When the American people chose to vote a 34 times FELON into the Oval Office why would it be surprising for that president to routinely BREAK the law in his first few days in office. And, as I’ve said recently, there are so MANY issues which he’s doing ILLEGALLY that it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of them. Who knows which ones are his real targets KNOWING there will be a flood of lawsuits hoping our Courts will be the CHECK which is needed. The freezing of the Medicaid portals is striking close to home for me. I have a relative who is in the process of applying for Medicaid funding and will, at a minimum, possibly have his issue in a state of “limbo” while we wait for an injunction to stop this latest nose thumbing at our legal (and health) system.

Of course, this is the guy who started his second “reign” on America by pardoning hundreds of VIOLENT insurrectionists who assaulted police officers to the point where over 140 were injured and some of them died – but, why would we expect Trump to care about the Officers who defended the Capitol during his attempted coup. He also, for good measure, pardoned maybe the most egregiously bad drug dealer who was serving TWO lifetime sentences PLUS 40 years for his MASSIVE dealing of all kinds of illicit drugs PLUS attempting to hire hit men to “take care of” his “enemies.” In Trump’s case, apparently, the SCOTUS gave him the green light to hire “Seal Team Six” to accomplish the same outcome.

If you, like me, read Project 2025 – even just the intoduction to it (I made it through the intro plus about 100 pages before I didn’t need to read more – it’s a “roadmap to fascism” – you wouldn’t be surprised by what is happening. One of my frustrations is listening to all the democrats AND cable news commentators who sound so surprised – kind of like in a state of shock. Obviously, most of “we the people” didn’t read Project 2025, but, sadly, it’s becoming obvious many of our “leaders” failed to read it as well.

And, all these democrats who are still blaming Joe Biden for this – essentially, for getting old – just continues to piss me off. The problem WASN’T President Biden – he’s still the MOST able American, in my view, of managing our government in a way that focuses on those who need help the most. The opposite of the OLIGARCHY – er I should say fascim – which is the alternative the American people chose. Apparently, MOST Americans now get their “news” from Social Media. Think about that – relying on Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg for our news. What could possibly go wrong? (full disclosure I don’t do either of their platforms)

I have to wonder why didn’t the people I’m now hearing/seeing express their shock regarding Trump’s LAWLESSNESS in his first 8 days in office. I mean, let’s just take a quick look at the people Trump nominated for his cabinet. Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense? OMG! RFK Jr. to be in charge at HHS? OMG x2 Tulsi Gabbard, a reported Russian “useful idiot” in charge of our Department of Intelligence. Almost seems like an oxymoron to me. (Or is the proper term for who’s making these nominations “moron?”) Add to this Kash Patel to be the FBI director – a conspiracy theorist and WEIRD author of children’s books referring to Trump as the king – confirming INCOMPETENCE is the “thing.” For heaven’s sake, Matt Gaetz was the original appointment to be the Attorney General – an alleged child sex trafficker – apparently, that was a bridge too far for the GOP Senators who confirm these nominations. To Trump Gaetz is “normal.”

Under the radar was the appointment of Russel Vought to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. This guy was one of the main authors of Project 2025 and he, I’m sure, is right in the middle of Trump’s outrageous order to freeze all government spending – appropriations already legislatively part of LAW which is protected by the – I believe it’s called – the Impoundment Act which PROHIBITS exactly what Trump is so arrogantly doing. This is what he did to Ukraine which led to his FIRST (of Two) IMPEACHMENTS. He appears to believe there’s no chance there could be a THIRD. Well, if we actually still have elections in 2026 I can visualize another IMPEACHMENT. (He already holds the record)

While all this is going on we have a few MILLION “undocumented” immigrants who are wondering if they’re going to get caught up in Trump’s attempt to make sure his racist contempt for, as the Bishop said during his inauguration, the people who pick our crops, wash the dishes after we eat at a restaurant, who clean the hotel rooms, and, essentially, do work most “legal” Americans won’t, Trump wants the roundup of these people on the TV screens to make sure the vulnerable ones are now living in fear. America is witnessing another MAJOR “blot” on our history in real time. And, who knows what “we the people” can do about this? Are the democrats going to finally realize this is a WAR for the soul of America? I’m not holding my breath.

I mentioned one “solution” would be IMPEACHMENT #3 if we are still having elections in 2026 which don’t resemble the “elections” in Russia. (Keeping in mind Vladimir Putin was, once again, active in attempting to make sure Trump returned to the “White House”) Of course, in the mean time you have virtually 90+ per cent of those controlling the media standing in the front row at Trump’s inaugurations. Elon Musk has been exposing himself for a couple years now – capped by his Sieg Heil at Trump’s inauguration. Not to be left behind, now we have Mark Zuckerberg kissing Trump’s ass and attempting to make his platforms operate like Xwitter. What’s the saying? “Garbage in garbage out.”

To succeed in any election which MIGHT happen in the future will require democrats to FINALLY quit acting as if these are normal times. I was saddened, at first, and then pissed off as I watched John Fetterman of Pensylvania make a trip to Mar a Lago to kiss Trump’s ass (OMG) and then start making comments about how he was “open” to approving many of Trump’s cabinet appointments. John Fetterman? He would have been virtually the last Senator I would have expected to show this kind of sycophantic behavior. It’s not a good look for democrats. If they can’t be united in opposition of what Trump is doing this country is doomed. Full stop!

The only “blessing” in regards to, for example, Trump’s executive order to “freeze” all government spending (right out of Project 2025) will likely affect MORE people in so-called “red states” than in “blue states” – although the pain will be felt EVERYWHERE. Here’s how this should work, the government collects taxes from all of us who are fortunate enough to have taxable incomes and then spreads that money in ways that help the most vulnerable in our society – along with medical research, creating jobs by investing in rebuilding our infrastructure (which is falling behind other countries around the world), our safety (ie the FBI and other law enforcement agencies) and an obscene amount spent on the Pentagon each year. Will members of his “base” recoil? I mean, MILLIONS of them depend on our governments “purse strings.”

Trump has already MAJORLY violated the emoluments clause of the constitution which I haven’t even heard a whimper about so far. There’s so much other stuff to be bothered by him convientlly making a small fortune hocking – let’s see, what is it now? $Trump crypto “coins” and $Melania “coins.” Apparently, they’ve hocked MILLIONS of them already with the possibility of hundred of MILLIONS more – today, apparently each one is “worth” something around $35. (In reality these coins are worth, well, nothing) Is this the classic ponzi scheme? Remember, Trump’s family gets 80% of the funds – do you honestly believe they’ll support the suckers who have purchased the “coins” when the bottom falls out. Another saying, “Are these “coins” worth the “paper” they’re printed on?” The crypto scams are real!

I have to wonder how many people have figured out, yet, that the focal point of this new administration is overtly on CORRUPTION. Why? Because they will obviously be able to get away with it. If you haven’t gone there yet – think of these FACTS. Trump has succeededd in placing true sycophants in all of the above mentioned CRITICAL institutions in our government. They’ve signaled their plan to upend the entire system – and, I can guarantee you it will be for their own financial benefit. The democrats who were at the forefront of the great “panic” in the 2024 election seem to still be talking about the constitution. Here’s a thought you might not have had so far – because, there are going to be judges blocking Trump’s attempts at siezing total power in his first two weeks in office. (Apparently, when he said he was going to be a dictator ONLY on “day one” he had his fingers crossed, that was just another LIE.) So here’s the thought you may not have had – when he’s blocked by the courts what are “we the people” going to do when he tells the courts to eff off?

Do you really believe we can depend on Kash Patel to cause the FBI to intervene because Trump is once again breaking the law? Do you believe the new Attorney General Pam Bondi will move to enforce the decisions of the courts if they are opposed by Trump? Will Pete Hegseth refuse to allow the military to intervene in the protests which are likely to result for Trump attempting to funnel TRILLIONS “up” to his cronies or taking away even more expected rights? In all these cases I suggest there will be no push-back against Trump no matter the outcome of a constitutional crisis – which, I believe, we are already in. This should be real interesting – at a minimum. Question: Has America officially gone to hell? Stay tuned….

Final Thought: I have an acquaintances (I am an old white “baby boomer” after all) who are excited about Trump’s second term in office. You know, attempting to deport – I’ve heard him say as many as 18 MILLION – undocumented Americans on national TV. This is the same Trump who blocked the bipartisan immigration bill in early 2024 to preserve the issue for his “uneducated voters” and himself. And, of course, his plan worked. Plus, I have to say, he’ll have to go some to out do President Biden’s numbers of removals. According to the data, during Biden’s four years in office over 4 MILLION undocumented immigrants were deported

Trump is going to do what the authors of Project 2025 want him to do – after all, they are officially the “puppet masters.” Trump got what he was desperately after in the election and that is a “get out of jail free card” for all his alleged CRIMES. Thanks to the SCOTUS Trump feels as if he’s the King – or, more accurately, a dictator. And, he’ll be happy to implement the “plan” (2025) because it will keep his face in the news which, now that he doesn’t have to worry about being held accountable for his alleged CRIMES, will allow him to can quench his narcissistic needs. Yikes!!!

While I’m watching Trump turn America into a fascist state I’m pretty much taken aback by much of what I’m seeing and hearing – both in the media and in my “real world.” Media personalities who are considered “liberal” or “progressive” are still trying to figure out what went wrong and who to blame while people I know here on “earth 1” aren’t giving me much hope there will be a concerted push-back on Trump’s and Project 2025’s agenda. And, OBTW – if you don’t understand YET this is the Project 2025 “manifesto” I would suggest you need to do some reading. It’s not a hard document to locate – it is a bit hard to read. I’ve been calling it a “roadmap to fascism” since the first time I opened its pages and began reading.

Here’s some of the things you WOULDN’T be surprised by had you taken the time to give it a peek. (And, forgive me if you’re one of the rare Americans who chose to do so) This past weekend, I’m sure you know this by now, Trump – late into the night on Friday or early in the morning on Saturday – ILLEGALLY dismissed ALL of the Inspector Generals (IG’s) of the varying American institutions – i.e. the Justice Department, the State Department, the Department of Intelligence, the FDA, HHS, and so on. These are career public servants who are the check against waste, fraud, and abuse in each department. They are the ones who the “whisleblowers” would report something which is WRONG.

There is a legal REQUIREMENT that before an IG may be terminated Congress MUST be notified 30 days in advance. Of course, as a way to send ANOTHER “chilling” message to our nation’s public servants Trump simply brushed off that minor hassle and just fired the whole bunch. Here’s my questions – 1) Do you really think there will be any challenge to Trump’s authority to do this? Do you think republicans in the Senate will complain or object? Of course not, they’re a bunch of cowards. (OBTW – these are Senate confirmed positions) 2) Do you believe Trump will appoint replacements who are apolitical (as they are supposed to be) and will report on the waste, fraud, and abuse which is the MO of Project 2025? OK, of course not!

Then there’s the Justice Department. Today, the “acting Attorney General” FIRED all the career prosecutors who worked on the January 6th cases including the prosecutions of Trump – prosecutions which were brought via Grand Jury Indictments – giving the reason for the firing “I don’t trust you to follow Trump’s agenda” – or words to that affect. There’s potential problem here. These people CAN’T be fired because the assistant Attorney Generals says he doen’t “trust them.” These are career civil servants – some likely nearing retirement – and they CAN’T be fired without cause. (You’re seeing why unions are SO important). Now, will any of them sue to get their jobs back and/or their back pay – well, they’re all lawyers, so my guess is some of them will. But, that’s not the point.

What Trump and his puppet masters (those behind Project 2025) want is for a whole bunch more career prosecutors from the DOJ to simply resign and move on. The major focus of Project 2025 is to replace career public servants with sycophants to Trump. The want people in place – not just in the DOJ, but across all the agencies – who make a pledge of support for Trump as opposed to the oath to the constitution. No one should be surprised by all this because Project 2025 was in the news enough that “we the people” have only ourselves to blame for what is taking place right before our very eyes.

And, I can’t help but think of some of my peers (I’m 77) who are Trump supporters and they consider me “radical.” They don’t seem to be able to comprehend what they’ve unleashed on this nation – which has the longest history of self governance in the history of the world. Now, it’s only one week – and, that week has unfurled pretty much as I predicted it would – so, we’ll have a better idea of the extent of the DAMAGE in a couple years when the next election is scheduled. Lots more people will understand how serious this problem is – but, will Trump and his masters find a way to cancel or manipulate the mid-term elections? Most democrats can’t even bring themselves to believe that could be a possibility.

