Venezuela’s authoritarian declares election victory, despite overwhelming loss

 In case you were wondering what the American orange wannabe king meant when he tells his "Christian" MAGA cult to vote in 2024 and they won't have to vote ever again because the votes will be "fixed", we have the real world example of the authoritarian tyrant of Venezuela to see for ourselves.  

Sunday's election in Venezuela had exit polling showing a two to one victory for the opposition candidate, Gonzalez - 65% to 31% over the incumbent autocrat.  So what?  The autocrat simply declared victory with phony numbers.  That is how it is done. People are supposed to be confused and not able to figure out who is lying, who is stealing, who is a tyrant.

Why do the authoritarians bother pretending to follow democratic procedures?  I think they see that as a way to give them a modicum of legitimacy in the world.  And that is because there are real democracies in the world, led by the oldest democracy - the United States.  

Why do the authoritarians want to overthrow the U.S. democracy?  So as to eliminate the existence of real democracies in the world, so as to eliminate the need for authoritarian tyrants to pretend to be anything other than brutal kings.

Why is the U.S. attempting to overthrow democratic elections in America?  Because anti-democratic forces have always been a powerful force in America. Starting with Slavery in the South where the majority of the residents were unable to vote.  To the conquest of Native Americans who had no suffrage.  To the attempt to expand slavery into the western territories which ignited the Civil War. To the denial of suffrage to women until the 20th century. To the brutal Jim Crow south denying the Constitutional right of former slaves to vote. To the America First, Father Coughlin, Henry Ford, Charles Lindberg attempt to turn the U.S. into a Nazi country. To the Joe McCarthy "populist" authoritarian takeover attempt to depose President Eisenhower.  To today's orange, mentally ill, charismatic con man trying to use extremist "Christians" as his horse to ride to his own greedy, avaricious, corrupt kingship.

We have seen this play before.  We have defeated it before.  We will defeat it again.

Vote.  Please. While your vote actually has a chance to be counted.

Trump promises to end democracy

Always believe authoritarians when they promise to end democracy.  Here is what the old, mentally ill, degenerating into Alzheimer’s Trump just said:

“ And again, Christians, get out and vote!” he said to a cheering audience. “Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It’ll be fixed! It’ll be fine! You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians! I’m a Christian. I love you. Get out. You gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again.”

It is not just Trump saying this.  His VP pick is openly saying that a theocratic revolution is what the MAGA Party is all about. (By the way, there is no Republican Party, it was stolen by fanatical extremists)

This election actually has only one issue - do we choose to continue Democracy and the Rule of Law, or do we anoint a king to “Do whatever the hell he wants”?

America needs to take its power back from these extremist revolutionaries. 

Vote. Please. For Democracy. 

George Washington - to - Joe Biden - to - the American People

 George Washington was asked to be the king of America, and because he was a man of honor he said No.  He said the whole idea of America is that it broke away from the rule of kings.  

Now President Joe Biden says the same thing.  He voluntarily steps away from running for a second term and passes the torch to his Vice President, Kamala Harris.  And he very clearly says that her opponent wants America to make him king 

So now it is up to America - do we vote for a man who promises to end the Rule of Law, who “hints” that he will be in office for a third term, who promises to attack and prosecute his perceived enemies - from Republicans who investigated his insurrection, to cabinet members who said he was a dumb fuck, to actual news organizations that reported the actual news, to….all who don’t worship him? 

In other words, do we vote to make a man to be above the law and who turns democracy into a pretense - does America vote to make The Former Guy a king?

Or do we vote for a politician who will preserve democracy and the Rule of Law?  This election is not about policy differences. This election is about preservation of American Democracy itself. 

It is going to get ugly

Kamala Harris is black and she is a woman. Trump and the MAGA extremists are extraordinarily ugly people. I expect that Kamala is fully prepared for racist and misogynist attacks. I also expect these attacks will backfire in the face of these ugly, ugly people.  Trump knows no bottom to his lack of decency and morality. And MAGA either follows him or actually leads the race to the bottom. 

American women are already enraged. They are enraged at having their empowerment over their own bodies stolen from them by the extreme MAGA supreme court which overturned Roe v Wade. 

Blacks are already enraged, having the voting rights being stolen from them by the extremist Supreme Court which overturned the Voting Rights laws, and extremist MAGA politicians who immediately made voting harder for blacks in MAGA states. 

