Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Trump ratings compared to previous presidents after one year

We all know Trump is the least popular president in recent times at this point in his administration.  Here are the numbers:

 I wonder how long the Republicans will put up with him now that they have achieved their most desired decades long dream of cutting taxes on the rich?  Any time they want him gone he should be easy to impeach on a number of grounds, from violation of the emoluments and bribery clauses of the constitution, to aiding a hostile foreign country to undermine U.S. elections, to obstruction of justice trying to prevent investigations into Russian interference, to....whatever his latest authoritarian disregard for the rule of law happens to be an any given day.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The Bridge over the River Kwai Tax Bill

The award winning 1957 movie, "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", tells the WWII story of captured British soldiers forced to build a bridge in Burma that would aid the Japanese war effort.  After refusing to cooperate, eventually the lead character played brilliantly by Alec Guinness decides that his pride as a British officer and engineer dictated that they do an outstanding job as a testimony to British expertise.  At the end of the movie, he comes out of his trance as a captured and coerced man and manages to blow up the bridge at the last moment.

I think the Republican tax plan is similar to this.  The Republican Congress is passing a tax plan that has been coerced from them by tyrannical plutocratic donors and a tyrannical president.  They are in some kind of trance under the spell of tyrants and have built and are passing a tax plan that is essentially an abomination - not just to liberals but to decades of conservative thinking that has laid out numerous approaches to tax reform - almost none of which are in this plan.

Is there a chance that a Republican Senator can, like Alec Guinness in the movie, suddenly come to and throw themselves on the "plunger of the detonator" and blow up this disastrous legislation?

Probably not.  That would take courage and honor. 

Monday, December 18, 2017

Trump the "bark beetle"

I watched the final episode of the TV series "Longmire" last night, and it had an interesting line of dialogue.  A Native American older woman told Longmire that he had nice trees around his home, but if a bark beetle got into them he would end up with just a lot of dead wood around his home.  And that was what a certain malevolent character in the story was to her tribe - a bark beetle that was taking the life out of her tribe.  And, the trouble with bark beetles is they multiply and take over everything.

I thought that was an apt metaphor for our current president.  He is a toxic bark beetle, and he has called the nation of bark beetles to come forth and chew the life out of America.  Toxic man who enables too many toxins in the country. 

By the way, I really enjoyed the Netflix Longmire series.  Wyoming sheriff being and doing good.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Bannon and Trump defeated in Alabama

The morally reprehensible Republican Roy Moore was defeated by his Democratic opponent Doug Jones in Alabama despite the avid support of Steve Bannon of Breitbart and president Donald Trump.

America dodged a bullet.

Very grateful.

Friday, December 8, 2017

Ryan confirms the Republican goal of gutting entitlements by increasiing the deficit


Paul Ryan proved my contention of a few days ago that the purpose of the tax cuts was to increase the deficit so the Republicans will have the excuse they need to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all social safety net programs.  

“We're going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit,” Ryan said during an appearance on Ross Kaminsky's talk radio show. "... Frankly, it's the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements — because that's really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.”

And, of course, the deficit will be increased by raising taxes on most middle and lower class people and dramatically lowering taxes on the wealthy and super wealthyAs I wrote earlier, the Confederate Oligarchy has taken over the country, and their "business model" has always been plantation - a weak and dependent work force that accepts low wages and obeys the bosses.  They have never seen the world in any other terms.  Only now, everybody is to be their "slaves", not only African Americans.

Funny how it's always things that help the middle and lower classes that the Reps want to cut, never things like the military. Good for bidness, don'cha know...

I hope my conservative friends are paying attention. 

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Trump distracts us from the Russian probe by blowing up the Israeli Palestinian conflict

I guess we should be grateful that Trump didn't decide that the way to distract us from the Russian conspiracy probe would be by nuking North Korea.  He is only planning to recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel. 

Of course, this is throwing gasoline on the Israeli Palestinian long burning fires.  And, of course, many people will die.  BUT....


Always remember that the only motivation that Donald Trump ever has is what will benefit Donald Trump. His narcissism is pathological.  He kills others if he thinks it will benefit him.


And he needs different headlines than the endless stream of Russia probe headlines. The noose is tightening on him, and the case of Russian conspiracy with the Trump campaign and Trump administration is moving inexorably forward.  This is not something that those trapped inside the right wing media bubble are aware of, but the reporting is consistent and solid that Mueller is closing in.  