However, let me simply point out Pete Hegseth is now the most incredibly incompetent Defense Secretary in the history of this great nation and, soon, Kash Patel is going to be the Director of the FBI (a ten year term, by the way – Christopher Wray SHOULD have FORCED Trump to fire him – forcing him to invent a “cause” – do you really think these two will refuse an ILLEGAL order from Trump? I’m guessing we’ll have our military in the streets within the next six months – likely sooner. Trump attempted a coup back on January 6th, 2021 and republicans are busy attempting to rewrite the HISTORY “we the people” all witnessed with our own eyes – do you really believe he won’t be attempting to “fix” the mid-term elections?

If, somehow, “we the people” have the opportunity for “free and fair elections” in 2026 I’m predicting IMPEACHMENT #3. It would take a miracle for enough turnover in the Senate to give the democrats control let alone give them enough Senators for a conviction – and, I have to add, JD Vance would also need to be IMPEACHED. The thought of him as the president makes my stomach want to hurl. They keep telling us the universities like Harvard, Yale, etc. are turning out “liberals” such that they want to take over the endowments (a lot of money by the way) – but, I’m not buying that. Vance is a product of Harvard (just like Zuckerberg and a bunch more) who’s whatever he needs to be to gain power and money. The CIA is full of right wing graduates of Yale – some kind of “secret society” there – not liberals.

Trump chose a doctor from Stanford as the new Director of the National Institutes of Health – the agency we would all need to depend on in the case of another pandemic – who believed the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic was to simply almost encourage everyone to get it in order to create what him and others have referred to as “herd immunity.” Well, I’m no doctor, but I’ve read enough about the COVID to feel safe in saying HOGWASH. The vaccines have proven to have saved TENS of MILLIONS of lives world wide and the anti-vax movement in America is said to have led to as many as several HUNDRED thousand American deaths. It appears one of the requirements for nomination to Trump’s 2.0 reign on America is you have to be a bit nuts or looney.

I mean, not only has Trump chosen a person with credible accusations of alcohol abuse, abuse of women, and incompetence regarding administration abilities to lead the Defense Department, a conspiracy theorist who’s written what appear to be certifiably STUPID “children’s books” and a long list of STUPID public remarks – but, who has the president’s “enemies list” – as the FBI Director, but, he’s also nominated RFK Jr. to head HHS – someone with NO expertise when it comes to the issues of Health (HHS is the umbrella agency over stuff like Medicare, Medicaid, the CDC, the FDA, the NIH – a certified “anti-vax” whack job, PLUS a Russian “useful idiot” as the head of the Department of National Intelligence (oversees 17 Intelligence agencies including CIA) – I mean, what could go wrong?

Here’s the deal – the ensuing CHAOS is obviously the point. I’ve written about this, what seems to me, endlessly and Trump is already proving me correct. Once again, do you really think those 200 executive orders were the result of Trump’s critical thinking? Of course not – they’re right out of Project 2025 and, I have NO doubt they were written by those who were the Project’s authors. It just makes it easier for Trump to get all the attention focused on HIM. That’s what makes him happy and “we the people” can’t possibly keep track of all the s#@t and I have no doubt they’ve got “stuff” they want to get “through” which requires “we the people” don’t notice it. The s#@t is officially in the FAN!

Final Thought: Just in case one of the “progressives” (ie “liberals”) who are still trying to figure out “what went wrong” and who they should blame – to me it’s pretty simple. For starters back when the democrats started “stabbing” Joe Biden in the back and then “twisting the knives” I pointed out to anyone who would listen (and, I had several liberal friends who wouldn’t listen) the winner of the 2024 election was going to be either Biden or Trump. I had seen this “act” play out multiple times in the lifetime. Sure Biden gave a poor debate performance, but, so did TRUMP. The “media” failed to focus on the TORRENT of LIES rolling off Trump’s tongue everytime he opened his mouth – the issue became Joe Biden’s age.

That was EXACTLY what the republicans wanted. In reality, we’re ALL (well most of us) going to soon realize the real ISSUE was voting for a FELON who has acted like a MOB BOSS since the day he walked down that escalator who was backed by a bunch of BILLIONAIRES and corporate toadies who actually hate America’s so-called “democracy.” They’ve long realized the only way for them to succeed is by CHEATING and LYING. They have a message “machine” which is like men v boys when it comes to getting out the “message.” They convinced enough Americans that Biden’s age was more significant than Trump’s 34 FELONY convictions, the other indictments, being an adjudicated sexual offender, a serial fraudster – and, those are his good traits.

Add to this – it was no secret – once again – that the Russians were attacking our republic – Putin even managed to get some American “useful idiots” to be parroting his talking points on right wing podcasts. And, of course, there was Elon Musk, who’s turned Xwitter (full disclosure, I don’t do Xwitter or any of the other social media sites) into a cesspool of right wing garbage – who used his MONEY and his access to 200 MILLION followers to possibly be the key to making the difference in the election. Musk was, in essence, BUYING votes for Trump with young people in the so-called “swing states” – in addition to supplying Trump with nearly $300 MILLION during the elections final few months. Democrats brought this on themselves by losing the FOCUS of what was important in the election. Joe Biden could have easily turned things over to Kamala Harris in a year or two – his age SHOULDN’T have been the issue. Stopping Trump WAS!

Democrats did this back when Jimmy Carter was running against Ronald Reagan. Carter wasn’t “liberal enough” for people like Ted Kennedy – so, kind of like his nephew in the 2024 election – he ran against Carter – plus, as is the way with republicans, they funded John Anderson – a so-called “liberal republican” as a third party candidate and he peeled off votes by disaffected democrats from Carter. The result was the “trickle down” scam republicans have run since the day Reagan took the oath of office. Many democrats, also bailed on Al Gore because of their anger over Bill Clinton’s infidelity – and, even though Gore won a majority of the votes, it was close enough for our SCOTUS to decide they would intervene by picking Bush/Cheney – kind of like they intervened in 2024.

My point here is democrats need only look inward – at their inability to actually run in elections based on their fundamental beliefs and, in the case of Joe Biden, by defending what was a record of historical proportions. The legislation passed during Biden’s first two years in office was, to me, the most encouraging I’d seen since the days of LBJ – who, due to the Viet Nam War, I was not a fan. Ironically, I got my intro to American politics by supporting RFK in 1968 – until, of course, he was murdered. I use the word “ironically” because RFK Jr. will be, to me, on the same page in the history books next to Trump and Benedict Arnold. Democrats WON’T succeed in future elections until they decide they will NOT shy from their foundational principles – the principles which were part of the New Deal. It really IS a war for the sould of this nation. And, I guarantee you this, the puppet masters (Project 2025) behind Trump have hated the New Deal since its inception. Our future, our economy, the education of our children, the ability of the working class to live in dignity, and, when it gets down to it, the future of our planet depends on democrats finding the guts to stop worrying what republicans think of their fundamental values and actually fight for them! Stay tuned……

I have to add this. I know a person who’s older than me and has been a republican his entire life – just like the rest of his family. He’s in the Trump CULT (and, he was a dentist) and he’s excited about “mass deportations.” To me, just another republican who’s a be deluded (after all, during President Obama’a two terms in office over 5 MILLION undocumented persons were removed from the country – WAY more than Trump’s first term – and Trump will have to go some to do more than that now. I’m writing this because the person I’m talking about is referring to those being deported as “scumbags.” I, today, pointed out he was spewing racism and suggested he not make those comments in public. He responded, “Sending a criminal back home is not racist. They are law breakers. To which I replied, they’re NOT “scumbags” they just weren’t born with your privilege. So far, no reply this time.

I’ve got so many thoughts going through my head at the moment I’m going to start a new rant and, likely, finish it at a later date. We are nearing the end of the FIRST week of Trump’s new reign on America and almost exactly what I knew (and predicted) was coming is in the works. I’m not sure how long it will be until Trump’s base begins to figure out what they’ve done, but my guess is it will be less than six months – possibly less than six weeks. I’ve explained FASCISM here MANY times since Trump’s first assault on our democratic republic and more and more I’m seeing members of the so-called “liberal media” figuring out what is happening. Here’s a quick refresher from Miriam Webster: Fascism is

A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism. Applying this to Trump: check, check, check, check, check and check! There you have it!

As I’ve said numerous times here a foundational piece of fascism is a corporate/government partnership. If you were paying attention to Trump’s inauguration, the top BILLIONAIRES in America’s economy (Over a TRILLION’s worth) were standing side by side IN FRONT OF his cabinet selections as he took the oath of office (and OBTW refusing to put his hand on the Bible – I guess that’s instead of crossing his fingers) The tech BILLIONAIRES weren’t the only ones in attendance. One after another, including those who promised not to support anyone who participated in the INSURRECTION, apparently with their fingers crossed when making that pledge, were America’s OLIGARCHS trying to kiss Trump’s large bottom. It was really disgusting.

So, now we have a president who acts as if our constitution and our legal system are nothing more than a minor annoyance. As I’ve stated, for example, I find him signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship an ARROGANT assault on our constitution. However, if you even have a short memory you KNOW our SCOTUS already found a way around the 14th amendment’s clause regarding anyone who participates in or gives comfort to an INSURRECTION after taking the oath to the constitution SHOULD be barred from holding any office in government including, of course, president – PERIOD. Very clear wording for those of us who are “textualists.” The SCOTUS sidestepped that one as I knew they would. And, quickly! Where they really surprised me was agreeing to Trump’s claim of “absolute immunity” (well, sort of agreeing to it) as they dragged out the case as LONG as they possibly could, in this instance, to make sure Trump wouldn’t face the SERIOUS charges of an attempted coup until after the election. (Of course, him winning the election was their goal so he’d NEVER have to face those charges.) This court tilted to the extreme “right” is the result of Trump’s first reign (And, Mitch McConnell’s skulduggery) – it’s going to get a lot worse.

Just as I say here often, there’s always more and just last night, Trump FIRED most of the inspector generals who are the backstop against illegal activity and corruption at the varying agencies of our government. This is another prime example of Project 2025 and the plan to undermine our so-called “administrative state.” By putting his “stooges” in these positions we can all rest assured that our legal system will not be an impediment to the Project 2025 plan to remove THOUSANDS of career public servants – who actually take an oath to the constitution and, in most cases, take that oath very seriously. To Trump and the project 2025 folks, these career people are a potential impediment to their plan for a total takeover of our government. And, legally, Trump is REQUIRED to give Congress 30 days notice before he can fire a Senate confirmed Inspector General – but, who’s going to call him out on this thumbing of his nose to our laws?

I point you back to the definition of fascism. This is where we’re headed, FULL STOP! I have never doubted Trump’s ambition to be “like Vladimir Putin” – who is actually the “richest person in the world” and Trump is already massively violating the emoluments clause of the constitution – as if it wasn’t there – attempting to pile up as much wealth as he can while in office. And, this time there will be no investigations. I mean, the firing of the inspector generals, legally, as stated above, requires the executive to give Congress 30 days notice before any such action. Like I said, Trump considers the law to be nothing more than an annoying impediment and, in reality, who’s there to challenge him. He’s making sure in his first week “we the people” understand the laws don’t apply to him.

As far as his decree regarding birthright citizenship, there have been multiple lawsuits in opposition and there’s a temporary restraining order in place (for 14 days) but, I believe Trump thinks HIS SCOTUS will upend well over 100 years of precedent. When they do that, I believe there will be a much larger section of America who realizes what they voted for. I tried as hard as I could to get people to read Project 2025 prior to the election but, it appears, “we the people” feel that’s too much of a burden on our busy lives. Well, now the s@#t’s hitting the fan. And, unless you’re a bit mentally challenged, you will be able to figure out what is happening before too long.

Trump didn’t get grocery prices to go down on “day 1.” He didn’t end the war in Ukraine on day 1. He wasn’t the one who negotiated the cease fire in GAZA as he’d like you to believe (just another in a MOUNTAIN of LIES) but, he’ll probably blame Joe Biden when the cease fire breaks down (if it does). The reality, though, is his Project 2025 “advisors” are being embedded into key positions and “we the people” are going to be the losers of what they have in mind. So far, Trump hasn’t implemented the tariffs he promised to implement on day1, but I consider that a temporary blessing. (And, it won’t be long until he’s arguing for the demise of the debt ceiling – because, he’s got some serious tax cuts for the wealthy on his mind.

