Joseph Aronesty (2026) Inspired by Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776)
Introduction
In January of 1776, a short pamphlet began circulating through the American colonies. It was written not for scholars or statesmen, but for ordinary citizens. Its purpose was simple and radical: to explain, in plain language, why submission to concentrated power was neither natural nor necessary.
The pamphlet was Common Sense, and its author, Thomas Paine, did not argue that King George III was uniquely wicked. Instead, he made a far more unsettling claim—that monarchy itself was a flawed system, and that placing excessive authority in any single individual inevitably corrupted both ruler and ruled.
Nearly two and a half centuries later, the outward forms of power have changed, but the underlying dynamics have not. Titles evolve. Justifications adapt. The language of authority modernizes. Yet the temptation toward autocratic rule—and the willingness of people to accept it—remains a constant of political life.
What follows is not a historical reenactment, nor an argument about personalities. It is a modern restatement of Paine’s central insight: that free societies do not lose their liberty all at once, but by failing to recognize familiar dangers in unfamiliar forms.
Paine wrote to awaken his contemporaries to patterns they were already living through. The purpose here is the same.
On the Nature of Concentrated Power
There is a persistent belief among free people that power, once granted, will restrain itself. Human history offers no support for this belief.
Power does not seek balance. It seeks continuance, expansion, and ultimately immunity from challenge. Democracy dies not because of a moral failing of individuals so much as a predictable feature of absolute authority once it is detached from regular accountability. The problem is not that one person becomes all-powerful, but that many people slowly grow accustomed to absolute power.
The defenders of concentrated power often argue that a strong executive is necessary to protect the nation. Yet history repeatedly shows the opposite: such power rarely protects a people from danger, but very often protects the autocrats from the people.
Personal rule—whether it wears a crown, a uniform, or the language of popular mandate—rests on a simple inversion of responsibility. Citizens are told that judgment is a burden best surrendered. Loyalty is redefined as obedience. Dissent is reframed as weakness, or worse, betrayal.
This is how liberty erodes without being formally abolished. No proclamation announces it. No constitution need be rewritten at first. The shift occurs in tone, in expectation, in what citizens come to tolerate in the name of order. A free people does not wake one morning to discover itself unfree; it arrives there by degrees, persuaded that exceptional power is both necessary and temporary.
At this stage, the question is no longer whether power has overreached, but whether the public has forgotten why limits existed in the first place.
Those who argue that “this time is different” must answer a hard question: different from what? From human nature? From history? From every prior instance in which concentrated power promised stability and delivered submission?
A government of laws depends on citizens who understand that strength lies not in domination, but in restraint. When restraint is abandoned—when power is admired for its force rather than its limits—the transition away from self-government has already begun, whether it is acknowledged or not.
On Why Free People Surrender Their Judgment
The loss of liberty rarely begins with force. It begins with a sense of relief.
Democratic self-government is demanding. It requires attention, disagreement, patience, and the humility to accept that no single voice—including one’s own—is sufficient. In uncertain times, this burden feels heavy. When a confident figure offers certainty in place of complexity, many experience not alarm, but comfort.
This is the first seduction of personal rule within a democracy. People do not abandon freedom because they despise it, but because they are persuaded that freedom has become impractical. They are told that debate is weakness, that disagreement is disorder, and that unity requires obedience. The promise is simple: trust me, and you may rest.
What is surrendered first is not rights, but personal judgment.
Fear plays a central role, but not always in obvious ways. It is not merely fear of enemies, foreign or domestic, but fear of instability, fear of social conflict, fear of economic uncertainty. A population anxious about its footing becomes willing to trade liberty for reassurance, even when said reassurance is largely performative and offers no real relief.
Those who resist this trade are often caricatured as dangerous, radical, unrealistic and disloyal the leader’s cause. In this way, caution and protest are recast as cowardice, and submission as strength.
The most effective autocrats do not demand admiration; they cultivate dependency. They position themselves as indispensable solutions to problems they continuously emphasize and rarely resolve. Each new crisis reinforces the narrative that only extraordinary authority can preserve order, and that ordinary checks are luxuries of a calmer time.
None of this requires the suspension of elections or the abandonment of constitutional language. The words remain. The habits change.
The final psychological shift occurs when people come to believe that resistance is futile—that the trajectory is inevitable, and that adapting is wiser than objecting. At that moment, power no longer needs to coerce. It is sustained by resignation.
And so, a free society depends not on perfect leaders, but on citizens who retain the nerve to think, to question, and to withstand the discomfort of disagreement. When that nerve is lost—when convenience replaces vigilance—no external enemy is required. The erosion is complete from within.
On How Institutions Are Emptied Without Being Overthrown
Free societies often imagine that tyranny arrives by spectacle—tanks in streets, constitutions burned, courts shuttered. In reality, institutions are more commonly hollowed than destroyed.
The outward forms remain. Elections are held. Legislatures convene. Courts issue opinions. Yet their authority is gradually diminished, not by decree, but by disregard. When power is personalized, institutions are tolerated only so long as they comply. When they resist, they are portrayed as illegitimate, corrupt, or obstructive.
Another method of hollowing out a democracy is selective obedience. Rules are praised when they benefit the powerful and dismissed when they restrain them. Enforcement becomes inconsistent. Precedent is ignored. Over time, citizens learn that law is not a standard, but a tool—applied unevenly and explained afterward.
Once this lesson is absorbed, trust in government collapses. Faith in institutions declines, while faith in the authoritarian rises. The public, weary of complexity, begins to see institutions as theater and the individual leader as the only “real” actor.
At this point, institutional failure is not an accident; it becomes evidence used to justify further consolidation of power. The damage itself becomes the argument.
On the Myth That This Is Inevitable
Perhaps the most paralyzing belief in any republic is the belief that decline is unavoidable.
When citizens are repeatedly told that norms are obsolete, that restraint is naïve, and that past standards cannot survive modern pressures, they may come to accept erosion as adaptation. What was once alarming becomes familiar. What was once resisted becomes expected.
Yet history shows that inevitability is often an illusion created by momentum and fatigue. Systems do not collapse because collapse is natural, but because enough people conclude that resistance is useless. The belief that “nothing can be done” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Those who benefit from concentrated power rely on resignation. It discourages participation without provoking opposition. It replaces outrage with detachment, and engagement with cynicism. A disengaged citizenry is far easier to manage than an angry one.
The most dangerous phrase in a free society is not “this must be done,” but “this cannot be stopped.”
On the Duty of the Citizen in a Free Society
Thomas Paine understood that liberty is not sustained by declarations alone. It is sustained by citizens willing to accept the inconvenience of freedom.
Self-government demands more than periodic consent and voting, It requires continuous attention, the courage to dissent, and the refusal to confuse comfort with stability. It asks citizens to tolerate disagreement and to defend principles even when doing so is socially costly.
