It was the nineteen sixties. Am certain you see throw back photos of those days on your Face Book page. On the West Coast, the girls left their bras at home, eased up on the eye liner and the cut off jeans were really cut off – way off. And then there were the guys who stopped with the shoes and went to sandals and those weekly visits to the barber shop came to an abrupt halt.

Things were just a little different on the East Coast. The atmosphere was more political in nature and there was a real push to spark political action on several fronts. One of many major protests against the Viet Nam war was held at Columbia University where students took over and occupied buildings on campus. There the mobilization in Washington, DC. —-all to protest the war. But there was another war going on and it was here at home, in the South ,  and it had been on going for a long time but came to a head in the mid sixties. A key event was the March for Civil Rights from Selma to Montgomery Alabama, culminating in  the Bloody Sunday confrontation on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

While all this was on going, there was finally a movement in Washington to answer the protests and demands for civil rights and in July of 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed in to law the Civl Rights Act and, of equal importance the following year in August of 1965, he signed in to law the Voting Rights Act – a singularly most important piece of legislation.

Over the decades, the Voting Rights Act has been a barrier against the games political parties play in order to skew elections. Of particular utility was Sections 4 and 5 of the Act which required states to submit to DOJ and the Office of the Attorney General for review and approval any changes on their election processes or procedures, including redistricting. Under this rule and based on their long history of irregularities, nine states were specifically named to be covered by this requirement.

Over time, there were numerous court hearing and, in response to those review requirements, rulings which focused on election integrity. That, however, was all  about to change. 

For a curious rationale and what many believe is an explanation of a decision that clearly demonstrates that SCOTUS was out of touch with reality,  in 2013, in a 5-4 decision , the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which set the requirements for review in Section 5. In an explanation of the majority opinion, Chief Justice Roberts made the comment that conditions in the country had changed and the rules for review and oversight were “ outdated “ and he left it to congress to pass new legislation. It was like he was saying that discrimination in voting procedures didn’t exist any longer. Of course, to date, congress has failed to meet that challenge.

This decision paved the way for a later decision which has had near crippling effect on voting rights.

In 2025, the court – now packed with GOP / Trump loyalist justices – ruled to strike down Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act which forbade denying access to voting based on color or race. In Louisiana v. Calais, the court ruled against intentional creation of a majority-minority voting district. It’s a tricky ruling on a tricky issue, particularly considering the demographics of many voting districts. What this actually accomplished was to open the door to massive gerrymandering and the elimination of voting districts which did, probably , have minority majorities based on census data.

Within the hour, states began to enact the gerrymandering of GOP_ favoring districts and virtually eliminating many districts which were heavily African American in demographic. This was especially notable in some of the very states that were required to submit plans to DOJ under Section 4 noted earlier.  Plainly, in many legal opinions, this was discrimination in its composition with the intent of eliminating a generally democratic voting populace. Indeed, many go as far as to call this what it is – the blatant rigging of the upcoming mid term elections and the 2028 presidential general election. And it is safe to say, the MAGA loyalists led by the current regime, are a key force in this design.

So, where are we at this point, one must ask. We have a less than credible court system, including SCOTUS. We certainly cannot depend on congress to do their job , i.e. govern, with the current composition. And, while the GOP is running ragged over this country, the democratic party continues to stand by, hat in hand,  waiting for the next crisis to which they can react and, with certain notable exceptions, is miserably failing not only with messaging but with a serious lack of messengers.

The question then remains, what do we do about all this. There is an old saying about learning  from history and one expects that we are called to remember and learn today. In the sixties, it was the massive demonstrations by the people that was a key factor in ending a long twenty year  war in Southeast Asia. It was demonstrations and marches in the streets that was a key factor in the enacting of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. 

Today, there is a contagion in the oval office and this disease has spread  to the full GOP. While one can accept the alleged power of thoughts and prayers, it will be the showing of popular actions and demands for accountability that will bring about reform and perhaps even reversal of the recent insanely regressive court rulings. People must all band together and loudly make known that  “WE THE PEOPLE “ need to have our democracy back and that fascism has no place in our country and rampant corruption has no place in our government.

We do not usually spell out, based on the topic at hand, specific tasks and objectives for our readers to follow. Our goal has been,  is and will continue to be to offer our opinions based on reliable research and factual accounts and allow for our readers to further engage in discussion and debate from which to learn. However, these are indeed quite different times and the more that one points out strategies, the more likely the success in achieving our goal of rescuing this nation.

Join a group and demonstrate on that corner, communicate to your local and congressional elected officials, write on social media or with letters to the editor of local publications…..make it widely know that we abhor authoritarianism and expect a government of, by and for the people….not just for that top ten per cent. AND ABOVE ALL – remember to VOTE and vote like your RIGHTS  DEPEND on it, because they do. 

Gentlemen, ladies, friends and all those who care abut the future of this country :

Recently there was an incident with CSBS news and the program 60 minutes, a long time source of credible, to the point news stories and interviews .

