I’m sharing this article I read at “Daily Kos,” to which I donate monthly – it’s written far better than I ever could – author “Hunter” Daily Kos staff, dated Wednesday September 7, 2022. Titled “Bret Stephens is still indignant over President Biden calling out Republican extremism,”

We’re all going to be long dead before Republican Party officials and pundits get over their outrage at President Joe Biden’s condemnation of Republican extremism. You can already see it building into the sort of mythology that has led to past claims like “You being rude to Mitt Romney made me vote for a narcissist, racist, tax-dodging incompetent blowhard” and “I didn’t want to become a Nazi, but the casting choices in the new Lord of the Rings show left me no choice.”

The Republicans most responsible for guiding their party into convenient hoaxes over irritating truths and casting aside every agenda not explicitly premised on retaliation against enemies are still going strong in their complaints that calling “MAGA” Republicans “semi-fascist” was just too unbearably rude. So here comes The New York Times poster boy for insincere rhetoric, Bret Stephens, who still hasn’t gotten over his resentment—and he’s going to make that everybody’s problem.

Those who choose to read Stephens’ complaints don’t even need to make it to the first ad break to remember why we here have learned to ignore the Times opinion pages. From the invocation of Abraham Lincoln as an example of how, with class, you should call out seditionist nation-killers, to the first petty snipes that Joe Biden Isn’t Being Bipartisan, the theme of this and every column is that it doesn’t matter what grotesquely malevolent things Republicans might propose or actually do, if you don’t meet them halfway on it then perhaps it is you who are the problem. Tsk, and so forth.

Yes, the problem is that Biden cast too wide a net in disparaging MAGA Republicans, insulting not only “those who cheered the attack on the Capitol” and “Oath Keepers” and “Proud Boys” but also Republicans whose do-good religious convictions simply require America to adhere to their personal religious beliefs and no others, enshrining anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ convictions in U.S. law.

Well that’s not very fair now, is it? It’s not very nice to condemn not just the people who insist that they be allowed to start killing their political opponents, but also the nice Jesus folks who simply want to institute religious rule that criminalizes beliefs that aren’t theirs. In the same speech, you say? Shocking.

Incidentally, there appear to be exactly zero conservative demands for a government theocracy based on any of the actual stuff in their holy book, and that still remains puzzling. There are no “faithful Catholic or evangelical Christian” groups whose “deeply held moral convictions” are founded on a belief that the United States government must, as a matter of religious conviction, feed the poor unconditionally or heal the sick even if the sick can’t pay for it. None. It is not a thing—pick any New Testament red-lettered text and you will find exactly zero faithful conservative groups demanding that the American government abide by those words right now. No Marco Rubio Bible quotes deployed to demand anti-poverty programs. No evangelical rallies demanding bread and fishes for everyone. Zip, nada, zilch.

Instead, the demands of the conservative “faithful” revolve solely on all matters sexual and on hard-gripped demands that the government enables their own preferred discriminations. That doesn’t sound like “faithful” religious fervor at all; that sounds like culture-war fervor that’s been tucked under a religious veil so as to sell itself as something more dignified than it is.

So here’s a thought, while we’re at it. Maybe until we see these large-scale conservative religious rallies demanding government better feed the poor, at the very least, we don’t need to give a unique level of respect to religious “faithful” who have determined that the most important parts of their faith are the parts where everyone else needs to do as they say. Maybe these people are no better than the other groups who want to remake America into an anti-democratic state rather than accept cultural losses. Maybe we are allowed to have contempt for them that is equal to their contempt for us—bless their hearts.

Anyhoo, Bret The Indignant soon makes his way to the central point of his column, which is the same as every other column by conservatives insisting that no blame be placed for all that stuff they, personally, have done to lead the movement into a cesspit of hoax promotion and fascist ideology. Bret’s assertion is that “Biden claimed to distinguish MAGA Republicans from mainstream ones and then proceeded to conflate them,” a partisan dig that “may resonate with partisan Democrats who have never seen a conservative they didn’t consider a bigot or a fool.”

That’s not true, Bret. In addition to the bigots and the fools, there are also the insincere and the enablers—public voices who press conservatism to believe untrue things, like supposed conspiracies about climate science or insistence that COVID-19 (which has killed over one million American citizens) is being exaggerated in danger because conservatism’s enemies just, uh, hate barbershops.

No, Bret’s point is that, as someone “who has long thought that Trump represents a unique threat to democracy” because of his whole attempted-violent-coup thing, Republicanism and its enablers are blameless here. Or at least blameless in comparison, so stop being mean to them.

No really, that’s his point.

“The gravest threat American democracy faces today isn’t the Republican Party, MAGA or otherwise. It’s Trump. He’s one man, sinister but also buffoonish. To defeat him, the core task is to make him seem small, very small. Biden’s misbegotten speech did precisely the opposite.”

And here we see why Bret Stephens is, without question, one of the most thickheaded, dishonest, and useless pundits in the current sphere—and why The New York Times opinion pages are at this point considered the scribblings of stubborn and pampered children. It may not be possible to misread the current moment any worse than Bret Stephens has—and it is such a brazen misreading that, like much of his other work, it cannot possibly be innocent or gullible.

No, Bret Stephens would very much like you to blame Donald Trump, the man, for the nationwide collapse of Republicanism into anti-democratic hoax promotion and party-enabled sedition, and treat “the Republican Party, MAGA or otherwise,” as innocent bystanders to the chaos.

Again, this is so insincere as to almost assuredly be malicious. If this is punditry, then punditry is nothing. If this is punditry, it would be better for the Times and other papers to replace their editorial pages with advertisements or straight-up pornography.

Donald Trump is one man. That much is certain. And one man, without the complicity of others, could do exactly jack to destabilize the country or to mount an attack on the U.S. Capitol. If it was one man who attacked our democracy and stormed the Capitol, American law enforcement officers would have shot him dead at the first barricade, and the rest of us would have moved on with our lives without bothering to remember his name.

But Donald Trump is not the only fascist here. He is not the sole criminal. He is not the one changing election laws to enable party-overseen do-overs based on notions of bamboo-impregnated false ballots or, in Georgia, a straight-up determination that if the state is trending against Republicans, Republicans need to institute whatever new rules are necessary to claim that trend is “fraudulent.”

Donald Trump was the one who attempted to extort the wartime Ukrainian president into announcing a politically useful hoax—and it was the Republican Party, from partisan officers to the House to the Senate, that validated the act and immunized him from punishment. Donald Trump was the one who rallied a known-to-be-armed crowd of militia members, organized thugs, and enough cannon-fodder rabble to sufficiently overwhelm police lines—and it was the same Republican Party that insisted again on no punishment and attempted to block each investigation of the facts, and to this day insists that every investigation of the violence is partisan and illegitimate.

That is not Trump. It is not Trump who is running in hundreds of statewide elections, flatly lying to the public by claiming that Joe Biden was not legitimately elected because unseen forces “stole” the election from Republicans. It is not Trump parroting, again and again, claims that vote counts in minority-heavy areas were fraudulent while the vote counts in white conservative neighborhoods were, of course, legitimate.

Donald Trump does not control Fox News, and is not the core promoter of a neo-Nazi conspiracy theory suggesting that Democrats or “globalists” are packing the country with refugees in order to dilute white “culture.” Trump is not the one giving standing ovations to European protofascists, is not the one cheering madly whenever the free press is denounced as enemies of the state, is not the one retooling Florida schools so that respect for gay teens is strictly barred by law. He is not the one demanding the banning of books by Black authors. He is not the one appearing on national airwaves, even now, to insist that a Republican president scraped out of the White House after promoting a violent attempted coup has every right to take the most classified of national security secrets with him to be used in whatever future manner he personally sees fit.

And what of the voters, then? What of them.

Are we to truly claim that those who still scream at Trump rallies, those who still cheer when Republican candidates shout out disproven hoaxes and demands for political vengeance on law enforcement—are we to claim, then, that those members of the Republican base who still back Donald Trump and those who continue to elevate Donald Trump even after Trump attempted, unsuccessfully, to erase a United States election are not at fault here.

Are we claiming that the millions of members of the Republican base who are throwing out the few Republicans willing to punish Trump for a coup—Republicans like Liz Cheney and others—in order to install hoax-promoting, coup-backing replacements are mere bystanders here? An entire party base that has purged, relentlessly, those who would stand in the way of Trump-styled fascist overthrow—are we insisting now that chastising them is too far?

So Jim Jordan is not to blame. Kevin McCarthy is not to blame. Lindsey Graham and his call to Georgia officials, the Republican-controlled state governments who feted Rudy Giuliani and other crooked fabulists on their tour to discredit our elections, the Republicans of the Senate continually allowing Trump to go further rather than reproaching him for his anti-American acts, a Republican National Committee that backs Donald Trump even after a coup, Republican elected officials far and wide that back Donald Trump even after the coup—all of it is beneath mention, all of it would go away if that man would simply crawl into a golf course sand trap and die.

What a lovely thought. What an absolutely smashing premise: The Republican Party, “MAGA or otherwise,” ought not to be criticized as agents of fascism no matter what acts they have done or what fascist measures they have screamed support for. It is not a problem; a dignified approach would be for the non-conservatives to meet the Republican Party halfway, treating them with respect, ignoring their reflexive and now Republican primaries-mandated protection of Trump’s every corrupt act, treating the attacks on civil rights, on the non-“faithful,” on schoolchildren, on books, on scientists, on journalists, on facts themselves as separate and apart from the fascist moment it has brought us to.

How very wonderful it must be to have a perch from which you can oversee an entire movement’s descent into corruption-fueled dishonesty and hoax promotion and insist that it is all quite reasonable, none of it is linked to the outcomes we now see, and treating it with more dignity instead of less is what the great Abraham Lincoln would have done up the very day a seditionist terrorist murdered him. Others might take a different message; when faced with once-government officials announcing that they would no longer abide by the results of United States elections and would instead be forming a new government that ignored those results, Abraham Lincoln sent the United States military to defeat the seditionist movement by force of arms.

Is the sitting president not sending U.S. troops to capture not just Donald Trump, but each of the Republicans who are still announcing that our elections are invalid and that they no longer need to abide by them? No? Then it seems to me we are still meeting modern Republicanism at a proper middle ground.

The Republican Party attempted a coup and continues to defend a supposed right to do so. A Republican base insists that the coup was valid and insists on an ability to erase future elections that they, personally, do not deem valid. It is all based on movement leadership that continues to intentionally boost false hoaxes over true information, and one that especially focuses on the demonization of enemies with claims of “groomers” and “indoctrination” and “replacement.”

It is a fascist movement. Republicanism, the “conservative” movement, is aligning itself with fascist propaganda techniques, targeting longstanding fascist enemies, embracing theories of justified violence and justified nullification of democracy. If Trump died tomorrow, Republicans would align behind the next cruelest voice they could find and continue.

And Bret Stephens and the other would-be “conservatives” who insist even now that these acts are mere foibles, compared to deeper conservative ideologies that the punditry has refused to acknowledge simply no longer exist, continue to enable the continued degradation of the party with the insistence that it not be condemned for its own acts. The only fascists here, according to Stephens, are … who? Trump, and perhaps those that engaged in literal violence to topple the government, and absolutely none of the powerful Republicans who time and time again made sure that Trump’s most corrupt acts went unpunished so that he could move on to attempted coup and ongoing national security crisis.

The truest form of punditry, and the type of column that pundits favor above all others: We can’t be blamed for this. We may have advocated for it, we may have used it to our advantage, and we may have based a career around a willingness to ignore facts in favor of power-seeking delusions until the technique became the very basis of all political news coverage, but it’s not our fault. It is appalling that anyone now is talking about blame or chastisement merely because it all went to absolute hell, yet again.

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For the past several months I’ve been at the forefront of people urging the Justice Department – and, of course, Merrick Garland – to demonstrate “no one is above the law” as the EVIDENCE of Donald Trump’s CRIMINAL attempt to overthrow the will of the people in the 2020 presidential election has just continued to “drip, drip, drip” into the public domain until the House Select Committee on January 6th began their hearings. Then the EVIDENCE came FLOWING out in a manner which leaves the question of Trump’s CRIMINAL liability almost a moot point.

The question became more of not did Trump commit CRIMES but, how many? And, of course, all of this EVIDENCE was beside the point that Trump allegedly committed OBSTRUCTION of Justice in regard to the Mueller investigation upwards of TEN times – which Robert Mueller “memorialized” for a future prosecutor to investigate once Trump was out of office and no longer protected by the OLC memo stating a “sitting president can not be indicted.” Additionally, Trump seemed to “skate” out of cupibility with the Campaign Finance violations which helped send his former “fixer” to prison – regarding the payoffs of two women just prior to the 2016 election regarding alleged illicit affairs while his wife was pregnant with his last son. (What kind of person employs a “fixer?”)

In regard to the January 6th, 2021 CRIMINAL liability I’ve heard several possible CRIMES which Trump COULD be indicted for. For example, the Judge who oversaw the case in California regarding emails Trump lawyer John Eastman was attempting to hide from the January 6th Committee’s investigation. The Judge suggested both Trump and Eastman “very likely” committed at least two FELONIES in their scheme to overthrow the election. I believe the CRIMES were OBSTRUCTING an official government procedure and committing FRAUD against the United States. Of course, I’m no lawyer and I’m working from a very old memory, but I believe I’ve got that one pretty close to what was actually written.

As the January 6th Committees hearings proceeded it became clear that Trump’s (and a whole bunch of his sycophants) very possibly COULD be charged with is “Seditious Conspiracy.” A quick search on the web defines SEDITION as

1. Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state.
2. Insurrection; rebellion.
3. A factious commotion in a state; the stirring up of such a commotion; incitement of discontent against government and disturbance of public tranquillity, as by inflammatory speeches or writings, or acts or language tending to breach of public order: as, to stir up a sedition; a speech or pamphlet, abounding in sedition.

Sedition is one of the MOST serious of CRIMES someone can commit in any country – most Americans (like me) probably NEVER considered someone elected to the office of the president in the U.S. would ever stoop to this level. But, here we are. And, when you EXAMINE the EVIDENCE it’s hard to conclude something other than Trump committed SEDITION. And, when you look up the definition of CONSPIRACY ( An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act) you quickly recognize there are a PLETHORA of Trump surrogates who are potentially part of a Sedition Conspiracy.

