In the past week “we the people” have seen the disparity in America’s CRIMINAL Justice system as Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on ALL charges in his MURDER trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin while a Black man in Oklahoma, who was on death row via VERY questionable evidence, got his DEATH sentence commuted to “Life in Prison” – at the last moment even though the evidence used to convict him had been recanted long ago AND two BLACK men who were convicted 56 YEARS ago in the murder of Malcolm X again, on the basis of QUESTIONABLE evidence which was long ago recanted, were exonerated, FINALLY – after losing 56 years of their freedom – well, only one of the two men is still alive. These things happened within days of each other and couldn’t show the problem in our Justice system any clearer – as clear as BLACK AND WHITE!

The Rittenhouse situation was no surprise to me – I didn’t watch the entire proceeding, but I saw enough to figure out he was likely to get off. First of all, the JUDGE was – the best way I can put it – WEIRD! Also, it was apparent from the beginning the judge was sympathetic to Rittenhouse – to the point where his phone went off and his ring tone was the rally music of individual 1’s campaign rallies. Rittenhouse was even allowed to pick his own jury out of a “Bingo like” box which I found over the edge. There was more which, to my mind, prejudiced the courtroom in favor of the defense – which is why the acquittal did not surprise me – in fact, I would have been surprised had their been a guilty verdict. (It will be interesting to find out how the jury came to this conclusion)

Rittenhouse, of course, has become the “darling” of the white nationalists in America. The FACT he was photographed having beers with Proud Boys while flashing the white power hand sign should give you a good idea of where we are today. And, of course, there have been photographs of Rittenhouse supporters outside the courtroom this week also feeling comfortable flashing the “white power” hand signal. (You know, the one Stephen Miller was “flashing” on the “Sunday Talk shows” while representing individual 1 a few years back.) And, surprise, surprise none other than alleged child sex trafficker Matt Gaetz wants to give Rittenhouse an internship. OMG – what the hell is going on in America?

Let’s just look at the FACTS. Rittenhouse brought an ILLEGALLY purchased AR-15 to Kenosha along with his back pack which he claimed was a medic kit while he LIED by saying he was an EMT. He SHOT and KILLED two young men – there’s no disputing this. He was packing an ILLEGAL weapon while in Wisconsin under the age of 18 – remarkably, the judge in the case “threw out” the weapons charge – suggesting the AR-15 could be considered a hunting weapon. Yikes!!! And, all of this was on LIVE video. In fact, I happened to be watching coverage of the protests in Kenosha to the SHOOTING of James Blake when Rittenhouse MURDERED the TWO men who were NOT allowed to be referred to as “victims” by the judge. In stead, they were allowed to be called “arsonists, rioters,” etc. adding to the likelihood the jury would consider Rittenhouse’s actions as “self defense.”

I watched in a state of “TV shock” as Rittenhouse shot the first “victim” – there was a group of people so that MURDER wasn’t as obvious to me – then he started to run away and the other “victims” chased after him yelling “he just killed someone.” As they attempted to disarm him, right in the middle of the street, he shot and KILLED one of them and nearly blew off the arm of the second one. It wasn’t clear from what I saw that the guy who got his arm blown off had a gun, but he admitted in court he did have a weapon and pointed it at Rittenhouse – but, by that time TWO people were already DEAD. It’s hard for me to imagine how carrying an illegally obtained weapon into a situation where you’ve NOT been invited and then MURDERING a couple “protestors” is “self defense.”

Of course, listening to people like Lauren Boebert, Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Paul Gosar argue over who gets to have him as an “intern” and THEN seeing him side by side with individual 1 at Mar a Lago tells you all you need to know. Of course our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president called him “a very fine young man.” You know, “good people on BOTH sides.” Which leads me to my “thoughts for the day:”

As I’ve been saying for MANY years, America is in a fight for the heart and soul of the nation. Of course, I’m nearing the “end of the road” (I’m 74) so I really don’t want to leave this earth with America a full blown fascist state – something unthinkable to me before I realized the full ramification of individual 1’s ASSAULT on our republic. And, as I’ve said here several times now, I believe the most important person, based on our political reality, in stopping this ASSAULT is Merrick Garland. It’s been OBVIOUS for SEVERAL years now that the democrats in our nation, who, I believe, are trying to address the needs of our “MIDDLE” and “lower” class of our people, economically, but their willingness to “fight” on the “battlefield” created by the republican party is almost, well, pathetic.

Democrats have been watching, kind of in disbelief, at the disregard for our LAWS coming from republicans at the top of the “ladder” – those in politics, and those who feed these politicians the MONEY. I really hit my “soap box” after GW Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others were allowed to authorize TORTURE with no consequences after LYING America into two intractable – and incompetently “fought” – “wars.” We literally turned the nation of Iraq almost upside down with the number of Iraqi casualties in the Millions. In my mind, with Iraq’s OIL as the ultimate “target.” I have always felt President Obama’s refusal to allow full investigations of the TORTURE was a critically BAD decision. It simply further emboldened right wing “thugs” who STILL believe democrats don’t have the “stomach” to stop them.

And, they may be correct – but, if they’re going to be stopped it will have to be by AG Garland, who, so far, doesn’t appear to have the “stomach” (either) needed for this task. For example, based on what is happening in the so-called “Select January 6th Committee” in the House – which, by the way, appears to be an ATTEMPT at some semblance of accountability – it appears to me the Justice Department is NOT investigating the INSTIGATORS of the INSURRECTION at the Capitol. If they were, the issue with people refusing to abide by legally enforceable subpoenas wouldn’t be solely an issue with the Committee. There would necessarily be some sort of coordination of what the Committee is doing with the Justice Department aside from depending on them to enforce Committee subpoenas from the likes of Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows, and any of the others who choose jail time over telling the TRUTH about their involvement in the riots.

The ultimate irony here is, likely, the most important member of the Select Committee is none other than Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz. Ms. Cheney very well could be one of the most important people in America should we manage to save our republic from this FASCIST takeover which has been slow moving for years coming from republicans, but put into “high gear” with individual 1 – a pathological LYING narcissistic, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, demagogue who fully embraces the “Big Lie” theory of Joseph Goebbels and the Third Reich. Sadly, the republican party has come along side our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president more out of FEAR than anything else. He has the undying support of Americans who are either white nationalists/supremacists themselves, or who fall for the BullS@#t coming from the talking heads at Fox “news.”

Republicans FEAR Fox nearly as much as they FEAR individual 1. For example, recently I saw an interview Chris Christie gave on MSNBC with Nicole Wallace – and, to put it mildly, Ms. Wallace did NOT simply throw “softball” questions at Christie. In fact, she asked him to defend what Fox “news” is doing to our republic and his first response was “I don’t watch Fox.” Well, of course, both myself and Ms. Wallace new that was a LIE (for heaven’s sake, Christie is a republican and participated fully in individual 1’s 2020 campaign – and 2016’s as well, for that matter – where LYING is a requirement). Soon after saying that, Christie said, “I don’t watch Tucker” and then referred to Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham as “Sean and Laura” as the “only Fox programs I watch.” OK, there you have it.

