Flip the Senate and more

 

Flipping the Senate from red to blue is almost as important as Biden winning the presidency.  Biden, if he is elected, must have a Senate majority of Democrats to get anything of consequence done including Supreme Court and other court nominations if vacancies occur.  A contribution or several if you can afford it would be wonderful.   Simply go to the Democratic candidate's web page.  For example Google "Jon Ossoff for Senate" scroll until you see his campaign site.  Rinse and repeat if you can for any other and/or all Democratic candidates. 

The Democratic candidates listed below for Senate are in blue/bold and their Republican opponent's respective states are listed in parenthesis below. 

Dem MJ Hegar v. (John Cornyn R Texas)

Dem Amy McGrath v. (Moscow Mitch R Kentucky)

Dem Jon Ossoff v. (David Purdue R Georgia)

Dem Sara Gideon v. (Susan Collins R Maine)

Dem Jaime Harrison v. (Lindsey Graham R South Carolina)

Dem Cal Cunningham v. (Thom Tillis R. North Carolina)

Dem Mark Kelley v. (Martha McSally R. Arizona)

Moreover, if you have the time you can go to the web sites and volunteer to call registered Democrats from other states to ensure they get out early to cast a vote for Joe Biden/Kamala Harris, the Dems running for Senate and other down ballot Democrats. 

Vote blue now up and down the ticket if you have not already voted.  If you vote tomorrow, November 3, vote early at your assigned polling place or deposit your ballot as soon as possible in your assigned drop box.  I have never experienced a problem voting in Massachusetts.

Here are instructions:

" There are laws that prohibit the carrying of firearms in certain locations in Massachusetts, such as school zones, post offices and other federal buildings. Schools in particular are commonly used as polling locations on Election Day. If the law restricts the carrying of a firearm in or around the building where a polling place is located, then it is illegal to carry a firearm at that polling location."

If you feel intimidated by an observer or see behavior that concerns you at the polls talk to the warden. The warden is empowered to enforce all election laws and regulations. A police officer is located at each polling place to aid the warden in that duty.

Should there be an issue that cannot be resolved with the warden, you can also call your local election office and/or the Election Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office. That toll-free number, 1-800-462-VOTE, is posted at every polling place, along with the “voter’s bill of rights.”

The Depths of Depravity - Ensure your vote counts--added and edited

 In Texas a Biden campaign bus was surrounded, harassed and attempted to be run off the 

road with an event cancelled; the Texas governor pulled drop off boxes and placed only one

 in a heavily minority and democratic area.

In North Carolina parents and children are pepper sprayed during a peaceful march.

In Pennsylvania Republicans are trying to suppress the minority vote and to the extent they cannot they are trying to get the votes tabulated as late as possible. The goal is to try to count the votes until later of Democrats who have voted in huge numbers so Republicans can delay the election and to throw out votes of probable Democrats any way Republicans can.  Indeed Republicans would like to keep Democrats from voting at all.

I am not doubting that Biden would win if (a big if) the votes are counted fairly and legally but because the liar-in-chief Trump does not care about that and only cares about his showing a win he will do anything ... anything ... including voter suppression, lying and cheating like dumping post office sorting machines by his Republican contributor lackey, DeJoy, appointed by Trump as so called "Postmaster General," to ensure a win by any surreptitious means necessary.

This is a man who paid someone to take his college boards because he knew he was not that bright! Trump is a mendacious, unethical and inhumane deplorable man.  He is killing hundreds by having maskless rallies and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of American COVID deaths by not taking the virus seriously.  He knew COVID was a huge viral threat deadlier than the flu as Bob Woodward in his book "Rage" caught him on tape saying so. Because he wanted his numbers to look good he did not care about the deaths and said to hell with the numbers. He wanted the numbers suppressed and to that end he would lie, do and say all that could to make him look good.  It was not the American public panicking that was his worry but rather it was Trump panicking so much so he would say anything, including lie, about it to show the numbers were low when they were high.  No testing for him as the tests would reveal the truth about the high numbers of Americans infected with the virus and still counting.  His actions surrounding COVID have been unconscionable because Trump has no conscience and to the extent he cares about anything he cares about only himself.

To show the depths of Trumpian depravity he -- if one can believe this -- said that the doctors treating patients for COVID profit from their deaths.  That should be deemed illegal but even he is Constitutionally covered by free speech even if it is mendacious speech.  One cannot yell fire in a crowded theater said Oliver Wendall Homes in the 1919 SCOTUS decision Schenck v. United States, as some speech cannot be free when it is a clear and present danger  endangering the lives of many. One wonders if a president lies about an uber contagious virus that kills should he not be held to account and punished for his lies?  The depths of the human depravity of Trump can not be underestimated. 