This is all REALLY bad. In fact, to me, until Trump came along it was unthinkable – this is the kind of CORRUPT behavior you see in authoritarian regimes around the globe – not in the U.S. And, the Justice Department will have their hands full in prosecuting these CRIMES because there are a bunch of top level republicans who seemed to have participated in the conspiracy. And, this group of co-conspirators clearly includes the wife of one of our right wing Supreme Court Justices along with several members of Congress, a bunch of lowlife republican Trump sycophants – like Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, Alex Jones, etc. etc. PLUS about a hundred republicans in several states who signed fraudulent “elector” documents which were sent to the Senate as part of Eastman and Trump’s scheme. (And, many more!)

I’ve been thinking Garland and the Justice Department MUST be fully investigating this egregious lawbreaking – but, as I’ve been saying since the day Trump came down the escalator in New York and began spewing his racist garbage – there’s ALWAYS more. And, the “more” this time has taken the focus of just about everyone off the reality that our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president tried to overthrow our elected government. How could this be? Well, further cementing the reality we had a pathological CRIMINAL in the “White House,” the “talk of the town” is now focused on the reality Trump STOLE something like 30 boxes of documents which belong to “we the people” and SHOULD have been in the National Archives before Trump left Washington D.C. as the LOSER of the election. For some unknown reason these documents ended up in Trump’s resort/home at Mar a Lago.

Obviously, Trump doesn’t believe the LAWS apply to him, so he simply packed up these boxes – containing extremely sensitive national security information of the TOP SECRET variety – and carted them off to Mar a Lago – and who knows where else. The Justice Department had to carry out a search of Trump’s resort because he refused to return the material when given the opportunity (over and over) – and, of course, he LIED via his attorneys to the Justice Department officials who came calling to get the boxes returned to the Archives and, naturally – as he seems to believe he can – he simply refused to comply with a subpoena directing him to return the documents. There are reports suggesting his refusal was based on him saying “They’re mine, not theirs.” (More behavior which reminds me of my oppositional sixth graders)

It was public knowledge, earlier in the year, that around 15 boxes of documents had been returned. What “we the people” (who are paying attention to all this) didn’t understand at the time was the level of classified material which was in those boxes – mixed together with all kinds of other stuff – suggesting the real possibility these TOP SECRET documents had been viewed by who knows how many people who frequent Mar a Lago. Possibly endangering the LIVES of people who are part of America’s intelligence community around the world.

The Archives KNEW there was MORE and along with the Justice Department gave Trump every opportunity to simply return the “stuff” and that would have been the end of it. But, Trump simply doesn’t/can’t work that way. He really does remind me of the students I had when I was still teaching who had oppositional defiance disorder. Often times those students would exhibit the characteristics of narcissism – although I’ve NEVER seen anyone as narcissistic as Trump. And, of course, once the Justice department was forced to use a search warrant to get these documents back – Trump instantly began searching for ways to portray himself as the vicitm. Including the threat of violence coming from his “MAGA” supporters.

So, the focus has been directed completely away from Trum0’s SEDITIOUS behavior in regard to the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 to the real possibility he compromised some of the most sensitive TOP SECRET information in our government – documents which SHOULD have NEVER left the secure location where they were when he confiscated them. Why on earth would someone do something so STUPID and clearly against the law – and, then attempt to OBSTRUCT the Justice Department’s attempt to get them back. As I’ve said many times, Trump violated so many laws/norms in the past 6 years that it’s been like chasing your tail trying to keep up. If it is determined Trump shared some of this material with others – especially others from foreign governments – I believe his LEGAL liability will become TREASON. (A step up from SEDITION)

This past weekend Lindsey Graham – to me a real lowlife with no conscience who is concerned ONLY in his own re-election – suggested if Trump is indicted there will be riots in the streets. I have no idea what his motivation was – apparently, telling the Justice Department he believes Trump should be “above the law?” Of course, I’ve written for years my frustration that the “high ups” in previous administrations (it always seems to be republicans) are “let off the hook” for clear ILLEGAL behavior. Reagan and HW Bush in Iran Contra – no accoutability. GW Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and others regarding the authorization of TORTURE after their ILLEGAL invasion of Iraq, and now Trump. Here’s the reality – every time a president gets away with breaking the law – the next time it happens it gets worse.

Many are suggestingt Trump shouldn’t be indicted BECAUSE he’s a former president – even though he was TWICE IMPEACHED. They worry about exactly what Senator Graham is predicting – that Trump’s followers will react in a violent manner. I say “fooey” to that notion. At some point “we the people” need to demand this lawbreaking be STOPPED! And, the way to do it is to hold Trump accountable to the LAWS he has clearly broken. He continues to believe Garland doesn’t have the stomach for what would come next. I say, if Trump is NOT indicted what will come next will be far worse than what we’re talking about now – and, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Trump or one of his wannabees (yep, that’s you DeSantis) could somehow regain the “White House” and our Justice Department will be virtually eliminated – except to carry out the REVENGE these republican are alread imagining should they retake control of our government. (The FIRST thing out of Kevin McCarthy’s mouth after the FBI exercized the warrant to search Mar a Lago was a threat aimed at AG Garland – that’s how they work)

Are “we the people” sophisticated enough to recognize the threat which America is facing as we get closer to November? Will democrats, independents, and disaffected republicans be capable of coming together to put a halt to this “slow moving coup d’etat” which republicans are planning via the November elections? (Some which may already be “fixed”) I keep saying “the next election is the most important in my lifetime” – but, once again, here we are. And, until we vote enough of these republicans out of office, EVERY election going forward will be the same. Clearly, Trump has managed to create a CULT following of people who are susceptible to manipulation and conspiracy theories. When I see someone with a Q on the front of their shirt I can only shake my head. How does someone become so STUPID as to believe that nonsense? I have no idea, but the reality is many Americans are susceptible to his kind of propaganda. Lord, help us!

Final Thought: The sooner AG Garland acts to STOP Trump and his lawbreaking via an indictment the better we all will be in this nation – regardles of the reaction coming from Trump’s white nationalist “militia” base. And, I kind of agree with Graham that Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted for STEALING thousands of pages of CLASSIFIED documents unless it can be proven he allowed others to see what was in the boxes he was hoarding at Mar a Lago. I would like to see AG Garland indict Trump for his SEDITIOUS attempt to overthrow a free and fair election in this country – an unbelievably egregious CRIME! (Well, with what we now KNOW – it really is believable) If he must be charged in regard to STEALING classified documents and endangering national security related documents, then I would hope he could do it in conjunction with the CRIMES committed against “we the people” via the INSURRECTION. Stay tuned…………………….

Some republicans (like Graham) are comparing Trump STEALING these documents to Hillary Clinton using an email server in her home for official business. On its face – the comparison is LUDICROUS. For starters, Mrs. Clinton was criticized for being “careless” in regard to email messages which contained “classified” information – some messages which were determined to be “classified” after the fact. In the investigation Mrs. Clinton CO-OPERATED – she NEVER attempted to shirk her responsibility or blame the media or blame ????? – including voluntarily accepting the “invitation” to sit for an FBI interview. I read a book written by Peter Sztrok, one of the leaders of the investigation where he suggested it was almost a waste of investigative time. In CONTRAST, Trump has been uncooperative from the outset, he’s clearly LIED about what was in his possession, and he CERTAINLY won’t agree to sit for any FBI interview regarding whether or not he broke the law by STEALING all these boxes of ducuments. (Many with Top Secret labels) Lots of people would like to see Trump sit for an FBI interview – where they could ask him “Why did you do this?”

I have to add: Trump is so DESPERATE for people to “love” him that it’s been reported he’s now posting QAnon stuff on his FAILING app “Truth Social” because he’s portrayed as somewhat a “deity” on that platform. I don’t belong to any of these social media outlets, but the danger they present is real. People need to understand how wacked out Trump is becoming in his narcissistic desperation. Michael Flynn is another in Trump’s “orbit” who has been reported to be part of the “Q” orbit. What on earth is going on? These people need to be sent back under the “rocks” where they were hidden when Barrack Obama was elected and democrats need to be aggressive in FIGHTING against this NONSENSE going forward. As Joe Biden likes to say, “We’re better than this.” It’s incumbent on “we the people” to send a clear message to republicans this November! Will voters show up and send a message to these wacked out republicans? (Some of them – republicans who support fascism – very well might “win”)

OK, I kept forgetting to write this: I’ll try to make it simple and feel free to comment if you’re not a bot. Do you really believe Trump has turned over ALL of the documents he STOLE from us – meaning “we the people” – some might refer to “us” as the “American people.” Those documents – and any other official documents from when Trump was still in office BELONG to the National Archives – via the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (All you republicans can thank Richard Nixon for that one)

If you are actually someone (or thing) which reads what I write on this “blog” you must know in the title I point out I was a sixth grade teacher in the last third of my working life. I taught in a high poverty Middle School for around 23 years and I’ve been active on this site since around 2008 – although, my opinions on issues like the NEED to vote the republican party as it exists today (actually, it’s MUCH worse now than it was when I first began making that claim) into the HISTORY books. Of course, it appears there haven’t been enough people listening to me YET, because they keep pushing the party farther to the RIGHT every year – when it seems they couldn’t go any farther and have ANY chance for political viability it just keeps getting worse.

A while ago I wrote that the Supreme Court’s extreme agenda would motivate many democrats to actually vote this coming November and that the January 6th Select Committee in the House would also motivate people to vote AGAINST republicans. Well, I hope I’m correct, but we won’t know for about three months and, trust me, these republicans can cause a LOT of DAMAGE between now and then. Six years ago I started writing about the potential DAMAGE Donald Trump could cause for “we the people” and now, there’s a “wave” of republicans who are trying to out-Trump Trump on the chance they could replace him on the 2024 ballot. Circular firing squad? Whatever!

By November, both sides – those who oppose Trump and those in his cult – could be extremely motivated. Remember, in several states the legislatures have passed laws which actually allow them to overturn the results they don’t like. This makes this an “uphill climb” for democrats – who, by most prognosticators, will lose control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. However, the issue of ABORTION has motivated WOMEN all across America to vote in November. On top of that, it appears more and more Americans are becoming aware our democratic republic is, in essence, on the ballot this November. Could things get a lot worse? Well, duh! If republicans take control of either House of Congress you can bet the next two years will be “Trump-like” painful. History tells us democrats will fail to vote in large numbers in November! Yikes!!!

The optimist in me continues to hope “history” is wrong and “we the people” will turn out in record numbers for a mid term election. The republican LURCH to the “right” has been widely referred to as “Trumpism,” but I believe this “lurch” began many years ago and Trump was just the perfect “vehicle” to pull America’s white nationalist core into the “mainstream” of republican politics. Trump is a pathological LIAR and, sadly, the REQUIREMENT for any politician wanting to be “electable” on the republican side of things is having a willingness to LIE! And, we’re talking about bold faced LYING. You watch these candidates LYING and you get the idea they’re ALL a bunch of pathalogical LIARS – if you’re not familiar with someone who LIES that often they actually begin to believe their own LIES are “true” as the words flow off their tongues. KellyAnne Conway coined the term “alternate facts” to rationalize what is happening.

I know MANY people in my peer group (Baby Boomers) who’ve been lifelong republicans and they reflexively vote for republicans. I was talking to one of them today, a retired dentist, and he said, simply put “I always vote for republicans.” I asked him if he was aware that one of the top republicans in the House has credibly been accused of “child sex trafficking.” He said, no! Who is it? I said, “Matt Gaetz.” He had no idea who Matt Gaetz is and said, “Well, he’s go to go!” I thought to myself “I need to invite him to lunch where we can have a discussion about what he’s actually voting for” – because, to a large degree, he has no idea. And, in our district, our representative, who voted to impeach Trump, Jaimie Herrerra Beutler, she was defeated in the primary by a Matt Gaetz wannabee – named Joe Kent. Our district, years ago, was gerrymandered into a reliable republican district and, undoubtedly, there are MANY republicans who will vote for Kent with no idea what he stands for.

Kent will fit in nicely with Marjorie Taylor Green, Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan, Gaetz (until he’s FINALLY indicted – come on Mr. Garland, do your job!) Paul Gosar, and the rest of the white nationalist republican caucus. It really is deflating for someone like me to see this great nation beginning to rot at her core. I likened it to dry rot a few years ago – it starts in a small place and, if not radicated, it just continues to spread getting worse EVERY year. Depending on the vote in November, it could get to the point where it’s in danger of “rotting” our system of government to the point where it will be unrecognizable. The DANGER posed by this is aimed directly at women, members of the LBGTQ community, the “Black and Brown” community, and, sadly, the younger Americans who are recognizing in increasing numbers the perils of the Climate Crisis.

Make no mistake – republicans recognize – and have recognized for years – they represent a MINORITY of the voting public so they’ve been busy working on a scheme to gain MINORITY control of our system of government – and, as I’ve said MANY times here, their “thinkers” are so far ahead of the democrats it’s almost no contest. I’m not the only one who’s wondering how much the democratic leadership understands the challenge facing “we the people” in this coming election. It’s NOT “business as usual.” Republicans have clearly gained CONTROL of the courts and they’re busy working to pass voter suppression legislation in virtually EVERY “red” state in the country. Their plan is to “fool proof” their “grasp” of the Electoral College for upcoming presidential elections and they’ve already gerrymandered enough districts nation wide to require democrats to have MILLIONS more votes nationwide in Congressional elections to have any chance of controlling the House.

Remember, when we’re talking about the Senate, it’s even worse than the House. For example, there are around 40 MILLION people in California and they get two Senators. South Dakota and North Dakota have around a Million and a half people – COMBINED – and they get FOUR Senators – almost always guaranteed to be republicans. Wyoming has less population statewide than the city I live right across the Columbia River from, Portland, Oregon and they get two Senators. The republican Senate caucus – whether in the “majority’ or not – represents a significant minority of the American people – ALWAYS! This is why we’re always seeing issues where LARGE majorities of the American people FAVOR one side of the issue and the republicans in the Senate ALWAYS stand in the way.

That is, unless they can manage to “win” the “White House” along with controlling the House. Remember, the last two republicans who “won” the “White House” did so with a significantly fewer number of “popular votes.” Bush/Cheney in 2000 actually “won” the presidential election via a declaration by the Supreme Court – with a 5-4 republican makeup AND, of course, with a 5-4 decision along “party lines.” For some reason “we the people” simply accepted that result – KNOWING that had the court allowed the Florida recount to be completed Al Gore more than likely would have been president (and, of course, there would have been NO Iraq invaion – just sayin!) Trump LOST by 3 MILLION to Mrs. Clinton and over 7 MILLION to Joe Biden – and, of course, Trump and ALL his minions are still claiming the “election was rigged.”

