Democratic Presidential Convention--On to November

 

I watched the Democratic convention last evening until my body's demand for sleep overtook me around midnight.  Having followed things political for many years this convention was, in my opinion, one of the best I have experienced.  It was entertaining and excellently choreographed allowing stars of the Democratic Party and others to offer speeches including Michelle and Barack Obama who were, as I thought they would be, excellent. I singularly clapped in my own living room many times wishing I were there.  I will be, of course, watching again tonight when the speakers will include:

Former President  Bill Clinton 

• Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former presidential candidate
• Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has a close relationship with Tim Walz
  
• Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, one of a number of Republicans speaking through the week in support of Harris
• Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who fueled momentum to replace President Biden with Vice President Harris on the ticket
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who also ran for president in 2020 and was considered for Harris’ running mate

Many thanks to Joe Biden for selflessly giving up running and for choosing Kamala Harris, his charismatic vice-president, to run for the presidency in his stead.  And thanks

to him for his tenacity and for giving so much to the American people during the 50 years of his tenure.  

The experts are saying the election will be razor close.  That may be so I do not know.  For me, however, the impossible was achieved.  The immoral and unethical bully Trump lost round one. 

 

Hope has been restored.  On to November and let's win then.

NOT ANYMORE

 

I wrote this last week and for the most part sat on it because I did not want my writing to imply anything against Israel. As stated again it is merely an opinion honed in this eternal struggle which has cost thousands of dead. It never stops! The carnage on both sides is incomprehensible.

I paste my opinion below. It is entitled "NOT ANYMORE"

 

I am incredulous that my Jewish people are responsible for these dastardly attacks in Gaza resulting in thousands of deaths -- especially deaths that include children and babies. Hospitals are being bombed. The blood of innocents screams out -- STOP. I a Jew, have honed my politics at a young age based on the Holocaust. Hitler was the poster boy for extreme right wing politics so as a young person trying to decide where I fit on the political spectrum I knew that the right wing was not for me. Those on the right are missing something. They are missing humanitarian ideals. They are missing empathy. My own Jewish people who suffered so much for thousands of years are now killing indiscriminately innocents in hospitals and schools.

 

I have had to come to the conclusion that October 7th and the wholesale slaughter of Jews by Hamas allowed me to become something that I never was, sanctioning inhumane behavior by my own people. After Oct. 7 Israelis said if they do this to me I will do worse to them. I felt proud that Jews fight back. Now, though, I think their pound of flesh has been realized. I have been using Oct. 7 to sanction behavior of my people who are allowing the most heinous barbaric retaliation that equals if not surpasses Hamas' October 7 unconscionable sickening attack that stunned the minds of Jews and non Jews alike. This slaughter MUST stop. The Hamas violence must stop and the attack on Gaza must stop as well. The Gaza assault is a travesty that insults the Holocaust and Jews whose lives lie in graves by the millions in what was once Fascist Europe.

 

I do not like writing this and have thought long and hard as to what I would write. I love Israel but maybe I love Israel so much that I cannot admit their acts would mirror acts by Hamas. Am I glad the Jewish people are strong? Yes, I am glad of that. But, enough is enough. The killing by Hamas and Israelis too must stop. It is in no one's interest to continue the bloodbath. A two state solution is the only way.

 

If there is a God surely He would not sanction this tortuous barbaric massacre. Surely He would say No, never again not anymore!

 

**Postscript: There is no or scant proof of weapons sought below by the IDF. Nor is there any proof of the Israeli hostages. If they are found and if the Hamas weaponry are found below I reserve the right to change my opinion.

The Fire of fear

I cannot advocate strongly enough for Rachel Maddow's podcasts linked below.  The First one: "Ultra" and the second one "DeJa News" are brilliant to say the least. We who are politically under the freedom umbrella of Democracy should be able to avail ourselves of historical periods that mirror the troublesome moment we find ourselves in today. Democracy is threatened but we've been here before and democracy survived.

If one listens to these podcasts one will learn that we have experienced similar events at different historical time periods and we navigated those choppy waters not succumbing to a take down of Democracy, though, the evil forces in our nation surely tried and are still trying very hard to do achieve that.

Again, today Fascism rears its ugly head. The troublesome Donald Trump and his many allies of evil you will see a repeat performance yet again trying hard to build up allies within the Republican Party all over our nation and, indeed, the world. If one Googles "Ultra" and after you finished its episodes then Google "Deja News" you will listen to Rachel's uncanny ability to put out the fire of fear by showing us much of what this nation finds itself now has been tried by different historical players before without losing Democracy.

As she and her producer Issac-Davy Aronson narrate "Deja News," these podcasts will give one new eyes to see that our political predicament is not new and give us the courage to do battle with its ugly forces yet again.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-d%C3%A9j%C3%A0-news/id1690932739

 

I smile and I worry

When the indictments came through against Trump with 37 counts levied against him, when I read 3/4 of the indictment with some pages to go, when I saw the scrupulously ironclad case Jack Smith has woven and the incontrovertible evidence against Trump's handling of the most sensitive top secret classified documents that were not his to take and held helter skelter at Trump's summer place Mar a Lago, I still managed to smile.  Finally, I plaintively asked, would Teflon Don be made to answer for his lifetime of many unethical, unconscionable grifts and acts?

