it was worth an extended discussion – maybe in court. He pointed out the reason he’s going to BLOCK the $25 BILLION the Postal Service board of governors (who he appointed, by the way) asked Congress for to solidify the Post Office’s solvency is because it would make it easier for the Post Office to count the mail in ballots in the November election. In addition he said he’s BLOCKING the 3+ BILLION dollars requested by the Congress to help the states facilitate “Voting from home” to prevent people from needing to risk their health to vote in person during this pandemic because, well, people voted in person during WW II.

Individual 1 and his republican sycophants want to prevent as many people as possible from voting. For some reason he believes the more Americans who vote the worst his chances for winning become. Does that mean only democrats would be voting by mail? Of course, we know that in places where the Secretary of State is a republican there are all kinds of voter suppression tactics in effect. Like in Georgia where there are many places for White people to cast their ballots but very few in areas which are predominantly frequented by persons of color. That tactic, of course, isn’t a new one. Republicans have been working to suppress the vote by people of color AND young people or people they think will vote for democrats for years. It appears America’s younger voters have had “enough” and are planning to send in ballots this year. But, will they do whatever it takes if individual 1 succeeds in making it difficult for them to cast their ballots?

So, apparently, the republicans are figuring by BLOCKING enough people from voting there’s a chance they can prevent this upcoming “blue wave.” Well, of course, only time will tell and I have to be totally transparent in saying I’m not certain they WON’T succeed. In 2016 individual 1 “won” Wisconsin by around 70,000 votes AND there were, according to several reports I’ve read, around 350,000 Wisconsin voters who were disenfranchised via Wisconsin’s voter suppression tactics. Do you really think that will stop this year? This is how republicans CHEATED before individual 1 took over – so, you can see why they like him! As I’ve said, it will take a massive turnout this year to get these people out of power.

I can tell you, if, somehow, individual 1 manages to STEAL this next election this nation is in serious trouble – maybe irreparable! The nations around the world who have been our traditional allies will have had enough. They’ve been watching individual 1’s administration in disbelief. One cowardly sycophant after another who doesn’t have the courage to do what he/she KNOWS is right. It was bad, but it didn’t seem so critically bad, until individual 1 actually had a REAL crisis to deal with. The coronavirus was an unwanted intrusion on his plans to base his re-election campaign on the reality he hadn’t destroyed the economy he inherited from Obama/Biden. Well, now the only thing keeping “we the people” from being right in the middle of the next depression is the “CARES Act” which was forced on republicans by democrats and included the $600 per week for unemployed workers that republicans hated.

Lindsay Graham and five other republicans considered blocking the “CARES Act” over what they considered an unconscionable giveaway to the “least of these” (America’s working poor) and finally they were forced to agree to the bill because the economy was tanking. Well, that was then and this is now. The “CARES Act” benefits expired on July 31st and, if a “compromise” can’t be reached because of this attack on the Postal Service it won’t take very long to get the full understanding of what that $600 each week was doing for our economy. When people lose the ability to spend that money it will affect the businesses and entities where it was spent along with the devastation it causes for those on unemployment. My personal belief is that the effects will become clear starting in September.

The good news: (From my standpoint) by publicly ADMITTING the reason he opposes funding the postal service because he wants to prevent people from voting from home in November individual 1 has created a situation where democrats MUST insist money is part of the HEROES Act.” I really hope (that for once) the democrats stick to their “guns.” I wrote back when they passed the “CARES Act” that democrats lost an opportunity to get that money because they, at the time, had leverage they don’t often have during this nightmare created by republicans and individual 1. Well, they again have leverage, because when republicans realize how bad the economy will look as we go into the election it won’t take long as their precious stock market starts going down to agree to the “HEROES Act” including money for the Postal Service.

“We the people” are depending on the democrats, between now and November, to FIGHT for the “right thing” – which would include saving the Postal Service and making Americans aware of individual 1’s attack on Social Security and Medicare. (More on that later) These actions by individual 1 make clear his belief the republican party will go along with whatever he desires. While these actions appear to be politically suicidal the republicans MUST have a lot of confidence in their ability to suppress the vote OR CHEAT in the counting of the ballots. Remember, there are still many states using electronic voting machines without a “paper trail” of the votes – and, from what I’ve read, these machines are easily hacked.

Back in the 2000 election people who tried to vote for Al Gore actually ended up voting for Bush OR the vote wasn’t counted because of other issues with the machines. Bush CHEATED to “win” and the result for “we the people” was the Iraq invasion. That SHOULD get the attention of every American. Despite polls showing Biden with a significant lead in Florida do you really think he’ll carry that state with Ron DeSantis as the governor? Do you think DeSantis won’t CHEAT in order for individual 1 to win? What’s the saying? “Come on Man!”

Final Thought: Of course, in individual 1’s attempt to undermine the Postal Service in order to prevent people from voting from home in the middle of this pandemic there are tangential consequences like there are in EVERY one of his unspeakable, selfish decisions. The postal service does much more than deliver ballots every four years in elections. For example, many of the people he counts on to vote for him are elderly white Americans who are on Social Security and Medicare and receive their prescriptions via the mail service. Obviously, creating a Postal Service which is less effective where mail is backing up in their distribution centers creates confusion and the possibility for extended delays in mail delivery. I periodically send small packages around the country and I’ve noticed recently the packages are taking from one to three days longer to get to their destination. Thankfully, so far, none have been “lost.”

Also, think of all the veterans who receive their prescription via the Postal Service. The group which developed “VoteVets.org” (which I’ve donated to, by the way) said, the other day, there are 330,000 of their members who receive their prescriptions by mail. Is it possible even more “blood” will be in individual 1’s hands by the attempted destruction of this American treasure, the Postal Service – which is older than our country. The first postmaster general was Benjamin Franklin and I have to think he’s “rolling in his grave” watching the actions of individual 1’s lackey, Lewis DeJoy, who is in that post and is trying to ruin the service. This is “par for the course” for individual 1’s administration as he’s put people in charge of our traditional institutions with the agenda of destroying them.

And, keep in mind what our IMPEACHED so-called president is doing right now in going after our traditional institutions maybe the most scary to me, and old person, is his attack on Social Security and Medicare. He recently issued an executive order (yes, the stuff he and republicans complained about during Obama’s administration) to “defer” the payroll tax which funds Social Security and Medicare. Since he did that abomination he’s stated if he “wins” the election he’s going to eliminate the Payroll tax. I’m not sure he can do that without the complicity of Congress, but Americans SHOULD be well aware of his promise to do just that. I just am having a hard time believing “we the people” would vote for someone who “promises” to defund Social Security and Medicare during their campaign – even if it’s a “digital campaign.”