Vote blue in person November 3 arriving early where you vote or better still by depositing a ballot in a designated drop off box.  Do it NOW before November 3 and to ensure your vote counts.

Mind Numbing

 

Rachel Maddow's show yesterday was heart stopping. Three stories guaranteed to knock your socks off.

1. The first involved Russian hackers hacking into US hospitals in a ransomware attack. It's called tickbot (not sure of the bot name.)

shutting off computer systems of hospitals in various states to avoid any further destruction.

2. Russian hackers wanting to go after US elections gathering confidential information on voters to screw up the US

election as if we needed anymore doubt sown by Trump in the security of elections

3. Corruption times 10: Trump and his attorney general lackey Barr involving themselves to help a foreign power Turkey's Erdogan in a major attempt to kill an investigation of a Turkish bank (Halkbank) for financial crimes which investigation was run out of the Southern District of New York with US attorney Berman going after the Turkish bank. In summary from the Intelligencer: "In 2016, Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked then-Vice-President Joe Biden to lean on federal prosecutors who were investigating a Turkish bank for financial crimes and to hand over a dissident cleric living in the United States. The requests seemed to be on Biden’s mind when he publicly addressed reporters and piously explained that, in the United States, the justice system doesn’t work like that. “I suspect it’s hard for people to understand that as powerful as my country is, as powerful as Barack Obama is as president, he has no authority under our Constitution to extradite anyone,” Biden explained to reporters. “Only a federal court can do that. Nobody else can do that. If the president were to take this into his own hands, what would happen would be he would be impeached for violating the separation of powers."

If you remember US attorney Berman resigned. Erdogan wanted the investigation killed until Trump got angry at Erdogan for something else so Trump and Barr backed off. Still it was a hugely treasonous attempted breach of national security for a sitting president and his henchman Barr to attempt to kill a case investigated by a US attorney or any other attorney for that matter. US higher ups never get involved in cases brought by a US attorney or any in US courts. It's just not done except in banana republics.

From the Intelligencer article: "Trump’s own financial interest is a factor Biden did not imagine in 2016. When Trump was asked about Turkey in 2015, he conceded that he had a conflict of interest. “I have a little conflict of interest because I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” Trump told Breitbart. “It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one. … And I’ve gotten to know Turkey very well. They’re amazing people. They’re incredible people. They have a strong leader.”

"Yes, having a lucrative business deal in a foreign country, especially an oligarchy where leaders intermingle official favors with foreign policy, is a deep conflict of interest.  It is disqualifying, in fact.  "In a pre-Trump world, the Turkish bank scandal would destroy a normal presidency." Trump would have satisfied Erdogan' request if Trump had not gotten angry at Turkey like boys in a school yard fight.  "If Trump wins reelection, the House should launch impeachment hearings."

If you are wondering how so many could tie themselves to the most uber corrupt president in US history I am having that incredulity assault my senses too. It is, indeed, mind numbing.  The answer is I have zero idea how anyone of any ethical standards could support Trump. 

DROP YOUR BALLOT FOR BIDEN IN TIME AND MOST IMPORTANTLY DROP IT NOW IN PERSON IN A DROP BOX OR AT APPROPRIATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES. IN THE ALTERNATIVE, VOTE IN PERSON EARLY IF POSSIBLE ON NOVEMBER 3RD AT YOUR POLLING FACILITY   DO NOT USE THE MAIL.  IT IS TOO LATE TO USE THE MAIL BECAUSE OF TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS’ VOTER SUPPRESSION TACTICS. VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET AND SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY!

  https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/trump-turkey-bank-scandal-corruption-erdogan-halkbank-conflict-interest.html

Noam Chomsky: Trump Is the Worst Criminal in History

 

This is a YouTube link below to the David Parkman show who talks among other things about Noam Chomsky's view of Trump.  I believe too that Trump is the worst criminal in history because of many things about which Parkman speaks.  I urge you to listen as it is

a short rendition of why Chomsky thinks Trump is the Worst Criminal in History.  Of course skip the introductory ad!  The content is I think prescient and riveting.  VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET AND SAVE THE LIVES OF OTHERS, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR OWN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND DOWN THE TICKET AND SAVE LIVES OF OTHERS, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR OWN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlhZ9SL90X8&fbclid=IwAR1oORSAfeAa4Qa2BxiPSKP4LNrll6pijXvVyWnV8DwFQwDq754mqMg1R_g

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Noam Chomsky: Trump Is the Worst Criminal in History

Subject: A rabbi's response to the President calling Jews "Lacking in Knowledge and disloyal".

