Trump in a Nutshell

Borrowed…

 I owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology.

This was four years ago:

I’ve been critical of the Trump presidency these last four years, and am still exhausted from the experience.

But to be fair, President Trump wasn’t that bad, other than when he incited an insurrection against the government,

Mismanaged a pandemic that killed over a million Americans,

Called neo-Nazis “very fine people,”

Separated children from their families,

Lost those children in the bureaucracy,

Tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church,

Tried to block all Muslims from entering the country,

Got impeached,

Got impeached again,

Had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history,

Pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden,

Fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia,

Bragged about firing the FBI director on TV,

Took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community,

Diverted military funding to build his wall,

Caused the longest government shutdown in US history,

Called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,”

Lied over 30,000 times,

Banned transgender people from serving in the military,

Ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions,

Vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers,

Refused to release his tax returns,

Increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion,

Had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history,

Called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers,

Coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist,

Refused to concede the 2020 election,

Hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House,

Walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl,

Suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID,

Abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey,

Pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans,

Incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic,

Withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords,

Withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal,

Withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances,

Insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter,

Pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op,

Failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies,

Called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries,

Called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,”

Claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere,

Forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader,

Believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

Berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe,

Suggested the US should buy Greenland,

Colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices, after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges,

Repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,”

Claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases,

Violated the emoluments clause,

Thought that Nambia was a country,

Told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public,

Called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution,

Nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet,

Nominated a corrupt head of the EPA,

Nominated a corrupt head of HHS,

Nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department,

Nominated a corrupt head of the USDA,

Praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies,

Refused to allow the presidential transition to begin,

Insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death,

Spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president,

Falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote,

Called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,”

Falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year,

Considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions,

Mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID,

Locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones,

Used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,”

Hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser,

Pardoned several of his shady associates,

Gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his bat shit crazy conspiracy theories,

Got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!),

Had a Secretary of State who called him a moron,

Forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history,

Botched the COVID vaccine rollout,

Tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him,

Charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties,

Constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate,

Claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear,

Called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,”

Used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise,

Opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling,

Got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers,

Claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US,

Ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings,

Blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining,

Redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle,

Got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,”

Threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution,

Botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,

Threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them,

Pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes,

Thought that the Virgin islands had a President,

Drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane,

Allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing,

Rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos,

Pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID,

Rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers,

Held blatant campaign rallies at the White House,

Tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man,

Refused to attend his successors’ inauguration,

Nominated the worst Education Secretary in history,

Threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted,

Attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci,

Promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t),

Allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues,

Struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble,

Called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,”

Threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders,

Went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic,

Claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,”

Seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution,

Demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director,

Praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles,

Completely gutted the Voice of America,

Placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service,

Claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower,

Suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country,

Suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public,

Overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported,

Reduced the number of refugees the US accepts,

Insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames,

Gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address,

Named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties,

Eliminated the White House office of pandemic response,

Used soldiers as campaign props,

Fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him,

Demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade,

Hired a shit ton of white nationalists,

Politicized the civil service,

Did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government,

Falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts,

Claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won,

Insulted reporters of color,

Insulted women reporters, insulted women reporters of color,

Suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs,

Attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him,

Summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House, to pressure them to overturn the election,

Spent countless hours every day watching Fox News,

Refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas,

Hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer,

Tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him,

Acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney,

Attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault,

Held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present,

Didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media,

Stopped holding press briefings for months at a time,

“Ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power,

Led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform,

Claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers,

Tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course,

Suggested that the government nuke hurricanes,

Suggested that wind turbines cause cancer,

Said that he had a special aptitude for science,

Fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure,

Blurted out classified information to Russian officials,

Tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida,

Fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban,

Hired Stephen Miller,

Openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them,

Interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel,

Abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war,

Tried to get Russia back into the G7,

Held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden,

Seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive,

Lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated,

Falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t,

Shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies,

Still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan,

Still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,”

Forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID,

Told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,”

Screwed up the Census wording,

Withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic,

Did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule: “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,”

Allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act,

Seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican,

Stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win,

Constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president, (which presumably includes four that were assassinated, and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump),

Claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened,

Said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake,

Claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him,

Claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President,

Created a commission to whitewash American history,

Retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain,

Claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there,

Hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent "Bowling Green Massacre" as a reason to ban Muslims,

Had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others,

Bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties,

Apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House,

Stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians,

Falsely claimed Biden wanted to de-fund the police,

Said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about,

Tried to rescind protection from DREAMers,

Gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic,

Tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax,

Said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states,

Deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented,

Claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln,

Touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile, which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile, or may not exist at all,

Retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile,

Forced through security clearances for his family,

Suggested that police officers should rough up suspects,

Suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs,

Tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender identification,

Suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher,

Nominated a climate change skeptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy,

Retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event,

Hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags,

Accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address,

Claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter,

because they were “spending too much time” on Russia,

Mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault,

Obsessed over low-flow toilets,

Ordered the re-release of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release,

Called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek),

Hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech,

Took advice from the MyPillow guy,

Claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists,

Said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure,

Never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign,

Falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent, though he, (himself), votes by mail.

Announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest,

Insulted the leader of Canada,

Insulted the leader of France,

Insulted the leader of Britain,

Insulted the leader of Germany,

Insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!),

Falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues,

Blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually,

Continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,

Said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked,

Left a NATO summit early in a huff,

Stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that,

Called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary,

Refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise,

and a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

But other than that. . . 🤷🏽‍♀️ He was a great President 😃

All documented - - I would LOVE for anyone to show me proof that any of these are WRONG, and I will correct the Record Book of what Trump did!

Ukraine Matters

 "For those who ask: Why does Ukraine matter?" 

This is why Ukraine matters: RESOURCES.

*It is the second largest country by area in Europe by area and has a population of over 40 million - more than Poland.

UKRAINE RANKS:

*1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores;

*2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves;

*2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves);

*2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons);

*2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves;

*3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)

*4th in the world by the total value of natural resources;

*7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)

UKRAINE IS AN IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL COUNTRY:

*1st in Europe in terms of arable land area;

*3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume);

*1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil;

*2nd place in the world in barley production +

*4th place in barley exports;

*3rd largest producer +

*4th largest exporter of corn in the world;

*4th largest producer of potatoes in the world;

*5th largest rye producer in the world;

*5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons);

*8th place in the world in wheat exports;

*9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs;

*16th place in the world in cheese exports.

*Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.*

UKRAINE IS AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY:

*1st in Europe in ammonia production;

*Europe's 2nd and the world’s 4th largest natural gas pipeline system;

*3rd largest in Europe and

*8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants;

*3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km);

*3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment;

*3rd largest iron exporter in the world

*4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world;

*4th world's largest manufacturer of rocket launchers;

*4th place in the world in clay exports

4th place in the world in titanium exports

*8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates;

*9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products;

*10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).

UKRAINE MATTERS. 🇺🇦  That is why its independence is important to the rest of the world & why Russia has invaded.

Indentured Servitude

Want to know what modern indentured servitude is? You work 9.5 hours a day (2 for travel time), 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. That’s 2,740 hours, or 103 days per year you don’t get to be with your children as they grow up, spend time with your spouse, or enjoy life.

Now out of that 24 hour day you’ve just spent 40% at a job to just pull enough to eat, have a home, hopefully have chained healthcare, in other words just have basic human needs. 33% of the day for sleeping. That leaves 27% for family, personal care, do bills, etc.

But here’s the thing, that 30% sleeping and 27% for everything else is if you’re damn lucky. Because most people have part time jobs to just pay those bills and take care of their family. And even those who don’t spend it exhausted trying to maintain a semblance of living.

The exhaustion comes from fighting bill collectors, wading through medical bills, reading all the paperwork for your kids doctors and schools, taking the car for repair, fixing the house, taking care of elderly parents, and all the rest. For that we have “the weekend.”

Because during the week after 5:00 when you finally get home there’s dinner, trying to pay attention to your children and listen to your spouse because you do care but your brain is mush from the day and you’ve so much to do. If it’s winter it’s already dark so can’t do a thing.

Then comes the weekend. When you want to get to what you didn’t get to during the week, but now you really do have to get to the week’s bills and fix that broken thing but the kids want your attention, when did they get so big?, and your spouse needs help. And you’re done.

So that 27%, less than your job, less than you sleep, goes away in the blink of an eye. Your youthful existence comes down to this. Then you get old, get sick, get disabled. Your kids grow up. Your spouse grows old or sick. One of you dies. Most of your active life is at a job.

Yes, some of us have wonderful jobs we actually enjoy, but even those are stretched and struggling, and at some point even an enjoyable job can change if the wrong people get into place.

And what the Oligarchy doesn’t get or care about, is we the people don’t have and can’t afford personal accountants, servants, doctors on call, staff to shop for us, assistants to do the grunt work. Our one pathetic life is spent surviving, and one disaster can crash it down.

The sick part is that 40% of your working time, 50% of your pay is going to a system giving billionaires massive tax breaks, corporations (especially military) huge incentives and subsidies, wars of lies, and paying people who don’t represent you anymore to kiss lobbyists.

Our government has lied and divided us. It has used us and let hundreds of thousands suffer and die every year. It has left homeless thousands including Veterans. It has slaughtered Muslims, allowed Blacks to be demeaned and killed, and Native Americans marginalized. It has ignored the struggles of working people. All for their gain and power. And 40% of our lives help it.

