It's the economy, stupid

Back when I was a Reagan Republican I thought Reagan’s Supply Side Economics was the key to our country’s prosperity.  But I have long ago seen that the Reaganomics Supply Side economics doesn’t work. When the government gives money to the wealthy they just get wealthier and very little trickles down.  The way they spend money doesn’t really pump up the economy.  And they don’t really expand their businesses, but rather buy back their stock so as to increase the value of the stock and boost their enormous income and satisfy their shareholders.  The economy?  Who cares?

 

Biden’s Demand Side Economics works wonders. When the Government spends money on the Middle and lower classes they spend it in the economy and the economy grows. They don’t fly off to Paris or buy estates in the Mediterranean.

 

This week we find out the manufacturing jobs have grown remarkably under Bidenomics:

 

American manufacturers have not only regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic, they have also added about 67,000 more.

 

Meanwhile, the real net worth of the bottom 50% of U.S. households has climbed 60% since Biden took office, now reaching $67,524

 

I believed in Supply Side for over 20 years until I saw the evidence that it did not help the middle class. It is hard to let go of political dogmas but I am proof that it is possible. 

 

What about inflation?  Inflation is a real problem the Administration is addressing, but doesn’t spending money on the poor and middle classes cause inflation?  I don’t think so. I don’t think American infrastructure and social spending is causing inflation in U.K. (9.9%), Germany (7.9%), or Russia (14.3%). It’s just failed dogma points being repeated endlessly hoping they will give Reps something to talk about in this election cycle. 

 

Feed the Middle and lower classes and they spend on the American economy.

It’s the economy, stupid.

Finally

 Finally the first legal action has been taken by Leticia James, Attorney General of New York, against The Former Guy. There are many more investigations underway, of course, and I have heard it said that everyone wanted to be the second one to bring charges, not the first, so as to avoid the demented hatred of the extremist Trump Cult. But New York leads off. Thank you, Leticia. 

This lawsuit claiming financial fraud of Trump and his corrupt organization go back to long before his presidency. This will likely cripple his fraudulent business, and she has referred criminal charges of bank fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, etc. to federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Crimes that carry prison sentences if found guilty. 

The lawsuit is a civil action that could result in fines and restrictions on future business practices. Perhaps ending his business for good. Guilt in a civil charge is based upon a preponderance of evidence, and anyone who pleads the fifth amendment - refuse to answer on the grounds that the answer might incriminate me - can be seen as an admission of guilt. The Former Guy pled the fifth five hundred times in court. 

Criminal charges need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and taking the fifth cannot be seen as an admission of guilt, so those legal actions will be decided according to that level of evidence needed to convict. 

Next up may be in Georgia where he is being investigated for trying to overthrow the votes for Biden in 2020.  Should be a slam dunk, just play the tape where he asks for 11,780 votes to be “found” for him. Tried to overthrow an election. 

Why a lifelong conman and criminal was dumb enough to become the most visible and most scrutinized person in the country is baffling. I guess it goes back to his statement on the campaign trail in 2016 - When you’re a celebrity they let you do it,  you can get away with anything. 

Until you can’t. 

Prison please. 

Autocracy vs. checks and balances

 We are being taught so many depressing and dangerous lessons about now autocracies seize power.  Today we look at the attempt to destroy checks and balances.

It has been said many times that the genius of the Constitution is that is provides checks and balances. Well, it doesn't provide checks and balances.  What it does provide is a framework, a structure, for the implementation of checks and balances by human beings.  For example, if a former president steals the nation's top secrets with the most likely purpose to sell them to a hostile foreign power, or to blackmail the government by threatening to sell them in order to stay out of prison, then the check and balance should be the Department of Justice to investigate, discover, uncover, indict if a crime is seen, try, and imprison that person for espionage.  

But what if the checks and balances are not there?  What if the Department of Justice is infiltrated with autocratic collaborators?  And the collaborators make sure that the DOJ cannot stop the autocrat's crimes?  And the collaborators destroy justice, and then also go on to destroy honest elections and go on the establish an autocratic regime with a corrupt, power mad and greedy autocrat at the top and a system of corrupt or ideologically fanatical collaborators below.  

Look at Russia.  Look at China.  Look at Venezuela.  Look at Hungary.  Look at Saudi Arabia.

Look at America.

It is clear that The Former Guy thinks he is going to be charged with this, and probably a number of other crimes.  And he is calling upon his fanatical collaborators to rise up in violence if he is.  Autocracy in action.

But, this is not going to work.  I choose to insist that our checks and balances are there to be implemented by people of honor and integrity, and this latest attempt to establish a right wing extremist autocracy is going to fail.  

Putin and Trump in trouble - danger for all

 It could be that Putin's army is being pushed back and has deep morale problems, plus he has officials from 18 Russian districts calling for him to resign.  

Trump's legal problems grow by the day - from suspicion of espionage using the top secret government documents he stole, to an attempted coup on January 6, 2021, to ... about a half dozen or so other crimes that he is being investigated for. Hard to keep count.

Even though both of these developments are good news, it is also a time to be very wary of very dangerous possibilities when power mad and perhaps mentally ill people are cornered.

Very recently two Putin critics "fell" their deaths - one from a hospital window and one from a "boat". What madness will the dying Putin come up with to keep from being humiliated in Ukraine?  No nukes, please...

