In an attempt for clarity here are some definitions: (From Miriam Webster)

Conservative:  tending or disposed to maintain existing views, conditions, or institutions : TRADITIONAL conservative policies:  marked by moderation or caution, conservative estimate; marked by or relating to traditional norms of taste, elegance, style, or manners.

Neo-Nazi: a person who belongs to a group that believes in the ideas and policies of Hitler’s Nazis and that sometimes commits violent acts.

Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

Sedition: is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. (Oh yes, in America, it’s AGAINST the LAW with a sentence of 20 years if found GUILTY)

These terms get thrown around without regard for their actual meaning, including by our so-called “liberal media” and this, in my view, is a founding cause for the divisive politics which now permeates America. I could have put the term “Christian” in that same vein, but I’ll leave that for your imagination. I bring that up because I still know “republicans” who claim their party is “Christian and conservative.” They claim to be “pro-life” and in one of the great ironies, so far, of the 21st century, you have “republicans” who are scheming to control the bodies of American women claiming, in their fight against vaccine mandates, “my body my choice” in their refusal to abide by ANY of these proposed “mandates.” Let that sink in!

As I’ve stated here MANY times, I’m not a proponent of abortion, I simply don’t believe it’s my “call” to tell a woman how she can handle her body. And, if the teachings of the Bible are correct, then any consequence of that decision rests with that woman. (I’ve suggested in the past if the MAN involved in an unwanted pregnancy was forced to pay a fine of – let’s use the figure from the recent Texas abortion restriction – $10,000 for causing that pregnancy, I believe you’d see this issue change dramatically, but, I digress – actually, the more I think about it, let’s make it $20,000)

Soon, the death toll in America from the “novel” coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2 – ie Covid-19) will surpass 700,000 – likely by the time I publish this rant – and, for the past five or so months OVER 90% of the deaths are from people unvaccinated who had the opportunity to get the vaccine FOR FREE. Instead, many of them are consuming the ANIMAL dewormer, Ivermectin, which they have to either buy it from a feed store or find a doctor who’ll prescribe it despite the research which says not only does it NOT prevent Covid-19, but it very likely will poison you for taking it! (Instead of the FREE “jab” which has been proven to prevent a great MAJORITY of severe cases of Covid even IF you’re one of those who gets a “breakthrough” infection (a VERY small minority of those who’ve been FULLY vaccinated – I got my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine in early March with absolutely NO side effects)

Anyway, if you’re a republican, you’re expected to oppose abortion and OPPOSE the vaccine – “my body my choice.” (And, anything else Fox “news” TELLS you to oppose) Talk about wanting it “both ways.” However, the real “kicker” in all this, to me, gets back to my definitions above. I personally don’t see ANYTHING resembling “conservative” in the “present day” republican party and, in addition, I don’t see anything resembling “Christianity” in the rank and file behavior of those claiming to be republicans. As I’ve stated, also, many times here, I see a stark parallel to America’s so-called “Christian right” and the “Christian right” which made up the “base” of supporters for the Third Reich back in 1930’s Germany (more on that below).

When you read the definitions of “neo-Nazi’s” and “fascism,” terms of classic PROJECTION of republicans thrown aimlessly at democrats, you can see a clear parallel to where individual 1 and his prominent supporters (Mike Flynn, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Steve Bannon, Paul Gosar, Mo Brooks, and others) are attempting to take “we the people.” The “America First” campaign was classic “nationalism,” the racist memes and “dog whistles” coming “fast and furious” from these “republicans” are classic fascist signs, and the attack on traditional institutions and values fully demonstrates these people are NOT “conservatives.” (Steve Bannon, while still part of individual 1’s administration famously was quoted as saying their “number one goal is deconstruction the administrative state.” That’s not the words of a “conservative!”

But, as usual, there’s ALWAYS more! And, on this next one, which I’ve been harping at for the past three plus years, I really don’t understand why our “liberal media” doesn’t just come out and “educate” all of America’s “uneducated voters” (and, many of her “educated” ones) that the LYING which permeates the republican party is part of a scheme which they “adopted” from the Third Reich (OK, Hitler himself) called the “Big Lie theory.” Yes, they’re referring to individual 1’s claim the “election was stolen” as the “Big Lie,” but what about the THOUSANDS of other LIES? What about all the recent LIES? Why do republicans, in unison, repeat their LIES over and over?

And, of course, “two siding” the issue of politicians “LYING” is ridiculous. The democrats don’t hold a “candle” to the LYING of the republicans – I don’t know, maybe because they’re not organized enough, or, just maybe, because the democratic party is not composed of a bunch of FASCISTS. Now, are all republicans “fascists?” Of course not. But, on the other hand, if you believe that, well, THEN you have to BELIEVE the party is made up of a BUNCH of cowards! I’ve always accused democrats for being either passive or being spineless, but they’ve got NOTHING on the republicans in Congress who KNOW BETTER but continue to support individual 1 with their COWARDLY silence. (And, keep in mind, Mitch McConnell – i.e. “Moscow Mitch” – is just a different version of the same “animal.” He’s just WAY more sly and sleezy than individual 1 and some of his disgusting sycophants – either way, willing to sell out America for the sake of POWER!)

And, speaking of fascists and, well, Steve Bannon, today marked the German elections where Angela Merkel is being replaced after 16 years. And, true to form, just as he did with individual 1 back in 2016 with his neo-Nazi base, Bannon has his “tentacles” in Germany pushing the right wing neo-Nazi movement there – and presumably in other countries in Western Europe. If you remember, another of the “white nationalist” “neo-Nazi” types in America’s media, Tucker Carlson, spent a week in Budapest kissing up to Viktor Orban, who, I believe meets the definition of a “fascist.” However, I read recently an article in the “Bulwark” which argued he’s NOT a fascist but a “Kleptocrat.”

So, in the name of “definitions:” A “Kleptocrat” is one who runs “a government characterized by rampant greed and corruption.” To me, when you look at Orban’s history as the RULER of Hungary it’s a “fine line” to call him a “Kleptocrat” as opposed to a fascist. Personally, I believe the “Miriam Webster” definition of fascist is pretty much met by Mr. Orban. There’s a reason why Carlson spent a week there broadcasting his show to America’s “suckers” in the Fox “news” viewing audience and there’s a reason why the white nationalists in America tune into Carlson’s show on a regular basis. Here’s the deal: The white nationalists/neo-Nazi’s/fascists in America are part of a “movement” which permeates the various borders of Western “democracies.”

People I know who consider themselves part of individual 1’s CULT have openly said to me, “I hate democracy.” I know at least a couple of them who would support a “race war” with the hope it would lead to another “civil war.” OK, you’re wondering where I’m going with this semi “history lesson.” I’ll get back to my long held belief democrats are “spineless.” Now, I do have to say, there are a few “young” democratic members of the House who I believe have GUTS, but, at the top, this still appears to be a problem. And, let me give you my PRIME example: Merrick Garland!

It’s true Mr. Garland SHOULD be a member of the Supreme Court, and had his appointment been confirmed, I believe there would be much less belief the Court is made up of a group of right wing political HACKS! However, Mr. Garland finds himself as the Attorney General at a time in American History which calls for someone with the COURAGE to meet the challenge of the time. And, first and foremost in that challenge, of course, would be holding our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president to account. How would he do this? Well, let me count the ways! OK, I don’t have enough fingers. But, for starters, our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president continues to find ways to “broadcast” to his CULT the so-called “Big Lie” the 2020 election was stolen.

