Are you watching any part of this World Series of Major League Baseball? This is my 70th World Series. First Series I can recall anything about was the 1953 Dodger vs Yankees series. I remember watching Brooklyn players like Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson, with his exciting slides. I was a Yankee fan only because in Miami, where I lived when five, the local TV station broadcasted only Yankee games.
My family was from Brooklyn and they rooted for the “bums”, as they were called. The Yankees had a legendary dynasty during that period of time, one that traced back to the days of Babe Ruth. I recall the Yankees won, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle hit home runs, and Whitey Ford was their best pitcher. I remember baseball ended the first week in October.
Baseball is a slow game, but the final minutes of a close final game in a World Series can include some of the most dramatic and exciting moments in all of sports. The winning play is often determined by just a few inches. Imagine that. Six months of games, perhaps 175 games played – and it all comes down to a matter of inches.
This is one thing no one can remember in the last 75 years of World Series matches. Not once did a losing team challenge the results of a World Series. Sure, they may have had gripes with some of the umpire’s calls. But when the last out was recorded, the losing team always conceded defeat and their managers started planning to do a little better next season.
Without an agreement that declared winners are indeed the winners, there is no format for a sports contest, is there? There would be no defined end to a contest either. One team could go one saying they really won. There would then soon be no World Series, nor MLB as well.
So you who are inclined to believe election deniers, please know this. Without an agreement to concede defeat in US elections, – perhaps after one legal challenge, if there is hard evidence of malfeasance, – there is no democracy and there is no therefore no USA as we have known it. And those who continue to state they won an election that they lost on record are spoiled sports and a danger to the survival of the tradition of whatever contest they lost.
Be careful when considering going down the road of post-election results denial. You would not want it is baseball. So why is it okay for our USA elections?
Without adhering to pre-determined rules, no contest can end peacefully.
I am very concerned that the dictators of the world do not unite in this Israel Hamas war. Then WW3 is on the doorstep.
This seems to be the obvious best path. Posting with the hope it gets all the way to the top – to Netanyahu and the IDF. Sending to many others now.
A. Israel announces it will give the Palestinians a two-state solution, but there is a condition.
B. The Palestinians must begin to rid themselves of Hamas . They agree to be Israel’s ally in this effort.
C. Israel is going to engage Hamas in Gaza of course, but now they have allies that live there. They can help with logistics, expose hiding places, turn in names, poison their food. We all realize they dont have much in the way of weaponry. That does not mean they cannot help.
D. Once that Hamas is out of Gaza with heroics from Palestinians, a conditional Two State Solution with stated terms automatically begins.
Israel: Enroll the Palestinians on your side and this will be over much sooner than without that alliance. Give them what they want for their cooperation. .And they will deserve it, but only if they ally with Israel NOW.
ANNOUNCE THIS PLAN LOUD FOR THE WORLD TO HEAR!
Then, no one will be able to blame Israel for not trying, and that alone is a huge win for Israel and the planet.
ISRAEL’S TREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS DID NOT CAUSE THE HAMAS ATTACK, BUT FAILURE TO FIND A TWO STATE SOLUTION FACILITATED IT.
I am not going to pretend to have the solution for people who have been pushed so low in life that they find their inner strength only by hating and murdering. But ask yourself this, no matter what you do to make a living; can you imagine making the choice that the best thing you yourself can do to get by in life is to be paid to kill people ?
I hear some people saying that the Israelis “had this coming” for their poor treatment of Palestinians. Certain students at Ivy League schools like Harvard and Berkeley are on record for blaming Israel for expecting to get away with mistreating Paelstinians for decades. I get that argument to some degree. You push people down, they eventually rise up. It’s human nature. Maybe they should have expected an uprising. But the way Hamas is striking back is inhumane and not forgiveable.
However the Hamas mercenaries are not the resident Palestinians. They are rogue men who have been trodden so low in life that they are living for the glory of an afterlife they have been taught will be blessed because they kill people who do not believe as they do. They mingle among the families in the Gaza strip. It’s going to be difficult and costly to weed them all out.
Mercenaries have always existed. This is not new. Iran and Hamas are sponsoring this genocide, but they are not the good or normal people in Palestine who are also caught in the crossfire.
And as long as there are huge gaps in the powers that people may acheive in our relatively insignificant lives, there will always be people who decide that killing is the thing they can do best to fulfill a perceived purposes of their lives. We rarely see people who have paths to financial freedom and happiness in this life make the choice to be mercenaries.
To the Israelis, I get that you want to wipe all of Hamas off the face of the earth. But unless you are also into working to eliminate the vast wealth gaps that currently exist on planet earth, can’t you see their will always be people who will decide to get paid to kill and therefore eliminating all your enemies is not possible? Do you understand that the environment that allows people to decide that killing for a living might be cool will always be feasible if there a huge wealth gaps? Don’t you see that if people have a path towards a happy satisfying life they will rarely choose to become merceneries?
Income inequality drives most of the hate on the planet. Them that have versus them that don’t. We see it here in the USA as well. We have to learn to share better. I wrote a song about it. Best I can do.
And when you yourselves feel the need for vengeance for the unspeakable atrocities you have witnessed – and I am not denying or making light of that – do you not think that the very same feeling of a need for vengeance exists in the Hamas mercenaries carrying out these truly senseless murders?
So there is no military solution for this crisis. There may be temporary ceasefires, but eventually, even if it’s twenty to eighty years later, the cycle repeats.
What is the way out of this? In a world with nuclear and biological weapons, having any people, or even one person , that thinks killing for a living is the best they can do – is a recipe for Doomsday – the end of the world as we know it.
Strange as it seems to say, I wonder what percentage of people would be surprised if the planet was thrown into World War 3 by 2025. How much of a long shot is that in your mind right now? It feels like about eight to one against to me.
If there is no amount of vengeance killing that will end this cultural crisis, then why even start with vengeance killing? I get that the Israelis cannot afford to come as docile sheep; they would have been erased from the map long ago if they did not develop the best militia in the Middle East, which they have. I agree Israel must strike back on some level at least as large as Hamas struck Israel. I believe an Israeli strike should be carried out without intentional killing civilians and children. But after the vengeance killing, which I hope will be over soon, what is the next step?
The way I see it, it is deprogramming. One of the ways Middle Eastern desert people differentiate themseves is by the gods or religions they were thrust into at birth. It’s like we need a 21st century prince of peace right now, is it not? Myself, I was born into the Jewish faith, but my adult self no longer believes in anything I cannot see, hear or reason for myself. In fact, I don’t beleive in believing in things. I have a scientific brain that way.
I wish all people would find the inner strength to renounce all gods and just make life choices based on what is good for themselves and their family, and without hurting others or doing so as little as possible. There’s the golden rule right there, right? It can be done, and done easier without gods than with a struggle for whose god is real. None of them are. I don’t want to nickname this philosopy “the golden rule” or “do unto others, blah blah” because I want people to make that decision as a conscious thought for themselves, not because “their god” says it’s good, or holy, or you’ll go to heaven if you do and hell if you do not. That decision can only be sincere when it is made because one realizes that we are all the same, temporary human spirits, the progeny of a long line of fathers who have all passed on, as we will one day, sharing this earth together.