Liberty does not depend on optimism, but on memory—the memory that concentrated power has always justified itself as necessary, temporary, and benevolent. A government of the people is a historical exception, not the rule. It survives only so long as citizens remember that order imposed without consent is not democracy, but quiet submission.
A free people need not be perfect. But they must remain awake.
The moment citizens surrender their judgment in exchange for reassurances, they trade a difficult freedom for an easy dependence. History offers many names for this arrangement. None of them describe a democratic republic.
This simple plan, put into action, can save the United States from what is now projected as a risk of falling prey to fascism should Trumpism prevail. This race will be women vs men, in a way Barbie vs Oppenehimer. But there are plenty of men who identify with saving our democracy. The question is will there be more women standing by their “man” who are sold on to taking America backwards in time, than men who are brave and smart enough to embrace the future.
So here we are, fellow Americans. We are in a domestic war, but there are no bombs. It’s a cyber war. Putin’s genius really. He knew he could never beat the USA with bombs. The weapons of his cyber war arewords.
And with three weeks left it is coming down to a few states and therein – their men versus their women. Sad, but very true. It’s coming out in the press now. Obama spoke of it today. I called this Barbie vs Oppenheimer months ago.
This post was a lot longer a year ago, but I am paring it down to its bare structure because there is no time left for complicated processes. Women are the largest class of people that are polling for Harris now.
The newest Pew Research poll found found 51% of male registered voters supporting Trump, and 43% supporting Harris. Among female registered voters, that is effectively reversed: 52% of female registered voters support Harris, while 43% support Trump.
Why Women United?
Women United starts with women because they have a natural bond this election season due to the GOP removing women’s rights constitutionally guaranteed for fifty years by the Roe v Wade SCOTUS decision. But we are open to dedicated men as well, of course. *Men Welcome is a super important part of the brand. We want to unite all Americans, men and women, of course. Women United is not racist or sexist. It is a place for real patriotism to awaken from its long slumber here in America.
There are women’s groups in most cities of a decent size. College towns are also ideal. I have reached out to a few of these groups and gotten positive feedback. Indivisible is a perfect nationwide organization to deploy this strategy by next Tuesday nationwide. I will make my efforts here in Los Angeles. Swing state reader, reach out to your local Indivisible chapter with this idea.
SAVE DEMOCRACY TUESDAY NIGHT MIXERS
That’s right. Throw a party. Strewn the walls with pictures of Trump and Putin and some of his worst quotes. Sparsely add some Kamala ads on the walls. The idea is to scare people. Kid you not. That’s what they are doing for the wrong reasons. But – it is a party. Hire a band. Alcohol is a good idea if its legal. If not cater it lightly with sexy food. We need men to align with women and nothing does that like a mixer.
At some point a speaker reads for no more that two minutes. Maybe once an hour. A three to four hour event. And then invite them to come back next Tuesday. On that Tuesday you can give them some chores or assignments but still have a band or DJ and make it fun. The banner reads Women United to Save American Democracy – men welcome. The women will be the honey that attracts men voters to see the light about Trumpism. I don’t think you have to tell them what to say. They know. But they are encouraged to talk to men about why they want to preserve their bodily autonomy. Men, especially young men, could stand the education. But, keep it fun. Be joyous warriors.
nd in line.
Our Potential Allies in this War
The people we need to reach in this war of words are Republican centrists, independents, and Democratic voters who may lost their enthusiasm for Biden.
The main focus of “Women United” is to find ways to convince men, regardless of their past party affiliation, that this time they need to vote to support their local women. Since the GOP alliance can always brand truth as “fake news”, the re-orientation program must come from the mouths of their own people.
And yes, we’ll have to show the MAGA and centrist GOP voters that we are not vermin. We’ll have to be likeable to them. Is that so hard? I don’t think so. It certainly beats what the WW2 generation had to do to save this democracy.
Women* United to Save American Democracy – *Men Welcome is designed as a cannot lose project. It should function as a Green Bay sweep in its own right. Our enemies can see it coming, but they can do nothing to stop it.
Supporting Logic: All Politics is Local
We recommend the tools be created on about an 8th grade level. A historical synopsis of the miracle of American democracy in posters on the walls is a good idea too. Start with the Boston Tea Party.
Why Women United?
Women United starts with women because they have a natural bond this election season due to the GOP removing women’s rights constitutionally guaranteed for fifty years by the Roe v Wade SCOTUS decision. But we are open to dedicated men as well, of course. *Men Welcome is a super important part of the brand. We want to unite all Americans, men and women, of course. Women United is not racist or sexist. It is a place for real patriotism to awaken from its long slumber here in America.
There are women’s groups in most cities of a decent size. College towns are also ideal. We have reached out to a few of these groups and gotten positive feedback. We’d like to see if we can get a commitment from a few groups in each of the swing states.
There are 438 womens’s groups that just marched, January of 2024. They need to be contacted and asked to see if they would be okay for advocating for small d democracy this year by having three Save Democracy Mixers. The fourth one is voting day, and then those groups are united on November 5th and can do much good. Focus should be on swing states first, then red states, then purple cities in blue states.
Why the Reorientation Must Come from Local Influencers
The line between truth lies has been blurred for media. The fake news meme may have started with Russian propaganda during the 2016 election, but is still with us … and growing. AI is not making this any easier. However, it will be harder for husbands, sons, boyfriends, associates, and friends to categorize words as “fake news” when those words are coming from people they know and respect in their own towns. MAGA people are by nature followers – sycophants. They were easily influenced by right-wing media and Trump’s lies. That means they are more malleable than Democrats. We can take advantage of that.
Trump was caught on a hot mic saying “they only know what we tell them”. Finding a way to tell Republican voters something else to know or believe in may be more effective on Republican voters than Democrats and Independents.
Qualifications For Holding Office Must Be Part of the Education
A majority of GOP voters still believe Trump won the 2020 election. For that reason, Women United cannot be a Democratic or Republican endeavor. Kamala is framed as pro-Democracy , pro people first, pro country over party – even over the Democratic party.
The enemies of democracy don’t expect such creativity and energy this election season. But if this project evolves from written words and thoughts into action and it spreads through red states, they are checkmated. The fake news meme that has worked so well for “trumpism” for the last seven years will have met its match via love, education, and reorientation. It’s time teach old-fashioned civics and history to rural America and spread some real truth and light.
Branding the Struggle
*Build That Wall was nothing more than selling or branding. Branding seeks to create a vision fused with a few words that are hard to forget. Branding works like a song – words and music together are easy to remember. Words and tunes alone? They are soon forgotten. Strategic branding is something the enemies of democracy do very well. We can do better at this. Sales has been my life’s work.
