OK, I’m tired of writing about Trump, but now that he’s our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING four times indicted 34 times found GUILTY of a FELONY owing $90 Million for sexual assault (ex) president, I have to put my “two cents” in. I was actually driving around running errands all day today and called a friend who immediately said, “I know you’re going to gloat.” Well, the first thought that crossed my mind was my fantasy baseball team must have somehow gained a bunch of points today. (Actually, it had LOST 5 points – which is, well, a LOT) Then he broke the news to me.

TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS! I was like, are you kidding? The jury’s only been meeting for about 10 or 11 hours. I was thinking it would take a couple more days to convince the juror who got his “news” on Trump’s fake social media outlet not to blow up the entire case and cause a mistrial. So, I was kind of blindsided with the news because one of the last two things on my “bucket list” is to live long enough to see Trump put behind bars. I’m tempted to write a letter to Judge Merchan encouraging him to give Trump AT LEAST the equivalent sentence which Michael Cohen served for, in essence, the same CRIME. I mean, when you think about it, Trump CHEATED even more than we knew at the time to “win” the election in 2016.

I have no idea how many MAGA faithful show up on this site, but I’d love to hear from one of them as to whether it bothers them TRUMP has been found guilty of, basically, CHEATING to “win” in 2016 – and, I’m not talking about conspiring with the Russians and other foreign entities. It seems the dictator class around the world (along with their oligarchs) they just don’t care much for democrats – or more specifically democracy. (Pretty much like America’s oligarchs) Trump is the PERFECT foil in their years long attempt to undermine America’s democratic republic. Putin, Xi, Netanyahu, MBS, Kim Jung Un etc. are all bound and determined to use “we the people’s” open society against us. And, they’ve been – to me, unbelievably – successful.

The most important thing these conspirators count on is the large number of – as Trump called them – America’s “uneducated voters.” All you have to do is listen to the rationale of some of the MAGA faithful – if you happen to be someone who seeks out actual FACTS when you make your opinions – to realize how – I want to say STUPID – but, I hate that word and I think a better term is radicalized, er brainwashed these people really are. (They would say the same thing about me – but, the MAGAts are all about projection) Think I’m speaking in hyperbole? Just take a few minutes to listen to/watch Fox “news,” or “Newsmax,” Steve Bannon’s podcast, or other right wing “news” outlets. Whenever I attempt to give Fox a bit of my time I don’t last even five minutes – it’s just pure propaganda bulls@#$t!

I’m not going to watch Fox right now, because I don’t have to. I logged into MSNBC for about an hour once I got home and they did all the work for me – showing segments from multiple Fox shows, shows on “Newsmax” and likely all across the MAGA grifting network. Their message to the minions: It’s outrageous Trump is bound to the same laws as you and me! America’s going to hell! We’ve become a “Banana Republic!” I’ve even (somehow) received emails and “snail mail” from Trump recently asking for money. The one I got in mail box made me an offer where if I would send money to Trump I’d get a “free” Trump $2 bill worth “$39.99 plus $6.99 for shipping.” I’m not kidding. My first thought as I was throwing the letter in the garbage was, “Are people really STUPID enough to fall for this?” My guess is the answer is yes.

Here’s the deal. Republicans – especially the Evangelical Christian variety – like Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell Jr., etc. – long ago proved the “Access Hollywood” video meant nothing to them. The FACT Trump paid off TWO women he had affairs with while Melania was nursing Barron means nothing to them. The fact 25 different women have accused Trump of sexually assaulting them – he, of course, says they’re ALL liars – although, the first one to take him to court won a multi million $ judgement against him where the jury found he had sexually assaulted her (the judge said, “In New York” the verdict was the equivalent ( or words to that affect) of rape, means NOTHING to them. Trump bragged about being able to just grab women by the “pussy” – “When you’re famous they’ll just let you do it.” (Talk about seeing women as “sex objects”)

None of the above means “Jack Squat” to Graham, Falwell, and MILLIONS of America’s so-called “Evangelical Christian” class, because, well, Trump supports white supremacy. It’s pretty much as simple as that. If you’d take the time to read “Rising out of Hatred” by Eli Saslow you’d get a good inside look at the heart of the white nationalist/supremacy movement in this country. Don Black and David Duke (both former “Grand Wizards of the KKK) were quoted in an article I read, right after I finished the book, as saying Trump is their “vehicle” to penetrate “mainstream politics” in America. Black’s son Derek (who the book is about) has said his Mom and Dad record(ed) Tucker Carlson when he was still on Fox so they could play it back over and over again. Apparently, America’s “Evangelical Christians” are OK with this! Yikes!

In the case of THIS trial, the issue was Trump’s adulterous affairs with “Stormy Daniels” and Karen McDougal at the approximate time when his youngest son was born – maybe a few months later, and then paying each over $100,000 to “catch and kill” their stories. And, naturally Trump – via his lawyers – never had sex with either of them – in the trial, especially Stormy Daniels. As usual he was claiming Ms. Daniels testimony was all a lie. Of course, he also claimed Michael Cohen’s (his former “fixer” who was sentenced to 3 years in prison for the same crime done “at the direction of and for the benefit of “individual 1” I’ll let you figure out who that might be) testimony was all a lie. Guess what? The jury believed BOTH of them!

I can’t help but feel a bit bad for Trump because he’s forking out MILLIONS to attorneys who don’t seem capable of defending him without succumbing to his demands. By all accounts his attorneys in this case were pretty awful. They kept tripping all over themselves as they tried to defend the indefensible. And, here’s my prediction: If they haven’t been fired already they will be soon and we’ll be hearing about Trump’s refusal to pay them. He keeps asking, “where is my Roy Cohn?” (A mob lawyer who represented Joseph McCarthy back in the day) The New York “bar” stripped Cohn of his law license, but that’s immaterial to Trump.