Jesus Christ is known as the Prince of Peace. His teachings, if followed, would cure the Israeli/Palestinian problem. But that’s not happening any time soon. Ironically, some of the most intolerant and racist people are self-professed followers of Christ. If only Jesus knew whay was carried out in his name over the years. If only Muhammed knew. If only the Hebrew God knew, well – that veangeful god might create a great flood again..
All these gods are all human constructs. They exist inside the minds on mortal flawed humans – and only in that space. Dogs, birds, dolphins, lions, – they see the world for what it truly is. Somehow humans, who are clearly more intellgent than all these animals, do not see the actual reality of life. Us humans live in our minds. And our minds can be twisted and ruled so easily by words, laws, customs, friends, opinions, fake news, and religions – which sort of combines all those things.
Well, let’s leave it there, with longing for a true Prince of Peace to lead us out of the eight to one shot that we self destruct as a species in the next few years. And let me close with a song I have almost finished about this situation we find ourselves in as a species. I say almost finished because I know some of the verse lyrics need to be re-wriiten – and frankly I wish someone else would help me get this right. Two constitutes reality.
On July 27th, 2016, in Doral Florida, Donald Trump said “Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails … you will be mightily rewarded by our press”.
Broadcasting an invitation to a known foreign enemy state to influence America’s free and fair elections should have been dealt with as a violation of the Espionage and Sedition Act and an attack on democracy. But it was not. The thought was Donald Trump could never win. But by ignoring that dog whistle to Vladimir Putin, a fascist dictator was invited to be a large influential player in United States 2016 election. And we are still paying the price for that oversight.
That night, Putin launched a Cyber War against the USA. And it was essentially deemed fair play by Obama’s DOJ. Not shutting down “Russian if you’re listening” meant more of this traitor talk would be okay on broadcast media, Facebook, and etc. Russian was “allowed” to deploy Fancy Bear on our social media, affecting public opinion and swinging the close finish that usually describes our presidential elections for Trump.
America is more than just the sum of our communal land, people and resources. Our country is primarily our way unique way of governance. We let our citizens choose their leaders wtih free, fair, unhampered, unhacked, accurate elections. Without that, we are no different than China, Russia or Iran. Our soldiers have fought and died to protect that unique institution. Inviting a foreign enemy to affect any American election is trading with the enemy – treason vs. our Constitution. Our soldiers are not suckers, as Trump once said – they are heros.
It is now 2023, seven years after the original infection. Our government is suffering with the cancer that began when we allowed a candidate for the highest office on the planet to invite a known enemy to have a voice in our sacred elections . And though the seeds of that cancer were sown as far back as Trump’s dalliance in Russian beauty pageants, where he first learned to admire Putin, the cancer has metastasized and is much more dangerous that it was in June of 2016.
Donald Trump is not the brains behind this attack. Anyone who knows Donald personally knows he does not think chess moves ahead and he was never a student of politics or history. I was his classmate at Wharton. I know him that way. This was planned by someone who had done this before and wanted the benefit of having his own loyalist in the most powerful position on the planet, Vladimir Putin.
Evidence of VP infecting our government was also present at the 2016 GOP convention. There were Russian nationals there. That was also an act of treason. These emmisaries all report to VP. It’s logical to think there would have been tapes made by the Russians so Putin could review how his reps were doing and hear was being discussed and with whom. What would you think of our WW2 generation if they had allowed Germany or Japan to send reps to our political conventions? – They would not have allowed it, would they? And if they had, maybe this post would be in German today.
Our WW2 generation would have declared that Facebook was acting treasonously when they allowed Russian bots to masquerade as US citizens, something they could have controlled easily. The greatest generation would have shut Facebook down and/or taken away their license, and/or forced them to sell. The famous movie, Aviator, depicts the US government suing Howard Hughes just for wasting money on a huge plane, the Spruce Goose, as it was called.
A great spirit of pride in our government existed during WW2. Sadly, it has dissipated. VP knows this. He thinks of Americans as spoiled and weak. He’s a bit right on that. We are certainly weakened by the division in our politics. A country under attack cannot afford to be divided. VP and the MAGA GOP know that too.
Evidence of Trump’s treason was glaringly visible in Helsinki. If you study Trump’s posture as he walks on stage, well – he’s not that good of an actor. It wreaked of subservience, which up until that moment I dare anyone to find a moment or screen shot of Trump cowering to anyone. It does not exist. In Helsinki, VP finally showed Trump how much he had on him and the GOP from the 2016 convention, and what both Trump and the GOP owed VP for his election help. And I am sure he said things like “together we can rule the world” – which would be music to Trump’s ears.
It just now occurred to me that Prigozhin was discovered to be the architect of the misinformation campaign of 2016, and now that trail (in case it could have been used against VP) is permanently buried. VP has always been the strategist.
Women United to Save Democracy and Preserve Bodily Autonomy in 2024 * Men Welcome
I propose that field offices be opened in key cities of swing states and make civics and patriotism “sexy” again, the way it eventually became during WW2. Laying low and waiting for the election is NOT a plan.
Women is a group that does not belong to a political party. They’ve shown solidarity on resisting our new Roe vs Wade issues. These offices do not say Democrat or Republican! Neither party is popular really. The Trump movement is all about politcians being unpopular, and frankly, they earned that judgment, both sides, by not putting people over profits for the last forty years at least.
The walls should be a timeline of branded images and videos, much like a museum’s historical timeline installation. It starts with Russia if you’re listening, the firing of Comey, Helsinki, procedes to January 6th and Trump’s divisive campaign rhetoric.
But the big idea is to encourage women to get involved to get their communities united to fight the fascism of a Trump presidency. Men Welcome serves to get men involved, and perhaps attracted to the stated non-partisan movement. Yes. Non-partisan. They could be open to GOP candidates but only if they refer to January 6th for what it actually was – an attempted coup.
If we don’t understand we are at war, just as if we were being bombed, we run the unnecessary risk of putting democracy on the ballot and losing that election. I frankly think the current Republican Party should be barred from having candidates in 2024 unless those candidates openly state that Joe Biden is the duly elected president and that January 6th was an attempt to end the peaceful transfer of power. I also think organized election meddling should be treated as a crime of treason, with serious penalties.
Treating January 6th as a Gift for Curing Our Political Cancer
One unexpected present Trump gave the Democrats was January 6th. Because of the 14th amendment, any congressperson, judge or state official who even comforted insurrectionists, is disqualified to serve. That kind of event never happened before in US history, except during the Civil War. There’s really a lot of self-declared insurrection supporrters and comforters in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. It is an opportunity to clean house and end the cancer that began in 2016. They can all be declared unfit to serve. No trial is needed. A person under 35 does not need a trial to run for president does he?
