Charisma

I spent two days watching a Netflix Documentary entitled "The Dark Charisma of Adolph Hitler: Leading Millions into the Abyss."  It was a riveting documentary of the emergence of a man directly responsible for ultimately the killing of 50 million human beings and the eradication of much of eastern European Jewry of 6 million men, women and children within a span of just over a decade.  The documentary traced Corporal Hitler's experience in World War I, one of the bloodiest wars ever fought, complete with 2 million German war dead including the use of gas and its direct relationship to his extraordinary rise as Chancellor of Germany in 1933.  From an unknown corporal in WWI he led the world ultimately into the total war of WWII.  I have seen many documentaries of WWII but still I could not account for the Mesmer-like hold through oratory this one man held over millions in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland (the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia.) What was there in this man that he could cast a spell over some of the foremost intellectually sophisticated nations in central Europe to ultimately wage total war decimating Europe and the nation he claimed to love? 

German troops under Hitler's direction and with his generals' apprehension instructed the invasion of Austria and were met with flowers instead of bullets.  It was called Blum Krieg or war of flowers.  In the Sudetenland German troops again were met with flowers.  Hundreds of thousands of arms raised in Nazi salute paid homage to this heretofore unremarkable man.  He could speak and he could act making the German people feel worthy again after the loss of WWI and the reparations they had to pay for it.  Germans were humiliated but Hitler made them feel right again.  Add to the WWI reparations the 1929 Great Depression and a leader was needed to fill the vacuum of leadership and the impotence of German democracy.  Hindenburg hated the Bohemian corporal, as he called him, but Germany was devolving into violence and Hitler was the big Nationalist who told the German people what they wanted to hear that they were better than everyone else.   He told them he would lead them out of the abyss.  He told them he knew better than his generals and overruled their hesitation for war.  In the beginning it worked beyond their wildest dreams even marching into Paris until, against his generals' advice, he set his sights on the eastern front, Russia, and endured the Russian devastating winter with clothing not made for it.  Many German soldiers froze or starved to death.  Hitler told the soldiers it was their duty to die for the fatherland and he ordered his soldiers to march east toward Stalingrad where his fortunes changed.  In 1941 the US attacked by Japan declared war on the Axis powers.  D-Day followed with the allied ground invasion of Europe.  This nation with its allies defeated fascism, the greatest threat to mankind ever known and renewed the face of Europe.

Nationalist -- Hitler was a Nationalist.  Trump by his own admission is a Nationalist who tells his generals he knows more than they.  He lies consistently.  His speeches are short on specifics and long on platitudes rich with lies.  Up is down and down is up, black is white because Trump says it is and his followers believe him even in the face of the truth. He they think and as he tells them can be the only one who can pull the nation up from an abyss and has failed to fill hundreds of positions making him nearly a unitary executive.  Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels said:  “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Trump calls the press the "enemy of the people" especially when it tells the truth about him.

I thought about the commonality of these two Nationalists.  What did/do they have in common?  Charisma is the binding tie.  Charisma as defined means personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm; a special magnetic charm or appeal.  Both took advantage of a sagging national ego -- Germany of WWI and the US, a nation which heretofore never lost a war now has.  It stalemated in Korea, lost in Vietnam, endured a nation of protest of its foreign policy, was devastatingly attacked on 9/11, went to war in Iraq based on lies, invaded Afghanistan which now reaches the number 17 years as the longest war this nation has ever fought with no end in sight.  Trump talked national pride, America First and verbally attacks many of our NATO allies and NATO itself aligning himself with the examples of dictators he would love to become.  He sees enemies where there are none because he plays to his 38% no matter the hate he spews.  Hate was Hitler's unification message and hate is Trump's secrete weapon used for a base that is sick of losing, thinks the "other" makes us lose and wants its national pride back.  Appeal to ignorant racists long a factor in American politics mix in charisma and it has been the recipe for success.  He did succeed beyond even his wildest dreams.

Russia though, like Hitler, will be Trump's downfall as the media shines a bright light on Trump's massive corruption and Mueller is about to pull the curtain away.  Is Trump our Manchurian candidate in league with Russia?  We had better find out lest there be no one to pull us out of the abyss this time and democracy may be lost to the ages. 

Chuck Rosenberg -- a sense of calm, class and a giant intellect

My all time favorite of the MSNBC experts MSNBC commentators call on to explain the maze of Trump mess is Chuck Rosenberg.   He is a refreshing bit of calm in the stormy seas of Trump.  He makes my blood pressure go down. 

I particularly liked his explanation today of direct vs. circumstantial evidence when explaining Richard Burr's announcement that there was no "direct" evidence of Russian collusion by Trump.  Yes, the word "direct" is important as Mr. Rosenberg said. A jury can convict on circumstantial evidence and they so all the time.  Convicting on direct evidence is rarer.  I breathed a sigh of relief!

Thank you Mr. Rosenberg for restoring the seas of calm!

Winning is everything

Run Beto Run....changing my mind by the minute: O'Rourke/perhaps Klobuchar ---- Not that I do not love all the other Democratic candidates but this time I think a woman on the VP side of the ticket would be just what the doctor ordered. I think they can win!! Beto is young, charismatic, smart, from Texas and can go toe to toe with Drumpf. Yes, he's white which matters NOT to me but to some. Pragmatically I think it is needed.

Klobuchar is young, a woman, strong yet nice and funny too. Plus it could set a Democratic woman up for the presidency in 2028 (yes we think far ahead.) Democrats want to WIN. Winning is everything and another horrific four years of Drumpf will kill the planet and us!

