Republican Party – Page 2 – A PATRIOT'S THOUGHTS

From Evil Empire to Desired Goal

America’s right has completely switched sides in the fight between democracy and autocracy

In 1983 Ronald Reagan accurately condemned the Soviet Union as an evil empire. Since its beginnings in 1917, the Soviet Union had worked continuously to undermine western democracies and promote its totalitarian vision. Eventually the Soviet Union fell, to be superseded by modern Russia. For a time it appeared that Russia might become a successful western-style democracy, but it is now clear that, under Vladimir Putin, Russia has reverted back to its historically autocratic roots. Putin is a totalitarian autocrat who imprisons or kills his enemies and has complete control of Russia. Long before this latest act of war, Russia has been an evil actor on the world stage.

While Russia’s return to its past ways is unfortunately not a surprise, what is a surprise is that America’s right has completely switched sides in the fight between democracy and autocracy. Republicans routinely praise Vladimir Putin and condemn or belittle Ukrainians and their leadership. The number of GOP players that support Russia over Ukraine is virtually a who’s who of today’s conservatives:

Donald Trump
Donald Trump, Jr.
Mike Pompeo
Steve Bannon
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Madison Cawthorn
Tucker Carlson
Peter Navarro
Matt Gaetz
Laura Ingraham
Mike Flynn

In fact Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are so unabashedly pro-Russia that they are routinely featured on Russia’s propaganda-based state TV. In a stunning and unprecedented repudiation of the GOP of 40 years ago, there is no question that the core of today’s GOP supports Russia, a totalitarian, evil empire.

Why? This would not be happening if there was no logical reason. The reason is unfortunately very obvious. The GOP praises Putin because they want the United States to be like Russia. Russian autocracy is the desired goal and Putin is the ideal leader. They no longer believe in the principles under which this country was founded over 200 years ago. They no longer believe in a democracy in which all men and women are created equal. They no longer believe that people of all races, religions, colors, genders, and gender preferences should all have the same rights under the law. And most importantly they no longer believe in free and fair elections.

They want a country in which a privileged few have power and wealth. They want a country in which only the “right” people get to make decisions. They want a country in which anyone who doesn’t follow the conservative Christian theology does not get to participate.

We cannot let people who no longer believe in democracy use it to take more power. In states where the GOP has control, democracy is being destroyed and rights are being eliminated. They have used the power of democracy to impose autocratic laws that ensure their continued power no matter the results of elections. If the GOP gains control of either the House or the Senate, they will impose such laws at the national level, and our democracy will become history. A vote for the GOP is a vote to turn the US into Russia.

Putin the Terrible

Putin believes that Nato is weak and getting weaker. And he has a plan. His plan is predicated on two huge advantages he believes he has over the West.

Ivan the Terrible was crowned the first Tsar of Russia in 1547. Since that time, Russia has a history of autocratic rulers stretching back nearly 500 years. Russia was itself constructed over hundreds of years by Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and the other tsars and via conquest and domination. Throughout the period of the tsars, cruelty and suffering dominated the lives of ordinary people, who, as serfs, had virtually no freedom and no rights. The Tsars were absolute monarchs, and the people were taught to both fear and love them and expect that life would never change. The Tsar and his extended family enjoyed immense wealth and privilege, living in palaces.

The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 destroyed the power of the Romanovs and the nobility, but Lenin and Stalin imposed their own hellish cruelty on the Russian people. Soviet Communism was founded on the concept that the State – in the form of the self-appointed Soviet leadership – was all-important, and that individuals were nothing. The empire of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) seized more foreign lands, resulting in a patchwork country of many different ethnic groups and fifteen officially recognized languages. No part of the USSR suffered more than Ukraine under the communists. Stalin imposed the Holodomor famine, which resulted in the mass starvation of 3-5 million Ukrainians in the early 1930s.

