Today was the day of INDICTMENT #4 for our TWICE IMPEACHED (now) four times INDICTED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president along with a plethora of the lawyers who were scamming to overturn the 2020 presidential election AND, apparently, some others who were involved in the FAKE elector scheme PLUS those who were STEALING voter machine data in “Coffee County” Georgia. I believe there were a TOTAL of 19 people listed in the INDICTMENT along with about 30 “unindicted co-conspirators” and they were INDICTED under the Georgia RICO laws. (RICO = Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) Fani Willis has much experience prosecuting organizational CRIMES via this act.

If Trump is found GUILTY once this case goes to trial (Ms. Willis stated she would like to have the case at trial within six months) There are MINIMUM sentences and there’s NO way to avoid jail time if convicted. In total there were 41 counts in the indictment. So, here comes the real attempts by Trump to BULLY his way into threatening witnesses, jurors, the prosecutors, the judge (who hasn’t been identified yet) and anyone else who Trump identifies as the “enemy.” And, it is in anticipation of these attempts to manipulate potential jurors and witnesses that I’m thinking about tonight.

Now, in my mind, Trump has already crossed the “line” which would have caused me or you or just about anyone else to be thrown in the “slammer” for violating the conditions of his BAIL release agreement. I’ve pointed out here several times for republicans who are complaining there’s a “two tiered” justice system that Trump is the epitome of PROOF that is correct. He’s facing something approaching 100 FELONY counts at this point in time (more to come???) with several LIFETIMES in potential jail sentences via convictions and, yet, here he is going wherever he chooses and saying whatever he chooses while those who’ve been far less DANGEROUS have been sitting in jail since they were originally indicted following January 6th, 2021. (It was Trump, himself, who said “remember this date forever”) How much DANGER will Trump be allowed to create before a judge says “enough already” and treats him like any other DEFENDANT. I’ve said here more than once that it will be when Trump realizes he’s pushed the limits to the point where his “liberty” is threatened that will be the day he fuels up his 737 and heads for a country with no extradition treaty with America.

It appears there could be a “clashing” of potential TRIAL dates between Jack Smith’s January 6th case, the case brought by Alvin Bragg in Manhattan, and this indictment – all potentially setting trial dates in early 2024. I’ve heard several expert lawyers – for some time now – suggesting Trump’s greatest danger lies with the investigation of Ms. Willis. Some of the names I recognized aside from Trump’s in his “criminal enterprise” are Rudolph Giuliani, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, MARK MEADOWS!, Sydney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and a bunch of names I didn’t recognize. As I said above there are 30 unindicted co-conspirators – many who likely have been “flipped” by Ms. Willis and are testifying against Trump. (It will be interesting to find out who those people are – I remember, for example, seeing some interest in Senator Lindsay Graham and General Michael Flynn – neither of them listed as “co-conspirators.”)

Graham actually was one of Trump’s sycophants who made a phone call with Brad Raffensperger (and possibly other Georgia officials) seeking whether Raffensperger could disqualify ballots based on “signature” issues. First, I’m guessing the calls to Raffensperger were recorded – so Graham’s claims which differed from Raffensperger’s observations could have made Graham a “co-conspirator” so I’m just wondering if he’s one of the 30 “unindicted co-conspirators.” In addition, Michael Flynn was ordered to testify to the “Special Grand Jury” and he’s not listed in the main part of the indictment. Could these two be, in Trump’s words, “rats?”

What we have, in reality here, is confirmation for those of us who’ve been calling Trump a mob boss for the past several years. I mean, if you’ve taken the time to read about Trump’s life prior to walking down the escalator, in 2015, to label Mexicans as “rapists,” none of this is surprising. What has been surprising to me has been the length of time it’s taken to make these charges, keeping in mind it will be another year until these cases have gone to trial. And, true to Trump’s history, he will be attempting to manipulate witnesses and jurors all along the way until, as I’ve said, a judge decides to put a stop to it by revoking his BAIL.

As I watched this INDICTMENT – the FOURTH one – play out last night I was struck by an observation which was trying to put me in Trump’s head. We had BOTH a group of WOMEN involved in the details involved in getting the indictment from the Grand Jury to the judge unsealing it, to Fani Willis’ press conference. Not only a bunch of WOMEN but many of these WOMEN are/were BLACK. Can you just picture Trump’s response to that reality? Will his fuming spill over to his LOSER Social Media platform? Certainly, by now, Trump as a RACIST can’t be a surprise to virtually anyone, can it? (Well, many of the people I know who identify with the white nationalist base of the republican party genuinely don’t “get” they are caught up in a purely racist movement – they’ll say, “Racist, who me?”)

So, I wrote the above a few days ago (I guess I’m getting lazy) but I have to note what I saw in Trump’s (un)Truth Social soon after the Georgia INDICTMENT. First of all Trump referred to those in Georgia who are seeking to put him in jail as those who “rigged” the election for Joe Biden. Now, he made this reference because he just couldn’t help himself from sending a “dog whistle” (with a “bull horn”) at the end of his posting when he referred to the Georgia officials as “RIGGERS.” If you’ve read this far I’m sure you understand fully what his message was. And, as I had predicted above it’s just got to literally drive him mad he’s being held to account by African American public officials in three jurisdictions. (Alvin Bragg in Manhattan, Letitia James the Attorney General of New York (who will likely have the first trial – a Civil Trial which could bankrupt the Trump org.), and, of course Ms. Willis the DA of Fulton County Georgia.

It’s taking me forever to post this, so I’ll do so now without (as usual) re-reading it. My Final Thought has to do with the fact I have refused to stop attending Church services knowing I’m on the “opposite team” from many at the church. I continue to struggle knowing Trump’s “base” is largely a bunch of “Christian conservatives.” I’ve pointed out here the parallels with the Third Reich in 1930’s Germany. It grieves me to realize so many people who claim to believe in Jesus Christ can be so devoted to someone like Trump – in many cases even suggesting he’s some kind of “deity.” To me, if anything, he’s the “anti Christ.” I look forward to the day when the “dam breaks” and these people realize who they’re actually supporting. Most “experts” I’ve read suggest that it will be difficult for MANY of Trump’s supporters to accept they’ve been wrong all this time. And, of course, Fox “news” (and the other right wing propaganda sites) will continue spewing LIES as long as it keeps them profitable. (Apparently, $787,500.000 wasn’t enough to fully get their attention. Go figure!!! Stay tuned…….

What’s so hard for “we the people” to understand? Donald Trump, simply put, acts like a wannabee Mob boss – full stop! Doesn’t use email. Doesn’t write stuff down. Tears up evidence and/or throws it in the fireplace. Even tears up evidence and attempts to flush it down the toilet. (I’ve got some advice for Trump if he ever ends up in the “White House” again. We just replaced a toilet with one which will “flush a dozen golf balls.” He should have those installed despite the fact they aren’t made of gold.) Trump talks almost in “riddles” as he “orders” his sycophants to do bad stuff without himself being held accountable for what they did. (Have you noticed it’s those around him who end up hiring lawyers?) He even is often referenced to have lamented “Where is my Roy Cohn?” – the Mob lawyer who helped Joe McCarthy back in the 50’s intimidate those he viewed as his “enemies.”

Trump has been BULLYING his way through life since his days being mentored by Mr. Cohn. By some accounts he’s been involved in over 3500 court cases. He’s famous for stiffing his lawyers, his workers, banks, and virtually anyone doing business with him – at some point. (Do you wonder why his attorneys are referred to by many as the “B” squad or the “JV’s?”) Trump’s gone through BANKRUPTCY six times – usually coming out on the other side far better than his creditors – only to go back to “business as usual.” He’s been credibly accused of fraud numerous times, he’s been fined for “laundering” Russian (and other foreign interests’) money and, apparently, those fines didn’t stop him from the procedure. Russian’s are famous for “laundering” money via real estate purchases in the U.S. – many times via Trump.

Of course, anyone who’s been paying attention is aware of Trump’s boasting of his sexual exploits of women – most notably on the “Access Hollywood” tape where he boasted he could grab women by their “pussies” – because “when you’re famous they allow you to do it.” (That boast has now cost him $5 MILLION – plus interest until he pays – and, likely the cost is going to go WAY UP after his next court appearance with E. Jean Carroll – with the plaintiff asking for an additional $10 MILLION plus punitive damages for Trump’s continued verbal abuses. And, keep in mind, Ms. Carroll’s complaint against Trump is far from the only one.

So now, with Trump’s base of rabid “conservative Christians” seemingly solidly behind him – despite ALL the heresy listed above (plus much more) – Trump continues to “double down” on his ILLEGAL conduct leading to January 6th, 2021 (conspiring with many members of the republican Congress) claiming he “didn’t do anything wrong.” FIVE people DIED during the insurrection – plus members of the Capitol Police took their own lives in the days following – over 140 members of the Capitol and Metropolitan Police forces were injured – some of them permanently – and Trump continues to complain he is innocent of any wrongdoing. That’s the “Roy Cohn” in him. Never admit you made a mistake.

Well, today is the day Trump’s NEXT indictment may “come down the pike.” It appears Jack Smith is not intimidated by Trump and will not be thrown off course by anything Trump might do. Trump is promising to be the “retribution” for his right wing “sycophants” – presumably he’s talking about all those who’ve been charged and convicted for their actions of January 6th, 2021 plus those who haven’t been tried yet PLUS the many who haven’t even been indicted. Reports are that online “sleuths” have identified a total of 3000 of those who stormed the Capitol of which about 1/2 have been indicted already.

THIS indictment is going to be for a (former) president of the United States attempting to pull off a coup d’etat – an attempt which is continuing as he is, astonishingly, trying for attempt number two. Here’s what voters MUST keep in mind when they go to the polls for the next (MANY) elections: Trump would NOT be still a “thing” except for the cowardly republican members of Congress who KNOW how WRONG Trump is, but don’t have the guts to say so publicly. They had TWO opportunities to end this American NIGHTMARE and FAILED miserably both times. In the first IMPEACHMENT Adam Schiff predicted, accurately, that Trump would “do it again.” Schiff challenged republicans to put the Trump “experiment” to rest by voting to convict him in the Senate and, save for Mitt Romney, the whole bunch of them ended up “shaking in their boots.”

I point this out because it won’t be sufficient for America’s voters to simply vote Trump into the History books (right next to Benedict Arnold), they need to vote a BUNCH of his republican sycophants right next to him in these pages (which, undoubtedly, republicans will want those pages removed to make it all “well.” These History books will be unavailable in places like Florida. Attention: Breaking News:

Well, it has FINALLY happened. Trump has been INDICTED for his attempted coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021. There are FOUR counts in the INDICTMENT and there are six “unindicted co-conspirators” – apparently including Rudolph Giuliani, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Sydney Powell, a couple more who I’m not too familiar with (I think one of them’s last name is Chesebro). It appears Trump has been indicted by himself (presumably to get the case to trial “sooner rather than later”) with the others likely expecting to be indicted at some point down the road. Will this make Trump’s “base” continue to believe he’s “innocent” (even though they know/should know better). I can’t remember where I read this but recently I was reading about the “base” of the Nazi’s back in the 1930’s and the author of the article was talking about “wilfull stupidity.” That appears to be what is happening among “we the people” as Trump continues to act like a Mafioso.

“Conservatives” have embedded themselves in the mis/disinformation of right wing media – at this point, much more than simple “you watch Fox ‘news’ don’t you?” This all falls into the category of willful stupidity. Republicans have traditionally based their “schtick” on “law and order” and strong national defense. Trump has turned that MO upside down. Now, I’ve been suggesting a streak of racism amonst republicans since the days of Richard Nixon (especially Ronald Reagan) with Trump taking the “Tea Party” which was founded in reaction to “we the people” voting in an African American as our president to full out white nationalism. They’ve been saying “we want our country back” since the day Obama was elected. (I always say, “back from what?”)

From the days following the attempted coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021 I’ve been saying the TRUTH will come out “drip by drip.” Well, the drips have turned into a stream of the TRUTH of what happened in the days following Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. (By over 7 MILLION votes) Actually, Trump was setting the “stage” for the coup months before the actual election. He had a plan to declare victory well before the votes had been counted because his advisors told him (accurately) the election day votes would be counted first and they were likely to skew in his favor in early returns. The “Stop the Steal” scam was planned well before the actual election. (In reality, the idea for “Stop the Steal” was devised back in 2016 by Roger Stone – who, by the way, along with Steve Bannon should be sleeping a bit uneasy these days because this CONSPIRACY went well beyond the six listed co-conspirators. (See the “Willard War room”) Trust me, Jack Smith will assure us all, “The investigation is continuing.”