It seems that the newly acquired Editor-in Chief, one Bari Weiss, decided that  a compelling piece regarding the CECOT prison in El Salvador and the Trump regime’s use of it for political purposes – a story by Sharyn Alfonsi – was spiked. In layman’s terms, it means it was removed from the schedule and not to be shown at its scheduled time slot.

According to Ms Weiss – a well known Trump supporter, and a strong proponent of the BIG LIE that the 2020 election was rigged,- the story was “ not ready for the public “.

The correspondent on the story protested that the decision was political, which Ms Weiss denies.Her reply said the story was not ready and she wanted, in order to make it ready for prime time, to bring in Stephen Miller for an interview and get his take on the story.

The video of this episode somehow found its way out to the public and can be found on You Tube and possibly selected news outlets. In the course of this segment, you will see pictures that will disgust you but more important, you will hear the truth about the Trump regime and its fascist mode of conducting the Trump version of government, that being much closer to how crime families do business. Listen closely to the comments by Lee  Gelernt of the ACLU and the specifics on criminal status data by the interviewer, Cecillia Vega . How, of all those sent to CECOT, only 20 % had a criminal record of any kind and none were afforded a hearing or had any sort of probable cause, other than their ethnicity – pure bigotry and racial profiling  at its worst.

For the record, the regime is clearly in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and is guilty of ignoring several court orders.

And again,  for the record, the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 does allow for removal of non citizens DURING WAR TIME……we are not at war, we are not being invaded and the only national emergency we are suffering from is the Trump regime itself. And again, for the record, that same Act which is forming the basis for all this insanity does REQUIRE DUE PROCESS for detainees.

What we are seeing here is clearly censorship on the part of the regime and its loyalist, Bari Weiss. For her to say the segment was not ready is pure nonsense and that she wants Stephen Miller to be available to respond and offer his opinion  before releasing for air time is proof positive – Miller, the house neo-nazi who is on the record as saying that “..cruelty is the point ..”   of the regime’s immigration policies, the policies which he no doubt designed.

What we are seeing is a beginning of the Trump regime’s effort to control the media and its coverage of his insane efforts to completely destroy our government. It is now up to us, the people, to DEMAND that congress do its job. It is time for congress to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove this traitor and his associates and rescue the country from this wave of destruction.  To quote Albus Dumbledore, dark times are ahead and we all must choose between what is right and what is easy  !

It has been a struggle of late to find a way to focus on any one single matter of  deep concern or blatant egregious violation of constitution or law  in the first one hundred plus days of this regime. Nonetheless, though there are many,  certain highlights must said.

We will stipulate that the current occupant of the oval office is the only one who tried to rig an election , has a long history of cheating, fraud, blatant bigotry, is clearly suffering from MNPD and is a convicted felon.

There was a  maxim floating around for years that stated fear and ignorance would win every election. Today, you can add arrogance, bigotry and stupidity, making for a rather dangerous cocktail. What we are now witnessing is a all out attack on our very system of government, orchestrated by a emerging dictator and a cult following that jim jones would be proud of . The agenda at this point are the dismantling of federal agencies, the alienation of allies and the destruction of the safety net for millions of people. We are witness to the  weaponizing of agencies against the very people they were instituted to help and a cadre of MAGA lunatics running those agencies into the ground, both fiscally and in terms of policy.The administration, or rather regime as it should be called, in its reckless profusion of executive orders, is clearly guilty of violating several amendments to the constitution and numerous laws, particularly the emoluments clause and blatant contempt of court.

Among the many elements come to light in this regime, some stand out as being particularly repugnant.

The first is the blatant disdain for anyone who is Middle class or of lower income. You can gauge this by the number of programs and policies that are being dismantled which directly focus on assisting or, as mentioned above,  providing a safety net to millions of people. His attacks on such programs such as Head Start, Medicaid, Social Security, USAID and FEMA, just to name a few, are a clear indication of a special type of bigotry.

Secondly, there is his constant attack on the news media – specific news media – the ones which tell the truth, criticizing him and pointing out his complete failure as a president. He cannot stand the stories in print or the pointed questions at press conferences. He runs them more like a  reality television show, complete with name calling, summary denial of facts and continually falling back on the BIG LIE about the 2020 election.

Thirdly, this total disdain for government and all those hard working GS workers  manifest itself in a most frightening way, dismissing thousands of staff on all levels without cause, as is required by law, and then allowing a mentally deranged megalomaniac named Musk and his team of college drop out coders full and unfettered access to the personal data of  millions of citizens at the IRS and Social Security.

And finally, at least for here, is his complete and deep seated disdain for the Rule of Law. 

This is the richest country in the world and yet, twenty per cent of children live in poverty and are food insecure, one in ten children will experience homelessness sometime in their lives and millions of seniors are living with a meager social security cheque as their sole source of income support. We look now then at what a lunatic cult ,not to mention those ninety million who didn’t think voting was important have put in the oval office and the cruelty he and his cadre of liars and grifters are showing , How could we allow this to happen and what MUST we do to recover from this colossal walk down the wrong path. It is time to WAKE UP PEOPLE and fix this.