That’s not helping anything – especially when any American who’s been paying attention to REALITY understands individual 1 SHOULD be under investigation by the Justice Department for INSTIGATING the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2020, Now, I’m no lawyer, but I believe, with simply the EVIDENCE which is NOW part of the public record I could argue to a JURY why he’s GUILTY of SEDITION and get a conviction. I believe our Attorney General is NOT acting because he FEARS the backlash! (SHOULD I use the term “spineless?”) To me, that SHOULD have NOTHING to do with whether a former president – especially a TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president – is INDICTED for illegal activity – especially an attempted coup d’etat!

Of course, as I said above, there’s ALWAYS more! How about the TEN instances of OBSTRUCTION of Justice “memorialized” by Robert Mueller in his report on the “Russia Investigation” where, when asked during his Congressional testimony if individual 1 could be prosecuted after leaving office? His ONE word answer, was “YES!” That’s not enough for you? Well, why do you think I refer to him as “individual 1.” He was the “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Campaign finance FELONY which helped send Michael Cohen to prison for three years. Shouldn’t he face accountability for that? Is he actually “above the law” as he clearly believes?

We KNOW his buddy Vladimir Putin will claim a double standard should individual 1 be indicted, but WHO the hell CARES? Let Putin face the music in his own country as his MOB behavior becomes more understood by the Russian people while he continues to rob them of all the GREAT Russian natural resources – mainly OIL and GAS – from which he’s created his incredible WEALTH (and, likewise, to his inner circle of political sycophants and “oligarchs”)

As OIL becomes less and less valuable, the Russian economy is likely to continue to suffer. Yes, Putin’s opponents end up in jail (gulags), but to compare what he does with what we do (or SHOULD do) couldn’t be MORE opposite. In fact, I believe Putin is behind much of the divide created since individual 1 announced his candidacy back in 2015 with the Russian “Active Measures” campaign – along with what’s happening also in Western Europe. In addition, (as an aside) at some point I believe “we the people” will FULLY understand the “collusion” which helped individual 1 “win” the “White House” in the first place.

Lest I forget, there’s also the issue of individual 1 clearly attempting VOTER FRAUD by trying to intimidate various government officials around the country to overturn their 2020 election results – prior to his last gasp effort to BLOCK the certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6th, 2021 by INSTIGATING the INSURRECTION. As MORE and MORE information becomes public Mr. Garland is going to be looking very “spineless” unless there’s an investigation going on which “we the people” don’t know about. (Seems as if it’s pretty hard to keep something like that a “secret.” For example, take the investigation of Matt Gaetz. It appears there’s a plethora of EVIDENCE connecting him to a sex trafficking ring, among other allegations and, yet, he’s still walking around “free” while spouting clearly fascist BS. But. the existence of an investigation is public knowledge)

I’m not sure who I’m the most fed up with here? The republicans who are clearly attempting to turn America into a version of what Karl Rove referred to as the “permanent republican ‘majority'” back when he worked for GW Bush – Of course, today’s republicans are taking it much farther than anyone could have imagined back when Rove first “coined” the phrase. Or the members of the Justice Department who seem to be “crickets” as more and more EVIDENCE makes it clear there was a CONSPIRACY to commit SEDITION on January 6th, 2021.

The number of republicans with NO spine makes the democrats look like the reincarnation of a bunch of Audie Murphy’s. I keep wondering, what on earth are they afraid of? Well, the likely answer is all the death threats they’ll receive from the white nationalists who identify with republicans because of individual 1. Honestly, I can’t imagine why anyone, other than an overt racist, would allow themselves to be associated with that “bunch?” That being said, is AG Garland’s Justice Department living in FEAR of the same dynamic? This is the greatest threat to our government in my lifetime.

Where does the solution to this national “threat” lie? Well, sadly, we keep coming back to Attorney General Garland. And, if he’s got some slow moving investigation going, in my view, he needs to speed it up. What more does he need for “probable cause?” Five people DIED in the INSURRECTION, more died soon thereafter (Capitol Police officers committing suicide after the experience) and MILLIONS worth of DAMAGE done to the Capitol Building. This thing was planned ahead of time and individual 1 was the PLANNER. There’s NO way the 600+ INSURRECTIONISTS charged, so far, should bear the BRUNT of that seditionist attack on the “heart” of our democratic republic with extended jail times. It really is time for Attorney General Garland to INDICT individual 1 and allow him to defend himself from a charge of SEDITION! (I added the definition of Sedition above to alleviate any possible confusion)

Final Thought: I follow the statistics on the “pandemic” pretty closely on “Worldometer.info” and it’s becoming very interesting as we’re getting closer to the 700,000 number of Deaths attributed to the virus. (Clearly, the number is much higher) I’ve been pointing out the CHEATING going on in many republican led states for over a year now – when you follow this daily it becomes obvious. To me, the worst offender will likely be the republican nominee for president in 2024 should Mr. Garland do what he SHOULD as explained above. Without individual 1 “mucking up” the republican field the “front runner” would be none other than Ron DeSantis – who appears to be making his case by being the WORST governor in the nation regarding his fundamental job – ie “keeping Floridians safe.”

And, to me, making matters worse – but, likely in the eyes of the republican “base” making things better – he’s been CHEATING on the statistics repeatedly. Florida’s reports to “Worldometer.info” – or wherever they get their data – each day suggests around 3 – 5 Floridians are DYING from the virus when, in actuality, other places who are less public but actually collect the REAL data have been saying over 300 Floridians are DYING per day from this virus. That’s NOT just “another flu” as DeSantis and other republicans would have you believe.

My point: SHOULD AG Garland do the “right thing” it does not solve the republican party problem. It doesn’t change they’re attempting to suppress the votes in almost EVERY state in the union, it doesn’t change the FACT they have no “agenda” aside from “white grievance,” and it won’t keep another right wing wack job from gaining the nomination – maybe DeSantis, or the governor of Texas, maybe Kristi Noem of South Dakota – whose state looks REALLY bad despite the CHEATING, and there are several more. Also, until “we the people” begin PURGING republicans who oppose our “democracy” from Congress, this crisis will continue. And, considering all of that, my biggest concern is “will progressive voters (OK “liberals”) stay focused for the next SEVERAL years – because it will take that long to turn the “pendulum” back to the left.

Yes, Joe Biden is attempting to make a significant “first step” but, it appears, there are at least two “democrats” who are going to prevent Biden’s “agenda” from making it through the Senate. Hopefully, the “infrastructure bill” and the so-called “reconciliation bill” will pass in some form – but, in my view, without the Voting Rights legislation being passed “we the people” could be taking a giant step backward. And, we still don’t know the full effect of the right wing Supreme Court on several critical issues. (And, I’m not even bringing up the potential crisis with funding the government and the debt ceiling issue – America 2021!) Stay tuned…………………..

Today I’ve become 74 and I’m going to start my celebration (not:) by beginning a post with thoughts that crossed my mind this morning and thoughts I’ll lose if I don’t jot them down. I’ll finish this in the coming days. Recently I wrote about how the “Proud Boys” (what they have to be “proud” of evades me) decided to get involved in an “anti-masking” demonstration outside a local High School – eventually causing the school (and two neighboring schools) to experience a “lockdown” during the first week of the new school year where kids were finally back in the classrooms.