We allow the falsehood of a “two party system” to keep us from change. Tens of millions have their eyes open and have abandoned voting no longer believing the lies. Dedicated Republicans and Democrats are now just cultists buying the propaganda. It won’t stop unless we ALL make it, and backing cults won’t do it. It has to end.

We have one life. That's it. Done. Over. Finished. And we're wasting it a huge, unrecoverable portion of it doing things for others that don't give a damn about us or don't even see us as anything but a commodity for their profit hoarding.

Before the end of the day.

Today is the day. The most divisive election ever in my 50+ years of life. Nothing before has ever torn a nation apart like this one. Never has the Oligarchy played all its hands like this one. Never has racism and ignorance and hatred and fundamentalism reigned like this one.

A few thoughts before we know whether fascist former Democrat Trump wins or fascist Republican backing Biden wins or by some miracle an actual people's candidate Green Party Howie Hawkins wins.

First, Biden is the Democratic architect or cheerleader of all that former Democrat Trump uses. Biden was active in writing the Crime Bill that incarcerated Blacks and helped lead to their being killed by police on minor offenses or none at all. He helped write the Patriot Act of which helped cause the deaths and displacement of millions of Muslims and he backed the seven wars that did it. Biden with Obama caused the building of cages to "temporarily" hold Hispanics and then deported two million of them back to dangerous and deadly conditions. Last he is now backed by 100 billionaires that he helped become such through the backing and voting of laws that advanced Wall Street and Big Banks.

Second, Trump is a Democrat. He gave hundreds of thousands to the Clintons and Schumer. He supported Hillary's run for President. She helped him obtain the White House. Schumer has helped Trump and McConnell put in dozens of far right wing lifetime lower court judges. Pelosi put up a half asses hilariously weak impeachment which only was based around Biden's son and didn't have any of the many crimes that Trump actually committed. Democrats protecting Democrats playing Republican.

Third, the entire rigging of a second primary by Democrats was for one single purpose, to get Hillary's chosen one, Kamala Harris, into the White House. In the same fashion the DNC played the elevated game and got Trump in, so too they are doing it with Harris. If Biden wins in six months to a year he will bow out under the 25th Amendment, which Pelosi has had her eye on supposedly for Trump, and then we'll have President Harris. A corporate cop, corporate shill, and someone that was ripped to shreds during the debate and never got a single delegate.

Last, Trump's big show, his grift, his game play, has been so over the top he might as well be a villain in a cartoon. He's played every card from not willing to leave office to saying the virus is nothing to whatever outrageous thing he can all for one purpose, to convince people they must vote for Biden if they don't like him. Why? It ensures that nobody will vote a third party, that they will be always afraid and always pick the lesser evil.

This is our election today.

So when this day is over we'll have one of two horrific "lesser evils" as President. Either Republican voting Biden or Republican acting Trump.

And what will happen? If Biden wins the Democratic Fundamentalists will go back to brunch and naps with no concern for the damage Biden and Harris can and will do. If Trump wins the Republican Fundamentalists will go back to cheering their Fuhrer and thinking that someday they'll be a billionaire too just because they wish it. Meanwhile the 100,000,000 non-voters (if they stayed home like 2016) will be suffering and fighting to try to end this Oligarchy and stop our failed nation from collapsing further while the blind sheep keep doing the same insane thing over and over again.

And when 2024 comes along and it's Kamala Harris vs Tom Cotton the Democratic and Republican Fundamentalists will look back with teary eyes and wish Trump was back, as they now do with Bush.

Going forward the Green Party is the ONLY option. It's powered by the people, it's not owned by billionaires, it's not PAC invested, and it has ethics, morals, and policies for and by the people. I hope, I dearly hope, that they can achieve 5%. Hell I hope they can win or at least force neither Biden or Trump to get 270 and start a crisis. But more than anything I hope enough people are waking up to the lie and charade of the duopoly that by 2024 there will be more than enough people voting for the Green Party to win, just as happened when Abraham Lincoln won for the third party Republicans in the 1850s.

But...one final thought...if in this election when more people know about the Greens, and Bernie supporters went Green, if the party barely scratches 1.4 million votes yet again we'll know the truth. The entire voting system is completely rigged...and the Oligarchy has won. If that happens then the fact is our nation is doomed to go down either the path of Germany in the 1930s, or the path of the USA in the 1770s when we fought and won against the aristocracy only through bloody revolution.

Never Biden. Never Trump.