In 2024, ninety million voters did not think voting was important any longer. Seventy million others would rather elect a known grifter, pathological liar and convicted felon to the  oval office than elect a highly educated, highly skilled woman, let alone a black woman.

As a direct result, we have installed a singularly unqualified imposter in the Oval Office –  a convicted felon, confirmed bigot, pathological liar , malignant narcissist and one who clearly suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. In addition, he has brought a cadre of unqualified, far right loyalist types along to dismantle our government agency structure, utilizing the infamous Project 2025 as his playbook. His allies and enablers in the senate have passed through and confirmed a chronic drunk to head Defense, an addict to head Health and Human Services, a WFTP to head Justice, a far right conspiracy devotee to head FBI, and a Russian Asset to be DNI, just to cite a few of the more notable.

His personal agenda, formulated and promulgated by a Russian dictator , was to further that dictator’s agenda of destroying democracies around the world by destroying our democracy from within and we have seen the clear evidence of this agenda .The key strategy here was to create a plutocracy where the top ten percent rule, are above the law and will bring to an end any and all public involvement in the betterment of our society

In order to accomplish this, a CULT, known as MAGA was, over time , orchestrated and developed by capitalizing on wide spread outlandish xenophobic fears  and the pervasive political ignorance  of a significant portion of the voting population . This process ,  aided by the complete and blatant failure of congress and particularly the senate , as well as the colossal failure of the DOJ and the then Attorney General, to do what should have been done, puts us now where we find ourselves, in a perilous circumstance . 

The agenda was to completely take over and then virtually eliminate our constitutional republic form of government and replace it with an authoritarian dictatorship while completely restructuring the existing world order. It will happen quickly and with no regard for the damage wrought. It is a lesson we should have learned from the 1930s in Berlin.

 Sadly, all those who could have the power to , if not stop this insanity, at  least call it in to question and slow down the damaging before both the congress and the courts, having been reluctant to step up to the task –  and that is being polite – wake up to the reality that is right before them.The Ship of State is in turbulent waters and is, indeed, in peril of sinking.  While we may disagree – in fact we may vehemently disagree – on the vote choice in the past election , we should and must agree as to what we all are seeing and what is happening inside the beltway and that it is a dangerous and  critical cause to the detriment of our very form of government. Our democracy, while it has its flaws, remains the best choice for people across the board and it is worth fighting to preserve.

_________________________________________________

The above discussion was written a month or so ago while the outcomes of that ill fated election were still in the formative stages, so to speak and we  were as yet, in a  wait and see  frame of mind. However, in frighteningly short order, we have been witness to the near collapse of our democracy and the evidence is clear that the global agenda of the Russian dictator has become the agenda for the world’s newest fascist dictator right here inside the Washington beltway.We have a dictator in the oval office who is seriously out of touch with reality surrounded by a cadre of die hard loyalists who will lie about everything in order as long as it supports that dictator as  they join in the quest to dissemble the government and any institution which dares to countermand its cult manifesto. 

We are seeing the posture of scoff law taken to the extreme .                

Universities, the arena where free thinking and honest debate  historically are conducted, are  being attacked for who they are, whom they hire, what they teach and what  social issues they research. The regime is likewise targeting individuals who dare speak truth to power, especially law firms, educational institutions and non profit organizations. 

At least one top research scientist at he National Institutes of Health ( N I H ) has left because of hard line censorship levied against his research findings, reportedly because they do not conform to the Secretary’s warped ideas about foods and processing  – this being the Secretary cited above.

Included also is, by virtue of the whim of a brainless billionaire who has no concept of government and how it works, the wholesale firing of federal employees with the goal of  saving funds in order to pay for the expected exorbitant tax cuts benefitting the upper ten percent of the wealth spectrum.  And let us not forget the blatant attack on Social Security, and SSI with its millions and millions of beneficiaries. Millions of senior citizens, millions of children and millions of survivors will suffer under the now fascist agenda, bringing to a possible end the quest of the GOP since 1936.

And outside the beltway, persons here either legally or illegally are being rounded up and deported, without any semblance of due process, to a foreign prison with no hope of rescue. We will not even discuss the threat by this dictator of actually arresting citizens off the street or in their homes whom he might think are engaged in criminal activity, a.k.a. protesting against his agenda.

All the firewalls are down and the oval office has become the center of a fascist regime. This is what over seventy million people voted for and make no mistake,  for whatever reason or whatever twisted rationale, it is exactly for what they voted. Now they may awaken and see the reality of authoritarianism in action and perhaps come to understand that what they got is what they wanted but what they wanted, uninformed and misinformed as it is, is unfortunate, mostly illegal, certainly unconstitutional and downright  unAmerican.

Again, the war . and it is a war . is on and what is at stake is nothing less than the existence of the republic.