There are no words to accurately describe my incredulity at his cavalier treatment of cartons of documents that would have had the worst life consequences if they fell into the hands of adversaries.  There are no words to describe the fear I felt when I realized how many human beings could have been killed because of the actions of Trump, a former president.  We have no idea how many people could have been hurt because of Trump's actions.  How many of this nation's longtime allies could have been horribly affected by the frivolity with which Trump treated these secret and sometimes top secret documents with revelations of military battle plans, maps and the most secret nuclear plans. 

My smile turns to worry. I worry about the violence that is attached to right wing fascist authoritarian politics, I worry about the Judge Aileen Cannon appointed by Trump, whose ruling for Trump was rejected by an Appeals Court panel,  most of all I worry about the millions who put him in office and worry about the millions who steadfastly cling to him despite the solid Special Counsel evidence against Trump. The worse it gets for Trump the more money he makes.  He gains support each time he is indicted or has bad news levied against him. I worry, too, that despite the many millions spent in carefully arguing the case for conviction, this poisonous Teflon snake named Trump might never be stopped. My worry will not subside, I fear, unless and until he is fairly convicted by the very system which he so rudely attacks. I hope fervently that he loses every appeal his hapless attorneys mount.

What is left for we the people to do in the interim whether he is acquitted or hopefully ultimately jailed? We must ensure after the hopeful conviction of this dangerous man that we never retreat from pursuing true authoritarian fascists in our country and in other nations so that they do not live again in other forms.  When this malignant era of Trumpian politics is over we must ensure it never again envelops the world as new fascists are born in Trump's image.  Moral and ethical people of all races and colors must make sure Adolph Hitler's ghost does not rise again in other forms and we must ensure other concentration camps are not created yet again.

Finally, it is, I think, appropriate now in the face of those who work mightily to erase civil liberties, free thought and the other to quote the German poet Heinrich Heine in his work Almansor.  "Where people burn books they will ultimately burn men as well" to which I must answer Never Again!

 

As I see it: Banking failure of First Republic

  

 

An admission: Economics is not my strong suit. With that out of the way I still think I and everyone else too can have an opinion even on things in which they are not expert. The latest Vesuvian eruption to send out the messenger of fear into the body politic is today's announcement of the First Republic Bank's collapse. This bank was rated one of America's best banks months before. If we measure bank failures by the 1929 Great Depression yardstick it catapults us into a depressive state of fear and anxiety. Nothing so far has reached the devastating depressive effect of 1929. Still, it does not mean that when the economic waves of insecurity strike in the form of bank failures that we should not worry at all. The failure of First Republic Bank still wreaks havoc with some of the ships at sea. After all, it was not that long ago that the 2008 economic collapse concerned me and many others too. Banks were overextended then, to say the least, in handing out a plethora of bad mortgages which the buyers could not repay.

Why is this happening? Why can we never be 100% secure that the banks are monitored to within an inch of their life so that they will never overextend themselves again to ensure we will no longer get a surprise that banks were slovenly over extended and that First Republic Bank's slipshod bookkeeping could not be at fault because the Federal government took care of that in 2008 so that this nation never again would have faulty unbalanced ledger sheets. Think again.

The great ideological divide is that conservatives are loath to government intervention of, well, nearly everything especially things financial but progressives since FDR think in certain very threatening occurrences the government should and must come to the rescue. I believe there is a place for government when self monitoring fails.

Coupled with Republican intransigence of raising the debt ceiling that could catapult the US into the thicket of economic ruin the times are worrisome. Jaime Diamond, the CEO of J.P Morgan Trust, bought out First Republic. He said the nation's banking system is solid. Should we take his word for it? As I see it, I think not.

My Letter to Rachel Maddow and cc to Governor Maura Healtey

 

I applaud you yet again for a superlative interview of Governor Maura Healy.  I am indeed proud to be from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, voted for Governor Healey and will do so again.  Both you and governor Healey are articulately brilliant.  Thanks for having the governor on and hope we can hear from her again.  Of course, I support both of your positions on abortion and support your position on guns as well. I am saddened by the usurpation of the Republican Party by radical right wing extremists and hope Democrats can gain control of both the Federal House while keeping the Senate and take a majority of the seats in state government as well. 

Keep doing what you do, Rachel.  You are the Edward R. Murrow of broadcasting.  Although I like all the commentators on MSNBC and watch them all I miss seeing more of you during the week.  

Separate and, in fact, not equal--an email to Rachel Maddow

 

Rachel,  I cannot thank you enough for reporting on the death of Judy Heumann, a wheelchair bound advocate for 

the rights of the disabled who suffered from polio she caught in1948. As a survivor of polio in 1954, six months before the Salk vaccine, I appreciate every day what her efforts mean to me.   I can drive and find a closer parking space and/or a ramp that makes it easier for a disabled person to enter a building which must be navigated.

Polio paralyzed my right leg entirely up to and including my hip.  I am 74 and now realize the difficult impact of losing

entirely the use of that leg.  I am at risk of falling and have broken my right leg femur three times because of it.  I cannot fracture it again.  Thanks to Judy Heumann for making my life and countless others in this nation and even the world just a little bit easier. 

Moreover, we must eradicate the separate but equal concept not only for the handicapped but we need, of course, to eradicate it for every other minority group that still suffers from its paralyzing effect. 

Keep fighting the good fight, Rachel, for all the other minority groups in our land.  Let us make the "John Lewis Voting Right Act" the law of the land once again this time permanently because separate, in fact, never means equal.