Here's the deal. In 2016 the DNC rigged the primary. This was confirmed by both Donna Brazile and Elizabeth Warren. When taken the court the DNC admitted under oath that they have the right to choose whomever they want, the judge confirmed this fact as they are corporation. Hillary Clinton's BFF Debbie Wasserman-Schultz purposely chose debate days in conflict with other events, cut back debates, closed polling places in strong Bernie areas, and played fast and loose with rules in caucuses. When it came to the convention there was immense pressure to broker it, and it was very, very likely Bernie would have won. But then Bernie had a "meeting" with President Obama, and Obama announced "unity" in the Party and then it all went to Hillary. Bernie then backed Hillary for the election against her long time friend Donald Trump.After Trump's win Bernie was pretty quiet about things for a few months, but then started ramping up his rhetoric against the Oligarchy and even going after Democrats once again (he reverted back to being an Independent). And suddenly his wife was under investigation for possible fraud. He was quieted once again for awhile.  

Come the next election cycle 2020. Bernie decides to run, seems to have it in the bag, things are going great for him...and then they do it again. Closing key polling places, cutting rolls, same as 2016, but the momentum is far, far stronger and people are even willing to stand for hours to vote for him. Then, suddenly, his royal highness Obama speaks to the other candidates. Obama and Biden then have a "discussion" about the primaries as the pandemic ramps up. Our nearly 80 year old activist gets pressured in the most vile, horrific ways...they're willing to kill us to get him to back off. They're willing to have all the others stop to get old Joe the crown. And so Bernie has no choice and suspends, kneels down, and they take EVERYTHING HE FOUGHT FOR out of the Democratic Platform.

EVERY DAMN THING.

And people are willing to reward the Democratic Party for their actions. Bullshit. They are nothing but the anti-Progressive wing of the Republican Party. They talk nice, offer crumbs, and stab you in the back. The Republicans laugh at you and stab you in the chest. Let alone Biden's horrific, racist, war backing, mass murdering record why the hell would any Progressive or Bernie supporter every vote for any Democrat after their actions.

Never Biden. Never Trump. Never Democrat. Never Republican. Green Party all the way and Howie Hawkins for our future.

They love to ignore facts...

 Obama and Biden Accomplishments

• Sent 3,500 U.S. troops and tanks to Russia's doorstep in one of his final decisions as president.

• Ordered ten times more drone strikes than Bush.

• Dropped 26,171 bombs in 2016 alone (an average of 72 bombs every day).

• Put boots on the ground in Syria , despite 16 times saying "no boots on the ground".

• Despite campaign pledges, planned a $1 trillion progam to add more nuclear weapons to the US arsenal in the next 30 years.

• Dropped bombs in 7 Muslim countries; and then bragged about it .

• Said, “I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.”

• Bragged about his use of drones - I'm "really good at killing people".

• Deported a modern-record 2 million immigrants.

• Signed the Monsanto Protection Act into law.

• Started a new war in Iraq.

• Initiated, and personally oversees a 'Secret Kill List'.

• Pushed for war on Syria while siding with al-Qaeda.

• Backed neo-Nazis in Ukraine.

• Supported Israel's wars and occupation of Palestine.

• Deployed Special Ops to 134 countries - compared to 60 under Bush.

• Did a TV commercial promoting "clean coal".

• Drastically escalated the NSA spying program.

• Signed the NDAA into law - making it legal to assassinate Americans w/o charge or trial.

• Gave Bush absolute immunity for everything.

• Pushed for a TPP Trade Pact.

• Started a new war on terror - this one on ISIS.

• Signed more executive memoranda than any other president in history.

• Transferred more than $100 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, more than any other administration in history.

• Signed an agreement for 7 military bases in Colombia.

• Opened a military base in Chile.

•Touted nuclear power, even after the disaster in Japan.

• Opened up deepwater oil drilling, even after the BP disaster.

• Mandated the Insider Threat Program which orders federal employees to report suspicious actions of their colleagues.

• Defended body scans and pat-downs at airport.

• Signed the Patriot Act extension into law.

• Launched 20,000 Airstrikes in his first term.

• Continued Bush's rendition program.

• Said the U.S. is the "one indispensable nation" in the world.

• Waged war on Libya without congressional approval.

• Started a covert drone war in Yemen.

• Escalated the proxy war in Somalia.

• Escalated the CIA drone war in Pakistan.

• Sharply escalated the war in Afghanistan.

• Repealed the Propaganda ban, making it legal to spread government propaganda via news outlets.

• Assassinated 4 US citizens with drone strikes.

If Trump is so evil...

 When Biden supporters tell me how trump must be stopped, I remind them to turn their attention to the democratic leadership. They have given trump the green light on almost every thing he’s done for the last 4 years. There is no obstruction of any kind, like republicans did to Obama. If trump is as dangerous as you keep claiming....shouldn’t you be furious at the Democratic leadership? They have the power to STOP HIM. Start asking yourself why they don’t. They have decided to help him instead. 

*They continuously voted to give him funding. One budget that Pelosi signed was way more than trump was even asking for

*The democratic leadership gave Trump sweeping spying powers. It was the democrats who slipped an amendment into the government funding bill to extend the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act is a post-9/11 law that gave the federal government sweeping surveillance and search powers and circumvented traditional law-enforcement rules. The law would have naturally expired, but Democrats extended it just for Trump.