These are indeed the times that try men’s souls and it is likewise thee time that we, the people, must take whatever steps we can to stem the tide of this extreme lunacy and bring some level of sanity back to inside the beltway.

Whiskey Tango

Over the decades, and actually centuries, we have marked the demise of certain persons who have had significant impact in one way or another on the world in which we live. There was Socrates in 399 BC , Edgar Allan Poe in 1849, John F Kennedy in 1963, Mark Twain in 1910, Bertrand Russell in 1970, Albert Einstein in 1955 and Carl Sagan in 1996. And now, we will mark 2024 as the year that perhaps marks one of the most significant deaths – the death of democracy in the United States. While this may be a bit premature, the seeds have been sown and the proverbial die has been cast.

Sometime back in about 1974, there was an article in the American Educator written by the esteemed scholar and statesman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The article was titled  “ Defining Deviancy Down”. Based on several theories in the world of criminology, the article lays out how, after a point, with so much criminal behavior swirling about, the behavior becomes tolerable, even for some, the norm. Can you understand how this is relevant to today and how certain elements of the fringe now have what can be described as permission for their conduct.

Moving forward, Moynihan’s observations continue to be relevant and are picked up by Yale professor, Timothy Snyder who warns, in no uncertain terms, about how movements like the Third Reich took over a country through first manipulation of and then controlling of the messaging throughout the country, all the while stifling any and all resistance to its singular way of thinking. Paired with scapegoating a specific ethnic group for all the country’s ills, the movement grew and grew and, well, the rest is history and the question remains, have we still not learned from it all . In fact, we are facing much the same scenario .

Professor Snyder updates the warnings, particularly regarding the messaging flow, by pointing out the dangers of our wholesale surrendering to social media, whether  the content is based in fact or not.

But, while the eminent Yale professor in plain talk, has presented a warning for us all regarding our politics fate, there is one whose commentary on the politics and governance of this country and its fate, is not only as compelling but reiterates a warning that many have been laying out there for decades, yes, decades. Which segues in to what’s to be, in our opinion, a discussion of what is a primary causal factor contributing to how ew ended top in this ever intensifying state of chaos.

Twelve years ago, retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter was interviewed by Margaret Warner of the PBS News Hour, the focus of the  discussion being his observations on the fate of our democracy. The interview was held at the Capital Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire. The discussion went per usual but then Ms Warner, based on  comments earlier in the discussion, probably asked the Justice what keeps him awake at night. His reply was irrefutable in its compelling scope. He quoted Benjamin Franklin’s admonition about democracy struggling to survive “ too much ignorance” and then proceeded. 

To paraphrase, Justice Souter laid it out. I don’t worry about losing the republic to a foreign invasion, nor to a military coup. He continued .. and I quote here – “ What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough….some one person will come forward and say “ give me total power and I will solve this problem”.  This show the Roman republic fell. This is the way democracy dies and if something is not done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that is what you should worry about at night.

Clearly, the honorable Justice was stating what many have said over the decades. Fear and ignorance will win nearly every election and will precipitate the collapse of the nation.

The MAGA cult has been given its permission slip. That one person has been put in the most powerful position in the world and  the list of possible cohorts to be joined in that power is frightening indeed . As the New York Times post election analysis noted in a two sentence paragraph that summarizes it all,  this was a conquering of a nation not by force but with a permission slip. Now America stands on the precipice of an authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its 248 year history. ( Lisa Lerner, NYT 11/06/2024 ).

A virtual crime family has secured power by capitalizing  on the widespread , mostly unfounded and baseless fears and the likewise  wide spread civic ignorance of the voting body politic.  It has happened,  as it is  and now we, assuming the citizenry will awaken to realize  the value of a democracy, must engage in a war of recovery before the inevitable damage becomes irreparable.

For those who have traveled , as they say, in my orbit over the years, it should be evident that I have been engaged in, closely followed , observed and offered observations and commentary on the politics of our surroundings. There have been involvements in  the politics of local jurisdictions, state level legislatures and, of course the goings on inside the beltway and its tributaries into the states.  We won’t even talk about the private sector and its own brand of politics, especially those organizations associated with a church. Over nearly four decades, as an advocate for those vulnerable populations who had a voice that often was  ignored, interaction with legislatures, legislative committees and politicians of  all stripes was the order of the day. It never ceased to amaze me how on the one side, matters of concern seemed all so plain and simple and on the other side of that same coin, they became so very very complicated. Dealing with so many   “ forked tongue “ people had a way of causing major migraines . You could listen as a key note speaker at a right wing group convention lists all those alleged christian principles swearing they are his guiding principle and soon thereafter be indicted for fraud or of being a sexual predator.