Please, Democrats, do not add two extra parts to the budget bill which will create another horrific shut down of our government.  It is untenable to attach to that bill a decrease in the amount of beds housing asylum seekers and the advocacy of criminals at the border to be allowed in included in the bill. I implore you to stick to the funding of the wall way below the 5.6 billion asked.  We have MUCH more ability to succeed and win because the American people do not want a wall nor a government shutdown because of it.  They will be turned off and blame Democrats for including two other impossible-to-now-pass demands of decreasing beds and allowing criminals entrance.  Democrats will become the goat.  Keep the strength of our hand by simply limiting the bill to the president's intractability of a 5.6 billion dollar wall he can never get.  
Do NOT please let Republicans have the advantage by not coming to agreement because of these additional requests.  Millions of people in America are counting on you to save this deal and NOT come to a government shutdown hurting millions again just so Trump can score his political points with Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh especially if the impossible demands of Democrats will be used by them as a rationale.  NO

RESIST AND DEMOCRATS UNITE AS TO WHAT CAN GET PASSED AND WHAT CANNOT.   WHO WILL BE BLAMED FOR ANOTHER SHUTDOWN?

Democrats to Howard Schultz don't do it!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-to-howard-schultz-dont-do-it/

"Democrats have been supportive of an independent bid by a Republican — for one, John Kasich said to be weighing an independent run — as it would siphon votes from Mr. Trump. But Schultz is the first Democrat to weigh a bid outside the party. And his personal wealth and resources would allow him to remain in the running for as long as he'd like to stay in the race.

Schultz demurred when asked whether his entrance would be damaging for Democrats. "I want to see the American people win,"

MY COMMENT:   THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND DEMOCRATS WON'T WIN AND TRUMP WILL IF THIS ELECTORAL HIJACKER SCHULTZ HAS HIS WAY. HE WON'T WIN AND NEITHER WILL A DEMOCRAT BUT THE HORROR OF HORROR THE HYPOCRITE DONALD TRUMP WILL FOR A SECOND TERM. IF YOU WANT THAT YOU WANT SUICIDE NOT ONLY TO OUR NATION BUT TO THE PLANET.

SPREAD THE WORD SAY NO NO NO NO TO HOWARD SCHULTZ--RESIST AND BY RESISTING SMASH THE WASHINGTON SATURATION OF THE CORRUPTION OF TRUMP!

PASS THIS ON TO ANYONE YOU CHOOSE.

RESIST!

Bastards pure and simple: The theft of your Social Security

Write your congressmen and women and tell them the jig is up!  A friend sent this to me.  I suggest  you read it.
 
A woman dies at age 65 before collecting one benefit check. She and her employer paid into the system for almost 50 years and she collected NOTHING. Keep in mind all the working people that die every year who were paying into the system and got nothing.
And these governmental morons mismanaged the money and stole from the system, so that it's now going broke.

BEAUTIFUL! And they have the audacity to call today's seniors "vultures" in an attempt to cover their ineptitude. DISGRACEFUL!
The real reason for renaming our Social Security payments is so the government can claim that all those social security recipients are receiving entitlements thus putting them in the same category as welfare, and food stamp recipients.

THIS IS WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES TO READ AND DIGEST!

F.Y.I. By changing the name of SS contributions, it gives them a means to refute this program in the future. It's free money for the government to spend under this guise.

The Social Security check is now (or soon will be) referred to as a Federal Benefit Payment? I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you.

Please keep passing it on until everyone in our country has read it. The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment."

This is NOT a benefit. It is OUR money , paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too ! It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.(This should be enough for you to forward this message, If not read on.)
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social Security. If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social security ($375/month, including both you and your employers contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved.

This is your personal investment. Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month.

That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration. (Google it – it's a fact). And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.

Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did (or Lyndon Johnson).
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They "forgot"(oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them ... and they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. (Isn't it funny that they NEVER say this about welfare payments?)

But is it our fault they misused our investments? And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a benefit, as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. This is stealing!
Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't mean that our investments were for charity!

Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government.

Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going for the sake of the 92% of our population who need it.
Then call it what it is:
Our Earned Retirement Income .
90% of people won't forward this.
PLEASE! Will you?

SOTU -- who is he kidding?

I was going to boycott Trump's State of the Union Speech because I cannot listen to his voice, words filled with lies, nor look at his disgusting "blond" sprayed-into-submission hair but I wanted to see how the Democratic opposition of women in their white garb reacted. They along with Speaker Pelosi were inspiring.  

If one is a right wing extremist then I am sure they loved Trump's speech complete with late term pregnancy anti-choice bull-pucky histrionics.  These Republican men love to tell women what to do with their bodies and their base roars in approval. There was, of course, orgasmic praise for a wall to keep those oh so threatening caravans of brown out. The true threat, climate change, is not mentioned not even once.  I wonder if he will be alive when climate changed Miami sinks into the ocean I hope taking Mar-A-Lago with it.

Trump was, naturally, playing to his base as he does on his stump speeches all the time.  He spends more time on the road speaking to his right wing extremist supporters, spends more time golfing, and spends more "Executive" time watching TV.  He cannot write nor spell and he has no patience to read important foreign policy texts from experts.  This is our so called president.  His gut does the policy walking much to the consternation of those who happen not to want the launch of nuclear war.  He says it was he that kept N. Korea from launching a nuclear Armageddon.  Oh the egotism of that ridiculous statement!  Sorry, Mr. Trump, N. Korea is still building nuclear weaponry which he does not, of course, mention.  He bombs treaties and organizations that have kept the world's peace and threatens his perceived enemy, Iran, blasts away Obama agreements that were working and indicts all things Obama, including regulations that kept our drinking water and air safe.  He fires his staff and pays attention to experts if and only if they reflect what he feels otherwise they are fired.  His SOTU was all about all of that.  It was not meant to be inclusive.  It was meant to please his base and lift his base-sagging numbers.  He is addicted to love -- the love of his base -- because few of any other political bent love him. His numbers are falling and he knows it.  Perhaps this speech will temporarily raise those numbers but not for long as his policies wreak havoc on our nation.  Wait for the real biographical tweets soon to come

He has WWII vets and a concentration camp survivor from another era, the era of FDR (the opposite of Trumpian politics) in the audience.   It is all staged to evoke volcanic eruptions of praise from his base. I suspect if he were president in the WWII era since he is a self-proclaimed Nationalist and an observable demagogue he would have allied with the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) who were also Nationalists and supported the authoritarian fascists Hitler and Mussolini!  Who is he kidding.  Not me!