And apparently The Former Guy is posting on his wanna-be Twitter site a couple of pictures - one showing a very intimidating looking self with a Q-anon pin on his blue suit and the headline "The Storm is Coming".  For those of us who don't know, "The Storm" is where a military junta captures the federal government in a coup and executes political enemies on TV.  These people are bat-shit crazy terrorists, and he is calling for them to be violent to keep him from prison.  Plus it seems that he is "tweeting" about 50 - 100 "tweets" every morning.  The ravings of a madman.  Very disturbing.

So, I celebrate the fall of these two monsters - I understand how terrified and panicked they are - and I hope and pray that their desperate attempts at survival does not include terrible violence for the rest of us.

Search Trump’s Bedminster property for espionage evidence, please…

 So it seems that we have a smoking gun of The Former Guy deliberately hiding highly classified government secrets.  There is video…

“The video, shot on May 8, 2021, shows the former president boarding a plane from Florida to his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey . In the two-minute clip, Trump is seen climbing aboard before a series of helpers carry four boxes from multiple SUVs and load them onto the jet. 

The footage was shot just two days after he was first informed of missing documents by the National Archives”

I sincerely hope the FBI is given a search warrant to scour his Bedminster property immediately.  

Prison please…

Worse than the coup attempt?

 It is hard for me to imagine a crime against America more dangerous than an attempted coup by a president refusing to peacefully transfer power to his successor, but the Former Guy may actually have topped himself by committing the treasonous crime of espionage.  

The FBI seized documents at Mar-A-Lago that the Former Guy refused to give back to the government that included highly classified secrets that cannot be held by civilians under any circumstances.  He pretended to return all the docs months ago, but that was a lie, which he had one of his attorneys tell on his behalf (disbarment to come I hope).  Now he is trying to arouse violent attacks against the FBI and the Department of Justice for executing a properly authorized search warrant to recover the classified documents they had reasonable cause to suspect were still hidden on the property. And they found them.

The more we hear about the documents the worse it gets - 48 EMPTY secret files! - total info on the nuclear secrets of a foreign power!  

What else?  Why isn't the DOJ issuing search warrants on all of the Trump properties now that there is reasonable cause to suspect that he is hiding American secrets elsewhere as well as Mar-A-Lago?

Biden called this "semi-fascist" behavior on his part and the part of his MAGA Cult.  Harsh words, but that seems pretty accurate to me.

What possible reasons could there be for this person to have stolen these documents?  

The obvious one is that this man is desperate for money and he sold/planned to sell them for hundreds of millions of dollars.  Espionage.

Another one is that he was keeping them as a planned blackmail against America by threatening to give them to hostile foreign powers if America tried to imprison him.  Espionage and blackmail.

Another one is....??  I can't think of any non-criminal reason for him to fight to keep these documents.  I can understand that this incompetent, bumbling pathological narcissist had documents that he wanted as some kind of souvenirs to show how important he had once been as he faded into oblivion over time.  But all he had to do is what all ex-presidents have always done and have appropriate stuff sent to his presidential library.  Duh.

Any suggestions as to non-treasonous, non-criminal reasons to hide and refuse to turn over the top secrets of America back to their rightful owner - America?  I can't think of one.

Prison please....

Collaborators

 Trump is not the only autocratic “semi-fascists” in our country. He is supported and aided and abetted by collaborators. 

He found a true believer Federalist Society young, inexperienced judge, Aileen Cannon, that he appointed after he lost the election, to interfere in the FBI and Department of Justice investigation of his stolen documents, many of which were secret, Top-secret, and the highest level of secrecy in our intelligence community.  Her only qualification seems to be being a member of the Federalist Society which seems to be dedicated to turning the country into a White Christian Nationalist autocracy.

It is pretty clear to me that he is being investigated for espionage. Life in prison. And he will do anything to keep that from happening. 

But I don’t believe the DOJ will allow someone being investigated for espionage simply to be let off by this unprecedentedly flimsy legal ploy. How about the DOJ simply tell Judge Cannon that she has no standing to make this unprecedented “order”.

I remain hopeful that non-authoritarian Republicans will get sick of all this corrupt depravity and turn away 

Biden warns against anti-democracy Trumpists

 President Biden warned yesterday against the Trump led MAGA Cult extremists bent upon overturning democracy in America.  I have been trying to make this same warning in my blog posts for about six years.

Biden was very clear to make the distinction between the Autocratic wing of the Republican Party and the normal Republicans. I hope my writings can be seen by conservatives as a warning that the Republican party has been taken over by autocratic/authoritarian/fascist elements.  And I hope they see that they are no longer part of this violent extremist threatening force.

A few examples of the autocratic activities from the top of my head

The Coup attempt on January 6, 2020.  

The first time in American history where a losing president did not peacefully transfer power to the incoming president.

Election of Republican officials who will have the power to count and/or decertify votes and appoint Republican victors. 

Shutting down polling booths in black and brown liberal neighborhoods. 

A vast host of voter suppression laws.

A constant drumbeat of propaganda lies pretending that Trump won the election and had it stolen from him

Attacks on the FBI for carrying out a highly vetted and authorized search of Trump property looking for evidence of espionage by the civilian Trump. 

There are countless other examples but I find these depressing enough for now. 

My deepest hope is that conservatives finally get sick of trying to justify the anti-democracy actions, threats, and violence of the extremists in what used to be the Republican Party and walk away. 

Enough. Please. Enough.