I think now that dear Joe has declined to run, Trump and MAGA are going to get pounded at the ballot box. 

Misogynists are Misogynist. Racists are racist. MAGA is MAGA. And the ugly will be ugly, and I believe they will repulse a substantial majority of America.

We now have someone who can prosecute the case against the lifelong corrupt, cruel, racist, misogynist, criminal MAGA candidate. And his Cult.

Go get ‘em, Kamala. 

Thank you, Joe

President Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the presidential race.  He supports his Vice President, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic presidential nominee  I celebrate this decision and his choice.  Thank you, Joe.

He has been a very effective president, from ending the disastrous COVID pandemic by getting vaccines into most of the nations arms, to his infrastructure bill, to his support for fighting global warming and climate change, to his masterful leading the democratic nations to stop the Russia invasion of Ukraine. Thank you for a job well done 

I support his endorsement of his Vice President. 

Kamala tics three really important boxes.

First, she is a woman and women are the top Democratic constituency, and this should be the women’s revenge election for the outrageous Supreme Court Dobbs decision to overthrow Roe v Wade’s empowerment of women

Second, she is black and the black vote is a significant Democratic voting constituency. I think blacks were angrily supporting Joe because they thought anti-Joe movement was actually anti-Kamala.  

Third, she still tics the Incumbent box and presidential prognosticators Alan Lichtman insists that a challenger overthrow of the incumbent predicts a loss. Kamala is the incumbent party and is not a rejection of the incumbency. 

She may not be my first choice as a campaigner but this former Prosecutor should easily be able to Prosecute her lifelong Criminal Opponent. 

Go Kamala. Take down the orange fascist menace and his extremist theocratic, oligarchic, anti-democracy cult following!

Project 2025 - What mass deportations looks like…

 Trump and Project 2025 promise mass deportations. This is what that will look like.  (Elian Gonzales some years ago…). 

It will be pounding on doors and grabbing people and putting them into government vans. Just like the Nazis they so admire. 

RULE OF REVOLUTION replacing Rule of Law

 The disturbing rulings from the Supreme Court, and many District Courts, and Judge Aileen Cannon who just threw out the indictment of Trump for his violation of the espionage laws of this country on the ludicrous idea that the Special Counsel, Jack Smith, was appointed in violation of the Constitution – all of these are to be understood in a dramatic shift that is happening in the courts.  They are not judges dedicated to the Rule of Law, they are the vanguard of enforcing the Rule of Revolution.  

 

The Rule of Revolution is the revolutionaries get to do, and force others to submit to,  whatever it is that advances the revolution.  For them the pretense of The Rule of Law is just to give twisted and distorted rulings to provide a fig leaf cover of the fanatical extremism of the revolutionary overthrow of America.

 

Lawyers and judges are usually thought to work within the Rule of Law. But these right-wing extremist lawyers and judges are on a decades long, passionately indoctrinated revolutionary movement to overturn the Constitution and establish America as a Christian Theocracy, and uber-wealthy Oligarchy.  Personal empowerments and freedoms be damned!  Environmental protections and worker empowerment be damned!  

 

Theocrats WILL BE OBEYED.  Oligarchs WILL DO WHATEVER THE HELL THEY WANT.

 

They will lose, because Americans are opposed to their extremist dictates, but there is a lot of damage that can and likely will happen before they finally fail and shrink back into oblivion. 

 

Vote, while we still can.

Uncharted times

 We are in uncharted times. And we have entered into an uncharted choice point. Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt yesterday. I thank God that the bullet missed his scull and clipped his ear. One attendee was killed, and two attendees were seriously injured.

 The unsuccessful assassin was a 20-year-old boy firing, what else? an AR style assault weapon. I believe he was wearing a T-shirt praising second amendment rights.

He was a registered Republican, and had donated $15 to a liberal PAC over three years ago.

This is the time of choice. This can trigger a violent response from Trump supporters with their history of violent threats against their perceived enemies. Or It can be a wake up, a call to step back, turn away from this kind of violence, which only backfires in could turn into a nightmare spiral.

The one man who could make that choice to turn away from that violence is Donald Trump himself. He could call for no retaliatory violence from his followers. He could call for no violence against him and his supporters. He could call for peace and calm. 

This is not his nature, and this would take something of a miracle. But I do believe in miracles.