As I’ve been reading more about what happened there and what is happening across the nation spurred on by the right wing republican party attempting to keep their CULT members at a fever pitch heading toward the 2022 Mid term elections where it’s clear they’re looking for issues which will rile up their “base.” Originally, it was Humpty Dumpty (or some such character – oh yes, it was “Mr.” Potato Head”) and it’s evolved to the anti-mask anti-vax movement which is KILLING those who refuse the FREE “shot” all across the nation and, believe it or not, the so-called crisis over “critical race theory” (CRT).

So, if you noticed at the top of my “blog” (if that’s what this is) I spent the last 23 years of my working life as (mostly) a sixth grade teacher. (I’ve mentioned many times individual 1 has often reminded me of a sixth grader – but, I digress) Here’s how I view “critical race theory” from a teacher’s point of view. In teaching American History it seems to me it’s impossible to ignore issues like slavery, lynching, Jim Crow, the Tulsa “massacre,” etc. etc. These topics can be taught without the teacher influencing the “thinking” of the students – i.e. “critical thinking” – which was a key skill I attempted to teach to my sixth graders.

Here’s an example of how I taught (apparently) critical race theory – even though, at the time, neither me, my students, nor their parents understood the teaching in those terms. American History has always had a “soft spot” for teaching about Christopher Columbus who “sailed the oceans blue in 1492.” His “discovery” of America was him landing in the Caribbean apparently in the Bahamas. The natives, the Taino “Indians,” inhabited the island (Hispaniola?) and there are numerous articles on the internet about what happened during Columbus’ time with the Taino’s. The way I had my students study this was they were to write an essay with the title EITHER “Columbus a Hero” or “Columbus a Villain.”

Their responsibility was, first of all to research both sides of the “issue,” then, write a cogent essay where whatever position they took was supported by credible evidence. (And, there are numerous articles which would support each position) Of course, they were to read the various articles, decide their position, and then use information from the articles to support their point of view – why they believed one side and not the other. Of course, when you read about Columbus’s actions you get a good picture of what happened to Native American culture once the Europeans began to inhabit North America. Most of my students, but not all of them, came to the conclusion Columbus was a “villain” although their grade was based on the quality of the essay they wrote – notwithstanding their choice of topic. (Back then “Columbus Day” was still a holiday)

We didn’t get directly into the topic of slavery because that was not in the curriculum “years” of History we were teaching and not all teachers chose to follow suit in how I dealt with this issue. But, my point is, even sixth graders are capable of reading multiple points of view on a topic and making up their own minds on what is the “correct” position. Obviously, when the topic becomes “slavery,” “lynching,” “Reconstruction,” “Jim Crow,” “Juneteenth,” “Tulsa,” etc. people who are believers in the “lost cause” don’t want their children to understand the “warts” in our History. The reality in America right now is there is an undercurrent of moneyed elites who surreptitiously are FUNDING the right wing ASSAULT on our nation – including our nation’s Public Education system. They view themselves as “libertarians,” but, in reality they are promoting fascism – in it’s purest form. Yikes!

And, this group is supported by the talking heads on outlets like Fox “news,” “Newsmax TV,” the OANN network (full disclosure, I’ve not watched this one, only read quotes from what has passed over their network), Breitbart, etc. They have developed a large following of “minions” who, in my view, are incapable of “critical thinking” in any area – when I talk to those who I KNOW (many of them will deny this) who watch Fox their words are a regurgitation of what comes out of the mouths of people like Hannity, Carlson, Ingraham, etc. These people are NOT “conservatives,” they are full blown supporters of autocrats. A requirement of the GOP “leadership” is being willing to LIE for money and power. Sad! (Rush Limbaugh used to call the “minions” “ditto heads” – and, they had no objection to being called “ditto heads!”)

To me, a dialogue between “liberal” and “conservative” principles, when it comes to politics, is quite healthy. Here’s the problem: These terms have been HIJACKED by what is now represented to “we the people” by the republican party. Just imagine even 20 years ago a bunch of THUGS like the so-called “Proud Boys” showing up at a republican rally as the “security.” The moneyed interests behind this evolution of the republican party, most notably the now infamous “Koch Brothers” (today “Koch Brother” because one of them died) have surreptitiously been working to transform as many legislatures in America as possible to their “libertarian” (neo-fascist) point of view. They are smart, they have UNLIMITED funds, and they are ruthless – which is exactly why individual 1 appeals to them. Simply flatter him and he’ll bend to your wishes!

I’m guessing even Charles Koch is beginning to realize he “bit off more than he can chew” by backing individual 1 – an example of an narcissistic organized criminal becoming a politician. He does a good job of “playing dumb” when he’s asked about support from, for example, David Duke – pretending he doesn’t know who Mr. Duke is. Rrrrright! And, after saying he didn’t know who the “Proud Boys” are during a presidential debate he then asked them to “stand back and stand by” – not many “politicians” have that kind of “stones” to “dog whistle” during a debate on national TV. But, as happened for four years, our so-called “liberal media” allowed him to “get away with it.”

There are some members of the “Proud Boys,” along with members of the “Oathkeepers,” “3 Percenters,” and other right wing “militia er street brawler” groups facing extended JAIL time due to their ASSAULT on the Capitol during the January 6, 2021 INSURRECTION because they “stood back and stood by” waiting for the, in essence, “charge” command from their fuhrer er “commander in chief.” As I’ve said here several times, why are they in JAIL (OK, I actually KNOW why) and NOT the one who sent them on the “mission?” (Which was to impede the certification of Joe Biden’s landslide – based on individual 1’s own characterization of the 2016 election results – VICTORY) Just as in Abu Ghraib the “grunts” go to JAIL and those who “authorized the mission” go “scott free.” ONLY in America! (I wish someone would pass these words on to Merrick Garland, just sayin…………)

Speaking of “Only in America,” this coming weekend there is planned another MOB demonstration in Washington D.C. in support of the OVER 500 INSURRECTIONISTS who stormed our nation’s Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 with the INTENT of overthrowing our government in support of individual 1’s so-called “Big Lie.” (Of course, his “Big Lies” came “hot and heavy” from the day he announced his intention to be a candidate back in 2015 – over 36,000 “Big Lies” during his four years in office.) Naturally, our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president had to “weigh in” by calling those facing charges for the INSURRECTION “great patriots.” Well, with “patriots like these” who needs……………….. Who else is calling them patriots? Yep, you guessed it, none other than Vladimir Putin! Stay tuned………………

Final Thought: I’ve pointed out how Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, has been attempting to LIE about the disaster his (non) “policy” of (not) defending his state against the Covid-19 pandemic has caused to the people of Florida – apparently, in order to “raise” his political standing with the republican “base” – and, as the TRUTH comes out his FAILURE of LEADERSHIP is far worse than most of us understand. As I’ve done since the first reports of the SARS-Cov-2 virus (i.e. Covid-19) spreading across America I’ve followed the “data” on “Worldometer.info.” It became apparent to me, early on, several republican led states (not just Florida) were LYING about the severity of the virus in their state. DeSantis is simply one of the most egregious.

So, during the past month or so, Florida’s “data” has been very “spotty” as far as listing the numbers of new infections each day – anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 – according to other sources, the best I can tell is an average of over 20,000 PER DAY – of new infections. On “Worldometer.info” it has not been unusual for Florida to report tens of thousands of new cases with anywhere from 5 to 8 deaths – with today’s total reported as “5.” So, I did a bit more research today and discovered OVER 1500 Floridians DIED just TODAY from the virus their governor is not only REFUSING to fight, but seems to be actually “fighting” to help it spread.