Deployment Strategy – Seven Swing States
In the ideal version of democracy, the majority should have their collective will represented in Congress. We do have to contend with the Electoral College which does not function as a true democracy, and creates the space for a few key “swing states” have more power than the rest of the country. Women United can fix inequity, and many other pressing issues, but first we must save the functioning of our democracy. Without a functioning democracy nothing good will get done for any of us.
Seven states that need Women United chapters the most are in purple
Wilkes-Barre 44,000, Altoona 44,000, State College 41,000
My sense is that this list can be refocused and shortened a bit by using a filter based on preaching less to the choir. We’ll need to focus more in cities where the anticipated margin of loss to Trump is currently is between 1% and 10% and where the anticipated margin of victory by Biden is between 1% and 5%. The most important groups to enroll with be the first in each of the swing states.
The Tutorial Installation – rough draft
The walls of Women United field offices all tell the story of democracy. That story starts with the causes of the Revolutionary War, some words on King George, (who has been compared to Donald Trump) and the colonists resistance to King George’s taxes and tyranny.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the culmination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, a tax passed by the British Parliament in 1773. Colonists objected to the Tea Act believing it violated their right as Englishmen to “no taxation without representation”, that is, to be taxed only by their own elected representatives and not by a foreign parliament in which they were not represented.
The lesson of the Boston Tea Party will engage middle-of-the-road Republicans as well as Democrats. America was born with proud intentions. Ironically, Americans today still lack a Congress that truly represents their needs and not the needs of big business. The parallel to today’s times is there and worth pointing out. Women’s United seeks to restore pride in American democracy.
The next installation can be about the Constitution as it was formed and the amendments that evolved over time, highlighting the Bill of Rights and specific amendments. The National Constitution Center covers the US Constitution nicely. We can select the amendments to focus on. I think we start with the first amendment, and focus on the 14th after the Civil War. But we leave the constitution all out there for the curious. People need education on US history to become free thinkers able to recognize how poor a choice Donald Trump would be for president. Women’s United does not tell people who to vote for or against. We seek to make the right path become self-evident.
Since this is about saving democracy, focusing on amendments that concern voting rights seems proper. Since the Civil War, many constitutional amendments address voting, but there are specific amendments written to prohibit denying the vote to some people once the vote is extended to others.
Field Offices Must Remain Bipartisan
It is also important to declare this effort is neither Democratic nor Republican; it must be American. The division between the parties is what keeps the people of America feeling like we are in a cyber war with our brothers and sisters in other states. If we can undo the undercurrent of national division – fear of the other – and restore pride in American democracy there will be no inner space for Trumpism to exist within the hearts of our citizenry. Older people remember fascisim had not quarter in the American soul until the 80s. Is not that feeling of division and fear of others really the cause of our fascist Trumpism problem?
Right now, a large percentage of Republicans are okay with what Trump did on January 6th including hanging Mike Pence for not “doing his job” to end the peaceful transfer of power, according to Trump’s speech that day. The qualification for holding office in the USA 14th Amendment is that no elected official can be in an insurrection or aid or comfort those that are. So Women United is okay with Republicans as long as they renounce January 6th, the Big Lie and Stop the Steal. If that comes off as partisan, so be it.
The belief in many GOP voters that “the left” is their enemy, is what needs to change. But we can’t do it by using distant media. It’s not going to penetrate those who live in information silos. We should know this after eight years of right wing media chanting fake news. We need to re-orient Americans attitude to its government up close and personal, one person at a time, and start a sort of chain reaction – a reverse metastatic cancer -a metatstatic healing!
The idea is to help our Republican friends and neighbors find new candidates in their midst who are conservative but not insurrectionists. There are plenty. They just have no place to convene and air their thoughts because Trump, the salesaman, leaves no oxygen for their transformations. Enroll Republican centrists to convene with Women United. They will become America’s best allies in the effort to save democracy.
“It will always remain one of democracy’s best jokes that it provided its deadly enemies with the means by which it was destroyed.”
Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister
The First Fascist
We are fighting a fascist organization but most people don’t know fascism’s history. A brief history of fascism is actually necessary. Mussolini is historically referred to as the first fascist. Mussolini Trailer on this page is worth a watch. Rachel Maddow’s new book, Prequel, relays some interesting American history on our US industrialists aligning with the Europe’s fascist movements. It’s worth making sure people know what Mussolini did to his own people if they protested any part of his agenda. I’d like to have movie night. There are some great WW2 movies worth group watch. The new movie Amsterdam was panned butit depicted the danger we are in today very well.
Long before Putin posed bare-chested in snow, Mussolini created this “look”.
German fascism began with Hitler trying to adapt what Mussolini had created. Hitler was a huge fan of Mussolini, even trying to get an autographed picture.
Civil Rights Era and the 1960s. It wiil be wise to cover the freedoms that were gained during the Civil Rights movement during Johnson’s presidency – and here is very okay to mention Roe v Wade. The right to vote was also very clearly defined and Jim Crow was officially a crminal action after the Civil Rights Act. . The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing.
an example of news on the walls of the installations
The Trump Era
Even though we are non-partisan, we do recognize the criminal and treasonous activity of Donald Trump. Trump is why we need to save democracy. So our stance is not that we don’t want Republicans, we just don’t want Republicans who align with a coup to overturn the will of the majority and install a fascist back into the White House.
Trump is about to make his announcement that Mexicans are bringing rapists
The installation can have snippets from videos of Trump’s campaign speeches: the Mexicans are bring rapists ( ironic advise from a known convicted serial rapist ) and including Russia if you’re listening and other gems from his rallies. There’s no shortage of material:Trump’s inauguration speech, the firing of Comey, Helsinki, two impechments and the obstruction by Bill Barr during his impeachments, the firing of Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, Helsinki, Trump’s covid vaccine success derailing when he learned covid was killing more people in Blue states. The installation culminates with January 6th, and current campaign snippets about poisoning the blood of our country and Project 2025.
Activity at the Field Offices – The Original Gripe of Conservative America
Being part of a democracy has to evolve to become more than just showing up to vote. Women’s United field offices need to be engaging and/or a bit fun to attend. Field office managers need to report to a central core group. We need to get people to start believing they can affect their governments decisions and laws. Honestly, this is the original gripe of people in flyover country, is it not? They feel abandoned by their government. Spoiler alert, so do many on the left. It does feel like nothing we can do will change how government treats us. Many Americans are resigned to sub-par treatment in many arenas of life, including quality of food and air, housing, education, healthcare, decent pay, cost of living and paying more taxes percentage-wise than billionaire overlords.( I don’t like that billionaires pay less tax percentagewise than I do. )
We have eight months to make a dent. Besides the get out the vote effort which amplifes in the last 60 days, we have six months to discuss and I think mock vote on the issues that concern all Americans. People should walk away from these reorientation courses masked as Women United For Democracy * Men Welcome feeling empowered and enthusaistic about making real changes in the next presidential term. The changes needed most are on what can be called out top ten issues.