 

The truth of antisemitism

 I have numerous thoughts regarding the proliferation of antisemitism and hate in our nation and around the world.  I have not posted anything about the recent spate of antisemitism as it relates to the Trump candidacy until now. Anti Jewish hate is a subject on which I have strong opinions so much so that I wanted to carefully compose the essence of my thoughts on it because in sum it taps into the core of my being. I want to make an explanation of it clear and and most importantly correct and true.  Because racial hate exists on the political right I positioned myself politically to the left.

I once saw a film entitled "The Longest Hatred." I thought it encompassed much about the long history of antisemitism, its reoccurring theme in the world and, most particularly, in this country because the mantel on which it rests is contrary to what the United States of America is all about.  I will post a link to the "Longest Hatred'' at the bottom of my written thoughts. Full disclosure I am Jewish as were all my ancestors who resided in Europe, Eastern Europe and in America too. 

I was first introduced to the malevolent hatred of the Jews as a young child.  I asked questions such as why do they hate us. My mother answered by saying things like "they are jealous of us."  Jealous of what, I remember I asked?  I observed it and heard accusations about it as a young adult continuing into my adult years where I could more fully grasp and have an understanding of the historicity of it. I was repeatedly told the Jews killed Christ.

Antisemitism spans centuries beginning 2000 years ago and intertwined first with the alleged rejection of Christ, the Christian son of god, by the Jews and his tortuous death by the Roman occupiers of Palestine.  Antisemitism runs deep within the psyche of Christians and its onslaught of hate and ultimate slaughtering of 6 million human beings historically named the Holocaust.  How does something so huge exist perpetrated by the most learned nation in the western world, Germany.  For its evidence one need to historically account for such a thing as the Germans, known for their pristine record keeping kept a tally of  the number of Jews killed which jived with the philosophical underpinnings of Nazism itself.  Moreover, if one reads the German leader Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) for its rationale to make the world in the

"Aryanization: Judenrein & Judenfrei Holocaust Glossary: Terms, Places, and Personalities."Judenfrei or cleansed of Jews to designate an area free of Jewish presence during The Holocaust. While Judenfrei merely to "freeing" an area of all of its Jewish citizens, the term Judenrein (literally "clean of Jews") was also used. This had the stronger connotation that any trace of Jewish blood had been removed as an impurity."

There is sufficient evidence to prove imprisoning and killing Jews was a Nazi goal.  Other nations surrounding Germany may have hated German occupation but some were thrilled with their policy of Jew eradication and waved hands saying "goodbye Jews."

The history of antisemitism is saturated with evidence that it occurred blasting Holocaust denial into oblivion.  No matter how many antisemites choose to deny the existence of the Holocaust there is sufficient evidence to treat that mendacious view as a vicious lie and blast it into the ash heap of history.  Curiously often they both deny it and approve of it.

Trump has zero ethics and will use that which he thinks gives him power.  He allies himself with his moronic antisemites because it is a group which he can milk for political support and does so all the time despite his own daughter's Jewish conversion, her Jewish husband and their children considered Jews by birth. 

I could relate hundreds of antisemitic views including in my own life a neighbor telling me that the "Jews killed Christ" and another time a work compatriot told me she "Jewed someone down" to get a better price on something she purchased.  When the Holocaust was on TV showing the horrific internment of Jews in an array of concentration camps another woman at work told me "See that's what you get for killing one of your own."  By the way Jews never would use crucifixion as an instrument of death but the Romans gladly used it to show others what would befall them as they walked up a hill near the crosses as admonition if they went against Rome.

 Trump induced antisemitism is currently popular and it is a part of fascistic movements all over the world.   The truth that antisemitism exists cannot be denied but the content of it is and always has been saturated with lies. It must be called out for what it is man's proclivity to designate the "other" for eradication and spread those lies about them all over the world.  We must call antisemitism out as lies when we hear or see it.  Silence is an affirmation of it and a way to spread its ugly message far and wide.

The Other

When writing an opinion I often fret that either I do not have any idea about which to write or that I will do so in a way that is not true and subject myself

to many authoritative critiques. When I hear something that is so true and not explained by me then I decide to publish the crafty thought and give credit where credit is due.

Yesterday, Alex Wagner, political commentator on MSNBC, interviewed Trevor Noah, political commentator and host of the Trevor Noah Show on Comedy Central.  

The conversation in which the two were engaged centered around the dramatic split many see within the US polity and many wonder why the political milieu has been so toxic.  In other words, why is so much hate and invective spewed by a nation which prides itself on its concept of equality and justice? Why so much of it centers on the "Other."  The

"Other" in the present case is anyone who is a minority and has suffered violence or verbal attack for many years.  Invective by the majority is couched in a variety of rationales so that one can see it clearly and ultimately understand and accept the rationales for it whether it is true or not.

Trevor Noah explained it as such: "When people are struggling and in poverty (or not) they are told that the reason for their social distemper is certainly in the

person of the "Other."  The "Other," of course, can be defined as black people, brown people, immigrants, gays, Jews and anyone else who does not fit into the descriptive narration of the majority, and who does not look like you, does not pray like you, does not culturally blend in like you but is rather in a minority. 

Even when blame for social malevolence is assessed not to be because of the "Other," Noah stated, the "Other" is still a convenient scapegoat especially when it has

been blanketed in virulent appellations of hatred for thousands of years.