After watching the commentary of this trial and reading about the Civil Trial were Trump was “slapped” with a nearly $500 MILLION judgement (for serial fraudulent activity in his business – including Tax fraud – surprise surprise) it appears Trump’s lawyers made gross mistakes regarding his chances of success on appeal – which, with Trump, is a given. And, keep in mind, all this recent court activity for our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING four times INDICTED, and, now, 32 times CONVICTED of FELONIES (ex) president (phew) took place in New York – where it’s highly unlikely has compatriots on the SCOTUS (Alito and Thomas) will be able to, ultimately, come to his rescue. Right now, he’s at the mercy of Judge Merchan who will be doling out the sentence. If he escapes this without jail time he will have proven we DO have a two tiered Justice system.

Think of all the people who are sitting in jail for the outrageous crime of being African American (with a family history dating back MANY MANY generations more than Trump (a second generation immigrant from, you guessed it, Germany). Maybe they got caught driving with the smell of marijuana in their car while a taillight was out, or maybe they simply flipped off a cop, or maybe, like the “Central Park Five” they were just a convenient way to “solve” a case and had to rely on a public defender for their defense of “trumped up” charges. (Pun intended) Our jails are chock full of non-violent “offenders” who just happen NOT to be “white.” (And, I know “white” people without the means to hire lawyers who have spent time in jail for “stuff” someone like Trump would NEVER end up in court over.)

Final Thought: Trump has “friends in high places” – ie judges, who may be able to pull off “saving” him regarding the 54 FELONY charges he’s still facing. The case in Georgia will be a miracle to ever end up in trial because the Georgia republican party really doesn’t like a Black FEMALE prosecutor indicting him – they’re pulling out all the “stops” in order to undermine that case – it’s now in the hands of Georgia’s Supreme Court. And, of course, unless you’ve had your head in the sand you know Sam Alito has now officially confirmed he’s a Trump loyalist along with Clarence Thomas on the SCOTUS. In that instance it will only take THREE of the remaining judges (the exact number put on the Court by Trump) to grant him authority the Constitution CLEARLY doesn’t give him – “absolute immunity!” – would be an absurd joke if it wasn’t so serious.

I’ve predicted since the court mysteriously accepted to hear Trump’s absurd claim on appeal after the D.C. Circuit appeals court made, by all accounts, an airtight ruling AGAINST Trump’s claim of “absolute immunity.” It was curious to many why the SCOTUS would even grant “cert” on the appeal – but, people like me were predicting, at the time, it was to make sure the case didn’t go to trial prior to the November election. Therefore both Alito and Thomas could be helping to facilitate “the steal.” The next big firestorm re: Trump will be when the SCOTUS remands the “January 6th” case back to the District Court (meaning the entire appeal process will happen once again. Plus, the Court will rule – with an opinion by Alito – that charging defendants with “interfering with an official proceeding” in the January 6th case, is “unconstitutional.” This will wipe out TWO of the FOUR felony charges against Trump in the January 6th case. Stay tuned……..

OMG, I keep telling myself “things can’t get worse” when it comes to the Supreme Court, well, I keep getting proven wrong. During the past week Justice Samuel Alito has been found to have been flying flags at both his DC home and at his “beach house” which imply he’s part of the MAGA movement – if there was any doubt before these things were made public. At his home he was flying an American flag upside down which is the “stop the steal” public statement of those Trump supporters (flying it between Jan. 6th and Jan. 20th in solidarity with the INSURRECTIONISTS) who firmly believe the 2020 election was “stolen.” The flag flying at his beach house was the symbol of “Christian nationalism” seen (usually) by Trump’s white nationalist base. There were probably a dozen or so of these flags in the assault on the Capitol.

Worse, Alito was apparently flying that “Appeal to Heaven” flag for a period of months – apparently his neighbors were worried about the blow-back if they reported it. There are photos of the flag flying during three separate months. Of course, we (those of us paying attention) already knew Alito – along with Clarence Thomas (whose wife was involved in the INSURRECTION) – was neck deep in Trump’s attempt to overturn our constitutional system of laws. They’ve been busy, right out in the open, in an attempt to “turn back the clock” on RIGHTS “we the people” have come to take for granted. We’re going to find out between now and November how many Americans take their rights for granted to the point of losing them.

Hyperbole? I think not. All you have to do is listen to Trump’s actual words and watch those who are his sycophants and you should be on HIGH alert. Of course, if you’re a member of Trump’s CULT (like, apparently, Alito and Thomas) you might be “giddy” at this point because there’s no way in any “normal” time in American history (save for the pre Civil War days) where our republic has been so under assault. And, speaking of the “Civil War” – trust me on this one – there’s a significant number of those “citizens among us” who are chomping on the bit for the second Civil War. It’s just that some are more subtle than others. Marjorie Taylor Greene just comes out and says it (wanting “red states” to succeed from the “Union”) while the neo-Nazi’s are much more covert – but, if a non “social media” person like me can find these discussions on the internet, well…..

The “right” in America has been working toward this end for the last (at least) 50 years and they are “playing chess” while the rest of us are playing “checkers.” Controlling the courts is a KEY to their strategy because these Judicial appointments are for the lifetime of the Judge. That’s why Thomas has been there over 30 years and will remain there for at least another 4 years unless Trump somehow CHEATS his way back into the “White House.” Alito hasn’t been there that long (around 20 years) but, if Trump “wins” they’ll both retire so YOUNGER judges can be appointed to replace them. It’s all part of the scheme.

