Tag: democrats

The US Democracy Must Prevail at Midterms

What We Can Do in the Closing Days Before Midterms to Save Democracy

Every 80 years since 1776, the United States has experienced a severe crisis. We are in such a crisis now. Midterm voting has begun. Our votes and the words we speak now will decide our country’s fate.

The GOP have already said if they regain power, they intend to end Social Security, make abortion nationally illegal and use the House’s power of the purse to roll back public perks like lower drug prices. They are trying to harm the middle class because fascist rule cannot survive with a strong middle class. Why do you think so many Russian businessmen mysteriously jumped out of windows this year? They stood up to Putin vs his war on Ukraine. No Americans want to get to that point. But we are dangerously close now.

Democracy Must Prevail

The entire concept of this party or that party winning and losing is not appropriate for the 2022 midterms. If pushed to amplify a victorious meme, “Democracy must prevail” is the proper meme, not “party D or R must win”. It’s not about the parties winning. It’s about something we have shared in common since 1776 – democracy. My father fought in WW2 to defend democracy. It would be the supreme tragedy to turn our democracy over to the same spirits that started WW2 at the ballot box.

Democracy must prevail implies that democracy is under attack without saying it. It’s also the lesson of the Star-Spangled Banner: our flag was still there. America prevailed.

A sense of American community pride must be restored, subliminally. Don’t get involved in the “we win, you lose” meme. That’s for sports, not politics. Let the election deniers own that antagonistic meme. People know it’s wrong to be divided within a country, and that it’s hurting us all Americans on many levels.

Speak to Centrist Voters Last Two Weeks

There is still a large group of undecided voters, and they will decide if democracy prevails. This group includes people who may not vote during the midterms. Reach out to people in your circle of friends and family who are not politically motivated to vote in midterm elections. This is up to each and every one of us—not only the candidates. Tell them how important it is to you that democracy prevails. There’s not much sense preaching to the choir. If you have political differences, teell them they can be ironed out over time, but once autocracy sets in, there is no path back to democracy.

Nearly All Americans Have Relatives that Fought in WW II

My father was a PFC in World War II. My sister voted for Trump, probably owing to peer pressure in her social circle. After this article is published, I will call her and talk about what our father fought for. I’ll make a point to say, “What a shame it would be to give away what many fought and died for in WW2 at the ballot box.

Try and convince a few voters you know to vote for democracy to prevail, especially in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan – though they are all very important states this time.

Women and Young Voters Will Decide the Fate of Democracy

If you’ve got voting-age kids, make sure they are motivated to vote. Most young voters know that the world is stacked against them these days. But sadly, too many believe there is nothing they can do about it. When you convince a young voter to register his vote for democracy to prevail, they may also get some of their friends to join in that effort. They are natural-born experts in social media. Remind them to use social media to spread the meme “Democracy Must Prevail” for us to have a chance at the classic American Dream that their parents got as a birthright and their grandfathers fought and died for in WW2.

American women have no good reason for voting for GOP candidates. With Roe overturned, the GOP is running its own version of Muslim Sharia law here in the USA. Republican states have removed the freedom to plan a family as American women and men have seen fit since the 1970s. Sharia law is used to restrict women’s freedom in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is shameful to resort to such tactics here in the USA. Government does not belong in our bedrooms. Health issues are personal and should only be between a woman and their doctors. There is nothing in Christ’s teachings that refers to abortion.

Many are convinced that life comes down to gas prices and the cost of food. Fascists like their subjects living week to week so they have no time to focus on what’s really going on in their government. Google the cost of gas in Europe before you talk with the people you want to convince to get in this fight. Rising gas prices and supply chain issues are global issues and direct consequences of the pandemic and Putin’s war. It’s not Biden’s fault, nor was it Trump’s. Inflation in Europe is 25% higher than in the USA. In Argentina, the inflation rate is not 8%, it’s 80%. We can get through this together, not divided.

What Joe Biden and Democrats in Office Can Do

The messages outlined above will also be effective for congressional Democrats and our president to use during these last two weeks. I have asked myself why Joe Biden does not open up a channel or email address just for GOP and centrist voters and ask them what they want from their government and what they think it can do better. Amplify the best questions in posts and in media and remind them that these things can all be achieved but only in a democracy, never in an autocracy. Remind voters the refusal to accept the results of a proper election is what autocracies do-and ask how’s that working out for the people in Russia?

Thanks in advance to all US citizens for their service when they vote for democracy to prevail over autocracy in November, and for using their influence to remind those they know who have not quite made up their minds of the importance of this particular midterm election.