The Soviet state was led by absolute rulers who cared nothing for the rights of individuals. The new Tsars now ruled the entire apparatus of the State, exercising complete control of the people through the “Committee for State Security” – the KGB. Even more than the world of the Romanovs, it was a world in which power was control. There was no right or wrong, no moral belief in humanity, the only thing that mattered was strength. Those who had power imposed their will upon those who did not. Among those who learned how to thrive in that environment was a KGB agent named Vladimir Putin.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the previously conquered “Republics” split away from Russia to become independent countries. But creating new nations from scratch is not easy. The new republics, including Russia, struggled with freedom, with capitalism, and with democracy. Russia started to grow democratic institutions, but it sank into deep economic depression, corruption, and the embarrassment of the Presidency of Boris Yeltsin. With the loss of public support, Yeltsin handed power to a relative newcomer, Vladimir Putin. Almost immediately, with the help of a rise in worldwide oil prices, Russia’s economy improved, and Putin’s popularity improved. Putin quickly consolidated power, and started dismantling the elements of democracy – a free press, fair elections, and an open economy. He gathered immense power and wealth by placing himself above the law – basically a modern-day Tsar. He has altered the Russian constitution to allow him to rule as long as he likes. He stands today as the single most powerful person on earth, and as probably the richest.

So what more could he want? In a word – plenty. He wants to be adored as the man who re-created the old Russian/Soviet Empire. To do so, he must control those former “republics” who have successfully broken away from the Soviet authoritarian model and now function as viable western democracies. He has already succeeded in the Caucasus. Ukraine is the current target. Because Putin disdains the lives of both the Russian and Ukrainian people, he will not stop until he has destroyed the Ukrainian will to fight – no matter the cost.

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are in the next round. The fact that they are in Nato doesn’t scare him. Putin believes that Nato is weak and getting weaker. And he has a plan. His plan is predicated on two huge advantages he believes he has over the West.

One advantage is that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are working to overthrow US democracy, and withdraw the US from participation in Nato. This is one of the keys to his success. His extensive state-sponsored mis-information campaign with the willing support of Fox News and others, along with his effective use of social networks with the unwitting support of Facebook and others are all dedicated to this long-term goal.

The other key is that, unlike the West, he is willing to accept a limited nuclear war in which a few million people die on each side. He believes such a war will result in the west capitulating on his terms before reaching the point of the Mutually Assured Destruction that would be World War 3. In a world in which power is all that counts, Putin believes he has the will to win.

Think back in time to 1938. A power-mad dictator was ruling Germany. He wanted Czechoslovakia. The world had a chance to stand up to him. It would have taken courage and sacrifice but it could have been done with little to no loss of life. Instead, too many people supported appeasement, the world blinked, and Hitler was emboldened to start down the road to World War 2.

We are now at a similar crossroads. The western world must have courage to make some (modest) sacrifices to stop Putin now. Those who directly support Putin, like Donald Trump, and those who support appeasing him (much of the GOP), must never gain power again. We must send all possible military aid to Ukraine short of troops. And we must apply every means possible to bring Russia to economic ruin before it can destroy Ukraine.

They are Coming for You

What we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller

These words were spoken by a a German Lutheran Minister who was imprisoned by the Nazis in the 1930s.

As the Fascist-leaning Christian White Nationalist Republicans continue in their quest to control American society as a minority party, these words are relevant today like never before.

If you are African-American or believe that Black lives matter as much as any other lives – They are coming for you.
If you are Hispanic – They are coming for you.
If you are an immigrant from a non-Aryan (i.e. “shithole”) country – They are coming for you.
If you are Jewish or Muslim – They are coming for you.
If you practice any religion other than a Christian fundamentalist version – They are coming for you.
If you practice no religion at all – They are coming for you.
If you believe that all citizens should be able to vote without interference – They are coming for you.
If you are registered as a Democrat or are known to have Democratic sympathies – They are coming for you.
If you consider yourself LGBTQ+ – They are coming for you.
If you support the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to live their lives without discrimination – They are coming for you.
If you believe that climate change is an existential threat – They are coming for you.
If you believe that all humans have unalienable rights – They are coming for you.
If you believe Corporations and billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes – They are coming for you.
If you believe in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.) – They are coming for you.
If you believe that women have the same rights as men – They are coming for you.
If you believe in following the lead of Science in masking and vaccinating to reduce the deadly Covid pandemic – They are coming for you.
If you believe in the right of women to control their own bodies – They are coming for you.
If you have ever had an abortion – They are coming for you.