Christie was on a “book tour” of his book in which he’s trying claim he’s now on the “high road” and he’s distancing himself from individual 1. Apparently, he sees himself as a competitor for the 2024 republican nomination. Shortly after his interview with Ms. Wallace I saw him on Fox (In a brief moment of weakness for myself) as he was attempting to “have it both ways.” For me, just another typical republican. Fortunately, there are “atypical” republicans out there who realize the gravity of the situation and they could end up being the heroes in all of this – should “we the people” band together and put this republican party “to bed” in the next few elections.

I’ve been an independent voter for the past 53 years, but since the “Newt Gingrich” era I’ve found myself, save for a few instances, ALWAYS voting AGAINST republicans. It appears that will continue even though my republican representative in the House was one of the COURAGEOUS republicans, at least in my mind, who voted FOR IMPEACHMENT #2. However, since that day this representative, Jaimie Herrera-Beutler has shown herself to be “cowering” back into the “pack” and voting with her caucus even though both SHE and I know what she’s supporting is WRONG. For example, she failed to support the vote to censor Paul Gosart, she didn’t support Cheney when she SHOULD have, and she didn’t vote for the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill knowing it was of critical importance to our community (We have a bridge issue of importance). I just can’t picture myself voting for that!

Getting back to Mr. Garland. Because the democrats ONLY have 50 Senators in their “razor thing” Senate majority and because two of them are Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin there are obstacles the democrats likely WONT be able to accomplish legislatively. To me, Ms. Sinema is more despicable than Manchin – Manchin, for heaven’s sake comes from West Virginia so you would kind of expect some of what he’s doing, but not Sinema. Figuring out her motivations will likely happen AFTER she loses a bid for re-election in 2024 (unless she becomes a republican and Arizona’s new election laws make it impossible for a democrat to win) – because she’s apparently receiving a lot of corporate “funding” designed to keep her from agreeing to key democratic agenda items – like, for example, voting rights legislation which will require a “carve out” of the filibuster to get passed.

So, if there’s going to be accountability for individual 1 and the others who planned, paid for, and INSTIGATED the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 it’s going to have to come from the Justice Department. It appears to me, at this point in time, that Mr. Garland believes prosecuting the “stooges” who stormed the Capitol is sufficient – leaving the instigators to get off “scott free” so as not to rile up their “base” any more that necessary. The cowardice of the Justice Department to – AT LEAST – be investigating those who INSTIGATED the INSURRECTION which, of course, would HAVE to include individual 1 – is simply reinforcing the belief among republicans that they can violate our existing laws with IMPUNITY. And, this belief has filtered down to those who are part of the right wing militias – armed to the teeth and believing our government is AFRAID to deal with them. Here’s the deal, at some point this will have to happen and the longer Mr. Garland waits the worse the situation will get. Mark my words!

Individual 1 is already planning his “return” and state legislatures run by republicans, all across the country, are “jiggering” the system so that either democrats can’t win, or, if they do, the state legislature can overturn the election results. In their case it’s “heads I win, tails you lose.” Will “we the people” stand up to this? Can we protect our republic without violence? On that one I sincerely doubt it because, it appears, these right wing “militias” have permeated almost every state in the union threatening public servants across the board – election officials, public health officials, school board members, teachers, doctors, nurses, etc. etc. And, in my mind, there are ALREADY laws on the “books” to put a stop to all this, but are our elected officials willing to enforce them. I don’t believe, for example, “free speech” allows someone to threaten someone else with violence. I don’t believe authorities have to wait for the violence to be carried out to act. One reason, I believe, so many people don’t respect our laws is because many of them are not being enforced.

In my “first life” – when I was in college in the 1960’s I clearly remember studying a philosopher named “Hobbes,” who said, “Don’t pass a law you will be unable to enforce” – or words to that effect. I’m reminded of his “words” consistently in our land with is supposedly governed by “laws and not men.” Individual 1 and his CULT followers are set on PROVING the fallacy of our constitution – which is no better than “we the people’s” belief in it.

Final Thought: A year or so ago I read “Rising out of Hatred” by Eli Saslow about Derek Black’s transformation from a white nationalist/supremacist – the son of Don Black and Godson of David Duke, both former “Grand Wizards” of the KKK. Don Black runs the white supremacist website “Stormfront” which is a portal for many of America’s RACISTS. After reading that book I did a little research I SHOULD have done long ago and it brought me from Don Black and Duke right to the “base” of individual 1 and the role Tucker Carlson plays in the attempt to turn America into a right wing RACIST/fascist apartheid society. In fact, in a recent interview with Derek Black, I read how those who support the KKK regularly RECORD Carlson’s TV shows so they can watch them multiple times.

So, it shouldn’t come as any surprise the David Duke is now, on his podcast – think of who his audience might be – saying individual 1 and Carlson are both basing their success on his ideas which didn’t work for him when he was running for office. This revelation (I don’t listen to his podcasts so I read his quote elsewhere) simply supports the concern of “progressives” toward much of what I’ve been RANTING about now for a number of years. I read, early on in individual 1’s reign, how both Black Sr. and Duke were excited they had a candidate to take their beliefs “into the mainstream.” The “you know what” is hitting the fan!

I have to start this “rant” by admitting I’m no economist, but I do pay attention to the economy and I listen to the “experts” – and, of course, they come in all “flavors” – meaning you have to do a little “research” before you decide the credibility of who you’re listening to. And, beyond that, a bit of common sense will help understand what the reality is “we the people” are dealing with as we look into the future. I do have to add, the main economist I listen to is Paul Krugman who gave a basic “course” on economics as a “Master Class” online in which I participated.

Here’s what’s driving my latest frustration. The FACT there is inflated prices right now – largely resulting from the ARP (American Rescue Plan) – inflation which was predicted earlier this year by people like Krugman who claimed it would be “short lived.” MOST of the people I’ve listened to haven’t talked about where this inflation is coming from – although, on Yahoo Finance this morning I FINALLY listened to an economist explain the real cause of this inflation. And, he’s not totally focused on the FACT more people have money to spend due to the ARP, but significantly, the problem is more DEMAND than there is SUPPLY.

I’ve been making this argument since the days Reagan introduced “trickle down economics” back in the early eighties. Right now there is, due to COVID a suppressed supply – and, there are varying reasons for this. Essentially there is a supply chain “bottleneck” which goes beyond the problem of getting goods to market via trucks, rail, etc. Yes, there are container ships sitting off the west coast which are waiting to be off-loaded, but, in addition, there has been a shortage of computer chips for the past year or so and that shortage is expected to last for, maybe, another year. This is the result of COVID and largely originated during the term of “the other guy” – even though “we the people” are not sophisticated enough to make that connection so the reality is the “present guy” gets the blame – especially via the “liberal media.”