A Superbowl rationale

Pats win 13 to 3 lowest scoring game ever.  Hey, a win is a win. Until the 4th quarter it was like a baseball game. If it stayed 3 to zip it is still a win that is all that matters and it was an amazing defensive superlative.

Such mixed emotions I had throughout the game but in the end I actually cried.  The rationale for the sports enthusiasm for all things Boston is that it has to do, I think, in large part from where one was born or the state with which one identifies. For me my dad transmitted his Red Sox uber love and it transferred to me. 

I am a northeast person and Boston is in my bones. I just love the city, I love the politics of the state and from a child I wore a Red Sox uniform. As an adult I love the Pats as much. It is just plain fun when they win and heart break, for me, when they do not. It's hard to explain my own explanation of my allegiance but it is there and will be always.

One bit of political caveat of sadness: the fact that Kraft puts his arms around Trump I try to eradicate that from my Patriots euphoric brain!  

Mitch McConnell reportedly linked to Putin, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Russian companies

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/28/1830431/-Mitch-McConnell-now-tied-to-Putin-Oleg-Deripaska-and-Russian-companies-after-lifting-sanctions?detail=emaildkre

Excerpt:

Monday evening brought a new twist. It was discovered that one of Mitch McConnell’s major donors, Len Blavatnik, who is tied to Vladimir Putin and other Russian oligarchs, benefited when Trump and McConnell lifted Russian sanctions on Sunday.

Blavatnik contributed a total of $3.5 million to a PAC associated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Blavatnik contributed $1.5 million to the GOP Senate Leadership Fund PAC in the name of Access Industries and another $1 million in the name of AI-Altep Holdings during the 2015/2016 election season. And as of September 2017, he had contributed another $1 million this year through AI–Altep.

Blavatnik, whose family emigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970s, is a longtime business associate of Russian oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, both of whom have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Along with McConnell, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham received hefty sums from Blavatnik as well.

Our Enemy--the Manchurian Candidate

Change in our Time Part II

Taken from Rachel Maddow Show on 1/31/19 -- Blue Wave Democrats bring new Productivity to House Committees

Here is the Youtube below of the Rachel Maddow show last night.  There is no substitute I could adequately duplicate in an entertaining way that could take the place of how Rachel Maddow explains the change first in Kansas.  I paste it here http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show for your edification and entertainment.  The nefarious ways the Republicans of Kansas helped by Republican corrupt Kris Kobach Secretary of State running for Governor to suppress the Hispanic vote in the town of Dodge City is beyond belief but with Maddow and the ACLU's help the citizens of Dodge won the right to vote in the next election.  Listen to the Youtube and enjoy the rest summarized in part below.

Also on the Youtube: HR1 Democratic priorities:  on voting rights and anti corruption measures.  House Democrats anti corruption proposal to end partisan gerrymandering in federal elections; make election day a federal holiday so no one has to skip voting because of work; guarantee early voting days and same day voting would make it uniform throughout the nation; creating new national automatic voter registration that asks voters to opt out rather than opt in ensuring more people will be signed up to vote; prohibit voter roll purging; Non partisan gerrymandering;  Create new ethical code for the president and the Supreme Court subject to  same ethics and anti corruption rules making sure all branches of government subject to the new law; force dark money and super PACS to disclose their donors.  Held hearings on it and Republicans were roasted -- There is a new Sheriff in town at least in the House.  McConnell called it a power grab then Democrat Brian Schatz shot back "Voting IS a power grab. By citizens!"; requirement for candidates for president and vice president to turn over tax returns or they could not run.  Republicans heretofore under Ryan pretended not to care.  First tax return hearing.  Democrat John Lewis will head the committee on tax law for Presidential and Vice Presidential tax returns.  Trump first President to fail to disclose his tax returns.  This is proposed Democratic legislation. Hearing will be a week from yesterday at 2:00. and live streamed; Two hearings on Climate Change; and there is more.  Convened hearing on prescription drugs.  Watch the video above.

Elections matter: Democrats have changed the complexion of the House in extraordinary ethical and just ways; the Senate and the Presidency are next to return our nation finally to an ethical spot among the righteous of democratic nations.

Change in our Time

Democrats Announce Hearing on Trump's Tax Returns"

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-tax-returns-hearing_us_5c536582e4b0bdf0e7d972f0?fbclid=IwAR0-dkmQYCTK2BWn1JnARMERWjbUuScdBn2F6PFxPxvNDGPZsKO2WrRozQg

This is what power brings. Last night Rachel Maddow the Great enumerated a list of all the hearings Democrats will be conducting. I will list them later as Rachel would say "watch this space." It is impressive to say the least. Will some republicans bolt their party to vote with Dems in the Senate? Possibly but, perhaps, improbable or at least not enough to withstand a veto. Still maybe but if nothing else it shows the electorate what Democrats have to offer and what they are about. The Democratic House's list of national repairs is substantial and must be done. Instead of focusing on the damn wall that is NOT an emergency Republicans should focus on a wall against climate change and should focus on implementing the essence of democracy by securing the vote equitably and promoting infrastructure repair so that this nation does not look and act like a third world autocracy.

SUPPORT PELOSI. RESIST RACIST AGENDAS AND MUCH OF WHAT REPUBLICANS CARE ABOUT. REPUBLICANS ARE NOT ABOUT MOST OF YOU. TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS TRICKLES UP BACK INTO THE COFFERS OF THE 2% WEALTHIEST AMONG US. RESIST THAT!

Oppose Nationalist Candidates

Oppose and resist by any legal means necessary so called Nationalist Parties with whom the president says he identifies.   Know Hitler was a nationalist, Mussolini was a nationalist, Huey Long was a nationalist but called himself a populist.  The Republican Party is filled with right wing extremists who call themselves nationalists, populists and even American Nazis who were never given credence by that Party which accepted their vote before but pushed them off the unelectable cliff.