Several states don’t report any data and there are several others which don’t report the number of DEATHS for each day – and, despite all this, according to the “Worldometer.info” site there’s still around 2000 Americans dying from the so-called “delta variant” EACH day. What we know, is the number is MUCH higher than that. And, over 90% of those DYING from Covid-19 have NOT been vaccinated. Republican governors in numerous states are actually preventing their constituents from “mandating” vaccines and/or mask requirements – essentially saying, “their right to refuse protection from the virus makes it OK to spread it to others.” For republicans, when it comes to the vaccines it’s “My Body My Choice.” When it comes to the women of Texas, not so much! (This is what I call “right to life hypocrisy” in one of its MANY forms) Yikes!!!

One last thing: I have an acquaintance who I became simply unable to tolerate when he became too much a part of individual 1’s CULT – he continues to refer to republicans who support individual 1 as “conservative and Christian,” and led me to believe he believes the “Big Lie” about the election (among other “Big Lies”). He once referred to Covid as “just another flu” when talking to me about it – although, since I lost contact with him, I’ve heard he and his wife actually contracted it, I don’t know how bad of a “version” they got and I prayed they would fully recover, unbeknownst to them. The reason I bring this up is because I believe he would/will move to Idaho the first chance he got. His daughter is an RN in Boise and Idaho is a VERY “red” state – full of so-called “militia” members including a cell of the Atomwaffen crack pots (ie Nazi’s) – plus Idaho is one of the least vaccinated states (for Covid) in the entire Union.

So, I can’t help but think of his daughter (I also have a daughter who is an RN) because the Hospitals in Idaho (his daughter works in one of them in Boise) are well past overflowing with desperately ILL Covid-19 patients. In fact, Idaho is trying to transfer patients from their hospitals to their neighboring states (Oregon and Washington) which also have hospitals who are facing serious Covid situations, just not as CRITICAL as Idaho. Today, the government of Idaho announced their hospitals are now “triaging” care based on perceived chances of survival and, if you need an “elective” or emergency surgery, well, you’re “SOL.” (i.e. S@#t out of Luck) Will all of this cause any change in his thinking? Likely not. My guess is he’ll blame Joe Biden for the debacle in Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Alaska, etc. etc. – do you see the underlining issue here? Enough said………………..

A few thoughts off the top of my head which I’ll try to elaborate on in the coming days/weeks. I suppose I’m losing my “fire” to keep writing, although will likely change as the right wing assault on our nation continues. First, I haven’t heard a word from any of the republicans who were predicting individual 1 would return to the “Oval Office” on August 13. it’s August 24 as I’m typing this and our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president (who’s also a LOSER in, likely, a record number of lawsuits) is still stuck in Mar a Lago. Is there a better place for him? Absolutely! How about some actual U.S. prison – maybe a private one.

Secondly, today – for whatever reason – I’ve been wondering how the Matt Gaetz investigation is proceeding. He’s, of course, very prominent in the QAnon “universe” which claims democrats are child sex abusers – or something like that (disclaimer, I don’t do “QAnon” so I’m paraphrasing what I’ve heard, second hand) – it should be interesting how that “community” responds should the indictment many are predicting comes about – an indictment which allegedly accuses Gaetz of “child sex trafficking.” (Will that make him a democrat?)

Thirdly, and hopefully lastly – at least for today – I’m, as usual, following the continued pandemic as it spreads across the nation – mostly in the South. Maybe up to two months ago I saw the beginnings of this happening in Florida and with Florida being under the “leadership” of Ron DeSantis it should be no surprise Florida was the “trigger” to the spread of the so-called “Delta variant” of the Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) pandemic. With leaders like DeSantis “we the people” could be looking at an “endemic” instead of a “pandemic.” I believe, back then, I predicted the “rest of us” would be paying a “price” for the intransigence of Mr. DeSantis!

And, “We the people” can’t depend on republican governors in several states to allow “truthful” data to come out. For example, and speaking of DeSantis, I’ve been speculating for over a year now that he’s “cheating” on the statistics coming from his state. An example from a couple days ago – Florida was reported to have almost 25,000 NEW cases in one day – their hospitals are FULL of Covid-19 patients – and, there was ONE death reported. I mentioned last year how republican governors were ordering their health departments to “gigger” the death certificates of people who died of Covid – by saying, instead, they died of pneumonia. I believe the death toll from the disease caused by the virus is much HIGHER than reported. For heaven’s sake, there are several (republican run) states who aren’t reporting ANYTHING. (Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota among them – and, yes, once in a while you see a report coming from one of those states – but it’s less than sporadic – which simply means the INFECTION of America is WORSE than we are led to believe.

OK, yes, I”m also thinking about the American withdrawal from Afghanistan today (7 days till the “deadline”), how could anyone who pays attention to the news not do so. I was reminded of my previous post where I mentioned about some people I recently visited in a rural part of Southern Oregon who thought Joe Biden was “screwing up” the withdrawal from Afghanistan. I presumed they were talking about all those Afghani’s who were trying to escape the country now that the Taliban has taken control, but – NO – they were lamenting the opposite – that there would be an influx of Afghan refugees coming to America. As I mentioned in the post, they are AVID Fox “news” viewers – it’s on their TV much of the day.

Well, that was then and this is now. (It’s Sept. 5th) Regarding the withdrawal from Afghanistan, it surely could have gone smoother, but, as I wrote a couple weeks ago, there was no way it was going to be “smooth” considering the Afghan “military” either “laid down their arms” or headed into the hills to fight another day – time will tell. Regarding my friends in Southern Oregon, I’m guessing it won’t be long and Tucker Carlson will be spewing more of his white nationalist hate regarding the “dilution” of America because of the Afghan refugees which make it here. I don’t even know how many of the 120,000 who “got out” are on American soil, but, if you’ve been around this site at all it should be obvious I believe “we the people” should put out the “welcome” sign for as many as can get visa’s from the State Department.

Do I feel bad for those who wanted to leave but couldn’t get out? Yes, but 120,000 is a pretty incredible accomplishment – especially when you consider the circumstances. Do I want the U.S. to continue BOMBING targets in Afghanistan? Well, NO! Why not make it a clean break? We’ll soon enough know whether the Taliban are able to create a functioning government and, from what I’ve read, the possibilities aren’t that great. The country has been “ruled” by factions led by “warlords” for (maybe) centuries (I can’t remember and I’m too lazy to go back and reread the books I’ve read on Afghanistan). What I know is the “outcome” of our “adventure” in Afghanistan was predictable from the day we provided the airlift to get Osama bin Laden into Pakistan back in 2001 and began the so-called “war on terror.”

Speaking of the “war on terror,” I know this wasn’t one of my original thoughts to this rant, but I kind of hope our Justice Department will actually venture into a “war” on the terrorists residing in our own country. Those connected to the INSURRGENTS who ransacked our nation’s Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 are spread all across this nation. If we truly are a “nation of laws and not men” then the Justice Department SHOULD hold those to account who are threatening the very fabric of the nation. And, it shouldn’t, in my mind, be centered on the schmucks who are too STUPID (sorry) to understand they’re being fed a steady stream of LIES, but, instead, those who are spreading the LIES and INSTIGATING their “low information voters.”