Income Inequality and Tax Fairness. The Border. Health Care Affordability. Right to Choose. Gun Violence. Education Affordablity. Climate Science. The Electoral College. Corruption in Government, including legal corruption like corporate lobbying, voter discrimination and Gerrymandering, the Supreme Court. There’s ten right there. This list can be amended of course.
Suppose we invite experts to lecture – perhaps from a single source – like a huge zoom. The Big Zoom seems like an idea. A set time, and we all watch a 20 minute lecture or debate on any of the top subjects. Then we talk about what we heard for an hour. Then we mock vote for the solutions the way we see them on the first Tuesday of every month. Chapters record their voting as indelible records for how each chapter saw best to solve the issues facing America.
Finally, field offices ask their reps in Congress to come to a meeting and ask that they vote in Congress the way the majority in their field office ask them to vote. They present the results of their mock voting; they ask that their representatives re-present their ideas to Congress. That seems to be what represent means, to re-present what has already been presented. So let’s do some solution presenting ourselves Americans, and stop relying of representatives to tell us how to think or vote.
This way the local chapters get a feeling when their representative is in politics just for their own self interests. They can shop for a better candidate for their needs if they sense that. All politics is local underpins this entire strategy.
Maybe there has to be some music, movies and guest speakers at these field office some nights.We may be able to get some really top iconic people, like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to address the field office members across the nation in one fell swoop.
Sounds like a dream. But this can all happen in 2024 if we just start. We need to literally enlist in this cyber war and be soldiers in this cyber war. And if we make this happen, we will have saved our democracy by ourselves, without politcians, and a great new era of American pride and acheivement will begin.
end post …
PS.
Once one allies with Putin, they must remain loyal for life. If you think otherwise, ask Prigozhin on that. Oh yeah, you can’t.
Joseph Aronesty
PPS. PS. Some new improved version of this autocracy vs democracy map, which has been at my blog since Helsinki, should be part of the “kit”. Many people don’t know what autocracy really means. But a ten-year-old with no prior knoweledge of world geography gets the struggle when they first see a RISK board.
About the author:
Joseph Aronesty is the 75-year-old son of a WW2 vet, an ecom pioneer with passion for songwriting and word history and author of a book on the history of language. “I’ve had a blessed life due to the sacrifices of those WW2 vets and I’ll be damned ( actually, we all will be damned ) if we just give it all away to con artists.”
Mr. Aronesty was classmate to Donnie Trump in 1968 at Wharton , worked in Trump’s business associate orbit from 86-99 in AC NJ. He has wriiten over 1100 pages on Trumpism starting at “Russia, if you’re listening” which he still feels should disqualify a candidate to run for president because it asks an enemy state to take a part in our sacred American elections.
DeSantis signed a bill banning teachers from talking about sex to kids K-3rd grade. Why not have a bill baning them from whipping out their dicks or tits to show them in a science lesson?
DeSantis making believe he cares about kids in a staged photo-op
Yes, I use that as a teaching moment. This is yet another GOP bill trying to fix a problem that can be handled by common sense and existing channels. If teachers are pervs ( and there are always some small minority of such people ) there are – and always have been – ways to get rid of them. Parents can ask their kids about their teachers. They can meet their child’s teachers at PTA’s or open houses. They can be real hands-on parents. No new law was needed for that. A teacher that talks about any aspect of sex to a child under age 10, is crossing a line. My K-4 grade school teachers would have said ” it’s the birds and the bees and you cant ask your parents about that”. About 5th grade, teaching sex education starts making sense as a science.
The DeSantis “Don’t Say Gay” bill was not put in place to stop a new rising flood of teachers that want to teach sex to kids under age of eight. That’s not going on. The members of the GOP in Congress do not care about “kids” or they would have got rid of AK-45’s in the general public after Sandy Hook. Ask DeSantis and the GOP in Florida how they voted on AK-45s in the general public after the Stoneman-Douglas shootings. They did nothing and made sure the Dems did not as well.
Most GOP in Congress are sick people for staying in that club after they refused to change gun laws after Sandy Hook. I will NEVER forget that. So don’t tell me they worry about kids in schools learning about sex. The GOP are okay with kids getting SHOT DEAD in their schools or they would have done something about the weapons that add to the number of dead when poeple go nuts. The GOP in Congress are the real pervs.
The DeSantis Bill is another way to create a sub-group of voters and give them a reason to vote for him – as if he cares about the parents or the kids. He only cares about staying in power because he’s got a grift system in place and he’s milking it every day – just like Trump did as POTUS and all his life. The GOP all want to be Donald Trumps – except Liz Cheney and a few others.
Here’s more recent proof that the GOP in Congress* don’t give a rat’s ass about the health or well-being of American children. The American Rescue Plan gave monthly child allowances ($300 per child under six, and $250 per child from six through 17 ) during the pandemic. Most parents really needed it. Even before the pandemic, child poverty had reached post-depression records in the USA – largely because the GOP refuse to tax billionaires. Families were in trouble, burdened with deepening debt and missed payments. Most were living paycheck to paycheck – so if they lost they job in the pandmic, they and their kids could be plunged into poverty. But every single Republican in both the House and Senate voted against the measure!
This is what DeSantis did for gun laws in Florida. He banned laws limiting regulations vs AK-45s.
Nothing good ever comes intentionally from a dark heart. The GOP in Congress have shown us their black hearts – over and over.
People on the right like to say NEVER FORGET when it comes to the 911 attack. That’s fine. But how do they then support insurrection that aimed to do the same thing that the 911 terrorists and Putin wanted: the end of American democracy? I’d rather we never forget Sandy Hook and the refusal to restrict AK-45s after that massacre. It was the last straw for me ever supporting a GOP in Congress.
*GOP – I say GOP in Congress because I am aware that there are GOP leaning citizens that are not in favor of AK-45s being in the general public – and may not be evil people.
America has devolved into an armed war camp, a state we used regard with pity when observed in other countries. It is time to take steps the first steps to end America’s armed standoff. Please note that neither mass shootings nor police violence happen as frequently in any other first world country. We have seen forty-five mass shootings and several unnecessary police killings in the last 30 days. It begs the question: is the United States a first-world country anymore?
The way I see it, police violence and citizen’s gun violence are two sides of same coin. That coin is lethal weapons in the hands of scared and/or unhinged humans.
The cycle of violence starts with citizen vs. citizen crimes. Those crimes instruct a nation to create a force to protect its citizens. That force needed must exceed the force in the hands of the criminals.
In the United States, there are now more guns than citizens and that includes children and infants. The US is the only country on earth with that sad statistic and no large country stats are even close. And most Americans realize this is not a good problem to have. In Japan, a densely populated modern country, there is only one gun per three hundred citizens.