Someone once said to me "when books are burned It is logical then that men will be burned too.  The right wing extremists have pronounced the Jews, the longest hatred, of course, have collectively suffered the mortal consequences of being called a killer of God by the majority.  If one is a killer of God then what does that mean?  It means overthrowing all that is considered good and righteous and thus requires the ultimate penalty of death.

One's mind travels to the Holocaust where Germans rounded up all the Jews they could and annihilated them in the amount of 6 million, an unfathomable number.  The Germans wanted to kill all the Jews of Europe and nearly did and most of the majority acquiesced, it is said, yelling "Goodbye Jews."

What are we to do with the perpetrators of the Holocaust?  Is it enough to lash back in anger? Is it enough to punish them?  Is it enough to win a war?  The only answer I fear is to say Never Again.  That is the best, I think, rational men can do. But you say it already is happening in Ukraine by the Russians that innocents are being slaughtered. It is already happening here as so many are vilified because of the color of their skin and totalitarian inherently unjust Fascism is knocking at our door.  If we shirk our duty then we can be assured that the ugliness will happen again and that it very well could happen to you!

 

Rachel Maddow has been hard at work as she said she would be.

 

On January 6, 2021 in our country there was, as most know, a  nefariously violent attempt at the Capitol by right wing fascist-like plotters such as the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and others to overthrow our Democracy, overturn a fair election and negate the freedoms attendant to it.  At the same time they, and most important to the plot, would place at the apex of political power the twice impeached one time president Donald J. Trump, to illegally secure for him the reins of forever power.  A nice gig if you can get it!

We know the 9:00 p.m. broadcast on MSNBC of the Rachel Maddow Show was shortened, to my dismay, to a once a week Monday broadcast of her show because, she said, she wanted to apply her storytelling craft and historical expertise to other entertainment venues both nonfiction and fiction alike.  She is presenting to us in podcast form a work entitled "Ultra"  -- Episodes 1 and 2 which are available for streaming today.  It is called "Ultra", I think, because the podcast deals with a plot by ultra rightwing extremists to overthrow a duly elected government.  Sound familiar?

Rachel Maddow's podcast Episode 1 and 2 out today is a historical narration of a time in the 1940s not unlike our own where totalitarian groups plotted to overthrow the nation's democracy and install, in Hitler-like fashion, a strong rightwing extremist leader who would be president for life. 

The crudeness of the action by rightwing extremists on January 6, cannot be overstated. The damage to the Capitol -- the premier symbol of our Democracy --, offices of the House Speaker defiled not to mention even defecation on the premises were incredulously observed.

I have pasted the link to "Ultra" Episode 1 and 2 below for your enjoyment and entertainment (it will entertain you) or I have pasted the link below for your historical edification to try to ensure at the precipice of our 2022 very important midterm elections, that this attempt by Facist-like extremists be roundly subverted and our system of government saved.  If we go back to business as usual it is certain, I believe, that the violent attempt on January 6, 2021 will happen again.

PLEASE VOTE AND VOTE DEMOCRAT UP AND DOWN THE TICKET.

FEEL FREE TO SEND THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY TO ANYONE YOU CHOOSE!!

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra

"But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.” Amos 5:6 -- INVESTIGATION TRACKER OF DONALD J. TRUMP

 

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But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.” Amos 5:6 -- INVESTIGATION TRACKER OF DONALD J. TRUMP

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Trump investigation tracker: Up-to-date status reports on where each investigation stands Grid is here to help you follow the multiple investigations underway. Steve Reilly, Investigative Reporter, Matt Stiles, Senior Data Visualization Reporter, and Leah Askarinam, Politics Editor September 9, 2022 Since leaving office in January 2021, former president Donald Trump has been mired in legal difficulties, with a sprawling array of investigations probing his activities in office, his business and his private life. These legal entanglements threaten to derail Trump’s ambitions to run for president in 2024. Outside of politics, they could also cost him millions or lead to indictments on charges that carry lengthy prison sentences. Developments in the civil, federal and fact-finding investigations spanning from New York to Florida have come at a rapid pace in the form of Justice Department filings, state and local government disclosures, and media reports. Grid has sorted and summarized those developments in a live tracker that will be updated as long as these investigations continue. Here is a look at the major ongoing investigations involving Trump, along with news coverage tracking the latest significant developments. The Department of Justice investigation into government records stored at Mar-a-Lago

The Department of Justice released a photo of classified documents seized from Trump's office at Mar-a-Lago. (Department of Justice)

Investigation type: Criminal

Jurisdiction: Federal

What is under investigation: On Aug. 8, federal authorities executed a search warrant on Trump’s Florida resort as part of an ongoing criminal investigation of the storage of classified records and other sensitive documents at Mar-a-Lago. The search warrant and a warrant affidavit were unsealed in federal court in late August, revealing that federal investigators had been authorized to seize all physical documents and records located at the property “illegally possessed in violation of” three different criminal laws, including a portion of the Espionage Act. In addition to classified and top secret documents, the affidavit states: “There is also probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction will be found at the premises.”

Why it matters: Trump has not been accused of a crime in the matter, and the search warrant and affidavit do not amount to a formal accusation. However, the three potential crimes being investigated carry lengthy prison sentences.