Personally, I was devastated back in the 2000 election when the SCOTUS chose to decide the election – of course – in the favor of George W Bush and Dick Cheney. The history of that choice SHOULD still be clear in the minds of the American voters – but, as some have suggested, MANY of America’s voters have amnesia. (The reality is a bunch of them are, well, not too smart – sorry, that’s just the reality) Republicans are expert at appealing to these – what some people call – “low information voters.” Trump famously was quoted as saying “I love my uneducated voters.” Full stop!

Since Bush v Gore we’ve been saddled with “Citizen’s United v Federal Election Commission” which unleashed a TORRENT of dark money into our elections – from the grass roots all the way to the top. I’ve pointed out here numerous times the “foundation” of fascism is a government/corporate partnership. In America, we are often fed the “Russian Oligarch” “thing” – but, when you think about it, America has so many MORE “Oligarchs” than the Russians that it’s not even a contest. Here’s the definition of “Oligarch:” “A member of a small governing faction.” There are more detailed definitions, but that is it “in a nut shell.”

Think of all the Wall Street Billionaires who are funneling money to politicians – mostly republicans – by the MILLIONS. Do you really believe they want nothing for that money. For heaven’s sake, Trump is just coming out and OFFERING “quo” in “quid pro quo” to the oil barons in our nation. Here’s what he ACTUALLY said to them “Give $1 BILLION to my campaign to help me get re-elected and I’ll reverse ALL of Joe Biden’s “green” initiatives.” They’ll be able to, as Trump puts it, “drill baby drill.”

And, of course, these Billionaires aren’t just sitting in the background now that they have a 6 – 3 majority on the SCOTUS. Harlan Crowe has allegedly lavished HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of gifts upon Clarence Thomas – none of it reported. That doesn’t even include the value of him purchasing Thomas’s Mom’s home and then allowing her to live in it rent free OR the $250 THOUSAND motor home which was, for all intents and purposes GIVEN to Thomas by a different BILLIONAIRE. According to the records I’ve found Alito has ONLY taken one ($100,000) freebie trip sponsored by none other than Leonard Leo – the man MOSTLY responsible for the right wingers on the SCOTUS as I’m writing this. Seriously, TWO certain votes for, say, calling the INSURRECTION a “normal tourist visit” is difficult to overcome.

So, we’re depending on Alito and Thomas to be “non-partisan” as they decide whether or not Donald Trump has “absolute immunity” and, I don’t know about you, but my confidence level on that one is, well, ZERO. Neither SHOULD be able to even sit on the cases let alone participate in the deciding vote. If you listened to the arguments of the (absurd) case, you heard both Alito and Thomas asking questions about any thing BUT the case which was brought before them. (I have to say Kavanaugh and Roberts weren’t much better, if at all)

My prediction has been the Court will “throw” this case back to the district court on some kind of “imagined” technicality for Judge Chutkin to decide and then the appeal process will start all over again. Think this court isn’t in Trump’s “back pocket?” Well, Jack Smith attempted to get them to take the case in December of 2023 and they refused. The DC Circuit made what most people called a “bullet proof” opinion denying Trump’s ludicrous claim. THEN, the court decided to take the case and they set oral arguments for the LAST day of this year’s term – something like 90 days after it was put on the docket. This isn’t subtle.

To: “We the people” – and, I’m talking especially to all the young impressionable Americans who are justifiably upset with what Netanyahu is doing in GAZA. First, there’s not much President Biden can do to force Netanyahu to “back off.” He’s just as corrupt as Trump and, as I’ve said from the start of Israel’s response to October 7th, he’ll drag this out indefinitely because once the “war” is over, Netanyahu will likely be voted OUT and he’ll be facing the corruption charges he’s been avoiding for the last few years. Secondly, there’s a PLETHORA of issues which will affect America’s young people (and America’s women) on this year’s ballot. Getting tricked into voting for a third party is a “fool’s errand.” It’s going to be EITHER President Biden or corrupt (sleepy) Donald Trump.

The COURT is an issue which will HAUNT “we the people” if Trump is allowed to put more (younger) right wing hacks on it – that’s a paramount issue which would be at the top of the heap in any other year. But, how about the Climate crisis? Trump doesn’t believe in it (or he’s too STUPID to understand) Women’s health issues? Republicans are even going after contraception. I listened to Trump being questioned about laws affecting contraception and it seemed clear he didn’t understand the question. Just the same he dithered in a way suggesting he had some kind of plan to limit it. How about Voting Rights. The Roberts Court (with Alito at the forefront) has effectively GUTTED Section Five of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which people like MLK Jr. and John Lewis (and many others) risked their lives to get passed during the administration of LBJ. How about affordable education.

President Biden is attempting to find ways to “forgive” student loan debt for MILLIONS of Americans and republicans are trying to BLOCK him at every turn. Marjorie Taylor Greene said something like “they borrowed the money they should be forced to pay it all back.” Of course, Ms. Greene took out approximately $200,000 of PPP loans during the pandemic – loans which were COMPLETELY forgiven. I’ll let you decide: Is that a classic example of republican hypocrisy? Help with Childcare? Biden and the democrats are pushing for re-upping the “Child Care Tax Credit” which was significant for around HALF of America’s children living in poverty. Republicans have been blocking that! The list goes on and on – but America’s young people have a real stake in voting for democrats – this year and for as long as it takes to purge the right wing bent of this SCOTUS. Once that’s been accomplished, maybe we’ll have political parties which can work together for the benefit of the American people.