In the USA, police are rightly afraid of its citizens. So for those who say we have a police violence versus people of color problem, while I won’t disagree, the problem begins and is compounded because police don’t know what Americans have unlicensed guns any more. Yes, police are often a bit trigger happy, but it’s largely because they are rightfully afraid for their own lives. That fear is higher where police patrol people they don’t know and live among. It certainly makes the case for police looking more like the people they patrol. It is worth noting that in England, where there is one gun per 22 citizens, regular officers only carry Tasers and batons.
Police will always use the “I was scared for my life” excuse, when they cross the line that separates policing and murder, even if they were not. This is never going to change. It’s natural to fear lethal force. Reducing arms in the hands of citizens, and the mortal fear on the policing side will follow. That is natural too.
Since police are only needed because citizens pose dangers to other citizens, we must start with lowering the number of guns in the hands the free radicals in our citizenry. The chart above seems to indicate a reduction of arms by 70% would put the United States in line with countries like Germany.
We know the GOP congressmen always side with the NRA. If Sandy Hook couldn’t bend their cold souls, nothing will. But they are ignoring the will of their constituents now and their constituents know it. There are voting cycles every two years. The constituency of GOP congressmen is one target to educate.
I do not buy the “work with the other side” meme. The other side is now a criminal organization selling Americans out for profit. They don’t work for the American people. They work for themselves the way their leader, Donald Trump, did. The trick for the Biden Administration will be to not come off like they’re coming for our guns. That is just too easy a meme for the GOP to exploit
Licensing All Guns and Gun Holders
Aside from automatic weapons, which should all be bought back immediately, every other gun or rifle should only be in the hands of licensed gun holders. Every car is assigned to a licensed driver. We can certainly do the same for machines designed to kill people. We should know where very gun is. A national gun registry is a necessity now for the public’s welfare. We cannot let interpretations of the Constitution’s Second Amendment stand in the way of the public good, or we will descend further into darkness. After all, the Constitution was written to make life better for Americans.
Most of all Americans support bans on high-capacity magazines, assault-style weapon buybacks and bans, background checks, removal of loopholes and common-sense gun solutions. The resistance to common sense gun violence solutions comes primarily from gun makers, their paid lobbyists, GOP congressmen, and the few citizens who like things the way they are for their own selfish reasons. Their profits, amusements and nefarious plans are not worth more than our lives.
We license cars and drivers. Passing one’s driver’s test has become a rite of passage into adulthood these days. I suggest we follow that model for gun owners, focusing on training, mental health, and the social media posts of applicants. The idea of owning a gun as a right must be replaced with the idea that gun ownership is a privilege to be earned. Being a licensed gun owner should be something one can be proud of again. Licensing gun holders will create the method to review the stability, maturity, and the motives of gun holders. In for no other reason, focus on the innocent children that would be alive today had we taken these steps long ago.
We can and will continue the push to have them voted out in 2022. But I think we have a path to act faster than that. Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, arrested the black Congresswoman, Park Cannon, for knocking on his door while he was signing a voter suppression bill. Why are we not arresting GOP congressmen? We have more cause than knocking on a door. Those that support the Big Lie are in direct violation to the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. And that discussion follows here:
The 14th Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens. But it also gives us the power to remove Senators, Representatives, judges, candidates and even Presidents for behavior that violates certain sacred American principles. XIV contains five easy-to-understand sections. This post reviews sections one and three. They are very pertinent to our times. (Bolds for emphasis.)
Section 3. Protects us from Big Lie and Insurrection Supports taking any part in our government for the people
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. *But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. ( The GOP does not have a majority to remove disqualified members.)
Section three of the 14th protects American citizens from renegade government officials. It clearly says those who have engaged in insurrection shall not be Senators, Representatives or President. It does not say they cannot run for office. It says they cannot be in office. It means the Constitution instantly voids all powers of one’s governmental office the moment one takes any part in or supports an insurrection against the state. The 14th does not say one must physically be part of an insurrection either. Words certainly can be construed as being part of an insurrection. When Benedict Arnold passed secrets to our enemies, he used words.
Section three also says one cannot give aid or comfort to the enemies of the United States and remain or be in office. Can we define Donald Trump’s Capitol speech on January 6th, 2021, as offering support to insurrection? I don’t see how it is not exactly that. The same logic applies to the incendiary speeches made by Mo Brooks, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Greene and to all the congressmen who support the Big Lie. And does not Judge Clarence Thomas comfort his wife by sharing the same house with her? It’s all unconstitutional folks.
You can be sure the GOP will oust Dems for far less, if we give them the chance again. The GOP only cares about staying in power now. If they get back in power, who among us thinks they will not use it? Yes, it’s driven by Donald Trump who fears jail time for his crimes – but it’s not only him. They are talking about jailing people, closing down polling stations, undoing elections and even killing democrats.
So what is the solution for this? Actually, I think it is easier than we think. We have to use the 14th amendment. AG Garland needs to come out and say that America is under attack – just as it was on 911. An attack on the institution of voting is the same as an attack on our lands. And Congressman or judicial officer in State or Federal government or any candidate for State or Federal office who has previously stated anything that could be construed as comfort to insurrectionist must immediately publicly announce the following:
They do not think Donald Trump won the 2020 election and Joe Biden is our duly elected president. If elected they will do nothing to can be construed as an attack on our electoral systems. They are aware that would be an act of war versus the institution of American voting and they will have no part of that.
If they refuse to do that, their names must be stripped from the ballots as per the 14th. And if Congressmen refuse to do so, AG Garland shall have a Sargent of arms lock up their desks and remove them from office. We can have new elections but no one who will not denounce J6 as an insurrection attempt will be allowed to run for office.
These are just words that AG Garland can and must say. It is possible that the entire GOP needs to removed from office and that’s fine if they will not stop fighting for Trump and cheating. But we certainly can remove enough House members to give us a majority in the House right now.
Section 1: Protects us from renegade State laws, like no abortion rights and voter discrimination
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Voting is either an American citizen’s privilege or his or her right. Section one seems to say the laws passed in Georgia and other states, designed to restrict the voting rights of its citizens, are illegal and unconstitutional.
But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
The disability is the disabling of the qualification to serve in government. This entire January 6th thing, post factum, is about whether we define January 6th as an insurrection or – as the GOP would have it – a national holiday when the people rose up to defend democracy.
The US Constitution does not say insurrection comforters need to be impeached or tried. This should be taken to mean if there is clear evidence of such enumerated offending acts, the parties who have engaged in such acts immediately surrender their station and are no longer members of the US Congress by virtue of their deeds and/or words.