The revolutionary Roberts Court installing Theocracy and Oligarchy

I believe that six of the Justices appointed by Republicans came with an agenda – to overthrow the existing form of U.S government and change it to an Oligarchic and Theocratic form of Government.  And they are succeeding, so far.   Justice Alito, a devoted Catholic extremist, said it clearly when he said that one side or the other is going to win this battle – the U.S. will be either “Godless or Godly”. Sadly, his idea, and the idea of the “Christian Taliban”, is that Godly is actually the establishment of the White Christian Nationalist idea of Godly – rooted in White Supremacy domination over Non-white people - male domination over women – Christian domination over all other religions (Jewish, Islam, Sufi, Mormon, Hindu, Sikh, Tao, Rastafari, New Age) - and eventually, of course, one Christian denomination over all other Christian denominations.  You can’t get more of a violation of the Constitution than violating the First Amendment – establishing a state religion.     Oh yes, there is a worse violation of the Constitution – establishing a King and eliminating democracy itself, by violently overthrowing an election, for example – ala Trump January 6, 2021 – failed - that time, more to come is the promise.   So, here are the horrible, authoritarian/fascist/autocratic Theocratic and Oligarchic revolutionary edicts from the Roberts Court so far:     • Citizen United empowered huge money corporate dark money to control elections by the Oligarchy by declaring Corporations are “people” and have a right of free expression by contributing money to campaigns (lots and lots and lots and lots of $$$$$$$) • Overturning the Voting Rights act to limit voting by blacks (the signature effort of Justice Roberts prior to becoming the Supreme Courts Chief Justice, and he succeeded as the Roberts Court) • Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade and is eliminating a fundamental empowerment of women’s lives in America that they had for half a century • Presidential immunity has been given to the authoritarian, mentally ill, former president that allows him immunity from prosecution any time he states that he is doing something as an official presidential action – up to imprisoning and perhaps assassinating political opponents andthose that piss him off   And here are the promises of revolutionary edicts planned to come:   • Elimination of Gay rights and gay marriage, making gay sex illegal so as to “Make America Great Again” • Contraception will be banned (Catholic extremism doncha know) • First amendment freedom from religion will be replaced by a state religion – a theocracy of Evangelicalism, or Catholicism?  Will they fight it out between them? Will they imprison each other? • Presidents will be President in Name Only (PINO) and they will actually be kings, starting with their cult leader, Donald J Trump • They will authorize coups – they already are trying to “Do Whatever the Hell They Want”.     They are going to fail.  The truth is that none of the Theocratic and Oligarchic obsessions are popular.     It is up to America to use the existing powers of the ballot box to keep America a democracy, to keep the Rule of Law in place, and to see and stop the agendas and strategies being used to take our personal freedoms and powers away (all in the name of “Godliness” or “Free Markets” or “Patriotism”).   The Republican revolutionary cult has become the party of domination, the party of taking away personal freedoms.   The Democratic Party remains the party of personal freedoms and personal empowerment.  Or so I believe.

 

What Trump and the MAGA extremists are planning

 Per liberal economist, Robert Reich:

"If Donald Trump becomes president, then with a stroke of his pen:

• The Department of Justice will no longer be independent - and there will be no one left to stop Trump from charging his political opponents with crimes.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) efforts to curb the spread of disinformation, including Russian propaganda, will be shut down.
• The Insurrection Act will be used to shut down protests and to deploy red-state National Guard units against blue states - even over the objection of those states' governors.
• Abortion will be banned nationwide using two approaches
• First, through a radical right-wing interpretation of the Comstock Act, a long dormant law from 1873; as one of Trump's lawyers says, "We don't need (Congress to pass) a federal ban when we have the Comstock Act on the books"
• And second, by reversing the FDA approval of medication abortion, which is safer than aspirin."

In addition, Trump will destroy the rule of law so that he can cruelly carry out his revenges against those who applied the law to him, and against those who said truthful insulting things about him.

MAGA theocrats will create a "Christian Taliban" tyranny on us all, especially those they fear the most - women.

MAGA Oligarchs will gleefully pollute the air and water all in the name of Free Markets (unregulated unregulated unregulated) accelerating global warming and climate change. 

America is better than this.  I refuse to believe that Trump will win, and I refuse to believe that his subsequent attempted violent coup will succeed.  I believe even some of his MAGA cult will just get sick of the ugly, ugly person and just turn away.