One can view the caliber or the lack thereof  of legislative bodies and their committees and the character or lack thereof of its members. A cursory survey of such yields interesting and sometimes scary results. While this is not about a party specifically, it must be conceded that the current edition of the GOP, fallen completely into the MAGA cult, comes across as the worst offender. For instance, one member of congress believes that Italians commandeered the voting machines  and changed the results of the 2020 election. Other  members of congress  actually joined the rioters – yes, rioters – at the Capitol on January sixth, 2021.  Another less than esteemed member of congress can boast of several DUI convictions and had to be escorted out of a theater for public intoxication and indecent actions in public. Then there are  the numerous members of congress who actually voted to throw out the results of the 2020 election, voiding the choices of millions of voters who no doubt voted on both sides of the aisle.  And we won’t go in to the members of congress who still hold that the 2020 election was rigged and that the candidate who lost the popular vote by over seven million and the electoral vote by 306 to 232 actually won. That list is far too long.

The list of such members of legislatures, on all levels,  is long, almost to the point of exhaustion. We all have been witness to such behaviors over and over, time and time again and locale is not an issue. It is pervasive. However, while this is disconcerting to say the least, what one has to look at is the underlying issue which is far more disconcerting. 

Understanding that the office that legislators hold is gained by election and therefore subject to election and reelection, the more profound question which  requires some sort of answer is, while it is difficult to understand how many of these get elected, it remains to find an answer as to how do they keep getting reelected, term after term after term. The possible responses to this question are curious as well as numerous. However, when one looks across the spectrum of those responses, it seems to be clear.

As Donnie Deutsch, television personality, commentator and marketing executive , in discussing the current GOP, notes – “ …. the problem is not with the Republican  party, It is the seventy-four million trump voters …”. The sum and substance is that the problem is with voters – the body politic, if you will and the overall mind set that drives them which is solely  and completely based in two buckets  – fear and ignorance. It all really comes down to those two and, while there are aspects of them that spread out a bit, the essential items are these two – that we have a major portion of the voting public who either are fearful of what they think will happen depending on who they elect , whether real or imagine, or they are pitifully ignorant of the reality that engulfs their  social and political environment.

We have, as many observers of the political tide have concluded, one of the  most politically ignorant voting population in the free world. It is no wonder, considering the constant flood of disinformation spewing out from seriously questionable sources and an audience that the concept of fact checking is totally foreign. Now, I accept that most  people do not follow as closely or spend much in the  way of fact checking as  many writers do, or should. But that we do not teach civics and how government does or should work lends to this lack of knowledge. Nor do we teach even fundamental skills in the art of fact checking – an absolute necessity in this day and age. So, either voters do not know how to check the sources or they simply do not care. Both are unfortunate

conditions. The ground is then fertile for the spread of misinformation, disinformation and outright lies.

The current posture of of least one political party is that it is no longer a political party but more akin to a cult and the so called red states are more akin to Berlin in 1938 than  to the United States in 2024. Even at least one candidate for congress in a swing state is  identifying himself as an America First candidate without, one has to bet, having  any understanding as to where that phrase came from. Yes, it was the mantra of the American Nazi Party in the late thirties.

So now, where are and the question at this point in time is really obvious. What do we do about it all, knowing full well that the very existence of that “ Great Experiment “ is at stake. 

It is paramount that ALL voters spend far more time learning about not only voting process and procedures so they know the how of voting but also spend far more time delving in to the candidates themselves –  for those seeking reelection, what their voting record  is and, in this writer’s opinion, what their personal character is. We should not be electing felons, traitors, fake electors and the like. It is long overdue that we become an informed voting public. It is long overdue that vetting of candidates is now paramount and serious criteria must be imposed. It is time we stop surrendering to the lunatic fringe and work diligently toward a government that actually governs.

CULT OR COUNTRY

Over the past year or so, the public discussion has looked at what can only be described as, on the one side, a declining sense of the rational and on the other side, a striving to achieve a seemingly unachievable level of balance. It is no wonder, considering the continual state of upheaval both within and without the beltway that there is so much confusion and consternation. What has added to it all is that there is a lack of focus in much of the discussion surrounding it all. Perhaps one needs to contend with this panorama of insanity by distilling it down to a manageable subject.

The politics of it all, and particularly as this is a presidential election year, appears to come down to choices. Now, one would claim that an election – any election –  is all about choices. However, this time it is more about more than just choices between candidates for public office, and specifically the office of President.

It is,  in one school of thought, a philosophical choice this country has to make in the near, if not immediate future as to what does  it want to be – remain a democracy, with all its faults or opt to leave that structure behind and move toward a authoritarian or fascist form. For most critical thinkers, this is not much of  a choice but sadly for many it remains a dilemma.

However, one might zoom in, as it were , and look at what might be the driving force behind the condition in which we find ourselves – that of the rise of a cult movement known as MAGA.

By definition, a “CULT “ is that genre of group usually convened around some cause or another where criticism or questioning of the Leader is considered by that leader to be persecution, where anything the leader does is justified, regardless of how harmful it may be and that he, or she, the leader is the only source of truth. Followers must be blindly devoted to that leader and the idea of questioning of any sort is anathema.