Their desks can be locked up tomorrow, and the DOJ can declare that there will be special elections to replace insurrection comforters. All they really need is what is recorded on media and the nerve to use it. I argue that the Supreme Court also has at least one insurrection comforter; Clarence Thomas comforts his wife Ginny, who has comforted insurrectionists herself.
This is how metastatic this VP/DT cancer has become. Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the GOP members they plotted with insurrections. She visited them in jail and said good things about them. That’s comforting insurrectionists. Anyone who says they would pardon Trump or insurrectionists does not belong in our government another day. Representatives Paul Gosar of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mo Brooks of Alabama, and Louie Gohmert of Texas can easily have their seats locked up by a DOJ that knows we are at war and what tools we need to use to end this scourge.
Look at the map at the top of this post. Ask yourself what chance the rest of the free world has to keep their democracies if the US succumbs to Trumpism, which is clearly fascism. If we let Trump, or someone from his MAGA GOP party become president again, democracy is dead here. And soon enough after the rest of the planet will fall to the dictators. Then, climate change will not be addressed, the wealth gap will widen, and we will enter a modern version of the Dark Ages. The human species will not survive long in a world run by dictators with the kind of weaponry we have today.
It seems the Joe Biden and the Democrats are not going to have the nerve to use the tools they have to defend democracy. I hope I am wrong. But they are proceeding slowly and not so surely. There is a good chance 2024 will be Biden vs Trump, still, which totally ignores the 14th. Lincoln would not be proud.
The smarter tactic is to declare war versus our enemies, foreign and domestic. The war is already on. Our enemies know what they are fighting for while Dems in Congress seem incapable of admitting we have Senators and Congresspeople who are aligned with Putin, and are basically fascists. Denying election results, without solid, visible, concrete proof, is a fascist act.
We have some powerful tools to fight fascism, but we have to use them. Let me list some of them. End the Filibuster. Rebalance the Supreme Court. Use the 14th to disqualify any insurrection “comforters” from holding office.
In a cyber war, which is what is being waged against us by Putin and his allies, we don’t see bombs. Putin knows he could never beat us with bombs. But with words and with allies within our Congressional halls, Putin can get his man back in the White House. And if that happens, the planet, and our children and grandchildren – will never forgive us.
It’s time for Joe Biden to rise up and realize he is a war president. He needs to declare war against anyone who attempts to silence the voice of the majority of Americans.
Kamala Harris Is Biden’s Achilles Heal and He Does Not Know It
I have nothing against Kamala Harris as a person or public servant, but she is one person even Trump can beat. Trump, Putin and the MAGA GOP know this.
Trump was okay with Hang Mike Pence. VP was okay with killing his enemy in a plane crash. If anything were to happen to Biden that stopped him from being there in the last months before November 2024, who among you think that this racist, mysogynist country would turn out in droves to elect Kamala as POTUS?
Kamala Harris as POTUS candidate is the one way the Republicans cannot lose. She probably knows this too. We are not ready for this yet as a country. We will be soon enough. We see it in the eyes of our young. But first, we have to get to soon enough. And right now, she is not the right person to be next in line to a 80-year-old man who is doing a great job, but also has enemies who would welcome and perhaps “mightily reward” harm done to him.
I’m sure you heard “Nikki” Hailey say she does not think Biden will survive. I am 100% sure that steps are being considered and dog whistled about how to make Harris the candidate at the last minute, post-convention.
The smartest thing Biden can do is to reassign Harris, right before the convention, and announce someone for that position who could get even more votes than Biden. There are plenty of people in our government who fit that bill. The other thing to watch for is Trump’s many trials. If Trump becomes inelibible or a pariah due to what is discovered, a younger GOP candidate will emerge – and then, Dems need to be free to pivot to a younger candidate.
In WW2, we all did our jobs with teamwork. If Harris wants to be president, her desire to “be potus” is currently a danger for the USA. By placing a person who could beat Trump in the VP position, it renders our enemies’ “eliminate Biden” hope, plan or plot, a non-starter tactical consideration.
Given that we are at war with Putin, who has agency and power with one political party, the GOP, we must act as if we are at war. Punishments for bad behavior that endagers Americans and American office holders, CIA or military must now be swift, since we are in a war. Does anyone think if Trump got into power he would not use his powers to silence his opponents? Trump just said General Millie should be executed! And we do nothing because we are not offically at war?
Biden Should Declare War Against the Enemies of Democracy
We are actually in a war now. There are no bombs being dropped. The weapons are words and controlling the votes. The smart solution is fast, easy and painless. Declare war against the enemies of democracy. We know who they are. Rigging an election is an act of war against democracy, is it not? So say so! People will appreciate it – on both sides.
I told my representative, Ted Lieu, these same words six years ago because I knew Trump personally and knew where this had to go. Ted thought using the word “war” would be incendiary. I know he meant well. But he did not grow up with monsters like Trump. I did. Once Biden declares war versus the enemies of democracy, his presidential war powers can be used swiftly to protect all Americans by arresting the enemies of democracy. And that means anyone who threatens a poll worker or connives to stop minorities from voting too.
I, myself, wish Kamala had been given Merrick Garland’s DOJ post. Maybe that’s not too late. That would send shivers up Trump’s spine.
I want to light upon the investigation and of Biden and Hunter and the public declaration of impeachment which the GOP has declared 9/12/23. There is a proper counter investigation which a Senate committee can start to counter this. That is the investigation of Jared Kushner and his two-billion-dollar gift from MBS. I believe this is directly tied to the documents case that Jack Smith has vs Donald Trump.
James Raskin recently announced he is investigating Kushner about why he got two billion from MBS. This has to be only one thing. Payback. Not charity; not an investment; payback for things done for MBS by Kushner/Trump.
For this we ask, what happened good for MBS during the Trump administration? NBC News -11-4-2017 | That post details that eight months into the Trump administration, the ultra-luxurious Riyadh hotel became a prison for hundreds of Saudi royals, billionaires and senior government officials were detained in a power play by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS. The prisoners were told they had to sign away large chunks of their assets to be released. The detention involved both psychological abuse and torture.
These billionaires knew they were being hunted for years. They all had security, burner phones, WhatsApp and their own jets. Further, many were protected by our CIA. And yet they were all caught in a relatively short time and brought to one place to sign away their fortunes or die there resisting.
Our CIA kept tabs on these Saudi billionaires for our purposes here in the USA. And those connections would be listed in top secret documents that the new president Trump had access to. Trump went to MBS first chance he got to leave the USA. Is this adding up to you yet?
This is why Trump would not surrender the documents. He had already learned how to monetize them. Pinching Jared will reveal this and more – a lot more than this investigation into Hunter Biden.
Creating Order at the Border Would Greatly Lift Biden’s Popularity
I had reason to have a one on one discussion with a Republican congressperson from New Mexico, near the border. She’s one of those reps who actually focuses on her constituency. They want order at the border more than anything. And she told me a lot of her constituents would vote for Biden if he made it a priority to create what the average person would deem as order at the border. And yes, without the hate.