Subject: A rabbi's response to the President calling Jews "Lacking in Knowledge and disloyal". 

[ARE YOU READING AND HEEDING, ES, RS & TC?]

Eloquently written by Rabbi Danny Maseng

 

Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats, saying "it shows 

either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty."

 

A rabbi's response to the President calling Jews "lacking knowledge and disloyal" if they vote Democratic:  Rabbi Danny Maseng writes: 

 

As a Jew

 Since you called me out as a Jew, Mr. President, since you thought to call me disloyal or lacking knowledge by not voting for you, I’d like to respond to you personally, even though I have no illusions you will read this.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to love the stranger who dwells among us no less than thirty-six times in the Bible you claim to treasure. I am commanded to have one law for the stranger and  the citizen. No exceptions.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to pay my employees on time, including undocumented workers at casinos, construction sites, or golf courses.

 As a Jew, I am commanded to repay bank loans and investors.

 As a Jew, I am commanded to never bear false witness.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to guard my tongue and speak no evil.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I am commanded to never embarrass my fellow human being in public, lest I be accused of spilling their blood – including Ted Cruz or the late Senator and war hero, John McCain.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I take great offence in my president attacking Denmark, the country that gallantly saved its Jews from the Nazis, while most of Europe fell asleep.

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I take umbrage in my Grandfather,  the sainted Dr. Rabbi Harry S. Davidowitz, who inhaled poison gas in the trenches of WWI as a US Army chaplain, being called disloyal because he voted Democrat.

 As a Jew, born and raised in Israel, I take offence at you calling me disloyal to America AND to Israel, because I oppose your  inept, ghoulish, uncouth, deceitful, inhumane farce of leadership. How many tours of duty have you performed for Israel during wartime? Or, for that sake, the USA?

 As a Jew, Mr. President, I reserve the right to oppose Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib (neither of whom called upon the help of a former KGB operative to help them in their election to office), while simultaneously condemning your divisive, racist rants and policies.

 As a Jew who has proud Republican family members who I love and cherish, I am ashamed of what you have done to the Republican party; to conservative ideals – even if I do not share all of those ideals.

 As a Jew whose Christian uncle fought heroically at the Battle of the Bulge for our country and for the salvation of Europe – I am ashamed by the mockery you visit upon his sacrifice.

 As the son of a Christian pilot, later converted to Judaism, who led American pilots to glorious victory over Nazi Germany, I am outraged by your embrace of neo-Nazi’s and racists in America (that same pilot, who became a squadron commander in the Israeli Air Force, and fought for Israel’s independence).

 As a Jew, I am disgraced by your fawning adoration of the worst dictators of our century – you violate Christian and Jewish values by doing so.

 As a Jew; as a well-informed Jew who loves and cares deeply for Israel and for America, I condemn you and call you out for the divisive fool, the ogre, the ghoul that you are.

AMEN

IF YOU AGREE WITH THE RABBI, PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AS I HAVE PASSED THIS ON TO ES, RS AND TC - WHO DESPERATLY NEED TO READ IT AND HOPEFULLY, UNDERSTAND IT.

 

My Letter to Pope Francis

 the wonderful Pope Francis calls for civil unions for same-sex couples, in major departure from Vatican doctrine he said

“Homosexuals have a right to be part of the family,” the pontiff said in “Francesco,” a documentary about his life. I have always loved Pope Francis because I believe he is a kind, brave and courageous man.  This is huge! Wonder how it will affect Amy Barrett who is a staunch charismatic Catholic and does not I would venture to say believe in according certain groups equal civil rights.   

 

 

My Letter to the Pope:

Dear Your Holiness Pope Francis.  I thank you for your wonderful call for civil unions for same-sex couples in a major departure from Vatican doctrine.  This is worthy of significant congratulations for this shift in sentiment. I know you have taken a monumental burden off the shoulders of so many Catholic adherents to the faith and may I be so bold as to say you probably have saved lives.

I, a Jew, have always loved you, Pope Francis, because I believe you are a kind and humane man.  I especially appreciate that you have said “homosexuals have a right to be part of the family,” in “Francesco,” a documentary about your life. I will be sure to view it. 

I have also had an affection for what I believe is the essence of Christianity and what path Christ forged for man to follow.  I believe the path of Christ is imbued with kindness, humane thought and love. 

Whether other popes who succeed you call for the same right of civil union to be accorded to homosexuals or not you deserve congratulations for this brave and courageous act!

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Breaking News: The Trump administration quietly closed a vaccine safety office last year, hampering efforts to track the long-term safety of a coronavirus vaccine

 

My Comment:  

What the %*&^%?  Is this possible?  This beast does not give a damn who lives and who dies.  VILE, DISGUSTING.  He is a sickening

sociopath!!