Trump Trying to Destroy America Before the Election

ice

  • Is Donald Trump Intentionally Destroying America?
  • Has He Been Sent Here by Putin To Do That?

The post below, written May 2019, predicted that Donald Trump needed to destroy the American experiment before the election. With all the attacks on core American institutions and assets such as affordable healthcare, voting rights, the right to peacefully assemble, our environment, the right to stay healthy and happy, the free press and our standing in the democratic world community – I have begun to think he is doing this intentionally – as if this is a mission. Am I alone with that worry?

MAY 2019

Trump Planning to Destroy American Democracy Before the Election

The ICE RAIDS of 2019 marked the beginning of a new active phase in Trump’s attempted coupe of the American democracy. The main goal of this coupe is to deny the citizens of America the ability to run their own government – or even elect the people they want to run their government – so that the current coupe stays in power, regardless of what the people want or vote for.

Trump needs this coupe to remain in power specifically because he cheated with Russian help to win the presidency. If the truth on his election meddling ever gets through to a majority of Americans, and Trump can’t rig the 2020 election to win again, the new president will be forced, by public pressure, to move against the Trumps in a very big way. Trump knows this.

So Donny now needs to show how he handles public pressure. Trump needs to instill fear in the mainstream resistance and democrats in general. In short, Trump needs to show all Americans that he has the guns and will use them on people here – if they appear to be in the resistance to him.

That is what everyone is missing. It’s not about red meat for his base. It’s not even about protesters or immigrants. Trump does not care about the protesters and immigrants have always been nothing but cheap labor for his golf courses and hotels. It’s all about taking over America with a few key people ( whose fidelity he has purchased ) and squashing out the resistance, whether it comes from George Floyd protesters, “Indivisibles” or bona fide election results.

ice-raids2

We must never forget that Putin assisted Trump and publicly celebrated his win. But it was not a win for winning’s sake. There were specific things that Putin wanted from America – things he could never have got from a legitimate president. So Vladimir Putin is now coaching Donald Trump on how to take over a large country using the existing laws within a country – and bribery of course. After all, Putin did this himself. No one knows espionage and fascist politics on this planet better than Vladimir Putin. And where there is bribery, there are secret bank accounts. So read on.

Donald Trump has never studied history. But soon after Trump cheated enough to win the 2016 election, the crime boss in him realized he just might need to actually become a dictator to cover up the crimes he committed to become POTUS. He also discovered that having experienced caring public servants in his administration was not going to work for him because good people are always loyal to country, heritage and laws. Trump knows he has always been a white-collar criminal, and if the truth ever comes out about election 2016 or his past crimes, he would be widely regarded as a modern day Benedict Arnold – or perhaps like the Rosenbergs, executed to giving up military secrets.  So what did Donald do? He immediately began cover-up and disinformation campaigns.

kislyak

To keep his secrets safe, and having no particular affinity for the USA per se, Trump effectively surrendered the presidency to the mentors and allies that helped him win the election – big business, donors, Evangelists, Putin, Kushner, Bannon, etc.

One day one, he invited the very same Russians who helped put him in office to The White House to celebrate their victory. And at that meeting – he was told very strongly for the help he was given he was now beholden to Russia and Vladimir Putin, who is a student of history with hands-on experience in taking over a large country. They both made it clear the US/Russia relationship was a partnership now, and Putin would be giving him the step-by-step instructions on how to become a president for life – so the full truth about 2016 would never come out. 

What followed was a process that is tantamount to the process of a metastatic cancer. Thousands of small metastases take place with no seeming harm to the body. Some of those metastases are the loyalty-tested justices that Trump has been installing almost daily as POTUS. He installs self-serving people with the clear understanding that if they stick with Trump they are taken care of. – “Have a great life William Barr” comes to mind.

putin-barr3

At some point, the justices are all called to rule in his favor. At first, it may be on insignificant things that are not crucial to the survival of the body. But that is just the training and testing period. The Nazis that worked for Hitler did not start out gassing Jews. It takes time to get all the right loyalists in place. This test of the abortion issue that we are witnessing in almost half of our states, is such a test. 

The appointments of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barr were crucial in this disease process – which is actually an attempted coupe of the United States, all to keep one man out of jail.  

Since Trump knows he is finished if full truth comes out while he is still alive, Trump will be trying to stay in power, or keep his allies in the GOP in power for another 20 years by any and every means possible. That is what Trump’s entire presidency is now about – and will be about – as long as Donald Trump is allowed to remain president of the USA. It’s not about fulfilling his oath to serve and protect the American people. It’s not about making these better for every day Americans. 