However, he’s stopped the funding of the projects which were either planned or underway as part of Joe Biden’s signature bipartisan legislation – infrastructure projects and those which were part of the “Inflation Reduction Act.” I’ve already pointed out Trump will look for a way to take credit for Biden’s achievements – guaranteed. Additionally, he’s, in essence, shut down the National Institutes of Health – the foundation for America’s scientific medical research and, of course, he nominated the most unqualified person EVER to lead the department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert Kennedy Jr.. virtually assuring if there’s another pandemic it will be a DISASTER. Clean water and clean air? Hell no! America is rotting from the middle out! (He’ll blame that on Biden too)

His choice to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth (a Fox “news” weekend contributor – who once said he hasn’t washed his hand for months – he said this on the air) would have been laughable if it wasn’t so serious. The guy’s got a credible history of excessive drinking in public to the point of embarrassment (and coming to work smelling of alcohol), sexually (and emotionally) assaulting women along with a disgusting record of infidelity, plus a documented record of running two veterans organizations into almost financial ruin where he had to be fired – they had budgets of about $10 MILLION which he mismanaged and now he’s in charge of the DOD with a budget of almost $900 BILLION while overseeing a workforce of about 3.4 MILLION personel whose number one priority is keeping America safe. What could possibly go wrong.

From Trump’s standpoint, he knows when he wants to order the military onto our streets (in violation of that pesky constitution) to shoot protestors Hegseth won’t hesitate to follow the (illegal) command. Will the generals? I suppose the “generals” will be the next to be purged from our armed forces so that Trump can get his toadies in there as well. And, do you think there’s enough members of Congress on the republican side with the guts to say no to Trump? Especially, after the thugs who assaulted police officers on January 6th are back out on the streets. The republicans in Congress over the past 8+ years have proven themselves to be nothing more than a bunch of COWARDS. (I have to add, at this point I’ve got my concerns about the democrats as well – we’re not facing “business as usual” – they need to grow a spine – and FAST)

The 3 republicans who voted AGAINST Hegseth are, guess what, getting death threats from all those “Christians” who make up Trump’s base. This is how Trump manages to get republicans to go along with This fascist takeover. They value their jobs more than they value the oath they took to the constitution – and, the fear of Trump’s base – even if it’s just a promise to “primary” them seems to be enough to “keep them in line.” This is a sad, dark time in our history and it’s going to take a long time for “we the people” to recover. I’m about to start a book by Adam Serwer titled “The Cruelty is the Point” and he “hit the nail right on the head.”

For example, the people of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina have yet to recover from the two MAJOR hurricanes which came one right after another causing many BILLIONS of dollars in damage and the (still ongoing) wild fires in California that have been apocalyptic with damage estimates exceeding $100 BILLION – the people in both places are hurting and Trump is threatening to repeal FEMA. He says he “wants the states to take care of their own disasters.” I have to wonder if, for example, California – which is a “donor state” – meaning they send more to the federal government’s coffers than they get in return – I wonder if they can just peel off some of that outgoing tax money in order to deal with their own disaster relief.

That won’t work that well the next time a hurricane hits Mississippi, or Alabama, or Louisiana – and, I can’t imagine the people of North Carolina have the financial capability of helping those affected by the hurricanes to recover. Trump is proposing what would amount to the extreme version of America being a “me” country. Natural Disasters, pandemics, you name it – “we the people,” in Trump’s eyes are on our own. It’s becoming, for example, nearly impossible to get homeowners insurance in the places where these disasters happen all too frequently. Hurricanes in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, etc. – Tornadoes in the Midwest, wildfires in the West – all being exacerbated by the Climate Crisis which Trump believes is a “hoax.” (Just as he believes virtually anything he doesn’t like is a “hoax”) And, he wants to shut down FEMA. Yikes!

I have a former acquaintance who occasionally makes a coment here who considers me a “radical left” person who is unable to understand the opposing viewpoint. Well, to that, I say I’d love to sit down and discuss viewpoints with someone like Liz Cheney who I disagree with close to 100%. Here’s where I don’t disagree with her and where I have gained a lot of respect. She tells the TRUTH as she sees it. She was WILLING to lose her position in Congress instead of bending the knee to Trump – knowing he fomented the INSURRECTION – and, to anyone who doesn’t get that maybe I should say he attempted a coup d’etat, the overthrowing of our government after he LOST a free and fair election. How can anyone in good conscience try to find “common ground” in a circumstance where one side is attempting to destroy the longest running example EVER in world history of a people governing themselves via a democratic republic.

I have to believe my former friend simply doesn’t understand Trump is an out and out fascist and he’s, along with his Project 2025 mates, planning to turn America’ s “ship of state” into something resembling Russia – which is a country resembling 1930’s Germany. If you’ve read this far I’m assuming you can put “two plus two” together. Previously, on more than one occasion, I put a link to Project 2025, but the last time I did it I was forced to give them my email address – and, silly me, I actually did so. The result has been a flood of Trump’s request for money – emails where they somehow think I’m a Trump stooge. So, if you haven’t read it, I suggest you do – it’s easy to find online and maybe you can get it without giving your actual email address. (And, I have to add, if my former acquaintance knows Trump is a fascist and goes along with it, well there is no room for “common ground”)

To me, EVERYONE should read Project 2025. But, I also thought everyone should have read the Muller report too – I tried to get my former friend who I used to meet regularly for breakfast to read it, but he refused. Additionally, I thought EVERYONE should have read the report from the Select Committee on January 6th’s – about the attempted coup – but, hardly anyone has read any of this. That’s why people around the world believe America’s “democracy” is in the hands of “low information voters.” And, those voters going to have to “own” the consequences of voting a fascist into the Oval Office. (of course, they were warned by several of Trump’s high ranking oppointees prior to the election – almost ALL of the witnesses at the J6 hearings were republican members of Trump’s administration)

Final Thought: There’s so much to say, but I’ll end with this. I’m old enough to remember what life was like for women back before the Roe v Wade SCOTUS decision in 1973. Now, don’t get me wrong – for me an abortion is a procedure which I would only support in an emergency. Like when my first wife had a miscarriage, I took her bleeding to the hospital and didn’t know, at the time, the procedure she went through was in essence an abortion. She was already passing the fetus and potentially her life was in danger, plus her ability to have healthy children was at stake and no one hesitated to give her the care she needed. This was after Roe by a year or so. When I think back to that time I often shudder to cosider what if we’d been in Texas under today’s laws? I hate to even go there.

But, when I was in college in the 1960’s I remember several people I knew who had paid like around $75 for their girlfriends to have what amounted to “back alley” abortions. At the time, I had no idea what was involved and what trauma the girls, in those situation. went through. I never made a judgement on anyone because I was so focused on playing basketball that it just wasn’t, sadly, something I gave much thought to. But, over the past few years I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve written about my thoughts on this site (in the archives – I don’t know how you’d find it even if interested).

The reason I bring this up is because – despite both Trump and Vance saying they wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban – I believe that is exactly what’s on the minds of those who wrote Project 2025 and, I believe, they’ll find a way to pull it off. You know, no longer “let the states decide” – they want it banned – and many of them with NO exceptions. I have a good friend who, many years ago was about 6 or 7 months pregnant when the fetus died – in other words she was carrying a dead baby around – one that was likely decomposing. She had what is referred to as a “late term abortion” which, likely, saved her life. There are so many stories about the women who are suffering and dying because of these anti-abortion laws it grieves my heart.

As a Christian, I believe in free will. That’s one of the realities that drew me to Christianity in the first place. Christianity is not something you can force on someone else – which, to me, is why forcing Bibles and the Ten Commandments into public schools is so WRONG. (As an aside: Can you name one of the Ten Commandments Trump hasn’t regularly violated?) Forcing Christianity into schools is a direct violation of the freedom of (or from) religion which is a halmark of our democratic republic – the doctrine of the separation of church and state. That said, over the years as I was thinking about abortion I came to the conclusion if you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one. (and, pray that if you become pregnant you won’t have any complications – it’s gotten to the point were being pregnant in America is a life threatening condition) I don’t “get” where a bunch of old white men can tell women what to do with their bodies. This is a topic which could go on almost indefinitely, so I’ll end it here. Stay tuned…..

Sorry Tony, that’s a lot of paragraphs!

I really am tired of writing about Trump. However, as I allow myself to pay attention to SOME of what’s “coming down the pike,” the thoughts keep swirling through my head and this is where I release them. Just as I said the other day, Trump’s doing what I called “flooding the zone” (with executive orders) in order to get people’s attention to parts of his absurd agenda in a way which allows some of the “stuff” which is the most outrageous (and, their actual targeted “stuff”) to “get through.” For example, Trump pardoned those INSURRECTIONISTS who viciously attacked Capitol and Metropolitan Police Officers. Why would he do this? “We the people” are so outraged we’re already chasing out tails.

So, what are “we” missing? Well, to me I was a bit taken aback by Elon Musk, while speaking at a rally following Trump’s inauguration flashing the Heig Seil salute – if you don’t know you’re history, that’s the NAZI salute. Republicans are suggesting it was an “accident.” Yikes! He did it TWICE! To me, this should be a headline and something run by EVERY member of Congress every time they’re in public to find out if they approve of overt NAZI conduct. It should be a part of EVERY news cast going forward until Musk gets what is coming to him. I suppose I should say that as what SHOULD be coming to him. More on that later.

I’ve been giving the parallels between Trump’s overt conduct and WORDS in relation to that of Adolf Hitler back in the 1930’s for years now. Like, when speaking about “immigrants,” (I have to add we’re ALL immigrants) “They’re poisoning the blood.” (Straight out of Mein Kampf.) Calling your opponents “vermin” – once again, right out of the words spoken by Hitler. So, now we’ve got our unelected co-president actually flashing the hand signal of the NAZI’s. I can guarantee you those NAZI’s interspersed around our country – including some of those pardoned by Trump on “day 1,” know EXACTLY what Musk was doing and welcome it. (“welcome” might not be a strong enough term)

That’s one thing which seems to be flying under the radar (which I would submit is significant) due to so many absurd executive orders designed, and succeeding at, getting “we the people” chasing our tails. Here’s another. During the campaign Trump claimed he had no idea what “Project 2025” is, hadn’t read it, and had no interest in it. Well, like with all the other words coming out of his mouth, he was LYING. I mean, do you really think it was Trump who authored the 200 executive orders he had ready for “day 1?” Of course not. I can virtually guarantee you it was his associates who put together Project 2025 who wrote those orders. Including an arrogant attempt to actually change the constitution regarding “birthright citizenship.” (Will the SCOTUS succumb to this challenge just as they did with “absolute immunity?”)

But, as usual, there’s always more. Russel Vought – one of the key authors of Project 2025 – has been nominated to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He will be the one who will be making decisions, the laws be damned, about the money which is appropriated by Congress and where that money goes. Mr. Vought has publicly stated that he can ignore the “Federal Budget and Impoundment Control Act” which says if Congress appropriates funds, the executive must spend the money as directed – for example, like trump did after his “perfect” call with Ukraine President Zelensky when he held up something like $400 MILLION in desperately needed military assistance – in an attempt to extort Zelensky into initiating a bogus “investigation” of Joe Biden. Trump is a serially corrupt person who operates like a mob boss. It’s a blight on America he was elected once again – we SHOULD have figured this out the first time. (Actually, there shouldn’t have been a “first time” – but for Vladimir Putin’s war on the West – and the gullibility of much of America’s voting public)

The abuses are going to be coming “hot and heavy” and, one thing we know, the republicans in Congress live in fear of a mean “tweet” from Trump and are willing to put up with stuff that, simply put, they’re COWARDS. (History will treat them badly) If you’re not part of the cult, this stuff is outrageous. I mean, Trump has already repealed an executive order written by Lyndon Johnson requiring the Federal Government to adhere to practices which do not discriminate against Americans no matter who they are – PERIOD! Apparently, we’re headed back to Jim Crow days!

Trump’s racist self is coming out in one executive order after another – so that it should be no secret – even to his cult members – any more. I mean one of the violent INSURRECTIONISTS was seen on camera flashing the “white power” sign – like the one Stephen Miller flashed during Trump’s first term when doing the “Sunday shows” – and, if you watched the INSURRECTION, you saw the confederate flag in the Capitol building (for the first time) and INSURRECTIONISTS wearing clothing which celebrated their racism. One of his pardoned “J6 hostages” was arrested the next day on Federal gun charges. The dude has a long history of violent FELONIES! Apparently, to Trump, that makes him part of the cohort.