It’s nice for a criminal to have friends on the Supreme Court

 Who would have been able to guess?  Trump petitioned that his illegal taking, keeping, refusing to return, and hiding top secret military documents be thrown out because the Supreme Court has ruled that “official presidential acts” are immune from prosecution.  Of course he did.  He already did the same thing for his violent attempt to overthrow the government on January 6, 2021.  Immune immune immune – right?

Well, of course, both requests will be denied. But not to worry if you are the criminal, Donald J Trump. You will appeal, and appeal, and delay, and delay. And eventually, the appeals will reach the Supreme Court.

And, of course, the Supreme Court should deny that the egregious violation of the constitution by orchestrating, a violent coup, and the egregious espionage crime of stealing, hoarding, hiding (selling?) classified secrets. But this is the same Supreme Court who has already given Trump a get out of jail free card. Won’t they just rule in his favor again? Indeed aren’t the six judges placed on the Supreme Court by the Republicans active revolutionaries looking to, and succeeding in, creating an unconstitutional United States – and oligarchic and theocratic authoritarian dictatorship? Weren’t they all nurtured, educated, and groomed by the heritage foundation – which stopped being a conservative Think Tank sometime ago, and instead have become an overly, proudly, crusadingly, right wing extremist revolutionary force?

Remember, please, the most revealing of all statements from the first Trump administration. It was by the cold eyed, dead hearted aid, Stephen Miller. He said in 2017: 

“…the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.”

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the idea that Trump edicts “will not be questioned” will be the operating principle of a Trump presidency if the country in the world is unlucky enough to be curse for the second (and third? And fourth?) term. 

It is hard to admit that you made a mistake voting for this disastrous person already twice. But I firmly believe that enough people will be repulsed by this very sick person that he will lose in November. And his attempted violent overthrown after his loss will just be a fizzle.

Here is a photo of Stephen Miller, showing the three fingered White Supremacy signal, during his “will not be questioned” command. 

Guess what Trump says was an Official Act? (SCOTUS language)

 So, the revolutionary MAGA Supreme Court set up the get out of jail free card for the man who planned and tried to execute the overthrow of the 2020 presidential election. He actually had fake electors created to go to D.C. to change the actual votes of certain states. A terrible violation of the United States Constitution. 

But…

 

All Trump needs to do is declare that overt attempt at stealing the election was An Official Presidential Act (thanx for the get out of jail language SCOTUS!)

“ Donald Trump lawyer has said that an alleged fake elector scheme was an "official act" and so should be immune from prosecution in Trump's federal election interference case.”

This is deeply disgusting. SCOTUS is not just a partisan political operation, it is an authoritarian revolutionary power. 

The Supreme Court’s authority had been carefully built up over nearly 250 years as trustable arbiters of law. This revolutionary Supreme Court has destroyed that authority by overturning the Voting Rights, resulting in reducing black enfranchisement - by overturning Roe v Wade, stripping women of fundamental reproductive health choices - by now delaying Trump trials and actually granting him immunity from prosecution of his crimes. Plus other revolutionary rulings designed to change America to conform to the impassioned dreams of six people, backed by thousands of dedicated theocrats, oligarchs, and white supremacists. Ugly ugly ugly. 

 How is this for an historical clue?

The relentless march to fascism continues

 In case you hadn't figured it out yet, all doubts about the MAGA Revolution Supreme Court have been eliminated today. The MAGA revolutionary Supreme Court has just ruled that any president, and certainly their beloved Trump, can break any law that he or she wishes to break if they simply declare that their action is an "official presidential act".  What horseshit this is.  What happens when the law is lawless?  What happens when a fascist MAGA dictator takes over a country with the active support of the Supreme Court?  We see it today. Donald Trump is now allowed to break any law - assassinate a political rival as on official presidential act to save the country from a grave danger?  Sure, why not?  

From presidential historian, Michael Bescheloss:

“If you had any doubt, if Trump were to win in November, that he would feel free to pursue a fascist dictatorship, unrestricted by law, the Supreme Court now provides such a president absolute immunity to do whatever he wants as long as he calls everything he does official acts.

Now let’s turn to the fierce and fearless words of Judge Sonia Sotomayor in her dissenting opinion:

“The Court effectively creates a law-free zone around the President, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the Founding. This new official-acts immunity now ‘lies about like a loaded weapon’ for any President that wishes to place his own interests, his own political survival, or his own financial gain, above the interests of the Nation…The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the country, and possibly the world. When he uses his official powers in any way, under the majority’s reasoning, he now will be insulated from criminal prosecution. Orders the Navy’s Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe in exchange for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune. Let the President violate the law, let him exploit the trappings of his office for personal gain, let him use his official power for evil ends.