Once a Congressman take part in an insurrection or gives aid or comfort to insurrectionists, per the 14th, they are no longer congressmen. Such people should not be allowed to even show up to their offices. Special elections should rightly need to be set up as soon as possible to replace any congressmen who take part in the activities clearly denounced in the 14th Amendment.
Impeaching the Republican Party as a Group
There are plenty of Republican congressmen, in both houses, who have been seen and heard engaging in insurrection speak and giving comfort and aid to those who support The Big Lie that the election was fixed for Biden and Trump really won.
Maybe we need to use belief in The Big Lie as a bar. Any Congressman who, in light of all the evidence to the contrary, still publicly states the election was illegally fixed, is himself part of the secessionist movement by virtue of giving psychological comfort to those who want the election overturned. It may be time to give the sitting Republicans one last chance to denounce the Big Lie or be removed from office.
It’s time to use the 14th Amendment. It was put there to save our democracy.
Now, in the days approaching the most important election in American history, no Trump hire is more dangerous to our democracy than his Attorney General Bill Barr. Let me go over why we should impeach Barr or at least make him be concerned about his fate should Trump lose.
I am not going to cite the grounds for impeachment of Bill Barr in this post. Many legal scholars have laid out valid impeachment counts against Barr already. What I want to impress upon us all is the importance of neutering Bill Barr as a Trump asset during the last 30 days before the election – and the 30 days following the election as well. Remember, we all expect Donald Trump to cheat as best he can in this election. And if it’s vaguely close, we expect him to challenge the results. That challenge will come from Barr if he feels secure enough to be lawless for his benefactor.
HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS
Bill Barr recently said something that got airplay but not enough scrutiny. He said, “… history is written by the winners.” True. But that sort of thinking is usually reserved for major government upheavals like the fall of the Roman Empire or the defeat of the Sioux Nation. So why did Barr say that? That statement clearly means Trumpsters are intent on re-writing history by redefining American democracy and justice. If successful, America would still exist, but as if we had lost a major war to a foreign power – more the way Hong Kong exists as a Chinese satellite. I want to ask Barr what he was thinking when he said that.
Read: Trump Trying to Destroy America Before the Election In 2019, there was evidence Trump intended to cause strife in the the USA as a method the keep his base hating their neighbors. Now he's using the virus to gin up hate as well. Now he says he won't get out if he loses. Why is he doing all this? He's certainly risking a lot. There must a huge payoff, at least in his mind. There is.
Is Election Meddling an Act of (Cyber) War?
The map below encapsulates the real struggle on planet Earth. The three super powers are China, USA and Russia ( for its sheer size and militia, if nothing else ). We are in effect deciding as a species whether we want to be a planet ruled autocratically or democratically. On November 3rd, we will know the choice we have made. And you had better believe the dictators are weighing in and trying to affect that decision.
This November’s election is not just for the USA this cycle. When you see the map, you realize this is democracies vs. autocracies. And they do not co-exist better than cats and dogs because the citizens in oppressed countries can learn how citizens in democracies are faring via the internet. Despotic rulers want all the democracies gone. For that reason we want them gone. Tinderbox.
This is why I have been advocating that tampering with our vote be considered an act of (cyber) war with financial and personal penalties that are so high no one would consider even trying. If election meddling were considered an act of war or cyber war, then it would be treason – as it should be.
We should guard our institutions just as fervently as we guard our lands and bases.
So if the Trump Train is going to start going full dictator’s handbook here in these last 100 days, it will be Bill Barr that starts those motions, investigations, arrests – etc. We already see what he is doing to the prosecutors who don’t sell out to Trump-ism. What makes us think Joe and Hinter Biden, Obama and Comey are not on some Barr list to be prosecuted in the days before the election? That would be re-writing history.
Why would Barr say this if he had not pondered it? Barr’s leak of re-writing history informs us that a nefarious plot is afoot and Bill Barr will be the instrument of that plot. Donald will be calling the shots, but from afar.
At a Rose Garden event, Feb. 15th 2019, right after Trump hired Bill Barr, he said “God speed and have a great life” . We all heard that. That’s a major tell. That’s the code Michael Cohen spoke of. Trump only says that if he had a private discussion with Barr, in which he makes it clear his only goal in life has been to have a great life for himself. If Bill is on board with that goal for himself and agrees to stay loyal, Trump can make that great life happen for Barr with much more money than the paltry $145,000 that the AG position is paid. That also means if we look for foreign bank accounts opened between Feb 1 and 14 in 2019, and find something that ends with Barr – we have him. Barr is hiding something. At least, make him afraid with an inquiry. Put Barr on defense.
Barr’s loyalty had to be bought with money placed in a foreign bank account. These days, bitcoin would also suffice. No one sells out for free. That’s why they call it “selling out”. So I am advising people, if we can’t get Trump’s taxes now, let’s get Barr’s taxes. There may be a link. And just by requesting them, it could spook Barr enough to get him to walk back his pledged loyalty in the days before the election. It might even spook any other GOP sycophants on the take. Mission accomplished then.
Then there is the election itself and what happens after the results are in. Bill Barr will be there to state the election is too close to call regardless of the outcome, or cite coronavirus affected Trump voters inordinately or some other made up reason to hold the results in abeyance until they can sort it out. Or Trump can say “his people” are getting different numbers. He may even start a war thinking that will force us to keep him in office.
The potential for mayhem here is huge as long as Bill Barr is AG. And conversely, mayhem potential is greatly reduced if Bill Barr is tied up in impeachment hearings. Plus, the GOP can’t say we’re messing with the election by violating some unwritten 90 days out rule. That rule is reserved for releasing dirt or initiating an action on the actual candidates. Bill Barr is not a candidate for POTUS and he works for us – not the president. It’s not a foul play to impeach him. It’s a very smart play. And maybe it will undo the harm done when we turned the impeachment of Donald J Trump over to a crooked GOP Senate before seeing the whites of their eyes. They were not afraid in February. But things are changing. Let’s give the GOP a chance to abandon Trump before their convention and make life easy on everyone.
This post, written May of 2019, predicted that Trump would attempt to destroy the American experiment and bring it to its knees before the election. Pandemonium over the pandemic is a good thing for Trump now. He’s living up to his oath – to Vladimir Putin. That’s all he can afford to think about now.
PS. We should have our convention after theirs. Strategize. The date is sort of pliable due to the pandemic. Take advantage of every little thing. That’s how Trump won.
The Senate trial of Donald Trump begins January 21. 2020. The GOP Senators control the balance of power. Although 23 of them are up for election, November is a long way off. Whatever happens in the next 30 days, during the trial, will not be the pressing issues when November rolls around.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, clearly partners in crime, are focused on stealing and holding the mantle of US government and democracy. If Trump is acquitted, they will spend the next six months sowing confusion and discord so this trial, which they hope to turn into a sham with no facts and witnesses, will be nearly forgotten by then. They know what all con men know. A voting public that is is struggling to keep ends met, has a very short attention span.