I’m sure you understand, first and foremost, I’m talking about individual 1. The FACT he’s the MOST corrupt president (TWICE IMPEACHED and a two time popular vote LOSER) in this nation’s history (with the possible exception of Andrew Johnson) should have the attention of the various PROSECUTORS who SHOULD be putting cases together with the intent of holding him to account. And, yes, I’m talking about Merrick Garland first and foremost. For heaven’s sake, he’s the unindicted co-conspirator in the “Stormy Daniels” payoff which landed Michael Cohen in jail. Wouldn’t fairness suggest he must face the same charges? And, what about all the OBSTRUCTION evidence “memorialized” by Robert Mueller? Shouldn’t those legal transgressions be further investigated? And, naturally, the INSTIGATION of the Assault on our nation’s Capitol Building with the INTENT to overthrow the election (along with mountains of corroborating evidence as to his INTENT – well, what on earth is Mr. Garland waiting for?

Here’s a couple similarities I see between the republicans and democrats. Republicans won’t agree to ANY legislation designed to mitigate the Climate Crisis until the disasters are so great even their BRAINWASHED supporters demand action – and, of course, it will likely be too late to make much of a difference. On the other hand, democrats will fail to hold the republican assault on the fundamental values of America to account until it’s too late and they are in the position of being virtually blocked from regaining a majority in Congress or gaining the “White House” because they FAIL to act on voting rights legislation. Republicans ALREADY have STACKED the courts in their favor, have the potential to control Congress with a MINORITY of support to the “tune” of TENS of MILLIONS – and, that’s the people that manage to actually vote – I’m not even counting the MILLIONS who will be disenfranchised due to all the VOTER SUPPRESSION bills being passed in various states. (And, I didn’t even mention, directly, partisan gerrymandering)

I’ve always felt the reason individual 1 is so appealing to republicans is due to his WILLINGNESS to CHEAT! I’ve been saying for years the republican M.O. is “The end justifies the means.” They’ve been LYING and CHEATING for as long as I can remember. And, of course, they consider democrats “weak” because they continue trying to “play by the rules.” Additionally, it doesn’t help that each time the democrats PROVE their unwillingness to hold republican “leaders” to account for BREAKING our laws, it just further empowers them to take it even further – and, of course, I’m referring to them BREAKING even MORE laws.

That gets me back to Matt Gaetz. I questioned as I started this rant what was going on with him? We keep hearing (OK, I keep hearing) he’s going to be indicted in a couple of weeks. I keep reading about Mr. Greenberg in Florida who is apparently providing MOUNTAINS of evidence implicating Mr. Gaetz along with several other prominent Floridians in his sex-trafficking racket. The last I’ve heard is the prosecutors are “negotiating” with Gaetz’ attorneys – which, I’m not sure what that means? Certainly, there couldn’t be a “bigger fish” could there? (Well, if you’ve followed my rants at all you’d know I speculated about Roger Stone. Could he be entangled in this “deplorable” mess? I did see one photo of Stone, Greenberg, and Gaetz with the proverbial s@#t eating grins you might seen on three older men having sex with young girls. Just sayin……………. Stay tuned……….

Finally, the Covid-19 (SARS-Cov-2) pandemic. I follow the statistics virtually every day on “Worldometer.info” where every reported case is logged into their HUGE database. (They keep track of much more than Covid) As I’ve repeatedly pointed out, there are several REPUBLICAN governors who apparently have ordered their health departments to stop reporting the data. Some of them report the cases but not the deaths. DeSantis of Florida is a bit of both. For one week recently, with an average of around 25,000 NEW cases EVERY day being reported in Florida they were reporting 8 deaths each day.

Well, I knew that wasn’t possible. The Florida hospitals are SLAMMED with Covid patients. The reports on the original “waves” of the virus stated roughly 10 percent of the cases reported ended up in hospitalizations and this “Delta variant” is MORE transmissible and MORE deadly – so, that would mean, likely, MORE than 2500 new cases needing hospitalization in Florida EVERY day – over the past month or so. So, I did a little more “digging” and, last week, Florida was averaging around 325 deaths (at least) per DAY from the virus. (100 more than just two weeks prior) When you look at the maps showing where the worst Covid infections are nationally you see bright red in Florida and not quite as bright red in the surrounding states, moving North. Obviously, many people travel into and out of Florida every day.

And, one last thing – it’s apparent “we the people” have no tolerance for “shutting things down” to “stop the spread” and, it seems almost the opposite. Personally, I love ML baseball and tonight I was watching (on my computer via streaming) the Giants Dodgers baseball game – maybe the two best teams in baseball. Oracle Park in San Francisco was FULL of yelling fans – only a small few of which I saw wearing masks. Talk about your “super spreader” events. And, of course, College Football stadiums are full of “rabid” YELLING fans and the NFL starts next week. It appears to me this “wave” is going to get far worse before it gets better and, if a “variant” which is not at least slowed down by the present vaccines, well, look up the word “endemic.” Just as I implied “we the people” won’t deal with a serious crisis – no matter our “political affiliation” – until it’s too late – well, I see the definite possibility with Covid-19.

The Concession workers in Oracle Park are going on strike because of the dangerous situation they’re in just working the Giants games. (If you don’t know baseball, Oracle Park is in San Francisco) In the past week or so 20 of the workers have contracted Covid. They’re claiming it’s NOT safe for them to work – and, well, as they say, the “proof is in the pudding.” Just try to imagine how many of the 45,000 or so “fans” at the game tonight will be in the hospital next week. And, picture that for all the other baseball and football games across this land. Reports I’ve read suggest the “Delta Variant” can be spread from one person to 9 or 10 others. If there were even half a dozen people who were infected but didn’t know it at that game, just picture how many others will be infected by, well, NOW! (It’s a few hours AFTER the end of the game) (Do you understand the word “exponential?”)

Joe Biden is doing everything he can to mitigate the spread of this virus, but people either are vaccinated and believe they’re “safe” (which is somewhat true, but not completely true – there are more and more “breakthrough” cases being reported) or, seemingly, they’re unvaccinated and believe the virus is a hoax. When you see THOUSANDS of people crammed together and almost NONE of them even wearing a mask like at Oracle Park, well – at least I – see what looks like, as I said above, a “super spreader event” – and, maybe I should add “on steroids.” I’m sure President Biden feels as if his hands are tied. The political division in America has been exacerbated to the point where many people are not even open to “science” and many of the others think they’re “safe.” (due to being vaccinated) And, the virus keeps spreading!

Here’s how bad its gotten. I live in a small community which seems to be evenly divided politically, but since my days in high school back in the early 1960’s there has been overwhelming support for our public Schools. (And, by the way, as a sixth grade teacher I taught history in a way which didn’t shy from America’s “warts” and no one objected) So, a couple of days ago a young lady at one of our high schools (and, apparently, the same situation happened at a neighboring Middle School and Elementary school) refused to wear a mask and was not allowed to attend. Her parents protested and enlisted the support of one of the right wing militia groups you read about regarding protests in Portland, Oregon. (We’re right across the Columbia River).

The Militia guys (from a group calling themselves “Patriot Prayer” along with some “Proud Boys” – trust me, they’re anything but “patriots” or “proud”) actually TRESPASSED on the school grounds (along with the young student’s mother) and the police had to be called to remove them – I haven’t heard if any of the “patriots” were arrested, but three schools had to be put on “lockdowns” because of the “crisis.” The High School has over 2000 students and ONE decided to put the district to the “test.” I worked for this district for over 20 years and I have to add, I hope they “stick to their guns.” I read where they’re trying to “work things out” with the parent, but this parent and her children have a history of bullying – I know, because my granddaughter was a victim of it a few years back – and, it was devastating for her. I would say to the parent, “you have two choices – your child wears a mask while at school or you can ‘home school’ her.”