Never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law. Moving forward, however, all former Presidents will be cloaked in such immunity. If the occupant of that office misuses official power for personal gain, the criminal law that the rest of us must abide will not provide a backstop. With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

How nice it has been to live in a democratically elected republic for my 80 years.  How nice it was to live in an America where the Rule of Law prevailed, imperfectly, but prevailed.  How nice it was to live in a country where No One Was Above the Law.  But, you know, fascists will be fascists…. Welcome to the new America, the Trump America, the Putin America, the Authoritarian Does Whatever the Hell He Wants America.

This is way beyond anything I ever imagined for my beloved America.  I'm not sure how beloved America is to become.

  America will overturn this atrocity. 

It's over, unless...

 Joe Biden will not be president in 2025. It’s over. An old, old man struggling to remember a bunch of stuff he had tried to memorize. Scared old man. I could watch only about ten minutes. It was excruciating.

I need to say the obvious - BIden was a good president but a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible campaigner. There is too much at stake to be polite.

Dear Lord, please send Joe wisdom, and courage and to anyone who can tell the president Thank You, and your Time is Up...Please....

I’m 80, but cognitively I’m 20 years younger than dear Joe. All Trump had to do was seem Manly and sound Confident while he spewed the lies of his stump speech.

We need an intervention. Maybe the future of the world is up to Jill.

Time for magic and the Goodness of America to intervene.

What is Project 2025 and Schedule F?

 Trump is just the convenient battering ram for the right wing extremists' plans to completely change America into a nation run by Theocrats and Oligarchs - for  democracy and rule of law to be destroyed.  John Oliver on Last Week Tonight did a brilliant expose of this terrible possible future.  Here are some of my highlights from his talk.

PROJECT 2025; (A 900 page plan to remake America by the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and about 100 extremist "conservative" organizations)

• Dismantle the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) - because they reveal the science of Global Warming and Climate Change
• Defund the Department of Justice (keep the law off the backs of oligarchs, fraudsters, and racists)
• Dismantle the FBI (same as DOJ)
• Eliminate the Department of Education (mustn't teach our racist history)
• Eliminate Head Start (helping poor, and colored, children)
• Outlaw birth control and all abortion in the country
• Outlaw and imprison pornography and pornographers (an endless fixation of the religious extremists)
• Establish the Unitary Executive Theory of government - (completely ignore Congress, impound money from all government agencies the President doesn't like, do "whatever the hell the president wants")
• Put the Right People into all aspect of the Federal Government - how? Schedule F:

SCHEDULE F: government employees are in two categories - those merit based workers, scientists, medical, engineers, etc. who have Civil Service Protection  - cannot be fired for political reasons (about two million people); and Political Appointees (about 4000 people) who are replaced every new administration

• The extremist MAGAs are reclassifying 50,000 people from protected merit based civil servants, and are advertising for volunteers - what is the first question the applicants are asked?
• Did Joe Biden steal the 2020 election!!!!!!!
• This will cause a massive exodus of expertise from all government agencies as the experts are purged and the remainders are reporting to extremist loyalists who are pretty clearly guaranteed to be incompetent politicos and not expert in the field of their appointments.

So, if you are a multi-billionaire this is what you want - get rid of those pesky laws and lawyers and scientists that keep you from befouling the environment or who keep you from your fraudulent business greed and avarice.

And if you are a White Supremacist Christian Nationalist this is what you want - get rid of those pesky laws and lawyers and teachers and librarians and women and black people and brown people and yellow people and red people who keep you from imposing your own racist and puritanical dogma on the land.

Beyond these horrors, we have the demented ravings of Trump himself, of course:

• Mass deportations of immigrants
• Put the U.S Military at the southern border for Fortress America
• Require local police to stop and frisk
• No funding for schools with mask or vaccine mandates
• 10% tariffs on all imports (tax what you buy)
• Revenge on Trump "enemies"
• Elimination of medical support for trans people

Welcome to the Putinization/Stalinaization/Nazification of America.  

This is not a joke.  And America is much better than these horrors.  All we need to do is see it, pay attention, and keep it from happening.