In the following years, as emerging viruses caused outbreaks of Ebola, MERS and other diseases, experts called for more preparations for the next pandemic. In 2016, President Barack Obama set up a global health security office at the National Security Council. But in 2018, the Trump administration disbanded that office, saying it was streamlining bureaucratic bloat.

The next year, the National Vaccine Program Office met a similar fate. Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, said in a letter to Senator Patty Murray, the ranking member of a health subcommittee, noting that the merger, as part of a broader department reorganization, would “increase operational efficiencies by eliminating program redundancies and decreasing program costs.”

The explosion of disinformation on social media will make clear communication vital. “I think that preparing for Russian disinformation campaigns should be part of preparing for the rollout of a Covid vaccine,” said Steven Wilson, a political scientist at Brandeis University.

Dr. Grace Lee, a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine and a member of the C.D.C. committee, agreed that such preparations were urgent, but said they were beyond the committee’s scope: “A national communication strategy and plan is much needed.”

Yet another reason voting blue up and down the ticket is a must.  Truly our lives depend upon it!!

I post the NYT article in its entirety below.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/health/covid-vaccine-safety.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20201023&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=75028030&segment_id=42105&user_id=85a8ac1c6f518c011d82f4864472cc9b&fbclid=IwAR1SKR3gO2iRyCkrF_vlYufe8mtchwUeksuFGSKfuSrGxhtlfDpv9xZ4MAA

New York Times Opinion: Biden Is Not Out of the Woods

 I urge you to read the NYT opinion link --  "Biden is not out of the woods" below my comment. 

Every day in every way this race has my emotional state on permanent seesaw. The bottom line is we CANNOT repeat the 2016 election. In spite of Trump's many frauds, illegalities, and unconstitutional actions most certainly because of his COVID-19 stupidity and anti-science views responsible for thousands of American deaths as well as his superspreader rallies which are fertile ground for more COVID-19 positives, Biden supporters should still not be complacent.

 

All of Trump's attempts to destroy democracy and his love for authoritarian leaders like Putin whose hack of the 2016 election is well known, Biden supporters should not rest easy. The Trump campaign is now attempting to sign up non educated white voters. There are more of them that his campaign is dedicated to lassoing as recent Trump campaign rallies show their numbers.

 

Republican attempts at cheating (often the only way they win) through voter suppression tactics specifically in battleground states and his full throttle attempt to overturn a Biden win through the Republican friendly Supreme Court are well known. As the great Yogi Berra said: It ain't over til it's over.

 

Biden, though I wish otherwise, is NOT a shoo in. Trump has been lucky all of his life. Though a failure at almost everything he attempts, his con man mouth can and has pulled him out of a watery ditch just when one would think he would drown. He doesn't. He gets rescued. BIDEN VOTERS DO NOT BE COMPLACENT! REGISTER TO VOTE AND THEN VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET AND FEAR TRUMP'S HISTORICAL LUCK. DO NOT LET IT WORK FOR HIM THIS TIME!! Send this to anyone you choose.

 

 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/opinion/biden-trump-presidential-election.html

 

A Marine, a mom and running for the US Senate to unseat McConnell

I contributed to the EXCELLENT former Marine Amy McGrath and saw her on Larry O'Donnell last evening. They showed clips of the debate between Amy and McConnell. Amy was light years better than Mitch McConnell who has had 36 years in that office and could say nothing in response to her poignant opinions and accusations. If Kentucky misses this opportunity to get a WONDERFUL, senator to represent them who will be I hope Amy McGrath then it will be a shame of the highest proportion.

McConnell seems out of touch and smiled at inappropriate times when the subject matter was serious and not the least bit funny. It is clear he is bought by the corporate sludge that occupies most of the Republican Party in Washington and even in the states. I urge, if you can, to contribute to her campaign or one may cold call for it (call her campaign headquarters to find out how) and if you are or know a Kentuckian tell them to get out the vote for her. She will not disappoint.

 

Proud Boys? Extremely violent -- Tilling the soil

 

Huffington Post:  All the President's Men

  Mugshots of the 13 men belonging to paramilitary groups like Proud Boys who were arrested last week related to a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat   https://www.huffpost.com/.../maga-terror-trump-militias_n...

My Comment: What turns human beings into vicious violent gun loving white supremacist killers? What turns men (mostly) into those who do not have an empathetic or humane bone in their body and would kill other human beings solely based on the color of their skin or for other superficial and fatuous reasons? They are an enigma to me.

I believe that the human condition is helped by those who care for and about one another. I believe this nation is the powerhouse it is because of its diversity and not despite it. This nation draws talent from all around the world and whose collection plate is full of talented, contributing and productive persons linked by a common American culture they share, marked sometimes by a uniqueness of their own cultural origin.