There is no happy ending to the Trump presidency. There is this old song sung by Frank Sinatra – Something’s Got To Give. It’s either him or all of us. Either the USA succumbs to the Trump disease and is no more – or Trump is removed from office in 2021 – or sooner. I hope that is clear to everyone now.

If we wait for the 2020 election to treat this cancer, we have waited way too long. They will try to fix that election and if that fails they will say it was not legitimate. 

There’s one more thing. Treason is defined as an act of betrayal during a war. But just what constitutes a war is not defined in our constitution. – And the nature of war changes over time with the technologies. I believe today, cyber war – is war. We can take down a country by attacking a country’s internet today. No need for bullets. War has always been an effort to take something from a sovereign country by force. Election fraud does that just fine too.

I believe causes to prosecute Trump for espionage and treason have been present since June 2016 and “Russia, if you’re listening” – when he was just a citizen! Trump’s always one step ahead of us on this treason thing. Barr is talking about going after Comey and the FBI for treason. We’ll never beat this if Trump is allowed to play by different rules than the rest of us are. Wake up!

I have been writing for three years about the danger my former classmate from Penn poses for America and Americans. I’m not on TV or radio. I have only 1700 Twitter followers, about six politically aligned friends, my words and songs –  and that’s it. I have created my own system for family survival if Americans don’t get rid of Trump by 2021. We’ll be moving out of country – renting out our house – until this craziness is over. I don’t think I’ll be alone in that.

One other post to absorb below. This post explains WHY Trump has affinity for dictators. The WHY will not go away. It actually can’t. Trump is in way too deep to get out. It’s one of those “if i tell you i have to kill you” things. Think about what happened to Scarface. Anyone can go too far.

WHY TRUMP IS ALIGNED WITH DICTATORS:

https://englishcode.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/dictator-map/

The Dems Should Run as a Team – A Team America – A Justice League 2020

We’ve got to give Trump one thing. He’s not afraid to think outside-the-box. However, because his motivations are self-promotion and self-survival – not what’s good for everyday Americans – his thought processes are circular and always point to “what’s in it for me”.  Trump’s stated motto is “what does it matter if I don’t win?”  That means Trump is willing to do anything to stay in power. And that is the danger of the Trump presidency. 

So maybe we have to think outside the box this next go ’round. We all see the multiple candidates signing up to beat Trump. It reminds me of the GI’s signing up in WW2 to save the world. But so far, only three candidates have a real shot to beat Trump – Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Bernie – Polls told us he did much better vs. Trump than Hillary did. He actually got a lot of Trump supporters who sincerely wanted and needed change. Bernie’s sincerity was and still is his biggest attribute. Many Trump supporters now know they were fooled by a con man. They’d be willing to give Bernie a shot to help them. Strange. But the Trump supporters need the help Bernie offers most. 

Joe Biden – Because Joe’s been there before. He’s more of a centrist –  and polls well in the Midwest. But his sincerity – seeing as he has not even entered the race – pales to Bernie’s.

Elizabeth Warren – Because she is feisty, energetic, smart and has more than just talk. She has plans.

Bernie has the young and the left. Biden had the older Democrats and the center. And we will need all of these people to beat our many formidable enemies in the Trump organization. I think if either can -pre-enroll Warren as VP the ticket could not lose. But I am aware that if Trump is impeached, maybe Warren would be okay as nominee because there wont be Trump to run against. 

The way a primary usually works is: many run and those who lose just go home and continue in their current jobs. But what does that say for all the others with good messages, energies and talents in this struggle we are going through? Are their energies to be set aside? I keep thinking if Hillary had chosen Bernie as veep Trump would never had happened. That energy loss of not enrolling Bernie begat Trump. We can’t repeat that mistake. And it would be so easy to make sure it cannot happen again – right now.

Trump has undone so many of our institutions. Winning back control of our government back will just step one. Change is going to take extensive teamwork – the kind of teamwork that became second nature for the WW2 generation because they too had formidable enemies. Change will not be a one man job. Trump’s “I alone can fix this” is not going to work.  It’s been exposed as folly. Both sides can see that now.

So let’s exploit Trump’s egocentric and narcissistic weaknesses. WWII was all about teamwork.  It was our teamwork that prevailed. Had we been divided then – we might all be speaking German here now. We need that team spirit now.

Solution?

Why make the primary a winner-takes-all race? Why not make this a winner-enrolls-all primary? Can you imagine the strength of that commitment? It would be a truly unbeatable union. Trump couldn’t begin to match it. What’s he going to do? Is he going to run proudly with his team of Pence, Ross, Nielsen, Barr and Kushner? Just picture that. His team is ludicrous.