Let’s be clear, the only way the 2020 election would have been “rigged” would have been had Trump actually managed to get more Electoral College Votes than Biden. Trump did everything in his power to remain in office – likely anticipating legal entanglements he was facing once clear of the OLC memo which protected him from indictment while he was in office. Trump is so “dirty” that NUMEROUS acts that SHOULD have fallen under criminal scrutiny have simply been “washed away” – because there’s seeminglly always a new accusation of illegal activity every week. Just when I was thinking Trump was about to be indicted for SEDITION regarding his actions around the INSURRECTION it appears he’s facing possible INDICTEMENT for violating the ESPIONAGE Act. Sedition, Espionage, hell, what’s next? Actually, the only way it could get worse for Trump is if he’s charged with TREASON!

And, the FBI simply doing a search based on a “probable cause” warrant has the Trumpisphere “sh@#ting nickels.” It’s as if the very SAME people who were chanting “Lock her up” at Hillary Clinton over the use of an email server in her residence believe Trump should be able to break ALL the laws he wants to. We’ve listened to republican “leaders” attempting to “whitewash” the January 6th INSURRECTION, for example, for almost two ;years now. In the immediate aftermath even republicans were lambasting Trump for the attack on the Capitol, but it took only a couple of weeks and all of a sudden the INSURRECTION was “legitimate political discourse” or it was “regular visitors to the Capitol simply taking pictures” – as if all of us who watched it unfold right in front of our eyes were seeing things which weren’t there?

Trump SHOULDN’T get a “pass” from all his LAWBREAKING simply because he WAS the president (the TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president) – he is now what you’d call a “citizen” – and, he’s subject to the same laws as the rest of us. There are close to 1000 “ditto heads” being prosecuted because Trump whipped them into a fury and then directed them to attack the Capitol and “fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore.” And, Trump – of course – continues pushing his “Big Lie” to this day – and, demands the same of anyone else calling themself a republican and wants to be in office. What this tells me is there are a LOT of STUPID republicans out there to continue believing this nonsense. And, worse yet, they continue sending him money.

Occasionally the republican mailing lists find my name somewhere and I get one of their – in this case Trump’s – emails asking for (the last one) $45 – apparently because he was the 45th president (although the ONLY one IMPEACHED twice – maybe he should ask for $2). When you look carefully at the solicitation – which I did – having, of course, no intention of helping his grifting – you see that the emails are designed to suck you into recurring donations you won’t notice (unless you check your bank balances regularly) until you’ve “donated” way more than you intended. Fortunately, for me, my email “app” has a “junk” option and I can block any more of this “junk” from coming my way. Josh Hawley managed to get through the firewall the other day and his email showed him with his fist raised to the INSURRECTIONISTS (a couple hours before he was hightailing it to a secret place in the Capitol’s depths running from the MOB he had just saluted) apparently, he thought that picture would be enough to get me to donate to his grift as well!

The bottom line is this republican party is fully willing to resort to fascism (and, that’s NOT hyperbole) in order to gain and maintain POWER. They’ve succeeded in polluting the courts with Trump appointees (which, may ultimately be their undoing) and they are working on a scheme to ensure republicans win elections up and down the ballots – or else! As I said above, if those in charge of the legislature – in several states now – don’t like the results of an election, they can simply “undo” it. Especially, when it comes to presidential elections and the electors coming from that state. (More evidence the Electoral College is as outdated as the way we choose our Senators) Americans MUST understand that, if they don’t like the decisions coming from the Supreme Court, EVERY election for the forseeable future is critical – any time republicans control the Senate they are committed to blocking judges nominated by a democratic president or ramming through right wing idealogues should they also control the “White House.”

Final Thought: I’ve been over this NUMEROUS times in the past four or so years – NO ONE should be “above the law” if we are truly going to remain a “nation of laws and not men.” The idea being thrown around by Trump and his sycophants that should he be prosecuted – right now they’re referring to his VIOLATING the Presidential Records Act and possibly the Espionage Act along with OBSTRUCTING the investigation – they will sick their violent extremist mobs into/onto the “streets.” To that I say, “so be it.” To me, the sooner we get this over with the better. For heaven’s sake, it SHOULD be clear to anyone paying close attention to the EVIDENCE presented by the Select January 6th Committee that Trump is LIKELY guilty of SEDITION – maybe the Justice Department can combine the charges regarding his flagrant misuse of CLASSIFIED documents and his inciting the INSURRECTION. I’ve been saying for years, Trump belongs in the history books right next to Benedict Arnold!

I wrote the other day about the distinct possiblity Donald Trump will be indicted for SEDITION in regards to the ASSAULT of our nation’s Capitol on January 6th, 2021. In that piece I suggested the only way this could get worse (for him) would be if the charge became TREASON. Of course, at that point in time I had no idea what the government was dealing with as they were attempting to get Trump to return documents which SHOULD never have been taken from the “White House” and are subject to the “Presidential Records Act” which says that any records of ANY converstation, written document, etc. etc. MUST remain with the National Archives for a number of years after any president leaves office. They belong to “we the people.”

OK, so I KNEW Trump could potentially be in deep “doo doo” because he had returned 15 BOXES full of documents which belonged in the Archives several months ago. Well, lately we’ve learned there was – as there always seems to be – MORE. On Monday of this week (it’s 8/12 as I’m writing this) the FBI executed a search warrant on the resort home of Trump at Mar a Lago in Southern Florida. This, of course, set off the right wing “blogosphere” with all kinds of threats and recriminations toward the FBI and Justice Department. For example, Kevin McCarthy issued a THREAT to Merrick Garland for when republicans take back control of the House. (Heaven forbid!)

Those who belong in the “basket of deplorables” began issuing threats of VIOLENCE aimed at the FBI, the Judge in the case, Mr. Garland, and who knows who else. SO, Garland did what the republican enablers of Trump were requesting and that was to “unseal” the warrant along with the list of items taken by the FBI. Well, had they given this a little thought, they may have waited a few days before “popping off.” After all, the original 15 boxes included several which contained “classified documents.” Plus, there was much we didn’t know then – we know more now, but there’s still much we don’t know. Trump apparently believed this documents were “his.”

Here’s where the term “STUPID” seems to come back in to play – sadly, that’s often the case with these republicans and when you think about it their “ditto heads” who will believe anything they say. There were ANOTHER 20+ boxes of documents which SHOULD have been either where they originally came from (ie “TS/SCI” ie “Top Secret” file room) or in the National Archives. Some of this stuff has the highest level of classification and, as you would expect from Trump’s sycophants, they’re claiming he waved his magic fingers over each box of classified documents – at some point in time – and de-classified them. Considering he thinks he’s still the president, maybe he did this just the other day.

Naturally, none of that makes sense to anyone with a logically working brain – which apparently excludes Trump and his republican sycophants – and, consider this: We also found out Justice Department agents visited Mar a Lago back a few months ago and didn’t get the documents (for some unknown reason back then) and, then, in early June Trump was subpoenaed to return the documents. Of course, that wasn’t good enough for Trump – he refused to honor the subpoena, which would have ENDED this whole thing (apparently) – so, now here we are. In the interim something happened to cause the Justice Department to feel they had to act PROMPTLY – supposedly there was someone who reported something to the Department which set the process into high gear.

That sends all kind of questions into my head. Like, “why did Trump feel he wanted these documents, which included highly classified information?” – some reports are suggesting there are documents relating to our nuclear capability. Who helped him gather the documents in order to ship them to his Florida home? How many people have seen ANY of these documents in the 18 months they’ve been where they’re NOT supposed to be? Are there fingerprints on any of the documents? (I ask that because, undoubtedly, Trump will LIE when asked to answer any of those questions) And, finally, when are republicans to begin the process of pulling away from their sycophantic behavior supporting this common CRIMINAL? (Don’t hold your breath!)

Marjorie Taylor Green has already begun selling hats and shirts with “defund the FBI” written on them. Ted Cruz DEMANDED that the “warrant be made public” – likely, until the warrant was made public. Josh Hawley sent me an email – with a photo of him raising his fist to the January 6th rioters just prior to when he was seen RUNNING away from them – asking me to send him money. I think you know how that ended. The list goes on and on and, in virtually EVERY instance, whatever the republican speaking says just seems STUPID! When will they learn to keep their mouths SHUT until at least some of the FACTS have become known. Again, don’t hold your breath.

So, just this week, Trump pled the “fifth” over 440 times in a deposition to the AG of New York regarding an investigation of his “Trump Organization” – with some people suggesting his organization has been committing various forms of FRAUD over a number of years. This could cause the demise of his personal business (not including his grifting of the “ditto heads”). This issue with the documents in Mar a Lago which SHOULDN’T have been in Mar a Lago now appears to be a much MORE serious issue than MOST people thought – one of the CRIMES of which their was “probable cause” has to do with the ESPIONAGE Act – and, trust me, that’s a bad one to be facing. Even if you’re our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president.

Getting back to “Stupid” – it’s fairly obvious that is a “bipartisan” term. In the past couple of days, for example, I’ve been reading about Andrew Yang’s response to the FBI executing a Search Warrant on Trump’s estate. Remember, Yang was one of the candidates for the democratic nomination for president back in 2020. At the time, I had no idea where this guy came from and what should make me want to vote for him for president – but, soon after the primaries began he morphed back into obscurity. That is, UNTIL he decided to attempt starting a “third party” – the so-called Forward Party. In response to the FBI “visiting” Mar a Lago Yang apparently tweeted (I don’t do “Twitter” so I got this in a MSNBC blog post) “I fear we will look back on this as a day that activated extremism and not the opposite.”

That “tweet” puts Yang in the same category of a number of democrats who’ve come before him (apparently, Yang believes the democratic party is “too liberal”). Just look the other way when there’s misbehavior at the top, because we don’t want to make all these republicans angry. Here’s what I say to that type of thinking: “FOOEY!” (I hope that’s a word) In EVERY instance where lawbreaking by republican leaders has been IGNORED they’ve viewed the democratic response as weakness – and, the next time it ALWAYS gets worse.

Reagan and George HW Bush got away with their CLEAR involvement in the Iran/Contra affair because the Clinton administration apparently didn’t want the “distraction” – plus people felt sorry for Reagan because he had alzheimer’s. That emboldened George W Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and others to feel perfectly “at ease” in authorizing TORTURE, claiming they could declare someone an “enemy combatant” by fiat, and that they could hold political prisoners indefinitely without charging them with a CRIME. That was BAD! But, obviously, Trump has been “exponentially” WORSE!

And, at this point in time, we don’t know how much WORSE Trump is? The reality, when you do a LITTLE checking is that Trump has been flouting the LAW for, well, forever. (Ok, most of his life would be a better way to put it) The New York AG is investigating alleged CRIMES which go way back in Trump’s “organization.” If you had read Robert Mueller’s report you would know Trump’s first couple of years in office were full of potential serious CRIMES – and, during the campaign of 2016 he not only solicited help from the Russians, but he paid off a couple women who he had illicit affairs with leading to him being given the monikker of “individual 1” by the Southern District of New York’s US Attorney’s office in a CRIME which led to Michael Cohen, Trump’s previous “fixer” going to prison for THREE years!

He topped all that off (he “got away” with all of it) by inciting an ASSAULT on our nation’s Capitol in a desperate attempt to remain in office despite the FACT he resoundingly LOST the election he was claiming he actually had won. Sadly, his followers seem to believe virtualy ANYTHING without a shred of evidence to support what has become a steady flow of LIES. Now, other “leaders” in the republican party have assumed they must spout the same LIES if they want to remain in POWER. (You could call today’s republican party a LYING hoard) And, now, it appears, Trump is facing a possible charge of violating the ESPIONAGE Act!

Yep, ESPIONAGE Act. That means the government suspects Trump has somehow threatened our national security – the thing republicans used to be most worried about. He had documents with the HIGHEST level of classification there is – sitting in Mar a Lago for the past 20 months. I listed some of the questions I have above, but I find it very interesting republicans are soiling themselves once again in a scurry of attempts to rationalize away the seriousnes of what Trump just might be up to. Once again, who else saw these documents?

Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Elise Stefanik, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Marco Rubio are just some of the republicans who I’ve heard/read about attacking the FBI for having the “nerve” (my characterization) to search the home of a former president. Keeping in mind they appear to have lost contact with the reality Trump is simply another citizen at this point in time. It appears they all believe, as he portrays himself, that Trump is STILL president – therefore he can’t be “touched” for his lawbreaking. Well, I’ve got news for the whole bunch of them. This “ESPIONAGE” thing is just the “tip of the iceberg.” He’s facing a plethora of other potential CRIMINAL and civil charges which, as I’ve been predicting for at least 4 years now (since I read Mueller’s report), will keep him busy defending himself for MOST of the rest of his life.

If, as Yang fears, prosecuting Trump for his ILLEGAL behavior pulls the “right” together behind him, so be it. This “looking the other way” to CRIMES by leading politicians or powerful corporate leaders needs to be a thing of the past. As I’ve said in many of my previouis posts, there is so much “EVIDENCE” in the public realm that NOT prosecuting Trump will cause MORE division than doing what is right – which is PROVING to “we the people” that “no one is above the law.”

Final Thought: I believe this degeneration of the republican party showed itself in its FULL “glory” back with the emergence of the so-called “Tea Party.” This “wave” was what brought us Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows plus “a whole lot more.” Well Meadows, in my view, is facing some serious legal issues going forward, and I’m not even thinking about his election FRAUD in North Carolina (I’m still wondering how many times he voted in 2020?) Was Jordan involved in Trump’s conspiracy??? My point is, it was the “Tea Party” which brought all the white nationalists out from under their rocks in response to the election of Barack Obama. (You’ll notice Trump still mentions his middle name when referencing Obama – I wonder why?) Trump won their “hearts” by taking the lead in the “birther” movement.

I’ve written many times “we the people” have been “chasing our tails” in what has seemed like a futile attempt to keep up with the CORRUPTION – ie LAW BREAKING – of former president Donald Trump. Of course, the alleged CRIMES committed by Trump go way back prior to him taking (LYING about) the OATH of office, but the COLLUSION with Russia and all the OBSTRUCTION of Justice alleged during the Russia investigation was – for people like me who actually read the Mueller Report – clearly grounds for IMPEACHMENT.

Naturally, Trump couldn’t leave well enough alone – after William Barr obscured the TRUTH which was in Mueller’s report – so, the next day (I believe after Mueller testified to Congress) he decided to attempt a shakedown of Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, in order to force Zelensky to order an investigation of Joe Biden. Let me clarify if you don’t “get it:” Right after feeling he got off the hook for his LAWBREAKING regarding the “Russia thing” where he sought help in the 2016 election he tried to BRIBE Zelensky for help in the 2020 election. If you don’t know this – it’s against the LAW to seek help from any foreign entity in our elections. Full Stop!