I believe that empathy and compassion advance humanity not detract from it. What does constant conflict and civil war do to a culture? It destabilizes everything, destroys and kills so that nothing can advance beyond a heap of rubble. Simply look at nations that have been in constant conflict and civil war like Syria, Iraq and so many other nation states. They stagnate, create little and destroy much if not everything. People are paralyzed by civil war and live in a state of constant fear and rage for years if not generations.

I believe love trumps hate and compassion trumps cruelty. Let us use our human resources to make the nation better. Let us protect and advance our own condition collectively for the nation, for those about whom we care and for those whom we love. These groups of haters have been among us historically but Trump in our time has given them voice to advance solely his own purpose. These fascist like groups are dangerous, they are violent and they are threatening to democracy. They grow in a soil poisoned by hate. Let us till the soil with love and compassion to reap a bountiful harvest of plenty for us all.

‘We Need to Take Away Children,’ No Matter How Young, Justice Dept. Officials Said

The link ​below is ​despicable​!! ​ ​If you click on it you will see professional men sitting around a gleaming mahogany table in the seat of power, the White House, planning the fate (separation, sickness and even death) of countless numbers of human beings asking for asylum trying to escape murder in their own countries. They are asking for a whiff of humanitarian kindness in order to save their lives from certain death.

Trump's policy on thousands of immigrants and the picture of the men contemplating ​it ​is a reminder to me of the Nazi Wannsee Conference on the final solution to the ​so called "​Jewish question​"​ as Trump and his henchmen plan to separate children from their parents and condemn them to unspeakable suffering stockpiled in cages, filth and disease that continues to this day. How could Stephen Miller, Trump's advisor on policy and the grandson of Holocaust surviv​​ors, have advocated for this? In the end the buck stops at the top but the moral responsibility lies with all of us to vociferously condemn crimes against humanity when we see them.

Wikipedia states: "This is the banality of evil political theorist Hannah Arendt wrote of the war crimes star Adolph Eichmann in his 1963 trial in Jerusalem. Arendt, a Jew who fled Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power, reported on Adolf Eichmann's trial and introduced the phrase "the banality of evil." In part the phrase refers to Eichmann's deportment at the trial as the man displayed neither guilt for his actions nor hatred for those trying him, claiming he bore no responsibility because he was simply "doing his job" ("He did his ‘duty'...; he not only obeyed 'orders', he also obeyed the 'law'.")

Hanna Arendt wrote: The essence of totalitarian government, and perhaps the nature of every bureaucracy, is to make functionaries and mere cogs in the administrative machinery out of men, and thus to dehumanize them.

If our nation ever gets out of this Trump nightmare and swamp, the Beast and those in his administration that ordered this despicable crime and many more crimes caring nothing for even infants deserve prosecution for crimes against humanity! VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET and end the Trumpian monstrosity of crime.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/us/politics/family-separation-border-immigration-jeff-sessions-rod-rosenstein.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20201006&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=75028030&segment_id=40032&user_id=85a8ac1c6f518c011d82f4864472cc9b

Seth Myers -- A Closer Look -- BRILLIANT: "Trump Leaves Hospital, Says "Don't Be Afraid of COVID": A Closer Look"

 

Seth Myers -- A Closer Look -- BRILLIANT AND FUNNY IF IT WERE NOT SO SAD AND REFLECTIVE OF THE TRUTH OF THE LIAR-IN-CHIEF 10 YEAR OLD THAT WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE HE WAS BORED. THE FUHRER PAID ONLY $750 IN TAXES FOR A ROOM AT WALTER REED THAT COST US, THE TAXPAYER, IN THE MULTI-MILLIONS! ANOTHER DAY AND ANOTHER DESPICABLE TRUMP RANT!  SETH MYERS SAYS IT ALL.

VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzSb0A9fl70&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1W7xzQEEytiEFf57b105CLV3p6PFg82NTepHBvd4QgEVOs-lwiIuCIc1U

Crimes against humanity -- Superspreader Trump

"The timeline Trump physician Sean Conley outlined offered the clearest evidence yet that Trump had, at the very least, serious reason to suspect he had COVID-19 yet continued behaving as if he did not."  Hicks, Wednesday, falls ill and Trump may have felt ill. Thursday morning Hope Hicks, Trump's trusted advisor, tested positive. Trump/Hicks spent time together hours earlier.  Despite that Trump went on to the New Jersey fundraiser in the afternoon.