Now what we have at present is a distinct choice not only the obvious between democracy or fascism but also the choice between  “ regular order “, as per the late Senator John McCain, and the chaos brought about by what is clearly a movement which must now be tagged as a domestic terrorist cult. There can be no question about the nature of this movement. From the days following the 2020 Election culminating with the attack on the Capitol, to the current leaders vowing retribution and revenge, there can be no doubt of the terroristic nature of not only the Cult but the supporting republican party, which, over time, has ceased to be a political party and has morphed into a support mechanism for a terrorist movement. And this is true not only for the activities on Capital Hill but also throughout the down ballot positions in state and local politics. Election deniers, conspiracy theorists and participants in the attack on January 6th, 2021 are running for office, still maintaining that the 2020 election with rife with fraud and in their mind simply not legitimate in its outcome.

So, here we stand. The voting public will need to decide and do so decisively as to the future. One the one side of the proverbial coin there  we find, with its faults and foibles, a representative republic under which platform we can live and let live to a fairly decent degree, come and go with relative freedom and even make ridiculous mistakes, allowing for a course correction in a reasonable time.

On the other side, we find an authoritarian fascist platform where books are banned, peaceful protests are to be silenced by military action, basic rights are stripped, a free press will be terminated and freedom to express opinion, be it pro or con, ceases to exist. Cruelty against opposition will be the rule and loyalty to a single personality is an absolute.

There can be no question whatsoever that this election will be far more than a choice between candidates. The voters must choose. Will it be country or cult. Will they choose between preserving our very existence as  a nation or  bring the end to the great experiment in democracy.

Over the years, we have avoided being flagrantly partisan, except where it was particularly compelling or germane. While near overwhelming chaos prevails making it difficult to focus let alone write, in this the year 2023, it is clear, compelling and germane to address an absolutely partisan issue.

 The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is a problem. People, we absolutely  have a problem.Over the past eight years, we, as a body politic, have been witness to a most frightening turn of events. We have seen the near collapse of the Republic, barely surviving a widespread conspiracy to overturn a legitimate election along with an outright attack on the Capitol aimed at literally overthrowing the government. This conspiracy was led by a deranged, delusional, twice impeached, four times indicted ex president who continues to spread lies about the last election , lies which are still fully swallowed hook, line and sinker by his MAGA cult followers. The chaos and mayhem, however,  is not limited to  inside the beltway. As per the mid terms and rulings by the definitively politicized SCOTUS, the politics on a state level has become as draconian as ever.  With notable speed, laws curtailing the freedom of choice for  reproductive health services were passed in GOP controlled legislatures. Laws banning books – yes, banning books – were passed, spearheaded by one of the newer fascist groups –  Moms for Liberty – and not only banning books but actually replacing banned books with texts rewritten in such a way as to conform to their twisted sense of white nationalist history.And the key measure being taken by the right wing wave in states is the concerted effort to make voting significantly more difficult, indeed for some people, impossible.

One could continue with example after example of how the “ coup “ is continuing but there still remains the question as to just why.   To quote a  giant of the news world, “ A nation of sheep will soon have a government of wolves ”  ( Edward R Murrow ). Perhaps this does not explain it fully but it certainly does shed some serious light on the subject. It is all about the seizing of and maintaining of power. And now, with the extremist faction of the body politic – that thirty – seven per cent – being given a pathway to the front of the line, it seems that an entirely different agenda is being formulated and fertilized. Paraphrasing a quote from an earlier post, it seems true that hell is empty and all the demons are here. Apparently true and, while the demons are identifiable both inside and outside the beltway, so is the leader. There can be no doubt that the former occupant of the Oval Office, the architect of the treasonous attack on the capitol is in the proverbial driver’s seat. Taking his playbook directly from Mein Kampf, he has intensified his campaign of fabrications, lies, hate and conspiracy theories, mingled with his constant persecution complex rants. 

 So, here we are and now we find ourselves on the verge of the collapse of the Republic and our way of governance which has stood for over two hundred and forty years. The problem is relatively clear. The GOP has abdicated its role as a governing party and it has assumed the role of an avenue for the rise and control of fascism. The question then is what do we do about it and how can we stem the tide of this insanity and provide a remedy, an antidote if you will for this disease.

First and foremost, utilize information sites which are reputable and will convey facts rather than conspiracies. The persistent flow of disinformation must be countered with sources that rely on fact, not fiction. One must also understand there is a difference between the reporting of news and the presenting of opinion and treat each accordingly. Take some time to fact check and cross check when it comes to critical information. Find a way to convey facts to your circle of associates. Convey the disdain for this widespread corruption to your elected officials, even if they are part of it and most of all VOTE – vote for qualified candidates who are well vetted. It all comes down to the vote, friends, and we must clean house  or we will lose it all. We shall see if it all gets turned around and the Republic survives even this attack.