Right wing politicians are going to be claiming there’s a “two tiered” justice system. And, I’m going to totally AGREE with them. For example, Trump will be arraigned on August 3, 2023 where he will likely enter a plea of “not guilty” on all charges. By rights he’ll be fingerprinted (again) with nary a “mug shot” – which hasn’t happened yet (do you think you’d get that “perk?” He’s being charged with FOUR counts (felonies) that range in potential punishment ranging from 5 years to 20 years in the sentencing “guidelines.” He’ll likely be allowed to walk out of court on his own recognizance. Who else would get that perk? Many of his suckers er minions who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 were held without bail because of the danger they posed to “we the people.” Now, seriously, do you believe they caused a greater danger than Trump? Who else can be facing around 80 FELONY charges and still be walking around free – shouldn’t Trump (at least) have to wear an ankle bracelet? Shouldn’t he have to turn in his passport? Shouldn’t there be an appropriate BAIL for the CRIMES alleged? (Remember, he’s got his own jet and it would be easy for him to “split” seeking asylum in, like, Russia – OK, I can hope, can’t I?)

The reality is Trump is the poster child for how we have a two tiered justice system. He’s being prosecuted with “kid gloves..” I know people who’ve been stopped for a DUI who’ve faced tougher responses from the “government” than what Trump has faced – to this date. Maybe the judge in Washington D.C, will make an attempt to hold Trump to account as if he’s being treated like any other citizen. To me, the fact he’s running for president once again is irrelevent. His CRIMINAL conduct shouldn’t be excused because he’s trying to regain the “White House.” I do have to add, if “we the people” are “wilfully STUPID” enough to put Trump – or, for that matter, another republican in the “White House” well, we deserve what we get – which, likely will be the end of our democratic republic as it’s evolved over the previous 240+ years.

Final Thought: If it’s not HOT enough for you this summer (the HOTTEST July on record) to get your attention regarding the NECESSITY to act regarding the Climate Crisis I don’t know if there’s hope for you. For people like me (soon to be 76) and Trump and Biden – it’s potentially not at the critical stage – depending on where you live (I hope it’s not Florida or along the Gulf of Mexico Coast or the Atlantic Coast or the Midwest Tornado zone or………… OK, I hope you get the idea) – it’s what we’re leaving for our children and grandchildren which causes me grief. If it wasn’t for republicans (and democrats like Manchin and Sinema) we’d be much farther along in an attempt to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on the atmosphere.

If you’re a woman, well, why would you vote for a republican? Unless of course you believe it’s your role to tell OTHER women how to control their own bodies. I was talking to my granddaugher today and some of these issues came up. I told her I was never in favor of abortions, but in the first pregnancy of her grandma (my first wife) when she sufffered a miscarriage, at the time, I had no idea the procedure the doctors used to treat her as she was bleeding profusely as her body was attempting to pass the fetus was, in effect, an abortion. Had this happened today, in Texas, her life would clearly be in danger – with doctors refusing to act until such time as her life “on the line.” Not only would that be STUPID, but it would also likely (in our case) have made the ensuing pregnancies which resulted in my two daughters unlikely. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that if you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one. It’s not your business regarding other women.

All circumstances are different. To me, these two issues – Climate Crisis and abortion SHOULD be enough to guarantee republicans don’t win an election again until the (CORRUPT) Supreme Court becomes “balanced” – it’s been a right wing court for at least the past 25 years and it’s going to be, likely, worse for the next 25 years. Vote in another right wing republican and it will likely get worse – Ron DEESantis has already said he’ll put in more extreme judges than Trump. And, we’re talking about many more judges than just the NINE on the SCOTUS.

Yes, as always with republicans, there’s a lot more. There are issues with VOTING Rights, Civil Rights, Gun violence, Public Education, Higher Education, Environmental issues, challenges with rebuilding the infrastructure of America – our infrastructure needing at least twice as much “rebuilding” as we’ll get from the “bipartisan infrastructure Act,” and much more. The issues with income inequality are real and serious and it will take resolve for our politicians to actually vote to increast taxes on the BILLIONAIRE class. It will take resolve for our Congress to actually place restrictions on our social media “apps” – like “TWITTER,” and “Facebook,” “Instagram,” “What’s App,” etc. etc.

The bottom line is if America’s young people (35 and younger) choose to vote, there is only one way for people like Trump to “win” – and, that is to….. OK, you’re one step ahead of me, to CHEAT! I can hear my granddaughter as I’m writing those words – “uh dough” – (try to picture Homer Simpson as you read those words). As sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West Trump is busy planning how to best CHEAT as he’s facing the THIRD criminal indictment relating to his lawbreaking with IMPUNITY – obviously believing he’s “above the law.” His followers who claim there’s a two tiered justice system actually believe Trump should get SPECIAL treatment because he’s running for president once again. Apparently, they haven’t endured enough LOSING as of yet – but, the reality is they think there SHOULD be a two tiered justice system and Trump’s “tier” should be one step ABOVE the rest of us. We will soon know if America really is a “nation of laws and not men.” Stay tuned………………

I’ll publish this rant a couple days after Trump’s LATEST indictment – hopefully, by the time of his arraignment – but, I’m going to actually re-read this one and try to fix as many of my mistakes as possible. I’m sure my brother-in-law in Pittsburgh will double check me. (And, by the way, Pittsburgh is one of my favorite places in the U.S.A. – I hope to visit there sooner rather than later. I met so many awesome people a few years back when I spent a couple months in Pittsburgh – and, I’m talking Pennsylvania) and Pennsylvanians will likely be KEY in making sure Trump never gets near the “White House” ever again.

Today it was announced Trump has received a “target letter” from Jack Smith regarding the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 giving him four days to choose whether to go before the Grand Jury and defend himself – which EVERYONE knows he’ll NEVER do. What this means is it’s very likely Trump’s NEXT indictment will happen at some point next week. (The week of July 21st through July 26th.) It will be interesting to see how detailed Mr. Smith will be – by all accounts he’s purported to be very detailed and thorough – and, how many of Trump’s co-conspirators will get caught up in the indictment.

It could be in the HUNDREDS – although I’m not convinced Smith will go that far although the CONSPIRACY seemed to cover numerous states across this nation. (Just this day the Attorney General of Michigan has charged 16 FAKE electors for their participation in Trump’s scheme with a series of FELONIES.) It could/should include several members of the House of Representatives (and, maybe, Ted Cruz?) including Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mo Brooks, Louie Ghomert, and many others – including the crazy lawyers (Giuliani, Eastman, Clark, and others) Mark Meadows, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, plus Ginni Thomas (read some of her texts which are public knowledge) all the FAKE electors and those who recruited them and, possibly, Jared Kushner (if Smith charges the frudulent campaign fundraising of about a quarter BILLION dollars which was never used for the purpose stated in the solicitations.)

I’m writing this prior to the anticipated indictment to remind myself to spend some time speculating on where Smith may be going with this (alleged) indictment. The way I see it, there could be more than one way to decide what is the best course of action. And, one of them, quite possibly, would be what they’ll face in the courtroom of Aileen Cannon in Florida during the lead up to the trial in Trump’s Classified Documents case. I don’t believe the government prosecutors trust Ms. Cannon to cause the trial to fall into the “Speedy Trial” which the constitution “requires.” Therefore, does Smith want to have ANOTHER case which could get pushed up against the 2024 election? Obviously, that will be Trump’s plan – assuming republicans are STUPID enough to nominate him once again for the presidency.

If the charges are limited I believe it will be due to the expediency Mr. Smith wants in regard to this investigation which is about ONE year past due – based on where it should have happened. I’ve been part of the resounding chorus of Americans who’ve questioned the bona fides of Merrick Garland and there seems to be evidence, as many worried, it took the January 6th Select Committee’s report to get the Justice Department off their collective asses – instead of keeping their focus on the sycophants who Trump DUPED into doing his dirty work on January 6th, 2021 – even Trump, at the time, said “remember this date forever.” I’m just trying to help him do just that!

Reports have emerged there will be THREE categories in the indictment. I won’t speculate other than to say it appears Smith doesn’t feel charging Trump with SEDITIOUS conspiracy – along with the “R’s in Congress” who he was scheming with – not to mention the lawyers and those pushing the “fake elector” scheme – make no mistake, Trump and his minions were attempting to OVERTHROW our government and truth be told, he’s continuing his plan to turn America into a FACIST state – despite his (projection) words suggesting Biden is the “facist.” Remember, these republicans – and Trump especially – operate in a fact free world. They feel not the slightest need to back up their outrageous comments with anything even resembling facts.

I’m hearing/reading warnings about what will happen should Trump somehow get re-elected – but, keep in mind, he’s “written” the “playbook” and, I believe any republican will attempt the same authoritarian takeover of our government should Trump not be the republican nominee. Trump is running out in self preservation mode because I can imagine he FEARS jail more than anything else – and, he believes he can avoid his legal troubles by getting re-elected – just as he avoided them during his 4 year reign on “we the people.” Question: Are the American people STUPID enough to want another four years of this thug? Lord help us!

Here’s the deal – many hard right “Christians” are totally OK with a facist dictatorship – I actually know some of them. They profess to be “conservatives” – BUT they support Trump and if you ask them “what is a conservative?” They get mad at you for being inquisitive. Some will simply say anyone who opposes abortion. Most progressives like me aren’t “pro abortion” – they’re pro letting a woman have autonomy over her own body. It’s appearing more and more as if “conservatives” want to turn back the clock to the days when “a woman’s place is in the home.”

I’ve read several articles of late warning “we the people” of the grave challenges of the 2024 election – which, to an extent, I would totally agree. But, what I’m not hearing/reading is the imperative people (democrats, independents, and disaffected republicans) show up in MASSIVE numbers and vote AGAINST republicans – not only in 2024, but for the foreseeable future as these republicans – who are the “offspring” of America’s “oligarch” society (and, of course, they call people like me an “elitist”) – have not/will not be deturred by political defeat. They just keep coming back like a “bad dream.” (Their access to money is unlimited and their desire for what Karl Rove refered to as a “permanent republican majority” requires serious CHEATING – the perfect scenario for Trump)

That’s one issue I have with progressives. They win an election and think all is well. That’s what republicans count on and what happened with Obama’s election leading to the reign of Trump. Hopefully, it won’t happen with Biden’s election – even if Biden wins a second term. These republicans (white nationaists, ie “deplorables”) will just attempt to raise even more hell. They include more “deplorable” people than just Trump.

Have you paid attention to Elon Musk lately? He has so much money he was able to buy a platform where he could spew his right wing HATE for $44 BILLION – and, in essence, run it into the ground while giving neo-Nazi’s a spigot for their HATE once again. And, the other major social media networks (Facebook and Youtube) have relaxed their “rules” allowing the right wing HATERS to have more avenues for spreading their “garbage.” Social media outlets have been the perfect sounding board for mis/disinformation.

It is the use of these social media networks that people integrated into the White Nationaist movement with the militia movements and other right wing “movements” using these platforms to “recruit” their radicalized minions (Just as foreign radicals like ISIS uses social media for recruiting). Trump’s intention is to bring right wing radicals “on board” to, once again, do his “dirty work” using social media. Consequently, the sheer number of Americans who are willing to throw our consitution to the wayside continues to grow as Trump, and other republicans, attack “we the people” using “culture wars” because that’s what energizes their base.

Hopefully, young people, women, African Americans, Latina’s, LGBTQ Americans, and old white “liberal” Americans like me are getting the message. I may not be around for the 2028 election, but I can guarantee you these white nationalists lining up behind Trump will be – whether Trump goes to jail or not. Trump has given them the “playbook,” they’ll find another “fuhrer” if that becomes necessary. The fact Trump’s base is largely composed of “conservative Christians” is eerily similar to Hitler’s base back in the 1930’s. Reminds me of the saying, “Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it.”

The way I see it, “we the people” MUST vote against republicans for at least a generation – or, until the “FREEDOM Caucus,” Keving McCarthy, Mitch McConnell and MOST of the rest of “present day republicans” (who have NO guts when it comes to challenging Trump) are voted into the HISTORY books. The courts are stacked against progressives – which is by design. State governments are passing voter suppression laws in alarming numbers (thanks to the Roberts SCOTUS) and, it’s imperative to fight (via the courts) against these laws. The SCOTUS is likely going to be made up of this “conservative” majority for a couple decades. Voting in another republican to the “White House” simply makes that reality much WORSE.

Here’s what republicans understand: There’s more of us (meaning progressives) than there are of them – so, to WIN they have to CHEAT. This didn’t start with Trump. Republicans CHEATED back in 2000 when the presidency was “stolen” from Al Gore via an earlier version of the Supreme Court. (A decision resulting in the Iraq (illegal) war – er, FIASCO. The history of the republican M.O. – “The end justifies the means” is what has led to their willingness to CHEAT – which they find creative ways to accomplish their goal – win at all cost!