So let’s announce we are all running as a team. Whoever wins will offer the others an open option to assume a suitable post in the new administration. Perhaps this has to get to Pelosi or Perez first. I will try. But if you have a bigger mic – you try too. The team starts with us anyway. I call it “Justice League 2020” – for social media promotion anyway. After all, we are also struggling for justice as well. 

1-justice

So here’s an image and an outside-the-box strategy to match Trump’s resolve – which will include election fixing, ad hoc crises, cyber attacks, Russian bots and potentially last minute make-shift war efforts. 

Help me get this to all the candidates. The struggle to gain the presidency should not run the risk of dividing the democratic electorate.

Share this forward and upwards. Thank You. 

What’s the Difference Between Russian Bots on Social Media and Fox News?

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. 

  1. 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. 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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. 
  4. 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. 
  5. 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, 
  6. 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. 

fox-nowThere 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. 

……..

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.

Keep reading. Stay vocal.

Relevant prior posts:

Trump is One of Many Corrupt Rulers Who Launder Money Internationally

2020 Presidential Hopefuls Should Unite Into a Team: Team America

What If Trump and the Entire Executive Branch Has Been Suborned?

And if all else fails, we can use technology to replace politicians. 

The Way Back to Political Sanity Could Also Involve Facebook, Google, CNN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dem Presidential Hopefuls Should Unite Into a Team: Justice League 2020

Written Jan 12 – updated 7/11/19

1-justiceI’ve got to give Trump one thing. He’s not afraid to think outside the box. I rarely agree with his thinking because his prime motivations are self-promotion and self-survival – not what’s good for you and I. Trump is willing to do anything to stay in power. His stated motto is “what does it matter if I don’t win?” 

So maybe we have to think outside the box this next go ’round. We see all the multiple candidates signing up to beat Trump. it reminds me of the GI’s signing up in WW2. But so far, very few have a real shot to beat Trump. Biden, Bernie and Warren stack up best. 

In 2016, Bernie actually got a lot of the Trump supporters who wanted sincere change. Bernie’s sincerity was and still is his biggest attribute. Many Trump supporters now know they were fooled by a con man. 

Joe Biden because he’s been there before, he’s more of a centrist –  and also polls well in the Midwest. And we’ll need all of these people to beat the formidable enemies in the Trump organization. 

The way a primary usually works is many run and those who lose just go home and continue in their current jobs. But what does that say for all the others with good messages and talents in this struggle we are going through? Are their energies and dedications to be cast aside?

We need to overcome so much in 2020 . Winning will just the step one. Trump has undone so many of our institutions. Change will not be a one man job.  Trump’s “I alone can fix this” philosophy is not going to work.  Change is going to take extensive teamwork – the kind of teamwork that became second nature for the WW2 generation because they too had formidable enemies. We need that team USA spirit now.

So why make the primary a winner-take-all race? Why not make it a winner-enrolls-all primary? Can you imagine the strength of that commitment? It would be truly unbeatable. Trump can’t begin to match it. What’s he going to do? Is he going to run with his team of Pence, Ross, Barr and Kushner? His team is ludicrous. So let’s announce we are running as a team. Perhaps this has to get to Pelosi or Perez first. I will try. But if you have a bigger mic – you try too. The team starts with us anyway. 

So here’s an image and an outside-the-box strategy to match Trump’s resolve – which will include election fixing – ad hoc crises – cyber attacks – Russian bots – and potentially a make-shift war effort. 

I hope we get this to the candidates – all of them. Because the struggle to gain the presidency should not run the risk of dividing the democrat’s electorate. And it does. 

I’d like to see Harris as DA. I think Bernie and Biden should announce that their first VP choice will be one of the female candidates running right now.

Share this forward and upwards. Thank You. 

 

 

ARE WE DODO BIRDS?

EXTINCTION WORKS JUST LIKE THIS IN NATURE

The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo bird was in 1662. 
Like many animals that evolved in isolation from significant predators, the dodo was fearless of humans. Their fearlessness, coupled with its inability to fly, made the dodo easy prey for sailors.

(Now change a few words.)

The last widely accepted sighting of the American Democracy was in 2020.
Like many people that live ignorant of history, most Americans trusted their leaders. This trust, coupled with the Americans’ inability to deal swiftly with their internal predators, made the American democracy easy prey for takeover.

Relevant prior posts:

How to Entice Trump to Step Down in 60 Days or Less

Trump is One of Many Corrupt Rulers Who Launder Money Internationally

What If Trump and the Entire Executive Branch Has Been Suborned?

And if all else fails, we can use technology to replace politicians.

The Way Back to Political Sanity Could Also Involve Facebook, Google, CNN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can Restricting Two of Trump’s Presidential Powers Save Our Democracy?