The year is now 2023 and a decade in the trunk room has come to an end.  What we have seen in the past decade will be the point of discussion, probably heated discussion, for the next several years, even decades to come  and at that, a full and clear explanation of the what and who of some events may never be revealed. While there were, indeed, some major positive events and accomplishments on the part of folks throughout the nation and the world, the political scene was nothing short of insane and especially here in the  States, where we were witness to the near collapse of a premiere democracy.From the start, the signs of tension and conflict were growing and it was clear, at least to those who objectively observed , that a rough road was ahead. Misinformation was spreading wider and broader and disinformation was becoming an art form, particularly on certain so called news outlets, though propaganda outlets would be a far better designation. This decade saw societal upheaval the likes of which we have not witnessed in many many decades. The disinformation and the proliferation of twisted “ news” formed a platform for a steady stream of lies emanating from not only the far right media world but from the Oval Office itself . The red hat MAGA movement was born, or better, hatched and the hate mongering began to intensify to a level not seen since the civil rights wars of the fifties and sixties. And, for sure, the worst was yet to come. To any non partisan minded observer, it was clear that a broad based conspiracy, beginning with the attempt to influence a presidential election   and culminating in an actual attack on the Capitol, was long in the making and involved not only a sitting president and his cadre of loyalists but included party leaders and actual sitting members of congress .  The “ Big Lie “ was and continues paving the way toward the destruction of our democracy ,  replacing it with a kleptocracy government.

Sadly, even though the coup attempt was unsuccessful and the transfer of power was completed, similar tactics abound now on the state level in the subsequent mid term elections and the insanity continues. In Arizona, for instance, even months post a certified election and several court rulings, the losing candidate still persists in the idea that she won and, based on that,  is reaping millions in her campaign fund as she considers a run for yet another public office. All this being done with the active support of the twice impeached ex president who conducted himself in the very same way and still to this day, with absolutely  no basis in reality, alleges deep seated fraud in election processes. However, this is only one example of a political party gone over the edge,  a party now whose only interests are in power and profit. This is the party where lying is considered protected speech and brutality has taken the place of cruelty.  In states controlled by this party, voter suppression laws are plentiful. After all, if the party is to win elections, it cannot afford to allow great numbers of people to vote – a posture openly stated by party leadership on several occasions. There are equally disturbing measures being taken in many states – the outright banning of books and the controlling of school curriculum, censuring and even criminally charging teachers who actually teach real history, as opposed to that required by the white supremacy ideologues . There is the widespread passing of laws which exert control over health care, particularly women’s health care. And then there is the adherence to a completely false interpretation of the Second Amendment, allowing for the complete and total disregard for the slaughter by assault weapons, as if it does not matter. When you have widespread political ignorance supported  by social media and a political party leadership whose mantra are things like not paying taxes is smart or, even better, truth isn’t truth, sirens and red lights should be flashing all over. Sadly, it seems they are not. Ladies and gentlemen, as Michael Steele noted, we are looking at what Fascism in America looks like.

The question then remains. what can be done in the face of this massive failure to address these issues. With so many facets working here, all heading us down that road to perdition, what measures can be taken to sway the tide, so to speak. While there is no one simple answer, or even one complex answer, there are efforts that can at least put us on a path to recovery and hopefully a path to shoring up our badly bruised democracy. Unless and until the electorate engages in a massive awakening to reality, we are doomed. The  “ opposition “ political party which to date has failed in delivering a compelling, consistent message,  must take a far more aggressive stance and challenge out front the disinformation being promulgated by the far right media and its devotees.Those responsible for the enforcing of law must likewise be far more aggressive in their role which of late has failed miserably. Evidence the number of  subpoenas ignored or the volume of classified documents stolen from the government and hidden in a beach club residence – to date, all with no consequence. Blatant lying, political violence and outlandish conspiracy theories can no longer be the norm, pushed  on the public with no accountability.

The major concern underlying all of this, however, is the need for a total engagement in the reform of how we elect to be governed and how we elect those who govern. The body politic must take a stand and make a critical choice – to have a say in governance or not , to have a say in who will govern or not. In short, we the people, as it were, must now choose between democracy or authoritarianism. Between democracy or fascism.   The choice is ours to make and it must be made before it is too late. Time is of the essence The forces against democracy are growing world wide and we may well be one of the last bastions of democracy. Will we preserve it or let it die on that altar of kleptocracy.

To paraphrase, these are indeed the times that try men’s souls. And not just men’s souls but the soul of the nation itself

SOTU 2022  -THE CHOICE

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Over the course the past two decades, we were been witness to some positive measures gaining ground. There have been serious advances in the tech world with mobile phones that will do so much more than just make a call. We are on the way to developing a fully electric car that will not cost a fortune and have a long lasting battery to go with it.. The world of medicine continues to make great strides, particularly as we are still combating the Covid virus and its variations .  They have developed a way to test glucose levels without pricking your finger .  Solar energy is getting more and more part of the overall energy scheme of thing.  And while I fail to understand much of the entertainment world, there have been some good productions out there, though the so called music is a bit off putting, at least to my taste. How I miss the real folk rock of the sixties. All in all, not too bad.