OMG: In the nature of why does individual 1 want to be like Barack Obama while he’s dismantling anything he can which was part of Obama’s legacy. Friends of individual 1 continue to argue he should get a Nobel Peace Prize – because, now, Israel and the UAE have agreed to some kind of accord. Maybe they should include turning America into a candidate for civil war would be included in that “peace” prize. These people are giving a new definition to the term “delusional.”

I have to add: Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic I’ve claimed the death count is much higher than what is being publicly reported. First of all, there are republican governors who have been LYING about the statistics to prevent their constituents from understanding the full effects of the crisis and secondly, well, when the hospitals are full many don’t get there. In New York, back in March and April, there was evidence as many as 200 deaths per week were people dying from Covid-19 and being found dead in their homes. Well, now the same thing is happening in Texas and likely Arizona and Florida was well. So, just the other day when there was a report in the NY Times that an additional 40,000 deaths this year are likely the result of Covid-19. Personally, I believe the number is higher – but, maybe at some point in time, we’ll understand the actual truth.

Again, I ask for your forgiveness due to the grammatical foopahs! I’m just too lazy to re-read and edit. In reality, this is just my personal diary expressing my frustration with the government of the country I love. I have no idea how you found this place, but, again, sorry for my laziness!

As I’ve said here, I’m old, my hands are in bad shape, and I really want to stop writing so much. I guess I keep writing because I’ve been a loyal “fan” of America since the 1950’s when I first became aware of our government in the days of Dwight Eisenhower – due to the arguments between my Mom (a democrat) and Dad (a republican). I learned as a child when I grew into adulthood and became eligible to VOTE it was my responsibility to do so. When I was in High School John F Kennedy was assassinated and during my college years both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated – my first vote for president was going to be RFK and I was watching his speech following his victory in the California primary back in 1968 when he was killed by Sirhan Sirhan. I’ve been paying close attention ever since.

So, yesterday, when individual 1 gathered a bunch of his country club members as an audience for another barrage of LIES shrouded in what was promoted as a “press briefing” but was, in reality, another of individual 1’s campaign rallies where he suckers the so-called “liberal media” into giving him free air time where I could only stomach “so much.” He continues doing this and the media continues falling for it. Thankfully, most Americans can understand our IMPEACHED so-called president is a pathological LIAR! In this most recent “LIE fest” individual 1, of course, BRAGGED about his executive order (the executive orders which are OK with republicans unless there’s a democrat in the “White House”) to “defer the payroll tax until the end of the year.” First, he can’t do that – only Congress can – we’ll see if he gets called on this by democrats. Secondly, ALL Americans who support Social Security and Medicare SHOULD be “up in arms” over individual 1’s brazen attempt to undermine these two traditional American programs. (Which right wing republicans hate)

The payroll tax is the source of funds going into the Social Security and Medicare trust funds – which, according to republicans, are “in trouble.” So, instead of supporting plans to “fix” their shortfalls, individual 1 is attempting to begin their demise. Republicans have long wanted to get their grubby hands on the $2.9+ TRILLION which is in the Social Security trust fund (Yes, our government has “borrowed” the money via government bonds, but the program is collecting interest on the securities and the program is in good shape) so they can “privatize” the program by GAMBLING the “trust fund” on Wall Street. I believe individual 1 is treading on “sacred” ground when he goes after these two programs and, if his actions are explained to “we the people,” he’s risking losing even more votes from the old “white” people who seem to be the “base” of the republican party.

Our IMPEACHED so-called president also claimed he was extending unemployment benefits until the end of the year – which he also CAN’T do, and which was even MORE of a scam distraction than his payroll tax scam. First, he’s NOT trying to extend the $600 per week bonus to workers and state unemployment offices would have to reconfigure EVERYTHING to make this work and, from what I’ve read – if he could pull this off – workers would get an added benefit of around $200 to $400 per week. By the time the states could work this out MILLIONS of these workers who’ve lost their jobs due to his incompetence will already by homeless. And, one more thing, his “proposal” to supplement unemployment benefits includes a requirement for states to “kick in” 25% of the supplement – money states clearly DON’T have.

Personally, I hope democrats show some spine and hold out for what they know is necessary under the present circumstances. While I don’t want to see the economy take a “dive,” it appears that is what is necessary to get the attention of republicans in the Senate. As I’ve said many times here, the $600 supplement democrats forced into the so-called “CARES Act” has been critical in keeping the economy from totally “tanking” since the HUGE numbers of Americans losing their jobs back in March and April. Sadly, there are now MILLIONS of Americans who are now missing this critical money – to them – which they (mostly) have put right back into the economy because they have to spend the money for their monthly fixed expenses. Individual 1’s executive order is nothing more than a “stunt” and, apparently, until the stock market goes down there will be no “deal” for the neediest Americans.

Keep in mind, the Fed has already pumped over $5 TRILLION into Wall Street so that what I call the “house built on sand” doesn’t sink into the “river.” This present stock market, in my view, is the epitome of individual 1’s “new” America. There is no concern for the “long term” and the deficit hawks have been silent – until it’s time to spend money for the “least of these.” Republicans didn’t hesitate to provide $2 TRILLION in tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy so there could be massive stock buy backs AND there has been unlimited funds for the Fed to prevent what would have been massive corporate failures without the TRILLIONS which have been funneled into the market.

Of course, there’s much more in the HEROES Act which is of paramount importance beyond the money which is critical for those on unemployment. State and Local governments are in desperate need of money from the federal government due to the lack of tax revenue and the additional expenses of fighting Covid-19 – the HEROES Act includes $1 TRILLION to address those shortfalls. Additionally, the HEROES Act includes money for the Postal Service AND for the states to be able to set up voting from home for the November election. Obviously, most Americans would prefer to avoid the lines at the polls during this pandemic. There are also funds for small businesses which continue to teeter on bankruptcy as the pandemic continues to “strangle” this nation.

Despite all of the bumbling by individual 1 it is imperative for democrats to continue to understand this really is the FIGHT for the heart and soul of this nation. Individual 1 is CHEATING every moment he possibly can – in ways which only the most sophisticated observers will even notice. For example, he’s undermining the Postal Service as I’m writing this – it’s apparent Congressional democrats will NOT allow him to destroy the Postal Service, so he’ll go about it in a more subtle manner – with the same goal in mind which is undermining the confidence of the American people in the outcome of an election it appears, at least today, he’s going to lose. This is why democrats MUST be working to get voters to vote as soon as they possibly can, because individual 1 is looking for ways to have the Postal Service intervene on his behalf by slowing down the mail. He’ll claim absentee ballots which are not counted until after the election are “fraudulent” – guaranteed.