In short, their vision is that this country will be controlled by a White Christian Nationalist minority that will have near-total control over the government and will rewrite our laws in such a way that others will have virtually no rights. It will be as if a Christian Taliban were to take control of the United States. Do all Republicans think like this? Of course not. But do those who think like this control the soul of the Republican Party? Unfortunately, yes they do.

The Republican Party has succeeded in installing the last three members of the Supreme Court (and five of the last seven), turning it into an an anti-voting rights, anti-citizen body that has already overseen the removal of many of our rights and is in the process of removing more of them. This gives then control of the powerful Judicial branch of our government.

Over the past few years, Republican led states have taken away rights from Americans. They’ve stripped voting rights, restricted the rights of local governments to enact laws related to gender equity, climate change, public safety, gun control, and education. What we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.

Now that are furiously trying to take away voting rights from as many people as possible, counting on “their people” to be the only ones who show up. They know they can’t win the majority of votes from all voters, so they control who can vote and therefore control the result. In case that isn’t enough, they are now putting biased mini-Trumps in control of elections so that they can directly manipulate the results after the fact.

And if the result of all this gives Republicans control of the Legislative branch, they will increase their assault on our freedoms and put themselves in positions of permanent power. If you believe in freedom in all its forms, you MUST register and you MUST vote for Democrats and against Republicans. We must preserve our freedoms in every way legally possible. The alternative is that we lose it all.

The Biggest Con Job Ever

As long as he has millions of faithful followers sending him money, the con will continue.

Who pulled the greatest cons in history? Ancient politicians from Greece and Rome who used fear to have their enemies exiled or killed? Christian leaders from the Middle Ages who espoused the teachings of Jesus but lived lives in splendor and wickedness? Entertainers like PT Barnum and modern-day versions who put on with falsehoods? Financial wizards like Bernie Madoff who fleeced people of millions? 20th Century Dictators who promised their people riches and glory but instead led them to death and destruction?

No, the greatest con man in history is Donald Trump. He spent his life perfecting his craft as a land developer, constantly promising more than he could deliver. He learned that laws were only meant for other people and that he could break them at will. He also perfected the art of creating a public persona that bore only a vague resemblance to the truth. But most importantly, he learned that if you repeat a lie often enough it can become the accepted as the truth.

When he turned to politics, these skills served him well. He used vague and simple language to con us into thinking he was for us, the people, when he has ALWAYS cared only for himself. He tapped into latent racism with his denigrations of immigrants and blacks which cemented the bond with disaffected white followers. He was so good at perpetuating the con that got away with crimes that would have destroyed any lesser politician. He blatantly took millions from the US Treasury to enrich himself and his family, showing no shame or remorse in the process.

After claiming that only he was smart enough to craft a tax code that helped the working class and stuck it to the rich, he instead oversaw the largest tax cut in history for the rich and a huge shifting of the tax burden to the middle class.

On and on the cons went throughout his administration. He hired incompetent administrators whose only skill was their undying ability to kiss his ass. He relaxed environmental and occupational standards – rewarding his rich financial backers with more profits while hurting the large majority of the population. And he bullied anyone who stood in his way: their options were submission or exile from the GOP.

Building the Wall was another con. The Wall was yet another way to transfer wealth from the American people to his wealthy supporters, while being wholly unable to accomplish its purported goals. Like all cowards, he talked tough but caved when it came to a fight. But he retained his shameless ability to lie and bluster his way to convincing his followers that only he could give them what they wanted.