We have an “issue” in America where people have become entrenched in a political divide which, obviously, is affecting our economy. For example, there are STILL about 75 to 80 MILLION Americans refusing (for various reasons – some quite legitimate) to get vaccinated for COVID. That, likely, means another “surge” – which will likely be happening globally to an extent. In America, we have the “distinction” of being the WORST country in the world at dealing with COVID and I put the root cause of that at the “feet” of individual 1. (Brazil gives us a “run for our money”) It’s hard NOT to place the “anti-vaxx” population in the so-called “red corner” – directly at his – as I said – “feet.”

Almost EVERY (but, not all) anti-vaxx person I’ve personally talked to is part of individual 1’s CULT and gets their “information” from Fox “news,” “Newsmax,” “OANN,” or worse – if you can get worse than that (and, I’m sure you can in the dregs of the white nationalist hard core “swamp”). Here’s the deal; The “novel” coronavirus is SERIOUS – it’s KILLED over 5 MILLION people worldwide and close to 800,000 in America alone. (Likely much more than that because there are right wing governors who’ve been LYING about those DYING in their states since the beginning – because they didn’t want to make either themselves – with their poor planning – or, individual 1 look bad.) Trust me, when all is said and done, people like Ron DeSantis, Kristi Noem, Gregg Abbot, and other right wing governors are going to be on the wrong side of COVID in the History books.

So, my point is, attempting to emerge from a once in a century pandemic is definitely a driver of the inflation which we’re experiencing at the moment – again, according to people like Krugman it’s “temporary” and it’s “expected.” Once the SUPPLY catches up with the DEMAND it stands to reason the inflation numbers will cool off. And, when looking at the so-called supply “bottleneck,” the supply issue should be receding in the next few months – some say by Christmas.

Another issue in inflation numbers is they are calculated “year over year.” Well, 2020 wasn’t what I’d call a “booming” year regarding the economy. It led to job LOSSES which caused individual 1 to be the FIRST president in recent memory – maybe back to Herbert Hoover – to leave office with a net NEGATIVE job growth – meaning more jobs LOST than GAINED during his four (long) years in office. So, when comparing September or October 2021 to the same months in 2020 it would make sense there would be higher prices – although, that also doesn’t get at the “crux” of the matter.

The other day I was looking at a chart showing today’s inflation numbers broken down into categories. The largest increase, of course, was in gas prices – although, I have to say I’ve gone through the “ups and downs” of gas prices for almost 60 years (I bought gas for 19 cents a gallon in my earlier years). When gas prices get too high people buy less gas – the “supply and demand” thing once again. During the first year of the pandemic oil producers reduced their output because the DEMAND went way down – there were container ships outside of ports where there was little to no demand for the OIL they were transporting. The ships were stuck out at sea. Well, now the opposite is happening and you’d expect that to lead to higher gas prices.

However, it’s not just gas prices at the head of the list of prices pushing up “inflation.” Transportation costs – meaning airline tickets – have gone up because more people are flying – especially for business – and, due to the pandemic, the airline industry was at a “crawl.” That doesn’t affect a large segment of the population directly, but it does count in the inflation “numbers.” Things like “used cars” are up close to 30% because of the chip shortage and the difficulty in buying a new car – and, of course, that would lead to new cars being more expensive. Does that affect me, directly, NO! But, indirectly, it affects the inflation numbers which our ‘liberal media” publishes on a nightly basis causing people who are doing just fine in their households to be feeling as if “the economy is off on the wrong track” in surveys.

Other things on the list I can remember (off the top of my head) would be hotel rooms and rental cars. Of course, for many, this would be traveling for business once again but also people taking trips once again – which would be pushing the cost of these things up compared to 2020 when many hotels were nearly empty and not too many people were looking for rental vehicles – compared to now. Another category which has gone up significantly is appliances. I actually had to purchased a dishwasher earlier this year and it was almost impossible to find the one my wife and I wanted – because the manufacturing facilities overseas were closed down due to COVID. Well, that has caused “pent up” demand for appliances and the supply hasn’t caught up. My point is, the things most people REALLY depend on are rising in price much slower than the numbers you see in our “liberal media” and the 24/7 news cycle doesn’t (can’t?) take the time to actually educate viewers on the details of what they’re reporting. It’s up to “we the people” to do the research – and, most of us don’t – often times, myself included.

Here’s the bottom line to me – over the past year and a half “progressives” have pushed our government to “infuse” stimulus into our economy which has prevented an economic recession caused by the pandemic from becoming MUCH worse. And, this year, for the first time I can remember (OK, in a very long time – I was a young man when Medicare was enacted and, at the time, I had no idea the importance of that legislation) our government has passed two – and soon three – MAJOR bills aimed DIRECTLY at America’s Middle and lower classes which, of course, is going to STIMULATE the economy. As I mentioned above, I’ve been pointing out for years it’s DEMAND which drives the economy, not SUPPLY.

Yes, SUPPLY is important, but without DEMAND what are you going to do with the SUPPLY? It’s important to “marry” the two, but, to me, we’ve seen over 40 years of PROOF that “supply side” economics works only for the wealthy and leaves the working man and woman behind – which is, in my view, the cause of much of the discontent in our society. And, republicans, for years, have used their abuse of cultural “wedge” issues to HIDE the FACT they’ve been pilfering our taxpayers to the tune of TRILLIONS of dollars while suggesting they actually believe the LIES they’ve been pushing in order to get to those dollars. For example, while they’re “screaming” about deficits right now, their 2017 tax scam (which provided TRILLIONS to the “rich”) provided virtually NO stimulus and, recent reports suggest, will increase the deficit by $2.5 TRILLION over a ten year period.

In four years of individual 1′ administration, depending on the source, the national debt increased by between $7 TRILLION and $8 TRILLION – by percentage the “third most” in history – the debt was just under $20 TRILLION when he took office and close to $28 TRILLION when he left. Of course, some of that was the result of COVID, to be fair, but if we’re “fair” with our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING – disgraced – (ex) president, then shouldn’t we be “fair” with President Biden’s administration. The ARP is mostly funded via “deficit spending” although, as we’re seeing, MOST of the money is going right back into the economy so it’s actually generating economic benefits (which I’m not sophisticated enough to calculate – but, some say, for example, every dollar going into the child tax credit returns $1,75 to the economy – because it’s being spent). The infrastructure bill and the so-called “Build Back Better” bills are “paid for” by increases in taxes on wealthy individuals and corporate and individual “tax cheats.”