Individual 1 and his republican sycophants will be doing everything they possibly can to suppress the votes in segments of the population where it’s likely democrats will be doing the voting. It’s really “deplorable” but, clearly, his supporters don’t care. What they don’t seem to understand is the word “precedent.” Especially the republicans in Congress seem to be saying in the future it will be OK for a democratic president to EXTORT a foreign government, LIE to the American people about just about anything, write executive orders for, well, just about anything, to place incompetent lackeys in positions of importance, to include their families as their closest advisors

Two days later: OK, now it’s no secret – one of the ways individual 1 is planning to CHEAT in order to “win” another election is to actually, if he could, bankrupt the Postal Service. He’s planning to block the HEROES Act in order to prevent the money going to the Postal Service needed to help it during it’s financial need. Our IMPEACHED so-called president is doing everything he can to prevent Americans from VOTING! Apparently, those planning to vote for him want to stand in long lines with the chance to get this Covid-19 virus. And, the older white Americans he’s counting on can now go to the pharmacy for their drugs? Maybe? Like if they live in rural areas they can drive to the big cities to find an outlet where they can get their specialized drugs? Individual 1 is, in the words of someone I can’t remember who, DEPLORABLE!

Here’s the deal – democrats MUST not cave into this attempt to turn America into a totally fascist state – no matter what! The HEROES Act is critical to keeping this nation from cratering into the DEPRESSION we would be feeling right now except for the CARES Act – which provided the money unemployed workers have used to keep them from economic disaster – a disaster once again sitting on the horizon – and, of course, individual 1 could care less about these people. That’s his bargaining chip – he believes there’s no way democrats will stand strong in his attempt to further suppress the vote via weakening the Postal Service.

Wall Street is “strong” based on – and get this picture in your mind – Jerome Powell of the Fed with a hand pump pumping wildly to keep this market, which is like the proverbial house built on sand, from sinking into the “lowlands.” EVERY one of “we the people” who want to keep this nation as a democratic republic MUST be making plans to do WHATEVER it takes to get to the polls and VOTE. Republicans did the same thing a few months back during the Wisconsin primary – forcing people to risk their lives to vote – and, it backfired then as democrats turned out in much higher numbers than republicans and the right wing judge they thought they were helping ended up losing. The same outcome needs to happen for individual 1. He CHEATS at everything (including golf) and it’s time to give him the opportunity to defend his CHEATING in court – as “individual 1.”

If “individual 1’s economy” doesn’t clue “we the people” in to the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street it will never happen. The ONLY thing preventing OUR economy from being in a DEPRESSION is the $600 per week going to America’s unemployed workers AND the $5 TRILLION which Powell has used to buy ugly debt from various corporations which would otherwise be in bankruptcy court. Moscow Mitch is comfortable with our “state and local governments” going bankrupt but big corporations? Not so much! These republicans really need to go! It’s up to “we the people” to change this and if we fail to do so it’s on us. The rest of the world is watching and expecting the American people to fix this problem! “We the people” MUST not fail in this task!

Stay tuned……. If you’ve been visiting here and actually reading my thoughts I’ll be back soon (sadly) because the selfishness, cruelty, and incompetence of individual 1 and his sycophants is getting worse and causing MORE damage – I don’t believe I’ll be able to witness this and keep quiet. I keep telling my son, pay attention, these are truly historic times. This is a WAR for the heart and soul of our nation – I’ve been saying that since the days of Bush/Cheney. I just never imagined America would “elect” (with the help of the Russians and James Comey and with less than 3 MILLION votes than his opponent) a mafia like boss to be our (IMPEACHED so-called) president. I failed to understand “Christians” would become the “base” of someone such as individual 1 – I thought they learned this terrible lesson in Germany back in the 1930’s. But, we often get honest views of America’s most famous “Christian” leaders like Jerry Falwell Jr. recently – and, I would just say, as a Christian I don’t see the teachings of Jesus Christ in their actions! Certainly, not individual 1 or anyone supporting what he’s actually doing!

Final Thought: I’m really losing patience with our so-called “liberal media.” Tonight I was listening to MSNBC’s program titled “The 11th Hour” and the host, Brian Williams, and Mr. Williams suggested “everyone will be looking for Biden’s gaffes” – or words to that effect – and I just about came out of my chair. How could that be ANY part of the media focus when individual 1 – who provides “gaffes” at a rate Joe Biden will NEVER be able to keep up with – will be spewing LIES and dog whistles virtually every time he faces the media. Apparently, individual 1’s dog whistles aren’t considered “gaffes.” Apparently, the FACT he can’t seem to spell at a level consistent with a sixth grader as he “Tweets” incessantly, aren’t gaffes. The number of individual 1’s OBSCENE “gaffes” are too numerous to list here. It’s just annoying to listen to Mr. Williams “setting the stage” as if any time Biden misspeaks will be another “gaffe.”

Individual 1 has made over a dozen “gaffes” in just the past week. For heaven’s sake, suggesting Biden is “against the Bible, he’s against God, Biden hates God.” Is that not a “gaffe?” Williams talks about “unforced errors” in regard to Biden and Kamala Harris who he’s chosen as his running mate which is puzzling to me. These political pundits like Williams need to stop suggesting like there’s some kind of “purity test” for democrats while allowing individual 1 to denigrate this nation almost EVERY TIME he opens his mouth.

I was very happy when Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his running mate and anticipated the sexist tropes will begin to flow like the Columbia River. It has already started – the words like “meanest, the most horrible, the most disrespectful, nasty” began to flow from his mouth almost from the moment Biden announced his choice. There are MILLIONS of women who’ve been listening to these types of sexist commentary from powerful men for as long as I can remember. And, count on this: Individual 1 will be unable to stop his BULLYING behavior as he attacks Ms Harris – although, I do not doubt she is well able to throw it right back in his face.

I’ve said here over and over the republicans believe “the end justifies the means” and, to them, the “end” is to remain in POWER no matter what. Individual 1 will be trying to give “we the people” another infusion of cash – likely another $1200 payment plus money for dependent children – which will be followed by a letter with his OBSCENE signature in a futile attempt to convince “we the people” he just gave us a bunch of money – so we’ll vote for him. The list of what he’s likely to do between now and November is going to be interesting. That’s likely the topic of my next post – which will include the possibility individual 1 will DUMP Mike Pense in another FUTILE attempt to outdo Biden. Brian Williams was suggesting there are rumors individual 1 will pick Nikki Haley as his new running mate. I’ll write more about that possibility soon, but I believe Ms Haley is too smart to get sucked in to that possibility. She would have to defend our IMPEACHED so-called president in a debate with Ms Harris. That would be an impossible position to walk in to. Stay tuned…………….

I have to add: The proposed payroll tax “holiday” is now totally “under the radar.” Individual 1 keeps the absurd “garbage” coming so fast “we the people” are talking about so much other “stuff” that attack on Social Security and Medicare is almost out of the memory banks. This is how individual 1 works – and the DAMAGE is mounting. Make no mistake though – with his republican sycophants – there is an attack on Social Security and Medicare and republicans will continue the attack hoping “we the people” lose track of this in the midst of all the other garbage going on!