So Trump needs bigger headlines. 


How about an Israeli Palestinian war?  That should take over the headlines for a while.  I suppose this move satisfies some right wing nutcases, but America has long recognized that Jerusalem is claimed by both sides and to declare for one side is likely to cause violent bloodshed.


Only the Republicans can stop this man. Only the Republicans can impeach this man.  Will they ever elevate their own motivations beyond using this loose canon in the White House in order to get evangelical judges to take over the judiciary and in order to eviscerate the New Deal and the Great Society programs of the last many decades?   Will they ever find a conscience that sees the well being of the country and the world is more important than their partisan obsessions?


I wish I had more faith in my Republican politicians and my Republican friends.  But they seem willing to put up with amazingly disgusting and destructive moves by Trump and the extremist right wing.


America is much better than this. I am waiting.  I am hopeful. This can't continue forever.

Saturday, December 2, 2017

Trump tax plan screws Trumpsters

The Senate passed a tax plan that will transfer wealth from the middle class and lower classes to the very wealthy.  Mark Shields lays out the basic numbers:

"This is a tax bill that is written solely for the deserving rich. And it also, at the same time, manages to soak the poor. Just the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Congressional Budget Office indicates that, by 2027, by 2027, Americans earning the princely sum of between $40,000 and $50,000 will, collectively combined, pay $5.3 trillion — trillion — more in taxes. Americans earning over $1 million, by the same study, will receive $5.7 trillion in tax cuts."

But, there is much more.  As I wrote before, the point of the tax cuts is to balloon the deficit so the wealthy can cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all "entitilements." You know, weaken the work force so they will work for less money and benefits.  Turn all of America into a Southern Plantation, only now it's not just Africans who will be the slaves.  How long until we see see bathrooms marked "For Plutocrats Only"?

In other words, the Trumpsters who put Trump in power are getting screwed.  

But, so what?  As long as he says politically incorrect things and pisses off liberals they will love him.

Brainiacs. 

Monday, November 27, 2017

What the desired tax cut is really about

The Republicans are desperate to get their long promised tax cut demanded by their oligarchic donors.  The cover story is that cutting taxes will unleash the powers of the market and “a rising tide will lift all boats.”  This notion has long been disproven, but it is so comforting to think that if my taxes are lowered that it is not going to hurt anybody, and indeed it is going to help everybody.  Easy to fool ourselves into believing nonsense if it benefits us personally.  

I think a parallel and comforting false belief is in the realm of sexual harassment – an unattractive but wealthy old man in a position of power over attractive young women can tell himself that exposing himself to or groping these women is actually welcomed by them because he has somehow become magically sexually attractive to them. All nonsense, as we are seeing over and over today as women are blowing the whistle on these old creeps. 

The real reason to cut taxes is to increase the deficit.

Why do the oligarchy want to increase the deficit? To allow them to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and all supports to the middle and lower classes in the name of cutting the deficit.

Why cut these middle and lower class supports? To weaken the middle and lower classes.

Why weaken the middle and lower classes?  To lower labor costs.

Why lower labor costs?  Silly question, isn't it?  Yachts. 747s. Mansions. Villas.  Nothing wrong with any of that kind of wealth actually. Wealth is wonderful and some of the wealthy are generous and exemplary, but how about earning fortunes rather than stealing money from the middle and lower classes under the rubric of "tax cuts" and creating a perpetually powerless and impoverished middle and lower classes? 

The oligarchs and their Republican believers have long hated giving their money to lower classes - “Let them eat cake.”

Step one – cut taxes on the wealthy and increase taxes on the middle class (pretend it is a tax cut for the middle class, they are gullible enough to believe anything that you have the right wing media tell them)

Step two – throw up your hands in surprise and horror that the deficit is skyrocketing.


Step three – “reluctantly” cut Social Security and Medicare - must cut that deficit don’t you know!

Step four – buy a $500 million yacht – has to be bigger than your rival’s yacht, of course.   

So, why do the middle classes allow, and indeed support this?  I think that some people comfort themselves with the idea that government programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, any form of assistance to the poor, all somehow weaken the fiber of the nation.  Kind of like throwing a five year old boy into the water to show him how to swim – he either swims or drowns, makes him self-reliant, makes him tough.  This is a stupid idea, good enough for silly old John Wayne movies, but would end up killing children, or at a minimum traumatizing them if they survive. The oligarchy wants us to believe in this notion of self-reliance, especially if it means that we help them weaken the government regulations and support of the middle and lower classes.