Now these extremists are given a seat at the Republican table and are accorded respectability by a president of questionable character.  Be careful of the news they sponsor.  Nationalism goes by seemingly friendly names like populist but whatever name is goes by it is decidedly dictatorially fascist and fascists have zero qualms about killing their adversaries.  They are mean, they are racist and they are violent.  Resist their onslaught and be careful whom you support.  Elections have consequences as we can see by the catastrophe this corrupt administration and his henchmen have unleashed upon us.  This must never happen again!

Oppose Nationalist Candidates

I received this in my email below. Instead of asking you to donate as this email asked me to do I ask you to RESIST by any legal means necessary by opposing so called Nationalist candidates that Trump says he is. Know Hitler was a nationalist, Mussolini was a nationalist, Huey Long was a nationalist but called himself a populist. The Republican Party is filled with right wing extremists who call themselves nationalists, populists and even American Nazis which were never given credence before. Now it does. Be careful of the news they sponsor. Nationalism goes by seemingly friendly names like populist but whatever name is goes by it is decidedly dictatorially fascist and know fascists have zero scruples about killing their adversaries. They are mean, they are racist and they are violent. RESIST their onslaught and be careful whom you support. Elections have consequences as we can see by what the uber corrupt Trump and his henchmen have unleashed on us. This must never happen again!

The Letter:

Hi! You may have missed our call to join us in defending our democracies from a fascist takeover. In case you're keen to know more and maybe even chip in, here's the email again :) And sorry if we’re annoying you with too many emails, we just really believe THIS one matters so incredibly much for everything we want to do together to build a better future for our children.

Take Action Now!

Dear friends,

We’ve been hijacked.

The internet was supposed to connect all of humanity like never before -- beyond any boundaries, race or religion.

But the fascist forces that led the world into darkness 80 years ago are spreading their tentacles again, deploying vast armies of fake accounts to turn us against each other. To make us distrust, hate, even kill each other!

In India, innocent men and women were massacred after fake stories about them stealing children spread on WhatsApp like wildfire. A landmark study in Germany found the more people used Facebook, the more attacks on refugees. And a neo-fascist is Brazil’s new president after toxic lies about his opponents went viral on social media -- until 89% of his voters believed them!

It’s an all-out propaganda war -- not through the radios in our homes, but the smartphones in our pockets.

But there’s a way to stop this.

During Brazil’s election, Avaaz ran an experiment -- just six people were given basic training to investigate the propaganda networks, and they shut down online fake news factories that reached *16 million* people. Imagine what ten times as many could do!

With crunch elections in Europe, Canada, India and beyond just months away, we need to act fast. Chip in now -- if we raise enough, we’ll hire, train and deploy the most sophisticated teams of specialists to defend our democracies. Our grandparents said “Never again!” and now it’s on us to live up to their promise. If we don’t fight for the truth to prevail, no one will:

Fear and anger bring out the worst in humanity. And those who want to drive us apart have found a powerful weapon in social media, where fake blogs can get more engagement than a BBC news story.

Avaazers have been fighting this from the start. We’ve pressured social media executives to act, advocated to lawmakers from Berlin to Brasilia, and investigated some of the world’s biggest disinformation networks. But it’s not enough. Europe and Canada have mainly resisted the far right until now, but this year’s elections could completely change that.

Our Brazil experiment showed how to stop it -- catching fake stories early and reporting those who posted and spread them. But for this to work, we need to hire and train many more to investigate, infiltrate and break down these massive propaganda networks -- and with key elections around the corner, we need to do it NOW!

The Avaaz movement is powered by the truth that more unites us than divides us. That unity is the trolls biggest fear -- so chip in now to unleash it, and let’s launch this people-powered push to defend the truth, before it's too late:

Shame on Kraft

Norma S.

So proud of OUR NE team.
But NOTHING can make up for the shame & disappointment of the owner, coach, & QB supporting #45.

Agree totally with Norma 100%. Every time I saw Kraft it made my blood boil to know he is a supporter of Drumpf. I am Jewish as is Kraft. I am Jewish in every pore of my being. I know my Jewish brethren have great empathy for the poor, the oppressed and have shown it often. They are serious and are committed to justice for those who have experienced little. Most are probably progressive as am I, and have committed much to civil rights causes. The civil rights murders of Schwerner, Goodman and Cheney in Mississippi in 1964 were exemplary of the fact that Jewish people in great numbers cared and still do care about human rights. They put their lives on the line for it.

Shame on Robert Kraft's lack of empathy that he could support 45's Nationalist Party which is known for its antiSemitism. Hitler was a Nationalist. Kraft does not represent me nor do I think most who share my ethnic grouping support him!

Trump uses Winter Storm Harper as an opportunity to mock global warming--LUCKY

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/20/1827944/-Trump-uses-Winter-Storm-Harper-as-an-opportunity-to-mock-global-warming
 
Trump is an ignorant know nothing who cares nothing for human suffering especially of those who were not blessed with the inheritance luck he was.  What is worse are the people who even believe for a second what the lying-all-the-time excuse for a president says.  Climate change does not only mean warming it means extremes in temperature both hot and cold. It means stronger, fiercer storms, fires, floods and many more of them.  Look around over the  past decade from massive fires, floods and hurricanes like Katrina, Sandy and so many others to a bazillion tornadoes even in times when and places where there usually are not tornadoes that eviscerate the lives of so many innocent human beings who do not have the resources to rebuild and end up on the street or dead. 

Climate change is worse for those who do not have the luck of their fathers leaving them a million or do not have the luck to be able to stiff people who work for them like Trump does or work the bankruptcy laws in his favor. 

In the end science rules and it matters not what know nothings say.  Science will do what science says it will do and if we pull out of climate agreements or do not address these ongoing catastrophes our planet eventually will die too.  98% of climate scientists say so.  The remaining 2% work for the fossil fuel companies whose greed fuels (pardon the pun) the largely man-made climate catastrophe.  Trump's regulatory roll back is a contributing sin and his denial of climate change is another.  It will, if left unchecked, mean the death of the planet too.