Please forgive the “foopahs” I’m too lazy to edit this post!

I was watching a couple “news” programs on TV tonight (MSNBC) and it was reported individual 1’s “approval rating” continues to sit at around 41%. I’ve been following the Covid-19 pandemic as closely as an old person who doesn’t use social media can and I’ve been following the economy as closely as I, a non economist, can as I’ve done for years and I have to say it’s really discouraging to me to understand how 41% of Americans can support individual 1 – the, by far, worst, most incompetent, immoral, racist, xenophobic, fascistic president in my lifetime – maybe in the history of this great nation. Knowing there are that many Americans willing to accept an authoritarian inside assault on the fundamental values of this nation is a bit discouraging.

That being said, I’m hopeful the response to individual 1 will be a turning point in American history to point the nation in a direction more in tuned with “Main Street” and the optimistic values naive Americans like me seem to believe are what SHOULD be. I’ve written numerous times here about the infamous “memo” written by Lewis Powell, prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court, to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce back in 1972 with a plan to “turn” America to the “right” toward a corporatocracy and away from workers and unions who Powell believed were too powerful. Powell’s memo led to Ronald Reagan a few years later and, since, America has been continually “lurching” to the “right” ultimately leading to individual 1 taking over the republican party.

I started writing about the need for the voters to turn the “present day republicans” into the history books after Bush/Cheney LIED “we the people” into Iraq back in 2002-2003. Things have gone down hill since then despite the efforts of Barack Obama to change the trajectory and, of course, now we’re dealing with individual 1 and his incompetence and LYING. Since the days of Reagan we’ve had two democratic presidents and, in both instances, there was a temporary reprieve from this right wing assault – but, the democrats are not very good at messaging and, after Bill Clinton – OK, his personal behavior was repugnant to me – left office with a budget surplus of $250 BILLION (per year) democrats were unable to “keep it going” so we got Bush/Cheney. Likewise, Obama brought down a disastrous deficit and righted a near depression economy, but to democrats that wasn’t good enough so we ended up with individual 1. Yikes!!! Neither Clinton nor Obama were/are the “liberals” republicans succeeded in labeling them.

So, maybe this time, with individual 1, the right wing disaster is what will cause Americans to change course in their fundamental beliefs and we’ll be looking at a “new day.” I have pointed out many times here, despite my constant pointing out individual 1’s FAILURES, that I see myself as an “eternal optimist.” So, I’m encouraged this present NIGHTMARE will soon be over and “we the people” will be FORCING our legislatures to respond to our actual needs and wishes as opposed to the wishes of the corporate lobbyists in our nation’s capital. The problem is, once Joe Biden is “sworn in,” should he win in November, the right wing message machine will go into “overdrive” and it remains to be seen if democrats “have the stuff” to fight them off. An irony of all this, it very well could be those republicans involved in defeating individual 1 who then turn their sights back on the democrats. Keep in mind, the “Lincoln Project” is made up of a group of lifelong republicans who I would be very surprised to find supporting the democratic agenda – once the election is over and we’re not talking about a timid group. I wrote the other day Rick Wilson was involved in the “Willie Horton” ad, with Lee Atwater, which brought down Mike Dukakis back in the late 80’s. These guys have a ruthless side!

There are numerous reasons I believe republicans have exposed themselves of their true nature – and, I’m talking about the “ruling elite” of the republican party. (I could have an interesting conversation with the republicans making up the “Lincoln Project” but the individual 1 lackeys, not so much) One of the issues which is becoming clearer to me as this virus continues to wage war on “we the people” with a federal government that is AWOL – an incompetent response led by our IMPEACHED so-called president – is America is “teetering” on an economic disaster of historic proportions. Nobody wants to say this out loud, but I believe one of the main reasons republicans across this land have essentially ignored this devastating virus is because of who are taking the brunt of this virus. To me, this is racism in its worse sense – a subtle attack on America’s “Black and Brown” community which, sadly, could metastasize into a depression.

Many of the poorest parts of America are what would have to be described as “communities of color” and they are the hardest hit segments of our population – I’ve come to the conclusion this is by design. No one, including me, wants to say something like that out loud, but the evidence is mounting to the point where it’s no longer debatable, in my mind. However, ignoring this pandemic is not only unbelievably immoral, but risking the nation’s economic health for, maybe, years to come. There’s a reason members of these “Black and Brown” communities are considered “essential workers.” Ignoring their needs is, well, deplorable! Individual 1 is “turning off the lights of decency” in America and, therefore, the history books will look upon this era as one of the “darkest” in the country’s history. Voting him out of office is imperative if “we the people” want to see some healing and want to prevent the inner destruction of our nation which very well could be irreparable.

And, republicans in Congress need to go with him. I just pointed out who is taking the brunt of this virus and it’s also likely the people who are either unemployed or employed in jobs where the danger of contracting the virus is the greatest are on the “front lines” of this “war.” So, it’s disgusting to listen to republicans complain about the extra $600 going to the unemployed American workers which ended on July 31st like Steve Mnuchin suggesting “We don’t want to spend taxpayer dollars for people to stay home from work,” Just as it’s disgusting watching them refuse to provide the PPE needed for our “essential workers.” Of course, the unemployed workers aren’t “lazy” – in most instances there’s NO work for these people to stay home from – but, I figured out what it’s costing us taxpayers for this extra $600 they SHOULD continue to receive – which, by the way, most comes right back into the economy preventing a total economic collapse right now – if there are 30 MILLION receiving this money that comes to around $75 BILLION per month.

Yikes, that seems like a lot of money but let’s put it in perspective in regard to republicans not wanting to “waste” (apparently that’s how they look at it) this taxpayer money. In 2017 they passed a tax cut (scam) which has funneled $2 TRILLION into the coffers of corporations and wealthy Americans who were already flush with cash and didn’t need the money – it was used MAINLY for stock buybacks and did almost NO stimulus to the economy other than a short term stock market “blip.” They would have to extend the unemployment benefit for well over a year for our taxpayers to spend the same amount of money – but, again, this money almost all goes right back into the economy – and, NOT for stock buybacks! But when did republicans allocate money for those at the “bottom.”

Additionally, the HEROES Act, which is what is being fought over right now – well, actually, the democrats are in D.C., the republicans are home, but, whatever! Anyway, the HEROES Act includes money for State and Local governments – who will be laying off MORE “essential workers” without the $1 TRILLION in the bill, it includes an extension of the extra unemployment benefit until the end of January, it includes money so states can pay for the infrastructure to support voting from home (so people don’t have to stand in lines in this pandemic), it includes money to help the Postal Service – and American treasure which has been serving “we the people” since the days of Benjamin Franklin, and more. Moscow Mitch SHOULD allow an “up or down” vote on that bill – it’s been sitting on his desk for three months now and is badly needed.