There was never a problem with building a wall at the border, or gates, checkpoints, and/or ways of controlling and measuring the influx of immigrants. The problem was the hate that Trump spewed and spread towards Mexicans and Muslims, and people from “sh*thole countries“. Democrats are fine with order at the border. I love that meme. Let’s amplify that to Joe Biden.
Finally, look for Russian oil prices to rise in 2024. The Fed had best make an effort to keep interest rates falling in 2024, regardless of “economic theory”.
2024 has to be approached like a war effort, or we risk losing it all.
I emailed Melania five days after January 6th. (below) I tried to be respectful and hoped he would give up on politics. I was wrong. I still think the GOP alliance with Putin, who basically installed Trump as president, is behind the continued cry that the election was stolen. That divisive cry, dubbed the Big Lie, more than anything else, must end.
Russia's ongoing war versus democracy was part of the coup plot
There is also a real risk that Putin recorded damning dirt on Trump and key GOP during the election process of 2016. What were Russian nationals doing at the Republican convention of 2016? Are the GOP actors who played ball with Putin afraid he will release the dirt? Is that why they cannot ever stop following his marching orders? Are Trump, and many top GOP still suborned (compromised) by Putin. Is this why the GOP in Congress continue to say the election was stolen? Is this why the GOP are not fully committed to aiding Ukraine or to protect democracy worldwide?
A proper strategy for the House Dems is to launch an investigation into what transpired between the GOP and the Russian nationals at their 2016 convention. It’s certainly more relevant to Americans than the Hunter Biden investigation.
Proper Punishment for Donald Trump
As to Trump’s proper punishment for his plan to overthrow democracy, the big idea should be “the public good”. We are witnessing hate crimes carried out daily, many of which are traceable to Trump’s hateful rhetoric. That must end.
Trump, once found guilty, must of course go directly to jail. Although the minimum jail term in Georgia RICO cases in five years, I would make this exception, because this alone will put America back on a path to healing.
After some minimum time, Donald Trump can be released into the public if, and only if, he does these things:
Donald Trump must publicly and apologize to the American people and especially to his base. He must tell them he never had hard evidence that he won the election, and that Biden was the duly elected president of the United States on January 20th 2021. He must tell the American people he knows he can never serve in the government, as per the 14th amendment, and that he has permanently retired from politics.
Trump must release the books of all of his enterpries during his candidacy and presidency, and up until the date he makes the apology statement to the public. That will assure Americans that his true nature will be understood in time.
When those two things are done, Trump can be safely released from jail. if he continues to make poltical statements, he can be sent back to jail to serve our his full term. Until these things are done, he should remain in jail for the safety of the general public. ……….
My Email to Melania five days after January 6th 2011
I was aware that Donald Trump was not likely to hear or take any cool-headed advice but it was clear how this would end if he did not. So I sent this to Melania, whose email I have had for twenty years, for reasons I cannot ethically share.
melania********@aol.com
Jan 11, 2021, 12:05 AM
Melania,
I’ve written to you a few times during your FLOTUS term. You always knew your FLOTUS days would end – and said so publicly. Donny, who I knew from Penn and Atlantic City, is, as you know, a sort of dreamer lost in the drama playing out in his mind.
This insurrection thing went too far. I am not sure Pence will even exonerate him now, especially after Trump supporters were calling to hang Mike. Self pardon will not work.
This plan will work however.
#1 – Donald must show he is very sorry for what happened. He must tell his base that Joe Biden will not only be your president, but that you want them to trust Joe Biden and support him the way you supported me now. He must say Joe is going to try to rebuild America and he’s going to need your help. Biden wants to be president for all Americans, and that includes you. So ask Joe how you can help him rebuild America. I am asking you to bury the hatchet, give Joe a chance and give our democracy a chance to work together.
If Donny does that – or something close to that – he will show he is sorry for what happened and the usual protection given an ex-president has a better chance of being there for him.
He must also give up politics. Ask him to go back to hoteling, which was always fun for him anyway. He gets that life is about having a good time. It’s one thing I agree with him on. But I add – not at the expense of others. — I think you do too.
You have more power ( if you want it of, course ) with Donny now than ever before. He is alone without you now. So maybe you can ask him to step down but without a script – ( that’s important too ) speak to his base and tell them to end the civil war and give Biden your support.
If he does that, Joe’s good nature will keep him from going after you guys.
I hope you come out of this okay. I hope Donny decides to step down and announce he is giving up politics. Public service is not his thing. There is nothing wrong with that. But if he continues to be a problem for the new admin and America, they will have no reason to go easy. That’s just human nature.
Making America great again was never a bad idea. But let’s face it, among the first things Donald Trump did as president was lowering taxes on billionaires. How was that supposed to make things better for average Joe Americans? Those of us who have been on the planet for sixty years or more certainly can remember better times. I went to an ivy league school ( 1966-71) and the cost to my father was perhaps $1500 a year room and board. I bought my first house in 1974 for $45,000 and my income was $40,000 that year. Who can buy a house with a year’s income today?
My oldest son is fifty-one and by most accounts he is a very successful man living in great neighborhood in NYC, with two brilliant children and a good family life. He’s been ragging against Joe Biden on Twitter ( I’m not calling it X, sorry Elon ) basically saying he’s a warmonger who ruined the/his economy and he’d vote for almost anyone but him.
Of course, I am so wrapped up in defeating the potential coup that one party is still trying to pull off in 2024, that I have not taken his rants very seriously. But muy son is a smart, reasonable person, so tonight when my head turned to my own gripe against the laws we have to live under, I did realize that Dems are not fully on our side as well. What follows is one of my biggest gripes versus the establishment in America. Regardless of who is president, or what party has the majority in Congress, the way things work for the uber wealthy is not the same as it works for those with moderate means. And that is not a great America.
I’m seventy-five now and have worked hard since I was twenty-two. Me and my wife own a house in a nice neighborhood in LA and we’d like to sell it, scale down and semi-retire. But if we sell my home, and scale down, we will end up owing the US government a decent chunk of cash, even thought I would be moving into a smaller home in a neighborhood not as close to the beach, which is premium anywhere these days, and more so because of the cool ocean breeze.
Did you know before 1997, not too long ago, Americans could scale down to retire and not pay any tax on a profit, if you kept the profits in the house? If you sold a house to retire and paid off the mortgage, spending the proceeds for you retirement home, none of that was taxable 30 years ago. The law changed in the late nineties so Americans pay from 0% to 20% taxes on home profits, even if they spend every dime from the sale on their retirement home.
However, if the home is an investment property, there are legal loopholes that are reserved for those transactions to defer taxes infinitely. Well how did that happen? There my liberal MAGA rant right there.
All we would be doing is trading one asset – a home – for another home. It is thing for thing. Maybe some people need to move across the country to keep a job. They are trading one house for another. There is no “profit” left over they can spend. In that way it does not resemble income. Due to inflation, which can be attributed in part to poor planning on the government’s part, home sellers end up paying a tax on the inflation. What’s worse, there are exemptions for investors everywhere. Sales of rare paintings may be exempt from taxes via Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts. Loopholes for the uber wealthy is my gripe and I think the establishment needs to be challenged in court on these loopholes.