So, why should we be concerned – I know several “democrats” (and, I’ve NEVER been either a democrat or republican) who have simply decided to tune politics out – joining the half of America who know less about OUR politics than people in Europe. This is exactly how fascist dictators take control of democracies. America could end up being the “tip of the spear” if “we the people” don’t demostrate the kind of courage we saw in 2014 in Ukraine. (It’s obvious how Putin feels about democracy – especially right “next door”). I mentioned Musk above flashing the Seig Heil salute (without the “Sieg Heil”) and the reality is Musk is supporting (threatening to use his wealth in the process) the German political party AfD (“Alternative for Germany – Deutschland) which is a far right group considered by many to be a neo-Nazi party. If Musk would flash the Seig Heil Salute in Germany he’d be arrested.

If you watched Trump’s inauguration (I didn’t – but, I’ve seen the photos of it) you saw America’s leading BILLIONAIRES – about $1.2 TRILLION worth of wealth (more than the wealth of something like 90 countries around the world) standing in the first two rows. Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos – the three wealthiest (if you don’t count Putin) in the world standing side by side with their spouses/dates along with Sam Altman (of Open AI), Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Sundar Pichai CEO of Google, (interestingly) Shou Zi Chew CEO of TikTok, Rupert Mudoch (of course), Bernard Arnault (French Billionaire – several luxury brands), Miriam Adelson (widow of Sheldon Adelson), and several others – many from “around the globe.”

The first thing I thought of was – standing behind Trump with big grins on their faces were the purveyors of MOST of the information MOST Americans digest. Is it any wonder people like me are aghast that, for example, the “mainstream media” doesn’t seem too interested in our “co-president” flashing a Nazi salute to Trump’s supporters. I mean, we’re nearly one week in and Trump’s Press Secretary hasn’t even given one Press report from the White House briefing room. Have you heard members of the press complaining about this? Maybe you have, but I haven’t.

Not only are these BILLIONAIRES who are supporting Trump holding a stranglehold on the information MOST Americans receive, but Trump appears to be partnering with Altman (Open AI and ChatGPT) to build huge facilities to put a “charge” into the development of Aritficial Intelligence – which we know was used nefariously in the 2024 election – on Trump’s behalf. This “advancement” in technology is happening rapidly and I don’t think most people (including myself) have any understanding of the potential for misuse by bad actors. My mind isn’t creative enough to figure out all the possibilities, but some of them are clear.

It seems as if now, almost every time you make a phone call to a business (which actually takes phone calls) the phone is answered via artificial intelligence and if you can actually find your way to a PERSON it takes a lot of time and frustration. Often, at least for me, it proves impossible. Or, have you resorted to a “live chat” recently to communicate with an entity on the internet? I find the “Ariticially Intelligent” chat bots to be rather ignorant – or, at least unable to answer whatever my question is. Expect more of this in the future – America’s corporations are doing whatever they can to eliminate jobs. The other option, for example, if you actually get a person, that person is likely in the Philippines – I’ve asked several times and the customer service people (who are very nice) tell me where they’re from. (Do they count as undocumented immigrants?)

So brace yourself for a flood of BILLIONAIRE funded propaganda encouraging “we the people” to be happy with the fascists who are moving in on our government like a bad case of dry rot on a building in a rainy climate. It’s going to be hard to “fix” this. Is there anything we can do? Well, I can’t quit social media because I don’t frequent it (occasionally I get directed to YouTube when trying to find music I’m trying to learn on my guitar) but, you might be able to, for example, move from Xwitter to BlueSky. You could get yourself (and your private information) off of the META applications (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, What’s App, Threads) – if enough people would do that it MIGHT make a dent in their bottom line (That’s what Zuckerberg cares about – he’s trying to be like Musk)

And, speaking of Musk – who I believe is largely responsible for all this – He dropped something like $277 MILLION into Trump’s campaign in the closing months and targeted his 200 MILLION followers with some Putin like misinformation in order to help Trump “win” – boosting his “net worth” by about a HUNDRED billion dollars in just a few weeks. Here’s one way Musk could be sent a clear message. DON’T buy a Tesla if you’re thinking of going “E.V.” (Full disclosure, I’ve been “E.V.” for over 10 years, I’ve never owned a Tesla, and I highly recommend it – if you have a spot for a home charging station)

I am presently driving a Polestar (from Sweden – spinoff from Volvo) and it’s a great car – by far, the best and safest car I’ve ever driven in my 61 tears if driving. I tell people who ask “My Polestar is like a Tesla without the Musk.” And, the new models of the Polestar, which I personally can’t afford, the Polestar 3 and 4 are SUV’s which are simply amazing automobiles. If you’ve looking for an SUV and you’re tired of spending time and money at gas stations I recommend you give it a look. Stay tuned! (It’s going to get a LOT worse before it gets better – and, if too many “progressives” do as my acquaintances who’ve succumbed to apathy, we’re all in trouble. Except of course the fascists)

Final Thought: I keep trying to find information about the wildfires in Southern California and just get rare snippets of the news. However, it appears one of the blazes has picked up “steam” and is threatening more homes and businesses – all the while Trump is laying the groundwork to disband FEMA. Trump really doesn’t want to send Federal aid to California (knowing Gavin Newsome is a prime candidate for the democratic nomination in 2028 – sound familiar?) and,if he somehow manages to end FEMA he’ll, of course, over the long haul, be affecting supporters in the so-called “red states” by far the most – will the American people stand for this?

Trump wants to put conditions on any aid sent to California where well over 1000 people and MANY businesses have lost EVERYTHING. This was one of the “planks” in the 900 or so pages of Project 2025 – get rid of FEMA. And, as stated above, with one of the prime authors of Project 2025 heading up OMB and claiming Trump can order funds authorized by Congress to be impounded despite that clearly being against the law, will he approve funds for North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida for hurricane damage but withhold funds for California – because it’s a “blue state?” To be clear – NOTHING Trump does surprises me anymore. (He’s already grifting BILLIONS and he’s only been in office four days!) Yikes!!!

It will probably take me a few days to pull up the energy to finish this rant, but, today, as I’m reading Trump (on his “first day”) will enact an executive order repealing “birthright citizenship – which, by the way, is embedded in the 14th amendment to our constitution – but, who these days worries about “minor” details – I couldn’t help but wonder about his own circumstances. Is IT just a minor detail?

Trump’s grandfather immigrated from Germany toward the end of the 19th century and arguably came her illegally. He then fathered Fred, Trump’s dad who was a citizen via “birthright citizenship.” Hell, Trump’s grandfather attempted to return to Germany and was booted out because he ventured to America in the first place – but, he wanted back into the “Fatherland.” So, if his grandson, Donald, manages to get “birthright citizenship” repealed for those born to a parent who came here illegally, wouldn’t that mean the Fred Trump would lose his citizenship and by extension, Donald and the rest of the Trump clan? Meaning, of course, that Trump couldn’t be a citizen and, therefore, would be ineligible to be president.

As I said in my previous post – just this morning – my head is spinning with thoughts and my desire to keep writing them down seems to be waning. However, the more I don’t write, the more thoughts accumulate in the swirl which is going through my head. I keep telling myself to just chill out and “let it go.” I’ve stated here one of the remaining items on my bucket list was to live long enough to see Trump thrown in jail, where I believe he belongs – but, at 77 it looks like he’s defeated me just like he’s defeated the American system of juris prudence – for what it’s become.

Here’s another irony from today, at least from my standpoint. Once again, Trump took the oath of office (which everyone knows is only a formality to him – a meaningless one) from John Roberts the Chief Justice of the SCOTUS. I would have to say Roberts is as responsible as anyone for Trump being back in the “White House.” The two main reasons are the Citizen’s United (v Federal Election Commission) and “absolute immunity” rulings – but, it was Roberts who gave the majority opinion in the case which gutted section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and there’s several more where he shown his bonifides as a total pro corporation bias. (Something that’s been part of the court for as far back as I can remember – at least into the 70’s)

For those Americans who despise “democracy” (when the “majority” opposes your viewpoints) Roberts is likely a hero. (Of course, he’s had Sam Alito and Clarence Thomas for the entire time he’s been on the Court) However, I believe this period of history now being created in America is going to be another dark one and Roberts will be sitting at the head table of those who end up in the American history books next to, as I’ve said here numerous times, Benedict Arnold. As you can see, I’m still a believer that “we the people” will somehow recover from this. (Eternal optimist?)

I say that because Trump and his Project 2025 sycophants are planning that we won’t recover from this and fascism is the future of America. They’ve pulled off the “miracle” Adolf Hitler failed to accomplish. I forget which president/candidate said this (maybe JFK? or what if it was RFK and his son is part of the “takeover?”), and I don’t include Trump, but warning about the danger to America would come from the “enemy within.” Trump has repeated that warning simply because he’s got two tactics – the “Big Lie Theory” and the use of projection – both right out of the Nazi handbook. Well, it appears “we the people,” at least temporarily have succumbed to the “enemy within.”

What is this enemy? Well, once again, I refer you to the Project 2025 handbook, which more and more Americans are going to be learning about in the next two or three months. I have to admit, I only made it through the introduction and the first 100 or so pages, but it had totalitarian written all over it. And, I’m curious to see these first TWO HUNDRED executive orders which are apparently prepared as of the moment Trump is sworn in to version 2.0. I wrote, just this morning, I believe their strategy will be to “flood the zone” with controversial and absurd “orders” causing all us progressives to keep chasing our tails – while they sneak through the ones which pad their pocket books while the rest of us are worried about, well, “birthright citizenship.”

I’ve never accused Trump of being brilliant, other than his ability to look you square in the eye while he’s LYING and not give a hint through his facial expression. He’s so good at LYING that I’m pretty sure he convinces himself to believe his LIES are true after he’s spewed them out a multitude of times. Maybe, as the words roll off his tongue. Classic pathological LIAR! Here’s the three definitions of LIARS according to “Medicine.net:”

There are three main types of liars, which include:

• Natural liars: This is the most common type of liar. Natural liars are people who can lie easily with great skill and success. They don’t believe their own lies, they’re just good at lying.
• Pathological liars: Pathological lying is often a warning sign of antisocial personality disorder (commonly known as a psychopath). A pathological liar is usually considered manipulative, selfish, and cunning.
• Compulsive liars: Compulsive liars bend the truth about everything, large or small. For a compulsive liar, telling the truth is very awkward and uncomfortable, while lying feels right.

They (Medicine.net) add: “When it comes to pathological liars, it is observed that people who have antisocial personality disorder (APD) and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) indulge in lying.” I want to say, “I rest my case” – but I have to add: I read the book “Rising Out of Hatred,” by Eli Saslow which documents the journey of Derek Black as he evolved out of the White Nationalist/Supremacist movement in America – i.e. the KKK. His father was, at one time, the “Grand Wizard” of the KKK as was his god father David Duke. After I read the book, this was before Trump’s first election, I did a little research on Black’s family and still remember them referring to Trump as their “vehicle” into the mainstream of American politics. Their followers are a significant part of Trump’s base. To them (as to, I suppose Putin) Trump is a “useful idiot.

I point this out because, after reading that first 100 pages of Project 2025 I got the same feeling. Trump is a true believer, don’t get me wrong, in fascism – based on his actions (as Rachel Maddow says, watch what they do, not what they say) – and, we’re about to get the true Trump and the (what I call the puppet masters) people who published Project 2025 in the first place. I mean, just publishing it was an arrogant act of Hubris – they had to believe very few Americans would actually read it who SHOULD be reading it. Of course, Trump denied any knowledge of what he called “25” during the campaign – of course he did (I reference the definitions above) – so, these 200 or so executive orders being Project 2025 (I’m speculating) like will, according to him, just be a coincidence.

I suggested at the top of this rant that maybe Trump’s move to end “birthright citizenship” could dovetail back to his own citizenchip – but, I’m expecting more serious moves on his part and the question is will there be a push back on all of them? What are they doing when “we the people” are all looking over “here?” What are they doing over “there?” I don’t anticipate that anyone else will draw the line from Trump’s father entering this country illegally, just as few, from what I can tell, have questioned Elon Musk’s allegedly entering America illegally. But, the reality is they are both, to varying degrees “immigrants.” Does Trump’s grandfather get a pass because it was the late 1800’s? (The law Trump is challenging was part of the 14th amendment passed in 1868) Does Elon Musk get a pass because he started invested in a bunch of companies and made a boatload of MONEY? Not from my perspective. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Stay tuned!!!