Of course, republicans are trying to block passage of the HEROES Act and then BLAME democrats for the “gridlock” – which, I believe, “we the people” are FINALLY seeing past that ploy. And, personally, I would encourage democrats to hold out for the main details of that bill, including saving the Postal Service, the provision supporting voting from home, the added unemployment benefits, and the money for State and Local Governments – even if that means we have to deal with some hardship. CALL the republicans bluff. A “tanked” economy will be their fault and this will be the last chance for democrats to have any leverage on the Senate before this election.

One more thing: individual 1 keeps pushing for a repeal of the payroll tax – which makes NO economic sense – to give a benefit to those who are working and their employers – when the benefits MUST be focused on those who aren’t working. Also, repealing the payroll tax is individual 1’s UNDERHANDED way to go after Social Security and Medicare. I have to say, if democrats can’t BLOCK him from doing this, well, we’re all in trouble – especially us old people. Also, if individual 1 doesn’t manage to repeal the payroll tax we’ve got Mitt Romney pushing his “Trust Act” – which, essentially, says “trust me to prop up Social Security and Medicare” down the road some day – when we know Romney has been against these great programs for many years. The democrats have a solution to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds in the HEROES Act – but it would mean people like Romney would have to pay payroll taxes on their income just like the rest of us. This is really a time for democrats to stand strong!

Final Thought: Yesterday individual 1 was in front of a microphone again without a teleprompter and he said about Joe Biden: “He’s going to take your guns away, no religion, no anything, he’s going to hurt the Bible, hurt God, he’s against the Bible and against God and our kind of energy.” (Coal???) He also has said, “When you hold up a Bible, you don’t then set it down and go around LYING and doing a lot of things that are wrong.” OMG, where to start. Let me just remind anyone who’s been on this site that I’ve suggested individual 1 – as a pathological LIAR is all about projection. If he’s accusing Biden (or anyone else) of something, count on it being something of which he’s guilty.

As I said above I have to wonder where the 41% who support our IMPEACHED so-called president come from – except, I know a significant portion of his support comes from the evangelical Christian community. This makes me sad, as opposed to angry, that Christians can’t see what they’re supporting – in my view, they’re setting back the Christian movement among younger Americans for years to come. I mean, where does individual 1 come off suggesting Joe Biden “hates God.” I checked with “Google” to see how many times individual 1 has been seen in a church and, well, you could put the results on the fingers of one hand. (funerals and some Easters) When you read Mary Trump’s book you get confirmation from everything we’ve been witnessing and wondering about for 3 1/2 years.

Our IMPEACHED so-called president is an extreme NARCISSIST, Pathological LIAR, long time racist, and someone who believes in, well, himself. Why would that surprise me? It doesn’t! What surprises me is when my friends who are Christians tell me they don’t believe individual 1 lies “any more than you or I.” They don’t think he’s a racist even though they’re aware of many of his racist rants and “tweets.” In fact, some of them don’t believe the birther movement was racist! To me, this is the epitome of white people failing to understand their own “white privilege.”

Prediction: Once the election has happened and individual 1 has been ushered out of the “White House” all the issues where republicans are LYING right now will be reversed to provide instant “fodder” for the right wing message machine. For example, the LYING about the Covid-19 pandemic in republican controlled states will stop. All of a sudden we’ll be seeing the real numbers in places like Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Arizona. From the standpoint of the unemployment numbers – we’ll be seeing the TRUTH about all the people who AREN’T working but aren’t being calculated as “unemployed.” Suddenly, they will be counted. Republicans will be able to make things seem worse (actually, the reality they’re attempting to hide – despite how bad it looks as it is) by including those, like my son, working 10 hours per week and those not even trying to find a job that doesn’t exist will be back on the unemployment statistics. OK, call me a cynic! I’ve admitted that before. It’s true!

I’ve pointed out here, on several occasions, my belief that republican governors in many states have adopted individual 1’s solution to situations which aren’t going as planned and that is LYING. I was basing my inferences on, well, logic. In places where governors refused to institute ANY protections against the spread of the coronavirus it seemed to me their states would eventually pay a severe “price” for that lack of action. I singled out states like South Dakota, Iowa, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and Florida (and others) as “suspects.” Well, over the time since I started speculating, actual “evidence” has appeared to support my “thesis” in places like Georgia, Florida, Iowa, and Texas. (As usual, I’m working off my 73 year old memory which, at times, is faulty – like there are likely more examples I’m not remembering right now)

So, I was NOT surprised the other day when I read an article about how, in Texas, they are NOT reporting Covid-19 positive test results coming from the so-called “rapid tests” which are available in some areas of the state. They are estimating the “under count” of people who have this virus is in the tens of thousands. Now, why would this be happening in states run by republican governors? Well, it’s no secret to me republicans will do ANYTHING they can to remain in POWER and failing to properly FIGHT this virus is actually getting the attention of voters – so, they believe LYING about what is really happening is the solution to their lack of action.

Here’s the problem with that strategy – and, I’m talking about “reality” and not the MORAL failure of these politicians who LIE with impunity – and that is the number of people who are DYING in their states. In several of the states I mentioned (and, more) the hospitals and morgues are FULL to overflowing. Recently I’ve read about places like Texas, Florida, and Mississippi having “waiting lists” at the crematoriums. This isn’t because of the “flu,” or a major uptick in people having heart attacks, cancer, etc. It’s directly the result of Covid-19. In Texas I’ve read about a similar situation to what was going on in New York back in April – and, that is people DYING in their homes from Covid-19 because they can’t get into a hospital or think they can’t get into a hospital. This leads to an under-count in the number of Covid related deaths being reported.

I’m no doctor (Even though I once stayed at a Holiday Inn :o) but I’ve paid close attention to many doctors during this pandemic who continue pointing out our lack of a coordinated national strategy has led to thousands of unnecessary deaths and stress on our hospital system – where nurses and doctors in the Covid-19 units are burning out in increasing numbers – those who have avoided contracting the virus. Individual 1’s inept response to the pandemic gives a clear view of how POWER corrupts – as republicans around the country are demonstrating a willingness to do whatever they can to keep an incompetent, corrupt, immoral racist in POWER despite their “oath” to the constitution. They are demonstrating what I’ve said for years – that republicans believe in “the end justifies the means” and the “end” for them is POWER, under any circumstances. It’s really quite sad – for someone like me who believes in our two party system of government.