These loopholes exist as laws because wealthy people paid off politicans via lobbying, which is a form of bribery and should be illegal in a great america. The average Joe can’t afford the loopholes due to hoops set up to exclude low income earners from these benefits. And I think this is discrminatory and that is my liberal MAGA.
Let me explain why this is discriminatory. If I substitute the word Negro for for low income worker, Jew or Hispanic immdiately it seems to qualify and a discriminatory action, does it not? The average Hispanic can’t afford the loopholes due to hoops set up to exclude Hispanics from these benefits. That seems wrong, does it not? It seems wrong because in a free country, it not right to treat one class of people different than another class. We all live under the same laws, at least in theory – and that makes it an honor to pay taxes in the first place.
But fellow Americans, we in the middle class are all discriminated aganst today. Our billionaire overlords pay less taxes percentage-wise than we do. And I do not by that these are the “job creators”. If it would not be them, it would be another person getting the job done. Demand for products and services created jobs. Our appetites create jobs. As long as we have to eat, learn, travel, be entertained, sleep, bank, see doctors – there will be jobs tp provide those things. We would be better off it more people owned companies that provided our needs, rather thaty a few giants, but the giants know how to pay off the politcians better than we do. They evem do it quietly, off the books, like Harlan Crowe did with Clarence Thomas, a criminal judge, if ther ever was one.
Obama could have undone this unjust law that discrminates against retirees, but he did nothing. And Trump just lowered tax on billionaires as soon as he could. So I say I am being treated just like a minority class by our goverment on this issue – and many more – and I intend to talk to my Congressman about this because with all the talk about defeating Trump, I don’t hear much about undoing injust laws for all Americans, not just minorities.
All governments charge their people taxes to pay for things done for their commonwealth. In a democracy, that is the covenant between the government and its tax-paying citizens. When a government provides loopholes for their uber-wealthy, it would seem right to charge their uber-wealthy a greater, not lower percentage of taxes. It seems to me that with these legal loopholes for the rich in place, the covenant to collect taxes is broken and the USA does not have the moral highground to collect taxes on average Joes at all.
Sonce the law was once all Americans could defer taxes on retirement homes, I will remain hopeful that I can persuade my rep to put this on the ballot.
Yeah sure. I don’t have the money to bribe him, and I wouldn’t do that even if I could, because that is the essence of my liberal MAGA gripe.
Images speak louder than words; they are more easily recalled as well.
Bentley Hardigan
Right now, there are imminent dangers for America and the planet. We cannot truly focus on facing those challenges because we’re stuck trying to regain the ability to determine our fate from the people who would steal it from us.
I dont’t know where to start. The real dangers facing America in 2023 and the citizens of planet earth is now officially survival of the species. It’s not Biden or Trump, oil or solar power or how to protect our borders. The youngest among us know this best due to the times they were born into through no fault of their own. ( No generation controls the environment they were born into. )
The seriousness of the impending climate change is known and accepted by 90% of the educated people on earth today, especially after 2023 being the hottest year on record. Fish, bees and species in geeneral are dying off at record rates. Coordinating strategies to curb the speed of global warming will require sacrificing for the greater good, and that is not an ethos that we see in today’s world much today, do we? We are still glamorizing billionaires and the “life of the rich and famous” – so to speak.
This trend cannot last. It looks like 2024 will be even hotter than 2023. I don’t think “Donald Trump” will be front and center on people’s minds in 2024, but he is trying for that of course, being the narcissistic egomaniac he always has been. Dealing with Trump’s divisive rhetoric is a huge distraction in the fight to preserve the species. Further, Trump and his GOP allies are so into their struggles to maintain power and hide their crimes vs their own constituents, their own survival occupies their entire focus. These are self-serving people, not civil servants; nor did they ever want to be. Trump calls people who give of themselves to others – suckers.
The Untied States of America has now been divided in two warring politcial camps, so neither party currently has the strength to use our democracy make things better for the majority of us living here. If the dems don’t forceably wrest power from the GOP in 2024, another four years of divisiveness is favored to be the straw that can break America’s back.
Fascists love civil unrest because they can only promise to make things better when things are bad. The GOP certainly doesn’t want dems to make things better for Americans, and when they have power, they pass legislation that favors the uber wealthy who butter their bread. Our chief justice, Clarence Thomas, has come to exemply injustice by selling out to billionaires. The GOP clearly does not care about income inequality and the right of American women to control when to start a family.
And this problem is not confined to the USA. It is global. Most countries on earth have internal civil unrest right now. I think a lot of it is driven by goverments that legislate for income inequality. A happy content people are not easily driven to hate their neighbors, be they next door or in a neighboring country.
The final nail in the coffin for the end of the world as we know it can be seen in this next image. This is something I learned from the corona virus. You can learn a lot from a virus if you pay attention and respect it as a life form with a long record of survival.
When covid became less lethal, it found a way to survive long term in the human species. It became less lethal to its environment (which was our bodies). Viruses have been around longer than plants and animals. They figured this out the old-fashioned way – trial and error – the survival of the fittest – Darwinism.
People don’t seem to be close to figuring this out yet. Many countries are still trying to conquer neighboring lands and peoples. It is so Middle Ages. We need to evolve from this way of thinking to survive long term. We need to disarm and make our weapons less lethal over time, not more lethal – or the math does not add up. Sooner or later we are bound to go boom on the track we are on.
Doomsday seems to be baked in the cake right now, as I write this. I get tribalism. I went out to see nice family people enjoy Friday night dinner out in the posh community of Manhattan Beach CA, where I live. It’s nice to feel special like family. It’s nice to think of our family’s needs before others and be tribal or even cultish. It’s normal to place our own needs first. It’s built into us and most species.
But I think nature inserted a tragic flaw into mankind for a reason. Our species is so mentally superior to all the other species that if it were left unchecked to be fruitful and multiply to full capacity, men would have consumed all the resources on earth long ago. So nature made sure such an intelligent species would be so selfish they would eventually organize seflishness, which is what almost all goverments, whether fasicstic or democratic/captitalistic, seem to do. They organize selfishness.
Mankind easily lost 400 years to the Middle Ages. Can you imagine the mankind 400 years from now? As I type this tonight, I cannot.
The Donald has one last chance to save himself and he may be about to play that card out of necessity.
Jack Smith has evidence of Trump saying something close the following to Brad Raffensperger “Just find me the 11,780 votes, and leave the rest to me and my GOP allies in Congress. “ That last part is what Trump’s congressional allies really fear. They may fear his base, but they fear the Donald more.
Though we know Trump is not a realist and lives inside a movie in his own mind, some part of Donald must know this time it’s different, just like a person has to accept he has a cancer to begin to fight it.
