Well, there goes democracy in America

The conservative Supreme Court Judges just ruled that the courts cannot stop undemocratic partisan gerrymandering.  Every 10 years the states redraw congressional districts.  And every 10 years whichever party controls the state draws the districts to favor their party. 


An old practice?  Yes.  An unfair and undemocratic practice?  Yes.  So, since it has been around forever what's the problem?  The problem is that in today's world, with today's computer data, the party in power can draw the districts so precisely as to guarantee victory for their party in as many districts as possible.  The power computer analysis can give to the party in power to disproportionately represent themselves by cheating using skewed gerrymandered districts will only get worse and worse over time. 


Is there a solution?  Referendums.  Like in California.


California voted against allowing the politicians to draw up the districts and gave the job to the Citizens Redistricting Commission - 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 others.  This seems to me to a necessary thing to do to have the votes of the people in the state mean anything at all.  As it is now in too many states the politicians choose their voters rather than letting the voters choose their politicians.


I am very disappointed in the non-democratic efforts of this conservative majority Supreme Court. The only way the Supreme Court works in this country is if the vast majority of the people think it is fair.  And, starting for example at Bush vs Gore where the conservatives gave the election to Bush rather than letting the final vote tally decide, the Supreme Court is proving itself to be unelected politicians, with a big agenda to enact. 


Bad day in America today.

Number 16

The 16th brave woman, E. Jean Carroll, revealed that Trump sexually assaulter her by grabbing her by her genitals and, indeed, inserting himself into her forcefully.  In a book excerpt in New York Magazine she describes three or four rich boys who were hideous boys and men - sex assaulters.  She reveals incidents of 21  hideous rich boys (men) in her book apparently. 


Real estate celebrity Donald Trump was one of them in the '90s.  He was ranked as the 20th most hideous rich boy/man on her list.  Here is what happened:




So now I will tell you what happened:

The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips. I am so shocked I shove him back and start laughing again. He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.

I am astonished by what I’m about to write: I keep laughing. The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me. It turns into a colossal struggle. I am wearing a pair of sturdy black patent-leather four-inch Barneys high heels, which puts my height around six-one, and I try to stomp his foot. I try to push him off with my one free hand — for some reason, I keep holding my purse with the other — and I finally get a knee up high enough to push him out and off and I turn, open the door, and run out of the dressing room.

The whole episode lasts no more than three minutes. I do not believe he ejaculates. I don’t remember if any person or attendant is now in the lingerie department. I don’t remember if I run for the elevator or if I take the slow ride down on the escalator. As soon as I land on the main floor, I run through the store and out the door — I don’t recall which door — and find myself outside on Fifth Avenue.

And that was my last hideous man. The Donna Karan coatdress still hangs on the back of my closet door, unworn and unlaundered since that evening. And whether it’s my age, the fact that I haven’t met anyone fascinating enough over the past couple of decades to feel “the sap rising,” as Tom Wolfe put it, or if it’s the blot of the real-estate tycoon, I can’t say. But I have never had sex with anybody ever again.

Who were the other 15 brave women who have revealed Trump's assault on them? 


"...he has denied accusations of sexual misconduct made by at least 15 credible women, namely, Jessica Leeds, Kristin Anderson, Jill Harth, Cathy Heller, Temple Taggart McDowell, Karena Virginia, Melinda McGillivray, Rachel Crooks, Natasha Stoynoff, Jessica Drake, Ninni Laaksonen, Summer Zervos, Juliet Huddy, Alva Johnson, and Cassandra Searles"


I believe her because Trump confessed to these assaults during the campaign on the Access Hollywood tape - because he was a celebrity he could "grab them by the pussy"  - he is talking about inserting fingers, by the way.


I believe her because 15 others also made these kinds of revelations about this hideous man.


I believe her because she took the advice of one of her friends about why not to go to the police:


She grew very quiet when I told her, then she grasped both my hands in her own and said, “Tell no one. Forget it! He has 200 lawyers. He’ll bury you.”


I believe her because we have been watching this man's behavior for three years as a president and campaigner and know him to be corrupt, a bully, and a deeply immoral rich boy/man.


Will any of this matter to his base?  I suppose not. They already know he is a rapist and as long as he gives them Christian activist judges and their stupid wall and tax cuts they don't care.  His corruption has corrupted the Republican Party - not that they had all that far to fall......

The Shkreli-Trump smirk

There is a particular look that only seems to show up on the faces of men who think themselves to be so wealthy and powerful that they consider themselves to be invincible. Kind of like I have so much money that nobody can touch me or harm me in any way.  Kind of an entitlement smirk. Pretty nauseating to the rest of us.  Shown below are photos of Shkreli (the astonishingly greedy pharmaceutical executive) and Donald Trump (the astonishingly greedy reality show star turned president of the United States).


Mr Trump might be wise to note that Mr Shkreli is in jail.

Trump admits to collusion

Trump just admitted to collusion with the Russians.  On TV.  And said there was nothing wrong with that.  He just dares people to impeach him.  This is a deeply disturbed and twisted man in the White House.


George Stephanopoulos interviewed Trump and asked him if he would accept info from a foreign power.  He said yes, of course, why not?


"I think you might want to listen, there's not anything wrong with listening. If somebody called from a country, Norway, (and said) ‘we have information on your opponent' — oh, I think I'd want to hear it."


That is against the law, by the way.  It is pretty close to treason which the Constitution defines as "adhering to the country's enemies" or "giving aid and comfort to them".  Russia is an enemy of America.  Russia is out to weaken and destroy democracy in the world, and most importantly, destroy democracy in America, the former leader of democracy in the world. 


This president just said that he welcomes interference from a hostile foreign power, and in so doing he has effectively confessed that he already did welcome interference from a hostile foreign power, Russia, in the 2016 presidential election.


That alone is reason to impeach this totally unfit and corrupt imitation of a man.  Do Republicans try to justify this as well as every other of his assaults on the decency, integrity, and goodness of America? 


Trump's basic playbook is when presented with evidence of his crimes is to deny it first, then lie about it, then admit it and say there is nothing wrong with it.  Just disgusting that so much of the country are OK with that.


Good grief.