I wrote that yesterday and, of course, as I’ve said, “It’s hard to keep up with all of Trump’s CORRUPTION.” So, soon after I saved and left those two paragraphs in order to “capture the thought” I was having at the time, Trump’s “home” at Mar a Lago was SEARCHED by a team of FBI agents who had a warrant to find ?????? Naturally, this caused Trump – who was in New York in order to deal with another of his legal headaches (testifying in the NY AG’s investigation of the Trump Organization) to get his depends “all in a bunch.” Apparently, he STILL believes he’s above the law as if he really is still president.

News Flash: Donald Trump really is NOT the president, he’s simply another “citizen” and he’s no longer protected by the now infamous OLC “memo” which saved his butt during the Russia Investigation from up to 10 instances of OBSTRUCTION of Justice. Naturally, the right wing message boards filled up with THREATS to – well, the FBI ???? or ????? from some of the same wack jobs who stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021. Was there anything in this world which was more predictable?

About three or four years ago I wrote about reading the book “Rising out of Hatred” about the transformation of Derek Black, the son of former KKK Grand Wizard Don Black and the heir apparent of the white nationalist movement which has a portal at Stormfront.com. After reading this book I did a little ‘poking’ around in the places frequented by Mr. Black and Derek’s God Father David Duke – another former Grand Wizard of the Klan. These people were enthusiastic supporters of Trump and considered him their “vehicle” into the mainstream of American politics. Them along with their brethren in the white nationalist movement represent a significant portion of the “patriots” (ie CRIMINALS) who attacked our Nation’s Capitol on 1/6 2021. Mr. Duke famously congratulated Trump after Trump’s infamous “very fine people on both sides” comment following the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville back in 2017 and they have been an important part of the republican base since Trump took over the party.

These people (the ones who marched on Charlottesville chanting “Jews will not replace us” while toting Tiki Torches and wearing Nazi armbands and carrying Nazi/Confederate flags) continue to demonstrate why Hillary Clinton referred to them as “a basket of deplorables” during the 2016 campaign. While those comments have been widely considered a major “gaffe” for Mrs. Clinton back then, I’m constantly reminded how prescient she was. When you consider republicans have always considered themselves the “party of law and order” it has almost become laughable – the only reason I would suggest I’m not laughing is because this all is very serious. Trump and his cowardly sycophants continue their staging of what has been called a “slow motion coup d’etat.”

I bring this up because, despite my declining years and difficulty with my memory, there are certain things/issues that come back “clear as a bell.” So, as I’m thinking about Trump having a search warrant executed on his property (remember, there MUST be probable cause a CRIME has been committed and a JUDGE must sign off on the warrant), all the times I listened to Trump claim he was a “law and order” president are flashing in front of my mind while I listen to him and his COWARDLY republican sycophants complaining about the FBI and the Justice Department. Do you find it ironic republicans like Majorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz, Marko Rubio, and others are calling for “defunding the FBI?” Kevin McCarthy, without having ANY idea why the FBI was in Mar a Lago, made a direct threat to Merrick Garland. And, the right wing message boards??? Yikes! For heaven’t sake, what are all these people going to be doing when Trump gets INDICTED for Sedition? (Along with, well, maybe some of these very people spouting off as if they’re “shocked” Trump could EVER be held accountable for his lawlessness)

Speaking of my memory being jogged. I’m pretty sure I remember Trump, back when he was suggesting Hillary Clinton should be jailed for using a personal email server while Secretary of State (just like Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell before her), commenting on his thoughts regarding those who “take the fifth” when in front of law enforcement questioning. I believe he said something along the lines of taking the “fifth” is something you do when you’re guilty of a crime and, as usual, there’s always more – he added that this is something “mobsters” do. Well, apparently, he’s confirming what I’ve been saying for years now – he’s a low level mob boss. I suggest that because, today, he took the “fifth” OVER 440 times in a deposition he was FORCED to give in the NY AG’s office investigation of the Trump Organization. I’m sure Trump will find a way to LIE about this to his base – like, in his case, taking the “fifth” is justified – because, well, because he’s Trump!

Now, there’s a good reason why “we the people” have the privilege of “taking the fifth” – it’s part of our constitutional guarantees – that you can’t be forced to give incriminating evidence against yourself – but, in the case of civil litigation, which was the case today regarding Trump’s 440+ times of taking the “fifth,” if this litigation goes to a trial there can be an “inference” of guilt because there are potentially only financial penalties opposed to criminal ones. What this means is, it appears to me, the Trump Organization could be on very shaky grounds at this point in time. If the reports of various kinds of FRAUD are true regarding Trump’s business the financial penalties could be significant enough to take down the entire business. (Shortly after he was elected I predicted there would come a day when he would “rue” the day he decided to run for president. That day may have finally arrived)

Remember, this is but ONE of MANY instances of legal liability our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president is facing. I suggested well before he was resoundingly defeated at the polls in November of 2020 (by well over 7 MILLION votes) he could be spending the rest of his life, once out of office, defending himself in court. Aside from the NY AG investigation and the FBI searching of his residence (which requires allegations of a CRIME) there is the CRIMINAL investigation happening in Fulton County, Georgia, there’s the January 6th, 2021 investigation (Sedition), There’s still the investigation by the Manhattan DA (which seems to be stalled) and there are NUMEROUS civil lawsuits regarding the January 6th, 2021 INSURRECTION where those initiating the lawsuits are seeking damages in excess of a BILLION dollars – I believe there’s a couple of those. And, that’s just off the top of my aging head!

The sad part in all of this is the NOISE being created by the most loony of his supporters on right wing websights – which I don’t follow, just hear about – where the threatening of – well – I guess it would be anyone who opposes Trump – is raging in “high gear.” As I questioned above, we don’t even know what prompted this search, but what are these people going to do when Trump is put in handcuffs and taken to a Federal Courthouse while being charged with one of the most egregious crimes on the books, Sedition? People I know who are part of Trump’s CULT didn’t pay any attention to the January 6th Committee’s hearings – despite the FACT almost EVERY witness who testified was a republican and, in MOST cases, someone who actually was working in the “White House” for Trump. In other words, first hand witnesses to “deplorable” CRIMINAL activity.

Some of those squawking the loudest – members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Green, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, Louie Ghomert, Paul Gosar, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and others maybe should be keeping their mouths SHUT because, in my view, Trump is part of a significant CONSPIRACY and based on my understanding of the laws they’ll all be liable for – the same CRIME. You’ll notice – if you’re paying attention – that you’re not hearing a “peep” out of people like. for example, Ginni Thomas. I believe she’s definitely part of the “alleged” CONSPIRACY and figures if she “lays low” maybe no one will notice her role in encouraging the coup d’etat. Oh yes, of course, I forgot to mention Mark Meadows, Peter Navarro, Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis – and, I’m sure others, these are the ones I can pull off the top of my head – and, that’s not mentioning all the FAKE electors who “allegedly” committed FRAUD when signing the FAKE elector document which was sent to Congress.

These are the “leaders” of the republican party I’ve been lamenting about for nearly 20 years now. In fact, I almost can’t believe one of the republicans I actually admire is the daughter of Dick Cheney who, in my view, was laying the foundation for this “lurch” to the “right” back when he was hell bent on sending American troops, needlessly, into Iraq for a quagmire which had way too much resemblance with Viet Nam for me – which I stated at the time. And, the idea that an American president could label someone an “enemy combatant” – at his/her whim – and, hold them indefinitely without charges was anathema to every fiber of my being! To top it off, feeling comfortable authorizing TORTURE was what really set me off. So, I find it awkward, to say the least, that I’ve come to admire Liz Cheney – based only on her belief in the value of telling the TRUTH!

So, whatever the “probable cause” which initiated the FBI SEARCH of Trump’s Mar a Lago home/resort/???, I believe it will “pale” when compared to the impending CHARGES Trump is LIKELY to be facing in the coming months. Can he be charged with TWO federal CRIMES at the same time – I believe the answer to that is a resounding YES! However, I hope the Justice Department is tired of “chasing its tail” and will focus on the most EGREGIOUS of the CRIMES which, to me, is an easy call. SEDITION is at the head of the “class,” when it comes to EGREGIOUS crimes – in my mind, the only way to make this worse is if the charge would be TREASON – which, when you think about it could be the reason for the SEARCH of Trump’s Florida (illegal) residence. The ONLY charge more serious than SEDITION would, of course, be TREASON. I can see where Trump’s actions would constitute “Treason” (Treason: the betrayal of allegiance toward one’s own country, especially by committing hostile acts against it or aiding its enemies in committing such acts) but, I believe SEDITION will be easier to prove in court.

Final Thought: I live in a right wing section of a state considered to be “liberal.” My representative, republican Jaimie Herrera Beutler – who voted to IMPEACH Trump – lost her primary to one of the most disgusting candidates the republicans will put on the General election ballot this November. Sadly, this person, Joe Kent, is likely to “win” because the district I’m in was Gerrymandered a few years ago (2010) to almost guarantee a republican representative each election cycle. Kent is someone who listed Matt Gaetz as the member of Congress he most looks up to, someone who’s aligned with the white nationalist movement, and someone who continues LYING about the results of the 2020 election. (Remember, to these nut jobs, the ONLY election which was “rigged” was the one for president – not their own)

I’ve pointed out I’ve always been an “independent voter” – although in recent years I’ve found myself voting AGAINST republicans. For sure, I’ll be doing that this November, likely to no good. My hope is those republicans who supported Ms Beutler will NOT support Kent. There is little political advertising around these parts save for all the road SIGNS you pass when going into town (I live in a rural setting) so you can pretty much count on republicans voting for republicans, no matter what, and vice versa with democrats. The problem in this instance is there are more republicans than democrats where I live. I’m bracing myself to have to stomach a “marjorie Taylor Green” like candidate coming from my own district. I’m on my knees praying this will not come to pass. Kent is a favorite on Tucker Carlson’s show, Steve Bannon’s “war room,” and the like. Yikes!!!! Stay tuned………………..

I may have been wrong the MANY times I wrote about my frustration waiting for Merrick Garland to give me a “sign” he’s not afraid of the “division” which WILL be caused by INDICTING Trump! I can’t think of anything I’m more excited about being WRONG about! AG Garland has put the “onus” on Trump when it comes to the purpose of the SEARCH which happened earlier this week. Numerous of Trump’s sycophants have been clammoring for the Justice Department to “release the details” of what they seized and why they seized it. Well, what’s the old saying, “Be careful of what you wish for?” Today, AG Garland announced the Justice Department has requested the Florida Court where the search warrant originated to “unseal” the details in the warrant and what was seized – UNLESS Trump objects! The first thought I had when I listened to Garland announcing why the Justice Department was doing this was “check mate.” (How will Trump explain to all his “ditto heads” why he objects to making this all public?)

If you listen carefully to all the republicans explaining why they’re up in arms, you’ll hear them accuse the Justice Department of being like the “Gestapo” – I’ve explained republican “projection” on many occasions here – that’s a great example of it. “If we lose an election it must have been rigged!”

Today, in my email inbox I got a request for MONEY from none other than Josh Hawley – based on the SEARCH of Trump’s property. Of course, I suppose they’re ALL (meaning republican Trump sycophants) attempting to use their “outrage” that our government would SEARCH the home of a former (CRIMINAL) president to raise money. I just found it interesting Hawley somehow got my email address and thought I might fall for his shtick. Again, I would find this all laughable if these people weren’t so dangerous. And, to me, Hawley is right at the top of the list. (Hawley even included a photo of himself raising his fist to the January 6’th INSURRECTIONISTS – right before he was seen desperately RUNNING away from them.

Once again, my apologies for publishing without editing. You’re correct – I’m lazy!

I know many “conservatives” who are Trump supporters and who, likely, haven’t watched a minute of the Select Committee on the January 6th INSURRECTION and continue to believe the assault on our Capitol was “legitimate political discourse.” And, of course, they’ve spent the past 7 or so years believing the words coming from Trump’s mouth despite the FACT he’s a pathological LIAR. (OK, I’m not a psychologist – but, as a Middle School teacher I learned how to identify pathological LIARS) Here’s the bottom line; Merrick Garland, at this point in time, with all we KNOW about Trump’s attempted coup d’etat, has no choice but to INDICT our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president for one of the most SERIOUS crimes on the “books” – which is SEDITION.

And, when you consider the EVIDENCE of what Trump and his collaborators did in the 2016 election along with Trump’s fealty to Vladimir Putin over the past 6 years. When you look at his disregard for our constitution since the day he took the OATH to defend it against “all enemies foreign and domestic” and his willingness to disregard that OATH in order to CHEAT himself into a second term it’s not hard to come to the conclusion the MAIN crime he should be indicted for would be TREASON! I’ve been saying for five years now he’s going to end up right next to Benedict Arnold in our history books.

Trump will likely be indicted as the “linchpin” of a large conspiracy to overthrow the results of a “free and fair” election – the ONLY time in American histroy a president has attempted such a thing. Personally, I believe Trump COULD be charged with TREASON (as I just explained). Here’s the definition of TREASON: “The betrayal of allegiance toward one’s own country, especially by committing hostile acts against it or aiding its enemies in committing such acts.” I’m thankful he FAILED and I’ll be even more thankful when he’s defending himself in court. The evidence we KNOW about – that which is in the public domain already – suggests OVERWHELMING guilt.

That all being said, about 15% of America will be very unhappy when Trump is indicted and, of course, these are the kind of people you see driving their pickups around with American flags and Trump flags flying in the breeze – with AR-15’s cradled across the rear window of their rigs. Will this be the “flash point” some of these “deplorables” have been waiting for in order to pick up the steam on the so-called “slow moving coup” which has been spreading across the so-called “red states” since the day Joe Biden took the oath of office. Remember, the thugs who showed up on January 6th were ARMED and had every intention of KILLING members of Congress and, especially, Mike Pense.

As an aside, Pense continues to show his lack of courage – despite finding it on the 6th of January, 2021 – as he’s begun an attempt to grovell his way into the good graces of the MAGA world in an attempt to build a run for the republican nomination in 2024. When you listen to him you realize just how pitiful he’s capable of being – despite, at least in my case, wanting to give him some grace after he refused Trump’s orders to carry out his coup plans on January 6th, 2021. The reality is Pense will NOT do anything which might cause the republican base to shun him – although, that’s likely exactly what is going to happen. Pense SHOULD be acting more like Liz Cheney and showing at least a little amount of COURAGE. (Of course, it is hard for me to ignore the almost four full years of Pense acting like a robot around Trump.