There is no easy way out of this January 6th coup mess for Donny. It was a bridge too far. Too many have died to defend our American democracy to let it slip away to a gangster. America is not just like Russia, in spite of what Putin told Trump. We have a 250 year-old tradition of free and fair elections. It is our national heritage and in a real way, our national treasure. The real powers that be in the USA study history and they know in an authoritarian state, big businesses often get seized by the fascist dictators, – especially media. Big business is also fine with things just the way they are in the USA – a semi-democratic, plutocracy – where uber rich can buy favors.
But there is still one potential escape plan for Trump, and I think Donny may be thinking about it about right now. When Jack Smith unveils his full evidence against Trump, and Trump knows he cannot survive politically, his GOP allies are going to be forced abandon him. They already are to some small degree, but we can tell they wish they could go all the way. Trump’s only viable way to defend himself, beyond stalling, which is finite, will then be to turn on his allies in Congress. And he has the dirt on them and they know it. This is also why they are afraid to turn on him just yet. The evidence is not released yet. They’re still praying for a miracle that’s not likely to happen.
But when you think about it, right now Trump’s allies in Congress are more dangerous than Trump himself. They are actually in our government. Trump is just a citizen, and I doubt he will be president of anything ever again. When the abandonment accelerates, when the evidence is clear, Trump’s vengeance will be directed against his GOP allies who will be denying culpability in the fake elector schemes – to save themselves! It is sort of inevitable.
So what would you rather have, Trump found guilty alone, or the rest of the complicit GOP out of our government? Don’t you think Putin has recordings of the interplay with the GOP at their 2016 convention? He would have needed those to know what was going on, and weigh in on the negotiations. Trump tapes recordings too. That’s basic to his gangster ways. There is going to be a war – Trump vs the GOP. It’s coming and likely soon.
Trump can turn on enough active GOP Congressmembers to rid ourselves of the cancer he caused in the GOP. I hope Jack Smith is thinking about this. I would not be against letting Trump stay free, but of course be unable to hold any postion in government or speak to crowds of people ever again, if he would turn state’s evidence on ten of his allies. That seems about fair trade. And Trump, who could not stand one day in the army, will be happy to do this, as long as he does not go to jail.
Then the cancer Trump caused to befall the GOP will die in the 2024 elections in all three branches of government. -And we can begin to rebuild our beloved USA. That seems to be the better outcome for all Americans.
Donald could also just decide to form a third party if the GOP abandons him. They know that too. He’s got the base and the funds. That would be another avenue to try to escape justice, which is all Trump cares about now, with those walls of justice closing in on him. And that would wreck the GOP without jailing his GOP Congressional allies.
I can also imagine this ends like Scarface; like what befalls many gangsters, drunk with power, who never learn the simple lesson “no man is an island”*.
*This saying comes from a sermon by the seventeenth-century English author John Donne. It was taught in high school when Donny was 17. He never studied then either.
Joseph Aronesty
Trump’s his classmate. Wharton 1968, in one class – International Finance.
I would not be against letting Trump stay free, but unable to hold any postion in government nor speak to crowds of people ever again, if he would turn state’s evidence on ten of his Congressional allies.
The United States has lived through many sold-out, incompetent and self-serving presidents before. When George W Bush left office after sending our youth our to die in Iraq for no good reasons, he made a deal to bail out the banks that had given loans to people who could not afford to pay their mortgages. He sold out the American people twice: first with the war, then with the bank bail out. He bailed out the bankers, but not the people.
But Bush II did not break any laws in doing these things. The GOP party that supported him remained intact after it as well. The same was true for the GOP after Richard Nixon committed crimes near the end of his presidency. He stepped down and was pardoned by his VP and the party that supported his Vietnam war was left intact.
But when Trump refused to surrender his presidency after losing an election fair and square by all credible and legal accounts, he incited an insurrection by spreading lies about the election and inviting the most dangerous of his supporters to come to Washington and do something about it. Trump was even okay with his supporters killing Mide Pence to help him stay in power. He also coordinated with his GOP supporters in Congress to send fake electors in battleground states who would vote for him and not the way the people in those states wanted.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution was created after the Civil War, which was also an insurrection. The Civil War lasted four years and took over 600,000 American lives. Trump’s physical insurrection was over in one terrible day, but until the enemies of democracy are vanquished from our government, it is not over.
So unless the insurrectionists in our government are removed before November 2024, this 21st century insurrection will also last four full years and maybe longer. I don’t see how it ends until the enemies surrender, as they did after the Civil War. The enemies of democracy are in Congress now. The GOP invited Russian nationals to their 2016 Convention. How does the Biden admnistration not view them as enemies? They are way more dangerous than ISIS was.
The US Constitution says the Trump insurrection can be fully stopped tomorrow. The 14th Amendment absolutely disqualifies anyone who has aided or even spoken comforting words to insurrectionists from serving in our government. It was created after the Civil War so that insurrection would never happen again in the USA. It is there, just as clearly as the other amendments, but it is ignored to our peril.
The 14th has four paragraphs. The third paragraph, known as section three, deals with qualification to hold office. ( The bolds are mine. )
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, shallhave 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.
Simply put, it means if you took part in the insurrection of January 6th, or even aided or spoke comforting words about those that did, you are barred from holding office. That bars Marjorie Talyor Greene, Josh Hawley, Lauren Boebert and about 90% of the GOP in office today from acting as reperesentatives for even one more day. The DOJ can simply cite their own words, lock up their seats and call for new special elections. Of course, it also bars Trump from running. It may also even bar Clarence Thomas ( being a judge is holding an office ) as he comforts his wife Ginny, a known insurrectionist.
The Dems have this parting gift from Donald Trump this time, unlike after the Nixon and George Bush presidencies. And the only way the traitors in or government can get back into office is by a 2/3 vote in Congress, which would mean 1/3 of dems would have to vote to let the traitors back into office.
But in a way, right now as you read this, the Dems have already voted to keep insurrectionists in our government because they are not acting on the 14th section three and disqualifying them. Therefore they are shirking their duties and oaths to protect and defend the Constitution and are also not worthy of being in office.
There are a few plausible reasons for them being okay with keeping the insurrectionists in our government, but none of them are good reasons.
It could be they expect them to be voted out en masse in the 2024 election and that they hope to garner all three chambers then. However right now, if you look at polls, the GOP is favored to hold the House.
Further, the forecast is for the GOP to hold the Senate majority 52 to 48 in 2024. So if they are hoping for the voters to bail them out, it’s currently a long shot and little more than a hope. It is certainly not a “plan” to restore democracy in the USA. Even the race between Biden and Trump is currently projected to be very close.
Also, please consider how terrible it looks to allow known insurrectionist aiders to have a chance at running for office. Can you imagine a country which catches a group of bank robbers, but allows them to stay banded together with a chance to rob again?
Justice demands that we use the 14th amendment and do exactly what it says: unseat those who have even aided or comforted insurrectionists from their offices, whether they be in state, local or federal offices and whether they be Congressmen, judges or even military leaders.
Further, even if the Dems hold all three branches, by not removing the traitors to democracy from office – which is what an insurrectionist is today, and what a confederate loyalist was in the Civil War days – they will not stop their attacks on democracy going forward. There seems to be no penalty to attacking democracy in the USA. So why would they stop?