If you weren’t around back in 1980 when the right wing wacko – soon to be republican standard bearer – Ronald Reagan, was running against Jimmy Carter (who was unpopular with democrats). Republicans put forth a “third party” candidate who they actually paid for his advertising – his name was John Anderson and he was a liberal republican. He pulled a significant number of votes, around 7%, from disenchanted democrats and then many working class democrats switched to the republican party out of disenchantment with Carter, helping to elect Reagan. It’s true Reagan may not have needed this “dirty trick,” but, just the same, “the end justifies the means” with republicans, and, back then, just like today, republicans were/are willing to do whatever it takes to “win” an election.

True to form, tonight it was reported individual 1’s campaign is “jumping through hoops” so it can get Kanye West, I don’t know much about him other than he’s African American and he wears a MAGA hat, listed on the ballot as if he’s running for president in several “swing states” – most notably Wisconsin. This is such a brazen attempt to peel off African American votes from Joe Biden and it’s shameful for Mr. West to allow himself to be used in this manner. I don’t believe it will “work,” but it reminds me of 1980 and I’m guessing Roger Stone is somewhere right in the middle of this scheme.

The bottom line is individual 1 is committed to doing NOTHING to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic other than encouraging states to stop testing and trying to LIE about the devastation this deadly virus is causing. Of course, it’s old people and “Black and Brown” people who are suffering the worst under this virus to does anyone believe that is not part of the republican “calculus” when they are formulating what they should be doing. I’ve said this many times and I believe it’s obvious to most Americans, the focus of republicans is on Wall Street while the democrats are focused on “Main Street.” This FACT has brought us to a serious “crossroads” as the so-called HEROES Act is being debated in our nation’s capital.

The HEROES Act looks to be focused on “Main Street” – apparently that’s the view from republicans – but I believe even Jerome Powell understands the danger which lies ahead if Congress doesn’t act to shore up those Americans who are unemployed, the State and Local Governments around the nation who are losing massive amounts of tax revenue, and all the small businesses who are likely to be going through bankruptcy court if they don’t get help “sooner rather than later.” It appears to me this is VERY serious – maybe as serious as any time in my lifetime. The mushrooming affect of inaction to our economy could reverberate all the way to,………. well, you guessed it, Wall Street.

Democrats are trying to help but republicans generally have a reflexive “no” to anything coming from the democratic House. I’ve said this before, but here’s how I see this (and, it’s likely much MORE serious than I understand) if the 30 – 40 MILLION Americans on unemployment who had their benefits expire at the end of LAST month don’t get further assistance many of them will be in much MORE serious economic trouble than they already are. Soon rents won’t be getting paid and, after that, it will be mortgages, and then banks, etc. It appears to me its much easier to stop an economic “tailspin” before it starts than after it gains momentum. So, this is a critical time for republicans – after all, they are in charge of the “White House,” and the Senate – and my hope is democrats don’t cave in these negotiations. The Postal Service MUST be saved, individual 1 MUST not be allowed to go after Social Security and Medicare, and states MUST have the funds necessary for people to vote from home in this elections – because the pandemic likely will still be raging – possibly much worse than right now.

And, oh, by the way, if you’re old like me, you SHOULD be paying attention to the continuation of the republicans going after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as they have been pretty much since the inception of those great American programs. Individual 1 wants to repeal the payroll tax which is where the funds for Social Security and Medicare come from. That has happened before as a way to stimulate the economy, but in this instance those who are still working DON’T need a stimulus – it’s just a “back door” way to undermine our great social “safety net.” I’m on Social Security and I’m very thankful for it – I don’t know a single OLD person who is collecting Social Security benefits who support individual 1’s attempt to harm it.

Then there’s the “Trust Act” coming from Mitt Romney, another “back door” attack on Social Security and Medicare. Why would you expect anything less? Yes, Romney voted to convict individual 1 and, for that, he’ll forever have a better place in the history books than the rest of the Senate republicans, but that doesn’t give him a “pass” on being a “deplorable” republican. Going after Social Security, AGAIN, he’s done it before, is part of Romney’s MO. Of course, the democrats have a bill which would actually strengthen Social Security and Medicare but don’t expect ANY republicans to sign on to it. If it’s going to pass it will be because “we the people” finally said “enough already” and voted individual 1 and many of his republican sycophants out of office this November. Stay tuned…………………….. (Oh yes, and wear a mask!)

Final Thought: As I’ve said here, individual 1 and his sycophants are planning to “throw” everything including the “kitchen sink” at this upcoming election – and, “we the people” are depending on those who claim there’s no way they would vote for our IMPEACHED so-called president to understand it is IMPERATIVE they vote for Biden and whoever he ultimately chooses for his VP. Despite individual 1 being hopelessly behind in the polling he will not allow that to slow his CHEATING down and we’re going to see how a desperate despot acts knowing he’s potentially looking at a lot of legal exposure once he’s out of office. He will be attempting to get young people and people of “color” to choose not to vote at all or he’ll be trying to make it so difficult for them to vote they just say “F” it.

I read the other day a column by former republican opinion writer, Jennifer Rubin, suggesting investigations of individual 1 once he’s out of office would be counter productive because, according to Ms Rubin, this would simply lead to more division in America. Well, I have to say to her, after adding I like to read her columns, I totally disagree. Back when Bush/Cheney left office President Obama blocked all the investigations into their illegal activity – including an investigation taking place in Spain – as Obama said “I’m looking forward instead of back.” I’ve lamented that decision since the day it was made because I believe it simply led to individual 1’s brazen disrespect for the law and the republicans’ willingness to go along with behavior which not too long ago you just wouldn’t recognize them, based on what we’re seeing today.

By looking the other way from Bush/Cheney the illegal wiretapping AND, more importantly to me, the TORTURE was, essentially, given the “OK” in the future. Republicans were further led to believe democrats don’t have the guts to call them on their illegal behavior. And, I say this knowing republicans believe in “payback” – but, I have to say, if a democrat is brazenly violating the law I really don’t want them protected from their lawbreaking because they hold the “White House.” This idea presidents and their lackeys are “above the law” needs to be put to rest – NOW! Which means, for starters, individual 1 MUST face the Southern District of New York for the charges which put Michael Cohen in jail – FELONIES our IMPEACHED so-called president “directed” him to commit.

Based on the hearings in the Senate Judiciary committee today where Sally Yates was “grilled” by republicans who continue to act as if there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election, to me, “looking forward instead of back” simply sends the WRONG message to them AND the American people. By numerous accounts the OBSTRUCTION of Justice committed by individual 1 during the Mueller Investigation very well could number up to 10 clear violations – serious FELONIES! As I’ve said here (I read Mueller’s report twice), Mueller took pains to explain the seriousness of OBSTRUCTION as a fundamental ATTACK on our “rule of law.” Anyone attempting to derail any investigation is preventing prosecutors from doing their basic duty. Clearly, individual 1 had NO hesitation to OBSTRUCT repeatedly along the way of Mueller’s investigation.