Here’s a rub for me with pundits who I watch on TV (when I choose to do so) – they almost always talk about Trump in terms of him being the “frontrunner” for the republican nomination for president in 2024! OK, I have this question: Can he run for president from a jail cell or court room? Do they simply assume Merrick Garland won’t have the guts to indict “a former president?” I believe the evidence of Trump’s complicity in the most DANGEROUS conspiracy this country has faced – well, maybe EVER – makes it NOW likely he’s going to be indicted. There are many aspects of all this I’ve been “reporting” on for over four years now – that many in the so-called “liberal media” are finally catching on to. One of them is that Trump is a wannabe mob boss who thinks like an organized criminal. (ie – his disdain for people who tell the TRUTH – people he refers to as “rats”)

I started calling him a “mob boss” about four years ago (maybe five – it’s in the archives if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands) and I’ve been explaining the republican party has become a hotbed for FASCISM for several years now. Of course, I’ve had to point out to anyone who’s associated with republicans and who throw that word (fascist) around cavalierly what the meaning of the word actually is – and demonstrate what I mean. Well, now we have the republicans cozying up to Viktor Orban – the fascist leader of Hungary – as if he’s the new Ronald Reagan of the party. Orban is a fascist in the same vein as Vladimir Putin only without all the nukes – he has to be a bit more subtle. But it’s classic fascism as if it came directly from 1930’s Germany, complete with the “anit-immigrant” and “anit-semitic” dog whistles.

I’ve been pointing out for years the U.S. is ALREADY a borderline FASCIST state based on the definition which eminated from Mussolini’s time in Italy – a partnership of the government and corporate powers. We’ve seen this evolution since the Supreme Court intervened in the 2000 election in favor of Bush/Cheney, the power of the Supreme Court growing in the intervening years with decisions like “Citizens United,” the gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – both section 5 and section 2 – which has opened the door to the flood of voter suppression bills being passed in states across America since the 2020 election, the support of partisan gerrymandering (especially in republican states), the support for GUNS, and most recently, the issue of abortion – one decision after another which amounts to “legislating from the bench.”

The republicans have a friendly court which is going to be that way likely for at least a generation and should they retake control of Congress in the 2022 midterms they are planning to make it near impossible for democrats to return to power – no matter how the votes are cast. I mean, when you take a close look at who’s running on the republican side in MANY important statewide elections across the nation it’s a bunch of “election deniers.” That is, if the elections don’t go their way they’re going to “deny them.” Candidates for governor or Secretary of State in several “swing states” saying they won’t certify an election they don’t agree with. The republican nominee for governor in Arizona was recently claiming she wouldn’t accept the results of the election (she was LOSING at the time) but she “changed her tune.” Of course, you know the reason – it turned out she got the nomination – so the election was “no longer rigged.” Ye gads!

Will Americans vote for these wack jobs in large enough numbers for them to actually win in the general election? Well, we’ll have to stay tuned on that one – obviously, I hope not. Another area where I’ve been ACCURATELY pointing out the reality of republican CORRUPTION is be pointing out their penchant for PROJECTION! We’ve all spent about two years listening to the claim (without a shred of evidence) our “elections are rigged” and we’ve listened to the so-called “stop the steal” movement among these right wing “deplorables.” Well, here’s the TRUTH – it’s the republicans who are working OVERTIME in order to RIG the upcoming elections and, in essence, they are attempting to STEAL the 2022 mid-terms because Donald Trump failed to STEAL the 2020 election! (Although, many of them are still focused on doing just that – yah STILL!)

I’ve pointed out here it almost pains me to give kudos to Liz Cheney because there’s little she believes, politically, I agree with. However, the KEY thing I agree with her on is the importance of telling the TRUTH to the American people and politicians being TRUTHFUL with their own voters. I have come to look at her as a person of HONOR – in fact, at this point in time, I would suggest she would have the best chance to win in 2024 of any republican because, aside from Adam Kinsinger, we haven’t seen many republicans with the courage to speak the TRUTH to the American people and/or their voters.

Here’s where I agree with Liz Cheney – for the next two elections it is imperative that independents (like me – even though most people think I’m a democrat) and disaffected republicans coalesce around democrats to vote AGAINST republicans until the republican party is purged of these COWARDLY members who KNOW better but don’t have the guts to say so publicly because their job is more important to them than their country. This is why, in the long run, I believe Liz Cheney will be the “bedrock” of the republican party – once these right wing white nationalists are scurrying back under the rocks they were hiding when Barack Obama was elected and they hit the “white nationalist” panic button.

I don’t want to paint them all with a “broad brush” – but, to me, wilful ignorance is no excuse for a willingness to do to this country what Hitler failed to do in WW II. I’ve written about a former acquaintance who I used to have breakfast with regularly – someone who joined the “Trump train” – knowing what a low life Trump was at the time (I believe an “anti abortion” republican) and who I just got to the point where I couldn’t tolerate (in my mind) some of the things he said to me. And, after he became an election denier (he SHOULD be smarter than that, but……) I started remembering things he said to me over the past few years. The first thing which came to mind was him saying (several times) that he didn’t believe in “democracy.” And, at one time he implied he didn’t think “inner city” Blacks should be voting! Yikes!! I tolerated those remarks as “not serious” until after the election and the refusal to accept the results. (He had predicted a Trump “landslide”) Then……………………

On the night of the election, when – after the election day votes were counted and Trump had a lead of something like 600,000 votes in Pennsylvania he emailed me that Trump had “won” the election. I emailed him back “don’t get ahead of your ski’s – there’s something like 1.5 MILLION mail in votes to be counted and reports are about 80% of them were cast by democrats. My “prediction” proved to be correct – he even had predicted “when Trump wins ‘liberals’ are going to react violently in the streets” – and, I suggested the exact opposite was going to be true. (Of course, I did not anticipate right wing zealots would go so far as to ATTACK the CAPITOL of our great nation – but, well……………… that’s what happened, isn’t it?)

That get’s to the bottom of why Trump and his white nationalist followers are so dangerous – Trump was “grooming” these “ditto heads” (in the words of Rush Limbaugh) for the so-called “rigged election” well before the election happened – saying over and over again to his CULT “The only way I lose is if the election is rigged.” He encouraged republican voters to vote on election day – because those votes are counted first – in Pennsylvania, for example, they can’t even count the mail in votes until the next day – so he could “declare victory” and then claim the election was “stolen” after all the mail in votes were counted and Joe Biden was declared the WINNER! He KNEW what was going to happen all along – It was all planned out ahead of time. (In fact, he was planning the same shtick back in 2016 when Roger Stone coined the phrase “Stop the Steal” because he thought for sure he would lose to Hillary Clinton.)

And, speaking of the 2016 election – for those of you who don’t believe the Russians influenced the outcome of the 2016 election and haven’t read Robert Mueller’s two volume account of the “Russia Investigation” you should read “Collusion – Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win” by Luke Harding of “The Guardian.” I’ve had this book for a few years just sitting by my nightstand and have no idea why I waited until now to read it – but, it’s an “eye opener.” Suffice it to say, our “liberal media” didn’t do such a bang up job researching the credibility of Christopher Steele – he of the now infamous “dossier” – I’m sure much to his relief. He NEVER intended for his “dossier” to be made public and, to me, it’s a shame the parts of it which are clearly prescient have been lost in the FOG of all the CRAP (out of a reluctance to use a more appropriate noun) Trump pulled off in the interim. The “whirly dervish” of CORRUPTION was simply too much for “we the people” to keep up with.

Possibly the worst part of Steele’s “dossier” being published would be the Russians who were “frog marched” from the Kremlin with bags over their heads apparently because the information in the “dossier” implicated them as Steele’s sources. Steele went into hiding for a month or more in order to attempt to take the focus off him (possibly from the Russians – they are experts with poison after all) because he was genuinely worried about the safety of his sources. While much in the “dossier” was “unverified” Steele, himself put the likelihood it was true as very high – and, of course, much of it turned out to be true. What is undeniable is the COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and the Russians – we’ll never know the full effect it had on the outcome, but in my mind (with a little help by James Comey) it’s the reason we were all subjected to Trump’s reign in the “White House” and his continuing assault on our republic in absentia. Please Merrick Garlan, put an end to this nightmare!

Here’s the good news! The Select Committee on January 6th is going to have additional hearings – hopefully in prime time – and the democrats are going to have the opportunity to make republicans WEAR their COWARDICE and their support for UNPOPULAR public policy and political CORRUPTION between now and November. The bad news – I don’t have a lot of confidence in democrats to take this FIGHT directly to the people (and republicans) in EVERY district in this nation. I noticed today that gas prices are coming down for all those voters who would blame President Biden for them going up (that’s what I call “wilfull ignorance” – Biden’s attempting to head off WW III for those not paying attention to what’s going on in Ukraine – and, trust me, Ukraine’s not happening because Trump lost in 2020 – had he won, Putin would have annexed Ukraine in a matter of a few days – NATO would LIKELY be “no more,” and ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, suffice it to say, I thank God Joe Biden is president!

For anyone who believes abortion is an issue which is private between a woman, her doctor, and her faith they would need to be voting AGAINST republicans for the foreseeable future – because republicans already have a 6-3 majority on the Court and should republicans gain control of Congress once again they’ve already said NO Court appointments by a democratic president will be considered (Like Garland in 2015-2016) and they’ve pledged to pass legislation making abortion ILLEGAL in all 50 states. So, for those who are focused on that issue it’s “on the ballot” for the foreseeable future. If Kansas’ recent referendum on abortion is any indication, this could be an issue which hangs as a “heavy weight” around the necks of many republican candidates for office nationwide. After all, women make up more than HALF of this great nation!

And, as far as our democratic republic is concerened all you have to do is listen to the candidates for governor in Pennsylvania and Arizona on the republican side to realize they’re counting on democrats NOT voting come November and gaining a stronghold in our nation during a “mid-term” election with low voter turnout. Will it work? Well, as I just said above, it remains to be seen if democrats have the “will” (I was going to use a cruder term) for this FIGHT. However, we do have people like Liz Cheney, the Lincoln Project, and other republican affiliated groups who willingly want to coordinate with democrats in order to defeat republicans. To me, that makes it doable – but democrats MUST understand the CRITICAL aspects of this election and the importance of pulling this coordination together. Some of their (democrats) accomplishments have been significant, but the voters need to understand the STAKES of this election and why voters should support them. Yes, inflation is bad, but fascism is WORSE! That needs to be driven “home” in local election after local election! Stay tuned………………

Final Thought: One republican “trick” I keep thinking about as I read about local statewide legislation being proposed in various states which is worded almost identical to legislation in other states is how the organization ALEC works. ALEC (American Legislative Exchance Council) – a Koch funded group – writes legislation for state legislators around the country – going from one state to the next in order to simplify the process for right wing state legislators. That’s why many of these proposed statewide abortion bans seem so similar. I don’t believe democrats have a “competitive council” and they haven’t even made much of a “stink” around the nation that, in essence, Charles Koch is behind much of the local legislation at the statewide level. I’ve said this many times, the republican operation is “light years” more sophisticated than the democrats – which seems to lead to democrats seeming to be “reactive” in too many instances. People SHOULD know about ALEC and the extent of the DAMAGE they’re doing to our republic.

I have to add: One reason why I believe Trump’s indictment is a ways away is because he’s part (the head) of a HUGE conspiracy which COULD draw in over 100 “co-conspirators” – including several sitting members of Congress, the wife of a Supreme Court Justice, a gaggle of Trump’s “lawyers” (if they’re still lawyers by the time of the indictment) and a whole bunch of “suckers” in various states who signed FRAUDULENT documents claiming to be the “real electors” of their state. Additionally, there were people who were funding this, people on the periphery like Roger Stone, Mike Flynn, a recent lawsuit loser of about $50 MILLION Alex Jones, and who knows who else? I’ve written about what it takes to be part of a CONSPIRACY and it’s really not all complicated. Were you ANY part of the plan? Were you encouraging the plan? Probably really COMPLICATED from the standpoint of the Justice Department!

My apologies, I’m publishing this without re-reading and editing it – a “no no” for my 6th graders when I was still teaching!

I’m just getting so tired of “stupid” when I’m listening or watching Americans who manage to find themselves part of our “liberal media.” Yesterday, as I often do when I’m driving around, I was listening to MSNBC and one conversation after another was about the SCOTUS overturning Roe v Wade. One (unnamed – I don’t know the name) person being interviewed by someone (don’t know that name either) was lamenting the Court’s decision and she (actually) said, “This is the fault of the Biden Administration, they let this happen.” Thus confirming that “stupid” is bipartisan.

Here’s the problem with that kind of thinking – especially when there’s NO pushback by whoever was interviewing this lady – that’s exactly what those who are funding the republican assault on our republic want people to think. We are teetering on becoming the fascist state people like my father fought in WW II to prevent from happening. And, my concern is people like this woman will either NOT vote or, worse, vote for republicans to get back at Joe Biden! Of course, this decision was “baked” into the court’s docket once Amy Coney Barrett was “crammed” onto the court because Ruth Bader Ginsburg couldn’t manage to live until the 2020 election – although, she tried valiantly to do so. Ms. Ginsburg knew exactly what would happen if she couldn’t last – and, it did.

But, the ramifications of the Supreme Court my children and grandchildren must live with for a generation go well beyond the overturning of Roe. Are progressives going to blame Biden each time another “right” is overruled? Of course, that would be “stupid.” I’ve referred to our Twice Impeached so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president as “individual 1” for a couple of years – I hate writing the name Donald Trump – but, obviously, America’s Justice Department doesn’t have the will to enforce our laws on a former president (and possibly his sycophants) so he’ll NEVER have to face justice for his role in the same FELONY which led to Michael Cohen going to PRISON for 3 years. So, I’m going to refer to our DISGRACED former president by his surname from hear on out. (I’ll probably forget occasionally)

And, I’m not necessarily going to blame Trump for the Court’s ruling on Roe despite him assuredly taking credit – but the decision has its roots well before Trump walked down the stairs at his god awful “Tower” in New York. This decision was “baked in” once Moscow Mitch “stole” a seat on the court from Merrick Garland – although, it’s reasonable to be perplexed by the inconsistency of the Senate confirmations of Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh and their so-called commitments to “stare decisis.” Yes, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were critical parts of the decision to overturn Roe and they’re two of the three justices placed on the court by our DISGRACED former president. (That’s much easier to write)

This is exactly why so many evangelical “Christians” are rejoicing about the court’s decision and Trump’s role in it. (Of course, he IS taking credit for the ruling) So, why would anyone be blaming Joe Biden for “letting this happen.” In 2016 Hillary Clinton was running against Trump (and Russia and the FBI) and a majority of white women voted, inexpicably, for Trump – him, having ADMITTED to being a sexual pervert. These “Christians” made a “deal with the devil” because the “abortion” issue was the limit of their ability to think about politics – as if overturning Roe would stop abortions. So, my point is the people who “let this happen” (and who oppose this court’s egregious “legislating from the bench”) are all those “progressives” who sat out the 2016 election or voted for Trump or voted for one of the third party candidates allowing this two bit mob boss to become president.

