Honestly, at this point in time, I’m pretty sick of Trump. I SHOULD stop writing here if I were to listen to the pastor at our church this week. Apparently, I’m not able to listen to him because I just can’t bring myself to “forgive” Trump and I’m unable to accept what a second term would do to this nation. I’m already bracing myself for INSURRECTION #2 which will take place once he’s been SOUNDLY defeated once for all. Yes. it’s a bit alarming that President Biden’s “poll numbers” are historically low – you have to give republicans credit for their ability to LIE to the American people and, sadly, in my view, too many Americans – at this point in time – are thinking in terms of prices (which HAVE come down in many instances – gas, eggs, etc.) when there’s so much on the line in this upcoming election.

While I want to tout President Biden’s accomplishments (once again), which I consider historic themselves, I first have to focus on what it is that so many Americans, many of whom claim to be “Christians,” are supporting. Let’s start with the parallels to the Nazi’s coming from Trump and his supporters. Of course, lately, Trump has been saying the “quiet part out loud,” as he’s suggested “immigrants are poisoning the blood of Americans” which would be laughable on its face if it wasn’t so, well, NAZI. It’s almost as if Trump took the words right out of Mein Kampf – Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto – OK, I think he did. But, regardless, those are the same words Hitler used in his attacks on non-Aryan people. In fact, Hitler referred to these non-Aryans as “vermin.” Oops! ditto once again with Trump. Could we say his “Stand back and stand by” Proud Boys would be the equivalent of the “Brown shirts?”

I’ve been saying, here, for years, that Trump’s LYING (along with that of his republican sycophants) is right out of the Nazi’s “Big Lie Theory.” For some reason the “mainstream media” hasn’t picked up on this. This was another of Hitler’s “inventions” coming from Mein Kampf – “If you repeat a LIE over and over again, eventually people will believe the LIE to be “true.” This was the “strategy” put in place by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s “minister of propaganda.” Here is one of Goebbel’s more famous quotes: ” This is the secret of propaganda: Those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda, without ever noticing that they are being immersed in it.” Another of their (Hitler and Goebbels) “techniques” was “projection.” They believed in accusing their opponents of that which they were busy doing.

Here’s a few more Geobbels quotes: ” Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” ” A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” ” Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.” And, ” We shall reach our goal, when we have the power to laugh as we destroy, as we smash, whatever was sacred to us as tradition, as education, and as human affection.” If you’re still reading I think you get my point. I’ve defined fascists here several times and all I’ll say is when Trump accuses people like me of being “Communist, Marxist, Fascist vermin” you can see where he gets the inspiration.

Keep in mind, Trump is DESPERATE. Not only is he weeks away from potentially losing his control over the “Trump Organization,” he’s facing several more legal challenges in the coming year (or two). Trump is in full “Roy Cohn” mode as he’s attacking the prosecutors, judges, families of prosecutors and judges, ANYONE he thinks he can get away with sicking his right wing sycophants onto in the hopes to spread FEAR among those who might sit on a jury or who might have the temerity to TESTIFY against him. He’s going to PUSH everything to the limit including the “gag orders” – DARING a judge (somewhere) to actually prove we don’t have a “two tier” judicial system and throw his ASS in jail. What other defendant could get away with the “deplorable” behavior he’s exhibiting while out on pre-trial release. There are untold THOUSANDS of indicted defendants across this land sitting in jail waiting their trials for FAR LESS than what we are witnessing from Trump.

Speaking of projection I almost have to laugh when I hear (read about) Trump or any of his “cronies” referring to the “Biden Crime Family.” This goes right through the republican party and their members of Congress – especially in the House. It seems obvious that these House members have to be smart enough to know their LYING would be an embarrassment if the stakes were not so high. They accuse the Biden Administation of “weaponizing” government – as if they still believe January 6th, 2021 was “normal political discourse.” All the while they are threatening a MASSIVE weaponization of government should Trump regain the “Oval Office.” And, please, enough already with the Hunter Biden “stuff.” (I predict he’ll be acquitted on all charges if they ever get that far) Let’s just compare Hunter Biden to Jared Kushner – someone who SHOULD be facing strict scrutiny.

Let’s just go over a bit of Kushner’s “schtick.” First off, he was integrally involved in the “real” FAKE NEWS which took place in the 2016 election. (Of course, a perfect place to check out Trump’s PROJECTION over the previous EIGHT years) Cambridge Analytica (CA) – an outfit put together by Steve Bannon and Robert Mercer – HIJACKED the data from 57 MILLION American Facebook users and organized it in a way to allow for targeted mis/disinformation during the 2016 campaign. What made it so much worse was CA shared this info with not only the Russians but (allegedly) also some Israeli intelligence officers who had “partnered” (secretly) with the Saudi’s, the Emerati’s, the Egyptians, Bahrain, and Israel – with Kushner’s help along with others in Trump’s campaign – based on info in Seth Abramson’s “Proof of Conspiracy.”

