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.

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. 

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!



 

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.

"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. 

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. 

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. 

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!!!!!

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

The disgusting false parallels of Donald Trump

The president of the United States just passionately equated “both sides” as being responsible for  the Charlottesville violence and murder over the weekend.  He actually sees Nazis and anti-Nazis as morally equivalent.  He astonishingly sees white supremacists and anti-white supremacists as morally equivalent.  Mr. Trump clearly came out in defense of his white supremacist base. 

I find this disgusting.

I am sure some of my conservative friends might feel obligated to agree with the president.  And I also condemn left wing violence as well as right wing.  But Charlottesville is not ambiguous.  This is not a confusing moment.  One side was very, very wrong.  One side is responsible for the violence.

Some headlines:

·         USA Today: “Former KKK leader David Duke praises Trump for his 'courage.'”

·         Los Angeles Times: “Trump provokes new furor by giving foes of white supremacists equal blame.”

·         Wall Street Journal: “With New Remarks on Charlottesville, Trump Leaves Himself Isolated.”

Here are some pertinent tweets:

A congressman from Michigan: "Very fine people" do not participate in rallies with groups chanting racist and anti-Semitic slogans and displaying vile symbols of hate.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) August 15, 2017

Arizona's senior senator, battling brain cancer: There's no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate& bigotry. The President of the United States should say so

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) August 16, 2017

A Northern Virginia congresswoman facing a tough reelection fight next year: Mr. President, there were not "very fine people" on the NeoNazi, white supremacist side; only haters. Grateful DOJ understands this. https://t.co/MDmYPcUP5h

— Barbara Comstock (@BarbaraComstock) August 15, 2017

The GOP nominee for governor of Virginia and a former RNC chair:The white supremacists and neoNazis who invaded cville espouse reprehensible views that have no redeeming value whatsoever. Simple as that.

— Ed Gillespie (@EdWGillespie) August 15, 2017

From the commandant of the Marine Corps: No place for racial hatred or extremism in @USMC. Our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment frame the way Marines live and act. 

— Robert B. Neller (@GenRobertNeller) August 15, 2017

The former spokesman for the Obama Justice Department: Quite possibly the worst thing he has ever said. The white supremacists who were there heard him loud and clear. And so did the rest of us. https://t.co/QsuC7UWnWS

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) August 15, 2017

A senior adviser to Obama: Republican Party: This is on you, you did this, and only you can do something about this

— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) August 15, 2017

Some Democrats: 

.@realDonaldTrump, you are embarrassing our country and the millions of Americans who fought and died to defeat Nazism.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 15, 2017

Mr. President - Heather Heyer was not murdered by "both sides."

— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) August 15, 2017

If @realDonaldTrump wants to fight white supremacy, he should do three simple things:
1) #FireBannon
2) #FireGorka
3) #FireMiller

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) August 15, 2017

.@realDonaldTrump: "Both sides" did not wield torches, swastikas, and drive a car into a crowd, killing a woman. https://t.co/gqeTLpzfBY

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 15, 2017

Dear @realDonaldTrump: Yes there were both sides in #Charlottesville. The Nazi side & the side opposing the Nazis. You're on the wrong side. https://t.co/jtaZnoLqLl

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 15, 2017

From a Brookings fellow:

When determining whether or not the president is a racist, I'll defer to the professional racists, who very much seem to think he is.

— Jamie Kirchick 🌹 (@jkirchick) August 15, 2017

From the editor of Wired Magazine:

The weird thing about "both sides" isn't just that one side is Nazis---but also that they killed someone.

— Nicholas Thompson (@nxthompson) August 15, 2017

Hollywood celebrities piled on:

Trump just said there were "very fine people on both sides" in #Charlottesville. I don't know any "very fine" white supremacists, sir. None.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) August 15, 2017

I fought Nazis in World War II. They aren’t “very fine people,” @realDonaldTrump. #Charlottesville https://t.co/IS5J5x0oI9

— Norman Lear (@TheNormanLear) August 15, 2017

Only the Republicans can get rid of this disgrace of a president.  The Democrats don’t have the votes to impeach him.  When do the Republicans flip the switch?  He can be impeached on a number of grounds, starting with his violation of the emoluments clause in the constitution, plus the bribery clause.  Plus, eventually I expect we will see evidence of conspiracy with a hostile foreign power to influence the election in his favor.  Plus, of course, his blatant obstruction of justice in firing the head of the FBI who had been in charge of investigating Russian election interference.

Do the Republicans wait until they see their own careers jeopardized?  Or can they react out of their own sense of honor and dignity to turn on this most dishonorable and undignified person?

Trump's two failures

Last week was a bad week for us all.  The question has always been how will this unstable and childish president react to actual difficult world events?  How will this person who has major emotional public meltdowns when he is criticized publicly stand up to an actual crisis?

He failed - twice in one week.

First, he responded to Kim Jong Un's test firing of ICBMs by doing pretty much the stupidest thing you can do when dealing with a paranoid tyrant - he threatened nuclear war.  I know this excited his brutish base.  But, speaking of his base...

White supremacists violently rallied in Charlottesville - confederate flags, Nazi flags, assault rifles, batons, shields, torches at night - and created violent confrontations with counter protesters.  Three people died. Two police died in a helicopter crash, and one was killed by an appalling full throttle acceleration of his car into a crowd of counter protesters.  Many others were injured.  

So, our president's response?  To blame both sides.

"We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides."

And then he went on to talk about how wonderful the economy is under his stellar leadership...