The walls that protected Donald Trump from scrutiny are beginning to tumble down. Talk of impeachment is gathering some momentum. Still there is the caveat that 2/3 of the Senate would not likely vote to impeach a sitting president.

Well that’s not good enough in these dire circumstances. We have our democracy and way of life to save. We cannot allow loopholes in our own laws, many of which violate the spirit of our democracy, to destroy the American way of life. And yet that is exactly what Trump (and Putin) are counting on. 

Nearly everyone who ran the Trump campaign for presidency has now been indicted and/or has pleaded guilty – which means they are criminals! Are we supposed to believe that Trump surrounded himself with criminals but is himself an innocent angel who just has poor judgment in choosing associates? There are even known and documented entanglements with the Kremlin. But the two parties have split over Trump and until he is either found guilty or innocent this fissure will not heal. We are at a genuine crossroads in American history. 

The USA is now effectively in a state of civil war – left vs. right. The fight is over what kind of country we want to be. We thought that was decided long ago. We thought we were a representative democracy with a government by the people and for the people. Right?  “The people” means the majority of people – not the billionaires.  Our sitting president speaks about Democrats and reporters as if they were the enemy.  Something is not right with this and we all know it. 

It now appears that Roger Stone is going to stonewall the FBI and hope for a pardon.  Are we really okay with Trump pardoning his political operatives even if they are found guilty of collusion with the Russian state to fix an American election? Do you realize that if we are okay with allowing foreign states influence over our elections we are already a conquered state?

Our presidents are given absolute pardon power on paper, but it seems ridiculous in a situation where a president can effectively pardon himself.  It seems dangerous as well.  How would pardoning one’s political allies and targeting one’s political enemies not be abusing power? That is what Putin and Stalin did. How would that keep America safe? How would that be good for you?

So we are proposing that we not allow our country’s laws to destroy the America we grew up in. We’ll need to restrict just two of our sitting president’s powers while we make 100% sure his is not compromised. Bring this up on the house floor. 

#1. Trump cannot declare war until we are certain he is not compromised.

Until then, the Generals and Congress must inherit and share the responsibility of commanding our military. There is no loss therein. Most presidents listen to their generals anyway. We are not comfortable with Donald Trump having war powers in his current state of mind. We know we are not alone. He’s under a lot of pressure now too. If starting a war and letting people die can relieve some of that pressure, Trump is okay with that. He can tune out the suffering of others because he has very little empathy. 

We want to hear more about restricting Trump’s war powers on social media in the coming days. So get the buzz going. We can not sit idly by and let our own laws spell our demise. 

#2. Trump cannot be allowed to pardon anyone indicted and found guilty by Robert Mueller. 

This is just common sense. If witnesses believe they can lie for the president and get a pardon, they will lie for the president. Witnesses should know ahead of time that Trump is not allowed to pardon Mueller’s indictees. Allowing a pardon to undo the penalties for lying to the FBI, renders the FBI powerless. Clearly this was not the intent of the pardon power. This is why pardoning people found guilty in cases in which one is involved cannot be allowed for this or any president. It is abuse of power.  It is a clear case of the letter of the law violating its spirit. 

These two simple and  logical restrictions on Trump’s powers would go a long way to insuring that the whole truth about Trump and the Russians gets out. And that truth will go a long way towards healing the divide in this country.

This bill is also strategically very clever. This is not impeachment. The president stays in office and retains all his powers except the two that could be used to derail the truth from getting out. Burying the truth will destroy the fabric of our country in very short order. So I suspect most Dems and our majority constituency will like the idea of checking Trump’s powers while he is being investigated – potentially as a traitor. This is not a bill the president needs to sign either. 

If Dems can get 90% of their own in the house to agree on this idea, they can publish the names of the Republicans who do not agree to restrict Trump’s war and pardon powers while the jury is out on Russian collusion.  How is that going to play for career politicians? It’s damning as all heck and it should be. Those who would say no to this can only be suborned themselves, because no part of allowing Donald Trump to declare war or pardon his friends sounds right to any of us.

Who among us – on the left or right – thinks it okay for a POTUS to selectively pardon his friends for crimes they are found guilty of doing? What kind of justice would that be? 

So can we please get this post to: Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Ted Lieu, Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Elizabeth Warren, Eric Swalwell, Amy Klobuchar and AOC? And yes, maybe Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell. Pass this forward please – for the sake of us all. I have started in my own way. But I need help to get this to the top. 

#1. Trump cannot declare war until we are 100% certain he is not compromised.

#2. Trump cannot be allowed to pardon anyone indicted and found guilty by Robert Mueller. 