Therefore the only real plan is to use the 14th immediately. Have the DOJ unseat those in Congress who have given aid or comfort to insurrectionists – perhaps giving them one last chance to public retract their statements and swear to never say words supporing Trump or insurrectionists again. Trump, of course, must be declared disqualified to run based on visual evidence on January 6th alone.
The Dems, Biden included, seem to be on track to lose democracy for the USA in 2024. Biden as a president with GOP traitors in the majority in the House and Senate is useless to preserve democracy. He should know that.
It’s also possible that a majority on Dems are basically okay with this broken government; that it’s what butters their bread as well. They have the power to clean house, but they don’t. It’s logical to assume it may be they like things the way they are for personal reasons.
But Trump gave those who believe in American Democracy a way to end the infighting that has been present in the USA for the last 40 years. Participating in, aiding or even “comforting” thise that took part in the January 6th insurrection is grounds for unseating any members of our government. That includes Congressmen, House members, state officials, and judges such as Clarence Thomas ( for comforting his wife Ginny, a declared insurrectionist. )
We can use the Constitution to defend democracy, or keep rowing in two directions. We have military weapons in the hands of unlicensed teenagers; our women’s bodies are becoming the property of the state, this was the hottest year on record- and the world is passing us by due to the enemies in our midst. I don’t see any problem with going bold and following the laws of the land to unseat elected officials who have comforted insurrectionists. Without doing that, we will continue to expend a lot of energy to get nowhere.
The majority of Americans want common sense gun reforms. The majority favors taking military style assault weapons out of the hands of the public. Americans also want a woman’s right to choose to be a decision made between her, her family and doctor. Very few Americans think it’s okay to have the state literally monitoring private bedroom and family decisions.
But nothing gets done and it seems like since forever. Why is that? It’s easy to blame mental health for gun violence and not the guns. Honestly I get that, though I don’t interpret the constitution as saying Americans inherit a right to own assault weapons due to the 2nd amendment. The 2nd specifically mentions a need a need for guns related to war with other countries, because we had no army back then, so we conscripted citizens with theor own guns to fight wars.
What is supposed to happen in representative government is: people tell their reps what they want to do about an issue, and the representatives re-present the ideas of the majority of their constituents during Congressional voting sessions. That is why they are called re-presentatives. We the people present, they represent. And these days, with social media and polling, it’s very easy to find out what people want. “The majority of Americans want common sense gun reforms” is a fact.
However,what happens in reality is that too many representatives ( aka lawmakers, because they make the laws we have to live by ) don’t vote for the things their constituents want; they vote for the laws that favor people who pay them to vote the way the bribers want. Lobbying is just a euphimism for bribing in a world where our supreme court had ruled ( because they had to ) that corporations are people and money can legally remain “dark”. With respect to gun laws, the NRA has a stake in arming the USA to the nines, so they lobby ( bribe ) mostly GOP congresspeople to vote for thier business to stay alive, as they see in many countries the guns per capita rate is much lower than in the USA. The whole thing adds up to America becoming a place where innocent people, are mowed down at one of the highest rates on the planet. And that is sad, scary and fixable, – but only one way on the fixing. ( More on that later . )
The same can be said about a woman’s right to choose. Almost no young woman wants to be forced to carry a child that she does not want to love and raise. But “lawmakers” in many states and in Congress are being paid to vote against the wishes of the majority of American citizens.
When questioned about this, Lauren Bobert, representative from Colorado, said the quiet part out loud: Boebert: “We’re not a democracy. So quit with that. Maybe that’s where you’re getting it wrong is saying we’re a democracy. We’re a constitutional republic.”
She is right about that. But what is a constitutional republic? It implies adherence to a constitution, regardless to what the majority of people want. There is nothing in the constituon about abortion.
In reality, the key difference between a democracy and a republic lies in the limits placed on government by the law. Both forms of government use the representational system. Citizens vote to elect politicians to represent their interests and pass laws that reflect their wishes. In a “pure democracy,” the majority imposes its will on the minority. In a republic, a constitution protects certain inalienable rights that cannot be taken away by the government, even if it is wanted by a majority of voters.
Right now, women have a right to have an abortion in the USA as per Roe v Wade. But many Republicans in Congress want to take that away.
So that line about the USA not being a “pure” democracy is correct. But Bobert and many lawmakers use that line to defend their right to vote against the collective will of their constituency and vote for what is good for their own pocketbooks. Selling your vote to the highest bidder is not any part of a constitutional republic. It’s congressional corruption. That’s why I often refer to Congress as Coingress. We end up with the best government money can buy.
This will not change until we change the qualitfications for holding office in the USA change. And no one is talking about that on either side of the divide. To be president you just have to be thirty-five and a citizen born here. Donald Trump can run from jail if he so chooses. We vet our babysitters better than our presidents and representatives. Prior public service is not required. It should be. As a result of this low bar for qualification, many in Congress are there for self service, not public service.
It takes millions to win office these days. As long as the uber rich are paying for political campaigns, the uber rich will choose representatives that promise to vote their way when the chips are down.
And then there is the 14th Amendment which clearly says no person who have taken part in an insurrection, aided an insurrection, or even “comforted” those who have taken part in an insurrection can be in office, state or federal. The entire GOP has at least comforted insurrectionists. One judge on the Supreme Court is married to an insurrectionist caught in the act. But we do nothing about this as well. Democrats know all this and do nothing. It must be because they have some dark sold out secrets in their closets and are afraid to shun 50% of the Congress.
People are the same over time. Their toys and environments change, but being a human is pretty much the same as it was since forever. We are born. We rely of help from adults to become an adult. We procreate ( or not ) and then, we move out of the way as all living things do. That’s what one has to navigate as a living human. We all prey on each other in one way or another during our journey through life. Some fare better than others. Some are larger predators than others. Some find ways to help others as they serve them. Live and let live seems to be the best philosophy.
It seems to me humans are not the right beings to be trusted to care for the masses when their instinct will almost always be to put themselves first.
I wondered if AI would do a better job of government, so I asked it “what are the best ways to curb gun violence in the USA?”. This is what I got in a few seconds.
Here are some of the best ways to reduce gun violence:
Universal background checks: Implementing universal background checks can help ensure that firearms are not sold to individuals who are prohibited from owning them, such as those with criminal records or mental health issues.
Red flag laws: Red flag laws allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Stricter gun control laws: Implementing stricter gun control laws, such as bans on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump stocks, can help reduce the number of mass shootings and gun-related deaths.
Education and awareness: Educating the public about responsible gun ownership and safe storage practices can help prevent accidental shootings and reduce the number of firearms stolen and used in crimes.
Mental health support: Providing accessible and affordable mental health services can help individuals with mental health issues get the help they need and reduce the risk of gun violence.
Community-based violence prevention: Investing in community-based violence prevention programs can help address the root causes of gun violence and provide support to those who are at risk of being involved in gun violence.