It’s just greed and cruelty. 

Taxes and regulations are the price of civilization.  There is no middle class without strong government support – free press, freedom of religion, reliable banking system, roads, infrastructure, public schools, strong universities, military, police, legal system, rule by law not by oligarchs, safety net and assistance to the poor and needy, etc.  These things don’t happen by themselves, they need to be fed, and it takes money – tax money – our money, middle class money, wealthy class money. Government is needed, it is essential to freedom and democracy itself. 

Killing off government kills the middle class.  And gives more power to the Oligarchy.  America is becoming a banana republic.  Watch out.

But, not yet.  

I really don’t expect the Republicans to pass tax reform or tax cuts.  What is being proposed is just too terrible, has had no hearings or expert testimony, excludes every Democrat, is hated by huge majorities of the public - liberal and conservative alike - and has too many even within the sycophantic Republican Party opposing too many different parts of it.   

Unworkable, un-passable.  At least so I hope.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Doesn't have the brainpower needed to grasp issues....

A couple of days ago, I wrote that Trump was Ego Dumb, meaning he thinks with his ego, and egos are dumb.  Apparently, I was too generous to the man the Republicans elected to be our President.  

 H.R. McMaster, National Security Adviser, had this to say about Trump:

"White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster reportedly said President Trump had the intelligence of a "kindergartner" and called him an "idiot" and a "dope" during a private dinner over the summer in Washington....
McMaster also reportedly mocked the president’s intelligence to another source in private, saying Trump didn’t have the brainpower needed to grasp the issues the National Security"

Not having the brainpower to grasp the issues.... Let that sink in about the man in charge of our military, our nukes, our "diplomacy" (he doesn't believe in diplomacy and is gutting the State Department).  This man is a nitwit. And Republicans keep playing along with him because they want their beloved tax cuts and their evangelical judges on the courts.   

Good grief. 

Monday, November 20, 2017

Three types of dumb

I think there are three types of dumb:  IQ, Ego, Ideology.

Half the people in the world are average or below average IQ.  That's kind of by definition.  Their lack of IQ is not necessarily harmful, and anyone can become loving and wise, which is much more important than IQ, but that will probably keep them from careers in advanced science.

Then, there is Ego Dumb. An example is on the golf course, if I have a shot from the rough that has to carry over 200 yards to clear water to reach a green, what part of my brain will make that decision?  My ego says that I did it once ten years ago, and of course I can do it now.  But the chances of pulling that shot off are about one in fifty. So, trying that shot is dumb.  When we let our ego make the decision, I call that Ego Dumb.

Then there is Ideology Dumb.  I am clearly a practitioner of Ideology Dumb throughout my adult life.  I have been avidly liberal, avidly conservative, and am now back on the liberal side.  This time, of course, I think I am just being objective, but it is very hard to escape ideological bubbles and their dogmas.

So, what kind of dumb are politicians?  So many of them are Ideology Dumb, locked inside an ideological bubble that always reflects back to them the Truth of their ideological beliefs.

What kind of dumb is Trump?  I think he is mostly Ego Dumb.  He actually thinks he knows more than anyone else about pretty much everything.  And, as he has demonstrated over and over, he knows almost nothing about almost everything - except how to get attention.  One of his ex-professors at Wharton said:
 
 “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddam student I ever had.”  Dr. Kelley told me this after Trump had become a celebrity but long before he was considered a political figure.  Dr. Kelley often referred to Trump’s arrogance when he told of this — that Trump came to Wharton thinking he already knew everything."


Sounds familiar about the man who said that he doesn't need diplomats because he is the only one who counts?  Put that three wood in the bag, Mr President, and lay up with a short iron!



 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Republicans today

I used to be a Republican.  No more.