Let me explain that last comment – “tax cheats.” The BBB legislation includes money to provide the IRS resources to go after those Americans – largely wealthy Americans – who’ve been routinely CHEATING on their taxes for years. I’ve read a couple books on this topic and republicans have, over the previous few decades managed to strip the IRS of enough resources so they couldn’t go after the high level tax CHEATS because – well, in a word, LAWYERS. Rich people can afford the lawyers poor people can’t – so, in effect, MANY of the “audits” done by the IRS over the previous 30 or so years were aimed at people at the “bottom” instead of people at the “top.” Estimates are our “rich brothers and sisters” are “failing” to pay about $40 to $80 BILLION per year in owed taxes. That, along with the 15% MINIMUM tax on corporations, many which make BILLIONS and pay NOTHING will also raise LOTS of money to help pay for the BBB and the infrastructure bills working their way through Congress. (OK, the infrastructure bill is now law)

So, combined with the FACT the money from both the infrastructure bill and the BBB bill will “hit” the economy gradually means they will have a minimal effect on pushing up inflation, in the short term, and a significant effect in lowering it in the long term – meaning, it’s likely the “Fed” will not need to hurray up their plan for gradual interest rate increases based on the short term inflation data. All of this was to be expected. Of course, had the Biden administration not pushed out the ARP (American Rescue Plan) in March, there would be far less money in the economy, we’d STILL be in recession, and the pandemic would be even WORSE.

That leads me to one of my greatest frustrations with how our 24/7 Cable media works. It’s as if we live in a “what have you done for me lately” world – meaning, how you can manipulate the media plays a more significant role in public perception than what you’re accomplishing, to a large extent. I don’t think many are arguing the democrats are very POOR at messaging while the republicans are viewed as much better – largely because they’re willing to LIE about virtually ANYTHING – as I’ve said here many times it’s “the end justifies the means” philosophy of messaging. That is, LIE through your teeth and look like you mean it theory – or, as they called it back in the Third Reich “The Big Lie Theory.” Why do they do it? Because, obviously, it works.

I’m not suggesting that everything the democrats are doing is perfect, because I’m sure there will be parts of their plan which don’t work as intended. But, here’s the big difference between what they’re doing and what republicans have been pushing on “we the people” for the past 40+ years; The democrats are working from the bottom up and the republicans have been working from the “top down.” We’ve seen the “top down” repeatedly not “trickle down” to the rest of us while income inequality has been steadily INCREASING since the day Reagan took the oath of office. Given time, I believe it will be obvious working from the bottom up will be beneficial to – clearly, those at the “bottom” – but, also to those who’ve been doing OK for the past few years and, eventually, all the way up to the top. Businesses benefit from having customers with money to spend (which is another reason why the minimum wage should go up) and, right now, the challenge is to bring up the supply to meet the demand. This is a far better problem to have than too much supply for the demand. As the saying goes: “A high tide floats all boats.” That should always be the goal!

Final Thought: This all seems almost too obvious to me, but, well, look at where we’ve been. That said, just think about what it means to “bring up the supply.” In essence, it seems to me it means more JOBS. Someone has to create that supply and maybe this increased DEMAND will lead to more businesses producing their SUPPLY in America. Over the previous 40 years I’ve listened to an endless “chorus” of Americans complaining about factories “moving overseas.” Well, if BUYERS don’t have enough money to spend the obvious solution is to get the SUPPLY manufactured where labor is cheaper. Who knows, maybe all of this will lead to more manufacturing jobs produced in America. I remember reading about one of America’s first mass producers, Henry Ford, pointing out the importance of paying his workers enough so they could afford to purchase one of Ford’s autos. That is, if there’s insufficient DEMAND why produce the SUPPLY?

For the sake of our nation, I truly hope the plans of progressives begin to put those things in place where the improvements are most needed (for example, pushing broadband to rural areas) and working class people see improvements in their lives. Who knows, this might even bring down the “temperature” in deep “red” states. For example, Joe Manchin, who’s been vilified by many outside of Washington, hails from maybe the “reddest” state in the union, West Virginia. The legislation democrats are passing (hopefully, he could still be an obstacle) will likely benefit West Virginia as much as it will any other state – certainly MORE than the state (Washington) where I live. West Virginia needs more help and SHOULD get more help.

I still remember Moscow Mitch referring to the stimulus plans as “blue state bailouts” when, in reality, it’s the “blue states” which put MOST of the money into the federal “coffers” – that is much more goes “out” than what comes “in.” For example, Kentucky, McConnell’s home state is one of the four WORST in regard they take out FAR more than they put back in – so, as usual, the words coming from McConnell’s mouth, at the time, were completely FALSE. Well, now, even McConnell is proclaiming the benefits of the infrastructure bill to those in his home state. This is why these republicans are so repulsive to me. Now, McConnell did vote for the infrastructure bill after the so-called “bipartisan” committee negotiated it – but, only because he failed to “kill it.” But, not surprisingly, one republican after another has been claiming credit for the ARP despite the FACT not one of them voted for it. We’re already seeing this “history” repeating itself on the new legislation.

That being said, I hope the bill work and it’s up to the democrats to figure out how to message their agenda to “we the people” in a way to PREVENT individual 1 from ever “sniffing” a return to the “White House” again. Which leads me to where I’ll end this particular “rant.” Clearly, republicans FEAR these democratic initiatives will prove successful and, in anticipation that President Biden will not run for re-election in 2024 we’re already (as I predicted after the election of 2020) seeing the “Hillary Clinton style attacks” on Kamala Harris. Republicans are working overtime to convince as many Americans as they can that VP Harris is – well, I guess, and “ambitious woman” – or, who knows what. They’re doing Birtherism 2.0, and anything else they think might “stick.” Have to give them credit, they’re always thinking ahead. Stay tuned….

OMG, I can’t believe I’m going to write this. I actually look forward to listening to Liz Cheney these days. Remember, I’ve accused her FATHER on MANY occasions of authorizing WAR CRIMES and suggesting he should be held to account. She NEVER votes in Congress as I would – she didn’t even vote for the “bipartisan” infrastructure bill. Yet, every time I listen to her reference January 6th, 2021 I can’t think of ANYONE who “gets” what happened any better than her. I would love to hear what she thinks should be done to protect ALL the public servants who are REGULARLY receiving DEATH threats from right wing American fascists (er republicans).

For me, this gets me back to our Attorney General, Merrick Garland. I HAVE to believe there are already LAWS on the books which deal with the consequences for THUGS who feel emboldened to be THREATENING members of School Boards, Health care workers, Government employees – including members of Congress, Police Officers (Yes, there are TOO many members of Police forces who are sympathetic to right wing “militia” groups), etc,, etc. Mr. Garland AGGRESSIVELY enforcing our LAWS is simply a first step.

The bottom line is there is an organized MISINFORMATION network of media outlets which are brazenly pushing LIES to a large segment of our population. These outlets, like Facebook, Twitter, Fox “news,” Newsmax, OANN, and ever DARKER places on the internet, seem to be working overtime to turn America into a potentially FASCIST state which threatens anyone with violence who opposes their right wing views. Those who oppose individual 1 almost immediately begin receiving the VILE threats as if they’re the ones who are the TRAITORS – when, in reality, the definition of “TRAITOR” would fit perfectly with those who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 ALONG with those who INCITED them to attempt an overthrow or our ELECTED government, funded the INSURRECTION, organized it, etc.