*The Democratic leadership voted to let trump sanction Iran, violating the Iran deal months before he ultimately pulled out of it. They practically gave him permission to pull out by letting him violate the deal in the first place. The ONLY one to vote against it was Senator Sanders.

* In August 2018, after the controversial confirmation of Kavanaugh, Chuck Schumer reaches agreement with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to fast-track the confirmations of 15 Trump-nominated judicial picks. Seven federal district court judges were confirmed that day, and eight were put on the docket for confirmation next week. 

*In October 2018, Schumer ONCE AGAIN helps Trump & McConnell by fast-tracking 15 more Trump appointees to the federal courts. This time, Schumer claimed it was so that his centrist incumbants could go home and campaign.

*Democrats voted to give Trump funding for his border wall. They voted for the National Defense Authorization Act 2020, which included free rein to wage endless wars, funding for Trump's "Space Force", and a green light to continue fueling the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen. Once again, the only members to vote against it were the progressives.

Nancy Pelosi stripped two amendments from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 before it went to vote. These two amendments would have stopped trump from assassinating the Iranian general. Ro Khanna’s amendment to block funding for a war with Iran barring congressional approval, and Barbara Lee’s amendment to repeal 2001’s AUMF, that gave the government permission to use “necessary and appropriate force” against anyone suspected of being connected to the 9/11 attacks. 

*Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, signs anti-protest bill into law. Peaceful protestors can now be charged with a felony if they trespass on property owned, leased, or operated by companies engaged in the distribution of oil or petroleum. Now why would a democrat do that?

*Democrats endorsed three former Republicans in key senate races. These people were very recent Republicans who only switched parties to run. Why is the Democratic leadership propping up Republicans who run as Democrats? This is why our agenda never gets done. This is what’s called controlled opposition. The dem leadership pay one or two politicians from the dem party to defect and vote against something. Then they can claim no fault and just say “meh, it couldn’t get the votes” 

*The Democratic leadership make TONS of money from fear mongering about trump. 

*The Democratic leadership are more concerned with getting republicans to vote for them. This strategy will lose them the election. Again.

- Jason Roth via FB

Yes, a 3rd Party Can Win

In the 1850s the two most powerful political parties were the Whigs and Democrats. The Whigs had elected Presidents, Senators, Representatives, and more. The Democrats, at that time, were slavery supporters. The Whigs spoke about the ills of slavery, but never did anything.

The people in the Whig Party fought with their representatives to end slavery but their Party refused to listen. In anger the people tried to change the party within and failed.

So, they left. They joined a little known third party, the Republicans. And pushed hard for the party electing Abraham Lincoln.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-can-collapse-whig-party-tell-us-about-todays-politics-180958729/

Never think any vote that supports your ethics, your ideals, is a bad or wrong vote. Never ever let someone bully you into thinking your vote is “owed” to them. A vote is earned.

I voted Dr. Stein who didn’t want to continue war, stood side by side with Native Americans, had a Green New Deal long before anyone else. I’m proud of my vote and will do it again rather than support a “lesser evil” that is still evil and continues our Imperialism, murdering and displacing millions, mass destruction, and collapse of nations all for the hoarders of wealth.

If the 70,000,000 non voters of 2016 vote Green Party in 2020 then the duopoly collapses and the people retake the Republic from the Oligarchy.

The more people voting Green the more power it’ll have to fight the damn Republicratic Party!

https://howiehawkins.us

Trump and Biden, the grifters.

Trump going off about delaying the election, which he can't do, confirms what I’ve been thinking for awhile now. Trump is planning to retire. He doesn’t want to be President anymore. So he’s going all batshit crazy as a good grifter can to get the people all terrified and fired up so they will be even more compelled to vote Biden and not go Green Party.

It’s the oldest play in the book. Do everything so damn nasty that the next option looks the best option. It’s how Trump was elected, why Hillary (Trump’s friend) elevated him, why the Democratic media (CNN, MSNBC) gave him so much free airtime. To make Trump look so awful you’d vote Hillary.

It didn’t work.

This also explains why the DNC just destroyed any chance for Medicare for All, Legal Marijuana, and every other Progressive ideal. They think they’ve got it in the bag.

And why they devastated Bernie.

And why Republicans across the board are backing Biden.

The Oligarchy plays a long game. They can turn on a dime if needed, but they must keep up their false appearance of two opposing parties. It’s all a lie and it’s so obvious now to anyone paying attention.

It’s also proof they’re getting more scared and more desperate when they’re going this far in their scam.

Now more than ever is the time we need to go Green Party and get Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker as much power as possible. If Trump gets re-elected he’s not going to want to stay and will be more screwed in his ability to fight and his actions. If Biden gets in there will be a false sense of a “win” under the grift and people will get complacent while he does all the same things with a smile and tossing out crumbs to the people.