The below links are yet other examples of this Beast's narcissistic behavior and are indicative of the fact that this Cretan cares NOTHING for anyone but himself!! He MUST be removed from office if COVID does not remove him from the planet. He spread the virus to countless others (perhaps including Chris Christie) of those who support him yet while he KNEW he had the virus but simply did not care to whom he spread it!!!  King Covid's CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-covid-superspreader_n_5f78aa3bc5b64cf6a2510c47

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/03/world/covid-trump?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20201003&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=75028030&segment_id=39775&user_id=85a8ac1c6f518c011d82f4864472cc9b

 

An embarrassing and disgusting debacle but not surprising

I submit Donald Trump surprised no one during the first so called debate.  He is what he has always been from the moment he slithered down the escalator like a poisonous snake fixing his eyes to swallow the American system whole; a system created by the ingenious Founders that up until this present moment has stopped the usurpation of power by any one man or woman.   Because of Trump's always confrontational and ever so divisive tactics democracy, now, is hanging by a thread.  We who eschew authoritarianism and love democracy wonder if the weight bearing construct of our institutions of checks and balances can hold Trump's attempt to subvert it.  

What can one say about Trump's unacceptability and unfitness for the high office he holds that has not been said many times before?  He is crude, he is rude, he is nasty and insulting.  He is inhumane and cruel.  He cares for no one but himself.  Use any words in the English lexicon to describe a monstrosity that sits in and occupies a position of unbridled power he is unqualified to hold and those ugly words merely scratch the surface of this president's profane, odious, verbiage and conduct.  

The debate format itself was problematic. Trump never let Biden speak or proverbially get a word in edgewise. It was embarrassing for other nations to behold and Wallace, the moderator, could not contain him.  If there is to be another debate there must be a limit of time that each debater can speak and the ability for the mic to automatically cut the audio off if the rules are not obeyed.  There must be a structure and rules so that the boorish Trump cannot impede anyone from speaking. Trump was out of control!

Trump, the breaker of many laws, wants right wing extremists of hate to "stand back and stand by" to monitor the polling stations where honest persons cast their ballots.  Persons doing that, at least in Massachusetts, would be breaking the law.  I was once admonished not even to wear a shirt with my favorite candidate's logo while I walked into the polling area much less if an extremist in the voting area were poised for violence hiding a weapon they love to hold so much.

 

Donald Trump is about fear and he is about rage.  He prods his base to monitor polling stations to intimidate voters and do exactly what?  He rails against mail in ballots deemed over and over by experts to be safe and, indeed, are the same ballots he has cast himself.  Do not fall for his intimidating tactics, do not fall for his constant mendacity, do not fall for his psychological warfare because even through the lame duck session this is still a free nation.  The goal is to remain so long after the cancer of Trump's malignancy has passed. 

Again, I ask you to vote and vote blue up and down the ticket to send this albatross of ignorance, fraud, and lies back to the depths from which he came.  We are still a democracy up to and including January 20, 2021 and I hope long after that whether Joe Biden wins or not as a transition of power peacefully occurs.

Saving the Nation's Life

I have been historically preoccupied with the rise of the Third Reich madness and the ensuing Holocaust of the Jewish millions. My father and I had many conversations about it as I struggled to understand not only the historical reality that the killing of millions of Jews and so many millions of others happened but also why my father and mother, both Jews, did not fear for their lives even though all of my family had come to America long before WWII occurred. My father said he always knew that because he was in America that he would be safe and that American might would protect them. He always felt secure here. And so I studied the Holocaust with the calm that was reflective of living here protected by Lady Liberty's light and felt like many have felt before and after me that what happened in Germany of the 1930's in the most advanced of nations, could not happen here. I no longer feel that way. 

 

Trump has so eviscerated our nation, has so imperiled it, has pitted one group against the other dividing us threatening violence and has ruined the safety and security of all of us by dismembering those brilliant checks and balances -- legislative, executive and judicial -- constructed by our prescient Founders that stood as a check one against the other prohibiting overwhelming power from residing in one branch. Will the vestiges of what is left of our nation if the curse of Trump is defeated be enough to preserve it? The chapter has not been written on that yet. 

 

As the Jewish New Year approaches and we are, it is said, written into the book of life or we are not I hope and, yes, I pray every day that we and our nation will live. I pray most especially that justice will prevail so that on Yom Kippur when our survival, it is said within the Jewish days of awe, is sealed that the goodness of democracy will triumph and that the evil and immense corruption of Trump will not be our eternal fate.

 

I ask you, on November 3, to VOTE BLUE UP AND DOWN THE TICKET TO ENSURE THAT OUR REPUBLIC STANDS STRONG, AND THAT TRUMP AND HIS SOLELY SELF-INTERESTED CONGRESSIONAL ENABLERS ARE DEFEATED THEREBY SAVING THE LIFE OF THIS NATION! TO MY RELATIVES AND FRIENDS BOTH JEWISH AND NON JEWISH ALIKE WISHING YOU: SHANA TOVA (FOR A GOOD YEAR.)