A life on our planet - David Attenborough

 David Attenborough is an international treasure. In this, which I think was meant to be his summary of seven decades of showing us the natural world, he shows us the beauty and the tragedy of nature. I felt utter  hopelessness, followed by reason to hope. Such an important documentary. 

As he said, the catastrophic changes he has seen in the span of his single life have been enormous. But the changes to come in a lifetime of one born today will make what has happened seem minor in comparison. 

Unless we change. Not because we’re good or wise, but because we must. Our planet will become unlivable unless we perceive it differently: see the wild world as our partner in creating a world that embraces us as we embrace it. 

Worth a rewatch, or a watch if you haven’t already. 

Two Existential fights for America

It seems to me that both the Democrats and Republicans see this 2024 election as an Existential War - if the wrong side wins, the very existence of America will be destroyed.

The MAGAs see this as a battle between a "Godly" and a "Godless" nation.

The Democrats (and many appalled former Republicans") see this as a battle between Democracy and Authoritarian Theocratic despotism.

It seems to me that the MAGA Theocratic extremists are terrified of any sexuality that is not inside a marriage of one man and one woman - homosexuality, transgender, abortion, birth control, pornography, etc.  It must seem to them that "God" will surely Smite the Nation if such debauchery is allowed to persist.  (Sodom and Gamorah don'cha know)

And the Republican Oligarchy has long crusaded for unfettered and unregulated Big Business - pollution, environment be damned - full maximum profits ahead!

To Democrats, it is very clear that Trump is promising to end the Rule of Law, and end Democracy (end the democratically elected Republic).  Why do I think that?  Trump has promised to use "his" Department of Justice to unleash maximum punishment on all those who have offended him - judges, prosecutors, witnesses, juries, news organizations that tell the truth he doesn't want us to hear, former Cabinet Members who have confessed that Trump is Stupid, Ignorant, a Moron, Unfit, etc. etc. etc.  

And Trump is clearly intending to be president beyond the 2024 election.  He has a lot of helpers to show him how to do this, starting with his actual boss, Vladimir Putin and including by a multitude of MAGA extremists.  I take him at his word.

MAGA extremists are very clear that they are fully intending to get rid of Democracy and install a Theocracy - the greatest violation of the First Amendment that I can think of.  Supreme Court Justice Alito - and his rabid wife - have clearly stated that America is going to be either a "godly nation" or a "godless nation".  Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, has promised to end contraception, criminalize gay sex and marriage, end pornography, etc all in accord with his extremist Catholic dogmas.  

To the Christian extremists "Godly" can mean only one thing - Christian - not Muslim, not Jewish, not Morman, not Buddhist, not Hinduism, not Sikhism, not Taoism, not Native American religions, not New Age spiritualities - Christian and only Christian.  (By the way, pretend that they win and establish America as a "Christian Nation", which of the many Christian religions will win out?  Didn't the first arrivals on the shores of America come to flee the persecutions of competing Christian faiths? Might we not reasonably expect violent rages between the various "One True Faiths"?)

Thanks to the extremist anti-democracy Supreme Court of Justice Roberts, we see MAGA fanatics establishing a new "Jim Crow" America where, golly gee, who would have guessed, black folks just seem to have a tougher and tougher ability to vote, just like the Jim Crow South that had no actual democracy for almost a century.  The Jim Crow folks already know how to make sure that only the Right People (white Christian men primarily) actually get to have their votes counted. This disgraceful Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act of the Civil Rights Movement, and as fully expected, the former Confederate states have already severely restricted black voting in their ever-racist states. 

By the way, it will not only be blacks and browns and yellows and reds who will find it more and more difficult to vote, WOMEN are big, big, big targets as well for the MAGA fierce desire to control. At the heart of the MAGA movement, I believe, is a fear and hatred of feminine power.  To the Theocrats, women are supposed to be like the Alabama Senator, Katie Britt, an obedient housewife and mother dedicated to spending her life supporting her superior husband and proclaiming to all how blessedly happy they are (nothing wrong with choooooooosing to be a mother and housewife - let women choooooooose - something that terrifies White Supremacist Christian men).

The Constitution is on the side of a democratically elected Republic and a country free from the tyranny of religion.  The Founders wrote it down.  

This should not be hard to figure out.

I believe in the goodness of America.  I believe this sad and dangerous episode of America will be defeated and will fade into one of the dark times of American history - it should never be forgotten, and never be repeated.  But, of course, the history of America has always been about the choice Americans have had to make between "All Men are Created Equal" and "Don't worry, we superior men will take charge, don't worry your pretty little heads, just go smell the roses, we'll take care of everything."