This gets me back to Mr. Garland. As every day passes I’m getting the sickening feeling he’s one of those SPINELESS “progressives” I’ve been lamenting for the previous 15 years (or more). Why are all these people allowed to THREATEN violence against our public servants? Even those republicans who supported the “bipartisan infrastructure bill” are suddenly getting the “heat.” Why is all this OK? Does “free speech” include THREATS of violence? I mean, just the other day a sitting member of the republican party (albeit one of the two or three most pathetic) published an “anime” doctored to show him MURDERING Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez along with threatening an image of President Biden. Do we need one of the DERANGED members of the republican “base” to act on the suggestions of these thugs for something to happen to the original perpetrators?

Here’s why I’m concerned about AG Garland – as I’ve stated on this site before. He’s, so far, refused any actions against our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president – which, in itself, seems CRITICAL to me. So far, crickets! How about the prosecution of Matt Gaetz who “allegedly” participated in the “sex trafficking” of a 17 year old young lady (I keep thinking, “I wonder if it’s taking this long because Roger Stone is involved as well”) – does Mr. Garland fear the backlash of “MAGA world” so he’s not going to indict Gaetz? The same question goes for these THUGS who continue THREATENING those who oppose individual 1? I hope I’m wrong, but the more time goes by the worst it’s going to get – and, if they fail to act, well, then our “nation of laws” very well could crumble.

I really get the feeling that Mr. Garland is wondering what he was thinking when he agreed to this new job – he had a very “peaceful” spot on the DC Court of Appeals. I mean, it’s been over THREE WEEKS since the Justice Department received the CRIMINAL referral for Steve Bannon, and, as with all the rest, “crickets.” And, of course, now there have been close to twenty other subpoenas coming from the January 6th Select Committee and if Bannon isn’t CHARGED – and SOON – Mr. Garland will have simply made things so much more worse – for those of us who’d like to see this republic to survive – and, at this point it’s not guaranteed because the timidity of those like Mr. Garland is CLEARLY emboldening those who attacked the Capitol and their followers. If Garland doesn’t charge Bannon, then the Committee might as well shut down – none of the subsequent people receiving subpoenas are planning to “show up.”

OK, I’m taking a big breath! Today a Grand Jury returned an indictment of Steve Bannon on TWO counts of “Contempt of Congress.” That COULD result in 2 YEARS in jail should he continue to refuse cooperating with the Select Committee on the INSURRECTION. Well, this could mean, “here we go.” There have been OVER 20 other subpoenas sent to various members of individual 1’s “inner circle.” And, keep in mind, it’s ALREADY been determined “executive privilege” isn’t going to work. A reminder: “executive privilege” has NEVER been able to cover up CRIMINAL activity.

I keep thinking back to the time of Richard Nixon. The process of “getting to the bottom” of what happened was excruciatingly slow. However, for anyone not around at that time, virtually EVERYONE who participated with Nixon in his attempt to CHEAT in order to “win” an election AND to go after his “enemies list” ended up in JAIL. It appears Bannon looks forward to spending a couple years in jail for his fuhrer, but what about all the others Congress wishes to speak with. Individual 1, as any mob boss would, will be making THREATS to anyone who cooperates as opposed to going to JAIL. Of course, will the judges overseeing the cases of these people who choose CONTEMPT provide them with maximum sentences? How serious does our Justice system actually consider this?

I keep wondering, what happens once people like Bannon complete their sentences? Can they be subjected to additional charges if they continue to refuse to cooperate? This all will be determined as we go forward, but keep in mind, in the previous 38 years there’s only been one other “CONTEMPT of Congress” charge – it happened during Reagan’s reign on America. That tells you all you need to know about individual 1: Over the past 38 years EVERY person who’s been called to testify before Congress have (at least) showed up. This is what you get when a MOB boss is “elected” to the Oval Office. But, as always, there’s MORE:

The ROT engulfing at least a third of our nation because of individual 1 goes well beyond anything which Nixon could have accomplished had he “gotten away with it.” And, keep in mind, in my view, until the day our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president is CHARGED for INCITING the INSURRECTION we have a long way to go. Not only do I believe that, but everyone else involved on January 6th, 2021 should be held to account, I also believe the FBI should be actively investigating the political THREATS coming at public servants all across this nation and PROSECUTING those making the THREATS to the fullest extent of the LAW possible. That is, IF we truly are a “nation of laws and not men.”

It should be CLEAR by now individual 1 is a DELUSIONAL, narcissistic, sick “puppy.” Yet. those in his CULT remain obsessed with turning America into a FASCIST state. And, I won’t again get into how words like “FASCISM” get thrown around with “impunity,” but suffice it to say if you actually know the definition of FASCISM you’d understand the democrats are as far from fascists as you can get. Giving a “mandate” to cause people to decide between their job or a “jab” is NOT fascism. There have been NUMEROUS vaccines I’ve been “required” to get in order to do things like – go to school – like join the military, etc. over the previous 74 years. Here’s the bottom line: individual 1 is a FASCIST! I’m OK if you simply call him a pseudo Mob Boss, OK! But, if you’ve decided you’re part of the CULT – that’s on you! By now, you SHOULD know better! Sadly, there’s a significant portion of America who qualify for the term (I hate) STUPID! Yikes!!!

Final Thought: I often talk about the republican obsession with PROJECTION and, almost every day, we’re seeing examples of this – like today when Marjorie Taylor Green was referring to the 13 House republicans who voted for the so-called “bipartisan infrastructure” bill (which almost ALL republican members of the House will be claiming credit for once the “ribbon cutting” begins) as TRAITORS. Usually she reserves that accusation toward democrats, but I guess this situation is “special.” Of course, when all is said and done in the investigation into January 6th, 2021 we’ll have a much better idea of who the “TRAITORS” really are. And, of course, the speculation is one of them will be – you guessed it – Marjorie Taylor Greene. Stay tuned………….

I’ve been pointing out since January 6th, 2021 the importance of holding individual 1 accountable for INCITING the INSURRECTION. Since that time I’ve watched Attorney General Merrick Garland come across as being AFRAID of the “base” of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president just as a majority of republican members of Congress. True to form, individual 1’s M.O. is to always be on the OFFENSIVE (and, trust me, he’s OFFENSIVE – but, I digress) and, with the help of people like Tucker Carlson he’s attempting to ensure if he’s INDICTED the “right” will become apoplectic claiming it’s all “political” – after all, according to Carlson’s latest endeavor January 6th was a “false flag.” That is, the “FBI had infiltrated the WHITE NATIONALIST groups which stormed the Capitol and had infiltrated their “command centers” actually orchestrating the SEIGE!” Now, if you actually believe that, well, you’re as STUPID as Carlson assumes you are. (And, of course, you’re not alone)

The farther away from January 6th, 2021 and the MORE A.G. Garland refuses to act, the worse it’s going to get for this nation. Not only am I thinking he’s going to let individual 1 off the “hook” for a NUMBER of CRIMES, it’s beginning to look as if he’s being very TIMID in dealing with Steve Bannon’s refusal to comply with a subpoena from the Select Committee investigating January 6th, 2021. It’s been a few weeks now since Bannon’s recalcitrance was sent to the Justice Department in the form of a CRIMINAL referral and, so far, well, “crickets.” What the hell is the Justice Department, and by extension, Garland waiting for? Do they really think they can simply let this go? I can virtually assure you, if Bannon is not INDICTED for refusing a Congressional subpoena, we’re all in trouble and A.G. Garland will be castigated for his cowardice. Now, of course, I’m hoping it will SOON happen – that is Bannon will be INDICTED, but, think about Matt Gaetz – it’s been “rumored” he’s going to be INDICTED for “child sex-trafficking” for MONTHS now – and, again, “crickets.”

