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.