Final Thought: OK, I “get” I said 1 LAST thing above, but speaking of pro sports, I’m going to make a prediction. Many teams are going to find themselves unable to actually play the games at some point going into the fall. I’m thinking mainly football teams, especially the teams in the areas of the country which are, well, “on fire” with the Delta variant. Just this past week the Boston Red Sox have had 10 players (this is out of 28) put on the “Covid” list and they can’t play until they test negative something like two or three days in a row – after their symptoms subside. (And, God willing, none of them will get the “bad” Covid)

Teams which have to travel to Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and other Southern states will be heading into the “teeth” of the “storm.” Just picture over 100,000 screaming Dallas Cowboy’s fans at a game with the roof of the stadium closed and all those Covid “particles” flying in the air. Even if you’re vaccinated I’d say it wouldn’t be worth the $150 or so you’d have to shell out for the average seat in order to expose yourself to this Delta variant – but, in the true American spirit I’m guessing it will take deaths of some prominent “fans” to get the attention of those who want their fan base in attendance “come hell or high water.” Should be an interesting Fall. (And, by the way, I hope my prediction is wrong! Usually, i’m correct, mainly because most of my predictions are “no brainers” – and, I believe this one falls in that category. (Just ask the Concession workers at Oracle Park)

Today is September 9, 2021 and, it appears, in 9 days a bunch of right wing “wingnuts” are planning to converge on Washington D.C. “demanding justice” for the OVER 500 INSURRECTIONISTS who are facing a series of charges which range from very little to a lot – regarding the amount of “jail time” being handed out to those who attempted to overthrow our government as it has “stood” for about 250 years. So, I have to add, I’ve been demanding “justice” for those 500 plus who’ve been indicted, but for the others who have yet to be identified. OBVIOUSLY, if you’ve been around here before, you know my definition of “justice” is far removed from that of, for example, the “Proud Boys” (what a STUPID name for a group of street thugs).

I believe those who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 were a bunch of TRAITORS. They SHOULD be facing charges of SEDITION – which is one of the most serious of charges possible. Yes, there are those who “got caught up in the moment,” but, in reality, were part of the group chanting “Hang Mike Pense” and looking for Nancy Pelosi – in order to execute them. They even went so far as to construct a GALLOWS on the Capitol Building’s grounds. This is a group which either believes in FASCISM or is willing to accept it in order to create a circumstance where us “progressives” (ie “liberals”) have no place in America’s government.

Here’s the ultimate irony: These people claim to “hate government” yet are willing to go to extremes not seen in this country for nearly 175 years in order to get their way which would include controlling the government they profess to hate. Go figure! Here’s another interesting irony: These INSURRECTIONISTS claim to be motivated by “freedom” and “liberty,” yet you hear the almost exact “talking points” of none other than Vladimir Putin spewing from the mouths of one after another of them. Recently I reluctantly began using the word “stupid” on this site and I hope you can now understand why – if that was a problem for you.

When I talk to people who watch Fox “news” who are my age and refer to Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson as “Sean” or “Tucker” I know there’s NO possibility for any kind of “critical thinking” dialogue regarding politics. And, there are many adults my age I know who claim “I don’t watch Fox” who, when you talk to them about politics you realize they’re LYING. It’s not that you’re having a dialogue over opposing opinions, it’s that they are regurgitating, almost to the word, of their Fox “news” brethren. In other words, like the modern republican, they’re LYING to you. Why??? Because, as several have come out and said to me when I’m ONLY trying to understand how they came to their opinion, “You’re NOT going to change my mind.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that.

And, maybe the worst in all of this, virtually in every instance, these people are offended by the thought that by supporting individual 1 they’re associating themselves with white nationalists – meaning, of course, RACISTS. I even know one person who raised 3 adopted African American children who has allowed himself to regurgitate OBVIOUS racist memes as he defends himself for being part of individual 1’s CULT and denigrating his own adopted daughter for accepting help from the state they live in. (As if he’d prefer she was living on the “street”) Eventually, it all became, in that instance, too much for me – when you combine that with a claim (indirectly) the “election was stolen,” and associating himself with those predicting a “civil war.”

And, speaking of those who are predicting a “civil war,” you guessed it, we’re talking about the cells of right wing “militia” types spread around the country who clearly believe in the white nationalist movement which is fueled by public talking heads like those who spew their LIES from outlets like Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart, etc. etc. There are people who are “free” because of the last minute pardons coming from individual 1 and, yes, Steve Bannon, I’m talking about people like you – who are doing their best to undermine the Biden Administration at the detriment to our nation. Similar to what republicans have been doing since the days of the Reagan administration.

I know people who I consider “reasonable” who want to “both sides” all of this – like the LYING happens the same on “both sides” – but, the truth is, the democrats are a diverse group of people who believe in traditional democratic norms and the republicans have evolved to a CULT willing to destroy this nation’s fundamental institutions in order to prevent their “white privilege” from being eroded in any kind of way. The propagandists like the talking heads at Fox have been LYING to the American people for nearly 40 years with the “plan” of turning what was once the far right fringe into the “permanent republican ‘majority,'” i.e. permanent “rule” by a MINORITY of Americans.

Along those lines, we’ve all seen a plethora of republican controlled states across the nation instituting VOTER SUPPRESSION laws after witnessing the power of the “Black and Brown” communities along with young Americans when they choose to vote. In Georgia, for example, their new law is designed to create LONG LINES at the polls in the places with large African Americans AND if you offer food or water to someone standing in line for SEVERAL (sometimes up to 6 or 7) hours you’re committing a FELONY! I kid you not! And, on top of that, if African Americans STILL show up to vote and the state legislature doesn’t like the result, they have the power to overturn the “will of the people.” (They are trying to make sure, for example, that Raphael Warnock will be short lived as the first African American Senator for Georgia)

These are the people who have allowed themselves to be convinced that the attempt to overthrow our government were like “tourists” visiting the Capitol and taking pictures. OK, I know what you’re thinking. That’s completely STUPID. We all saw the INSURRECTION unfold on national LIVE TV. You can’t make this stuff up. That’s why I started referring to many of the people who fall for the republican LYING as “stupid,” because they’re using less critical thinking skills than the most struggling of my former 6th grade students. I’ve asked this many times on this site – why do people believe all these republican LIES?

So, let me say it once again. The “Big Lie Theory” was devised by none other than Adolph Hitler back in the late 1920’s in Germany. It became the “tool” of Joseph Goebbels, the head of propaganda of the Third Reich, to create the CULT following which enable Hitler to, well, we all know what he did and I’m sure in the “camp” which doesn’t want their RACISM to permeate the United States of America. They used the “Big Lie Theory” because, well, it works. When political leaders – or their talking heads – repeat LIES over and over enough to their unsuspecting “minions” (individual 1 called his “minions” his “uneducated voters”) soon they believe the LIES are actually true. And, pathological LIARS like our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president evolve to believe their OWN LIES as they roll off the tongue.

Here’s my suggestion for the solution to this problem. First, those who STORMED the Capitol Building on January 6th, 2021 should face the strictest consequences available to prosecutors. I realize with now almost 600 indictments (and more to come) the tendency is to accept plea deals which keeps prosecutors from having to argue these cases in Court – but, I agree with those who are coming to our nation’s Capital on September 18th that the INSURRECTIONISTS deserve “justice.” (As I said above, I’m sure we disagree what that means) But, should that be it? Absolutely NOT!