  • Republicans today defend pedophiles - Roy Moore running for Senate in Alabama.
  • Republicans today (the Republican president) defends anything that Vladimir Putin wants to do in the world.
  • Republicans today (the Republican president) obstruct justice by firing the head of the FBI (Comey) for investigating Russian interference in the presidential election. With barely a peep from the rest of the Republicans today.
  • Republicans today do whatever they can to divert attention from Special Council Mueller's investigation of Republican interference in our election.
  • Republicans today do nothing to stop the Russians from continued interference in our political processes and upcoming elections.
  • Republicans today allow the Republican president to violate the bribery and emoluments clauses of the constitution without impeaching him.
  • Republicans today cater to the "alt-right" which is essentially the new code name for white supremacists.
  • Republicans today (the Republican President) says there are good people on both sides of the Charlottesville KKK neo-Nazi and other white supremacists rally that killed a counter-protester.
  • Republicans today have abandoned any sense of dignity, character, or decency out of fear of this same avid and violent "alt-right" "base".
  • Republicans today withdraw from any form of moral leadership or championing of human rights in the world.
  • Republicans today have no sense of the American vision of this country being a "shining light on a hill" as an aspiration for other countries to follow.
Republicans today are what Ronald Reagan and William F Buckley would have fought, mocked, disdained, and defeated in their days.


Republicans today are why I am not a Republican today.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

"Conspiracy against the United States"

This week a 12 count indictment was brought against Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort and his colleague, Rick Gates under the charge of  "conspiracy against the United States".  I need to let that sink in - aiding a hostile foreign power to attack American Democracy.


Time Magazine's Molly Ball writes:



"Manafort, the court filings charged, laundered tens of millions of dollars and evaded taxes while serving as an unregistered bagman for the political operation of the Russian-aligned Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovych. And then he went to work for Trump"


In addition, a former foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, was flipped and I apparently testifying about Russian contacts during the campaign - did he wear a wire?


It has long been reported that Trump, after his many bankruptcies, could no longer borrow money from American banks and turned to money laundering Russian mafia and oligarchy money through his real estate and golf courses.  I think it is safe to expect that Mr Trump swallowed very hard when he found out that investigator Mueller is charging Manafort with money laundering and tax evasion - a sign that he is likely to be investigating Mr Trump himself for the same crimes.


One terrible thing that has happened to our country is that Russia used a very sophisticated disinformation, social media agitation, fake news campaign to disrupt American democracy for the purpose of shaking American's trust in the news, in the political system, in democracy itself, and in each other.  Putin has succeeded wildly.  (Except he has been exposed by the buffoon he put into the presidency who too simple to know how to keep all of this below the radar - he only operates way, way above the radar - the fool)


The more terrible thing happening to our country is that Russia is still doing it.  They flood the media landscape with as much incendiary garbage as possible, inflaming all sides against each other.


Divide and conquer.  Russia is doing just that.


The only defense is for Americans to become sophisticated in their filtering of news.  A good place to start is snopes.com or fact checker by Glenn Kessler.


There is a lot that the social media giants can do to root out the actual fake news, the Russian bots, and the Russian active measures to disinform and inflame Americans, but ultimately it requires us to be sophisticated in what we are willing to believe. 

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Trump demonstrates his subservience to Putin

Donald Trump once again demonstrates his subservience to Putin by refusing to implement the Russian sanctions passed overwhelmingly by both Houses of Congress as a response to Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

There are very few things that Donald Trump actually cares about, but top on his lists is making sure that Putin, Russia, and the Russian oligarchy are treated very nicely.  This is actually pretty good evidence that Trump and Russia conspired to make Trump president, and now it is time for quid pro quo - payoff.

There are more than one grounds for impeachment of this strange presidential choice, and conspiracy with a hostile foreign power is one of them. Strange that this man, who keeps telling us all how intelligent he is, periodically does Putin's bidding.

He is the biggest witness against himself. 

Monday, October 23, 2017

Repbulicans to severely limit 401(K)s!

The Republicans are about to severely limit 401(K) contributions.  This is another attack on the Middle Class by the Republicans.  401(K)s are how the working classes save for retirement. 


What is the noble reason the Reps are giving for this assault?  To make way for their treasured tax cuts that they keep promising.  One thing we can be assured of – the tax cuts will go almost all to the very wealthy, for example, elimination of estate taxes for the upper 1% - to be offset by increased taxes on the Middle Class.  Their justifying mantras about helping the middle class and creating jobs is just nonsense.  It’s about paying off the Plutocracy, who control the Republican Party.  Gullible voters believe them, unfortunately.

 

So a double assault on the Middle Class – limit 401(K) savings and increase taxes. 

Sunday, October 15, 2017

I'm from the government and I'm here to help....

“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help”.  This is a line that Ronald Reagan used to say to conservative audiences that always got a predictable laugh.  It seems to be a matter of conservative dogma that the government is bloated, incompetent, and mediocre at best. 