I know people who – when I criticize Trump – say, I’d rather have that than Biden’s “socialism.” I immediately think – “too much Fox ‘news'” Biden and the democrats, in his first two years were INCREDIBLY successful in making significant INVESTMENTS in the American people. That, of course, included the Child Tax Credit mentioned above, until republicans refused to extend the pandemic relief bill democrats passed shortly after Biden took office. But, there’s lot’s more. Trump had “infrastructure week” (over and over ) while Biden got a BIPARTISAN infrastructure bill passed – freeing up something like $1TRILLION for needed repairs of existing infrastructure and expansion of utilities (like high speed internet) into rural areas, etc. etc.

I read yesterday how Ted Cruz (of Texas) is now touting the infrastructure bill as if he had ANYTHING to do with it. (Texas is apparently getting $30 BILLION for their state’s projects) Of course, what Cruz won’t talk about as he’s cutting the ribbon for an important project is that he voted AGAINST the bill. About two thirds of republicans in the Senate voted AGAINST it and a higher percentage in the House. Biden got this through with a Senate split 50/50 democrats/republicans and Nancy Pelosi had the SAME margin of a majority in the House as the republicans did at the beginning of this term – where the ONLY way they’ve accomplished ANYTHING is by seeking democrats to vote with them (actually, like it should be)

Kevin McCarthy was voted out as speaker because he worked with democrats to prevent the nation from defaulting on its debt. The new speaker – Mike Johnson – would have suffered the same fate except the democrats came to his rescue in order to hold out hope something MIGHT get done which benefits the American people before this House term comes to an end. Apparently, right wing members in the House don’t understand that by working with democrats to actually pass useful legislation they would likely remain in control of the House. To me, kind of fundamental. (But along with many others I feel people like MT Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, and many more are simply “mental.” (The Senate has a few “doozies” as well)

Final Thought: As usual, once I start writing about this “stuff” I can’t seem to stop and I’m too lazy to play out what I want to say ahead of time. I guess I’m comfortable with “off the cuff.” The main point here tonight is that even considering ALL the issues which are paramount in this upcoming election – and, there are MANY – in my opinion, when you think of the “long term” there’s nothing MORE important than preventing republicans from putting more wack jobs on the SCOTUS.

As we observe the CORRUPTION of Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas we SHOULD be seriously ALARMED. If they are replaced by younger right wing judges “we the people” will be facing YEARS of “turning back the clock” issues coming out of the court. Just the FACT they are even considering the ABSURD claim a president has “absolute immunity” should say it all. And, KNOWING that two out of nine judges are apparently willing to subjugate their own authority to a POTUS is astonishing and alarming. Just by taking Trump’s appeal, they are saying a president “might” (in certain circumstances) be “above the law.” Nonsense!

I have to add: Trump’s lawyer claimed a president COULD have “Seal Team 6” assassinate a political opponent and without being IMPEACHED and CONVICTED (by the Senate) he/she would be “above the law.” They would have “absolute immunity.” Here’s the irony. When Trump found out that the Search Warrant for Mar a Lago included a standard form of the “rules” of using lethal force by FBI agents he made the OUTRAGEOUS claim President Biden wanted him to be murdered – by the FBI. (Of course the same “rules” were part of the search of Biden’s home when he discovered he had classified documents from when he was VP) I thought, maybe the court will OK this while there’s still time in Biden’s term. Just sayin…. (Or should I say “Just thinkin….) Stay tuned………..

Well, we’re several weeks into Trump’s FIRST criminal trial and it should be interesting how it ends up. Trump seems to always find a way to escape CRIMINAL accountability and this case may be no different – although as one witnesses it a GUILTY verdict seems appropriate. However, there’s some technicalities which could interfere in such a verdict not the least of which is if Trump’s lawyers managed to “sneak” a MAGA faithful onto the jury. His other cases seem to be running headlong into Judges who want to make sure those trials don’t happen until after the November election.

I have to wonder what these judges are thinking? Do they really believe their own “power” won’t be compromised should Trump somehow cheat his way into the “White House” a second time? Whether he’s found GUILTY or not in the Manhattan “election interference” trial, what is clear is he CHEATED to get elected the first time so why would it be any different this time. Clearly he’ll never get more than around 47% of the vote (if that) so his, and his republican sycophants, objective is to whittle down the number of people who will vote for Joe Biden – in any way they can.

The rhetoric coming out of Trump’s mouth is so reminiscent of 1930’s propaganda coming from the German Third Reich (OK, I’m talking about Hitler, Goebbels, and all the rest) and the mis/disinformation apparently flooding America’s Social Media networks (I say “apparently” because I don’t personally frequent those networks) from Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and (maybe) Egypt – countries with authoritarian leaders who fear the spread of “democracy” – is reminiscent of the flood of propaganda which was spreading across America during the 1930’s directly from Berlin. Fascism is a form of “government” which is not restricted by norms and things like a constitution.

Here are some of the “things” coming out of Trump’s mouth which should grab the attention of democrats, republicans, and independents alike. Here’s a comparison between Trump’s rhetoric and Hitlers:

“In honor of our great veterans on Veterans Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country—that lie and steal and cheat on elections, and will do anything possible; they’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and to destroy the American Dream.” Here’s Hitler justifying the MURDER of six MILLION Jews: “If I can send the flower of the German nation into the hell of war without the smallest pity, then surely I have the right to remove millions of an inferior race that breeds like vermin!”