There is only one option to vote for in November.

https://howiehawkins.us

Why Engagement Doesn't Matter Anymore.

I've been thinking about this for some time now, and it's a hard thought to have especially as one who has been very actively engaged with political discussion for years, but the truth of the matter is that engagement to fight for basic humanity and decency is over.

What am I talking about?

We all know that those narcissistic, arrogant, bigoted White Supremacists (we'll call them Nazis for ease of use) who support Donald Trump, who have turned the Republican Party into the Nazi Party of the 1930s, and who are destroying all that the USA was built upon will never, ever be convinced they are on the wrong side of all that is sanity, but we engage them in discussions (arguments actually) to convince those on the fence that yes, these people are bad, they are ignorant, they are voting for hatred and bigotry and greed, and that you shouldn't ever be on the fence about them or their actions.

We also engage them to show the Nazis, hey, we are NOT going to put up with them and be silent about what they are doing to our fellow human beings in this nation or other nations. Or to our environment. Or to our children. Or to our lives. That we are standing strong and will fight them at every step of the way.

However...it doesn't matter anymore.

We have reached a tipping point. We have gone through two years of a wanna be Hitler and his sick, fanatical cult followers as well as his Congressional enablers of the Republican Party. We have gone through two years of Corporate Democrats (Vichy Democrats) who have done absolutely nothing to fight against Trump or the Republicans except pay lip service and put a pretense of "fighting." We have engaged bigots, haters, racists, liars, the delusional, and the profiteers that support what's going on.

Two years. For some of us who saw this coming and what the Republican and Democratic Oligarchy actually means, many years more.

And now at this time it doesn't matter anymore. Engagement is meaningless.

Nazi Republicans will never change what they are now that they are out of their Hitler shrine basement dwellings. They have proven that time and again at the ballot boxes, in their reactions to mass murders by their fellow White Supremacists, in their support of the horrors being inflicted on others from Hispanics to Muslims to Blacks to Native Americans. Engagement changes nothing.

Vichy Democrats will never change what they are because they are blinded into thinking that their "side" is good. They can't see that Trump, who was a member of their party and supported their party and their candidates, was one of them. That their current "leaders" (not representatives) are purposely protecting Trump and working with Republicans on everything from the bloated military budget to imperialist wars to corporate gifting. The people who support these politicians say "vote blue no matter who" giving the Vichy Democrats carte blanche to be what they are, Oligarchs like the Republicans who care nothing, not one single bit, about them or anyone else. Engagement changes nothing.

So what's left? Progressives? Yes. They are the future. They (we) are fighting to change everything and it's hard and it's tiring and it's disheartening and it's a struggle. But we're not engaging other Progressives, we're agreeing with them in discussions and reasonable talk and ideas of what humanitarian's can do to save our nation, and even the world, if we can change things. Always talk to your fellow Progressives.

But engaging the Nazi Republicans and Vichy Democrats is futile. They are as entrenched and ignorant and blind and self destructive as human beings can be. They, like our political system, are two sides of the same coin, a duopoly of blind fealty to Oligarchy that each side thinks will somehow help them, elevate them, and save the nation.

When in fact both of them work together to destroy the nation, but cannot at all see it, and never will, no matter what is said or how often it is said.

The only thing that can change either sides minds is their own self realization. Will that come by the nation being buried under rubble like Germany in 1945? Will it come through the end of a horrific Civil War like our's in 1864? Will it come through a bloody head dropping revolution like France in 1799?

Or will it come through a complete change in our society by Progressives in 2020?

Time will tell. But one thing that will not change anyone's mind anymore is engaging them in social media, in the news, in blogs, or anywhere else. After two years all their minds are made up.

Instead of futile engagement save all your strength for working toward a more powerful unity of progressivism. To work together, to support each other, to strengthen each other. Use the time you would have spent arguing with Republicans and Democrats to rise up those that share your view of humanity as a whole. In that way you can make a bigger difference than futile engagement, a difference that in the end might actually bring about the change we all hope for.

How the Oligarchy is Playing Us for Fools

Ponder this, think about it, consider it very carefully if you've been following how things have gone since the 2016 election, and even before:

Trump was a Democrat for part of his party affiliation.

Trump gave hundreds of thousands to Hillary, Bill, and Chuck.

Trump and the Clintons were close friends.

Trump talked to Bill before he declared himself Republican.

Hillary and Schultz ran a Pied Piper campaign to elevate Trump.

Hillary and the DNC purposely rigged the election so Sanders, who would have beaten Trump, could not win.

Obama has a “talk” with Sanders to not broker the convention.

Obama stops interfering in Russian cyber attacks.

Trump wins.

And considering how close the Clintons and Schumer have been with Trump for years you have to ask...how did they not know about the Russians? And why did the DNC and Hillary jump to Russia as their first excuse so very, very fast?

Let’s look at it at an Oligarchy level.