Along the way he treated the Constitution as just another set of laws he could ignore at will. For that he was rightfully impeached, but his vast legion of loyal followers provided so much support that the GOP cowards refused to follow what they knew to be the right course and remove him from office.

Eventually the incompetence and corruption turned off some of his supporters. And they deserted him in droves for the safety and competency of Joe Biden.

Now we are witnessing the biggest con – that Trump won the election. Of course he lost! Too many people finally saw through the con. But so many still believe. They follow his every desire like blind lemmings, all the while claiming that they are not the sheep. Refusing the vaccines, refusing simple measures like masking. If Trump told them that clothes were a liberal invention, they’d go around naked. And they, the working class, send money to a billionaire. Money that he uses to further enrich himself. Trump controls this loyal army with lies and fear, and they have become a force that has taken over the GOP and paralyzed anyone with integrity with fear.

Donald Trump will never change. He will never care about anyone but himself. But as long as he has millions of faithful followers sending him money, the con will continue. The outrages will only become worse. He is a danger to the country.

The political system is powerless against his army of followers. The legal system must enforce our laws and prosecute Donald Trump for his many crimes. It is time for him to face justice. He must go to prison.

Humans vs. Aliens

Promoting the spread of the alien virus species at the expense of the human race

We’ve seen this movie a hundred times: The Human species comes under attack from invading aliens. Tens of thousands, perhaps millions of people are killed by the invaders, but we humans rally together in a united defense and defeat the aliens. In the movies, it always works out this way. Never does the story go that any human beings willingly side with the aliens against the rest of humanity unless their bodies have been taken over and their minds are controlled by the aliens.

Today, in the real world, the Covid-19 virus, a completely alien species, is hell bent on infecting and harming, even killing some of its human hosts . But unlike in the movies, a large percentage of humans have sided with the alien species and against humanity. Those people need to be called out for what they really are: traitors to humanity, traitors to their fellow human beings.

The traitors who support and enable the alien virus to thrive among us use many methods. Some of them spread fake news about the vaccines or about the effectiveness of masking, often reaching thousands through social media. Some, in positions of power, prohibit masking and other practices that are known to stop the spread of the invading species. Others simply avoid the personal responsibility that every human has to care for others of our species. And all of these behaviors threaten humanity, as surely as if they took the side of invaders from space against all of Earth’s human population, which they have.

The Covid virus is a diabolical enemy. When it emerged in late 2019, it caught the human species unprepared. The Trump administration worked at a breakneck pace to develop a game-changing set of weapons to fight the virus and develop effective vaccines. While we were waiting for the super-weapons, medical experts determined that simple things, like hand washing and mask wearing, could fend off the deadly enemy in the meantime.

In the same timeframe, the virus also learned and changed. It has mutated into ever more virulent and deadly forms. And as it evolved, our strategies, naturally, have to evolve just as they would in any war against a deadly enemy. And make no mistake, this is an ever escalating war — the human race vs. the Covid virus! The brain-washed humans who have aligned themselves with the virus constantly criticize the evolving defensive strategies as if the experts should have known what the virus would do next. Scientists and medical professionals are not clairvoyants, what they do know is that the longer the virus is among us humans, the more opportunity it has to mutate and become even stronger.

Luckily for the human race, our game-changing weapons have largely worked when deployed. Most of the vaccines have proven to be highly effective at stopping the spread of the virus and even more effective at preventing the virus from killing humans. The more people that receive the vaccines, the less the virus can spread and multiply. When enough people get vaccinated, eventually the virus will have so few human hosts to infect that it will stop spreading and cease to be a threat to our species. This is exactly what happened with the eradication of the Smallpox virus and is in process with the Polio virus – due to nearly universal vaccination. And because of the universal availability of viable vaccines in the United States, this nation should be in a position now of approaching zero cases of Covid and a completely normal, healthy economy with no need of mask wearing. But tragically that is not the case, instead, because of the nihilistic anti-vax movement, we are experiencing yet another wave of Delta variant Covid virus infections, hospitalizations and deaths. All preventable! It is simply a matter of getting a shot or two, just like we did for Polio, Mumps, Measles and any number of other vaccinations.