What nonsense!!!!

I live in Sonoma, California.  We are living through the worst fire storm in state history, perhaps the greatest disaster in California history.  An astonishing and mind numbing catastrophe.

And the government?  Spectacular!! Every branch of government responding to this chaos is performing way beyond my ability to express my gratitude, wonder, and awe.  Fire fighters, law enforcement, city managers and their staffs, council members and their staffs, OES, FEMA...  To a man and to a woman they are working 12 – 20 hours a day.  They know what they are doing.  They are doing it with great care and excellence.

I cannot express how overwhelmed I am by the courage and caring of these public servants.

So, where does that put our glorious president and his Republican enablers?  They are carrying out decades long desires to destroy the government.  The Republican President, the Republican Congress, and the Cabinet are destroying the EPA, HHS, the State Department, DEA, just about every government agency that they can.  This means they are – Stupid? Evil? Clueless?  No, just locked into a dogma that they can’t see beyond.

Dogma make you stupid.  I know.  I have been dogmatically liberal and dogmatically conservative, and I have been able to articualately argue the dogmas on both sides all my life.  And each dogma is both right and wrong.  The only way out is to pay attention and reevaluate as often as possible.

Government is NOT the problem.  Government IS very helpful.  Thank God.


“I am from the government, and I am here to help you”  - YES YOU ARE ---- THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The Las Vegas Massacre

B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R guns don’t kill!! B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R - 50 down -  B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R -  100 down -  B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R  - people kill, not guns!! - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – people will kill with knives!! - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – 200 down - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – people will kill with trucks!! B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – 300 down - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – it’s not the guns!  B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – 400 down - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – it’s it’s its… PEOPLE WHO KILL!!! - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R – 500 down – 600 down – 59 dead – but we are always supposed to remember that guns don’t kill, people do, and you know – knives, trucks, rocks, but NOT GUNS, NO SIR, GUNS DO NOT KILLLLLLLLLLL  - B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R B-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R

Once this country accepted the slaughter of children at Sandy Hook, the argument was over.  Gun fanatics will never, never, never, never, never, never let there be any, any, any sensible gun control.  This unimaginable slaughter MAY delay the Republicans removing restrictions on silencers (hurts the ears, don't ya know?) And our wonderful, manly man president removed the checks for the mentally ill to get guns (it was just the manly thing to do, I guess?)

Nothing will change.  The gun fanatics will continue to advance the sales of the gun manufacturers and think they are being good Americans - you know, Real Americans, Manly Men, bang bang....

I wish I could recommend a solution, but I don't see one.

Monday, October 2, 2017

Another profitable day for the gun industry

An old white man with automatic weapons sprayed a crowd of about 22,000 people at a country western concert last night with deadly fire, killing over 50 and injuring about 200.  

What a nice night it was for the gun industry last night!  Sales will dramatically increase, profits will soar, business is very good for the gun industry!!!

Will there ever be a tipping point on gun control?  Of course not.  

Every horrible incident of slaughter brings those of us who want gun control to call for gun control.  Calls for gun control cause gun people to buy more guns.  The gun industry and their gun industry lobby, the National Rifle Association, must be very happy this morning - another victory in the selling of guns.  What lovely people they are.

Endless spirals into more and more gun violence and slaughter. 







Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Trump - Making Russia Great Again

The con - a White President will Make America Great Again - for white men. Just like it used to be, or at least the way it's s'posed to be. 

The real - an incompetent president dances as Putin's and Russia's puppet (seems to be incapable of criticizing Putin, giving him status and cover that he needs).

The result - Putin succeeds beyond his wildest dreams in delegitmizing democracies around the world by putting a buffoon in the American presidency. Putin can't Become Great Again by becoming a better country, so he pulls as many other countries down as possible. America, of course is the big fish in the pond, and America has become a sad, but dangerous joke.

The prediction - Evidence will become overwhelming that the Trump campaign conspired with Russian Intelligence and active measures to elect Trump.  Some will go to jail. 

The fear - the world's two stupidest men - Trump and Kim Jong Un - will do the word's single stupidest thing - nuclear war. 

The question - Will the Republican Congress finally decide that either their own jobs are in jeopardy, or that this nitwit is too dangerous to stay in power, and thus remove him from office?  The Democrats can't do it, only the Reps can. 