Trump got lucky in life and much to our peril and horror he did!

Stand in another's shoes

How did we get this bad? I am just sickened. Trump's presidency is worse than I ever could have imagined. People will die here that do not have to. What in God's name is in the marrow of Republicans' bones that they could do this over a wall that won't, as experts say, work anyway and is an eyesore for anyone traveling close to the southern border.

Can this racist sentiment to shut out brown people who are so threatened to die that they would make a 2000 mile journey on foot to a nation where so many hate them.   Can hate mean so much to a group that they will let innocent women and children die? I shake my head with incredulity.

How Christian is this? Again I say what profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul. Meaning the essence of his being? Who are we as a people that we would let this happen?

Send this or send what protest you want to Republican senators in other states.  Simply Google Republican Senators then go to their Washington web site and plead with them to stop this.  McConnell could stop it and if he does not lives will be shutdown permanently.  What if you were one of those seeing asylum running from murderous gangs that would surely kill them?  Stand in another desperate man or woman's shoes.  It's not hard just try it.

F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia--A sewer of corruption

First time a president of the United States has been investigated by FBI counter intelligence for working on behalf of a foreign power, an adversarial nation Russia, and not only to get Trump elected president but to work on behalf of Russia against American interests. Can you spell treason, Benedict Arnold, or Manchurian Candidate? Not to brag but I called Trump the Manchurian Candidate when the Republican Party of nefarious actions nominated Putin's puppet. Do you think the Republican cockroaches are scurrying off the ship in search of a Decree Nisi (divorce) before they are besmirched by an investigation for treason? I suspect it is what Putin has on Trump. I am bowled over and yet I should not be as all of his outward signs during the campaign and after the election pointed to it. Imagine what the FBI has to corroborate these impending charges--tapes, emails, texts, wired conversations and, perhaps, so much more! Big surprise: the poisonous Trump is a sewer of corruption!

Jayme Closs Found Alive -- some good news in a sea of bad!

It is beyond belief that this young teenager, kidnapped in her own home October 15, had the will and the intelligence to figure out how to get away from the monster who kidnapped her and killed her parents. Kudos, of course, to law enforcement who kept the story alive and kept looking with their ever present professionalism. Thanks to the public for having Jayme's face etched in their minds so that when the time came the rescuers -- a woman walking her dog and a man and woman in their home -- knew who she was and brought this young battered woman to safety.

How important is it for those who own homes and/or have children to trust no one for whom to open their doors unless they are sure they know who it is. In Jayme's case this beast kicked in the door, shot her parents and kidnapped an adolescent. One can only do what is humanly possible.  We see every day in our weapon saturated society how important it is to transmit to your children never to go with anyone they do not know and the ones they do know are deemed trustworthy. I am sickened when I think of the violence this innocent young girl endured. I am afraid to listen to the entire story. I am nearly sure there existed indecent assault. I hope against hope this is not so.

The government shutdown because of Trump's desire, which changes depending on the second he exudes it, for a fake wall of lies costing cheap money not paid for by Mexico and will do nothing to stop the latest boogeyman from seeking the safety of asylum in a nation known for its diversity.  It is eminently important now to take one's safety into their own hands and be always vigilant. There is need for more attention to be paid by the general public to ensure their own welfare as, for example, TSA airport security call in sick because of a sick president's demand of a wall on the southern border experts say is not needed and will not work.

Jayme Closs gave us the good news an American public starving for some good news needed. Thank you, Jayme.  May her days from this moment be filled with moments of joy she so richly deserves, may the so called president suffer the loss for his border wall experts say is mendacious folly and may the government open up returning federal workers to jobs with pay that keep our nation safe.

Devolution

After Trump’s know nothing speech​ ​​last evening​, boring and full of untruths; after the latest proof of Manafort ​and ​others​'​ connection to conspiracy with Russia ​to ​throw the​ 2016 ​ election to Trump I have seen predictions of Trump's impending doom. I am not so sure. If progressives or even moderates controlled the Supreme Court I ​might​ believe it but now with ​progressive Justice Ginsburg fighting for her health God only knows what the unhappy fate of our nation could be. If the Court is in Trump’s pocket​, which I believe the "conservatives" on the Court are,​ they and only they could reverse the entire Mueller probe.

Mueller has Everest sized evidence ​against Trump and his administration ​that could take all of Trump and his henchmen ​down. Mueller's report​, if allowed to be seen,​ will be scathing but if ​the Supreme Court​ with Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, ​and ​perhaps, Roberts ​have their way, we ​will be ​in a nightmare ​of devolution into yet another barbaric age. I ​am hard pressed ​​to see ​the end of this ode to fascism, Trump, an​​d ​his ​enablers ​experiencing the justice they so richly deserve​. ​A ​​conservative ​Court majority of zero humanity and human morality, Trump’s centerpiece, ​could​ ​act alone and ​give ​Trump ​​absolution. I​​​,​ the doubter of a Supreme Being pray to one nonetheless in hope that I am wrong. I pray to a God I do not know exists to save us from ​this​ human catastrophe ​that is ​Trump with his endless mountain of 17 investigations of crime that would fell any other oval office occupier.

Think of it: all those human beings ​walking thousands of miles seeking asylum from impending doom in their own country ​– women, children, the aged, the disabled, the sick held captive ​by Trump's insanity ​that condemns them to sleeping under foil or on the floor ​in the cold desert and two Hispanic children dead of sicknesses from which they did not have to die​.​ ​ T​hose​ in this Trump administration ​who represent our nation murdered them. Look at what ​the malevolent ​and always mendacious​Trump has done to our nation, to the world and to our overheated planet​ committing many crimes against humanity​​.  Worse, he keeps on doing it.​  The government shutdown for the expensive wall of no emergency is condemning hundreds of thousands to lives of hardship with no pay some of whom may die.  Moreover, those of nefarious intent can access airports more easily as TSA agents are calling in sick.  He must be stopped.​

Those innocent children held in captivity will be a lost generation​. If​ the better angels of our national conscience ​prevail they will be returning from another ​holocaust ​of a different age ​– dazed, confused ​and ​not knowing what to do​ scarred for life through no fault of their own.​​​

Evolution is a truth of science but devolution is a truth as well. Neanderthal man is alive and well sitting in the oval office of the people’s house ​where men of stature once sat Trump sits ​feet away from a nuclear winter that could cover us all.