The Story of Fascism in Europe

LISTEN AND LEARN. THE LINK BELOW IS CHILLING AS FASCIST MOVEMENTS SPRING UP TODAY IN EUROPE, THE US AND EVEN IN LATIN AMERICA!! FASCISM IS THE FACE OF TRUMP. IT IS MEAN, IT IS CRUEL AND ITS PROPAGANDA ARE THE BIG (AN SMALL) LIES. THE LIAR-IN-CHIEF TRUMP HAS MADE 20,000 OF THEM. IT CHILLS ME TO THE BONE. YES, IT CAN HAPPEN HERE AND IS RIGHT NOW WITH THE DEMOCRACY KILLER TRUMP AND HIS REPUBLICAN ENABLERS. VOTE BLUE IN 2020 AND SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY! https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/fascism

Edward Snowden reacts to Russia meddling in U.S. elections--My Comment: Our Discontent

 Worthy comments of Snowden that require listening. It is sad Snowden created the pot in which now he and our nation are stewing. His words have merit though. In short, we are the only ones who can change the trajectory of this nation and we are the only ones who can fight Russian misinformation by creating and believing in rational truth. He says there will always be some nation that will want to insert itself in our affairs.  That cannot be stopped. I think that is true. Nations like Russia, he says, will always exist but the way to combat it is with sanity and truth. We are the creators of our own discontent!

https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/edward-snowden-reacts-to-russia-meddling-in-u-s-elections-91579461517?fbclid=IwAR04IHjkddlKwcCg_hjoah7IJaKHp2_J2r_vFS_uiPkIMSqb4OoBwOZJp_A

Wisconsin court sets up possible delay in absentee ballot mailing + My Comment -- Window of Hope

 "The order injects confusion into voting in Wisconsin a week before a state's deadline for absentee ballots to be mailed to those with requests on file."   See link below.

My Comment: Every piece of news is depressing to those of us who advocate for fair, just elections and good government. How is this story of a colossally failed president possible? It is possible because our federal and state governments' hands are tied by corrupt leadership in the DOJ hierarchy including and most especially the courts packed with so-called "conservatives" who do not know what the true meaning of conservative is. It seems impossible for those of us who desperately want ethical and good government to be the face of America and for our nation to return to a sense of traditional normalcy and the example of democracy for millions it once was. Everywhere we turn Trump and his evil minions are there to subvert us and our once democratic nation our most brilliant Founders installed nearly 250 years ago.  They turn in their graves at this assault on and subversion of our nation's democratic  process for which they and others who followed gave their lives.

I have never in all my life been witness to such horrific times. Between climate change responsible for the massive destructive fires in California, Oregon, Washington state, and COVID-19's unnecessary slaughter of 190,000 Americans assisted by an unfit corrupt liar-in-chief occupying the oval office it is cultural mayhem. The staggering loss of this nation to the forces of subversion by enemies inside and outside the country will prevail unless honesty can be harnessed in some place where honest people live in this now sad and hopelessly divided country. 

November 3 brings us a window of hope but if hope dies and the elections are rigged by the evil Trump assisted by his Russian cohorts and his Republican election suppression enablers reinstalling him as president for four more torturous years of mendacious fraud then the window of hope closes for me.  I will still be looking for that oasis of calm to finally be at peace when and if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are elected.  Vote blue up and down the ticket to save all of our lives!

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/wisconsin-court-sets-possible-delay-absentee-ballot-mailing-n1239836

To Save Nations

 

Every time I see the crosses and some Stars of David on the Normandy beach site in France marking those utterly brave souls who gave their lives on Omaha, Utah and other beaches during WWII so that the world could be free of the Nazi menace I choke up with sadness and am in awe of those dedicated and ever-so-brave Americans with our allies who sacrificed their lives so the world could live free from the jackboot of tyranny. Trump besmirched and insulted every man and woman who has served selflessly in our military to defend all of us from the machinations of corrupt autocracies.

Imagine if Trump were president at that time -- a man who loves and sides with Putin and other autocrats, would have loved Nazi strength along with its no conscience attendant cruelty and would have bowed to Hitler whom I am sure he would have envied and, indeed, imitated. We would be seeing Nazi swastika flags in all of Europe and flying from sea to shining sea of our once great nation. We would have seen the world lay prostrate wrapped in an envelope of fascistic barbarity for which Trump would have sadistically and with zero conscience advocated. Herculean heights of death and destruction would have been the Trump legacy and he would have shown no mercy to opposition he would crush like an insect under his shoe if he could.

