I’m being FORCED to use a word I refused to allow in my sixth grade classroom but there’s an area in the state of Georgia where the people keep electing a representative who seems intent on passing Louie Gohmert as the STUPIDEST member of Congress. I’m writing, of course, about Marjorie Taylor Greene. OK, I got that off my chest – but, the problem is Ms. Greene seems capable of causing serious DAMAGE to America as state run TV in Russia is talking almost as if she’s a knowing “useful idiot” while they basically cheer her anti Ukraine BS.

I’ve been writing that if these republicans allow Ukraine to fall to the Russians because of blocking the desperately needed assistance which has been sitting at the foot of the Speaker’s desk for several months now they will have made Benedict Arnold look like a patriot. This is a bill which would get, likely, well north of 300 bipartisan votes in the House if Speaker Johnson would just bring it up for a vote. Of course, with all things GOP in the House, if the Speaker pisses anyone off they can call for a “motion to vacate.” And, without democratic support, Mr. Johnson would just be going the way of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. As everyone knows the GOP majority has the slimmest margin for error EVER. They’ve got ONE vote to spare. (Chuck Schumer has been dealing with the same margin in the Senate for the past four years.

If Ms. Greene calls for the removal of Johnson it will just be MORE chaos and, hopefully, the Ukraine aid will be passed before then. Of course, instead of simply allowing the House to vote on the bill the Senate sent over which would allow this aid to be on its way very quickly Speaker Johnson has proposed splitting up the aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, plus aid for the Palestinians in GAZA. Whatever they produce would then be subject to getting 60 votes in the Senate and, likely, then a conference to work out the differences. Meanwhile, Ukrainians are DYING unnecessarily and Russia is managing to make gains they couldn’t make if Ukraine has the U.S. aid.

I keep writing about how History is repeating itself with this version of the republican party and those republicans keep making me look as if I’m – well – smart. I mean when you consider what Hitler was doing to keep the U.S. from entering WW II, supporting American Nazi’s who were hell bent on overthrowing our democratic republic, and, in order to pull this off, spending HUGE sums of money to spread Nazi propaganda in all parts of America it mirrors Putin’s Russia (The Russians seem to be copycats). Hitler also had appeasers (up to actual supporters) in Congress and, you guessed it, these were all republicans. Some of them actually taking BRIBES from people with direct connections to the Nazi’s.

Trump’s tendencies which seem to clearly be fundamentally fascist are well documented. He’s even using Nazi “talking points” in some of his rallies and, sure enough, his crowds seem to cheer this. I recently pointed out how those who were pro-Nazi back in the years leading up to WW II had children in indoctrination camps and those children very likely are the grandparents of many of these right wing Americans who are pushing this “road to fascism” today on what could be (although I certainly hope it isn’t) the rest of us.

And, make no mistake, if Trump somehow manages to CHEAT his way back into the “White House” once again, it will be with the help of Vladimir Putin (just like in 2016) and he WON’T have a majority of Americans voting for him. One of the ways republicans CHEAT to “win” is to secretly support third party candidates in order to siphon votes from, in this case, Biden. There are some disturbing polls showing, for example, what RFK Jr.’s candidacy COULD do to the election.

I’ve been pointing out RFK Jr.’s main donor is also one of Trump’s main donor’s (Timothy Mellon) and one of RFK Jr.’s spokespersons, the other day, said their objective was to make sure Joe Biden doesn’t win the election in November. It grieves me to say that may be true. It bothers me mainly because my most enthusiastic support of a candidate was back in my first year of voting (you had to be 21 back then to vote – you only had to be 17 or 18 to go die in Vietnam) in 1968 when I was a supporter of RFK as he was running for president (as a democrat). I’m struggling to imagine why RFK’s son wants to topple our republic while his father gave his life trying to defend it.

Today, the ENTIRE Kennedy clan came out publicly in support of President Biden. However, the use of third party candidates to allow republicans to “win” election is nothing knew. I even remember John Anderson running as a “liberal republican” back in 1980 to pull votes from Jimmy Carter because, mainly, Americans were upset Iran was holding a bunch of Americans hostages. What the voters didn’t know was Ronald Reagan had made a secret deal with the Iranians so they would not release the hostages until he was sworn in as president. And, the Iranians agreed by actually releasing the hostages on that very day. Another republican president who CHEATED.