"Millions Could Lose Food Assistance If Government Shutdown Continues"

"Does Donald Trump want a border wall badly enough to let struggling Americans go hungry?"

Answer: He does not care.   He does not care if men, women and children go hungry and he surely does not care

if they die as long as he and his family face no hunger and/or death.  What a guy -- a true humanitarian -- NOT!

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"  Matthew 16:26.  If one asked Trump,

allegedly such a good Christian and a global advocate of it if he knows from where that profound question emanates, if he knows who said it and contextually if he even understands its meaning.  My guess is no on all counts. 

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/government-shutdown-food-stamps_us_5c31070de4b0bcb4c25c4524

SHUTDOWN PRESIDENT NARCISSIST SOCIOPATH

Mitch McConnell needs to be called out on his refusal to bring up the SIX bills that have already been passed by the house.

If the electorate gets pissed off enough which god almighty they should articles of impeachment will be filed.

This man is an existential threat to our nation, he is a threat to our markets and he is a global threat to the world.  There are thousands of federal workers either working for nothing or not getting paid and this mental midget is threatening that the Trump shutdown could do on for years. 

Garbage is piling up in our once beautiful parks, toilets are overflowing and people have died with no park rangers in sight.  Disease will come next because this gd border wall which is utterly unnecessary not to mention unethical the immoral of all immoral President Narcissist Sociopath has it in his sicko utterly inferior brain that he cannot hurt his base of about 25% of the electorate who are right wingnut extremist Nazis. 

This must stop by any means necessary. 

Interview by Rachel Maddow of Elizabeth Warren

If you have not seen Rachel Maddow's interview of Elizabeth Warren on January 2, do so by going to the Rachel Maddow Show from yesterday's broadcast! Elizabeth Warren was heart stopping brilliant!

8-year-old Guatemalan boy dies in US custody on Christmas

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/25/us/guatemalan-boy-dies-in-us-custody/index.html

AT LONG LAST, TRUMP, HAVE YOU NO SHAME!?

Why this Jewish woman loves Christianity

The messenger of hate, Trump, has plowed the hoards of hate into our "give me your tired your poor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" nation.  He is a man so cruel, so mean, so mendacious and so disordered but has been given the reins of extreme power by know nothings who literally know nothing and are fooled by his con.  Because he is the extreme narcissist and because he has built a sadistic room in his Republican Party for the kings of cruelty whose main mission in life is to exclude and/or kill the other especially if their skin is brown or their ethnicity Jewish; because his main objective in his dogmatic rule is to eschew democracy and embrace authoritarians; because he wants to build a wall to keep a suffering humanity out and not welcome them in to save their lives from certain death; because he leaves democratic allies in the dust for them to go it alone and face certain obliteration at the hands of much stronger despots; because he writes in concentration camp form numbers on the arms of brown children captured seeking asylum at the US border and keeps them jailed in the dessert separated from their parents with no end of this cruelty in sight; because the ugliness that spews out of his mouth that can speak nothing else; because his eyes do not read and his brain does not question; and because his heart does not empathically feel, I am, like few other times at a loss for words strong enough to condemn this beast of madness nor can I explain how those who claim to love this nation turn their back on the precepts for which it stands and for which so many have bled. 

I thought of writing today, Christmas Eve, what I said as a fifth grader when the teacher asked us to tell her what Christmas meant to us.  Being a Jewish girl I knew or rather my parents told me that we did not celebrate Christmas but even in my ten year old mind that soaked up the culture around I knew Christmas was not really about the collection of material goods nor was it about ostentatious superficiality. I knew Christmas was about Christ and that Christianity was about his message.  How did a Jewish girl who was not supposed to celebrate Christmas understand the true meaning of the day?  The answer to that is I don't know but I did, I loved it and, in its pure form, I still do. 

The truth is, as I see it, Christianity without its man-made political extremes hell bent on waging war against Muslims, against Jews, against Buddhists or against anyone who does not believe as they do is about turning the other cheek when someone offends you; it is about forgiving those who hurt you; it is about the thief or the prostitute being promised redemption; it is about curing the sick, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked; it is about loving the least of those who cannot fend for themselves and it is about finding a way, a truth and a light directing mankind from a path of destruction to a path of construction; it is about the acceptance of the stranger.  It is about treating your neighbor as you would want to be treated yourself.  In truth and ironically, Christianity is really about everything that Trump is not.  The Prince of Peace if he were alive today would expect you to reject hate and embrace love.  That is the Christianity I love. I believe Christ's Christianity would would expect nothing less.

The Dreyfus affair

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair

AntiSemitism is in the marrow of French bones. For that matter it is in most of the marrows of most European and Eastern European states including and most especially Russia. It is The Longest Hatred!

This time Jews will NOT go down without a fight and we make no deduction that Antisemitism is just a passing phase. It is NOT passing it is permanent and so is our opposition to its hatred!

Our stable genius acts again

On a 3:00 a.m. whim our idiot president makes Vladimir Putin, Iran, Turkey, Hezbollah, Assad and ISIS think they died and went to heaven. Without telling anyone the idiot Trump says he defeated ISIS therefore withdraws entirely 2000 American troops leaving the Kurds (our allies) and others vulnerable to slaughter. He makes Putin jump for joy.