It is said at Trump's bedside lay a book of Hitler's speeches. I do not, admittedly, know how true that story is. It may not be true but because I cannot dismiss that story outright and know of the characterless, corrupt and fraudulent Trump just the fact that it could be true is enough to make me cringe at the thought of giving the most ignorant of all men a second term.

If, God willing, Biden wins, I urge you to get down on bended knee and thank fate or, if one prays, thank the God to whomever one prays that this nation will have escaped the most corrupt, inhumane, and psychopathologically sick beast to ever occupy the sacred office of the United States presidency.

Our nearly 250 year democracy hangs on a thread of human volition and can be snuffed out in a near instant when a cult of personality that is Trump prevails to trick a needy populous into believing a mountain of lies which serve as a footing to build his future familial empire. Trump's cult of personality and promises are based on empty promises and unconscionable mendacity. He does not care about you, he does not care about me and he does not care about preserving our democracy. He is ripping our nation's foundation up to preserve his own power as the only thing Trump cares about is himself. If elected again on November 3 our democratic experiment will be left to the dustbin of history taking its place aside many other failed states bathing in the ruins of once prospering nation states.

Make no mistake Trump is the real loser and sucker he thinks those in the military who died or were captured are. Every indictment he makes is an indictment against him. The insults he spews against others he perceives as enemies is in reality not a description of them but a description of him.

To save not just this nation but all nations who love breathing the air of freedom's democracy, on November 3 get out to vote and vote blue up and down the ticket. The lives you save will truly be your own!

Empty Garden

 

If one clicks on the link below one will see the changes Melania Trump visited upon a once gorgeous rose garden just in time for the Republican convention of harsh cruelty.  She uprooted beautiful trees placed in the garden by John F. Kennedy as well as colorful gorgeous roses and other flowers put in by President Obama.  The link is aptly entitled: "Americans Recoil In Horror After Melania Rips Trees Planted By JFK Out Of White House Rose Garden."  The journalist Howard Fineman in a Tweet says "The Trump family did its best to turn the lovely Rose Garden into a neo-fascist parade ground."  It is, by its appearance, a sterile and empty garden. I agree with his thought.

When I began my attempt to understand political thought I would constantly be thinking about the differences between left and right. The left in the extreme was Communist taking many concepts from Karl Marx and Frederich Engels in "Das Capital" and the "Communist Manifesto."  The extremes of left and right have similarities for sure but the one characteristic of those on the left that the right does not possess is a feeling of empathy for the little guy and a disparagement of undue corporate power. The right wing, polar opposite to the left, makes no pretense of empathy. States like Nazi Germany, Brazil or Mussolini's WWII Italy become partnerships between corporate power, the military and barbaric enforcement for life of the authoritarian power of the state itself. Putin's modern day Russia is a good example.  Yes, Communist states like the historic Mao's China and N. Korea control the means of production and the extremes often possess ruling characteristics of each other.  Any challenge to power is met by the force of the state to crush it.   Still, the alleged philosophy behind leftist states pays at least lip service to humanitarian concern. 

In a Fascist state one gives me the autocratic power and I will allow and, indeed use, corporate power to ensure the entrenchment of those who own things and those who occupy the seats of power. This is a loose conception of how I believe the left differs from the right. Obviously, there are degrees but extreme nationalism and the racism that buttresses it are the province soley of the right.

I am not a Marxist or a Communist as those structures are a failure, but I do believe government should exist to benefit those who have the least and that government should lend a helping hand when those without power need it.  I believe massive corporate money should pay its fair share of tax so that those who were not the luckiest in life derive benefit from those who have it all.

Melania's jacket said everything when she visited the children her husband cavalierly put in cages at the border.  It said "Do I care?" The answer to that is a resounding no!   She does not care.  I place her in the same category of her zero empathetic and cruel husband. They both do not care. They care about two things: the maintenance of their power and the corporate money that sustains and massively enriches them.  This was exactly why Trump ran for the presidency to make himself richer by any means necessary.  I believe both Trump and Melania have a sterility of character -- unfeeling and non empathetic which the empty appearance of Melania's garden reflects.  Howard Fineman was right.  It is a neo-fascist parade ground.  Cast your eyes upon the before and after pictures of its  sterile sight.

https://thegailygrind.com/2020/08/22/americans-recoil-in-horror-after-melania-rips-trees-planted-by-jfk-out-of-white-house-rose-garden/?fbclid=IwAR2c45rnbKpd8FnoX-AouJvQg4-nchgKFgelabSxuLCWW75RJYRVJGAN6ug