Here’s why I (reluctantly) use the word “stupid” to characterize people like those mentioned above. Blaming Biden makes me think, as I said above, this woman will either FAIL to VOTE this November or will be SUCKERED into voting for a republican. There’s not a single republican in the Senate who voted to codify Roe when it was brought up for a vote a month or so back. The problem is there aren’t enough democrats in the Senate to get virtually ANYTHING of consequence done – so, why wouldn’t people (like the woman mentioned above) understand voting in MORE democrats is the ONLY hope people like her have. (Keep in mind, the abortion issue does not personally affect old people like me – other than grieving for our children and – mostly – grandchildren)

Democrats have been LOSING the messaging “battle” for as long back as I can remember. I’ve been pointing this out on this site for nearly 15 years. Democrats don’t understand – possibly STILL – what is going on in American politics – republicans surely do. This is a “war” for the heart and soul of this nation and we’re headed for the American version of apartheid if progressives fail to turn out in record numbers come November – presidential election numbers. (Which is highly unlikely – given the history of democratic apathy – in mid term elections) And, if the January 6th Select Committees public hearings AND (more than the Roe) Supreme Court decisions don’t get people’s attention, well, the foundation for republican CHEATING to win elections will have been “burnt in.”

I’ve lamented the timidity of Merrick Garland for over a year now and I don’t feel any more certain he will actually ENFORCE the existing laws without “fear or favor” regarding the INSURRECTION and the conspiracy by Trump and his “gang.” If AG Garland fails, then this nation will be unrecognizable. Trust me, indicting Trump will cause no more “division” to our nation than NOT indicting him – and, quite possibly a lot less. The results of well over 20 years of “manipulation” by a cabal of WEALTHY republicans – ie the “Koch brothers,” The DeVoss family, the Coors family, etc. etc. have been FUNDING a multitude of groups who’ve been working “from the bottom up” to create the situation where hard right republicans fill key places in one state after another. The group “ALEC” actually writes legislation for state legislatures all over the nation. And, of course, democrats act as if none of this is happening.

So, democrats don’t have much time to get their act together. And, of course, republicans know which democrats carry the most “weight” with the public, so – just as they did with Mrs. Clinton for 20+ years they are SMEARING anyone they consider a potential effective foe with MILLIONS in dirty money. As I’ve said here many times, with republicans the “end justifies the means.” Which is why Trump was so acceptable to the “base” – he’s the perfect leader – a pathological LYING two bit mob boss. And, of course, now you’ve got republican presidential wanabees all over the country trying to “out Trump” each other.

The bottom line, in America, is that the white nationalists are MUCH more numerous than I had imagined – having lived through the Civil Rights fights back in the 60’s on up to the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008. That was a seminal moment for two reasons – the first African American president AND the birthing of the “Tea Party” consisting of a group of racists who were more than willing to align themselves with the “basket of deplorables” menitoned by Mrs. Clinton in the 2016 campaign AND virtually take over the republican party during the next six years. Trump was auditioning for the role of “leader” while he was “pushing” the “Birther” movement.

Now you have people like Tucker Carlson with a voice on Fox “news” spewing out the “replacement theory” garbage to keep this group of white nationalists riled up and pretending they’re “conservative Christians.” The focal point of this movement, of course, as it has been for decades upon decades is in the American South. This was made ABUNDANTLY clear as states like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida were at the forefron of what is being called “Jim Crow 2.0” – an attempt to prevent African Americans and other “minority groups” from voting in numbers high enough to effect the result of elections.

Naturally, this movement is not ONLY in the South – I know people in the Northwest who espouse the same garbage. I have a former acquaintance (I tried to get him to come to his senses at the breakfast table over a few years) who actually (with his wife) adopted and raised three African Americans who refer to him as “Dad.” I seriously doubt he says the same things to them which he said to me and I’m sure he can’t picture himself as being “racist.” But, you know, I don’t go by the theory that “I know a Black person so I can’t be racist.” His “daughter” was receiving subsistance the last time I talked to him and he was angry about it – said she deserved to be on the street. To me, when you align yourself with “white nationailsts” you can’t have it both ways. This guy even said things to me which I, at the time, thought were perplexing that an educated adult could think that, and later learned were QAnon conspiracy garbage.

We became acquainted via our Church (at the time) and I (actually) enjoy having dialogue with people who disagree with me (most people I know do :o) – but, I draw the line when I start hearing racist garbage. The last time I corresponded with him he referred to himself as a “conservative Christian.” I don’t think he has any idea what the actual definition of “conservative” is and, to me, when you jump on the Trump “bandwagon” and become part of the CULT I have to question the sincerity of the “Christian” self characterization. And, yes, I’m fully aware of the Bible saying “judge not less you be judged.” I just don’t believe the Trump version of “Christianity” comports with what I’ve learned over the past 20+ years. (I’m pretty sure I’ve “digressed”)

My point is, whether my former acquaintance is “right” or I’m “right” when it comes to what is best for this nation, him and those in the CULT with him will likely VOTE in huge numbers this coming November (for a midterm) so if democrats don’t get their acts together – and FAST – they will disappoint once again. And, I’m not talking about running on all the wonderful things they’ve accomplished in Biden’s first two years. They better start MESSAGING on the true threats we are facing as a nation coming from republicans. I can point out a key reason to vote for democrats right off the top of my aging head.

In fact, democrats need to win EVERY election for the foreseeable future because the 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court could get WORSE if they lose the Senate OR the “White House” anytime soon. I can conceive of, for example, Clarence Thomas getting caught up in the conspiracy to overthrow our government culminating in the January 6th, 2021 INSURRECTION. At this point it’s CLEAR his wife, Ginni Thomas, was right in the middle of a SEDITIONS conspiracy along with Trump, Meadows, Giuliani, Bannon, and a bunch of others (including about 100 suckers in various states who were led to sign fraudulent elector documents – which is AGAINST the law). Do you actually believe he had no idea what his wife was doing? OMG – republicans believe “we the people” are STUPID – if we believe that!

As soon as republicans gain control of the Senate or “White House” we are THREATENED with another LYING Gorsuch or Kavanaugh or Alito to add to the bunch already there. Well, democrats SHOULD have understood this back when Mrs. Clinton was on the ballot, but, well, ………………. The next reason why democrats need to get MORE Senators and retain control of the House is so Biden can get his “Build Back Better” agenda through Congress – bypassing Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. They have both relished the role of being in the public spotlight due to their willingness to “torpedo” Biden’s agenda – but, they can become irrelevant with just TWO more Democratic Senators – although, it would be better to have four or five more.

The democrats are defending about half as many seats as the republicans in this “go round” when it comes to the Senate – so, the opportunity is there. I believe in both Pennsylvania and Ohio democrats have a great chance to “flip” the seats. However, there are democrats who are vulnerable – including one of my favorites – Raphael Warnock in Georgia. He’s running against Hershel Walker – who is possibly the WORST candidate for the Senate I’ve EVER seen, but Walker’s running as a republican with Trump’s blessing so if he can avoid ANY public speaking engagements – including debating Warnock – who knows, republicans elected Trump after all.

As I said when I started this rant, my concern regarding the upcoming election is the STUPID stuff I’ve heard coming from the mouths of people who SHOULD be voting for democrats. It’s NOT Biden’s fault Roe got overturned, for example. And, the high gas prices and inflation are the result, largely of the war in Ukraine and the bottlenecks in supply chains – PLUS the GREED of multi-national corporations headquartered in America who are making obscene profits while our people are struggling to get by. Many of these corporations are donating MILLIONS to the republicans who were/are involved in the INSURRECTION. (It, of course, is ongoing)

If democrats can’t convince enough voters that the future of our republic is on the ballot this November, then, well, Yikes! I’ve been saying this for years – unfortunately, those of us who recognize the danger of the republican party which has gone over the right wing “edge” HAVE to depend on democrats to stop them. Honestly, I’m not sure MOST democrats in Congress understand the gravity of the situation. So far, what I’ve seen is “politics as usual” from them – many accepting that republicans will gain control of the Congress come November. That’s the problem I’ve been lamenting for years – where is the FIGHT?

For all those wondering, like me, why there has been NO investigation of former president Donald Trump regarding the coup d’etat he orchestrated back on January 6th, 2021 there’s overwhelming evidence as to why this investigation SHOULD take (have already taken) place. In fact, Trump continues to be a THREAT to our democratic republic and the SOONER he’s spending time in court defending his actions the SOONER all of us are better off. The idea he could declare himself a candidate for president in the 2024 election as a way to head off an indictment makes my stomach crawl. AG Garland has given me no reason to believe he has the “guts” to indict a former president – even one who acts like a cheap mob boss. Until Trump is stopped he’ll continue to believe he’s above the law.

Here’s why I believe his actions will only get worse until he’s stopped. First, Trump was “let off the hook” by William Barr’s LIES regarding the Mueller report regarding the “Russia thing” – the initial CHEATING connected to Trump demonstrating his mantra is “win at all costs.” Mueller “memorialized” 10 potential instances of OBSTRUCTRION of Justice which, clearly, AG Garland has chosen not to pursue. (Mueller pointed out the “mountain” of evidence was left for a future time when Trump was no longer covered by the OLC “memo”) Mueller made it clear the only reason they didn’t consider indicting Trump was because of that OLC “memo” which “suggests” a sitting president cannot be indicted. In Trump’s first couple of years in office it seemed as if he was involved in CRIMINAL conduct on almost a daily basis. It was almost dizzying. Once Barr shielded him from Mueller’s report (I read it TWICE) Trump claimed (erroneoously) he was fully vindicated. Clearly, he felt emboldened to continue disregarding our system of LAWS.

Second, Trump was “acquitted” in his NEXT attempt at CHEATING – this time to “win” the 2020 election when the Senate refused to convict him of “Abuse of Power” and “Obstruction of Congress” after being IMPEACHED for attempting to “shake down” (extort) Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky – trying to force him to start an investigation of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. (and ILLEGALY putting a “hold” on already appropriated military support for Ukraine as Ukraine was fighting off a Russian “intrusion” into the Donbas region) Trump figured just the opening of an investigation would be enough to sideline Biden as his most likely opponent in the 2020 election. We all saw why he wanted to do this with the results of Biden turning him out of office. Of course, LOSING the election was not sufficient for Trump to quietly move out of town.

The third reason he MUST be indicted is because he orchestrated the attempted coup d’etat America is learning more about virtually every day after he LOST the 2020 election. The House “Select Committee on the January 6th INSURRECTION” has been making the “story” of what happened obvious to MILLIONS of Americans who are watching their hearings – which may go beyond the previously scheduled final hearing scheduled for 7/21/2022. The Committee, since the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, points out that more evidence continues to “pour in.” It appears the testimony of Ms. Hutchinson has caused numerous others to gain the courage to come forth.

This attempted coup d’etat resulted in IMPEACHMENT number two for Trump and, of course, once again, the republicans in the Senate refused to “convict” the now TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president. (Trump holds the record for MOST impeachments – EVER) Although there were several republicans who voted to convict, there was NOT the two thirds necessary for conviction – which would have made the concerns about Trump running again a moot point. I will remember (and, my 74 year old memory isn’t good) to my dying day Moscow Mitch voting to acquit and, almost immediately, once the “trial” was over making Trump’s responsibility for the attack on the Capitol “clear as a bell.” All he had to do was vote to CONVICT and there would likely have been enough republicans to remove Trump from our political scene once and for all. But, once again, Trump felt emboldened by the cowardice of republicans in the Senate.

In fact, putting on a classic display of where “today’s” republican party stands we need look no further than the republican leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy. On January 6th, while the INSURRECTIONISTS were bashing Capitol Police officers with their flags (many with tips turning them into dangerous spears), McCarthy called Trump pleading for him to call off the mob – and, according to others who were there and/or were told of Trump’s response – “Well, Kevin, I guess these people care more about the election than you do” – it is understandable why McCarthy was so angry and why he made a speech in the following days blasting Trump and putting the BLAME for the INSURRECTION squarely on Trump’s “shoulders.” Of course, given another week to think about his prospects to be Speaker of the House someday, McCarthy was soon at Mar a Lago kissing Trump’s (large) ass and (presumably) asking for forgiveness in regards to his previous speech! The trip ended in a disgusting “photo op” essentially showing Trump’s power over republican members of Congress. Do you like your job? Then, kiss my ass!

So, does anyone wonder what’s next if Merrick Garland fails to PROSECUTE Trump for ALL of his ILLEGAL behavior? And, what would failure to do that mean for other future leaders who don’t respect our constitution? Each time Trump has pushed himself OVER any reasonable view of the “limits” of presidential behavior and then gotten a “get out of jail free card” he has just pushed the boundaries further. And, his sycophants in the right wing of the republican party all around the country are attempting to “fix” the election process so that the next time Trump (or another right wing republican) attempts a coup d’etat, he/ahe will be able to pull it off. (Should Trump manage to find a way back into the “White House” he’ll know how to just surround himself with “loyalists”)

Therefore, it’s incumbent on VOTERS – and, I’m talking about democrats, independents, and disaffected republicans – to come together to vote out republicans in every place possible across the nation. At this point, I believe it’s more important to vote AGAINST republicans until this THREAT to the fundamentals of our constitution has been aleviated – when, once again, we can debate “conservative vs liberal” policy decisions – with the belief ANY leader in our country will HONOR their OATH to the constitution. I believe Merrick Garland has found himself in a critical place in American History – he’s “on the spot” whether he likes it or not. He’s worried about the division caused by prosecuting Trump – but appears to be BLIND to the consequences of NOT prosecuting our TWICE IMPEACHED loser of a former president. (I often wonder why republicans haven’t tired of all the LOSING) Not prosecuting Trump will be far worse than prosecuting him! (Garland is showing signs which provide people like me a ray of hope, but, for heaven’s sake these CRIMES happened over 18 months ago.)