However, the latter years of that period were and continue to be plagued with what can only be described as  widespread insanity. It all started, I submit, with the rise of the Congressional Tea Party and went down the hill faster than that proverbial snowball in hell. Since then, as Jimmy Carter noted, the governing has become farther and farther away from the governed  until present day when the governing, or at least the GOP side of the aisle, simply has ceased to govern any longer. What  remains is a total abdication of responsibility and a complete violation of the oath of office and, while this is prevalent on the GOP side, the other side of the aisle is not without sin, so to speak. And the dangerous part of it all is that the insanity is not limited to inside the beltway.

In a plan that probably began in earnest in or around 2012 , one donald trump was being groomed to be the answer to Vladimir Putin’s wish to disrupt the entire western world and convert democracies to authoritarian dictatorships. Capitalizing on widespread fear and ignorance on the part of the body politic and with the help of influence from Russian forces ( who now fully admit to their interference ) in social media and other segments of the social order, trump – in spite of losing the popular vote by over three million votes, secured his place in the oval office. The country then embarked on the singularly most corrupt regime – one refuses to call it an administration – in our history where we saw one agency  after another  become weaponized in furthering the far right, nationalist agenda. We saw things never seen before, including what has to be an unbelievably cruel scheme of separating immigrant children from their parents when arriving at our southern border, some to be lost in a totally broken system. Non one can excuse the separating of children from their families, some to be lost in a totally broken system.  As Adam Serwer asked, were we at the point where “ cruelty is the point “ According to Stephen Miller, we had.The regime continued its agenda of control and influence, strategically spreading fabrications  through the use of sympathetic  far right media outlets.  The country tolerated years of these regime antics exercising no move toward accountability. In fact, the key actors in this scheme actually found support among the right wing leadership of the GOP, particularly in the House.                                                                                            

Then came 2020 – a year for which we are still paying the price. 

In the months running up to the election, the pre determined GOP nominee and his minions began an orchestrated campaign of disinformation challenging the election results even well before the election actually happened, stating that the only way he could lose would be if the other side cheated. The purpose was to garner enough support for the idea that the election would be rigged and rife with fraud and that the supporters would demand the election be thrown out and their candidate be returned to the oval office on the so called merits. Without going in to the almost full year of this nonsense, let’s skip to the end. With the support of many in congress, the far right media, an unbelievable cadre of lawyers, right wing self styled militia members and some serious money people,  what became known as “THE BIG LIE” was hatched and promulgated through the country. The sad thing is, millions bought it – hook, line and sinker. As noted over the years, fear and ignorance will win any election. The incumbent lost by over seven million votes. However, this did not stop the drive to keep him in power and, after all, this is what it ultimately was all about – power.  The following months saw a barrage of media rants, far right congressional rants and so called “ influencers “ screaming that the election with fraudulent. In spite of that, audit after audit disproved that allegation and over sixty court cases were thrown out as having no merit. And then, we witnessed not only fake electors  from several states try to overturn the election results but calls to state official calling for rerunning of the election or “ find me 11,870 votes” to overturn the results in Georgia.    

And then came the sixth of January. We all watched in horror as trump supporters, self styled militia in full tactical gear and trump cult followers from every part of the country storm the Capitol in a riot not seen since the 19th century, aimed at ending the peaceful transfer of power, literally throwing out the election itself and murdering the vice-president and the speaker of the house. The overwhelming promulgation of The Big Lie had nearly succeeded and the trump cult was nearly to have its way. But the process held and a new president was inaugurated. However, the insanity was not to end. The far right, still blindly contending that the 2020 election was stolen, focused on the mid term elections. Still promulgating of the Big Lie  and threatening to decertify the 2020 election, the scheme is now carried to the state and local levels, jeopardizing free and fair elections throughout the country and, as it turned out, we are now facing two years of revenge politics and absolutely an absence of governing. But the cult fever has now spread to other facets of the political realm. One of the new targets is the school systems. We are seeing blatant discrimination against LGBTQ students, suppression of curriculum and yes, even book banning.

Overall, what was an ever present undercurrent of far right, so called christian nationalists has been there since the Cold War era.  Book banning, election outcome control, suppression of rights – all have now come to the surface, all as a direct product of the scheme shaped back in 2012, promulgated over the next decade and launched full force in 2020. And the frightening thing is, the parallels between the U S of 2021 and Germany of 1938 are real, true and exact. 

We are finding ourselves in a state of chaos and the very survival of the Republic and our form of government is now in serious peril. Voting will help somewhat but confronting the media for its role in this is a must part of the answer. Promoting lies, fabrications and disinformation with no accountability must come to an end. We must cease allowing lies and conspiracy theories to be the norm. 

To quote Mr Franklin, “ A republic, if you can keep it” is true now more then ever. Whether he actually said it or not, we must acknowledge it’s relevance to today. We are facing the end. We have driven down the road to perdition and are now at the crossroads –  a democratic republic or a fascist dictatorship. Will we move forward while repairing the damage or succumb to the forces of authoritarianism and become the world’s newest third world country.  Quo Vadis………