And, beware, republicans have a history of supporting “third party” candidates in order to siphon off votes from the democratic candidate – a “sheme” which has not been well reported by our “liberal media.” When Reagan beat Carter republicans supported a “liberal republican” – John Anderson – who took votes from dsiaffected democrats – keeping them from voting for Carter. When GW Bush was granted the presidency by the Court, it wouildn’t have been even close save for Ralph Nader running on the “Green Party” ticket and, of course, Trump benefited from the impossible candidacy of Jill Stein – not only helped by republican money but Ms Stein was even a guest of Vladimir Putin prior to the election. I’ll let you put two plus two together. Go figure!

The bottom line here is “we the people” MUST be participants in the upcoming elections (for the next 20 – 30 years) with the goal of voting AGAINST republicans. The future for our children and grandchildren (if you’re old like me) depends on it. If this summer hasn’t convinced you the Climate Crisis is real – well, brace yourself for this fall when the HURRICANE season hits full force. (And, the wildfire crisis is already upon us) And, it’s hard for me to understand why any woman would vote for a republican because their goal is to make abortion illegal with no exceptions – nationwide.

Remembering when my (first) wife was having a miscarriage I couldn’t help but think had we lived in today’s Texas her life would have been in danger (without seeking medical help outside the state – but, the situation was an emergency which would have threatened her life had doctor’s been reluctant to, in essence, perform an abortion allowing her to bear children at a later date. What that means is there are now states in America where a woman getting pregnant potentially puts her life in danger. Yikes!!!

The gun crisis, the education crisis – and, I could go on and on – there are so many issues where the “will” of “we the people” is not addressed because of a one word answer: republicans! I spent the last 23 years of my working life teaching 6th graders in Middle School. To this day I remember when GW Bush instituted the “No Child left behind” legislation shortly after taking office in 2001. It was cleat to me, at the time, republicans were turning up the “heat” on their desire to undermine public education. Well, it’s now at the “boiling” point. And, progressives need to “fight back” at the ballot box in order to save/strengthen our public education system.

These are just some of the reasons why it’s IMPERATIVE for America’s voters to reject republicans at the polls for the next couple of decades – or, until these radicals who’ve taken over the republican party are voted, as I’ve often said here, into the History books – books that should NOT be removed from the shelves in the libraries. Along with the importance of VOTING for “we the people” it’s also IMPERATIVE the Justice Department prove that “no one is above the law” by prosecuting those who CONSPIRED with Trump to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The sooner Trump is in a Court of Law being forced to defend his actions the better.

Prosecuting Trump and voting out republicans will be an important first step in preserving our Constitutional democratic republic which has endured over 240 years with lots of “hiccups” (OK, bad stuff) but has proven the Constitution is a “living document” which is why “we the people” continue to push our nation toward the “ideal” that “all men (and women) are created equal.” Striving for MORE inclusion instead of attempting to “turn back the clock” reversing hard fought gains in Civil (and human) Rights over the past 60 years. I’ll end this by saying, once again, Trump has come closer to turning America into a fascist nation than Hitler ever did! It’s up to “we the people” (and the Justice Department) to ensure he NEVER accomplishes his goal!

Final Thought: I mentioned above Elon Musk and his takeover of “Twitter.” He has shown his true self since that point in time – at least to me (a non social media user). I WAS a strong supporter of Tesla because it’s obvious to me “we the people” MUST find an alternative to fossil fuels “sooner rather than later.” To me, that means Musk deserves credit for supercharging the push for electric cars (although Chevrolet was farther along regarding electic vehicles than most people understand – but, Musk was the “instigator” of the EV “revolution” in my mind.)

That being said, at this point, there is little to NO chance I would ever purchase a Tesla. I see Musk as one of the “American Oligarchs” who are willing to use their money to, in essence, “burn the house down” – with the “house” being America’s “democracy.” He’s in the “good ole boys club” of Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and others who are pouring their money into politics behind some really “Trumpian” candidates. Naturally, there’s a whole lot more “Oligarchs” in America who have, in essence, bought many (if not MOST) of America’s political “leaders.” Musk is just “advertising” his right wing “bona fides” on his new toy, Twitter – and it just almost makes me sick to my stomach. Reminds me of the proverb (once again) that “money is the root of all evil.” Stay tuned……

How could America have evolved to the point where today’s republicans, in both the House and the Senate (not to mention the presidential candidates), could possibly be so “effing” (to use a phrase from the January 6th Committee’s report) STUPID. And, yes, I’m talking about you, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Louie Ghomert, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and, sadly, a bunch more. And, then there’s the HUGE segment of republican COWARDS who know what their party is doing is WRONG, but don’t have the guts to SPEAK OUT! It really is shameful.

In this present Congress republicans are accomplishing NOTHING. They can’t even pass the 2023 Defense Appropriations bill without creating a public “stink.” And, of course, the Defense Department can’t promote ANY officers because Tommy Tuberville, who says “White Nationalists are simply Americans.” (Well, he’s somewhat correct – in that many of them are – plus they’re , by definition, RACISTS. Truth be told, there’s White Nationalists in many other countries around the world) Tuberville continues to broadcast he’s an “effing” IDIOT. (How do people like this get voted into Congress?)

So, the latest item republicans are wrapping their minds around in their 24/7 attempt to keep Joe Biden’s “poll numbers” down involves, naturally, more STUPID (and dangerous) “stuff.” Joe Biden put 3000 American reservists on notice they may be shipped off to Europe to give a break to troops already stationed there (about 100,000 are there as I write this). Oh my god, the republicans are seemingly pooping all over themselves. The aforementioned Cruz and Lee (along with assorted right wing “pundits”) are suggesting Biden is attempting to start WW III. Yikes! The absurdity never seems to end.

However, when you take a sober look at what Biden has been doing for the last 18 months, it’s exactly the opposite. I would like our “liberal media” to put the moniker “Neville Chamberlain” on these republican IDIOTS. For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention or hasn’t read anything about American and World History, Chamberlain was the British Prime Minister who took Adolf Hitler at his word in order to avoid a war – well, we all know how that turned out. (It’s more complicated than that – but, suffice it to say, Putin’s goal was NOT simply Ukraine) Biden has done a MASTERFUL job in unifying (and expanding) NATO in the face of Putin’s naked aggession and, now, the only issue is how is Putin/Russia going to “save face” as they are LOSING badly. (Their hope is to hang on long enough for Trump to retake the “White House” – that’s the ONLY way they succeed in Ukraine).

Honestly, it’s really tiring watching all the BS coming from the “right” in our country. The so-called “conservatives” want to “defund the DOJ and the FBI” – which, of course, would allow Trump to violate even MORE of our laws – in fact, when you think about it, the laws would only apply to “liberals” (like me, apparently) and “Black and Brown” people. Trump didn’t get much done in his four years of chaos, but he’d be able to be a full time “president” should he “win” once more – because he’s got a lot of REVENGE to conduct. And, how could he win you might ask with 60% (or more) of Americans viewing him unfavorably? Of course, by CHEATING!

And, CHEATING is now being “baked in” to the republican party beyond what even I could have imagined. I’ve been lamenting for over 15 years (here) that “we the people” MUST vote these THUGS into the History books – Trump’s place will be right next to Benedict Arnold and there are a plethora of republicans who apparently want to be in that same section of the book. Trump tried to overthrow our government. To me, that makes him a traitor! (Don’t believe me? I heard him with my own ears on national TV say: Mike Pense had the power to overthrow the election – you can read for yourself HERE) Not only a TRAITOR, but DELUSIONAL!

Here’s the main reason why republicans are going to be searching the “bottom of the barrel” for smears on Biden. The economy continues to “chug” along, spitting out jobs at an hisoric rate, inflation is coming down, infrastructure jobs are “happening” and ramping up all across the country, soon America will be producing her own Semi-conductor chips – manufacturing is up, and, actually, people’s attitudes about the economy are going “up” as well. We KNOW there’s about 35% of America who will never be satisfied – and, there’s a lot of democrats who want a younger candidate than Biden – but, when push comes to shove, I believe defeating TRUMP once more will be priority one in the 2024 election.

Young people, women, African Americans, Latinos, and supposed “liberals” like me – actually, old people who care about preserving our nation’s heritage (wart’s and all) for our Children and grandchildren will need to VOTE in record numbers to overcome the potential for CHEATING republicans have “baked in” to several of the state legislatures around the country. The most blatant example, to me, came in Texas, where the state legislature gave itself the authority to intervene in “Harris County” – because, you know, voter fraud! (Which doesn’t exist except for peoplle voting twice for Trump) What does exist in Harris County is a bunch of “liberals” who vote for democrats. This kind of BS is happening because of decisions by the Supreme Court which gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – suggesting “voter suppression is no longer an issue in today’s America.” (Apparently, you can graduate from Harvard Law School and still be STUPID)

It is the Court, in fact, which gives “liberals” and especially WOMEN the motivation to VOTE in record numbers. And, I’m not just talking about voting Biden into a second term, but give him a Senate majority large enough to overcome the “Blue Dog” democrats (and, turncoat Kyrsten Sinema) – plus, of course, get these wacked out republicans out of control of the House. If you haven’t been paying attention, the only thing the House republicans have accomplished is – well, NOTHING! We will soon be experiencing the latest in the (getting) long line of republican led government SHUTDOWNS – and, trust me, the right wing republicans (the freedom [?] caucus) in the House will be slobbering all over themselves as if they’ve finally accomplished something. Of course, they’ll blame Biden, and MILLIONS of their sycophants will believe them!

They (the House republicans) are attempting to cut off all aid to Ukraine – apparently, to stop the embarrassment Vladimir Putin (and them?) are feeling about the Russian failure to do a “blitzkrieg” right into Kyiv back in Feb. 2022. Honestly, listening to Marjorie Taylor Greene makes my stomach curdle but she’s been put into a position of POWER in the House so I have to listen. Do the people of Georgia understand what they’ve stent to Congress? Or, does she actually represent the mental capacity of the people of her district? Gives you a good idea why republicans want to ban books in public school libraries – and, why they don’t want our children being allowed to feel “uncomfortable” in school (unless they are Black, Latina, LGBTQ, or ????) by hearing/reading of the TRUTH about our nation.

I used to have breakfast with a “conservative” who eventually got sucked into the Trump CULT to a point I was unable to comprehend. At first, I started noticing some of the things coming from his mouth which were outright “conspiracy theories” that made no sense. This man raised three African American children whom he adopted (and, who called him “Dad”) which was one of the main reasons I felt comforable having a dialogue with him – though we came from polar opposite political viewpoints. What really got to me (as he was making antagonistic comments via email during the pandemic) was when I put two and two together with some of his words which were – simply, no other way to look at it – racist. I was a bit shocked. I won’t go into detail anymore than to say he said he didn’t belive in “democracy” and certainly didn’t feel inner city Black people should have the right to vote. (including his children) He said other stuff, but that pretty much left our conversations with no place to go. (He was also predicting the “Civil War” you hear when you’re tuned into far right wack job websites – as if he was a “believer” AND, of course, he believed the “election was stolen” – why? Because Trump said so!)

Like so many other “conservatives” my friend claimed to be a “conservative Christian.” I continue to struggle with how any “Christian” could “square” the actions and words coming from Trump with the “teachings of Jesus.” I have to force myself to believe they must be indulging in the “Old Testament” in ways to justify the ILLEGAL conduct carried on by MANY of their republican “leaders” – not to mention the “organized CRIME” level of conduct coming from Trump on a regular basis. Yes, we are ALL flawed humans, but somehow I have to force myself to continue my belief in Jesus while “Christians” all across America are acting as if the Bible doesn’t exist – even knowing “twisting” the meaning of scripture is difficult to avoid – using my own case as an example – I can’t avoid my preconceived notions each time I read/listen to it.

I’ve said this before many times here, Trump is violationg laws with IMPUNITY to the point where people have become numb to what he’s doing – forcing themselves to accept that it’s OK. But, if a democrat were doing what Trump has done? OMG!! When Trump was in office hardly a day went by when Trump didn’t push the boundaries of what is acceptable in America. One institution after another was challenged as he proved again and again he had little to no idea what is actually in our constitution. Steve Bannon was purged from his administration in the first two years but he laid out the goal of Trump’s administration in one succinct phrase: “Deconstruct the administrative state.” That will be the “new” plan on “steroids” should “we the people” be STUPID enough to grant his wish to obliterate our democratic republic. Trump is actually “saying the quiet part out loud” in this respect as his “campaign” is heating up. It will be all about REVENGE – with House republicans are attempting to initiate his REVENGE during the remaining two years of their “rule” in the House.