We KNOW that if (and when) individual 1 gets INDICTED – there’s LOTS of possibilities, his “base” will react in some kind of MOB action. Here’s what I say, “Let’s get it over with. The SOONER the better.” This country cannot continue to function as a democratic republic if we CONTINUE to allow our “leaders” to break our laws with impunity. When I was much younger I had thought we PROVED that “when the president does it it must be legal” – in the words of Richard Nixon – to be COMPLETELY false – a REAL “false flag.” Nixon was saved from CRIMINAL prosecution by an ill-advised Pardon from Gerald Ford – which “smelled” at the time and continues to “smell” to this day. BUT, a plethora of his sycophants were indicted and CONVICTED of various FELONIES – and spent considerable time in PRISON!

But, as I often say here, with republicans, there’s always more and they’ve proved numerous times they’re undaunted by history. Ronald Reagan was let off the “hook” for the Iran/Contra fiasco as was George HW Bush. More recently, George W Bush/Dick Cheney/Don Rumsfeld et. al. were let off the HOOK for clearly authorizing WAR CRIMES by Barack Obama who famously stated “we’re going to look forward instead of back.” I’ve written about the FOLLY of that decision a PLETHORA of times on this site – all in the archives.

And, now we have the MOST corrupt president, likely, in our history (Andrew Johnson maybe gives him a “run for the money”) in individual 1 – who COLLUDED with the Russians (read Mueller’s report if you don’t believe that), OBSTRUCTED Justice during Mueller’s investigation numerous times, cheated to get “elected” in the first place (paying off two women to hide illicit AFFAIRS while his present wife was pregnant with his last – thankfully – son), got IMPEACHED twice (and, republicans will very likely rue the DAYS they chose NOT to convict him and remove him from America’s political scene), pocketed MILLIONS during his term in CLEAR violation of the emoluments clause in the Constitution, CONSPIRED to overthrow “the will of the people” after the 2020 election and, I could go on and on and on and, well, you get the point.

This is ALL bad – that is – the behavior of individual 1, but, I believe HISTORY will give Merrick Garland a very bad place – maybe not next to Benedict Arnold which is where individual 1 is going to land – along with MANY of his supporters and sycophants – but BAD none the less. Whether he likes the spot he’s in or not, the future of this nation may rest with him as much as with anyone else – including President Biden, the Congressional democrats, Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema (and, by the way, Manchin and Sinema are not looking that good right now – I’ll say more about that in a bit) As I said above, every day which passes where Mr. Garland leaves the impression he’s afraid to act makes all this become worse. (And, leads to MORE criminal conduct coming from republicans)

Individual 1, and by extension – if you haven’t noticed – his supporters, are a bunch of BULLIES. The way you respond to a BULLY is you “punch them back” right in the face. Well, I’m not suggesting actual violence, I’m suggesting our Justice Department ENFORCE laws which are already on the books. I’ve said this before, I believe – with public information – I (obviously, a non lawyer) could successfully argue a case AGAINST individual 1 and several of his sycophants of a CONSPIRACY to commit SEDITION – one of the most egregious of offenses to our system of laws. (And, by the way, OBSTRUCTION falls into that category as well) To me, it’s well past time for A.G. Garland to act – at the bare minimum, INDICT Steve Bannon and prosecute him to the fullest. Yes, he’s a willing “martyr” to the cause, but, well, so what? And, INDICT anyone else who refuses to cooperate with the investigation into January 6th, 2021.

While I’m still thinking about it, I said I’d add more to the Manchin and Sinema dilemma facing democrats. First of all, there is part of Manchin’s argument I absolutely agree with – and, that is before expanding benefits to Medicare democrats should make Medicare and Social Security SOLVENT well into the future. Obviously, there’s much I disagree with Manchin on and his blocking Clean Energy proposals doesn’t look good when you consider where his MONEY comes from – it really IS a bad “look.” But, to me, the “LOOK” for Sinema is even worse.

Her BLOCKING the government from “negotiating drug prices” for Medicare – arguably bringing a SAVINGS of $700 BILLION (over 10 years – all the “money” talked about in the BBB plan is over 10 years if you hadn’t noticed) while also blocking the reversal of portions of the 2017 tax scam which benefit the wealthiest Americans and corporations who used the money to buy back stock – well, to me, that’s “undemocratic.” Manchin and Sinema very well could be responsible for “torpedoing” Biden’s agenda which, I hope they understand, would put them in the same category as Moscow Mitch, but, again, I digress.

That all being said, the more I think about all of this the more I think about our Attorney General. Yes, he’s got a mammoth job in “fixing” the Justice Department from the damage caused by Jeff Sessions and William Barr, but, that can’t be done by shying from OBVIOUS issues of “White Collar Crime.” Individual 1 is now brainwashing his sycophants to believe “The real insurrection was November 3rd.” He has convinced about 30% of America that African Americans shouldn’t be ENCOURAGED to vote. He KNEW places where people were allowed to “vote by mail” was an issue for him because it was, in his mind, too easy for people to vote – he wanted them to have to stand in long lines during a pandemic in order to cast their vote.

And, keep in mind, the limitation of polling sites in places which are predominantly accessed by “people of color” is what leads to those long lines – in some cases people waiting as much as 7 HOURS in order to cast their ballot. In the predominantly WHITE precincts, it’s “in and out” in a matter of a few minutes. Coincidence? I think NOT! Which gets me back to Mr. Garland. If Congress isn’t going to FIGHT for the right for Americans to be able to vote no matter where they live or who they are, then it’s up to the Justice Department. They’re going to have to prove they can “walk and chew gum at the same time.” There’s a lot on the “plate” of the Department, but that’s just how it is. If Mr. Garland thinks it’s too much, my suggestion is he resign and allow President Biden to nominate someone who’s “up for the job.”

Here’s a suggestion for AG Garland, for starters: INDICT Steve Bannon and make it clear you’ll defend the right of Congress to INVESTIGATE and follow through on it’s OVERSIGHT obligation, FULL STOP! Republicans are OBSTRUCTING, they’re OBFUSCATING, and on and on, by the droves! Why? Because, for the past 40 years they’ve been progressively getting away with it. It’s been getting worse since Iran/Contra and it’s hit unbelievable levels since the reign of individual 1. Come on AG Garland, s@#t or get off the pot! INDICT Bannon or admit you’re too scared of individual 1’s base!