Here’s a “blurb” from “The New Yorker:” Just as the Fascists’ hateful rhetoric during the interwar period (between WW I and WW II) was intended to dehumanize, delegitimize, and intimidate its targets, Trump is trying to do the same thing to the individuals and institutions on his enemies list, (emphasis mine) which seems to include anybody who won’t forgive his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results or who supports the subsequent efforts to hold him to account. The foes he is targeting appear to include President Joe Biden, congressional Democrats, Never Trump Republicans, the Justice Department, the courts, senior military officers, and the media—i.e., many of the central institutions (pillars) of American democracy.

Trump claimed that President Biden “together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits, and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy.” He added, “If the communists get away with this, it won’t stop with me.”

Trump has claimed with words parroted from fascists before him, that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” He (and his sycophants) have been pushing the “Great Replacement theory” which is the result of fear mongering about immigrants aimed at the republican base to the point where a significant portion believe it. (After all, we ARE a nation of immigrants. The reality is Trump is a second generation immigrant married to a first generation immigrant – what he objects to is immigrants who aren’t “white.”) He has threatened massive round ups of “illegal aliens,” putting them in what amount to concentration camps before, presumably, sending them back to their – as he calls them – “shit hole” countries.

Trump has PROMISED (I thought of writing “threatened” but decided promised would be more accurate) to suspend our constitution, he’s promised to go after the media which isn’t friendly to him (probably anything not friendly to him), he’s promised to weaponize the Justice Department to “arrest” his enemies – apparently in retribution for his own misdeeds. He’s planning to have, for example, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, the Clinton’s, Jack Smith (of course), probably the state prosecutors holding him accountable for all his CHEATING, MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, etc. etc. all arrested and charged with crimes he will apparently invent.

Just the other day, in a “meeting” at Mar a Lago, it was reported he made the following proposal to a group of oil executives: They would supply his campaign with ONE BILLION dollars and, in return, he would promise to end “Joe Biden’s ‘green’ policies” in favor of increased leases of government land for oil and gas exploration. What would you call that? Yep, that’s the classic “quid pro quo.” Got him IMPEACHED the first time – what do you think will happen if “we the people” vote in a House controlled by democrats? Just sayin…. (Getting IMPEACHED a third time would break his record!)

I started this post (rant) a few weeks ago and have since become lazier than usual. I’m going to attempt to bring it to some kind of a conclusion. I’ve been (sort of) paying attention to Trump’s Manhattan trial and have to say, from my layman’s point of view, it doesn’t look that good for Trump. That said, as the lawyer’s I’ve listened to have said it only takes putting a bit of doubt in one juror to cause a mistrial – which would likely leave Trump to be “off the hook.” It appears it’s likely this will be the only trial happening before the election because of a series of “Trump friendly” judges.

Aileen Cannon is not even subtle in her rulings (constantly) in Trump’s favor and her apparent disdain for Jack Smith. I’m convinced if Mr. Smith is unable to get a different judge Trump will get away with what may be significant espionage crimes. I mean, who knows how many people he shared the classified info with and, as I’ve said before, there were a number of classified folders which were empty when the FBI executed the Search Warrant on Mar a Lago. I know I’ve often wondered where the files which were in those folders actually ended up. Does Trump still have them? Or, did he work something out with a foreign government to get them.

And, the Supreme Court even taking the ABSURD “absolute immunity” case just shows how low this court is willing to go despite their increasingly “ugly” standing with the American people. (OK, I should say with a significant MAJORITY of the American people) We’ve got TWO judges who have NO business even participating on ANY case which has ANY thing to do with the January 6th INSURRECTION. (Which at least two cases do) As most people know Ginni Thomas was right in the middle of the attempt by Trump to overthrow the 2020 election. As far as I’m concerned she – along with SEVERAL members of Congress – SHOULD have been indicted as being part of the conspiracy to overthrow the election.

Then there’s Sam Alito. He’s been at the center of several pro business (corporations are “people”) decisions since the early days of President Obama’s administration along with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, the blocking of Affirmative Action at top U.S. Universities, the overturning of Roe, and lots more to come. Recently, evidence came to light showing Alito flying an America Flag upside down – in concert with the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement – right in the front yard of his home. As most cowards would do, he blamed his wife. (Similarly to Justice Thomas claiming he didn’t talk to his wife about her allegedly ILLEGAL activities) The issues with the Supreme Court is bordering on the absurd.

A quick refresher: Judge Gorsuch is there because Mitch McConnell refused to allow Barack Obama’s choice (after the death of Antonin Scalia) to be even considered – for over one year – because “it was an election year.” Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed despite credible reports he had committed sexual assault on more than one occasion – allegations which were stifled by Trump’s FBI. And, of course, Judge Barrett had her confirmation rushed through by McConnell even while voting was taking place in 2020 because, well, he didn’t have to follow his own example set when Obama’s choice (Merrick Garland) was blocked for over one year. Give the republicans credit – they are unable to govern – but, they are really good at CHEATING and the SCOTUS is a great example of their success.

Will the Court decide Trump has “absolute immunity” both while in office and after leaving office? My guess is likely not. However, they can “remand” the case back to the District Court to force Judge Chutkin to differentiate between official duties and no official duties – as if overthrowing a free and fair election might be considered an “official duty.” Just by accepting this ABSURD claim by Trump and then putting off arguments until the LAST day of their term, they did for Trump what he needed. And, that’s to stall this case until after the election so that if somehow he CHEATS his way back into office he can have the two federal cases against him thrown out. Why? Because he says so!