Trump keeps 6000 troops on our southern boarder falsely protecting us from those who are escaping certain death from gangs in Central America! The stable genius works again. This is insanity and I am no war monger. I am usually against American military action but I support it IF it saves innocent lives. At the end of WWII we kept and still do keep a military vigilance both in Europe and Japan. We do it because it is necessary.  Bad actors can create bad theater anytime they are ready to write a play. ISIS is not dead.  What happened to American leadership post WWII? It died and we are left with a vulnerability that can perpetrate a 9/11. God forbid it happens again!

TRUMP/PUTIN; TRUMP PUTIN.  Why don't they just marry and unite their fortunes.  Trump must be removed from office post haste before there is no nation here to defend!

Hypocrite-in-chief

While Trump's mission in life is to deny innocent people with brown skin and their children seeking asylum in the US fleeing certain death in their own countries; while his mission in life is to write numbers on children's arms to mirror Nazi policy in concentration camps;  while his mission in life is to separate infants and the young from their parents; while his mission in life is to deny medical care for children even if they court death because of it; while his mission in life is to empty water left by humane human beings for other human beings crossing an unforgiving desert; while his mission in life is to scramble ports of entry so those who have walked 2000 miles cannot gain entrance; while his mission in life is to condemn thousands to life in a tent in the desert risking all types of transmittable diseases; while his mission in life is to commit children to a prison without end our sad excuse for president of the United States is the subject of 17 -- let me say that again 17 -- Trump/Russia investigations. 

Our so called law and order president is being investigated for the following:  Russian government US presidential election collusion, Wikileaks, Middle Eastern influence, Paul Manifort's activity in Russia, Trump Tower Moscow Project, Campaign Transition contacts with Russia, Obstruction of justice, Campaign conspiracy and Trump organization finances, Inauguration funding -- search for unaccounted 40 million dollars ; Trump Superpac funding, foreign lobbying, Russian operative Maria Butina and her NRA connections, Turkish Influence, tax fraud, Trump Foundation the shut down of his personal charity in the wake of a succession of scandals and a looming lawsuit which exposed a “shocking pattern of illegality,” Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova chief accountant of Project Lakhta, a sprawling Kremlin campaign to influence politics in the U.S. and European Union -- ongoing, Emoluments lawsuit.

If Donald J. Trump is not our hypocrite-in-chief then I do not know what else he is.  Shame on those who gave him a life in the oval office and shame on Republicans who have not a shred of conscience or decency to remove this hypocrite post haste!

I cried this morning--Seven-year-old girl who died at border did not receive medical care for 90 minutes

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/seven-year-old-girl-who-died-border-did-not-receive-n948071

Yes, I could not stop my tears; This story above took my heart and squeezed every inch of life it had within it.  This nation, my nation that was supposed to stand

for goodness, justice and the American way put to death a seven year old innocent when all she needed was probably some Gatorade the kind they give to football players

when they are thirsty but could not find any of for a 7 year old Hispanic girl who walked with her father across 2000 miles of dessert since life in their own country meant certain death.  This small little Guatemalan girl who died needed one thing:  some water with electrolytes something easy to get at a corner store.

What, in God's name have we become?  Border guards with glee dump out water the humane among us have left for the parched crossing the dessert to save their life.  The guards were happy and laughing like the Nazi's who cut old Jews' beards off for a joke.  How is this possible in a land that lost so many fighting fascist tyranny?  The Trump milieu in which we live is Nazi like.  I do not think this analysis too extreme.  Democrats won but Republicans are doing all they can to create legislation that ruins the poor, ruins their healthcare and ruins everything President Obama did that could help those of us who somehow, through an accident of birth, lost this American life's lottery that relegates them homelessness, soup kitchens and by the edict of one single Texas hard hearted judge leaves them with no healthcare to boot.  It other words many will share the fate of that 7 year old little girl who died on a bus from dehydration because no one cared enough to give her water. I do not recognize this nation anymore and the Democratic House we just elected cannot come fast enough, I fear, to save us.

Donald Trump and his cronies including his family need to pay a  heavy price.  As he celebrates the holidays in splendor more 7 year old children will die.  Trump needs to be impeached, convicted then prosecuted when out of office.  He and his henchmen have committed crimes against humanity and should pay the price for the most unethically egregious  conduct and the highest of crimes an American administration has ever committed.  Start with the murder of that seven year old sweet girl who thought she was walking to freedom's light but died instead at freedom's door.  

I cried this morning for that seven year old girl, I cried for the immigrant children locked up separated from their parents some forever and I cried for the country I thought I knew but cannot recognize any more.  I  am still crying and cannot stop.

How I see it: The markets a small stream of thought

We have to take care of ourselves if one is in the market.   Trump is tanking the market with his gd trade wars that are ruinous. All that so many Dems and Repbulican middle class too have saved will be in the swamp. This recession coming, as I can feel it, will be worse much worse than 2007 because no one in power in Republicanland has our back. We are on our own. All that we worked so hard to gain back from the last recession is, in my mind, at grave risk.

I am scared about what is happening to our economy. Trump with his lousy tax cuts took care of the top 2% wealthiest as they won't have to worry, not that they had to worry anyway, but now they really do not.  The tax cuts someone might want to clue the Republican middle class are for the top 2% richest and are PERMANENT for those who need it the least -- but for the middle classes it is a mere pittance that will evaporate in a recession because Trump and his Congressional Republican lackeys did not make ours permanent!!  Worse you will not be able to deduct your property taxes. 

All should spread that reality and maybe just maybe next time Republicans will be crushed in the Senate as they now have been in the House.  If we elect a Democratic president they will rue the day that they had the stupidity to elect, as Mitt Romney said, a con man.  I only pray he and his entire thug family and friends are monetarily eviscerated and end up in jail!  That is my wish, my hope and my prayer.