Additionally, Kushner spent almost the entire 4 years he was Trump’s “Senior advisor” communicating with Mohammed bin Salmon (MBS) using and encrypted device – in violation of the presidential records act. Kushner (allegedly) was behind the Saudi and Emerati blockade of Qatar out of retribution for their denial of bailing Kushner out of his failed investment at 666 (the number of the devil – just sayin) 5th Avenue in Manhattan. Curiously, as soon as the Qatari’s agreed to bail him out, the blockade was ended. None of this even brings up Kushner making repeated trips to the Middle East right before the end of Trump’s administration and the subsequent $2 BILLION he was GIVEN by MBS – who opposed his own investment people who recommended the money not be “invested.” Let’s get off the Hunter Biden stuff for good.

As I’m writing this I can still hear Trump (and Michael Flynn) leading his sycophants in chants of “lock her up” because Hillary Clinton “may have been” careless with Classified information by using a personal server when she was Secretary of State (just like Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell before her) Well, what about Trump and his HOARDING and attempting to keep – despite a subpoena – HUNDREDS of the most sensitive Classified documents – some of which there’s credible evidence he shared them. Yikes!!! And, getting back to Kushner, there are credible allegations he was reading the Presidential Daily Brief (when he wasn’t cleared to do so) and SHARING secret information with MBS – leading to the arrest and TORTURE of many Saudi’s the American intelligence Community had identified as opposed to the MBS – in essence – coup d’etat in Saudi Arabi – pushing himself above the true next in line to the “throne.”

Speaking of your “Crime families.” And, that’s without getting into the 91 FELONIES Trump has been (alleged) to have committed. In excess of 30 FELONIES in the Manhattan “hush money” case – which is rarely in the news these days, over 30 FELONIES in the Classified Documents case, I believe it’s 13 FELONIES in the Georgia case, and, of course, “only” FOUR in the January 6th, 2021 case. (And, this is not to mention the SECOND E Jean Carroll trial – which is only about how much he’s going to OWE her OR the several civil cases working through the system regarding the INSURRECTION)

Here’s where I believe Trump should be careful for what he wishes for. If you’ve been paying attention you know Trump MUST feel especially vulnerable from Jack Smith’s Jan. 6th case because he’s “throwing spaghetti against the wall” in an attempt to find a way to delay what is planned for a March trial date. If he succeeds in pushing that trial back that would simply mean the Manhattan “hush money” case could proceed in March as originally intended. And, it appears that Judge Aileen Cannon is doing everything she can to delay the Classified Documents case which, if she’s successful at pushing it back until after the election, THEN the Georgia RICO case will be able to be tried in around June or July of 2024 Here’s why I believe this is so critical – NEITHER of these two cases, the “Hush Money” case nor the “RICO” Case in Georgia are subject to whether or not Trump might regain the “White House.” In fact, at least in the Georgia case, ALL Americans would be able to WATCH the proceedings as that trial will be televised. If Trump is CONVICTED in either trial there’s NO ability for any federal pardon. He’ll be, what’s the word?, TOAST!!!

Should Trump be imprisoned, this would be another parallel to Hitler back in the 1920’s in Germany, except for one grave difference. First, the sentence could be much longer and Trump is ALREADY 77 and, from all intents and purposes, “losing his marbles.” He can’t even remember who defeated him in 2020 or who he defeated in 2016. He has trouble pronouncing any words that exceed two syllables and he confuses the dictators he admires with what country they’re actually “dictating” (not sure if that’s a word?) and, obviously, he hasn’t played “Where in the world is Carmen San Diego” because he mistakes where the boundaries of these INCORRECTLY described countries actually are. Have you ever watched him taking a drink when he’s speaking? He thought E Jean Carroll was his first wife. And, on and on. Somehow, republicans have the “mainstream media” focusing on “gaffes” by President Biden when the true “gaffe champion” is none other than Trump. He really is losing it!

His republican sycophants in Congress continue to badger the public into believing the budget deficits are the fault of Joe Biden when Trump may be the all time “king” of the budget deficits. When Biden took the oath of office approximately 25% of the national debt had occurred during Trump’s four years in office – led by the traditional republican giveaway er tax cut for the wealthiest Americans/corporations leading to record deficits during his reign. Barack Obama had spent 8 years working to reduce the deficits he (and Biden) inherited from Bush/Cheney and it didn’t take long for republicans to turn that “train” in an almost 180 degree direction. And, of course, republicans (along with Kyrsten Sinema) have made it more difficult for President Biden and the democrats to reduce the deficit even faster than they are.

So far, I’ve given a plethora of reasons why any sensible thinking American should NOT be considering voting for another Trump administration – and, I haven’t even gotten into the “saving democracy” schtick (other than pointing out Trump to be a fascist). Let’s talk about some policy issues. First and foremost in my mind – and, trust me, there are several issues which could occupy this “mantra” – is the courts. Yes, this could fall under the saving democracy spot in my “list” because, in my mind, sensible Americans can’t afford to elect another republican president for at least a generation because that’s how long this right wing court is going to last – short of “we the people” voting in enough progressives to IMPEACH at least TWO of the judges presently sitting on the Court. Personally, I consider Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to be nearly as corrupt as the rest of the republican party. I probably won’t last more than, at most, a couple more elections – but, my children and grandchildren are in the same boat as other young Americans who face the realities of what this court is doing – and, it’s likely to get MUCH worse before it gets better.