House republicans have attempted to IMPEACH Joe Biden with “trumped up” (pun intended) conspiracy theories they, like their CULT leader, are unable to support with actual evidence. They spout they want to IMPEACH Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, and, anyone else who they believe is acting in the best interests of this nation. The bottom line for these republicans is that POWER is more important than our constitutional democratic republic. They are unwilling to attempt to cause a majority of American voters to actually vote for them based on the issues. I recently read a book by Kurt Andersen titled “Fantasyland” and he documents the willfulness of Americans to fall/have fallen for “BS” (my characterization) from the earliest days of our republic right up to what is happening now. Based on Andersen’s “thesis” it should be no surprise a CON artist like Trump could DUPE a large section of our public.

Final Thought: It was reported today that Trump has received a “Target Letter” from Jack Smith regarding his attempt to overthrow our 2020 election. Apparently he was given four days to report to the Grand Jury in order to give his “side” of the issue. Do you believe Trump will show up to testify on his own behalf? Of course not – he can’t complete three sentences without spewing at least one outright LIE. This will be the THIRD indictment of Trump – he’s already facing 74 FELONY counts – and, for me, this is the most important investigation. (Although, what he was doing with all the CLASSIFIED documents could be almost as dangerous to this nation – we’ll probably never know the full extent of who he shared that material with or whether he managed to monetize the documents???)

I pointed out soon after the January 6th, 2021 INSURRECTION and following the U.S. Senate refusing to CONVICT Trump of what they ALL knew he was guilty that “the TRUTH will come out” drip, drip, drip. I also questioned Merrick Garland’s “stomach” for indicting a former president – which likely wouldn’t have happened except for the January 6th Select Committee’s report and had Garland not FINALLY decided to turn the investigation over to Jack Smith. It has taken MUCH too long to get to this point, but, if the DOJ had decided against holding Trump (and, hopefully the “R’s” he mentioned when attempting to get the head of the Justice Department to “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the R’s.”) accountable that would have entrenched there is no “rule of law” in America if you’re rich and powerful.

I believe the main reason Trump is running for a second term is because he’s trying to head off these prosecutions which actually threaten his liberty. (So far, not working too well) His “base” is sticking with him because the rest of our political system is/has been fighting to help this nation evolve from her – what I called above – warts (specifically racism) – what Ron DeSantis refers to as “wokeism.” I’m not the only person suggesting when you see the republicans using the term “woke” (which they likely don’t understand what it actually means according to the “slang” where it originated) you can substitute the word “Black.” It’s imperative the young people of America vote in HUGE numbers.

I realize young and more progressive voters are frustrated we have an 80 year old president, but I would suggest to them he’s accomplished MORE than ANY president since, likely, LBJ. And, there’s more he can accomplish if VOTERS give him MORE democrats in the Senate and democratic control of the House – instead of these wackjobs who are “running” things there as I’m writing this. And, the issues are PARAMOUNT: Climate Crisis, Guns, Voting Rights, Women’s rights, the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, Education (including forgiving student loan debt and making university education affordable), and, of course, the preservation of our “democracy.” The stakes couldn’t be higher and my hope is voters finally listen to me – vote AGAINST republicans. Once we PURGE these right wing despots out of office it will be time to get back to debating the differences between progressive and conservative policy. (If you want an example of an ACTUAL conservative – check out Liz Cheney – who I have little in common with except that I RESPECT her courage and honesty)

There are too many CRITICAL issues facing “we the people” to put up with the republican REVENGE “tour” any longer. VOTE!!!

If you’ve been around here you KNOW I’m no fan of Donald Trump and I look forward to the government figuring out how to put someone in jail along with a Secret Service delegation. Personally, I believe the solution to that problem would be solved by charging Trump with the same SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY the “Oathkeepers” (that is a misnomer if there ever was one) and “Proud Boys” who are facing decades in prison for their role in the January 6th, 2021 INSURRECTION at the Capitol in Washington D.C. Should Trump be convicted of Sedition I believe his “pension and Secret Service detail” would go away – based on Section 3 of the 14th Amerndment.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says: “No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and VicePresident, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

My thoughts may be a reach, but I DO NOT believe Trump should be able to stay out of PRISON should he be found GUILTY by a jury of his peers, full STOP! That all being said, my thoughts today are going in a different direction. I suppose what I’m about to do is what is normal coming from Trump and his sycophants – and, that is deflection. I keep hearing OVER and OVER republicans attempting to SMEAR Hunter Biden – who has reached an agreement with the Justice Department regarding his tax issues and issues around his former drug addiction. So, today I want to talk about Jared Kushner. How he’s managed to stay out of TROUBLE is beyond me, but there’s lots of public evidence suggesting he SHOULD be investigated for some of what he did while serving in Trump’s “White House.”

First of all, I’ll leave you with a link that does a better job than I’m about to do regarding Kushner’s shenanigans while in Trump’s administration. Before I go any farther you can click HERE if you care to read a timeline of what I believe makes Hunter Biden’s issues pale in comparrison. While Hunter Biden allegedly failed to pay income taxes for a couple years (he ultimately repaid his tax obligation) and purchased a hand gun while using drugs, Kushner was busy in his role in the “White House” apparently attempting to coerce the Qatari’s (their sovereign wealth fund) to bail him out of a (stupid) investment in a property located at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, N.Y. Keep in mind, we’re talking about around $1.5 BILLION. (666 is the number of the Devil, just sayin…)

Kushner’s behavior was WRONG in more “avenues” than his entreaties to pressure the Qatari’s to bail out his disaster at 666 Fifth Avenue. He was KNOWN to be having SECRET converstations with the Saudi’s leader, commonly referred to as MBS (Mohammed bin Salmon) using the Facebook ap “What’s Ap” where he could communicate without anyone else knowing what was said – like the government records which are required for all government business while you’re officially part of the official government. Kushner wasn’t the only “White House” official doing business “behind closed doors” (Trump, himself, had several “off the record” conversations with Vladimir Putin and most in has admin. were using private cell phones while on governemtn business). But, Kusher was actually meeting in person with the Saudi Leader (and apparently others) secretly and pressuring for a blockade on Qatar. But, republicans are focused on Huner Biden! Yikes!!

As they say, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Not only was Kushner pressuring the Qatari’s while in the “White House,” but after checking out from the government, almost within a month, he was groveling from the Saudi’s for a couple BILLION dollars for the purpose of starting an investment firm – which he was not qualified for and from which he (supposedly) will give himself $25 MILLION as a yearly salary. Nice work if you can get it.

Keep in mind, Trump – who has been accused of brandishing Classified documents after leaving the “White House” (actually, while he was there, also) has been doing his own deals with the Saudi’s and the (disgusting) LIV golf league which has been sending Trump boatloads of money for the use of a couple of his golf resorts. Every time I hear about the next (the result of a MAJOR “grift”) tournament I can’t help but think of the empty folders marked “Classified” at Mar a Lago – with no document to fill the folder with – and wonder where they went? Do you really believe Trump took EMPTY folders out of the “White House” and just left them on the floor of his office (or in his desk)? Pllleease!

Let’s face it, Trump committed so many CRIMES right out in daylight that people have virtually become numb to his CRIMINAL conduct. So, it should be no surprise that, when Jared Kushner was repeatedly walking over the “line” in his communications with MBS only to squeeze a couple BILLION out of the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund soon after January 20th, 2021, the federal authorities didn’t have the “stomach” for even an investigation. Do you really believe that TWO BILLION had anything to do with his “grifting?” (Attention House republicans) Kushner’s (alleged) abuses make Hunter Biden look like a first grader. I can virtually guarantee you there will NEVER be an investigation of Mr. Kushner’s grift. (For one thing, the DOJ only has so many investigators – and Trump’s keeping them busy)

Final Thought: I can’t end this rant without talking about republicans in general. I realize most American voters are busy trying to make “ends meet,” and they’re trying to educate themselves on issues by trusting news outlets and politicians to be telling the TRUTH. Here’s the problem with that, and I’ve been pointing this out for well over ten years. The republican party and the “news” outlets who blindly support them long ago adopted the “Big Lie Theory” of the Nazi’s from back in Hitler’s time. In FACT it was Hitler himself who “devised” the “theory” and it was Joseph Goebbels who put into practice. The theory is simple: If you repeat a LIE over and over, eventually your “audience” will believe it’s true.

I noticed this back in the early days of the Rush Limbaugh years on “talk radio.” It became obvious the “talking points” (ie LIES) were coordinated through some venue I had no idea what it was – I just noticed republicans and their pundits all using the EXACT same “key” terms as they were LYING to “we the people.” I also noticed that, for some reason, our “liberal media” wasn’t/isn’t picking up on this. Those with the megaphone on, for example, cabel TV “news” (ie MSNBC – which is what I watch when I watch anything) seem bewildered by the absurdity of many of the republican LIES (and LIARS). But, they don’t seem to “connect the dots.”

This is exactly why Trump is so valuable to republicans/white nationalsists. He was/is willing to PATHOLOGICALLY lie to his minions faces and he’s proved that it works. In reality, the “Big Lie Theory” and the other key to Nazi propaganda back in the 1930’s: projection means to accuse your adversary of doing exactly what you’re doing and vilify them for it. Moreover, when you watch/read about the republicans in the House you have to wonder “how STUPID” have American “conservatives” become? It really is astonishing to listen to/read about some of the stuff coming out of the mouths or republicans in the House. (Not to mention their voters) Clearly, they are hell bent on doing whatever destruction is required to our American institutions allowing themselves to be guaranteed they regain/remain (in) power.

There’s too much STUPIDITY for me to list it all here, but if you’re still reading this posting it would be wise for you to get ahold of the transcript of, for example, a recent hearing where the object of republican “ire” was Christopher Wray – a lifelong conservative republican appointed by Trump to be the head of the FBI. Republicans have convinced themselves that January 6th, 2021 was simply “legitimate political discourse.” Apparently, the injuries to over 140 members of the Capitol Police and the D.C. Metropolitan Police was all “self inflicted.” ???

And, when some of these (crackpot republican members of the House) get going on the Covid-19 pandemic it makes me wonder if there really are “Jewish Space Lazers?” Seriously, you should make sure you understand what some of these people – apparently in the so-called “Freedom Caucus” are saying. And, when you listen to them and connect them to their own constituency it begins to make it clear why the so-called “blue states” are continually needed to bail out the economies of the “red states.” And, buckle up, because some of the “red states” are going to be needing even larger “bailouts” during the upcoming Hurricane season – more on that below,.

One More Thing: Tonight I got a bit sick to my stomach as I watched exerpts of John Kerry testifying to a House Committee which was, in essence, claiming there’s no “climate crisis.” They accused Kerry and those (of us) who believe as he does as – wait, this will surprise you (OK, that’s my 6th grade sarcasm) – being “grifters.” I know, coming from republicans like Scott Perry (who was right in the middle of the CONSPIRACY to overthrow our government on January 6th, 2021) this would be a “shocker” (Yep, more sarcasm – what else can I do?). The next thing you’ll see will be Perry accusing Joe Biden of being a “grifter” while suggesting Trump’s fundraising schemes are all “above board.” (I’ll let Jack Smith convince me of that)

Here’s the deal. Republicans in the House from Florida were attempting to BLAME Joe Biden and democrats for the FACT the Farmer’s Insurance Company has become the FOURTH Insurance company to abandon Florida in the past few years. The cost of Homeowner’s Insurance in Florida is, according to the info I saw tonight, is 42% higher than the average people elsewhere around the country are paying. (Possibly with the exception of Texas and California, places also being inundated by the weather events of Climate Crisis.) If you don’t understand the reality of what is taking place, the water off the coast of Florida (I believe by the everglades) was, today, 98.1 DEGREES. We are soon to be facing the Hurricane season and, apparently, it will be up to the American taxpayers to pay for the damage which is likely to happen this year to Florida, Louisiana, Mississippie, and Texas (among others).

It’s not just Florida. Texas and Louisiana (and, other Southern states) are vulnerable to ever more powerful Hurricanes. California will soon be in the wildfire season – in fact, the state of Washington, where I live, is likely to have a significant wildfire season this year. I live close to the Columbia River at a reasonably high elevation (from the fear of flooding) but, I believe it has rained here ONCE (other than a drizzle the other day) since, I believe. the latter part of April. That’s something like 75 straight days of sunshine. Enjoyable by old guys like me, except that I know the reality facing my children and grandchildren.