It’s important to note that there is no single solution that can completely eliminate gun violence in the USA, and addressing this issue will require a multifaceted approach that takes into account the complex social, cultural, and political factors that contribute to gun violence. End AI report.
It all makes perfect sense to me but almost none of this will get done because unvetted humans, many of whom can be tossed out tomorrow by the DOJ via the 14th, still have their seats and their secret bank accounts.
It seems to me that the two warring party system will eventually, and perhaps soon, bring the USA to its knees or into a state of live civil war. ( We are already in a cool cyber civil war – a war of words. )
All I can fathom as a solution, one party needs to get complete control of the government and clean house. If it happens at the ballot box in 2024 that would be great. But I don’t think the uber rich are going to let that happen. They killed two Kennedy’s to stop the people from having a real champion for justice in office. And now, another Kennedy, RFK Jr., is getting ready to run.
Dems have shown they are willing to eat their own. I did not agree with ousting Al Franken but at least dems have shown they have standards. This GOP has shown they are okay with criminals, rapists and traitors to the constitution in high office. They seem to prefer it. Romney is shunned. And that’s because a good boy scout will rat on the sold out in Congress so it’s better if they are all sold out. Thick as thieves is the GOP’s secret mantra. And I am sure there is a percentage of Democracts that are okay with protectting lawmakers right to stuff their pockets and work against the people they are supposed to represent.
The USA’s greatest threat to survival come from the sold out in Congress and two men named Vladimir and Rupert. The majority of Americans know which of our warring two parties is the lesser of two evils. It is the party that gave tax breaks to bilionaires, is okay with 18-year olds owning assault weapons and wants to end Social Security, Medicare and a woman’s right to choose.
The only solution left is for one party needs to get complete control of all three chambers of government and clean house. 2024 is closer than we think. The vast majority of Americans will fare better if the crazy party that is aligned with billionaires, Qanon and the NRA is put out to pasture. A split Congress will not police itself nor advance any meaningful reforms to better life for working Americans and thier children.
Speaking of children, the active shooter drill generation is being groomed right now. When they come to power in 20 years, well – you tell me what you think they will do. I think they will reject both parties – if these parties still exist. The will reject the GOP for letting so many kids die, and the Dems for being too scared to take the steps to even try to end the madness. And I will be with them, if I am still around.
Photo from the NRA Convention 2023. Grooming much?
GOP and both forms of media, right and left, are speaking as if Trump is the assumed candidate for 2024. Trump loves this. He’s already got what he needed. But it’s not that he wants to be president. Trump alone knows the full extent of his lifelong criminality. Regardless of what he says to the public, he knows he cannot be president again and probably does not want to be. He’s not really stupid about everything. he’s dumb to history, civics and civil service for sure. About crime, he is sort of a genius. He learned from the best: Fred Trump.
So what is it he really wants? That’s easy. Like any cornered rat he wants to get free, stay free and keep his money. Being president was the biggest mistake he ever made. His life is now subject to intense scrutiny as is the case for all presidents in a democracy. Running for president allows him to campaign and raise money. The dems are pushing Trump to be a candidate, some with glee, because they see him as an easier target for Biden to beat. Be careful what you wish for comes to mind. But dems are 100% right about Trump being the easier candidate to beat than Desantis. Almost any serious candidate can beat Trump for POTUS. Why is that very likely to be the truth?
The GOP does better in local elections, than in House elections. And they fare better in House elections than Senate elections. The GOP performs worst in POTUS elections. That’s because the American public is not as stupid as the GOP thinks. The public is okay with having GOP run their local and state politics, less so in the Senate and even less as their POTUS. It’s because even GOP voters don’t want to trust the loonies in the GOP with the big decisions in a fragile world that just emerged from a pandemic, is suffering from climate change issues, and is potentially on the brink of nuclear annihilation.
But losing local elections should no longer be okay with Democrats. We can see that nothing gets done for everyday americans unless there is a clear majority in all branches of government. The GOP would like that majority to be theirs, but demographics tell them they are losing that battle in time. So cheating to win and using fascist laws to stay in power after they cheat to win, is their MO.
Trump just wants to stay in the race as long as he can. He raises money with campaigning. The GOP convention is July 15–18, 2024 – 16 months from now. The Democrat Convention date is wisely not announced yet. I am warning everyone who cares about sanity prevailing on the planet, the Democrat Convention must not precede the GOP convention if Trump is still allowed to campaign by that time.
Trump’s plan is to stay in the game until Biden is the only Democrat who has a serious chance of winning a POTUS election and all others have dropped out. Trump and Desantis will be neck and neck at that point. No one at DOJ is saying he cannot run via the 14th. They should be doing that now. The DOJ should bar Trump ( and all insurrection supporters ) from running via the 14th. If they don’t, and the GOP stays in power, the history books will call Jan 6th nothing more than a peaceful protest. They may even celebrate it as the turning point for the betterment of America. But Garland has been a slow mover. He seems to be enabling Trump’s survival. Why he is so slow and uncommitted is a great embarrassment to American democracy.
At the last moment, after it has to be Biden, Trump gets a (secret) pardon promise from Desantis who needs his endorsement to have a chance in exchange for throwing his support to Desantis. It does not matter that Desantis is bashing him now. Neither of these predators care about past words said. They care about nothing except winning. They will make a deal.
That’ s all of it folks. Ron Desantis has a decent chance of beating Joe Biden because of ageism. Compound that with the serious chance of being in another GOP Fed depression and the odds Desantis beats Biden are decent. Today’s odds are Biden 34%, Trump 26% DeSantis 24%. Add Trump and Desantis together and its formidable. Trump gets his get out of jail card, which is all he really wants. And he keeps the campaign money, which is something he has been doing all along anyway.
Our best startegy is to use the 14th now for Trump and bar him from running. The second best strategy is to barrage trump with so many law suits and indictments that he does not have the time to run for president. ( Not that it takes him much time or focus. He just has to do half-day weekly rallies. ) If we use the 14th only for Trump and promise (secretly) to let the other traitors in the GOP they can stay unaccused, the GOP backers will say good enough for now and like Caesar they will stab Trump in the back. The GOP is Coingress will turn on him to save their own traitorous behinds. Yes. I said Coingress – not a typo.
Since using the 14th is never discussed, the way to avoid losing democracy to fascism in 2024 is to indict Trump for Jan 6th, Georgia and DocumentGate – and sooner not later. Those three indictments are enough to make it clear he cannot really run for president. The Stormy indictment is NBD.
Media. Stop talking as if Trump will be the candidate. Dems. Stop hoping he will be the candidate. Dems will need to find another person to beat Desantis who will actually be the candidate. Best to know what Trump is thinking now and plan ahead. Pass this onward and upwards. We have no time to lose.
Never forget the GOP had Russian nationals at their convention in 2016.
Joseph Aronesty – Donny Trump’s 1968 classmate at Wharton – Creator of the Autocracy vs Democracy meme. One who knows how Trump thinks like Michael Cohen does because I was a jeweler in AC NJ and many of his employees were my clients. So was Melania.
THE ENGLISH CODE 