If you were watching the INCITEMENT of the “mob” on January 6th, 2021 you saw individual 1’s oldest son, his son’s girlfriend (OMG – she’s a weird one), Rudy Giuliani, Mo Brooks, and individual 1 himself, ENCOURAGING the “mob” to “go to the Capitol and fight like Hell” or “you won’t have a country anymore.” Brooks encouraged the “mob” to “Kick ass and take names” and, of course, that’s exactly what the “MAGA minions” attempted to do. They caused MILLIONS in damage to the Capitol Building, five people lost their lives during the INSURRECTION and two Capitol police officers took their own lives within days of the assault.

So, the NECESSARY next step, in my mind, would be Merrick Garland and the Justice Department bringing charges of SEDITION against those I just mentioned including individual 1. When you are encouraging people to overthrow our government, well, that’s committing sedition. In case you’re confused, here’s the definition of SEDITION:

se•di•tion pronounced: sĭ-dĭsh′ən (From American Heritage dictionary)

• n. Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state.
• n. Insurrection; rebellion.
• n. A factious commotion in a state; the stirring up of such a commotion; incitement of discontent against government and disturbance of public tranquility, as by inflammatory speeches or writings, or acts or language tending to breach of public order: as, to stir up a sedition; a speech or pamphlet, abounding in sedition.

There’s more from the “Free Dictionary:”

Sedition is the crime of revolting or inciting revolt against government. However, because of the broad protection of free speech under the First Amendment, prosecutions for sedition are rare. Nevertheless, sedition remains a crime in the United States under 18 U.S.C.A. § 2384 (2000), a federal statute that punishes seditious conspiracy, and 18 U.S.C.A. § 2385 (2000), which outlaws advocating the overthrow of the federal government by force. Generally, a person may be punished for sedition only when he or she makes statements that create a Clear and Present Danger to rights that the government may lawfully protect (schenck v. united states, 249 U.S. 47, 39 S. Ct. 247, 63 L. Ed. 470 [1919]).

The crime of seditious conspiracy is committed when two or more persons in any state or U.S.  territory conspire to levy war against the U.S. government. A person commits the crime of advocating the violent overthrow of the federal government when she willfully advocates or teaches the overthrow of the government by force, publishes material that advocates the overthrow of  the government by force, or organizes persons to overthrow the government by force. A person found guilty of seditious conspiracy or advocating the overthrow of the government may be  fined and sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. States also maintain laws that punish similar  advocacy and conspiracy against the state government.

I was going to say, “I rest my case,” but, then, I heard one of these right wing talking heads who’s encouraging what some are calling “INSURRECTION 2.0” – he actually said, “when was ‘INSURRECTION 1.0?'” – this “dude” was encouraging people to come as he stated – with no sense of SHAME – “come to the Capitol on September 18 to the Capitol Building which was built by your “forbearers.” The guy was about as white as my Costco tee-shirt, but the Capitol Building was largely built by SLAVES. What’s wrong with these people?

Final Thought: What on earth do you believe all these people who get PAID to LIE to the American people over various media outlets are going to be saying if Merrick Garland actually does what’s called for here and charges those who CONSPIRED to instigate the INSURRECTION with SEDITION? Can’t you just picture individual 1 sitting in a courtroom in Washington D.C. facing a courtroom “of his peers” (is that possible?) and his white nationalist “base” reacting? Do you think Attorney General Garland has nightmares imagining this and that’s why there’s no investigation by the Justice Department above and beyond the “minions?” I’ll take a page from individual 1’s own playbook, “nothing good comes from ‘weakness.'” Mr. Garland MUST prove he’s “up for the job.” If, truly, in America “no one is above the law” then it’s time to prove that. Stay tuned……………….

One more thing: If the September 18 “INSURRECTION 2.0” actually amounts to something, I hope the FBI is there with their cameras looking for some of the 300 INSURRECTIONISTS from version 1.0 who are still being identified. Do you believe any of those people would be STUPID enough to actually return for the second version? I wouldn’t put anything past these people!

My apologies for publishing without re-reading. The older I get the lazier I get!

So, I don’t like to “toot my own horn” (OK, maybe just a little), but just the other day there was Kevin McCarthy, maybe the most despicable (deplorable?) politician possible – and, in today’s republican party that’s “saying something – there he was THREATENING the telecommunication companies which got a “preserve records” order from the Select Committee investigating the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021. Yep, right out in the open, telling these companies the “republicans will be in power again” and “we won’t forget.” I guess what he’s saying the republicans won’t forget is if these companies comply with LEGALLY authorized subpoenas coming from the committee. You know, the committee which is attempting to “get to the bottom” of the entirety of who was involved with the INSURRECTION. (That’s an attempt to OVERTHROW our system of government – because they don’t like LOSING an election)

A sitting member of the House of Representatives making such a THREAT regarding legal requests for information to be preserved in order to find the TRUTH about who was behind the INSURRECTION should be unthinkable. However, we KNOW individual 1 was the MAIN instigator, but there were others involved including likely some members of the House – who, apparently, McCarthy is attempting to protect. His THREAT is a prime example of what I’ve been pointing out for years now. Only, I’ve focused on individual 1 as the MOB boss – McCarthy is coming across as a “goon” who is doing the bidding of his “boss.” So, if you check the legality of this THREAT I believe you would learn that this is CLEARLY an egregiously CLEAR example of “OBSTRUCTION of Justice.”

Of course, if you – like me – read the Mueller report TWICE you would understand individual 1 committed possibly as many as TEN examples of OBSTRUCTION of Justice as he was (successfully) OBSTRUCTING Rober Mueller’s investigation of the “Russia thing.” So here’s the question which keeps coming up in my head: What on earth is going on in our Justice Department and is Attorney General Merrick Garland up for the job? Maybe they’re really investigating all this, but I seriously doubt it. Mueller made it clear he “memorialized” the evidence of OBSTRUCTION so that individual 1 could face charges once out of office. And, the list of LEGAL indifference coming from republicans is beginning to look endless. I mean, this has been going on for as long as I can remember. (Reagan got “off” for the Iran/Contra scandal as did HW Bush. GW Bush/Cheney got “off” for WAR CRIMES they admitted to authorizing, and individual 1 – well, the list is too long for this post – l’ve wondered for years, “what are the democrats afraid of?”)

Obstruction is the standard practice of members of organized crime (individual 1’s organization?) and attempting to INTIMIDATE prosecutors to stop them from investigating is routine. Mob bosses believe they are “above the law.” Individual 1 CLEARLY believes he’s “above the law” and his brazen disregard for our system of LAWS has filtered down to his sycophants. Just as individual 1 SHOULD be facing CHARGES so should NOW McCarthy be facing charges of OBSTRUCTION.

Keep in mind, when you’re attempting to OBSTRUCT an official investigation – which Congressional investigation are included in the statute – you don’t have to “succeed.” Just the THREAT made by McCarthy – which was made in a public setting – SHOULD be the catalyst for an investigation coming from our Justice Department. AG Garland MUST restore the respect the Justice Department MUST have with “we the people” in order to stop the group of neo FASCISTS who now have fully infiltrated the republican party – a political party which NOW has no connection to our constitution other than some IRRATIONAL connection to our “2nd amendment” – which, by the way, DOES not guarantee many of the “rights” the GOP (and their main benefactor the NRA) have imagined. Suggesting the 2nd amendment “guarantees the right to carry a AR-15 automatic weapon,” for example, is absurd.