I put solar panels on our property back in 2015 and my wife and I drive electric cars (mine is mostly electric – a Chevy Volt in which I have put about 10 gallons of gas into the generator each year since I purchased it in late 2016). The last documents I’ve seen suggest solar and wind power will surpass fossil fuel production by around 2030. Let me remind you, the water temperature off Florida’s coast today was 98.1 degrees Farenheit. If that was a human’s temperature, not to worry. However, it’s clear our planet has a “fever.” A serious “fever.” (One expert pointed out the Coral Reef’s off Florida’s coast are DYING – that is really BAD – and, it’s happening around the world) Stay tuned………

OK, I have to add this: The “bipartisan infrastructure” bill has now spawned over 3000 projects across America – in “blue” and “red” states. To me, the most interesting part of all this, other than to really upgrade America’s infrastructure to a point where we are competitve with other countries around the world would require double the investment, is all the republicans who voted AGAINST the bill showing up at the “ribbon cutting” ceremonies claiming CREDIT for whatever that project was designed to fix. Really, today’s republicans have NO shame!

Republican Trump “sycophants” are often referring to the “left” in terms such as “communists,” “socialists,” and even “fascists.” Fascism as defined: “Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.” If you’re still reading, I’ll let you look up communists and socialists. My point is you always find projection out of the mouths of republican politicians and, therefore, their “minions.”

On multiple occasions I’ve pointed out republicans appear to be fully invested in the propaganda arm of the Nazi’s of the 1930’s and 40’s. It was Joseph Goebbels, the head of Nazi propaganda, who put the so-called “Big Lie” theory of Adolph Hitler – that if you repeat a LIE over and over, those hearing it will eventually believe it’s true. (Progressives, ie “liberals,” often point out Trump’s “Big Lie” without connecting it to the original source of this “strategy” – Nazi propaganda) Goebbels also said to accuse your adversaries of the very things you’re doing which are illegal or wrong. Hence, you often hear republicans referring to “liberals” (ie democrats) as being fascist. Read the definition above and think clearly about “Trumpism.” Remember, Trump is one generation removed from Germany and his father was involved with the KKK many years ago. Just sayin….

I’ve been refering to Trump as a “wannabe fascist” and/or “wannabe Mob boss” for years. If you learn about the “total picture” with Trump, going back to his childhood, what you see is someone completely removed from any religious affiliation or moral compass and he comes across as the prime example of a “spoiled brat.” He is also the classic example of a narcissist. “Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one’s own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a continuum that ranges from normal to abnormal personality expression.” In my view, Trump falls in the “abnormal” category.

As Trump continues his attempt to “try his case (he’s facing 71 FELONY charges as I write) in the public domain” you’re going to often hear the term “gaslighting.” According to Psychology Today here’s the definition: ” Gaslighting is an insidious form of manipulation and psychological control. Victims of gaslighting are deliberately and systematically fed false information that leads them to question what they know to be true…” Gaslighting, in essence, is another term for the use of the “Big Lie Theory” – but, at least when I’m listening, it’s more often used to describe Trump’s LYING. Personally, I believe the connection to the Nazi’s SHOULD be part of the public discussion of why Trump is such a LIAR. (Again, it – LYING – works)

I’ve pointed out here, many times, the MOST important election in the lifetimes of America’s voters who cherish our democratic republic as it has existed for the past 240+ years is the NEXT one. I’ve been saying this since the mid terms of 2018 and it just becomes more clear as time rolls on. (I’ll explain a bit further down below) Just imagine where we’d be today had voters not put the democrats in control of Congress back in 2018. And, of course, the election of Joe Biden was of historic proportions – not only based on what he’s accomplished, but I believe he was the ONE democrat who could defeat Trump. And, the mid terms of 2022 were far from the “Red wave” republicans were predicting, despite the (sad) reality republicans gained a slim majority in the House of Representatives.

I keep it in the front of my mind constantly that these republicans never seem to get the message – they just keep moving forward with the same tired schtick – because they’ve got a large group of very wealthy “puppet masters” pushing them on. The list of these right wing “donors” seems endless, but it’s been clear many of the wealthy American families – like the “Koch brothers” – now just Charles Koch – the DeVoss family, the Coors family, The Walton family, and a bunch of others which don’t come to mind right now, have been pushing the right wing, authoritarian, anti democratic push we’ve been enduring since the day Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. I don’t think I need to explicitly point out the issue which makes their (these right wing republicans) “push” seem so critical to them. (OK, racism) but the evidence is clear – they KNOW they’re in the minority and they’re pushing schemes which will give them “minority” rule. (To them, that’s far superior to actually addressing the needs of “we the people.”)

That’s precisely why as soon as the coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021 FAILED, state after state under the control of republican legislatures began passing voter suppression legislation. In some instances legislatures gave themselves the authority to overturn results they don’t agree with. States like Florida, Georgia, and Texas were outright willing to put their RACIST views right up front as they were passing their “anti-woke” legislation. (These people have no idea where the term “woke” came from – suffice it to say, you could substitute the term “Black” for “woke” and you’d get their “drift.”) In Texas, legislatures went so far as to give themselves the authority to overturn the results in ONE county – the largest county in Texas which has, of late, been voting for democrats. Yikes!!!

Here’s the “deal” – virtually all of this anti-democratic (as well as that which is aimed at those who vote for democrats) legislation falls neatly into the definition of FASCISM. That’s a touchy term in America because there are many like me who have Mothers and/or Fathers who were directly involved in America’s fight against Adolf Hitler back in the 1940’s. I’ve often said here Trump has come closer to achieving Hitler’s goals in America than Hitler ever did. And, as I’ve said, he continues to act as if he’s going to have his political success reborn. Multiple CRIMINAL charges be damned. Being credibly accused by a jury in a defamation lawsuit of being a sexual predator (as he admitted on the Access Hollywood tape AND in his court deposition) be damned. His “base” – full of conservative “Christians” doesn’t seem to care about any of this.

I’ll end this by suggesting if you think I’m nuts – do a little reading about Viktor Orban in Hungary or Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey. They give a good example of the “blue print” republicans are attempting to follow. For heaven’s sake, both (the now shamed) Tucker Carlson, with his (canceled) show on Fox and the CPAC “conservative” gathering have done their schtick in Hungary – sucking up to Orban. (CPAC brought Orban to one of their gatherings in the U.S.) That SHOULD give all Americans pause thinking about what these republicans have in mind for America. They’ve already (in the past 40+ years) “pruned” TRILLIONS from America’s taxpayers into the pockets of the “top 1%” and it’s likely to get much worse before/if it gets better unless “we the people” wake up. (All the while they’re doing this “pruning” they complain, when there’s a democrat in the “White House,” about the deficits.)

However, I do believe Trump understands how the propaganda scheme of the Nazi’s works – the Big Lie Theory – plus the use of projection (If he accuses you of doing it that means he’s done or doing it) – and, the republican party has “jumped in” with “both feet.” I’ve been pointing out for years republicans believe “the end justifies the means,” and Trump has convinced them of two things. First, the LYING and CHEATING works. Secondly, they believe their base (and potentially some of the independent voters) are STUPID enough to believe he’s telling them the truth. His CORRUPTION is so deep, and much of it was committed in “broad daylight,” – as if to say “na na na” to the authorities who are investigating him. (While he claims to be “draining the swamp”)

Now that he’s facing SERIOUS criminal charges – from two venues and soon to be from (possibly) two more (who knows how many more – I can see the possibility of FOUR more indictments) – we’re going to see some serious lashing out at the Justice Department and the FBI. Additionally, he’s got some really wacked out members of the House of Representatives who will do everything they can to DEFLECT the charges Trump is facing to both Joe and Hunter Biden. (Take your pick) These House members don’t know how to do governing, so they’re focusing their time on attempting to IMPEACH Biden, Merrick Garland, FBI director Christopher Wray, and just about every member of Biden’s administration. Great job meeting the needs of the American public! If young people don’t vote in 2024 things could (probably will) get much worse.

For example, I’ve been doing some reading about “A.I.” (Artificial Intelligence) – which is the brainchild of some right wing hacks – like Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel (who has a spot already located in New Zealand for when his technology advances make income inequality far more insidious than it is as I’m writing this – and, of course, he’ll be far RICHER and he’ll be far away from the consequences) Musk comes across as a total FASCIST, to me, and Thiel was funneling money to the Trump endorsed candidates in the previous mid term election by the “boatloads” and they could care less what their technology does for humanity. Trust me when I say this, A.I. technology could do TEN times more DAMAGE to the 2024 “elections” than what the Russians accomplished in 2016. As usual, our legislators will be behind the times when they realize the importance of regulating this technology – it might already be too late. Americans are likely to be FLOODED with A.I. generated mis/disinformation STARTING NOW regarding the election of 2024.

Personally, as someone who’s got “living long enough to see Trump behind bars” on his “bucket list” I also realize the so-called “liberal media” spends so much time on Trump that it’s almost as if many Americans might not know who their president is. Certainly, many have no idea who the leaders in their states are. This is why I want to see Trump expunged from the political “arena.” How many Americans know what Joe Biden’s administration has done for them? And, I’m talking about people from all parts of the political spectrum. The infrastructure bill is not providing good paying jobs for just democrats. It’s not providing benefits for just democrats.

There’s not a SINGLE part of the successes under Biden which hasn’t permeated across partisan lines. This is exactly why republicans focus their actions on “culture issues.” There’s a good example of this below where the Supreme Court INVENTED a hypothetical circumstance to further their AGENDA to undermine the issue of anti-discrimination. Where will this stop? Who knows. This court will be “in charge” for a generation. That’s exactly why I’ve been saying VOTERS must vote AGAINST republicans for the next 20 – 30 years – because these extremists have unlimited funding and they “stick around like a bad dream.”

OK, I have to add: I’ve putzed around long enough finishing my thoughts here that the Supreme Court (which I’ve written about most recently) has been busy pissing off those on the “left” with their end of the term decisions. Well, today was another prime example of how the court (mostly put in place by republican presidents – who “garnered” less popular votes than the politician they “defeated” – republicans who’ve historically complained about judges who “legislate from the bench”) has been, you guessed it, legislating from the bench – by overturning a half century of “precedent” when they ruled against “affirmative action” regarding admissions policies by our nation’s top universities. My response: “What is anyone surprised about?”

Now, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t even play one on TV (and, I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night) and, I don’t study Court decisions up close and personal. However, I remember Chief Justice Roberts’ reasoning when he wrote the majority decision GUTTING Section 5 of the Voting Right’s Act of 1965 – saying, in essence, we don’t need protections for “people of color” anymore because (tee hee!) there’s no longer any voter suppression legislation aimed at people of color. (My characterization, although, it’s pretty close). Well, today, he basically used the same reasoning; racism is no longer an issue in America (again, my words). I’d write “tee hee!” once again, but this court is NO laughing matter.

Apparently, Roberts and the rest of the “conservatives” on the court have had their heads up their…… oops! in the sand. Suggesting there’s not enough racism in this nation to justify allowing Colleges and Universities to use affirmative action to create student bodies which represent the make-up of our society is, well, ABSURD! What are these people thinking? Oh yes, if you read my recent post on the Court (providing nothing new news wise) you know the “conservative” members of the court have been participating in “conservative CORRUPTION” just like their “conservative” brethren in the republican party in a way which has created a path toward fascism. And, they may be the KEY part of the strategy!

Yikes!!! This is the time of year when the SCOTUS hands out their “detention slips” to those who are believing in a progressive society and with today came a couple “doozies.” The court ruled against President Biden’s ability to grant “student loan forgiveness” by accepting a challenge from a source in Missouri (I always refer to it as “misery”) with a more than questionable challenge to whether or not it even had “standing.”

And, in a decision agreeing with a “hypothetical” situation which “could” arise in Colorado the court ruled, once again, that discrimination is, well, OK. If you can claim your religious beliefs grant you the right to discriminate against someone for, whatever, the court is on your side. In this HYPOTHETICAL case it involved someone who MIGHT be asked to do web work for a couple seeking “gay marriage.” The court ruled it was OK, in this HYPOTHETICAL case for discrimination.

Let me say this more clearly, the person bringing this case (with a republican “dark money group” doing the bidding and funding) had NEVER been asked to create a “wedding website” for a same sex couple. Apparently, it was part of her imagination. Talk about opening your pandora’s box. (What about, for example, someone who doesn’t believe in interracial marriage? What about an Atheist?) I’m not going to trouble my mind to come up with more HYPOTHETICALS, but you can be sure there are “conservatives” out there who’ll do that “work” for me. Stay tuned…….

OK, I can’t refrain from writing about the rot which has permeated our Supreme Court over the past 25 years. Yes, I’ve written about the Court before, especially the right wing determination of the 2000 presidential election – CHOOSING GW Bush/Dick Cheney over Al Gore – who, graciously stepped aside “for the betterment of our country.” Do you think Donald Trump got a good laugh over that one? That was really bad, but it’s progressively gotten worse since then.