The reason I don’t think the Court will simply rule on the case which was brought before it is because there still might be time for Judge Chutkin to get the case tried if, for example, the Court renders their decision at the end of June (putting it off as long as they can) That would not fit into the time schedule of Alito and Thomas as both, by rights, should be resigning in disgrace as I’m writing this. They’ve (the Court) acted in the space of a couple weeks in the past when the case is pressing (see Bush v Gore) but this court seems to be in the opposite of a hurry. I’ve said before I have NO confidence at all in this Court and I don’t expect that to change. I will say, this decision will NOT be unanimous. Judge Jackson put it best when she wondered why the discussion (in the arguments) seemed to go anywhere but to the case which had been presented to the Court. The fact they accepted the case, in the first place, told me “somethin’s up.”

Final Thought: Watching Trump’s Manhattan Trial confirms to me, even more, that Trump is nothing but a two bit mob boss. Michael Cohen was the perfect lawyer for him, until he wasn’t. Apparently, Trump expected Cohen to “take the fall” for him regarding the “Stormy Daniels” payoff and, as he’s done before, he’s said “I hate flippers.” (And, we’re not talking about people in a swimming pool) The evidence of Trump’s guilt is overwhelming, but the defense appears to be basing their chances on pointing out Mr. Cohen is a LIAR. Well, of course, Trump is a (allegedly) pathological LIAR and, if you’re working for him in the capacity of Mr. Cohen, well, you MUST be willing to LIE. Apparently, Trump has an ability to suck people into his “cult of personality” as he’s done with MILLIONS of Americans (plus what’s left of the republican party) – let’s hope a guilty verdict in this case might wake a few of the MAGA faithful up – and, really, clarify things for those independents and young people who don’t especially care for President Biden to cast a vote for the preservation of our democratic republic. In the words of Ben Franklin: “We’ll have this republic as long as we can keep it.”

I personally know so-called “upstanding Americans” who would rather have an authoritarian rule by Trump than “keeping the republic” under Biden. Almost every one of them watches/listens to Fox “news” or worse. Just about every one of them who’s said to me “I don’t watch Fox ‘news'” has, without thinking – later- confirmed to me they actually do and that they know how bad it is because they’re willing to LIE about the fact they DO watch it. Stay tuned………..

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Trump is Willing to Trade Our Children’s Future for a Billion Dollars

The willingness to destroy our collective home in exchange for riches is one of the most extreme examples of greed run amok…

Thom Hartmann May 10

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Image by Cristian Ibarra from Pixabay

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“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed…” – Jesus (Luke 12:15)

“My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy.” – Donald Trump

The Washington Post revealed yesterday that Donald Trump told a group of fossil fuel executives that if they’d give him a billion-dollar bribe, he’d use it to become president and then eliminate all of President Biden’s environmental regulations and prevent any new ones from coming into law.

The industry barons had been grumbling that they’d already spent more than $400 million lobbying the Biden administration over the past year to little effect. They really shouldn’t have a basis to complain: just the three largest oil companies operating in America made $85.65 billion dollars in profits last year, which they could split up among shareholders and senior executives.

Nonetheless, Trump’s brazen appeal for them to grease his palm seemed to shock even these hardened planet-killers.

This comes the same week that The Guardian broke the story that most of the world’s top climate scientists surveyed — all of them among the 843 authors of the IPCC’s most recent report — believe the planet is going to crash through the 1.5° Celsius threshold they’d previously defined as a disaster scenario. Most are now expecting us to hit 2.5° or even 3° Celsius, levels that could make much of the planet uninhabitable for humans. And it’s going to happen a hell of a lot sooner than anybody had anticipated just a decade ago.

It’s gotten so bad that some climate scientist’s are questioning the wisdom of their own families having children.

In other words, Donald Trump and his Republican friends are explicitly willing to trade our and our children’s future for a billion dollars. And they couldn’t have offered this deal to the industry if five corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court hadn’t legalized political bribery of both politicians and judges (like themselves and Aileen Cannon) when they overturned the good government laws Congress passed in the wake of the Nixon bribery scandals in the 1970s.

It may have been an unnecessary effort on Trump’s part.

The Saudis and Russians — who both desperately want Trump back in the White House — cut oil production over the past two months by 1.4 million barrels a day with the apparent goal of driving US gasoline prices up past $6 a gallon in time for the election this fall.

Remember the GOP hysteria around gas prices hitting $5 a gallon in October and November of 2022 just in time for the midterm elections, with Fox “News” hosts hyping stickers being put on gas pumps across the country bearing a picture of Biden pointing to the price with an “I did that” slogan?  It almost singlehandedly gave us GOP control of the House of Representatives and was the result of a similar Saudi and Russian production cut.

Now, it looks like we ain’t seen nothing yet.

When he was president, Trump allowed the Saudis to buy the largest gasoline refinery in America (at Port Arthur, Texas); between their oil supply cuts and the possibility they could reduce that refinery’s output this fall (no doubt because of “maintenance issues”) gas could easily puncture the $7 a gallon ceiling by November.

Analysts found that throughout the midterm election year 2022, there was a nearly one-to-one inverse correlation between the price of gasoline, Americans’ perception of the state of the economy, and approval ratings for the Biden administration. As The Washington Post pointed out that year, there was an estimated 91 percent inverse correlation between the price of gas and the popularity of Democrats when they’re in power: as gas prices go up, Democrats’ approval ratings (and electability) measurably and predictably go down.

The willingness to destroy our collective home in exchange for riches is one of the most tragic and extreme examples of greed run amok. Which shouldn’t surprise us: for the past century, the unofficial slogan of the GOP has been “Greed is Good!” as memorialized in the 1987 movie Wall Street.