The GOP, now, appears to be a massive organized crime syndicate – and, of course, individual 1 seems desperate to remain the “mob boss.” Maybe the DA in Manhattan, NY will follow through on their investigation and INDICT our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president for what appears to be an organization deep in bank fraud, insurance fraud, and just about any other “fraud” you can imagine. Then there’s the DA in Fulton County Georgia – Fani Willis – who is apparently investigating individual 1’s attempt to overturn the election results in Georgia via the now infamous phone call to Brad Raffensperger – the Georgia Secretary of State (and, apparently, other calls and calls by others close to individual 1 – like Lindsey Graham) – it’s hard to imagine that attempt at BULLYING Raffensperger and various other officials in Georgia NOT resulting in an INDICTMENT of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president – other than, our system of justice seems to FEAR going after those in “high” places.

We know ahead of time how the CULT will react once individual 1 is INDICTED – for heaven’s sake, they are – in many places around the country – threatening VIOLENCE (and “civil war”) over the actions of government officials attempting to mitigate the SURGE of Covid-19’s “delta variant” by mandating the wearing of masks in indoor premises – including schools. There are people, and politicians, attempting to prevent school districts from mandating mask wearing while students are at school. As a retired teacher when I hear people threatening school board members, administrators, or teachers I get a bit angry. What on earth is wrong with these people? Just today it was announced the FIRST young child in the state I live in (Washington) had DIED of the coronavirus – which technically is called SARS – CoV-2. “SARS” means Severe acute respiratory syndrome – and, yet, there are people who want to prevent “mask mandates” in our public schools.

In addition, our governor has mandated ALL teachers MUST be vaccinated against the virus by the middle of October – meaning, they need to get the first shot within the next few days. My daughter, who’s son is in Middle School, was told by someone there are about 200 teachers who are going to quit because they aren’t going to get vaccinated. Personally, I don’t believe that’s true, but I’d say to any teacher unwilling to get the vaccine (unless they have a valid reason) – “good riddance.” Go work somewhere else. Who knows, I might get a call wanting me to come back why they find replacements. This irrational behavior is happening all across this nation and it’s being encouraged by right wing media – like Fox “news,” Sinclair broadcasting (which controls MOST of the “local” TV stations across America), “Newsmax,” etc. It is obvious today’s republican party has “gone off the rails” and has become the “base” of individual 1’s plan to turn America into another Russia, or Hungary, or Turkey, or the Philippines, or ?????? And, right wing media is supporting this!

I can’t tell you how many “conservatives” I’ve listened to saying, essentially, if elections don’t go their way the solution to that is “civil war.” Of course, there is a much greater segment of America which identifies with “white nationalism” than people like me understood back when Barack Obama was elected as our 44th president – bringing America’s racists out “from under the rock” – first in the “Tea Party” and ultimately with the pathological LIAR individual 1 – the one person who is morally bankrupt enough to succeed as the leader of the republican party.

I started referring to individual 1 as a “mob boss” about three years ago. Now we’re seeing how deep his corruption has INFECTED the republican party. The so-called “Tea Party” was founded on the principle of “white nationalism” (OK, Racism) and, back then I knew people who supported that “party” who were offended when I pointed out it was full of RACISTS. And, at one time a pastor I knew back then emailed me with a list of beliefs he had and he asked me, as if I’d say “no:” “does that make me a racist?” Just as George Washington would have done (“I can not tell a lie”) I answered “yes.” My friend, the pastor, just couldn’t comprehend his disdain for Barack Obama was “rooted” in RACISM. I know many others in the same “condition.” At a certain point it becomes impossible for me to dialogue with them.

Here’s the deal: If “we the people” fail to stand up to this ASSAULT on our nation (which, by the way, is also coming from the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin) we could easily lose what MOST of us take for granted – and, I’m talking about many in individual 1’s CULT who’ve been BRAINWASHED by Fox, Newsmax, Sinclair, etc. This right wing movement has been going on for years and me, just a sixth grade teacher, has seen it coming for YEARS. I continue to wonder where the democratic party stands? How much FIGHT do they have? Are they willing to face this ASSAULT head on?

Ground zero in the FIGHT must be led by Merrick Garland, and the indications, so far, is that he’s not up to the job. When politicians feel empowered to commit OBSTRUCTION right out in the “daylight” we’re losing out country supposedly founded on the “rule of law.” Kevin McCarthy SHOULD be indicted IMMEDIATELY for ATTEMPTING to OBSTRUCT the commission intending to find the TRUTH behind the attempted INSURRECTION of January 6, 2021. Because of this republican party almost EVERY day “we the people” are reminded of the downturn happening in this nation. 6

Final Thought: Here’s a few issues off the top of my head which seem to be the republican “playbook” for destroying out constitutional republic from within: Let’s start with the Covid-19 crisis which is out of control because right wing republicans are refusing to get vaccinated and refusing to wear masks. (I see them refusing to wear a mask at our local Kroger and, essentially, saying “what are you going to do about it?” Kroger’s management is unwilling to stand up to them) Republican governors – in particular, Ron DeSantis – are LYING about the severity of the pandemic in their states. In DeSantis case, the reports of those DYING from the virus coming out of Florida are absurd. I’ve been pointing this out for over a year. Other republican led states aren’t even reporting the severity of the virus in their state.

How about Climate Change? Republicans have been BLOCKING attempts to combat this SERIOUS (likely the MOST serious) crisis. I mean, how many disasters will it take for republicans to “get it?” Democrats are proposing a bill which makes a “start” in dealing with this issue, but there won’t be a SINGLE republican supporting the bill. And, actually, there’s at least a couple democrats who might not support it – which, of course would be the end of it. (Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema) Democrats control a razor thin “majority” in the Senate which means the challenge for “we the people” is to elect MORE democratic Senators. (And, BTW – if “we the people” don’t vote in more representatives to the House Kevin McCarthy could become the Speaker of the House! Yikes!!! Come on people – get registered!)

The right wing influx of judges which is the “greatest” achievement of Moscow Mitch and individual 1 is presently rearing its ugly head via the 6-3 right wing majority on the Supreme Court. It didn’t take it long once Amy Barrett was confirme for the issue of abortion to raise its ugly head. Now, as I’ve said, I’ve got mixed feelings about abortion – it grieves my heart that so many women feel the necessity to have that procedure. As I’ve said here many times, this issue is far more complicated than MOST people I’ve talked to about it. To me, it’s not a “black and white” issue. I believe abortions will happen whether the court overrules Roe v Wade – they will just be, in many instances, especially with poorer women, UNSAFE. Also, as I’ve said, you RARELY hear about the responsibility of MEN in regard to unwanted pregnancies. The bottom line is the Supreme Court upholding a TERRIBLE law in Texas (my God, I’m glad I DON’T live in Texas!) which, potentially, will pit neighbor against neighbor. This decision simply tells us what eh possibilities of this Court could be going forward. Further evidence of the importance of progressives VOTING in 2022’s Mid Term election.

My final thought for tonight would be about “health care.” For example, even during a “once in a century” pandemic (hopefully) they continued to BLOCK attempts to provide health insurance for ALL Americans. The bottom line in this republican vendetta is that things like the Covid-19 crisis simply ends up being FAR worse than it should be and, yet, there they are attempting to BLOCK legislation which empowers MORE Americans to have access to health care. I could get into the LYING (using the strategy of the Third Reich), the pilfering of taxpayers seemingly endlessly (“Trickle down” economics), and, among other issues, their false support of “law and order.” Republicans are DESTROYING the fundamentals of our nation and, as I’ve said for years, “we the people” have no choice but to depend on democrats to stop them. (Most progressives are not like the right wing militia members who believe if they can’t get a “majority” the solution is violence) Stay tuned………………………