In 2008 Barack Obama shocked many in America (including me) by becoming the FIRST African American to be elected to the Presidency. Of course, that set Trump through the roof along with people like David Duke, Don Black, and a host of other white nationalists who’d been hiding in the “weeds” for years – ostensibly since the days of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – followed on to the scene by the (racist) “Tea Party” – a group who’ve since taken control of the republican caucus in the House – making Kevin McCarthy the “SINO” (Speaker in Name Only). If you’ve been paying even peripheral attention you remember Trump leading the so-called “birther” movement – which emanated out of the “Tea Party.” If you witnessed any of their rallies I don’t have to point out their schtick was based on racism. Obama’s election put their backlash in “high gear” and Trump was the mechanism to get them into the “mainstream.”

This all was followed by the Supreme Court, now with John Roberts as the Chief Justice, taking the extreme position of “legislating from the bench.” ostensibly, a key example being the decision often referred to as “Citizen’s United.” If you’ve been frustrated by the HUGE amounts of SECRET money which has assaulted our political system well, it appears, the “conservative” members of the Court have been focused on “getting theirs.” Not only have they been busy gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and overturning Roe v Wade, but they’ve been busy getting FREE vacations paid for by some of America’s top BILLIONAIRES who seem to get very preferable treatment by the Court – with the judges these BILLIONAIRES are “courting” coming through in their court decisions. It’s a rare occurence when one of these judges recuses him/herself despite the “appearance of impropriety.” And, I believe, what’s known today is only “scratching” the surface of the corruption.

The latest example of this Court CORRUPTION comes from none other than Sam Alito – the judge I’ll always remember shaking his head as if to say “no, no” when Barack Obama lashed out at the Citizen’s United decision pointing out it would undoubtedly lead to foreign money pouring into our elections during one of his early State of the Union speeches. Well, we now KNOW of some Russian money being funneled to Trump in 2016 but we’ll NEVER know the full extent of the AMOUNT of foreign money being introduced into our electoral process because it’s just too easy to hide it, again thanks to Citizen’s United, allowing influence pedaling in American politics surreptitiously – despite Mr. Alito’s head shaking to the contrary.

And, by the time Alito was shaking his head at Obama (I believe it was the 2010 State of the Union address) he had already accepted the (allegedly) ILLEGAL free gift from Paul Singer (BILLIONAIRE) via the organizing skills of Leonard Leo – He who’s the expert at turning BILLIONAIRE money into right wing justices on the various courts who (surprisingly :o) decide cases in favor of these very BILLIONAIRES – who managed to get Justice Alito a FREE trip to Alaska in 2008 on a fishing trip which, by all accounts, SHOULD have cost him about $200 – $250 THOUSAND dollars – you know “chump change” to people like Mr. Singer. (Especially, when you learn Singer eventually – after some dogged perseverance – cashed in to the tune of $2.4 BILLION resulting from a favorable Supreme Court decision – which Alito participated in, just like the many other cases Singer brought before the Court and which Alito failed to recuse himself. Oops!!!

Well, as it turns out, it’s apparently NOT illegal for Supreme Court Justices to lavish themselves with their BILLIONAIRE acquaintances – they just have to report it in their annual financial statements before the Court. Just like Clarence Thomas before him, you guessed it, Justice Alito “forgot” to disclose this nearly quarter of a MILLION “gift.” What makes this a bit more interesting is he says he barely knows Mr. Singer (although that comes across as a bit of a …….. OK, I’ll say it, a [alleged] LIE) – but, I have to ask: “If you didn’t know this man (Singer) why did you accept this trip – did you even wonder why he was willing to lavish you with a couple hundred grand fishing trip to Alaska? (Maybe there’s a bunch more we don’t yet know about)

Free plane rides, free lodging ($1000 and up per night), free food (very expensive food) along with apparently $1000 a bottle wine, free fishing at spots only accessible by plane, and…… I’m guessing you’re starting to get the idea here. Another Supreme Court Justice accepting FREE “hospitality” from a BILLIONAIRE which he’s OBLIGATED to report – and, likely didn’t report because accepting this trip was likely ILLEGAL. (The value of the trip probably rivaled a year’s salary of a SCOTUS Justice) Honestly, I have to wonder if there might be tax questions here. We’ve heard so much about Hunter Biden’s tax problems (he paid the taxes back he owed – anyone other than Biden’s son would never face charges for that) are we going to hear about those of Alito and Thomas and their unreported gifts? I think I have to agree with republicans, there does appear to be a two tiered Justice system.

I know someone who was pulled over for a tail light being out, was on his way home from work, and had ONE drink on an empty stomach, the officer smelled alcohol and away he went into Jail for the night – a precursor of a lot of harsh treatment as he went through the court system and its process. His blood alcohol limit WAS (rounded up to) .08, the legal limit in the State of Washington and he was “put through the ringer” by the local prosecutor and everyone else he came into contact with at the local Court House. It’s true, he wasn’t in possession of classified documents and he wasn’t a former president, but as I’ve watched Trump’s experience, so far, (with a judge who appears to “look up to him”) I can really see the argument about a two tiered legal system. And, Trump and the republicans (like Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan, for example) should be very thankful for that.

When people like my acquaintance are involved with the Justice System, they’re dealing with local prosecutors and locally elected judges – plus probation officers with way too many cases and, from what I could see, too many years on the job – most of them very cynical. In Trump’s case, he’s dealing with a judge he appointed, the prosecutors are bending over backwards to appear non-partisan and fair, and, despite Trump’s reputation of “stiffing” his lawyers, he still has high priced lawyers (wether or not they’re “good” lawyers is another question), and he’s got Congressional “hacks” attempting (futilely) coming to his defense – despite the appearance he doesn’t have much of a defense. Add to that, most people are saying Trump won’t go to jail even if convicted – why? because of his secret service detail! On that, you’ve got to be kidding!

If Trump is convicted of a felony he SHOULD lose his government pension along with the Secret Service detail he’s suppose to get “for life.” Especially, if he’s convicted of Sedition in the January 6th investigation – the 14th Amendment makes it clear, at least, that anyone who participates in an INSURRECTION (there’s more to it, but…) may not hold any office in the government – ever again – from that day forward – FULL STOP! My point is there really is a two tiered Justice System which is something us “liberals” have been fighting against for as long as I can remember. And, these Supreme Court Justices are right in the middle of it – apparently thinking just like Trump that they are “above the law.” It’s up to “we the people” to assure them they are NOT above the law and the ONLY way to do that – from my vantage point is to VOTE in MASSIVE numbers in the upcoming elections as “far as the eye can see.”

These right wing republicans won’t quit just because they lose an election. That just causes them to “double down.” And, you can see their strategy – Leonard Leo manages to cause numerous right wing judges to be confirmed and then he goes about the “work” of causing those judges to “feel” obligated to his causes and those who he “connects” them to – really, are these judges so STUPID as to not understand what is happening to them? It’s possible, but I digress – and, once they (the judges) have been compromised with their new “friend” these mysterious cases appear before the court and ALWAYS seem to go the way of the BILLIONAIRES.

Now, don’t get me wrong – the “stench” which is permeating the Supreme Court as I’m writing this goes much deeper than Justices Alito and Thomas – although their part in the “stench” is quite significant – Justice Roberts’ wife has brought in a small fortune “herding” potential justices at all levels of our Federal Court system into the “fold,” while Justice Gorsuch does real estate deals with BILLIONAIRES who “he doesn’t know” and, which he doesn’t report. Do you think as I do that if there’s nothing wrong with what these justices are doing why aren’t they reporting all the details – as required BY LAW? Of course, they each get to “police” themselves, so there’s nothing to worry about here, right? Oh, for heaven’s sake…….. as my Mom used to say!

These right wing judges are a key component of the republican fever dream of a “permanent republican majority.” Of course, as things are going, there’s NO chance republicans have majorities almost anywhere beside the deep South and the Rust Belt. In addition to their attempt to assault the court system with right wing judges, they’ve managed to gerrymander voting districts in enough states to have a reasonable chance to control the House with MILLIONS fewer votes than democrats. For example, in a state like Wisconsin, the state is about 50/50 between registered republicans and registered democrats – yet they control THEIR legislature with a near super majority AND, they send six republicans to the House of Representatives as opposed to two democrats – thanks to gerrymandered districts.

One other thing republicans are doing to achieve their “fever dream” is to enact voter suppression laws aimed at areas in the state leaning democratic – like, surprise surprise, areas predominantly areas with Black voters. Their wacky Senator, for example, Ron Johnson “defeated” African American democrat Mandela Barnes by about 50,000 votes. After the election a leading republican claimed they (republicans) had succeeded in stifling the voting by around 100,000 votes in the democratic stronghold of Milwaukie. Just sayin……

When listening to Trump attempting to deflect the very REAL charges he’s facing toward the “democrats – the socialist, communist, fascist” who are giving “we the people” one more “alleged” hoax – as if STEALING highly sensitive TOP SECRET documents when he left the job he “won” with the help of Vladimir Putin in 2016 and then refusing to give them back when the National Archives realized they were missing. The Justice Department bent over backward to give Trump the opportunity to give them back and his response was “Their mine.” Yikes!! And, now republicans are continuing to willfully believe his LIES.

Final Thought: You’d have thought a monetary settlement of $787.5 MILLION would have been enough to get Fox “news” to start telling something resembling the TRUTH. But, of course, believing that was happening would be like believing Peter Pan was actually a real character back in the day when the first movie came out. (no idea why I picked that analogy) The bottom line is Fox continues spewing LIES and pushing “conspiracy theories” as if they’ve never faced backlash from their campaign of misinformation. This past weekend, for example, based on all I could tolerate, saw Maria Bartiromo suggesting the “media” covering the crisis in Russia this past weekend was a democratic plan to take the “heat” away from Hunter Biden.

Boy, do these republicans love to gang up on Hunter Biden. I wonder if he can file a defamation suit against Fox? Just a thought. What Bartiromo, and apparently others on Fox’ airwaves were suggesting was that Prigozen’s forray into Russia this past weekend was a result of some mysterious agreement with the Biden administration to take the “heat” off Hunter. And, sadly, many/most members of the republican party who “religiously” view Fox, will suck it all in – despite the absurdity of what Bartiromo and the others are saying.

Along with the right wing control of the courts and the gerrymandered districts (along with voter suppression tactics) by virtue of the republican “puppet masters” (hiding in the “weeds”), this campaign of mis/disinformation via right wing media outlets fits right into a plan for a fascist takeover of our government. I, personally, know members of Trump’s “cult” who have shared with me they “hate democracy.” They feel our democratic republic is “authoritarian” because, well, they actually LOSE many elections and they see the writing on the wall regarding the large numbers of voters (especially younger ones) determined to vote AGAINST them. This despite Trump’s comments to the contrary. (Trump is full throated “all in” on the propaganda scheme of Joseph Goebbels from the Nazi’s Third Reich back in the 1930’s)

Several years ago I suggested Donald Trump would end up in the History books right next to Benedict Arnold. After reading the 37 count indictment today, coming from the investigation of Special Counsel Jack Smith, I want to say, “I’ll rest my case.” Trump’s reckless abuse of the LAWS against the retention and dissemination of classified documents puts him squarely in the crosshairs of those calling him a TRAITOR. For example, we may never know who he shared that information with, but the reality is just storing the stuff in HIGHLY exposed areas of Mar a Lago and who knows where it was stored when he took some of it to Bedminster means ANY number of his “guests” could have had access to the documents.

Today, I’ve been reading the responses of republicans – you know, the party of “law and order” – to the most recent indictment of Trump and, I have to say, these people are becoming insufferable. Their complaints are likely to just keep getting louder as the future indictments begin to pile up. For heaven’s sake, I just finished reading an opinion piece in the Washington Post – the one “major” newspaper I still subscribe to – by (OK, I can’t remember his name) – which was virtually mind boggling. These “conservatives” will excuse ANY actions by Trump with the most creative ways to suggest we should just let him keep pushing the limits of his lawbreaking – daring the government to FINALLY hold him accountable – because, you know, “it’s just how he is.” (My characterization)

The guy made a point to say we don’t know for sure if any of the government secrets Trump went out of his way to keep from the National Archives was used in a “nefarious” manner – the indictment “only” lists two occasions where Trump showed “stuff” to people without security clearances – to me, not that it makes a hill of beans of difference whether they had a security clearance or not. The reality is the stuff was stored in several places which would have been easily accessed by virtually ANYONE who managed to worm their way onto the grounds at Mar a Lago – and, the only thing we KNOW about when the documents were at Bedminster in New Jersey is that Trump, while being taped for a book interview for Mark Meadows claimed a document he was showing at least two journalists was a classified document relating to plans for a potential military intervention in Iran. Apparently, Trump showed that document to support his badmouthing of General Mark Milley regarding remarks Milley had made about the last days of the Trump administration. You know, after he LOST to Joe Biden by OVER 7 MILLION votes!