Furthermore, I find it almost offensive that Garland is allowing the DA in Fulton County Georgia’s investigation of Trump to be leading the most serious legal issue Trump’s facing. It appears Fani Willis, Fulton’s DA, is targeting ALL those Georgians who are part of a large CONSPIRACY to overthrow the results of the presidential election in Georgia along with some of Trump’s sycophants who participated in the scheme to “find 11,780 votes one more than we need.” If you haven’t had your head in the “sand” you know about Trump’s now infamous call to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Secretary of State, where he attempted to INTIMIDATE Raffensperger to “find” the votes necessary to change the outcome of Georgia’s election.

Trump made several other calls to various Georgia officials with the same intention – INTIMIDATION – causing them to join the conspiracy to “steal” the election in their state for him. Those who participated in this endeavor for Trump included Senator Lindsey Graham and Rudy Giuliani, among others. Ms. Willis is even targeting ALL 16 of the Georgia republicans who signed a fraudulent document claiming they were the “real” electors from the state – a document which was sent to the National Archives and to the Senate as part of the scheme which led to the January 6th INSURRECTION at the Captiol building in Washington D.C. Trump’s culpibility is as obvious in this attempt to defraud the voters of the state of Georgia as it is in the attempted coup d’etat of January 6th, 2021, to overthrow the naional election. Garland and the Justice Department SHOULD be leading this investigation as well!

I’m an old man with who knows how many years left on this (warming) planet, but I’ve been paying attention to politics since the days my Mom and Dad were arguing about Stevenson vs. Eisenhower back in the 1950’s. I was sent home from High School on November 22, 1963, the day JFK was assassinated (possibly with CIA complicity) and I watched RFK get murdered on TV after a primary “win” in California prior to the 1968 presidential election. The list goes on and on of political stuff I’ve witnessed, but I’ve NEVER seen anything like the THREAT to our nation caused by Trump and the extreme right – led by (of course) Trump, himself, and a plethora of white nationalist groups – essentially domestic terrorists – and, I fear that is what is causing the procrastination from AG Garland in regards to Trump’s OBVIOUS guilt in the lead up to the attemtped COUP and the day of the INSURRECTION itself. There’s a seemingly endless series of LAWS Trump has violated and Garland SHOULD be indicting him for. Just the thought Trump might, once again, INTIMIDATE his way out of accountability is depressing.

Final Thought: I’ve got a “bucket list” which, sadly, seems to be getting shorter due to my age related incapacity. One of the main parts of the list – shooting my age in golf – may have already passed me by due to medical issues which the insurance industry doesn’t seem to consider serious enough to support the diagnoses of the doctors involved. Many of my peers are perishing or have perished so I’m thankful every day when I wake up in the morning to one more day. Therefore, the number one thing on my bucket list, assuming my golfing days are over, is to live long enough to see Trump CONVICTED of his criminal behavior and sentenced to a fair number of years in prison – likely the rest of his life based on the fact he’s older than me and the list of crimes seems endless. (This all reminds me of “Watergate” – to which I was also “glued” to the hearings [Black and White TV back then] with the hope that Nixon’s criminal behavior would be exposed) Of Course, it was!

The January 6th Committee has PROVED beyond any reasonable person’s doubt Trump’s “intent” as he led a large conspiracy to overthrow a “free and fair election” – something right out of the Putin handbook. And, you might ask, why is he still adamant in claiming “the election was stolen” when he clearly KNOWS otherwise? Well, Trump is cunning, if nothing else and he’s fully AWARE of his criminal exposure. Further evidence of this is his looming announcement he’s running for president again this fall. He’s trying to head off any Justice Department indictment – although, as we saw with the Clinton investigation over emails – everytime I think back to that I shudder – do you remember all the “lock her up” chants led by Trump and his sycophants? – running for president doesn’t fall into the purvue of the OLC “memo” which prevents a SITTING president from indictment. Trump appears to be in “deep doo doo!”

And, I have to add: think of all the potential witnesses against Trump when you consider who might be caught up in this CONSPIRACY to overthrow the government. I’ll list the ones I can think of off the top of my head: John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Mark Meadows, Ron Johnson, Mo Brooks, Ginni Thomas, Andy Biggs, Ali Alexander, Steve Bannon, Paul Gosar, Marjorie Taylor Green, Peter Navarro, Matt Gaetz, all the “alternate electors,” and, I’m sure, others. I’ll end this with the definition of a CONSPIRACY: “Conspiracy is governed by statute in federal courts and most state coursts. Before its Codification in state and federal statutes, the crime of conspiracy was simply an agreement to engage in an unlawful act with the intent to carry out the act. Federal statutes, and many state statutes, now require not only agreement and intent but also the commission of an Overt Act in furtherance of the agreement. If you would like more info on conspiracy, clidk HERE. Bingo! All those people mentioned above were involved in the scheme which was “unfolded” on January 6th, 2021. Sitting members of Congress and the WIFE of a Supreme Court Justice. Wow!

Now, it’s all up to the Justice Department and, in the end, Merrick Garland. There’s a bunch of “naughty” republicans who deserve to be TARGETS of an official investigation of SEDITION ending in indictments galore! We’re going to see the size of Garland’s “Balls” in the next few months!

Many Americans are wondering, “How did we get in this predicament?” as the tilt toward fascism continues. Well, I’ll attempt to consolidate much of what I’ve been writing about for the past 15 years and thinking about for much longer. To me, this all started in 1971 with the somewhat infamous “Powell memo” from soon to be (at the time) Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell laying the groundwork for the corporate takeover of America at the expense of America’s blue collar working class (and, in reality, her upper middle class at the time, as well).

Powell’s ideas were kind of “officially” put in place with the election of Ronald Reagan and the disastrous “trickle down economics scheme” which was unleashed on “we the people” in the early 1980’s. To me, that was the height of America’s great “middle class.” We’ve seen the superiority of the right wing’s message machine ever since as Reagan convinced enough Americans he was going to “cut your taxes and balance the budget.” Of course, the only time the budget’s been balanced since Reagan was when the Clinton administration created a quarter TRILLION surplus toward the end of their time in office. (After a tax increase) Sadly, Clinton’s presonal “failings” simply added fuel to that right wing “message machine” leading to the GW Bush/Dick Cheney regime and more of Reagan’s absurd promises.

In fact, it was the Bush/Cheney “victory” which was a precursor of things to come. (The motivator to all my writing) I’ll go to my grave believing Al Gore won Florida in the 2000 election which would have made him the winner (along with his “victory” in the “popular vote”). This was the first time the Supreme Court showed “inklings” of what it has transpired to over the past few days – absurd decisions on guns, abortion, climate, and “religion” – in the space of one working week. The 2000 Court got away with determining the outcome of the 2000 election and Gore accepted his defeat like a true “gentleman” – much to my chagrine. (Although, looking back, there was little he could have done – but, to me this was the first time I became aware of the Court’s untenable POWER.

This was followed by the Court showing its “legislating from the bench” prowess with the so-called “Citizen’s United” (v Clinton) decision (and soon to follow another one which I can’t remember off the top of my 74 year old head) unleashing MOUNTAINS of corporate money into our elections surreptitiously – opening the door to foreign money in our politics. I don’t think I’ll live long enough to forget watching Sam Alito shaking his head as if to disagree when, in President Obama’s first (I think) State of the Union address he pointed out this decision opened the floodgates to foreign (and corporate) money into our elections. (This was the decision leading to Mitt Romney’s famous “corporations are people my friends” statement and it also showed what an IDIOT Alito apparently is)

The court continued it’s right wing assault on America’s progress post WW II when it began the process of “gutting” the Voting Rights Act of 1965. First section 5 (which started the massive number of voter suppression bills now turning into laws aimed at curtailing the numbers of people of color – and other democratic leaning voters – from exercising their right to vote. Next came Section 2 and then obscene decisions regarding gerrymandering – with an obvious “bent” toward supporting “conservatives.”

I point this out because I believe this assault on our nation’s foundation began with that Powell memo and has been running “under the radar” ever since. The wealthy family interests like the “Koch Brothers,” The DeVoss family, the Coors family and others banded together to form alliances designed to undermine the aforementioned progress following WW II and they’ve been working on a sophisticated plan (compared to the democrats) since. I still remember David Koch (now deceased) running for Vice President on the libertarian “ticket” in 1980 (I believe) and getting about ONE percent of the vote. The thing about the Koch’s – they don’t give up. They’ve been building this alliance with other wealthy families since – forming groups like ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and other grassroots alliances filling our state and local governments with right wing zealots. (Slowly engulfing our political process)

In the meantime, democrats have acted as if they have no idea what is happening to the heartland – seemingly oblivious to the “culture wars” they are losing BIGTIME. America has now evolved to a point where corporate interests, in essence, control the Congress and the messaging. There are some upstart democrats who cause me to have some hope democrats can figure this out before it’s too late – although, I fear November of this year (2022) could be determinate as to whether they figure it out in time.

Republicans have been winning the messaging “wars” ever since the 1970’s and the Powell memo (to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – I believe – it’s easy to find online – if interested click HERE) and my FEAR is that it’s not changing – although, the brazenous of the recent Court decisions give me pause for hope – women, for example, make up over half the country. (Are they going to VOTE?) The other “current events” which SHOULD help democrats to “turn the tide” on the messaging front are the hearings of the Select Committee on the January 6th INSURRECTION which are exposing the CORRUPTION of the republican party to those who choose to pay attention.

To me, this CORRUPTION is a direct result of SCOTUS decisions mentioned above – along with the passive democratic party which has shied away from holding republican leaders accountable for their lawlessness. (It only gets progressively worse each time the signal is sent “the president is above the law.” – Reagan and H W Bush were up to their eyeballs in Iran/Contra and GW Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld et al admitted to authorizing TORTURE with no accountability – and, of course, Trump is exponentially WORSE) I believe Trump STILL believes he’ll avoid accountability for Sedition because his choices for the Supreme Court will protect him. Will Americans VOTE this November based on the threat of the Court or will they be sidetracked by the issue of inflation?

In my lifetime there are two people I look to for guidance as I try to understand economics – which underlies virtually ALL the problems “we the people” are facing and they are Paul Krugman and Robert Reich. My thoughts above are simply the observations I’ve made over my lifetime as a “baby boomer” (who is concerned with the America we’re leaving our children and grandchildren) and both Krugman and Reich have me convinced the obscene actions of corporate America (actually, virtually ALL the main offenders are “multi-national corporations”) stashing their obscene PROFITS overseas to avoid American taxes while ripping off their American customers – especially, in this time of war, the fossil fuel corporations. (Mr. Reich explains this really well – he exposes the problems and provides potentilal solutions – and his writings are easily accessible online)

Actually, I believe I’ve been witnessing the CORRUPTION of these multi-national coporations since – well, the days of Reagan. Sadly, I believe “we the people” have grown to accept this CORRUPTION as simply the “way it is” – with nothing we can do about it. Of course, I’ve been writing (now) for about 15 years lamenting that the democratic party doesn’t appear to have the courage of their own convictions in fighting this CORRUPTION- and, that they are the ONLY realistic option for “we the people” in voting this (ever more) right wing republican party into the history books. For example, these obscene profits coming (to) from the oil companies is nothing new – like a lot of what is happening with corporations in general. Somehow, many Americans are (believing and) blaming democrats for this!

Lately, much of what I’ve been thinking (and writing) about is how the “circular firing squad” of the democratic party the most depressing part of all this – democrats attacking democrats – especially democrats attacking Joe Biden. I keep wondering, “what the hell were they expecting.” Biden faces the thinnest of “majorities” in Congress yet has managed to get TWO significant pieces of legislation passed and signed into law. The “American Rescue Plan” helped pull America out of the COVID-19 “abiss” with $1.9 TRILLION aimed at the middle class or those in economic danger. Additionally, the so-called “bipartisan infrastructure plan” is a “first step” in fixing the sagging infrastructure in America – which needs much more to bring it up to “world class” standards. A record number of jobs have been created in Biden’s first 18 months in office.

There are other successes as well – BUT, because of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema’s recalcitrance the “Build Back Better” bill was NOT passed (and, likely, even a watered down version won’t be passed) AND bills to protect Voting Rights and the rights of WOMEN to control their own bodies became IMPOSSIBLE to pass. The downward trajectory of President Biden’s “approval” numbers began with the pullout of troops from Afghanistan – reported as a fiasco – as if there was any other option. In reality, getting over 120,000 Afghans out of the country along with our final number of troops was something to cheer. However, even outlets like MSNBC reported the pullout of troops as a disaster because of those Afghans who couldn’t make it ouit. I said it at the time, all these people complaining weren’t around when troops came home from Viet Nam – a much worse “disaster” than Afghanistan.

These democrats who continue to complain about President Biden seem to have nearly as short a memory as those who are not democrats and who actually favor republicans – after what has taken place over the previous 7 years – highlighted by the four years of the Trump administration. Republicans are seemingly ALL experts at projection which is why, lately, I’ve heard them calling democrats fascists. (as they deflect) Obviously, they “trust” their supporters to have NO idea what constitutes a fascist – but, the actual reality “we the people” face if democrats continue arguing amongst themselves – missing the MAIN point of this upcoming mid-term election – very well could be the makings of a fascist takeover of our nation’s government. (And, trust me, that won’t be because democrats win in the mid terms)

My father was in the U.S, Army during WW II as America prevented Hitler’s attempt to spread his FASCIST hate all across Europe and into (the then) Soviet Union. Even then, there were many Americans who had enabled Hitler and supported him BUT most Americans participated in the FIGHT to stop Hitler’s fascist regime. I find it ironic that a low level organized criminal – a second tier immigrant like Trump, might be the source of America becoming a fascist state. This is unthinkable to me, but as I watch the democrats “circular firing squad” it becomes clear this could be the result of republicans’ sophisticated control of our “mainstream media.”

Here’s what democrats SHOULD be “pounding” to their potential VOTERS over and over again. “As we go forward ANY time republicans gain control of the Senate the result will be either NO judges confirmed to the various federal courts if there’s a democrat president or MORE right wing judges if, somehow, “we the people” vote another republican into the ‘White House.'”

Additionally, democrats should be POUNDING it into people’s minds about what is being uncovered by the Select Committee to investigate January 6th, 2021 – the INCREDIBLE CORRUPTION which has permeated the entire republican party – and, democrats should be defining to “we the people” what a FASCIST actually is – by showing instances like the so-called “unite the right” march in Charlottesville where Trump said, “There’s good people on both sides.” Photos of the Nazi swastikas on the arms of many of those marchers who were chanting “Jews will not replace us.” Also, the Nazi references on the clothing of MANY of the INSURRECTIONISTS on January 6th, 2021. Just listening to the flow of LIES – via the “Big Lie Theory” adopted by republicans from the Nazi’s of the Third Reich SHOULD also be enough.