The Fulton County district attorney’s investigation into electoral interference in Georgia

Voters line up for the first day of early voting outside of the High Museum polling station on Dec. 14, 2020, in Atlanta. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Investigation type: Criminal

Jurisdiction: State

What is under investigation: In early 2021, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis opened an investigation of Trump’s alleged efforts to sway the election results in Georgia, including a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with state Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump said he wanted to “find” enough votes to make up for his margin of defeat. Willis in January requested a special grand jury with investigative power, and in July a judge approved the grand jury’s subpoenas for Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani and Cleta Mitchell, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who also made postelection calls to Georgia election officials.

Why it matters: Solicitation of election fraud is a crime in Georgia, and legal experts told Grid that Trump may have violated state law. The Fulton County district attorney’s investigation has developed at a rapid pace this year and could ultimately lead to criminal charges against Trump or his allies.

The House select committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6 attack

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Vice Chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) preside over a committee hearing on June 9 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Investigation type: Congressional fact-finding

Jurisdiction: Federal

What is under investigation: Since July 2021, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol has been probing efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the committee’s first public hearing in June, its chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said the committee’s work had uncovered “a sprawling multistep conspiracy aimed at overturning the presidential election” and that “Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy.” The committee has since received additional information and is expected to hold additional public hearings this year.

Why it matters: The Jan. 6 committee does not have the power to bring charges, but it can make referrals to other agencies and can uncover facts that prompt further investigation by law enforcement. Committee members have signaled an intent to deliver a final report by the end of the year, and the committee’s authorizing resolution specifies that it will terminate within 30 days of issuing that report.

The Department of Justice investigation into the Jan. 6 attack

Investigation type: Criminal

Jurisdiction: Federal

What is under investigation: The federal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol Building has so far led to more than 800 arrests. By March, the federal investigation into the insurrection had reportedly broadened to include actions by former government officials, including Trump, involved in orchestrating the “Stop the Steal” rally that precipitated the attack. Justice Department prosecutors have reportedly asked witnesses about Trump’s actions in front of a federal grand jury. In early September, a federal grand jury reportedly issued new subpoenas seeking information regarding Save America PAC, one of Trump’s major political fundraising vehicles.

Why it matters: Despite the prosecution and conviction of hundreds of individual participants in the Jan. 6 attack, none of the powerful political figures involved in the events of the day have been charged with a crime. But one year after the attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the Justice Department “remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law.”

The New York state attorney general’s investigation into Trump’s businesses

Investigation type: Civil

Jurisdiction: State

What is under investigation: New York State Attorney General Letitia James in early 2019 began a civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s financial practices following congressional testimony by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen indicating the company deflated assets in order to decrease its taxes. Trump’s son Eric Trump was deposed in October 2020 and pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times. In August, Donald Trump was deposed in the investigation and pleaded the Fifth more than 400 times.

Why it matters: The New York state attorney general’s investigation could lead to a range of outcomes for the Trump Organization, up to and including a possible lawsuit, or even the company losing its ability to conduct certain business operations in the state. Additionally, facts that have come to light through the civil investigation have factored into a joint criminal investigation with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

New York attorney general and Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s investigation into Trump’s business dealings

Investigation type: Criminal

Jurisdiction: State

What is under investigation: In 2020, then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. began an investigation into the finances of the Trump Organization. By mid-2021, the state attorney general’s office had joined the Manhattan district attorney in the investigation. In July 2021, the Trump Organization and its longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg were charged in a 15-count indictment alleging they “engaged in a scheme constituting a systematic ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud.” Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to 15 felonies, many of which related to concealing benefits in order to underreport his income.

Why it matters: Weisselberg is by far Trump’s longest-tenured business partner and one of his most loyal lieutenants. He has reportedly not agreed to cooperate with authorities in their broader investigation into Trump but is required as part of his plea deal to testify at the Trump Organization trial scheduled to take place later this year.

• Steve Reilly

  Investigative Reporter

  Steve Reilly is an investigative reporter for Grid focusing on threats to democracy.

  BySteveReilly
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  Matt Stiles

  Senior Data Visualization Reporter

  Matt Stiles is the senior data visualization reporter for Grid.

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  Leah Askarinam

  Politics Editor

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On Democracy

 

I love to write.  I think about the subject of my efforts long and hard before I write.  Sometimes it does not come easily to me but listening to Ali Velshi yesterday morning on MSNBC (a channel which occupies 9/10ths of my time) culminated in a light bulb moment. I figured out what was going to be the subject of my next effort. 

Ali Velshi's soliloquy on Democracy after covering the war-torn Ukraine was extemporaneously brillant.  He delivered with perfection his profound thoughts on the brutality of war against a totalitarian Russian bully, Putin, and at the same time gave me the subject of my next piece.  It will be entitled On Democracy.  Thank you, Ali Velshi, for delivering one of the most profound rationales for Democracy I have ever had the privilege to hear and why the struggle to maintain our democracy is so costly but ever-so necessary.  

Thank you again, Ali Velshi. I will dedicate my next piece to you and, as always, continue to watch MSNBC because it has the best news coverage, commentary and communicatively conveys, by far, the best and most profoundly humane political thought of any other news programming station.  Your profound thoughts on Democracy moved me to tears!

On Democracy

I spent two days last week viewing historical documentaries on Netflix -- one was entitled "Pearl Harbor."   I know the historicity of Pearl Harbor.  If I know it so well why does it make me cry everytime I view it and everytime I hear our National Anthem when viewing it?  I cry when I see the dismemberment of our entire Pacific fleet, the bravery of our men and women in uniform, and their horrific injuries by the surprise attack on the US at the hands of the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941.  Those in the military risk their lives so that our Democracy and we live.  Especially during WWII that remained clear.