What the hell is wrong with these people. They still cower in FEAR of the nastygram Trump will post on his “untruth” social instead of standing firm in what MOST of them KNOW is right. I’ll give a pass on that last comment to people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, and Kevin McCarthy because the group of them together don’t seem to be “playing with a full deck.” That might not include McCarthy who simply comes across as a conniving, cowardly, overly ambitious politician with a complete lack of a spine (is that redundant?). Did any of them read the indictment?

OK, the guy who wrote the opinion piece in the Post clearly had read the indictment but, to him, it was that none of it mattered. His attitude was what I worried was AG Garland’s prior to the Select Committee on January 6th began giving their reports. Why would the DOJ refuse to indict Trump on these charges of threatening the national security of the United States, according to this guy? Well, simply because he was a former president. That is to confirm what democrats have been allowing republicans to spew since the Iran/Contra “affair” during the waning days of the Reagan administration. Prosecute the underlings and let the actual perpetrators go “scott free.”

It was done again after the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld crew publicly admitted to authorizing TORTURE of the so-called “enemy combatants” in Bush’s absurd (Afghanistan) and ILLEGAL (Iraq) wars of choice. (Don’t remember the details – you can find them in the archives of this site – I still believe President Obama’s biggest blunder was “looking forward instead of back” – which I thought AG Garland was going to conveniently do regarding Trump until, as I said above, he was pressured into investigating the actual ringleaders of the attempted coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021 – this “stolen documents” case arrived about a year later)

Here’s what I have to say to columnists like the one I referenced in today’s Post – stop embarrassing yourself and boring me with your blather. Trump, as with any defendant, is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The trial will be in “Trump country” – ie South Florida – and as “luck” would have it, Trump drew the same judge – who he appointed AND who, in the beginning of this investigation, showed complete fealty for our TWICE IMPEACHED, TWICE INDICTED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president with absurd rulings which were “blasted” by the conservative 11th Circuit’s judges – unanimously – so, the odds are stacked against the DOJ getting a guilty verdict. It will be hard to find a 12 person jury in South Florida without at least one juror who read that Post column and thinks like whoever that nimwit is. (Sorry) If Trump is found guilty under these circumstances, well, that would seem to suggest he’s VERY guilty. Which, when you read the entire 49 pages of the indictment, it’s hard to conclude otherwise – unless, of course, you believe former presidents are “above the law.”

While Trump’s sycophants are complaining about the FACT he’s now a CRIMINAL defendant in BOTH State and Federal Courts (with MORE on the horizon) – suggesting Joe Biden appointed Jack Smith and head’s the “most corrupt” administration in our nation’s history – I’ve pointed out NUMEROUS times here what PROJECTION is and that Trump is the master of PROJECTION – he accuses you of it, that means he DID/IS it – and while he says the charges are “very unfair” and this is a “witch hunt” I’d like republican politicians to explain to me why Jack Teixeira is being held in custody for, in essence, the SAME criminal conduct as Trump while Trump can fly internationally should he choose to do so. (I’ve predicted, prior to Smith’s FIRST indictment Trump may seek asylum before he will risk going to PRISON – supposedly, he’ll simply be subjected to “home confinement” if convicted.

That all said, here’s what the government has said in regard to the case against Mr. Teixeira, “The unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified information jeopardizes our nation’s security. Individuals granted access to classified materials have a fundamental duty to safeguard the information for the safety of the United States, our active service members, its citizens, and its allies,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring that those entrusted with sensitive national security information adhere to the law.” The judge in Trump’s arraignment seems to believe Trump SHOULD get special treatment – therefore, the same for Walt Nauta. But, what about all the OTHERS who’ve been held to account for mishandling classified information? Stay tuned……..

Final Thought: It’s interesting to listen to Trump’s “lackeys” complaining that Trump is the result of a “two tiered” legal system as if Trump is getting unfair treatment for being INDICTED on the 7 charges (37 Counts) for the theft and retention of over 300 documents with CLASSIFIED markings on them – apparently, he’s ONLY being held accountable for the 31 most egregious documents which endanger America’s national security. He had about a year and a half to simply return the documents and the INDICTMENT would never have happened. Keep in mind, there were (something like 30) empty folders labeled “classified” which were EMPTY. Do you, as I do, wonder where all those documents went? Do you believe, as do I, that Trump still has classified documents in his possession? Or, worse yet, do you wonder who might have those documents? It makes no sense that he would STEAL empty folders, does it?

So, if you really believe he’s being treated unfairly, think about Reality Winner – who was the first person convicted of taking a classified document and leaking it to the press (it had to do with the “Russia thing” back in 2016 or 2017). And, I emphasize “document.” She made a copy of ONE document (which had to do with the Russia interference in the 2016 election), leaked it to the press, and was arrested and held without bail – again, for ONE document! She received a sentence of 5 years in prison and is still under supervised release. Trump had NO bail to post, he’s free to go virtually wherever he chooses – including internationally. Yep, there is an unfair legal system – a two tiered system of “justice” ant Trump is the beneficiary of incredibly “liberal” terms during his arraignment. Plus, Trump gets a judge who’s shown in the past to be totally beholden to the FACT Trump appointed her to the bench. Most people know she interfered in this case shortly after the FBI exercised its warrant to search Mar a Lago – actually making comments about her concern with how this investigation might make Trump look. Yowee!

Republicans have no sense of connection to the TRUTH, but, in this instance, they’re correct. There is a two tiered system of justice in America and it’s clearly set up to bend over backward to give Trump deference. What are they going to say when Jack Smith INDICTS Trump for instigating the January 6th, 2021 INSURRECTION? Will Trump’s supporters bring up the same (ridiculous) defense of Trump – that the system is attacking him unfairly? While over 1000 of his sycophants are facing (or have faced) prosecution for answering his call to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell or you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Will his supporters in the House, once again, complain he’s being unfairly treated? (Maybe that’s why the so-called freedom caucus says those who assaulted the Capitol were just peaceful visitors. Or is it because MANY of these House members were part of the CONSPIRACY to overthrow the government?) Yikes!!!

I have to add that everytime I hear Matt Gaetz spewing this “unfair two tiered legal system” my stomach gets queazy. He is still walking free despite the (allegedly) credible evidence accusing him of being a “child sex trafficker” while “ordinary”Americans face legal consequences for FAR LESS. In addition, Gaetz supposedly was sharing photos of some of his “conquests” to other members of the House, ON the House floor during session. I realize I can’t stop myself from being “judgemental” about members of the republican party – I justify my “thoughts and actions” because I’m seriously worried about what lies ahead for my children and grandchildren. I keep telling myself, when it comes down to “it,” the American people will eventually VOTE these republicans into the history books.

However, my “life experience” is telling me the “line” – in numerous ways – lies right in the “headlights.” Regarding preserving our democratic republic – which has to be the number one objective – to voting rights, civil rights, climate change, education, women’s rights, and on and on – these issues are facing “we the people” RIGHT NOW! If you read this and fail to vote – well, if I know who you are or not that would sadden me. It’s time for ALL of us who want America to continue evolving toward her better ideals to, at a minimum, VOTE!

To me, the way to change the topics in today’s news to something at least resembling a “positive” begins with voting these republicans into the HISTORY books! Full Stop!!!

Today, Ron DeSactimonious (OK DeSantis) went on “Twitter” sitting next to Elon “Give me Free neo-Nazi Speech” Musk to announce what everyone already knew – that he’s running for the republican nomination for president in 2024 – an announcement which proved two things. First, DeSantis isn’t all that bright – the announcement was “greeted” with 25 minutes of what you would expect with Musk running “Twitter” and that’s a bunch of funny noises as the connection kept dropping. You could hear Musk in the background saying – “There’s so many people online the servers are melting down” (Which was utter nonsense – there were maybe between 100 and 200 THOUSAND “anti-woke” crusaders hanging out with two men proving that having MONEY doesn’t buy you………………… (fill in the blank).

Why did DeSantis wait so long to do this? Well, he had to wait until the Florida legislature was able to re-write Florida law so that he could run for president without being forced to resign his position of governor – you know, just in case. DeSantis announcement was so ludicrous (OK funny, from my perspective) that Donald Trump already had a vicious campaign add out on the airwaves by the time “Twitter” managed to “un melt” their servers. (25 minutes) Of course, DeSantis is HOPING the rumors Trump is about to be indicted by Jack Smith for OBSTRUCTING the attempt to get HUNDREDS of classified documents returned to the archives (and, please, don’t bore me with something like “This is so unfair, what about Joe Biden?” or “what about Hunter Biden?” If you’re “thinking” that, you’re just another right winger who lacks the ability to think)

Not only did Florida’s legislature pass a law ALLOWING DeSantis to do what NO other Florida politician has been able to do in recent memory – be governor and run for president – but the “cherry on top” was the Florida legislature managed to throw in some right wing voter suppression stuff as well. So, with DeSantis’ plan to “make America like Florida” scheme “we the people would not only get a wannabee FASCIST but we’d have less books to read, we wouldn’t have to worry about someone passing gun legislation, we could all rest assured that Black people will be kept in their place, and if you know anyone who’s part of the LGBTQ community you wouldn’t have to worry about them interfering in your WHITENESS (I wish I could have come up with a gentler way to say that), those of us on Social Security could just go back to work and, well, those of us on Medicare – is there a polite way to say this – would make it so there would be less people on Social Security. Problem solved. (DeSantis was part of the “Freedom Caucus” in Congress trying to eliminate Social Security/Medicare)

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it almost makes me better appreciate Trump. And, if you’ve been around here you KNOW how much it pains me to say that. (I honestly didn’t think there was a person in the world who could make me better appreciate Trump.) Speaking of Trump – I believe DeSantis’ entire “strategy” is to hope Jack Smith INDICTS Trump for at least the TWO investigations we know of (The third? Wire fraud in relation to the “big lie?”) However, I (sadly) believe republicans will vote for Trump thinking he can run the country from PRISON!

I wrote the above a week or two ago – I’ve been, well, “on mental vacation:” The latest “news” seems to be swirling around when (not if) Trump is going to be indicted by Jack Smith. Speculation is the FIRST indictment will be regarding the so-called “documents” case where Trump STOLE thousands of documents, which SHOULD have been in the possession of the National Archives, including some of the nation’s VERY top secrets. And, to make matters more SERIOUS, there is some evidence Trump was SHOWING these documents to people who frequented his places of residence – ie Mar a Lago in Florida or Bedminster, New Jersey.

To me, the MOST serious of the potential charges against Trump has to do with the attempted coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021. And, as I watch the “news,” I continue to see commentators who are totally focused on Trump, but not even mentioning the co-conspirators who helped create the attack on our Capitol on the sixth. For example, it appears Mark Meadows has now testified before Smith’s Grand Jury and one has to WONDER what kind of “deal” did Meadows agree to before testifying. Did he plead guilty and agree to a cooperation agreement? Or did he somehow manage to get an immunity agreement from Mr. Smith. To me, it’s clear Meadows was a KEY part of the CONSPIRACY to overthrow the 2020 presidential election.

There were others you might say! Of course there was. I can think of a bunch of them off the top of my head – which I’ve done several times here, but I’ll do it once again because indictments seem to be on the horizon. In addition to Trump and Meadows, the obvious ones would be John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Rudy Giuliani, Steve Bannon, Scott Perry, Ginni Thomas, Jim Jordan (more on him in a bit), Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Mo Brooks, Louie Gohmert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Peter Navarro, Roger Stone, Sydney Powell, Cleta Mitchell, and a bunch of people who participated in the “fake elector” scheme. You seldom see ANYONE who has a “platform” in the news world even mentioning all these people who seemingly were part of the January 6th, 2021 coup d’etat CONSPIRACY. Of course, indicting all those involved makes this case MUCH more complicated – although, if Merrick Garland is telling the truth they will follow the facts and the law and hold those involved ACCOUNTABLE.

OK, I’ve got to back off Merrick Garland. Yesterday Trump was indicted for retaining and lying about the classified documents he STOLE from the “White House” and did who knows what with. There were 37 COUNTS against Trump and a few against his aide “Waltine” Nauta. As I usually do, I read the full indictment – it’s 49 pages (as I remember :o). There, as I said, were 37 COUNTS against Trump many calling for a sentence of 20 years, with several calling for a sentence of 10 years and a few calling for a sentence of 5 years. The evidence shared in the indictment suggests Trump’s best chance to “beat” the odds once again rest in the fact the charges were brought in Miami, Florida (the home of Enrique Tarrio and the Proud Boys) and the Judge assigned to the case – so far – is Aileen Cannon. She’s the now infamous judge who attempted to help Trump, after the documents were seized as the FBI exercised a search warrent, to avoid having the classified documents used in an investigation against Trump. She even made some statement about Trump’s public image (I can’t remember the exact quote, but it showed her inability to be an apolitical judge).