I welcome feedback: josepharonesty@gmail.com

Job One for New Congress: Restrict Individual One’s Powers

Proposition 2019: A bill that protects Mueller while it checks Trump’s military powers until he is found innocent.

compromisedOn December 19th,  Trump took two steps that clearly benefited the state of Russia and Russians connected to Putin. Trump removed financial sanctions placed by our elected Congress against a nefarious Russian oligarch who was involved in the influence campaign of the 2016 election. Trump ordered our troops to leave Syria, leaving Russia and Iran more in control in the Middle East. Let’s analyze what this really means. 

I have been writing about my Penn classmate and AC associate for over two years now. It’s hard to miss his motives, as they are always about him. These actions Trump took today were his way of testing to see what power he actually has. 

Trump is not a student of history and really did not know a thing about being a US president when he took office. Ask yourself why he pardoned of Sheriff Joe. Trump did something borderline and when it stuck he learned that this was something he could get away with. That’s how Trump is learning the presidency. It’s really stupid that we allow this. Whatever rules keep him in office in spite of the chaos, lies, deceit and incompetence, they are not currently working towards our common welfare. And that common welfare is what the Constitution is all about!

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.

The “in order to” clause establishes the reason for all that follows! When actions are taken by a public official that does not sync with or works against that clause, they are at the very least, spiritually unconstitutional. Domestic tranquility and promoting the general welfare of our citizens is every public servant’s duty – even the president. And Trump just does not do that at all, does he? 

Trump also tested his ability to make and end war today. Trump gave an order to pull our troops out of Syria and the military brass did not disobey it. So Trump just learned that, at least, he still has commander-in-chief status with the military. The military brass hold immense power in this country regardless of who is president. He knows that much. If they had said no to him, he would have learned the brass deemed Trump to be potentially dangerous or to reckless to command troops. It would mean perhaps the generals knew the dirt that General Flynn shared with Mueller. It would also mean Trump could not trust the military brass to sell out to him the way his GOP has been doing.  So Trump learned he still was in control of the military today. That alone makes our world much more dangerous.  There was some outrage from career generals – but no one in power said “no sir, we will not do this.” And Mattis resigned over this. 

And since Putin still has his military in Syria there is a real question as to who put this idea into Trump’s impulsive head. If Trump has been compromised by the Russians, the Syria pull out order likely originated with Putin – whom it benefits greatly. If that is the case, since it involves war and not an election, removing troops from Syria to benefit an enemy state is the actual legal definition of treason. Look this up. Espionage and Sedition Act of 1929.

Trump also tested his ability to favor his Russian business friends charged with crimes with his removal of sanctions against Derepaska. And no person or group had the backbone to say, “no, you can’t do that sir. Derepaska is an enemy to the USA. His was sanctioned for good cause. Since Derepaska is a Russian living in Russia, there was no real way for the USA to punish him for his crimes except financially. Today, Derepaska, a Russian oligarch aligned with Putin,  was effectively pardoned by Trump for his crimes against the USA today. He will pay no price for his crimes. That is a pardon. 

OUR PRESIDENT IS ALSO “INDIVIDUAL ONE”

Trump is now individual one in the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential campaign. That means Trump is now suspected in crimes against our country. It now seems critical to our survival as a sovereign country that Trump’s powers be temporarily restricted for the safety of our American homeland.

We all know he never says one bad thing about Vladimir Putin. Imagine how stupid we will feel if we discover that Trump actually has been suborned and is taking military and financial orders from Putin. Actually, that is how criminal money launders operate. They do for each other and cover for each other. 

We must soon decide. Is it really worth it to leave our 240 heritage here up to a spoiled, incompetent liar and thief like Donald Trump? To think we are allowing Trump to have the nuclear codes while he is under investigation for what could be treason – is way beyond crazy and stupid. Who really knows what Putin will ask for next? How sold out are our government officials? That all has to change in the new Congress.

But first things first. 

I am proposing that job one of the new Congress when they resume on January 3rd is to create a bill that secures two things to keep our democracy safe:

  1. It must protect Mueller and his investigation until the truth about Individual One is a known quantity and he is found innocent of any crimes against our state.  
  2. It must restrict the war powers of Donald Trump until Mueller’s investigation reaches a conclusion. In the meantime, it relegates those powers to Congress, where there is more balance – at least until the investigation ends with Trump not found guilty of any crimes against the state. This will also give Congress a chance to repair its terrible reputation with the American people. They should like that on both sides of the proverbial aisle. 