They sure as hell do not want a Democratic Socialist as our President with tens of millions behind him.

They sure as hell love the military industrial complex and the billions it brings in.

So let’s consider if Hillary won.
She accused Russia of attacking us.
She said they were dangerous.
So she’s President.
She ramps up our military and NSA to the tune of billions.
Putin does the same.
So Cold War II which makes the Oligarchy a massive fortune and keeps the people afraid.

So let’s consider if Trump won.
He absolves Russia of attacking us.
He said they weren’t dangerous.
So he’s President.
He ramps up our trade deals and tariffs to the tune of billions where Putin gets the offset trade but makes huge deals with Russia which is now getting massive influx of cash trade.
So the USA and Russia benefit from our tariffs and trade war.
Which makes the Oligarchy a massive fortune and keeps the people in moving more toward indebted slaves.

So both Oligarchies win.

The Democratic Socialist is weakened.

The nation is being ripped to shreds.

But now you’ve got the Democrats and their pundits screaming “blue no matter who" making Hillary look oh so much better than Trump (or anyone). No matter who, as long as not Trump or Republicans. No matter who even if it’s just another Oligarch. No matter who as long as it means the people will not win.

I’m starting to think the duopoly knew they were about to fall when this Democratic Socialist got so powerful so they had to neuter him. And I’ll just bet that “talk” he had with Obama was a warning and the “investigation” into Sander’s wife when he started up against the DNC was a clear message.

The people are being played. Big time.

Note the way the Establishment Democrats are trashing Cortez with the help of the media.

This is a war of the people vs the Oligarchs but the people don’t know it yet, they still think a Party is the way to go.

And as a reminder...

1. Their families have known each other for many years. Here's Trump endorsing Hillary Clinton in 2012:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5A02pNcGHs

2. Here's Bill Clinton and Donald Trump hanging out together in 2000:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/new-photos-bill-clinton-trump-melania-227945?cmpid=sf

3. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump shared a Golf Game and a cordial chat shortly before Trump decided to run.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/08/05/donald-trump-and-bill-clinton-chatted-by-phone-before-trump-announced-candidacy/

4. Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton are good friends..They only put their friendship on ice for this election:
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/chelsea-and-ivanka-put-their-friendship-on-ice-220547

5. Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are both connected to Jeffery Epstein:
http://www.inquisitr.com/3108141/bill-clinton-allegedly-flew-on-pedophile-jeffrey-epsteins-sex-jet-with-trafficked-girls-26-times/

6. Trump gave $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation:
https://guccifer2.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/clinton-foundation-donors-25k.xlsx

7. Trump and Clinton share Delaware tax 'loophole' address with 285,000 firms:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/25/delaware-tax-loophole-1209-north-orange-trump-clinton

8. Bill Clinton then appointed Donald Trump's sister to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1999:
http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/not-many-people-know-this-about-trumps-sister-but-they-should/

9. Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton attended Donald Trump's wedding:
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2015/jul/21/carlos-curbelo/clintons-really-did-attend-donald-trumps-2005-wedd/

10. WikiLeaks Leaked John Podesta Emails Reveal Hillary Clinton’s Presidential Strategy, Which Included ‘Elevating’ Trump In GOP:
http://www.inquisitr.com/3572960/wikileaks-emails-reveal-hillary-clintons-presidential-strategy-which-included-elevating-trump-in-gop/#5rQrurBET0GghFv5.99

​
We're being played. We've been played for decades.

The why and how of removing Confederate statues and glorifications.

Anyone who knows me knows that for my entire life I have been a history buff. More than that I have read, rabidly, books about history, politics, biographies, and everything I can get my hands on. My favorite areas of study are the Civil War, Indian Wars, World War I, and World War II.

And anyone that knows me also knows that I fight like the dickens to ensure that history is always available and always there because when we dismiss, ignore, hide, or diminish history we end up repeating it (as we have now with Nazis in the nation, but that's in my prior blog posts).

So many people think "He'll defend keeping the Confederate statues, he'll say they are okay as they are part of history, and that removing them is wrong."

Nope. They definitely should be removed...but with a caveat.

You see as I grew older I wanted to know all sides of the story. As they say the truth is usually in the middle, but that is only true for some things at some moments in history. Consequently I have talked with many people including those who suffered and suffer. I've talked with and known Holocaust survivors, Blacks who were attacked, Hispanics here illegally, Muslims who were vilified, and many others. I heard their stories, I watched them cry, I was appalled by some of their tales. I also read...a lot. I read about the oppressed and the oppressors. I read how either side was righteous.

But what I found was one specific truth...the oppressors always, always, always sought to dehumanize those they disagreed with. They sought to destroy their lives and backgrounds. They wanted not to just make them an oppressed people, but to utterly crush them and then either eliminate them or use them. And those oppressors were never righteous in any form of societal, moral, or ethical thinking.