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The Cruelty Party strikes again

The Republican Party of Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump stand up for a couple of their core principles, once again - cruelty and racism.  They are apparently striking down the DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which will eventually send Dreamers from their American homes to a foreign country that their parents came from.  

 Trump, of course, won the election with his promise to crack down on brown people coming into the country, and Sessions has been an avid proponent of stopping not only illegal immigration but also of reducing legal immigration as well.  

So, who all is going to be doing the construction cleanup of hurricane Harvey, and maybe hurricane Irma too?  Aren't there a lot of brown people included in who does that work?  

Trump, the Tea Party, the "Freedom Caucus", and so much of the Republican Party are doing a splendid job of revealing their natures, and it is not pretty.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Ego in Chief goes to Texas

My heart goes out to my friends in Houston and Louisiana.  They need all the help they can get.  I send my prayers for their safety.  And I expect that our government as well as private organizations and individuals will act in the spirit of America to help our brethren.

Our president went to Texas yesterday.  To offer empathy? Caring about the dead and displaced? Are you kidding? 



"After the briefing, Trump spoke to a crowd of a hundred or so people waiting to see him. It is unclear if the audience of supporters showed up spontaneously, or if they had been organized prior to Trump's speech.

"What a crowd, what a turnout!" Trump said.

He failed to mention or acknowledge the 15 casualties, tens of thousands of displaced people, or irreversible damage as a result of the hurricane."

He talked about what an epic storm it was, how it was getting great TV ratings.  Fortunately, he did talk about what a great response his administration was going to make.  

So, in case you were wondering, hurricane Harvey turns out to be all about ... Trump.  

There is an ego where his heart used to be.  What a sad little person.

Monday, August 28, 2017

The stupidity of the antifa

There was a right wing demonstration in Berkeley this weekend that had about 7000 who showed up to peacefully protest against them.  Unfortunately, about 100 "antifa" - anti fascists - showed up as well in order to attack the right wingers, and calling them fascists.  So, the anti-fascists become fascist terrorists in the name of anti-fascism.  

This is wrong.

And this is stupid on two levels at least.

First, violence doesn't stop violence, it inflames it.  

Second, it allows real fascists to claim there is violence on both sides.  It allows real fascists to say they are only defending themselves.  It allows white supremacist Nazis and KKK to justify their fascist violence.

The proof of the pudding is the statements from the person who is unfortunately the president of the United States who claims that in Charlottesville there was violence "on both sides".  To claim that even though there was violence from the alt-right there was also violence from the "alt-left" - a new term to try to claim moral equivalence between Nazis and KKK on the one side and antifa on the other.

Just to be clear, antifa is stupid, violent, and powerless.

The white supremacists of neo-Nazis, the KKK, and other hate groups are  stupid, violent, and in the White House and the Congress.  They are not powerless.  

When will my conservative friends turn on Trump and impeach him?  What will it take to realize that when they make a deal with the devil to get their tax cuts, or environmental deregulation, or their financial deregulation, or their fundamentalist court judges, they don't really get the deal, but they do get the devil.

By the way, Hitler used the Reichstag fire to blame dangerous communist violence as an excuse to firmly establish his fascist dictatorship.  It would be easy enough for our current demagogue to use antifa violence to try to become the brutal dictator that he so wishes he could be. 

Saturday, August 19, 2017

When the world is in chaos...confederate statues?

When the world is in chaos many people respond with virulent and violent appeals to racial purity. After World War I Germany joined movements exalting the purity of the Aryan race, parts of the United States exalted white supremacy by building Confederate statues, and Japan moved into the militant exaltation of their race and their perceived world destiny.  We ended up with over 50 million dead in World War II.

During the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam war of the '60s and '70s more Confederate statues were erected in America - a defiant statement of white supremacy.

Today in response to radical Muslim terrorism Europe and the United States are reviving old, pathetic, failed white supremacist nonsense. 

I see two possible solutions to the Confederate statues issue. The first is take them down - they are proclaiming white supremacy, not honoring the confederate war. They were raised in response to the Civil Rights movement, not to honor the dead.

My second solution is to suggest leaving them up, and placing next to them in equal prominence statues of slavery – slaves being whipped while tied to a post by their cruel white supremacist masters, or slaves on the auction block while separated family members weep in despair.

The Confederate statues are not honoring the history of the south, they are white-washing the history of the south – or perhaps white-supremacy-washing the history of the south. When they stand alone without an equal reminder of what those Confederates were actually fighting for they are transparent propaganda, not history.