For the remainder of the investigation, Congress should take over some of the other absolute powers bestowed on a president in good standing. Trump does not have to be impeached for the Congress to do this.  Trump just needs to be checked until we are sure he is working for us and not the enemy.  A bill can do that. This bill could also serve as incentive for Trump to be more helpful to Mueller investigation if indeed he is innocent.

However, it certainly does not look like Trump is innocent. I am sure Mueller, if left to discover the truth, will prove that Trump and his family were both aware of and complicit in the foreign attempt to influence the election of 2016. And that is both traitorous and treasonous. 

P.S. As I edited this post there was Breaking News that Sec. of Defense, General James Mattis was stepping down end of February. That only makes the two above requests even more crucial to our survival. For God’s sake children, don’t let this madness go on one more day beyond the end of February. Imagine the wacka-doodle Secretary of Defense Trump will want in his cabinet. Someone with no real experience. A loyalist. That spells death. It’s going to feel like that apocalyptic movie from the 1960’s – Dr. Strangelove – ’round here. 

Joseph Aronesty is an e-commerce pioneer, author, linguist, songwriter and political activist living in Los Angeles. He was in a class with Trump in 1967 at Penn and worked close to him in AC in the 1980’s. 

Relevant prior posts: 

How to Entice Trump to Step Down in 60 Days or Less

Trump is One of Many Corrupt Rulers Who Launder Money Internationally

What If Trump and the Entire Executive Branch Has Been Suborned?

 

And if all else fails, we can use technology to replace politicians’ functions.

The Way Back to Political Sanity Could Also Involve Facebook, Google, CNN

Trump Threatens to Leak On His Enemies as Mueller Turns Up Heat

mueller-trumpDonald Trump just threatened to release classified information on his opponents – largely Democrats –  but also outspoken civil servants like James Comey, who is about to go through a phony inquiry. The intent of the GOP’s Comey investigation is to scare Democrats from acting against Trump and the GOP. It’s sole message is “you come after Trump he will come after you”. This is one of the last desperate cards individual one can play in his attempt to obfuscate truth and obstruct justice.  But do not underestimate it’s value. Targeting Congress members has historically been a very effective of getting one’s own way. But why is this? Consider the following:

To our collective shame, the American citizenry has allowed politicians to enjoy the fruits of bribes and graft with little recourse. We’ve not been very politically active as a group. We elect politicians but then let them do their thing. We just hope they live up to their promises, but they rarely do. Lying to the public is not even illegal and the criminal type of politician knows that. We give them uncheck-able legal power and they run with it for self-aggrandizement. Therein lies the main problem with our current democracy. 

There’s a heck of a lot of old dirt hiding in the skeletons of both GOP and DEM Congressmen these days. That dirt is the real swamp. And it exists on both sides of the aisle. That dirt, which we permit to exist, consistently stops Americans from enjoying a robust democratic government that really could work for them. That dirt is the real enemy and we have to clean it up. Maybe we know this at last. Maybe. We will see. 

Why do you think Donald Trump said “I like Nancy Pelosi”? Yes, Pelosi is red meat for his base which includes plenty of misogynists who believe women belong in the kitchen, etc. But is it possible Trump already has some palpable dirt on Pelosi? She has been in politics for a long time. That brings experience, but it also means she has a history of business deals. I don’t know the details on how Pelosi got to be worth 29 million in real estate. And that’s not so much in California. I assume she is an honest player having not heard to the contrary. However I also know how Trump thinks. He figures he can paint her black because she has money. All the people in his circle who have money have dirt – he practically insists on it. So when Trump says he likes Nancy Pelosi, he’s saying he likes her as an opponent or enemy – not as a fellow politician to engage in an effort to help Americans live better lives. You can count on that.

For too long, a dis-engaged American electorate has permitted the criminal type to not only infiltrate its politics but steep in it with little consequence. Many of these self-serving politicians exist in both parties. Yes, it feels like the GOP has more of them but that may be because they have the power now. The only congressional group that might not yet have skeletons in their closets is the young freshman class that contains folks like Alex Cortez. So I am specially reaching out to them because it may come down to them to clean up the dirt and make self-serving politicians a thing of the past. 

What this all means becomes more apparent when you consider what happened to the idealistic Barack Obama after he entered the presidency. Barack made an effort to create “change we can believe in”. But,  beyond healthcare it seemed to many that he did not try that hard. Many Americans felt ignored. And that gave the GOP palpable traction to their success in 2016. It seemed like Obama sold out, but we couldn’t quite see it. With Trump – we know 100% he is selling out. We do see and hear about it every day. And it’s finally bugging Americans on both sides of the aisle. That’s what the Blue Wave was all about. And that may turn out to be a good thing. 