Climate Change. To me, if you’re a young person your ONLY choice when going to the polls is democrats up and down the tickets because republicans refuse to even acknowledge the existence of the Climate Crisis. It’s time young people flock to the polls and vote out the republicans who seem hell bent on perpetuating the crisis. Let’s take a look at Florida, for example. Floridians voted overwhelmingly to re-elect one of the worst (in my view) politicians in America as their governor. Ron DeSantis is a complete Climate science denier. (As are virtually ALL republicans) Yet, every year there’s at least ONE MORE devastating hurricane hitting the state leaving the federal government to come to the rescue of the Florida people. If you live in Florida, it’s becoming almost impossible, for instance, to get homeowners insurance. Have you seen the devastation from these hurricanes? This goes for Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas – maybe not as regularly as Florida, but??????

If you’re a woman, why on earth would you vote for a republican – especially a young woman of child bearing age? Getting pregnant SHOULDN’T be a life threatening illness. And, I’m thinking of all the women who find themselves bleeding out and having a miscarriage only to discover the solution is, in essence, an abortion and if you live in say Texas, or Florida, or Mississippi, or Iowa, or any other state which prohibits abortions even to save the life of the mother you’re, well, (maybe an inappropriate term) screwed! There’s, right now as I’m writing this, a woman in Texas who has a pregnancy which is “non-viable” and the Texas courts are forcing her to carry this (likely deceased) fetus to term – at the risk of her life and, of course, her future fertility – as this woman WANTS to have another child. How many cases are there which don’t make it to the “liberal media?” Remember, republicans want their abortion bans to be NATIONAL. I’ve said here, many times, a “right” is much easier to LOSE than to regain. (This issue resulted from Trump “winning” in 2016 – lots of women either voting for him or a third party candidate or staying home – I recommend against any of that)

There’s Civil Rights, there’s Voting Rights, there’s education (including student loan deferrals – Biden needs MORE democrats in Congress for that one), there’s the Ukraine war, there’s foreign policy in general – are we going to support dictators or democratic republics? – and, what do you think would happen if Trump was president during another disaster like the pandemic? Look up Narcissist if you want a simple answer to that question. President Biden is leading a MUCH needed revitalization of our infrastructure (do you remember all of Trump’s “infrastructure weeks?”), manufacturing is increasing, real wages are increasing. and there’s a concerted effort for government to work “from the bottom up middle out.” I’ve been waiting YEARS to hear that from someone occupying the “White House” and “we the people” shouldn’t be failing to understand how important that is. I played basketball in college and I still remember the coaches saying we were no better than the last man sitting on the bench. For all those right wing “Christians” out there remember Jesus said, “What you do for the least of these you do for me. What you do TO the least of these you do TO me!”

President Biden has included more women and “people of color” in his administration and via appointments to the courts than maybe ANY president before him. Of course, to republicans this is a reason to vote against him – but I have to believe there are MORE Americans who want people to be judged by their abilities than by the color of their skin. Remember, despite there being someone who always holds that “Blacks for Trump” at his rallies, there were virtually NO “persons of color” in his administration. In fact, at some point take a close look at the members of Congress who make up the republican caucus. Here’s a photo of the republicans who voted for the 2017 tax cuts – (which blew a several TRILLION hole in the budget) – you tell me how many non-whites were in the picture. You’re looking at the republican caucus.

I “get” that Trump and many of his sycophants are undeniable white nationalists/supremacists and they would look at that photo and see nothing wrong. Here’s the reality – and what these republicans fear – America is not TOTALLY white. We are/have been/ and hopefully will remain a nation of immigrants. Not all of the immigrants (in fact, probably not many of them) come from Norway – as was Trump’s wish while he was in office. He complained of “Shit hole” countries – do you think that may have been racist? There are so many different examples demonstrating Trump’s racism I’m not going to attempt to list them here – if you’re interested it’s not hard to find. I’m just counting on there being enough people who don’t believe in racism, mysogyny, anti-semitism (OK, that’s racism), xenophobia, Islamaphobia, and cruelty to the LGBTQ community to make it so Trump can face his legal perils WHENEVER the trials take place – that is, stopping him from retaking the “White House” so he can try to continue what he’s done his entire life – evade accountability for his conduct. Stay tuned……

Final Thought: I mentioned above about how President Biden is leading a “revitalization of our infrastructure” and, I have to add, MOST republican members of Congress voted against the bill. (Yes, it was a bipartisan bill, especially in the Senate). What’s been most interesting is the number of members of Congress who DID vote against it attempting to take credit for the good it’s doing out in the “field.” Here’s a list of republicans MOST of whom voted against the infrastructure bill – it’s true some voted for it – or it never would have passed. (The bi-partisanship President Biden strives for) Almost all GOP members of the House voted against the bill as you can see here. These people have no bottom!