Final Thought: The thugs who bashed in the heads of Capitol and Metropolitan Police during the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 during Trump’s attempted coup are likely by the time I publish this rant to be back on the streets – and, this time, working as what amounts to Trump’s “brown shirts” – due to Trump’s “blanket pardon” of those CRIMINALS who participated in the coup. Trump apparently equated them to the hostages being held by HAMAS in GAZA at his inauguration. (It shouldn’t surprise anyone I didn’t watch it) So the unbelievable bulls@#t has begun. Plus, all pending J6 cases, from what I understand, have been dismissed by Trump – you read that correctly, Trump has already ordered his Attorney General to do as HE pleases. So much for a “nation of laws.” None of this surprises me. Yikes!!!

Today’s the day all those progressives who lost their focus after Joe Biden bungled his one debate with Trump (and, I maintain the focus should have been on the magnitude of Trump’s LIES, but I digress) and decided the issue of the 2024 election was President Biden’s age and NOT the FACT his opponent was a 34 times convicted FELON, an adjudicated sexual assaulter, a serial Fraudster (according to the Supreme Court of New York – or whatever Judge Engoran’s court is called), and someone backed by the fascists who put together “Project 2025” PLUS a certified “climate denier” will get to see the results. And, it isn’t going to take long.

Here’s what I anticipate the first reactions will be after about a week of watching Project 20225 in action. Democrats will be looking to see who to blame – focused, I’m guessing, first on Biden – for the audacity of being the candidate primary voters chose as the democratic choice for the election (at the ripe old age of 82) and then it will switch to Kamala Harris as if she didn’t do enough to win the election. The focus will be on what didn’t go “right” during Biden’s four years at the helm and NOT what DID go right – which was historic. Hopefully, not too many of them “tune out” of politics and just let Trump have his way with “we the people” but, I’ve been writing for almost 20 years here about the reason I’ve never been a democrat. They STILL don’t seem to understand this is a war for the heart and soul of this nation – and, to me, the heart has been pierced and it’s on “life support.”

Trump and his supporters are going to “flood the zone” with so many executive orders in his first week back at the helm that democrats will find it nearly impossible to keep track of let alone fight back on many of them. Do democrats have enough lawyers? I hope so, I’m actually praying they do, because they’re going to need them. The only hope to stopping Trump from turning America into the new Russia or Hungary will be the courts. And, of course, the key will be whether or not the SCOTUS realizes their folly (ie “absolute immunity”) by the time some of these cases get to their level. Will two of the six right wing justices decide they don’t want to cede THEIR authority to Trump? (Of course, they already kind of have, haven’t they?)

The plan is to purge THOUSANDS of career public servants from one agency after another in order to fill positions with sycophants willing to swear a loyalty to Trump (over the constitution). Trump’s minions (or should I say puppet masters?) are actually planning to simply declare the federal workforce’s unions are no longer – I don’t know what word to use – there? active? In other words the federal workers are going to lose their collective bargaining rights via a Trump decree. Obviously, this is ILLEGAL, but did the SCOTUS give Trump the ability to do this?

I’m guessing those in the federal workforce who have a place to go (meaning a job elsewhere) have either moved on or are seeking other employment – which will, in a sense, accomplish what Trump wants to accomplish without the legal hassle. I can’t help but think of all those union workers around the country who voted for Trump. I’m wondering if they think it won’t/can’t happen to them. Trust me, the people behind Project 2025 (who I have referred to several times here as the puppet masters) would be happy if there wasn’t an active union anywhere in America – they have been attempting to undo as much of the New Deal as they could for years and now it’s time for a “feast.” For example, why do you think Bezos is sucking up to Trump?

I don’t know a single person who I suggested should read Project 2025 who actually did – I might have missed someone – and, I’m not sure how many Americans heard Elon Musk’s interview with Trump on Xwitter where Trump heaped praise on Musk for FIRING workers who might want to organize. But, the attack on the unions is just part of what we can expect. Trump will be attempting to undo as much of President Biden’s successes as he can get away with by “flooding the zone.” I’ve heard there will be something like 200 executive orders in just the first couple of days. As I’ve said before, this next few months should be interesting.

I haven’t had the energy to keep writing, but there’s so much to write about, now it’s hard to keep my thoughts straight. How much should “we the people” worry about all the “tech BILLIONAIRES” buying up houses in the Washington D.C. area? Personally, I’m not all that surprised, but I’m definitely REALLY concerned. We’re talking about a small circle of OLIGARCHS (let’s call them what they are – and OBTW in President Biden’s final address to the nation he laid out a warning about exactly what’s happening) who play a HUGE part in the flood of mis/disinformation (the so-called “alternative facts”) which have permeated America like dry rot which has been ignored.

These OLIGARCHS (or BILLIONAIRES, take your pick) have one thing in common – they know exactly where “their bread is buttered” and they know how to manipulate Trump. You see, Trump is all about the money. He see’s the actual “richest person in the world” (Vladimir Putin) and how he’s used OLIGARCHS to entrench his POWER and WEALTH and, it should be obvious by now, Trump looks at Putin as if Putin is his “daddy.” Trump desperately wants to be like Putin. And, the OLIGARCHS fully understand by them giving Trump what he wants (massive amounts of MONEY) they will get what they want (massive amounts of MONEY). I hope you understand where that leaves those of us who are considered the “ants in the anthill.”

Regarding Trump attempting to undo President Biden’s successes, I don’t anticipate he’ll be able to undo the signature parts of Biden’s four years in office. Like the infrastructure bill and the Chips and Science Act – but, I fully expect Trump to – along the lines of republicans in Congress who voted AGAINST these achievements – take full credit for the projects which they reach completion during the next four years. It takes time for projects like rebuilding bridges and roads and putting up manufacturing facilities for them to be completed – and, the next four years should be full of projects being completed as a result of legislation enacted under President Biden’s watch. I guarantee you Trump will be the one “cutting the ribbons.”

What about, for example, health care? Trump, in his campaign, once again pledged to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Will he be able to get away with doing this? Do you really believe he’s got something better to replace it with – like, say, Bernie Sander’s idea of “Medicare for all?” Or some kind of single payer health care system like most advanced countries in the world? I highly doubt it – what he has is a “concept.” I really don’t think Trump, Musk, Ramaswamy, and the others give a rip about those in America who struggle to afford even low cost health insurance. (Or people like me, on Medicare)

Republicans believe purging the federal bureaucracy of THOUSANDS of career public servants will be “draining the swamp.” Trump has succeeded in convincing his “low information voters” that people like Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Altman, Cook, and the long list of BILLIONAIRES latching on to the “Trump train” aren’t swampy. These are the people who’ve been pilfering America’s tax code of TRILLIONS over the past 40+ years and want even more. While the rest of us were trying to stay afloat during Trump’s pandemic Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and the rest of them saw their wealth explode almost exponentially. But, with these people, there’s NEVER enough.

And, true to Trump form, while the rest of us are looking at one or two outrageous (like the seemingly MOST outrageus of the outrageous stuff) proposals or actions there will be “stuff” flying under the radar which is the real objective of America’s 47th president. For all intents and purposes, for example, there is no longer an emoluments clause in the constitution. That went out with Trump 1.0. I mean, the last report I read was Trump had gathered OVER $250 MILLION just for the inauguration. The inauguration lasts ONE day. (OK, they’ll be partying for a few – while they’re sneaking in all the executive orders) When all is said and done, that will be “small potatoes.”

Admittedly, all of this is depressing to people like me who’ve spent their lives paying attention to politics and accepting when our choices don’t “make it” life will still go on as normal. That changed 30 – 40 years ago and, to me, democrats still don’t get it. As if it happened yesterday, I remember Newt Gingrich putting in place what may go down as the origins of this – as Karl Rove dreamed it up – “permanent republican majority.” Of course, they have NO majority – and, they know it – so their solution to that problem is to purge voters via voter suppression tactics. Republicans adopted “the end justifies the means” as a strategy as far back as I can remember – certainly back to the 1970’s. This seems to prove the “Big Lie Theory” works.

Project 2025 anticipates this is the administration which will be able to either undo or eliminate that pesky thing known as our constitution. For example, Trump is planning to repeal “birthright citizenship” via an executive order. Now, birthright citizenship is embedded in the constitution as part of the 14th amendment, but after the SCOTUS giving Trump “absolute immunity” and stalling that case to guarantee Trump wouldn’t face charges for his attempted coup until after the election, nothing is guaranteed. But, they (the court) will have to be even MORE creative to support this action by Trump. However, we saw in the Colorado case where Trump was blocked from the ballot this court can easily jump through hoops to please dear leader.

If you’re still with me, what I’m trying to say here is that while the democrats are laying blame – or trying to figure out who to blame – for all I just wrote about (and, a lot more – remember Trump is going to “flood the zone”) – to me, the answer to why Trump is about to take the oath of office (he may have already done so by the time I finish this – with his fingers crossed of course – is he even capable of taking an oath to anything but himself?) lies in two “tranches:” One, Trump and the republicans succeeded in a public relations agenda – mis/disinformation – which actually caused democrats to lose focus on what was important in the election – DEFEATING Trump! Regardless of Biden’s age. The winner of the election was always going to be Biden or Trump.

Second, and likely a key part of that first “tranche” was the role Elon Musk played (I mean he spent over $275 MILLION, by all accounts, in the final two or three months of the campaign PLUS manipulated Xwitter – he has something like 200 MILLION followers) along with Putin and other fascist dictators around the globe who wanted Trump back in the “White House.” If you think it’s just Putin who was flooding social media with LIES for Trump read Seth Abramson’s “Proof of Conspiracy” regarding Trump’s first “win.” Democrats simply don’t know how to fool people on Social Media. I mean, for example, why do you think Trump is now a supporter of TikTok? (Other than someone giving him a bunch of MONEY) My guess is, either Musk or Zuckerberg will buy it – I have no idea how that would work, but…..

There seems to be a saying for everything. I’ll end this rant with this: “Democrats are playing checkers, Trump and republicans are playing three dimensional chess.”

Final Thought: If you know anything about “ADHD” you would understand that someone blessed with that “gift?” (Me) would have trouble keeping things straight in his/her mind under normal circumstances. Well, I’m here to tell you, these circumstances aren’t “normal” and I really hope they don’t become “normal.” (And, my mind is spinning – exactly where Trump wants it) Trump is going to begin his challenge to our constitution right away and I have no idea how he’ll proceed if the courts intervene on behalf of “we the people.” When the streets are filled with protestors will he really order the military to intervene and “shoot them in the legs?” And, will Pete Hegseth (get over it, he’s GOING to be Sec. Defense) comply? (hint: Of course he will)

Is Kash Patel – and, he’s going to be director of the FBI – really going to go after those on Trump’s “enemies list” (a long one at that) – of course he is. For those of you who don’t remember J. Edgar Hoover – check your history books. Trump is attempting to “turn back the clock” to the 1950’s. If you’re not familiar with Joseph McCarthy, read your history books. And, of course, you probably know a bit about Adolf Hitler but, if you read about him closer you’ll see the parallels with Trump – a second generation German – for whatever that matters. Trump’s first wife, Ivana (buried on one of his golf courses – I’m not kidding) claimed Trump kept a copy of Hitler’s speeches at his bedside (for his evening reading, I suppose). The parallels with Hitler are eerie. The “S@#t’s in the process of hitting the fan! Buckle up and Stay tuned…. (And, please, don’t give up!)

Yeah! The Department of Justice FINALLY was able to release Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s attempted coup d’etat and, I have to say, I’m planning to read every page of it. However, as President Biden’s term in office winds down we’re seeing another example of what I believe will be remembered as a failed tenure as Attorney General by Merrick Garland. And, I have to add, he definitely means well and seems to go well beyond any expectations of showing “fairness.” The problem is, for the past FOUR years he’s been dealing with Donald Trump who I consider to be a wannabe mob boss. The two have obviously been playing from different rule books.

At this point, one more thing I have to add: I’ve been writing here since around 2008 about how the republicans and democrats have, for years, been playing by different “rule books.” I believe this is why Trump is so embraced by the republican faithful. He is willing to LIE about everything. He can look his adoring fans straight in their faces and spin one “yarn” after another without the slightest “give away” from his expression. Trump is the most prolific LIAR I’ve ever seen in my lifetime who has managed to show success in national politics where LYING is considered routine by many. And, it’s not even close.