Will Rogers used to tell the story that when he was a kid the way he learned which visitors to his parents ranch were Republicans was that they were the ones his dad told him to keep an eye on so they didn’t steal anything. Decades may have passed, but the GOP hasn’t changed a bit.

Their standard-bearer this year is the living incarnation of that slogan. As Trump told a cheering audience when he was first running for president:

“I like money. I’m very greedy. I’m a greedy person. I shouldn’t tell you that, I’m a greedy — I’ve always been greedy. I love money, right?”

The good news is that there is, increasingly, pushback from the Biden administration and Democrats in the states.

Five Blue states are now looking at ways to hold fossil fuel moguls and their companies accountable for the damage climate change-fueled extreme weather has inflicted on their people. Vermont is leading the way, with legislation that passed their House this week and is now headed to the Vermont Senate, almost certainly carrying a large enough majority to overcome a veto by the state’s Republican governor.

The bill would set up a $2 billion fund to pay for weather damage, funded by a tax of sorts on the fossil fuel industry. New York, California, Massachusetts, and Maryland are all looking at similar legislation this year.

But as long as the Supreme Court’s corrupt 5-4 Citizens United decision stands and Republican politicians and judges are eager to take bribes from the industry, these efforts will be purely remedial, the equivalent of putting Band-Aids on cancerous lesions.

These tragic realities highlight the extraordinary stakes of this year’s election, which will not only determine the future survival of American democracy but also the destiny of most all life on Earth. The GOP’s embrace of greed isn’t just a moral issue any more: it’s now threatening us all.

Double-check your voter registration and reach out to wake up everybody you know. Given how rapidly extreme weather is amplifying, causing death and destruction across America (and the world), your own family’s survival may depend on it.

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I live on the “left coast” and was up early today (4/25) so I managed to listen to many of the arguments involved in the appeal of Trump’s claim he has “absolute immunity.” Now, as someone who has little to NO faith in this SCOTUS I was not surprised with what I heard based on my interpretation of the questions posed by the various judges. Here’s what will surprise me: If the judges simply decide the case in front of them. Basically, to me, the judges who claim to be “textualists” or “originalists” seemed to be looking for ways to expand the issue to areas which were NOT part of the case in front of them. I believe at least three justices (Alito, Kavanaugh, and Thomas) were looking for possible ways to DELAY the January 6th D.C. case to allow Trump to throw this out if he manages to somehow CHEAT his way back into the “White House.”

I mean, it’s been obvious for quite some time this court is on the side of our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING four times indicted (ex) president simply by their willingness to, at a minimum, help him stall this procedure. What also seemed obvious to me was several of the justices searching for ways to decide MORE than what is included in this indictment/appeal. There will be no “yes or no” decision by this court – just as they did in the Citizens United v FEC case they will go well beyond the issues of this appeal in order to appease their own political bent. Yes, I’m predicting this and I certainly hope I’m wrong, but they seemed to be searching for a way to strip Jack Smith of his ability to proceed with this case.

If they do what I fear I hope Mr. Smith then decides to prosecute the “unindicted co-conspirators” along with all the others involved in the conspiracy to overthrow our elected government on January 6th, 2021. That, of course, would include the wife of Clarence Thomas – who very possibly could be the deciding vote on this case in favor of the judges looking for an off ramp for Trump in his CLEARLY illegal attempt to pull off a coup d’etat. To me, there is NO WAY judge Thomas should have been sitting on the bench for this case. He should have been recused due to the actions of his wife.

I’m getting similar feelings I had during the Colorado case where Trump had been purged from their ballot based on Section three of the 14th Amendment which prevents anyone who took an oath to the constitution and participated in or gave support to anyone who participated in an INSURRECTION from holding ANY office in the federal government (or any state). The Colorado Supreme Court found that Trump participated in an INSURRECTION and was, therefore, ineligible to be on the Colorado ballot as a candidate for president. The SCOTUS, as myself and many others imagined they would, found a way to “stray” from their “textualist/originalist” bent because it didn’t fit their ideological view. They made a POLITICAL decision. They appear to be leaning to do the same in Trump’s January 6th indictment.

This Court is creating a serious image problem for themselves. We all saw on TV the INSURRECTION. We watched and listened to Trump urging his supporters to “go to the Capitol and fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore.” Those of us who pay attention to all this have heard Trump PUBLICLY reiterate that “VP Pense did have the right to overthrow the election” (or words to that affect) when Congress decided to amend the statute defining the VP’s role in counting the Electoral College votes – a purely ceremonial role. It could not be more obvious that Trump was pressuring Pense to turn away legitimate Electoral College votes in order to count the so-called “alternate electors” from several of the “battleground” states.

At a bare minimum I believe the SCOTUS will send this case back to the District Court for a determination regarding “official acts v personal acts” – a decision which will be subject to appeal and then the appeal process starts all over again – which would mean the Supreme Court’s part in that would be decided sometime NEXT YEAR. I believe the court is going to expose itself as benefactors of Trump and they could care less about the “blow back” they will receive. I’m sure they believe all the negative publicity will blow over by the time their next term begins. And, who knows? It might.

I’ve written before about Lewis Powell’s “memo” to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce back in (I think – I could look it up but I’m too lazy) 1973. He was arguing that us “peons” – ie “working class Americans” had gained to much power and America’s corporations should “turn the tables” in favor or America’s “Oligarchs.” Soon after Powell was appointed to the SCOTUS by Richard Nixon and by 1980 “conservatives” had received the message and it was fully implemented by Ronald Reagan and his right wing/racist administration. Challenge #1: Destroy the union movement in America. See: The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) which Reagan, in essence, had destroyed when Air Traffic Controllers went on strike back in 1981. By my calculation, that was when unions took a “nosedive” and so did the wages of working class Americans.