If the anti-vaxxers insist on keeping a large percentage of the US population on this dangerous path, our future is even more threatened. The vaccines were developed to work against the original Covid-19 virus that emerged more than 20 months ago. Today’s enemy-the Delta variant-is more deadly and more dangerous, but still largely controlled by today’s vaccines. The real danger is a future variant – one that can evade the antibodies produced by today’s vaccines. Possibly even one for which an effective vaccine cannot be developed quickly enough. Humans would have no defense, no effective weapons to fight that strand of the mutated virus.That scenario, like a horror movie that nobody wants be a part of, could cause a more deadly pandemic that could decimate human civilization and the human race.

The fact that there are so many people working on the side of this alien virus poses a grave danger to humanity. The more the virus spreads, the more chances they are providing for it to mutate and become a variant mutation that is unstoppable. Those who spew anti-vax, anti-mask, and anti-science rhetoric are aiding the enemy by promoting the spread of the alien virus species at the expense of the human race.

The Only Way We Can Lose is if They Cheat

Trump has said that: “The only way we can lose is if they cheat.” But like so much of what he says, it is the exact opposite of the truth. The truth is that the only he can win is if he cheats, and he knows it. And he has many methods of cheating the true will of the people.

Trump has spoken and tweeted almost daily against mail-in voting. Why is he so against it? Not because it will lead to cheating – exactly the opposite. Trump is afraid of mail-in voting because it reduces his chance to interfere with in-person voting on November 3. He and his Republican enablers have multiple efforts in place to intimidate and reduce the number of in-person voters that are unfavorable to him:

Using his Russian friends, spread as much dis-information and fear as possible to discourage people from voting for Joe Biden or voting at all.
Purge as many voters as possible, especially from areas that are not friendly to Republicans.
Reduce the number of polling places so as to discourage voting, and concentrate those who do show up into the least number of locations.
Do everything to the risk of exposure to Coronavirus, further reducing the willingness of those from vulnerable communities to show up.
Recruit vigilantes to “protect the polls” which is code for showing up with guns so as to intimidate Blacks, Hispanics, or anyone else who doesn’t seem Trumpian.

Trump is also against mail-in voting because it minimizes the possibility of physical cheating – which is his secret plan that nobody is talking about. With in-person voting, all the votes are registered and tallied by thousands of individual voting machines. Tamper with enough voting machines in key locations and you can change the election in real time without anyone being aware of it. But, you say, the machines keep a permanent record of each vote. That can be also tampered with in the middle of the night by anyone who has access to the machines. Think it can’t happen? Read David Pepper’s book “The People’s House”. He describes just how easy it is to steal an election by tampering with a few machines in a few districts. And there are plenty of Districts in the key battleground states that are controlled by Trump loyalists – and available for the Russians to manipulate. Trump’s government says that the Russians tried to tamper with voting machines in 2016 but failed. Does anybody believe them? We know that the Trump Administration dragged its feet on funding to protect the integrity of the vote. That was done to make it easier to subvert this election.

But vote-by-mail is different. Each ballet is a clear, permanent, paper record which is counted in the presence of multiple people, making it virtually impossible to skew the count. Mail-in paper ballots also make it easy to perform a 100% accurate recount. Yes, some mail-in ballots will be lost, some will be thrown out, but the more mail-in ballots, the more this election will reflect the accurate will of the people. So Trump is doing all he can to suppress mail-in voting. And its working.