So, why my frustration with Mr. Garland? Well, if you’ve been reading any of my rants over the past four years you know I figured out early on in Garland’s tenure he was unwilling to even INVESTIGATE Trump for his attempted coup. The excuse? (maybe?) There were so many of the minions to prosecute – the DOJ had never had a CRIMINAL proceeding with so many (alleged) criminals. Two cases of Seditious Conspiracy with members of the “Oathkeepers” (the most ridiculous name I can imagine – these were a group of former members of our military) and the “Proud Boys” (I’m still trying to figure out what they could possibly be “proud” of) – these are the most egregious crimes on the books – and every one of them is expecting to be pardoned by Trump. (Do you believe as I do Trump may have an important reason to pardon these thugs? Like maybe they have a lot to say if he doesn’t?)

I’ve stated here several times Garland didn’t want to investigate Trump because it would be divisive – and, of course he was correct. The problem is he waited until the Select Committee on January 6th published their report and held public meetings which made Trump’s (alleged) guilt seem obvious to even begin the process. He was two years late. As a former Appeals Court Judge Mr. Garland certainly should have known about all the “tricks” Trump’s legal team would pull in order to stall the proceedings – although, I believe no one but the judges Trump appointed to the SCOTUS understood how his hair brained “absolute immunity” claim would be the “vehicle” which would give the court their chance to “gum up” the proceedings making certain “we the people” wouldn’t find out whether or not a jury would agree with Smith’s indictment before the election.

In a sense you could see how Mr. Garland was correct from the standpoint some suggest it was the prosecutions of Trump which spurred on many in his base. However, to me, the real problem was the TWO years wasted while the A.G. dragged his feet. Had the investigation started when it should have Trump would have faced accountability for his (alleged) CRIMES well before the 2024 election. Even the SCOTUS wouldn’t have been able to stall it out – and, Judge Aileen Cannon’s ridiculous reasoning for throwing out the Classified Documents case would have been overturned by the 11th circuit Court of Appeals. (It reversed her three times after all) – and, OBTW – I believe Judge Cannon will be appointed to the SCOTUS by Trump as soon as there’s an opening.

Attorney General Garland has, as I’m typing this, only a few days left in office – technically 6 if you count the weekend. Here’s another source of my frustration with him – and that’s the other Smith report which likely will never see the light of day (I pray that I’m wrong). It’s held up because, apparently, when Judge Cannon dismissed the case the dismissal didn’t apply to Trump’s minions who were charged as co-conspirators in the scheme to hide the STOLEN documents from the Justice Department. The Judge blocked the release of Mr. Smith’s report on this case because of the pending charges against these two lackeys. (I could look up their names, but I’ll leave that to you) As opposed to dismissing the charges against them so the report could be made public, it appears that’s NOT going to happen (until, of course, Trump – LIES – as he’s taking the oath of office with his “fingers crossed” – an oath he considers a joke).

This is classic Merrick Garland playing by the book – or, as the saying goes he’s playing checkers while Trump and the republicans are playing three dimensional chess. Another possibility here is Joe Biden could intervene. He could pardon the two defendants and order the report made public. As much as I consider Biden a great president, I believe he’s also too much “by the book” to do this – despite the importance of “we the people” seeing the report which was financed by our tax dollars. Keep in mind, there were something like eleven folders labled “Classified Top Secret” which were empty. Did Smith figure out where the documents from those folders went – or even what they were? “We the people” SHOULD know the truth in this regard. Also, did Trump share any of the Top Secret messages with any of our adversaries? (And, of course, I’m thinking mainly of Vladimir Putin and Xi jinping)

For heaven’s sake, the Classified documents report regarding the investigation of Joe Biden was published as was the transcript of his interview with the special counsel. I mean, Trump didn’t sit for an interview as he was contemptuously trying to keep the documents and hiding their existence from the DOJ. Hell, the republicans in the House even attempted to get the audio from which the transcript was scribed. As the saying goes “come on man!”

Merrick Garland will be retiring to the history books after this week and my guess is his term won’t be looked upon favorably. (this will be “bi-partisan) No question he’s an honorable man – and, I admire that. However, the times called for someone who understood how grave the “moment” was/is for our democratic republic. The voters have a right/obligation to choose our leaders, but the TRUTH about them should not be hidden from the public due to timid occupants of our most cherished institutions. No doubt Mr. Garland’s intention was to restore respect for maybe the most important institution in our government, the Justice Department, but the end result is it will now crater into an even worse place than where it was when he took office.

Of course, the Justice Department (which includes the FBI) should be non-partisan. It WASN’T during Trump’s first term, but compared to his second term, I’m predicting the first term will appear to be like the ideal. The list of people publicly known who are going to be leading the DOJ and the FBI is almost SHOCKING. The only reason it isn’t, to me, is because Trump is doing exactly what I anticipated, especially after reading “Project 2025” – a document which hasn’t been mentioned in the public domain much since the election, but which will end up being the final “roadmap” into the republican party turning America into a fascist nation. (What Karl Rove called the “permanent republican majority”) And, trust me, those who put that plan together are EXPECTING Trump to follow it. Plus, the SCOTUS seems to be on board with the plan as well. To me, the day of the inauguration will be maybe the saddest day, as an American citizen who enlisted in the Marines in 1967 (Only to be medically discharged due to a football injury to my knee – and, I didn’t claim to have “bone spurs”), in my lifetime.

Yes, the voters have spoken, but the methods used by the republicans to (trick) convince many of them to vote for Trump will always gnaw at my gut. For example, I’m presently reading a book focused on how social media has been a large part of the assault on “truth” in our political discourse. Platforms like Facebook, Xwitter, YouTube, and Instagram (full disclosure, I don’t use them – well, I do listen to classical guitar music on YouTube) set their algorithms to almost ignore “truth” but, instead focus on whatever draws in users to log in more often and when there to spend more “screen time” on the platform. Misinformation and disinformation are staples of these platforms.

It’s gotten to the point where the tech BILLIONAIRES are lining up next to Trump claiming they believe his next administration is going to be more mellow than the first one. It appears they are almost as removed from “truth” as Trump. The obvious example is Elon Musk who spent over a QUARTER BILLION dollars and actively used his social media platform to help (along with Putin, MBS, Netanyahu and others) get Trump elected. Their interest in MONEY exceeds their interest in preserving America’s democratic republic. Many of Trump’s supporters despise “democracy” but, I can only speculate on Trump’s BILLIONAIRES. What they seem to despise is TAXES.

Musk, recently proved what incredible means he would use to LIE about his own “prowess.” My son is an expert “gamer” and the other day he came to me and showed me (someone who’s never gotten into video games) how Musk was LYING about being in the top TWENTY of gamers in the U.S. (world?) – he was on the Joe Rogan podcast claiming he was in the top twenty in the (world?) in a very popular game. My son then showed me how ABSURD this was and two “gamers” who really are among the world’s best methodically proved that Musk was a LIAR (who, other than someone desperate for attention, would LIE in a public setting about video games?). They showed that his claims were absurd and he (again, I don’t understand all this) had a “surrogate” playing for him using his account.

Now, I’m no fan of Musk – at one time I wanted to be as I’m someone who’s been driving an electric car for over 10 years and has a solar “power plant” on the roof of my property – but, stooping to LIE about video games when you’re trying to be America’s “shadow president?” That seems STUPID to me, but I’ve seen the “receipts.” There’s also Mark Zuckerberg who’s been apologizing for all the garbage that permeates his platform (much of it from the Russians and other foreign bad “actors”) for years – to Congress, only to recently throw in the towel and say Facebook will now try to be like Xwitter in moderating content – which means NOT moderating content.

But, as usual with republicans, there’s always more. Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong are in the process of taking the knee to Trump and making the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times now two major publications which can’t be trusted – along with 90% of the rest of America’s “mainstream media.” Add to that, and this one worries me a lot, Sam Altman, the CEO of “Open AI” which publishes “ChatGBT” has also taken the “knee” to Trump. My son, mentioned above, is periodically taking university classes and has told me, of late, the professors are requiring written tests to be taken in class with the writing done “by hand.” Can’t use a laptop. Why? Because so many students are CHEATING by using AI to do their writing. Yikes!

To me, that’s not the scariest part. I’ve worried since I first started to get an (elementary) understanding of AI about how it could be used nefariously in the political world – by the people who believe “the end justifies the means” – a tactic which I believe is high in the “rulebook” of republicans. (Naturally, this type of CHEATING is now available to just about anyone – that means “bipartisan”) Those involved in the development of AI include Altman, Musk, Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Microsoft, Apple, and just about any entity that’s integrally involved in the “tech revolution.” The end objective: More tech, less people – when it comes to the workforce. And, likely less available trustworthy information for the rest of us.

This rant has evolved to this point because I see all these “tech gurus” migrating toward Trump as a consequence of AG Garland and the DOJ dragging their feet in the prosecution of the alleged CRIMES of Donald Trump. Keeping in mind, several of his surrogates were also likely to, ultimately, have been indicted had Mr. Smith been able to bring Trump’s CRIMINAL allegations to trial. I believe there were SIX “unindicted co-conspirators” in the case emanating from the attempted coup. (And, I believe, a large number of others involved in the “fake electors” scheme) The Garland Justice department, anyway you “slice” it, will be remembered as enabling the re-election of Trump. The least Mr. Garland can do for “we the people” is find a way to get the Stolen documents report made public.

Final Thought: When I’m honest with myself, I’m tired of writing about Trump. This next “go round” is going to be much more absurd than the first one. Trump is the master at getting his “enemies” to end up “chasing their own tails” as they attempt to report on what he and his administration is up to. Trust me, any claims about his violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution, this time, will won’t even generate a yawn. His LYING of course is already “baked in” and will likely be WORSE. The DAMAGE he will do to our cherished institutions and to our “rule of law” and to our relationship with our current allies is likely unimaginable. And, to the process of “free and fair elections?” As I listen to democrats and progressive pundits I think many of them feel like it’s going to be “business as usual.” Well, I certainly hope they’re correct.

Definition: Capitulation

1. The act of surrendering or giving up.”Lack of food and ammunition forced the capitulation of the rebels.”
2. A document containing the terms of surrender.
3. An enumeration of the main parts of a subject; a summary.

The reason I’m thinking of the word “capitulation” tonight (and it’s late – I’ll have to finish the thought later – is because the level of my horror as I watch the country I love descend into what can only be defined (by me) as hell. I just see one person/entity after another, in essence, bowing down to Trump. There seems to be a flood of capitulation – i.e. surrender – to the evil Trump is flooding America with. And, the leading “actors” in this “deplorable” play are a bunch of billionaires.

For years I’ve been pointing out the foundation of fascism is a “government/corporate partnership.” This has been an evolving issue in America since the early 1970’s with Lewis Powell’s infamous “memo” to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce laying out the scheme we’re seeing in what may be the “final act” as our incoming president elect has aligned himself with a group of groveling billionaires and has created an atmosphere of intimidation for those who would ignore him. (whew, that’s a mouthful)

The list is long and growing and I’ll obviously not get to all of them in this post. Oh, where to start? I guess, the first place I’ll go is Jack Smith. And, I’ve kind of cooled off on this one, but I believed he SHOULDN’T have dismissed the charges against Trump, forcing Trump to order his Attorney General to do the dirty work. However, now as I watch the (latest) soap opera of the Trump fiasco, I’m realizing had Smith followed my instincts his report would NEVER have been made public. As it stands, apparently it’s going to be released in the next week – unless, somehow the SCOTUS steps in and messes things up (AGAIN). The ideal outcome, for me, would have been the charges held in abeyance – until Trump would be out of office in 2029. I have forgiven Smith for – well, it appears, doing the “right” thing.

Next: Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI, announced he would be resigning at the end of President Biden’s administration on January 20th. This one bothered me along the same lines as my initial reaction to Mr. Smith. However, I’ve yet to discover any reason to change my mind on this one. I believe Wray SHOULD have forced Trump to fire him. He could only be fired for cause, so it would have been interesting to find out what reason Trump would have made up in order to get his own lackey in charge of the nation’s top law enforcement bureau.

Next: Poor old Elon Musk felt as if President Biden and the democrats were “mean” to him. Regulating things like his social media platform – OK, trying to regulate it. Apparently, the $15 BILLION or so in government contracts weren’t enough for him. I mean, this man has an insatiable urge for MONEY. That became painfully (from my viewpoint) apparent when he dropped a “cool” $275+ MILLION, along with who knows how much mis/disinformation on his Xwitter platform in order to get Trump elected. Since the election estimates are Musk’s fortune has expanded by well OVER $100 BILLION. I must admit, nice work if you can get it. But, at what cost for the rest of us?