Japan was celebrating the efficacy of the attack and bestowing congratulations on the Japanese officers who led it. Another Japanese officer said he was not so ebulent.  He said "I think we have awoken a sleeping giant."  He was, of course, correct.  The attack ensured the United States would enter the war and thousands if not millions signed up to do so.   On December 8, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked a Joint Session of Congress to declare war against Germany and Italy and against the Empire of Japan in response to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.  "In his remarks, the president assured Members of Congress and the American people, “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, in our righteous might we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.” The vote to go to war was nearly unanimous. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said he had never slept so well as when he heard of the Japanese sneak attack on America at Pearl Harbor because, he said, he knew the United Kingdom would be safe when America entered the war.  The allies would add US power to their arsenal.

I can only watch the events of that day with a sense of envy.  I thought that it would be the last time the US was so united. Love of country and its Democracy led us to that day.  America rolled up its sleeves and went to war to save Democracy for us, for the United Kingdom and for, indeed, the world. 

Governments are Instituted to show where the decision making powers exist.  It has been said that Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. Yes, it is difficult to get an entire nation's representatives to agree on one issue. If one wants ease of decision making then a totalitarian form of government is the one for you.  The totalitarian state takes the responsibility of decision making out of the hands of the people and places it in the hands of one omnipotent leader and his supportive henchmen whether one likes that decision or not.  His or her word is law.  The leader is above the law.  Moreover, if one questions the leader's powers one opens oneself up to retaliatory violence and even death because in a totalitarian form of government such as Communism, Fascism, or monarchy the leader is the final and really the only word.  To defy his word means imprisonment, torture or worse.

Our Founders showed their brilliance by dividing power up between three institutions -- the Legislative, mentioned first, then the Executive, and the Judicial branch each with its own set of powers and checks on the other powers within the system.  They called it "checks and balances" whereby each institution can ride shotgun on Constitutional democracy to protect it, importantly, by non-violent opposition.  That power is derived from a just set of Constitutionally allowable techniques to arrive at policy through duly elected representatives of the people.  Yes, Democracy is sometimes messy and difficult but strives toward fairness.  The final arbitrators of stalemate are the Courts. President Barack Obama loved the Martin Luther King quote "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" so much so that he had it woven into the carpet in the oval office.

Our values, those of our elected representatives and the courts are the nationally agreed upon formation of how to handle differences in a democracy.  Couple that with a separation of church and state which the Founders so presciently formed because they saw what happened when religion's mandates are the final but ever so debatable arbiter.  Include the Bill of Rights to the essential fairness against the usurpation of government power and one has a nation which has guarded our Constitutional republic carefully against tyranny for over 200 years. 

Totalitarian governments kill millions as there is no inhibitor on the leader.  The Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan in WWII killed an estimated 50 million or more.   The founders of Democracies can try to stop that because of the essential fairness within Democracy itself and its ability to debate policy.  Our Founders formed a Constitutional lifeguard to protect our democratic union.  We have as Benjamin Franklin told the one who asked him what kind of government they had created-- "a Republic, if  you can keep it" he said and so we have kept it for over 200 years.  200 more years, anyone? Let's go for it!!

Tracking Trump's Troubles

 Summary by Zack Everson with my Comments

"Donald Trump is involved in so many lawsuits and investigations–including allegations of election interference, business fraud, violating the Ku Klux Klan Act, mishandling presidential documents, inciting a mob, defrauding his niece and personal defamation that it can be difficult to keep them all straight."

"Forbes Magazine is making that easier, with this one-of-a-kind tracker following Trump’s troubles." 

My Comment: I do not know about you but when I clicked on the link to Trump's plethora of legal entanglements I was overcome with mental incredulity.  Examining all of Trump's lawsuits both criminal and civil, reminded me of a tsunami.  I felt like I was drowning.  There are so many lawsuits that Forbes divided them into categories to make for easier reading.  I enumerate the categories below and put a number counting just how many lawsuits there are. I attach the link below to the entire article which summarizes each and every one for your reading enjoyment.

1.  Business  - 14

2.  2020 Election - 5 

3. January 6, 2021 - 9

4.  Personal Disputes - 10

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/02/10/tracking-trump-arundown-of-all-the-investigations-and-cases-involving-the-former-president/?sh=6c25e7aa7f24

My Comment:  When Trump, with Melania behind him, rode down the escalator in Trump Tower into our lives I had no idea of what a colossally horrid and consequently disastrous fascistically authoritarian presidency he would want to create with him at the helm.  I had no idea he would zero in to our political milieu attempting to dismember democracy and even carry out with him our uber classified national nuclear secrets. 

Hillary Clinton got the description of those who succumbed to his intoxicating personality and lies as deplorable.  That is exactly the correct description of what his minions who, indeed, would unethically look away even if he shot someone in Times Square.  For some reason this ugly man inside and out with his bleached blond swept over thinning hair would captivate, perhaps, millions. 

When Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of system the Founders created he said it was a Republic "IF you can keep it."  Thinking of the top secret documents he stashed away when his presidency was done perhaps nuclear in nature if you can keep it is up for grabs.  What could this immoral and unethical man do with the peoples documents he stole?  They are not his to keep, they are the people's documents.  What means more to the man Trump than his family or his country?  I avere money is the most important thing to the ugly man Trump.  Yes, I think he would sell this nation's nuclear secrets for millions to a nation that would pay phenomenal money to him to have them.  If I let my imagination run wild I would say he could sell them to Putin, Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea or anyone that could come up with enough money.