So it is up to we the people, those who want to conserve the US democracy, Constitution and rule of law, to treat the next thirty days as if our democracy depends on it. I’m sorry to use the “cancer” meme – being a rogue cell disease survivor myself – but it is appropriate. Trump-ism is metastatic now. It has its own enforcer – Bill Barr. The refusal of senators to even recognize the disease of Trump-ism resembles the way cancers fool the immune system. Waiting for November is a gamble that poses a high risk of death for the US democracy.
These are the states that house the senators that need to be targeted by their constituents. Sadly, they represent only 34% of the US population. But take heart. There are only 24 senators to petition, and they have shown us all they care about is staying in office. And if that is all they care about, that presents a path forward. And one of them, Doug Jones in Alabama, is a Democrat.
So in the next two weeks, we only need to show 23 people they have no chance of being re-elected if they will not allow witnesses, and documents and then, if the evidence is clear, vote to remove what all Americans know down-deep is a traitorous, uncaring, inept, greed-oriented, criminal POTUS, who is suborned by his past crimes and aligned with dictators, oligarchs and corporatism.
I am asking that the focus of groups like Indivisible, the Lincoln Group and others – start today. All focus should be on reaching the constituents in the states on this list. The rest of the country already wants the full truth to come out. No sense preaching to the choir.
Thank You
Below are links to my most relevant posts over the last three years of Trump-ism. They explain how we got here – and how we can get out this dark place. It begins with we the people. What are we going to do to preserve American democracy? Right now, our focus needs to be on 24 state senators.
The threat to our domestic tranquility will remain very high until we remove Donald Trump from office. Caring historians warned us Charlottesville marked the beginning of racist hate events that could spiral out of control like it did in Nazi Germany. So let’s be clear.
Donald Trump is not acting like or serving as our president. Trump acts like who he is – an uncaring, inept, criminal thug who cooperated with our enemies to steal the 2016 election and now occupies the White House by virtue of that theft. The manipulation of the 2016 election was the biggest theft in the history of our country.
Trump now needs to stay in power so he is never tried for his crimes against humanity. The same can be said for Putin, Kim and MBS. They all need to stay in power for life so they are not tried for their crimes. And they work their hardest at that one goal. Trump is taking lessons from the dictators. They may have him compromised as well.
I have outlined a simple plan to get Trump out of office by this CHRISTMAS. It is not rocket science. We don’t even need to protest in the streets. The Democrat Party candidates should surrender their egos and collectively decide by this September who will be the face of the Democratic movement to reset our country back on the path of hope and excellence that is the true American way.
The Dem candidate should designate as many positions as possible, including VP and DA right away. That will give all Americans who have been siding with Trump a chance to see another path forward clearly. As the MAGA people peel away from Trump, the GOP in the Senate will start abandoning their blind support for the nightmare president we have now.
Another original and fresh idea would be to make all political rallies illegal except during the last six months before an election. Canada and many other countries have laws like this. (Link) Trump rallies are riling up the haters in our country. And a president is supposed to be working for us, not campaigning while office anyway. And I guess, sorry for Bernie and the others – but press conferences will do the job of messaging better anyway. I’m not saying to stop protests or marches, just none with a candidate headliner until the last six months. These days, politicians start campaigning immediately after taking office. It’s ridiculous. It’s not governing. It’s divisive.
To protect Americans from further violence, we also need to get Congress back in session immediately to legislate for gun licensing and a buy-back program for automatic weapons. That is what the vast majority American people want anyway. That will send a message to Trump that he and his GOP party will be paying a price for Trump’s uncaring, un-presidential behavior. And I can’t imagine the public outrage if the GOP still try to block gun law reform – or try to mitigate its importance.
When the GOP sees that price being exacted- they may drop Trump altogether. Many would like to abandon Trump now, but don’t see a another way forward. They are mostly spineless and many are in on Trump’s money deals. I am certain Barr was paid for this loyalty. When Trump declared at the Rose Garden that he wished Barr a wonderful life, that was his Mafia don way of confirming his unwritten two-way loyalty agreement with Barr.
But we can get to the swamp cleaning after 2020. If we swiftly legislate and pass the gun laws Americans want – it will impact the GOP support for Donald Trump. And our Trump problem may fade away sooner rather than later. And that changes everything. I see no reason Trump should even be allowed to run again in 2020. States should also make it illegal to be on the ballot without showing taxes.
There are many ways to get Trump out of office and insure he is not part of the 2020 election in any way. That would be smart. Let’s see if America is capable of being smart again.
Almost no average Americans like the idea of Russian bots infiltrating our social media. There is overwhelming bilateral agreement on that – and for good reasons.
First and foremost there is the idea that foreigners might not be loyal to the United States and their messages might be tainted and favor another nation-state. That’s why you have to be born here to be president. Granted that many foreigners respect the people and institutions of the US and I am sure there are many US citizens that don’t. Still there is something to be said for investigating the motives and influences of foreign contributors to the media stream. We can’t let ISIS run ads on our media. We all get that. So there should be standards for disseminating information. The new congress has work to do.
There will be those who say freedom of speech is something that cannot be challenged in any way, under any circumstances. I remind them you can’t shout fire in a crowded theater if there is no fire. Why is that? Because it can hurt people! When freedom of speech can hurt the people or institutions of the US, it can and should be restricted, censored or edited – so it does no harm to the actual people that live here.
This may seem strange – but caring about outcomes for ordinary Americans was built into the constitution from its very first sentence! There is an enabling clause in the Declaration of Independence. ( bolded below) Let’s look it over.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
I guess they could have left out all those bolded words and it would just say “we the people … do establish this Constitution”. – But the founding fathers told us why they were doing this. And the whys are the largest part of their enabling clause. Let’s not lose sight of the six reasons they set forth to substantiate the creation of the USA.
in Order to form a more perfect Union – There was a loose union in 18th century America – and the founding fathers wanted to define that union more precisely.
Establish Justice – They knew justice needed to be defined and established. This was true then and it is true now. This also speaks to no man is above the law.
Insure Domestic Tranquility – And here we get to those media bots and Trump’s divisive messages. There is no way Trump cares about domestic tranquility. He had even said he would not surrender if he lost to Hillary. We’ve heard from him there would be a revolt from his base if he was impeached. Trump’s attitude is inconsistent with the spirit of the constitution and many see that attitude as a disqualify-er for the job of president. But I also see this as a reason to question the right of Fox News – which is not owned by an American – to hinder domestic tranquility with dis-information – just the way most think of the Russian bots.
Provide for the common defense – I don’t see how what Trump is doing with Russia, Saudi Arabia and North Korea as being helpful to our defense. I say leave this to the generals and the experts. Winning a popularity contest – which is what the 2016 election was – does not qualify anyone as a military expert.