And, William Barr, as far as I’m concerned, was also OBSTRUCTING the investigation when he succeeded in undermining the “gist” of the Mueller investigation with his DISHONEST “summary” the day after the report was handed to him and then he further undermined the report the day he made the redacted version available to “we the people.” Barr knew EXACTLY what he was doing and he succeeded in blocking any chance Congress would take up the OBSTRUCTION charges which, clearly, Mueller was counting on them to decide if our IMPEACHED so-called president should have been IMPEACHED for the Russia OBSTRUCTION.

We now have what amounts to an organized crime syndicate in charge of our government with Mr. Barr acting as individual 1’s “Roy Cohn.” The list of illegal activity coming out of this “White House,” I’m certain, is well beyond what “we the people” know. This is why I disagree so strongly with Ms Rubin and believe the entire “cabal” should be investigated once we get them out of office and prosecute ANY wrongdoing so that this type of behavior is not perpetuated – keeping in mind republicans have “etched” Bribery/Extortion into future behavior of our executive branch of government because they didn’t have the GUTS to do what they KNEW was right in the IMPEACHMENT trial and vote to CONVICT individual 1. That vote is the main reason why I believe Ms Rubin is dead wrong in suggesting individual 1 and his sycophants should “walk away” from this administration with no accountability. It’s time to re-affirm that “no one is above the law” in America is MORE than a hollow saying.

I must admit to being way too cynical, but the reality is, well, I’ve become really cynical. When it comes to republicans I don’t trust any of them, unless maybe they’re part of the “Lincoln Project.” (I did send another $5 to them – the “Lincoln Project”) The latest “ad” from them – actually, I’d say it’s a video (it’s about 6 minutes long – check it out on YouTube) challenging republicans to “wake up” – I would call it “hilarious” unless all of this weren’t so serious. So, now individual 1 is “projecting” a delay in November’s election which, I believe, even republicans are struggling with. Of course, our IMPEACHED so-called president CAN’T delay the election, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he, along with his new “fixer” William Barr, didn’t take a “run” at it.

Here’s at least some of the reality “we the people” are dealing with as individual 1’s first (and, of course, I hope his last) term in office is nearing an end. He, our IMPEACHED so-called president, is PROJECTING virtually all of his FAILINGS on what would be a Joe Biden administration, in a desperate attempt to sow FEAR in America’s voting public to somehow “win” another election. Some of what I’ve seen in ads individual 1 is putting on the airwaves show the actual unrest which is happening NOW and suggesting this is what would be the case if Biden were president. Did you get that? Individual 1 is suggesting the unrest on HIS watch is what the voters should FEAR from a Biden presidency. Are we (the voters) that STUPID? I have forever etched on my brain individual 1 suggesting, after he lost the Iowa caucuses back in 2016, that he “loves uneducated voters.” That’s what he said!

So, now he’s suggesting to these uneducated voters that the unrest they’re witnessing under HIS “watch” is what they should FEAR from Biden. Wow! I guess come November 3rd we’ll find out if “we the people” are that STUPID!? I guess I’m an optimist because I just can’t bring myself to believe that would be true. Individual 1 is ALSO attempting to project his DEPLORABLE failings in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic on Biden AND President Obama. Sadly, our “liberal media” allows our IMPEACHED so-called president to get away with a lot of this nonsense. I often think they have been numbed to the shear number of “scandals” coming from the “White House” which go unchecked because of the sycophants in the republican Senate.

Individual 1 is also attempting to PROJECT his failings in dealing with the economy onto Biden and the democrats – when it’s the democrats who’ve helped put off the depression which is on the horizon if Congress – and, of course, I’m talking about Moscow Mitch and the republican controlled Senate – fail to act on the so-called “HEROES Act” which the House passed over two months ago. Apparently republicans want economic reality to be staring voters in the face come November. I suppose this “strategy” prevents democrats from needing to squabble over the need to get rid of the filibuster to save the economy come next January.

Our “liberal media” has allowed the public to believe individual 1 is better for the economy than Biden (or any democrat for that matter). Of course, our IMPEACHED so-called president started undermining the economy the day he took office. And, his republican sycophants are right there with him on all of this – their tax cut is, really, the ONLY significant legislation passed under his “watch” and it took the deficit back into record territory with his first budget – well over a $TRILLION per year – for the foreseeable future. Not a “peep” from republicans until, well, until it appears individual 1 very well could LOSE the election AND republicans could LOSE control of the Senate in November. Here come the deficit hawks! (It’s like being on a tightrope because if they fail to pass the HEROES Act the depression will be real)

I have to add here democrats MUST remain diligent and FIGHT for every election in every state at every level if “we the people” are going to turn this government into something which is focused on “the least of these” as opposed to being a militaristic state attempting to “rule the world.” For example, I TRIED to read an opinion piece by Hew Hewitt the other day (he’s an individual 1 lackey) and I could only make it through about three paragraphs before I was going to gag. His “opinion” is, to me, exactly what has become wrong in America over the past 40 years. He was defending all the “successes” of individual 1 which would include, for example, increasing the military spending by over $100 BILLION per year – when we were already spending MORE than the next closest 10 or 11 countries in the world COMBINED!

I was very young when Dwight Eisenhower was our president, but I paid attention to what was happening because my father was a republican and my mother a “proud democrat” (until the day she died). The things I remember are the federal highway system was one of Eisenhower’s major successes AND i remember him warning “we the people” about allowing the “military-industrial complex” from “getting out of control.” His warning: “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” I believe it’s time for “we the people” to face up to the reality the more we spend on the military the less safe we are. (I could write an entire post on that, but it’ll be saved for another day) Democrats MUST stand FIRM to force republicans to pass the HEROES Act – which saves to Post Office and guarantees money for voting from home in addition to the money which protects our unemployed workers from economic disaster. Individual 1 will be playing golf while the negotiations continue! But I digress!

Additionally, people like Hewitt love the fact individual 1 has been deregulating “we the people” from many regulations designed to keep us safe from, well, lots of things. Like dirty water and air, unsafe food, national parks free from oil rigs and other enterprises seeking to profit off the natural resources which should remain in the ground, saving endangered species – these off the top of my head – and, add to them economic issues like turning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from a protector of consumers to a protector of businesses, and, all in all, what I call short termism – where decisions are made for the benefit of today without thinking about tomorrow. And, now we’re facing a DEPRESSION which people like individual 1 and Hewitt will find creative ways to BLAME it on democrats and Biden. Their goal is continuous propping up of the stock market.

Hewitt touted individual 1 pulling “we the people” out of the Iran nuclear deal as something positive while people like me find it disgusting – just like pulling support from the WHO during a pandemic, to me, is disgusting, but I digress. My point here is virtually everything Hewitt was proclaiming as reasons “we the people” should give individual 1 another term in office I find to be absolutely the opposite. And, of course, (keeping in mind I couldn’t force myself to keep reading – I believe I stopped at the Iran part) apparently Hewitt continues to accept the moral depravity of our IMPEACHED so-called president.