Next: Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong of the Washington Post and LA Times respectively. Clearly, they looked at their own self interests and decided to intervene in the editorial sections of the Newspapers they OWN. Both men blocked their editorial departments from endorsing Kamala Harris. Now, do I believe had they not done so she would have prevailed – absolutely not. Their influence was miniscule compared to Musk. But, sympolically, it was just another reminder that America’s “mainstream media” is a for profit enterprise and is controlled by charlatans who are more similar to Trump than many of us would like to think. Bezos was the FIRST to congratulare Trump on his “win” and, from what I’ve heard they’ve both “donated” “seven figures” for the inauguration – which, now, is apparently up to $200 MILLION (for one day).

This list wouldn’t be complete (I know, I said it would be incomplete) without Mark Zuckerberg. If you’ve read much about Facebook (and now Meta) you know, as I’ve come to the conclusion, that Zuckerberg is all about the money flowing in from his platforms. I say that as “plural” because if some entity threatens Zuckergerg’s “empire” he simply buys it up – making sure he can avoid the competition. And, sure enough, mean Joe Biden – well the FTC in his administration – had filed an anti-trust suit with the idea of breaking Meta up. Not surprisingly, Zuckerberg – supposedly a democrat – was on his knees at Mar a Lago shortly after the election and, you guessed it, a “cool” MILLION for the inauguration. (fact: There were other prominent – former – democratic donors in Silicon Valley who really – it seems – want those “Trump tax cuts” extended – or maybe they just go with the “winner”)

I have to add: If you’ve read about the former Cambridge Analytica – affiliated with Steve Bannon, Richard Spencer, and Jared Kushner – you know about how easy it was for them to pilfer the personal data of something like 57 MILLION Americans back in 2015-2016 out of Facebook’s “waiting arms.” They organized this data allowing for TARGETED mis/disinformation by the Trump campaign in 2016 (what I call the real “fake news”) along with the Russians – who they shared this data – and, according to Seth Abramson in “Proof of Conspiracy,” also shared with the Saudi’s, the Emerati’s, the Israeli’s, and the Egyptians (I might have forgot someone – I am 77 after all) who were all trying to accomplish the same thing with the same ill gotten data – getting Trump elected – and, of course, it worked. I don’t have any doubt it worked again in 2024 – although Musk and Zuckerberg opening up their platforms (willingly) to the “stuff” coming from these authoritarian, fascist countries who HATE America’s democratic republic was/is problematic. (To say the least)

Back to Capitulation: I’ll just add a couple names I’m not that familiar with, but it will make clear the “thing” that is happening – which is we are just a few days from being in a fascist reality. Sam Altman is the CEO of “Open AI” which, I believe is the company behind “ChatGPT” (disclosure, I know little to nothing of AI – quite honestly the possibilities scare me – other than what my son has shared – he took a university class in “AI”). I understood Altman to be a democratic donor but, apparently, he’s seen the light and, sure enough, another “cool” MILLION for Trump’s inauguration. What’s the saying, can’t beat em, join em. And, you can count on this: Trump and his minions will ABUSE AI.

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re absolutely correct. BILLIONAIRES buying politicians is BAD no matter which party or candidate they’re donating to. I do have to say the net worth of BILLIONAIRES like Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Altman, Larry Ellison, and a BUNCH of others has skyrocketed since Biden took office. What’s not to like. But, I’ll say it once more – the fact America has turned into an OLIGARCHY is disastrous no matter who occupies the “Oval Office.” It should be clear how they responded to a President working from “the bottom up.” How do we get this money out of politics? I’m just a retired sixth grade teacher, I have no idea. What I do know – we MUST figure this out – if it’s not already too late.

I’ve been writing about this for MANY years, as I mentioned above – the foundation of a fascist society is a corporate/government partnership. It appears to me we’re there and the “swamp” Trump is always talking about will soon be the members of his cabinet and his closest advisors. (Remember, Trump works with LIES and PROJECTION – the tactics of the Third Reich) And the BILLIONAIRE class is demonstrating they’re good with “whatever” as long as they can continue getting even RICHER. Democrats have claimed they only take money from small donors, but there’s lots of evidence some of these BILLIONAIRES who are now lining up behind Trump have funneled a LOT of their largess in the direction of democratic politicians in the past. As many I know are saying, “the system is broken.”

Here’s the problem to me – the difference between Joe Biden and Donald Trump couldn’t be more stark. And, as I’m beginning to understand some of the underhanded ways people are able to share information I’m realizing more and more how serious the problem is “we the people” are facing. One thing I know is it won’t get fixed by people who decide to become apathetic. I watch Los Angeles on fire and it make my stomach feel queezy thinking “we the people” just put a “climate denier” into the “White House.” If I wasn’t pretty much immobile I’d participate in the Women’s march on January 18th. Lot’s of people I know (old white people) are talking about what country they’re going to relocate to. The next couple of years will be very interestingg, and likely for me, very taxing. With the number of influencial people CAPITULATING to Trump, it seems to me, the challenge is much greater than most of us can even imagine. Remember, if you fall into apathy you’re capitulating. Stay tuned…..

Final Thought: Prior to the Washington Post (I canceled my subscription after Bezos overruled his Editorial board), the LA Times, and Facebook (they opened up the platform to whatever ugly stuff will get the most views and screen time – worse than before Trump was running again – disclaimer, I don’t do Facebook, Xwitter, or any of them) aligned themselves with Trump our “liberal media” was owned by something in excess of 90% by conservative, for profit, corporations. I’ve heard, for example, that Comcast is going to spin off MSNBC – who knows what that means? But, when one “faction” has control of the Courts, the Congress, The “White House,” and the “fourth Estate” the THREAT to our democratic republic is real. This is the exact scenario our founders were attempting to prevent with their brilliant plan of “checks and balances.” Over the past 40 years, the democrats have allowed republicans to slowly gain a stranglehold on ALL the levers of government. They don’t seem to understand what’s at stake. Reminds me of when Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government we had and his response was “A republic – if you can keep it.” To me, Donald Trump has already inflicted more damage on our republic than Hitler did back in the 1930’s and 40’s. We still have a republic – will we be willing to do enough to keep it?

The more that continues to come out regarding the INSURRECTION of January 6th, 2021 the more I’m reminded of Trump during his debate with President Biden where he said of the Proud Boys, “Stand back and stand by.” He will soon pardon those “Proud Boys” who were CONVICTED of maybe the MOST serious crime on America’s “books” – SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY. If you’re not familiar with that – it means attempting to overthrow our government. And, of course, Trump allegedly instigated that INSURRECTION, but was spared his turn in front of a jury, curiously, by America’s voting public.

I’ve been somewhat leaning toward tuning out the sources I have relied upon over the past few years, MSNBC, the Washington Post – which I canceled when Bezos intervened in the 2024 election, the New York Times – which I canceled a couple years ago when I finally got fed up with their “both sidsing” America’s politics, and every place else I feel has been trying to discover “what went wrong” in the recent republican “victory.”

To me, the answer to what went wrong can be summarized in a couple names: Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin. Oh yes, I have to add, the last report I read about America’s voting public was not at all complimentary. It suggested a majority of America’s voting public has an equivalent education of sixth grade or less. Well, I was a sixth grade teacher for over 20 years, winding down my career, and I took that one rather hard. But, when I thought about it, I would have to say – politically, I can see the conclusion of the study.

I know several people my age (I’m 77) who are college graduates – from a long time ago – who, when I ask them questions about politics, have NO answers – no reasoning behind their political beliefs – and, I’m mainly talking about people who I know who voted for Trump. To a person, they have NO idea what’s coming – no interest in even gaining a rudimentary understanding of Project 2025. And, with one – who’s a “devout Christian” when I brought up Trump’s history of sexual assault, serial fraud, adultery, and pathological LYING he quickly said, well, what about Clinton? Another acquaintance, who was a dentist in his working life, responded to the same question with, “What about JFK?”

So, in my circle of old people, virtually every Trump supporter justifies their vote for him because of something which happened years ago – apparently making it all right. As I’ve said here numerous times it’s the Christians who bother me the most when they are making that deflection. Sadly, some of them are absolutely fine with getting rid of our “democracy.” They don’t like the reality of having to “compromise” with others in order to create legislation which is best for the common good. They want Bibles in schools along with the Ten Commandments (no response when I ask them to apply the Ten Commandments to Trump), they want taxpayer money paying for religious schools, several could care less about how many women are DYING due to abortion bans, and they believe the January 6th INSURRECTIONISTS were “peaceful protesters.”

That all being said, I firmly believe the answer to why Kamala Harris is not the president-elect is due to Elon Musk funneling – by the last accounts I’ve read – OVER $275 MILLION into Trump’s campaign in the closing couple of months. That included his access to one of the main social media apps where he spewed untold number of LIES to his 200 MILLION followers. He was clearly violating election law by holding his “lotteries” offering $1 MILLION per day for anyone who would sign his “petition” supposedly aimed at the 1st and 2nd amendments. His target audience was young(ish) people in the swing states which Trump managed to “win” by a percentage point or two.

Additionally, it’s been reported Musk was offering $47 for every signature his “suckers” managed to get to sign the “petition.” I’ve read several accounts of people who are still waiting for their money after getting enough signatures, in some instances, to feel Musk owes them in the thousands. This was Musk’s back door (slimy) way of tricking who knows how many people who weren’t paying attention to the issues to simply vote for Trump – because, well, maybe they wanted to be like Elon. (Personally, the thought makes me gag – but, that’s just me)

But, true to form, there was more than just Elon sticking his nose into the election – and, of course, anyone paying attention KNEW this was happening – we just didn’t know to what extent. The Russians had created – according to recent sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department – over 100 separate websites where their identity was cleverly disguised and they were funneling the same kind of mis/disinformation which affected the first Trump “win.” Of course, especially with Trump in the “White House” we’ll NEVER know the full extent of how both Putin and Musk affected the election – but, I watched – just as I did in 2016 the polls swing toward Trump over the last three weeks of the campaign and I was not at all surprised at the end result. Disappointed, yes. Surprised, NO.

So, now we’re going to get to watch as Trump attempts to keep the “best economy in the world” from tanking on his watch. If it does, I guarantee you he’ll blame Joe Biden as he does with everything else. How is his base going to respond if the price of eggs doesn’t come down? Or, is he really going to place tariffs on virtually everything coming into the United States? What will that do to prices? According to the economists I’ve listened to/read it’ would likely spike inflation. Would his cult members be OK with that? And, what if Musk and Ramaswamy (two immigrants) go after Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as they’ve hinted. How would his base of old white people feel about that? “Get rid of ‘Obamacare’?” How many of the 30 – 40 MILLION Americans who’d lose their health insurance are Trump voters?

And, as usual, there’s always more. Trump based his campaign on the promise to deport America’s “undocumented workers” – he believes something like18 MILLION. The claim is they’re taking jobs “real” Americans should have. (Like working in the fields and for farmers, working in meat packing companies, cleaning Hotel rooms, and other “essential” jobs) But, what about those foreign workers who actually DO take jobs away from Americans – those who gain H-1B visas to work in places like Amazon, Apple, Google, Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, and other “high tech” outfits? (And, don’t forget, Trump, himself, employs H-1B “immigrants.”) Why, because – first, they’re CHEAP labor and second – they MUST “do as they’re told” – meaning work more hours and keep their mouths shut, or they “go back.” – that’s my take anyway. Kind of like “indentured servants.”

How are Trump’s supporters going to respond if his administration is actually successful in deporting MILLIONS of hard working people from this country – who, basically, pay taxes without being eligilble for the benefits of being an America taxpayer. And, will raiding farms in California or other places leading to a shortage in food in the grocery stores and, therefore, even HIGHER prices (like for eggs) will Trump’s base mind? Of course, as I said above, Trump will blame it on Biden. I mean, he blamed Biden for the guy from Texas who committed the act of terror in New Orleans on January 1st, so why would we expect any different when prices go up? And, Trump’s cult members already believe he tells the truth so……………?

Final Thought: If you’ve seen any of the cartoons or AI generated images of Musk holding the puppet strings which are tied to Trump, do you think Trump will just go along with Musk acting as if he’s NOW the “most powerful person in the world?” My take on Trump is he doesn’t really like sharing the “limelight.” I mean Musk is busy sticking his nose into politics in the UK, Germany, Canada, and (I believe) France. These European countries are working to pass laws holding social media companies accountable for the damage their platforms do to, especially, young people. Musk has hinted he will spend $100 MILLION in the UK in order to defeat those who would threaten his Xwitter app – even though, I believe, it’s illegal for foreign money to intervene in UK elections. Musk is pushing the same right wing fascist garbage coming from Steve Bannon, but they could be on a “collision course” over Musk’s self serving views on H-1B immigration. The s@#t’s going to be hitting the fan sooner rather than later – just a couple of weeks from when I’m writing this and, it should be interesting. Stay tuned………

In case you’re one of the members of Trump’s cult and you actually believe January 6th, 2021 was a peaceful walk through the Capitol as ordinary visitors I would challenge you to click HERE. Watch the entire video – and then think about it – Trump is going to pardon the most vile of the group.