What I found when talking to Holocaust survivors is that the last thing they, or any of their family, would want to see are statues in the town squares of Germany of Hitler, Goebbels, Bormann, etc.

The last thing that Ukrainians want to see in the square of Kiev are statues of Lenin and Stalin.

The last thing that Iraqis want to see are statues of Saddam.

The last thing that Hispanics want to see are Noriega or many of their dictators.

And the last thing that Blacks want to see are statues of General Nathan Bedford Forrest who founded the KKK, or General Robert E. Lee who led the Army of Virginia in support of the rights of slave states, or Jefferson Davis who as President of the Confederate States of America was leader of the seditionist act to destroy the United States of America and wanted to allow for expansion of slavery.

So why then do we have those statues in our squares? Why do we allow them to be honored in our street and school names? Why, when we do not ourselves put up statues of those we fought and who wanted to destroy people and civility, are we putting up and allowing the statues of the leaders of the Confederacy?

And why in the world would any White American want to glorify people who wanted to destroy the entire nation all so that they could let some of the people own slaves under "states rights?"

Why?

Because for them it's not at all about the actual statues. It's not at all about "states rights." It's not at all about our history. It's about clinging onto the right to be a White supremacist. It's about wanting to hold onto their White privilege. It's about wanting to intimidate and invoke fear unto those who's skin or religion or lifestyle is not their White Christian one.

It's about everything that caused those statues to be up not after the Civil War, but during the battle for Civil Rights in the 1900s. If you check most of those statues were done as Blacks were fighting, struggling, and even dying to just be considered Americans like everyone else.

And they still are.

And every day that a Black person walks by such a statue, or attends Nathan Bedford Forrest School, or sees someone with a massive Confederate Flag in the back of their pickup truck it's a statement to that Black American..."fuck you."

It's the same, completely the same, as those members of the American Nazi Party, who in full Brown Shirted uniforms, marched through the Jewish majority village of Skokie, IL years ago. Imagine if American Nazis, which were in the hundreds of thousands before Pearl Harbor, had managed to get statues of Adolf Hitler erected throughout the nation. Would we have left them in place after Hitler lost? Would we have put up more later on? What about the Jewish Americans, how would they feel?

That's what's going on right now.

And with the ascension of a fascist, bigot, and liar to the White House in the form of Donald Trump, supported by the modern Nazis, the Republicans, and his elevation due to the machinations of Hillary Clinton, his friend, and the Democrats collaboration where are we?

We are into a situation where the people are taking things into their own hands. Where they will NOT allow Nazis to rule our nation, to scare us, to intimated us, to attack Blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, Jews, or anyone else. The people will not allow the USA to become the new Nazi Germany. And since they cannot turn to the Democrats (usually the supporters of the people) they are now doing it themselves. They have also seen that the police, who used mace, armor, and riot gear on Native Americans, Occupy protestors, BLM, and others but did nothing at all and didn't stand up to Nazis carrying rifles, holding torches, and chanting "blood and soil" (taken from the SS motto of "blood and honor") that they too are suspect.

So now the people are bringing down the symbols of a failed seditious action and racist slavery. They are tearing down the statues themselves or forcing their representatives to remove them "or else." And those are good things.

But now for the caveat I mentioned before, not all the statues should be brought down in a chainsaw manner and none of them should be destroyed.

Why you might ask incredulously after this long spiel?

Because they are part of our history. Those statures, like the ones of Nazi figures and paraphernalia in the Holocaust Museum, should all be in their own museums in all the states who seceded from the union and lost. They should be put in them with information as to who the person was, what they did during the Civil War, and how they ended up after. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest should be shown to have been such a rabid racist he lynched freed Blacks, he formed the KKK, and he was as vile a person as existed. Gen. Robert E. Lee should be shown as the commander of the armies and how he turned against his oath to the United States and became a traitor. All of them should be preserved and exposed.

And some statues should not be destroyed or removed but left in place because some of those in the South realized what they were doing was wrong, and became activists for Civil Rights, such as General PGT Beauregard who after the war fought for Black voting rights and the start of Civil Rights in Louisiana.

For the others, we do not want them destroyed lest we forget what they did and what happened. We do not want to bury their despicable actions. We sure as hell do not want to glorify them any longer.

So do not destroy them. Remove them. Preserve them for a museum to the horrors and actions of the states they were in. Make it clear their actions will not be tolerated ever again.

For you see we made this mistake once with the Nazis. We taught the American students and people about the horrors of the Holocaust, but we never taught them how the German people came to murder millions. How they elected, legally, Nazis to the Reichstag (Congress). How Adolf Hitler was legally made leader of their nation.

We never taught our children that. We never made it clear what fascism and Nazism were. We made a massive mistake, and now we have Nazis in our government, on our streets, and trying to make this another Nazi Christian White Supremacist state and using the statues and glorification of the Confederacy as their rallying cry.

Never again.
Never, ever, again.
And never, ever here.