When the Democrats take power it will come down to why politicians sell out and why we permit it? Trump has already learned that there are skeletons in closets of his allies and enemies. He is collecting the dirt and he will play that game. It has begun!

So all this means when the DEMS come to power with Pelosi in charge, we the people will have to  keep an eye open for signs they start going soft on Trump. I hope that is not the case unless it’s to have Trump step down and I have written about that. ( see below)

But one thing for sure. Obama’s idealism hit the swamp/wall and he backed down. That wall still exists and the new House members will learn about it soon. Do they buckle? Do they start seeing paths to self dealing and join the swamp? Do they start complicated motions that ultimately go nowhere? We will know soon. 

And what is that swamp/wall anyway? It is the same military-industrial complex that Eisenhower made note of when he passed the baton on to JFK. It’s the Kochs, the Mercers, the Zuckerbergs, plenty of congress members, Boeing, GE, Saudi Arabia’s MBS. Putin, etc.  That’s a heck of an obstinate wall. And when it’s structure is challenged that wall fires back with back room deals and bullets. 

That’s why I sort of wanted the small band of 25 idealistic freshmen who opposed Pelosi to have their way. It’s not going to happen. I’m apprehensively okay with it. The freshman class is among the few in Congress that are not yet suborned by that wall. And yes, we recognize there are plenty of good, decent Congresspeople. But time spent in Congress turns many good people into cynical jaded operatives of the establishment. 

If we are going to make change that really restores America’s position of authority as a beacon of hope for the world to behold, we’re going to have to go “all the way”. That Frank Sinatra song comes to mind. When somebody loves you, it’s no good unless they love you all the way. ( One of my favorites.) We need to love our American democracy all the way this time folks. 

Citizens. If there is one good thing Trump has done for America it may be that his inexperience in government has resulted in exposing political corruption and dirt. And  it is now abhorrent to us all. But it’s only going to be a blessing of we go all the way and root out corruption at all levels of government – city, state and national. We’re going to have to vet our public servants to the core and have them reveal all their financial dealings if they want to work for us. We need to think of political appointments more like we think of doctors with licenses to uphold.  We’re going to have to instantly retire any public servant who does not want to put their books on the record. That’s how graft starts. 

Of course, there would be resistance to this kind of scrutiny from both sides of the aisle precisely because there are crooks in both parties. They have votes and they stick will together to protect their personal interests. So if we don’t go all the way, getting rid of Trump won’t mean that much. We’ll just get a new smoother Trump in time.

Anand Giridharadas, bright young author of “Winners Takes All”, said that maybe it would be a good idea to have a personal wealth ceiling for those seeking office. it’s idealistic, but that won’t happen. There are good people who have money too. So it’s the vetting that has to be done. Laws have to set up that disqualify people to serve immediately if they are found to be corrupt by standards we will have to create. We’re going to have to fix what’s broken in the US government system. 

Now that Cohen is revealing the truth, Trump has admitted he was indeed trying to build a Tower in Putin’s Russia while a candidate. I guess he figured he would not win and he could come back to the Moscow Tower after the election. When he won, he scrapped the tower project for the time being. But once he is not POTUS again in two years ( we presume – or less ) he can and will go back to that or other Russian projects. And so his not-so-far-into-the-future hope INFORMS his decisions today as president. And that we cannot not abide! We can all agree that a US president cannot have present, past, or soon-to-be financial interests in countries that are enemies of the USA and democracy.

Last thing. We’ve learning from Trump that the current rules that might constrain a rogue president are not sufficient to protect our democracy and nation.  Just why we permit the office of president to pardon people who are convicted of crimes is suspicious. We know it’s in the constitution. But it’s such a bad idea for modern times. Pardon power and other absolute powers given to the POTUS since 1776 have to be re-examined and updated to reflect 21st century technology. Maybe we should allow a president to suggest a review for pardoning. But giving one man all the power in a democracy of 300 million is not going to work out for us. They will pardon their criminal friends and how is that good for us?

The Constitution was written when the population of the entire country was 2.5 million. There’s that many people in Brooklyn today.

We’ve got to fix our democracy now and go all the way.

Joseph Aronesty is a father of five, e-commerce pioneer, songwriter, author, creator of etymology by ear, activist since 2015. @EnglishCodeWord

Relevant prior posts: 

How to Entice Trump to Step Down in 60 Days or Less

Trump is One of Many Corrupt Rulers Who Launder Money Internationally

What If Trump and the Entire Executive Branch Has Been Suborned?

Trump’s Main Problem: Cheating To Win

And if all else fails, we can use technology to replace politicians.

The Way Back to Political Sanity Could Also Involve Facebook, Google, CNN