Final Thought: I’ve written almost endlessly about the tendency of republicans to practice PROJECTION! So, I’ve got to write about the latest “woke” (I think I learned what that means to day after talking about Aaron Rogers with a friend) accusation coming from someone I consider the “worst person of the world” (on days when it’s not Ted Cruz) – Josh Hawley. He’s making a NEW push for his plans on the “White House” by suggesting “The ‘left’ (my quotes) is attacking America by saying America is systemically oppressive and men are systemically responsible.” He goes on to say, “We’ve got to say spending your time not working, and we’ve got more and more men not working, spending you time on video games, spending your time on PORN while doing nothing is not good for you, your family, or this country.” This is the guy who, in the past, has accused women of causing “sex trafficking” by discovering birth control. Yikes!

This guy actually went to Stanford and, I think, Harvard Law School (OK, neither matters much – Scott Atlas was a professor at Stanford – he of the “herd mentality” under individual 1) yet he comes across as a complete NUT job! Here’s the PROJECTION question I have for him. Are you suggesting, Mr. Hawley, you are “productive” while you’re accessing PORN? You can almost “take it to the bank” when one of these republicans are accusing you of something they consider “bad” it’s because THEY’RE doing it – and, of course, pretending they’re NOT! It’s as certain as your clock striking NOON tomorrow, and the day after, and the……….. You get it! Stay tuned………………….

I’ve written ad nauseum how those who call themselves republicans live in the “world” of projection and it’s never been more clear than some of the recent “stuff” coming from the mouths of members of individual 1’s CULT as they fight against Covid-19 vaccines, school boards, public health officials, and, of course, “liberals.” In the past couple of days I’ve heard several of the supporters of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president referring to anyone who disagrees with them as “fascists.” I’ve confronted this IGNORANCE on several occasions, so here we go again.

One of the whack jobs actually complained about the “corporate/government” cabal in his accusation and that he and those around him were suffering from a fascist government. OK, to a certain extent, the “Mussolini” form of fascism actually is a corporate/government – I’ll call it a “cabal” – here’s the rub: And, this has been one of my complaints since the days of Bush/Cheney – this corporate/government “cabal” is the result of our republicans in Congress enabling America’s largest corporations because of the MONEY being funneled into their campaign coffers. Of course, when you PROJECT everything – you would accuse what you’re all about to those you oppose.

Here’s the other “rub:” The FASCISM most of us think of when we think of fascism is that which was the work of the Third Reich back in the days of Adolf Hitler. I’ve pointed out many times here – for years – the parallels between the tendencies of individual 1 and the history of how the Third Reich turned Germany into the world’s pariah back in the 1930’s. Our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president even uses derogatory references to Germans in describing those in his own family, apparently as a way to hide his motives. He continues to push one LIE after another to his “base” and they suck it up with the help of outlets like Fox “news” – and Tucker Carlson who, if Keith Olberman was still on TV, would be the “WORST person in the WORLD” on a regular basis – Carlson’s latest endeavor, apparently, is a “documentary” calling “1/6” a “false flag.” These people won’t be happy until our constitutional republic has been torn COMPLETELY apart.

It’s not possible for me to believe the bulk of those “leaders” now in the republican party actually believe the so-called “Big Lie” or that “1/6” was a “false flag.” For heaven’s sake, they were there on January 6th, 2021 when ALL of them were herded out of the House and Senate chambers as the INSURRECTIONISTS who were hell bent on stopping the certification of Joe Biden’s election and “hanging Mike Pense.” They know the truth. But, now virtually ALL of them are either participating in the “Big Lie” or cowering in the corner unwilling to say anything which might cause individual 1 to endorse a “primary opponent.” Of course, this all goes right back to the republican dependence on PROJECTION.

When they claim “The election was stolen,” that means their intention is to STEAL the next election (and the one after that, and………….OK, you get it). When they claim there was election “fraud” that’s because they’re the ones committing the ELECTION FRAUD. When Marko Rubio calls Bidens agenda “Build Back Socialism” because it spends a couple TRILLION (aimed at “we the people”) that’s to take the attention off the $2 TRILLION tax cut he and every other republican voted for in 2017 which was, well, SOCIALISM for the top 1% – if you buy his argument. Of course, no republican will bring any of that up and their constituents are, well, – OK, lots of them – “stupid.” They fall for this stuff without a second thought.

The truth is there are a multitude of “outlets” willing to accommodate individual 1’s “base” by participating the LYING – for MONEY! For me, the most obvious disgusting purveyor of misinformation (LYING) is Fox because I don’t do “Social Media.” (Unless, this is “Social Media”) However, the so-called “Facebook papers” are shining a pretty bright light on Facebook’s – and, by extension Mark Zuckerberg’s – willingness to foment LIES in order to “energize” people who don’t think for themselves, therefore bringing in MASSIVE amounts of advertising dollars. Naturally, there’s a large group of “others” but for the time being the light is going to be shining on Facebook – who’s tried to “sweep” all this “stuff” “under the rug.” Again, for MONEY!

Facebook is getting OUTED more and more these days as the driving force behind America’s turn toward the political cesspool that features individual 1 and his sycophants (and CULT members). Now, we have more political leaders talking about breaking up Facebook and, “sure as shootin,” here come the phony commercials about “American innovation.” I’ve seen an add several times making FALSE claims about all the great things “technology” is doing for America suggesting it’s the driving force behind our economy. Yes, “technology” plays a part, but what drives our economy are WORKERS and when workers don’t have decent jobs the economy suffers.

During the pandemic the top BILLIONAIRES in America got even MORE filthy rich – including the likes of Jeff Bezos and WORSE Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. The reports coming out show Facebook KNEW their “algorithms” were exacerbating MISINFORMATION – ginning up people via their “dark sides” – sides of people vulnerable to FEAR MONGERING – and they KNOWINGLY letting this garbage go viral on their platform! Worst yet, according to newly released documents, they actually ENCOURAGED it! So, after the third time I heard the “technology is great” propaganda add on TV I checked who paid for it. You guessed it – “The American Edge Project” paid for it and “The American Edge Project” was founded by – you guessed it again, FACEBOOK!

I long ago figured out the beginning of Facebook correlates to the divisions among Americans which have grown worse and worse since they started their platform seemingly welcoming MISINFORMATION if it makes them more MONEY. And, Oh by the way, Facebook is busy with other advertising trying to convince “we the people” – or whoever – that they welcome federal “regulation.” I suppose, as I try to process what I’ve seen, they’re pushing for “anything” but “breaking” them up. If you’ve read anything about Teddy Roosevelt and the “Trust Busters” back at the turn of the 20th Century, you can see “we the people” seem to be reliving that era – only, the TRUSTS today are much more sophisticated and have UNLIMITED funds which they can use to BUY off politicians. And, it’s working!