Trump believes he has a reason to be confident. When he combines these techniques with all the voters that have been removed from the rolls, suppressed, marginalized by redistricting, or otherwise disenfranchised, he has the means to win the election with only 40% of the population on his side. He doesn’t need more voters, he needs voters who are so committed to him that they will do anything to vote. This is why he has made no attempt to broaden his base of support, but instead has done everything to deepen the devotion of his followers to his cult.

Trump knows that the Electoral college gives him a built-in 3-5% advantage over the Democrats. If he can subvert the will of the people by another 3-5%, he wins. That is why Trump and his people are so confident. National polling that shows a Biden lead of 6-8% is in range of Trump’s ability to cheat his way to victory.

Trump has made no secret of his backup plan in case the cheating doesn’t work. In demonizing the mail-in vote, he has already made the pre-claim that the election was illegitimate. He will never concede, no matter the result. He will likely declare victory sometime on election night even as mail-in ballots are slowly being counted. And, no matter how much he loses by, he won’t leave the White House unless he is physically forced to.

The call to action could not be more clear:

All eligible voters MUST vote for Joe Biden. Trump is a danger to Democracy. He will unleash more violence before the election. No one can withhold their vote because its too hard, or because it won’t matter, or because Joe is not the perfect candidate. The people of the United States must vote for Joe by such a large majority that all the Republican cheating won’t be enough to overcome the will of the people.
Once the election is over and Joe has won a convincing majority, sadly, and unlike ever before, the work will not be over. Trump will do everything in his power to hold onto the Presidency. And many Republicans will assist him. Americans must rise up in massive protests, and with massive acts of civil disobedience to preserve our Democracy. There will be more violence as Trump and his allies refuse to obey the will of the people. For 250 years, Americans have done what needed to be done to preserve our Democracy. Now we will be called upon to preserve it once again.

America is at stake. And we will have to fight for it as never before.

President Trump’s Master Plan – Part 2

Donald Trump has a master plan to ensure his re-election in 2020. But its more sophisticated than anyone understands.

Trump divides American citizens into two camps: Those who adore him as their leader; or those who should “go back to where they came from” or who should be “locked-up” or even “shot”. Just to be clear, he doesn’t care about the health and welfare of either group, he only cares about what they will do for him. He loves the group will help him stay in power, he hates the one that won’t. He doesn’t yet have the power to deport citizens or lock them up for the mere reason that they don’t worship him – although he’s working towards both those goals. But he does have the power to motivate his angry followers to target them by violent means – and he’s using Twitter to do so on a daily basis. It is clear that in the run-up to the 2020 election, America will suffer unprecedented divisions, hatred, and violence – purposefully stoked by the President.

Trump has more power than any President has ever had – and he is exercising that unprecedented power with increasing frequency and without any restraining forces from his staff of toadies. Its clear that Republicans in the House and Senate will do nothing to confront him. No matter what facts emerge, no matter what it costs in political support, the Republican majority in the Senate will never remove him from office. It is no accident that he has stacked his Cabinet with interim appointees – thus eliminating even the remote possibility of a 25th Amendment-based removal from office. He is secure for the remainder of his current term.

Trump has repeatedly said that he likes the idea of “President for life”. He likes meeting with dictators because he looks up to them in envy as “strong leaders”. He knows that his life will become hell the minute he loses the power of the Presidency, so he is doing all he can to prevent that from ever happening.

The motivation behind the violence and fear that he is intentionally unleashing upon America is to marginalize and weaken his enemies and lead to his re-election in 2020. From there he will have four more years to consolidate power and make his Presidency permanent, or to install his son as his replacement.

As in 2016, Vladimir Putin is doing all he can to help Trump via disinformation. But if it appears that he will lose the election, he has a last minute backup plan. The plan is to use his white nationalist paramilitaries to unleash extreme violence just before the election, then use that as an excuse to suspend Civil Rights, declare Martial Law, suspend the Constitution, and place himself in a permanent position of ultimate power.