To me, these two realities are much more important than the issues of inflation and high gas prices (a major contributor of inflation). Of course, the source of this inflation seems to go right over the heads of most Americans – and, sadly, many members of the “liberal media.” There’s a WAR going on in Ukraine and President Biden has done a GREAT job pulling NATO together in a unified stand against Vladimir Putin and supporting Ukraine in an attempt to head off the possibility of WW III. Americans SHOULD be supporting Biden in all of this! That, along with the recovery from the pandemic which has exacerbated supply chain issues are at the root of the issue of inflation. It will come to pass, but electing republicans in November may be more than our democratic republic can withstand.

So, it seems that how we got here has been what many are calling a “slow motion coup d’etat” starting way back in 1971. To me, it’s evident our “liberal media” either doesn’t “get” this, or they are willfully complicit. It seems complicated, on the surface, but, in actuality, to me, it’s simple – the republican party won’t be satisfied until they have TOTAL control of “we the people” – that is, our most sacred “rights.” This Supreme Court is going to be there for long after I’m “pushing up daisies” and democrats better get busy educating voters on what the CRITICAL issues are right away. I’ve been saying “this upcoming election is the most important election in my lifetime” since Trump gained the “Oval Office.” Well, until this court somehow gets mitigated, I believe EVERY election going forward will be “the most important of our lifetimes.”

Are democrats up for this? Well, if they continue attacking each other the republicans will have them right where they want them. Just maybe they’ll learn from the “Lincoln Project” how to run a campaign AGAINST republicans. I’ve been saying now for around 20 years (about 15 here) there’s a WAR going on for the heart and soul of America and, sadly, I’ve questioned whether the democratic party actually even understands this. Somehow, they had better figure this out – and soon – because if republicans get control of Congress – and, then in 2024 are able to “win” back the “White House” (picture them succeeding at what Trump failed) – America could be in for one of the darkest periods in her history.

Final Thought: I read about the 10 year old girl who was raped in Ohio and had to travel to Indiana to get an abortion and, at the time, republicans made a HUGE show claiming this was a “made up story” – as if that kind of thing doesn’t happen in America. Well, of course, the story was very TRUE and, yet, yoiu won’t hear the talking heads on Fox “news” or in the other republican leaning media outlets admitting they were WRONG and apologizing for misleading their audiences. The stories of little girls being FORCED to give birth are going to be routine now that Roe v Wade was overturned.

I’m not someone who “believes” in abortion – I believe it’s not my “call.” This is the epitome of MEN going to extreme lengths to gain CONTROL of the women in our country. If this issue alone doesn’t motivate a MAJORITY of Americans to start the process of voting republicans out of office I’m not sure if any issue can. Of course, the “gun” issue is right behind the issue of abortion. Why on earth are ASSAULT weapons legal in America. Claiming the 2nd amendment gives people the right to own AR-15’s is absurd. The idea gun ownership cannot be regulated is just as absurd – the 2nd amendment does not block regulating guns. These two issues alone SHOULD motivate “progressives” to go to the polls in EVERY election for the foreseeable future.

As I pointed out in previous posts – those democrats blaming President Biden for the Supreme Court overturning Roe is pure idiocy. I even suggested many of them might be part of the large segment of democrats who didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton back in 2016. That is when it became clear Roe v Wade was likely going to be overturned – Trump’s legacy will be that of an organized CRIMINAL but his three appointees to the court will be doing their damage for a generation! (And, for evangelical Christians that makes their “deal with the devil” worth it) (Remember, rights are easier LOST than regained!) Stay tuned………………..

I was reading an article in the Washington Post by Dana Milbank which reminded me of a term which I’ve been wanting to use in describing the incredibly thoughtless attacks being directed at President Biden by, you guessed it, DEMOCRATS! Now, I have to add, I’ve NEVER “joined” the democratic party although for the past 30 or so years I’ve found myself regularly voting AGAINST republicans. If you believe the reporting coming from the so-called “liberal media” you’d think democrats have control of legislation coming out of Washington DC. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. To me, the result of this “mis-reporting” has led to what Milbank referred to as a “circular firing squad” – the term which has been on the tip of my almost 75 year old tongue – which I couldn’t manage to remember.

Milbank made several good and prescient points in his opinion piece titled “Give Biden a Break” which you can read, if you’re so inclined, by clicking HERE. I’m not going to get into details of what Milbank wrote other than to say I agree with his premise. I’ve stated here before that I was NOT a “Biden supporter” when he began his campaign, but I’ve come to appreciate, in my view, he’s the perfect president for the times we’re dealing with. The FIRST (and main) reason I’ve adopted that attitude is because he was probably the ONLY democrat who could have defeated Trump, which was “mission number one” in the 2020 election.

Of course, true to form, the democrats do seem to have trouble “walking and chewing gum at the same time” which came through “loud and clear” when they failed to win seats which SHOULD have been winnable in various races in both the House and Senate. The Biden election simply showed that MOST Americans were fed up with Trump and his cosa nostra type administration – even though the MOB references didn’t really appear too often in the “mainstream” media until the evidence of Trump’s cavalier disdain for our constitution and system of laws began to show itself as the House Select Committee on January 6th began to roll out some of the MASSIVE trove of evidence of the CRIMES committed by our TWICE IMPEACHED so-called two time popular vote LOSING (ex) president and his sycomphants during the public hearings – which STILL have a long way to go.

Now you have large portions of America wondering why the Justice Department hasn’t stepped in to put a stop to the LAWBREAKING of an ex president – which includes SCAMMING hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars from his unsuspecting flock of “ditto heads” – telling them the money was intended to help him “fight (non existent) voter fraud” but funneling the money, instead, into his personal political campaign “war chest.” The non-existent political fund was titled “Official Election Defense Fund. Of course, just as he LIED to cause his “ditto heads” to storm the Capitol Building in D.C. he LIED about the existence of the fund. Instead, he’s allegedly been “pocketing” the money. (After all, the man has a lot of financial liabilities to attend to)

So, for people like me, getting RID of Trump was object number one in 2020. Now, what democrats SHOULD be focused on is providing President Biden with a significant INCREASE in the number of democrats in the Senate while – AT THE SAME TIME – focusing on keeping a majority in the House. The issues which they can RUN on are clear – ANY time in the coming decades when republicans control the Senate, for example, means it will be near impossible for President Biden to fill empty court openings – most importantly, the Supreme Court. And, this would go for whoever follows in Biden’s “footsteps” WHENEVER he leaves office. For all those people complaining about Biden’s lack of an aggressive response, for example, to the oveturning of Roe v Wade I have to say, “Take just a moment to think!”

These would be the same people who found that Hillary Clinton wasn’t worthy of their vote back in 2016. Well, that was the decision that led to the Dobbs decision overturning Roe. And, with a 50/50 split in the Senate – which includes Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema – there’s really NOTHING Biden can do – other than what he’s attempting, which are (will be) executive orders which either won’t stand up in court or which can simply be discarded as soon as another republican gains the “Oval Office.” And, to me, someone who pays fairly close attention to political news, EVERYTHING I’ve heard coming from President Biden’s mouth seems appropriate. For those who don’t like being reminded of the importance of VOTING I would say, “The republicans have you right where they want you!”

I’ve listened to endless complaints about the price of gas and inflation as the reasons “progressives” are disenchanted with President Biden. My first thought when listening to or reading these complaints is, again, “Give it some thought!” Neither the inflation nor the price of gas (being too high for some) is Biden’s fault. We live in a multi-national economy whether we like it or not and the efforts by Biden and his democratic predessors ALWAYS encounter the obstacle of “Moscow Mitch” when trying to mitigate these problems. I originally thought that Moniker fit Mitch McConnell to a “tee” after I had learned of the Russian money and influence intertwined into his campaign coffers – but, of late, I’ve been feeling McConnell is doing the “bidding” of Vladimir Putin – who is bound and determined to see America’s 240 year “experiment” with self government come “crashing down.” Every effort by the Biden administration (and democrats in Congress) to mitigate (with a longer term outlook) the root causes of inflation, for example, are BLOCKED by McConnell in the Senate via the outdated filibuster.

Once again, the ONLY solution to this problem, in my view, is providing Biden with MORE democratic Senators while maintaining democratic control of the House. This SHOULD be a singular message of democrats – yet, as usual, they’re “fighting amongst themselves” – the perfect antidote to what is needed to VOTE republicans into the history books. To me, and I’ve been paying attention to politics since the days of Dwight Eisenhower, Biden is the MOST progressive president – based on his political philosohy (ie “Buld Back Better”) – since the days of LBJ and the “Great Society.” As I remember Johnson’s time in office – a legacy virtually destroyed by the Viet Nam “war” – we got the “birth” of Medicare, we saw the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – monumental legislation moving this nation closer to her ideals. (And, there was more – as Johnson wanted to fight the “War on Poverty.”

Biden’t proposed “Build Back Better” legislation, which was first pared back by both Manchin and Sinema (by half) before they BLOCKED it (although there were 50 republicans who also voted to BLOCK it) – was based on the philosophy of “Bottom up Middle out.” This legislation was aimed right at the American people who needed it – single Moms (and Moms in general), children, young people aspiring to gain a higher education, and on and on – INVESTMENTS in the American people starting from the “bottom up.” To me, that SHOULD be the purpose of the federal government – aside from Judicial and Security issues – legislation aimed at the “Commons.” This is what happened during Eisenhower’s time in the “Oval Office,” it happened during JFK’s and LBJ’s time in office only to face years of a “right wing” backlash to INVESTING in our people beginning with the election of Ronald Reagan.

Actually, the idea of INVESTING in America’s infrastructure and her PEOPLE goes back to the days of FDR and the “New Deal.” To this day, you still hear of republicans complaining about the “New Deal” which was the fundamental source of the great American Middle Class which flourished until Reagan took the oath of office. I’m not going into the details here of why I believe Reagan was the pivotal point in “modern” American History leading to the discontent among her people which exists today – I’ve done so adnauseam in the Archives – I will simply say republicans have become expert at causing “we the people” to argue amongst ourselves over cultural issues which have little to do with what should be the focus of government. And, in this “light,” the saddest part, to me, would be “progressives” talking themselves out of what would actually lead to solutions to their issues.

Republicans succeeded in defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016 leading to the THREE judges who made the difference in the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe. Once again, it’s NOT Joe Biden’s fault – that was going to happen whether Biden defeated Trump or not. “Progressives” want to see democrats do something legislatively to “codify” Roe – but, that’s IMPOSSIBLE under the present structure of the Senate. So, does it make sense for them to be BLAMING President Biden? (Honestly, I have to wonder how many of those doing the complaining failed to vote for Mrs. Clinton in 2016) Once again, the SOLUTION will require MORE democratic Senators – and that would include Senators willing to either remove the filibuster all together or to “carve out” and exception for women’s health care. (For that matter, also an exception for VOTING RIGHTS)

Thinking about all of this (and more) is what had me searching my brain for the term “circular firing squad” – which seems to be all too appropriate in describing what’s going on in the democratic “message machine” these days. Watching this all play out – to me – is extremely frustrating – because it seems too obvious that just a little thought by some key people could lead to a UNIFIED democratic response to the “slow motion coup d’etat” going on in America – from the republican party – as I’m typing this. What is necessary seems so OBVIOUS to me I find myself, as I have for years, shaking my head at the “big tent” party those of us who shudder at the idea of this right wing, white nationalist republican party gaining power once again. Do American “progressives” really have such a short attention span they can’t remember the reign of Trump?

OMG – my instincts tell me, if “we the people” allow this to happen we DESERVE what we get. Another of my “pet peeves” – when it comes to the “circular firing squad” has to do with Biden’s decision to pull “we the people” out of Afghanistan. I’m still wondering, “what the hell were people expecting” when President Biden was faced with the choice of pulling the troops out based on an agreement made by Trump or putting in another SURGE of American troops to block the progress of the Taliban which resulted from Trump’s agreement. (I have to add, I agreed with Trump, the troops should come home) There was NO “smooth” way to make this withdrawal. (As I said earlier re: Reagan – I’ve explained this on numerous “rants” in the Archives) Too many Americans are either too young to remember the withdrawal from Viet Nam or weren’t paying attention back them – but, the bottom line is there’s no “smooth” way to exit a war you’ve LOST.

The PROOF America’s “adventure” in Afghanistan was futile was the speed with which the Afghan troops “dropped their weapons” in the face of the Taliban offensive. To me, Biden did the right thing in ending America’s FIASCO in Afghanistan and, instead of complaining about the Afghans who wanted to leave and weren’t able to do so, the focus SHOULD have been on the over 120 THOUSAND Afghans who were evacuated along with the last of the American troops. That was WAY BETTER than what happened in Viet Nam when the American troops were brought home. Sometimes I think to myself, republicans don’t need to make “attack ads” against their democratic foes – the democrats do it for them. Again, thanks to Dana Milbank for reminding me of the term “circular firiing squad.”

Final Thought: The issues which could be included in this “rant” seem almost endless. As a former teacher in a high poverty public (Middle) School I find all the attacks on our public education system and the dedicated teachers who work hard to educate America’s children offensive. Why aren’t democrats fighting back HARDER on issues such as “Critical Race theory?” for example. I spent the last 23 years of my working life teaching sixth graders and I never heard that term – nor knew what it meant – until this past couple of years. I’m still not totally sure what it means. My guess is the fight against “CRT” somewhat mirrors the so-called “lost cause” which permeated (permeates?) America’s South post the Civil War.

Are we not supposed, now, to teach our children the TRUTH when they’re studying American history? Are we worried that the TRUTH will make students (especially white students) uncomfortable? My experience tells me being “uncomfortable” can lead to some amazing LEARNING experiences. I grew up reading text books which HID the TRUTH about the issue of racism in America and I felt a sense of relief everytime I learned MORE about our TRUE history. It’s NOTHING to fear – the purpose of studying HISTORY is to prevent repeating the same mistakes which came before “us.”

To me, this SHOULD be an easy issue which to find UNISON among “progressives” in the messaging designed to motivate more people (especially young people) to participate in their privilege of VOTING this November. Democrats will need an overwhelming response to overcome some of the voting restrictions republicans have passed in the past 18 months. This is NO time for the “circular firing squad.” The FAULT here, and in almost EVERY issue, lies with the republican party. The UNIFIED message SHOULD be focused on the importance of voting them out of office. (As many as possible)