And, I’m not just talking about republicans when I point out corporate interests BUYING off politicians. We’ve seen an obvious example of democrats being BOUGHT by corporate interests as Joe Biden has been attempting to get his “Build Back Better” agenda through Congress. It has gone without saying the republicans would OBSTRUCT Biden’s agenda at every turn (Moscow Mitch promised this from the start), but the recalcitrance of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema tell you this corruption runs both ways. Manchin might as well be part of the Fossil Fuel industry and the amount of money they’ve funneled to him is, well, staggering.

Ms. Sinema, for example put the Kybosh to the part of the bill where Medicare could “negotiate” prescription drug prices and WORST put the “nea” to the idea of reversing SOME of the individual 1 tax cuts. Manchin, who “hails” from one of the poorest states in the union (which desperately needs this bill) put the Kybosh to seniors getting dental and vision coverage (full disclosure: I became a “senior” many years ago) and, in addition, to those who thought there might be free community college which very well could lead to empowering MILLIONS of Americans who want to improve their “lot” in life. The part that has bothered me the most is seeing BOTH of these democrats fraternizing with republicans who, I believe, very well could be using them to do what McConnell is unable to do with his never ending filibusters.

Personally, I believe both Manchin and Sinema are relishing the spotlight as EVERYONE else in the democratic party is on board with much more than what these two democrats may or may not ultimately agree to. I believe, no matter how this turns out, both Manchin and Sinema will be considered almost turncoats to what got the democrats elected in 2020. It won’t affect Manchin because he’s my age (74) isn’t up for re-election until 2024 (when he’ll be 78 – so what if he loses) and he’s a “democrat” in a ruby “red” state. On the other hand, I believe Ms. Sinema must have a lucrative job lined up which she may or may not wait for 2024 to take. She’s a HUGE disappointment to those who supported her candidacy just a couple years ago.

Sadly, and I say this because it’s the media’s position, that if Manchin and/or Sinema manage to scuttle Biden’s agenda – and, they’re getting down to the “wire” where if they can’t get it done SOON they may not get it done – they could be plunging a “knife” into the democratic party. Now, my position would be that democrats need to be even more committed to making “we the people” understand it’s important to vote in even MORE democrats so one or two can’t put a “monkey wrench” into the entire process. We’ll better understand the motives of both Manchin and Sinema shortly, but they stand to be putting themselves into the wrong section of the American History books if they contribute to a resurrection of individual 1.

To me, the largest obstacle to democrats (and disaffected republicans and independents) would be the so-called “liberal media” and their “unique” way of looking at things. For example, I’ve been following the Governor’s elections in (mostly) Virginia and New Jersey and many are claiming the Virginia election will be a “barometer” on the Biden presidency. While I don’t have a problem with that characterization, here’s where I have the problem. First, I’ve heard several media reports that democrats in Virginia are disaffected by “the failure of democrats to ‘get anything done.'” Talk about your “what have you done for me lately.”

Does the “media” forget that in the first couple of months of Biden’s administration democrats passed the most targeted – toward America’s middle class – legislation in my lifetime. In individual 1’s FOUR years republicans passed two significant pieces of legislation. The most obvious was the tax SCAM of 2017 which funneled about $2 TRILLION taxpayer dollars to America’s “top 1%” and American corporations which were already sitting on a TRILLION of “cash” – therefore using the tax SCAM to buy back shares. The other significant piece of legislation was the “CARES Act” which democrats FORCED republicans to accept some “liberal” positions due to the severity of the Covid crisis.

Now, of course, as I pointed out above, democrats are attempting to pass an incredible combination of an “infrastructure bill” and the “we the people” bill (my characterization – the “Build Back Better” bill) – both at the “mercy” of Senators Manchin and Sinema. I believe the bill passed in March was the best thing I’d seen in my lifetime so why is the “media” allowing the mantra of “democrats can’t get anything done” to be pushed by right wing pundits? Yes, it will be disappointing if Manchin and/or Sinema “torpedo” Biden’s “Build Back Better” bill (and, if they do, I hope “progressives” block the so-called “bipartisan” infrastructure bill) but, if they do, the solution isn’t to BLAME democrats for “not getting anything done” – but it would be to elect MORE democrats! (And, keep in mind, for my lifetime I’ve been an independent – I now vote AGAINST republicans, at least for the foreseeable future – which, at my age, could be “forever”)

Let me just point out one of the hypocrisies (one of MANY) in the republican “positions.” We all know many republicans oppose ABORTION. (Many times I’ve said, at some point in time, I’ll make a post on that subject) OK, so here’s how I look at that. Personally, if the issue had arisen in my lifetime I would say I’m opposed to abortion. The ONLY way I would support it would be to save the life of the mother, or in the case of rape, incest, etc. The first time I was going to be a father my wife was given a medication which caused a miscarriage. I rushed her to the hospital and they performed what amounted to an abortion – the fetus was already dead. That happened without a second thought.

So, here’s my thoughts about the issue if it happens to YOU! If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one. (Although, I believe in the case of the miscarriage, virtually everyone would do what we did) I find it odd stuffy OLD men who say they believe in getting government out of our lives want to control the lives of America’s women. And, of course, the MEN involved in many unwanted pregnancies face no consequences. What’s up with that?

And, as usual, there’s more. Put yourself in the place of a woman who believes she’s in no position to have a child (maybe ANOTHER child). Well, republicans are saying if you choose to terminate that pregnancy (do republicans believe in free will?) we also don’t believe in providing ANY support for you once that child has been born. Take for example the “Build Back Better” bill put forth by President Biden (even that which hasn’t been pared back by Manchin and Sinema) – there are several portions of that legislation aimed DIRECTLY at children who are growing up in poverty. The universal Pre-K, the support for Child Care, the help with health insurance, etc. etc. are issues which are designed for those women who CHOOSE to bring a pregnancy to term.

Ideally, the numbers of unwanted pregnancies could somehow by lowered, maybe by providing more responsibility to MEN, but, in the mean time, the attempt by democrats to reduce the childhood poverty rate in America, to me, is welcome news. It’s NO surprise, I’m sure, that NOT a single republican will vote for these programs designed to help those children whose mothers chose to carry their pregnancy to term when their financial means are insufficient. As I said above, they call THIS socialism, while the tax SCAMS never get characterized as SOCIALISM – even though it’s government giveaways to the “rich.” The contrast couldn’t be more clear! (Wouldn’t you like to know how many republicans have had abortions? Just saying) Stay tuned………

Final Thought: If the Supreme Court upholds the recent Texas law aimed at overturning Roe v Wade by a scheme to allow the enforcement of the law to be done by “citizen” “vigilante’s” who can sue anyone involved in an abortion which takes place after six weeks of pregnancy (when many women still don’t understand they’re pregnant) – well, then all bets are off. If that scheme works, I’m going to write to my state legislature and suggest they pass a similar bill where if anyone is proven to purchase or own a “long gun” with automatic capability they can be sued by ANYONE who finds out with a bounty of $25,000. (we might as well, kick up the penalty a bit)