It is certainly appropriate to ask for calm, on both sides. But only after strongly condemning the instigators of the violence - the armed white supremacists who came to create violence.  But, of course, Trump didn't do that.  Indeed he can't do that - the heart of his base is the white supremacist community, who have been given permission by this white supremacist president to come out of the dark hiding places they have been lurking in for decades and strut proudly in the limelight - and do so with violence.  

Trump's favorite poll is the Rasmussen Poll which consistently skews conservative.  His approval there is 45%, compared to about 37% average of all the other polls.  But inside the Rasmussen Poll is 27% who Strongly Favor Trump.  It is not hard to conclude that the white supremacist agitators in Charlottesville are amongst the Strongly Favor group.

It's the Republicans too

It’s not just Trump that is a problem in today’s politics.  Those Republicans caught in the various bubbles of conservative dogma are the ones doing great damage to the country and the world.  Trump is the peacock - the Republicans are the wolves.

For example – health care.  The “Freedom Caucus” in the House of Representatives and their dogmatic compatriots in the Senate are promoting the repeal of Obamacare, but the impact of that obsession is to make it impossible for about 20 million people or more to be able to afford health insurance.  This is not something that provides freedom for people.  It is something that enslaves them to untreated health problems, robs them of the freedom of a healthy body that access to medical care gives them.  The “Freedom Caucus” might best be renamed the “Trap the Citizens in a Spiral of Poverty Caucus”.

For example – the environment.  The Republicans have been so blinded by the dogma of Reaganomics (in this case the deregulation part of Reaganomics) that they are stripping the country of the protections put in place to fight against the corporate polluters.  Those captured by this piece of dogma think they taking the restraints off of business and creating jobs, but what is really happening is that they are going back to the “good old days” of filthy air and water.  I find this disgusting.

For example – tax breaks for the wealthy.  Here is the second part of the obsolete and damaging dogma of Reaganomics – tax cuts for the wealthy.  I understand the idea that reducing taxes on the "job creators" is supposed to stimulate the economy.  I thought that myself up until the financial crash of 2008.  But I now understand that it doesn’t work.  What stimulates the economy is to empower the middle class, not to give more money to the wealthy.  As I have written often, Reagan lowered taxes and the economy grew, Clinton raised taxes and the economy grew more, Bush lowered taxes and the economy stagnated.  Tax rates for the wealthy do not have much of any effect on the growth of the economy.  Yet, this is a dogmatic belief of the Republican Party.

For example – restrict immigration and kick out immigrants.  This is especially dumb, it seems to me.  Less educated immigrants have always been a spur to the American economy.   Plus, highly educated immigrants are key to the tech industry.  This is little more than bigotry.

For example – talking tough.  Good grief!  We now have a president that thinks the way to deal with the paranoid man-child running North Korea is to threaten him with nuclear holocaust.  And there is a portion of the Republicans who are glad that we finally have a president with Balls.  Idiotic.  What you do is de-escalate, not escalate the rhetoric.  Trump is very “brave” – putting the lives of South Koreans, Japanese, Guamanians, and Chinese at risk in order to strut his childish bravado. 

I’m not sure when the Republican Party lost its ability to think, probably about the time talk radio and Fox News became vehicles for the Oligarchy propaganda machine. 

I realize that there is much to criticize about those lost in left wing dogmatic bubbles as well – the ridiculous extremities of identity politics, the unaffordable notion of Medicare for everybody, the dumbing down of a college education if college becomes a free entitlement, etc.  But the left wing is in the margins and the right wing is running the country off the cliff.

Children with nukes...

Kim Jong Un tests ICBMs - the U.N. unanimously imposes tough sanctions - Kim threatens nuclear strike against U.S. - Trump threatens nuclear strike against North Korea ....  WHAT?  ... Kim threatens nuclear strike against U.S. Territory, Guam ...

Children with nukes. Not good.

Apparently, the ridiculously ignorant, unstable, childish man that the Republican Party elected to be our president thinks that if Kim Jong Un threatens to use nukes against the U.S. that Kim is insulting his personal manhood.

I believe that Kim Jong Un knows that the only way he doesn't become Qaddafi or Saddam Hussein is to be a nuclear power, and to be threatening.  So, don't escalate! Stay calm and carry on.  He will only become a real threat if we have another child looking back at him from the U.S. thinking that it's all about his pathetically insecure manhood.  Kim's only point is that he can launch if he is invaded. The U.S is under no threat of invasion by North Korea. 

The big question has always been how will this disturbingly childish president react to a real crisis?  This guy has melt downs if he sees someone on the news criticize him, so what does he do if a real crisis leaps up in his face? Hurricane? Environmental catastrophe?  Financial meltdown? Foreign policy threats and aggressions?

Children can get into a schoolyard fight, but the ones who die are us....

The Republican compulsion to cut taxes

What's the most important thing to Republicans? Cutting taxes on the wealthy.  The wealthy are the ones who want it, and the wealthy have managed to convince the middle class Republican voter that cutting taxes on the wealthy will create jobs for them - all nonsense of course, but political beliefs are hard to change, and decades of propaganda by the Oligarchy have had their effect.  The failed attempt by the Republicans to kill Obamacare was really not much more than a tax cut for the wealthy, camouflaged with distracting rhetoric. 

It's an ideology called Reaganomics - cut taxes to spur the economy.  But it doesn't work.  Reagan cut taxes and the economy grew (after he raised taxes again a few times).  Clinton raised taxes and the economy grew even more.  W cut taxes and the economy flat-lined.  Reaganomics is just a dogmatic belief that doesn't work, but the duped by the Oligarchy Republican common voter hasn't figured that out yet.

Dogma, dogma, dogma - the killer of democracy.