Why does Trump think this will work? Because its worked before. Hitler used the burning of the Reichstag (secretly set by his supporters) to take dictatorial powers. Putin used the violence in Chechnya and the 2002 hostage crisis in a Moscow Theater (with the rescue designed to maximize innocent deaths) to take control of the Russian press and erode human rights. Why have Trump and Putin spent so much time together with nobody else present? Vladimir is both teaching and assisting, and Donald is listening. Trump just has to follow the playbook that he has been given.

Using the dictator’s playbook, Trump needs a HUGE and horrible violent act that will allow him to take total power. What might the event be? That’s still his secret, but here are some possibilities:

Assassinations of one or more prominent political leaders – most likely GOP leaders who are not completely Trump-subservient, or who are at risk of losing in 2020 and thereby making themselves expendable. A prime assassination candidate is Mike Pence – he clearly poses a risk to the President just by being alive.
Major bombings of public institutions while they are in use so as to create plenty of casualties. If the Supreme Court doesn’t stay in line, it would be a potential target, and so would anti-Trump state governmental centers. Albany and Sacramento would be prime candidates.
Major bombings or mass killings at large scale political events-assuming they are held. Targeting rallies in the last few weeks of the election would be the plan – but Covid may not allow for such gatherings.
Major bombings or mass killings at one or more large sporting event or school. The timing would be perfect for an organized mass killing at an NFL game just 10 days before the election.
It could be two or more of these – all the better to spread panic and fear.

Do you think that Trump can’t do all of this?

He can. He has a virtual army of armed and motivated followers, just awaiting a signal.

Do you think he won’t?

He will. He will do anything to stay in power.

If we value our freedom, if we value this country, we must fight Donald Trump with every power we have. Only by our sheer numbers and will can we restore our Democracy. Our very future as a free country is at stake.

Impeachment? Now?

The Democrats are afraid of the wrong thing. They remember that when the Republicans impeached Bill Clinton, the voters punished them mightily in the next election. They are afraid that if they vote to impeach Donald Trump, voters will reject them and they will lose the House – which is the only check they have on Trump.

But they are forgetting one thing – Bill Clinton’s “crime” was lying about sex – hardly a surprising thing in Washington. The voters punished the GOP because they badly overreached – trying to impose a political death penalty for a venial sin. Most voters may not be focused on what happens in Washington on a day-to-day basis, but they saw how wrong the GOP effort was and reacted as Americans do in attempting to right the wrong that had occurred.

At this point Donald Trump’s crimes are almost beyond counting. Here’s a sampling of what is known to date:

Trump paid off multiple women so they would not expose his sexual misdeeds before the 2018 election – thereby committing election fraud.
Trump lied about his Trump Moscow hotel deal repeatedly during the 2018 election – thereby committing election fraud.
Trump’s tax returns that we have seen so far, clearly show that he committed tax fraud and lied about it to the American people.
Trump’s tax returns and other probes into his business dealings showed that he made money by selling real estate to sanctioned Russian and other international buyers, thereby breaking US laws.
Trump’s charitable foundation operated illegally to funnel money to Trump’s preferred politicians and to benefit himself.
Trump’s business continue to rake in massive amounts of revenue from foreign governments in violation of the Emoluments clause of the Constitution.
Trump and his election team attempted to conspire with the Russian government help him win the 2018 election. The only reason that Mueller did not make the accusation is that Trump’s team was too inept to pull it off.
Trump actively obstructed the search for the truth of Russia’s attempt to sabotage our 2018 elections – the evidence in the Mueller report is crystal clear.
Trump continues to impede our Nation’s ability to resist further Russian interference with the 2020 election – which is nothing short of traitorous.
And the biggie – Trump withheld military assistance to Ukraine to get them to investigate the Biden family and to chase the ghost of Hillary Clinton’s server. This is as clear a betrayal of his oath of office as could be imagined.

The charge of impeachment is reserved for “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Every one of these crimes is of greater magnitude than the one crime that the GOP used to impeach Bill Clinton. It could easily be argued that every one of them is a high crime and each is individually grounds for impeachment.