These “republicans” who have (and continue to) supported individual 1 essentially are accepting behavior coming from future presidents which I thought, at least at some point in time, they would find abhorrent. If Biden wins in November and then, at some point, begins trying to extort information from foreign governments to help himself politically, well, it’s now been “etched in stone” by the republican Senate that it’s OK. I remember republicans complaining about “executive orders” before individual 1 took office, but, well, no-more?? I’m already seeing signs the deficit hawks are beginning to reappear. It’s been OK for the past 3 1/2 years, but if Biden wins I GUARANTEE you they’ll be BLAMING him for individual 1’s record deficits.

I have to add, now is a time when deficit spending is called for. Congress SHOULD pass the “HEROES Act” sooner rather than later. It’s a “gift” to individual 1 from the democrats because without it the economy, including the precious stock market, will be in much more serious trouble than it already is. It won’t take long for the effects of pulling the money Congress appropriated for those who are unemployed to be felt all across this economy. For example, if people can’t pay rent it not only is really bad for them but also for the landlord. And, if people aren’t paying rent or paying their mortgages it won’t take long and it will be really bad for the banks who loaned out the money behind those mortgages. And, on it goes. It COULD get really bad and no matter how individual 1 attempts to project the downfall of the economy onto Biden, this is all happening on his “watch.”

For heaven’s sake, I’m no economist but even I can understand that the economy contracting at an annualized rate of almost 33% is REALLY bad. And, if Congress fails to pass the “HEROES Act” I believe we could go from really bad to worse. I certainly hope I’m wrong, but that’s how I’m seeing things right now. We have a consumer based economy and if you take away the ability of between 30 and 40 MILLION Americans to spend money we will really see something you could call “trickle down.” (trickle up?) And, for these republicans who seem to be wanting to “turn back the clock” they could be turning it back to 1929! With the Covid-19 pandemic as the “cherry on top!” So, when individual 1 suggests what is happening NOW will be “America under Biden” don’t be fooled. Don’t allow our IMPEACHED so-called president to project his FAILURES on Joe Biden.

Final Thought: A few days have passed since I started this post and hopefully I’ll find the energy to finish it. However, based on what I’m reading and hearing – from people I believe to be knowledgeable – my thoughts on the economy, driven by logic alone, are proving to be accurate. The $600 weekly benefit provided for unemployed workers via the “CARES Act” has been “propping up” the economy because the recipients of the benefit are spending it on basic expenses. That money is actually creating jobs in the sense jobs which will be lost should that money “go away” will be jobs which could have been saved by a Congress – and, anyone who has been paying attention knows I’m talking about the republican controlled Senate – willing to support workers with far less than they were willing to GIVE to corporations and wealthy Americans who didn’t need the money in the tax “scam” of 2018.

From my vantage point our economy is hanging on a “cliff” and Senate republicans believe if it falls over the edge it won’t affect them or their families. They very well may be correct because, traditionally, when the economy tanks, the moneyed “vultures” “fly” in to pick up the “scraps,” therefore, increasing their wealth. This is why people like me are encouraging EVERYONE to register to VOTE and to, well, VOTE! I’ve read several books which document the changes in America which have benefited the “masses” and, in virtually EVERY instance, those changes come from “progressives” – dating back to Teddy Roosevelt and his cousin FDR. During those times there were too many courageous American progressives to list here who were willing to risk, in some instances, their lives, to move America in a more people friendly direction.

Well, from my perspective, now is the time for another significant “move” in a directions which turns this nation closer to the ideals on which she was founded. To me, the FACT our Constitution clearly had some “issues” at the beginning is without debate, but the FACT it has been a “living” document which has allowed our nation and society to “grow” over time is a marvel which makes it worth FIGHTING to preserve it. And, in the long run, I believe individual 1’s place in our history books – as he sits next to Benedict Arnold – will be that he awakened a significant portion of Americans who were complacent enough to demonstrate our democratic republic is vulnerable to an authoritarian takeover if we are willing to allow that to happen. I believe November 3rd will be PROOF we will NOT allow that to happen.

This PROOF will come from the “will of the voters.” The republicans in the Congress have had numerous opportunities to stand up for what they have claimed, for many years, are their core values and they’ve failed – MISERABLY – to do so. Individual 1 OBSTRUCTED Justice during the Mueller investigation and republicans turned a “blind eye” to what, according to Robert Mueller, is a fundamental “attack” on our system of Justice. Obstruction is a SERIOUS crime – in this case would have HAD to be “prosecuted” by Congress – “crimes” which were “short circuited” by William Barr and pragmatic democrats in the House. The EXTORTION of Ukraine was a “bridge to far” for House democrats, but not surprisingly, the republicans in the Senate chose to cement in precedence that EXTORTION by our Commander in Chief for his/her own political benefit is, well, OK. So, it’s up to “we the people” to say it’s NOT! And, the “housecleaning” of republicans needs to be as thorough as “we the people” can make it.

There are a lot of places in America where “conservative” radio is the ONLY choice – so, when people are driving around they’re getting an earful from people like Russ Limbaugh – this has been part of the right wing assault on our republic since the days of Reagan. And, sadly, Fox “news” is the choice of too many good Americans who don’t take the time to read or find actual factual information before they formulate their opinions. I’ve come to the conclusion it’s almost impossible to have a reasonable dialogue with someone who watches Fox “news.” And, keep in mind, there have been studies showing those who watch Fox are less informed than people who don’t watch ANY TV news.

People say to me “well MSNBC or CNN are just the same only ‘liberal’.” And, I have to respond, “That’s not true.” I mainly watch MSNBC when I watch TV (on my computer) but I check to see if what they are reporting is based on factual information. MOST of the time it is. Yes, undoubtedly, there are program hosts on MSNBC who are unabashedly biased – they don’t hide that “bent.” However, that doesn’t mean they’re publishing FALSE information. I’ve stopped even trying to watch Fox – but, occasionally I force myself to tune in – and I seldom last more than one minute because the misinformation simply disgusts me. And, NO, suggesting hydroxychloroquine will save you from Covid-19 – which was what I got the last time I tuned in – is NOT factual. And, finding a “quack” doctor to support what you want to hear doesn’t make it a “fact.” That’s just the last example of what I’ve heard on Fox and, everytime I tune in I seem to find someone else espousing something else which I KNOW to be untrue. Fox “news” is a national disaster and, ultimately, it will find itself in the same part of the history books as individual 1, William Barr, Jim Jordan, Devin Nunez, Matt Gaetz, and the rest of this right wing cabal which is attacking our republican from within.