Of course, Reagan also was eye deep in the Iran/Contra “affair” along with his VP – the future president George HW Bush – who had been a part of the CIA off and on over the course of his career leading up to Reagan’s candidacy. However, “today’s” republican party is hardly noticeable compared to “back in the day.” Someone like, for example, Ms. Greene would NEVER have been put in front of a microphone at any point in time until Trump unleashed the energy of the pent up white nationalists in America in 2015. (You can check out the “strategy” of people like Don Black and David Duke of the KKK regarding their fealty toward Trump – who they believed would bring the white nationalist movement “into the mainstream.” (They weren’t all that wrong)

While I’m personally convinced the Russians have something on Trump – the “pee tape??” – it’s hard to figure out how all these other republicans have matriculated to Putin’s “position” on America’s foreign policy. Apparently Tucker Carlson is simply just a believer in fascism, but all these republicans who’ve been attempting to block the desperately needed assistance for Ukraine? They apparently are just fine with Putin marching right through Ukraine into Eastern Europe. Their understanding of history seems a bit lacking, from my perspective.

News Flash! : Last Friday Speaker Johnson FINALLY put the aid for Ukraine (and Israel, Taiwan, GAZA and more) up for a vote and, just as I had projected, it passed overwhelmingly with a bipartisan majority with MORE than 300 “yeahs.” Fortunately, it supposedly will only take the Senate one day to pass all of this and as soon as President Biden signs the bill the aide to Ukraine will be on its way. As the saying goes, “better late than never,” but the reality is there are MANY Ukrainians who have been KILLED because the House republicans were dithering on this vote.

I’m happy Speaker Johnson came to his senses and it will be interesting to see if Ms. Greene follows through on her threats to move to “vacate the chair.” It will be just as interesting to see if the democrats will swoop in and save Johnson from the same fate that befell Kevin McCarthy. I’m not even sure if Mr. Johnson wants democrats to save him because that will further drive him away the MAGAt’s in his party. Maybe what these republicans deserve is the spectacle of attempting to find another speaker with a one vote margin for error.

Final Thought: I don’t know if it’s simply ironic or if it’s funny, that the man who could end up being the “star witness” in Trump’s Manhattan election interference case (ie “hush money case”) has the last name of PECKER! (No pun necessary) From my observation of the first couple days of Trump’s first trial is that our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING four times indicted (ex) president’s infidelity goes well beyond his “dalliance” with Stephanie Clifford (ie “Stormy Daniels”). Apparently the Trump Tower doorman was paid $30,000 for his “story” that Trump produced an “illegitimate” child with a former maid. Mr. PECKER said that he didn’t believe the “story” but the co-conspirators – Trump, Michael Cohen, and Mr. PECKER wanted to prevent it from becoming public right before the end of the 2016 campaign.

So, there were THREE different “stories” which were part of the “catch and Kill” scheme of Trump, Cohen, and PECKER. And, they all had to do with Trump being unfaithful to his wife – take note of that all you evangelical Christians who have decided to put your faith in Donald Trump – and, that would include Franklin Graham. Just sayin……. It’s that Trump’s base is largely made up of people who profess to be “believers” which really has motivated most of my rants on this site. Sadly, this right wing bent toward fascism is nothing new for a large section of the “Christian community” in America. I’ll be 77 this fall and the results of the upcoming elections – for the next 20 years (if we’re still having them) – won’t affect me like it will to those who comprise our younger generations.

America, in my view, needs to embrace the progressive movement in this nation sooner rather than later. America is the land of HUGE wealth, but, sadly, that wealth is becoming more and more concentrated at the top. America has become the land of “oligarchs” and President Biden wants to cause them to pay more in taxes so that investments can be made in our people, our infrastructure, and our future. The list of “needs” is too long for me to list here, but if somehow you’ve ended up on this site and you agree with what I’m saying make sure you VOTE – not only in November, but in every election going forward.

Keep in mind, there is presently a ROGUE SCOTUS and it will take YEARS to remedy that issue. ANY time a republican president gets into the “Oval Office” the threat to make matters worse will be there for at least the next four presidential elections. It has become apparent that if Trump somehow CHEATS his way back into the “White House” both Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito will step down so a couple more YOUNG right wing justices can be placed on the court – making EVERYTHING more difficult going forward. To me, just that issue alone is worth young people voting for President Biden, full stop. The reality is it will be either Biden of Trump winning the election. So, a “protest vote” for any third party candidate by a young progressive person will be like a vote for Trump! Yikes!!! Stay tuned……

What we’re all witnessing is a former president being tried in a setting which resembles the trial of a MOB boss. My instincts want me to write “Only in America” – but, I know that’s not true. There have been many CORRUPT “leaders” from other countries who have been prosecuted for their CORRUPTION. My first thought, in this regard, is Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He’s prosecuting a “war” which, to me, appears to be full of “war crimes” in order to put off himself being forced to face up to his own CORRUPTION. So, it’s not “only in America” – but, it’s still the FIRST time in our nearly 250 year history when a president or former president has been held accountable for pure CORRUPTION. Yikes!!! Stay tuned……