There are undoubtedly many more crimes yet to be discovered – in the unredacted Mueller Report, in the remaining tax returns, in the Deutsche Bank records, in the testimonies of Don McGahn and in yet to be discovered whistle blower accounts. The Trump administration is using all its power to deny Congress access to these documents/testimonies because it knows they will expose more (and possibly greater) high crimes. Trump will use the courts to stall and delay – and given the relative power of the Executive branch, he may be able to delay release of many of these items for a year or two. If Trump can run out the clock on these requests until after the 2020 elections, he believes that he will have the power to make it all go away.

That’s why the time is now to Impeach. In so doing Congress greatly increases its leverage in court battles with the Administration, as the legitimate need for the documents would become undeniable. Much as Nixon’s impeachment case was built slowly and gradually, Nancy Pelosi and the House can use currently available material to lay the groundwork, and use new material to solidify the case.

When all the material is presented, there will be no question to the American people that the Democrats have grounds for Impeachment. Then the pressure will be on the Republicans in the Senate. Will they vote for the good of the USA, or will they vote for Donald Trump? If they vote for Donald Trump over country, the voters will again act to right the wrong and destroy the GOP in 2020. Trump will lose the 2020 election in a landslide – no matter who the Democratic candidate is.

The longer we wait to remove Trump from office, the more harm to this country he will do. he has betrayed our Country before. He will do it again. The danger is real.

Impeachment Now!

Drain the Swamp!

One of Donald Trump’s many promises was that he would “Drain the Swamp” that is Washington DC. But instead, he brought a whole new level of swamp dwellers into his corrupt administration to join in his criminal, traitorous administration.

Just from the Ukraine scandal, we have a huge list of Trump officials – all of whom participated in the shakedown of the Ukrainian government to get Ukraine to produce dirt on the Biden family:

President Donald Trump
Vice President Mike Pence
White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Attorney General William Barr
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
US Envoy Kurt Volker
Ambassador Gordon Sondland

It’s a stunning list of the most powerful men in Washington. As more details emerge, even more members of the Trump administration will likely be implicated in this crime.

There is no question that this is indeed a crime of the highest level. Trump extorted the government of Ukraine in a way that helps Russia and hurt the United States. Simply put that is treason. Extortion and Treason are each crimes worthy of removal from office and imprisonment. Taken together, they certainly rise to the level of impeachment and more.

TRUMP IS A CRIMINAL. The people working for him are criminals. They all have to be removed. Then they all have to be prosecuted for their crimes against the US.

This brings us to another of Trump’s famous slogans: “Lock ’em Up!”

When that happens, we will have Justice.

Doing his Master’s Bidding

In “The Art of the Deal” Donald Trump discusses an ideal scenario – one where he benefits in multiple ways from the same “deal”. And now we know that he has masterminded yet another such deal for himself.

By witholding funding from Ukraine to get them to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Trump benefits in multiple ways. First, and most importantly, he pleases the man who put him into office and can take him out just as easily: Vladimir Putin. Secondly, he besmirches the reputation of his most likely political opponent, Joe Biden.

The press is focused on the second, lesser benefit to Trump because it has been exposed via the whistleblower action and Trump’s own slow leaks of the truth. Given that Trump’s multiple personal conversations with Putin have not been exposed, we don’t yet have proof that he was withholding the money on the express orders of Putin, but we do know that Ukraine is fighting an undeclared war with Russia and that the money withheld by Trump was vital to Ukraine’s self defense. Its clear that Trump was helping his friend while also helping himself.

This is just the latest of a myriad of crimes committed by Donald Trump – many of which have already risen to the standard of High Crimes and Misdemeanors. The crimes will continue as long as Trump is in office.

There is no doubt that Donald Trump has betrayed his oath of office and is a traitor to the United States. He is a clear and present danger every day he is in office. Even Republicans MUST see reality now. He must be impeached!