Barf.

Crime is down, bigly!

In case you didn't know, compared to January through March 2023, data from the first quarter of 2024 indicates that reported violent crime decreased by 15.2 percent.

• Murder decreased by more than 26%
• Rape is down 25.7%
• Robbery is down 17.8%
• Aggravated assault reports are down 12.5%
• Property crime is down 15%

This is reported by Newsbreak and includes data from 18,000 city, county, state, tribal, university, and college, and federal law enforcement agencies.   

This will not be shown in the Right Wing Propaganda media, of course. 

Order fighting Chaos vs Personal Freedom fighting Tyranny

 Once upon a time, not that long ago, the political divide in America was Liberal vs Conservative, Socialism vs Capitalism, Big Government vs Limited Government.  Oh, such a golden age of political disagreement - Those quaint divisions have faded into the mists of the memories of old folks still trying to see the world through obsolete perspectives.

The real chasm now, it seems to me, is between those, like MAGA "Republicans", who see the world as divided between order fighting against chaos - and they choose order - the strong, patriarchal "strong man" Stern Father Figure - discipline, police, laws that outlaw chaos and especially laws that outlaw what they see as debauchery and licentiousness.  They are terrified of sexuality, the sexual freedoms of the Womens' Movement, the Gay Movement. They can't stand homosexuality, transgender, abortion, birth control, pornography.  And they believe only white Christian men should have votes that count -  and do all they can to limit voting by "inferior" races and "inferior" genders.  They are driven to a form of madness when they see any kind of human being that doesn't fit their image of Real Manhood (John Wayne and Clint Eastwood cowboys, Mafioso Dons, old time football violence, cage fighters, etc...).  To them it is time to put Real Men back in charge of this world, just like it Used To Be (hahahahaha).  They want Authoritarian Control to stamp out personal freedoms that they see as nothing but chaos and sin. That is, undo the last half century of hard-fought personal freedoms. Sigh.

On the opposite side are those like myself who see America as divided between personal freedom fighting against dictatorial control of any lives that are different from some imaginary way of "virtuous" and ”manly” and "biblical" living.  So, any deviation from the top-down domineering white supremacist "Righteous" Christian man, who makes all the rules, and who will use any excuse to crush the personal freedoms of women, of gays, of sexuality, of religious freedoms, of any personal choices that frighten the white male Christian hierarchy.  These freedoms are too precious and fought too hard to abandon.

The Red Tribe wants the authoritarian Strong Daddy iron fisted, punishing rule.  Crush the satanic immorality of the last half century.

The Blue Tribe want the personal freedom to choose the living of the lives of their own choices and decisions - get the damned theocratic government out of our bedrooms and out of our voting booths.

As a sidebar, perhaps just as important, the Blue Tribe is deeply dedicated to meeting the challenges of dealing with Climate Change and Global Warming vs the Red Tribe wanting to pretend that what was OK half a century ago and a century ago is just fine today as well, just let the Real Men do whatever the hell they want.

The world, as Dylan wrote half a century ago, is a changin' and one side is trying to stop it - a doomed attempt, but a dangerous one.

It’s democracy vs MAGA extremists

 This election, from President to Congress to State offices to judgeships, is a contest between Americans vs MAGA extremists. Or better said, between those trying to preserve democracy and the rule of law vs those trying to impose authoritarianism and rule of tyranny.

I know the right-wing extremist media bubble is constantly shouting that they are the Real Americans, the real upholders of the Constitution, the real Enforcers of law. 

But it was Trump and his extremist MAGA base that attacked the Capital on January 6, 2021; it was they who beat the police; it was they who brought weapons and had a strike force with thousands of rounds of ammunition waiting in nearby hotels awaiting the command of their El Duce to attack.  

It was and is the MAGA faithful planning threatening para-military forces to surround the polls in November to intimidate Democratic voters. It is they who have closed multiple polling places in black and brown communities; it is they who want to outlaw early voting and vote by mail - so they can force people to the voting booths on election day which will have intimidating white threatening poll watchers; it is they who are doing their best to turn our country into the second coming of the Jim Crow South.   It is they who support and praise their lifelong corrupt leader who has been caught in multiple frauds, crimes, and thefts. 