A Republic IF you can keep it is hanging by a thread.  Dear God, protect this nation from the unethical, immoral sickening slug that is Trump who would sell his mother for a million bucks.  A rightwing terrorist ally of Trump advised us to sleep well after the FBI with warrant in hand swept into Mar-A-Lago looking for nuclear documents Trump had squirreled away.  The right wing terrorist advised us to sleep well because the next day he said would be war.  I hope this is one war this nation will win!

To be President or not to be that is the question

 

My Comment:  It is debatable whether a newspaper editorial opinion has much sway as to the outcome of major or even minor races for political office.  Occasionally, though, newspapers that slanted decidedly one way should be paid attention to when for a singular moment in time they are compelled to change their usual tune on the decidedly imperative and mind blowing January 6, assault on the most democratic institution as the US Capitol, the People's House.  Such it is with the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal, two usually resoundingly conservative voices and their usual conservative political slant. I copied and pasted their views below because I thought their opinions made the most sense and because I hoped their opinions would land on Trump and especially his supporters' heads like a ton of proverbial bricks which might be enough to doom this decidedly and horrifically unqualified MAGA candidate, Donald Trump. I thought for some time what the tenor of my opinion would be but I could not find the strongest words which would convey the most anti-Trump sentiment to help doom his candidacy.  Both the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal newspapers did what I could not. I post them both below for your consideration.

Trump’s silence on Jan. 6 is damning -- New York Post -- Editorial Board

"As his followers stormed the Capitol, calling for his vice president to be hanged, President Donald Trump sat in his private dining room, watching TV, doing nothing

For three hours, seven minutes.

There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan. 6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring. What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed.

And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence.

Trump only wanted one thing during that infamous afternoon: to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election of Joe Biden.

He thought the violence of his loyal followers would make Pence crack, or delay the vote altogether. 

To his eternal shame, as appalled aides implored him to publicly call on his followers to go home, he instead further fanned the flames by tweeting: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”

His only focus was to find any means — damn the consequences — to block the peaceful transfer of power.

There is no other explanation, just as there is no defense, for his refusal to stop the violence.

It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again."

WSJ editorial board: ‘Trump utterly failed’ his Jan. 6 trial by Caroline Vakil

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board criticized former President Trump for refusing to take action on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol, saying in an editorial published Friday that his vice president passed his “Jan. 6 trial” while Trump “utterly failed his.”

“Mr. Trump took an oath to defend the Constitution, and he had a duty as Commander in Chief to protect the Capitol from a mob attacking it in his name. He refused. He didn’t call the military to send help. He didn’t call [then-Vice President Mike Pence] to check on the safety of his loyal VP. Instead he fed the mob’s anger and let the riot play out,”

“Character is revealed in a crisis, and Mr. Pence passed his Jan. 6 trial. Mr. Trump utterly failed his,” the editorial board added.

The Journal’s editorial came one day after the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot held its final summer hearing, which focused on the 187 minutes between Trump finishing his remarks at his “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6 and a tweet he sent in the late afternoon telling his supporters to go home.

Using footage of taped depositions from officials like former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and in-person testimony from Trump White House officials Sarah Matthews and Matthew Pottinger, the committee accused the former president of dereliction of duty as they described how for hours he did nothing to stop the violence that ensued that day.

“President Trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the Ellipse and telling the mob to go home,” committee member Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said during the hearing. “He chose not to act.” 

The Journal’s editorial board made clear that it did not agree with the committee on all fronts of its investigation — arguing it “lacks political balance” and was “trying to make a criminal case that might be hard to prove and might tear the country apart.”

However, the editorial board also acknowledged that “the facts it is laying out in hearings are sobering” as it condemned Trump’s inaction on the day of the riot. 

The editorial comes as The New York Post’s editorial board also offered strong words against the former president in its own editorial on Friday.

“It’s up to the Justice Department to decide if this is a crime. But as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country’s chief executive again,”

A Jewish View on Abortion

 

I was taught from a very young age by my mother that Jews consider the life of the mother the most important and that if a choice had to be made to save the life of the mother or the fetus or baby it was the mother's life that took preeminence. See  link below.  I must have been only a child when she told me specifically that. Now my mother was not a woman who was involved in political issues but on that issue she was firm. I thought Jews often get those social issues correct and it makes me proud now to think that the tribe has it right 

 

The question now is how do we reverse that noxious decision overturning Roe? By electing a Democratic president for the next decade or two as the older Supreme Court justices retire. A Democratic president would not have to kow tow to Christian right fundamentalists. Oh sure, easy ..... NOT but as my example for all things political Professor Howard Zinn would have said keep your eye on the prize and keep fighting no matter the right wing extremists disgusting influence. They are wrong!! Do not give up the fight to bring back choice and Roe. Full term human life is at stake!