Promote the General Welfare – If there is one thing Trump has convinced people he has done right it is promoting welfare. My position is that he has allowed big companies to grab as much as they can through lower taxes and less regulation, and there will be a clean-up cost down the road. I see the phrase “general welfare” as more inclusive than favoring the rich or connected. General welfare was the 18th century way of saying “the 99%”. – Trump’s policies overly favor “the 1%”. People are beginning to catch on to that now – two years into his presidency,
Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity – I’d like shine a light on that Posterity word. Caring about the next generation is built into the constitution. How thoughtful of the founders. And how thoughtless and unconstitutional it is to ignore the dangers we are leaving to our children. That word “posterity” in our constitution should inform our climate science policy. The founders had that vision – why have we lost it? Not smart. Not caring. Selfish. But very Trumpian.
Fox News was created by Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch in October of 1996. Fox News quickly grew to become a dominant subscription news network in the US. As of February 2015, approximately 95,000,000 US households (80% of them) received Fox News. Murdoch is the current executive chairman of Fox News.
We are currently looking into ways make sure Russian bots don’t spread dis-information over the public airways and on social media. Why then do we allow a foreign-born person – Rupert Murdoch – to spread non-factual information over our airways to our American citizens? That is not consistent thinking.
I remember when news used to be just news. But now there is something called spin. On the night before Charlottesville I recall Janine Pierrot rallying her listeners to go to Virginia and stand up to defend democracy. She had fire in her voice. The haters that went to Charlottesville felt they were called on a mission. Some said it was their duty to be there. And Trump said ” I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and my supporters would not leave me.” These are examples of dog whistling for haters to act out. This is shouting fire in a crowded theater. There must be standards.
Reporters just go to the places where news happens – and with video and audio media they re-port ( literally re-carry) what they see and hear. However, if the news presented is not truthful or it’s spun to distort the truth, then how is that in keeping with what our founders wanted when they created the 6 reasons to form this beautiful country?
Media is a big deal these days. It’s certainly bigger than it was in 1776 or even 1976. If we are trying to make sure our media are free of Russian bots, it’s because of the divisiveness they cause – not just because they are Russian or bots. And so, if Fox News is not reporting truth and their agenda is dividing or polarizing the country – which seems to be the case – why do they get the blessings of the FCC? There has to be standards for media. We’ve got plenty of examples of how media can affect our every day lives. Plenty.
There could be standards set for media before they can call a produced show “news”. There is precedent for that. Many supplements can’t be called vitamins and are sold with this disclaimer. This product is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose or prevent any disease. That’s there to protect the public from false expectations. It’s also consistent with the spirit of the Constitution.
So I can imagine a TV show – which is also a product or something that is produced – might also need a disclaimer. We don’t want people to have false expectations about the information they are about to receive. That’s also not how the founders wanted it. Media regulation should be part of the Green New Deal. Get on it. Thank You.
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Joseph Aronesty is an e-commerce pioneer, author, songwriter, etymologist and father to five sons. He went to Penn on scholarship and was in a class with Donald Trump in 1967. He has been writing about Trump since he entered the race.
When Heather Heyer was killed in Charlottesville, I had listened the night before to Janine Pirro’s hate rant on her Fox News show. What she delivered was effectively a call to arms directed at the haters among Fox’s diverse audience. And the next day, as the Fox haters assembled in Charlottesville, we all realized there was a good chance that some people might die that day. Heather Heyer was one of three Americans to die as a direct consequence of the propaganda put out by Donald Trump and Fox News. One neo-Nazi plowed his car into a crowd and two National Guard pilots were killed in a helicopter crash. They were trying to keep people safe.
It’s important to know that NAZI and NATIONALIST share the same root: NATAL – having to do with birth. A simple enough word on its face. However, the original German Nazis were sold on that same meme that Donald Trump is peddling now: being born “here” not only makes you better than foreigners, it instructs you that foreigners are dangerous and may be considered like vermin to be disposed of.
And now I ask you this – and I am sorry to use the metaphor, but I find it appropriate. How many Jews did Hitler kill? This is a trick question, but the right answer is actually zero. Hitler did not personally kill any Jews that we know of. However what Adolf Hitler did was make German Nationalists hate Jewish people with propaganda that stereotyped Jews as outsiders, invaders and the source of their financial problems – all the same things that Donald Trump says about “immigrants”, “caravans” and the “brown-skinned invaders”. That transferred hate was enough to allow enough of the German Nationalist party members to justify killing six million Jews and many other European minorities as well. – Many felt good or right about doing it. Hitler effectively killed Jews with his words. He was quite the rally speaker. I’m sure you have seen excerpts. Robert Bowers felt he was doing his duty killing as many Jews as possible – just like the Nazis.
Adolf Hitler killed 6 million Jews. It’s a long established meme – uncontested by all bona fide historians. So why don’t we dare say Donald Trump killed Heather Heyer and eleven totally innocent, elderly Jewish people in Pittsburgh?
But we don’t. And by not calling the president out and holding him and Fox responsible for these murders, we are giving the minority haters both the cover and the time to regroup and re-strategize. And it’s very dangerous. If we don’t stand up now, the Pittsburgh killings may well be the canary in the coal mine of a new wave of American violence directed against many minorities – and not just Jewish people. Native Americans, Mexicans, blacks and browns, the elderly and sick – are all on the hate radar screens of White Nationalists, which is what most so-called Nationalists are today.
Trump will continue to spread hate as long as he is in power. Why must he do this? Why won’t he evolve? It could just be that he wants to keep the money he has stolen over the years, both as a businessman and during his presidency. Are his hateful words simply motivated to obstruct justice for the crimes he and his family have perhaps committed to win the presidency?
One thing for sure, nothing about what Trump is doing and saying is about any commitment to some deeply held conviction. So yes, Trump does not hate Jews. However, Trump needs the votes of the Jew haters to stay in power and keep his money. If people die for this, so be it. The same logic applies to blacks, Mexicans, immigrants, LGBT, the sick and even women. Trump only needs the votes of those that hate these minority groups plus the votes of the uber-greedy to win again. He’s now working hard on getting those votes.
There could be standards set for media before they can call a produced show “news”. There is precedent for that. Many supplements can’t be called vitamins and are sold with this disclaimer. This product is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose or prevent any disease. That’s there to protect the public from false expectations. It’s also consistent with the spirit of the Constitution. 
It’s important to know that NAZI and NATIONALIST share the same root: NATAL – having to do with birth. A simple enough word on its face. However, the original German Nazis were sold on that same meme that Donald Trump is peddling now: being born “here” not only makes you better than foreigners, it instructs you that foreigners are dangerous and may be considered like vermin to be disposed of. 
THE ENGLISH CODE 