One of the central tenets of the “conservative” movement has been preventing as many people as possible from voting – especially people who might vote for democrats. As time has evolved since Reagan became president the Court has tilted strongly to the right – in 2000 it actually chose GW Bush to be president when, by all accounts, the rightful “winner” was Al Gore. In fact, in that situation the Court acted with “all haste” – like, as I remember it, in a manner of days (not months/years) to “crown” GW Bush and Dick Cheney to reign on “we the people.” I’m sure republicans were more than pleased when Mr. Gore simply accepted the decision in order to prevent a rebellion.

That court decision led to the invasion of Iraq (and, very possibly 9/11 due to Bush’s willingness to ignore the warning signs), the 20 LONG years of incompetence in Afghanistan, and, of course, the financial meltdown of 2007 – 2008. When the Obama/Biden administration took office the “mess” they inherited was of historic proportions. However, Donald Trump left the “messiest” mess for the incoming Biden Administration I can remember in my lifetime. To me, the burgeoning of the national debt began under Reagan via the so-called “Trickle down” (I’ve always said “trickle up”) tax policy which has led to “tax cuts for the rich” in every republican administration since (except, I believe, George HW Bush).

When you look up articles about the budget deficit and the national debt it becomes clear what you’re reading is tilted one way or the other depending on who’s writing it. By my observation Clinton and Obama both left office with an annual deficit considerably less than the one they inherited and, it appears, so will President Biden, whenever it becomes time for him to finally (and actually) retire. What Biden inherited was catastrophic due to Trump’s selfish incompetence in managing a “once in a century” pandemic. (Although, it seems the possibility of future pandemics looms large)

My point is this: Decisions by the SCOTUS are of immense importance. The decision to crown Bush/Cheney, for example, not only let to a financial meltdown, it led to the loss of THOUSANDS of American lives via the ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq – where something like one half of the Iraqi population was displaced and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s died due to the Bush/Cheney invasion. This would NOT have happened had the Court simply allowed the recount of votes in Florida to be completed. I will go to my grave believing Al Gore was the rightful winner of the 2000 American presidential election.

And, since then the Court has continued its drift rightward to the point where what we witnessed during the arguments regarding Trump’s ABSURD claim of “absolute immunity” seemed to gain a sympathetic (and pathetic) audience with – by my count – at least four of the justices. When these justices – who claimed in their confirmation hearings that “hypothetical” situations are irrelevant when it comes to deciding issues regarding the constitution – began throwing around hypothetical possibilities of retribution by sitting presidents toward their predecessor I wanted to vomit. The discussion seemed to be focused on many imagined possibilities of mischief, but not on the actual appeal before the court.

As I’ve said, this should have been obvious when the court decided to take this appeal in the first place and then schedule the arguments for the LAST day of the term – something like 9 weeks later. This was the court participating in Trump’s strategy of “delay, delay, delay.” Will they make a decision based on the merits of the appeal? Well, I surely hope so – granting this appeal will render them as being insignificant going forward – they would be approving America as a dictatorship (and “we the people” would have one more election to stop this attack on our constitution). I don’t think there’s any way they can simply overrule the District Court’s determination this claim (absolute immunity for the president) is preposterous – “we don’t have a king” – and the DC Circuit court’s agreement with the District Court.

However, as stated above, my gut instincts tell me they’re going to throw it back to the District Court based on some creative imagination of what our constitution SHOULD say, which is all Trump needs to put this off until sometime in 2025 – unless he’s re-elected. Trust me, there are more right wing decisions which are anti-democratic coming from this court, likely at the end of June. I don’t follow everything they decide to take up, but their track record is horrible to someone like me, but, likely to someone who agrees with Lewis Powell, this court is “right on.” Yikes!!!

Final Thought: I have to add, the fundamental source of fascism would be when corporations and government are acting in “partnership.” The following is a quote attributed to Benito Mussolini: “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power.”  There are questions as to whether or not he actually said that, but, as you can see – in today’s America the “oligarchs” (corporate “power brokers”) are pretty much aligned to Trump’s “slow moving coup.” And REALLY wealthy Americans, like Peter Thiel and Mark Zuckerberg are building fortresses in remote areas for when the “you know what hits the fan.”

I’m not arguing against corporations, I’m just pointing out when they get to the point where their self interest causes them to “partner” with government for the purpose of implementing policy which is detrimental to “we the people” then we are a de-facto fascist state. There’s a reason why “big business” is realigning itself with Trump despite his CLEAR intentions to, in essence “tear up the constitution.” The corporate interests are simply “creating shareholder value” the “commons” be damned. They seem to believe the promise to “cut taxes” is the true political “selling point.” The idea of democrats actually instituting a “wealth tax” is considered, by the corporatists, as “socialism.” Government investing in its people, to them, is “socialism.”

That all being said, the next several elections, well beyond my remaining lifetime, will be critical in turning back this right wing attempt to undermine our democratic republic. The “checks and balances” imbedded into our constitution are under severe threat by a right wing segment of our population which has railed against “progress” since, well, the beginning of this nation – especially since the “New Deal” of FDR. The Court has been “rigged” and, thus, it’s possible Trump will succeed in making sure our elections are “rigged.” And, of course, they’ll be “rigged” in his favor. Stay tuned.,,,,