 

 https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/roe-v-wade-overturned-abortion-banned-christian-freedom-what-about-n1296568

Clear and Present Danger

The January Six committee hearing today on the pressuring of Vice President Pence by former president Donald Trump to not certify the electoral college vote on January 6.  Pence was asked by the former president Trump to not certify the count and to throw the count back to the states.  Vice President Pence was told numerous times as was Trump that it was not within his constitutional authority to do so. He was authorized to certify the count as a formality only and had no authority to question it, much less throw it back to the states as Trump wanted.  Pence told the president he could not do that and that it was unconstitutional and, in fact, illegal for him to do this.  He was met with Trumpian fury calling Pence a "wimp." Pence stood his ground and never faltered.  He refused to declare the electoral count invalid despite encountering much pressure and anger from the former president against him.  He was nothing less than a profile in courage.  Pence never capitulated.  This was the most riveting and profound congressional hearing on the January 6, 2021 violent insurrection at the capitol as I have ever heard.  I was riveted.  The room was dead silence as we heard the mesmerizing testimony of numbers involved in the scheme or knew about it. 

Again, our nation has dodged a bullet that would have understatedly compromised it if not destroyed our democracy as we know it, plunging the nation into a constitutional crisis that would shake the very foundations upon which the republic stands if not destroy it. 

A clear and present danger in the person of Donald J. Trump who attempted to thwart the 2020 election and do what no other in our nation has tried to do by unconstitutionally overthrowing the 2020 election and subverting the will of the people.  This would have thrown the nation into a constitutional crisis which has never happened in the history of this nation. Patriots and profiles in courage presented roadblocks thereby saving our democratic republic at least this time.  Mike Pence's life was threatened as the violent mob egged on by Trump yelled "hang Mike Pence."  There was a gallows with a rope awaiting the successful location of him.  He was destined for hanging if the mob could locate him.  Pence refused to get into his chauffeured car worrying that he might be whisked off to a place unknown.  Rightfully, he was in fear for his life and did not know how far Trump would go not accepting his electoral loss.   One can only shudder at what could have happened as the mob was itching to locate Nancy Pelosi, Senator Schumer and others who could have been in their sites and even killed.

J. Michael Lusttig, a retired federal judge and leading conservative who advised Vice President Mike Pence ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, that it would be illegal not to certify the electors.  Lustig's testimony was measured and profound.  One could see he was shaken to his core at just how close this nation came to its destruction.  If you get a chance to view the questioning today I suggest you do so (See link below). 

"A republic if you can keep it," Franklin answered when a woman questioned what type of government the Founders formed. So far a free nation stands irrespective of the clear and present danger it suffered and still does from Trump. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-hang-mike-pence_n_62ab3b72e4b0c77098aaf481

31 Patriot Front Extremists Aiming To 'Riot' At Idaho Pride Event Arrested: Officials

 

Yet another moment of incredulity. See link below.

We are 1/2 an ever-so-violent nation with one of two only parties, the Republican Party, offering right wing fascist tendencies!

Can no one stop this reality?

VOTE DEMOCRAT AND TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE DEMOCRAT ALSO AND SAVE DEMOCRACY.

 

 

 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coeur-dalene-pride-event-riot_n_62a52bc1e4b0cf43c849dd90

The Republican Party today

Take a look at the link below, read it and wonder why oh why could this guy who said what he did still win his seat?

Is this what the Republican Party has become? I shake my head in dismay and disbelief. Where is this nation headed with a totalitarian right wing extremist party as the only other choice for whom to vote? Sad, god awful sad!

https://news.yahoo.com/gop-candidate-carl-paladino-calls-161513014.html

Violence guns and men

 

The past weeks news of murderous gun violence both in Buffalo, New York at a Tops supermarket and beyond in Uvalde, Texas, at the Robb Elementary School taking the lives of nineteen innocent children and 2 teachers again drove me into a cerebral stupor as I try to explain these all-too-frequent occurrences in our nation.  I am saturated with sadness drowning in tears and with, I admit, rage. Both emotions beg for analyses as to why these senseless acts of gun violence, and murder of innocents occur with seemingly never-ending shameful regularity in our nation. 

Perhaps, because the analysis of this national gun violence is so complex in its abundance weaving in and out of a labyrinth that it makes me want to give up before I even try to make sense of it all.  Let's attack the understanding of violence from both a larger perspective of historical and biological rationales to a smaller analysis that is particular to our own national history.

Man is and has been a violent creature both because of an evolutionary propensity to survive and prevail over anything else.  His desire to satisfy this seemingly bottomless hunger to get what he wants in competitive struggle with those around him and even with alien others continues in perpetuity.  We can see this combat in other species, too, in their desire for dominance both with their own kind and in a survival-of-the-fittest competition with others for scarce resources. As man progressed so did his inclination to make war and his ability to build a better mousetrap or weapon became prominent. In sum, the violent nature of our species' DNA cannot be denied.  Violence is in us from our evolutionary beginning.

In a smaller national analysis, why is gun violence and the killing it births so prevalent in our nation?  The film director Michael Moore was asked that question.  He tends to agree with the NRA’s stance that “guns don’t kill people — people kill people,” but he believes it is more accurate to say, “Americans kill people.” He said we are a violent nation; violent from the very beginning of our nation's founding and that we are good at it.  White men gained power by destroying first the Indians whom they discovered were here before anyone else then systematically conquering black and brown African people by the millions forcing them into the cruel indentured servitude of slavery over centuries that has been entrenched in Black history and shows its mark today.  America has been at war first against the British, and then followed a series of violent conquests shown in the chart below dedicated in this nation and in pertinent part to the maintenance of white supremacy and the maintenance of white men over black and brown men in positions of power.