Miami, Florida is apparently heavily “MAGA” country. Jack Smith is following the facts and applying the law – as promised by Garland – which requires these charges be filed in the Southern District of Florida. The evidence put forth is STRONG but it will only take one devoted MAGA juror for Trump to get a verdict of “innocent” – while, obviously, he’s (allegedly) NOT innocent. This is the SECOND of what could be as many as FIVE indictments Trump is facing before he attempts to overthrow our government once again in 2024. The next shoe to drop would be the Jan. 6th CONSPIRACY I referenced above.

Should that case be brought, it would happen in the District of Columbia. If you don’t understand the decisions on where to file the charges, the law requires the charges be brought in the jurisdiction where most of the CRIMINAL conduct occurs. And, there could be another charge coming Trump’s way in Washington D.C. and that has to do with the potential WIRE FRAUD involved in Trump’s scheme to raise about a quarter of a BILLION dollars and then using the funds in a totally different manner (still undetermined) than the “pleading” to Trump’s unsuspecting minions in the email requests. I’ve heard several former federal prosecutors say that prosecuting “wire fraud” is their “bread and butter.”

And, of course, the FIFTH possible charge could come from Fulton County, Georgia. That particular (alleged) CRIMINAL conduct, by many observers, is the most serious charges Trump could face. (Is that because of what it’s like in Georgia’s jails?) By now, almost everyone has heard the tape from Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where Trump said, “All I want is to find 11,780 votes which is one more than we have” (whatever “have” means there). That seems like overwhelming evidence of an obstruction of an official proceeding (and election) by our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president. As I’ve been saying for over 5 years now – Trump comes across as a wannabee Mob Boss. And, it appears, like Nixon before him, he could be taking numerous others “down” with him. (Remember, there were something like 49 members of Nixon’s “team” who were convicted of crimes and sent to prison) Stat tuned…..

Final Thought: I (in the past when I was healthier) have loved to play golf. Some of the questions people are asking about what Trump did with some of these classified documents involves his relationship with the Saudi’s. That brings me to the sad reality that the PGA (Professional Golf Association) of America has sold out their members for MONEY by aligning with the Saudi funded “LIV” golf league. The golfers who abandoned their PGA membership to sign with “LIV” were given tens of MILLIONS of dollars to turn their backs on the PGA. (For example, Phil Mickelson allegedly got $200 MILLION) I, for one, will discontinue watching professional golf on TV. I’ve already refused to buy the Greg Norman line of clothing carried by Costco (my “taylor”) and it actually grieves me knowing the head of the PGA succumbed to the MONEY instead of recognizing what the Saudi’s are doing – attempting to “whitewash” the TRUTH about the history of the Saudi’s. It was a sad day for me right before Jack Smith took step one regarding the two items on my bucket list.

The first item is/was to shoot my age (now 75) in golf before I head “out to pasture) and, due to my failing health (my lower back is “shot” and apparently beyond “fixing”) it is unlikely I’ll be able to accomplish the first item. The second item is/was to live long enough to see Trump going to jail for at least one of his (allegedly) many crimes. After reading the indictment brought by Jack Smith, it seems that day may happen if I can manage to live another year or two. And, of course, there are other potential CRIMES which could make that “wish” a reality. As a Christian, I’m called to love my neighbor, and Trump isn’t the first individual causing me a challenge in that regard. I don’t know how to do that but I continue to realize one of my true shortcomings. But, apparently, it is what it is. (Maybe I can forgive Trump once he’s been found guilty of one of these crimes and sentenced to jail time) Yikes!!!

(In reality, much of what I consider almost unforgivable is how Trump is USING the “conservative Christian” community. Trump is no Christian but, instead is someone who comes across as an “idol” in the eyes of so many Christians. Exactly, what is warned against in the Bible)

Oh, by the way: If you believe Trump has, even now, returned ALL the classified documents he STOLE from the “White House” I have a bridge to …………. Do you wonder, as do I, about all the EMPTY classified documents folders which were discovered during the FBI raid at Mar a Lago where over 100 classified documents were found – after Trump’s lawyers attesting that “all the documents have been returned.” Something had to have been in those folders at some point in time. Would Trump actually STEAL empty folders from the “White House?” Unlikely!!!

I’ve been pointing out for years how the (today’s) republican party has embraced the far right white nationalist/supremacist base which includes people like David Duke and Don Black – both former “imperial Wizards” of the KKK and, of course Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Michael Flynn, etc. etc. We saw Trump begin bringing this group into the “mainstream” of American politics when he led the so-called “Birther” movement beginning in 2011 winning over the “Tea Party” movement which, in today’s House, is represented by Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Greene, Jim Jordan, and the ironically named “Freedom Caucus.”

If you watched the CNN “Town Hall” put on by a network desperate for ratings this past week you saw Trump, in essence, doubling down on virtually ALL of his darkest instincts – including encouraging the House republicans to take our nation over the “cliff” by forcing a default. Their “negotiating” position is well beyond the border of the ABSURD and Joe Biden is going to be put to the test as to whether or not he’ll call their bluff and simply invoke the provision of the 14th Amendment which states “The validity of the public debt of the United States shall NOT be questioned.” Professor Lawrence Tribe of Harvard Law School said, not only SHOULD Biden invoke the amendment, he HAS a duty to do so if republicans continue to hold the nation’s economy hostage. According to Mr. Tribe the main “job” of the president is to assure the laws of the land are faithfully executed – and, the money already appropriated MUST be spent as appropriated. Full stop!

Trump, to the surprise of – well, not me, once again made sure he defamed E. Jean Carroll approximately 30 hours after he’d been “slapped” with a nearly $5 MILLION dollar judgement for “sexual assault and defamation” of Ms. Carroll. I have to wonder what the next judgement will be if she sues him again. I mean “punitive damages” are designed to get the “attention” of the perpetrator and, apparently $5 MILLION wasn’t sufficient to get Trump’s attention. I’m trying to picture in my mind what the judgement might be in the case being brought by the New York Attorney General suing Trump (and his three most adult children – Ivanka, Don Jr. and Eric) for $250 MILLION which could include punitive damages thre up to four times that amount if Trump loses that case. And, keep in mind, he’s sat for a deposition in that case – I’m thinking of his deposition in the E. Jean Carroll case – stupidity and LYING!

Trump “taught” republicans they need to CHEAT in order to remain in POWER and, of course, they’ve been busy doing just that since January 6th, 2021 which led to IMPEACHMENT #2. And, every time Trump faces reality he, instinctively, lashes our at his adversaries and his “base” sucks it up. This reality has led to the republicans attacking every aspect of American society which they believe will rile up their “base” – based almost exclusively on FEAR mongering. For example, who cares about Trans children (other than their friend and family) – who are they threatening? While I was still teaching I had a Trans student in my classroom and, sadly, she was constantly bullied as she went through the public school system with little support from her teachers – this was nearly 10 years ago and it honestly makes me ANGRY every time I listen to republicans bashing Trans people. We’re talking about PEOPLE!

I point this out because it’s just one example of what republicans are doing in order to maintain/gain POWER in our political system. We began seeing the voter suppression legislation almost immediately after Trump LOST (in a landslide) to Joe Biden in 2020 and it’s continued virtually unabated in the so-called “red states” since that time. Republicans are basing thier chances in 2024 almost exclusively on culture issues (attacks). I will only mention briefly here that the Supreme Court is the body which has enabled the republican plague on our nation which will require a massive response from young voters in the next maybe 10 – 15 elections to mitigate. Remember, just one time voting for a republican as president risks extending the Supreme Court’s radical agenda even LONGER than what “we the people” are facing right now. My children may NEVER experience a progressive/moderate Court which actually follows through on the promises they make during their confirmation hearings.

For a year now I’ve been lamenting the timidity of Merrick Garland regarding his unwillingness to hold a “former president” accountable to OBVIOUS criminal conduct. We keep hearing about “Jack Smith” but that’s it – he’s “investigating.” OK, if he’s going after the entire bunch of conspirators who attempted to OVERTURN our nation’s government on January 6th, 2021 then, I guess, it would justify taking this much time – there’s virtually NO chance Trump will face a jury for his ILLEGAL conduct before the 2024 election – which causes me to think it will make AG Garland even MORE timid. Now, let me suggest who SHOULD be part of the indictment handed down by Mr. Smith.

Of course, we have to start with Trump and him facing a “Seditious Conspiracy” charge just like his buddies the “Proud Boys.” The conspiracy should, in my view, include the following people – among others: Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Peter Navarro, Rudy Giuliani, Jeffrey Clark, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Ginni Thomas, John Eastman, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Roger Stone, Alex Jones, Mark Meadows, and anyone else who was part of the planning of the January 6th INSURRECTION. Remember, it doesn’t take much “agreement” to become part of a conspiracy. A conspiracy is simply “an agreement among conspirators.” So, for example, when Ginni Thomas was texting Mark Meadows urging him to “keep up the fight” and then urging on fake electors in at least a couple states, she became part of the conspiracy. Will she get indicted? Not likely, but, …………. Just sayin!!

I wrote the above about a week ago – and, I’ll try to wrap it up. Since that time Ive been to two memorial services for friends who have passed away (when you get to 75 – that’s me – the memorial services seem to come regularly) and both my wife and I got sick. (fortunately, a “non covid” virus) Things have been moving very quickly since – for example, according to reports, Trump will soon be indicted for OBSTRUCTION of Justice regarding the THOUSANDS of documents he STOLE from the National Archives – apparently, Jack Smith is focused on the Clasified documents. Once again, during the CNN Town Hall Trump admitted he “did it.” He admitted that he “took the documents” and that “I had a right do do it because of the Presidential Records Act.” Can anyone become president who’s that STUPID? Well, obviously, it’s not only possible – the republican party is “doubling down.”

I believe Trump will have been CONVICTED of at least ONE of his (alleged) CRIMES by the time the 2024 election rolls around. Will the state of New York allow him to serve his “time” in the “White House” (with an ankle bracelet?) should Americans decide they want a fascist government and vote in a republican in this election? Will Merrick Garland intervene in criminal prosecutions should they push up around the 2024 election? It seems likely Trump will be facing charges from BOTH Jack Smith investigations in the next few months. And, Fulton County Georgia? Mark your calendars for early August when we’ll find out how many of Trump’s sycophants will be charged along with him in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. And, there’s very likely charges for CRIMES which aren’t in the public domain just yet. For example, the soliciting (grifting) of MILLIONS of dollars from his unsuspecting CULT which have been used for “who knows what?” – other than what was promised. That very well could be ANOTHER serious felony. Of course, Trump has been operating for years believing he can simply BULLY the criminal justice system into “looking the other way.”

The bottom line is, there will be NO “healing” in America until Trump and those who CONSPIRED with him to turn this nation into an unrecognizable American version of what took place in Germany back in the 1930’s. If you’ve been paying attention, at all, you’ve seen the rise of neo-Nazi’s who’ve become more emboldened with the rise of Trump. The right wing propaganda “machine” continues to belch out mis/disinformation which is at the core of the THREAT to this nation. Fox may have agreed to pay $787,5 MILLION for LYING about Dominion’s voting machines, but their LYING has hardly slowed down. And, as usual, there’s always more. Today Ron DeSactimonious is starting his presidential campaign with, apparently, a “Twitter” conversation with Elon Musk. Yikes!!! Talk about your spewing LIES to Millions!?

Final Thought: If young Americans don’t vote in the upcoming elections – en masse – the future of this nation may very well be in the “hands” of the racist, homphobic, xenophobic, and misogynistic segment of our population. We’re talking about people like DeSantis (er Sanctimonious) Trump, or maybe someone like Kristi Noem. That is, people who’ve based their chances on “winning” by cozying up to right wing Christian Nationalists. (Again, do a little reading about the Nazi’s back in the 1930’s) Speaking of DeSan(ctimonious)tis If you’re starting your presidential campaign next to Elon Musk on Twitter, you’re desperate to “out Trump” Trump!

Speaking of Musk – he’s the perfect example of why the RICHEST Americans need to pay MORE taxes. Musk simply used $44 BILLION of his fortune – much of it made via sponging off of the American taxpayers (remember, originally, every Tesla sold included a $7500 tax credit AND his “Space X” company survives off of government contracts. Since taking over “Twitter” Musk has proven that having “boatloads” of money does NOT prevent STUPIDITY. Musk claims he wants “Twitter” to be the home of “free speech.” Well, it appears what he was talking about was giving racists a platform to spew their neo-Nazi garbage. If you listened to any of Musk’s rationales for some of the vile stuff he’s “retweeted” you fully understand what I mean! Stay tuned….