The War on Wisdom: How the GOP Made Smart Uncool

Why Republicans Fear Critical Thinking, Science, and Equality.

Thom HartmannDec 30

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“Those who control the present, control the past; and those who
control the past control the future.” —George Orwell, 1984

From outlawing the polio vaccine to ignoring the scientific consensus on gender dysphoria to refusing to wear masks in hospitals to trying to strip evolution and science from our schools, stupid has become fashionable in today’s GOP.

When Republican politicians want to score points, they criticize their opponents as having had “elite” educations; the GOP’s war against Ivy League colleges was particularly evident during the student protests of Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. Congressional Republican inquisitors voices’ dripped with scorn and contempt as they grilled university presidents.

It wasn’t always this way.

I remember when the USSR launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth. It was the fall of 1957, I was six years old, and my dad and I watched it arc over our house from our back yard one clear October night. My best friend’s father, a ham radio operator, let us listen on his shortwave radio to the “beep beep beep” it was emitting when it was over North America. I’d never seen my dad so rattled.

That dramatic technological achievement lit a major fire under the Eisenhower administration and Congress. In his January 27, 1958 State of the Union address, Republican President Eisenhower pointed to Sputnik and demanded Congress fund a dramatic transformation of America’s educational system:

“With this kind of all-inclusive campaign, I have no doubt that we can create the intellectual capital we need for the years ahead, invest it in the right places–and do all this, not as regimented pawns, but as free men and women!”

In less than a year Congress wrote and passed the National Defense Education Act that poured piles of money into our public schools and rolled out programs for gifted kids.

I was lucky enough to be enrolled in one of those in 1959: by the time I left elementary school I was functioning at high school and college levels in math, science, and English. I’d had two years of foreign language and two years of experimental music instruction. IQ tests were all the rage: mine was 141 and my best friend, Terry, was 142, something he never let me forget.

Most all of those programs died over the following decades as a result of Reagan’s war on public education, which began with his bringing private religious school moguls like Jerry Falwell and bigots like Bill Bennett into the White House.

Repudiating Eisenhower’s embrace of public education, Reagan put Bennett in charge of the Department of Education, which Reagan had campaigned on shutting down altogether. Bennett is probably best known for defending his proclamation that:

“If you wanted to reduce crime you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every Black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

Much like Bennett back in the day, the catch phrase among white supremacists and their fellow travelers today is that “Western Civilization” is either under attack or at risk because we teach history, tolerance, and critical thinking skills in our public schools, which are often racially integrated. The answer, Republicans will tell you, is to defund our public schools.

When Reagan was elected in 1980, the federal share of total education spending in America was 12 percent; when he left office in disgrace in 1989 amid “Iran/Contra” rumors he’d cut a deal with the Iranians to keep the American hostages to screw Jimmy Carter, that share had collapsed to a mere 6 percent. (It’s 3 percent today.)

Reagan also wanted to amend the Constitution to allow mandatory school prayer, and unsuccessfully proposed a national tax credit — a sort of tax-system-based national voucher system — that parents could use to send their kids to religious schools like Falwell’s.

Reagan made anti-intellectualism a political weapon, repeatedly criticizing colleges and professors throughout his political career. When asked why he’d taken a meat-axe to higher education and was pricing college out of the reach of most Americans, he said that college students were “too liberal” and America “should not subsidize intellectual curiosity.”

Four days before the Kent State Massacre of May 5, 1970, Governor Reagan called students protesting the Vietnam war across America “brats,” “freaks” and “cowardly fascists,” adding, as The New York Times noted at the time, “If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with. No more appeasement!”

Before Reagan became president, states paid 65 percent of the costs of colleges, and federal aid covered another 15 or so percent, leaving students to cover the remaining 20 percent with their tuition payments.

That’s how it works in many developed nations; in most northern European countries college is not only free, but the government pays students a stipend to cover books and rent.

Here in America, though, the numbers are pretty much reversed from pre-1980, with students now covering about 80 percent of the costs. Thus the need for student loans here in the USA.

Ever since Reagan’s presidency, the core of Republican positions on public education have been five-fold:

1. Let white students attend schools that are islands of white privilege where they don’t have to confront the true racial history of America,
2. Use public money to support private, for-profit, and religious schools that can accomplish this (and cycle some of that money back to Republican politicians),
3. Destroy public schools’ teachers’ unions,
4. End the teaching of science, critical thinking, evolution, and sex ed, and,
5. Bring fundamentalist Christianity into the classroom.

Earlier this year, Republican Senator Marco Rubio called America’s public school system a “cesspool of Marxist indoctrination.”

“Dangerous academic constructs like critical race theory and radical gender theory are being forced on elementary school children,” Rubio wrote for the American Conservative magazine, adding, “We need to ensure no federal funding is ever used to promote these radical ideas in schools.”

Instead, multiple Republican-controlled states are now actively gutting their public schools with statewide voucher programs, and instituting mandatory bible instruction or posting of the Ten Commandments. Book bans and panics around queer kids using bathrooms or playing sports are the new wedge issues.

There is no more powerful urge we humans can experience than to protect and defend our children. For most people it beats hunger, sex, and money. So if you’re a politician looking for an issue to motivate voters, just tell them their children are under attack. It’s cynical, but effective.

In an interview for Semafor, Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid it out:

“I tell the story often — I get asked ‘Who’s the most dangerous person in the world? Is it Chairman Kim, is it Xi Jinping?’ The most dangerous person in the world is [American Federation of Teachers President] Randi Weingarten. It’s not a close call. If you ask, ‘Who’s the most likely to take this republic down?’ It would be the teacher’s unions, and the filth that they’re teaching our kids…”

Just a few months ago, Donald Trump laid out his plan to deal with the “major problem” America is facing. That problem, he said, is:

“[W]e have ‘pink-haired communists teaching our kids.’”

Turning the Constitution upside down and arguing the Founders intended to protect teaching schoolchildren religion, Trump elaborated, arguing that mixing religion, politics, and education was the intention of that document:

“The Marxism being preached in our schools is also totally hostile to Judeo-Christian teachings, and in many ways it’s resembling an established new religion. We can’t let that happen. For this reason, my administration will aggressively pursue intentional violations to the establishment clause and the free exercise clause of the Constitution.”

As Jonathan Chait wrote for New York magazine:

“More ominously, at every level of government, Republicans have begun to act on these beliefs. Over the past three years, legislators in 28 states have passed at least 71 bills controlling what teachers and students can say and do at school. A wave of library purges, subject-matter restrictions, and potential legal threats against educators has followed.”

George W. Bush followed the trend, bragging about his pathetic performance in college at Yale’s 2001 commencement:

“To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students I say, you, too, can be president of the United States!”

Similarly, JD Vance gave a speech in 2021 titled Universities Are The Enemy.

This isn’t the first time elected officials have used public education as a political weapon. In 1844, 25 people died and over 100 were severely injured in riots in Philadelphia over whether there should be daily Bible readings in that city’s schools. Two churches and several city blocks of homes were burned to the ground.

The Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925 didn’t provoke riots, but was a major event in the history of public education. Tennessee high school teacher John Scopes was charged and convicted of the crime of teaching evolution. Mississippi and Arkansas joined Tennessee in passing laws making such instruction a crime that stood until the 1967 repeal of the Butler Act.

While Republicans across the country successfully rode a wave of white outrage about Critical Race Theory in November’s election, polls suggest the issue is really only meaningful to a fragment of the American electorate: an anti-science “Christian” subset of white Republican voters.

The annual PRRI American Values Survey found:

“Americans overwhelmingly favor teaching children history that includes both the good and bad aspects of our history so that they can learn from the past, versus refraining from teaching aspects of history that could make them feel uncomfortable or guilty about what their ancestors did in the past (92% vs. 5%).

“There are no substantial partisan differences, though Republicans favor excluding aspects of history slightly more (7%) than Democrats and Independents (both 4%). There are few differences across religious traditions or demographics. This consensus holds up across different levels of exposure to critical race theory: 92% of those who have heard a lot about critical race theory, 94% of those who have heard a little, and 93% of those who have heard nothing about it state that we should teach children the good and bad of history.”

Nonetheless, they note:

“[A] majority of Republicans (54%), compared with 27% of independents and only 7% of Democrats, believe that teachers and librarians are indoctrinating children.”

America spent $794.7 billion on primary education last year. For-profit private schools and megachurches that run schools look at that pile of money and drool. Republicans are committed to delivering as much of it to them as possible, regardless of the damage it does to our nation’s kids.

Their strategy for privatizing our public schools is pretty straightforward, and echoes the plan of action Republicans are using right now to replace real Medicare with the privatized Medicare Advantage scam.

First, they falsely claim that they’ll deliver a better product at a lower cost. In the education realm, we see this with Florida and several other Red states now offering vouchers that can be used at private or religious schools to every student in the state.

(Nearly 2,300 private schools in Florida accept vouchers, but “69 percent are unaccredited, 58 percent are religious, and nearly one-third are for-profit.”)

As more and more students use the vouchers to flee public schools, the public schools sink into deeper and deeper financial troubles. Those cut the quality of teaching and upkeep of the school buildings, causing even more students to use the vouchers.

Because the vouchers never cover the full cost of private school tuition (typically they pay for half to two-thirds), the truly poor can’t use them: the result is the public school system becomes ghettoized, leading to even more flight by middle- and upper-class (mostly white) people.  

Once the public schools are dead and the state has transitioned entirely to private schools, the state will claim budget problems and begin to dial back the amounts available for vouchers. (The same will happen with Medicare Advantage once real Medicare is dead.)

This will widen the relationship between the educational and wealth divides; the racial and class cleavage will become so great that the state will have effectively gone back to a “separate but equal” educational system. Which, of course, is the GOP’s goal and has been since 1954.

Republicans are generally convinced — and surveys show they’re right — that when people have a good, well-rounded education they will vote for Democrats, who explicitly value science and egalitarian social values.

Thus, keeping our kids ignorant and destroying one of America’s largest unions, all while helping their education and religion industry friends get rich, is a complete win-win.

Much of this battle is playing out in state houses around the country, but there’s a huge and well-funded effort to take control of local school boards as well.

Driving this ethos with a constant flood of anti-intellectual, anti-science propaganda are an army of rightwing podcasters, YouTubers, hate radio hosts, and the billionaire-owned Fox “News” network (among others). They argue, essentially, that “stupid is the new smart.”

Barely coherent politicians like Tommy Tuberville and Marjorie Taylor Greene are their heroes. Donald Trump, who still refuses to release his grades, is their avatar. Bob Kennedy is their avenging angel. And people with college educations — and teachers/professors — are their enemies.

Bottom line: the Republican war on public education and science is real, and if we want to stop it we must get involved. Show up for your local school board meetings and, if you have the time and ability, run for a position on the board.

Lobby your state legislators and support pro-science and pro-education politicians. It’s time to make smart cool again!

Our children’s and grandchildren’s futures are literally at stake.

The Hartmann Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my daily work on behalf of America, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I must add: I spent the final 23 years of my working life as a sixth grade teacher and I had no idea what the right wing politicians were talking about in referencing “critical race theory.” I assumed it meant don’t actually teach history. I’m old enough to have experienced an early education where exactly what Mr. Hartmann is talking about above was real. I remember my anger as I came to realize how I had been “programmed” – exactly what republicans want to take us back to – as I struggled with the Civil Rights movement and the Viet Nam war. Mr. Hartmann, who actually lives close to me (I believe he’s in Portland, Oregon – right across the Columbia River from where I live) is one of my intellectual heroes. It grieves my heart as I witness the culmination of the republican attack on education during my lifetime – as teacher, I still remember my dismay when GW Bush got his so-called “no child left behind” bill passed through Congress. At the time I referred to it as the “Lots of children left behind” and, sadly, I believe I was correct. The final straw will be when they close the Department of Education – further causing “the least of these” (In the words of Christ) to have the republican’s intended result – to take away opportunity for the children who are born to “low socio-economic” parents!