Treason, the Rosenbergs and Trump

I was thinking about the Rosenbergs, Julius and Ethel, executed here in 1950 for handing over to the Soviets some, probably banal secrets the Soviets already knew, to build a nuclear bomb.  The US, at that time, was the only nation which possessed a nuclear bomb and, as witnessed by the horrific destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was willing to use it.  Julius Rosenberg's rationale for working with the Soviet Union then, some have said, was to prevent a nuclear holocaust that more than one nation having the bomb would obviate. Whether they did that for which they were executed or not is the subject of continuous controversy but it is clear, at least to me, that Julius did commit treason. Whether Ethel did or not is still subject to debate.  This opinion, however, is not about a debate as to the guilt or innocence of the Rosenbergs but it is to compare their acts for which they were executed to the acts of a president of the United States, Trump, and his many minions suspected of conspiracy with one of our most adversarial nations, Russia, to hack into Democratic computers and emails to defeat Hillary Clinton and elect Trump in the 2016 presidential election.  The Russians were successful beyond their wildest imaginations and Trump I believe contributed to their success.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Larry O'Donnell's creative analysis of a largely redacted sentencing memo by Robert Mueller on former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn they had just received about Flynn's actions allegedly colluding with Russia including the breach of the FCPA (the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) by not admitting to his paid connection to the foreign nation of Turkey and its president Erdogan was brilliant.  Because Flynn has cooperated with Special Counsel Mueller (including 19 hours of testimony) so quickly, fully and truthfully the sentencing recommendation of Mueller was near zero imprisonment time in hopes that others, perhaps many, of the Trump administration would agree to do the same.

The scope and the depth of Mueller's investigation into Trump's alleged conspiracy with one of this nation's most adversarial powers, Russia, and its President Putin is mammoth.  Many in Trump's orbit, including Trump himself, could be pulled into the center of gravity of the investigation which is already two years old but is far from over.  In my opinion, it makes what the Rosenbergs were accused of and executed for look like child's play.  The Russians struck at the heart of our democracy itself and, at least for the 2016 election, killed it. 

Trump allegedly has done one of the most evil, treacherous, mendacious and, indeed treasonous actions by betraying this nation he says he loves for 40 pieces of Trump Tower gold and used Flynn's motive to defeat Islam as his phony rationale. The Russians truly must be laughing themselves silly.  This is the biggest compromat the Russians have successfully ever gotten -- a useful idiot US President Trump allegedly acting on their behalf in order for the Manchurian candidate Trump to make billions. If the Rosenbergs were executed for treason for their crimes then the allegedly treasonous Trump should be impeached, successfully tried by a Republican majority senate and convicted for his.  The American electorate should be screaming for nothing less!!

All the president's men -- Watch this space

MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Larry O'Donnell were amazing last evening. This is the greatest political show on earth I have ever seen and will be studied for decades in colleges, universities, the Ivy Leagues and in high schools too as it is much much more serious and complex than Watergate.  It is similar to Watergate in many ways but on steroids.  

 

I was addicted last night and couldn't stop watching -- Three things sum it up that Larry O'Donnell illuminated: FAME, MONEY AND SEX.  That is the essence of Trump's character or lack of it.  That is what he wanted from the presidency he did not think he would win.  Why on God's earth would anyone with as much nefarious baggage as he had want to win the most fishbowl office in the world?  It was a business deal he wanted with Russia for decades and went there numbers of times to cultivate.  Now his family and many others Trump touched including counsel are in the soup.  Ironically, Trump loves gold and it is his symbol but everything and everyone he touches turns to dust.  

 

This will be to be continued tomorrow, tomorrow and for many tomorrows to come.   Much more will come out and Mueller the Magnificent has it all without leaking a word.  This is the most amazing story ever told!  The so called president of these United States is a horrible man of zero character and even less honesty. He is everything evil that our nation has produced -- inside and out ugly beyond words!

Here is what one blogger wrote which I thought has merit:

The possible bribe (50 million dollar penthouse suite in Trump Moscow Tower) offered to Putin himself to help this deal go through. American companies that offer bribes [any valuable item, favor or such] to foreign officials to grease the wheels of a deal, is considered a breach of the The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Trump is claiming the Russian "deal didn't go through". Well, under the FCPA, it's the mere act of offering or even knowing about a bribe to a foreign official, even if that bribe is turned down, that can be enough for an indictment. His ignorance of this law is amusing. Maybe, he figures that as POTUS, he is immune to indictment. I suggest he talk to a competent attorney about the 7 year statute of limitations. Cohen says Trump knew about the deal to offer Putin valuable favors, including a multi-million condo in the building, in return for approving. That offer, even if turned down, can be considered a violation of FCPA.

As Rachel would say: "Watch this space!

A thinking blogger

A BLOG SOMEONE SENT TO ME. Okay so it's a pipe dream but one can still dream it. It's correct in so many ways. Money big money is the nature of the beast and its total corruption in this nation. Trump is simply a symptom of capitalism gone haywire. In my opinion though revolution is out of the question especially a violent one. The beast, will never be tamed in the way the blogger would want it to be ... ever but I thought it fun to read anyway. At least someone is thinking.

BLOGGER:

"The real issue isn't hunger, or illness, or the cost of living or the cost of education. The real issue is capitalism. We have opted for an economy and a government at every level that is controlled by corporations. We have a government of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations.

And those corporations, with their lackeys in the controlled media have brainwashed the people into thinking that there is very little poverty in the US and that the poor seeking help are lazy, good for nothing, ne'er-do-wells.

This neoliberal capitalism is destroying our country, causing untold suffering for millions and creating the most unequal society in the developed world with the highest rate of child poverty and greatest number of poor people in prison in the developed world.

We need a revolution. We have to take break the corporations' grip on our government and on our daily lives. We have to start breaking all these businesses up once they reach a certain valuation, we have to greatly increase their taxes, make it impossible through taxation for one more billionaire to be made in the US.

And most of all we have to start insisting that every cent be taken out of politics and enforce term limits for every office, including the SCOTUS and Congress. Then we have to insist that government cease its working for corporations and insist it work for us, the people, by adequately funding the things people need instead of shoveling trillions into the sewer of the military industrial complex and fighting endless wars all over the globe."