My heart hurts for these people who have been so conditioned to think these outrageously anti-democratic acts are actually forms of patriotism and love of country.  Oh my.

And it is the MAGA Despot who already claims the election is being and will be rigged against him. And it is he who will call for and direct violence when he loses. I deeply hope that very, very few will be so deluded as to head his call.

But I believe that enough of America is wise to the sham, the scam, the threats, the emptiness of Trump and of MAGA itself. They have been conditioned to only hate, do violence, make threats, seek revenge - old worn-out Culture War sputtering. I think they are played out. 

I think America will turn away from the ever more deteriorating expressions of The Former Guy.

Accusations that are confessions and promises

 Trump is saying that Biden used the Department of Justice to prosecute Trump.  That is a promise of what he will do to Biden if we are cursed with a Trump White House.

Trump is accusing Biden to be the head of the Biden Crime Family.  That is a confession of Donald being the head of the Trump Crime Family (using the office to be bribed by foreign countries by staying and playing in Trump properties - Son in Law Kushner getting a $2 BILLION "investment" in his "hedge fund" - stealing classified documents and perhaps selling them to Russia? Saudi Arabia? Hamas? China?) 

The accusations are endless and hard to keep track of, but the simple rule of thumb is that whenever Trump accuses others, he is actually confessing to his own crimes.  Or he is promising to commit these crimes if he returns to office.

Disgusting, ugly little man.

America is so much better than this lifelong criminal and his sadly deluded cult.

Guilty - 34 Counts

 Trump was found guilty of all 34 charges of financial fraud to commit campaign fraud. Here is historian Heather Cox Richardson:

“Republican senators could have convicted Trump, but they acquitted him. 

Today, twelve ordinary Americans did what Republican senators refused to do. They protected the rule of law and held Trump accountable for his attempt to rig an election.

Trump stared blankly ahead as the verdict was read. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” 

Trump has managed to escape accountability from the political system, but in a court of law, where prosecutors brought facts, witnesses were under oath, and jurors did not need him to keep them in positions of power, he lost.”

Thank you.  The rule of law prevailed over the threat of a wannabe king. Time for actual conservative voters to just turn away from this pathetic little criminal. 

Fooling audiences for TV ratings, WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

 One of the producers of “The Apprentice “ was released from a 20 year NDA, and tells how TV hid the racist, misogynist dumb fuck Trump and made up a successful billionaire for TV audiences.  Fooling the audience for TV Ratings, what could go wrong?….…

”I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year…. there is deception at play in every single reality program…. Audiences responded to Trump’s arrogance, his perceived abilities and prescience, but mostly his confidence. The centerpiece to any confidence game is precisely that—confidence….. 

Before I leave, I have to ask: Why Trump? …. The idea is to have a new and different billionaire every season…. Trump is the only one who agreed to sign on…. Trump’s actual offices are, however, less than telegenic. They are cramped, and a lot of the wood furniture is chipped or peeling….

He hesitates. “I wasn’t paid what was promised,” he says. I just listen. “Trump pays half upfront,” he says, “but he’ll stiff you for the rest once the project is completed….

Yeah,” he says to no one in particular, “but, I mean, would America buy a n— winning?”  Kepcher’s pale skin goes bright red. I turn my gaze toward Trump. He continues to wince. He is serious, and he is adamant about not hiring Jackson….

next phase of our assignment, the editing. In stitching the footage together, the swindle we are now involved in ascends to new levels….Without a doubt, the hardest decisions we faced in postproduction were how to edit together sequences involving Trump. 

We needed him to sound sharp, dignified, and clear on what he was looking for and not as if he was yelling at people….Trump was overwhelmed with remembering the contestants’ names….Bienstock instigated additional dialogue recording that came late in the edit phase. We set Trump up in the soundproof boardroom set and fed him lines he would read into a microphone with Bienstock on the phone, directing from L.A. And suddenly Trump knows the names of every one of the contestants and says them while the camera cuts to each of their faces….we insert a sequence with Trump, seated inside his gilded apartment, dispensing a carefully crafted bit of wisdom. He speaks to whatever the theme of each episode is—why someone gets fired or what would lead to a win….

So, we scammed. We swindled. Nobody heard the racist and misogynistic comments or saw the alleged cheating, the bluffing, or his hair taking off in the wind. Those tapes, I’ve come to believe, will never be found….”  

And about 45% of voters were suckered by the scam.  Please wake up, America, who he really is is not hard to see.